Self-portrait 19

Fair warning: In the next few installments of my self-portrait project, you will be barraged with even more black and white photos.  The lighting the day I took these was just perfect for black and white, so I couldn’t resist.  :)

Self-portrait 18

Playing around a bit with black and white portraits.

Self-portrait 17

Check it out!  I’m a ghost playing guitar!  :)  In one of my film photography classes when we were learning about low light photography we had to create ghost images as part of the assignment.  It was really fun and I’ve been dying to play around with it some more.  Below my self-portrait you can see the ghost image print I made in the dark room at school for the assignment.  I used different methods to create each of these photos.

Riley Belle is one year old!

Remember the sweet H. Family from October?  You can see their adorable photos here.

This month little Miss Riley Belle turns one!  I cannot believe how much she has grown since October!  She is still as cute as ever.  Even though morning is her happiest time of the day, Riley Belle decided to be grumpy and uncooperative the morning we scheduled for her photos.  But having cake for breakfast certainly brightened her mood.  :)

Self-portrait 16

This is the third and final installment of a special series within my self-portrait project.  You can see the first two installments here and here.

It’s difficult to shoot portraits like this when you are both the subject and the photographer.  There are so many factors involved:  Getting the camera as close as possible without getting it wet.  Making sure the water isn’t so warm that the lens gets fogged up (which did happen a few times, though turning on the fan in the bathroom helped tremendously).  Trying to not breathe in the water pouring over your head.  Blinking out the makeup getting in your eyes.  Hoping the remote to your camera isn’t damaged from getting so wet.  Thinking about the most aesthetically pleasing way to pose yourself in front of the camera without looking like you’re thinking about it.

Thank goodness for huge towels because the bathroom floor turned into a pond from my constantly going between the shower and the camera while I was sopping wet and dripping water all over the place.  I am certainly up for trying portraits with water again though.  It was fun, challenging, and I’d love to give it a go when I can be just the photographer and have someone else be the subject.

I hope y’all have enjoyed this little series!  I know I had a blast putting it together and have been impatiently waiting to share it.  Thank you for all your support! :)

Little Creations

What would the world look like if you were very, very small?  Here is a look at some of God’s creations from that perspective.

Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds. ” And it was so.  The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.   And there was evening, and there was morning —the third day.  Genesis1:11-13

All creatures look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.
When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.  Psalm 104:27-30

 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.”  Matthew 6:28-29

For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited —
he says:
“I am the Lord,
and there is no other.  Isaiah 45:18

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.  Psalm 145:3

Self-portrait 15

This is the second installment of a special series within my self-portrait project.  You can see the first installment here.

I’ve always loved the different ways water can be captured by photography.  From the softly blurred motion of a waterfall to static droplets frozen in midair, the possibilities are endless.  I have experimented with photographing water by itself, but I’ve also dreamed of photographing people and water interacting with each other.

Since I don’t have willing subjects at my disposal (one of the reasons I started my self-portrait project), I knew that probably the only way I’d get to experiment with this is if I did it all myself.  What I mean by “all” is being both the photographer and the subject, which can be a challenge depending on what you’re trying to achieve.  Y’all get to read more about what went into these photos next week in the third and final installment of this special series.  :)