Quality Time

I have been spending a lot of quality time with my computer in the last few days. Today I spent more than 7 hours with it. I think with that much time that I should give it a nickname. Hmm... I will have to think more about that. If you have any suggestions, I will take them.

The last few days I have been preparing for a beginning photography class that I am going to teach on Sunday. It should be fun and educational for me as well. I would love to teach more classes and this will help me refine my topics and content. And I am sure that this means more quality time for me and my computer.

Old Family Photos

I am spending this week with my grandma. When I arrived yesterday she told me of her project to put together a family cookbook with old family photos in it. It took me about 4 hours on Monday to get her scanner to work and then I only scanned in about 10 before it decided not to work again.

I tried again today and was much more successful. I told Grandma that the grandkids would appreciate the really old photos more than the ones of us when we were grade school. Then things got fun. She started digging out tubs of old photos. She could tell me some of the people in the photos but if she didn't know someone she would just tell me to throw it away. After nearly 5 months of photography school everything in my body screamed, "NOOOOO." I told her I would take anything she didn't want, but we weren't throwing anything away. We even came across negatives that are at least 70 years old. I began dreaming of the photo montages and art I could make with all of these treasures.

My aunt Sandy came later in the afternoon and more old photos came out, and family history papers and old ledgers. She sat on the floor and sifted through things and I scanned and asked questions. She assured me that we weren't throwing anything away as she tried to piece together some family names and photos. It was a fun treasure hunt through our family history. And I managed to scan in 40 images for the cookbook.

I wish I had a really good scanner so that I could have some of these images to work on. Maybe Grandma will let me take a few with me to scan in and work with...

Top photo: Maxine, Robert, Grandad Jim and Larry in 1938

2nd photo: Joy and Cleo

3rd photo: Grandad Jim and Grandam Joy's wedding photo

4th Photo: Grandpa Jim

5th photo: Freddie and Grandma Cherryholmes (I think he looks like my nephew Joe here)

Seeing Old Friends

After the chilly photo shoot, Lorrie and I drove to Kansas City for the night. We met up with another college roommate, Jenia, and college friend, Carrie. Carrie also spent 2 years in Japan just after college with me. These are a few shots of Carrie's family (her husband is Jeremy, Sophia and little Sampras)

Jenia and Carrie left their kids with their husbands for the evening and the four of us had lots of fun catching up on life and hearing about other friends from college. It was truly a girls night with pasta and lots of visiting and laughing.

On Sunday Lorrie and I met her parents for lunch. Then we combed a very large bookstore for nearly an hour before heading home.

I love having friends that I haven't seen in more than 10 years (Jenia) that you can sit down with and feel that only a few months have gone by. What a blessing to see you girls! Thanks for spending the evening with me.

The Clan

Saturday I drove north to meet up with my college roommate, Lorrie and her family. It was so fun to see them again and to try to capture a bit of their wonderful personalities. The wind made it very cold, but they were great about being outside for family photos.

Brain Candy

I don't remember where I heard the term, but I have adopted it. It is the perfect description of a type of book that I enjoy. Brain Candy, no nutritional value, purely enjoyment and pleasure. I don't have to write a paper on it. I don't have to learn a skill from it. It is just something that entertains my mind and allows me to disconnect from the real world for a little while.

Books

My friend Kim has written several times about her affinity for books. Although I don't think my addiction is quite at her level, it may be close.

I love books. I love being around them. Going to a book store to just wander around and browse is a terrific way to spend time. But a really good book, now that I love. If I stumble across an exceptional story I can devour it in less than a day (depending on the length). There have been many nights that my eyes are so tired that they are watering, but I only had one more chapter to finish.

A really good book satisfies my mind, heart and soul. If I spend money on a book and it turns out to be mediocre then I am disappointed and a bit dissatisfied. But if I spend money on a terrible book, I feel betrayed and cheated. I feel like a book is like a meal.

A really good book is like an amazing meal that lingers as a beautiful memory. A mediocre books is like going to a fast food restaurant, unsatisfying and predictable. And a terrible book is like going to a restaurant and leaving angry that you just spent money on horrible service and food.

This weekend I bought a book. I don't think it will last me the week, but I am enjoying it.

