Spring photo in rich black and white

Last year I went to a blackberry patch in Addington, run by the Kidds. Beautiful patch! And the berries were so good. It was a lot of fun picking them. I haven't had much time to do anything with those photos. Here's one of the flowers in bloom. And I figured it was appropriate to post it. The winter storm just blew in. It was blue skies and nice one moment and then at 8:48 a.m. you could see and hear it come in to the area. So here's the flower in black and white. This conversion makes me think of the art from the 'Hollywood' days, deep rich b/w images.

Cool Prop ideas!

A wild blue couch, JUST $6,272 ....


Or maybe find a place like this to shoot...reminds me of an old mechanic's shop that doubled as a greyhound bus stop in some out of the way little town...all that's missing is the old vending machine for glass soda bottles!


Or this beautiful linen poppy chair, more affordable at $550 ... and easier to haul around to outdoor fields for really cool photos!


same with this Eames classic in modern ultra orange, around $300

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=25242

I have a new Treasury at etsy - featuring ideas for props and places to shoot those uber cool images of seniors and urban kids.
So, go check out the treasury and get some more ideas! And if you shoot some photos using similar props or in really cool places, email me the image and I'll post it!

Modern Dance beauty

Modern Dance beauty can be found in nature's forms. Tonight I had the rare pleasure of attending an Alvin Ailey performance at the Simmons Center. It was part of the Chisholm Trail Arts Council concert series. I really had been caught up in my own world and this opportunity almost slipped by me. Thanks to some wonderful co-workers who knew I would appreciate the chance to go with a tad bit of encouragement, I took my teenage 'daughter,' Kia and we sat through two hours of inspiring grace. I knew my husband wouldn't want to go, but I just could not pass it up.
I found myself moving to the music, holding my breath as I watched the lighting and drama unfold in the dance and reveled in the beauty of costumes. Energy. Even when they were unmoving, the energy was stunning!

As a child, I loved the drama and story of dance. I really wasn't built for it, so dancing for a career was out of the question. I took dance classes, mostly tap, when I was little. Loved it!

Until tonight, I had forgot how much I loved dance as an art form. The two hours went by way too fast and I'm still kicking myself for not taking my camera and getting some shots early in the show! And it's not like I couldn't have gotten some early in the day, as one of my coworkers is vp of programming for CTAC. It was nice to see such a diverse crowd, ages, backgrounds, ethnicity..cultures blended. That's what is so wonderful about dance. Following the performance, I saw many people I hadn't seen in months. Socializing outside of a work setting is a refreshing change.

If you are interested, you need to visit alvinailey.org or do a Google search for images of Alvin Ailey dance troupe. Everything you could hope to know can be found on the Ailey site, from audition schedules to history and a place to purchase items.
Aside from that, I shot this photo the other day. After watching the dancers, it made me think of this bamboo plant, with the way it is twisted and entertwined. So, in place of a real show photo of the dancers, here is dance in nature's art form.

Florida favorite...

I had another post with many photos, but blogger blanked it! So, this is a test! I love this image of Laurie and the kids on the beach.

On its way to Australia!

It was only in my etsy shop a short time before someone bought it. So, I relisted it!
This was an image I shot a long time ago and always liked it, but now it's one of my favorites after reworking it in my digital darkroom, adding blends and layers for texture. It kind of makes me think of looking through an old screen door at someone's backyard.

It's called "Simple Solitude"...and here is what I have written in my etsy shop on this:
A 'vintage' hollyhock and a vintage handmade birdhouse reach to the sky in their quest for simple solitude above and beyond the ordinary foot traffic that passes them by each day.
I also plan on making this image into a necklace. More on that in a future post.

Etsy Treasury #2-Urban Prairie finds

sushipot's Little Dunce --definitely a Chris Brown Urban Prairie style! sushipot is one of etsy's success stories..amassing quite a fan base and selling her creative works!


stoopidgerl's I See You resin necklace of a cracked doll head! My sister would call this odd, but what I find so funny is her son, when he was 19, got a tat that said I See You...hah! and stoopidgerl and I have the same quirky taste in carnival photos!


And my favorite find...SpitFireArt's image of relic typewriters on rusted truck.

Well, I posted a second treasury on etsy. The first one was aqua and orange. This one was inspired by Chris Brown-Urban Prairie design (think junk gypsy and found objects!)
Some very cool artists can be seen in my treasury.
Wish I knew how to post the entire treasury page here. Oh well, click on the title of this post for the link if you are in the mood to be creative, or just buy something funky!
Here's three of my favorites! I think SpitFire's is one of my all time favorite etsy finds. I mean really, being a writer and all...I should go buy this image to hang over my desk!


Also, in my etsy shop I have some new images for sale. Be sure to check them out.

