A Few From This Afternoon

Note: I apologize for not responding to previous comments. For some reason blogger isn't letting me.

More fun with flowers

I'll probably be posting this on my stock photography site later. These blooms are from my old fashioned rambling rose that I got from my friend Gail.

Some Stock Photos

I've decided to set up a page with some free stock photography. You can find my stock photography here. There isn't much to choose from at this time, but I will be updating now and again. What are stock photos? Stock photos are photos which you might use as a background for a web page, or a slide presentation, or even scrapbooking. Maybe you write a newsletter and need a photo to illustrate an article. Most stock photos are available for a fee. Mine are free for non-commercial uses only. For instance, a church or an individual might use them. But not a business. I hope someone finds my photos useful. Make sure to read the terms. My name needs to stay on the photo and of course, none of my other photos from any of my other sites are to be used without my permission. If used on the web, a link back to my photography site would be appreciated.

On another note, I met my husband for the first time eighteen years ago today!

Just for Fun

Impromptu Photo Session

Due to an unexpected change in my husband's work schedule, I didn't make it to the baby shower. But I still plan to call the mom-to-be and ask about setting up a newborn session. I might have called today, but this morning (while still in my pj's) my friend Heather called and said, "Do you want to come visit?"

Heather has thee kids right around the age of my middle daughter. Like me, she homeschools and we try to get the kids together now and again. We both have pretty full schedules, but one thing I try to do during the summer months is be more impulsive.

By the time I got to her house it was after 11am. Some days, it just takes longer to get everyone ready. She had mentioned photos, but I wasn't optimistic because the light wasn't good at that time of day. Heather is the lady I mentioned before whose kids I am planning a photo session with.

We ended up having a small, impromptu session today anyway, in spite of the light. I found some wonderful open shade under some large trees and her children were very cooperative. Her middle daughter was so cute. I kept telling her she didn't have to smile, but she finally just bluntly told me, "But I like to smile." So smile she did.

I've put some of the shots from today up on my portfolio site (see the link to the right). We're still planning a longer session. I am envisioning maybe a tutu or two? We'll see.

Near the end of our time, we had an unexpected model show up and pose for me. He won't make my portfolio, but I thought you might like to see his best shot.

Stay Tuned

I'm going to a baby shower tonight. I really want to ask the mom if I can do a portfolio building session with her newborn. Will I ask? Stay tuned. . .

Out of the Blue

I'm always amazed at home sometimes an opportunity just falls into your lap. Not that it really does. Everything's in the Master plan. But it feels like things sometimes happen out of the blue. It's a good feeling.

My sister mentioned that I needed some faces other than my own children in my portfolio. And she's right. I do. But branching out is a bit scary. I finally summoned up the courage to ask a friend of mine if I could have a photo shoot with her three children. We're planning something for next week. All of the rhododendrons are in bloom right now. I thought that Succop Conservancy will be a beautiful backdrop. Her kids are absolutely adorable and they love dress up and pretend, so I am hopeful we will have a great shoot.

But that's not the opportunity I mentioned. My friend also works at an antique store. She's an idea person. Her boss, the store owner, has offered to let us use the store for a photo shoot with the kids. We can also use some of the items there (chairs, hats etc.) as props for the shoot. She will put some of the pictures on her website to promote her shop and mention my photography business. I will put some of the pictures on my site, and mention her shop. A cross promotional sort of thing.

So it's a great opportunity and I am really excited. I'm a little concerned about lighting since the windows aren't huge and I had envisioned doing a natural light shoot. It's what I am most comfortable with. But I will take the studio lighting just in case.

If you live in the Western Pennsylvania area, the Antique Store is just outside of Butler on Route 8 south. More details can be found at www. CarolFoster.net.

Carol's store is only open on Friday and Saturday, but you can call her anytime if you are interested in any of her antiques.

Whew!

I finally got everything sorted out. Blogger does not make it easy for you to change their templates, unless you know CSS, which I do a little, but not well. So it took some time for me to sort everything out. I ended up deleting this blog and starting over a few times, but I am happy with it. Love the black and white photos against the blue.

So to recap, I moved all my photography to a new site (see link on right), then I revamped this site to make it a place for news and information about my photography. This site is linked to the new site and vise versa, and it only took me hmm, three days! But now I am really happy. I love the stark black and white of the new space, and the bright splash of color over here. And I am super thrilled with the banner. I've never made one before and it was a ton of fun.

I've got a couple of photo shoots coming up to build my portfolio, and another shoot swirling around in my mind that I haven't been able to set up yet. But Mom duty calls, and I'll have to save those for another post.

Starting Fresh

This used to be my photography blog.

Now it's not.

I decided to stretch my wings and move to something a little more professional looking. You can now see my work here.

This space will now be used to update you on some of my activities.