Let's Talk: How do you shop?

I got an email the other day that one of my favorite on-line shops, Scarlet Lime, was having a sale. Since I was in the middle of working hard on a project for work, I decided I deserved some retail therapy and went over to have a look. I filled my basket and was really happy later that week to open my box of goodies. I bought two Christmas 6x6 paper pads and a Tim Holtz configuration box, both of which were in the "clearance" section; a few scarlet lime pens and white sakura pens (both of which are essentials in my tool box); a fine point paint brush (something I needed); and a Dina Wakley stencil (a splurge). I think I probably spent less than $30 (including postage). I don't shop very often (probably four times a year), but I realized that this was a fairly typical shopping haul for me.  I get a few things that I've wanted to try out or know I will use eventually from the clearance aisle; something new and fun; and a few essentials. And I began to wonder how the rest of you shop? Is there a method to your madness? Or are you an impulse shopper?

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Let's Talk is a semi-regular feature encouraging frank discussion of issues that fellow bloggers might find of interest. All points of view welcome!

Let's Talk Collecting, Displaying, Decorating and Discarding

A few days ago, I shared a photo shoot that I did featuring the Lladro figurines I inherited from my mother. She had a huge collection, and when she passed away, we divided them up. Mainly each child took the ones which we had given her as gifts over the years, although some were divided up equally.  I have a few collections myself, mainly Belleek china and knick-knacks from my travels. One of my goals for 2014 is to organize and purge my home, and I am struggling with what to do with my various treasures. Traditionally, I have always displayed the same things year-round, but I've decided that I should get into the habit of rotating what I have on display and keep other things in storage to be brought out later. 
So, I sorted through my mom's  new collection with that thought in mind.

 I decided to store this beautiful angel with my Christmas decorations and bring her out once a year.

My mom bought this bear when we took a Alaskan cruise together; I bought one, too, so now the two will live together in my china cabinet:

My mom said that this pair of children reminded her of Henry and Clara, and I almost put them up in storage to be brought out at another time. 

But then I decided to put them on display on top of my china cabinet, along with the Lladros I gave her from my travels to Ireland, Spain and China.

That left two figurines which I lovingly wrapped up and put into storage. I'm not sure when I'll pull that box back down and add these back to the collection. For now, it feels good to have this bit of my mom keeping us company. Even though I hadn't opened the Lladro box for over five years, I know I'm not ready to discard this collection; I don't know if I will ever be ready for that.

So, I'm wondering what decisions the rest of you make about how you display or decorate with the things you collect. Let's talk. Are there things that go up and down throughout the year on a set schedule? Or when the spirit moves you? How do you know when you are ready to discard things your purchased (with perhaps a large price tag or that have sentimental value)?  Any tips for letting go?

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"Let's Talk" is a semi-regular series designed to inspire frank discussion and sharing of information on issues relating to photography, art and blogging. 

Let's Talk . . . Family Portrait Sessions

Hope to see you all back this weekend for the final Scavenger Hunt link-up! That's when you'll let me know how many items you found and be entered in the final prize give-away (there's two prizes . . . one open to people who found all the items and one open to everyone who participated, regardless of how many items you found).

