A Girl And Her Red Shoes

Sorry guys I’m ignoring you for a moment! Ladies, can you think back to the first time you saw a pair of red shoes that made your heart stop?! I can… I think I was like 4 and it was The Wizard Of Oz, what little girl didn’t want Dorothy’s shoes???????? It was love at first sight and I knew that forever more I would own red shoes that made my heart stop!

So imagine my delight when I cam out of my room to see my two year old in her underwear and long socks proudly prancing around my living room in my brand new red patent leather heels! Be still my heart! I had a slight moment of panic, the momtographer that I am, when I realized that it was 7:00 at night pitch dark outside and the only light in my house were the awful overhead lights that magically turned people into lobsters in my camera! But the panic passed and I grabbed my camera anyway. Now those of you who follow my blog with any regularity, what is that all two of you? Know that I don’t have fancy equipment, I have a borrowed Canon Rebel XT and a 50mm lens. My camera doesn’t exactly handle these types of lighting situations with beauty and precision! Now in the 2.2 seconds I spent contemplating this I realized I just might miss the picture perfect moment when she sat down on her daddy’s pile of vinyl with her purple hannah montana microphone laying still in the background. The scene couldn’t paint more perfectly the picture of mommy and daddy make baby, and I almost missed it! THANK GOODNESS I came to my senses fast and started snapping! They weren’t perfect straight out of the camera they definitely needed a little more TLC then I like but in the end it was so worth it! This is a theme I touch on often, so it must ring true for me, but remember that a great photograph is more then just nailing each technical element, you have to do that yes, but don’t forget the vision. You have to seize each moment , after all isn’t that the real power of photography anyway?

My life long music producer/vinyl collecting/rapping husband and shoe obsessed photo loving me come together to create this little ball of perfection! I don't think I could have staged this better if I tried!

Blast From The Past… Photography ROCKS!

Part of any journey is figuring out why you are on it. For any of you who haven’t read my very first post about why I got started in photography, when you have an extra minute check it out http://thesnapproject.wordpress.com/thesnapproject/. Also any of you who are friends with me on facebook may have already had a looksie at these, but for the rest of you I’ll continue!

I have always felt very disconnected from my past. Like there just wasn’t quite enough tangible documentation of it for me to have a real reference point. I have a few small things, a letter written by my grandmother, a few pictures and couple of my own vague memories, until yesterday that is! I got a wonderful surprise from my aunt (my mom’s sister) who sent me a whole disk of images from my childhood! I can’t describe how happy I was to see those chubby cheeks and spindly legs appear on the screen! Once again photography to the rescue. Looking at those very special photographs I was able to see myself in my sweet girls in a way I was never able to before and I felt so blessed. For me it was just another reminder of the immeasurable role of photography in my life. I have said for many years that if I could do things over again I would probably be some type of historian, then I got my camera and I realized I already am!

Have you taken a picture of something that matters lately? If not, get to it! Feel free to share I love seeing life through lens of others!

A Few Fun Facts:

*Me and my little sister seen below are EXACTLY the same age apart as my girls 16 months!

* My mom’s sister who sent me this c.d. was pregnant at EXACTLY the same time as my mom with her two boys (I am 6 days younger then her oldest and my sister is 1 day older then her youngest!)

*EVERY mom must have a bathtub picture or you’re out of the club! *wink*

Somewhere around 1983 Me and My sister approximately 2 and 3 years old

My Girls Almost the same age

Me and my mommy on my my 1st birthday!

Me and My girls age 1 and 2

I have a very similar picture from Luc's birthday this year see...

:)

And just a few goodies from the bunch!

Me and my sister and those almost identically aged cousins I told you about!

Don’t Forget To Snap!

In my ever evolving journey to take the “perfect” picture it’s easy to pass up/overlook/forget/etc. etc. etc. taking pictures of moments that matter even if they are really are just snapshots. I may have posted on this before I really don’t remember, but whether I have or haven’t doesn’t matter because I’m saying it again. Don’t forget the snapshots!!! I know I am guilty as are many of my photog friends, but at the end of the day I’m just a momtographer, trying to document as much of the beauty and laughter, happiness and sometimes sadness that make up my families history. So that when we are old and gray and some day pass away it will not all be lost with us. Isn’t that what photography, momtography, any of it’s really all about? Don’t forget to snap! Who cares if you the blow a few highlights or your focus is slightly off, some of the most memorable photographs in history  probably had something wrong if you looked closely enough, but the power in capturing and freezing a moment in time far outweighs a little motion blur don’t ya think!

lazy sunday

LS continues...

nope we still haven't gotten dressed LS continues

Daddy’s Hat and Baby Sunglasses = CLASSIC!

Happy Saturday Everyone! While daddy and Yoshe went to get cereal and milk for good ole’ family breakfast me and the Luc’ster stayed behind to lounge in our jammies just awhile longer. Lucky for me my camera was nearby because little miss Luca thought it would be fun to play dress up and being the generous gal that I am, I thought I’d share. So here is a little Saturday Morning Sweet Treat to start your weekend off right!

Daddy's Hat Never Looked So Cute!

