Rock Candy

I work in a candy shop. The rock candy bins were just filled and I was loving the colors. I didn't have much time to shoot in between customers, so this was really rushed. Once I had the shot, I was disappointed - should have worked with the white balance, should have had more light, etc. But I still love the colors!

Work Incidents

Had a good 4.6 shaker today at work. Was a bit nervewracking for a few seconds.

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Work occurences today:
- Older gentleman told me at the end of his transaction, "Make sure you go to church on Sunday!" Um...I was planning on it...

- A lady that was a bit strange "What's the difference between the bare caramels and the chocolate caramels?" "Chocolate caramels are dipped in chocolate and the bare caramels are just caramel..." She was still confused. A few minutes later, she was lamenting the price of our soda and asked "Do you have cheaper soda somewhere else in here?" Why would we sell the same soda at a cheaper price somewhere else in the store?

- A man got 5 quarter pounds of different fudges...all the strange, distinctive flavors (pistachio, peanut butter, etc) and wanted us to label them so he would know what they were. Is it that hard to distinguish pistachio from Almond Joy?

- Lastly, an ornery and pushy man came to my boss and I wanting to know why two different shirts that were both made by Hanes were different quality. (Different companies buy different versions from Hanes. Some have more weight, better quality, etc.) The man was appalled and could not wrap his head around that fact. He also wanted his desired shirt design in the heavier shirt material and was yet again appalled that it was not possible.
The same man wanted to know where to take photos of the eagles. I told him, and he ranted that he hadn't seen any at all. I explained that this is not the time of year when they congregate. He then was confused why they weren't in town where the "trees" are rather than why they are on the beach. "The fish? That's where the food is." He couldn't seem to grasp that concept either.

There were several other incidents from today, but they would take too long to explain. Definitely a trying day :)

Beams on the Glaciers

It has been rainy and overcast for a week and a half now, but it has been making some cool scenes on the mountains! I loved the sun beams on the glacier.

For this one and the next one, I was running late for church, but I simply had to stop and shoot this scene. It was pretty ethereal.

More sun on the glacier.

You Capture: Friends

This week's You Capture post is all about "Friends."

Hung out with my friend Ben today. C and I went on a hike with her.

The 3 of us

Taken by my husband

Baby Crane

Thursday, I was driving along and saw some tourists stopped with their binoculars out. When I saw they were watching some cranes, I pulled over and got out as well.

There were two adults and they were just far enough that I couldn't get a sharp one.

The Beluga Slough

And then I saw a baby!

He was just so cute!

BIL and His Girls

My BIL contacted me a couple of weeks ago and wanted me to take some photos of him and his daughters. I was ecstatic :) Here are a few of my favorites, and not all of just those 3.

I didn't really compose this one that fantastically, but it was only a split second of inspiration. She was moving and would stand still for me. If I'd thought it through a bit more, I'd have focused on a specific blossom rather than the whole weed patch!

One of my favorites.

BIL5

BIL loves to ham it up for the camera for me :P

He was tickling them so they would actually smile, so it's not as sharp as it could be (squirming) but I love their expressions.

I think this is definitely my favorite from this shoot.

BIL texted me this morning saying that his coworkers were wondering how much he paid to have professional photos like that done. I just grinned. I love hearing that others like my work!

Family and gratefulness

The highlight of my weekend this past week was taking photos for BIL1 and his daughters. It's a long and drawn out situation, but nevertheless, BIL wanted some nice pictures of them with him. I was so happy to oblige him :)

It was good to spend some time with him and the girls for a few hours. He's my favorite brother of C's, but we only get to see him when he comes down every few months.

In other news, the end is in sight for my workaholic nature (not really) This is my last week of the latest I work, and it definitely can not come fast enough. Working late leaves me exhausted and high strung. C, who gets home usually 3.5 hours before I do is ready to hang out with me when I get home and get on with the evening. I usually just want to sit for at least an hour and veg out. It definitely makes for some interesting evenings. This is why I have not been blogging. I have plenty of ideas, and have even written out several entries while at work...but I have no energy to sit down and type it out when I am home. 1 more month and I will be homefree!

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One thing I have noticed since I got onto this photography kick, is that scrapbooking is not intriguing anymore. It makes me feel awful. The photos I took (I'm working on Thanksgiving right now) are not that great comparatively to what I have now and I just find them "blah" so I don't even want to work on it. Very depressing to me.

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I have a big praise. Redhead was riding her horse on Sunday and managed to tumble down a cliff, along with the horse. Miraculously, she and the horse are both fine, a bit bruised, but that is the extent of it. The horse rolled over her and didn't squish her, nor hit her with his hooves. Amazing. We are all really grateful that she walked away just fine.

That's what's been partly on my mind for the past week!

Work Work Work

I feel bad for not posting lately. Life has been busy and more busy with not much excitement.

The highlight of my weekend was meeting Susan! I love meeting online friends :) She came to my work with her husband, and I knew as soon as I saw them in the parking lot that it was them. It was great meeting them and getting to chat a bit. Definitely the highlight :)

Monday, I had an old friend come into work who I haven't seen in 2 years, so that was great.

