It's been crazy lately

Well!  My life has been super hectic lately and, while I usually enjoy being busy, this has been a wonderful mix of the good and the bad.  As I mentioned briefly in my last post, I went to ImagingUSA at the end of January - my 5th year!  This was my second time as a PPA member and bringing Damien with me to go to business classes meant I could attend lighting and posing seminars (aka the fun stuff).  I didn't really like Atlanta, especially considering how great and photogenic New Orleans and San Antonio were, but it was also cold while we were there.  If I'm going south, it should be warm!  One thing Atlanta does have though is FANTASTIC barbeque.  Seriously, I ate it non-stop, and there was a really neat little hole-in-the-wall near our hotel that had some of the most delicious pulled pork I've ever eaten.  At the Expo this year, I finally bought a floor!  This way I can lay it down on top of carpets or ugly tile and have beautiful baby pictures on a gorgeous wood background!  I tested it with my camera-friendly pets when I got home.

After getting home (and figuring out our car situation because mine broke) I was able to start shooting again!  First on the list was my friends Rev and Rose, a super cute couple I know.  He's a piercer and we have a great barter system.  It's always a good time photographing them because Rev knows the shots he wants and so is the art director, and once we get those, Rose and I are like "yay, let's play!"

I also stopped by The 3rd Annual Pittsburgh Rock Music Awards - turns out Liz Berlin of Rusted Root owns Mr. Smalls (I had no idea!) so I got to take some pictures of her playing in between awards.  Craig from The Pittsburgh Scene gave out the Best Alternative Awards and my friends Children of October got Best Punk Album which was really exciting!

After that, I had a (almost) 3 month/Valentine's shoot with a beautiful baby girl named Audrey.  She is ridiculously adorable and her mom Bonnie is so sweet and excited about her daughter.  We had a slight meltdown, but it happens and you just have to know how to handle it.  This is why I always schedule in some extra time for baby shoots - the kid is totally in charge!  I had recently knitted a couple baby hats, which Audrey modeled and looked super cute in.

Right about the same time, I hit 1,000 fans on Facebook!!  Sooooo excited about this, it makes me feel really loved and hopeful for the future of my business.  I had a giveaway of a free session, which was won by a guitarist I know.  I went to his house and photographed him for his website (he's a guitar instructor - go to http://www.patrickmaloneyguitar.com) as well as took some pictures of his new daughter Cambria.  She's about 2 months old and so sweet!  It's nice seeing my friends happy and being good, loving parents.

Mid-February, my friend Sherry, who lives in New Jersey, came to visit for almost a week!  I rarely see her for more than 2 or 3 days at a time so was really excited to get to actually spend a significant amount of time with her.  Neither of us realized when she booked her train that she got here on Valentine's Day, whoops.  Oh well, our boyfriends were probably glad they didn't have to buy us dinners.  Poor Sherry had to deal with me practicing makeup skills and taking her picture while she visited, but we also did things that were fun for us both, like go to a concert and the Aviary!  I've been wanting to go since I was about 16 so it was awesome.  Also, they have a sloth.   Seemed like a weird creature to have in an aviary but it was exciting to see, even though it was rather camera-shy.  The eagle with one wing was a bit heartbreaking, but absolutely beautiful.

Last week I got unexpectedly stranded at Damien's for a few days when his car (which I've been using until mine gets its new engine) needed repairs and it ended up taking a lot longer than anyone thought it would.  I vaguely suspect our mechanic hates us....we cause so much trouble for the poor guy.  Luckily, I was able to borrow Damien's grandmother's car to get to work Friday and my shoot on Saturday.  It was a milestone shoot - Zahara just turned a year old!  Her parents, godparents and I wandered around Phipp's Conservatory with her and had a great time.  Cute baby, pretty flowers, it was a good day.

January Vacation! Cruise to the Bahamas

In January, I was lucky enough to not be in Pennsylvania half the month.  My boyfriend Damien and his family went on a cruise and took me along and then a week after we got home from that, he and I went to ImagingUSA.  But that's another story.  This one's about the cruise.

Cruises are boring.  I'm sorry, but it's true and I'm saying it.  They are.  I don't drink or gamble, at least not much, and I quickly realized that was pretty much all there was to do on a cruise ship.  So I knit socks.

Perhaps I'm a bit crazy, but yeah.  I spent a large portion of the cruiseship part of the cruise knitting socks and reading Game of Thrones.  It was fantastic.  Of course, I took pictures as well.  Not too many on the ship itself, though I managed to talk Damien in to a few cute pictures of the two of us.

Awwww, we're cute ^_^

This is one of the halls in the ship that I quite enjoyed.

In Florida.  We went to some shops and walked on the beach.  I'm most excited about the birds!

Sunrises.  I got up early almost every morning to try to take sunrise photos and none of them quite matched my expectations.  Shoulda slept in....

 Our first stop in the Bahamas, Nassau.  See that pinkish building, waaaaay in the distance there?  Yeah, we walked there.  After already walking up a hill and staircase to a fort.  It was ridiculous.  So much walking.  But it was fun!

Our last stop was Freeport, where Damien and I took a taxi to the beach and spent a few hours walking around picking up seashells.  We found some beautiful ones, and a crab!  I couldn't take him home though, sadly.  The beach was my favorite part of our trip, which is odd because I usually don't enjoy beaches.  In conclusion, while the cruising part wasn't all the exciting, I got to take some time off of work to read and knit, and I like exploring new places.  So it was a nice vacation.  We're going a couple other places this year, so expect more vacation blog posts once it gets to summer!

