Okay, so no secret I love the canine friends…enough to make my living photographing them…so, of course, I was enjoying seeing the hordes of dogs in the Manzanita 4th parade on the Coast.
Just the cutest!
To see them all in their patriotic glory, visit here.
Happy weekend, lovelies~
OX.
The amazing Richard Avedon…he was incredible.
Avedon’s a fave. He was the pioneer in stripped down, white backdrop portraits…the master.
His images were raw…but powerful.
******************************************
So in admiration for Avedon’s amazing style I’m capturing B/W images with a white background lately.
I’ve been using this fun new lighting toy that makes this kind of portraiture super portable…which is great for just on-the-fly capturing of faces…
stripping it down to the essence of the person…
which, of course, the Blair kidlets aren’t really that into…but it just melts me because I know these expressions so well.
These lovelies were captured at a recent portrait session…sisters who are close…I am especially drawn to the expression below…wow.
Some other work from this month…
Beautiful scene, lovely guitar-playing prairie girl…so dreamy!
* * *
Recognize the chair?! Almost broke it with this trick…think it might need to stay in the house with books on it.
*************
I did an event called “Pooches in the Pearl”—an uber cool area to live is in the lofts in downtown Portland in a hipster spot called The Pearl District (best shopping and restaurants ever). Anyway, met some lovely new dog friends…here are a couple..
* * *
The sweetest little punkin’ who comes to us regularly…sparkliest eyes ever.
Photography is definitely something (whether canine or human) I love so deeply. It’s fun for me to work with people who are just learning how their cameras work. If you interested in attending an awesome retreat in July with moi and Elida Field (an amazing artist) at the Oregon Coast. Ignite the Heart info here.
Happy weekend, lovelies!!
OX.
It is a crime…
…to be so incredibly attractive.
ALL of these lovelies. They walked in the door of the studio last week and I knew it was going to be a long session because it’s just plain hard to let “model-esque” people go after an hour 
I’ve been doing a lot of vintagey-washes in post production lately. I love how soft and sweet it is. We have an artist making rustic shabby-i-fied frames for these kinds of portraits.
Seriously?! Come on…it’s just a chip off the ‘ole block is what it is
Yummiest baby EVER…
After our fun in the daylight studio, we ventured downstairs to play…the little guy was getting tired and we had some serious art to make!
…this is my fave…for more, go here.
*****************************
My photographer crush on Rodney Smith is getting worse as I read his blog. He’s a genius for so many reasons and I love hearing the story behind the images in his posts. It’s incredible how many of his images are ones you would recognize as icon images in photography.
Can you tell I’m smitten?
All images copyright Rodney Smith~
WOOHOO, friends! Just got this from From Amherst Media Publishing regarding the dog portrait book I’ll be writing ~
* * *
Thank you, nice outline. I’ll issue a publishing agreement in a few days with July 1, 2011 as the due date for your book materials.To confirm, we are looking for 25,000-35,000 words and about 200 illustrative images.
We look forward to publishing your book.
Take care.
* * *
Happy dance!
Wish me luck as I embark on unfamiliar territory.
Have a super-lovely weekend~
OX.
Loving this quote today…
The moment when you first wake up in the morning is the most wonderful of the twenty-four hours. No matter how weary or dreary you may feel, you possess the certainty that, during the day that lies before you, absolutely anything may happen. And the fact that it practically always doesn’t, matters not a jot. The possibility is always there.
~ Monica Baldwin
Holy cow, friends…yesterday, April 21st, was a pivotal day in the land of dreaming big for this MPG.
I received a call from Amherst Media, a photography book publisher, and they asked if I would be interested in writing a dog portrait studio how-to book….200 images, 178 pages….my vision.
Holy crap.
They read the article I had in Professional Photographer magazine, looked at the site and we conferenced via phone today. Pending the okay on the outline that I need to do (!!!) in the next couple of weeks, looks like I might become an author. Funny, because I’m always dreaming up book projects and never actually following through, claiming that life gets in the way. Could it be that I just needed a deadline?
I’ve personally learned a lot from these Amherst books…have my own libary of them going back 10 years. A photog I really respect named Tamara Lackey wrote this fab book…in fact, I bought it when it first came out. Her voice comes through so beautifully in its pages.
I’m excited…
nervous…
…trying to put a plan together.
I’ve been dreaming out loud so much lately…I think the daily inspiration from my bloggy pals and creative women around me has allowed me to even fathom that such a thing would transpire. Do you think saying (writing) these dreams out loud draws them to you?
There’s a lot to do these days and all of this (book would be out in one year) is going to take schedule-making-discipline…not one of my spiritual gifts…one that needs a little butt-kicking…I think I’m up for butt-kicking…anyone up to butt-kick me? Please?
Anyway…kind of premature with this news…but I just had to share because I’m feeling great today and I deeply love sharing the ups and downs with you, lovelies…because we all have them and it’s so comforting to know we’re thinking good thoughts for each other.
*********************************************************
Segue to Uber-Warrior Krista……..
………who came in for a pick-me-up-photo shoot this week. Although she’s been focusing on the panty thing since her breast cancer diagnosis…we thought a little shift into the land of hats would be appropriate…
…since this girl wears so many of them.
Found a great quote in a fave photog’s Rodney Smith’s book, “The Hat Book”.
“A hat is a flag, a shield, a bit of armor, and the badge of femininity. A hat is the difference between wearing clothes and wering a costume; it’s the difference between being dressed and being dressed up; it’s the difference between looking adequate and looking your best. A hat is to be stylish in, to glow under, to flirt beneath, to make all others seem jealous over, and to make all men feel masculine about. A piece of magic is a hat.” –Martha Sliter
It was a rough hair week for sweet Krista…the hair is falling out from chemo…she went wig shopping and blogged about the whole thing. We talked about what this means for her…when is it time to shave the ‘ole head…when is it time to just surrender and let it go. As with everything, she deals with this situation with humor, bravery and grace.
Behold multiple hat-wearin’ chica, Krista…
I think how a person deals with a crisis says an enormous amount about the deepest part of their heart. Krista has such a “well..it is what it is..so what is my next step” attitude and is so willing to share…I think her blog is just what the doctor ordered for women in all parts of the country dealing with breast cancer. Her positive outlook and attitude need to be bottled and used all the time…not just in times of crisis.
I can learn a lot from my friend.
Have a great weekend, lovelies! Can’t wait to see one of my maiden voyage MPG’s this weekend…smooches, Pati!
OX.
Even when the weather is el-sucko, I’m still a sucker for an outside session with some very cute punkins in their Sunday Best. Shooting outside in bouts of no-rain is enough to sustain me until May.
My pal Susan brought her kidlets, R and M (and Joey, the special animal guest), to the Magic Forest. We coerced them into a croquet match and they were very good sports….
******************************************
Of course my OWN kidlets were determined to help me set up this little scene in the Magic Forest…it is their habitat after all.
I always seem to gravitate towards the vintage when editing the fam…hmmm..wonder why that is.
In case you’re interested in creating your own Magic Forest Croquet set, here is a very nice (and thrifty too!) croquet set below….find it here.
Of course, had to sneak in a couple of Susan’s dog, Boomer…he is the most loving pooch who needs constant love-pats…I adore this boy.
‘Might need to wait, oh say 2-3 months, to have good enough weather to play with the new croquet set in the NW, but who’s counting?
Do I sound bitter?
Just a little…this weather is messing up my on-location plans!
Especially my SuperFabShoot with all things Tarte….waiting for a day without 40 mile per hour winds and pelting hail. Sometimes being a photographer in the NW (esp. in the spring) can be frustrating at the least and maddening, at worst.
What would it be like to live in Florida and be able to shoot outside 80% of the time?
Magical, I’m sure.
One of my fave photog couples who rock the industry is Marla and Shane in Florida.
Looking at their fabulous, fresh, summery images makes feel warm inside. If I was a Floridian, I would most definitely want to be photographed on the beach with my fam by this dynamic couple. They’re cute, huh?
Image from DesignAglow, an uber-cyberspace-haunt.
**************************************
Well, lovelies…I hope you have wonderful, super-fantastical Friday and beyond…may the rest of your week be 40 mph wind and pelting hale free.
OX.
