Casey

I am trying to catch up on the backlog I have created for myself (21 posts! Geesh!), little by little. :) I seriously have sessions from way back from last spring I still have yet to finish... See, one of the things I have learned along the way is that if you take 800 pictures, it takes a HECK of a long time to go through each one...and then, if you do get many different good ones, you want to work on and send each and every one...which may end up turning out to be around 400 pictures (time to edit: x's 5 or 10-20 or sometimes even 30 minutes... a piece)...for each session. Yikes. It's called the "spray and pray" method of photography, and its one an amateur uses...so it's something I need to remedy! Look around and compose more, take less. :)

I can see how Mike gets mad at me when I come home and he asks how many pictures I took...and I just shrug and casually say..."500". The time it takes as well as the space they take up (about 18M per picture)! My computer is f.u.l.l. Honestly. I have about 1G left...no space for anything new. Since I don't really want to delete originals of potentially good pictures, or ones I may need to "harvest" faces from to make a similar picture with that one person not smiling perfect... :) Wow, does that sound horror movie-esque, or what?! :) Mike gave me a new external hard drive for Christmas...so when I am done with the backlog, I can store everything neatly categorized and still have space for the new. Ahhhh. That sounds so relaxing!

So...I am attempting to use the very sporadic/random free time I get to work on getting the done...really done. :) To make it the most productive, I am letting my feelings take reign (I guess that's how I roll). I seem to work better on things when I actually want to work on them...and believe it or not - there are some times I actually want to fold my laundry. It's kinda peaceful. :)

Anyway, to get to this post, I sat down one day and decided that I wanted to work on Casey's pictures. :) Such a beautiful boy - a gorgeous, well-behaved, spunky and happy black pit bull with deep brown eyes...all in the yellow fall leaves...*sigh* Yep, I was in heaven! A few months back, I put out a casting call to all my facebook friends for a day-long modeling shoot. I wanted to practice a LOT of learned skills, so in order to not tire out the models, I asked for a bunch of different shooting situation volunteers to fill up the afternoon...my intent was to keep on shooting different subjects and because I can shoot beautiful things all day - honestly, it's much more tiring for the models to keep posing and smiling - it actually takes quite a bit out of you - I wanted to give people/pets some time in front of the camera and get some pics while I got a bunch of new experiences and new material to work with.

Well, it turned out to be a super crappy day, weather-wise - very cold and dark. Bad timing! :) Even though, I had a few awesome models come and stay, walking around the yard on a cold, damp and drizzly day in good spirits. The foliage was beautiful...and it was really one of the last days it was all up on the trees...but dang, the weather stunk. :)

One of my peeps that came out to see me and help me out was my friend Steph... from high school! Way back then! :) We recently reconnected on facebook and it was so great to meet her husband, Shyri and her pup kids, Casey and Sera. She hasn't changed a bit, and what a beautiful family! I love that we got to hang out, catch up a bit and I got a chance to photograph her super sweet and did I mention - adorable - doggies. They were both extremely well-behaved and that's a very good thing for me, photographing them in low light. The more still, the better! :) Thank you again you guys for hanging out in the stinky weather! I'm hoping to get another chance with them before the snow melts...

Here is just one of her gentle babies, the lovely cutie pie pit bull, Casey... His sister Sera will get her chance on another post!

Plus, this gives me a chance to get back to my roots here...I started photographing animals - dogs and cats - and found out in the last year that I love to photograph people too! I am unsure where the business is headed, but I WILL for sure, include dogs, cats and horses as a main part of my focus...but I would also like to share that time with my human friends as well! I think I will narrow my focus as time will tell (maybe just kids, couples and animals?! Not all together, of course! Unless the perfect opportunity presents itself... :)). But this gave me a nice circle back to where it all began - I really do love taking pictures of dogs - and this was a very helpful practice session in low light. Thanks, Steph and Shyri! :)

Please excuse some posted in black and white AND color...some were just so dynamic both ways, I couldn't decide...














































See what I mean?


