Connecting the dots

http://boscrowan.co.uk/blog/page/17/ In the fall of last year in a meeting with a couple,  (who by the way had some awesome questions for me regarding their wedding photography) they asked me this question: “Why did you get into wedding photography?” I answered their question with something similar to this, “From an early age, I started taking photos—with all kinds of cameras. I love capturing the moments of life, and weddings are such a beautiful collection of some of the most incredible moments in a person’s life.”

Ayutuxtepeque But I really started to think about the why, while the above answer is very true and how I feel, I started to really look into what led me in this direction.  I love the opening scene in the Wedding Planner where Jennifer Lopez’s character is a little girl marrying Ken and Barbie, makes me smile every time.  I was a big Barbie fan, but my Barbies didn’t get married, they were too busy having adventures…and actually, my Barbies preferred my brother’s GI Joes…but I digress

When I was a girl about the same age as Jennifer’s character, my mother and her friend started a wedding consulting business. At first, it was a home spun business…but it quickly went to a storefront with different  aspects of a wedding in one place (wedding dresses, invitations and connections with other wedding vendors). I helped out often and since I was pretty tall I got to model junior bridemaid dresses in their fashion shows. And then in high school, I went on to model in various department store wedding fashion shows, sometimes even getting to be the bride:).

Fast forward to my cousin’s wedding in 2004…of course, I took my camera (it was/is pretty much an appendage of me). I took some shots, but didn’t get in the way of the actual photographer; )  My cousin loved the photo I took during their first dance. She told me it was one of her favorite shots of her day. I was hooked. Of course, now I see things I wish I had done differently and this was before I had high quality digital camera.  But it was an intimate moment between her and her husband and I was honored to have captured it.   Shortly, after this wedding I purchased my first Nikon DSLR! The D50…wow, hard to believe! And then in 2006, I started second shooting for other wedding photographers.  In 2007, I made some investments in professional glass and a new camera body … And the rest as they say is history….

It is pretty incredible how life is like a connect the dots puzzle!

Phoenix and the Apache Trail

I headed out to Phoenix for a workshop…I stayed a couple of extra days. I had only seen Phoenix from the air before this…and wow, I love the desert!  And Phoenix! (now, it could be that it was almost 80 degrees and it was 20 when I left Virginia) There were so many kinds of cacti. I drove on parts of the Apache Trail and then took a jeep ride with Dusty Bottoms into the desert, where I got to eat a cactus, a teddy bear cactus to be exact. He burned the spines and then cut the cactus in half…Dusty said that this is what the Native Americans ate to get vitamin C, twice as much as an orange. It was kinda slimy and tasted like a cucumber. And who knew there was desert mistletoe!! I saw one of the most beautiful sunsets ever over the city of Phoenix. And met some amazing women photographers!!

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Engagement Photos

Every year I try to step up my photography and learn new things to include in my photography tool box. This year I decided to attend the MJ2day Workshop. Melissa Jill is an amazing wedding photographer based in Arizona and an even more amazing business woman! I learned some really great business tips and spent time with 12 other photographers (only one other Nikonian and she was from Germany!, but alas we Nikons played well with the Canon kids). The talent of these ladies was impressive and I was glad and honored to have shared this workshop with them. Here are some of my shots of our mock engagement shoot…

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California | Photographer’s Vacation

Mike and I had a wonderful time in California…San Francisco, Monterey and Big Sur. The weather was extremely beautiful and we found out that October is one of the best times to be on the coast. Luckily, Mike and I have the same love for taking photos and having adventures…for other folks it may seem a little tedious being on vacation with a photographer! There is a self portrait in these photos…and one of my favorite portraits of Mike. I love taking photos of him taking photos; ) and this one is just an amazing shot to me. One of things on my life “bucket-list” was to see Redwood trees…and the Armstrong Woods were amazingly beautiful, almost spiritual. I have heard that these redwoods are dwarfs to others…it doesn’t matter to me and it was truly an inspiring and impressive woods! Thanks for looking at this blog entry…it’s better than being trapped in someone’s living room watching a slideshow of their vacation, right?

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Confessions of a Portrait Photographer

My parents took us on outdoor adventures almost every weekend. And from an early age (9-10), I always carried a camera. I loved capturing the landscapes, our dogs, or fun stuff that we would do as kids…as you can see from the couple of images. Nothing earth shattering…but I was also working with a 110 film camera.

This particular day , (I was about 10 and my brother 7) I was hungry for something a wee bit more exciting…so my brother was walking beside me. To his left was a “slight” drop off leading down to a gully filled with leaves. As we were walking, I spied a root coming up on the trail. I knew if I gave my brother a slight nudge, he would loose his footing and instinctively grab the root. I got my finger ready on the camera…and then gave a little push. AND BINGO, the action shot I saw in my head!!! Back in those days, we had to wait for the film to be developed. I was ecstatic when I saw this photo. Luckily, my parents didn’t punish me too much; they encouraged my creativity!

My brother on the other hand…has worked the story into a HUGE “fish story!” At his wedding, all his friends and future relatives came up to me and said…”so, you’re the sister that pushed him off the CLIFF, for a photo.” They also mentioned the time I tried to jump him with my ten-speed bike and missed, that was my Evel Knievel phase…luckily for him that phase died quickly!