Jenny

Being Dyslexic Can Be a Real Pain in the....

My favorite flattrack photo, on a mug. Why? To replace my husband's Beavis & Butthead coffee mug that I can't stand. I mean, it's not that I mind the cartoon or whatever, it's just so cracked, stained, chipped and generally nasty.

But then AFTER ordering it, I realized something was wrong...

I'm Gellin', are You Gellin'?

I picked up some movie gels to put over my lights, and was playing around with different combinations. Used gel "Blood Red" for background, and "Minus Green" with grid for face. Tried to get that moody, gritty feel to it.

A Must-See

You absolutely HAVE TO watch this in its entirety!

Mistakes can be a Beautiful Thing

I was reading Strobist this morning about how "National Geographic photographer Bill Allard famously said that in photography, interesting failures are more valuable than boring successes." Yes, that is so true.

Take the above shot. I was shooting a radial bike for a magazine when the front lights did not fire, only the backlights did. It created this dramatic silhouette, which was my favorite (and everyone elses') of the day. (Spotlights turned into smoke afterwards in photoshop)

Again, while shooting flat track racing, everyone was equipped with long telephoto lenses and powerful flashes. I had a short lens and no flash. They all got the same ol' frozen-in-action shots and I got dramatically lit ones that have won contests and will be published.

In short, sometimes you have to work with what you got, and be open for error. Experimentation and improvisation can be your best friends.

To see a World in a Grain of Sand

...And a Heaven in a Wild Flower

Yesterday was the last day I had the macro lens, and wanted to do a series of flowers. I always come up with these ideas at the wrong time of year, as the flowers that are available in winter are few. I went down to the Farmer's market-- nothing. The flower shop? Nothing. Walked around the neighborhood-- again, nothing.

I gave up and went back home to tidy up the place before my husband came home. And when he does come home, you know what he does? He brings me a bouquet of flowers, because he knew I liked to take macro shots of flowers. Isn't that the sweetest thing?

In the bunch were these green flowers-- exquisite! They were so fun, so bright, and so perfectly miniature. I wish I knew what they were.

Lunch

I always wanted to try food photography, so here's my first attempt. Problem was, was that I was using real food-- food I was about to eat. Anyone who is into food photography will tell you, the stuff they photograph isn't exactly edible.

Regardless, it was a darn good prosciutto sandwich.