You don't expect to make snow angels in the winter in Phoenix. Sand angels, yes.. But this winter we have had a special treat. Snow in the desert. A wide band of snow bearing clouds descended on us this afternoon and the Phoenix East Valley was treated with a very rare treat of snow and true cold weather!
4 Peaks as seen from the Apache Trail. The top didn't come out of the cloud cover once the storm moved in.
Schools out, schools out, teachers let the monkeys out!
One week of freedom and in that week I haven't posted?? I am such a slacker anymore.
I have some pics from my last project that I want to show off, my son and his girlfriend an up and coming model did alot of modeling for me. I love how the two of them will pose all day if I don't tell them ok.. leave me alone now! lol
I am definitely starting to enjoy portrait taking and looking to expand the knowledge from school. I am starting a group of fellow photographers in the Phoenix east valley area. My dream is to create a group of people who help each other. Let's hope that it works!
Here is a few more pics of the kids with added friends, taken before a school dance. 
Baby Steps
aking the first step towards portraits is huge. You would think that it would be as natural as just point, click after years of taking nature pictures. Right?
You don't have to pose mountains, or ask a saguaro to turn just right and look over it's shoulder, you don't have to worry about the light falling just right on a cheekbone. Mother nature makes sure that the light is just the right shade. I am definitely out of my box of comfort during this learning process. Thankfully I have some wonderful models with patience and understanding. And don't complain about the orange tinge upon their faces... yet ;)
My beautiful neice Ashlyn.
You don't have to pose mountains, or ask a saguaro to turn just right and look over it's shoulder, you don't have to worry about the light falling just right on a cheekbone. Mother nature makes sure that the light is just the right shade. I am definitely out of my box of comfort during this learning process. Thankfully I have some wonderful models with patience and understanding. And don't complain about the orange tinge upon their faces... yet ;)
My beautiful neice Ashlyn.
Testing cross posting using Posterous.com
It will only be 6 years of waiting if it works. Keep your fingers crossed! *Cheers*
So very absent
I challenge myself to post here more often. I put out our hard earned $$ for this site and here it sits, like a red headed step child most of the time. Forgotten, left behind, neglected. I can use the term red headed step child because my first born has red hair, and I am irish, it gives me the right ;). Not dissin red headed step kids promise!
So, back to why I am here, school semester is near to over, we're in the last few weeks and the end of the road is near. At least for a month then it will be back to the grind.
I have been busy busy, hence my neglect of the site. I could put up all the pics that I have taken since summer, but they definitely fall into the description of Photo101 and lack the beauty, spontaneity and simple life that I am used to exhibiting. I do have a couple to share though, ones that I worked on despite being pressed to finish homework. Sometimes you gotta break the rules right?
So, back to why I am here, school semester is near to over, we're in the last few weeks and the end of the road is near. At least for a month then it will be back to the grind.
I have been busy busy, hence my neglect of the site. I could put up all the pics that I have taken since summer, but they definitely fall into the description of Photo101 and lack the beauty, spontaneity and simple life that I am used to exhibiting. I do have a couple to share though, ones that I worked on despite being pressed to finish homework. Sometimes you gotta break the rules right?
Darkroom Evolution
First of the pics that I have been taking with my 35mm for my photog course. All natural lighting @ sunset.
Evolution consisting of the first timed print, 5-25 sec
2nd with 2 1/2 filter
3rd 3 sec longer exposure with 2 1/2 filter
final image uses #3 filter
Using Ilford XP2 400ISO. Wet darkroom on Ilford Multigrade IV pearl surface.
Evolution consisting of the first timed print, 5-25 sec
2nd with 2 1/2 filter
3rd 3 sec longer exposure with 2 1/2 filter
final image uses #3 filter
Using Ilford XP2 400ISO. Wet darkroom on Ilford Multigrade IV pearl surface.
ISO-SS-Fstop Guide
Had a bit of fun re-building the guide that I created last year. This one is a bit more detailed and... well... prettier.