The adorable parts...make up the whole cute Casey!



My favorite of the whole day - it was hard to pick, he is so dang cute!

Casey Sneak Peek and Some Tired Ramblings

Well, I have been in the middle of posting something for about.... 2 weeks now. :) The blog post is open, and halfway done, but not yet - my ever so patient readers! I do apologize, but this is teaching me something about myself here and my new path. Something that this perfectionist is having a hard time absorbing!

I have been busy being "the preschool teacher" lately (which I love), so I am playing and teaching and setting up organized projects and learning opportunities...but that means my chores go completely undone until naptime...and bedtime. :( I have been cleaning and laundering and scrubbing and stacking firewood and scraping playdoh out of the carpet and cleaning up cat puke (yes, I said it), cutting up bits and pieces of food, optimizing the house for learning and sanity saving (mine) and cooking dinner and breaking up fights and giving time outs and stopping what I am doing to explain consequences of actions...all of which makes everything take so.darn.long.(er). Anyway, I'm not trying to whine or complain...just simply explain where I am all day, and why I haven't returned an email or phone call or posted a new post. :(

This is what I meant about learning my new path...some things, I just have to be ok with letting go of. And that's really hard for me. Like letting the laundry sit for another day or not taking a shower (for a few days...shhh!), but also not trying to squeeze in a post before bed...but when I do have the time, I can. I have to be ok with that time in between posts and just move on like it never happened! And being ok with it means not getting stressed that it's not "getting done". Just do it when I get to do it and love every minute of my "relaxing hobby". If posting is on my to-do-list, I will never, ever be able to relax and enjoy it - and that means I might have to stop altogether! And that thought makes me sad (though I could never do that - it is part of me now, and I need me to stay, even if it's a minuscule part right now)....so this is a much more amicable path for me at the moment!! lol

Unfortunately, that stinks for the readers I may have left (hi, Mom!), but, alas is the sporadic nature of motherhood. ;) So, I decided today to tease more often - to fill in and give you guys something to look at in the in-betweens and give me some padding time to finish the rest. They are all edited by this point, but I have to resize and add the logo, since there are crazy photo stealers out there that apparently do some pretty weird and disturbing things with others' photos. Don't ask.... I didn't. :)

Anyway, I hope this post made sense...(yet another reason I don't like to type when I am tired, haha! It comes out all drama-filled and crazy-woman-esque!)

Enjoy Mr. Casey! His shoot will be up the moment it is finished...cross my heart. :) (have you seen the movie "Up"? So, so cute)

The Raspberry

Texture is a very trendy thing to add to a photograph nowadays. I do know it is a very controversial tool in the photographer's bag of tricks! Some use it well, some overdo it, others think it is absolutely unnecessary. And everyone out there has a different opinion!

Me, I just like to play around with it! I love that it can take any picture and give it a completely different feel, depending on what you choose, if anything...and you can use several on one picture. It's an art form, and one I enjoy seeing others display and one I really enjoy working with. You can take up-close pictures of trees, concrete, the clouds, your hair, wood grain, basket weave, water, paper...do I need to go on? Everything around you has some kind of texture - so it's neat to overlay any kind of texture picture over an existing picture in Photoshop to see what happens. Plus, there are tons of free high resolution pictures on the internet from people all over the world that have offered them up for free use. Cool, huh?

I can see how some people don't like it at all...and I shied away from using more of it in the past based on some opinions...but since this is a learning journey, fun...and a picture of my kid...I figured I couldn't go wrong! :) I especially love what it can do to a mediocre picture, even though sometimes it can be way overdone.

This picture is of Cole....and Spaceballs lovers unite...he's giving me the raspberry. :) (I HATE raspberry!) hahaha, I just love that movie. :)

Here is the original picture...one I was practicing on him with the flash - it came out a little too bright, - it's still cute, but I thought I would play with it - and I think the added overlay texture (a high resolution picture of a blue leather couch, by the way!) gives the picture such an old-time kind of Polaroid feel - I'm liking how different it is from the original. But they will both go in his baby book for sure!

