MeRa Koh SOAR! scholarship entry

I did it again... I applied for MeRa Koh's SOAR photography scholarship. I figure I really don't have much of a shot at getting it... but if I didn't apply, I REALLY wouldn't have a shot, right dad? You can click on the SOAR site here & see my last-minute video (and of course you can leave a comment on it if you feel so inclined!). I hope there aren't many more applications that got submitted - right now there are only 116 entries, which gives me almost a 1 in 35 shot!
There are some amazing women out there applying & the camaraderie & cheering-everyone-along of the women is pretty incredible. The group of ladies that attended the workshop in May - well, they are awesome. We still keep in touch & are always rooting for each other with our photography & life in general. If you can... save your pennies & go to one of these workshops. It will do amazing things for your photography & your confidence & your vision & you will build a network of awesome loving sisters who love photography as much as you do.
The video is half of the application, the other half was written. It had to be between 90-120 seconds... which is hard! If it seems choppy, it's because it is! I had to go through & erase all my "ummmm"s & pauses to shave seconds off.

So sweet

My daughter's birth mother got married yesterday. I love this image I captured of the two of them. It looks better pre-blogger. Oh well.

6 Star Filter

We went to see the Christmas lights tonight and I brought my new 6 star filter to play with. I think this one turned out kind of cool.

Pregnancy Photos

Check out these photos to know what to avoid in taking pregnancy shots.

Getting Ready for Christmas

I just Love all the decorations this time of year!!!!

emailing you the posts

Hey! I just set it up so that you will get an email in your inbox when someone posts.  I know this will help me know when to check for new posts.  Anyone not want to be emailed?  Let me know and I'll take you off.


And since this is a photography blog, here's a picture.

N. Topsail Beach - the Monday before Thanksgiving. It was so nice.

personality.

Catching personalities on film is one of my biggest goals as a photographer... What better way to freeze in time the way your kids (or your clients' kids) are now?! I feel the best time for this is in the in-between moments, when they think you're just checking your camera settings...
I love this picture because of the Littlest One's face - she is totally not going to laugh, even if the big kids do! I also like how you can see the motion in Big Sister since she is throwing her head back laughing & made herself slightly blurry. And can't you just almost hear Brother's big belly laugh? Don't you wonder what is so funny?? So - no, it's not a "perfect" all-3-kids-smiling picture, but heck, I like these better anyway! More interesting. More personality.

SmugMug

Hey, do you all know about SmugMug? I love it for sharing photos. Totally worth the price. I have never ordered prints from them, but it's possible as well. My girls were both adopted so it is really nice to take a bunch of photos and send a link to their birth families. Here are the photos I took of my baby today. They probably need more editing. Click on photo to see the whole album.

Maybe I am too eager on this site. Let me know if I start to post too much :).

Helen

Hi new friends! I have only recently become interested in photography. Last year I injured my shoulder and after surgery couldn't play sports for 6 months, so I decided it was time to learn a bit more what my camera could do. We have a canon rebel xsi that had never been taken off of the automatic setting. I had no idea what all the buttons were. So, I started by reading my users manual and experimenting with shooting in manual. Then, I read the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. It was such a great help for someone new to photography! Then, I paid a little money for a one day workshop held by a friend of mine, Mandi Nuttall. I knew she would be nice to me even though I was totally green. After the workshop, I invested in my only nice lens, a 1.4 50 mm. I love it! I hope to add a nice zoom lens and a wide angle to my collection sometime. Any recommendations?

My passion is children's photography, especially of my own. But, I am most proud of this photo that I took of my niece, Ruby. I wish I had edited it, but I had my friend Mandi do it. She added more grass in front and did some sort of faded action. I love it! I work in Photoshop Elements, and I shoot in RAW. I do very limited editing, and when I have a nice photo worth printing, I just pay Mandi to do it for me.

Thanks for letting me join the club! I am excited to learn from you!

Oh, and my favorite photography blogs to stalk are Peekaboo Photos, Heather Gibb Photography, Nuttall Photography, and Meredith Carlson Photography. Mandi and Meredith are friends of mine and I think Katie and Heather just rock at photography.

welcome new friends!

I just invited two more people to join us here.  They are in our facebook group too.  My friend Karen - who lives in Virginia and is just starting up a photog business.  And my cousin Helen - who lives in Utah.  It's her daughters that I posted last.

I'll let them do an introduction post when they accept their invites!

Karen and Helen - go HERE to read the intro questions.  You can also read all of our intros HERE.

PS - Shayna! What have you been doing the last two months?  We need your intro too.  Just go put that 2 month old down and get on it! ;)

AND - do you guys want to get an email when someone posts here? It will go straight to your inbox so you know when there is something new to see?  I think we can also have comments emailed too.  Just wondering what your thoughts are on that...

fall images and then some

I'm afraid I missed the best leaf taking days.  I always saw some gorgeous trees and thought to go back, but never made it.  Here are a couple from the tree in my backyard.  (That is now totally naked!)

and these aren't fall related, except that I took them of Maggie last month on the day of her 6 month checkup...

this one I edited (can you tell? j/k, I hope you can!)

and you know what I've decided I really like doing?  Taking pictures of stuff.

There you go Haylee.  It's your fault I overloaded you all with pictures now!  Just kidding, I know I've been negligent.  :)

fall light

I'm a little slow to post my favorite fall images... but I just shot this sweet family {that you might recognize} & I was loving the light.

afternoon fall light & all the warm colors.... mmmmmmm!
happy fall... is tomorrow really december?!?

you can see more on my photog blog here

inspiration

i just found this group on flickr - do you guys use it at all?  Well, this is a newborn photography group and there are some priceless images on there.

Exploring Sea Life

I went to the aquarium the other day with the kids and got a few good shots. What adventures have you been on lately? Share some of your favorite photos from a recent adventure.

can cute pictures of kids count?

I had to share these images with you.  You can see the whole post here.

Granted, they are my cousin's kids, and they are gorgeous, but I loved the lighting and how clear and sharp these pictures are!  And there's some fall colors in them.  Does that count for anything?

Oooo... Spooooky!

Okay, I know these are more "Halloween" than "Fall"... but seriously. A pumpkin patch, in a really really old graveyard. Who could pass that up?? I don't know how the "residents" feel about pumkins for sale in their final resting places, but I for one was facinated.

(New Bern)

Autumn Leaves

I decided to take Hannah on a filed trip in search of Fall pictures. I was disappointed with the first several I took. This is the last shot from our little trip.

It's too quiet....how about post your favorite pictures of fall

I'm the other Kristen

1. I shoot people with a:

• Nikon D90. I had a D50 forever but just got my D90 in May - an early birthday present (it's in June). I loved my D50... I superLOVE my D90.

2. My favorite lens:

• my Nikor 50mm f/1.4 is my most favorite lens! I can get sweet portraits with super-blurry background... which I love.

• ok... but I can't stick with just one favorite anything. my next favorite (& current fave, because it's new) is my Nikor 24-70mm f/2.8. It's such a good all-around lens & I love that it can open all the way to f2.8 - blury background (or bokeh) is my favorite. I've been drooling over this lens for a year+ & finally decided I deserved/needed/couldn't live without it any longer & got it in June (happy birthday! I'm expensive).
  

3. classes you've taken/how long you've been actively pursuing photography

• I've been actively pursuing this passion for about 3 years. I'd always loved taking pictures, but finally started taking it seriously/trying to figure my camera out & figure out HOW to get the shots I love since my kids have come along.
  
• When my oldest (Chase) was born in Dec 2006, my hubs (Aaron) bought me Me Ra Koh's 2 instructional DVDs beyond the green box & refuse to say cheese. I loved them! I learned a ton & highly recommend them. She has a way of explaining camera stuff so that it actually makes sense.
• I took a couple (semi-sub-par) online courses back in NY a year or two ago (photoshop CS3 & secrets of better photography both by Betty Shulz) & learned a few things. I didn't really love the secrets of better photography, but I did learn from it. I would recommend the photo-editing classes; there are a billion to chose from & I learned A LOT. (Especially since PS CS3 was way over my head when I got it - still probably is, but that class taught me more than I'd ever been able to figure out on my own, that's for sure - I couldn't even figure out how to OPEN a picture to START editing when I first got CS3.)
  
• I have been reading/drooling over Me Ra Koh's photography & blog for a couple years & for Christmas, Aaron bought me a spot at her Confidence Workshop in NYC this past May. IT WAS AMAZING & I learned sooooo much. I would go again hands-down, no questions asked in a second if I could - it was that good. I finally understand metering & can proudly say that since May 28 I have been "all manual, all the time" & I'll never go back to anything else. Worth every penny (early bird registration is $200 off, so save your pennies & go - you won't regret it, I PROMISE).
  

4. thoughts on photo editing (Software/programs you use)

• Photoshop CS3 as I already mentioned... but I don't use it very much now that I got.... (dun, dun, dun... wait for it:)
• ADOBE LIGHTROOM 3. girls. this program is my favorite. I can edit so much faster & it is fabulous. Unfortunately, Aaron got my LR2 a matter of weeks before LR3 was released.... but fortunately I have a friend at adobe who hooked me up with LR3. (and fortunately for you that means I have LR2 for sale if anyone wants it for a steal at $90.) It is an awesome program. I need to take a class to learn a bit more on it, I'm sure there's more to learn, but I've figured out tons on my own & love it mucho.
  

5. a favorite image I've captured:

• @ the erie county fair, taken last summer. this was our first time at the fair & the boys were in a trance the whole time, captured by the lights, the sounds, the smells, the rides... all things that are the fair. I absolutely love this image - it's not staged at all, I just happened to catch the hubs' hands holding tickets that he had just bought for Chase to use on rides. I love his little expression of awe & wonder. and I love the colors. it had been raining just before this & so the color was so rich & vibrant because of the perfect lighting.

6. What would I like to learn how to do better?

• oh, there is so much. Mostly, I want to figure out how to turn this into a business for myself. I eventually want to do weddings & big events... as well as portraits, babies, families, seniors, etc... but I feel like there is SO much to learn before I can jump into weddings. My favorite thing to capture is the intimate connections. the Relationships. the Feelings. the Emotion. I feel like I can do this... and my favorite thing about photography is being able to freeze those amazing connections between people & go back & give that to the client & have them be happy with the images. Now I need a way to turn this into a business so that I can touch more people with my work & balance my time shooting/editing/etc & also be able to support this expensive PASSION that is photography. (There is always another camera body to want, more lenses to crave/need?, etc...)
  
• I'd like to learn how to do off camera flash stuff, I think the images come out so dramatic.... & who doesn't love drama?
• For now I'm focusing on manual & trying to keep my images less "noisy" & trying to get my exposures right with my camera, not my editing software.
• oh, and I totally need help with POSING people - especially large families. I just hate when everyone is like "uh, duh, where should we stand?" & I'm like "oh, duh. I don't know. just act natural?" I feel like a blubbering fool when I'm trying to pose people & still have them look un-posed/relaxed. (See? Not ready for weddings.)

7. My favorite photography blogs:

• me ra koh - my super mentor. she has tons of tips on her blog & just wants women to succeed at photog!
  
• brooke snow- I'd love to do her workshop...
• jonathan canlas-I like his style & totally wish he did my wedding.
  
• jennie slade - because she's my BF from BYU & a dang good photog.
• I also like allison c, ali brown, just found & love kelly moore & dustin dodd...
  
