Captured by Winter

yesterday i woke up, showered, put makeup on, fixed hair, dressed for work, and was ready to head out the door when i decided to call and see if i even needed to come in...turns out i didn't really. it's a good thing too because it snowed the entire day, and had i gone to work, i might have had some trouble getting home! i was grateful for the snow day! it was especially nice spending the day with my grandma. we drank our coffee and watched the snow fall while we talked about how the earth has shifted and moved over the last thousands of years...it was an interesting conversation i tell ya! :) the day before i bought her the susan boyle cd (the lady who shocked audiences in britain's got talent with her performance of i dreamed a dream). we listened to that and got teary eyed with her rendition of how great thou art...she sang beautifully and it just filled me up with so much passion and emotion. i'll have to share more about my passion for music in another post...it's kind of a big deal! then i bundled up and wrapped my camera up to venture outside for some photography! * click on the images to see them larger...it's better! *



i'm being cheesey with my wrapping techniques...the one below would have worked better but i was finished shooting by the time i decided on this wrapping. oh well! my hair and makeup that were all fixed up for work were quickly destroyed by winter's forces...i basically melted. it was all in the name of photography though so no biggie! here are some favorites! * click to enlarge *







this one was my very favorite i think!





playing with daisies in the snow!







so after getting soaking wet and completely numb, i came inside. grandma made grilled cheese sandwiches for us...it was lovely...the pickles and olives were my favorite parts though! yummy!



later that evening i made oatmeal cookies and chai tea...it really was a lovely wintery day! today we just couldn't imagine staying in the entire day so we ventured out in to the winter wonderland for some burgers at goldies. yummy again! the roads really aren't too terrible unless you're an idiot driver...most people are unfortunately:( i've got the bed of my truck weighed down with about 550 pounds of sand, salt, and pallets...that's helpful!

well i just wanted to share my winter adventures! later i am going to write more about the power of music in my life...that's something that has been on my mind for some time. tonight we are celebrating my brother's upcoming 25th birthday...that is if people don't wimp out because of the weather. i totally rock on the roads no matter what!

Great Blogs To Follow

I just have to share these blogs I follow! For those of you who are photographers, enjoy photography, or appreciate photography, you will love these blogs! The photos are absolute eye candy!

http://abeautifulimageblog.com/

and

http://kellybeane.com/

and

http://blogbykriea.com/

Anywho! These ladies are my inspiration! Check them out...they are truly absolutely fabulous!

Tranquility in the Darkroom

I've wanted to blog for a while because more and more photographers are blogging. But this isn't really going to be my photography blog I don't think. I'm a photographer who learned the art in the old fashion way and am still behind in the ways of technology. I know I need to embrace the digital age and learn all that there is to know, but I never feel like I have time...so I must make time! At least I shoot with a DSLR now! I miss the darkroom though...the dim yellow light, the smell of chemicals, the water running in the rinse baths. There was a tranquility there and a relationship with the photo I was creating. It wasn't about sitting in front of a computer screen and photo shopping the hell out of a mediocre picture. I knew from the moment I pressed the shutter button that I captured something special...and when I brought it to the darkroom, I only had to get the settings right on the enlarger and the crop right on the paper. Then I could watch it come alive in the chemicals with the satisfaction of knowing that I created that! My photography has gotten better over the years, so when I look over the photos from the days of the darkroom, they aren't as great as they were in those moments...but they still mean something to me and I'm still proud of them. Even with DSLRs and the convenience of the digital age, I still hope to have my own darkroom again someday. Here are a couple of favorites from shooting film and printing in a darkroom.

My sister with my guitar. This particular border was known as the scary flash.



Shot with infrared film out at Lake Thunderbird. This is Annie.



My instructor, Ron, helped with this one. I took a macro of some shells and printed the photo like normal. Then we took that photo and cut this design out and did another print using a reversal process. All in the darkroom! A color darkroom is pitch black by the way.

So there are a few. Working with film and processing and printing the "old fashion" way are all just really therapeutic. I cherished the times when I could be by myself with my shoes kicked off dancing barefoot around the darkroom.