Muscle Memory

To love and enjoy anything is fulfilling.  To enjoy something and be able to photograph and preserve it is incredibly useful and important.  It's a double portion of awesome to see or experience something incredible, then be able to photograph it, to keep it and to pass it on.

Mastering any craft is an evolution, not a moment of glory.  It's also empowering.  That's why I love photography, that's why I love to teach.

Many of my students feel clumsy with their camera, convinced they will never get comfortable, never get coordinated, never master the technical and creative dance, too many steps to remember.

It’s muscle memory, it's doing and doing and doing.  My camera has become an extension of my hands, of my eyes, of myself.  I don't even see it anymore, I just do.

At first we are infant creators- we learn by imitation, by trial and error.  There are a few photography books I used in the beginning and occasionally recommend to students if they ask.  Last month I pulled one off the shelf and skimmed it for the first time in years, surprised to find that while it is still a reliable, useful tool, I actually disagree with him on several points, and can't imagine why he makes everything sound so complicated. How does this guy sell so many books?  I mean, I understand what he is teaching and still it left me confused.

We do and do and do, and one day, we realize we are no longer imitating the work of our mentors- we're inspired, equipped, and creating on our own, our own unique signature and soul in every image, created for the thing itself and no one else, to no other end.

I love to teach because in my own photography I have worked and worked to break down the complex whole into its parts, to take something overwhelming and simplify it down to its core, its essence. 

I started somewhere, then I kept going.  It's an incredible joy to invite other passionate people on that same journey, to show them how to take one step, then another, how to do and do and do. 

A Top Ten Question.

People ask me for photography advice often.  Because of this blog, and because once someone has taken one of my classes I have an open door policy welcoming them to ask for help on their journey, I answer photography-related questions a lot.  Usually it's about cameras, photography skills, photoshop, reviewing images- and sometimes people ask me for help in starting a business.  (Those questions are welcome, by the way.  I love answering them.)

My friend Rachel writes rocking tutorials that have made thousands of hobbyist photogs better all over the place.  This week she's starting a series on how to (and how not to) start a business.  Her first installment is honest and excellent. 

If you love photography, having a business is probably not for you, no matter how many people in your life tell you to start one- but figuring out if it's for you is very important- because if it's right, it's very rewarding.  But- it is a business, not a hobby. You have to be comfortable with that- being a business person with integrity and running your business responsibly isn't the same as enjoying the thrill of shooting for the art and skill of it.  You may love  mothering your children, but would you love to be a nanny or run a daycare?  Yiiiiiikes.  And yet, that comparison is spot-on.  A business is different.  You have to be prepared and comfortable with that.  You have to be ready to be vulnerable, and put yourself out there- and also to be strong and confident in a world of competition, that's full of potential clients that (just like you) are looking for products for as little expense possible (with prices from poor-quality discount chains in their minds), without a real concept of the time and investment it takes to create great custom work.  Are you prepared to field those situations?  You don't have to know everything right away, but be prepared to learn from experience, and be ready for these types of issues.

Frankly, I'm organized.  I found the business side of my business to be work, but manageable.  And I'm good at setting boundaries.  And I'm very good at saying no.  I loved everything about having a portraiture business, other than the busy-ness of it.  That was the thing I enjoyed the least-  I had the freedom to say no to any clients I couldn't take, which I had to do so often it drove me crazy.  It sounds perfect to have the freedom to turn away any more work than you can handle, but, for me, it was counter-intuitive to running a business, and drove me nuts.  And now that I've simplified, I can enjoy teaching photography, and let portraiture go (which still stings a little- but thanks for all the support, everyone- I really was encouraged last week as I "went live" with my decision).

So- do you think you want to start a business- in anything?  Link over to i ♥ faces and read the series- I'm sure it will help you figure out if it's for you.

Swaddling Clothes

Each one of my children was swaddled with expertise and love literally hundreds of times as an infant. 

Grace was the first.

Each one had two or three swaddling blankets- and from these, for each of our four children one slowly emerged as the One.  The favorite.

