Phish With Mom

I went to see Phish, for the first time in seven years last Friday. We had a first timer with us, and my niece wanted to go too.  Her first show was in the womb, her second was when she was five.  It was a lot of fun.

Of course, the new found realization that the phone in my camera isn't half bad, lead to me exercising my photography muscles during the show.  I am really thrilled with what came out.

Phish With Mom

Judgement Day

This year, not only did I have the good fortune of my birthday, May 21st, falling on a Saturday it was also apparently Judgment Day. I made several good hearted jokes about it on my Facebook page, which ended with the scenario of me inviting Jesus over to my place for cake and ice cream (Rocky Road ~ get it?) so I could plead my case.

I am still, here, along with many others, and in the last few moments of the day, I was presented with the opportunity to take some art photos, with my camera phone. A series I have aptly titled, Judgment Day.

Judgment Day

It Takes Time

I helped set up a couple of businesses in my early thirties. I learned a lot about business and myself. I remember the first big lesson that came my way: It takes time.

I had no idea how long it took to properly establish a business. In my situation it's quite humorous. A photographer without a camera isn't much use to anyone.

It is half way through February of a new year and I finally have some financial backing. I'll be replacing the body of my Minolta, and now that I know how to control the flash on the more economical digital cameras, I'll be purchasing my own.

I'm so excited.

Did I mention, I'm going to be photographing a wedding in August? I know and love the couple (they were so precious when they asked because they knew I had a "thing" about shooting weddings ;), so I'm going to go for it.

Unfortunately, I hit a creative funk when I went back to work. Between not feeling like going through the hassle to borrow a camera and adjusting to a more stressful work environment, I have not taken any more photos. My niece is very busy, so that hasn't happened yet and things were awkward with the family I was going to photograph in the fall. Drama, drama...

Onward and upward...

Well, my lenses don't fit the camera my friend gave me, so I gave the camera to my sister, as well as three rolls of film to get her started.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to photographing another family as soon as the leaves get a little more colorful. So excited! And, no, I have not photographed my niece yet. She has been unable to find time in her amazingly, wonderful, busy schedule for Auntie's camera ;~D

Minolta Angel

Thanks to a good friend and fellow photographer, I have another camera. She had an old Minolta that she wasn't using and gave it to me.

I guess complaining about your troubles isn't always a bad thing ;~D

(And, no, I still haven't taken photos of my niece ~ lol!)

Moving Along

Photographing my beautiful niece and her boyfriend this week. I haven't met him yet. Going back to the Botanical Gardens. It's cooled off a bit, but we'll be out there in the early afternoon due to everyone's schedules.

Still using the Kodak EasyShare. This is going to be fun :)

The Learning Curve

I was finally able to reschedule photographing our family friend and her daughter, my niece's best friend. Wow! Talk about learning experiences. I learned that I can do this, but I need to let go and let the situation unfold. And if part of that situation is dealing with a child that does not want to cooperate, I better be on my game so I can grab those winning shots when I can.

It was extremely hot and muggy. I agreed to allowing my niece to come along. Our young lady seemed more comfortable with the whole idea if she tagged along.



And that is lesson number two: Family only. Bringing along little friends takes away from the family dynamic.

Essentially the whole process involved me trying to calm two little girls down, then trying to get the mother and daughter to walk together. The young lady was not having it. She was going to tell me what to photograph and did not want to have any part in our special adventure. Boy, it sure is good that I've made my living, most of my adult life, dealing with difficult people.




Once again, using an unfamiliar camera, I was uncertain of the quality of the photos I was taking. Just because you can see it immediately doesn't mean you can really see it. It's not until it's up on the computer monitor that they really begin to come to life.

These photos took me completely by surprise. I was so disappointed looking at them on that little screen. There were many, many, many false starts, but the final product is quite nice. I am always surprised at how things turn out.

Since our young lady did not want to cooperate much, mom and I had a great time taking shots. Doesn't she look great?! She was such a good sport to help me deal with my learning curve :)