Playing with Light

After some pouty lips and a few seconds of puppy-dog eyes, I was able to convince Eric to let me practice using remote flashes while he and his pal Todd played some ball. I had a blast trying to work the settings, as using remote flashes is new to me. I am going to invest in PocketWizards as soon as my next paycheck rolls in though! I have been reading up on the Strobist blog lately and I'm really excited to start using flash the way it should be! Enjoy these photos.... Just as I was getting my settings correct, the management came into the gym and said we had to stop using flash because it was "blinding" those who were working out on the floor above. - Photographers never get the respect they deserve. There are always obstacles.

The Roots of America and myself.

The Washington and Jefferson memorials.

This past week I traveled to Washington DC on a whim. My good friends Amie and Albert are spending a few weeks there while Albert is training for his new job and then they will move on to Germany for a year and a half.
I jumped on this opportunity to visit the Nation's capitol and spend some time with my close friends before they continue their adventure overseas.
DC was an amazing place, though I struggled with my photography. The buildings are so gorgeous and stunning, I felt that photographs could hardly do them justice, and even when I thought I could take a worthy photo hundreds of tourists stood in my photographs. So though my photos are limited, I only took photos that were worth taking.
Tourist destinations are so corny to me. Mt. Vernon was gorgeous, but set up for photos. Since my training in photography is all about catching moments I have a difficult time pushing my shutter button when a moment is laid out for you. And in the majority of the situations, my photo would be hard to tell apart from the millions of other photos taken of that same room. That is not my job.
I am a photographer. My passion is to show you everyday life in a way you never thought possible. So though I may get crazy looks from the point-and-shoot tourists for lying on the sidewalk hopefully my photos are better than any normal tourist shot.

Photo courtesy of I Am Alive Photos.


The Iwo Jima memorial. The most disturbing thing about this memorial is that every new war is inscribed onto the base of the sculpture. And it is a very large base with only two lines taken up. only two.


One of the thousands of graves at the Arlington Cemetery.

The Pacific Theater at the World War II memorial. This photo was taken in memory of my grandfather, the thousands of other grandfathers and those who never became grandfathers during WWII.

Alyssa

Had another shoot this afternoon with one cool chick! Alyssa is so much fun to work with, she is totally comfortable in front of the camera. I only had to ask her to pose a certain way a few times. I have an array of gorgeous photos that are well on their way to being produced, but here are just a few to get an idea....

Thanks Alyssa for the fun shoot! Ghettos are totally awesome to shoot in!

16 week count down

This is it. The most important day of the year. No, not your birthday. Not your anniversary. Not even Christmas. It is the first Sunday of the National Football League. A full 12 hours of nothing but guys giving their all to tally up higher numbers than the team they are fighting. This day has been counted down ever since the last second of play during Superbowl in early February.
This day marks something for me to.
As that last second ticked down to :00 I had a pulse of energy surge through my body. The excitement of a full five months of Sundays, free to do whatever I wanted with my boyfriend was almost too impossible to imagine. And of course it was. The yearning to see a football game began directly after March Madness, the football magazine reading began at the beginning of July, and the long awaited fantasy football draft finally arrived mid-August.
Since then, it has been nothing than good ol' fashion football drama. Which players are making a scene, which teams are going to suck, and what coach will be fired first?

I love my boyfriend. I support him and all his interests. But as I emerged from my morning shower and heard the excited mumble of several voices sliding under my bedroom door, I began my own countdown clock again. For most, its is the beginning of a great season full of wings, burgers and dogs. For me, it is one day closer to having a full time boyfriend again. One week down, 15 to go.

Katy and Kelly

Katy and Kelly were so much fun to work with together. Of course being sisters they worked together naturally well. I love their photos together! They are both beautiful girls and were so easy to shoot with.

Kelly

Kelly was so sweet during our shoot. She balanced on rocks, logs and went for a stroll in a very chilly creek! She is so beautiful in her photos, I am so glad that I was the one who got to photograph her! Enjoy!

Katy

Katy was a sport during our shoot! She was great and we had a blast working up around the Pine area. Katy definitely got a kick out of our river shoot, while I stood up to my knees in the river to get her feet dangling in! Katy has great eyes! They are so beautiful and go great with her wonderful smile! Thanks for the great time Katy!