Miss A {::maternity::}

I had the honor and privilege of photographing my dear, lifelong friend, Amanda, a few weeks before the birth of her youngest daughter, Juliet. 

It was a maternity session that was also a family session, and there was plenty of wonderful fun to be had.

These are my favorite images from that day. 

Lily is listening to what Juliet has to say, but Mama 'Manda knows; Juliet says she's coming soon!

Loved the session. Love the family.
Can't wait to photograph them again when Juliet makes her appearance, which should be any day now. 

Amanda, her family, and all of us friends are officially on baby watch. =)

Ok, Ok: I Did It

For the longest time, I was editing with Lightroom 2, and using Photoshop Elements 6 for when I wanted to put watermarks on my images.

Well, I finally broke down and installed Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 6. (And deleted the dated Elements.)

Now, I can edit and watermark without leaving a single program.
I still haven't quite gotten skin retouching down yet in CS6, but I am working on it.
The patch tool is quickly becoming my friend! =)

In other news, I am going to be quite busy over the next 46 days.
I have a maternity-cum-family shoot on Sunday. The mama's due in approximately three weeks with her second daughter. So excited. =) I am in the process of making a belly sash for her to wear. It's my first go, so I'm a bit nervous. (And most of it will be hand-sewn, because I am still unfamiliar with a sewing machine!)
I have two engagement shoots over the next month. One of the couples wants to mail out their photos with their invites before Christmas. The other couple is easy-peasy on time, and just wants it done before the end of the year.
Also coming next month is another wedding. Yep, I am second-shooting my fourth wedding next month! I am so excited.

All of this coming work is a blessing, and I welcome it.

Goodbye, October

Goodbye, October, a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

There is still autumn left, but not much.

We've already had three snowstorms in my area, and more may come during the next month. November has been a historically unpredictable month for snowstorms.

I've been taking advantage of the fall colors while I can, but I've mostly stuck to the autumn I see around me in my front yard.
I didn't make it to the mountains this year, but I will make it a goal for 2013.

This little vagabond leaf was hanging out in the currant bush in the front yard, detached from its normal branch --that is, indeed, a currant leaf.

Tis the last of October, so Happy Halloween, everyone!

November brings Christmas prep and, of course, Thanksgiving.

(By the by, do you notice a new watermark I'm trying out? I may need to make it bigger, but I don't know. Feedback on that would be appreciated.)

Session::Scott

The plan for the day included hanging out with my friend, Krista.
We were going to edit* and bake banana bread.
(*Krista is also a photographer.)

While we were hanging out, she invited me to a session that she was going to have with her cousin, Scott, that night.

I had to run home beforehand, but agreed.

The first place we were going to shoot was closed for the season.
So we went somewhere else. (And it's a place that is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to shoot!)

It was near sundown, but we managed to get some great shots in before the sun went down.
(By the way, I am loving my nifty fifty!)

Here are some of my favorite photos from that day.

I look forward to fall a little more each year.

I look forward to fall a little more each year., a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

I love fall and everything it brings with it.

Well, ok, most of what it brings with it.

For example, I love the cooler temperatures and the hoodies, hot cocoa, and bonfires it brings along with it. I don't mind the moisture that fall also brings to my area. (Yes, even the random snow day is fine with me.)

I also love the smells that fall brings. The drying leaves, the cooler more humid air, the first wisps of chimney smoke... Ah, lovely. (Another scent I associate with fall is diesel exhaust on the cool morning air. It reminds me of the time when I was in school and would wait for the bus on my rural street.)

I also love how it is a flourish of color, more fleeting than Spring but just as imminent. One has all of Spring and the following Summer to capture the beauty of flowers, but after leaves change to orange, and then successively to brown, they fall to the ground and their delicate bones get trampled underfoot.

It all makes the loveliness of fall that much more beautiful.

Of course, the thing I do not like about fall is that which is most inevitable: that winter will undoubtedly follow.
While winter is beautiful, and encourages me to wear lovely sweaters and drink more hot tea and cocoa, sometimes the cold just gets annoying.

Ah, well.

I welcome each season as it comes, camera in hand.

Welcome, Fall! I have been expecting you.

Spark

This post is starting out the way that most of my text posts have: untitled. I usually figure that getting out what I need to say will spark something. =)

I am nearly done with my third week of training for my "real" job; next week I 'graduate' from training, and the week after that, I will be answering phones! o.o (I feel so unprepared.)
...though, today, my trainer observed me navigating through our systems, and she said I performed pretty well at that.

(Kids: if your parents ever tell you that spending time on your computer is a bad thing, they may not be telling you the real reason they want you to log off.)

Adjusting my schedule back to nights has been difficult. I'm glad for that. I miss my mornings. =( The light is just so fresh and new and gorgeous at the start of a new day.
(Thankfully, Bailey does get me up early every day.)

I am not finding myself to be too motivated for photography during the week. (Getting out of work at 11:30 pm doesn't make it easy to schedule any photo shoots, either.) And, on the weekends, I'm usually so busy with family that I just use my camera phone and Instagram everything.

...but that's going to change.

I am second shooting a third wedding on September 8th. My amazing photographer and I have two additional weddings on our calendar to shoot this year: one in October and one in December.
Personally, I have three maternity shoots coming up. One in the next couple months (Mama A's due in December!) and the other two probably early next year (Mama C is due in March and Mama K is due in April). I also have a family shoot and a few love sessions on my peripheral calendar.
It will be so nice to know what my semi-permanent schedule will be, so I can hopefully get these shoots ironed out and calendarized. (Yep, I just made that word up.) =p

In preparation for these shoots, to update my camera bag, and as a way of celebrating having a job, I purchased a lens today. (Well, I ordered it on Thursday, which is still technically the day I'm operating under.) I am so excited to play around with it...I can hardly wait until Saturday.

I do need to buy some new work clothes, too, so I don't have to keep doing laundry every two days.

