monday morning ...

This morning i somehow managed to pull a 4 miles run out of my ass ... & it hurt, but sometimes the hurt is good & sometimes it's what you need to push the body & mind, a wake up call on a Monday morning. This run was me saying it's time to start again, that everything my bodies been through the past month is done with.

I love to run, i love all the old cliches about pounding the pavement, i love the freedom, it's my time. I listen to music & watch the world go by, pushing myself to a new limit & feeling the power that comes with the body working hard. A hard run whether it's 2 miles or 10 miles is that much more satisfying than an easy one, i don't feel like I've achieved if my body doesn't feel like it's worked.

So now as my training starts over i plan on blogging about it, it's definitely not exciting or glamorous but it's part of who i am now & i feel like it's another way of sharing with the outside world & the motivation i have to run is the same motivation i have to achieve my photographic dreams. Maybe for me i need one to push the other!

"Human beings are made up of flesh and blood, and a miracle fiber called courage"

-George Patton

new etsy find ...

So i just wanted to share this shop i've just discovered (& thanks to my wonderful husband) make a couple of purchases from ... her items are stunning & i'm excited to have them in my living room.

Her name is Joom ... her shop is gorgeous ... & with such items in your home (she also makes totes amongst other products) how could you not smile every day!

& you can visit her here on etsy ... Joom

the cost of photography

Recently i was asked by another photographer to write in her blog about the price tags we place on our work. Halyssa Riggins, a fellow photographer on Etsy wanted to show the world (so to speak) through her blog that it's not as simple as taking a photo & printing it on paper, there is a whole host of other "things" (for want of a better word) that need to be taken into account when selling a photograph or taking a portrait. & none of it comes cheap. I wish i could give away my photos but then i couldn't afford to continue taking them. I wish i could just travel & photograph everything i see but how would i pay for this? & it's not just the physical cost of things such as the camera, it's the time it takes to do such things, taking me away from my full time job that needs to be taken into account.

Halyssa wrote a wonderful blog using the words of a number of photographers to hopefully open up the eyes of the viewer to what they are seeing. I've dealt with the assumption & ignorance when it comes to starting a business, it's not as if i just picked up a camera & start charging people "vast amounts of money" for a piece of art (remind me again what the Mona Lisa is worth ...), or a product that will stay with you forever. Maybe we under value the skills that go with being a photographer, or maybe we just don't consider it to be a valued profession but a degree, equipment & time don't come cheap. You pay for what you get in this business & if you're not willing to appreciate all these things then you can do it yourself.

Maybe what i want to say is next time you're browsing through Etsy, or looking to have your portrait taken i hope you take into account all of the above, the words of the wonderful photographers on Halyssa's blog & the fact that we work our butts off striving to give you perfect product ... & it's not like that perfect moment in time is going to appear again tomorrow.

another me blogging about you blogging about me ... i could so get used to this!

& now i get another chance to blog about my photo being included in someone elses blog, that of Cat Ludwig ... she took 2 of my favourite things as well, photography & animals & included photos taken by various members of the POE (Photographers of Etsy) team to include in her blog. She chose this photo of my munchkin head kittie as one of her images. Having another artist choose one of my images is something that never stops blowing my mind or making me feel special. Thank you chica. You can view the blog at http://catludwigstudio.blogspot.com/ & her stunning images in her Etsy store.

inspired by another artist

I have talked a lot about inspiration within my blog, & belonging to a group on etsy known as "inspiration ave" it's natural to gain ideas from those around me. Well one of the most "inspiring" photographers for me on Etsy is Tali Schiffer who's photographs are stunning in every way. Recently she shot this gorgeous image of an umbrella, turning something completely normal into a work of art.

This past weekend when visiting the town of Bernkastel Kues in Germany, i used her umbrella idea for my inspiration & came away with my own version. This shows how we are all influenced by those around us, whether it be Ansel Adams or the kid next door, & how differently we all view the world, that two photographers can take the same subject matter & walk away with 2 completely different images.

flower porn

Mr. Stuart:

The parts of a flower are so constructive that very, very often the wind will cause pollination.

If not, then a bee or any other nectar gathering creature can create the same situation.

Yes, anything that gets the pollen to the pistils, write it on the list.

I'll try to make it crystal-clear:

The flower's insatiable passion turns its life into a circus of debauchery!

Mr. Stuart: Now you see just how the stamen gets its lusty dust onto the stigma.

And why this frenzied chlorophyllous orgy starts in spring is no enigma!

We call this quest for satisfaction a what, class?

Sorority girls: A photo-periodic reaction!

Mr. Stuart: Oh, that's good, that's very good.

Hey, I'm lost where are we? Chapter 2, page 5...

Reproduction, reproduction!

Put your pollen tube to work.

Reproduction, reproduction!

Make my stamen go berserk.

Reproduction!

I don't think they even know what a pistil is!

I got your pistil right here...

Where does the pollen go?

Mr. Stuart: Next chapter, In an abstract way, the same thing applies

To the reproductive organs of the more complex life forms.

But now we are dealing with sexual response.

Are there any questions before we begin reading?

Is it possible the female member of some sex on a couch

Could like get this guy all hot and she never even knew it?

When a warm-blooded mammal in a tight little sweater

Starts pullin' that stuff, is she sayin' that she wants to do it?

Johnny: Can't prove it by me, cause they change their tune

When you got 'em in the back seat.

With his heart beatin' fast! Sorority girls: They make it sound like a track meet, gross!

Yeah, then all they can do is say "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

Reproduction, reproduction!

Baby, give it to me now.

Reproduction, reproduction!

Is that all you think about?

Reproduction!

Come on baby show me that you really love me so!

Ohhh, I think I'm gonna throw up!

Where does the pollen go?

Mr. Stuart:

The human is the only being capable of consciously controlling its number of offspring.

Any comments on this?

Paulette: Mr. Stuart, is it true that guys like you, you know, mature and all,

Carry some protection with them for sexual occasions?

Johnny: What's the big deal? Can't a girl just do that thing in a book

Where she adds up the days of her, uh, what do you call it, mentalstration?

Oh, that's really neat! Yeah, and what'll the guy say when the numbers don't add up right, huh?

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Reproduction, reproduction!

Hope he's proud of what he's done.

Reproduction, reproduction!

He was only bookin fun.

Reproduction!

See what happens when a boy and girl

Don't know how to play it safe?

Reproduction, reproduction!

Reproduction, reproduction!

Reproduction, reproduction!

Reproduction!

Where does the pollen go?

me blogging about you blogging about me

So i finally managed to enter the "photo of the week" "competition" a fellow POE member, Jessica Rogers has on her blog, which in itself was a miracle (possible i was trying to enter for the previous week & missed the deadline). Anyways i was delighted when my image was included with such other fantastic images on her blog.

The photo was one of those i shot as part of the shoot with Monique & James, in Landstuhl & is my favourite of the two. Taken in a setting that suits their personalities, urban, contemporary & fun it shows James looking at the camera smiling whilst Monqiue has her head thrown back laughing. I love how it is them, as individuals & them as a couple. Plus the angle is interesting.