Free for use, If you use it, enjoy and hope that it makes a difference!
Free for use, If you use it, enjoy and hope that it makes a difference!
Cats
Cats meow out of angst
"Thumbs! If only we had thumbs!
We could break so much"
They make my world go round.
Willow and TK-51 posing for me.
They are my only models who don't complain about always having a camera shoved in their faces >=D
All natural lighting
"Thumbs! If only we had thumbs!
We could break so much"
They make my world go round.
Willow and TK-51 posing for me.
They are my only models who don't complain about always having a camera shoved in their faces >=D
All natural lighting
Dana Point with a Twist
A Miami twist that is. Overcast Dana Point with a bit of the '80s sherbet tossed in for color. Where is Don Johnson when you need him?
All photos are saved in jpg ultra low resolution. If your interested in purchasing any of my art in full original resolution please contact me for pricing.
All photos are saved in jpg ultra low resolution. If your interested in purchasing any of my art in full original resolution please contact me for pricing.
Peaceful
My beautiful unincorporated town of San Tan Valley.
We're trying to incorporate our town. I can't say we're little, far from it. We're over 80,000 strong. By all rights, we're actually a city, if we were just incorporated!
We are one of the largest communities in this part of Arizona and the largest in our county. But when $$ comes into the picture one of the very small towns near us is fighting to keep us unincorporated.
They want our tax dollars, but don't provide the support that we need as a very large growing community.
I really hope that this gets settled, I know personally I am not fond of my tax dollars going to help towns other then my own to grow, while we sit here *without* those tax dollars to keep our own roads repaired, or our own in town emergency services.
All photos are saved in jpg ultra low resolution. If your interested in purchasing any of my art in full original resolution please contact me for pricing.
We're trying to incorporate our town. I can't say we're little, far from it. We're over 80,000 strong. By all rights, we're actually a city, if we were just incorporated!
We are one of the largest communities in this part of Arizona and the largest in our county. But when $$ comes into the picture one of the very small towns near us is fighting to keep us unincorporated.
They want our tax dollars, but don't provide the support that we need as a very large growing community.
I really hope that this gets settled, I know personally I am not fond of my tax dollars going to help towns other then my own to grow, while we sit here *without* those tax dollars to keep our own roads repaired, or our own in town emergency services.
All photos are saved in jpg ultra low resolution. If your interested in purchasing any of my art in full original resolution please contact me for pricing.
Dry Beauty
Driving home to the beginnings of Monsoon season last week...
I've been waiting since last February to capture clouds again with my trusty Canon....
We're still waiting for the rain, but at least we have some beautiful clouds to keep us occupied out here in the Sonoran Desert!
Mask and Texture thanks to Jerry of Shadowhouse Creations. You can visit his flickr
www.flickr.com/photos/skeletalmess/
Or his Blog
shadowhousecreations.blogspot.com/
For all of his masks, textures and just to see the beauty that he loves to bestow us with.
All photos are saved in jpg ultra low resolution. If your interested in purchasing any of my art in full original resolution please contact me for pricing.
I've been waiting since last February to capture clouds again with my trusty Canon....
We're still waiting for the rain, but at least we have some beautiful clouds to keep us occupied out here in the Sonoran Desert!
Mask and Texture thanks to Jerry of Shadowhouse Creations. You can visit his flickr
www.flickr.com/photos/skeletalmess/
Or his Blog
shadowhousecreations.blogspot.com/
For all of his masks, textures and just to see the beauty that he loves to bestow us with.
All photos are saved in jpg ultra low resolution. If your interested in purchasing any of my art in full original resolution please contact me for pricing.
Bookend kitty says "Leave me alone!"
