Whew, how is it the 8th of July already? I swear, once the last embers from 4th of July fireworks flame out, summer just barrels down the tracks towards Labor Day.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working with the ladies at Blogzilla Studio to give my little piece of the blogosphere a bit of a face lift.  Going with clean, simple and streamlined.  Tell me what you think!

So, back to the business at hand. I’m still working my way through the photographer interview questions courtesy of Courtney Slazinik of Click It Up a Notch.

A little context: I love photography. I love pictures. I love looking at them. I love being in them. I love taking them. However, with the way I’ve been treating my camera, you’d never know it. While I am an avid Instagrammer, I have been neglecting my DSLR.  My camera body is pristine from lack of use.  My Lightroom is laughably outdated.  I need to make a change beyond toting my camera around with me like another member of the family.  I need to examine what it is that I love about photography, how I got here and why I want to keep taking pictures.  Some introspection was in order.

The photography blog, Click It Up a Notch, has a series of photographer interviews that I read voraciously.  The more I read, the more my mind sparked and fired, ideas pinging around faster than I could grab them.  If reading about other photographers created such a response, what would happen if I posed those same questions* to myself?   Over the next few weeks, we’re going to find out.

If you could only use one lens for a year, which would you choose?

Nikon 18-55mm | 28mm | f/3.2 | 1/50 sec

Gah! This is extremely tough.  There are three lenses that I keep in rotation, but the one that I gravitate towards the most would be my Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5.  This was one of the last lenses that I acquired and I have found it provides me with the greatest versatility.  This little powerhouse enables me to shoot wide angle to standard snaps, as well as tight portraits all while provding that highly sought-after, creamy bokeh. The lens itself is super light, provides sharp focus and really is just the perfect lens to keep on the camera body for quick grab and go shooting.  And no, Nikon didn’t pay me to say that!

I love photography. I love pictures. I love looking at them. I love being in them. I love taking them. However, with the way I’ve been treating my camera, you’d never know it. While I am an avid Instagrammer, I have been neglecting my DSLR.  My camera body is pristine from lack of use.  My Lightroom is laughably outdated.  I need to make a change beyond toting my camera around with me like another member of the family.  I need to examine what it is that I love about photography, how I got here and why I want to keep taking pictures.  Some introspection was in order.

The photography blog, Click It Up a Notch, has a series of photographer interviews that I read voraciously.  The more I read, the more my mind sparked and fired, ideas pinging around faster than I could grab them.  If reading about other photographers created such a response, what would happen if I posed those same questions* to myself?   Over the next few weeks, we’re going to find out.

*photographer interview questions courtesy of Courtney Slazinik of Click It Up a Notch.

Are you currently doing any photography projects? If so, what?

Current Photography Project

In August of 2006, M was turning a year old.  During her first year, I turned to a number of resources to help me navigate the first year of parenthood: family, friends, books, magazines — I was all over it, making sure that she was hitting her milestones, that she was eating from all of the food groups, and that she was engaged in activities to stimulate growth and development — Gymboree Play and Music! Kindermusik! Stroller Strides! My mother gifted me with a subscription to Parents Magazine as part of my “Welcome to Motherhood” starter pack.  In the last issue before my subscription ran out, I came across an article entitled “The Swimsuit Project”.  In it, author Maria Heck describes how prior to her becoming a mother, she came across a photo essay in Life Magazine.  The photo essay depicted a young woman whose mother had posed her in the same bathing suit each year on her birthday.  Heck was duly impressed and promised herself that whenever she had a daughter, she would duplicate the project.  When her daughter was 4 months old, Heck slipped Madeline into a floral bathing suit, complete with bra cups, that had belonged to Heck’s mother.  Every year on Madeline’s birthday, Heck snapped a picture. She did this for 15 years, stopping when the suit fit her daughter better than it had ever fit her own mother.

At that point in time, Heck decided that, “the chronicle is complete. She has gone from baby to young woman. If anything proves that your child grows up in the blink of an eye, it’s seeing these pictures all together and realizing that the first one was only a heartbeat away from the last.”

This is a project that I work on three times a year, one time for each of my girls.  Another worthwhile challenge I did was a photo-a-day challenge for a year.  I chronicled my experiences on a dedicated tumblr blog, which when I look back on now, unfolds into a very spectacular story.

I’ve looked into doing several other mini-challenges like a photo an hour for a day, or selfie a day for a week or 30 days of 30 things that start with the letter H (that last one I just made up, but who knows? It could be totally do-able!).

