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