Birth of a Photographer - Learning the Tips, Tricks and Secrets to good Photography

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Vashon Island Head Shot Photographer - Project 52 Week 13 - Black and White

Black and White is the theme for this week's Project 52 that I'm participating in with 17 other incredibly talented photographers from The Bloom Forum.

Time has been somewhat of an unseen commodity these days. So, I won't waste any this week, and just leave you with my black and white images:

Now go on over and take a look at Shea Parker/Clinton Mississippi Child Photographer to see her amazing work.

Project 52 Week 7 - Beginnings

This week's theme for Project 52 was pretty easy for me. I could have basically taken my camera with me everywhere I went and just started clicking away. It is all new for me, even though I'm moving back to where I'm from.

I haven't lived on my little island in more than 15 years, so I anticipate I'll feel like a foreigner again at the beginning... maybe not, though. I visited the island a few days ago, and I felt like I was finally home. I can not wait to start a new life there. Everytime I thought about where I wanted my kids to grow up, the only place I could imagine was Vashon Island. I have so many beautiful memories from my childhood, and I still have the same best friends I had from when I was eight. I want so badly for my children to get a dose of that wonder as well.

This second picture is my daughter (right) with my best friend's daughter (from when I was eight!) and my sister in la-la's daughter. (She's not really my sister-in-law. She's my best friend's sister-in-law, but we refer to each other as sister in la-las... we might as well be related!) I thought this photo really captured the beginning of what is sure to be a very long, beautiful friendship.

Please make sure to go visit Shauna, Sudbury Photographer, from Simply Shauna Photography. She's been on fire lately!

What's Going On

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I'm still on a weird schedule. I actually wake up at sunrise. So not like me!

This is going to be a quick one. I just had to share a couple things before I get completely back loaded with blogging.

First of all, despite being completely cautious and careful about my camera while travelling, look what happened during the flight -

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!

It's enough to make you sick, isn't it?

This is my Nikor 24-70mm, f/2.8 a lens much coveted by professional photographers. I love this lens. I don't use it as much as my 50mm, but it comes out for very special shots. Last week when I was taking photos of Julietta at sunrise on my mom's deck, I pulled out my 24-70mm and this is what I found. This was days after we'd landed. I was petrified. I knew Alex would be livid. Can you just imagine the feeling? I don't even want to think about it. Yuck.

Luckily, Alex had insisted on buying a polarizer immediately after we'd bought it, and the only part of the lens that was damaged was that. (HUGE sigh relief... I mean HUGE)

Oh to be HOME!!
This is what I've been missing. This is what I wanted my children to grow up with. I can take the cloudy days if they get to play in streams and mud and be surrounded with lush green every day of their lives. This is a beautiful park nearby my mom's house where there is a frisbee golf course!! I'll post more about this place soon.

And look at these sweet cheeks! This is my friend's daughter, Sarah. I had a session with them right before we left Valencia, and haven't had time to finish editing the images. (Sorry, Christina!!!) It has been blogged on my new site: sarahbunchphotography.com/blog
Check out this beautiful family. I just want to squeeze this little sweetie every time I see her adorable face!

And in case you're wondering what I'm doing with two blogs, I've decided that my new blog will be the place to go to see all my sessions that I do. It will be the more cut and dried, professional site. When you visit me here, you'll see the crazy, wild eyed, nut behind all the calm, collected and put together (if I somehow manage to achieve that!). I will be dedicating this site to what it was originally meant for - the behind the scenes take on my journey as a photographer. I'm sure you'll need a little dose of both to keep you balanced. Hey, I'm a gemini. It wouldn't be right to see only one side.

And don't forget to enter the FREE SESSION GIVEAWAY!!! I only have 21 people entered as of this moment. Get your little bums moving and leave a comment on this post PRONTO!

Project 52 Week 5 - Motions

I have been MIA this past week. Man, travelling across the world will tucker you out! I've been waking up way too early and going to bed by 9!! That's crazy talk! Anyway, I haven't had much time at all to concentrate on photography (besides my lens fiasco, which I'll tell you about in a few days), but after missing last week of Project 52, I just could not let it slide another week. I missed you all too much!!

So, this is what I came up with in a pinch...