My beloved TK has never learned to give "the look" that my Willow monster has down to a science... you know, the look that just makes you melt and want to go all Elmira on your kitty. That look.. But TK has his perks. He loves me undeniably and would sleep curled up next to me til the end of time if I would just stay in bed with him. <3.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES GO TO P4C-970! Love, Colonel Jack O'Neill
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES GO TO P4C-970! Love, Colonel Jack O'Neill
Originally uploaded by Lisa Van Alstyne
Of course our first night there it clouded up and started to drizzle, and stayed clouded and drizzly the entire trip.
So having a bit of fun with freakish editing, sorry Malibu, but you just didn't give me much to work with!
All photos are saved in jpg ultra low resolution. If your interested in purchasing any of my art in full original resolution please contact me for pricing.
School Daze...
So just a small update as I am heading out to church in a few moments. School is in session. I started my summer school courses last Tuesday and I am loving them. I have already learned so much and this is just an Intro to digi course. Guess I needed it if I am learning, even a little bit right!
Got a quick story that I just had to share though, I still giggle thinking of it. One of our assignments last week was to bring in 5 photos of either our own work, or what inspires us. I brought in 4 of my own and 1 inspirational. No one seemed to bring any inspirational photos though, only their own photography. Sooo... I loaded the flash drive into the computer and clicked on my inspirational photo first. Ooohs and Aaaaahs resounded. I was a bit flustered at first and replied with "Isn't it beautiful? But, well, this isn't my photography, this is a photo that I gather inspiration from." and the classroom broke out in giggles. It made the rest of the presentation of my actual photos a bit more somber after comparison, but much easier since the ice had been broken :). Sadly no oohs and aaahs over my photography hehe. Maybe by the end of the class?!
Inspiration went out the window!
OK, so my 60 days didn't last, what with moving and all! Yeah... I got more junk than Sanford & Son... seriously! ;)
Anyways, starting to get my groove on again and actually signed up to get my Associates degree in Digital Arts at the local college. Going to be a long road, but it is so going to be worth it. Will try to keep the blog updated through it all. Even if only for my own personal memories of college days.
I did play around with making some logo's earlier for my pics and such. Masks good mkay?
Unpacking, more then just my belongings
I always under estimate, be it about moving.. life... anything and everything.
I am still unpacking. Inspiration has been hard to come by as I see my studio get loaded with new boxes, every time that I finally get it empty of boxes. I want to just throw everything away and make my life zenified. But I go through the boxes and there are so many memories, cherished, and painful. Some to be repacked for a day when my heart can handle the pain.
Good new is though, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We're almost done moving out of our old place, and I am almost done unpacking what is here. Which means that I will finally have my studio set-up. What a dream come true! I can't wait to actually start doing something with my chosen profession besides take pictures of beautiful sunsets and pretty flowers!
Inspiration... yeah I think I got that covered!
I am still unpacking. Inspiration has been hard to come by as I see my studio get loaded with new boxes, every time that I finally get it empty of boxes. I want to just throw everything away and make my life zenified. But I go through the boxes and there are so many memories, cherished, and painful. Some to be repacked for a day when my heart can handle the pain.
Good new is though, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We're almost done moving out of our old place, and I am almost done unpacking what is here. Which means that I will finally have my studio set-up. What a dream come true! I can't wait to actually start doing something with my chosen profession besides take pictures of beautiful sunsets and pretty flowers!
Inspiration... yeah I think I got that covered!
60 posts of inspiration...
Will be back in a week or so. Monday is moving day! Bigger place, a studio for taking real professional portraits! And hopefully finally my darkroom! Yay!
I will not however have much time to dedicate to the site for the next week or so though so I wanted to leave a link to check out. I have ooohed and aaaahed tons since finding this link. I am so going to try some of these tricks!
Alternative Photography
Enjoy :)
I will not however have much time to dedicate to the site for the next week or so though so I wanted to leave a link to check out. I have ooohed and aaaahed tons since finding this link. I am so going to try some of these tricks!
Alternative Photography
Enjoy :)
Day 5 - Look to the past
Photography is, as Photography was.
You know your a true photographer if you trust in yourself enough to pick up a 35mm and use patience to get... just... the right..... SHOT!
