Top 10 of 2010

So here we are, at the end of 2010. I can't say it's been the easiest year of my life, but it has sure been full. It brought me some good things: a little package of pure enthusiasm - my daughter, Julietta. Her smile and squeals can flip my mood 180 degrees. Seriously, you've got to meet this kid. I know she was sent to us, especially, to remind us to smile, even when we may not feel it. You can't not smile when she is around.

2010 brought me a new love as well - my passion for photography. Who can believe that after all of these years of being that annoying friend with the camera in your face and the one who made her college buddies sit down and go through every.single. photo album, one day I'd be on the verge of taking photos for a living?!

When I left the US, nearly eight years ago, I remember writing in my journal about how excited I was to see how I'd fill up the rest of the pages - what adventures lay before me, what new people would impact my life, and where I'd end up. I couldn't even fathom the idea that I'd be writing from a small house in Valencia eight years later with a husband and two daughters. I had no idea I'd be about to start up a photography business.

Life sure floors me now and then... well, actually, it floors me every time I stop and think about it.   I'm writing this from one of the deepest, darkest, lowest points in my life so far, and yet I'm filled with so much hope. I know that there are a lot of us out there at this very moment who are suffering in some way. I do believe, though, that it is our faith and our hope that get us through the rough patches, and it is with our actions and our pure desire to want something better that we can change the parts we don't like, even if that means looking at things in a different light. I have absolutely no idea what this next year will be like, but I do believe, my friends, that it will floor us.

It will bring us to our knees.

It will be the best year yet.

I  believe it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Love,

Sarah

I LOVE the Sunshine.

Sunshine is my friend. I love it. When I was a little girl, I would wish for sunshine on my birthday every single year. Having a June birthday, you'd think I'd have gotten it most of the time. You'd be wrong. I'm from the Seattle area.  One year, though, I do remember making homemade ice cream in one of those old fashioned ice cream makers that you have to crank. And crank.  And crank some more. After all the cranking, we were so ready to eat the ice cream, we didn't even care how it turned out.  Good thing too. The old fashioned ice cream maker was a find my dad had picked up at an antique store (he was an antique dealer) and it definitely had its flaws. It wasn't water proof and the salt had seaped into the vanilla creamy goodness. Did we eat it anyway? Probably.

That reminds me of another story... peanut butter and caviar sandwiches... but I'll save that for another day.

But, I digress. Again. Where was I? Oh yeah, sunshine, oh sunshine....

Laura was up to do another shoot on Saturday afternoon. We met earlier - about an hour earlier (does it seem to be getting dark waaaay too early to anyone else?!), and we played with the light. We played and played and played. And it was fun. (At least it was for me.... Laura?)

Laura, as you can see, is a complete and utter beauty. She doesn't think so, and I told her "you're crazy, lady! You're SMOKIN'!" She thought it was funny when I said "smokin'". But she is. I think you can see that.

Laura has been my friend for quite a few years now. I met her at our café/cocktail bar, The Bohemian Café, and she even worked for us for about a year. She's a Leo, so we get along smashingly well (I've always wanted to say 'smashingly'). She's easy going, and fun to be around, and likes to crack jokes.

This is what she did when I told her to open her eyes wider.

Shall we talk about the technical side of the shoot? I suppose... I felt that I got pretty good exposure most of the time, which can be hard with backlight and a setting sun, so I did give myself a little pat on the back for that. Composition was ok (we avoided the hand clutching arm pose), but it still needs some work. The flaws were many, but I still love these images. I guess that's all a part of the growth process, though, right? My favorite thing about these photos (besides Lovely Laura, or course!) is the light. I LOVE the sunshine.

Wake Up Call While Shooting Laura

You guys are too much. Thank you so much for all the positive comments you've been leaving. It really makes my day. The problem is, though, I think it may be going to my head!! I was really starting to think I was getting the hang of this photography thing. I nearly caught myself exhaling warm air onto my fingernails and then buffing them on my shirt, while looking at myself in the mirror and saying "you are RAD!" (Then I nearly put my sunglasses on, turned on my heel, flicked my hair, threw my jacket up over my shoulder and strutted away).  Wait... was that me, or a cheerleader in a 1980's teen movie?  Whatever... The point is that I started feeling like a certain destiny was waiting just on the other side of the horizon... (help! can.not. kick. eighties. theme!).

Well, I got a taste of reality today to put me back in my place.  I tried doing a photoshoot with an adult. My beautiful friend, Laura, let me photograph her this afternoon. Despite the fact that I didn't need to chase after her just to get her to look at the camera, and that she would just sit there letting me take photo after photo (and even did what I asked her to do), it was HARD! Finding interesting poses wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I had even researched before and made myself a notebook of poses from fashion magazines, but in the moment, I fell short. Plus, the light was horrible. That was the most disappointing thing about the entire situation. The photos were all grainy because it was overcast so it got dark super duper early and I underexposed the majority of them. I'm posting some of my favorites, because even though they didn't come out perfectly, I still loved quite a few of them.

I loved the close up ones. See what amazing skin she has?! JEALOUS! The rest of them were just as beautiful, but I managed to catch her nose at a weird angle, or catch focus on her eyebrows instead of her eyes. Doh!

I do love this one. About 80% of the poses I told her to use look exactly like this, but now I know what to work on.

¡¡GUAPA!!!

I feel like I should post some of the bad photos so I'm not misrepresenting myself, but that sucks for Laura. Who wants anyone to post bad pictures of them on the internet? Not me for sure. So, I'll post one of my favorite bad ones, leaving you and your brain to imagine what the rest are like.

Oh, and and the good news is, Laura is so freakin' gorgeous, she saved many of the potential "reject" photos. They may be grainy and lacking originality, but Laura's genuine beauty overpowered them.


(Ok. I'm ending this post and all my cheeseball commentary. Jeez!)