November 26, 2006

A Beautiful Thanksgiving...












Once again we were blessed to have a beautiful Thanksgiving meal together as a family, compliments of my sister. She always manages to make the best food, and plenty of it, and does it with lots of love (her secret ingredient). The table was gorgeous, as usual, and although I can't prove it, it seems that she never uses the same dishes twice!












I'm so thankful to have my family. With all the hustle and bustle in my life, I don't get to see them as much as I'd like, but I'm working on that. My sister said if we'd drive up once a month she'd be more than happy to make a nice meal for us so we can all spend more time together. I'm going to try and make it at least every other month (it's quite a drive).












My mother has always been worried about my being a workaholic, and she said something very wise to me a long time ago; "Don't find yourself an old woman one day with no fond memories." Ever since she said that to me I've tried to take the time to live my life more fully. I keep the quote "Memento Vivere" [Remember to Live] as a reminder not to be so busy that I forget to live and make happy memories.












I'm also very thankful my friends; old friends, new friends, and future friends. It's nice to get those holiday greeting emails and phone calls from well wishers. Just the fact that they are thinking of you and care enough to take a moment to wish you well is something I never take for granted. I've always loved to make friends and share in people's lives.












My mom is spending the week with me. It's really hard to let her go home again once the visit comes to an end. I always feel like I'm a kid again when my mom's around me. I was lucky enough to have the perfect childhood and wouldn't change a single thing about it. I think this is the greatest gift my mom has ever given me.












Yes, I am blessed to have so much to be thankful for...

November 18, 2006

I'm Joining the [blog] Party...


Welcome to my blog!

I'm an "emerging professional" (don't you love that term??) photographer on the road to "full emergence," and invite you to join me on this adventure of mine. I'll be posting some of my photos, my thoughts on different subjects, interesting quotes, notable people, places and things I come across, and anything else I feel like sharing with you.

A little about me...

I've been studying Photography and Photoshop for a few years now, and just attended the Photoshop Power Tour in L.A. (which was AWESOME). I have to admit I'm somewhat [totally] addicted to taking classes; in part due to the great information I get, the fully equipped labs at my beck and call, and also because I just love the people I meet. I've gotten to know some of the coolest people at school, and while I keep in touch with some of them "on the outside," there are others I only see on campus. Hence, my "addiction" to school. That said, however, I'm opting for an online class this semester to brush up my HTML skills, and to free up more time for shooting and working on series development.

Fate and good fortune have allowed me to learn so much from some amazing artists, and I've been fortunate enough to assist some of the best photographers in the business. In addition to my own photography and assisting, I'm currently working part-time for a high-end wedding photographer, whose talent is unbelievable!

Canon is my weapon of choice ;-) I use Canon F1 and A1 for my film photography, Canon 20D for my digital photography, and a Holga camera for my fine art photography. I process my own images, and enjoy the creativity, control and uniqueness of both wet and digital darkrooms.

My other photographic interests are hand-coloring, digital hand-coloring, restoration and digital art, and I am currently exploring infrared photography.

I hope you enjoy my blog, and welcome to my journey...


Barbara

Memento Vivere