Tuesday, December 30, 2008

I am in Canada...

and I am happy. I decided a much overdo vacation was in store for me so I am spending the week with my sister in Edmonton. Things I will be doing will include: *coffee*IKEA*Sephora*West Edmonton Mall*coffee*MAC*ice skating - OUTSIDE*havin' a rip roarin' FUN time with my sis - laughing at how awesomely funny we are*and coffee. I miss my men at home...but I really needed this time for myself. When I get home I will share more about our Christmas and my trip. IF I have a computer that works of course...yes, my computer isn't booting up. So, need lots of prayer for that so I can get back to work on my images for all of you awesome clients...welp, a fun day is in store for me...Have a Happy and Safe New Year!!!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Dan & Alie

This session broke the record for me for "The Coldest Weather."  Dan and Alie were AMAZING though...we just laughed while snot was flying out of my nose.  Yes...I'm that cool...they will tell ya.  Oh yea, I almost slipped on this ramp thing too...Dan insists that I should have a waiver for my clients so I'm not liable for any injuries :)  I should have one too it seems.  

So I met Alie at BioLife and being the talker I am, she found I was into photography.  Alot.  So, I gave her a card and she liked what she saw.  Dan had a break from his military training to visit Alie and fam for the holidays.  It was all the girl could talk about for a couple months...I was so stinkin' excited to finally meet him in person!!!  

We wrapped up the session with some pool...Dan and Alie are really into pool.  It was awesome to see them so comfortable and having fun.  He is completely mesmerized by her...I mean can you blame him???  Look at her eyes!  So beautiful!  It was such a warm ambience with these two snuggling and making the most of the precious time they  had that it didn't seem as cold as I thought it would be.  

On a more serious note, if you haven't heard of BioLife, please check them out.  There are so many folks who need the products of plasma donation.  It's a small amount of your time and you get paid!  All the while you are truly saving lives by the small sacrifice of a couple hours once or twice a week and a needle poke.  

Thanks Dan and Alie for getting me out of the house...ya'll are awesome!!!

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I think this is my favorite!

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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Baby It's Cold Outside...

Really.  Really.  Cold.


Thursday, December 18, 2008

Baby *K*

Do you remember this fun session with the adorable little boy???  Well, he just got a new baby sister and I was so honored to be able to revisit this charmer once again.  What a fun session.  I love getting to hold the tiny babies and have my couple hours of "itch" time.  This baby girl was simply one of the most beautiful babies I think I've ever seen.  Ever.  No, I'm not kidding and I'm not being bias either...you tell me if she doesn't look like the perfect doll... 

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Proud Brother...I can't believe how much he's grown!!!

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How can you not love baby feet? :)

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One of my faves!  She's so alert...

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Monday, December 15, 2008

"'Tis the season to be crazy..."

With the Christmas program over and getting caught up with my editing and orders I finally feel like I can start to enjoy this time of year.  I wanted to take this time to answer a question one of my blog readers asked.  Please understand that I don't want to appear like a know-it-all because truth be told...I probably know less than a majority of ya'll :)  I'm just tryin' to help a sistah out...so...

She asked what my favorite lens is to shoot with...

Right now my fave lens is the 50mm 1.8 - it's cheap, decently fast and sharp.  This may be due to the fact that I only have a whopping 2 lenses right now but you know what?  That's OK.  Everyone's gotta start somewhere...I'm sure my future fave will become the 50mm 1.4 and then after that the 50mm 1.2...Let's just say that I've really grown accustomed to fixed lenses.  I'm not trying to be demeaning when I say this, because Lord knows I had know clue what "fixed lens" meant 8 months ago...but fixed meaning, no zooming in and out.  There are a couple reasons why I personally prefer this type of lens.

First, it seems that they have lower apertures than zoom lenses...which low aperture + dreamy yumminess = Happy Ali...

And B...Whenever I am shooting with my zoom lens I feel like I don't move around much.  The fixed lens kind of prompts me to move around and shoot all over because I don't have the option to rotate the lens and zoom in or out.  Because I'm moving around more, I think my creative flow is less hindered.  I find new angles to shoot and it just seems to work better for me.  

Here's an example of the aperture all the way down to 1.8 on my 50mm:

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Notice how sharp the keyboard is and the creamy goodness all around...LOVE IT!  I put my focal point on the center, and then focus in on what I want to be sharp (the keyboard) and then recompose the shot (move the camera so that the keyboard is now in the lower third instead of in the center).

A wedding ceremony situation is different because most couples don't want the photographer balancing on the organ to get the perfect shot.  But for the getting ready, formal and reception I would probably try for a fixed lens...unless I'm doing the group formal in which I may pop on the 16-35mm 2.8...

Some of the lenses on my "Santa Baby" list are:
50mm 1.2  (anyone want to spend 1,200 on me?  but really...I want this bad)
85mm 1.2
16-35mm 2.8

I'm researching some of the telephoto lenses but I'm not sure what I want yet...so surprise me if you want to :)

Another thing that I've been doing recently is applying the Kubota Magic Sharp action to my images.  I learned this from the amazing Jasmine Star and it has really made a difference...it won't work miracles on an unfocused image...but it WILL make your great images "pop out."

Hope that helped you and I want to thank all of ya'll for your support and encouragement.  It means so much!  Hope ya'll are having a fabulous Christmas Season!!!




Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Ray Family

On Thanksgiving, not only did I get to spend the day with my Mamma but also with this super fun family...The Ray Family. I seriously wanted them to take me hostage for the day by the end of our session because I fell in love with all of them! Every year for Thanksgiving they meet at the Heritage Inn and spend the holiday together. They haven't had a professional photographer come in to take pictures for about 10 years. They really wanted to capture some moments of the beautiful "Mom/Grandma/Great-Grandma" and her only Love since it had been awhile. It was so special to see so many generations relating and having fun with with each other. It was my first session with more than 6 bodies...there were 23 to be exact...but everything went so smoothly and the light was AMAZING!!! I think I'm going to see what I have to do to get this to be my emergency spot in case of crazy weather for weddings...

So here are some of my favorites and I included a big one of the bunch...there are a ton I could put on the blog, but then it wouldn't be a sneak peek :)

This is a fellow that I just thought was so funny! As everyone bustled about, he just sat in the hot tub contently eating his apple...even though he wasn't family by blood, he's a close friend to the family...and I just couldn't resist taking a picture of him.

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Isn't this little one just adorable???

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The stars of the day...they are such a funny couple! We joked around because when I asked them to look at each other he said, "I haven't looked at her in years..." these folks inspire me because they have been together for so long yet love each other all the more :)

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The whole caboodle...

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You're may be wondering, "Why would Ali post that?" I know it's not a contest winner or anything but I just thought it was hilarious that after the group picture these brothers thought it would be a good idea to throw their sister in the pool...don't worry...mom piped in just in time

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One of the very many cute portraits of a smaller cluster of the fam...

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This is one of the "grandkids" and his girlfriend. They wanted some pics by themselves and I thought this one was sweet.

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Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Kid Sister: Part Deux

I feel like I have been in overdrive since...well...I don't know.  For a long time.  Getting caught up with galleries and orders along with being involved with holiday festivities have really pooped me out.  At least I'm keeping busy right?

So it's long overdo posting this second part of the Dave & sis session...so here's some more sibling lovin'...

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