Photo thoughts

It's Sunday evening and we've had a great day.  Church in the morning and then another young adult lunch here at our house.  The menu: Chicken Spaghetti, Salad, veggie appetizers, brownies and coffee.  It was a fun time getting to know some new friends who have found our church.  The majority of the young adults sitting around the table said they checked out our website and thought it looked good to them and then came to our church.  So, what that tells me is that an up-to-date web presence is important to newcomers.  And then, no doubt, good food helps too.

I've been thinking a lot about my photography dreams.  Do I want to try to be professional?  Or, not?  If so, how do I get there?  What steps do I need to take next.  If not, what's holding me back and why?

Why have I fallen in love with photography in the past year?  Then I remembered, it actually started long before my grand purchase of my beloved Nikon D90.  I took two years of photography in high school and one course (the first course ever offered) at my college.  I've loved it for a while.

I love capturing an unsuspecting moment in ordinary life.  While I definitely want an image to be beautiful, I think a time and place is very important.

That is why this is the new favorite photo of my family.  We have some double chins going on.  We have a messy desk and a printer in the background and Alex and Eloise are out of focus.  BUT, I love this moment because it was Eloise's birthday.  It's a pretty photo in a special context.  We are in our home and on our couch.  Hopefully it will bring me back to that time and place when I look at it in the future.

That's one reason I love newborn photos taken on a the parent's bed or in their nursery.  It's in their home.  It's personal.  I love that.

And I want to do that more.  So, that's why I'm starting to practice on other children and family.  I've booked some upcoming shoots for this Spring and I'm giddy thinking about them.  If you want to book something or know someone who might, let me know.  Especially little newborn babies.  I'd love to capture some itty bitty ones.  It'll be a free service; it'll be mutually beneficial, I know. 

In other news, Alex and I are watching Les Miserables on PBS.  It's been my favorite musical since the 7th grade when I traveled to London and saw it.  Then in the 8th grade I nerded out and did a heavey duty extra credit report on the novel by Victor Hugo.  I did so much extra work for that English class, I got a perfect score that year in that class.  Nerd alert!?  Or Les Miserable fanatic? 

I have a photo of me and my 4 best friends in middle school standing outside the theater in London.  And then I have that same photo in that same spot of the same group of friends at the age of 18.  Truly a special and formative point in time.  It was such a memory.  And Les Miserables is such an incredible story.