Photo dump.

I have two different photo shoot photos to share with the internet world!

The first is my fantastic cousin Kelly. He just graduated from Washington State University and he's getting ready to move to New York to pursue a career in music. He asked if I would take some portraits of him for his portfolio and I was glad to!

We got his basic headshot and then he wanted some more stylized type shots. It was fun and a great challenge. He has an amazingly beautiful voice, I wish I could have recorded the songs he sang while I photographed.

Here we have my friend Kaitlin! We grouped up this evening to take some photos to enter in a fashion photography contest for a store in Seattle. She's great with fashion and is a photographer herself. We had a great time and it felt so good to be out with a model looking for locations!

I did some practice with twisting/moving the camera with a slow shutter speed and a flash. I know it can be overdone and needs to be used carefully, but I think it can be very beneficial is used right! It's fun to at least practice so when the time comes I know what I'm doing :) The last photo here is the one I think we'll be submitting to the contest.

-MJ

Earthtastic!

Cassidy asked me to take some product shots for her new etsy site Earthtastic! http://www.etsy.com/shop/earthtastic

I'm really excited for her new venture into creating products and selling them. They're all natural, chemical free and made 100% by her. She's doing a really great job and her products are just top notch. She has a real vision for the items she's making and I can't wait to see where she goes with it all. 

This weekend when I wasn't photographing Viking Fest I was shooting her products! She has a few listings up on her etsy shop now and is ready to ship wares to happy buyers! Here are some shots from the weekend.

Crocheted round face scrubbies.

A wrapped package of round face scrubbies, pack of four, choice of organic cotton or not organic.

A wrapped package of two chap stick tubes. The label reads, "Thank you for supporting a chemical-free lifestyle!"

A row of cinammon & brown sugar all natural dye-free chap stick.

A set of three crocheted wash cloths, one blue one white and one white/blue/brown. She also has organic cotton wash cloths available.

A hemp lotion bar. Some of her lotion bars contain emu oil, which has amazing healing/rejuvenation properties.

Please visit her etsy site http://www.etsy.com/shop/earthtastic for more information on her products and to purchase them yourself! She also makes hats and they will be on the website before too long.

-MJ

Viking Fest

This weekend was Viking Fest, a celebration of Norway's Constitution Day. Poulsbo is referred to as "Little Norway", so festivities are in order every May. I have never gone to Viking Fest with the intent to photograph, or document the happenings. I haven't been in a few years because parking is always a complete disaster. When I was younger my family lived in the hub of downtown so we were always within walking distance. That is not that case any longer. This year though I was really interested in capturing Viking Fest so I made it work.

As an adult I have decided that it's not as fun as it used to be. I don't know if I have greater entertainment expectations now than I used to, or if perhaps as a child I was much easier amused. There's even a chance that the festival has gone downhill, although I do hope that isn't the case. I don't regret going, at least I had company for both visits and that definitely made up for the lack of inherent fun.

The biggest thing I was interested in photographing was the Saturday parade. I was incredibly disappointed. I think the parade needs a new coordinator because it was severely lacking in the organization department. I think it could use some more music too. There were very frequent gaps between one showing and the next. Parade watchers were pretty restless and kept spilling into the street to go and find something else to do. I got a few photos that are sort of OK, but overall the parade was unable to keep my attention so Jacki and I wandered elsewhere.

My best photos came from the carnival portion that contained rides and crappy games. That's where the people were most interesting. The people running the booths were extremely aggressive and made it difficult to want to approach the tents to take some up-close photos. I tried to hang back and wait for a customer to pre-occupy them so I could sneak to the other side of the tents and take pictures of things. I didn't bring my camera bag, it was way too hot and I was doing a lot of walking, so I was unable to change lenses to get closer. I had my 24mm on the whole time which ended up being a pretty good decision. I'm happy with the few up-close photos I did manage to get, so all was not lost.

