I’ve tried to participate in things that give back a little: Patriotic Pinups and Breast Cancer Awareness.  Although those are great causes in their own right, they require a certain level of participation from a lot of different parties.  For Flashes of Hope, there would be only me and the families that participate. No worrying about flaking models, no trying to coordinate schedules.  The more I think about it, the more excited I get!

The goal now is to become better at using small strobes to get big results.  I’ve been learning small bits here and there from the Strobist blog and Joe McNally but it’s time I became a more serious student.  My goal is by this time next year to be an active participant in Flashes of Hope and maybe encouraging other photographers in the area to join.  I always put a lot of pressure on myself when it comes to things like this but I can’t let that prohibit me from participating, this is too important.

So if you read this, leave a comment of encouragement and please pass along the link!

Ms. Jenaliegh!

More to come.

Syl wrote: “All creatives dream. Photographers, writers, designers, musicians, dancers, chefs… dream of doing something so phenomenal that the whole world suddenly knows about it. We dream. We practice. We work. We think. When we’re lucky, we truly create.”

I agree with almost all of this and again, maybe it is intrisically true and I have not yet wakened to the reality of it.  I fear the part where “the whole world suddenly knows about it”.  I think I like the idea that someday I will create something that people will stumble upon when they are ready for it.  I doubt we get to control that part though and that I imagine is what scares me the most.  That lack of control is certainly what frustrates me the most in what I create (and Syl realizes this too).  I always feel I should have better control than I do, but I do not (which also enthralls me at the same time). That is probably a post for another time.

Another thing I would like to add to Syl’s wise words are when he says “We dream. We practice. We work. We think.” I would add: “We play.”  Having a 4 year old and being a teacher, I see that when we play, we are ourselves, we are happy, and we are beautiful in our uniquity.  If we can translate that into something creative, well, I can’t think of any higher art or anything closer to genius.

I thank Syl for these words. I had to put them here to remind myself of what I already knew but sometimes forget.

If you are interested in posing for this project, you can contact me using the form on this website. If you would like more information about how you can help fight Breast Cancer, visit these sites:

Susan G. Komen for the Cure

The National Breast Cancer Foundation

Click on this site to give free mammograms! Visit Click to Give @ The Breast Cancer Site everyday!

Although those who have sworn their allegiance to one or the other, ultimately the truth is the equipment doesn’t much matter. It’s really getting your brain to talk to your hands to guide the equipment to get the closest representation to your vision you can get.  Light of course plays the biggest part, but your brain needs to be able to interpret that light, gauge how best to capture what is in that light, and what is NOT in that light, and create something that is worth looking at more than once.  Prime glass is nice, but I’ve seen people get amazing images using a point and shoot or a consumer level digital camera.

So I decided to go with the Nikon D90.  I liked the reviews, it’s capabilities, and it’s price.

I also got the 18-200mm Zoom lens. It’s a great lens for many purposes, is well built and produces sharp images. I like it very much.

I also wanted a fast, sharp lens for portraits and settled on the 50mm f/1.8. Wow is it sharp! I’m going to use this lens a LOT!

So now I’m back almost to square one as far as working with the technology. There’s much to learn, which really, is the whole reason I shoot. It’s become an essential part of my education as a person. I couldn’t imagine life without it.

This shoot was different as Carrie was not here to help out.  Chelsea did a great job with her hair and makeup and I did my best to get the shots we wanted, and move on. Sometimes I’m a bit of a perfectionist and keep shooting, and shooting, and shooting.  After a while, no matter how much you tweak, the energy dissipates and no amount of shooting will bring it back.

I’m really excited about the results we got!  We also shot for the Breast Cancer Awareness project, which I will post at a later date. She also shot some photos as a Valentine’s Day present for her boyfriend.  Their anniversary is on Valentine’s Day so I bet he’ll really enjoy the present!

We had tons of ideas that we didn’t get to so I hope we get to shoot again very soon!

I like how these images came out, I think you see a lot of Whitney’s personality in them, especially in that smile!