Travelin' About

Warm weather and sunshine showed up this week after a month of rain, and it brought with it some beauties! I'm fortunate. My husband loves to garden and plant me some wild varieties of flowers and they are all so pretty and exciting after the winter we just had. On top of flowers, nature is popping: And we're getting outside more: And we're finding a larger variety of thing to photograph: My 2.5 year old nephew is FAST! Most of all, though, is that it's a fabulous time of year to get out and make pictures. Weekend time is here.  Happy shooting!

As I mentioned last week, I purchased an Orbis Ring Flash in an effort to get more dramatic portraits and also discovered that it's an excellent tool for lighting macro photography as well. My friend Amy was a willing subject this week.  She allowed me to experiment with my new flash modifier.  An artist, Amy invited me into her studio and I set up my Nikon SB 800 on a stand and shot it through a white umbrella as my main light. Then I played with the ring flash, holding it up on my left and putting it around the lens, so I could see what the results would be like. Her dog played a willing subject as well. Amy is an amazing jewelry designer and I enjoyed trying to capture some of her designs. I like the dramatic look on Amy in the photo below. Think I'm going to really enjoy the Ring Flash. Happy Easter, friends.  Have a great weekend shooting!

" Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.”        - George Eastman Photography itself means writing with light, and those of us consumed by photography are hell bent on an endless quest of finding or creating the perfect light. In that quest, I wake up at ungodly early morning hours to find the magic light for a landscape and I try and study the Masters for how to utilize flashes and modifiers to create a beautiful light when the ambient alone isn't enoug h.  Went to Photo NorthEast Convention two weeks ago and got inspired by several good speakers  - all whom made me painfully aware that I need to market, set firm prices despite "friendships", and get a better handle on how to light my subject.  Got up early on a bitter cold Sunday morning to go out on a sunrise shoot. It being the last weekend of March, the world was still ...

While decorating for my oldest daughter's baby shower recently, my younger daughter asked me "did you bring a camera?" REALLY? Do I ever go anywhere without a camera? At any rate, I never get to socialize as much as I'd like to, but I do get to collect memories of the fun events we have in life. I had a WONDERFUL time at the baby shower (except for looking at some of the photos that included me) - we were so blessed to have so many people pitch in and help - my sisters and my Mom made the delicious and beautiful cookies that we gave out as a "Thanks for coming" gift. My daughter Kiryn spent a day with me making some magical owls and birds as decorations.  All of the guests decorated some onesies I purchased, and they all did a BEAUTIFUL job.  But, best of all was the fabulous cake made by Nova's dear friend Meg Murphy Grabar that not only looked wonderful, but was the best tasting cake ever!!!! And she made matching cupcakes to help us celebrate a coup...