Focus on the Positive...but Develop from the Negatives

Well, now that everyone in the family has received their annual photo calendar, I can post this, as I didn't want to ruin the surprise (hey, there is always the chance I won't give them! Haha). When I was spiral binding and hole punching the last two calendars Monday night, it hit me how cool it was that I was not only creating calendars with (mostly) photos I took the past year, but now also printing and assembling them, doing the whole process myself, for the second year in a row.  I have designed photo calendars through online sites for almost ten years, as well as created scrapbook-style ones. I have also organized non-personalized store-bought ones, where the photos are inserted in a frame or just glued on. However, long before that, during the fifth grade, our class handmade calendars for a Christmas project. Each year after, I continued to make one for myself, drawing a seasonal picture each month. I think most scenic photographers have fantasized about traveling

I just wanted to share a wonderful gift I have already received this Christmas season, the wonderful comments several participants and their families have told me in regards to the photos I shot at an alumni football game at the high school I attended. I recently received a few private messages that meant so much to me: "Just wanted to tell you the pics were awesome...you ladies that take the pics have a different perspect ive....but you freeze those moments in time for us. Thank you so very much." "I don't know you but I just wanted to say thank you for the amazing pictures of the game!! You really captured some amazing moments!! Priceless!!!" Wow, taking the time to send me such positive feedback is also priceless! It is an accomplished feeling as a photographer to feel that you took some good shots, but it is AMAZING when you continually receive such appreciation for your effort a month after the shoot! Thank you to EVERYONE who inspired m

Yesterday, when I got to work, my boss said the first project for me was networking the new PC he got for rendering with the current video editing PC (they were going to have a separate connection by cable for faster speed). This comes after last week when the Photoshop computer crashed, and I took it apart to get the operating system hard drive out, opened up the backup computer, hooked up the drive as the secondary drive, and was able to retrieve all the data! Then after swapping all the drives back and reloading the computer that crashed, I had to re-network it with all the other PCs. So, yesterday I laughed, "Good thing the Network IT Specialist came in today!"   This poor computer is not even the one who crashed, but the one who provided life support to the other's hard drives! I used to always go back & forth trying to decide if I was artsy like graphics and pictures or if I was technical, more into coding. I wrote several blogs about i

I am no expert, but I have always tried to help friends and family with their photography and Photoshop questions or issues whenever I am able. Over the past year or so, other photographers, some acquaintances I barely knew, have started -- often randomly -- asking me the settings I took a particular shot with that they would like to try to take themselves, or they want my honest opinion on a photograph or artwork of theirs. I cannot put into words how this makes me feel. I am utterly amazed that newer photographers and beginner image editors want my advice or seek my assistance, as though I am a longtime professional! Thank you, thank you all, for the ultimate boost in confidence. You have given me inspiration in which you will never know the true extent and value of. I only hope I have lived up to your photographic and artist expectations and provided enough support in return. I never mean to act like a know-it-all just because I have been shooting pictures and digi

People often ask what I like to take pictures of. My initial reaction is to say everything, but how could anybody really like to shoot EVERY thing? But, if I start listing things, I always forget something important. Well, I don't think I have ever come across a subject I absolutely DID NOT like or would refuse to EVER shoot again.   I will find a photograph to snap anywhere of anything at anytime. That's just my creative eye. Plus, I am always willing to branch out and try a new challenge when presented with the opportunity. So, I guess I could answer with, I WILL shoot ANY thing...

In our society, we so often define success as wealth and popularity. Societal norms say we need a degree from a fancy university, followed by a prestigious, six-figure salary career; a perfect marriage with well-behaved children; and expensive tangible items, like a big house and fancy car. If you fall short, you are not allowed to feel settled and are expected to be unhappy. What is "success" really?" Are these things an adequate definition? What good is a career if you hate going to the job every day?   Oh, but, your title sounds so important and official. Is a relationship really ideal if you are only together for convenience? Well, you miss out on things if you are single, and it's just plain lonely. Did you really want the most expensive car? Of course, it evokes jealously and serves as a status symbol. Now, I have to ask, isn't it also successful to have a job you enjoy and are very skilled at, even if it's not the best pay

Today, I stumbled upon a statement of great advice from a psychologist's website:  "We benefit from slowing down to fully enjoy the possibilities of the moment. The anxiety of tomorrow can wait. The rumination of yesterday can be left alone. Today can be embraced." I always tend to relate these types of quotes directly to photos & art. My love of photography helps me embrace each day, event, and occasion, while my creative eye always allows me to see the possibility of the moment. Even when I am not looking to or am in a rush, I cannot help but see the art. What helps you live for today? Carpe diem, my friends!

I have this way of framing the world I can’t always turn off, even when I want to. As I am going about my day, driving along or visiting different places, I see compositions of patterns, symmetry, lines, and shapes. I notice reflections, angles, curves, light, and shadows. I don’t just see things as an individual object, but I observe the way in which things connect together. I find symbolism and irony in many views. Even when I do not have a camera, I find myself looking at landscapes and objects this way.   I frame the picture with my eyes and see how it would look in my mind as though I snapped the shot. Sometimes it works out the way I envisioned; other times I can’t quite capture the scene in the way I hoped to convey. I have thought recently about how I see the world around me, and that’s the best way I can think to describe it. You might agree with how I really do “see” things, or maybe I just have a unique way of interpreting scenes that others don’t understand. Either way

Last night on my way home from work, for the second time in two weeks, I missed getting an awesome shot of the rainbow over the highway in my driver's side mirror. Maybe the road curving before I could snap a shot is as symbolic as I wanted the image to be:  I should not be looking in my rearview mirror chasing rainbows behind me; I should be driving full spread ahead into the clearing of the rain and the sun peaking through the clouds. After all, there were plenty of picturesque sights in front of me, too, like how the rain hitting the pavement created steam around the cars from the change in temperature.  Sure, one of the widest rainbows I have ever seen was no longer visible behind me as I traveled onward, but the road ahead was looking clearer. No, I did not turn around to take a picture of that huge rainbow. I continued home into the brightness. I guess I have taken enough pictures of rainbows over the years!

I just saw an article about Andy Warhol on Facebook. Pop art was one of my favorites since art class with Mrs. Jones in junior high. My large 3-D papier - mâché project was a Crayola crayon box.  As I posted on Facebook if anyone else remembered theirs, I thought about why I did a crayon box. I remember after I wished I did something "cooler."  Then it hit me, maybe the crayon box was more fitting than I knew at the time. A metaphysical piece of art, a piece of art representing an art tool.  It's just another funny hindsight thought of how I should have known I was an artist even back then. I should keep a list of those.  I have no idea how I even decided on making a box of crayons for that project, but I remember commenting how I always received my best grades on all of the three dimensional projects. Another memory just hit me: I remember being conservative with the paint, only mixing a little cup up of my golden yellow and green. The teacher suggested I m

Wow, there is a mobile blogger app? I figured I would test out a post with it. This could be a dangerous thing for me! Easily blogging thoughts as they unfold? I am still new to the world of smartphones, as I have only had my first one a few months. The apps still amaze me. I have a DSLR yet still find myself taking pictures with my phone. I love to be able to share them on Facebook right away or to text to a friend. The smartphone serves it purpose since it is always right there with you to capture that memory. I love the radial motion blur effect caused by the steering wheel turning just as the picture was taken. I couldn't have Photoshopped it any better!