On Sunday afternoon, my friend, the amazing professional photographer Becky Ruppel came over to our house to take some family portraits. The main occasion was to capture a belated "senior portrait" of Henry before he leaves for University, but she also took portraits of Clara and some family groupings. The session got me thinking about all the family portrait sessions in my life. 
The very first portraits I remember having taken were taken in a Foremost mobile studio truck/van that would drive through our neighborhood and have families take portraits. There was also a person who brought a pony around, dressed the kids up in cowboy gear and took portraits. These two experiences are the only formal portraits my family every took when we were children. 
One of my very first jobs (the summer after I graduated from college) was working for Olan Mills Studio selling portrait packages. My sister and I were living in Boulder, Colorado, and we even got some of the studio portraits taken. They had your standard studio backdrops and the poses were pretty mundane.
When the children were babies, I tried to take them to a mall portrait store front (Picture People, maybe) every few months to capture their growth. The backdrops, props and poses were a bit better than Olan Mills, but still nothing really special.
When Henry was two, we took him to a nice photography studio in town and had a series of gorgeous black and white portraits done. They were beautiful and classic.  
A few years later, we had a photographer come out to our house and take portraits of the children. These remain my all time favorite portraits.  
Finally, about ten years ago, we had a major portrait session with the local photographer. But this time we went outdoors. It was also the first digital portraits we ever had done. Some of the portraits were stunning, but I never really loved the big family photograph she did.
So, this time when I set up the portrait session, I asked Becky to come out to the house. I snapped the photo up top of Clara on my iphone when Becky asked Clara to hold her camera. I loved the pose which Becky set up of Clara in the big chair.  I also took this candid of Clara and Aria in instagram:

I love how Aria naturally sat at Clara's feet, how they are both looking in the same direction and the interesting parallel they present. It's interesting to compare the two photographs (from a composition standpoint, not a technical one) because I like both of them as portraits. The first one is a little quirky, but still pretty and has the advantage of Clara looking directly into my camera.  The second one, on the other hand, tells more of a story. . . of a teenage girl and her dog. If I had to pick just one as a portrait, I'm not sure which one I would choose!
I feel really good about the portrait session with Becky and can't wait for the proofs. Which got me thinking about family portrait sessions and what I wanted with them at this point in my life. I wanted portraits that capture us as we are now - not dressed too fancy or matchy-matchy, but in our regular clothes (okay, so we all showered and put on clean clothes). I wanted a photographer who would take the time to get to know us and would try to capture our personalities in the photos (with Becky, this was easy because she knows us all pretty well). I wanted a photographer who was an excellent technical photographer - one who knows light and has the right equipment (reflectors, diffusers, etc.). It's telling that Becky asked me to snap a few photos of my living room and backyard at the times I wanted her to come and send them to her in advance so she could get an idea of what lighting she would need. Finally, I wanted someone who takes pride in their work and would not be willing to give me something that she didn't love. I feel like I got all this (and more) with Becky! She even asked to meet Henry on another afternoon to get a few more shots because she had some ideas that she wanted to try out. I'm glad I set the location for our living room and back yard (but also happy that Becky took Henry out to the "enchanted forest" as well). I know these portraits will be more meaningful because they were taken in our home; the only home the kids have ever known. And I'm really glad that there were not a cheesey backdrops in sight!
So, now, I'm curious. Let's talk family portrait sessions. What has been your experience with them? Good? Bad?  Have you gone to a studio, had the photographer come to your house, or gone on location? What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Of the two portraits of Clara posted today, which would you choose and why? All opinions welcome!
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"Let's Talk" is a semi-regular series designed to inspire frank discussion and sharing of information on issues relating to photography, art and blogging. 

Let's Talk Pinterest, Pinning and Images from our Blogs

The other day, I was checking out some of the statistics for my blog, including "top traffic sources." I noted that "pinterest" had climbed to the number one referring site for the last week and month. It is still second to google for all time, but it is clearly on the rise as a referral for me. I joined pinterest to be able to see who or what was being pinned on pinterest from my blog. I have one post which was been pinned, A LOT.  It is this one:

It features a travel journal tutorial.  I can understand why it's popular, and I am happy to share it with others.  The idea for the tutorial actually came from Vicki Chrisman, and I made sure to ask her if I could share it and then credit her and her blog.

That was all well and good, but then I was a little taken aback when I saw that this photograph has been pinned and repinned a fair amount:

It's a beautiful photo of Henry and his girl friend before last year's prom. It's been pinned to boards about posing couples and ideas for prom pictures (you can read the full post here). I'm proud of the photo and a little pleased that people think it's pin-worthy, but yet . . . I don't know. It somehow feels a little intrusive to know that Henry and Vanessa are floating around in the pinterest world. While I don't mind having my art out there, it feels different to have pictures of my kids out there (even though this has been pinned more as art/ photography than as a picture of Henry, if you know what I mean).
Then, I started noticing a button that says "This is a no pin blog," like this one on some of the blogs I follow. I did a little more research and found that there is a bit of a controversy about people pinning images to pinterest without crediting them properly and the possibility of images being sold by others.  Bloggers have responded with ways to make sure that pins are done responsibly, ways to block all pinning, and ways to allow only selective pinning. 
I'm not sure where I come out on all this. I like the idea of pinterest bringing people to my blog, and I have always realized that anything I put on my blog is open to the public.  This doesn't worry me; I'm a public person with a public job, so I don't find putting things in the blogosphere too concerning. That's why I've never minded using our real names, real locations, etc. 
But somehow it bothers me. And I'm not sure why. 
I don't think people are taking my photography and using it without acknowledgment, which would be an issue for me.  I know that my blog friend Amy has had this problem recently and so has started using a watermark on her photographs (read her wonderful tutorial here). By the way, I found this really interesting post about how to see if your images are appearing elsewhere on the internet. I looked for a few of my photographs and found nothing, so I think I'm good there.  
I am really interested to read what others think about this issue.  Do you use pinterest? Have you had things of yours pinned?  Did you like it and want to encourage it? Or do you want to discourage it?  Have you ever had an image stolen? How did you find out and what did you do about it? As usual with a "Let's Talk" post, I'll leave this one up for a few days so people have a chance to weigh in on the issue. All opinions welcomed.  Let's talk about it!
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"Let's Talk" is a semi-regular series designed to inspire frank discussion and sharing of information on issues relating to photography, art and blogging. 

Let's Talk Iphone Photography

I'm taking Cheryl Johnson's iphone photography class, and it's really got me thinking about how to use my iphone camera.  I've traditionally just used it to capture a few snapshots when I travel (or to post on facebook), but in this class, I've been using it for something more like fine art photography.

In addition to taking instagram photos, I've discovered Snapseed, which is an app that offers a wide range of editing choices.

I've also learned to use the HDR function on my iphone:

and how to take panoramic pictures, too:

I've learned there are even  lenses you can buy for your iphone camera and tripods or tripod attachments!
The take-away of all this for me, so far, is that the iphone camera is a very good point and shoot camera, with lots of capabilities. I still haven't tried to print photographs taken on my iphone yet, but that's my next step. 
There's so much more to the iphone than I ever realized. What about you? How do you use your iphone? Do you treat it like a real camera?  Or simply something to snap photos for facebook or your blog?  Let's talk about it.
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"Let's Talk" is a semi-regular series designed to inspire frank discussion and sharing of information on issues relating to photography, art and blogging. 

Let's Talk: Photo Cropping

Remember this photograph? I posted it here, as a potential selection for my January Photo-Heart Connection. At the time, I promised to talk more about the photograph and the young man in it.  He's one of the other seniors on Henry's soccer team and holds a special place in my heart because he's the only other one who has played soccer all four years with Henry. When they were freshman, the program was in a bit of disarray so no one else went out for the team. This year, they're both Captains and the team is thriving. He is also just a terrific kid - polite, hard working, responsible.  His older brother was the first one in the family to go to college, and we're hoping that Andres follows in his footsteps. 
As for the photograph, I love it because it emerged during processing from this original:

On Senior's Night, we give a nice framed action photo to the seniors as a going-away gift. Since I'm responsible for this task, I shoot lots of photos of the seniors during the season to try to capture something special.  I took this picture of Andres walking off during half-time. Although I liked his expression, I thought it was an unremarkable photograph.  But when I cropped it using the rule of thirds (and brightened it up a bit), I ended up with a photograph that I loved. By placing him in the left third of the frame, rather than in the center, he becomes the focal point. I've left enough of the soccer goal to give context and the depth of field is just right (background soft, but not blurry). I'm really happy with how it turned out. 
Usually, I try to frame my photographs while I'm taking them, so that I don't need to crop them in my computer. For action shots, though, I usually don't have that luxury. That's when cropping on the computer really helps.
What about you? Do you crop photographs on the computer? Or compose them correctly in the first place? Do you think about design rules (like the rule of thirds) when cropping or just play around until you find something you like? Got any other cropping tips to share? Let's talk about it . . .
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"Let's Talk" is a semi-regular series designed to inspire frank discussion and sharing of information on issues relating to photography, art and blogging. 

Let's Talk: Manual Focusing

I have a very nice, very expensive 80 mm lens for my camera.  The only problem is that it will not auto-focus on my new camera.  So, I've resolved to work on my manual focusing skills. But it's hard!  
Wouldn't this picture be great - 

if it was as in focus as this one?

And I prefer this composition:

 

but the focus of this photograph:

I did much better with objects that didn't move, like the shells up top or these pieces of beach architecture. Remember you can click on any of these images to enlarge them and see them more clearly.

So, let's talk about manual focusing on a camera. I'm sure I used to do it all the time when I shot with a film SLR camera, didn't I? Why is it so hard? Do you ever focus manually? Do you have any tips to share?
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"Let's Talk" is a semi-regular series designed to inspire frank discussion and sharing of information on issues relating to photography, art and blogging. 

Let's Talk Cameras and Lenses

I'm curious . . . 
what type of camera(s) and lens(es) do you have? What do you find to be their advantages and disadvantages? 
I started my most recent foray into photography in 2005, with a Nikon D50 and its basic "kit" lens (18-55mm).  These served me really well for a really long time.  
My next lens purchase was a zoom lens that would extend to 300mm. I got it to shoot sports and street photography, but unfortunately, I broke it when I tripped and fell at a baseball game. A similar fate befell my next zoon lens (a Nikon 55-200). I'm currently on my third zoom lens, a Nikon 55-300, and I'm trying really hard to take good care of it.
I have two other lenses, both of which I love. They are both "fixed" or "prime" lenses - a 50 mm and an 80 mm.  They both allow me to shoot at a very low f-stop, which has been very useful for shooting indoors and (especially) inside basketball gyms. And they take gorgeous, crisp photos.
The biggest limitation of the D50, though, was that it only has 6.1 megapixels. As I became a better and better photographer, I felt the need to upgrade. Last Christmas, I upgraded to a Nikon D5100, which I love.  It's got 16.2 megapixels and all kinds of bells and whistles which I am still exploring. Both my kit lens and my zoom lens work really well with it.  
Unfortunately, neither my 50 mm nor my 80 mm lens will autofocus on the D5100. They both will on the D50.  So, if I want to use the lenses with my better camera, I need to focus manually, which can be tricky but not impossible. I took Aria's portrait using the D5100 and my 80 mm lens. Sometimes when I want to use either of the lenses (especially the 50 mm), I will often pull out my old, trusty D50 and use it. It feels a bit clunky, but I love the ability to autofocus. This is especially true for street photography.  I put a lot of money into the 80 mm lens and don't want to have to replace it, so I think I'll just have to work on my manual focusing abilities!  The 50 mm lens was very inexpensive - it's actually a film lens. But the glass on it is really beautiful. 
Still, my next lens purchase might be a 50 mm that will autofocus on my D5100. Alternately, I'm considering purchasing a 35 mm lens that will autofocus on my D5100.
I have a very old iphone with a very bad camera. Maybe once I upgrade my iphone, I will add that camera to my inventory. But not yet.
To summarize, I have two cameras: a Nikon D50 and a Nikon D5100. I'm unwilling/unable to give up the D50 because two of my favorite lenses will not autofocus with the D5100.  I have four lenses: a 18-55, a 55-300, a 50 mm and an 80 mm.  I am considering purchasing a new 50 mm lens that will autofocus or a 35 mm lens.
So, now it's your turn.  Let's talk. . .  tell me about your camera and lens inventory. And what  is your likely next purchase. I can't wait to hear what you have to say!
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Let's Talk is a semi-regular series to solicit honest discussion and feedback on an issue of interest.  All opinions welcome.