Tuesday, we had a pizza party at work. It's been a tough summer, from lack of customers and fewer workers. I was off on Tuesday, but came in for the pizza. So good! Came home, and then C and I hung out with my friend Ben and her husband who we haven't seen in a year! It was fun hanging out with them.

Today, I went to lunch with a small group friend and her son. Got pizza (different this time) and milkshakes. That was fun too.

Otherwise, today, I spent the time updating my website and revamping some galleries and such. I am not too terribly exciting :P

I hope to update some more soon!

DPS Quotes

Note: Sorry for not having any new photos yet....I have been surprisingly busy lately. And the weather has been icky so I have not wanted to be out and shooting. Though I do have a lot of ideas!

I read "10 Photography Quotes You Should Know" from DPS a couple days ago and I wanted to share some thoughts from my own experience on some of them.

2. “ Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst. – Henri Cartier-Bresson

I recently passed 10000 shots on my Rebel. That's over 10000 shots I have taken since the end of March of this year. I don't know how many thousands of shots I have taken since I first got a point and shoot. Many, probably over 30000. That is a lot. But I am sure, that more than 10000 of my shots have been terrible.

4. “ Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment. – Elliott Erwitt

I have always carried my P&S around, and lately, I have been making it a point to carry around my DSLR too, now. I haven't regretted it yet! I manage to find photo opportunities quite often. I'd encourage you to at least carry a less expensive camera around!

6. “ You’ve got to push yourself harder. You’ve got to start looking for pictures nobody else could take. You’ve got to take the tools you have and probe deeper. – William Albert Allard

I live in a photographer's heaven, so it is easy to get cliched shots. There are a couple of local photographers that do amazing work and I have lately been eyeing their work a lot more critically, seeing how they do it.

8. “ I always thought good photos were like good jokes. If you have to explain it, it just isn’t that good. – Anonymous

Definitely a good rule to live by.

Any of those quotes from DPS really strike with you?

Link Love: Mid July

How to Choose the Best Digital SLR Lens
Short on Words: Silhouette Sequel - Great shots of a family in silhouette!
The Golden Hour - Calculator for when the golden hour is in your location!

Photos
Vøringsfossen
The Sun - Awesome sunset and silhouette
Sandy Fingers
Puffin - Absolutely incredible shot of a puffin!

Odd Requests

Monday was an odd day for me. I have specifically stated that I don't want to photograph weddings. But I had a friend text me on Monday saying, "Want to photograph a wedding in September? I'd do it, but I'll be back at school." I said no, unless the couple needed a last resort. The money was awfully tempting, I will admit. I referred them onto a friend. If I could be a second shooter, at an outside wedding, I think I would be happy.

I'm more into the candids now. Staged photos don't seem to be my forte. I've been loving taking photos of the kids at youth group. They are goofy all by themselves without knowing a camera is trained on them. It's fun to see what you can come up with in the spur of the moment without planning.

That all being said, I am not doing a wedding in September. The thought is intriguing, but I don't have the equipment (easily remedied of course) or the people skills for it. I'd prefer to focus on the mountains and sunsets out my door, thanks!

Later, Monday night, I had a mom-to-be approach me, enthused. "You're a photographer! Do you want to take photos of the birth?!"

I was taken aback, very much so. When her son was born, someone in the room took photos for her and she loved them. Now she wants them for her daughter. I, of course, had to quip that this would "scar me for life and be great birth control!"

She was making a list of people willing to do it for her if it fell into their schedules. I was honored that she would ask me, I suppose, that she would feel comfortable enough to have me there for the birth of her daughter. I told her to put me on her list. We'll see when she goes into labor!

Anyone else experienced something like this?

Juno

Meet Juno, my SIL's dog

She isn't supposed to be on the windowsill...





But she climbs on the sill anyway :P

Tools For Growing

I have long known the value of Flickr, but never really understood it as it applies to my own work. I stopped uploading to Flickr when I hit the free 200 picture limit. I didn't see much point, especially since it did not seem like anyone was seeing what I was sharing anyway. Turns out, I didn't understand how to use Flickr well.

In the past week, I have really been playing with it more. I have started joining different groups and sharing my shots there - "sunsets" "Alaska" "Hawaii" etc. And it really makes a difference in your traffic. I still don't have a lot coming, but it is picking up.

I have recently signed up for the Digital Photography School Forums. I've long been a lurker, but I decided I should attempt to get involved. There is just so much information on that forum, that it really is an overload. But I learn something new each time I take a look at it, so that's worth something!

Deviantart is a good tool for networking. You can "Deviantwatch" other users and be notified when they upload something. Whenever I upload any photo, I usually get a range from 1 - 4 comments or favorites for each shot, just from it showing up on the "newest" page.

Facebook Fan pages. I created one of these, and it has been intriguing to have people fanning my page who I don't know in the least! They are friends of friends. It hasn't generated a lot of interest to my site or blog, but it is creating several comments.

