Morning light

Driving at 6:30 am, in Palm Springs I stopped to grab some coffee to stay awake. On my way out of the coffee shop I came across these flowers in BEAUTIFUL morning light :) I found them very interesting 

Capturing the moment

This was so much fun, Wednesday we had a shoot withCece Craner she is BEAUTIFUL and so graceful, Ballet amazes me, it must be so hard on those beautiful feet. I also snuck a picture of her son, such interesting well spoken children she has. Here are my favorite shots from the shoot.. Hope you like them

Shooting flowers

I love this flower shot, but it just made me want a better piece of glass. I mean flowers are already so beautiful on their own, but I would like to capture what my eyes cannot see on their own, every little detail. Or my own reflection in a drop of water. This flower was shot indoors and to get the water droplets I just sprayed some water out of a water bottle ( cheater) I love the colors, But now I would like to zoom in on the flower and catch EVERYTHING.

photoshoot

I just wrapped up a photoshoot, and this is my favorite shot from the shoot... what do you think??? I love the contrasting colors and shadows... 

Lesson Learned

So... Today I decided to go hiking. And get some great shots it snowed all day yesterday and the day before, but only a little this morning. As I head out the door the sun is shinning, I drive about 3 miles up the mountain, pick a spot to park by a snow covered trail and pull over. All I have brought is the clothes on my back (appropriate for a sunny after snow day) and my camera. So I started up the trail and I got a bout a mile up the road before I run into HEAVY HEAVY snow fall... I took cover under a tree a large pine tree and decided to wait it out. It didn't last very long, and before I knew it... the grey clouds were moving and the blue skies were coming... I continued along the hike and kind of lost myself out there, about 3 miles up the way I noticed I could either go straight or to the left, ( which I believed was back towards the main road ) or of course head back the way I came. I was feeling adventurous today, I had already started out on a hike, I had never been on, just me and my trusty camera, in the snow, I had climbed mountains (more like small hills) I had climbed over fallen trees ( more like branches ) I had found bugs (tiny ones) walked past rushing rivers of ice cold water ( only about 2ft at the very deepest )... so I chose the unknown path to the left... thinking I was being adventurous. It led me back to the main road. where my car was about 2 miles down. All day I had been waiting for that perfect shot, the one that always catches my eye when I don't have my camera. The one I see but cant stare at when I am driving, because I am driving. That breath taking, beautiful shot, the one you remember in your mind always. I had a lot of shots by this point, the trail, the water, the moss... ooooo the moss. Plenty of shots to remember the hike by, but not that ONE... that ONE shot. I see the clouds starting to roll in and decide to get some last shots of the sky and the mountain before I call it a day and try to beat the snow back to my car. On the main road. So I put my camera back safely in its bag, and back on my shoulder and cross the street. As I get to the other side I hear a startling sound of a large animal and as I WHIP my head to the left of me, ( towards the trail and the water and away from the road ) I stop DEAD IN MY TRACKS, because not 4 feet away from me a very young, sleepy looking, startled moose is standing about 5 feet tall starring me in the face. I notice the snow under the moose I melted and I see snow stuck to his fur. I stand there starring, trying not to scare the young moose away, with a small fear inside of me, fear of this beautiful wild animal. I slowly reach to my bag to grab my camera, this is "the shot" THEE shot... the one I have been waiting for all day. The moose trots off about 20 to 30 feet in the trees to a distance it feels safe, so of course I missed it. It was a beautiful site, one I will always remember. but LESSON LEARNED... the moral of the story is... never put your camera away... you will miss that breathtaking shot, because it is gone in a second. The only difference between you and everyone else that sees that beautiful site is that YOU have the camera to capture it, so don't miss it.

My journey

My whole Life I have artistically expressed myself. In one way or another. Drawing, oil painting, writing, singing, and photographing. It seems I always had a talent for whatever medium I picked up. And to be quite honest, if I was not expressing myself artistically then I was acting like a craaaaaaaaaaazy person. And the same holds true today. I feel more balanced and in tune with my "true" self when I am expressing myself artistically, in some way or another, and there are times when life gets so overwhelming and chaotic that I cant seem to find the time, or the outlet. And all aspects of my life suffer because of it, I find myself irritable, discontent and restless. It is my addiction. Sometimes it spins out of control and I think " in art ". But I know my world would not be the same without self expression, and I would not be the same either. Unfortunately I have come to what I would call a "painters block" and I am unable to paint how I want. Obviously I have all of my limbs in tact and am perfectly capable of painting, technically speaking. But I am unable to paint what I feel, which is un-fulfilling to me. Its like I am only going through the motions with no real connection to the piece itself. Like a bad relationship... You hang in there hanging on to what once was, but the passion is gone and it is just the motions you are going through. All in All... painting has become like a bad relationship to me. And in not being able to express myself creatively, a crazy person has been cast as the lead role, starring in my life.

So, after experimenting here and there with my regular point and shoot digital camera, I rediscovered myself, my passion and a new way to express it. In doing so I decided to upgrade to a SLR and have been experimenting in using it. I would like to be an artist of professional quality and be able to photograph all day. I love taking pictures and showing the world as I see it. My journey is just beginning and I would love to share it with anyone you cares to be a part of it.....