Saturday, February 28, 2009

Spring Saturday



Just two of the many I shot of this corner blooming shrub yesterday. I saw it in the morning on the way to work and knew it was in the perfect stage for great photographs. Not so many blooms that it would be all you see, but just enough. And I've always thought this fence was fantastic. The homeowners (haven't a clue who they are) but they always have potted plants on the porch timed for the seasons. And a vintage bicycle that leans up against the fence. The dogs in the back barked and barked but either were on a chain or just not interested enough to come to the fence, which I was kind of glad because their barks were kind of boisterous. All I wanted to do was photograph the shrub. I've tons more, will post later sometime. The house across the street also is another photographic adventure but the old guy who lives at it is too friendly. Oh he's a nice sort, it's just when I'm photographing nature, I don't like chit chat in my ear constantly! Kind of spoils the mood, ya know?
Today I am headed out to our local humane society shelter to do dog portraits for their upcoming fundraiser. Wish me luck!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

She's always happy!


yes, MM is always like this! and she loves to dance. anytime music comes on, she's bopping and moving to it. and she knows how to turn on the stereo which can be a problem sometimes, not often, but she knows that she can get away with it. the problem? everyone stops what they are doing to watch her! just fun!
so one day when I snapped these pictures, some really out of focus as I wasn't using my flash and we were just having silly fun, she kept saying 'happy'...so, happy it is...

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Kaylee & Nick, more!






Ceremony- five stars! Their vows were lovely and the officiator stepped out of the way during the ceremony which was wonderful (for me as a photographer!). Afterwards, I told him that it was lovely and we talked about that. He said he always tries to get the couple to do that, since the wedding is about them, not him. What a wonderful thoughtful gesture.
And of course, getting the groom's reaction as the bride comes in is always priceless. I have one other of Nick and everyone, but I'm saving it until they see it first. Oh, to share with my blog readers, the little boys were telling Kaylee how beautiful she was, just before she was to enter the chapel. Definitely a wonderful moment!

Kaylee & Nick












Quick post here of Kaylee & Nick's big day! I have so many to process! You two are so beautiful and fun and I really feel blessed to have photographed you. Thank you again! More of these will go up over the next few days. I hope these look as good out there on my blog as what I am seeing on my monitor! I know that many of these are going in my new updated portfolio. I absolutely love them!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Keeping the art alive




More in my postcard and blank greeting card series of images featuring a fading culture and lifestyle. Much work goes into these.

Postcards coming soon!

This is one of the projects I've been working on.
"Shadow and Light"

Postcards will be the first product available from this. Creating these diptychs and triptychs are more work than I first anticipated. Sometimes I will get a group of photos together and then as I work them on the template, I decide one doesn't work in the group, or the crop size doesn't please me. But this is just a teaser of the many that I've created from my photos I've shot over the past few years at chuckwagon cookouts, cattle drives and other western venues.

"Camp Gear"


"A little soap and powder"

I'd love to hear feedback and if you are interested in my western images and products, I'll add you to my mailing list. You can post anonymously, but I'd really love to hear if you like these.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Red, pink and beautiful






Valentines Day! Best part was seeing my grandchildren. Just took some snapshots of the little guy when his daddy brought him over. I get to do an actual shoot Sunday. But then my other one showed up later! My husband bought her the outfit and then, seriously, she raided my jewelry cabinet and picked out these beads on her own. I didn't even know she had "thieved" them...sly little stinker! She knows just which ones to wear. The session didn't go so well, until I gave her the donut. We had bears, strawberry, balloons, nothing...but the donut worked!

First signs of spring

Shot this Thursday! In my front yard! this week there have been tornadoes/spring weather, and today, it is 32 degrees. definitely Oklahoma!


Thursday, February 12, 2009

Art to banish stress

I scrolled down to see who might have stopped by my blog today, when I see a link for 1000journalsfilm.com. I click and get a neat list of places to visit. I clicked on the second name, Art Tea Life blog and end up with this video below. I was a part of this project. I've blogged about it before. I need to go buy the book since my pages were published in it. Wow. I look back and think, that was a LONG time ago....10, 11 years. I recently started working on some of my old art journals and photo journal. I need to do it more regularly. It's a great stress reliever. I need that right now.


