resemblance

I think I figure out why I loved photographing this woman so much.



She reminded me so much of the famous photograph Annie Leibowitz took of her mother, Marilyn Leibowitz.



I'm reading Annie Leibowitz At Work right now, and it is so inspiring to read about all her learning process, her mistakes, her triumphs, and how she achieved her shots. This photo of her mother is her favorite.

the workshop

I went to an all day photography workshop yesterday, and it was fabulous! It was just what I needed since, I confess, I have never quite known how to use my DSLR to the best of its ability. I have always tended to keep things in automatic mode with minor adjustments here and there for white balance or things like that. I've always known it wasn't enough.

I walked away from yesterday's workshop with so much more knowledge! Super exciting!! The photos I took aren't super inspiring, but they do demonstrate the camera's abilities. We did tons of mini assignments to play with the ISO, aperture, shutter speed, light metering and flash exposure compensation. I admit I didn't even have a solid understanding of what most of that meant until I took the workshop.

Here are some of the shots I took to demonstrate different techniques.

freezing motion in suspended raindrops:


metering the light and adjusting the shutter speed to capture things in the intended light:




Playing with the aperture to capture depth of field:




Panning with a slow shutter speed to capture moving object in motion:


Metering the light to capture accurate or flattering skin tones:




And lastly, my personal favorites from the day:




I learned so much! I look forward to putting my new knowledge into practice in the coming weeks!

thoughts on a Saturday afternoon

I love taking photos. There is no question about that part.



I also love getting feedback about my photos. Its fun to hear people's thoughts about a particular photo or set.

The problem is, I never know which of my photos to post, and under what format -- Flickr, blog, facebook, something else? It sort of drives me crazy.

What are your thoughts? What is your process when you bring home a new set of images, either a developed roll of film, or a new batch of digital files to import? How do you decide what to share and how do you?

About The 31 Project

I'm a little late on this post, but still excited to talk about how fun this project was for me!

From the perspective of someone who had a desk job for 6 years doing something I found boring, and taking care of two small children during the non-working hours, just getting out into the world is sometimes more eye-opening than I'd really like to admit. I get really excited... look at all the people out here... and they're DOING stuff!!!

So silly. So true.

It was great to take it to the next level and talk to them. Make them real. Connect.

We've been trained from early childhood that we shouldn't talk to strangers. They are scary and they might do something bad to us. This project helped me see past that and stop being afraid of the people I share this city with.

Each person I approached initially had that skeptical, imposed-on look, but quickly softened when I told them it was my birthday and asked them for some good advice. Those that were not in a hurry to be somewhere ended up talking to me for a while after they'd answered my question. People love to talk about themselves and the things they've learned about life. I feel privileged to have heard what they had to say.

The 31 Project

Yesterday was my 31st birthday.

On a whim, I decided to tackle a photography project. I asked 31 strangers to give me advice for my next year and asked to take their picture.

Here are a few from the bunch.


"Never trust Craigslist."
- Thomas


"If you don't protect what you've got, you'll lose it."
- David


"Take advantage of everything. Do it! No regrets! You will be lots of people in your life. Don't ever get too complacent."
- Donna


"Trust in God. Clean house. Help others."
- Bo

You can find all the photos from the project here.

I'll be back tomorrow to talk a bit about the project and my thoughts about it. Hope you enjoy it!

It's that time of year

It's almost my birthday. A birthday that, if I hadn't already promised myself I would never waste time fussing about my age, I might have a small freak out about. But, whatever.

I'll be 31 next week, and It's exciting! Why? Because I know my thirties are going to continue to be about finding out about me. Doing what I love. Making things happen for myself.

Today I took a stroll through the grounds of one of Portland's Ashrams. I've come here a number of times for yoga classes, and I always stop and admire the beautiful grounds, but always forget my camera. I did that again yesterday, and though I practically ran through to get out of the pouring rain, the beauty still caught my eye--rain dripping off of statues and moss -- raindrops in puddles on the brick paths -- bright daffodils peeking out of the soggy ground. It's everything that signifies that winter is ending and spring is beginning. I love that my birthday falls at this little magical time of year before everything blooms.

I'm glad I went back today to capture it to share with you.