Study the masters, read up on how they got famous, their styles, their techniques. Talk about truly inspiring!
My favorite artist to study is Ansel Adams, even though I do less then half of my photography in black and white, his style still impresses me and he is still a god in the photography world. I view his images and try to put myself in his shoes, imagining his perseverance in waiting, for the exact moment for the perfect image.
Do I brake out my 35mm and test myself? Yes... and will be more once I have my darkroom set-up. There really is no more awesome sound then the click whir of a 35mm as you take a picture.
You know your a true photographer if you trust in yourself enough to pick up a 35mm and use patience to get... just... the right..... SHOT!
Study the masters, read up on how they got famous, their styles, their techniques. Talk about truly inspiring!
My favorite artist to study is Ansel Adams, even though I do less then half of my photography in black and white, his style still impresses me and he is still a god in the photography world. I view his images and try to put myself in his shoes, imagining his perseverance in waiting, for the exact moment for the perfect image.
Do I brake out my 35mm and test myself? Yes... and will be more once I have my darkroom set-up. There really is no more awesome sound then the click whir of a 35mm as you take a picture.
Day 4 - From Russia with love
Or well, any country really. I love Euro photography in particular. I live in America, home of the free, land of the brave. But how about looking through the eyes of someone from another country for inspiration.
For todays inspirational ideas, look outside of not only your box, but outside of your country. Maybe a little spicy Italian, or white washed shabby chic french photography will kick you into high gear.
I have many friends on flickr, from many nations and I just get so inspired by the works of people from other nations. I notice small things that they do differently from what I see from photogs here in the States. I can't put my finger on it. I *feel* that it is because they don't have the income that we do to buy every shiny object that we see that we want to use in our photography. They use what is around them, I akin their photography to our high school photogs. Out of the box and extraordinary on so many levels.
One of my favorite artists to watch on Flickr is Lero! She is from Russia and her photography always makes me stop, and ponder. Her works are all copyrighted so as much as I would love to share them with you here... , please head over to her flickr to check them out! Maybe they will inspire you as well. Look around try to spot differences in photo techniques between countries as well and maybe try to incorporate them into your workflow now and then. Doing something totally different can really spice up your art.
/mood frustrated
So, I am going to be a mere hour from the next Adobe® Photoshop® CS4 Down & Dirty Tricks Tour with with Corey Barker.
For those of you who are interested check it here Down & Dirty Tricks Tour
I want to beat myself with a photoshopped wet noodle for not getting that NAPP subsription, like I have planned on doing, every time I think about it. (which is almost daily and there are so many discounts that depend on it!) The one thing that sooths this ravaged soul is that Scott Kelby won't be hosting the party at Phoenix. For $100 I want to see the man, the myth, in the flesh. Not that Corey Barker or Dave Cross are artists to sneeze at! But to lose my seminar cherry is going to require a name I have known to be synonymous with photoshop since I first discovered it.
So, maybe next year they will hit Phoenix again. Maybe next year I will have the fundage to actually go. Maybe next year I will finally remember to join NAPP!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="173" caption="Tour PDF - Redirecting to Kelbytraininglive.com"]
[/caption]
For those of you who are interested check it here Down & Dirty Tricks Tour
I want to beat myself with a photoshopped wet noodle for not getting that NAPP subsription, like I have planned on doing, every time I think about it. (which is almost daily and there are so many discounts that depend on it!) The one thing that sooths this ravaged soul is that Scott Kelby won't be hosting the party at Phoenix. For $100 I want to see the man, the myth, in the flesh. Not that Corey Barker or Dave Cross are artists to sneeze at! But to lose my seminar cherry is going to require a name I have known to be synonymous with photoshop since I first discovered it.
So, maybe next year they will hit Phoenix again. Maybe next year I will have the fundage to actually go. Maybe next year I will finally remember to join NAPP!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="173" caption="Tour PDF - Redirecting to Kelbytraininglive.com"]
[/caption]
Day 3 - Textures
Taking this idea from Epic Edits, I am playing with textures today.
