I am FINALLY doing my “new year’s” post, though we are now well into the month of January.  2009 was a year that I won’t forget… for so many people I love, there was a mix of joys and sorrows, blessings and hardships.  As I watched the slideshow that I put together from the year, I cried.  Thankful to be able to do something I really love and be able to freeze pieces of time that are so precious.  But also knowing many of the stories of those I photograph… some of them experienced the greatest joys of their lives this year and some of them the greatest sorrows.  Life is a journey.

There’s a certain phrase that has been on my heart as of late.  I am convinced that when we are blessed, it is not solely for our benefit… it’s so that we can be a blessing to someone else.  So the phrase I want to live out in 2010 is “Choose to be a Blessing.”  The new year is always a reminder to me of ways I would like to grow, improve, be challenged.  But to simplify all of my resolutions, it really comes down to wanting to live beyond myself.  I think we are essentially selfish creatures, but think about how different life would be if we were thinking of others more than ourselves and our actions showed it!  Honestly, that’s a big challenge, but one truly worth pursuing in my opinion.  I know there will be days that I totally fail at this, but that’s the beauty of the sun setting and rising… a new day is a new chance.

The song that is playing with the slideshow is called “Keep You Safe” by JJ Heller.  I am totally in love with her music!  I was editing a newborn session when I first heard this song play and I had tears running down my cheeks!  The words embrace the heart of a parent’s love for their child.  I have officially obtained permission to also use this song on my website for Bellies/Babies/Children, so I am so excited about that!  You might also recognize her hit song “Your Hands.”  It too hits the heart strings!  You can hear this song set with some stunning photos over on You Tube.  Then skip on over to iTunes and buy it!  :)

Ok, I’m going to stop writing for a sec so you can see the slideshow and hear the beautiful vocals of Ms. JJ Heller.  Then finish reading after the show cuz I have some more good stuff to share!!  It takes a couple seconds to load, so be patient!  If you are having trouble viewing it below, you can also see it here.  Enjoy!

And I can’t end my New Year’s post without listing a few favs from the year past.  And since I can barely remember 10 minutes ago, much less 10 months ago, most of these favs are recent finds!

My sister Lori is an avid reader and has an awesome site where she reviews many of the books she reads.   Many of the books that are now on my list of forever favs came from her recommendation, so if there someone’s opinion I trust when it comes to literature, it’s hers!  I received “Just Between You and Me” by Jenny B. Jones at Christmas and ate it up … witty and heart warming!  I laughed out loud a lot with this one!

Really digging Over the Rhine… especially their songs “Born” and “Fireflies” and “Drunkard’s Prayer”

Love me a little vintage, so thanks to my sister Jeni, I’ve been doing some shoppin’ at Not Too Shabby.  Shay is way over due for a big girl bed and recently found that + some great new photography props for my upcoming newborns at this oh so fabulous shop!

And even though I have a mile long list of photographer’s I love, there’s just something magical and whimsical in the way that Barb Uil of Jinky Art captures childhood in her photos!  And she has the coolest promo video that you can see when you visit her site!

I have visuals below for the last two favs I have to share for the moment… I’m not sure what types of flowers these are (chime in the comments if you know their name please!!), but they are sitting in my kitchen and by my bathroom sink making me feel all warm and fuzzy every time I pass by them.

And finally, my girly girl is very into wearing mommy’s shoes right now… I guess this fav is more of a “fav memory” that I hope doesn’t slip away too fast.  I love seeing her little feet in my shoes that are much too big for her

Hope this new year is off to a great start for everyone!  If you have a second, leave me a comment so I can say hi back!  Google analytics is telling me a few more peeps than just my mom and sisters are coming around here and I love making new friends.  Also, I’ll be getting a Photography Tips post up soon.  Disclaimer:  not an expert here, just enjoy sharing what I’ve learned in my own photographic journey!  Oh yeah, and just a reminder if you would like to receive my newsletter (that I’m hoping to get better at sending out!) you can sign up for it at the top of my site page under “Newsletter.”

Joyfully, Erin

Warning:  this is going to be long!

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to hang out with some amazing people with amazing hearts… oh, and we all happen to be photographers  It was so cool to talk about what makes us love photography, and it happens that most of us just really love people and capturing something special about them and the connections they have with their loved ones.  A big thanks to the amazing Stuart Thurlkill at Eyes to See Photography for opening up his super cool studio for us to meet at and leading us in our mock bride/groom shoot!  Also to our beautiful models, Roseann & Justin… you two were fantastic, even with a paparazzi worth of cameras clicking away at you!  I’m posting my camera settings (metadata) because I think it helps to get that little bit of information about an image.  I know I have learned heaps from photographers that have done the same!  These were all shot on a Canon 5D Mark II camera body… the thing I am loving most about this camera is the clean shots that result even at high ISO!

I’m posting this one first because I really love it… of course there were other names scratched into that heart on the wall, but photoshop made it easy to put the appropriate names in place!

Lens:  70-200 at 78 mm, f/ 4.0, ISO 800, 1/500

I love this lens because it allowed me to stand back and zoom in through the other photographers to get this shot.  I also love the soft bokeh you still get even at f/4!

