Organic Photography

I think I may be scraping myself too thin these days. As a writer, a mother, a teacher, a wife, and an artist. I have so many stories in me, but I am uncertain if trying to eek them all out simultaneously, bit by bit on my own and on Kindle Vella, is the right move. The trouble is time and focus. The troubles are time and focus? My brain is tired. That's the rub. It isn't that I don't get enough sleep. In fact, I think I probably get way too much because depression and anxiety often get me down. Getting out of bed is hard sometimes. But even when I manage that, it is a different story to be able to sit down and write.  Plus, I am a fantastic procrastinator. Like, really pro.  How, you say? Let me give you 20 - 40 examples. Should I actually be writing my fiction stories right now? Phsaw. This is important . Method number one - laundry needs to be monitored. Not done, per se, because once I put it in the machine I should be able to walk away and write. In fact, it is kind ...

My second fiction novel is officially released today! It is $0.99 for the rest of the week, so I hope to get it in front of as many people as possible. I also have an interview that you can check out here about the book and my process and whatnot. It was so fun!

I recently came across this piece I wrote a while back for a colleague of mine.  He has written several books and one of them was on Teaching Photography.  He asked me and some other compatriots of mine to write a brief piece about teaching and I wrote this one . That class was an amazing class.  Several of the students in that class have gone on to do amazing things - winning competitions, getting published, starting up their own businesses in San Francisco and New York.  It was truly an inspiration class.  And they're rare. I had one like that last semester, as well, and it was so amazing I am still regularly emailing several of the students about their work, their inspirations, and flat out asking them questions to help me make my classes stronger.  This is why I do what I do.  For them.  And as I start a new semester I am looking forward to having these types of classes again, though I have no idea how or when I will be that lucky.  I...

So, if I were to create a bucket list just for my photography, this would have been on it.  Learn how to make a Tintype and do it .  Throughout my photographic career I have gotten really good at theory and less good at practice.  Yes, that is how I scratched a name for myself - the theory of photographic practices as written in articles and books - and I do actually love the theory, but I love the creation of photography even more.  That is something I have sort of forgotten recently. Once you start teaching and keeping active with writing and raising kids, short cuts start sounding really good.  So, I have been playing around in my digital photographic world, seeing if my Silver Efex Pro can actually make an image reminiscent of my favorite Tri-X film, or trying to fake those exposed negative edges as an image frame. But a couple of important things happened to me in the last year that have brought me back to the thing I love most about photography, and th...

Of my many hats, and believe me, there are many (you should try being my tax guy), one of my favorites is working with c't Digital Photography, a magazine that is a part of the Rocky Nook Family, where my three books have been published.  With c't Digital Photography I work on their social networking.  Basically, I write blogs for their readership.  What I like so much about this, though, is that I get to be more casual about how I approach my language and ideas.  It occurred to me yesterday that one thing I love to do and haven't written about is Compositing.  So I decided to set up a series of blogs discussing compositing through my relationship at c't Digital Photography.  I'm really excited about it!  It's a fun topic, it's something I teach all the time, and I have never written a word about it until now. So I encourage you to check out the compositing series, starting today on the c't Digital Photography blog.   Check back weekly for mor...

Be sure to check out the Nik Photography - Google+ page to see one of my latest articles about a wonderful wildlife photographer named Tin Man Lee.  He is a fantastic photographer and a truly sweet guy.  Click here and then proceed to the May 4th entry about Tin Man.  Just look at that photo!

The ever so friendly John "Nemo" over at Click With Nemo at Pixiq did a lovely interview with me about my newest book "Digital Capture After Dark" that I co-authored with Philipp Scholz Rittermann. You can hear the Podcast here.

It is more difficult than I imagined to try and work from home with a newborn. Not so much because he is difficult, because he isn't. In fact, he's a wonderful baby. But I can't seem to get two minutes together to work on creating a lesson plan or writing or working on my photography because he is so darn cute I want to be around him all the time. But I need to work from home. It is a good portion of our household income as well as what keeps me grounded in my photography and writing. If I don't keep writing, I get rusty. If I get rusty, it will take me more time to write what would otherwise be simple personality profiles and book reviews. Not to mention how much longer it is taking to write my third book. When I write, I can actually write quite quickly, but I have to be able to sit down and work solidly for a few hours without interruption. I need to be able to get a momentum going and keep it fueled. The first thirty minutes of any writing s...

It has been a crazy and wonderful year. Since my last post, I have had another book published, another 2o or so articles, made wonderful new network connections in both publishing and education, and, most importantly of all, I have brought my son into the world. Needless to say, things have been very hectic, but I am eager to get back into a a more normal pattern. I have been working since my son was two and a half weeks old. I know that sounds crazy, and it was, but I wanted to be able to teach this semester, as it is one of my very favorite things, and I either needed to start when the semester started or hold off on teaching until the Fall. With teaching opportunities so few and far between, it wasn't a bridge I wanted to burn, so I went back to work two days a week to teach. Now, two months later, I finally seem to have a routine falling into place. I am writing again (I took a hiatus from writing for the end of the pregnancy and a brief maternity period) and am working on...

I am somewhat torn at the moment. I believe, wholeheartedly, that artists should be rewarded and compensated for their work. But that doesn't always happen. Often, we get short-changed for our efforts as the greater capitalist machine seems to misunderstand the power and purpose of art. And yet I put a call out to the ether to ask my friends and colleagues if they would donate images to me, free of charge, to make my second book as truly beneficial to the photography student as it can possibly be. The reaction has been overwhelming. Not only have well established photographers agreed to be a part of this process, but they have given me names of up-and-comers, unknowns, and other greats to ask for donations as well. The benefit? Hopefully a little bit of exposure for everyone, general feelings of well-being, and increased karma points. Should we be compensated for what we do? Absolutely. Yet as the artistic community has proven to me time and time again, we support each oth...