To me, this captures the love that my daughter and her yaya share. Yaya is going back to Spain tomorrow. There's a lot of motion and E-motion involved in all that surrounds us at the moment. (This was also an attempt to capture motion blur without a tripod. Not perfect, but not too shabby either!)

And I just found the motion in this one so evident, even though there is no motion blur. I am also loving that, even though I'm in Seattle, I'm still able to shoot with flare! Yippy! May the trend continue!!

Now head on over to see what the wickedly creative Shauna, Sudbury Photographer, from Simply Shauna Photography, has come up with.

Here Comes the Sun

I've been wanting to use this ironic title for years now!!!!

Here I am in my very first apartment in Valencia. I lived with a guy from Germany and one from Holland. My room was the size of a closet ( see below)

It's finally here. I'm leaving. I'm going home!!!! I've been dreaming about this day for years. There were times when I thought it would never happen - that I'd be doomed to spend the rest of my life here. It felt like the vacation that just wouldn't end. Nearly seven years ago, I took a sabatical from work to travel Europe. I was supposed to go back after the year and begin working again. I didn't. I was going to stay in Valencia for four months to learn the language. I didn't... I didn't learn the language perfectly either! I have cried so many tears and have gotten to such a lonely place that it's hard to remember what I'm really like anymore. It has been hard, to say the least, but I know what I've gone through has made me into a stronger person. I'm not going to say better. I think I've seen a lot of parts of myself that I wish weren't there. I've realized that in times of difficulty and stress, a lot of ugliness comes seaping out. It makes me sympathize with people, though, who I never could understand before.

Here's my little room. I came with only a backpack! I love it how it didn't even cross my mind to straighten up before taking the picture. I guess I wanted it to be real. I appreciate that!

Even though I'm going and looking forward to soooooo many things - my family, my friends, my home, friendly customer service, a dryer, a big back yard, being able to speak the language, being able to drive... and go places when I want to... (Oh, I could go on with this list forever!) I don't ever want to forget all of the things that I love about Spain. For starters - the sunshine. I love the weather here. I love that I can always count on backlight in my photos! Oh, and I will miss my insurance and never worrying about coverage. That's been a beautiful thing, never having to think about that. I will miss the fact that people disagree here about what's going on with the government, but that never divides them as people, nor does it define them. I will miss the public transportation system, the ability to walk everywhere and always feel safe. I'll miss the Mediterranean food and the social way of life. I'll miss the small independent cafés, restaurants and bars, the history and lack of strip malls. I'll miss the old, beautiful buildings, the cobblestone, the marble, and all the wisdom that comes with age.

Boy, I guess I could go on with this list forever as well. It's funny to love two places so much but in such completely different ways. I used to say that if I could only combine Spain and Seattle, I'd live in the perfect place (I think I'd have to throw a little Monterey into the mix, though!)

This was taken last Sunday at our very last paella together.

Since I've been here, I've lived in seven different apartments, with people from 10 different countries. I've worked as an English teacher, a bar owner, a translator, a mommy and a photographer. I've been dirt poor, have cried my eyes out on numerous occasions, but have experienced some of the greatest joys of my entire life. I have learned more than I could ever share. It has been an incredible experience.

And now, I'm ready to go home. : )

Scared

We leave in three days. I've spent the last month being a pathetic excuse for a mom, so that I could be a better mom in the future by making a living off of photography, and do you know what is going through my head right now? It goes something like this - "What IN THE WORLD are you thinking?!"

I'm scared out of my mind.

We are leaving Valencia because our café can't support us. We are leaving because I either look for a job here and put my kids in not-so-great day care, or go back and try to find a job. But we all know that finding a job right now is not easy, especially for a teacher who's teaching license has expired. So, my bright idea was to start a photography business. I've put all of me into it. I've stayed up until 2 in the morning for the past 10 months. I haven't sat on the couch and watched a movie, read a book or knit a hat in 10 months. I have put every last thing I have into it, and now after lauching my website and my blog, most of my confidence is waning. I'm not good enough. No one wants me to take their photos. I am going to fall flat on my face. Like I feared. It's going to come true. It's already happening.

I am scared to leave here. I'm scared of all the humiliation that will come with failing.

I am just so scared.

