Session #3 [The Learning Continues]

I had another interesting session tonight. I met a woman with her 2 dogs, and it proved to be a very short session in which every image will be deleted from my hard drive immediately. Again, I learned many lessons. I learned today that it is important to photograph people who are interested and engaged in the process of taking the photos. I also learned never to schedule sessions close to sunset without an external flash, I must play it much more safely with the equipment I currently have. [On that note, I am DYING to buy that external flash and I am seriously considering purchasing it as an early birthday present to myself...from myself.]

I got an email back from Rebecca (the woman I had the first session with) and it was so sweet! She thanked me for the pictures I emailed her and she said they were exactly what she was looking for and she can't wait to see the rest of the photos. It was so encouraging to read that after my last 2 sessions having been so rough. I have not lost hope and I am still excited about the possibilities. I am hopeful that she will spread the word to other parents in her area and I will have some more children's portraits to do. I have 2 children's sessions scheduled for this weekend and I am really looking forward to them. 

I babysat again today and was able to get some more cute pictures of Tommy. The trick with Tommy is to lead him to believe you are not actually taking any pictures of him. He is so photogenic!

Tommy makes it to home plate...

"And the crowd goes wild!!!"

Photo Shoot #2- A Learning Experience

This photography venture has certainly been a learning experience so far, and I am only 2 shoots into it. Today I met with a sweet younger woman and her boyfriend. She was very enthusiastic when we e-mailed one another back and forth, so I assumed this photo shoot would be a fun one. What I didn't know was that her boyfriend was not so excited, and he clearly did not really want to be there. They were both very nice, but her boyfriend was simply uninterested for the most part. He needed to be told exactly what to do, and I was not knowledgeable enough to give him step-by-step instructions. Another thing was that she had chosen a park she wanted to take pictures at and it turned out to be a fairly uninteresting, character-less park. This wouldn't have been an issue, but there are so many unbelievably great locations in this city, so I was disappointed that I hadn't seen the park prior to the shoot.  I learned today that I need to be able to tell people that there are other, more interesting, locations that we should try. I also need to find a way of engaging people who are uninterested in being photographed.  As if the location weren't dull enough, her boyfriend was not very open-minded when it came to different poses, and he almost always turned his face away from the camera. Yet another aspect of being a photographer I need to improve on, getting people NOT to shy away from the camera. I think this may prove to be a difficult one. 

I have gone through the photos on my computer, and I don't think any will be added to my portfolio. There are a lot of techniques I used incorrectly and the lighting was not as good as it should have been. It was, however, a very insightful day and I learned several valuable lessons. I am hoping to do another session Monday (tomorrow it is going to rain all day). I am ready to take these lessons and apply them to the next shoot. Onward and upward. =)

Tomorrow is Sunday...woo hoo!!!! I get to sleep in one day a week, and I am so happy it is here! I hope I wake up to the sound of the rain, and then go back to sleep for another hour or so, and slowly get up and begin the day.  On the agenda for tomorrow: Coffee, studying for chemistry, being a little lazy, playing with the dogs, watching the rain, hanging out with Nick, scheduling photography sessions, being lazy some more. Yep, sounds like a lovely Sunday to me.  

Since I won't be posting the shots from today, here are a few I have taken this past week:

I haven't posted any pictures of Gillie over the past few days. She is growing like a weed! And she has a HUGE belly as a result of eating Trouble's food!

This is Luke =)

First Photography Session!

This morning I met with quite possibly one of the nicest people ever! Rebecca had e-mailed me about a week ago asking if I would photograph she and her 10-month old little girl, Colette. My morning started off a little frazzled because I somehow messed up my camera settings, so I was completely panicked about getting photos to turn out well. Rebecca was enthusiastic and patient at the same time, which is exactly what I needed to calm down and just do my best to get some great shots. It turns out that she is a nurse, so we had a lot to talk about. I never anticipated that I would click so well with the first person I would meet with, and she even said she is going to pass along my contact information to her mom's group! Her little girl was so cute, and she tolerated the session for about 45 minutes, which is more than I could have hoped for with a little one that age! As if she hadn't been kind enough, after we were done, she handed me a little gift she got me. I really have no idea how I was fortunate enough to have her as my first session participant, but I am so grateful I was. I can't say that the photos turned out as great as I had hoped, but I understand that this is a learning process, and I feel like I did get a few good ones that I hope she will enjoy. Here are a few:

Isn't she sweet??!