• and for what to buy next: kenneth rockwell - he is like the all-knowing-Nikonman. I TOTALLY recommend his site for researching new bodies/lenses/flashes, etc. So much information & so unbiased (he's not paid by Nikon, he just likes camera stuff & likes to review stuff).
• and for buying equipment: amazon or adorama. (and if you link through ken rockwell's page he gets a little money, so that's nice for him.) adorama even BUYS old gear from you! love that.
  

The World as Haylee see's it......

Are you sure you want to invite me to this? Prepare to be amazed by the lack of my knowledge and skill pertaining to photography.

1. Your weapon, I mean, camera of choice.
I'm such a cheapskate so I bought the Nikon D70 used from Lejeune yardsales. I have been wanting a Nikon for a LONG time now. My husband hasn't been as on board about me spending the money as I wanted him to be. He loves the pictures that we are getting so I'm pretty sure he'll let me fork out the money when it's time for me to upgrade to a better model.

2. Your favorite lens.
I would have to say it's the 18-55 since I have used it the most. I also have the old 70-300 that I like to play around with. I haven't figured it our yet and sometimes my pictures are blurry when I use it. I only purchased my camera a few months ago so I'm definitely not a pro.

3. Classes you've taken/how long you've been actively pursuing photography.
Not a one. I would love to take a class and hope to sneak in the November one with the rest of you. I have always loved taking pictures, but the desire increased after having my kids. I don't have very many pictures of me as a kid and want my children to have a lot to take with them when they get married. Also, since my husband is in the military and deploys pictures are his way of still being involved in their lives.

4. Thoughts on photo editing (Software/programs you use).
I would love to learn more photo editing. When done right it makes a good picture even better. I have Adobe photoshop that I like to play with when I have the time. I know how to do a few things like turn the photo black and white and then add a little bit of color on a few things to accent them. The most editing I've done since I bought this camera is cropping. I'm still so amazed at how clear the pictures are that I don't like to mess with them.

5. An idea for the blog's name.
I love lense ladies.

6. What you would like to learn to do better.
Well, pretty much everything. I really want to learn how to shoot in manual. I don't have a clue how to pose anyone. The last thing I would like to learn to do better is photo editing.

7. A favorite image you've captured.
This picture is one of my favorite's right now. It's not just because it's beautiful. It has more meaning to me since I know what the picture is of. This is a stadium behind "the tomb of the unknowns" in the Arlington Cemetery. I'm glad that our country honors these heroes.

8. What is your favorite photography blog?
www.slurpee4bys1grl.blogpost.com She is a friend of mine. She takes amazing photo's. I had one blown up and made into a canvas of me and the kids. It was taken during our last deployment as a father's day gift for Nate. She is good at capturing natural poses too.
www.phototips.alexismiller.com Alexis Miller always has great ideas on her website. She has tons of free pre-done edits and templates.

giveaway by another photographer...

Photogs, check out the GIVEAWAY & Sale for Skye’s new Workshop Workbook!!
Visit her very cool website at http://www.theworkshopworkbook.com!

Hi, my name is Kristen...."HI, Kristen...."

1. Your weapon, I mean, camera of choice.

I shoot people with a Nikon D60. My Dad is a photographer and I was raised by Nikon's, hence I wanted and needed a camera that I could borrow and use more expensive equipment from my Dad and brother. :)

2. Your favorite lens.

Hm mm, this is hard since I only have one lens, which is the standard AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm. I dream of the AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR and AF-S VR Micro- NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED.

3. Classes you've taken/how long you've been actively pursuing photography.

I started taking photography classes at the Cleveland Art Museum with my father when I was 4, granted, we made our own pin-hole cameras and had our own darkroom at our house. I went digital around 2000. I didn't invest in my Nikon until 2007 and still occasionally use other cameras, including film. I have always had an interest, but my dad encouraged my older brother more than me. I really became into it after children and when my Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease as a way to connect with him and carry his love on since he no longer has the fine motor skills to continue his photography. I have taken Creative Photography through Coastal Carolina and learned a ton, although it was all automatic and may take another class still. I read a lot of blogs, camera books,etc.

