OUT THE WINDOW: Discovering My Own Backyard

OUT THE WINDOW

Discovering My Own Backyard

I’ve always loved watching the animals in my own backyard. When I was working a regular teaching job where I was only home evenings and weekends, I didn’t get to watch them very often.

I would occasionally sit out on my back porch and watch nature take its course. I’d see the plants blooming in the spring time, after the long April showers, watch the birds flitter around, and yes, see the squirrels come by for a little treat from the birdfeeders. 

In  May of 2022,  I made the difficult decision to leave teaching after the year was over, and started a work from home job the following September.

 My spare room was converted into a partial office space, and I decided to move my desk in front of my window. I started to notice birds and squirrels that would frequently visit and what was attracting them.

In  Novemeber of 2022, I decided to start photographing my backyard critters, but I wasn’t able to get close enough to get good photographs. 

So what did I do next? I started moving the food sources closer to me! As I saw my furry and feathery friends bravely approach, I wanted to take it one step further. 

 

Each day I would move a table with food on it and my bird feeder ever so slightly closer to me. And they continued to approach. 

  

After spending a month of trying to gain the trust of the cute fluffy-tailed friends, I put some treats in the window and opened it up, and sure enough, my new office buddies came right up to it!   

My two most frequent visitors I decided to name Chubbers due to his size and Freckles, b/c of the markings on her face.  

After a while, Chubbers and Freckles were joined by some other squeaky critters and I just had to share them with my coworkers during zoom meetings. I became known as the Squirrel Whisperer and my buddies became well-known by all!

Eventually other squirrels also decided to visit my backyard for some tasty treats. It was determined by my zoom friends that the other 2 squirrels that showed up should be called Chip and Dale.  

I soon discovered that some of these friends were little ninja master squirrels as well! I became fascinated with the determination and ability to climb the bird feeder pole in order to retrieve bird feed, specifically the sunflower seeds!

To this day my critter friends still visit me at my window and are starting to gain more and more trust in me. 

I provide bird feed for the finches, doves, cardinals, woodpeckers, bluejays and various other birds that visit, and the squirrels get goodies that are also healthy for them such as plain unsalted nuts, sliced apples, and dried corn!

The squirrels provide plenty of entertainment throughout the day as I watch them cautiously continue to approach my office window and allow me to share a little piece of their daily life, enjoying their treats, burying them in the yard, and napping in the sun or chewing on the tree branches, while the birds flutter around and pick through the birds feed for they're favorites!

 

Katie Gregg Photography is now Lovely Artistry by Katie

 Katie Gregg Photography is going through changes and redesigns! 

Please be patient as sites and pages are update to reflect current and past art work!

There are a lot of exciting things happening!

I've always said...

that change is the only constant in life. Change is everywhere, all the time. It's always been hard for me to accept changes. I constantly pray to accept change as it comes, but I've never been good with drastic changes. I am learning quickly that if I don't accept the way certain things are, I am going to be one unhappy camper. Just as I get used to one way, all of a sudden there's a new corner to turn.

As a photographer, adapting is one thing that is so important. If I'm doing an outside shoot and the weather changes, I have to change settings. If I'm shooting kids, I have to move with them. If a baby is crying, I have to allow extra time for mom/dad to calm he/she down. Some things are easier to adapt to than others, but lately I haven't had the opportunity to adapt or accept that things WILL be different and I'm not sure how to feel about that. So many life changes happening so fast gets to be very overwhelming. I hope for my own happiness that I can learn to adapt as easily to a new environment as I can in the camera room.

Montgomery

Yesterday I had the privilege to shoot Mr. Cameron Montgomery, a senior at Seymour High School. I've known Cameron all my life so getting to take his pictures was such a fun experience! I can't wait til I can get more pictures edited and posted for his family and him to enjoy. We had a lot of good choices to pick from and found some great spots to photograph in. I wish Cameron the best of luck in his future.  Thank you Cameron for letting me be a part of your graduation experience!

Giving Direction...

is sometimes difficult. It's hard to have a child that is younger really understand what you want from them. In my experience though, the adults can be even more difficult. I've discovered that funny phrases will usually work with older kids or adults and being playful with children can be either a miracle worker, or disastrous.

We have to realize as photographers that not every method works for every person. We can try and try and try but the truth is, we are strangers to most of the people we photograph. I'm learning that that's why regular customers are so important in the photography business. The more familiar the photographer is with the people/kids/families, the better the outcome will be and the easier it becomes to take charge and give direction.

In a way photography and theatre work hand and hand and if you know me you know I love theatre! When a director is telling their actors what to do and how to do it you get a finished polished product. The same goes for pictures. The more willing the subject is to take the direction given by the photographer, the better the pictures will turn out.

Now don't get me wrong, I haven't forgotten about those candid shots that we all love oh so very much.  But that is another story for another day :) In the meantime, enjoy this wonderful  group of women who were more than happy to take direction and pose with my good friend Rick on his birthday!

Inspiration

Lately I've been trying to find the right inspiration and the motivation to kickstart new challenges with the new year. With spring coming up there's so many options to explore and I've been thinking. What is my biggest inspiration? What am I doing with my life and why? It's the satisfaction. Just by taking a simple picture that would make anyone smile. The joy I get out of the goofiest, silliest expressions on children's faces and seeing a parents reaction is probably the thing I relish in the most. It gives me a sense of purpose and the drive I need to keep doing what I do. While it is difficult on somedays to get out of bed at 730am and walk out the door, there's a whole world of inspiration blooming with the spring season coming up. So go out, find your inspiration and share your thoughts with me! Here's one if my faves! :

Can Anyone Tell Me....

....what kind of spider this is? This lady has been "hangin out" in our living room window. She is fascinating to watch, but I don't know what kind of spider she is. I've never seen such a large spider (other than a tarantula). In the larger photo it seems as if she has an egg sac, which is why I believe this to be a female. We have no intention of killing her since we have major fly and nat problems at the moment and we are hoping she will get rid of some of them. I would love any information that any of you has!

Thanks,

Katie