Top 12 for 2012

Well, it's the end of 2012 and in about 12 hours, 2013 will begin.  I'll be starting the year off pretty well - going on a nice vacation and then to the annual ImagingUSA photography conference (Atlanta this year!).  This year I'll be joined by my boyfriend, Damien, who hopefully will be handling some of the more business-y parts of the business so I can focus on creating beautiful images.  But that's next year and there will probably be blog posts on all of that as it happens.  It's still 2012, the world didn't end, and I'm going to share some of my more memorable photographs and moments.  There isn't really any order to these, just times throughout the year that I enjoyed.

At the beginning of 2012, I got a job at Bella Baby Photography.  This photo, admittedly, is from just a few weeks ago, but it's one of my favorites!  I absolutely love my job and I'm excited to get my camera tattoo filled in sometime in January or February of 2013 as a way to mark a year of making my living as a photographer.  I got the tattoo outline done as a graduation present to myself nearly 4 years ago when I was finishing up my Bachelors Degree in Photography.  2012 was the year of finally paying my bills with my degree and there's no better feeling.  It was also very exciting to learn about newborns, newborn photography, and gain confidence in a new field.  I love babies!

ImagingUSA 2012 was in New Orleans!!  NOLA is officially one of my favorite places that I've visited and I REALLY want to go back someday.  The whole city was fantastic to wander around in and the cemetery I visited was gorgeous.  In a few weeks I'll be attending Imaging 2013 in Atlanta and can't wait to find exciting places to photograph there as well.

Senior pictures!  I didn't have as many seniors this year as I had hoped but the ones I did have were great.  I've known Anna's family all my life (I remember going to the Big Knob Fair as a child and her being in a stroller!) and it was exciting to see her grown up into a pretty young lady who also has an interest in the visual arts.

My last shoot of 2012 was with my sister Christiana and her friend Olivia.  They were among my first models when I became interested in photography, what? 8 or 9 years ago.  They were such good sports going out in the snow and taking pictures just a few days ago.

Promo shoot with Children of October.  They're one of my favorite local bands that I've been photographing them for years and we finally did a proper shoot recently.  It was a beautifully gloomy day that had perfect atmosphere.

My cousin David got married!  This church was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in.  I photographed 3 weddings this year and my confidence has definitely grown.   I used to be a bit apprehensive about weddings (I often was too nervous to enjoy myself) but I have more faith in my abilities now and had a lot of fun.  Hoping to shoot more in 2013 and keep improving!

More seniors!  I had 2 sets of twins this year, and it was fun to try out different things with each set.  Alex and Josh have been family friends for most of their lives and we had an adventure at the park where they, being 17 year old boys, were completely ridiculous.  We managed to get photos that both boys, their mother, and I were all happy with, which is an accomplishment in itself.

What's a year without concerts?  2011 did not get to see Beaver County's annual Rock in the Suburbs but it returned in 2012 with some great local bands.  This is the singer from The Legendary Hucklebucks, who are indeed legendary and pretty amazing.  Definitely fun to photograph!

I don't do much nature photography but my boyfriend and I had a lovely photo adventure at McConnell's Mills in the fall and I rediscovered my love of reflections.  It's nice to be able to relax and shoot for fun.  That's the point, isn't it?  I do this because I love it.

This shoot was hysterical, we had so many stares from passerby.  Rose is beautiful, of course, and so sweet and fun to work with.  Toby was a trooper of a dog and I bought him ice cream as a treat.  Hoping to be photographing her and her (hu)man again sometime in the next month or two.

Trix!  My favorite lady.  She's gorgeous inside and out and we always have the most fun, relaxed shoots.  I love working with her and am so lucky to call her my friend. <3 2012="2012" 2013="2013" be="be" because="because" better="better" did="did" enough="enough" feel="feel" had="had" have="have" i="i" in="in" more="more" not="not" p="p" there="there" trix-time.="trix-time.">

This was no doubt my most emotional shoot of 2012.  Zaac was the first NILMDTS baby I photographed and his parents are fantastic people.  They invited me to come photograph his 2nd birthday party this year and we went skydiving!  I must admit it was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life but I'm so glad I did it.  It's certainly a celebration of life and knowing that what you have is precious.  Hold on to what is dear to you while you can.  Here's a happy 2013 and growing as an artist as well as a human being.

Children of October - horrorpunk promo shoot

As many of you know, Children of October is one of my favorite local bands.  I've been shooting the many variations of this horrorpunk group for 5 years now and we FINALLY did a proper promo shoot instead of just the miscellaneous group photos before or after shows or while just hanging out.  Timmy and Rick are now joined by new member Dave, who was by far the most excited about getting pictures done.   We had fun and I dug the enthusiasm. 

They came over to my house where I had the studio set up and we started with standard headshots (in order below: Rick, Dave, and Timmy) and group photos. 

Then we moved outside to my backyard.  It was a pretty dreary day - overcast and damp - which worked perfectly for us!  The natural light was gorgeous but still gave a gloomy atmosphere.  I used my favorite 50mm f2 lens to keep Timmy in focus while letting Rick and Dave be slightly softer in the background.

I then had the guys go back inside in to the basement, while I stayed out in the cold and photographed them through dirty windows.  It was a weird idea, but turned out pretty well.

Since it's December, they wanted to do a Christmas card.  We switched out the black background for white, the moody lighting for bright and cheery, and black hoodies for sweaters.  I'm going to let them do what they want to that and post a picture on Facebook once I see the final result, so keep an eye out!