Ants

I love in a section of town affectionately dubbed by the exterminators as "Ant Hill". It's a pretty upscale neighborhood (I live in one of the smallest homes in the area, BTW) so you wouldn't expect critters here. But ants are no respecter of property - especially not mine.

They're back. After a winter of ant-free bliss, they have arrived in full force. The first couple of years that I lived in this neighborhood, I tried to avoid pesticides. I'm sort of a natural greenie, you see. I was an 'organic gardener' before it was trendy. (Yep, clear back then.) It just never occurred to me to put chemicals on the food I was going to eat. But the ants took over - EVERYTHING.

Now when it comes to ants, I stock up from the chemical store shelves - bring on the insecticides! My little traps are everywhere, ready to lure the unsuspecting ants. They take the poison back to their homes, and....the dirty deed is done. It takes several bouts before I really wipe out the nest, but then I can count on a relatively ant-free summer, fall and winter.

Thus I am a killer. It's antithetical to my nature, really - but so is being covered in crawling ants. The killer part of me wins. Welcome, Spring!

My Photo Mentor

We've unveiled it at last! Do you love picking up your camera? Do you look at some of your images and secretly think, “Hey, that’s pretty good!” Would you like to learn more, but:

1. You feel overwhelmed by the technical jargon in many magazines and articles;
2. You wonder if you’re creative enough;
3. You worry about the cost of pursuing your photography passion.

What if there was a place where you could gather with people just like you?
What if you could learn without feeling anxious about the technical aspects?
What if you could pursue your passion in an affordable and fun way?

Well, now that place exists! Check out our short (about 4 minute) movie and get a free article here:

I Am A Photographer

I would really value your feedback on this. I want to know what you think!

And then check out the website itself:

MyPhotoMentor

I'll be eagerly awaiting your opinion!

Women in Red!

I've become known for my images of women in Red.
In doing so, I'm breaking a cardinal rule of portrait photographers. As a professional, I'm supposed to prefer that my clients wear blue, green, white, tan - colors that supposedly draw attention to the client's face, not their clothing.

But I've never like that rule. I love red! And I think that red shows off a client in a way no other color can.

So that's how I started becoming known for my women in Red. A couple of my images have become iconic, and people immediately know it's me when they see them.

This year, I started an annual tradition. Every February, I invite women to come into my studio for a complimentary (FREE) portrait session. I ask that they wear something red and fabulous! I will use these portraits all year long for my marketing. Here are more images from my sessions:
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The Celebration Continues!

January's celebration of women continues. Karen is the lady with the purple business card. (Can you tell she likes purple? I LOVE her hair!) She is a health insurance agent who specializes in helping the self-employed. I highly recommend her. (You can contact her for your health insurance needs at: 503.623.6381.)

Karen visited my studio today because she needed to update her publicity portrait. We did that, of course, and lots more. Here are a couple of images from her session. Thank you, Karen!

In Celebration of Women

January is Romanza month here at the studio. Our Romanza sessions in Celebration of Women are half-price. This week, Terri visited the studio. We talked and laughed and created some wonderful artwork.

In deference to her modesty, I've only displayed here some images taken as potential publicity portraits. But let me tell you, I'd LOVE to show some of the more romantic art, because she looks like a million dollars!

As women, we are finally realizing that we are beautiful at all times and in all stages of our life. It's wonderful to see so many of you this month - it's a great time to reconnect & have girl time. Thanks for coming in, Terri!

The madness of the artist

I had a client recently request the raw files from a publicity session, because her book is soon to be published, and the publisher requires unretouched images. She obviously compared the image I initially presented her with the raw file, because she commented on how much more she appreciated what I did in my digital darkroom. Here was my response to her:

In the camera, I capture the physical. In the digital darkroom, I capture the spirit. Together, I capture the person. An artist shows what mere medium cannot.

But that's why I hate to have people see their images unretouched, because they mistakenly think that's the 'real' them.

But that’s not true, anymore than a corpse is the 'real' person. If you've ever seen someone who's just passed, you know how NOT true that is. It is our spirit that gives animation and life to our corporeal fluff.

And it’s the artist’s job to capture that that magical combination of body and spirit. We work in two dimensions to capture what exists in three-four-more? dimensions (for in how many dimensions resides the spirit?) It is an unattainable undertaking. Perhaps that’s why artists are often perceived as half-mad. We have to be, to be so driven to attempt the impossible.

But it is in our striving that we create art that lifts the soul and brings hope and healing to the body, which gives people the emotional fortitude to face the challenges of every day.

Artists gift to people the vision of their true selves, and there is no more potent medicine nor more powerful talisman than that.

Studio Redecorate

OK, this isn't news for many of you, who have visited my studio in the past 6 months. Still, I thought it would be fun for everyone to see the makeover, ala my business consultant, Ariel. (See her profile here.)


Gone is the pool table :( but the newly decorated studio definitely captures the boutique-style that matches the photography you love!