Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category

PUG meeting

January 30, 2010

In grade school, I didn’t care about learning. I was the girl towards the back of the classroom that was more interested in talking than listening to the teacher. I crammed the night before a test or project was due in order to get a good grade and went through the years without really appreciating the wealth of knowledge at my disposal.

In my continued journey to say “yes” this year, Tuesday night I went to a Pictage PUG meeting,  for Atlanta photographers where special guest Mike Larson was speaking.  Shari Zellers was kind enough to coordinate the whole thing.

I laughed at myself at the end of the night because I realized that I was sitting in the second row, as close to the front as I could get. I soaked up as much knowledge as I could and listened intently to every word. I wanted to learn.

I regret not focusing more in school. There is a part of me that wants to go back and get my Masters degree so that I can have the opportunity to do it right. Even though I swore when I graduated with my B.B.A I would never ever go back to school, never. Funny how things change.
For now, I am enjoying all the opportunities I have to learn more about photography and the business side of things. Mike’s information was indispensable and I have already begun putting some of the things I learned into practice.
Here’s to the continued journey of never learning enough!
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I didn’t have my camera, so Evelyn was kind enough to give me this image of Mike Larson.

So I was at a good friends house last night, getting ready to play Settlers of Catan (its the greatest game ever. Check it out)(for those of you that do know the game… we played a Traders and Barbarians Scenerio- awesome!) and out of nowhere my friend Jessica asks me about my 2 blog posts. Yea…for real..

So here it is!
I was looking at some photography information online this past week and a girl comes up from behind me and asks if I’m a photographer. I said yes and we started talking. Turns out she is as well and we blog stalk(yes blog stalk) some of the same photographers. We shared how we wish we could meet more photographers and get to know other peers in the industry. Just for chatting, learning, sharing, etc.
Well little did she know this is something something I have been thinking about for a while. Every time I meet a new photographer this sort of conversation comes up. So I am putting myself out there. If you are a photographer and want to get together with other peers in the Atlanta area…send me an email. Based on the feedback I will try to find an evening for us to get together at a central location. It would be great to make this a more regular type of thing.
Look forward to hearing from you!
Back To Settlers of Catan: This game is awesome. It has become my favorite game. When other people tell me they love this game I feel like we have an instant bond and will be friends. :) Seriously! I bet if you ask people you will be surprised how many people play!

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I spent Sunday night laying in bed listening to the downpours of rain, not a wink of sleep. LITERALLY!(check my facebook statuses for proof). I have never experienced such relentless amounts rain and thunder. At 6 a.m., my friend Evelyn called, also unable to sleep, and filled me on on the road conditions. It seemed as if everything was shut down…as if we weren’t going to make it to the convention.

But alas! We had been waiting for this for months and were not about to miss it because of the first time since I can remember… Georgia flooding. We hopped in the car and braved the roadways. I called my friend Lora on the way for updates(she was ahead) and we navigated the roads. Arriving half an hour late, we snuck though the cracked door, trying not to make a ruckus as we slid past people to get to the few chairs that sat vacant. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to focus as the speaker continued her presentation, my mind unwinding from the adventures of driving.

We had a session break and that was when the fun really began…we could talk! I met up with Lora and different vendors and mingled with other photographers that were from Atlanta. The rest of the day was spent learning and socializing.

Then we reached the last session of the day…To say I was exctied would be an understatement, especially since I was sitting next to Lora, who was a giddy as could be. You would have thought she just met Tom Cruise! We had been waiting for this…It was time for Kevin Kubota’s session. In the photography world- he’s like a legend! He’s created tools for editing that would be comparable to the idea of sliced bread! He’s KEVIN KUBOTA! We listened intently to every word, not wanting to miss a thing. I was re-inspired by this convention and ready to go shoot- to put into practice all that I had learned!

So tonight, my roommate came home from the salon with her hair all done – she is testing hair styles for her upcoming wedding :) and I said “hey, lets take some pictures!” I had her squat in front of the refrigerator for a background. Whatever works! Here’s one of a few more to come.

Gorgeous!
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Last week I had the opportunity to shoot family night at my apartment complex. Different families came in and got a portrait taken and management purchased each family and 8X10 photo. A great time was had by all!

I won’t be posting these family sessions on the blog…but this got me thinking…I HIGHLY recommend that everyone use a professional print lab for their photos. CVS, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc are definitely great prices, but the quality you get for a few extra dollars with a professional lab is far superior!

I received an order in the mail last week of some 8X10′s I ordered of previous sessions and I was blown away by how great they looked! Here’s a picture of some of the pictures…but keep in mind that this is a picture of a picture( I just wanted to say picture) :) and it doesn’t have the same WOW effect as it does in person.

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