23.11.10

happy thanksgiving!


i'm taking the week off you guys... have a happy thanksgiving!


19.11.10

the friday editorial: family circus







i think that when auden gets a little older he will look just like this little boy [assuming his hair stays blonde]


this photos is my favorite of the whole editorial
images from w magazine, december 2010

models: arizona muse, lindsey wixson, and britt maren
photographer: paolo roversi
stylist: alex white

18.11.10

50 free holiday photo cards for bloggers

I was so excited when Janae from Somehwat Couture told me about Shutterfly's offer for 50 free holiday cards for bloggers. A few months ago I ordered a really great photo book of my son's first month from Shutterfly so I know the quality is going to be superb and I cannot wait till we get our pictures taken this weekend or sometime next week so we can get these bad boys ordered and out in the mail to our families. Thank God she told me about this offer, the idea of Christmas cards hadn't even popped into my head yet so I am sure my entire family is grateful since now they will be getting a nice holiday card with Auden's bright shining face on it. How could I have forgotten about Christmas cards on Auden's first Christmas?!

I was looking through the design options last night and I will probably be ordering from the flat stationary holiday photo cards. There are tons of really pretty designs to choose from. My absolute favorite are the French Vintage Christmas cards:


And I’m also a fan of the Pretty Pattern Indigo Christmas card:

Thank you Auden for being such an adorable and willing model for my sample Christmas cards!

If you have your own blog, make sure you hurry up and sign up before it gets too close to Christmas! Bloggers can get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly.

I will be sure to share mine with you guys when they come!

16.11.10

...

[photo by me]

sorry for the lack of posts lately... mcafee messed up my computer at home so after a combined 5 hours on the phone with customer support from dell, comcast, and microsoft, we are finally back in working order!

*edited to add [since i had a comment from comcast] that the issue was totally with mcafee. dell customer service wouldn't own up to the fact that it was a computer/software issue and told us that we had to working with comcast to fix it since they are our internet service provider even though the internet was still working on our xbox and i had already told them that. i'm not hating on comcast, but a discount would be nice if you guys do come by this page again ;)

the photo above was from when i was doing a shoot on saturday with an adorable couple named mike & eva. you can see some of the photos here.

12.11.10

the friday editorial: having a ball











images from vogue, december 1997 via dustjacket attic

models: shalom harlow, georgina greenville, eugenia silva, kiara kabukuru, karen elson and carolyn murphy
photographer: steven meisel



New Year's Eve Wedding Ideas

If you are looking to have a huge celebration at your wedding reception, you may want to consider choosing December 31, New Years Eve, as your wedding date. Set the time for your wedding ceremony late enough and your guests will be able to have a double party combining their New Years celebration and your wedding reception into one amazing night.

[keep reading]

9.11.10

photographer feature: teresa q










this last one is a self portrait in case you were wondering what the beautiful woman behind the camera looks like...
[this is a partial interview. to read the full interview with teresa q, please click here]

How old are you?
I'm 23 years old.

Where are you originally from?
Planet Earth, but I like to travel. :)

Did something or someone in particular spark your interest in photography? How did you get started?
There was nothing in particular. I know it sounds pretty uninteresting, but it's true. I started by playing around doing fashion photoshoots of a friend of mine, basically. We both liked it so, we would play dress up and I would take pictures of her and she would take pictures of me. It was really fun, actually. Girls will be girls! ahaha And it just went on from there, really.

Who are some photographers that you like that inspire you?
Well, there are many and they are constantly changing depending on my current interests. Right now, I think: Aëla Labbé, Vins Baratta, Alison Scarpulla, Violaidi, Matt Hill, Anna Inghardt, Hui+, Ann H. - ugh, many many many....

Do you have/are you working on a degree in photography or are you self taught?
I'm self taught.

Is photography your career? If not do you plan on turning it into your career some day?
It isn't my career but, of course, I would love to work in photography, just not shooting weddings or door knobs... ahaha. Anything that would allow me being creative and still being me would be wonderful, though.

What is your favorite thing to photograph?
People - honest and quirky people... maybe some dishonest ones too. :)

Where do you find and how do you instruct your models?
My models are usually friends. Since I'm an actress, most of them are actresses as well. How do I instruct them... well, most of the times I really strive for them to give me something real. I ask them to focus on an emotion or to imagine a certain situation, and usually I just tell them to keep moving so that I can photograph moments. I really do love emotive portraits - when you can feel something looking at it, when you can relate to the mood of it, that's what I love. And if I can make it beautiful, feminine and whimsical... I will.

What type of acting do you do?
I'm a theater actress mainly, although I've done some short films aswell.

What inspires you?
Everything inspires me. I can be inspired by a story, a person, a quote, a song, a mood, an emotion, a piece of clothing, a good hair day... anything really. The usual common factor, though, is light. I love light and there is nothing like sunbeams shining through. It's just... magic.

What kind of camera do you use? Do you dabble with different types or stick to one old faithful camera?
I use my analog camera as much as I can - everytime I have the money, that's another way to put it. :) It is a Zenit-11. For everything else I use my Canon 400D... For now, at least, I don't think I'm settling on these two.

Do you have any advice for someone who is aspiring to become a photographer?
Yeah... Have fun!

Check out more of Teresa Q:
Flickr | Blog | Tumblr | Deviantart | Formspring | Facebook

5.11.10

the friday editorial: stranded








images from l'officiel russia, october 2010. via dustjacket attic.

models: kate somers and erin axtell
photographer: riccardo vimercati
stylist: svetlana tanakina

4.11.10

things i love thursday

taking pictures... it's been too long. i have things i want to take pictures of like right now - horses and walk around downtown roanoke again. abandoned houses that still have some interesting stuff in them [but how does one find such a location?]. i need a photo buddy and someone to babysit auden.

8am classes being canceled.

thursday night virginia tech football games... we get out of work early yay!

say yes to the dress seasons 1-5 being added to the netflix instant queue on our xbox.

blog giveaways. i won a chandelier and witch craft: wicked accessories, creepy-cute toys, magical treats, and more last week which really makes me want to do a giveaway here so keep an eye out!


3.11.10

film swap





a few months ago, i saw double exposures: a diy project that brings friends together with photos from photojojo. the basic idea is that you run a roll of film through your camera, wind it back so the tab is still out of the film canister, then hand it off for a friend so they can re-use the same roll of film. the photos on this post are from my film swap with karly, the current president of the photography club that i started at virginia tech a couple years ago [karly's flickr/tumblr]. i also sent a roll of film off to a girl in new york who sadly never got back to me or showed me the photos. i don't know if something happened to the film or what the deal is, but she won't answer my e-mails or multiple messages that i have left on her two photo blogs so that has kind of ruined film swaps with strangers for me.

my next plan is to film swap with myself. i want to run a roll of film partially through my accoutrements pop cam
then partially through my holga 135
and then put the whole roll through my canon elan iie
who knows what kind of madness i would end up with! i will be sure to share the results when i get them back, but i have another roll that i am working on using up right now, but with a sick baby and being a bit under the weather myself over the past couple of weeks i haven't had much of a chance to get out and take any photos, not even on my favorite holiday - halloween.

there is a whole group on flickr dedicated to film swap... appropriately titled FILM SWAP. if you choose to try film swap, i suggest you swap with someone you know in real life or well from the internet. my pairing was random and she was lame. i heard many other people complain that they never heard back from their random pairing through photojojo as well.