Here's that link to my first post about this project:
http://photographybytoni.blogspot.com/2007/09/1000-journals.html

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

I refuse..

to twitter! I have yet to have an interest. not even enough to investigate it to see why so many people are excited about it. do you twitter? why? what's the purpose? just tell me. i mean really, you have something so important to share with the world at that very exact moment, you can't just pick up the phone and tell your best friend? ummmm.....no, let's twitter to the masses!
now, I know, odd comments coming from a blogger! i started the blog when I first opened a photo studio. then it became a way to show off some of my art photos and once in awhile, news that was happening locally.
and of course, for family.
but seriously...twittering...whatever in the world for?

Sweet faces

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Buy it before it's gone!




Cowboys & Indians Photographing the West issue is on the stands now! Yes, I'm bragging since I have a photo in it! Now, even so, it is by far the best issue yet for the annual contest they sponsor. The images in it are superior. How tough a job to judge!
The grand prize winner was submitted by a 14 year old boy! Awesome! Some of my favorites include: in equestrian, Untitled by Marion Cox, pg 130; landscape, Untitled by Cynthia Smalley, pg 132. (I'm seeing another one also by Smalley, so I'm going to do a search online. I like her work). Both of these were honorable mention, as was mine. I also liked Daydreamer by Herberto M. Alves, pg 130.

Barn Owls by Martin Giovannini (beautiful!) pg 107and dang, I can't believe this didn't win Untitled by Georgia Martin Baker. wow, just breathtaking. Black and white boy on horse. You have to get this magazine. There are so many wonderful images in it! Plus an entire feature on the photography of Timothy O'Sullivan and David C. Schultz. I could list every image and still feel like there should be more. So just go buy the issue!

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Exactly!


This ad sums it up! OK, so I was thinking just now, how can I make my blog posting more interesting? I know you're out there reading - some of you anyway - but my writing always seems so, well, you know...serious...ack! I want more people to comment if I put up an image they like or write something they find interesting.

And a follow up to my last entry of the Life magazine. I forgot to add that at one time I thought it would be cool to swim to the depths of the oceans and photograph. And then there was the time I wanted to go see where the Lions roam in Africa....Yes...i'm a daydreamer!

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Images that shape us


Today, I was at one of our local antique stores and found this great magazine. $3.50. I couldn't pass it up. It's fabulous! I posted some of my favorite images out of it here, with a little note about each. enjoy. be sure to read my story below. The cover of my great find.


The gorgeous Elizabeth Taylor. Age 15. 1947 seascape shot. She had a $1,200 a week contract with MGM. Photo by Bob Landry.
And below, is Meryl Streep. Absolutely love this shot!1981. Photo credit: Snowdon
What a fantastic image (below). A young Teddy Kennedy, 6, with his little box camera. 1938, getting ready to take a photo of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Now that's historic imagery! Sadly, just an AP credit on this one.

And this is one of the images that really shaped me into wanting to become a photojournalist/news reporter. I look back now and think, thank heavens I didn't have to see such suffering up close and personal. Vietnam. 1966. Marines. Photo by Larry Burrows. I believe this image was not published until 1971.



And how is this one for capturing the MOMENT! George Balanchine, choreographer of classical ballet. 1963, pet Mourka. Photo by Martha Swope.

Margaret Bourke-White. Classic.

Images have a profound effect on who we are. Especially if you are a photographer. I spent hours and hours looking at photos of long-ago ancestors when I was a little girl. The stories behind them were, to me, fascinating, even if just simple. My mother had this huge box under her bed and whenever I was bored, I'd pull it out and just go through the images again and again. Those were the most fascinating, more so than the ones in albums. Imagine being nostalgic in your childhood/teenage years!

I loved fashion, celebrity images. After I had my sons, that didn't seem to appeal to me so much. I felt like it was kind of unrealistic to view life in that manner.
Another form of imagery that appealed to me was photojournalism. I used to dream of being a photographer in some faraway, exotic locale....or war torn country. Ireland and Cuba were at the top of my young dreams. Then there was the Vietnam War. Those pictures are deeply embedded in my mind. Now though, I know that is not a romantic job and the pain and anguish of those images still bear deep scars for many.
As I got a little older, I realized though that even though I loved all these types of photos depicting life. I really had a passion for political images. In college I used to daydream about being a White House photographer. I still think it would be awesome to do that - for a week or so. Having family and just enjoying my children and grandchildren, I don't think working in the nation's big house would fit so well with my lifestyle these days.
I'm happy to be doing what I'm doing these days, though I wouldn't pass up a chance to photograph a day in the White House, or maybe serve as second shooter at a celebrity wedding.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Best blog ever!

