Archive for December, 2007

It’s looking suspiciously like the end of the year, what with all the white stuff on the ground and the holiday lights twinkling in the windows. It’s hard to believe that tomorrow begins 2008. Where did 2007 go?

Here’s where…

1) This was the year of Big Commitments. Tim and I bought a house and got married (and in the same month, no less!) so I think those two events tie for Most Significant Event of 2007.

2) As for photography, this was a good year in terms of productivity (as evidenced in the amount of work in the portfolio and at Flickr). I set a goal for myself in February, that I would do one photo shoot per month for six months. I completed that goal within a slightly different (read: longer) time frame (thanks to certain distractions–see #1) and I think the results are fantastic… and by that I don’t necessarily mean the photos themselves, but the fact that I’m enjoying photography again.

3) As extra motivation for #2, I opened an Etsy shop where I sell prints of my photos. So far Etsy has been a great experience, though sometimes I’m genuinely surprised that people actually buy my art. I need to work on the self-confidence thing, but hey, that’s what therapy is for.

4) We got a(nother) kitten! Apparently two cats weren’t enough. He’s giving us a run for our money (as evidenced by the fact that my poor hands are practically plaid, all criss-crossed with kitty claw marks), but it’s a cute and fuzzy run.

As for the holiday festivities, we had a good time with both our respective families, and there was far too much deliciously fattening food to be had. Note to self: Find and purchase a used treadmill. You need it.

My one and only new year’s resolution is to continue on the one-photo-shoot-per-month (but no pressure!) schedule. It seemed to work well enough last year!

This morning I awoke to a beautiful sunrise and all these tiny water droplets frozen across our bedroom’s glass doors. I know they’re a bit cliche, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play. I’ve always loved macro photography. There are more over at Flickr, of course!

(Note to self: Before you try this again, clean your windows. I’ve never had to do so much dust removal in post-processing before. Eurgh.)

T and I have a mellow Christmas Eve planned. He’s making marinated steaks, twice-baked stuffed potatoes and salad for dinner, then we’re going to drive around and look at the Christmas decorations (my favorite part, hehe). Tomorrow we’ll visit his family and do the holiday thang, Wednesday we’ll work, and Wednesday night we’ll head north to spend a few days with my family.

This weekend I did a very scary thing. I installed Windows XP on my MacBook. I know, I know, it’s sacrilege and I have no excuse, but all my Sims 2 CDs are formatted for Windows and I had this insatiable urge to play Goddess to my Sim-peons. Forgive me, Apple purists, for I have Win’d.

I probably won’t have a chance to update for a few days, so happy holidays, everyone!

First, Hannah is a SAINT for putting up with the cold, the snow, the laying down in the snow and not moving for long minutes while I attempted to work fast on frozen legs, and for sacrificing her afternoon to play human popsicle, aka model. I can’t say it enough, but the women who model for me are amazing for doing what they do!I went into the day with a long list of concepts to try, but as usual, nature had its own plans. Instead of trying every possible angle and idea, the shoot became about doing as much as possible very quickly, in short bursts… all with the intention of avoiding frostbite. I didn’t get to tackle as many different poses or props as I planned, but I’m so happy with what I did get that it doesn’t matter.There are a few from this set that I’m completely enamored with. I’ll upload more over the next few days.(And you’ll all be happy to know that I can feel my legs again! Yippee!)

Second, I love love love the new camera! This was my first time using it for an “active” shoot. Every shot seems crisper, details look more distinct… I’m sure most of that is finally having a camera with a clean sensor (hah), but I also think the larger resolution makes a difference. The image processing time is also much faster (something you really notice when you’re shooting multiple images very fast… like when your friend is laying in the snow and you’re trying to get the perfect shot before her lips are turn blue…), and it helps that part of Tim’s gift was an 8 gig memory card, so I don’t have to worry about deleting photos as I go to save space.

I think that wraps up the year for photos, and I will say, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. It probably seems like relatively little on the surface, but at this time last year I had no desire to touch a camera at all… frankly, anything is an improvement over that!

The carpets have just been professionally cleaned. They look bright and fluffy and they smell… well, clean.

Nala walks into the living room, takes a pointed look around as if to say, “Well, this just won’t do!” …

… and you know how this story ends.

Helloooooo hairball.

Thanks, Nala. I mean, don’t hold back. Tell me how you really feel about being locked in the guest bedroom for two hours while the carpet guy was here.

Feh.

(So, Santa, where do we stand with those hardwood floors?)

(Tree photos at Flickr, as promised.)

One word: VACATION! Booyah!

In celebration of my short-lived freedom from work… I’m having the carpets cleaned. I’m also having a beer and watching Jeopardy.

It doesn’t get better than this.

In photo news, I’ve added gift certificates to my Etsy shop! They’re great in the event that you know someone who would like my art but you can’t decide which print(s) to give them. And there are lots of new prints to choose from!

There may be more coming, too… I have a photo shoot tomorrow with the awesome miss Hannah, and I need to start preparing for that right now, in fact!