4. Thoughts on photo editing (Software/programs you use).

I use a combination of picasa, microsoft media, and adobe photoshop, because they're quick and easy.

Adriane, get me the info, I'm interested! "Speaking of which, Coastal has a week long intro class starting in November that I'm aiming for - anyone want to join me?"

5. An idea for the blogs name.
I like lens ladie. Military wives shooting subjects?!

6. What would you like to learn to do better.

I would love to learn the settings more, specifically aperture and master setting my properly. I would also love "field trips" with people in the morning to visit places of interest to photograph...share best places people have found for 1)nature 2)family shots 3)backgrounds, etc

7. A favorite image you've captured.

Ummm...my kids tend to take the stage of subject matter, although I LOVE nature and capturing memories in print;)



8. What is your favorite photography blog?

http://www.flickr.com/people/medalby
www.ameliajohnsonphotography.com
www.briannehallimagery.com
http://femalephotographersofetsy.blogspot.com/


PS Y'all can call me Sten to distinguish between Kristen Hassell and I if you want. Since Krisleif is a weird "nickname" for me, although it does sum up the other half!;)

Adriane Says 'Howdy, Howdy, Howdy'

1. Your weapon, I mean, camera of choice.

I love my Canon EOS Rebel T1i! Okay, okay - I know I'm not amongst the "in crowd" here... guess that's what makes me a rebel! Har har. Nathan bought it for me a few years ago (after he got tired of forking out the film/developing dough!).

2. Your favorite lens.

I typically use a standard zoom lens, the EF-S 15-85 mm f/3.5-5.6. It's so versatile and a good everyday lens. I also use my EFS 55-250 mm w/ hood frequently outdoors. But I'm dreaming of a lovely wide-angle or ultra-wide zoom... *drool*

Oh! Before I forget - since we were talking flashes, and noting the horrid lack of camera shops here in town (driving my online purchasing habits), I'd like to add: Avoid making a buy from www.accessorycircut.com. I unfortunately chose to buy a flash from them, and ended up in the trap frequently described here: www.resellerratings.com/store/AccessoryCircut (if you want to read all that - if not, just take my advice and don't shop there).

3. Classes you've taken/how long you've been actively pursuing photography.

I became interested in photography in high school, and took classes then, but spent most of my younger years lacking the funds for such a pricey hobby! Since becoming an (ahem) not-so-young adult, I've self-taught via taking a ridiculous amount of shots. My little sis is quite the photo pro, so we have a bit of family rivalry going on... although she is stuck fast on film, darkroom, and all things goth-like while I love the unnatural digital age and pretty portraits.

4. Thoughts on photo editing (Software/programs you use).

I heart editing. It's my fav - I could spend all day playing. Currently I use a combination of picasa, picnik, and photoshop.com, because they're quick and easy for those of us short on time (mamas!). A million years ago I bought photoshop elements 3.0 (if the 3/0 tells you how long ago that was) but never had the time to learn it. I aspire to be a photoshop pro... Speaking of which, Coastal has a week long intro class starting in November that I'm aiming for - anyone want to join me?

5. An idea for the blog's name.
I'm down with "lens ladies". I have no other inspirational ideas happening.

6. What would you like to learn to do better.

I'd love to become swifter with aperture know-how. Currently I live in "P" or "TV" - I like to control the shutter speeds, lighting, and focus points and let the camera decide the rest! LOL. Also I'd love to play around with filters - I have a basic UV one but haven't sprung for the fun stuff yet.