http://ifoundyourcamera.blogspot.com/
Found out about this through my PhotoJoJo newsletter. It's a site where people can upload a few photos from a camera, film or digital that they've found so those items can be returned to rightful owners!
Last year during the worldwide Scott Kelby photowalk, my husband and I took part in the OKC group. Well, sadly, I lost my little case that had all my digital cards in it filled with photos. One was full of family photos. Besides the loss of that, I've never been able to replace them. There were several hundreds of dollars in that tiny case. Mostly 2 GB cards. I think there were like 7 cards total in it. Maybe 6.
Anyway, I was so bummed. We even backtracked our route as soon as I discovered they were gone. Finding out about this site is just super. Even if I never get my cards/images back, I think everyone should know about the site and forward it to everyone they know!
Also, another sad story about losing photos. When my oldest son (he's 25 now) was 2, I had a bunch of stuff stolen from someone that was keeping it for me. I'm talking everything, his baby crib, toys, clothes, tons of books, my childhood scrapbooks and photo albums.
I searched for years to try and find my stuff, but never had luck. That was in the mid 1980s. I would be so tickled if I ever got my scrapbooks and albums back. The scrapbooks had all my childhood cards - birthday, Christmas, etc.. that my mom and other family members had given me, plus lots of other wonderful memorabilia.
That is the nice thing about the advances of technology. It really allows us to search/return/discover things we might not have been able to years ago. Now, go check out the site. Who knows, you might find your photos or see someone in them you know! Good luck!

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Skiz, Skeez, Skeeters...

I scanned this print in because I'm working on a personal project of photos of animals we've had over the years to make a blurb book. I've got this as an 8x10 desk framed shot of an adorable little dog we had years and years ago. In the late 1980s. Her name was Skiz (like skis) but my boys were little so her name took on various forms. I laugh when I look at this photo because I swear she was such a poser. Also, I would be horrified now if I had a screen door that looked that bad, but we were very young, renting a duplex and the boys would run in and out the back door constantly. Try as we might to keep the screen connected to the frame, between them and this little dog and her mama, the screen pretty much is descriptive of our life back then. Carefree, fun and lots of great times!
We still have great times, but are much more grounded. I don't even have a 'screen door' instead a glass storm door. I kind of miss the screen doors I grew up with. There's something so nostalgic and appealing about them. The creak of them as kids run in and out and the constant repairs. Definitely vintage! Ummm....may have to get one for the back door of my home so when my grandchildren get a few years older, we can enjoy hearing the creak and laughter as they go in and out and play in the backyard.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Good morning!




It's a scary thing when I go to bed early. I end up waking up early the next morning and wow, the creative drive is much more alert! When I was a little girl, my mom and my Auntie Penny would spend hours at the kitchen table talking. Coffee was their choice of beverage and I remember the old percolator. It left grounds in the bottom of their cups. We'd 'read' them. And of course, we would also talk about tea readings. Wonderful memories! I miss them both. I still have one of those cups. No this isn't it. I didn't upload that photo yet. Oh I also remember my mom drank her coffee straight black, while Auntie Penny filled hers with cream and sugar. I always got to drink the last of the cup, imagine my sugar high! And I still drink it that way. Here's some images from the weekend.

Monday, February 02, 2009

White: Kitchen


A few weeks ago, a flickr friend and I agreed to do some collaborations. She suggested white. We didn't delve into what we had in mind. I did mention linens, but that didn't happen. Instead, Saturday, I grabbed one of my vintage ceramic pitchers off the shelf in my kitchen and shot a bunch of images using it. Sent her three for variety, and she immediately took this one, mine is on the left, and paired it with something she had shot from the right. Now how is that for the muse?! I love it.

This collaboration thing could prove a new addiction in photography for me. There are two other people I'm wanting to do this with. Must send e-mails! Like I don't have enough to pitter about with.
Now I need to get this uploaded to my lab and get a few postcards made for myself and Leaca! Oops, that was a surprise...pretend you didn't read that Leaca!

