Senior Super Model Rocks Her Photo Session!

I'm working on hundreds of images from the many portrait sessions over the last week or so, and when I find one I think is exceptional, I like to post it on my blog as a little tease, a sneak peek if you will...this is Deisy again, one of four Senior Super Models from the Class of 2010 who are representing Photosensitive Portraits to all their friends - I think she looks SMASHING in turquoise, don't you?!! And to show that the apple didn't fall far from the tree, here's a quickie portrait of Deisy with her equally beautiful Mom (and little sister)...

July 4, 1776 :
Declaration of Independence

"When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident:

That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. "

Today let us give thanks to those courageous and forward-thinking men who drafted and signed this world-altering document, and to all those who have laid down their lives in the defense of our rights and our liberties.

A teaser...

I had the opportunity to meet this lovely couple this weekend past - more about that wonderful experience a little later as I am still furiously editing and processing the rest of the images! But when I saw these two, I just HAD to create a portrait for them - aren't they gorgeous in love?!!

Dog Days of Summer

(Well, we're not really into those days yet - traditionally the "dog days of summer" are late August - but I couldn't think of a better title for this blog post!)

I was doing a little digital house-cleaning, backing some image files, when I ran across these dog images. I photographed them as a learning experience, since I have not photographed very many pets, at least not as a solo portrait. The owners of these fine dogs (all of them sweet and good-natured animals, well-behaved in the studio, too!) all volunteered their time to let me create these portraits - and I'm afraid I fell down on my part of the bargain. Life got busy and I let the files get shuffled to the back burner - until now, when they've resurfaced. I owe these generous pet owners some prints and want to state publicly that I will contact them asap and follow through!

I had a GREAT time working with both owners and their dogs - because of their assistance, I am developing a pet-themed fundraiser this year for PROD (Promoting Responsible Ownership of Dogs). PROD is a small, all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that serves the Columbia River Gorge communities. Their programs, which have been in operation since 1996, are made possible solely through the support of local donors and foundation grants. Over the years, PROD has helped spay/neuter more than 4,800 animals, made possible the adoption of hundreds of stray and owner-released animals, and helped educated countless children and adults on responsible pet ownership.

(So be on the lookout for an announcement in the next month or so - I'm targeting late September for this fundraiser, when everyone's back from vacation and back in school!)

Kodak Discontinues Production of Kodachrome

I can't help but mourn what I feel is the passing of an era, the beginning of the end of a way of seeing, a way of "being" with photography - maybe that officially makes me an old fart, but I'm going to miss Kodachrome (and carefully hoard the few rolls I've got left in the freezer!)...I started in photography as a black and white specialist, but when I did shoot color, Kodachrome was the film of choice - Paul Simon got it right when he sang that Kodachrome "makes you think all the world's a sunny day" with its renowned vibrant and saturated color. Shooting transparency film was an exacting task - it didn't have the exposure latitude of b/w or color print films, oh no, you needed to be spot on or risk blowing the shot. I think it made me a much better photographer as a result...sigh. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my brave new digital world! I even make my digital choices based on color preferences acquired while shooting lots and lots and lots of film. (Ask me sometimes why I shoot with a Fuji camera...) But every once in awhile I wax nostalgic and think back to the thrill of laying out a new box of slides onto a light table and learning how successful (or not!) I had been...bye bye Kodachrome - you will be missed.

Read a well-written obit here.

Why I do what I do...

(I feel very lucky in that as I got older, I became very close to my Dad; he's been gone for a number of years now, but every Father's Day I make a point to take time out to remember him and reflect on everything he meant to me. I first posted the entry below in 2007 and re-post it every Father's Day since...my way of saying, "Thank you, Dad - I miss you.")

I love working with families - capturing their time together, a particular moment in their personal histories preserved so that they might look upon it and remember how it was, how they were. It's hard for me to describe just how much that means to me, to participate in this process, to play a part - I feel that it is such a privilege to be asked to create these "documents" of memory, to be allowed a glimpse into what makes each family unique and special.

I don't have alot of photos of my own family growing up. My Mom died when I was in my 20s and Dad passed several years ago - so the snapshots I've inherited mean the world to me. The photo at the very beginning of this entry is one of my most precious images. It was taken with my Dad's first digital camera (remember cameras with mini-floppy discs? Dad had one of the earliest Sonys and was very proud of it!) and was the last time I was with him; we were sitting in the Alpena, MI airport waiting for my flight to Detroit and then back to California. Dad passed away a few months after this image was taken. Even though it's just a snapshot - horrible overhead lighting, funky background, odd perspective - I love it and cherish it regardless of its faults. Because it reminds me just how much my Dad and I loved each other - the image is so much more than the sum of its parts.

Every time I photograph a father and child, I think of my Dad. I am so proud to be able to create an image that someone else will cherish, that someone else will hold dear - I am happy to hold my Dad's memory in this way. I was definitely thinking of my Dad when I created the second set of images of a father and son. There is so much great chemistry between those two! It was such a pleasure to work with them; it reminded me fully of why I do what I do.

Be sure to give your Dad a big hug today (and every day!) and make sure he knows how much you love him!

Super Senior Model #3!

Presenting the model-icious Deisy, the latest addition to my Class of 2010 Super Model line up! And yes indeed, she is also wearing a Special Edition "10" necklace - only available through Photosensitive Portraits. Call 541-436-2755 to find out how YOU can have this fabulous piece of jewelry for yourself!