That's what's going on in the photography part of my life right now. =) I am trying to schedule some impromptu shoots for this upcoming three day weekend, so if I have caught interested parties in time, I will definitely show you the work my new lens can do.

Otherwise, have a great Labor Day and see you in a few weeks.

Aquarius | The Water Bearer

Aquarius | The Water Bearer, a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

I should have started this series off with either Aries or Capricorn --since Aries is what the Zodiac calendar starts with and Capricorn is what the Greco-Roman calendar starts with-- but I just now thought of that.

So oh well.
Aquarius comes first alphabetically.
...at least that's the logic that I'm claiming.
It has nothing to do with the props we had available at the time, alright? =)

This is one of the shots out of my head from the zodiac shoot.
There are several versions of each sign swimming around in my head, and I don't know when (or if) I'll ever get them all out and into the camera.

I will surely try, though.

The ideas exist on paper, if that counts for anything! =P

This photo has a different editing style for me.
Very muted colors, almost a desaturation gradient as it goes down the photo. It almost (!) looks like I used a fancy-shmancy preset or Photoshop action on this photo. The only thing I did in Photoshop was a bit of hair fly-away touch up (since Lightroom's clone stamp tool is mediocre and good really only for skin touch ups) and add in the watermark.
I used MCP Action's "Remember When" preset in Lightroom, but then I played around with individual color saturation sliders and this is what you get.

And, if you came over from Flickr, you may remember that I mentioned that every photo so far from this series has taken on a different voice -- Libra, for example, is black and white, but I didn't just hit the "grayscale" button or pull the saturation all the way back. I like that each photo has taken on a different voice in post-processing; each sign is different, so why shouldn't each photo be?
It's almost like having several mini photo sessions to edit. When I first got Lightroom and was building up my own personalized collection of presets, each photo session that I shot created its own preset, not by intention, but just the way that each session had its own personality, voice, and environment / condition.
Most of the shoots that I've done since have not really allowed for much in the way of creativity when it comes to editing; I may go overboard-crazy with editing someone's family session, but if I am not 100% happy with the result, no one else will see it. (Chances are, the photo will be either color or monotone, not appearing to be half and half like this photo seems to be doing.)
An artistic session like this one got the ball rolling again.
So, in a way, this series is nostalgic for me, taking me back.

There are several other shots coming from this; I might just blog them instead of Flickr them. We'll see. Or maybe I'll just Facebook them. It's 3am; please forgive me if my brain is all over the place!

Also, one final word about this photo: I am not crazy about my water mark. Any feedback on that would be great. (And any feedback on the photo / concept would be great, too.)

Almost Over

Almost Over, a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

For over two years now, I have been without employment.

Sure, sure, I left work for a good reason: to finish my degree. I tried doing the school-and-work thing for three semesters, but I couldn't handle both of them at full-time capacity. I applied for a few positions while I was a student, but none of them worked out.

Well, I graduated in May (huzzah!) and, two and a half months later, I have great news: I will be re-entering the workforce!

I was offered a full time position at a local company. The position has everything that I've been looking for (and some things I didn't really realize I wanted). It has a more professional dresscode than any position I've previously held. (Funny how offices encourage business casual!) It comes complete with benefits (401k, health, vision, dental, PTO, etc). And, when I went in for my pre-employment test / interview, I had to check in with security. (I'll get my own photo ID on my first day!)

This new job feels like a right fit for me; I've always wanted an office-oriented job.

There is only one bad side to accepting this position: the facility I will be working at is a 24/7 facility, and I am not guaranteed to have weekends off. Those two things mean that my photo availability will be diminished.
I will still be doing photography, both for myself and for others, though.
I hope that the photographer I have been second-shooting for will give me the dates of upcoming weddings with enough advance that I can sufficiently request time off in order to attend them with her.
(So far, so good: none of the already-scheduled weddings fall in my first 45 days, when attendance is mandatory!)

One plus side? I can buy myself some new photography equipment. My bag has been pretty much untouched for over two years. (Mama's in need of at least one new lens and a flash or two!)
There are other things that I need to invest my money on, too, like student loans, savings, and transportation.

Which is one reason why the lyrics I chose for the photo --from The Eagles' "Waiting In the Weeds"-- is appropriate. It says, "I've been waiting in the weeds / waiting for my time to come around again" and I believe that my time has come again.

The first four weeks are nights, from 3-11:30pm. The next two weeks are "nesting" weeks, and after that, I will be able to put a bid in for my desired schedule, so I retain hope that I will still be able to offer some tempting photo times for clients.

But yay! Work! Income! Health plan! Moving forward! Goal achievement! These are all things I am looking forward to. =)

Lindzy & Adam: Selections

May 26 was a blustery day in eastern Colorado, but the outdoor ceremony of Lindzy and Adam went on as planned. They weren't about to let all their plans and dreams get interrupted just because Mother Nature was not cooperating. And what a beautiful ceremony it was, full of love and emotion.

I was so honored to be there, as not only a guest during this beautiful day, but also as a second shooter to my amazing friend Krista of Juhl Photography.

(All photographs in this post copyright Juhl Photography 2012.) 

Lindzy seeing herself in her wedding dress on her wedding day. What a special moment. I wonder what was going through her head just then?

The room in which the bridal party got ready had an external door: I knew I had to use it for a full length bridal portrait. (And just look at those ruched layers! Gorgeous dress for a gorgeous bride!)

Lindzy pauses for a moment during her busy afternoon to pose for us by the window.

Flower girls and ring bearer. Look at that grin. 

Aw, yeah: here comes the bride, and he's seeing her dressed to the nines, just for him.

Love this shot of Lindzy, getting a bit emotional as her daddy gave her away. 

Sealed with a kiss. 

I was so honored to be a part of their wedding. The couple was so incredibly nice: they invited my friend (the main photographer) and I to their rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding and were very friendly toward us. They truly made us feel as though we were guests at their wedding, and not there to work. (I'm not gonna lie: I never know what to expect walking into a wedding.)