The one that, when swaddling days were over, was set apart as the one, favorite, irreplaceable comforter.  The blanket.  The. Blanket.

And we still have four Blankets, or, what's left of them- tattered with endless hours of love and rest and tears and imagination.

But Grace was the first.

And this is about her Blanket. 

It was, at one time, pink.

It is now, not. 

And it has been stretched to 3 times it's original size.

At age two, the blanket became a buddy through play time, and a soother for night. 

It was slung around her neck when arms were full, it was useful for swaddling "babies", or willing dogs.

Then at age three, things got more creative. 

It became long "hair", or a bridal veil, or a long princess dress.

And at age 7, Grace is still finding countless ways to wear her most treasured possession and faithful accessory- like in these snapshots from August of this year.

All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them.-Isak Dineson

Losing the intimate details of my children's youth is a sweet sorrow.  But my heart bears it as I carefully store and archive our photographs, and when I feel especially warm, or bittersweet, I write.  And that keeps the moment in a way, when time won't stop for me. 
Grace,


I can bear to lose your tiny, newborn shape, and your days as a cautious toddler, and your "princess phase" and these last days of childhood innocence and unbroken creativity as the Tween Years approach too quickly.  I can bear to lose that awkward smile you make when you're trying to look older, and I can bear to lose your "7 year old teeth" and the way you pronounce big words with pride and authority, and the way you eat a sandwich because I know I can't keep them from fleeing, but I can store them up in my heart where they're meant to be. 
I've tried to savor the sweet moments, or the rough moments, before they pass- so they can do their work and not slip away.  When something gets to me, I let it get to me.  And let that compel me to be a better Mom today than I was yesterday- and can't we hope I'll be even better tomorrow?


I hope I'm doing well.

Love,

Mom

Africa

I renewed my passport last week.

I haven't used it since the year 2000.

Back when I was a younger, college-aged version of myself. 

But back to my point-  I'm going to Zambia in December with a nonprofit called Poetice.

I'll be working as a photojournalist, photographing every part of the experience, and teaching photography at a camp for more than 500 Zambian children.  We also hope to bring digital cameras (and musical instruments) with us to leave behind.  I'll post more on that later.

This opportunity is an intersection of everything I'm passionate about, and I'm thrilled to go.  If you know Jim and I personally, you know we care about orphans.  Our children authentically care about children they've never met who live without parents, or who are forced to work with little or no pay, or who are trafficked.  It makes perfect sense to them that I should be there (though Grace is very afraid about lions on my behalf).  I am so excited to bring back stories, and photographs, and experiences to share with them, to allow Africa to be more tangible to them.

Poetice works to raise awareness of social justice issues, as well as provides teaching, inspiration, and love for Zambian orphans in many ways- while introducing them to the arts.

If you're a creative person, you understand.  The arts are not the extras, the optional things on the fringes of life that we dabble in with our spare time.

Painting, sculpting, singing, playing instruments, photography, poetry- these are the things that can literally draw us up out of our pits. 

Especially in pain, there is a catharsis in creating and expressing ourselves.  I know having the ability to create is an inexplicable blessing to my life.  Creating literally keeps me sane.  And so I'm thrilled to be a part of something that introduces these children to outlets of creativity and generously gives them an opportunity they would not otherwise have to embrace music and art.

This is last-minute, and unexpected- and I am so thrilled to have this chance to go.  As things fall into place, I know all the details will be cared for.  And so with no hesitation, I'm slowly gathering up the things I need to take care of- like renewing my passport.  Check. 

Mrs. Koch, Week 1: Significant Photographs

Several people called me Mrs. Koch yesterday.  I'm still not quite over it. 

Moving on.

I'm teaching the Junior High and High School students Photography at our homeschool Co-Op this year.  We have a private blog.

That's right.  It's exclusive.  You can't get in.

But I thought I would post my entries here each week. 

This week's assignment was designed to help everyone get to know each other better, and to get an introduction into blogging.  We're posting three significant photographs, whether we were the photographer or not. 

Mine are a bit random- because there is no way I could narrow thousands of significant photographs down to three top picks...so I chose what came to mind first.

