My subject began to grow, crawl faster, and walk. She was on the go and made me work harder to freeze the everyday moments. The rest of the summer the 85 mm stayed on my camera. After watching Me Ra video’s I was beginning to understand aperture (how blurry the background), ISO (sensitivity to light; like film speed) and shutter speed (freeze motion). The relationship between these three began to click in my mind. I practiced and practiced shooting in manual. I knew that if I really wanted to freeze a moment I could switch it back to “P”, but if I did not try shooting in manual I would never get better.
As I was falling in love with blurry backgrounds and my daughter expressions, I knew I had another area of photography to learn. The original goal for getting the camera was to capture interior shots of my husband’s cabinetry. I needed to learn lightening. I would set up the flashes and practice in our kitchen. This happened when Myla was napping or after she was in bed. I would position the flashes and take a picture. Increase or decrease the shutter speed. Take another picture. Move and adjust the tri-pod. Take another picture. Download the images and study them. I would bring in my pictures to Lee’s for feedback and suggestions. This went on throughout the summer months.
One day while on Me Ra Koh’s blog she announced she was hosting a workshop throughout different cities. Washington DC was the closest. I was so excited! I wanted to go! I wanted to learn! I watched the workshop trailer numerous time on my own and then with Lyndon. At the end of the trailer, I asked if there was a chance for me to go. While writing this I asked him if he could remember his first response when I asked him. He recalls saying, “For you babe anything!” Whether or not these were his first response, he surprised me on my birthday with a spot to go to the two day workshop! And the best part was I would be attending with a friend!
All that I learned at Me Ra’s workshop could be a whole other blog post. I returned from the workshop understanding the setting of my camera better, learned to invest in lenses, and I learned basic steps in Adobe Lightroom (Lr) for post processing my images. Me Ra infused confidence in everyone, including me. I returned home ready to begin shooting Lyndon’s cabinetry.
I began shooting his work in the fall. It was like a date work day together! He helped me set up all the lighting and then I began to shoot. During the shoots I was trying to remember all that I had learned in the last six months from Lee’s, the blogs I followed, Me Ra’s workshop and even the camera manual (it is good for reading!). This was important to me. I wanted to capture his work in a way that reflected his craftsmanship and details of each custom piece. I knew all the hard work and the hours that went into each of his projects. I was proud of all of his hard work and was excited for his work to be shown.
Lyndon invested in me and gave me a gift. It was my turn to give back to him. I felt such joy shooting his work!! Throughout these months all I ever felt was his love and support as I learned something new. Lyndon Heath Cabinetry launched its website July of 2010. You can view his work here.
Can you believe it, but there is still more to share! You can read part one here and part two of my story here.
These images are some of my favorites from June, July, and August of 2009. You need to know that I took hundreds per month.
Sometimes hundreds a day.
It was more a surprise to me when I got a clear crisp image. Mine were mostly blurry.
I shot everything in a jpeg. These all are SOOC (straight out of the camera).
I started to use Lightroom a week before Me Ra Koh’s workshop in September. I had the thirty day free trial.
[…] I attended Katelyn James Photography Workshop with a different perspective then when I attended Me Ra’s workshop in 2009. I wanted to meet and learn from Katelyn James and was equally excited to meet other photographers […]