Ballard Market

This week was definitely more challenging then the week before. The Ballard Market is a really cool neighborhood market. If you've never been, check it out. However, it is not the touristy type destination that Pike Place is and that simple fact I think is why we all had so much trouble. People were not as receptive to having their picture taken. Even the street performers were giving off a vibe. I will not ever be pushy or invasive, so this was certainly a challenge for me. It did force me to talk with more people, deal with rejection, and interact more with my classmates. All of which are good things!

While the majority didn't want to play along, there were the few that did. Here are a couple of my favorite shots from Ballard:

(make this photo larger so you can see his incredibly blue eyes!)

The Seattle Center

Maybe it was the grey and gloomy day that kept the masses at home and those that adventured out sparse. I've never seen the Seattle Center so empty on a Sunday! I was able to get shots of the entire fountain without a single person in the frame. At 2:00 on a Sunday! Was there an apocalypse no one told me about?

Here is what I turned in for my homework assignment this week:

We have the weekend off from field trips for the holiday. He's given us a couple of assignments to work on - pets, photographing in natural light from the window, and humor. Otherwise, we are going camping and you can bet I'll have my camera by my side the whole weekend. It's our puppy Lacey's first camping trip!

The shots you'll see here...

Just a quick note - the majority of the photos that you'll be seeing here while I'm 'in school' will be straight out of camera (SOOC). Most of these are shots I am taking in to class for show and tell, and to get feedback. Editing is cheating! :) The only editing I may do is cropping. If I post a final product, or edited shot, I will be sure and label it as such.

With that being said, I am working on learning basic Photoshop (maybe I will take that class next quarter?) and am getting pretty comfortable with Lightroom. More of those to come in the future.

Pike Place Market

Here are a few shots from my time at Pike Place Market. Any of you that have been there know it is gathering place for many of the interesting characters of our beloved city. It is vibrant and lively and it happens to be one of my favorite places in the world.

When you enlarge this image you can really see the sparkle in the woman's eyes.

Check out those cute shades!

This man was leading a guided tour around Downtown. Here he happened to be providing instructions on how to select an eggplant.

Isn't he a character? I love the top hat. What you cannot see is his adorable dog. She was a pitbull wearing butterfly wings. They made quite a pair.

This weekend I'm off to Ballard and the Seattle Center. My focus for both locations will again be on people. I've got a few things I'd like to try, so we'll see how it goes. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!

Bellevue Botanical Gardens

These photographs are from the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. If you've never been, this place is beautiful. I only saw a fraction of the gardens and I certainly plan on going back when I have more time! They are the pictures I turned in as my 'homework' for Tuesday's class - Camera Fundamentals. I got some great feedback. What do you think?
Later in the week I will share a few of my images from Pike Place Market. Stay Tuned!

I'm Published! (Kind of...)

If you've never heard of The Pioneer Woman, do yourself a favor and visit her site. Me? I love her. Yup, I'm in love with a woman. And one I've never even met to boot. I cannot tell you how much time I've spent on her site. She's my idol. She lives on their ranch with her devilishly handsome husband and 4 children. She is a self taught photographer, blogger, cook, and still manages to home school her children . (I could probably go without the homeschooling part...) She recently completed a cookbook tour and I'm very bummed that I missed meeting her in Seattle. (However, I did record and watch her appearances on the Today Show, The View and Good Morning America. I'm not a stalker though. Nope. Not me.) Seriously, you could get lost on her site for hours. And that's before you stumble across her love story, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. You'll thank me later.

Anyway, on to the meat-and-potatoes of why I'm chatting about PW. Occasionally on the photography section of her website, she will give assignments. These assignments generally have a theme. People join her group on Flickr and can submit one photo per day. This week her assignment was 'Happiness'. I decided that I would submit a photo. Me and.... about 75,000 other people as I last checked. (I think it may have been about 50,000 yesterday, but you get the idea.) There are excellent photo submissions. GREAT stuff. She reviews these photos and each day of that week she picks about 10 to show on her site. Then at the end of the week picks the finalists and winners.

On to the best part - She picked one of my photos for the first round!!! Remember this one?

I could not believe my own eyes. The Pioneer Woman picked ME!? Yes, I'll admit it, there may have been a brief moment of hyperventilation at my desk. It was only 5:40am for petesake! I can't handle that kind of excitement before I've even woken up!

So there you have it. My first publication. And it is by a woman I admire. Can't get much cooler than that on a Wednesday morning!

SOOC Sneak Peaks

Here are just a couple SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) sneak peaks from my field trips today! I've got to sit down and work on the rest. Tomorrow. Because today, I'm beat!Pike Place Field Trip 5/16/10. Assignment = Photographing People

Bellevue Botanical Gardens Field Trip 5/16/10. Assignment = Floral/Nature

Beautiful Spring Night

I love warm evenings in the spring.

Thoughts on my first week in the classroom.

Wow.

That pretty much sums it up.

I just finished my first two photography classes (first lecture from each class). I have taken so many notes and already learned so many things. About my camera, art, but especially about myself. There was a moment in my Photographing People class tonight when I was overwhelmed with this feeling of excitement, desire and inspiration. It was while we were watching a video (on VHS by the way, it has been awhile!) about William Allard, a photographer for National Geographic. He was speaking of getting involved with the subjects in your photos. That good pictures are made for you, not for some agenda. They capture connections and emotions and that's extremely hard to capture from a distance. He said that you have to care about the story. You don't have to necessarily like or dislike the story, but you cannot be indifferent. I love the thought of capturing moments and experiences that move me, not just the scene.

I wanted to be sure I remembered that moment I had sitting in the dark classroom watching a short video about the experiences of a man I'd never even heard of before that class. These are the notes I wrote in that dark classroom:

I am inspired.
Influenced.
I feel full and excited. Consumed.
I don't want to do anything else.

That last one is a big one for me. My whole life I've never known what I wanted to be. I've always known I have this creative streak, but I've only dabbled in different things. I have stumbled across this strong pull to photography and I am energized to explore it. It really brings together my other interests; travel, learning, people, challenge, creation, art, design, expression.

I cannot wait for my field trips this Sunday. This is exciting!

School is in Session!

My photography classes start tonight! I cannot express how excited I am to finally be studying photography. Officially. It will mean busy weeks and late nights, but folks, it will be worth it! I just know it.

Wish me luck and brace yourself for more of my photos than you could ever care to see!

Oh, and don't worry, I will remember you few followers when I become famous. Perhaps a special mention in my first coffee table book? Yes? I thought you might like that...

Make a Wish

Whistler

I've been a bit of a slacker getting some of these photos edited and online. Here are a few! (click the photo to view the album)