Like This?!

OHHHHHHH... Like THIS!!!!

Happy Faces, Sad Faces, It’s All About Emotion

Ok so to all my readers who follow me regularly/semi-regularly you know that the point/angle of my blog is to take you along my journey with photography. Where I am at each step of the journey, my joys and frustrations etc. TRUTH: I have no idea what this post has to do with that! Except that because I ALWAYS have my camera charged up and at arms length I was able to catch these utterly sad and oh so funny moments of my girls that I want to share with you!

So it might be a bit of a stretch, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my camera. It brings me so much joy. When I see images like these pop up on my screen my heart jumps and I know again and again why I put so much time and energy into this hobby! 

Do me a favor friends, go pick up a camera ANY camera in any mode and take a picture of something anything that makes you smile EVERYTIME you look at it! Feel free to post them here in the comments, I wold LOVE to see what makes you smile. Here’s mine:

 

The Calm Before The Storm

 

The Storm

 

The Storm Continues

Insert Fingers All Better (well kinda)

 

Ok really all better now

Many Faces Of The Yoshebug

The best part of photographing people is taking a picture that truly captures the essence of who they are. I don’t think that it is something that happens with every click of the shutter but when it does it’s magical. For me with my oldest daughter I often feel that she has so many sides to her that capturing “her” in just one frame truly is the impossible. She is loving and kind and calm and contemplative one minute and goofy and loud and playful the next. She can go from serious to silly faster then anyone, child or adult I have ever met! Seriously she is one for the record books. 

Just before heading off to Connecticut for some beach fun she gave me a rare few moments in front of my camera where she let them all shine through! Meet the many faces of my Chloë Yoshe aka ” The Yoshebug”…

Hello Friends! (If I still have any that is)

There is nothing worse then abandoning friends in their time of need, so if any of you needed me I am so sorry! Chances are though that my little bloggity blog blog probably wasn’t missed much (well by anyone other then me that is)… ha! But regardless I’m glad to be back! 

My time of absence started because of some major technical difficulties, most of which are still not resolved but I’ve rigged me a system to (temporarily at least) bridge the gap until a new computer comes a knocking. It was exacerbated however, by some frustrations, discoveries, learning curves and some new ventures. I can’t say that all is always well, but one thing I learned in the last few months is that adversity REALLY is the mother of invention and catalyst of creativity. And don’t ever discount the power of art as therapy!

OK ENOUGH pyscho babble, let’s get back on track here! You might notice a stark contrast in my upcoming pictures from the pre-hiatus ones. Two things can account for this:

1. I’m doing some experimenting shooting outside my comfort zone often times in situations I know are beyond the capabilities of my current equipment portfolio. I’m doing this to push myself and hopefully develop my creative eye. Technically they may be more flawed then some of past work but I hope that I can start to see creatively in a wider scope. I encourage you if you have ever found yourself saying “I would like to shoot (fill in the blank) if only I had (fill in the blank) or (fill in the blank).” just do it anyway. Give it a shot. See what you get. You might love it. You might not, BUT at least you’ve started down the path! 

*For the longest time I refused to shoot anything if it required me to bump my iso past 400 on my little rebel, why? Because I couldn’t take the grain!!!!!!!! It made me feel like a subpar photographer. But you know what I was missing out on so many opportunities to take great pictures. So if need be I pump that baby up as high as it will go. Yes I still HATE the grain and DROOL incessantly over the 5D MarkII, but I am taking the pictures anyway!

2. My poor poor poor dying computer! It’s holding on for dear life but really is just a shadow of it’s former self! For that reason running photoshop with any efficiency is next to impossible. What that means is very little is being done to my photos short of converting from raw and minor adjustments in lightroom. I have to say I was beyond scared to post the first batch to my facebook profile feeling a good reaming coming on, but not the case at all. I now feel quite liberated knowing that I have come full circle in my love for my pictures. I love the ones I have photoshopped to the hilt equally to the ones I resize and sharpen for web. It’s like going out without your makeup ladies, it doesn’t make you any less beautiful it just shows another side. And all sides have a place.

My biggest frustration of the moment I know have to spend the money that should have went to my shiny new camera on a new computer instead! BOO! HOO! The upside is that computer=blog so

Here’s a few shots from my hiatus… Enjoy!

A Girl Without Her Pictures :(

If anyone out there is still reading my poor abandoned blog “hi”. I haven’t jumped ship but my poor computer has. Due to a little accident a few months ago it is dying a slow death. Unfortunately it’s condition has deteriorated to the point where all my picture programs are no longer accessible. It’s very sad for me as I have so much I want to share! 

Don’t fret I am continuing to take pictures and I will share them soon as I am back up and running! Until then stay tuned and get inspired!

 

LOVE…

Giving Back…

Recently I have gotten a some comments about how quickly I am getting better. It is flattering and encouraging and greatly appreciated! I do however want to clear up one little thing… it’s not all that quickly.