Textures have been a very large part of my photography life since I discovered Photoshop and all of it's abilities. As much as I <3 {OOC} Photo's and the flair and knowledge that it takes to create un-adultered photos. My weakness is still photoshopped images.
I used the same photo for both of the following pictures to show examples of two different types of texture techniques that I use.
[caption id="attachment_51" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Double layer textured image"]
[/caption]
This image I simplified by layering a gerbera daisy on top of a texture that I found on the web.
I should take a moment to say, if you collect images that are free to use in your photography, it's a good idea to either edit the name of the photo with the original creators name or web address, or edit the EXIF data on the image. I have so very many textures and overlays from artists who give away their creations for free with only a request of recognition. This image however did not get the edit info and as such I have no idea who the original artist was :(.
This second gerbera I went a little out of my normal safety level and used a texture from Graphic Authorities Urban Youth kit. I set the texture to Overlay and then set fill to 54%. I could have taken it a few more levels but I was leary of losing the nice bokeh effect that was still present.
Day 3 proved to be fun, I brought out an old picture from early 2008 not long after I first got my Canon XTi and was learning painfully slow how to use a camera again.
Reminiscing, Inspiring, Learning.
It's what this is all about.
TEXTURE
If texture is a big part of your subject, make it stand out and make it obvious. Match up the textures between your subject and your background. You might even try texturizing the entire photo for additional impact.
Textures have been a very large part of my photography life since I discovered Photoshop and all of it's abilities. As much as I <3 {OOC} Photo's and the flair and knowledge that it takes to create un-adultered photos. My weakness is still photoshopped images.
I used the same photo for both of the following pictures to show examples of two different types of texture techniques that I use.
[caption id="attachment_51" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Double layer textured image"]
[/caption]This image I simplified by layering a gerbera daisy on top of a texture that I found on the web.
I should take a moment to say, if you collect images that are free to use in your photography, it's a good idea to either edit the name of the photo with the original creators name or web address, or edit the EXIF data on the image. I have so very many textures and overlays from artists who give away their creations for free with only a request of recognition. This image however did not get the edit info and as such I have no idea who the original artist was :(.
This second gerbera I went a little out of my normal safety level and used a texture from Graphic Authorities Urban Youth kit. I set the texture to Overlay and then set fill to 54%. I could have taken it a few more levels but I was leary of losing the nice bokeh effect that was still present.
Day 3 proved to be fun, I brought out an old picture from early 2008 not long after I first got my Canon XTi and was learning painfully slow how to use a camera again.
Reminiscing, Inspiring, Learning.
It's what this is all about.
Weekends are for rest...
Yeah right...
So I finally have the gallery up. Kudos to Photogallerycreator on creating a free and amazing gallery for wordpress! I was trying all sorts of hand coded galleries and then stumbled upon the FIAGallery. I am a happy camper now :)
So now that the site is up and almost to my standards. (Not to sure about the pink frou frou look yet. It's me, but not sure that I want that to carry over to my photography persona. I found an amazing wordpress skin on a photographers site from Hawaii... I wonder if she would share it with me! Well... after I make a ton of changes to make it more "Me" that is :D.
So tomorrow starts back up my 60 days of Inspiration. For tomorrow I am going to be going with Textures from Epic Edits blog
So I finally have the gallery up. Kudos to Photogallerycreator on creating a free and amazing gallery for wordpress! I was trying all sorts of hand coded galleries and then stumbled upon the FIAGallery. I am a happy camper now :)
So now that the site is up and almost to my standards. (Not to sure about the pink frou frou look yet. It's me, but not sure that I want that to carry over to my photography persona. I found an amazing wordpress skin on a photographers site from Hawaii... I wonder if she would share it with me! Well... after I make a ton of changes to make it more "Me" that is :D.
