Revisiting the old stuff and welcoming the new.

I have been thinking a lot about what is stunting my growth in photography. Before I was so concerned about doing things in a hurry. Doing things in a hurry leaves too much room for error and will only create more work in the end. So this time around I have learned that it is just better to take it slow. I'm so into figuring things out. The problem is this doesn't happen overnight. Photography has helped me see things in a new way. I am in a place right now that I never thought I would be. But I am grateful that I can welcome the change with open arms. I am now more into the little things because as they say "good things come in small packages. Hence my photo. How many people out there go to the beach and take pictures of the foam on the sand? Most people are pointing their camera towards the horizon because there is some sort of event happening on the water or they are trying to capture the most spectacular sunset they have ever seen. I think now more than ever that I have to continue to develop my own style. Shoot the less ordinary and make it art.

I went to a lecture tonight for my "Photographer and Their Images" class. Stella Kalaw was the presenter and she said a lot of things that really resonated with me. Stella said the only thing that remains certain is that she will continue to do her photography. Everything else is an unknown. That is very true. She also mentioned the fact that she is always paying attention to what other people are doing and to learn from. Read the blogs, get on twitter, watch youtube videos and learn something that you didn't know before. I do that all the time and I am so happy I am not the only photography geek out there.

New Directions

Blueberry muffins fresh out of the oven.

For the past few months I have been poking and prodding my mom to start her own pastry making business. I keep asking her and right now as we speak she said "not yet." Well when then? Next year? At least it is better than what she would say before which was something along the lines of, "why do you keep asking me?" In this down economy you have to seize the moment or you might not have the chance again. Baking is one of her favorite pastimes and of course she does it so well. I remember when I was a little girl she would get me to help in the kitchen. If she wanted to give someone a gift she would bake them something like lemon bars, an upside down cake, or biscottis. Those are very popular. My mom used to work for the postal service and brought her treats to work and sell them very cheap. She was so ahead of her time I tell ya. In fact as I recall people would fight over her pastries. Yup my mom's baking was very sought after. So much so that now she receives requests from people. At least now she charges money those - finally! Hey we have to survive you know.

Today she made blueberry muffins. So picture this: the muffins just came out of the oven and they are hot so that would be the perfect to cut one in half and add a little butter. Yummy! The idea for taking a photo of the muffins came to me after they just came out the even. This was an opportunity to be seized upon and practice using my flash unit, working with the ambient light and practicing how to photograph food. I hated all the photos that I took first and thought, "wow this is a little harder than I thought it was going to be." I was trying to emulate the photos that you see in the cooking magazines and cookbooks. I kept thinking what is the best way to show off these muffins and make the photo look professional? Like they say practice makes perfect. Ironically the shot that I liked the most was the last one I took. Weird...

Things Are Changing

I'd like to start my first post looking back when I first got into photography. I got my first camera from Overstock.com for a mere $110. It was nothing special really it was a cheap little camera from Kodak. Before that I always thought photography wasn't even an art because you can't make art with a machine that does the work for you. Then came the volunteer work at San Francisco Animal Care and Control. I was a shy, quiet person who thought it would be fun to take pictures of the adoptable dogs. At the time it was the volunteer coordinator doing it all by herself. Every Wednesday she would go down to the kennels with a bag of cheese, the camera of course, and a notepad and photograph new dogs that are available. Well I came along and said, "Can I do this?" She was happy and relieved that someone came to help with this task when she had so many other things to do. For a long time it was just me then the picture taking become more of a chore and stopped being fun so I decided to take a break for a while. I always said if it stopped being fun then to stop doing it because there is no sense in doing something like that if I'm not having fun. By then other people were coming along to help with the pictures.

So fast forward to now: I mostly take photos of shelter events. I really like doing that because lots of people see those photos so it is important they are quality photos because these photos that represent the shelter. What I put out is what helps market shelter and that is a wonderful thing. I have to wonder how many times I took a photo of a dog that was later put on the website that someone saw and made that person want to rush down to the shelter to adopt that animal. I remember the volunteer coordinator saying to me, "Alex, when you take photos animals get adopted." Can you imagine what does to a person inside to hear someone say that? That made me feel so good that I was making a difference just by the click of the shutter button.

There is a new photographer at the shelter and she is doing a lot to bring more awareness to the many adoptable animals at the city shelter. In this down economy you need all the resources you can get so I think we've struck gold. Her name is Kimberly Saunders and you can take a look at the beautiful photos she takes at Saunders Fine Arts. I have learned a few things from her is that I don't think I could've learned anywhere else.

In embracing my new role as an event photographer I am now volunteering with a local newspaper, El Tecolote in the Mission District of San Francisco. I am having lots of fun and have learned a lot on how to work a flash unit in a pinch. Very important! It was Kimberly who inspired me to buy an external flash because well a 50mm f/1.8 lens only goes so far in the dark of night and noise just doesn't look all that pretty in the photos. My very first shoot was for a gallery reception for Lou Dematteis. Gosh I never learned so fast how to operate brand new flash unit as when I had to take Lou's portrait. That was a real nail biter for me. But I lived to tell the tale. My next two shoots were of the Day of the Dead installations at SOMArts Gallery. Honestly I didn't really know what to expect but I was to figure it out on my own. I had a blast at their reception and my reward was to see my photos on the front page of the newspaper. Wow that never felt so good. Funny how you fall into things that you never expected to do. I imagine I will be doing that a lot these days...