I chose this one.

And this one.

And this one.



With a Grain of Salt

I get asked a lot of photography-related questions- by newcomers, and amateurs wanting to become professionals (a professional photographer is anyone who gets paid (paid anything) to shoot people, whether they're just friends, family, etc., and regardless of how often they do it), or by amateurs who are already professionals, but bewildered.

Can I just stop and say, I love answering your questions?!  You are the greatest readers, really!  I've had a lot of questions regarding starting a business pop up this month.  Here's an excerpt from an email I received today-

Okay, I'm ready. I'm ready to put myself out there and do what I've been putting off for over a year. I'm scared, and nervous, and excited to start photographing people other than my family. So, can you give me some advice?? How did you get started? What kind of rates did you charge as you built your portfolio, and what do you charge now? Do you like PS3, do you feel it meets your needs, or do you wish you'd gotten 4 or 5? I have so much to learn, but I think I've gotten the basics down. Anything you're willing to share as far as start up of a business, building a portfolio, and offering products to clients at a fair price I'd greatly appreciate. You're the best - thanks!

Since this comes up a lot, I wanted to just blog a post for future reference, and to help anyone out there who's wondering the same things.
I want to keep this post to the point, so my first tips to a new photographer like this one will sound short, maybe overly opinionated- but really, I'm just trying to stick to the facts (as I see them).  Feel free to contact me with any other questions you have.  Remember, this is just my quick opinions and advice from my own life experience.  There's unbelievable room to do things differently than I suggest, and still be "right", if you know what I mean.
 
Here's my Top 7 pieces of advice for you.

1.  Why do you want to be a professional?  This is an extremely important question to dwell on for a while before you move forward. Long answer short, most photography lovers, and advanced amateurs of the world are most likely best-suited to continue enjoying and perfecting their craft without starting a business.  Being passionate about photography does not a good business owner and professional photographer make.  Loving photography isn't enough.  You have to be able to combine a passion for photography with extremely good people skills and highly professional business practices.  It is not for everyone.
 
2.  Get very, very comfortable with competition.  There are literally hundreds of photographers just like you in your city, with your goals, your prices, your same desires.  Competition is everywhere.  Everywhere. The photography market as a whole is amazingly super-saturated.  The market for beginners is beyond anything you're imagining right now. Does that make you uncomfortable in a productive-tension kind of way, or do you think it would constantly grate on you, making you tense, grumpy, judgemental of their work, and overly-analytical of yours?
 
3.  Find your style, your purpose, your niche.  Who are you?  What kind of photographer are you?  Search your work, stay busy and creative, and your own personal style will emerge.  Being yourself is a huge asset.  Don't do work you hate.  Stay true to your own creative vision.  Clients will gravitate to you if their needs meet your skills.  Don't ever be afraid to take creative control- you can say no to clients if you'd like.  They're booking you because they've loved the work they've seen you create.  If they want something far-out different from that, refer them on to other photographers if you'd like.  My style is mine- I am a natural light purist, with goals to use as little processing as possible.  That's me.  That's what they pay for.  I'm comfortable staying true to this.  You need to be confident of your skills and purpose and stay true.
 
If you ponder #1 up there and decide you should proceed with a business, what will it's purpose be?  Who is your target market?  Once you know your market, then you'll know how to begin pricing yourself.  If you are very new to this, set up a specific portfolio-building time.  Charge a lesser fee- letting your clients know this is a very special, limited time rate while you build a portfolio.  Treat them well, and they will return.  I did this in my first few months of business, and it was one of the smartest things I could have done.  And now I have clients returning to happily pay full price.  I am unbelievably grateful for every client- and a referred or returning client is a true joy.
 
Decide your target market, set prices accordingly, and do not bargain down below your goal pricing, and also don't set your pricing so high that you alienate the very client base you're aiming to serve.  There will always, always be people who believe you are too expensive, or too inexpensive.  Honor your business, your art.
 