So tomorrow starts back up my 60 days of Inspiration. For tomorrow I am going to be going with Textures from Epic Edits blog
TEXTURE
If texture is a big part of your subject, make it stand out and make it obvious. Match up the textures between your subject and your background. You might even try texturizing the entire photo for additional impact.
Playing with textures is one of my all time favs, to those of you not in the know, I have a group on Vox dedicated to using textures!
Well... since it is already tomorrow... take care and see you soon!
Day 2 - RTM!
Read the manual.
How many photographers have read their users manual when purchasing that shiny new camera? I know I didn't, not at first. I wanted to learn everything through use. Now I keep my manual in my backpack and refer to it as my cambible.
Todays second day of Photographic Inspirations once again comes from Photopreneur
How many photographers have read their users manual when purchasing that shiny new camera? I know I didn't, not at first. I wanted to learn everything through use. Now I keep my manual in my backpack and refer to it as my cambible.
Todays second day of Photographic Inspirations once again comes from Photopreneur
2. Read the Manual
It’s not just Photoshop that can do all sorts of things that you don’t know about. Your camera probably has more settings and functions than you know… or know what to do with. You might find a lot of new ideas in the middle of your camera manual.The following picture is totally OOC (out of camera). From reading my manual I was able to start taking pictures that turned out perfect totally OOC with absolutely no need for post processing, aka, no photoshop at all!
Day 1 Inspirations
So, we're going to try for a 2 month period of Inspirations, using the list on this site. As well as any other idea that comes to mind!
I have found Inspiration to be the driving force behind my work. I can sit and look at bridge for an hour, trying to pick out just the right picture to work on. But if I have no inspiration, no goal in mind, my day can end with me doing no editing at all. So onto day 1 of a trip to Inspirational photography
I have found Inspiration to be the driving force behind my work. I can sit and look at bridge for an hour, trying to pick out just the right picture to work on. But if I have no inspiration, no goal in mind, my day can end with me doing no editing at all. So onto day 1 of a trip to Inspirational photography
1. Play with Photoshop
So much of photography these days happens after the shutter release has been pressed. There’s probably a ton of things that you don’t know how to do in Photoshop. Learn something new and see what that does for your photography potential.
I chose to do a lite photoshop edit with this picture. I have had the song "Feeling Groovy" from Simon and Garfunkel going through my head the past few days and it just kept making me think of this one photo that I had caught on 4th street in downtown Tucson last week. A Vox/Flickr friend who lives down Tucson way invited the sister and I to go down for a fun photo session and I am thinking that there are going to be several of those pictures used in this theme.
A single grungy/pinkish layer was used. Multiplying the layer and then toning down some areas. I really wanted the lightpost to show, but it would have taken just too much lightening to get the full effect. This is probably about as simplistic as I get with photoshop editing. But it's a start.
See you tomorrow!
A true first, and inspiration
So for my first post, I though the best thing to do would be to inspire myself, and hopefully you dear reader. I spent the evening working on the blog and looking up all sorts of inspirational photography ideas. I finally decided that I am going to start with the first idea from this blog.
My sister leaves to go back home to overcast wintery snowy Chicago on Thursday. So I have decided that I will start my trip down inspiration lane that night. I am going to shoot for 1 inspirational idea a day, I can't wait to see how this pans out :D...
So, for a picture that has been inspiring me lately I leave you with some beauty.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Set a goal and work towards it"]
[/caption]
1. Play with Photoshop
So much of photography these days happens after the shutter release has been pressed. There’s probably a ton of things that you don’t know how to do in Photoshop. Learn something new and see what that does for your photography potential.
My sister leaves to go back home to overcast wintery snowy Chicago on Thursday. So I have decided that I will start my trip down inspiration lane that night. I am going to shoot for 1 inspirational idea a day, I can't wait to see how this pans out :D...
So, for a picture that has been inspiring me lately I leave you with some beauty.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Set a goal and work towards it"]
[/caption]
A New Beginning
A blog, just what I need. This will be edited out at a future date. Bear with me as I adjust to not being part of a large community!
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