I love photography. I love pictures. I love looking at them. I love being in them. I love taking them. However, with the way I’ve been treating my camera, you’d never know it. While I am an avid Instagrammer, I have been neglecting my DSLR.  My camera body is pristine from lack of use.  My Lightroom is laughably outdated.  I need to make a change beyond toting my camera around with me like another member of the family.  I need to examine what it is that I love about photography, how I got here and why I want to keep taking pictures.  Some introspection was in order.

The photography blog, Click It Up a Notch, has a series of photographer interviews that I read voraciously.  The more I read, the more my mind sparked and fired, ideas pinging around faster than I could grab them.  If reading about other photographers created such a response, what would happen if I posed those same questions* to myself?   Over the next few weeks, we’re going to find out.

*photographer interview questions courtesy of Courtney Slazinik of Click It Up a Notch.

What Type of Background Do You Have?

Nikon D5000 | 1/1250 sec | 175mm | f/5.3 | Nikon 70-200mm

I’m self-taught. I have a great number of photographer friends who have allowed me not only to pick their brains and pepper them with questions.   When I’ve worked as a model, some of the photographers have let me see my film — or digital snaps, nowadays — and point out what’s working and what’s not with the lighting, speed, and depth of field. Being able to observe  in the field is an invaluable experience.

I’m a bookworm and have a pretty extensive collection of books to which I refer. One of my favorites is Nikon D5000: From Snapshots to Great Shots. It’s full of useful, instructional information as well as photos taken by that camera body that make it a great resource.     I have taken classes and workshops. I’ve taken ones offered by professionals on Groupon and ones offered by the fine arts museum in my city.  I read a lot of articles from bloggers as well as a scores of pins from Pinterest about ways to improve everything from the care of my camera and lenses to how to get the most natural looking expressions from feisty children.

Without a doubt, hands-on experience is the best.  Taking snaps of my kids, my dinner, myself — all of those instances provide me with information on what I can do to be better and more creative for the next time.

I love photography. I love pictures. I love looking at them. I love being in them. I love taking them. However, with the way I’ve been treating my camera, you’d never know it. While I am an avid Instagrammer, I have been neglecting my DSLR.  My camera body is pristine from lack of use.  My Lightroom is laughably outdated.  I need to make a change beyond toting my camera around with me like another member of the family.  I need to examine what it is that I love about photography, how I got here and why I want to keep taking pictures.  Some introspection was in order.

The photography blog, Click It Up a Notch, has a series of photographer interviews that I read voraciously.  The more I read, the more my mind sparked and fired, ideas pinging around faster than I could grab them.  If reading about other photographers created such a response, what would happen if I posed those same questions* to myself?   Over the next few weeks, we’re going to find out.

*photographer interview questions courtesy of Courtney Slazinik of Click It Up a Notch.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Nikon D5000 | 100/sec | 50mm | f/3.5

My mom used to get Vanity Fair magazine when I was growing up.  I can remember thumbing through the gloss pages during the mid 90’s, the height of the age of the Super Model.  The iconic Herb Ritts photograph of  Stephanie Seymour, Cindy Crawford,  Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Tatjana Patiz was like none I’d ever seen before.  I was so blown away not just by the beauty of the models, but by the sheer simplicity of the image.  There was no busy set, no props, just gorgeous lighting and the strong clean lines of the women being photographed.  Never before had I seen a picture where the subjects looked like they could reach out from the page and brush their fingers against my own. Everything up until that point had been flat and two-dimensional.  Beginning with that image, my ideas of what pictures, of what photography were forever changed.

I recognize now that I have always tried to emulate that creamy, dreamy style of portraiture that I saw all of those years ago. The trouble was, I didn’t know how to describe it. I didn’t know that I could pursue knowledge of photography and leapfrog that into a potential career.  For a long time, I pressed my creativity down, down, down in order to let the more practical aspects of my personality take focus.  It wasn’t until about five years ago, the lid snapped off and the creativity came surging out.

My current sources of inspiration include websites like Pinterest, and Instagram.  I do continue to love images from Vanity Fair, and have added Vogue, GQ, and other glossies to the list.  My tumblr site is a true depiction of what inspires me, with respect to photography.  I’ve amassed a catalog of everything from fashion to food, destinations to decor. It’s my personal treasure box of images that make my eyes water with possibility and pleasure. When an image plucks at me, sets off something vibrating inside of me that makes me feel like I have got to do that, it’s priming me to embark on a creative endeavor.