4.  Take everything with a grain of salt.  Your friends may be just gushing over your work, telling you you've got an amazing eye, telling you your work is amazing, telling you you absolutely have to start doing this professionally.  I'm going to be honest with you.  They are sweet.  They're your loved ones and friends.  They are being authentic.  Take those complements and be encouraged.  But take them with a grain of salt.  Facebook is overflowing with new photographers' business pages- and people, I'm telling you, I see people gushing over some of the most underexposed, over-processed, terribly-composed pieces of crap imaginable.  I know that's harsh, but it's true.  So be encouraged, but remember, they're not experts.
 
Professionals may hate your work.  Whether they're not confident of your skills, or your style turns them off, or they don't like your pricing, photographers have the ability to be incredibly cool people, and also can be appalling jerks.  Jerks.  They may or may not know what they're talking about, so remember, take it with a grain of salt.
 
So, I'd highly recommend having a trusted professional review a few examples from your portfolio to give you honest feedback.  Hopefully you can get feedback from more than one.  This is the best way to really get useful help.  But remember the salt.
 
5.  Do not upgrade or add to your equipment until you feel confident that your skills have mastered the current equipment and you're also feeling an acute, certain need for the new _______, whatever it is.  A new lens is not a piece of magic glass.  If you're creating poor images in camera and haven't mastered the basic skills of photography, that new lens will not help much.  So wait.  You won't regret it.
 
6.  Play by all the rules.  Price for profit with your market in mind.  Keep meticulous records.  Save every receipt.  Charge appropriate taxes.  Get all necessary permits from your city.  Pay your taxes.  Invoice properly.  Report every dime.  Get insurance to protect your equipment and your clients in case of incident.  Run your business like a business, not like a hobby, even if you only work once a month.
 
7.  Never Stop Learning.  Never, ever stop getting better.  This is a huge way to know if you've got the stuff of a professional.  I can't stop playing and experimenting with my camera, with lighting, with poses.  I see my whole world in photographs.  I can't help but consume photography-related information every single day, and put it into practice immediately.  It's in my bones.  And capturing art for others is in my bones too.  I couldn't stop doing this, even if I wanted to.  I'm compelled.  Is that you?  Does the huge challenge of photography motivate you, or dishearten you?  That's a litmus test you'll need to take before moving ahead to the world of passionate amateur, or possibly, professional.
 
And as always, contact me for a mentoring session. You will not regret it!  (I get shameless plugs because this is my blog.)
 
Have a great Monday everyone!

Best Advice I Can Give...

I get several photography-related questions each week, almost always from a sweet reader somewhere who I've never met, who's a little terrified to ask, but since I say I welcome it so much, they cave and go for it.

And I love that.  I love all of you.  I can't explain it.

I write this blog for me, and for my family.  I'm not a big community-building blogger, because I can't be.  It's not my space in life to do it.

But I know you're out there.  I'm not writing for you, but I know you're there with me and that really is precious.  It is.  And it's so sweet that you're out there, reading about the ordinary things I think and do, you know some of what I'm up to, you know my children, you listen, though we never talk.

So no, don't be afraid to say something.  If you have a question or a comment about anything, you can always reach me, it's welcomed and cool. 

Back to the top.  Photography.  I answer lots and lots of questions, and usually they center around a few main things- but today as I was answering someone, I thought, "Man, I've got to just blog this.  This is everything a new photographer needs to know before they move forward, before they purchase anything else, before they judge their work improperly or wish for better equipment, software, talent."

Here you go-  this is what you need to get started right and stay on track-


"Editing programs. I don’t have an editing program yet, but am itching to get one!! To me that’s how you take a   shot from picture to portrait. What do you suggest? Right now I have a PC, do you think it’s important I get a Mac? Seems like all the cool people have one ;)"

I will say right now that nearly everything that turns a snapshot into a portrait happens in camera and in your technique while shooting. It's all about subjects, backgrounds, details, lighting, metering, focus, aperture, shutter speed, color, composition and perspective. If these things aren't applied well when you're shooting, almost nothing can be done in post processing to elevate the snapshot.

So, no worries! It's not ultimately about post processing. It's about Straight Out of Camera excellence- and you can do that right now!