Lindzy had a candy bar at the reception. We shot photobooth photos in front of a kick-butt background, which the bride designed. Her colors were pink, black, and white. And my favorite part? She and her husband chose all of the music, something which I have always wanted to do. (I have, in fact, already started a list of songs to compile for that fateful day.)

The day all around was fantastic and fun. Beautiful bride, handsome groom...too bad Mother Nature was an unwelcomed guest, blowing around the decorations and chairs. Winds were a sustained 14 - 45 MPH with gusts up to 60, but that did not hamper the joyous occasion.

Coming Up

While I'm waiting to share images from the wedding I shot at the end of May, I am also waiting to shoot another wedding this weekend. (I just found out about it yesterday!)

Also, a very dear friend of mine is pregnant (!) and expecting her second child on Christmas Day this year. Three weeks into her pregnancy, she announced that she was expecting and due "between December 17 and December 26;" I placed money on her having the baby on Christmas. While she's still baking that bun, it turns out that science agrees with me: the doc confirmed that she was due on December 25. (This is fitting: she's surrounded by holidays. It's the reason I claimed that she'd have the baby on Christmas. She was born on St. Patty's Day, and her eldest child was born the day before Thanksgiving.) I can't wait to shoot her maternity & family pictures this fall.

Two more couples I know are currently trying to get pregnant, and they are penciled in my calendar for shoots whenever they confirm that they are expecting.

I am also awaiting two lovey-snuggle sessions this summer, one of them with a married couple and one of them with a dating couple. The wife also said she'd be interested in posing for a rock-the-dress sesh, and I'm excited to see what comes from that!

In addition, I am formulating plans for a few model sessions. One of them is going to be formed around the signs of the zodiac (Taurus the Bull, Gemini the Twins, etc.) and the other is going to be formed around food & drinks (IE: what a margarita would look like if someone were to wear it). The playlist for my song-inspired model session is ever-growing, too. (In fact, the married couple that I mentioned in the previous paragraph is going to be a part of it!) 

The temperatures are rising here in Northern Colorado, and so is my workload! (The temperatures I will complain about -- the workload: never!) 

The beauty myth

The beauty myth is always actually prescribing behaviour and not appearance., a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

Just an image that occurred by happenstance that epitomizes the issues I've been having with my self-image.

Happy Girl ~ Bailey

Happy Girl, a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

I love watching my little furry girl grow up.

She has learned so much already in three months; most recently how to bark at the door. (She turns and runs away right after though!)

I keep hoping that I won't do anything to irrevocably mess her up for the long haul; she's right at that age where anything that scares her has the potential to scare her for the rest of her life.

Via Flickr:
My boyfriend came to visit me for my birthday. While he was here, I put him in charge of taking Bailey for a short walk (or two) so I could get some good photos of her. This is one of my favorites. <3

Country Girl *Edited*

Country Girl, a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

This blog has been edited in the following ways from the original: the loose ends of thought strung along have been tied together in three final paragraphs. I apologize for any confusion that any previous editions might have caused. 

This is the view that I see every day when I'm out walking Bailey and we turn away from the road and head home. How great of a view is this?

Last month, when I spent a week in Denver, I wholeheartedly realized something: I love living in the country.

I also loved being minutes from anywhere in the big city. Restaurants, stores, and other places that we do not have ready access to up north are only a few miles away in the metro area.

When I was in the car going somewhere, however, I was not a fan of the traffic.
Denver traffic is not bad, comparatively, and I have not had any serious issues when driving in Denver in the past; however, I was not (and am not) sure that I could trust myself driving on the cities and streets. The thoroughfares and main veins are fine, but it's the side streets and connecting points that were ultimately my undoing.
I'm not saying I'm chicken to drive there; it would just take some serious adjustments.

Then, when I got home, I was discouraged by the amount of traffic that was passing up and down my road. I wanted my quiet country retreat back. It used to be that I could sit outside in the mornings with a cup of tea and listen to nature waking up, as if the sun was playing a symphony with her dancing rays. But now, there is increased automobile and airplane interference.
I realize by living in a society which so values globalization that such noise is nearly unavoidable, but new residential developments and oil rig production has brought more automobile traffic to my once more-peaceful road. The increase in airplane traffic has been caused by construction on a small neighboring airport, which has rerouted the inconvenienced flights to the municipal airport in my area.
But, my area is still quieter than Denver was.

Summertime has always been my favorite season in the country. I love the light, the shadows, the life that happens all around me. (Except, of course, for the spiders.) This year, however, has been wrought with wind and heat. I cannot go outside and enjoy the season; it's either blustery or oppressive.
I have been grateful for Bailey's need to go out during the mornings and evenings, though; those are usually the best times for light and temperature.

Since February, the plan has been for me to join my boyfriend in Denver once he has secured a job enough to afford an apartment for the two of us. (I could be looking for work down there at the moment, but I would have no place to stay while working should employment find me.)
The Denver trip did nothing to damper these intentions.
So what, then, was the point of this entire blog, in which I praised country living and seemingly occluded any desire to live in the big city?

It was nothing more than a reaffirmation that I love where I live.
The lives of people who live in the city are different from the lives of people who live in the country. The pace at which one lives, the self-sustainability, the dangers, the views, the noise...all different. I appreciate where I grew up.
And I love the bittersweet thought that, someday sooner than I want to process and think about, these 3+ acres in the country will be mine.

Jessica

Jessica, a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

Last weekend, a handful of people converged to help a friend with her final photography project, which was to emulate a famous photographer.

I was lucky enough to be one of those in attendance.

The lovely model you see in the photograph, Jessica, was wrapped in a sheet and a scarf, and then sent into gross water. All I did with this part of the project was to help find a location similar to what was in the goal photograph and to see if the pose was close enough.