When it came to editing I was so thankful for all of the technical knowledge I've been acquiring this last school year. I now shoot in RAW mode to take the most advantage of post-work, and I do almost all of my work through the RAW editor in Photoshop. I didn't bring any flash or diffusion material and it was a very sunny day. As a result a lot of the photos I took had severely blown out highlights. Thanks to the miraculous technology of RAW I was able to bring those highlights down (and the shadows up!) to create a more uniform picture that was pleasant to look at. I just made me so happy to know how to do it and to have the capabilities.

So here are a few more images from the weekend. Some from the parade and a few of Jacki! Also, one of Jake and me before we headed back home.

-MJ

Slow.

Things have been slow. Maybe a more accurate description is that I have been lazy. I've had the last two weekends off and all to myself, the free time has been fabulous and cathartic. I've been able to catch up on sleep, cleaning, friends and video games. I have been severely slacking in the photography department.

Taking photos is more fun for me if there are other people around. Someone to walk and talk with me, someone to hop in the frame so I can snap off a shot of a friendly face once in a while. Having a friend gives me a comfort and confidence boost. Even if they're not taking photos with me, I feel a sense of camaraderie; almost like they're hunting for moments with me.

With that said, even though I've been able to catch up a little with friends, I have not actually been able to go out and take photos with friends! My mom and sister visited me this last Saturday and we went to the Farmers Market. I took some more photos for my documentary project and that was very fulfilling.

On the whole though I have found myself waiting until late at night to take my 365 shot. I'm fairly satisfied with what I've been coming up with, although I'm asking myself why I'm waiting so long to take a photo. I have very little interest in wandering around outside alone looking for a photo. I want to have people with me and an idea in my head and I want us to work together to create something fun and interesting. This is odd because generally I hate group projects. Perhaps I just want everyone to listen to me while I take pictures. Hmm.

I don't have a lot to do today, just a little grocery shopping. It's overcast outside, so if I take my flash I could create an interesting mood for whatever I find to photograph. Inanimate objects are so boring. I wish I knew more people. Every time I venture alone I get attacked by bugs or the wind kicks up so hard I can't keep my hair out of my eyes long enough to take a picture. I feel like the universe is telling me something.

Anyway, here are my photos from the Farmers Market. It was suggested that I should take some portraits of my favorite vendors, so I did! Plus one extra special shot of my nephew enjoying his balloon.

This man sells emu oil and products that contain emu oil. Cass got very excited and bought some. It was a lot of positive healing properties and is also very expensive.

This woman works a booth selling hand-made jewelry. She doesn't make the product herself, just runs the Market table. She's very friendly and the wares that she sells are amazing.

This is the friendliest balloon man in the entire world. There are two balloon men at the Market, one is friendly and one is not. This man is very popular and since it was so close to the Market closing he had to close down his line. I got a balloon for my nephew from the other guy and it became apparent why he wasn't as popular. 

And here is Elijah, loving his balloon with all of his mighty being. I love this child.

-MJ

More portraits.

Here are the rest of the portraits that I took last night.

I couldn't decide which photo I liked better, so here's both of them. 

This man was very curious and kind.

This gentleman was very quiet and gave his acquiescence a bit timidly.

I'm pretty sure this is my favorite from the night.

A giggly bunch.

These were cool kids. I saw them again later that night.

Couldn't decide which of this guy I liked better either. He gave me some great poses.

I walked past a cafe right when this woman walked out. We ended up crossing the street together and I asked if she'd be interested in having her photo taken. It was a lucky situation.

This man is a bus driver for the city. He was so kind. I asked him if he was interested and he listened quietly. When I was finished talking he said, "How long will it take?", I replied, "Not even thirty seconds". He smiled and said, "I feel privileged", and walked to the mark to have his photo taken.

This couple was too cute. I took the most photos of them out of anyone last night. I had to include both of these. I didn't catch what happened, but they started laughing and they were covering their mouths. 

A very stoic young man.

This couple was so friendly, it was a pleasure taking their picture. I saw them again today at the Farmers Market, they didn't recognize me though.

This is our third setup. I was only able to take one photo before we decided it would be dangerous to stay downtown any longer.

And finally, me. Karissa took some photos of me at my request. It was so cold last night! I was all bundled.

Farmers Market photos to come later!

-MJ