Thursday, December 20, 2007

holiday reflections and sun bathing


It's that time of year again. Laziness, shiny things, and bright lights. Some days I don't pick up my camera, and my vision isn't so great. My dog sun bathing, a young girls face... sometimes it just takes a camera around my neck to find the beautiful things that I normally can't see.

I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, especially all of those happy little elves over at Asthmatic Kitty who recently chose a winner for the Sufjan Stevens Christmas Song Contest. I may not agree with your decision making, but I certainly respect your efforts to spread holiday cheer. God bless every ones of ya!



Monday, December 10, 2007

Bye Bye Fall, bye bye happiness...

Well, the leaves have all fallen. I really hate taking photos of the colors of autumn... it's such a postcard. But it never fails that once I let the opportunity pass me by, I feel a deep sense of regret. I love leaves splashed with color. So I tried to take a few snap shots this year for the sake of remembering. Ugh. Here are some scans and a photo taken just a day before every leaf on the tree was washed away in a rain storm.





In reference to my earlier post about the very talented Waynesboro photographer I met: This is the photo Joe sent me of himself, hehe. Not helpful, but surely disturbing. For the record Joe says that most people say he looks like Chris Elliot and that I am the first person to liken him to Paul Giamatti.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Sorry for the silence...

I'm sure my thousands of readers (or 1/1000th of a reader as it were) have wondered what I've been up to since quitting my job, driving cross-country in a honda civic, and realizing that the cold & dusty "Great West" is...boring.

Hi, I've missed me and I love me.

Ok, so I've returned to the beautiful state of Virginia. Randy, the dogs, and myself are quite happy to be reunited. Mom is staying with us, and that has been great. As Randy says, "She leaves a trail of cleanliness everywhere she goes. It's like having the best roommate imaginable." We love you Mom. (She might be the only person who reads this.)

I've had a few photographic challenges in the last month, and I thought I'd share them.

I somehow lost an hour worth of work on this blog posting, so now my sentences will be shorter and I'll be in a very bad mood.

Wedding. Beautiful & Happy Couple. Very little time to take the photos. I learned a lot.






Losing work for no apparent reason other than the fact that I accidentally deleted all of it is exactly why I don't blog. I prefer to phlog.

Next, Head shots. I thought I was ready to take head shots for a JMU senior we know... I was not ready. We will have a re-shoot next week. Anyway, Charlotte was a sport and helped me figure out that I need to work on directing models and putting them at ease during the shoot. Plus I need to study up on head shot photography and lighting. Charlotte made it into my previous post about contradictory elements, I love that photo of her. Here are a couple more.




Next... took some shots at a construction site for BRDS . Architectural photography should probably be left to the professionals but I'm cheap and so they hire me. Plus I try to find the details. Always a challenge, always makes me feel like a failure. Is that personal growth or just sick?




Kids. I love it but the challenges are obvious. These are a few of my favorites from a photo shoot with James & Emma. Notice Emma the little bull/devil child. ;-)





I met a great photographer out of Waynesboro this month. He shoots large format and has some really impressive stuff. And just because it tickles me silly to mention this... he looks an awful lot like Paul Giamatti. So unless Joe can prove otherwise... this is your man. (The below photo is of Paul not Joe, I am waiting for Joe to send me a photo so that we can do a side by side comparison.)



Not that you should go to my website, but I did finish My Family Photography.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

day 3 shall remain nameless

Wyoming, why are you so lonely?

Westward Expansion: day 2

Baker City, Oregon- Yes/No

Hells Canyon, Idaho- No

Boise, Idaho- Yes

The rest of Idaho- No

Utah- Absolutely Not

Salt Lake City- I'd have to say No because of the mormons.

The weather was beautiful today and parts of the drive across the Great West along the Oregon Trail and Hells Canyon (watch for falling boulders, drive at your own risk) were less boring than others. What a vast and barren country we live in. Find your loved ones, hold um tight, and thank God you live on the East Coast.... sorry West but it's just got to be this way. No hard feelings?

We did stumble upon some points of interest, well to me at least. See below.

Friday, September 28, 2007

day 1

the weather hates me, but i don't really mind oregon...

Mary, did you know?

A fall day in the Hill with Mary.




Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

my new favorite photographer: Nick Fancher

Visit this guys webiste: http://shutterthink.com/

I want to be his friend. He gave me some much needed inspiration this week via the fantastic photo magazine "jpg". Check out the site or the newstand for more details.(http://jpgmag.com/)

So below are some shots from the last couple of days.


kayaker
my new friend mary
scared kitty
friendly kitty
the sister
the sister's boyfriend- i love this photo
looking at pictures
looking at the sound through a bush
light test
good light

Saturday, September 22, 2007

just remember....

your life could be much worse.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

who is marty?



well marty is a dog. but who are we? who are you? can I (or anyone) capture you (or anyone else) in a photograph?






I don't know the answer to this question. I was just thinking outloud.