It was so windy outside!

10 months old and already a Sox fan. Only in Boston!

[Photos taken in the Bunker Hill Monument area of Charlestown]

This session could not have come at a better time. Yesterday was quite a day. I worked at the chiropractor's office for a few hours in the morning (I am coming to realize this job is not a good fit for me), then went to take a microbio test and then a chemistry quiz. I had to go straight from class to baby-sitting, and I was super thirsty while I waited for the bus, so I bought a bottle of tea. I got on the bus, and about 10 minutes later I realized that my seat felt wet. My backpack was next to me, and apparently my tea had spilled all over the inside of my backpack. The tea bottle was empty, and my backpack had over an inch of tea sitting in the bottom. My binder (with lecture notes, homework sets, and reading notes) was soaked. My backpack smells like raspberry iced tea, and now I have to go through and re-do a ton of my chemistry notes before my test next week. I then watched a little boy who screams the entire time I watch him, and last night was no exception. He was hysterical most of the night. I have decided that that will be the last time I work for that family. I cannot handle the stress of the endless crying. I am slowly learning to tell people no.

Nick has had a crazy week as well. He has been incredibly busy with school, and he is exhausted when he gets home at night. He took part in a study at MIT this week and he had an MRI as part of the experiment. In case you ever wanted to know what the brain of a genius looks like, it looks something like this:

Isn't he crazy that you can tell it is Nick by the profile??? I want to frame it and put it on the desk that we will someday get around to buying. 

I am so happy it is Friday, and I am looking forward to my second photo session tomorrow. I am meeting with a couple in the Harvard Square area. I am hoping that I can get my camera settings back to where they should be.  A family I just started baby-sitting for asked me if I would snap some pictures of their kids while I'm there, and of course I was happy to! They are such a sweet family and we are going to take more shots next week when I'm over there as well.  I didn't get too many good ones of the 6-month old twins, but I did get a few cute ones of their 2 year old, Tommy. Here are some of those:

Although life has been crazy and I am completely exhausted, I am thrilled at the possibility of having photography as more than an occasional hobby!  I am looking forward to this weekend, and hopefully getting some R&R and quality time with Nick. I miss him during the week, so it is about time we saw each other for more than 20 minutes at a time.  I love weekends! 

Homesick

This weekend has been a mixture of feelings. Ren and his wife Brittney had their baby boy on Friday night. We are thrilled for them, but we are also feeling down about not being able to go visit them and meet Baby Cash. I think this is the first time I have truly felt homesick.  It's not that we saw our friends every weekend when we lived in LA, but a 5 hour plane-ride is so much further than the 4 hour-drive we would have had before. Never mind the fact that the plane ride is ridiculously more expensive than the car ride would have been! Lexi and Elya went to the hospital yesterday to see them, and Nick and I found ourselves wishing we were there to share in the excitement with all of them.  

Here is Brittney holding Cash: (so precious!)

                              

It is not that all is bad here in Boston. Nick and I really do love the city, and there is always somewhere new to explore. In my photography research I came across a park about 2 miles away from us, and Nick and I walked around this afternoon. It was an absolutely stunning day, and we both wanted to lay in the sun and soak it up before it leaves and winter rolls in! There were people bbq-ing and flying kites, and we just wished we had our family and best friends to share it with us. We are fortunate we have each other, but we are both very social creatures and miss our friends and family immensely. (I realize it has been less than 2 months since we left, and that is part of what concerns me.)  We keep reminding ourselves that time will fly by, and before we know it, Nick will have his PhD and we will be free to move where we wish.  I know it will get easier as time goes by, but until then, at least there are phones to communicate with everyone! I have no idea what I would do without technology!