Project 52 Week 3 - Warmth

This week for Project 52, a year long photography project I'm working on with 17 other talented photographers from The Bloom Forum, our theme was WARMTH. I bet you can think of a zillion things to do for "warmth" right. Yeah, me too. The first thing I think of, though, is two people cuddled up, and guess what?! I just happened to get an image of my friend, Christina, and her fiancé, Markus, all cuddled up and lovey-dovey, and as an added bonus, she's wearing a scarf. We went for a photo session in the park with their daughter, Sarah, on Sunday afternoon. I'm pretty sure they thought it would mostly be pictures of Sarah, and were a little surprised when I turned it into a smootch fest. Look at the warm smiles on their faces, though. You know they LOVED it.

Now go take a peek at what Shauna from Simply Shauna Photography has in store for us. That girl is ON FIRE! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) ; )

B-Rad and his Girls

Last week I had the privelege to do a photoshoot with my friend, Bradford (I call him B-rad, and if I were him, I'd go by that all the time) and his two daughters, Julia and Anna. What fun we had, singing, and running and playing tag and Simon Says. Good times were had by all.

I'm so stoked at how these images turned out. I am in love with the light and the smiles, but most of all, I love the interaction between this family. It is apparent by looking at these images, just how much Bradford loves his girls, and how much they adore their daddy in return.

B-rad, it's been fun. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do. See you sometime in the future... either back in Spain, or in the US. TAKE CARE and give those little girls big squeezes for me!

Love,
Sarah

Project 52 Week 2 - Shades of Red

Yay for week 2 of Project 52!!! If you aren't sure what the heck I'm talking about, click here to catch up to speed.

Should I tell you how much I struggled with this assigment? I think I should. I wanted to do something with lots of texture and different shades of red. I had it all pictured in my mind. It was going to blow you all away, it was so incredible. Unfortunately, though, reality won yet again. Grrr! I ran out of time, and I couldn't find that one amazing red, pink and orange explosion of textured brilliance.

So I went with it...

We spent most of our week at the beach this week, so I made sure Bella wore her red jacket and ruby slippers at all times, and this is what manifested...

I thought it turned out pretty cool.

Now, it's time to go check out what brilliance Shauna from Simply Shauna Photography will bedazzle us with.

See you next week!

Rub a Dub Dub

One of their favorite activities... Bath Time!!

Bella insists on putting toys on top of Julietta's head, and pouring water on her. Julietta is pretty fierce, though. She has learned quickly how to handle having a big sister. I have already caught myself saying to Arabella, "Bella, you aren't the boss." which was probably the sentence my parents used most often with me when I was growing up with a younger brother.

Here are some of my favorite images from their bath time a few days ago. I had quite a few pictures of them just sitting and looking at me, cute as can be, but those didn't make it into my favorites folder. I chose the images that really made me laugh or feel something, although maybe not technically perfect... the ones that told more of a story. Little by little my style is emerging.

Project 52 Week 1 - Self Portrait

I am so thrilled to announce that I am taking part in Project 52 with 16 other incredibly talented photographers!! Project 52 is a creative photography challenge. Each week for a year we get a new theme and all of us have to interpret the theme and then photograph it in our own unique way. Each Friday we all post our images to our blogs and then link our blogs together so everyone can cycle through them and see all the amazing images by each photographer. Sounds cool, right? That's because it is.

This week's theme was THE DREADED SELF PORTRAIT. Ok, ok. You got me. I added the "dreaded" part in there. Never before had I realized how difficult self-portraits are. I had to do this while Julietta was in her stroller screetching at me the whole time. Half of the images came back blurry. I don't understand how to use my self timer on my DSLR without getting a bunch of blur. Anyway, this was what I came up with. I can pick it apart - my nose looks huge and I desperately need a hair cut, but this is me right now in my life. Big nosed with bad hair, wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. And because I couldn't choose between a bold contrasty black and white, or a softer processed image, I went with both. I'm sneaky like that.

Now click yourself on over to see the gorgeous Shauna from Simply Shauna Photography. I'm quite certain she will knock your socks off with her talent and beauty.

Goodnight Irene

We said goodbye to Alex's sister, Irene, for a while. We don't know when we will be back in Spain, and since Irene can't leave the monastery, it's up to us to go see her again. I got so many images that I absolutely love on this trip. It doesn't hurt that the nuns are so sweet and playful. I always want to pick up Halel, the mother superior, and swing her around. She's the cutest thing you ever did see.