Subject: Me!

Well, I have finally gotten around to giving my website a much-needed revamp.  It was quite a bit of updating work, but voila! I think the results are quite snazzy.

As part of the overhaul, I needed some new self-portraits... apparently every photo I like of myself from the past several years is vertically framed, and this website format really needed a horizontal one.    So since I sold my tripod all the way back in Chicago, and haven't picked up a new one yet, I asked my trusty human tripod to help out and got a new silly-cute photo of the two of us together.  Also, can we just note how gorgeous Vancouver is?  

I picked my favorite (now on the About page), but here are a few more...

Permanent Residency Achieved!

Well British Columbia is amazing, as expected.  And I am now a permanent resident (as of August, actually, but I've been busy!).   While I haven't been doing professional photography in Canada, I have done a couple volunteer gigs back in the states, so I've tried to keep up my chops.  It looks like we will likely be stationed in Vancouver, so I am currently deciding if I want to wade into the waters of the quite-saturated photographers market there. 

All that aside, a couple exciting things are coming up:

• I've been asked again to photograph the Proclaim retreat -- 3rd year in a row!  It will take place in Stony Point, NY in April, so look forward to seeing those photos in May!  Here are a few from last year

• Based on my head shot work with Proclaim, I am developing a new model for church directories (also obviously applicable to directories for other businesses/organizations).  The idea is that it both produces more dynamic and modern photos and also doesn't put pressure on members buying prints to compensate for expenses.  I am starting a test run with a church right now, so stay tuned!

Well, hello there.

Without berating myself too much for my utter lack of posting, I'll just jump right in!

I've updated the site!  Check out the nice slideshow on the homepage and all the many many updated galleries.  I will definitely continue to update as I am thinking through how I want to organize my photos for display.  For now, I am just super happy to include so many of the wonderful weddings I've attending over the past couple of years.  Seriously, there have been some gorgeous events!

Since this photoblog has been lacking (and I'd like to keep notes on some of my fave wedding aspects for any future, um... parties, I might have...), I am going to try to go back and blog about some.  So check the new galleries out, but I'll post some highlights here in the coming days/weeks.

A little sample slide show follows (if you are reading via RSS, yay! but you may have to click through).

Absence

Well, there is no use denying my absense.  Much has been going on in my life -- including an impending move, a job transition and a PUPPY.  You can tell which of these I am most excited about, can't you?  Well, that's not entirely accurate, but the puppy sure is cute.

I have still been taking photos, but it is probably not entirely unsurprising that it has not quite ended up being daily.  I could probably fudge a couple dates and pretend I'd kept up, but it is not really in my nature.  The idea behind doing a 365 project is a way to get me to be thinking about photography daily -- and to hopefully force me out of my comfort zones in an attempt to try new things and get more interesting photos.

I think the project does do that, but it's not quite working for due to the frequency and the abysmal state of my apartment (aka most easily accessible backdrop).  So I am certainly not giving up on photography or even self-portraits, but I am trying to come up with a new angle on the regularly-taken-photo project that will help me feel a bit more a spark of creativity.  Suggestions are welcome if anyone has them!

I will try to keep you all updated as my future plans come to fruition... for now, those of you who live in Chicago should note you may be seeing a lot more of me starting this summer!

Prelude

Tomorrow I start 365-ing again, and I am looking forward to returning to daily photography.  I have enjoyed the weddings, engagements, and children I have photographed recently (example, left and below), but I believe it will be well worth my time to return to the discipline to using the same subject, day in and day out, forcing myself to expand my ideas and break any rules that may be still lingering around.

I will probably not post them daily, but rather in collections of a few days at a time.  You will always be able to find the full collection of images in the Personal Projects section of my website. 

As far as this site as a whole goes, I am still working on adjusting galleries, adding content, and tweaking the overall functionality of it. If you have comments/suggestions at this stage, I am happy to hear them.