The park we went to is a place I think I will be meeting people for the portrait sessions I have coming up. The colors are beginning to change and it is beautiful with the red and orange leaves scattered between the green ones. In another few weeks there will be an abundance of red, orange and yellow, and I will be in photography heaven. This is an ideal time to build a portfolio, and hopefully I will be successful in attracting some potentially-paying clients! As I typed this, I got a response from a mother looking for photos of she and her 10-month old little girl. I have a feeling that will be my favorite of all the sessions. =) AND she has already referred me to a friend with a baby so that I can meet with them right after I am done photographing her. I love networking! 

Larz Anderson Park 

Ahhh.. Friday is Finally Here

After another long week, today was my day of having nothing scheduled! I woke up after 8am, which felt amazing, then I slowly enjoyed my coffee and watched the dogs play. After the coffee was gone, I realized I had not gone for a run in two weeks. I had no excuses, so I went for a run around the reservoir. It felt great, and was a reminder that I really should do it more often. 

Amidst the baby-sitting, working at the chiropractor's office, and class, I managed to find time to put up an ad looking for people to photograph. I have gotten some enthusiastic responses from a handful of people so far, and I feel optimistic the possibilities ahead of me. I think once I get over the anxiety of feeling like I have no clue what I am doing, I can gain more confidence and begin taking some solid portfolio pictures. I do not expect to be an amazing photographer overnight, but the more practice I get, the more I will learn. Hopefully once my portfolio is in good shape I can start to get some positive "word of mouth" advertising. Luckily I have always been good at networking, so I am hoping to use that to my advantage in this venture.

Nick seems much more confident about his classes this week. I think he typically waits to see the types of question people ask in class to "size up" his competition. I believe his comment to me last night was that he was going to "rofl-stomp" people in his classes. For those of you who don't know, this is Nick's way of saying he is going to completely obliterate them on the tests by doing significantly better than them. Must be nice. haha

It's almost dinner-time, and luckily I have everything all ready to toss in the oven because I am feeling exceptionally lazy at the moment. On the menu for tonight: chicken, roasted red potatoes, and absolutely no vegetables. I am terrible, I know. I need to work on the nutritional value of our meals. Maybe next week.  =)

Here is another photographer that has recently caught my eye and inspired me:

Natalie Norton is a photographer in Hawaii. I stumbled across her blog after reading several insightful advice columns she has written. She has great advice for new photographers, and her photography is incredible. She has the photo-journalistic style I am going for, and I enjoy looking through her photos.

I also just ordered a book on digital photography that is filled with insight on everything from manual camera settings to how to take good portraits in various types of lighting. I can't wait until it comes! 

The dogs love each other. Gillie loves to cuddle with Trouble. How cute is that??!!

Tuesday Thoughts

Today was a stunning day in Boston, as far as weather goes. As I was walking to my lab this morning, I was amazed at how suddenly fall arrives here. The sun was out, and there were some beautiful puffy white clouds in the sky. It is too bad I was in class for 7 hours and unable to sit outside all day. A 4 hour chemistry lab, followed by a 90 minute microbiology lecture and a90 minute chemistry lecture is a little brutal, but I like only having class three days a week, so it is a sacrifice I will have to deal with. 

Gillie is no longer sick, wooo!  With the help of pedialyte, a chicken and rice diet, yogurt, and lots of water, she is doing much better. I am so thankful she did not get to the point of needing to take her to the vet and spending hundreds of dollars! (Google and a call to Monte Vista Small Animal Hospital were saviors.) Trouble adores her now, and they play together all the time. She makes strange little grunting noises at him to get his attention, and he will run to get a toy they can both chew on and fight over. It is adorable. Nick keeps saying she has grown a ton since we brought her home, but I am convincing myself she will be tiny forever. Nick wants her to be a standard-size dachshund and I want her to be mini. Only time will tell.