To give you an idea, almost every photo on my blog is SOOC, just optimized for web viewing. And I never, ever spend more than 2-3 minutes on any image in Photoshop, for myself or for clients. Photoshop is where I fully process the digital negative into a finished image, but I'm definitely a purist when it comes to processing. I'm a natural light photographer who works to get things right and true to life in camera, and I only use PS to assist me and give my images a finished touch. Every photog has a different style- many, many photographers use heavy post processing to "boost" their somewhat ordinary images, and some use heavier post processing the "right" way and it works well for them and for capturing their vision and style.

It's about being true to your creativity and style, but, as a rule, post processing should enhance the SOOC excellence, instead of being used in an attempt to distract or cover up a problem photograph. So again, no worries- you can already do all of this in camera without making a big software purchase yet!

I am a PC, and there is absolutely no difference between a Mac or PC when it comes to editing programs- they are all equipped identically, just made for Mac and/or PC, whatever version you need. Some keyboard commands are different, but nothing in the program changes.

Photoshop Elements is an inexpensive beginner program, and if you ever want to move up, you can move on to Photoshop CS3 or CS4 and get a great deal, because they are no longer the latest version, but will not have differences that will affect you.

..............................................................................................

That's it.  I've answered that question so many times.  There is no magic bullet.  No piece of equipment, no software, no magic action to run, no special tricks.
 
It's about you and your love for life, people, the world and photographing it with your own creativity and style.  Doing that well happens with determination, work, education, and trusting and believing in yourself and your mission to photograph with excellence for archiving and art.
 
So yes, you can do it.  You really, really can.  One step at a time.  And don't be afraid to ask questions.
 
Have a great weekend everyone!
-Megan

Like a Cougar

Here's the deal:  the July MoVM Workshop is full.

BUT- you can contact me for more information on mentoring one-on-one, or in a group.

I'm adding a new basic 3 hour workshop this month with a name that says it all... If you're completely confused by your DSLR, and want to get a handle on it, the Total Beginner Workshop is for you!

Look.  You're new at this.  Your camera is confusing.  You've read the manual...sort of.  You bought a book.  But you're lost. 

And it's frustrating.

And it's crazy intimidating to ask for help.

But wouldn't it be awesome if someone could just sit down with you and show you what this stuff is about??

The Total Beginner Workshop is a fun, non-intimidating, super-informational, creative place to get started.

I remember not knowing what I was doing.  I really, really remember.  And I'm still learning.  And I love to teach.  And I promise-  this is a place where no question is silly, and we'll work on it, together.

If I had found something like this when I was getting started, I would've jumped on it like a cougar.

Jump in!

And yes, I can travel for groups.  Contact me for more information.

Ready to Dive In?

If you've recently purchased a DSLR and are feeling overwhelmed, this is for you.

If you love photography and are hungry to improve, but just don't know where to start, this is for you.


I love photography- and I love to pass it on.



Possible Summer Workshop Locations outside of Sioux Falls: Minneapolis, Rapid City, Brookings, and Marshall MN.


If you're a beginner through advanced amateur that wants to step it up and get better photographs straight out of camera using natural light, this is for you!

Group discounts are available, so grab some friends and dive in together!
 
And yes, I can travel for groups! 
 
Email me at megankoch@yahoo.com, or contact me through the Full Life Site.

HEY.  DO YOU WANT TO SEE A RIDICULOUSLY LARGE AMOUNT OF SNAPSHOTS FROM AN IMPROMPTU SPRINKLER PARTY WE HAD LAST NIGHT???  WHAT?  YOU DO?? 

Sweet.

Here they are.





Click the arrow things in the RH Corner to make them bigger (you know, if you're family). 

And yes.  Jim brought work with him.  Like those kids who bring homework on vacation.

All the Time

If you have people in your life that you love, I really do believe you need to be taking pictures of them.  All the time. 

The actual number of photos per day, week, month, year for you will not be the same as it is for someone else.  But the point is, if someone were to ask you how often you take pictures, you should be able to say it's "all the time".

Whatever all the time is for you, don't wait.  Shoot.