Let's talk comment verification . . .

I love visiting blogs and, more often than not, I comment on posts.  But, for blogs with comment verification, it is becoming harder and harder for me to do so.  It seems that the combination of letters and numbers I have to enter "to prove I'm not a robot" are getting more and more difficult for me to read and enter correctly.  Recently, Blogger temporarily shut down my blog when I couldn't figure out a combination after several attempts because it deemed my activity to be "suspect." As a result, if I can't figure out the combination after one attempt, I now give up and don't comment.  Which makes me a little sad because I love to give (and get) comments.  So, I'm wondering how big a problem spam has been for people.  Blogger catches most "spam" comments for me, so they don't show up on my blog. And I only get about one every week or so. So, let's talk about spam comments and comment verification . . . what has been your experience with? What's your policy about it?
Edited to Add: Lorri who uses wordpress has an anit-spam filter which is really easy to read.  You can see her blog here. I also wanted to add that I do accept anonymous comments because I have a couple of friends who don't have blogs and comment that way occasionally. I do, however, have comment moderation on for comments which are more than a couple of weeks old. I have found that most spam comments fall into that category.
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Let's talk is a semi-occasional series encouraging frank discussion of a topics which might be controversial.

Let's Talk Paper Piecing

This week, "The Art of Wild Abandonment" (the online class I'm taking) is focusing on paper piecing and using other texture elements. It's not something I've done a lot of in my art journals, but I found it a lot of fun.  It is also a good way to use up patterned paper, so it fits perfectly into Ali Manning's De-stash Challenge to use patterned paper.  For this page, I paper pieced some quilts which fit three different sides of my personality (my inner country girl, my seaside home, and my urban/rocker chick self). I'm really quite happy with it.
The Wild Abandonment class is co-taught by Christy Tomlinson who I take it does a lot of paper piecing in her "She Art" classes.  She has this very cool video on her blog where she makes a canvas using some of her product line that allows you to skip the paper piecing part of a She-Art canvas. Paper piecing does seem to be coming a bigger and bigger part of paper crafting.
So, let's talk paper piecing.  Do you do it? Do you like it? Hate it?
Is using pre-made paper-pieced products "cheating" or just part of the fun? 
Are punches and quick-cut, sizzix, etc. dies better or worse than cutting things my hand?  
Is it "original" art to use premade shapes? Does it matter?
Do tell.  I'd love to hear your opinions.
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"Let's Talk" is a semi-regular series designed to inspire frank discussion and sharing of information on issues relating to photography, art and blogging. 

Let's Talk Projects/Classes that Overstay their Welcome

My first page - describing the purpose of my sketchbook and featuring one of my recent face paintings.

Last spring, I signed up for the Sketchbook Project (see this post for details).  My theme was "In  ten minutes," and I set it up as a smashbook, with prepared backgrounds that I could easily add to and thus create an interesting page in ten minutes or less. When I signed up for it, I thought it would be an easy project to complete. Plus, the deadline was not until the end of January. I started off with a lot of enthusiasm, but it soon languished on my desk with only the occasional entry. Now, with the deadline just a week away, I found the sketchbook and decided to finish it up.  Some pages feature my thoughts about the day's events:

The page on the left chronicles some of the things I accomplished in getting healthy; the page on the right reflects on Sept. 11 - ten years later.

The page on the left is about our vacation to Seattle and the San Juan Islands. The page on the right talks about the upcoming soccer season for my son's team.
Others deal with how I'm feeling about things in my life.