I have been getting quite a few requests for baby-sitting, which I am completely grateful for at the moment.  I have not acquired many hours at the chiropractor's office so far, but I am hoping that will change as I gain more experience. I need to manage my time better so that I can make space in my schedule to try to build my portfolio.  I have been dreaming about it non-stop for the last couple days. I need to make it happen. 

Currently, someone in my building is cooking dinner and it smells incredible. I wish I could knock on their door, introduce myself, let them know I enjoy the fragrance of their food, and maybe add, "May I have some??" Instead, I should get up and make something for dinner. I miss the days of my mom cooking for me every night. The only bad nights were those that consisted of taco salad or meatloaf, and those were few and far between. My mom knew I hated them, and she would rarely, if ever, make them. 

Moms are wonderful.  

**Speaking of parents...Nick's best friend, Ren, and his wife are in the hospital at this very moment ready to have their baby boy. We can't wait to meet the little guy and we are so excited for Ren and Brit!**

Yes, she really lays like this. No shame at all. 

The Charles River

NO editing. This was the sunset last night! It was more beautiful than I was able to capture with my camera. 

Photography

I have been contemplating putting together a portfolio a lot lately. I absolutely love taking pictures, and I feel as though I don't get to do it as much as I would like. Until recently, I haven't ever really considered starting my own little business. I have a lot to learn about photography, but I have discovered I would like to start taking little steps toward starting my own business. I have spent a lot of town looking at photography blogs and portfolios, and reading tips from professional photographers. I have found a few incredible portfolios that I absolutely love, and I have been taking note of what it is I like about their photos. 

At this stage, I am slowly putting together a photography blog, which will hopefully turn into a website at some point. Here are a few that I have had my eye on: 

Keri Doolittle- I love her use of color and her originality. She uses some very interesting camera angles that I think are aesthetically pleasing. 

Melissa Robotti- The way she makes use of lighting is incredible. She is also a great photo editor and does a lot of post-production work to ensure that her photos look perfect. Plus, her name is pretty great too. =)

Tirado Photography - I have been following this photographers blog for months! They are a husband and wife team (by the way, the wife's name is MELISSA. weird.) They do mostly wedding and engagement photography, which I wouldn't be interested in doing for a while, but they are absolutely incredible. They pride themselves in capturing candid moments in their shoots, which I love in photography. 

I need to be getting a lot of practice, and I have some upcoming baby-sitting jobs where I may ask the parents' permission to practice photographing their kids. After I have exhausted those options, I think I will begin advertising online for free photography shoots. Most photographers have said this is how they began building a solid portfolio. I wish I had family nearby so that I could use them as subjects for a while, but I guess that's what I'll try to do when I visit them. 

Another necessity to take better photos will be an external flash for my camera. I found what looks to be a perfect match for what I want to get out of it. The Nikon SB 600:

For those who have absolutely no interest in photography, sorry for the bore. I have just been thinking a lot about what makes me happy and photography immediately comes to mind. If I can make some extra money to help put myself through nursing school, while at the same time doing something I absolutely love...it would be a dream come true. I have baby-sat, dog-walked, sold cars for people, cleaned carpets and anything else necessary to make money to pay the bills. I am ready to do something I love and get paid for it. Of course, that is why I am going to nursing school, but in the meantime, this would be perfect.

 I will begin my endeavor with PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.

This [Hectic] Week

This week has been somewhat insane. Gillie has been sick, and I won't go into the details except to say that I am incredibly grateful to have hardwood floors! I have been up with her several times per night, and even though she is not a human, I already have more appreciation for my parents. I cannot imagine the countless sleep-less nights they must have accumulated over the years. Nick and I don't do well without a good nights sleep, so I can't wait to see how we handle being actual parents..(years from now). It should be an interesting dynamic. 

In addition to being sleep deprived, here is what my last few days have looked like: (This is a rant, feel free to scroll down and ignore!)

