Valentine's Day

A day to be with the ones you love, doing what you love and for the Salter family that could only mean HOCKEY!

The boys hit the court and then the park while I stopped to smell the roses. Rhododendrons actually, blooming on a warm sunny February day.

Love is definitely in the air today.

Pretty in Pink

Some of my favorite shots from yesterday's session with the Pisut family.
Their sweet little girl is as pretty as a picture and was a total ham for the camera which made for a lot of fun.

Low Light vs. Bright Light. What's your ISO?

First there were f/stops and shutter speeds to consider and now we throw in ISO (once known as film speed).
The flag shot and the train depot puddle shot were both samples of bright light/daylight and O on the floor was a very low light, dark room (no flash) shot which turned out quite well I think - credit the amazing lens save for the part that I cut off his chin. A faux pas noted by my mentor - thank you very much ;)
Also note: the profile pic is a very low light shot too.

Assignment 1 - Take 2

On my first assignment, I was shooting the Issaquah Creek in motion,with a slow shuter speed. I did not have a tripod with me that day and was working with a breeze that was causing the branches in the shot to blur slightly.

I went out again, with tripod in hand to retake the photo. There was no breeze on this particular morning and needless to say, I was much happier with the result the second time around. I especially love the color of the rocks coming from beneath the water.

Pine Wood Derby Race Portrait Fundraiser

This past weekend, Seattle area Cub Scout Pack 680 held their annual Pine Wood Derby race. It was quite an event.

Many of the boys had portraits taken with their cars which they had worked so hard on.

These two Cub Scouts couldn't be more proud of their derby cars. Nice job boys!

All of the Cubs were simply adorable and it was my pleasure to donate the proceeds from the portaits to the pack to support their scouting activies.

A Fab Family Photoshoot.

I recently had the oportunity to photograph one of the loveliest families I know. We had a great time and these two very photogenic ladies made my job unbelieveably easy.

Let's start at the beginning.

I've been thinking about where to begin. I have decided the beginning is a good place to start so here goes. :)

Warning: There is a lot to cover to get caught up to speed so in my usual chatty style this is not a "long story short" entry.

I am Mom to three amazing young boys and wife to a wonderful man named James. I am the finder of lost toys, the kisser of owies, probably too competitive for my own good and never shy away from a challenge. I am currently on hiatus from my nursing career where I was witness to little miracles happening every day in labor & delivery. Now, let's add photography student and apprentice to the list.

I have always loved great photography but was really more of a spectator, not knowing how to get the great shot I saw in my mind into print. I have had several cameras over the years, each one better than the last. What I really needed was to go back to the drawing board, learn the craft right from square one. Here is where my photo-journey begins.

My birthday was rolling around and James came to me and asked what I might like this year. He hates this question more than any other because my stock answer has always been. "I don't need anything". That is completely true. There is nothing that I need. My family and I are healthy and happy and really what could be more important than that? He insists that I am the absolute worst person in the world to buy gifts for and that maybe secretly I enjoy torturing him just a little. :)

I remembered a conversation I had recently had about how birthdays and holidays are not about what you need. If you need something, you go out and get it. These are times to celebrate, time for wishes to be granted times to ask for the things you want but might never bother to get for yourself. So I threw my wish out on the table. I told him "I want to go to photography school". Secretly I wanted a new DSLR too but wanted to spend some time researching and shopping around for just the right one. As you probably know all too well, they are not cheap so the prospect of buying a piece of equipment only to end up having to upgrad or trade-in six months down the road did not appeal to me.

Our 8 year old 35mm film SLR would have to suffice for the time being. The big day rolled around and James, my granter of wishes told me that he had enrolled me into photography school. I was SO excited. I immediately began reading my course outline and pre-lesson information.

I was beginning to see that while my camera would work fine, submitting my metadata (every minute detail of the shot's composition) would prove to be challenging and it was time to start shopping around. Those of you who know me well, know that I am the BEST shopper out there! In this case I could see that a little guidance would be very helpful so I approached a terrific lady who also happens to be a very talented photographer and asked if she would consider mentoring me and she agreed. Michelle is a wealth of knowledge and I love her spirit!

The holidays came and went, yadda, yadda, yadda...

I bought a beautiful new camera (Canon 40D) and a couple of snazzy new lenses too (18-135mm & 50mm 1.4). My course began and I was all set!!!

I went out to shoot my first assignment and was pretty happy with it. I took a deep breath and sent in my photos and waited to find out if they were any good.Turns out they were but there is always room for improvement right?

The first lesson was contrasting depths of field, and motion - crisp and blurred (when I figure out how to attach photos on this page, I will). I have been having SO much fun working with my camera (I have already had some family photo shoots and did portraits for our Cub Scout Pine Wood Derby) that I have fallen a bit behind on my assignments – oops. So I’ll post more as I have them ready)

Thanks for riding along,
Nicole