29.7.11

pen pals

i used to have a pen pal back when i was 10. she lived in montana and her name was carmen. she painted her envelopes with fingernail polish and i don't remember how we lost touch.

i love this idea of using a white t-shirt wrapped around a package and mailing it off. the more i think of it though, i don't know if i would want to walk around with my name and address printed on the front of my shirt. there must be some kind of cool alternative for this.

anyway, i miss having a pen pal. i miss getting letters in the mail. now all i see is money related, netflix, and every once in a while a magazine that i never get a chance to read cover to cover before it gets tossed out.

26.7.11

tat-tuesday | fake it till you make it edition








one of the most common comments i get on tat-tuesdays is that you guys are afraid to get tattooed so today i'm featuring some amazing temporary tattoos from tattly! maybe after you wear a polaroid camera tattoo around on your neck for a week you will decide to get the real thing?

25.7.11

linkin logs | photography tips


i've been accumulating photography tip links again so i will share... a lot are related to wedding photography because i'm shooting my first paid wedding gig in a couple of weeks and i'm kind of psyching myself out about it [for obvious reasons].
and some that are more on the business end so not *technically* just for photography:
hopefully some of you will find a helpful link or two in this post. if you have any links to great photography tips on blog posts, you tube videos, articles, or whatever please share!

22.7.11

cabinet of curiosities



























[image 1 "lambs of god found object photograph", the rest are unfortunately from weheart it without proper credit]

these are the inspiration photos i was talking about yesterday... basically i want to do a "cabinet of curiosities" project photographing each individual item so that people can buy prints and create their own cabinet of curiosities in their home without having to collect the items. instead they can get one of these frames with multiple openings for photos:


i written out 3 pages of things that i want to photograph for this project, now i'm just trying to figure out how to make them look uniform, but not boring and start acquiring them. i feel like i always keep my ideas like this in my head until i lose interest and they fade away so i need to be held accountable thus why i am sharing.

i'd love to hear any thoughts or suggestions that you guys might have!

21.7.11

tilt | things i love thursday


  • my new camera [canon 7d] has been ordered and will arrive on monday... finally, finally i bit the bullet and placed the order now my anxiety about shelling out the cash has evaporated
  • i'm brainstorming an idea for a photography theme/project which has me pumped up to get out and take pictures. i'll give you a hint, it is directly related to the "curiouser and curiouser" etsy treasury i created yesterday when i thought that my head was going to explode from inspiration overload. [i'm going to do a whole inspiration post about it this weekend].
  • found a writing gig for a site that actually wants me to write about photography, hopefully it works out and they are legit!
  • this picture by karly... because my grandma's name was gladys

AND

  • finally the article that i wrote inspired by dori has been accepted for publication... here's a preview:
How to Find Models: A Guide for Photographers

Finding good models for your photography projects can be extremely tricky, especially if you happen to live in a small town. Sadly, not all of us have beautiful friends willing to sacrifice their time to be the model for your latest photography project idea and you will need to go in search of willing subjects. Below I have listed some methods for finding models for your photography.

Obviously, offering monetary compensation will pique more interest from models than unpaid gigs. If you have a strong concept or a unique style of photography, many models (especially the ones who are just starting to build up their portfolio) will be willing to do TFCD or TFP photo shoots. TFCD is an abbreviation for "Time for CD" meaning you are exchanging a CD or DVD of images for their modeling work. TFP is short for "Time for Prints", these are two acronyms that you will see used all over the place when searching for models and you will find yourself using frequently if you are not already.

[keep reading]

  • oh and i almost forgot that it is thursday and that means we are going to mcdonalds today, yay! i haven't had mcdonalds in like 2 weeks now, i'm having french fry withdrawal!

19.7.11

tat-tuesday


because i have a new found appreciation for avocados [and cilantro]

i also like sail boats... especially ones contained in a little bitty bottle

18.7.11

its time for a new camera [and other photography ranting]

fried oreos from my visit to the salem fair last weekend

i had convinced myself that when i bought a new camera it would be the canon 5d mark ii [above]... but at $2,500 for the body alone i would be saving up for months and months for the purchase. i've decided on the comparable canon 7d instead [below] for $1,600. i was going to hold off until i could save up enough money from photo gigs and writing articles, but considering i need a back up camera for a wedding i'm shooting the first weekend in august i have to bite the bullet and buy it now.
the thought of shelling out that kind of money gives me major anxiety... MAJOR. the only way i can justify buying it before i have really saved up enough to afford it is to say that i'm going to use the hell out of it. i need to bring my a-game, get a lot of PAID portrait gigs lined up and try to take the most amazing photographs as possible.

and...

saturday was art at the market, i anticipated selling a lot of prints, but ended up having a stand next to the only other photographers there who were selling gigantic prints of places in europe leaving my meager stand with 11x14 prints of flowers and blacksburg empty for most of the day. i broke even on the cost of the stand and the prints, but not the frames selling a grand total of 12 prints [that's including 6 that were 4x6]. i didn't plan on making a fortune, but i thought that with the low prices on my prints that i would be able to sell many more than i did.

i learned a lot about being a street vendor for things like that:
  • bring your own stand and tent, make sure they are EXTREMELY nice ones
  • only plan on selling big prints, next time i won't sell anything smaller than an 8x10, maybe not even that small
  • put a label with name, location, and price on each individual print
  • matting/mounting photos is a must, plus this gives you the opportunity to sign them
  • unframed prints should be in a carousel or some other mechanism that allows for quick and easy viewing
  • pick a theme [or two] and stick with it - only a couple per display/show
i would love any additional tips that you guys might have. it was a nerve wracking experience and i got really down on myself for the first hour or so until i sold my first print. it was a lot of work so i'm debating whether or not to try again, but i probably will just to see if utilizing what i learned this time around will make much of a difference in profits.

anyway, so much photography related things circling around in my head distracting me from my 9-5 and making need another vacation so i had to pour them out here. if you have made it to the end of this post i have so much love and appreciation, please share any thoughts you may have with me! :]

p.s. karly got a job as a photographer and blogger for a restaurant where she lives and i'm so incredibly jealous!

hi there!


i have returned from vacation... which ended up being a stay-cation.
what i did all week:
  • pretended that the internet did not exist
  • pretended that my job didn't exist
  • hung out with my baby... took him hiking, to the pool, and to the fair
  • took some pictures
  • sold a handful of photos at art at the market
  • spent hours playing in my modest garden
  • eating all kinds of yummy and super fatty foods
  • *finally* had a chance to start reading breakfast at tiffany's by truman capote, which is actually quite a bit different from the movie.