May 20, 2008
Why? Because we’ve got a brand new website! Hallelujah! Come on over, have a cup o’ tea, and we’ll have a jolly old time… And don’t worry, all the old posts from this blog followed us over to the new one! It’s always better to have everything in one place!
April 22, 2008
Sorry for the lack of pretty pictures lately! We’ve had some wonderful sessions with some wonderful people, but since we’ve got a brand spankin’ new blog/website on the way, we decided to hold onto those photographic gems so that we’ll have something gorgeous to post once we go live! Check back soon to see all the fun new features!
I can’t help myself. I’ll leave you with one image of Erin & Jimmie (who must be wondering whether there’s more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking).
April 2, 2008
Garth and I worked on these lovely photos as part of a project for a grad student at The University of Virginia. The assignment was “create an umbrella out of anything and take a picture of yourself using it”.We bought an old paperback at the Goodwill store, taped the pages to a child-sized umbrella, and braved the chilly mountain snow to capture these images. Since Garth is my “better half”, and thus considered part of me, I thought it wouldn’t be cheating if he took them… isn’t he quite the photographer?
Sorry the colors aren’t as vibrant as they should be. I’m still trying to figure out my colorspace issues. If this doesn’t inspire compassion in you, read this. Then you’ll understand my pain. And every other photographer’s pain. Enjoy (as much as you are able, considering all the sympathy that is undoubtedly welling up inside you this very moment)!
March 12, 2008
My handsome husband and I went down to Beverly, West Virgnia earlier this month to celebrate Garth’s dad’s 60th birthday. I thought I’d post some snapshots. A day in the life of Miss Kelly…
Here’s the familar Lula in her private doggie bungalow. That’s an actual log cabin. A dog cabin, if you will.
“Whatcha doin’? Can I see? Can I play?”
Garth’s dad, Steve. His mad-scientist hair looks even more rad when it’s BACKLIT! Ooooo.
Garth with his mom’s giant remote control. He tried for hours to get this thing to work, and I don’t think he was ever successful. So sad.
Callie the calico cat. She’s in a basket on top of the piano. Her secret hideout from Lula. The ladies don’t get along.
Aasta (Garth’s sister) decorating the cake! For the record, Aasta has the greatest possible hair. It always looks like she just got back from the beach. Also, Aasta has the best possible personality. For the record, I like Aasta.
Birthday Boy.
Here’s a shot of the cake I made. That’s a Chocolate Layer Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting made FROM SCRATCH! It took all day, but Garth’s dad who never asks for anything from anybody (he’s awesomely unselfish like that), wanted a homemade chocolate cake with a million layers. Ask and ye shall receive, Steve.
March 11, 2008
What a cutie! My friend Tami invited me to take these portraits of her friend’s daughter, Deidra, and I was delighted to oblige! Little Deidra just turned one, and these photos capture this wonderful season in her growth. The poor girl was soooo sleepy, but she was such a great sport! After just a little but of hand clapping and funny face making, she warmed up to me, and in no time she was smiling for the camera, looking generally adorable. Take a look at my favorites and don’t feel silly if you start giggling just looking at them! That just means you’re human.
Helpful tip for all the other non-moms out there like myself: don’t put babies in the snow. They don’t like it. And they will let you know.
*I’ve been working on my colorspace issues. These were processed using my old method, and so the colors aren’t that vibrant. I’m trying to fix it, though. Learning slowly. Slow and steady wins the race. Also trying to figure out sharpening for the web. There’s a fine line.
February 28, 2008
Need I say more?
February 20, 2008
“The Great Pyrenees is a white, giant, well balanced dog of unsurpassed elegance and majestic appearance. Its amber eyes have a serene, intelligent, thoughtful and dignified expression.”
Um, apparently Lula didn’t get this memo. Maybe it’s just an awkward phase, but as these images will attest, she’s a little more “offbeat” than this description indicates she ought to be. That’s okay. We like her just the same.
Here she is at just a couple months old:
Oh, how time flies. They grow up so fast. Here she is at about 9 months. Already a hearty 80lbs.
I love this image so much, I just HAVE to post it full size. Click on the picture to enlarge it.
Have a fantastic night and, if you’re lucky enough to have a puppy of your own, give him a little scratch behind the ears and maybe even a chicken treat. And let him sleep on your bed. There’s plenty of room.
February 6, 2008
My first portrait session! Nevermind that it was my in parents’ basement and that my lighting was a incandescent desk lamp clipped to a treadmill. I shot most of it in RAW, and quite honestly, I’m having a tough time adjusting. My white balance was completely off while I was shooting (and I had no idea how to fix it), and processing the images after was a whole new ballgame. Some of my black and white conversions turned out pretty good; most failed miserably (as you will soon see). Nevertheless, I had a fantastic time, and I think we came out of it all with a few real sparklers!
Without further ado, I would like to present baby Jack, in all his glory (the naked pictures were at the request of his awesome mom, Jessica). With a tush that cute, how cold I refuse? Jack’s tush, that is, not Jessica’s.* I’ve grouped the images into “fun” shots, and “sweet” shots, even though every moment with this kid is fun and sweet! (Watch out for the “Olan Mills” shot! You’ll know it when you see it. Can we say “soft focus”?!)
Fun……………………………………………………………………………………
Sweet…………………………………………………..
*An important note: Jessica has a nice tush, too.
January 28, 2008
I thought it would be a good idea to experiment with exposure, manual aperture settings, and trespassing (all of which I will use frequently if I ever become a real photographer). I circled Hoover Reservoir in Westerville at sunset one Saturday, and got a few fun shots out of my adventure. None of them are especially skillful photos, but they each capture a small victory over camera settings and lighting and Photoshop (I have the baby “Elements” version – I’m considering buying Lightroom first to manage my images, and then investing in CS3 later, since Elements is serving my needs pretty well now, and I found a website that claims I can use actions if I tweak Elements a little). Enjoy! Also, sorry many of these are of me. I’m not narcissistic, but when you’re all alone and trying to learn to photograph people, you have to improvise. Enjoy.
I love the colors in this one. I’m still trying to figure out how to make the weed stand out more when I reduce the image size for the web, but I’m not having much luck.
I wanted to try some backlighting, and I got this weird flare-y thing at the top of the frame. Not necessarily a bad thing, just very mysterious.
I just like the long shadows on the grass in this one. Those colors are straight out of the camera. It was a lovely evening.
This one is sooo Bob Ross. Happy little trees. I caught a little of the closer shoreline in the bottom of the frame, and the horizon is just crooked enough to annoy me, but I’m not going to change it. Nobody’s perfect. 
Lens flare is hip again. Or at least it’s coming back. Or trying to.
I’m so sad. Garth said this one’s my emo album cover. Funny.
I wish the subject in this one stood out a little more, but I was trying to keep those rocks in the foreground blurred but not unrecognizable, and I think it worked.
I lit this with my car headlights. It’s not really a good picture, but I thought it was funny, so here it is.
This one’s lit with my car headlights, too. Probably my favorite shot of the night, just because I love the depth of field, and because who woulda thunk car lights would work so well? They’re glowy. I like that.
January 26, 2008
What girl doesn’t love a good makeover? After living in our house for a year, I decided it was time to get rid of the “no cost decorating” we did in our bedroom, and go with something a little more our style. I got some really excellent deals, too. The bed (which is solid wood) was $299 on sale at Value City Furniture. The birch gallery wrap canvas was free from my friend Jeremy who runs a print shop and used my project to test new canvas paper. The little red nightstands were a steal at Ikea for $40/each. And I got the bedspread (which is patchwork corduroy) on clearance at Target for $39. The curtains (which are velveteen), were $30/pair at Overstock.com. We’re eventually going to replace the white dresser with a lovely Craftsman style one, but even with all my bargain shopping, it’s not in the budget right now!
(If you want to see the rest of the house, check out my facebook album.)
Before…..
After…
The rad stained glass lamp my sister got us for Christmas…
Some of my high-class clip-on earrings. Practicing my “macro” for wedding ring shots…