A page about some of the struggles in raising the kids.
A few are just happy art.

As you can tell from the title of today's post, I think this was a project that overstayed its welcome. I should probably have realized that before I signed up for it. I'm best with short-term projects.  I like online classes that are 3-4 weeks long; any longer, and I start to fade. I did fine at the "week in a life" and "photo-a-day for a month" photography projects, but I know I could never do Project 365.  On the other hand, as I finished up my pages today, I found that I really enjoyed them. And, in looking at my completed pages, I was happy that so many incorporated actual drawing and sketching.  These pages feel very different than my art journal pages, and they track the advice about making a sketchbook in the book, Painted Pages, which I'm slowly working through. So, although this does feel like a project that overstayed  its welcome, I feel like I still got something out of it. And, in the end, I'm glad I did it. It also feels good to have it completed. I'll mail it off tomorrow.
So, let's talk about it. . . have you ever started a class or project that overstayed its welcome? Did you regret it? Or was there a benefit to it? Do you feel compelled to finish or do you just let it drift?  I'll leave this post up for a couple days, as I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions!
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 "Let's Talk" is a semi-regular series designed to inspire frank discussion and sharing of information on issues relating to photography, art and blogging.

Let's Talk Drawing and Sketching

When I teach art journaling class, I encourage my students to draw on their pages. Nothing complex - simple shapes like hearts and houses.  Maybe a bird. But that's as far as I've ever taken my drawing, so I think it's unfair to push others to places where I am not comfortable  venturing myself.  But I've been thinking a lot lately about drawing and sketching. (I even drew the self-portrait above). So, I thought I'd open up the topic.  Do you draw in your art journals or other crafting? 
If so, why? What draws you to it? And how did you learn?  Do you have any great resources to suggest? Or blogs that feature drawing or sketching? 
If not, why not? Is it lack of interest? Lack of ability? Fear?
Here's a few cool links I have found lately:
Carla Sonheim's blog is all about drawing, and she has a very cool book that I would like to buy. I found her through this post at Alisa Burke's blog;
Jean of Blue Birds Living in the Meadow draws and paints in her journals;
Gloria it totally free and folk-arty in her drawings and paintings, which feature Frida and other Latina inspirations;
Pippa learned how to draw doodle birds and has established a wonderful business around it
Laurie in her Lone Black Bird incarnation occasionally draws and sketches.
Carrie at Rosalind Revival shares her Grandmother's Journals in posts like this one;
One of my blog friends went to Africa this summer and drew all kinds of wonderful sketches in her travel journal, but I can't remember who that was? Let me know if it was you!
I'll leave this topic up for a few days, as I'd love some input! ("Let's Talk" is a semi-regular series designed to inspire frank discussion and sharing of information on issues relating to photography, art and blogging).
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Today I am grateful for: My work colleagues who are smart and interesting and, actually, a lot of fun.

Let's Talk Arenas of Consumption

Here's the last of my scrapbook pages from my vacation to the Seattle, Washington and the San Juan Islands.  It was inspired by a prompt in Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party scrapbooking class that called for using a border punch.  She mentioned that pulling out a tool like a border punch was a good way to try to get your money's worth out of it. I don't have any border punches, so I pulled out another punch instead.  
The prompt did get me thinking about some of the recent popular tools in scrapbooking that I have avoided:
border punches;
copic markers;
texture folders;
die cut machines;
anything that requires sewing.
In each of these, I've congratulated myself on avoiding a large "arena of consumption" where I could easily find myself collecting one of everything in a given set (and then, too often, letting them gather dust). 
There are, however, many arenas of consumption in which I dabble:
paint;
spray inks;
stencils;
ephemera;
paper.
Over time, I've tried to find my style so that I only dabble in those areas where I know I will use the products.  I'm not perfect, but who is?
So, what arenas of consumption do you enjoy dabbling in? Are there some you now wish you avoided? 
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"Let's Talk" is a semi-regular series to discuss interesting topics in scrapbooking, photography and paper crafting. I'll leave this up for a few days, in hopes of getting a good discussion. I use this label when I am sincerely interested in seeking people's opinions and input. 