Wednesday:

• 8:30am-Training for work: overwhelmed with insurance information and learning office programs and procedures. I learn I will be doing collections...yuck. 
  
• 3pm-Meet new baby-sitting client with twin 5-month-olds and a 2 year old.
• 4pm-Run home, take dogs out. Clean up after Gillie. Shower. Do laundry.
• 6pm-Take a bus to get to another bus stop. Bus driver tells me she has no idea where I am trying to go. I decide not to get on bus. I walk for 30 minutes in one direction to later found out it was the WRONG direction. Walk over an hour in the other direction (dressed up and hair done with wind blowing, of course.) I miss my civic. =(
• 7:45pm- Get to jazz club and enjoy a great show!
• 12am- Finally arrive home and attempt to sleep. Nope, up with Gillie all night.

Thursday:

• 7:15am- Leave to get to appointment for a research study.
• 9:45am- Get home. Clean up after Gillie. Notice Gillie looks dehydrated and call vet to see what they recommend. Go to pharmacy to get Gillie pedialyte. Completely worried about Gillie not getting enough water and contemplate taking her to vet. 
• 10:30am- Look outside and see a police officer writing a ticket for Nick's motorcycle. Go ask cop what happened- cop says he is parked in an illegal zone. Zone is unmarked, cop walks away from me while I attempt to ask him questions. Jerk. (By the way, this ticket is $100!!!)
• 12pm- Leave for class. Get to chem class and realize I forgot my calculator and there is a quiz. Spent $15 on a calculator I already had. Awesome. 
• 4pm- Go home, take care of puppy. Google home remedies, and read that I should be feeding her chicken and rice instead of puppy food. Massive headache by this point. Nick comes home and makes me dinner (love him!) and I go to store to get Gillie food. 
• 10pm- Unable to function, I sleep. 

Luckily today was much more laid back and I just had a few hours of training for work. I think Gillie is getting better, and I got more sleep last night than I have all week. I function so much better with sleep! It was great to see Nick's Uncle John perform, and I cannot believe how talented he is. He had a saxophone player and a drummer perform with him, and they were unbelievable as well. After the show, John signed cds he was selling and chatted with his fans. People were in awe of John and it was great to see how inspired they were by him. He is a character, and I am always blown away by the similarities between he and Nick. In fact, when John pointed to Nick to say that Nick was his nephew, he told a fan, "I have two daughters, but if I had a son, that's what he would look like." It is so true! 

Nick started class this week and it seems like he likes both of his professors. He is already slammed with homework and reading. I think we both expected it would be like that at MIT, but that doesn't make it any better. =(

I have a lab tomorrow morning, and I have no idea what else we are doing this rainy weekend. It is definitely fall here, and it looks like it will be a cool, wet weekend. I hope for a lot of relaxation!

*After writing all of this out, I feel much better.  Blogging is both enjoyable and I find relief in jotting things down. It's a win-win situation!

I gave Gillie her first bath, and Trouble came in to check on her. (And I am pretty sure he gave her a "haha, glad I'm not you" look.)

"Please, no more pictures!"

sleepy Gillie

Nick, and his Uncle John (click here for his website)

This bass is from the 1800's!

I love you blogs and coffee

It is Tuesday, although it feels like Monday. I have class in a few hours, but I wanted to take a few minutes to remind myself about the little things. 

Simple Women's Daybook

FOR TODAY (August 18, 2009)..

Outside my window...

a still, peaceful morning

I am thinking...

of starting a photography portfolio 

I am thankful for...

finding a job

From the kitchen...

an empty fridge. time for grocery shopping

I am wearing...

comfy pants and a t-shirt

I am learning...

to take time to appreciate the little things that make life lovely

I am creating...

blogs, edited photos & a photo book. MAYBE starting a portfolio

I am going...

to class 

I am reading...

photography blogs

I am hoping...

to have an enjoyable and successful semester

I am hearing...

both of my dogs snore

Around the house...

dog toys

One of my favorite things...

traveling

A few plans for the rest of the week:

class, training for my new job, a few research studies I am taking part in, baby-sitting

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

This photo is from MadeByGirl. I love it.