November 7th

Happy Birthday to Shane. What a great big brother you are!

Happy Birthday to Keiko. I can't wait to see you again one day!

And Happy Birthday to Alli of my Montana family.

Hope you all had a wonderful day!

6th Picture Tagging

My friend Sarah of the Adventures of the Hashbrowns tagged me a few weeks ago. I am a little embarrassed to say that I forgot about it until just this morning when I was getting caught up on my blog reading. So this is for you, my friend.

For all the randomness... this is my 6th picture in my 6th folder on my internal hard drive. This was from the Missoula farmer's market this summer. They were just so colorful, I had to pull my camera out.

On my external hard drive...
Yes, I actually filled one 250G internal hard drive this summer with only images and had to move to storing some photos on an external hard drive. This photo was taken as part of a class exercise on custom white balance in the first few weeks of the summer.

I am tagging Kim I., Amy T., Joani C. and Amanda M. What is your 6th Picture?

NaBloPoMo

The month of November has been chosen for the auspicious designation of National Blog Posting Month. Last year my friend Kim challenged me to post every day with her for the month. This year I am traveling so I am not sure what my internet connection will be along the way. So I am doing my own version of NaBloPoMo. My plan is to write a blog every day and post them when I have internet access.

I feel pretty good about the fact that I posted at least once a week the entire summer. But it does get a bit more challenging to blog everyday. Hope you enjoy the month of posts.

Senior Photo Shoot

Yep, I really do like taking senior photos. I know that they can be cliché and over done. But I like teenagers and taking pictures of them. Monday I took Natalie's senior photos and we had so much fun. She was so sweet and beautiful. Her buddy came along and stepped in as my assistant. She was a huge help. The very strong Kansas wind, however, was no help. It did help for this 'fan hair' shot, but mostly it was working against us.

I can't wait to see what Natalie thinks of her images.

A Project

I started a new project this weekend. To read about it and see some new images, go to my photography blog. carrielambingphotographic.blogspot.com

Babies

This week was full and fun. Thursday Missy and I had a fun opportunity to take pictures of Matt and Mel's 2 1/2 month old twins. They were so sweet. Here are a few favorites.

Hanging with the Kiddos

I started snapping pictures of the kids this week. I knew it was time to get my camera out and have fun with it. The kids like to have their picture taken and then look at it so they will pose... well, for a brief pause in movement... just long enough for a shot and then they must see results.






Halloween added a lot of fun with the kids. One evening we carved pumpkins... well, Misty and Peter carved the pumpkins and the kids watched. But they picked out the design and proudly claimed their own. They were all about dressing up in their costumes and going to dad's work for trick or treating in cubical world.

We went to the park for lunch one day. Sadie came with us and also paused briefly for this shot. The kids and the dog love the park. One more beautiful fall day to enjoy.

Working

This weekend my photography friend, Missy and I were able to take pictures of three families.

Last year I took pictures of little Elliott once a month for my good friends, Janelle and Tyson. Yesterday they were my first paying customers for a family session. Then we took pictures of Missy's friends, the Howells. And today we tackled Misty and Peter's family. Tackle was the key word here. We had fun, but the second picture was how things ended. There is definitely a 'magic 20 minute' window of opportunity with kids.

Back in Boise

Yesterday I had a relatively uneventful drive from Missoula to Boise. I wondered how it would go when I dumped coffee on my lap as I was pulling onto the highway in Missoula. But despite the coffee smell, I drove through rain, snow and sunshine with very little traffic or delay. I was at Misty and Peter's by 6 and had dinner with the family. It was almost surreal to be back to 'normal' life where everything was much the same, except that the twins can communicate in complete sentences. The first thing out of Joe's mouth when I stooped down to hug him was "Why is there a bicycle on your car, Aunt Carrie?" But we are having fun!

Tomorrow I get to have coffee with Missy, a friend from photography school. Then lunch with my friends at Young Life. Talk about worlds colliding.

It is finished...

The end finally came. We tried to drag out heals and make it slow down, but time wouldn't stop. A classmate's Facebook today asked a question that my fellow students wish we could do... can we stop and rewind the summer and start over?

The bittersweetness of endings... final projects, presentations, portfolio reviews, being with friends because we know that this moment will never happen again. It makes it special that way, but a little sad. Our graduation was fun, but goodbyes started immediately afterward. Last night every student that was still in town hung out until late. There were waves of goodbye hugs and best wishes all around.

When I stop and think about all that I have learned in the last 4 1/2 months, it is impressive. I am looking forward to using and sharing all of that knowledge. And learning more, of course.

One of my favorite things about this summer is the amazing people that I got to spend time with... incredibly talented and diverse group of people that became a photography family. It will be fun to keep up with them and see how they grow. And they live all over the world so I will always have a place to stay when I hit the road on another adventure.

Tomorrow I host one last get together for a few students that haven't left town yet. Monday I have some errands to do and pack. Then Tuesday morning I will pack up all my stuff and take my gypsie-self back to Boise. Misty tells me that her kids are anxiously awaiting my arrival... and I am pretty excited to be in my auntie role again. Then most of November I will be in Kansas. So if you are in the Kansas area, I would love to see you! You may just be hearing from me in the next week or so.

Thanks for following my journey this summer. It has been quite a ride. I wonder where the next turn in the road will take me...

Montana Friends and Family

I was able to take pictures of my Montana friends and family this weekend.

This is the Jones family. They were quick to adopt me and take me on a lot of my adventures this summer. I know that my summer wouldn't have been nearly as fun if it hadn't been for their generosity.

Cora (on the right)was my roomie for the summer. Lucas (center) took me with him on some Glacier Ntn'l Park adventures this summer. Alli, on the left and Pat and Greg took me boating, and to a great cabin and fed me more than once.

And this is Lee and Marnie (originally from SD so they feel like they could be long lost family), good friends of the Jones clan. They also fed me and played cards with us this summer. This weekend they let me come out to their house and take portraits of them.

Thanks for making this summer so much fun!

Advanced Intensive Week 5

One week to go. Next week will mostly be presenting final projects and then graduation on Friday. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the final projects, which is a very nice feeling. It is really hard to believe that this journey is coming to an end. In many ways it is bitter sweet. I am sad to be leaving my friends and this photographic bubble that I have been living in. But I am also excited to get out and do everything that we have been learning.

Other notes:
Dad had back surgery on Thursday to remove a tumor in his back. He is doing really well. You can read Mom's update on their blog.

I was excited to see this version of the Blog List (to the right) on the Bacon Bits blog this week and couldn't wait to update mine so that I could have the date of the last post. Now I didn't have to go to the blog to see that they hadn't posted anything new.

I was required to start a photography blog for my business and marketing class final. This one is supposed to be focused on relevant photography information. Here is my new blog carrielambingphotographic.blogspot.com

I have a logo! A classmate from this summer, from Finland, is a designer and worked with me over the last few weeks via the internet to create this logo.
I included this photo because a couple of you have been asking to see some photoshop-ing. This is the way the image was printed for my final... after photoshop-ing. Last week's version was straight out of camera. It may be a bit subtle for you to see online. But when retouching photos the goal is that people won't know that you did anything to it.

Advanced Intensive Week 4

Week 4... really?! That means I only have two weeks left in Montana. Wow, where did that summer go? This week was about large format printers, digital compositing and more work on the portfolio.

Tonight I went out with my friends Missy and Joe to take "engagement photos". The irony is that they have been dating since 8th grade and married for 9 years. But we still had a ton of fun. One of the best things about this friendship is that they live in Boise! So Missy and I are already making plans to do some portrait shooting together this winter.

Advanced Intensive Week 3

I don't even think I can remember all that I learned last week. But it was more computer editing, web site design, and marketing... I think.

Then on Saturday I went with Hannah, in white, and Andrea to Butte for an overnight adventure. We stopped in Deer Lodge at the old Montana State Prison and took lots of amazing photos. Then stayed in Butte at the Hotel Finlin. It is a very unique hotel with old style furnishing. We had a blast photographing Butte at night and a little the next morning. We had to stop back at the prison on the way home for a few more shots.

I found the trip very therapeutic as I was just shooting for me with no pressure. Here are a few shots that I really like.