So this is a new year...

I haven't blogged in a long time because I haven't had time. A month and a half ago, I made the decision to leave my place of employment, and ever since then things have been a whirlwind. I'm launching my freelance graphic design and photography business. With the promise of one regular client and some photo shoots booked in 2011, I'm off on my own to devote my time to doing what I am passionate about doing. I am excited, nervous, and hopeful. I'm also exhausted.

It's almost 1:00am and I say I'm exhausted. I guess I should go to sleep. But I'm home alone while J.C. is out of town finishing up a week-long production job. It's rainy, I'm sick, and I need to be sleeping, but I can't.

Facebook suggested that I look through some old photos tonight, so I did. I was reminded of what a crazy year 2010 has been. Obviously, committing to another person for the rest of my life made it an epic year. But  the eight months that I have been married have brought things that I never would have expected. The marriage part has been great, but other things have been difficult. We were prepared for trials to come, and by God's grace we have allowed them to draw us closer together. To say that this year has been marked with incredible happiness and incredible pain would barely be scratching the surface on describing our year.

I hate to admit it, but I dreaded Christmas this year. Circumstances weren't what I wanted them to be. Because of things beyond our control, Christmas wasn't what I had hoped for. We didn't go to a single Christmas party. We didn't have time to snuggle down watch Christmas movies. For some reason, our real live Christmas tree did NOT fill the house with that evergreen smell, and neither did the pine scented candles I got at Wal-Mart. The gluten-allergy monster reared its ugly head at me during Christmas just as it always does at holidays, and for the first time in a very long time I cried simply because I couldn't eat anything at potluck dinners. I really mean it: I dreaded Christmas.

And then somehow, when Christmas arrived, my attitude started changing little by little. It made my day to see my husband's eyes light up and him smile like a little boy when he opened up the boxed set of the original G.I. Joe cartoons that I got him. My heart swelled with wonder when I heard Linus tell the Christmas story when my family gathered to watch Charlie Brown like we do every Christmas Eve before opening presents. I giggled at my nephew's excitement as he bounced around the house all day excited to open his presents. I created beautiful gluten-free cookie snowflakes that would make Martha Stewart jealous. And after it was over I looked back and realized how blessed I was.

The same goes for the year 2010 in general. A sad year? Yes. Frustrating? Yes. Stressful? Yes. Tiring? Very. But I married the most wonderful man in the world this year. And every day he makes me happy and gains even more of my respect. He gives me hope, strength, and courage and loves me no matter what. That is a picture to me of an even greater Love. One I can always count on and that will never leave or forsake me. One that was with me in 2010 just as it has for me every year since 1982 and will be in the uncertainties of 2011. As I set out into a new year, I pray that I will follow and lean on Him for strength, and that I will never loose sight of His blessings.

Lindsey's Photoshoot

Turning 30 is Sweet!

That's the theme of my friend Lindsey's 30th birthday. Since she is turning 30, she decided to do something fun for herself and have a fun photo shoot. We met on Sunday afternoon to get some shots. She wanted a vintage look to the photos. There were a lot of fun ones, but time doesn't allow me to post them quite yet. For now, here's a teaser!

Advanced Photography Class - Previsualization

Last Wednesday I began the advanced (probably more like intermediate) photography class. Our lesson was on previsualization. Our project for the week was to previsualize a photo, take it according to the steps laid out in this article by Ron Bigelow, and then send it in explaining our steps. I took a lot of photos I liked over the weekend, and a lot of them previsualized and technically better photographs, but I decided to send in the one that stirred me the most.

EMOTION

This year over 1400 runners registered to participate in the Soaring Wings Ranch Half Marathon. The proceeds from the marathon benefit abused, neglected, and abandoned children in the state of Arkansas who reside at Soaring Wings Ranch. As the marathon participants run their course, the children of the Ranch line up by the finish line to prepare to pass out medals. When runners come over the finish line, the children excitedly hand them a finisher's medal and shout out words of encouragement and thankfulness. It was the feeling during this moment that I wanted to capture. Many of the runners participate strictly because of the cause. The children enjoy cheering them on and runners are touched by the greeting they receive from these happy children at the finish line.

APPEARANCE OF THE FINAL IMAGE

I am actually on staff at Soaring Wings Ranch. I am their graphic designer and in charge of publications for the Ranch. I wanted to capture a photo that could be published for our newsletter. However, there are state regulations on publishing photos of children in DHS care (for the protection of the children). With those goals in mind, I knew I had to capture a scene that did not include a child's full face. Image quality just needed to be good enough to produce a small print for publication. I visualized an image that showed part of a child's face and an extended arm handing a medal to a runner.