In honor of all the mothers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters, friends who have lost printed photographs in the past to earth, wind or fire, shoot away.

This is a digital revolution.  Get those photos off your memory cards, and print some and also save them and back them up in several locations and ways.

But by all means, shoot all the time.  Because it basically costs you nothing to archive 1000 memories at a time.

Isn't that miraculous?

Don't wait for a perfect moment.  Don't wait for everyone's outfits to match, for their hair to be perfect.  Don't keep grouping the ones you love up in a line for a picture and require smiles. 

Just shoot.  Everything.  All the time.  All the ordinaryness that you so quickly forget.

There's nothing stopping you.  You'll never regret it.  Shoot often.  Archive your life.  Your real, gritty, normal wonderful life.  Hire professionals to document a moment of reality for you.  Get in there and let somone take your picture.  Often.

Once you have a digital camera, you have nothing to lose.  Shoot with reckless abandon.  Whether you think your photographs are good enough or not, shoot.  Whether conditions are perfect or not, shoot.  Don't wait for everyone to be smiling, or even for them to be looking at you.  Stop seeking perfection.  Start treasuring the real.  Hold up the truth and savor it.  That's what's real.  What lasts.


Because if you lose your home, or your spouse, your mom, or your child, suddenly these simple photographs become priceless.

Session One...

Well, I thought it went well.  No one fainted from boredom, or threw a lens cap at me, or told me to stop talking so much.

So, I thought it went well.

Well, actually, I had a lot of fun.  I can talk shots all day, no problem.  We got to try out some things, answered questions, and got to know our cameras a whole lot better.  Since the class ended, I've gotten great comments and questions and love every minute of it. 

The first class is all about getting introduced to the technical side.  It's like a fire hose of information.  But after the initial blow, everyone can go home and work on it step by step.  It's in the trial and error where the real magic happens.

Next week, it's all about creativity.  But- your creativity isn't really free to live up to it's potential until your feet are firmly planted in the technical fundamentals.  So that's of course where you need to start.  If you're wondering how to learn more about your DSLR feel free to ask me. 

Here we are trying out Aperture Priority.

We moved the Aperture up and down, to watch the rear flowers come in and out of focus.  Man those bottles are smudged.

I've never mentored in a group larger than 2 before.  I was a little terrified.  But it turned out to be just as fun, they seemed interested and forgiving of my dorkiness, and the time flew by.  Now I can't wait for next week.

Lily.

"OK Lily Baby, it's your turn. Can you come on over here so I can get a few pictures of you?



"No, I do not care if you don't want to. Sweetheart. Less talk. More action. Get over here Babe. Love you."



"Oh. So that's how it's going to be. Here's the deal. I'll take a few shots. You'll cooperate. It will be short and sweet, and you'll be off and playing again in two snaps."

"Lily, come stand out here, where I'm pointing. Now please. See, there's this thing called a Shallow Depth of Field. I want that. Because it's ideal for portraits, Lily, and it disguises things, like the very unideal location we're in right now. But it's the only place where there's any shade and we need to be here. So I've made my peace with the unideal location because I just want some quick sweet shots of each of you. But I want that Bokeh, Baby, so get over here and get far away from the ugly under-grown bush's focal plane."



"Oooh, No. You are so not going there."


"Lily. Do not go there. This is so simple. Just a good attitude and in less than 2 minutes, we'll be done, and you can go play. Isn't that what you want? Get on the cooperation wagon, please."



"Lily. Seriously."

"Oh, you did not just go there. Seriously Lily. Seriously."



"You know now it's taking waaay longer than either of us wants to admit. It could have been so simple. And now it's taken us like, 10 minutes, after that sidebar you had to have with Daddy after getting hot and spicy with me."

"But, he did say I would choose the consequence. My choice: You put the kibosh on the 'tude, and give me something good. Right now."



"Good enough for me."


I love you Lily.

Patience.

We call her Patie. Like Katie, with a P.

She is all sweetness.


And loveliness.



She makes this face. A lot.

And she's a voracious reader. She says she reads "like Abraham Lincoln". It's true.

I love her from her head down to her dirty little feet.