Labor Day Weekend

My first day of class went well, and I think it is always a relief to meet the professor you will be seeing constantly for the next quarter/semester. My chemistry professor could be a loose cannon, so I will be very careful to stay on her good side. My microbiology professor, on the other hand, seems like she is going to be great. Nick begins classes this week, and I think he is anxious to find out what his workload will be like for the semester.

We met up with the UCLA Alumni Group Friday night to watch the football game. We finally found a bar that was showing the game, and it was great to talk to some fellow West-Coasters. We were even given the opportunity to "BOO" a USC fan who repeatedly walked in front of us while we watched the game. The evening ended on a positive note, the Bruins beat San Diego State!

Gillie has been much more comfortable the last few days. Nick has fallen completely in love with her and he dotes on her every second he can. Trouble has also come to enjoy her. They have been playing together, and Gillie is fascinated by Trouble's tail and his ears. Nick took both of the dogs for a walk yesterday and Trouble approached a golden retriever who bit him, and Gillie was apparently terrified of the commotion. Trouble has a nice little bite mark on his leg, and Nick said the dog's owner was apologetic, but she is lucky her dog didn't do more damage. 

Today we visited the Bunker Hill monument and climbed the 294 steps to the top. It was an incredible view of the city. We also spotted a cemetery from the 1600's, which of course I had to photograph. Morbid? Nah, I just thought the grave stones looked like cool Halloween decorations. I asked Nick to pose in front of it for a picture, but he claimed that was too weird. Maybe so. haha.

Nick holding Gillie like a baby

sleeping so sweetly (until Gillie runs up and grabs his ears)

Bunker Hill monument:

The View From the Top of the Monument:

Nick (officially a Bostonian with his Red Sox shirt)

call it Morbid, but I think this picture turned out very cool

Video of Gillie running around the apartment. (poor quality but still cute)

Things are Falling into Place

Things are really looking up! I was hired this morning to work at a chiropractor's office and I am relieved to finally have a job! I also started class today and the puppy (who we are fairly certain will be called Gillie) was not happy about being left alone. She must have screamed the entire time I was in class, because when I got home she immediately fell asleep. Trouble is not sure what to think of her presence. At times he will attempt to play with her and other times he seems annoyed to have her in his space. She is currently dragging a sock across the living room and is adorable. Nick and I love her, even after her rough evening. She slept about 3-4 hours at a time, and then she would wake up crying. The only way to stop her from crying was to cradle her and hold her up against us. I think she has had a tough time adjusting to life without her mom and brothers, but I hope she grows to be comfortable here. She is already much more at-home than she was 24 hours ago. She grabs anything she can and chews on it, so we have to be more careful what we leave on the ground. 

Nick is officially a licensed Massachusetts driver. The bad news: they confiscated his California license. I think they are trying to strip us of our West Coast identity, but that's just my opinion. The state also charges a ridiculous amount to convert a driver's license and license plates. His motorcycle looks strange with MA plates. 

The weather has been PHENOMENAL the last couple days. It is an absolutely perfect 70-75 degrees and I wish it would last forever. Nick has had a lot of orientation events, and today he was apparently humbled by listening to MIT nobel prize winners at a welcome address. We went to another BBQ Tuesday night and hung out with some of the other MIT grad students.  I was asked several times what my major was, and the thought of being one of these geniuses made me laugh out loud. Nick thinks he felt humbled listening to nobel prize winners speak, but listening to all of these grad students talk about some of the crazy projects they are working on amazes me. 

This weekend we are heading to a bar to watch the UCLA vs. SDSU football game with fellow former-Bruins! It will be great to cheer for them from 3,000 miles away with other fans. I have some baby-sitting jobs this weekend, and we are hoping to spend some quality time with the dogs. 

No complaints. 

Life is wonderful.  =)

She fits in Trouble's food dish

Exhausted after playtime, she leaned up against Nick for a much-needed nap