Then came the fun part.
In exchange for helping with the project, my friend wanted to make sure that Jessica got some pretty, personal portraits.
In addition to Jessica, my friend, and I, there was also my friend's sister, my friend's niece, and Jessica's friend, Doni.
We shot Doni, Jessica, and my friend's niece in a couple different locations.
This photo is one of my favorites.
The location can be translated into a child shoot, a newborn shoot, a maternity shoot, and an engagement session, but I think that it would also serve well for a family session or a senior session, so it's pretty much a good location to keep in mind.
(Thanks to my friend for introducing me to it, if she reads my blog.)

I'm out of school now, so I can focus on growing and expanding my photography business, so maybe I'll have some shoots that I can use that location!

This photo can be seen in the Rock the Shot Forum.

www.rocktheshotforum.com

Then come the wild weather, come sleet or come snow, we will stand by each other, however it blow.

Then come the wild weather, come sleet or come snow, we will stand by each other, however it blow., a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

This is one of my favorite shots from the short flour experiment that I was a part of during my studio photography class.

As mentioned in a blog post a few weeks ago, I would love to explore this idea further. It is truly so versatile.

There are also plans to do something similar to this shoot, but with rain. The rain shoot is still in the planning stages, but I have a general idea of how I'm going to go about it.

Finally!

Finally!, a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

I was so grateful to be able to finally get some new work up. I have tons of landscape and nature photos that I could share, but after a while, my page starts to feel boring (to me) so I like to mix it up.

There are two reasons why I haven't shared new work regularly.
The first is that my Canon battery died (doh!) and I was not able to locate my charger. (Hooray for emptying out my camera bag in a hurry.) That led me to borrow my teacher's Nikon D300 for a night of shooting, and then to borrow the school's Nikon D200 for a week. (I have it checked out until May 3rd.) The problem with that is that my Canon uses an SD card (for which there is a direct drive in my computer) but the D200 uses a CF card, which requires a reader. I borrowed one, but it didn't work.
The second reason I have not been sharing work regularly --even the work waiting from my Canon, like the above shot-- is because my computer needs a friendly back up drive to use. I have a back up drive, but I need to get it examined. When I try to access some files on it, the files say "file not found" or "file not accessible" and I have no idea why. So, needless to say, I haven't used my backup drive in a year and a half. That translates into my computer being full (287 GB has lasted me two years, at least!) and not being able to upload photos.

(Breathe.)

To cap off all my wonderful technology troubles, my flash drive "went missing" from a computer lab at school, so the only way I have to transport pictures back and forth is email.

Like I mentioned in the description of this image on Flickr, I think that all of this techno trouble is happening because my finals are not looking to be too troublesome this year.

(In fact, I have one presentation next week and one test in anatomy, then I'm done except for photo DVD viewing! Huzzah!)

Wednesday Night Habit

Wednesday Night Habit, a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

Every Wednesday since the beginning of March, I have been feeding homeless people at the only shelter in my county.

It has been a wonderful experience.

I started doing it because I needed to do a service-learning project for my Honors Lit class, but it has become so much more.
I look forward to feeding hungry people every week. So often, it feels like people feel they need to repay every kindness that heads their way; it's a wonderful feeling to help people who cannot repay me.

I encourage everyone to do it at least once in their lives. (And don't necessarily wait until the holiday season; that's when "everyone" helps.)

Almost Free

As much as I have loved being a student for the last three years, I cannot wait to be done.

Five more full weeks --including one final finals week-- and I will have a college degree.

After that, life is going to get interesting, but at least I won't have to worry about school anymore. (At least for a while.)

Last Monday was our blowout night in my studio photography class.
I experimented with speedlights, portable flashes, and flour. It was great. =)

I want to pursue the flour thing farther. It is so versatile.
I also want to do some rain shoots; I think it would be awesome. Plans are already in the works to do it.

I have a bunch of new work to show, but I am waiting. There is a bunch of school stuff going on, and I need to focus on it.

Song Titles

I have begun the task of compiling song titles to use for photos.
The lyrics have an influence on what each photo is about.

Graffiti Six and Elton John figure in among the artists appearing on the list.
A more complete compilation will come.

Danyelle.

Danyelle., a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

Danyelle and her hubby operate Art Haus Ceramics in Severance, Colorado.

Their work is amazing. If you follow that link, it will take you to their Etsy store front.

(During our 90 minute session on location at her studio, Danyelle threw a tea set: pot, spout, and mugs, as well as other things.)

Neglectful Ninny

I feel as though I have been neglecting my blog, but I have been neglecting a whole mess of things lately, so I guess neglecting the blog just makes it par for the course.

Last week was my last spring break as a college-degree-less woman.
I did truly nothing productive, aside from deal with some rearrangement issues that had been stagnating since my move back home last month. (There is still more to be done.)
There was a lot of Pinterest pinning, though (you can follow me here, if you have a Pinterest account, or request an invite in the comments on this post, if you don't have an account).
I also spent some quality time with my puppy, Bailey. There are worse things I could have done. =)
Attempts were made to catch up on notes from my anatomy class, but that's really all they were: attempts.
My family also had a fire to deal with. We lost a shed and its contents, but no one got hurt and nothing vital was lost.

In the move home, I seem to have lost my flash drive somewhere. It only had my school work on it, so I did not lose any client work, but I still mourn its disappearance. I bring this up because I need to share some more posts on what we've been doing in my studio class. (And there is work on the flash drive that has not yet been shared here.)

Oh well. Further posts are in order here, anyway, so I shall just upload the images straight from my laptop.

I have three shoots coming up before the end of the month: two this Friday and one next Saturday. I am excited about all of them, but the second one on Friday is especially exciting for me!

I will be writing more on that later, as well as sharing a link to a blog relating to that project.

Canon vs. Nikon

In my studio class, there exists a pretty even ratio of Nikon-to-Canon users. The other two students in class shoot Sony.

(Seeing all the trouble that the instructor is having getting equipment to work for the Sony shooters, I am very glad that I did not decide to go with a Sony Alpha when I purchased my dSLR.)

There seems to exist a strange divergence in the world between Nikon shooters and Canon users. (Or so it would seem.)
We even tease each other in class about it.