Puppy Bowl V

This is fun to watch with your kids or (secretly, late at night alone! after your husband is in bed!) We haven't had a dog in a couple years and I do enjoy having one around except the right one hasn't found us yet!
Visit the Animal Planet channel to watch the Puppy Bowl V clips. Entertaining! There's one beagle, I think her name is Matilda, she's a feisty little one. I've been thinking about getting one just like her! Or that cute little black and white ball of fluff that is in the game too.
And the German Shepherd is spirited for sure. But I had one years ago, that was enough.
Over the years, I've had a variety of dogs. My senior year of high school and up to after college, I had a darling little pup, 'Johnny'...I think he was a mixture of Corgi and who knows. He was definitely a traveler. I'd pick up my keys and he was ready to go for a ride in my bright, sunshine yellow Pacer with fantastic brown interior. I loved that car.
When I was pregnant with my first son, I had rescued a beagle hound dog, Sparky. He and my husband were not such great friends. He loved to bark into the window fan just as my husband would fall asleep each morning after working the graveyard shift. We finally had to give him to someone who lived in the country as he hated living in the city. When I got him, we lived in the country and he was fine, but in the city limits, an entirely different attitude. I still miss him!
Oh to get past my fear of German Shepherds, after college, I got one and named him Dillinger. That dog was just plain dumb. But I loved him all the same. My mom always had chihuahua's and we've had silly terriers/chihuahua mixes.
I'd have to say though, rescuing a Black Lab one Christmas eve was the best. My youngest son carried her "Blacky" into the house, or maybe it was the other way around...she was huge even for a pup, but was at the store and it was snowing and icing up. Her ribs were showing and we took her home under the guise of "giving Daddy his gift!"
It worked! For the next 12 plus years, she was as much a member of our family as any one of us were. It was hard when we lost her. Not long after that, we also lost our little terrier mix. Since then, we've had cats. But now we are down to one cat. Since moving into our new home, three have just up and disappeared. They were cats we had for years and years. So we don't know what has happened to them.
Well if you've read all this, you are either extremely bored or really love animal stories. Either way, maybe I should apologize! Or you can just go visit your local humane society shelter and volunteer, donate or adopt a pet.
I know, two posts back to back and no photos?! What's the blog world become?!! I will return with photos.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Super Bowl commercials

UPDATE: The Google video link below actually takes you to 2006 videos, but if you want to see any from 2009, just do the search at Google video. If you haven't seen the new Doritos ad/snowglobe commercial, definitely guaranteed! Going back and watching the the 06 ads, I loved the Clydesdale horse getting a little help pulling the wagon, and the 'streaker' sheep, both Budweiser ads. Timewasters but still enjoyable!
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First, let me say, never been a Bruce fan and so this is probably the first year in many that I ignored the half-time show. I 'heard' it, but after his introduction and watching him 'attempt' to get up from the back bend, that was excruciating. I can give him props for that, as I can't even attempt such an act, but I laughed thinking he was stuck and couldn't get back up.
Anyway, for his age, he still rocks, but I'm still not a huge fan!
I did enjoy Jennifer Hudson's performance and even Faith Hill. Though I think her pre-commercial show was pretty good.

Now, onto the best part of the game, (honestly, I didn't watch but bits of the game while sitting here playing on my computer. I leave that to the guys in the family) But the trailers for the upcoming year of movies, OH YEAH! Transformers 2, Star Trek, Watchmen and this I've known for sometime and absolutely can't wait: Fast and Furious 2009!
So glad it is only a couple months away! Shortly after the original came out, I went and bought a Black Geo Prism, yes, crazy. I'm not 'that old! I drove that everywhere. Loved it. So what if I was over 35 and a mom! Just because you have children, get older, try to be responsible, doesn't mean you can't have FUN! I mean really, guys have their toys: Harley's, boats, etc...!
My youngest son has the car now. He better be careful or I may just reclaim it! Course, it would need a complete paint job, interior upgrade, etc...Just kidding son!
http://superbowlads.fanhouse.com/quarter1/Bridgestone-Mr_Potato_Head/2409722
Super Bowl commercials: Loved the Mr. Potato head one, well not so much at the end..hahaha..., and if you do a search you will find the videos online of course. I found this link:
http://video.google.com/superbowl.html
But this is the best one, it has all the commercials listed by quarter! So if you missed them or just want to watch your favorites again, the joys of Internet!
http://superbowlads.fanhouse.com/