7. A favorite image you've captured.

One? Argh - you're killing me! Okay, we'll go with this (one of my fav subjects):




8. What is your favorite photography blog?

I like:
http://www.coffeeteaphotography.blogspot.com/
www.thepioneerwoman.com/photography
http://www.beachbumphotography.com/
http://www.bellavitaphotosbykelley.blogspot.com/

The first two are lovely time-sucking blog reads; the pictures always make me smile. Beach Bum took some gorgeous family pics for us in Pensacola, and they are super-sweet with some mad skills to boot. I love Kelley's Bella Vita here in J-Ville - especially because she used Ky's image to start her non-profit "Little Blue Wren" - although she never gave me copies of the shots as promised despite multiple requests (so I was kinda irritated about that). She has some amazing talent too... you take your chance on when/if you'll get the pictures back though!


Thanks Amy, this is fun! :)

hello, my name is Amy

1. Your weapon, I mean, camera of choice.
I have a Nikon D40, Nick bought it for me for Mother's Day when Alison was about 18 months old.  I love it!  That was about 3 years ago.  I wanted a "real" camera for YEARS.  I love it.  But would now like to upgrade to a camera that has the AF motor in the body and not just the lenses.  I just bought an SB-600 flash and I LOVE it.  Not that I really know what I'm doing with it!

2. Your favorite lens.
Because then I would be able to afford the 50mm/f1.4 lens. I like my 55-200mm/f4.5 because I can zoom in for closeup and still get a decent bokeh.  (sorry that was like a continuation of the last answer about upgrading the camera body...)

3. Classes you've taken/how long you've been actively pursuing photography.
I've always loved to take pictures and wanted to take classes in college, but never got around to it until last year.  Funny story - I met a girl at Busch Gardens with my same camera and an awesome camera strap (which I think we should all make!) and we started talking.  Turns out she was LDS and was in the same ward in Raleigh/Durham with Jessica Sprague and she told me all about her online photography class, Oh Shoot.  I loved it and feel like I know a lot more about photography in general and not just shooting in auto.

4. Thoughts on photo editing (Software/programs you use).
I don't edit many of my pictures.  I do stamp them for my blog and I've started tweaking the exposure since my house is so dark and I don't have as much natural light as I would like.

I have Photoshop Elements 8 and iPhoto.  I like them both for certain things.  In Elements I like that you can put text on your photos and have more individual control over settings.  In iPhoto I like the quick menu where you can do sepia, black and white, or boost/fade colors.

I really would love to just take beautiful pictures SOOC that don't need much editing...

Oh!  and I LOVE flickr for photo-sharing!  Do any of you use it? Here's some of my photostream.

5. An idea for the blog's name.
Shoot me in the face, with your camera, that is.  (Just kidding - i don't really have any good ideas).

6. What you would like to learn to do better.
Post-processing and shooting NOT in auto.  :) And lighting.  I think half of good photography is getting good light.

7. A favorite image you've captured. 
This was kind of tough to choose.  I loved the backyard and the birds at my old house and I think this is one of my favorites.

8.  What is your favorite photography blog?
My friend from high school, Charlotte Geary.  She is an amazing wedding photographer and uses natural light in almost all of her photos. (I also like Justin Hackworth - he did my wedding photos.)


*****Oh, and I love Mpix.com for ordering prints.  They use super high quality paper and do color correction if you don't do it yourself.  They are a bit pricier than Target/Walmart/Costco, but the quality is worth it.

Welcome!

Hey ladies!  I'm excited to have this little forum to share and learn together!  I made it so that only authors can comment here, so as soon as you accept your invitation you can post AND leave comments!

As I said in the email I thought it would be fun if we introduced our 'photography' selves.  And for the record, just because I set this up doesn't mean I'm in charge!  Shayna had a great idea that we get together once a month in person and talk about photography and decide on an assignment for the month and then we can come back here and post our homework and get feedback.  Sound good?

So for your first post, enlighten us:
1. Your weapon, I mean, camera of choice.
2. Your favorite lens.
3. Classes you've taken/how long you've been actively pursuing photography.
4. Thoughts on photo editing (Software/programs you use).
5. An idea for the blog's name.
6. What you would like to learn to do better.
7. A favorite image you've captured.
8.  What is your favorite photography blog?

When you post, label your post with your name, then it will be easy to search by post author!