I like to think that I purchased a Canon camera because the definition of "canon" is: "a general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged."
...but, that's not why.

I chose a Canon because the point-and-shoot camera that I used directly before purchasing my dSLR was a Canon PowerShot SX110IS.
It was amazing: macro capabilities, non-Auto settings, manual focus, selective focus... It was beautiful. It was definitely a stepping stone on the way to a dSLR from a full-auto point-and-shoot.
I figured (and was proven correct!) that sticking with the same brand when it came time to purchase a dSLR was beneficial, in that I would already be familiar with the symbols and jargon. Because I owned a Canon previously, it was so much easier to acclimatize myself to a heftier camera.

At a wedding I shot a few years ago, the photographer I was working for handed me the film Nikon she was shooting with and asked for a photograph of her with her brother, the groom. I was a little intimidated, to be honest.
I had only had Betty (my camera) for a few months and was not 100% sure of what she was capable of. (I knew what I was doing, but I definitely did not know as much as I do now!) Then here I was, on the job, being handed a film Nikon. I felt like a stranger in a large city: I had only ever shot my parents' 35mm film camera* before, and it had a fixed-range lens.
Luckily, the lens on the Nikon had an auto-focus feature. I looked through the viewfinder, composed my shot, and pressed the shutter. When I wound the film to take a second frame, it sounded as though more film passed through than what should have, but I snapped a second photograph and then handed the camera back.

That was my grand extent and use of Nikons.

So, when a fellow photographer friend of mine came to me a few months ago, asking for help with her camera --she didn't quite understand white balance among other things and had been shooting full-auto for a while-- I filled in the basics.
Some of what I answered left her confused: she didn't know if her camera could do that or not, or where the button was to do that. We looked up an online manual for her camera, and I showed her a few things from what I had read. Then I encouraged her to go home and read her manual. I remember saying something to the effect of, "What you read may not make sense right now, but when you're out shooting and you want to do something, or you're reading a photo blog and the Nikon-shooting photographer mentions a certain technical aspect that can be done in-camera, it will click, and you will get it."

She's a lot more experienced now, and can navigate her Nikon a lot more expertly.
I don't think I had much to do with it. She has had a lot more time to use it now.
(She admitted to me today that she still hasn't read the manual. Ha.)

...notice I said "was" a few paragraphs ago: That was my grand extent and use of Nikons. 
I shot maybe 50 pictures with her Nikon today, quite breezily.

I was not intimidated this time.
(Dare I say it?) I even liked it...
In fact, I would love to own a D90 or a D7000 one day, yes'm.

Honestly, I don't get the whole debate between Nikon shooters and Canon shooters.
I really don't.
Any photographer knows that the most important piece of photographic equipment that a photographer can have lies just behind the viewfinder.
The second most important piece of equipment lies directly opposite that in the lens.

...but, I will save that discussion for a later blog post.

*I said above that I had only ever shot my parents' 35mm film camera before. That's true, when it comes to the types of cameras that I had shot, in which the film had to be loaded, wound, and then rewound, similar to the Nikon I was speaking about. That old camera was not the only one I had ever shot before digital, however; I used countless numbers of disposable cameras and shot film on at least three others that used film packaged in canisters (meaning: I didn't touch it and the rewinding was done automatically by the push of a button). I did not mention these other cameras in the main part of the blog post because they are not like the Nikon in any way except that they used film.

=|;/\

=|;/\, originally uploaded by speckled_beckle.

I have only seen Jacob cry twice.
It seems so imbalanced; he's seen me cry dozens of times.

The first time I remember seeing him cry was last May, when we made the heart-wrenching decision to take Brat, our cat, into the vet to have her put down. I have never, in my life, seen a man cry as hard or as long as he did that night.

The last time I remember seeing him cry was last Thursday, when he left me standing on my grandma's porch to drive to Denver, where he will remain until I join him in May.

I am only reminded of this because I just finished bawling.
It wasn't one of those good, soul-cleansing cries, either.
It was a headache-inducing cry from grief. (I just finished watching a vimeo video that I have seen before, about Oden, a dog with cancer.)
...this time is different. I don't think I have cried because of grief in the five and a half years that we've been together, without having his hug to comfort me.

I know, I know: Denver was (initially) my idea.
And I'm not an idiot: I knew that this would be hard, living far apart after living together.

This is just one of those things that I'm going to have to re-learn how to do, and then re-unlearn.

Perspective.

Perspective., originally uploaded by speckled_beckle.

The year of Dave is over. Finally.
I am just now catching my breath enough to write a post (on this blog) about it.

When Jake and I moved into my uncle's house, we did so under the guise that it would be a great favor to the family. Living together under those conditions would also be a test to see if we could stand each other 24/7 without running the risk of breaking a lease.

After a couple months of living together, I had a pretty good idea of everything I believed in and stood for: my intuition had never been more receptive.
Then, my aunt died, and I had to take a more active role in my family: grandma's care fell (mostly) in my lap. I was in charge of driving her to her errands and appointments, setting up and organizing her prescriptions, paying her bills and balancing her checkbook, and making sure that she was taken care of. Under all of this, I lost touch with myself.

Things became more complicated when my uncle was allowed to leave jail and enter the work release program.
He required picked up every morning and dropped off every night, so he had to be scheduled in around everything and everyone else. (Plus he's not exactly my first-choice candidate for person of the year award; his flaws are numerous and annoying. More on that on my personal blog.)

...but after all the complications, all the tears, all the worry and angst and anxiety, it's over. It's done. He's home.
Jake is in Denver, and I am in my old room at my parents' house.
He looks for work to lay a foundation to build our collective life on, while I look for myself. I hope these three months alone will give me enough time for introspection to regain confidence in myself. It's not that it couldn't happen with Jake by my side --it did last year-- there are just a lot of extra complications this year than there were last year.
Besides, I am used to being alone. I was an only child and spent a lot of time figuring things out on my own, so I relish and require space and time to myself.

