Anders & Jenna

My twin brother and his lovely now WIFE (!!!) tied the knot at San Francisco City Hall last Friday and I excitedly took the pictures and arranged the flowers for the sweet ceremony.  I was freaking out just a little bit since a. I've never shot a wedding and b. I kind of don't know what I'm doing with a camera.  It could not have been a lovelier day, the building is truly stunning and they were so delightfully thrilled to be getting married.  Jenna is the most photogenic bride ever, and Anders was just giddy all day.  It was so fun, and turned out superbly.  Ain't life grand?

(I really tried to pick just a few, I swear!)  To love!

Kevin Russ

Lately I have been drooling over the photos of Kevin Russ - do you know him? It all started with a photograph I suggested to a client for their office, and then while trolling Instagram one day I came across the Most. Gorgeous. Amazing. Photos. Ever.

The lighting, the framing, the stunning West Coast scenery and gorgeous wildlife (in seemingly unreal poses.)  My mind kept asking "How did they get that shot??!"  I wanted to get out and take some amazing pictures of my own, I love that kind of motivating inspiration!

Obsessing over every single one I thought I should know more about this talented person.  So I followed the link in his profile, low and behold it was the same photographer as the buffalo print I'd recommended. Of course, awesome!

(Kevin Russ prints, clockwise from top left 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

He sells many more of his gorgeous prints here on Society 6, if you're as entranced as I am. His Instagram is so much fun to see. Warning: if you follow, you will want to hike every waterfall, gorge, seaside, forest, cliff and beach up and down the coast. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Photography Challenge: Week 3

Well hello, and how do you do?  We have been enjoying the long weekend, despite a few bumps in the road (my daughter slept for a total of about 6 hours last night, good times!)  The BART strike looks to be on at least a 30 day reprieve, and the 4th of July was sunny as it should be - all is well in the world!  This is week 3 of my photography challenge, and although I do seem to be getting more familiar with my settings, I'm still not very quick in fixing them.  My new ridiculous habit is to forget my ISO setting and so the first 10 pictures I take are so badly lit they are garbage. Then I realize UH DUH, I'm on ISO 100, inside the house, with practically no light.  No bueno.

This picture is Rosie and her dear friend Elise, who is so precious and I just adore her.  She looks just like a little doll, doesn't she?  Adorable separately, I think they are compounding the cuteness together.  I just want to kiss them both!  I wish I had increased the aperture a bit because Rosie is sitting up a little further than Elise and a teensy bit out of focus.  I should have chosen another photo, but it was so sweet.  Nevermind, I stand behind my choice!  I will keep trying, I will!

Photography Challenge: Week 2

Boy is it hard to shoot in manual mode!  I feel like I can't capture anything in time because I'm busy fiddling with my settings.  I'll admit, at one point I did switch to Aperture Priority for a few minutes but caught myself cheating and gave myself a little slap on the wrist.  So here's the shot I loved this week, I know it's not probably what traditionally looks like a great photograph but I like it.  Those girls sure are sweet in those little Target swimsuits, aren't they?

Practice makes perfect, no?  Onwards and upwards!

Twins

I have a twin brother, a lot of people don't know that.  If you're wondering what it's like to have a twin, it's kind of like having a sibling that is a little closer, a little more frustrating, a little more forgiving, and a little more aggravating than your average brother or sister.  I never had my own birthday, so I'm not much of a "birthday princess."  He's definitely able to get away with more than my other brothers and sisters, but I'm also faster to judge and correct him.  It's a little good and bad rolled into one.

We are totally two sides of the same coin, we could not be more different if we tried.  We are close though, and even though he seriously drives me nuts sometimes, I'm so grateful to have him around.  He's my only family member who lives in California, my daughter is totally in love with him (he is literally her favorite person on earth.)  She will spot him from a block and a half away and start reaching out for him.  He has saved my sanity on more than one occasion, driving 45 minutes at a moments notice to play with her and cheer us up when she was really ill.  I love that our daughters are growing up together.  We even work at the same office together, sitting at desks facing one another, 2 feet away from each other every day.  I'm not kidding, and we enjoy it.

And he has the most ridiculously goofy and hilarious sense of humor.  I took these photos of him today.  I asked him to stand in to check lighting/position for a couple portraits I was about to take for the corporate website that I've been working on.  The photos pretty much say it all, he is quite the character.

