Posts Tagged ‘danville california lifestyle photographer’

I adore the time between the holidays and spring.  It’s the “slow season” for most photographers and for me it’s the time I get to spend more time with my family.  I’ve made it a goal this year to balance my business and personal life better so I’m starting here on my blog.

These are my two girls.  They both have the best. hair. ever.  I’d like to say bribery was not involved in this little session, but that would be a lie.  We did have to whip out the peanut butter jar for a few of these shots.  I love how they turned out.

Created by Nichole Van, I’m collaborating with a handful of talented photographers in a project to explore fine art every month.  What is “fine art photography”?  That’s been a subject of debate lately on the Bloom Forum as well as in our blog circle.  I’ve been contemplating this and doing a little research to find my own answers.  One thing that I’ve been thinking about is the idea that often fine art is something that evokes wonder in the viewer.  The piece might ask a question or cause you to take a second or third look.  I like the idea that two people could look at the same piece and come away with totally different thoughts or feelings about it.

With that in mind, here is my image for this month.

Join me in exploring the circle this month starting with Maureen Wilson | Mccomb Mississippi Photographer and continuing on until you find yourself right back  where you started.

One of my favorite things about “after Christmas” is taking down and putting away Christmas.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m just as enthusiastic to put it up the first of December.  But I just relish the feeling of “clean” and “orderly” and “clutter-free” when Christmas is packed away again for another year.  It helps me prepare for the new year and new goals and a fresh start.  And I find that when everything is packed away back into the garage, I get the itch to rearrange furniture and redecorate a little.  For me January is a month of new beginnings.

This past year, my goal has been to print and display more of my own art/images in my home.  I found that I spend the majority of my “work time” shooting, editing, and printing  clients’ work and , while I do spent lots of time shooting for myself, my own personal images are often left on my hard drive hoping to one day see the light of day. I wanted to print and display the pictures of my own kids so that they could enjoy them in our home.  I also wanted to offer ideas for clients who may be struggling with how to use the images from their own sessions in their homes.  Once I made that my goal, I was perplexed as to where and how to display them.  I scoured the internet and Pinterest looking for inspiration.  And while I found many ideas, it sparked a curiosity of how my friends have used and displayed photographs in their own homes.  And how many, like me, haven’t.

So, I’ve invited 32 of my fellow photographer friends to guest blog here every day during the month of January and share how they use and display their own photographs in their homes.  I hope you’ll come by and get ideas and inspiration from these talented women to use in your own homes!

Tomorrow I will kick off the project and the new year with Joyce Smith of Joyce Smith Photography!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas 2011

December 25, 2011

The past month has been spent getting ready for Christmas and spending time with family but I wanted to jump on and wish you all the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of holidays.  I am blessed to have a job that I adore, a family that supports and loves me and friends, both far and near, that make me smile.  I truly love this Christmas season and the opportunity to reflect on the gift of my Savior.  My heart is full.  Merry Christmas!

I know last month I said, “This project feels like Christmas morning every month when it rolls around.”.  But this month, it literally is almost Christmas morning! Even though Christmas has, yet again, snuck up on me this year, exposing the naked truth that I still have SO much to do in the next 13 days, I still feel the magic of this season.  It’s my favorite holiday because  there’s so much focus on joy, giving, family, and faith.  I love the lights and the tree and the beautiful music that can be heard everywhere you go.  I try sneak in moments when I’m alone to ponder the true meaning of Christmas and to reflect on what it might have been like on that Christmas Eve night so long ago.

So, for this month’s elevate project, I wanted to create something that would evoke some of those feelings associated with Christmas.  I’ve always wanted to play around with shaped bokeh so I used this project as a catalyst.  It’s really quite simple to create bokeh of any shape you wish.  All it takes are a few household items, your camera, lens, and a string of lights.  (It did also cost me a Lego set as bribery this month, but it was well worth it) If I were more organized I would include step-by-step instructions, but I’m not so here’s a link to the ones I used.

Please join me in visiting the amazing little circle of photographers who are exploring their own fine art projects this month, starting with Marianne Drenthe | Marmalade Photography  Chicago child and family photographer.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!