I will be spending this time reorganizing my space, since we just kind of threw the boxes from my uncle's house in here. School is still in session, so I have to focus on that, too. Plus there are all kinds of photography gigs opening up to me. (I can name 6 between now and the end of May.) Gardening and flower-tending will also be happening over the next few months. And, since we have an entire house now devoted to crafty goodness, there will be plenty of crafting happening. So much crafting, in fact, that I may open my Etsy site.
(I'm hoping to open it this coming week, anyway, just with photographic prints.) Watch my twitter account (@beccaellaphoto) for updates on that.

It will be good to realign myself over this coming quarter. Perhaps I will even gain a new perspective between now and May.

Great news!

Remember how I said that I would like to pursue foodtography? Well, I submitted a few photos to a magazine looking for food photos for inclusion into an upcoming edition, and one of mine caught someone's eye!
It's not a for-sure thing yet, but the fact that they are looking at it with consideration makes me giddy and excited!
Stay tuned. I will definitely let you know how this turns out!

Apologies

I meant to update this earlier in the week, but this is my week to move. I will try to update this weekend, but things will be crazy so please forgive me if I don't get it done.

Second Week

Last night we had our second week in the studio with a model.
We experimented with using an umbrella on the flash unit, adding in reflectors (including one as a hair light), and then played around with a softbox.

It was so much fun.

I am loving this class!
I love learning about how to control light.

I will always prefer using natural light, though it is great to get this experience.

Here is a collage of some of my favorite shots of Holly, a friend who was our model last night.

There are more pictures of her to see. Check out this link on Facebook. Feel free to comment! =)

There are also pictures of the other model we had last night. They can be seen here.

Studio Photography

As those who follow my Twitter account know, I've been meaning to blog about my studio photography class for a while now.
It's been a struggle finding time between studying, packing, and dealing with family issues. (I'm sure that there is no one out there who understands! #sarcasm)

We've had a grand total of two class sessions, with a total of one shoot between them.
The impromptu model we had was Keith, a classmate's husband who volunteered because he 'had to drive back out to campus anyway.'

Here are a few of the shots I took Monday night:

Standard portrait. Slight Rembrandt light.

Tried something unconventional by taking a horizontal
portrait, and then cropped it.
Sad that his pinky got chopped off.

Another pose.

Serious Keith.

Admittedly, these aren't the best shots.
...but that's why I'm in this class.
To learn.

While I prefer to shoot with natural light as much as possible, I would also love to (possibly) have a studio in my home some day, which means I'll have to learn how to shoot with controllable light. This is as applicable to people shoots as well as non-people shoots, like food and still life.

As a result of me being in this studio photography class, I have joined Model Mayhem, to get in touch with people who are comfortable being in front of the camera.
I've only been on the site for 10 days, but I already have a model shoot scheduled. He's a fairly inexperienced model, but I figure that it will be a great learning experience for both of us. He requested a kind of shoot that I'm not familiar with, but I already have tons of ideas for what to do.

So does the fact that I'm taking a studio photography class and searching for models on MM mean that I am going to pursue fashion photography? No, it means that I am going to get experience and knowledge in lighting techniques and possibly work with some great people.

Monday, during our next Studio class, the model is one of my friends.
She has modeled for the other photography instructor for one of his artsy shoots, and she definitely has a unique look. She has also agreed to model just for me sometime, so you'll be seeing more of her than perhaps any other model.

So far, things are going good, I think. It's only one shoot in, and I think the more I do it, the better it will be.

Every Opinion Counts

There are little opinion boxes at the bottom of each post, and I do watch them. There is an option to love, like, dislike, or agree with each of my posts.
Several of my blogs over the last number of weeks have been voted by readers to be 'disliked.'

Most of these posts are similarly themed; they are posts in which I mostly talk about wanting to expand my business reach, whether I talk about wanting to make my business more successful, the strategies I plan to undertake to accomplish that, or things that are coming up.

It doesn't bother me in the least that people would dislike something I have to say. We are each entitled to our own opinion; however, in the aforementioned posts, I am not blogging about opinions. I am posting facts, strategies, upcoming events...things that should make most people excited.

Well, they should excite most people who want to see me successful in my part-time photography business, anyway.

That means, obviously, that there is a person (or a group of persons) who does not (do not) want to see me succeed.

I should be glad that I have stepped on some toes, though, shouldn't I? I should be glad that someone is not wanting to see me improve my business, or get more clients, or try to generate income with something that I enjoy. If I am making people feel uncomfortable by doing these things, then perhaps I am doing something right.
As Winston Churchill said:
"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." 
The thing I stood up for, and continue to stand up for, and will continue to stand up for, is my fighting chance to do something that I love.
I never said I wanted to be the next Ansel Adams, the next great fashion photographer, or the next photographer being sought-after by Hollywood elite. I never even said that I want to do photography full-time. (That would be awesome, but I find it unrealistic for me and the rest of my dreams.)
All I want to do is take photographs of people at memorable times in their lives and help them to remember the moments that make life special.

The part of this that bothers me is that anyone would want to see someone else unsuccessful, floundering, failing.
If I do fail, flounder, ir face-plant, it will be because of me, not because of someone disliking my blog posts.

Clients seeking a photographer will pass me by if they do not like what they see, so my little, part-time, limited photographic offerings should not be a threat to photographers with a greater arsenal than what I have. Every photographer has something different to offer to their clients: a different vision, a different style, a different attitude, a different way of editing, a different choice of location, etc. I am no different.

Now, if I have blogged about something in those posts that is nonsensical or that is not a recommended path to follow --like it's a direction that someone has already tried, and failed at-- I would love to hear about it. I would love to be redirected to a more recommended path. I can be reached at rebbecca.ella@gmail.com for anyone who has recommendations.

I should also mention that several of my posts --including a handful of the 'disliked' posts-- have been voted otherwise as well: as like, love, and agree. I see those, too, and I thank the readers who have so voted.

