Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Pet Photography: Greyhound Races in Switzerland

Seta

Greyhound races in Switzerland. We drove from Milan to enjoy a Saturday at the dog track. There was a group of friends and Greyhound enthusiasts who raced their pets for fun, not money. Everything about it was 100% humane and tasteful. Most of the dogs were rescued from a bad situation, as we've all surely heard horror stories about how the dogs are treated poorly and raised for profit.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

The Curvy Road and its Field of Sunflowers




In the movie The Box, George Clooney's character says "Photographs are for people who don't have memories". If that is true, I guess it's the reason why I've never photographed touristy type things whenever I travel. I've photographed the Louvre, a famous water garden in Paris and an unusual take on the Eiffel Tower. That's about it as far as famous attractions go and I didn't photograph them because they were famous. I photographed them because there was something else I saw; there was something interesting to me - architecture, composition or a feeling. I didn't know that water garden in Paris was famous until I saw it in a movie but I don't remember which one. Maybe it's not even famous. I don't know. Anyway, memories are amazing. These photographs of sunflowers hold so many memories. Read on & see more photos of these beautiful sunflowers ...

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Fascinations and Ongoing Projects

Sconces in the bathroom at The Adolphus Hotel in Dallas. 

I have a fascination with bathrooms, aesthetically speaking. And, as I've mentioned throughout my blog, hotels. Vintage motels, boutique hotels, whatever. Later, I'll post more images from my bathroom series - an ongoing project, as is my hotels project and coffee project ("my espresso in its native habitat" is what I'm calling it right now) - you can keep up with that specifically on instagram or tumblr. Be sure to connect with me! Those posts are also updated to my Twitter @taracucciaphoto and Tara Cuccia Photography on facebook. Additionally, you can subscribe to my blog here, over on the right of the page and you'll simply get a little notification (via email or RSS feed - whichever you choose) anytime I add new content/photos. This way, you won't have to worry about checking for new material - you'll automatically know when there's new stuff going on! 

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Children & Family Portraits




Milan, Italy
My little buddy, Bianca, whom I spent a summer with to help her practice English. We had a wonderful little schedule: reading, coloring, bike rides, roller blades, cartoons and lots of laughs and smiles.

Photographing kids is a breath of fresh air. Children are free, they just want to have fun or do what they're going to do. It's definitely nice to make children's portraits because they are not as self conscious or concerned with impressing anybody. Maybe they want to make you laugh or, perhaps, they'll reveal something they think is absolutely amazing or exciting (like the ladybug that landed on Bianca's arm above). Child photographers usually don't have to worry about photoshopping kids to fulfill a certain image that they think they should mirror.

Photographing kids, however, is not always easy because they have minds of their own, you know. As I said, kids sometimes do whatever they're going to do whether or not it makes a pretty picture. Yet, those candids can make the best photographs and at least get a good laugh, if nothing else. Regardless, it's a privilege to be able to document the purity of a moment or the spirit of a person in making family portraits.