Website: The latest

Almost ready to launch the site! It should be live early next week. I am beside myself with excitement. As promised, here is one of my favorite images EVER. My cousin at 16. A scan of the original (hand printed) portrait. I think I used TMAX400. That's what I always shot with back then because I use to buy it in bulk and roll it up myself. Boy we've come a long way with photography. I used to like that film because it gave photos a nice grain.

New blog look

Just what I needed to spend my time on, huh? But it was fun making the blog banner, the mechanics of which eluded me until now. But I didn't love the default background so here is a whole new makeover for the blog. Hope you guys like it! Here is a photo of one of my favorite subjects: My cousin John. I have been shooting photos of him since he was 16. That's almost 15 years! In fact, one of the photos I took of him at 16 is my favorite photo ever. Guess I'll have to bring it down off my wall, take it out of the frame, scan it and post it, huh? Ok, look for it later this week. Anyway, this one was taken at the Rhododendron Gardens. Look at those eyes!

Revisiting Film

I got an email from a friend this week whom I admire as an incredibly talented photographer/artist. He said something that really resonated with me. I quote "I wouldn't appreciate it [digital] nearly as much if I hadn't stuggled with the trial & error of film. I'm glad I have that foundation though because it applies to everything. I know you can relate. Also, Photoshop wouldn't have made as much sense to me had I not toiled over those stinky fluids under red light in a darkroom." This is so true! Photoshop is just a virtual darkroom. Those of you who use it regularly know this. But it really does make sense to me only in the context of the thousands of hours I spent in a "real" darkroom. Here is a photo that I scanned from my early photography days. I took this of my best friend when she was a senior in high school (1993). (I shot this with TMAX 400 and hand printed it using Ilford Pearl finish paper and a number 4 contrast filter-info only my photography buddies will relate to). I used photoshop only to remove some scratches and add my watermark. Other than that, it is exactly as shot. I miss--and don't miss-those old darkroom days.

Weekend update

It was over too quickly. My mom and dad were here and although we didn't go anywhere, it felt like a (much needed) vacation. I took a bunch of photos of my parents and Kian and of my handsome cousin John at the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. What a place! It was the perfect time as the rhodies are all blooming right now. Kian threw rocks into the lake and was fascinated with the ducks. I will post a few from the day when I get them downloaded. For now, here is a very recent one of Kian. Growing fast!

A post for Miss "M"

Ok gorgeous Miss "M": You get your own post. This little cutie (big sis) was great in front of the camera. She had this wonderful intense look and was not at all shy of the lens. Her little sister, on the other hand, made me chase her. So Miss "M", here are some of my favorites of you.
Isn't she gorgeous? So graceful for her age.

Quickies

A quickie, quickie post. Hopefully I'll be able to upload some photos now. These are a couple of those cute little girls I had the chance to photograph this week. There are too many good ones to choose from but these ones just happen to be ready to post. More later when I get a little spare time. It has been crazy with the website and so many photos to proof. But it's all part of the learning experience. Can't wait till my site is finished. Have a great weekend. I turn 33 tomorrow. Unbelievable!

I've been trying to post photos since yesterday but blogger's photo upload isn't working. Very lame. I'll try again later. Sorry.

Blue Eyes

This baby girl has gorgeous blue eyes. They almost seem liquid so it didn't seem right converting this image to black and white. These images aren't necessarily what I would call "my style" but non-sitting babies are tough to photograph! This little doll was not having the happiest day, so I managed to catch just a few images before we decided it was best to try another day. Her mama is my friend, so no doubt the opportunity will come again soon.
I am photographing two little sisters tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to this shoot and can't wait to see what their super-stylish mom comes up with for clothes. Since I'm completely surrounded by boys in my life, photographing girls is always a nice change. I'm sure I will have tons to post after tomorrow. Good night everyone! I'm turning in early tonight.

