4th Ave Studios

Ok, I am excited because I have never taken pictures of stuff before.  Usually it's people.  A friend of ours asked moi to take pictures of his studio.  Mr. Matt liked my website so much that he decided it would benefit his business to have one too.  He needed some updated pics of the studio and some cool angles of his awesome equipment.  Let me just say that this guy is super talented at what he does...he has been in business for a few years now and God has favored him immensely.

Oh yeah, and his wifey-poo is amazing.  I love you Jo!  Thank you all for being such awesome friends to Dave and I.  I feel so blessed to know you and always have a blast when we're together.

In other news, Dave is undergoing some changes with his career.  We are trying to stay positive though it's hard at times.  He really wants me to be able to go full force with my business but I'm just not sure if it would be wise at this point.  Thank all of you who have been thinking about us and praying for us.  Ya'll are awesome and we love you bunches :)

Ok, I'm not gonna delay any longer...Here ya go Mr. Matt...the studio is fabulous!   

News Flash...I got a new flash!

After many liters of plasma, I have finally been able to save up and purchase my AlienBee flash unit.  I honestly didn't know what to do with it so I just stared at the cardboard boxes for awhile.  

Excited yet nervous I decided, "I guess I'll just have to try it out."  Has anyone else been here?  So, I put it together and being a little man brained didn't read the directions.  I figured it out just fine by myself thanks.  After a bit of bribing I was able to get my children to pose yet again for me.  I can only imagine what my neighbors across the street were thinking as poofs of light randomly emitted from my windows.  

I have been so super busy working my day job full time this last week.  I have to work a full week next week too.  I will be so happy when I can get back to my regular scheduled programming...

I'm on the hunt now.  Babies.  I want fresh babies.  I am so excited to start photographing newborns I can just see their little wrinkled feet right now...so if you know anybody who has a newborn and wants some photos please let me know.  I would love to try some children's stuff too.  

Until I get a hot bun out of the oven, here are my own offspring.  Oh yeah, I am trying out this awesome new thing where my pictures are awesomely bigger...what do you think???

playing peek-a-boo

not quite sure why this one is so pixelated...hmmm

i just absolutely LOVE his expression in this one :)

i love my boys!!!

Come home safe...

Becky & Chris never got engagement pictures...so, we did some still happily married pictures.  Toby sat alongside happy as a clam.  What a cute little puppy!  It makes me want another puppy...but I really can't.  My "puppy" is enough right now...  

These two were so comfortable in front of my camera.  They did exactly what I asked...acted like I wasn't even there.  As they coddled and caressed, I just shot away.  I am so happy that Becky will have these to look at when Chris is away.  You see, Chris is deploying to Iraq next week so we fit a time in to get these done before he left.  

I know Toby will be a help in keeping Becky company, but if anyone thinks of it, keep them in your heart and prayers.  Thank you Chris for serving and defending our country...I know you will come home safe :)

Isn't he adorable!?!?!

"Shake, Shake, Shake it!!!

These were the words that this little guy LOVED to hear!  As soon as "shake it" came out of any one's mouth...he bounced up and down like an antique bobble head...but he bobbled all over!  It was SO stinkin' cute!  

This amazing family called me asking if I could do a session of their little boy short notice.  They are from out of state and were visiting family for a wedding so I was happy that I was able to do it.  I always know I'm gonna have a blast at any session but this little one cracked me up. Talk about an easy shoot...he was so much fun even though the poor guy had to deal with the chilly morning... 

Also, I was able to assist with a wedding this last Saturday!  Christel was nice enough to let me tag along.  I got to help find a mirror, fluff the dress and hold reflectors on top of this huge rock thing to block sun off the parties heads.  Talk about an arm workout.  I looked like a strange bird.  

The bride was LOVELY and her colors were so chic...I didn't shoot the "formal" pictures but I did get to help with some shots at the ceremony...I will get those up later though.  It was so helpful for me to be able to just see what goes on from a photographers perspective......I am so excited to be able to start that soon.  Thank you Christel so much for letting me learn from you..you're a great friend and photographer :)

I don't know if any of ya'll noticed this but Google servers have been down and so hadn't been able to post the sneak peaks until now.  Thank goodness they're online now.  So, no more waiting...here you go little guy...and one more from me "Shake Shake Shake it!!"

Doesn't he look like a Victorian baby doll?

This is the moment of bobbling...

Michael Ray & Kim

It was as if they were doing an engagement session all over again.  He was mesmerized by her.  And she was totally into him.  From enchanting porch to mosquito infested road, these two couldn't be phased by anything.  

We had some unexpected ambient music at the park thanks to the Great Falls Orchestra...later in the session there was comical relief from the nastiness of the skeeters provided by my awesome sis AKA. Whitney.  She flailed her arms frantically in the air...complete with eye patch.  Kim couldn't stop laughing...I can't tell you how many of those pests I had to photoshop out of the awesome silhouette shot.  There was even one that was attached to Michael Ray's arm!!!  

So, here are the sneak peaks for your viewing pleasure...

Second shooter training

After church today I was feeling confident about how I looked so I asked Dave if he was ready to take some pictures for me.  I need a good updated picture for my website and he's been buggin' me about getting my pictures taken anyway.  He was up for it then,  but I bet now he doesn't want to be my second shooter.  

I was trying to explain to him how everything works and let's just say that I probably expected too much from him and gave him input overload...poor thing.  But, I think out of the 200 some odd pictures that he took, we got a few keepers.  

By the way, if you don't know how to shoot pictures other than in Auto, I HIGHLY recommend Me Ra Koh's DVD Beyond the Green Box...she explains everything so it makes sense.  This is how I started out.  She offers exercises and tips.  If you want something less expensive than a photography class, I would get the DVD for 30 bucks plus some shipping and handling.  

I usually don't like pictures of myself but after a little editing and yes, I'll admit it...some photoshop trimming on one image, I think they look ok.  Now for me to get down to a size where no trimming is needed...

I found this sweet chair in an alley and had to use it...

This next one is me squatting next to a dumpster near my house believe it or not ;)

My first retouch project...

David's Grandparents and myself had a fun time talking via our i Macs and taking over each others screens...They just bought their Apple recently and they learned alot today.  Kudos to them for taking the time to learn new technology :-)  

Grandpa B was interested in my photography software after showing him my website, so I shared my screen with him, and he was able to view my desktop on his computer.  It's amazing that even though we are in Montana and he is in Florida, I was able to show him how I work my magic on images like he was right in the room with us.  

After seeing how amazing CS3 was, he asked me if I would take a stab at retouching an old photo he had of an airplane he flew...he called this airplane his "friend."  I didn't know how I could help, but I spent about 45 minutes on the picture and I must say that I am pleased with how it turned out.  I already emailed him the retouched version and thought ya'll would like to see the before and after photos.  

This could actually be another aspect of my business...some people can make 30-50 dollars an hour retouching old photographs.  It's something that I may consider in the near future.  I tried to keep everything about the photo as true as I could.  It was badly damaged from a deep fold/crease down the middle and mold all over.  I restored some color to the sky and sharpened the airplane...the clouds look a wee bit different, but I think it turned out pretty darn good.   Tell me what ya'll think.... (you can click on the image to make it bigger)

Before:

After: