Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Holiday Cards 2010
I'm a little behind on getting these done, but here they are! Next year I'm starting in July. Seriously.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
A Sisterhood of Nurses
After that ridiculously long D.C post I must have needed a mental break from blogging. But I miss the blog world, so here I am.
Last Monday, the 11th, I took my Grandmother to Southern Pines for her Retired Nurses meeting. She's not too steady on her feet and her hearing loss has made it unsafe for her to drive. My Grandmother was an RN for more years than I can remember and worked pretty much everywhere, she taught, she worked with the pink checkers and finally ended up in detox (working, not in detox). After she retired she wanted a way to keep in touch with those she used to work with and thus created the Retired Nurses of Moore County. It's been over 10 years since she started it. They meet about every 3 months, they talk, they reminisce, give away a little door prize. There was something about seeing all of them in one room together...they are so different, yet so alike. It is obvious to me they are nurses - they have that quality about them. Whether it is their no-nonsense attitude, the sometimes brashness, the fact that not much can surprise them, humbleness, "I just did what needed to be done." Whether RN or LPN they are a sisterhood of nurses.
Last Monday, the 11th, I took my Grandmother to Southern Pines for her Retired Nurses meeting. She's not too steady on her feet and her hearing loss has made it unsafe for her to drive. My Grandmother was an RN for more years than I can remember and worked pretty much everywhere, she taught, she worked with the pink checkers and finally ended up in detox (working, not in detox). After she retired she wanted a way to keep in touch with those she used to work with and thus created the Retired Nurses of Moore County. It's been over 10 years since she started it. They meet about every 3 months, they talk, they reminisce, give away a little door prize. There was something about seeing all of them in one room together...they are so different, yet so alike. It is obvious to me they are nurses - they have that quality about them. Whether it is their no-nonsense attitude, the sometimes brashness, the fact that not much can surprise them, humbleness, "I just did what needed to be done." Whether RN or LPN they are a sisterhood of nurses.
Monday, September 27, 2010
The People (and squirrels) of D.C.
I can't believe it's already been 2 weeks! I've been working on this post on and off since I got back and am glad to be done. Lol. It's a wicked long one and I understand if you don't want to read the whole thing, but I hope you'll browse through the photos. :o)
*smiles* This was a fun trip. My friend, Libby from Libby McGowan Photography and I drove up on Sunday to attend WPPI Road Trip in Washington D.C.
Day 1
Sunday. I left my house around 7:30 am to drive to Raleigh where I met Libby and loaded all my stuff in her cute, alien green, Kia Soul and we were on our way to D.C. Well, it took me a little over 2 hours to get to Raleigh and we didn't get on the road until about 11:30. But hey, we weren't in a huge hurry. We had a pretty smooth ride - hit a little traffic but it wasn't too bad, we had plenty to talk about since we hadn't seen each other since June or July...I can't remember. By the way Libby listens to what she refers to as "oldies," like 70's and 80's...I thought oldies were 40's and 50's!! Lol I have video of her rockin' out. It's great! So we're cruising up the highway and I was taking photos with my phone and posting them to Facebook (I have completely embraced my inner dorkiness) and just like that we were in D.C! The hotel was in Silver Springs MD which is right on the outskirts of the city. We parked (first time valet parking for me - the guys working were real nice), checked in, lugged all our "stuff" to our room, then were on our way back out the door to the metro station 3 blocks from the hotel. We were heading to Georgetown to do a little shopping and have dinner. We walk into the metro station not knowing what the heck we're doing and guy working says "Do you need help?" Yes we say. "Just like a deer in headlights!!" No, us? Really? He was rather sarcastic and fully enjoyed giving us a hard time, but he was NICE and HELPFUL. He explained how to work the very intimidating machines that give us our metro cards, told us what stop to get off and best of all gave us a map. Maps are good. Especially when you're in a foreign city. After going through the correct gate we were on our way! (I apparently went through the wrong one and it spit my card out without my knowledge which in turn gave Metro Guy another reason to bust my chops. It was funny...really, really funny) After successfully making it to Georgetown we then found the street we needed to be on and it was beautiful! Dusk was approaching, there was a feeling of Fall approaching in the air so Libby and I just walked and browsed the shops with cameras in tow. We ate dinner at the coolest burger place I've EVER seen. Seriously I expected Nikki Sixx and Kat Von D to walk through the door any minute. It was rad. After dinner we again successfully made our way back to hotel (but not before I gave Metro Guy a great big thumbs up) and crashed for the night.
Day 2
Monday. Up at 6:00, registration started at 7:00. We got down to the meeting room early enough to ensure good seats. There was another room where the vendors were set up and man-oh-man that was a sight. I left with a bag full of samples, coupons and information. The first speaker was Greg Gibson he talked about his history as a photographer, his workflow and editing process. I learned several things from him. Next up was Clay Blackmore. This guy had so much energy and was very enthusiastic about what he was speaking about which was mainly portrait posing and lighting. He brought a whole set up with him, took a member of the audience up there and showed us how he does his posing. Clay also integrated a lot of video in with his work and that was interesting to see. And his gear! Oh his gear was sick! I must have sat with my mouth hanging open for a bit because some of the lenses that guy had was crazy. After lunch brought Lindsay Alder and I loooved her. She's very down to earth and really knows her stuff. She talked about organization of gear, photos, hard drives etc. I ended up buying her book at the end of the day and had the chance to chat with her for a few minutes. Turns out she does a lot of workshops etc in NYC. Hey, any excuse for a road trip, right? And of course last, but not certainly not least, was Jasmine Star. Jasmine walked in the room and people immediately started lining up to talk to her. She's an incredible person and photographer who has made her career from "keeping it real," and just being herself. She discussed social networking and marketing with very little money - two things she is very good and successful at. I think the one thing from that day that really spoke about Jasmine as a person was how long she stayed after to meet and take pictures with everyone in the very, very long line waiting to see her. I didn't take too many photos this day, however, I did take a TON of notes.
Day 3
Tuesday. I told myself I would sleep in, but 6:30 came along and I was wide awake. I knew it would take me longer than Libby to get all my stuff together and get ready for the day, so after lying around for about an hour I got up. (Did I mention how much I packed? I'm one of those people who has to prepare for everything...what if it rains? what if it's really cold? what if it get's unbearable hot? I like to be prepared) After a yummy breakfast and latte at Panera we checked out of the hotel and made our way a little south of D.C to a metro stop. The GPS took us right. through. D.C.. The traffic was nuts. Libby drove, I took pics out my window (total tourist) and we eventually made it through. We took the metro to the Mall and were greeted by The Capital Building and Washington Monument. After snapping a few pics and consulting the map we headed over to the National Gallery of Art.
Before going to the gallery we walked a little through the sculpture garden. There was a huge fountain with benches all around and people were relaxing watching the water. One thing I found was the squirrels and birds are very friendly as I’m sure they get fed a lot. Well this little squirrel was frolicking along the back of the benches (at one point I thought he was going to jump on a woman's head), not shy at all.
After saying bye to Mr. Squirrel we headed to the Gallery. When I walked through the doors I was in heaven! Libby wandered off into the sculpture area and I got lost amongst the works of Picasso, Van Gogh, Degas, Matisse, Monet, Di Vinci and many, many more. It was surreal, peaceful, calming...
Libby and I met back up, found a couch to relax on and decided to do a impromptu shoot so we could get some head shots of each other. Now I can be like “Oh that head shot? That was taken at the National Gallery of Art.” SWEET! :oP We got some good shots of each other both serious and silly.
After lunch we made our way to the East Gallery where the modern art is. There was a walkway to the Gallery that had a moving walkway and beautiful, beautiful lights running in different patterns through it. It’s hard to describe, but luckily I had my camera to take lots of photos. :o)
I haven’t been exposed to a lot of modern art and must say I loved it too. It can’t take the place of my love for Impressionism, but it’s close. Out of all the artists of the day Edvard Munch stood out to me the most. I had only seen The Scream so I didn’t quite know what to expect. He is amazing. He did multiple versions of his art and seeing them in sequence was mind blowing. It made me think of photography – how we do multiple versions of one photo whether in photoshop or in camera and how it can create a total different look and feel. It was. Completely. Silent. In his gallery. You couldn’t hear people walking, the lights were dim – the mood was dark. His work and the atmosphere opened a small window into his mind – I’ve never experienced anything like it.
We finished up at the Gallery and began the very long walk to the Lincoln Memorial. Ah-mazing! I loved the variety of people we saw.....so much that I took photos of random people and made a storyboard. Hehe
I had toured D.C several times as a kid but this was my first time as an adult and I had a greater appreciation for everything. My feet felt like they were going to fall off, but it was all worth it. I learned so much, saw so much and returned home with so many ideas and things to do I had to make a very long list to keep it all straight. I look forward to crossing things off that list and adding to it.
Peace & Love,
Kate
*smiles* This was a fun trip. My friend, Libby from Libby McGowan Photography and I drove up on Sunday to attend WPPI Road Trip in Washington D.C.
Day 1
Sunday. I left my house around 7:30 am to drive to Raleigh where I met Libby and loaded all my stuff in her cute, alien green, Kia Soul and we were on our way to D.C. Well, it took me a little over 2 hours to get to Raleigh and we didn't get on the road until about 11:30. But hey, we weren't in a huge hurry. We had a pretty smooth ride - hit a little traffic but it wasn't too bad, we had plenty to talk about since we hadn't seen each other since June or July...I can't remember. By the way Libby listens to what she refers to as "oldies," like 70's and 80's...I thought oldies were 40's and 50's!! Lol I have video of her rockin' out. It's great! So we're cruising up the highway and I was taking photos with my phone and posting them to Facebook (I have completely embraced my inner dorkiness) and just like that we were in D.C! The hotel was in Silver Springs MD which is right on the outskirts of the city. We parked (first time valet parking for me - the guys working were real nice), checked in, lugged all our "stuff" to our room, then were on our way back out the door to the metro station 3 blocks from the hotel. We were heading to Georgetown to do a little shopping and have dinner. We walk into the metro station not knowing what the heck we're doing and guy working says "Do you need help?" Yes we say. "Just like a deer in headlights!!" No, us? Really? He was rather sarcastic and fully enjoyed giving us a hard time, but he was NICE and HELPFUL. He explained how to work the very intimidating machines that give us our metro cards, told us what stop to get off and best of all gave us a map. Maps are good. Especially when you're in a foreign city. After going through the correct gate we were on our way! (I apparently went through the wrong one and it spit my card out without my knowledge which in turn gave Metro Guy another reason to bust my chops. It was funny...really, really funny) After successfully making it to Georgetown we then found the street we needed to be on and it was beautiful! Dusk was approaching, there was a feeling of Fall approaching in the air so Libby and I just walked and browsed the shops with cameras in tow. We ate dinner at the coolest burger place I've EVER seen. Seriously I expected Nikki Sixx and Kat Von D to walk through the door any minute. It was rad. After dinner we again successfully made our way back to hotel (but not before I gave Metro Guy a great big thumbs up) and crashed for the night.
Day 2
Monday. Up at 6:00, registration started at 7:00. We got down to the meeting room early enough to ensure good seats. There was another room where the vendors were set up and man-oh-man that was a sight. I left with a bag full of samples, coupons and information. The first speaker was Greg Gibson he talked about his history as a photographer, his workflow and editing process. I learned several things from him. Next up was Clay Blackmore. This guy had so much energy and was very enthusiastic about what he was speaking about which was mainly portrait posing and lighting. He brought a whole set up with him, took a member of the audience up there and showed us how he does his posing. Clay also integrated a lot of video in with his work and that was interesting to see. And his gear! Oh his gear was sick! I must have sat with my mouth hanging open for a bit because some of the lenses that guy had was crazy. After lunch brought Lindsay Alder and I loooved her. She's very down to earth and really knows her stuff. She talked about organization of gear, photos, hard drives etc. I ended up buying her book at the end of the day and had the chance to chat with her for a few minutes. Turns out she does a lot of workshops etc in NYC. Hey, any excuse for a road trip, right? And of course last, but not certainly not least, was Jasmine Star. Jasmine walked in the room and people immediately started lining up to talk to her. She's an incredible person and photographer who has made her career from "keeping it real," and just being herself. She discussed social networking and marketing with very little money - two things she is very good and successful at. I think the one thing from that day that really spoke about Jasmine as a person was how long she stayed after to meet and take pictures with everyone in the very, very long line waiting to see her. I didn't take too many photos this day, however, I did take a TON of notes.
Day 3
Tuesday. I told myself I would sleep in, but 6:30 came along and I was wide awake. I knew it would take me longer than Libby to get all my stuff together and get ready for the day, so after lying around for about an hour I got up. (Did I mention how much I packed? I'm one of those people who has to prepare for everything...what if it rains? what if it's really cold? what if it get's unbearable hot? I like to be prepared) After a yummy breakfast and latte at Panera we checked out of the hotel and made our way a little south of D.C to a metro stop. The GPS took us right. through. D.C.. The traffic was nuts. Libby drove, I took pics out my window (total tourist) and we eventually made it through. We took the metro to the Mall and were greeted by The Capital Building and Washington Monument. After snapping a few pics and consulting the map we headed over to the National Gallery of Art.
Before going to the gallery we walked a little through the sculpture garden. There was a huge fountain with benches all around and people were relaxing watching the water. One thing I found was the squirrels and birds are very friendly as I’m sure they get fed a lot. Well this little squirrel was frolicking along the back of the benches (at one point I thought he was going to jump on a woman's head), not shy at all.
After saying bye to Mr. Squirrel we headed to the Gallery. When I walked through the doors I was in heaven! Libby wandered off into the sculpture area and I got lost amongst the works of Picasso, Van Gogh, Degas, Matisse, Monet, Di Vinci and many, many more. It was surreal, peaceful, calming...
Libby and I met back up, found a couch to relax on and decided to do a impromptu shoot so we could get some head shots of each other. Now I can be like “Oh that head shot? That was taken at the National Gallery of Art.” SWEET! :oP We got some good shots of each other both serious and silly.
After lunch we made our way to the East Gallery where the modern art is. There was a walkway to the Gallery that had a moving walkway and beautiful, beautiful lights running in different patterns through it. It’s hard to describe, but luckily I had my camera to take lots of photos. :o)
I haven’t been exposed to a lot of modern art and must say I loved it too. It can’t take the place of my love for Impressionism, but it’s close. Out of all the artists of the day Edvard Munch stood out to me the most. I had only seen The Scream so I didn’t quite know what to expect. He is amazing. He did multiple versions of his art and seeing them in sequence was mind blowing. It made me think of photography – how we do multiple versions of one photo whether in photoshop or in camera and how it can create a total different look and feel. It was. Completely. Silent. In his gallery. You couldn’t hear people walking, the lights were dim – the mood was dark. His work and the atmosphere opened a small window into his mind – I’ve never experienced anything like it.
We finished up at the Gallery and began the very long walk to the Lincoln Memorial. Ah-mazing! I loved the variety of people we saw.....so much that I took photos of random people and made a storyboard. Hehe
I had toured D.C several times as a kid but this was my first time as an adult and I had a greater appreciation for everything. My feet felt like they were going to fall off, but it was all worth it. I learned so much, saw so much and returned home with so many ideas and things to do I had to make a very long list to keep it all straight. I look forward to crossing things off that list and adding to it.
Peace & Love,
Kate
Can You Say Cuteness Overload?
I had the pleasure of photographing these two little munchkins for the second time and must say it was even more rewarding. Oohhhh they are so sweet and so stinkin' cute! Baby Eva is sitting up on her own and has the commando crawling down pat. Her older sister, Anna, is smarter than ever and was happy to see me. I still tell stories about the funny things she says. She wanted to dress up for her photos and as you will see she did it very well. The ballerina outfit, fairy wings and later the crown were perfect attire for this princess. Little Eva is a blue-eyed bundle of smiles, sweet baby rolls and a Buddha belly. Love her! To start here's a comparison of our first and second shoots....they grow up WAY too fast.
When it was time for Anna to have her photos done we imagined we were were lying in a beautiful meadow watching the clouds roll by. She saw a bunny with a tutu, a bear and a beehive with honey. She also saw "deer bugs" and "bunny bugs" marching by and way off in the distance we saw someone flying a kite. It was her cousin Marlie. The kite was pink.
When Anna saw the following photo she said to her mom "Oh! Was that when I was in my meadow?"
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
When it was time for Anna to have her photos done we imagined we were were lying in a beautiful meadow watching the clouds roll by. She saw a bunny with a tutu, a bear and a beehive with honey. She also saw "deer bugs" and "bunny bugs" marching by and way off in the distance we saw someone flying a kite. It was her cousin Marlie. The kite was pink.
When Anna saw the following photo she said to her mom "Oh! Was that when I was in my meadow?"
Friday, September 24, 2010
Baby S.
A sweet little mouth, cute button nose, big blue eyes and a bedroom fit for a princess. This little princess is ah-dorable! She did so great for her session - I got lots of smiles and even got her to fall asleep to get "the pose" and she's 3 months old! I could not be happier that her Mom and family contacted me for photos, it was a pleasure spending the afternoon with this sweet little lady.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Tiny sneak peek for Baby S.
This has been a busy, busy week. I had 2 sessions this week and a ton of other things to accomplish. Tomorrow morning I'll be heading up to Washington D.C to attend WPPI Road Trip and I won't be home until Tuesday night. I wanted to get just a few photos up of Baby S. She's so adorable and so sweet! I'll do another post in a week or so with more photos and details.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wrightsville Beach Family Session
It was a perfect evening for a beach session. The sky was bold and blue, it wasn't unbearably hot, and of course this family was a blast. Laurel and I met a few years ago when our girls were in the same kindergarten class. She and her entire family are some of the nicest, most genuine people I've ever met....not too mention they are just down right cool people to be around! They were having a little family reunion at Wrightsville Beach and wanted to capture some memories with a casual, group photo shoot. A lot of planning went into this session, and I feel it really paid off. I am so happy with the end result!
Big thanks to Laurel, Chris, Carrie, Chris, Whitney, Blair, Jim, Sophie, Jack, Ryleigh, Katie, Haley and little Ellie!!
Big thanks to Laurel, Chris, Carrie, Chris, Whitney, Blair, Jim, Sophie, Jack, Ryleigh, Katie, Haley and little Ellie!!
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