Time to Breathe

With the Christmas Portrait Rush over, it's nice to spend a little time out in the crisp, fresh winter air. I enjoyed the ability to just take some pictures of my own kids as they hiked.

My parents and a family friend were our trailguides. I believe the goal was to see some petroglyphs, which we did. But the kids enjoyed the hike and the water of the Agua Fria (we are creative namers here in the Southwest -- Agua Fria means "cold water" -- which is true as the water is cold. Our state tree is the Palo Verde -- "green tree". It makes sense in that the trunk and branches are green as well. But still, the creativity is lacking. My favorite name around here, though, is Table Mesa Road. The literal translation of mesa is "table". I suppose we can be redundant in multiple languages 'round these parts.)

A few of my favorite pictures of the day --













Thanks for stoping by! Have a Happy New Year!
Wendy

Give the Gift of Memories

I'm a little late on this, I suppose. Probably should have suggested it about this time in November. Something to remember for next year!

At any rate, I had a couple of past clients and one friend of the family request gift certificates to give as gifts this holiday season. I generally agonized and moaned and groaned about the design of them and pestered a friend on how to get the wording just right.

If you are in search of the perfect gift for that hard to shop for person in your life, photos make great presents! Especially when you've just wracked your poor brain attempting to figure out what to give him or her for Christmas and are now desperate for a DIFFERENT gift for whatever the reason. Feel free to leave a comment, email, or call for further details!

Registration is now open ***UPDATED***

IMPORTANT --- your comment must contain a valid email address. Any comment not containing an email address won't be counted towards registration.

The details --

The Preview Session Class will start on Monday, January 8, 2007. The cost for the preview class is $125.

The first official class will begin on the first Monday of February and the cost for official classes will begin at $300. (Depending on the amount of work they end up being, I may raise that.)

The first six comments left with correct email addresses will have reserved spots in the preview class. Payment is due via paypal no later than Midnight, December 22nd. I will send you an paypal money request.

If any of the first six have failed to pay by the deadline, I will move down the list offering open spots to people in the order they have left a comment until the class is filled.

The next six comments after that have reserved seats in the first official class. Payment for that class will be due in Mid-January some time. I will send out a reminder email for what you signed up for and ask if you are still interested at that time. I will again move down the list of comments until that class if full or until I have run out of people. If I come to the end of the list, I will open the class up again for registration. I haven't decided yet how I am doing registration for classes after that point. But classes will start on the first Monday of every new month.

For more information on the class itself, go here.

Happy Commenting!
w-

****

Update:

The current list in the correct order is-

Top 6:

Carrie B
Heather K
Kathy P
Jenny
Elizabeth H
Julie B

Next 6:

Elma
Vanessa
Lindey
Marla
Kim
J.J.

The first 6 should receive paypal requests in the next 24 hours.

Looking forward to getting to know each of you!
w-

Newborn Neighbor

My neighbor just had her fourth little one and he is adorably cute and quite irresistable. Of course, I feel that way about all of her children, so it shouldn't be a surprise that this little guy fits in like he was always meant to be.














And of course, someone else wanted a picture taken of them, too. But remember, I warned you they were all cute, so be prepared.

WOW! I'm a little bit overwhelmed!

Thank you all so much for your interest! It was so much more than I was ever expecting. If you sent me an actual email, then I have added your name to a list and you should receive a group email with these same details in them. If you just left a comment (which is fine!) then I couldn't send you the email, so you can read the details here --

The Preview Session Class will begin on Monday, January 8, 2007.

On Tuesday, December 19, at 10am PST a registration post will be put up. The first 6 people to leave a comment will have reserved seats in the class. But if you are not one of the first six, be sure to leave a comment if you are at all interested!

The cost of the Preview Session will be $125 and payment will be due via paypal no later than midnight, December 22, PST. If any one of the first six commenters fails to submit payment, I'll just move down the list until each position is filled.

If you are still interested and are not in the Preview Session class, the next class will begin on the First Monday of February. Cost for the Regular Session is $300. Those who wanted to get into the Preview Session but missed out will have first dibs on the first regular session in the same order that they left a comment on Tusday, December 19th's post. So be sure to comment there if you want that opportunity.

I am not going to restict the Preview Session based on any sort of skill levels. Depending on how that works out, future sessions may be broken up into beginners and non-beginners, but that's not firm yet. So go ahead and sign up no matter what you think your skill-level is. Sometimes it is even better to be a beginner because you don't have to be "un-taught" poor habits.

I am extremely excited about this! I hope you all remain excited as well.

If you want to be added to the email list for future mailings about the photo classes, be sure to send me an email so I can add your address!

Looking forward to this grand adventure!

Photo Class Feelers

My photography skills are what they are because of the one on one help I have received from too many people to count. Those interactions have been invaluable to me.

I have a wonderful photographer friend who I have been working with to fine tune her skills and help her to realize her own personal style and vision. It has been such a joy for me to watch her grow through the process and to truly be a part of her journey. I don't want to lose that momentum as we turn the corner into the new year and she begins to step out more confidently on her own. The two of us have been tossing back and forth a few ideas for how I could continue to see others make incredible strides in their photographic skills, whether they are hobbyists or hoping to some day (maybe soon, maybe later) become a professional.

The final product has been a small-group online class of no more than 6 who would complete a 12 week course consisting of 6 assignments. The classes would be geared towards those using SLR cameras and post production in Photoshop. The classes would also focus mainly on the area of portrait/journalistic photography, as I am not at all proficient in landscape/wildlife areas. I leave that up to the National Geographic guys :) . Each person would get an hour individual one on one chat time with me 6 times throughout the 12 week course, and other helps through the class forum from both me and the other potential classmates at any time in the 12 week period.

There would be a fee as of yet undetermined, but if there is interest, I'm thinking of offering the first course at a highly discounted rate (read: possibly free) for various reasons (mostly because the first class would be the guinea pigs for getting technical things like the forum and the chats and wording for assignments and such worked out).

If you or anyone you know might be interested, please leave a comment here or email me at wsphotography at cox dot net.

If there is interest I will open it up to registration on a first come first served basis sometime before the first of the year and classes would start mid-January.

Looking forward to hearing from you!
w-

I think my Color Issues may be SOLVED

 

If you're a regular reader, then you know I've been having angst ridden issues about the way my pictures turn weird colors when posted on the web.

A fellow photographer finally knew what I was talking about and told me how to fix it, and I think I may now be eternally indebted to her.

Look at the pretty colors! No Jaundiced People about to die of liver failure! It's a miracle of modern medicine (well, not really, but it looks like one!)



Sometime soon I'm going to go back and replace all of the past photos with ones with correct color and it will be a beatiful thing and it will make my heart happy. For now, I'm just so thrilled beyond understanding to finally have it figured out.

Photography Friends are a True Gift!

6 months later and still cute as a button

If you've been tracking along on this little adventure since the beginning, you may remember this dude:




His mommy called and set up a session for him, his parents, his uncle, and his grandparents. I was so excited! They were one of my favorite families and the proofs from their first session show how much I enjoyed them. This session was no different. I honestly don't think it has much to do with me. I've never worked with a more photogenic and calm family... they take directions so well, and I LOVE that, too. Always good when I can be the bossy one and no one takes offense.


Here are a few of my favorites from this most recent shoot six months later: