Inspired by Now

Published: Sat, May 12, 2018

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Categories: Blog

It was in early 2014, when I first watched and then purchased my first CreativeLive.com class online. I do not remember how I discovered them, but I couldn’t be happier that I did. If you are a photographer who is looking for a high quality educational place, stop searching. You’ve just found it.

How do they work?
You do not need to become a paid member to be able to learn there. Every day they show either a brand new live course (9am to 4pm PDT), or they rebroadcast an older one. If you just want to sit down and watch it, do so and enjoy it. If the class happens to be one that you might want to re-watch, possibly follow and learn steps from which would have been too difficult to do during the live class, then you have the option of purchasing the class. You can then watch the class online, or even download it to your computer or iPad. I feel very lucky that I was able to become a member of the CreativeLive.com “tribe”.

What have been my top classes?

Fine Art Photography and Fine Art Compositing by Brooke Shaden
Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide by Brooke Shaden
Searching for the Creative Spark by Julieanne Kost and Chris Orwig
Nikon D750 Fast Start by John Greengo (he has a class for every camera)
Children’s Posing Guide by Tamara Lackey
Posing 101: Couples, Weddings and Families by Lindsey Adler
Capturing Authentic Portraits by Chris Orwig
Discovering Your Creative Voice by Chris Orwig
The Art of Flower Photography by Kathleen Klemons
Creating Painterly Photographs by Kathleen Klemons
Adobe Photoshop Mastery: Color & Tone by Ben Wilmore
Harnessing the Powerful New Tools in Lightroom by Jared Platt

My favorite presenters are all listed by the above classes, but I’ll repeat their names:
Brooke Shaden, Chris Orwig, Tamara Lackey, Lindsey Adler, Kathleen Klemons, Jared Platt, Ben Wilmore, and also Blake Rudis.

If you are looking for an online learning place to improve your photography (or business, crafts, etc.) skills, I’d like to recommend that you try CreativeLive.com out. If you order your first class using this link, then you (and I) will receive $15 off of a class. Give them a shot! Or just visit them and watch a free class: www.CreativeLive.com .

Published: Sat, Mar 31, 2018

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Categories: Blog, Flower Photography, Lensbaby, Velvet 56

During my daughter’s Spring Break we visited my in-laws in Colorado. I was very excited about taking pictures of spring flowers; it used to be my long awaited activity after the long winter when we still lived there.
I got a bit disappointed, because there were barely any flowers blooming. What do you do when yo really want to take pictures of spring flowers but they are not in bloom yet? You buy two potted tulips at the store and gift them to you mother-in-law and her neighbor. But first, you take a few pictures of them. 🙂
The following images were all created with a Velvet 56 lens, and post-processed in Photoshop using Topaz and On1 plugins. Enjoy!

Published: Sat, Mar 17, 2018

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Categories: Blog, Flower Photography, Lensbaby, Velvet 56

Flowers are amazing, beautiful, and I adore them. I also love to get close to them with my camera and create images that show how I feel about them.
I have a new “toy” that allows me to do this more than anything else: a Lensbaby Velvet 56 lens. This lens has become my favorite after using it just for a few hours. I’ve always wanted to create dreamy, painterly looking floral images, and this lens helps me do that.
Since it has macro abilities, you can get as close as 5cm to your subject. And at that distance you’ll find all kinds of miracles. You can, for example separate one tiny, budding Geranium bloom from all the others and see it like this:

Published: Tue, Feb 27, 2018

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Categories: Blog, Photo Events, Photography, Photoshop, USA

The End of an Era

In April, May and June of 2013, as well as in June of 2014 I attended a few photographic workshops lead by members of The Legacy Project. During these days the participants were taken back to shut down runways and hangars of the former El Toro Airbase, which were closed to the public.
Why did I attend these workshops? It wasn’t a military background. I very much enjoy taking pictures of architecture, and the older the building it is, the more interesting it becomes to me. Portraying former beauty or function in decaying buildings and places is another favorite photographic topic for me. When I heard about the first workshop and how close to our home it was going to be, I signed up right away. I am very glad I did. This was a very interesting and eerie location to visit and to photograph.

Published: Sat, Feb 10, 2018

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Categories: Blog, Flower Photography, Lensbaby, Photography, Sweet 50 or 35

I’m ready to play! After years and years of chasing tack sharp images, I’m looking forward to trying something else. I am on an adventure to find out what magical things I can create with the Lensbaby lenses.
I first heard about these lenses six-eight years ago from my father-in-law, but at that time I didn’t look into them. Then last Fall I watched two of Kathleen Clemons’ CreativeLive.com classes about flower photography*, and she also mentioned how much she loved these lenses. So here I am, owning and learning my first system – the Composer Pro II with the Sweet 50 optic.