I have been diligently practicing, reading, practicing, scouring the internet, practicing etc. etc. etc. for the last two years plus. While I haven’t had any formal training in that time (mostly due to lack of cashola…you know that damn starving artist thing) I have put myself through every free method of training out there! I only point this out because I don’t want anyone out there to get discouraged when things take longer then they think it should. Recently some things have started to finally click in my brain and therefore in my work, but it is literally two years of work just finally catching up to me! Believe me I still have quite a ways to go on this journey, but in recognition of my progress over the past couple of years I thought I would share some things I’ve learned, some helpful links as well as some recent stuff.

Enjoy!

Things I’ve Learned (the thoughtful stuff first):

• Love LOVE Love what you do or give it break and do something you love
• Patience is important on any journey without it you can’t fully appreciate the scope of where you are going
• Just because you aren’t where you want to be doesn’t mean you should give up
• Find inspiration wherever you can but never try to be someone else you’ll never be as good at it as they are
• If you love what’s in front of your lens it will shine through every time
• Be open minded about your art because just when you get up on your soap box and declare who you are and what you will and won’t do your platform changes and you fall on your face. We all evolve so will your art

Ok and the more practical stuff:

• If you really want to be in control of your photographs learn to shoot manual… period
• Learning to read your histograms will change the consistency at which you get properly exposed photographs
• While not the most mouth watering read you’ll ever have read your camera manual cover to cover
• Shooting wide open before understanding focal plane completely and thoroughly will render out of focus pictures every time, you’ll be pissed off and frustrated, do yourself a favor stop down learn slowly and don’t run before you walk
• Everyone wants to buck the rules in the name of art, but learn the rules first, seriously how can you break something you don’t know is there
• Don’t be scared of a high ISO do what you need to do to learn how to properly expose your photographs. Noise sucks but underexposed photos suck worse
• Your shutter speed should be at least double your focal length for moving subjects this will help tremendously with camera shake and motion blur
• If you are serious about this invest in at least one really good lens, it makes a difference it really really does

Things I have found either tremendously useful or inspirational

• Flickr http://www.flickr.com/
• ILP http://ilovephotography.com/forums/
• Shutter Sister http://shuttersisters.com/home/
• Enlighten Me http://enlightenmeblog.com/
• Cambridge Color Tutorials http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/histograms1.htm
• PPA http://www.ppa.com/

There are definitely tons more but I can’t give it all up in one post. My journey is still just beginning, and I am well aware of the things I still need to learn as well as how far I’ve come. I look forward to seeing where my photography will be in both skill and art in another two years. Here are some my favorite shots as of recently. Thanks for sharing in this journey with me.

 

This photo goes right to the essence of who my little Luca is

 

OK the funny thing is everyone thinks she is crying... nope

 

 

This is classic Yoshe being Yoshe while Luc' watches in amazement of her big sister

 

Who they are always seems to shine through

I think this is one of my favorite newborn shots I've taken to date

I've known him since he was 2! This is a quick snap, I can't wait to shoot him "for real"

 

“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.” – Sir Winston Churchill

Coming Out Of Hiding

Sorry peeps for taking so long to get back to blogitty blog blogging. This blog really comes from my heart so when things are a little off I like to wait and get right so that my words come from a good place! Besides it gives me time to roll up my sleeves and put in some work so that I can say something worth reading!

I have had the opportunity to take a TON of pictures since I last posted some I love and some not so much, all part of the learning curve I suppose. In my time away I have also been struggling with this strange place that I am in with my development. I hope I can explain this right please try and stay with me  

There is this place that you come to on this journey where you see your photography transforming from snapshots to good snapshots from good snapshots to ok portraits and you slowly start becoming better then your average camera owner but if your honest with yourself probably not where you want to be to consider yourself a professional. Now by professional I don’t necessarily mean you have to be in business but you have a standard for your work that easily sets you apart from the pac. It’s a bit of a tough place to be and here’s why. You are good enough to inevitably start getting the pats on the back and compliments from your friends, some deserved and well some not so much. The comments start rolling in about opening a business charging money etc. etc. etc. It’s tempting to dive head first into the good feelings that come along with this puff your chest a little and let yourself be that person that THEY THINK you are. It really is. Then of course you hear that nagging little inner artist reminding you of the standards you have set for yourself and how far you still have to go to get there. It’s a real tug of war this place. It’s rough to keep an objective view of where you are exactly in your development it’s easy to either believe the hype and jump in head first before you are ready. Or to left of that over compensate and not give yourself enough credit. All I can say is ARRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH! That and thank god that if you really want to be great at this thing called photography, the photographic community is huge and full of awesome people ready to lend you their eyes, opinions, expertise and advice!

In my absence that is where I have been. Struggling to stay true to me. I have a vision I know who I want to be. I know I am on my way. I also know that I am not there. I love photography. I love taking pictures. I love the artistic side and the technical side. I love it all. My husband called me a photo geek the other day when I was trying to explain something to him about ISO. I just sighed and said I can’t wait until I actually deserve that title. 

The best thing to come out of me the last few weeks was a series of shots I got of my daughters laughing and playing together on my bed. When I look at these pictures I am truly reminded why I pick up my camera. This is the magic I strive to capture with every click of my shutter.

 

A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.  ~Ansel Adams