Let's Talk Appropriate Travel Photography Subjects

I love taking photographs when I travel. And I have always tried to take photographs that capture things beyond the typical tourist sites. Images that will help me remember the flavor and essence of a place, as well as images that I think I can use in my mixed media art.  As I've become more mindful of my photography, though, I've begun to think consciously about what the appropriate bounds might be for travel photography subjects. I have always taken photographs in historical cemeteries, for instance, and I read with interest everyone's comments on my scavenger hunt post featuring a cemetery (see them in this post).  One that particularly intrigued me was Sian's comment about what might be out of bounds for photographers in which she said "I would never take pictures inside a church, for instance." It really made me stop and think because I had just taken the picture at the top of this post, which is one of my favorite images from our recent trip to England. It's taken inside the church in Chipping Campden. I like the colors and the composition and the feeling it evokes of an old English country parish.  I was quiet and respectful in the church and dropped some money in the donation box for the "Church Visitor Guide." And yet, I still did feel a little sense of questioning the appropriateness of taking this picture, even before I read Sian's comment. I had a similar sense of unease about these photos:

I took both of these photographs when walking out of town towards the hiking trails in The Cotswolds. I like how they capture English country life in ways that are both very different (we don't wear school uniforms her and don't have fancy horses on such fancy streets), yet oddly similar (hairstyles and attitudes seem very similar among all teenagers; there are lots of horse ranches here) to my life here. But, perhaps I felt a little queasiness because I was taking pictures of children. Would I feel any different if I were taking pictures of children in South American, Asian or Central American villages, I wonder?  The one last group of pictures that got me wondering about appropriate bounds were these:

These were all taken walking around Cambridge. It was graduation day for St. John's College, and I was struck by the beauty of the young men and women in their graduation robes. And I was touched by the love and care of parents helping their children with their regalia. Especially since the "children" are so clearly standing on the cusp of adulthood. But I confess to feeling a little bit like a voyeur, as if I had stumbled upon scenes of quiet intimacy, even though they were being played out in the crowded streets of town.  On the other hand, that very thing is what give these photographs their power, at least in my eyes.

And, just for good measure, a photograph of family intimacy taken inside a Church (the Chapel at Kings College).  So, do tell, what do you think? What are the appropriate bounds for travel photography? Do they vary depending upon where you are, what your intentions are or how you act when taking them? I'm really very curious and will take no offense if you suggest I've overstepped.
{This post is part of an occasional series ("let's talk") encouraging a discussion of certain topics, in which I really am seeking people's opinions and input.}

Let's Talk Sepia

This week's assignment in the "Beautiful People" class I'm taking with Cheryl Johnson is to photograph babies and/or young children. Although I take lots of pictures of middle school and high school aged kids (11 years and up), I rarely take pictures of little ones. I called a friend who has a 7  month old, and she happily agreed to let me take pictures.  This is one of my favorites from the session. I turned it to sepia before I read a comment from Cheryl on another post that she generally doesn't care for sepia, as it feels too much like you're coloring the photograph (Cheryl gives lots of really useful comments on photographs, by the way.  It's one of the best things about the class so far). I hadn't thought about that before, and I was wondering what your thoughts were.  Here's what the original photograph looked like:

And here's what the photograph looks like in black and white:

So, which do you prefer?  And what do you think about sepia, in general?