They have been mailed out! My first book, "Capture: Digital Photography Essentials" has been shipped to all the loving and avid photographers, fans, and family members who bought it on pre-order. Now, the rest of you have the opportunity to purchase it as well! Just visit Amazon.com and search for the latest and greatest photography text! (Or, you can search for my name.) A huge thank you to everyone who supported the book, especially Glenn Rand and Christopher Broughton, my esteemed co-authors, and Rocky Nook Press for putting the whole thing together. I would also like to personally thank my husband, Steve, for his undying support, my sister Jenn for being a fantastic inspiration, and my parents and family for buying the first copies before they even hit the shelves. My love to all.

Writing is my second love, though these days it seems to be taking up my primary time. No worries, it is all in the effort of something greater - the distribution of information about photography, photographers, communication, and art. I am greatly in love with what I do, from the writing, to the photography, to the teaching - everything that I am currently involved in is a wonderful reason to be alive. (My bank, at the moment, is not, so it is good to have balance.) I wanted to take this opportunity to inform those of you out there that may not know that my first book, "Capture: Digital Photography Essentials" is available for purchase as of April 5th! Actually, you can purchase on Amazon.com now, but that is entirely up to you. I love the "presale" concept. As both a writer and an avid reader, actually. And, as always, check your most recent issues of Digital Photo Pro, Rangefinder, After Capture, Photographer's Forum, or the Nik Software Pro Talks and ...

There is something sort of beautiful about courage. And something even more beautiful about being able to give it to someone else. The concept of encouragement is laden with a heavy mantle of faith. The ability to believe in someone so completely that you can gift them with something so elusive, so difficult to manage in this world, is a strength and selflessness beyond any words. I just received such a gift from a dear friend of mine in Nashville. It was so simple of a statement that there clearly isn't any ulterior motive. Nothing to gain. Or lose, for that matter. Merely a statement said as fact. Which makes it fact. And that gives me courage. Not sure how to thank him for this one.

A friend of mine asked me today if I still had my blog. I do. I have this one and several others in the ether, all gathering dust from inactivity. The trouble is that I am writing more now than ever before, only I'm writing for other people and much less for myself. Last year I published 34 articles, book reviews, and personality profiles for various publications such as Digital Photo Pro , Rangefinder , After Capture , Photographer's Forum , as well as several uncredited Pro Talk interviews for Nik Software. I also spent a great deal of time working as a co-author on my first book, Capture :Digital Photography Essentials , and working on my second book, which is currently titled 10 Assignments for Avid Photographers . So I am writing. In some senses, in this past year, I have been more of a writer than a photographer. My roots are very solidly grounded in photography, but my writing has taken off in a very published direction. Which is wonderful. I'm happy about a...

This piece was written by a fellow MFA colleague of mine who is working for the New Britain Museum of American Art. I am thoroughly honored and thought that I should share here. To read the post, go here .

There is a saying in writing about getting a project done. The first and foremost thing that you have to do as a writer is show up at the page. It is required. It is your responsibility to the art of writing. The same is true for photography. I have a friend who always says "Shoot every day." I think that is a valid premise, but I prefer to take it a bit further. To me, Show Up at the Shutter is a little more involved than just creating an image every day. There is some sort of obligatory feeling associated with shooting every day that doesn't carry with it the weight of being present . I've been writing a lot more recently and I have come to a new understanding that showing up at the page isn't just about putting gibberish down on paper (or, clicking it into the screen) but rather about coming to the page and earnestly trying to get something pertinent down. Even if you end up staring at the screen and doing nothing else for hours, if you are searching th...

I received a shipment of books today for a column that I am writing for a Photographer's magazine. I am a little concerned about where I am going to store all of the books that will be coming should the column be successful. (This first one is a trial run.) Some of them are lovely. I'm excited about the opportunity and the books themselves, just worried about the space constraints of our already full condo. Hmmmm. What is a girl to do?

It has not been an easy few months. When I decided to return to photography after six years in a relatively lucrative corporate position I knew it wouldn't be. Everything that is worth doing is worth struggling for, worth whatever heartache, obstacles, and pressures come your way. Getting this MFA was worth doing. Despite the long and hard academic road, the trials and tribulations of living 200 miles from my husband, the financial hole I dug for us - despite all of that, this road was worth taking. I will never look back at my choices and think "what if." Never. I pursued my dream and it has gotten me here. And here seems to be acknowledging my struggles. I have now had three articles published, two about well-respected photographers and one about me. Three more are in the queue with various publications to be published soon. I was just recently asked to join Photographer's Forum magazine as their book reviewer and will be starting a position teaching photo...

I know I haven't written for a while. That would mostly be because I was concentrating on the show, the defense, and the culminating document. All of that is completed, now. I finished the remaining requirements and as of December 6 th I am officially a Brooks MFA graduate. The ceremony itself was held on December 21st and my immediate family and some professors were there to celebrate. There was a small snafu with the actual hooding process as Dr. Anderson had trouble getting my hood to open and accusingly uttered "Did you sew it shut?" as he frantically tried to pull the edges apart, but aside from that the ceremony went off without a hitch. Now the real work begins. I have been applying to jobs and seeking out opportunities since April of last year, but in many senses I have given myself leeway for not having found work because I was still "in school" despite the fact that classes themselves stopped meeting in August. Now, though, I have to find a job ...

I realize it has been a while since my last post. It has been a hectic several months full of ups and downs. And this is why. This short video documents the culmination of my last three and a half years of education. After this, who knows what will happen . . . Video