EDITING

I shot in RAW since I was having to quickly take photos while shooting in manual mode. I was unsure whether or not I would be able to expose everything perfectly and have everything as sharp as I wanted so I wanted the comfort of that flexibility (BUT I still tried very hard to get everything correct initially in the shot).  Out of camera, the photo was a tad underexposed and I also needed to sharpen the hands up a bit and up the contrast levels, but editing was minimal.

METHODS OF SHOOTING

Lens: I chose a long lens to capture the scene from a distance and minimize my depth of field even further to blur out the busy backgrounds at the race.

Position: I squatted and positioned myself, focusing on the hand of one of the children and waiting for the opportunity to arise to snap the photo. I was excited when I got this shot of a runner stopping to hi-five one of our kids and take time to speak with him personally after receiving his medal. 

ISO: I chose a medium ISO that gave me maximum flexibility for fast changes of exposure.

Aperture: I chose f/7 so I could minimize depth of field and yet still insure that I kept the subject in focus if he moved slightly.

Shutter speed: I made sure my shutter speed was quick enough to keep up with the movement going on in the scene.

Multiple shots: I set my camera on continuous shooting mode so I could shoot bursts and capture the photo at exactly the best moment.

State Fair

There is something those in the production business call FILO. It refers to First In; Last Out. I married into FILO. I experienced it while dating, but nowhere near the extent I experience it now. My husband is very good at what he does. Not only that, but he loves it. I enjoy watching him enjoy it, and in many ways, I enjoy being involved in it, as well.

Can I just say, though, that after a couple weeks of watching him have to get up early, come home after midnight every night, skip meals, and deal with the frustrations involved with production (not to mention us struggling to find time to talk or spend time together!), I am glad to see the state fair come to an end. 

I made an appearance several different days at the fair. I remember I used to love that old movie State Fair, where they sang about how great the fair was, romance was kindled in the Tunnel of Love, Blue Boy won a blue ribbon, and the judges happily smacked on mincemeat that had been spiked. I don't know if the State Fair was really like that in the 40's, but now it's a bit different. Mostly to me, it is full of tackiness and germs and nasty smells rather than good 'ole American charm. But still there is a little fun to be found in the bright colors, the eccentric carnival workers, the delighted look on children's faces, and the classic rides like the carousel horses and ferris wheel. 

I can't eat them anymore since this whole gluten-free way of life that's held me captive the last year and a half, but once upon a time I did eat the turkey legs...and they were good.

I loved the bright colors of the slushee machine.

And finally, the real reason I visited the fair: the production for the main stage is awesome! ;) 

Honestly I don't care for most of the music (although the sound guy is really good!), but I do enjoy hearing Luke Williams. I've gotten to hear him and meet him quite a few times since he's usually at the State Fair and the White County Fair. He's a nice kid, and very talented.

Easton Corbin also did a concert one night. My husband has somewhat trained me to try to get some of the rig in pictures. Hah. I actually got to run that lighting rig one night. It was sort of fun. Something tells me that won't be my last time as LD.

There's another term thrown around in the production business: GAK. Gak is all that stage stuff...all the road cases and cables and other things that you find backstage. There is also a term used in photography: The Magic Hour...that beautiful time at the end of the day before sunset that provides lovely lighting for pictures—in this case—backstage with the gak. (My good friend Beth is sweet to go and hang out with me every year...although she says that we're just her backstage ticket.)

(By the way, I was surprised and excited to get two photography ribbons this year. A 3rd place color scenic ribbon, and a 1st place black and white portrait ribbon.)

Photo challenge: Reflections

Learning to Ride

My nephew Aidan is learning how to ride a bike! He's so excited.

Photography Challenges and Class Submissions

I posted this photo awhile ago, but I'm reposting it to take part in today's Simplicity photography challenge: Flowers.

I'm also submitting one of my favorites to the Aspire photography challenge: Lovely.

And now for this week's class submissions. Last week in class we discussed flash techniques and ISO. Our assignment was to experiment with different types of flash and to shoot in an ISO mode we'd never shot with before. Here we go:

My friend Beth, who is also taking the class, got together with me to practice. This photograph was taken using fill flash and a diffuser. She was positioned turned sideways with her back toward the sun to give direction to the light and shadows and fill flash was used to remove excessive shadowing from her face.

I posted this one a couple of days ago, also, but it was taken with fill flash. My family was positioned where they were backlit by the sun and fill flash was used to remove shadows from their faces. I also practiced with metering on this photo. I believe I took a meter reading off my hand to set the exposure for this shot.

This photo was taken in the evening at home after I had washed the freshly-picked apples and getting ready to peel and slice them for freezing. I used bounce flash with a mirror, bouncing the light off the ceiling to give a more even and natural looking lighting.

Lastly, my ISO picture. I took this with 3200 ISO, shooting inside at AWANA Sunday evening. This kid is adorable, but high energy, so I had to have a relatively high shutter speed to capture him clearly. I also used a diffuser on my flash to even out the lighting.

