Back in the saddle.

The last few years, I have been doing photography still. (Let's face it -- I never really left.)
My schedule has been very limited -- I haven't done many shoots -- but I still have stayed active behind the camera. (Most of the stuff I've photographed has been second-shooting for Juhl Photography, mostly weddings, but also a few senior shoots as a second camera, too.)

This year has brought me more business than I expected.
I photographed a dear friend's senior portraits in the Spring, as she was getting ready to graduate from Colorado State University in May.

Then I photographed two weddings in July -- one for the aforementioned senior's cousins and one for a coworker.

Krista and I have photographed at least six weddings this year together (including my two) but that's just what I remember -- there are probably several that I'm forgetting -- and there's another one coming up in a few weeks.

Let's see, what else has happened in the last few years photographically....

• I  learned that you need to back-up your back-ups. (Two of my portable back-up drives lost the ability to function. The data is still there but no computer can currently read or write to them.) That little thing cost me every photograph I'd taken from 2009-2015. Oops.
• I've been photographing a shit ton with my phone. (Especially since I got an iPhone 6 a few years ago.) Mostly food and my dog, but hey, it counts. 
• I have two Instagram accounts: one for personal use and one for photography.
• I fell in love with Nikon. I remember posting an update where I borrowed a camera from my community college, and it was a Nikon, but I don't remember if that was on this blog or my personal one. Anyway, to sum up what that post said, I borrowed a Nikon from the school and fell in love with its color abilities. I have shot a few weddings with one of Krista's cameras this year (some of my lenses stopped functioning properly) and she shoots exclusively Nikon. I fell in love with them. I bought a new camera yesterday -- a Nikon D3300. We shot our first wedding together last night since I got it -- and I loved it. The biggest thing to get used to (besides where the buttons are that controls my stuff) is that the lenses come off opposite of Canon. Yikes. I love that we can share equipment now -- that should make things easier.
• I was hoping to get a better camera than that -- it's very similar in range to my Rebel XSi in terms of what's on the market these days -- but that's still something for a future time. (Heck, this thing is already more MP and more fps than my Rebel, so I consider it a step up.)
• I have also enjoyed shooting videos lately. Ok -- really only one. Krista had me come along with her to a quinceneara and I shot video while she did stills. But it was enjoyable. (And it was with her D5100.)
• I spent some time with Creative Suite 6, and am now onto PhotoShop CC. It's wonderful.
• I changed my photography business name. It was Rebbecca.Ella Photography -- a name I adopted because it's my first and middle names and I thought I wouldn't have to change it once I got married -- but I have since changed it to Feathered Penny Photography to align with other endeavors I'm pursuing, want to pursue, or could potentially pursue. (My brain is ever thinking.)
• Most importantly, I have been haunted by photography the last few years. It has ever stayed on my brain as something that I feel like I should (and want to) pursue more -- and that hasn't changed, aside from being further fueled by discontent in other areas of my life.

So what's next?

I plan to reinvigorate this blog. Do more posts. (Especially now that I have a few weddings of my own to blog on here.)

I plan to post regularly about other things -- you know, those things that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog: inspirations, information, photography tips and tricks, etc.

That's it, really.
Not a heck of a lot.

I'll be posting more regularly, so see you soon! 

2013: Stepping Back

Often in life, decisions are hard to make.
The following decision was one that came a little easier, all things considered.

At this time, I have decided that I am no longer accepting new sessions.

I will still honor sessions from anyone who has inquired about a session, and, obviously, those who have done a bit more than just inquire. However, at this time, and for personal reasons, I am no longer accepting new client work. 

I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, but please know that this decision has been a long time coming. 

It does seem kind of odd, though, doesn't it, that I am stepping back right when it seems things are about to really take off.
I've had more inquiries in the last six months than I've had in all the previous 18 months combined.
It was just last spring --starting a year ago this month-- that I took a Studio Photography class to learn about studio lighting techniques.
I've had many friends --Krista Juhl of Juhl Photography principally among them-- introduce me to new opportunities and open the door to new experiences in photography over the last year. 

So why step back? If things are going so great and things are looking up, why derail the train? 

I need a breather. 

Yeah, I know, that's rich. There are photographers out there doing six shoots every weekend and at least two more during the week, in addition to raising their children, keeping their house clean, and juggling everything else in life, but poor little ol' me, who has one shoot every quarter (if I'm lucky), has no children (except a fuzzy one named Bailey who requires a leash every time she needs to relieve herself), and has minimal housekeeping duties, needs a break. 

I'm just going to re-examine where I am and how photography will really, truly, fit into my life. 

Do I really want to continue to offer this as a business? Or do I just want to do it for fun? 

I've tried for the last two and a half years to make it be both, but a fun business hasn't made any profit, or really turned out much of an attractive portfolio. 

Photography has been one of the things that has made me the happiest.
I can capture the world around me and share my unique perspectives with people. 

...but does that require me to have a client list? Does that require me to have a sitting fee? Should it? 

I decided about a month ago that out of all the styles of photography that exist, that I am closest to a lifestyle photographer.
I like to capture people in their otherwise unmemorialized everyday, doing what it is they do. Natural poses for clients in natural environments. 

It makes sense, especially because it (1) causes a permanence to exist for fleeting moments and (2) that line of thinking is what drew me to take photography more serious anyway.

This decision, to take a step back, is not a permanent one. I will be back. 

I just need space, and time, to think things over. To reacquaint myself with myself.
Hopefully, to start a new career and move out of my parents' house -- again. 

And figure out where photography is going to fit into all of this, and how deeply. 

I will still be posting work. I still have clients on my list; I still have sessions scheduled on my calendar. (And there are five weddings on tap so far this year! Woot woot!)
And I will be posting personal work. I don't plan on being photographically lazy. There will be more landscapes. More art. More springscapes. More animalscapes. More lifestyle photography from my own life. And, perhaps, more expressive work as well.

So I am taking a hiatus. Hopefully you will be around to see what happens during and after.

Thank you for your understanding. 

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.

You're gonna be gone before you get found in another boring afternoon

You're gonna be gone before you get found in another boring afternoon, originally uploaded by speckled_beckle.

The bit of lyrics I chose to include on the photo:
"I can count the years
Everybody now is just counting tears
And plastic bills and their protective pills
And I just took my time"
...is personal.

I feel like I've missed out on so much in my life. I'm 26 with no college degree, no progeny, and no ring on my finger. It feels like I have done nothing to contribute to the world or to my life.

Yes, I know, this sounds like whining.
...but I can't help the way I feel.

I do, however, realize that I have a good fifty years (or so) left to live, so I'm not worried about rectifying those situations. =)
...in fact, I am only 16 weeks away from getting my Associate of Arts degree.
...and then, onto a Bachelor's from there. (I've been --thankfully-- getting some insights into what to major in, too.)

The marriage and kids thing can wait.

One thing at a time.
One day at a time.
That's how things get done. =)