Tell me what you think! Love it or hate it, why? I would love to know your feelings on what it does to you. Texture is so controversial! Of course, I wouldn't do every picture like this, and most not even this obvious, but some just call out for...something to highlight the focus of each picture. Discuss!

Capturing Light

About the light I have mentioned trying to capture in pictures....

Here are a few I just recently edited of some taken in the fall of my kids...of course Alex is in most of them again.... :)

I love making the light into something you can see, almost something tangible in photos....I hope this demonstrates what I mean. Any season you can do this! On almost any day - even on bright cloudy days, the light is still there - it may not be shining into your lens for some beautiful flare, but it can still be harnessed in the reflections and bounced glow it gives off many things...

This one highlighted and came through the beautiful tree at Grandma and Papa's house - leaving a nice lens flare at the bottom in its trail. I have this one hanging up on my wall in the living room. She just glows!

Same here, but a different and cute closeup...

My Braden - I am loving the way the light just wraps around him and bounces off me to highlight the blue in his eye...

And then Cole, throwing sticks and stones into the creek, having a ball with Grandma - he is just glowing from head to toe in the late afternoon sun...

Light is everywhere! Even when it's cloudy or you are in the shade, you can still bounce it off things and capture it that way - this one was bouncing off the picnic table my girl was sitting on from the opposite side of me.

Next time you take a picture, instead of shying away from the sun, try aiming your camera at it and see what you get! Happy Capturing!

Sunset, Sunrise

The new year is always bittersweet for me, one that gives me simultaneous hopes and regrets, a push to the future and a wistful look back at yet another year gone.

Thus my dilemma.

I have come to a crossroads in my life journey - one that will be displayed here as photography is one of those very roads. What to do? What to do? Soul-searching has been a constant "state of mind" for me lately.

I have stumbled upon this photography part of my life, just as I had onto motherhood - pure, sheer luck or.... fate - as one would have it. The triplets were certainly a surprise and an instant dive into the dirty deep end of parenting! Mike and I have fumbled and struggled (we still are!) but realize that this is our only chance at creating a life for the only children we will have (if we can control that one - the last time I said that, God laughed at me.... and then threw three kids into my uterus).

We want it to be the best it can be for them, an amazing childhood, a loving home, fond memories for the start of their story. I want to teach them the world, not have someone else do it for me! I want to be an integral part of that, for me and for them. I realize that home schooling their entire curriculum through high school would be a disservice to them, since I am not a certified teacher and they deserve to be social with others than just their frumpy old mom. But, I think...no, I know, that I want to home school their preschool years - I want to be the one that opens their little eyes and minds to the world outside our door - to learning the basics and beyond - together. Here. With me. While I can get it!

I have often thought I would make a good teacher of early elementary kids...now I know I can be a good teacher of my own kids for this time. That is why I was given the ability to interact with young children well, but why I never chose to use it as a career? I can see why God has given me this ability, and I plan to use it full force on my children...God help them. :)

But, I can also see my limitations will begin just as kindergarten starts, so I will take these next two years to mold my kids into learning, loving readers and artists and mathematicians (right) who will want to soak up all there is to learn about the world, about people, about themselves - about what the world could do for them and what they can do for the world someday. I want to guide and shape their senses in a way that they keep them open and know that learning never ends, that there is always more than one perspective and that humility is the key to making the world a better place. All that and more!

My kids are my world right now, and I need to focus on that world for the next two years with the most ferocity that I can muster. It is all I will get and I intend to make the most of it.

That's where the crossroads comes in....

A year and half ago, when we lost our German Shepherd Ruger, my first baby (truly), one morning I woke up, almost with a start, seemingly with a message delivered through the mourning of his loss, from him (or Him), or both - that my purpose other than being a good wife, mother and family member was to make a passionate career out of photographing animals just like him. To spend time with the people that loved those animals as much as I loved Ruger - to make the most of the time I had on this Earth mean something, and that meant capturing the spirit and love and connection of these people and their beloved pets. It was so clear! I loved to take pictures, to see the extraordinary in the ordinary and I loved animals so much I had been constantly searching for a career immersing myself in their presences. That morning was incredible - finding out in an instant what you were meant to do is humbling to say the least.