Love you, Patie Belle.

House of Lies.

That sounded dramatic, didn't it??

Sorry.

Here's the skinny.

The season finale of House



Was filmed on a Canon 5D Mark II.

When I heard about it, a while back, I thought, "Oh, that's cool." And that's all. Because it was.

But then, this past week, a few things popped up that irked me. People were commenting like, "Wow, did you see it? It looked so amazing! Now I'm wondering if I should step up to the Mk II." ,and, "That's an amazing camera! It looked so professional!" And so on.

It is amazing. If you gave me one, I wouldn't smack you in the face with it. I'd say thank you and I'd keep it. Of course.

But the season finale of House was filmed on a Mark II. By extremely high-end professionals, aided by extremely professional make up artists, and extremely talented _______s. Fill in the blank with one of the hundreds of vital roles people play to create an excellent television series. Everyone involved with it is a super-professional. Not the least of which, we need to emphasize the professionals in control of lighting the scenes.

This was not Grandma, in the backyard, shooting a movie of the grandkids playing dodge ball.

Canon would like you to see the finale, want a Mark II and then go buy one. That's good marketing.

Here's some good thinking: Any piece of equipment is only as good as the person (in this case, persons, ahem, extremely talented persons) operating it.

Grace.

Every once in a while I try to grab my camera and shoot life just as it is. Especially our kids.

So today we were all outside enjoying the weather, playing ball, picking up bugs, etc.

I decided to snag some snapshots of each of the kids to just sort of remember just what they looked like on an ordinary day, like it was.

So these are Grace's shots. More to come all week for my memory archiving enjoyment.

Grace.

She is getting older. She works really, really hard on perfecting a mature, beautiful, "picture look".

Sometimes it's a hit. Sometimes it's a miss. But I do admire her perseverance.




Whoa dog...

What do you think Grace? About time to be done??

Love you lady.

The Terrier and I

We make a great team. It's a win-win.

I take him out, and because there's no one around and he's got great manners and he's good about doing his business right away and I'm a softie, I let him run off-leash. He gets to run ahead (though he always stays in-sight) and smell every tree, hole, rock, animal track he finds.

I get a walking buddy, and protection if anyone or anything tries to attack me. He's tiny, but mighty, and he'd fight for me to the death. I know it. Mostly, I like getting a buddy.

If you've ever walked a terrier, you know. You know how they buzz around and stop to smell everything.

If you've ever walked with a photographer who happens to have a camera handy, you know. You know how they stop and photograph everything.

He wants to stop the walk all the time to sniff out rabbit holes and funky tree stumps.

I want to stop the walk all the time to photograph random stuff like trees, who have eyes, and some of them are crying.


It's like nature walk ADD.

And we love it.

Like I said. We make a great team.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

1. A DSLR. Do you have one?

2. Do you have any burning questions about your DSLR or any photography-related questions/struggles/confusions?

I'm teaching some classes this summer for beginner DSLR users. I have a basic skeleton idea in my mind of how the lessons will shake down based on the questions I typically get from friends and readers, and from my own experience and observations, but I thought, why not ask hundreds of people what THEY think? No doubt there are some budding photogs out there.

Leave a comment (with an email address please, so I can get back to you), or if you'd rather, shoot me an email, so no one else sees your info if you'd like, and give me your best shot. Anything photography related.

I'd love to hear what you have to say, and see how I can better integrate common issues into the classes.

Peace Out, and Happy Wednesday.

Swan Shot.

So like I said, we went to the Zoo last weekend. I don't typically bring my DSLR along when we're out, but since it's finally in the 40's and we're finally able to get outside, I'm bringing it along every once in a while. Even shooting in full, harsh sunlight is a joy when you've been indoors all winter. And I'm just thankful there's full, harsh sunlight to enjoy.

SO. I went from shooting indoors to outdoors, and quick took a picture of this swan for my daughter who was begging for it. With all my settings catered to the shade, my quick swan shot was dramatically overexposed.

What you see here is SOOC- a sort of happy-accident that resulted in an impressionist-style portrait of the great white bird.