Let's Talk Portrait Photography

Art Journal Page (Shooting Portraits)

One of my goals for this year has been to take more portraits. My photography in the past has focused on sports action, sports portraits and travel photography. I have always admired portrait photographers but have thought it was probably beyond my skills. Lately, as I've become more confident, I'm beginning to feel ready for the challenge. I don't want to get lights and have a portrait studio in my house. I'm more interested in location (especially outdoor) and "lifestyle" portraits. I particularly admire Tara Whitney's approach to photography. You can see some Tara-like shots I took in this post and my attempt at location portraits in this post. My favorite portrait shoot I've done was this one of special needs baseball players.  I just signed up for this portrait class, and I'm really excited about it.  Our first assignment was to do a self-portrait.  Here's my best shot:

It was a little difficult to get a really crisp focus. I learned a lot about trying to get a natural look on my face. It took me lots of expressions and poses before I got this one. I think that will be useful information next time I go to take someone else's portrait. It's in my studio. 

So, I'm interested in your thoughts on portrait photography. Do you do it? What's your style? Got any great resources to share? Any portrait photographers you admire?

Let's Talk the Process of Scrapbooking

On Saturday, I went to an all day crop with some of the friends I have met through the West Coast Club Scrap group.  It was so much fun, I made this art journal page about it!
It was also very productive.  I got 15 pages done. I'll try and share some over the next few days.  As I was packing for the crop on Friday, I began thinking about my process for scrapbooking and how it has changed over time.  These days I only scrap once a month or so, and it's usually at a crop of some kind (a group of friends getting together to craft/scrapbook).  I rarely pull out my scrapbooking stuff on my own; I'm much more inclined to do art journaling when I have a time at home.  I also tend to prepare what I call "page kits."  I'll select the pictures I want to scrap and put them in a bag with the paper and embellishments I plan to use.  That way when I get to a crop, I have (most of ) what I need.  Often, I will also put the sketch in the bag which I plan to use.  My favorite sketch tool are the idea decks of cars from Club Scrap which tell you how many of each size paper you need and where to make the cuts to create the sketch.   Of course, I feel free to improvise once I get started!  Club Scrap also has a wonderful tool/process they call "Assembly Line Scrapbooking," where you create blank layouts with their coordinated paper.  Then, when it comes time to crop, you simply match up pictures with existing blank layouts.  I know it sounds like it wouldn't work, but, trust me, it does.  So, that's where I'm at these days with my process.  It's quick and efficient. I like the pages I complete and really like the fact that they're completed.  They're not as creative as my pages used to be, but I channel my creativity into my other interests.
I'm curious to hear about the process that you use to scrapbook. . . please share!

Let's Talk Scrapbook Albums

I'm a chronological scrapbooker.  How about you?  I scrapbook by year, rather than by subject, although I will do some albums for trips or the occasional theme (like my Christmas card picture album or "week in a life").   Here's the bookshelf with most of my scrapbook albums. I just counted, and I have about about fifty 12x12 albums.  Most have between 35 and 50 pages.  Not all of them are on this shelf because there are a few in each of the kids' rooms (I keep their "school days" and sports albums in their rooms).  I also have about 25 smaller format albums (8.5x11, 5x7, 6x6 etc.) that cover single events, trips or themes and three 12x15 albums .  I originally used Creative Memories albums and then switched to Close to My Heart.  More recently, I used Club Scrap albums until they discontinued them.  Right now, I'm looking for a good substitute.  I'd love suggestions.
As a chronological scrapper, I do try and stay "caught up" with my pictures.  For both my husband an I, I scrapped our childhood pictures (one album for each of us).  I also have a high school album and a university album for me, as well as one album that has all the pictures from when DS and I started dating until we started having children. From 1995 (the year DS Henry was born) until the present, I have at least one annual family album per year (most have two albums). There is also a "baby" album for each child, covering their first year.  Each child also has 2-4 school days albums which cover their school activities and/or their sports.  I'm currently about half way through 2010, so I am pretty "caught up."
There are two albums that I really want to do but haven't really made much of a dent on - our wedding album and a heritage/genealogy album.
So, that's my scrapbook album story.  What's yours?
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