And just because I want to, here's another photo...this one taken by my husband. Isn't it nice? That's another picture of my fall table centerpiece. I'm diggin' the burlap.

Pumpkins and Apples

Fall is here! I enjoyed the cool, crisp air this weekend by getting out with my family and visiting the farmer's market and the apple orchard. Here are some photos of the day.

Loving my new camera!

The husband and I have been looking into getting an DSLR for awhile. He took photography in college and has a nice Rebel film camera, but we wanted to get a digital to use. I've made my way pretty well in photography class using my Canon A650, which is a glorified point and shoot with manual controls, but I've been itching for something a little better. 

Our plan was to invest in a new camera after he was done working the State Fair this year. In the meantime, we've researched, played around with different models at the store, and had come to the decision that we wanted to start out with a Canon T2i, an intermediate level camera.

On Thursday I got an email from one of my favorite technology stores, NewEgg, saying that they were having a three-day sale. I looked at it on a whim, and saw that the T2i was one of the items on sale! Using some of our hard-earned savings, we went ahead and ordered the camera. Imagine my surprise when, after paying for standard UPS ground shipping, the camera showed up at my house the next day. The guys over at NewEgg are my favorite.

My husband was out of town over the weekend working a rock festival, but I had plans with my family to hang out and enjoy the fall weather. It gave me ample opportunities to practice with the new toy. Can I just say I am in love? 

I'll share more pictures later, but I'm going to go ahead now and upload one of my favorite shots I took over the weekend. When wandering around a college campus getting a couple of portrait shots of my sister, we spotted a bumblebee burrowing energetically in a bed full of bright fall marigolds. Right now I only have the standard kit lens for my camera, but I took a macro with it and was pretty impressed. I love how you can see the reflection of the flower in his big bumblebee eyes.

Class Submissions #4 / Our Weekend

Last week in class, we talked about lenses and how longer lenses allow for more shallow depth of field. The class assignment was to take two photos with the same aperture but different lenses. I only have the one lens for my PowerShot (you actually can buy lenses for that camera but I haven't made the investment since we plan to upgrade to an SLR soon). Since I couldn't experiment with lenses, I took two photos with the same aperture and varied my focal length. 

Close up without zoom (7.4), f/4.5:

Close up with zoom (36.7), f/4.5

The rest of our project was centered around meter reading and exposure. With my camera I'm not able to take a meter reading, but I can change metering modes. I tried and did my best. I wasn't very happy with the results, but I tried! 

My husband was kind enough to let me practice on him. We loaded up our very black dog, Hitch, and took him to the school practice ball field where we knew there would be white walls for maximum contrast. 

Spot-metered on midtones of shorts and skin

I wasn't happy with the exposure but I think this would be way easier using an SLR. Because my husband is handsome, and because he and Hitch are buds, I dragged them around and took some other pictures of them, too. Hitch wasn't real sure what was going on.

Hitch is a good 'ole boy. He lived at my mom's house with us before J.C. and I got married. We got him from a lady who fostered dogs from the Humane Society. J.C. and I would often take him with us on our evening walks when we were dating. When we got married, we took him with us and he became OUR dog. He's part Mastiff and part Lab. When people see us with him, they make comments like, "Whoa, that's a big dog!" or "Nice looking horse you have there!" because he really is HUGE. He makes me feel safe, and it's fun to have a big, bad dog (even though he is actually one of the gentlest dogs you will ever meet). Evening walks with my little family make me very happy.

Saturday evening, we had to take a trip to Little Rock. We had to get to the fairgrounds early, because I had photography submissions that had to be turned in for the State Fair. Solid Rock does the production for the main stage at the State Fair every year, and when I go to see J.C. while he's working it's kind of fun to have something interesting to do, so I submit some photos to Arts and Crafts. 

Since we weren't quite ready for dinner, J.C. suggested that we go walk around by the Rivermarket and maybe walk the bridge. So we did. And I took a few shots for fun. We had a good time. We saw some cool stuff, some weird stuff, and some very interesting people. An evening out with my best friend is always a good time.

This Week's Class Submissions

Last week's lesson focused on shutter speed and depth of field, so we had to submit four photos demonstrating these ideas. My husband was working the fair last week and we had a birthday party to attend over the weekend, so I figured those would give me opportunities to do some shooting. My submissions:

Slow Action - White County Fair Ferris Wheel
[4 second exposure; f/3.5]

Stop Action - Ethan in the Sandbox
[1/500 second; f/4.0]

Shallow DOF - J.C.'s M7
[f/2.8; 3 seconds]

Wide DOF - Little Rock National Cemetery
[f/8; 1/50 second]
Unfortunately, this is one I was less than pleased with. f/8 on my point and shoot is as closed as my aperture gets, so it's still not all in sharp focus.