Website update

I'm pretty excited to announce that I finally have a website in the works! It will be stellar. I can't wait until it's done. I'm not really sure how long it will take for it to be up and running but I'm guessing about a month. In the meantime, I'm going to be shooting like crazy. As promised, here are a couple more from my shoot earlier this week. This family is so cool. I've known the couple since before they were married. I took photos of them while pregnant so shooting the whole family was particularly special for me. They relocated to the East Coast last summer and we truly miss them. I couldn't let this cute little family go home without a photo session! As you can see, it was a gorgeous warm and sunny day and this session made me go on a total color kick. You can see why. To all you moms out there...HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Treat yourselves to something special. My brother and his wife sent me flowers with the sweetest note. It said: Happy Mother's Day Wendy! A day of appreciation that is well deserved! Those two know how to make a mama feel loved. Hope you liked your photo book Allison.

Shooting RAW: The Sequel

Ok, wow. I've got tons of images to post and still more to proof. I can totally see how one would get backlogged when shooting 50-100 RAW files per day. I've had three shoots this week and can hardly keep up with all the proofing. Thank goodness for iPhoto, a sweet little program that allows me to view the RAW files right away. I can't say enough good things about iPhoto for viewing. Even for quick little fixes it does a great job. For more involved stuff though, Photoshop is key. I still can't figure out how to get the files to open in PS. iPhoto launches immediately on my computer and because I'm so impatient, I just let them download.
I promised to post photos with the new lens. A few of these were taken with it, but I have to say I'm a bit disappointed because it is very difficult to get ultra sharp photos with that lens. It's not very fast and unless there is a lot of light, I keep going back to my 50mm 1.4 lens. Super fast, super sharp. Especially for someone like me who has trouble keeping still. I read something about bracing your left elbow on your chest for more stability. Huh? My elbow doesn't come anywhere near my chest. I wonder if they meant hip, or stomach...Anyways. Here are some more images and more still to come. I've included a little teaser from one of the other shoots. Don't want to give up the goods all at once.

Shooting RAW

It's a sad fact that I've had my camera since October and had never ventured into shooting RAW. I finally decided to see what it's all about. My misgivings about shooting RAW had mostly to do with the dreaded post-processing workflow. I kept reading about the so-called workflow. I am a person who likes to avoid complexity of any kind so the idea of having to add so many steps before having a ready image kept me from venturing into RAW. HELLOOOOOO!!!! I will never shoot jpeg again. I can't believe the possibilities that open up with RAW files! It's a miracle. Having a camera that can shoot RAW and shooting jpeg is analogous to owning a car and just letting it sit in the driveway. But on to the good stuff. Here is a photo of a beautiful baby that I had the opportunity to photograph this weekend. She is a little doll and her mom is super cool. We had a great time and because of the afore mentioned workflow issues coupled with internet issues the last two days, I am only able to post one from the shoot. It happens to be my favorite one though. Told you she was cute!

Learning to walk uphill

That's what I feel like I'm doing these days. With starting a business, there is so much to learn and so many decisions to make. It's a challenge that I welcome right now. It's easy to cruise along in status quo mode, never deviating from the comfortable place. I have never liked the "comfortable place." I cruise it for a while and then I start getting antsy for something new. I see these traits in my son. He is constantly challenging himself to push further than his limits. I learn from him daily. Here is a picture of him learning to walk uphill (on grass, no less). Look at that huge smile, that face of delight. After they got to the top, he clapped his hands and wanted to go back down and do it again.

It's finally sunny!

Springtime in Oregon can be hard to get through. The rain tends to come down hardest in spring. Then it hails. But sometimes these gorgeous sunny days pop up and we get a little peek of summer, the most glorious season in Portland. But those of us who've lived in Portland for a long time know to be opportunistic. Just one of those days can recharge me long enough to withstand another stretch of wet days. Here are a couple of pictures from some sunny days this week. I'm still shooting with my 50mm. I ordered a new lens and I can't wait for it to come. Maybe tomorrow? It is a Nikon 55-200 zoom with their awesome VR technology. This basically eliminates the problem of camera shake when shooting at long focal lengths. It used to be almost impossible to shoot long lengths handheld. You needed a tripod to get really sharp photos. But this technology compensates for that. I will be posting many photos after I get that lens. For now, I have to be up close. As for post processing: none. Other than the watermark. These images are SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera). I love my Nikon!