Ferris Wheel Fun

Full frame...


A 5x5 size is also available.


And what it might look matted and framed.

I've had so much fun playing with the images I shot last year during the Stephens County Free Fair. I've added blends and just done different things. I get plenty of compliments on them - but what I really want is for someone to buy some of them! I have many of them in my etsy shop and will sell any size. So if you are really interested, just email me or post a comment here so I can contact you. I plan on ordering a few in 11x14, 16x20 and 20x30 sizes. And they look awesome on metallic paper! This is the latest creation and I also entered in the BetterPhoto daily contest. You can find the link at the left.

Ugg, the bug...

Roman and the Rocket Camera



Precious M at birth


Hit our home this past week! As you'll notice, my last post was Wednesday. Well, that night I was feeling just so so, went to bed and no sooner did I fall asleep, then bam out of nowhere, the bug got me! Let's just say it was not a pretty sight. Especially considering that five minutes after it hit me, it socked my son! Called in sick to work for Thursday (and Friday) and then spent the day on my couch asleep. Now, why wouldn't I just stay in bed? Well, the couch really was more comfortable. Friday wasn't much better. Especially considering that Thursday night the bug got my husband too. So he lost work Friday and Saturday. Ugg..the bug!
Saturday, I didn't feel like just sitting, but was too miserable to do much of anything. I did make a trip to Wal-mart to stock up on some supplies but felt wiped out when I got home. (Heck, that happens on a good day!)

Did go through some photos on my hard drive and did some organizing, editing and freeing up space so I could finish another bigger project. But meanwhile ... Found these cuties! I've decided I'm getting some 8x10s of these made for the family album. Love our bebes! Aren't they beautiful!

Who is Tracy Bible?

Well, just read on! Photos of her jewelry are posted below.

Hi! I'm excited to hear from you again.
I sold a necklace to Trisha Yearwood this summer, but not directly. I took several necklaces to a shop in downtown Franklin. The owner asked me to combine two of the necklaces into one. A few days later Reba McEntire's stylist came in and took the necklace out on approval. Reba wore it for a photo shoot! Then the stylist took the necklace back to the store and Trisha Yearwood bought it HERSELF to wear in an upcoming video! Yay! :)

My favorite necklace is a long, chunky chain on which a gold filigree rectangular "frame" holds a small piece of glass which has been painted on the reverse side. It is a tiny painting of the face of an Airedale Terrier with a red background. It also has a puffy heart charm under the puppy and a crown charm hanging at the clasp. I found the little painting at an antique mall where I have a small booth. I've always loved pictures of that sweet little breed of dogs! I understand Chris Madden has one. (She's an interior designer.)

I have lots of hobbies: singing, decoupage, painting, scrapbooking, stamping, watching movies with my family, antiquing and "junking"! I THINK I'm going to love photography too, when I learn more about it. Right now I loathe my digital camera and need lots more practice, but I have lots of ideas. I also loooove teaching Sunday school at church because I have the little pre-schoolers in my class! They are so adorable.

I would love to visit many places in Europe...France and Belgium come to mind first, since I have purchased many old medals and rosaries from there through antiques dealers. It would be fun to go there myself and hunt for little treasures without having to pay so much of a mark-up! I'd also adore visiting some of the old cathedrals! (and taking pictures!!)

I have a funny favorite drink: 1/2 Dr. Pepper and 1/2 Club Soda over lots of ice! I also love unsweet tea (yum) and soy lattes with an itty bitty tiny squirt of chocolate or toffee syrup. {Can you tell I don't like things too sweet??}

The best novel I've read....Hmmmm. Tough one. I love to read!! I have so many favorites! The two most riveting novels based on true stories were, The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom, and China Cry, by Nora Lam. The most amazing and brilliant fiction story line was, Redeeming Love. If you haven't read it and want to be swept away spiritually, RUN to Barnes and Noble!!!

My best childhood memory is sitting under the Weeping Willow tree in my backyard after my "First Communion". It was just so relaxing and beautiful to look up into the leaves blowing in the breeze. (I also liked to lie under Christmas trees to look up into the branches at night and even now I occasionally plunk down on my back on the driveway to look at the stars at night. I think it freaks out my kids when I do it because it's always just spontaneous, like when we get out of the car after eating dinner out!)

Love this jewelry!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5143331

So, apparently, on the second day this etsy shop was open, I stumbled onto it. I immediately fell in love with many of the necklaces and wrote the artist/designer if I could feature her work on my photo blog. She was so excited! I'm going to first post some photos of her work and the link to her shop and when I get her interview, I'll add it in. Which means of course, you have to come back to read it. Meanwhile, you can learn quite a bit about Tracy Bible and her work in her profile at her etsy shop.

Love these necklaces!