I really love him.

Cosmic Thing

I'm obsessed with these photos by Cole Rise (talk about a name that was meant to be!) His work is surreal, otherworldly, and so so so lovely.  I keep coming back to these images, I think I might have to have one for my walls (prints starting at $25!)  The only problem will be deciding which one...

Did you guys know today is the 30th anniversary of the first American woman in space, Sally Ride?  And, today NASA announced 8 new astronauts, including 4 women.  Fitting pictures for the occasion I think.

Photography Challenge: Week 1

I have been talking and writing about taking better photographs for a long time now (examples 1, 2, and 3.)  So when my little sister came to me this week and asked for advice on how to get started with photography, I decided it's about time for both of us to take some action.  For the next eight weeks I'm going 100% manual mode on my DSLR and plan to post my best weekly picture here for posterity.  I was inspired by this post on You Are My Fave about Four Steps to Better Photos, and the weekly portrait blog You Are My Wild.  Here are a few other resources I'm using to get off Auto and into Manual:

How to Shoot in Manual Mode - The Basics, by Click It Up A Notch (via You Are My Fave)
Seller Summer School Photography 101 with Michelle Bobb-Paris (30 minute video, super helpful!)
100 Tips From a Professional Photographer, by Eric Kim
Photography 101 - Avoiding Rookie Mistakes, by Justin Hackworth

If you know of other great resources, I'm all ears!  And if you feel up to it, why don't you join in the challenge and shoot in manual mode for 8 weeks?  Let's see what happens!  If you send me the link to your picture or post I'll totally link to it in next Monday's post.

Here's my photo this week:

It's not bad, I actually had some really gorgeous shots that were so badly lit because I didn't correct my settings.  ERGH!  It's a start though, and I'll learn!

Nosy Rosie

I'm feeling a little lost today, not sure where to put my time and efforts.  I wonder if this is the new reality, as a mother/woman/coworker/wife/friend/sister I constantly feel like I have a serious case of ADHD and multiple personality disorder combined (am I right ladies?  please say it's not just me.)  Why is it we women think we need to be great at EVERY.SINGLE.THING. and look good doing it? 

Anyway, I have some great pictures of an office lounge I styled recently, but not enough time to post it.  I will come back to it another day and leave you with a picture I took of Rosie this weekend, being her usual Nosy Rosie self (checking out the people on the sidewalk outside through the little peep door that came with our 90-year old front door.)  I love those long fingers and her sweet pink cheeks.  Originally I started playing with the pic in Photoshop, fixing that mark under her right eye and correcting the color, adding different Actions and layers to make it Seventies! and Dreamy! and Ethereal! and then I decided the straight out of the camera shot was best.  In all its flaws.

New Favorite Blog: You Are My Wild

I've been practicing my virtually non-exisitant photography skills every chance I get (or when my camera battery is charged) and constantly looking for inspiration for portraits.  I just love great unique portraits, one of the reasons I always beg my dear friend Shana Duncan to take portraits of my family. 

Today I came across You Are My Wild through a post on the now inactive blog Pacing the Panic Room (I highly recommend falling down the rabbit hole of his archives, they are just wonderful.)  You Are My Wild is a weekly portrait project of 14 photographers, one of which is the writer of Pacing the Panic Room.  The portraits are thoughtful, exuberant, interesting, and so so unique.  I'm obsessed and inspired.

Here are a few of my favorites from the project:

PURE BRILLIANCE.  I am enjoying every single gorgeous picture!

Family Portraits: The Jorves

This weekend was my first foray into family portraiture. I have taken a lot of photos of my niece Ally and my daughter Rosie, but this was my freshman attempt at capturing Jenna, Anders and Ally as a family unit. I think I have a long way to go, but practice makes perfect!

Nothing I do can make this photo look less like my brother is sailing with the Captain.  Seriously, what a goofball.

I traded my Nikon D3000 (purchased in August 2010 and well loved) in for the upgraded Nikon D3200 which also takes video. I also invested in my first prime lens (a lens that has a fixed focal length), the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S. I love both my DSLR and my prime lens. Although a 50mm lens was recommended to me, I had accidentally ordered the 35mm and ended up really liking it. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I will continue to learn I hope!

Anyone know of a good crash course in photography for a newbie like me?