Of course, there is blogging as well! Blogging has been a huge blessing to me in this way. I've met a lot of great photographers and learned a lot from each of them as well!

I haven't done much with Twitter in following other photographers really. I could do #togfollow on Follow Fridays, but I haven't yet. However, that might be a good resource for you to look into.

In using these tools, I think that it is giving me valuable feedback in seeing what does and does not work, what is successful in business and in eye catching images. They are also great for networking with other photographers! I'd encourage you to check any or all of them out! Any other tools you would recommend?

2 Observations

I have discovered that I have a much more discerning eye for photography than I did just a couple months ago. I think it is from reading so many articles and blogs and just practicing. Yesterday, I was taking an hour roadtrip and as I looked out the window, I was taking in the views and imagining having a photo of specific scenes. None of them made me really want to jump out of the car and shoot though. Each scene was lacking a specific added element.

It was midday, so the sun was too high. A sunset would have been fantastic. Or a rainbow. Wildlife would have been great too. But, unfortunately, just lupine and spruce trees doesn't make a very interesting final image.

I am happy that I can be more discerning in what I shoot now. It feels like I am making huge strides!

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It has been really interesting to me to be at work now when customers come in with their DSLR's around their necks. I work in a tourist shop in a tourist town, so photographers abound. I see all types of cameras - Canons, Nikons and some oddball brands. Huge lenses, L lenses, small ones, I see them all. Most of the time, it is older people with them. Every so often I see a younger person, but it hasn't been common yet. It makes me feel like I have a special connection with those people and could strike up a conversation with them. I haven't done so yet, but it might happen at some point.

Anyone else get interested and watchful when you see DSLR's in public?

Star Trek

Our small town theater does not get the newest movies until at least a month after the national release. Star Trek has been so popular that we did not get it until last Friday - 2 months after the release. It's definitely obnoxious for the movie buffs among us, but I can wait for most flicks.

Tonight, C, Redhead and another friend agreed to watch the movie at 6:30. We got there at 6:20 and the line was well into the parking lot! I have not seen a line at the movie theater since Return of the King! We inched through, and finally made it in and all 4 of us got seats together. But the theater was packed. It was a good sign for the theater, but stressful for the spectators!

Anyway. We loved the film. It was full of a lot of laughs and an interesting story. C and I kept leaning over to each other after cracking up at references to the series. C was pleasantly surprised at how well done it was. It was definitely worth the 2 month wait! I'm tempted to purchase it when it comes out! Everyone else love it?

Pink Ice Cream

It's been a busy week for me, as you can tell, since I have not updated. Actually, it hasn't really been busy from events, I just haven't had the chance to sit here and blog.

Wednesday, Lo and I spent some time at the beach. The weather was gloriously warm, and we chatted while laying on a blanket.

Thursday, I had my girls group, and Lo made us breakfast at her house! Ahhh, it was really yummy!

Friday, I went to my in laws' house to pick up C's new computer monitor! He has been wanting a flat screen like mine for a while and it came on Friday :)

Saturday, I went to a baby shower for a woman in my small group. I got to play the games and grabbed a piece of delicious cake (with caramel frosting..ahhh :)) on my way out the door for work.

Sunday, I had a flat tire so I skipped church and ended up walking the 1.5 miles to work. It took me 35 minutes, and ended up being pretty hot by the time I got there.

Then, after work, I met Redhead and another coworker for ice cream at a new ice cream shop in town. There prices were pretty good and they had an interesting selection. I got chocolate peanut butter and to be daring, a scoop of cotton candy. It wasn't that bad, just a bit pink and blue...
Today, I saw lots of old friends at work, so that was fun. The rest of my week is fairly eventful as well!

Hopefully I will not be absent as long this time!

Beach Treasures

The husband and I went to the beach on Tuesday night. I played with backlighting and sun stars while C cooperated patiently. Here is some sea glass glowing.

A couple and their dog walking through the low tide.

Holding up a rock.

The sea water left behind on the rocks created a really cool effect. I wasn't able to capture it well, I'm afraid.

Hometown Flowers

Went to my hometown on Tuesday. These are forget-me-nots, Alaska's state flower.

More forget-me-nots

Wild geranium

For years, literally, I have wanted to take a shot of this view. It is right on the road system, but in a dangerous stretch, so I have never taken the time to get out of my car and shoot it. I would love to try again once the leaves start changing colors!

Forest Fire Sunset

Monday night, the atmosphere was very smoky from forest fires around. I couldn't help taking photos of the sun and the trees.
I ventured out at 10:45 to photograph the sunset. It turned into more of a learning time for me, than a real productive time for photography, but that is ok.

Lupine and grass in front of the setting sun.

Lupine at 11:15pm

July Flowers

Right after I got my 50mm lens, I took this photo at f1.8 A bit overkill. (Couldn't find it, but I might have already posted this one)

Pansies

The tree outside my house.

More of those pink flowers outside my house

July 1, my husband gave me this flower on the way home from the beach. I loved it :)

More of that flower. I love the green background from the lawn.