Like I have said, the negative votes don't affect my desire to hold a camera or keep blogging or any of that; my skin is pretty thick. The only thing the negative votes on these posts affect is my worldview.
I have long held it close to my chest that there is good in everyone, and that we are all connected, and that we all want to see each other lifted up and happy and doing well and succeeding in life.
The fact that there are people who would try to take those things away from someone else or limit those things for others does not surprise me, but it does hurt my heart.

On SOPA et al.

As an artist and a weekend warrior of the photographer type, I am concerned with the exchange of ideas, information, and knowledge.
I could not imagine someone sitting behind a computer screen in a government office somewhere, reading my blogs to make sure I am not overstepping my freedom of speech boundaries and that every time I make a reference to something that is copyrighted that I give proper attribution.
I could also not imagine someone stealing my images and claiming that he/she is the one who created them.

Besides, with as many essays as I have been required to write over my college career, I know a thing or two about plagiarism. I know that it is wrong. Why someone would ever want to take the easy way out of a situation and use things that don't belong to them is beyond me.
Like the way someone said something? Great: use it and give them credit for their genius.
Like the pose that the model in that photograph is in? Great: have a model of your own mimic it and then reference the original photo as inspiration, somewhere in the description of your photograph.

I know that this is dealing more with downloading and sharing music and videos than photographs or quotes, but photographs and quotes will be part of it if Congress passes these bills. (It is already happening, the illegal and unfair use of these things. I will not pretend that it isn't. Congress won't.)

Anyone who decides that it is easier to steal an image than make one of their own, steal words than rephrase them in their own original words, share movies / music that they paid for with their hard-earned money, is just lazy. (Come on, let's be real here, though: anyone who is sharing music / movies illegally online probably did not come by them honestly with their hard-earned money.) There is a difference between posting a copyrighted video on YouTube and having friends over to your house to watch the video with you. And those warnings at the start of the movie, about INTERPOL and all that? Yeah, don't collect money at the front door for the showing of the video when your friends are over, either. {If you cannot afford a rental fee, do what my friends and I do: one of us gets the video, another one gets snacks, and another hosts. Then we rotate duties and repeat at our next meeting.}

Ushering In Change

When 2012 dawned a little over two weeks ago, I had dreams for changing things with my photography business: about making it more successful.

Well, the puzzle is being unscrambled and things are being put into motion.
There is so much exciting stuff I can't possibly talk about it all right now!
I will, however, give you some of the highlights:

You may recall from an earlier post that I mentioned that I am going to display photo prints at a local craft fair in October. Well, I have been referred to a great printing company, for which I hold out hope. I'm awaiting my test prints, but I have heard great things about them. They also seem like they are good people: very professional, honest, and down-to-earth. Hard qualities to find all wrapped up in one company, these days.
(If all goes well, this will also be the place from which I order prints to sell on Etsy.)

I am also going to expand my revenue base by accepting more than just cash and personal checks. Yep, that's right: last night I signed up for Square! I figured it would be easier for the craft fair if I accepted more than just paper. Plus, if all goes well, as I hope it does, I can also accept payment for photo shoots via credit and debit card.

This semester, I am enrolled in two photography courses: Studio Photography and Landscape Photography. They are my two "fun" classes. This is my last semester at my community college, so I figured, "Hey, why not take a couple of classes that I have been wanting to take and may never get to take here again?"
(Of course, that should mean that I be in school 8am - 8pm Monday through Friday, as there are so many courses I want to take, but there is only so much time in the week.)
Those two classes will keep me updating my sites regularly, so be sure to watch for those.

I have also fallen in love with LightRoom 4 (beta). When the software officially drops in March, I will have to buy a copy. I could get into all the techno-photo babble about why I love LR4, but only people familiar with the software would understand what I'm saying. Just know that with LightRoom 4, your photos will look better than ever!

I am looking forward to using props, getting more portfolio work done, and possibly getting some business leads. There is also more business stuff going on, but I don't want to talk about it just yet. I want to make sure it's completely ready before I unveil it. (It's not a secret or anything, it's just not the right time.)

New Software!

I am installing LightRoom 4 (beta) as I type this. Can't wait to try it out!!

January?

January?, originally uploaded by speckled_beckle.

By virtue of two heavy snowstorms in October and a heavy windstorm on December 31, we have plenty of firewood.

(We also have a broken fence and lawn tractor gate, courtesy of the limb that came down in that last storm.)

We have whittled the workload down, slowly, over the last two and a half months.
We are down to about 1/6 the total cleanup. (There's still a ten foot limb in the yard and some storm-related detritus to rake up and haul, but for the most part, the yard has returned as close as we can get it to the state it was when we moved in a year ago.)

It has helped that several days in the last week has been 50-60 degree days.
In Colorado.
In January.

Most of the firewood still needs split so it will (a) fit into our fireplace, and (b) so it will ignite easier.

Today, we did a bit more than just haul wheelbarrowfuls of branches, twigs, and leaf detritus. I also pruned back the dead hollyhocks at the front of the house, cleared out the area where the lilies are planted, and got rid of some of autumn's leftover leaves that accumulated on the sidewalk.
I acted like it was a spring day, not a day toward the beginning of winter.
I have the rose thorn scratches on my arm to prove it.

In my frenzy of yardwork, I noticed that there are green sprouts everywhere: the Japanese irises are peeking up; the lilies are sprouting their dandelion-like leaves; the Vinca are spreading.

The other day, even, as I was loading a wheelbarrow up with logs (from my parents' house, where branches also came down in those heavy snows) I noticed that there, under the logs resting on the ground, were two-leaf sprouts already showing.

Keep in mind there are still clumps of crunchy snow and patches of ice on the ground. From the location where I was moving the aforementioned logs, some of the logs closest to the ground were still frozen to the ground and I could not remove them.

I'm sure I'll remember that it's winter tomorrow: the high is expected to be only 27 degrees.
...guess who's hiding in the house tomorrow?

Three.

3, originally uploaded by speckled_beckle.

It's amazing how little has changed since I snapped this photo.