Our beautiful model Roseann has the sweetest smile & still looks stunning in her wedding dress!  Roseann’s hair and makeup done by the talented Julie Read of Juju’s Tutu’s!!

Lens:  70-200 at 170 mm, f/ 2.8, ISO 1000, 1/1250

Lens: 50 1.4 , f/ 1.8, ISO 400, 1/4000

We used a reflector for many of these backlit shots!

Lens:  70-200 at 70 mm, f/ 2.8, ISO 800, 1/800

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 1.8, ISO 400, 1/4000

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 1.8, ISO 400, 1/1250

Lens:  70-200 at 160 mm, f/ 2.8, ISO 800, 1/800

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 1.8, ISO 400, 1/1250

I snagged this images from Tara’s blog of our group… Tara did a great post introducing everyone here

And here’s one of everyone in action!

The next day we did a shoot with a newborn and an expecting couple.  The newborn session was at my in-home studio and our little model was 8 day old baby Logan!  He even gave us a smile… several of them in fact

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 1.8, ISO 400, 1/250

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 1.8, ISO 400, 1/250

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 1.8, ISO 400, 1/250

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 1.8, ISO 400, 1/250

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 2.0, ISO 400, 1/500

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 1.8, ISO 400, 1/200

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 2.2, ISO 100, 1/200 with strobe + natural backlight

Thanks Joanna for being so wonderful and letting us photograph your little guy!

And finally our expecting models… Briana & Daniel!  This was so special for me because Briana was one of my girls the first year I lead a group of freshmen girls at my church youth group!  Now she’s going to be a momma and is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside!

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 3.5, ISO 640, 1/100

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 2.0, ISO 500, 1/160

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 2.0, ISO 500, 1/160

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 2.0, ISO 500, 1/100

This just shows what great shape Briana is in!  I was impressed!

Lens:  70-200 at 78 mm, f/ 2.8, ISO 800, 1/400

Lens:  70-200 at 70mm, f/ 2.8, ISO 800, 1/640

Lens:  50 1.4, f/ 1.8, ISO 500, 1/200

Doni has officially gotten me hooked on using strobe in the great outdoors!  I love the look it gives (used strobe on next two images)

Lens:  70-200 at 70 mm, f/ 11.0, ISO 500, 1/200 with strobe

Lens:  70-200 at 85 mm, f/ 11.0, ISO 500, 1/200 with strobe

Well, that’s it for now!  I was so honored to get to spend time with such cool people and get to laugh and learn from one another!  And a big thanks to Tara for dreaming this up and bringing it to life!

I have been wanting to do this post for a while, so I’m so excited to finally be sitting to do it!!

When I first began my journey as a photographer, I felt like there was SO MUCH I needed to learn and didn’t know where to learn half of it!  I’m sure many of you that are photographers either by trade or hobby can relate  It’s been about 5 years since I began and I’m still always learning and growing.  There are so many wonderful aspects of photography… the creative outlet, always meeting awesome people, getting to be a part of capturing precious moments that are gone all too quickly… but frozen in a photo.

I have been inspired by a HUGE list of talented photographers… my google reader keeps me up on the eye candy they post on their blogs  I have gotten to meet and build wonderful friendships with a lot of these photographers as well.. and they continue to inspire and teach me!  The photography world has been a huge blessing in my own little world!

Last April, I headed to Utah to attend a workshop from one of my FAVORITE photographers… the extremely talented Nichole Van!  My sweet friend and fellow photographer, Janelle Zeller attended with me and we left completely blown away and excited!  Nichole is my inspiration in the world of “photo art”.  Any great photograph begins with fantastic composition, light, and camera technicals, BUT doing a little magic in editing can turn a photo into a piece of art.  One of my favorite touches to add to a photo is texture.  Almost all of my textures come from Nichole (you can purchase them here).  Here’s a recent photo of my girlie with a little texturing:

Here’s the same image before the texture was applied:

While at the workshop, we discussed and practiced so many aspects of photography.  We practiced a little off camera lighting as well… when you get it right, the results are really cool!  We were at the campus of the University of Utah and this sweet girl was our model.  The first image is edited, but no texture applied:

And here’s the image with a little texture love:

Here’s another image from the workshop that I spent a considerable amount of time editing.  Mostly adjusting colors, brightening some areas, darkening others, and a little texture… but in the end, you have more than just a photo.  And we had the most beautiful little models!

I am hoping to continue to do more posts like this… sharing great tools that make images more amazing!  I do not claim to know it all… like I said earlier, I consider myself always a student of my craft first.  Though along the way, I have learned so much from those that have freely shared their knowledge and the wisdom that time and practice brings.  I would love to give back in the same way.

So, if you have a particular question that you would like me to *try* to answer in a future post, please leave me a comment or drop me an email.  I try to answer individual emails that come in as I can, but why not post the Q&As here for all to see.  Professionals and hobbyist alike are welcome!  I know many mamas that use their love of photography to simply capture the everyday things of their children’s lives.  My children are a major inspiration in my own photography as well!  So don’t be shy!  I would love to hear from you!

With Joy, Erin