Exhilarated, I realized I had a lot of work ahead of me. I still had to learn how to take those pictures. Technically, I had never used a complicated camera - and logistically - I didn't HAVE a complicated camera. But I knew that I could do it, if I set my mind to it. Somehow.

The triplets were about a year and a half old at the time, I was a full-time stay at home momma, and so we were shy one half of our income, and running at 3 times our normal (pre-kid) expenses. Hmm.... Luckily, my mother had a complicated camera she was willing to let me borrow (hijack) for a very long time...and I devoted all my free time to scouring the internet for resources, how-tos, inspirations...and then applying them to the awesome said camera. It took a lot of time to master the basics, but I think I did - always learning, though! Throughout the year, I had a few willing (shy!) participants step in front of the camera for me to practice and that practice was invaluable - since I realized that part of the reason I loved to photograph was to photograph people as well...

I realized I loved to photograph emotion. Emotion is so awesome to see and even more wonderful for others to see it in a photograph I took. It makes me smile and giggle with glee and sometimes even cry every time I know I have captured the essence of a person, of a relationship, of an animal - and to give that to someone is my best reward.

I also learned that I love light.

Light to me is a presence in a photograph. I love capturing the sun/other lights in ways that make the picture take on a new dimension. It enhances, it helps characterize, it stands on its own - it warms, it sparkles, it glows, it twinkles...so many different qualities to impart. But it is a presence to me! It may seem silly or New Age-y, but I like to think that when I capture light in a photograph of someone, that it is the spirit of Ruger, letting me know he is there, and that he approves of my new venture. That he is there is all I need to know, and another reason for me to never stop including it.

Emotion and Light! That about sums it up. I have learned a lot in the last year - and even though I had hoped to have a standing, functional business by now (it was a goal for me last year), I am glad about the way things are shaping up. I need to learn more before I am comfortable charging money for what I do - I am solid and firm about this, regardless of what my wonderful supporters are telling me (I love you guys).

And now that I know I am solid in my desire to home school preschool for the next two years, I am at a crossroads between family and business - isn't it always the way?! :)

I know that I want to do both now, but now is the time to teach my kids - and in two years that time will be over. The photography will still be there, conveniently at the time I would need to go out and get my day-job back. :) Sweet.

So, the plan - after much soul searching - is to continue on this path - of technique and form learning and continually searching out my "style", of becoming more comfortable with the idea of calling myself a photographer. Of photographing "Ruger's light" in the most beautiful way possible... But also of learning about what I love to capture and trying to give people that gift, if only I can.

Teach my kids and be the best momma ever...first. Then photography world...look out!

So, to the title of my post: the opposite of the supremely depressing song I hear at every funeral... I took these pictures in the late summer across the street in a beautiful field watching the deer go by, sitting on the quad, sucking up the warm late summer air....I am such a country bumpkin...and I LOVE it. These are my faves, symbolic and serene.

I want this end to 2009 to be a beautiful sunset followed by a glorious sunrise of 2010. Both years equally great and the light from both to be my guiding force. Thanks again, Ruger - I miss you, babe.

Just a note: I have really thought about this, and since I have so much I want to concentrate on to make myself whole and ready in/for the next few years, I will not be taking on any new shoots this year. I have some learning opportunities already set up and so much to do - so if you are looking for a pet photographer or a portrait photographer, I can recommend a few whom I really love in the area! Hopefully next year, I will have the time available to make myself available - and that will really be great. :)

Please feel free to leave comments on my learning selections over the year, in fact, I would be honored to hear your voice! I will still be posting as I learn, and I still have a backlog of sessions done in the fall, so I will be here - I hope you keep along with me on the journey!