I have longer hair and different glasses.
I don't wear makeup as often.
My face may be a smidge pudgier.

It's also amazing how much has changed since I snapped this photo.

I am no longer working. (I think I took this before work.)
I am in school, and a few months away from graduation.
Jake and I have been living together for nearly a year.
I have (unfortunately) gained weight.
I now shoot a DSLR. My beloved PowerShot is MIA. (The search continues.)
><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>
I posted this photo to remind me that unless I make a point to make change, they rarely happen.
Sure, the above list of things that have changed might outweigh the list of things that haven't, but that all the more serves to prove my point.
I am no longer working because I made a decision to leave a job I hated and was curbed in.
I am in school because I made the decision to stop just talking about it.
Jake and I have been living together by chance, but there were a lot of decisions we made along the way.
Gaining weight is partially my fault; a health condition contributes a great deal to an increased difficulty to lose weight.
I also did not make sure I knew where my PowerShot was, so its misplacement is my fault as well.

I have goals for this year, like anyone else. (This year, I even gave myself a week to figure out what I wanted them to be.)
1: Get healthier. This means continue drinking more water than soda (a goal I started last year), take my pills faithfully (something I have not been great at lately), exercise regularly, eat healthy (something I have been trying to do anyway), and take better care of myself. I need to go to sleep when I'm tired, take vitamins to supplement my diet, not stay up so late, and moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. (My skin is so horribly dry most of the year.)
2: Set a life plan. Set some goals in common with my man in motion, timeline-wise at least.
3: Read more books. I am already one down, and am working on another. I have three more books checked out from the library, and I found four more of my to-read books for cheap at a thrift store today. One of the classes I'm taking is Masterpieces of Literature After 1600, which means I'll be reading more for that, too.
4: Sell some crafts. My mom and her friend have been feverishly making some baby bibs to sell. There are plans in the works for other things, too, that I can be a part of. I'm going to help my mom's friend design purses and bags to sell. I'm also going to make cards & bookmarks to sell. There are a bunch of other crafts that are percolating as well.
5: Sell some prints and get my art out there. The craft show that my mom and her friend and going to is a great opportunity to display and sell some of my artwork. Have some prints ready to take home; be available to take custom orders. Maybe have a photo book or two available for customers to browse and order. (Even if I don't sell any books, I will have a copy of my work for the last few years!) I'll also need more business cards for this. Hmm...
6: Eat more leftovers. I threw away three dishes of leftovers from our fridge today. One was a single serving, but the other two were doubles. No me gusta.
7: Save some money. That means making some money.

I cannot forget what these goals are or why I have set them for myself.
Forgetting them is the one way to make sure they don't happen.

Dusting Off the Compass

With my impending graduation getting ever closer, I am faced with the choice of deciding what to do next. Do I work for a while? Do I go right to school?

Part of me says, "Hey, you'll be in a new city; why not do both? Go to school, and you'll have weekends to do photography part time."
Another part of me says, "Hey, remember when you tried that and it didn't go over so well?"

I have been doing a lot of thinking about my future where photography is concerned.
I know that it is something I will always do -- it is a part of me now: that cannot be changed.
But what to do about it? How big of a role should it play in my life? Should it just be something that I do for fun? Should I do it for fun and try to sell my better art pieces? Should I offer my services on the weekends?

I will not lie: there have been a few times when I thought about hanging up the camera strap completely. [Insert ramble of negative thoughts and things that may make potential clients eschew my services.] 


I think that moving to a new town will force me to market myself in new ways. Here, I haven't been doing everything I could (or should) do. I know that. I recognize that. I've even had things ready to market myself, I just...haven't. [Insert shaming finger-wag here.]
Perhaps focusing more attention on getting my work out to local eyes would elicit more business. I do not plan on taking this action where I am presently, though, because in five and a half months, when it comes time for me to move to Denver, I will have just established myself in the local eyes, and then uproot and do it all over again 50 miles away. No, it is much too late for my Greeley client- / fan-base to grow.

Besides, Greeley is not regarded at the moment for being a center of art. No one seeks Greeley out for the artisan shops. There is the annual Arts Picnic, but the majority of the vendors that I have seen when I attend come from other cities, 20+ minutes away. The University of Northern Colorado draws minor artisanal-quality shops and lifestyles around it, supported mostly by the larger-city students who attend the school.

I have also thought about making photography a bigger part of my life.
I would love to offer traditional packages to people: engagement sessions, weddings, family photos, portraits, senior shots, kiddo sessions, newborn sessions, maternity sessions...
...but seeing as how I do not have much experience in those arenas --I have never shot a maternity session, but the others I have-- it will be harder to get clients for those arenas because there is not much to see in the way of examples of my work. (Offer some free shoots on Craigslist? Don't mind if I do!)
Honestly, yes, I have thought about majoring in photography. But, I would be focused on shooting things, objects, and food, like doing spreads for household magazines. I do not know what it is about those shots, but they have been appealing to me.

That is not to say that I will stop offering the traditional shoots. 

I have been meaning to take inventory of my life for a long while: to define where I want to end up, living-wise and career-wise.
Photography is not my only prospective major. Neither is art or ceramics. I have considered everything from teaching (as shared in a previous post) to being a counselor, one who specializes in addictions or just a regular therapist-type. My Creative Writing class really re-stimulated my dormant *not dead* love of writing these last two semesters, and with that reawakening came a dormant dream of possibly pursuing it in the future as well. {Ideas have already started forming for books to write about; some of them have already been presented to the classes over the last two semesters.} I have also thought of possibly becoming an editor for a publication (newspaper, magazine) or for a publishing company. (Y'know the ones to whom authors submit their works to be looked over...etc.)

The app for MSCD is due in March, so I have until then to decide on a major.
I just cannot believe that this is happening again. Every time something happens with me going to college (even when I enrolled at Aims) I always have a hard time deciding what to do. Maybe it's because I want to do it all!
There we go, that's what I can major in: Renaissance Womanhood! =P