Ring Challenge days 13-18

Alright, I got a little out of sync with all the photo editing I have back logged and with the puppy that we just adopted, but here are days 13-18, with all the rock candy pictures belonging to day 15 ( I was indecisive that day). Enjoy!

Blue Mogwai

A few days ago I convinced my husband to foster a puppy, well let's just say he fostered his way right into our hearts. Here a few pictures I snapped real quick right after we brought him home :)  Apparently picture taking makes him sleepy.

Ring Challenge days 7-12

Alright! Made it through day 12 of my 30 day challenge, here is a snapshot of days seven through twelve. I am really kind of in love with the book image. Maybe it's because I am such a book nerd myself :)

Kathy Snelgrove preview

I had a wonderful time today working with Kathy Snelgrove and We Connected Productions LLC. And a huge thank you to Gene Kelly and GF Mason for your mountains of help today. I have many many pictures to process, but I wanted to get this preview out quick. I know that everyone is excited to see the final product!

Ring Challenge First 6 days

As many of you may know I currently working on a self imposed 30 day wedding ring challenge. I decided rather than share them here one at a time that it might be more enjoyable to see them in groups. So here is the first 6 days of wedding ring photo bliss!

Ruff-ing it!

This weekend we had the opportunity to get out of town up into the backwoods of NC. I was planning on working on a few different projects, but the rain kept us in for the majority of the time. We did manage to sneak out for a few short walks in between showers, which gizmo sure enjoyed. I love his profile in this picture. I was attempting a different shot, but he kept getting distracted by the train noises.

GF Mason Showcase

Alright, GF Masons showcase is officially over and he did magnificent! The talent scouts loved his personality, they loved his dress, and they loved his portfolio (pat on the back to me). I am so excited for him and his several appointments with the talent scouts to come to their offices to discuss terms and jobs they have available! Now I can finally show you the pics in his secret outfit that got such rave reviews at the showcase. The models were told to wear black and white, that was all the guidelines they were given and I love how he and his manager thought outside the box to make him memorable!

Gotta love a 1.8 aperture!

I got my replacement 50mm f/1.8 lens in today (they sent the wrong format by accident last week) and oh my goodness is it fantastic. I don't think I have ever been this excited about a lens. While I can't wait to try it out on real people, my puppy was very patient as I put it through its paces this afternoon. Gotta love a fixed lense!

G.F. Mason Shoot- the first 1/2

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to spend the day with G.F. Mason and his manager, Gene Kelly. It was a whirlwind of a day with costume, set and location changes, all in the name of art as we sought out some new images to flesh out his portfolio. I had alot of fun and best of luck to G.F. Mason on his audition next weekend! Go Get'm!

Check back next week for the second half of this shoot. We are keeping those pics super secret until after his audition!

In Memorium: Mac Mayo Boggs

As I sit down to write this post, I find myself having difficulty finding the right words to describe who Mac was as a person, a teacher, a mentor and a friend. I find this hard not because he was an unremarkable person, or that there is little to say, but because he was that extraordinary, and it's difficult to know where to start. I came to Converse as a 24 year old transfer student, coming straight out of some pretty life altering events. As I started my classes, I had trouble pinning down my artistic direction mainly because I wasn't sure what direction i was going in myself. Mac was the first to tell me that what I was feeling was alright and instead of telling me what direction he thought I should be focusing on, he told me what he saw developing in my work. He gave me something in my art that I wasn't able to give myself, perspective. He encouraged me to develop my intuition, to listen to that little, subtle voice inside telling me the direction that I needed to go . He introduced me to the idea that art for arts sake can be enough of a reason to create, that a work doesn't need to have an underlying social or emotional reason to make it valuable. He taught me to celebrate life through my art, and that the only thing that can limit the scope of our dreams is ourselves. I had the honor of being a student of Macs for a year and a half, not nearly long enough if you ask me. He had one of those beautiful, infectious souls that could touch the heart of almost anyone and we, his students, were the lucky recipients. He will live on not just through his family, or his art, but in the hearts and minds of every student who passed through his classroom. His inspired, creative mind continues to influence us,  as we now take up his mantle of finding beauty in the world around us.

Thank you Mac not only for being who you were, but for making us who we are. We will never forget you.

 

http://www.southcarolinaarts.com/verner/2013/artsed.shtml
http://www.converse.edu/news-article/2014/03/converse-mourns-passing-beloved-professor-mayo-mac-boggs
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20140311/ARTICLES/140319944

New lense, more fun!

Just a quick note to say i am super excited. I recieved my first fish eye lense in today, and I can't wait to start experimenting with it! I bought the Rokinon 8mm 3.5, it had great reviews for a starter fisheye lense. Stay tuned for the first pics!

G.F. Mason sneak peek

Saturday I had the opportunity to work with G.F. Mason, someone who is very close to me. He is currently breaking into the modeling circuit and he needed new images for his portfolio. I had a lot of  fun spending the day with him and his boyfriend, working to get all the shots he needed for his presentation. This is just the first in his series, and I can't wait to finish editing the rest of his shots.

Christmas Post left to sit way too long

It's embarrassing how long I saved this one before posting it. But good new is that the ideas behind it can apply to any time, any holiday, any season. Every year for Christmas I try to do something different when I wrap my Christmas presents. This last year I decided to go 'old school' and I wrapped all my gifts the same in brown paper and twine. For gifts that were too awkward to be wrapped easily I used holiday paper bags from the grocery store, with my own little artistic addition of course.
Then I made handmade tags using craft paper for all my family members, and for my husband I decorated brown envelopes, and made little handmade notes to put inside, one for every gift.
I loved the finished product. Still so Christmas-y and yet easily distinguishable from everyone else's. I plan on using this again through out the year. It would be so cute in the spring for Easter, summer birthdays, or for a baby shower even. Almost anything is possible with a little creativity.