Spring: A New Beginning
My group of Gorge Girl Scouts have completed their Photography Class and passed with flying colors! The class final is the public presentation of their images created around their chosen theme, "Spring: A New Beginning." The girls did a beautiful job on their images, each one telling a different story with her camera. So head on down to The Garden Cafe at Good News Gardening and check out the beautiful images by these talented young artists!
Don't forget about the MEET THE ARTISTS reception that will be held at The Garden Cafe on Saturday, May 24th from 2pm until 4pm - this is your chance to meet the girls who participated in the photography class and talk to them about how they came to create their own particular vision of Spring: A New Beginning!
Our grateful thanks to our sponsors of this exhibit:
• Bruce Burton, DMD - Family Dentistry
• Alford Landscape Services, Inc.
• Hood River Hotel
• Pageworks Design, Inc.
• Louise McCulloch of Don Nunamaker Realtors
• The UPS Store
And a Very Special Thanks to The Garden Cafe for giving us the opportunity to display our work at their lovely venue! Please come down to the Cafe and check out their yummy breakfast and lunch menu - don't forget the great coffee and relaxed and beautiful surroundings to enjoy it in!
Spring Fling - A Celebration of Women!C'mon down, all you Moms, Daughters, Sisters and Girlfriends, to the Gorge Room at the Best Western Hood River Inn this Saturday, May 10th! The celebration starts at 11:30am and goes until 1:30pm - you'll enjoy a buffet lunch, a fashion show featuring clothing from selected merchants in the Gorge, entertainment provided by the cast of the upcoming production, "If We Are Women", a raffle and great door prizes!
Oh, and did I forget to mention that moi will be there as well? Photosensitive Portraits will have a mini-studio on site and will be creating Best Friends Portraits - this is your chance to have a Photosensitive Portrait of your own at a great price all the while helping a great cause! All proceeds collected from the Best Friends Portraits created at the event will be donated to Soroptimist International programs to benefit women and girls around the world.
Local Photography Contest!oooooh, my bad - I forgot to post about this contest at the beginning of the month! The contest is sponsored by Soroptimist International of Hood River and Columbia Center for the Arts in conjunction with the upcoming production of the play, "If We Are Women," to be performed by CAST and presented June 12, 13, 14, & 19, 20, 21. (More about the production in a future post, promise!)
Submitted photographs (limit 3 photos per photographer) should depict women in families: good times and bad, alienation and coming together, joy and grief. The makeup of 'family' can be varied: two women together, daughters caring for family members, extended family, or a woman and her dog...think creatively!
Prizes will be awarded for professional and amateur/student categories. Display of finalists will be concurrent with the production of the play "If We Are Women" during the month of June 2008 at the Columbia Center for the Arts. The Grand Prize winning photo will be featured on the program cover for "If We Are Women".
Submitted photo must have at least one dimension of ten inches and be in a 16” x 20” white window mat and ready for hanging. To be considered for the program cover you must also submit a CD with a high resolution image (300 dpi) jpeg file of your photo. Submission deadline is April 30, 2008. The Entry Fee per photo is $10 each for Professional images and $5 each for Amatuer/Student images. Entry fees must accompany all submitted photos. Contest questions should be directed to Kate at 541-386-3850.
You may hand-deliver matted photos Tuesday through Sunday at the Columbia Center for the Arts at 215 Cascade Avenue in Hood River now though April 30, 2008. Each submitted photo must include the following information attached to the back of the print mat: Your name, address, telephone, email information, and a brief description of the photo. In addition, please print out the following statement, signed with your signature and include it with each submitted photo: "I hereby certify that the photo I am submitting is my original work, that I am the sole copyright owner. I am entering this photo as an honest effort of my personal work and I understand that it may be published as the program cover."
Winners will be announced at First Friday, June 6th at the Columbia Center for the Arts. Submitted photos will be available for pickup up until June 30th at the Columbia Center for the Arts.
Who doesn't love jewelry?
Especially when it features a petite portrait of a beloved child or family member?
I have recently made the acquaintance of a fabulous artist who creates the most marvelous jewelry! She hand-sculpts polymer tiles and incorporates a small photo onto the tile, finishing the tile off with a rock-hard protective coating. She then decorates them with a variety of silver beads and Swarovski crystals and strings them on polished leather cords to create unique and very personal necklaces.
I fell in love with these, just adore the whole idea of wearing such a precious memento close to my heart...so I've signed up to become the exclusive NW retailer for her jewlery! For a limited time only, I'm offering them at the Very Special Introductory price of just $99.00 - a 20% savings over what will be the regular retail price.
This Special Introductory price is only available for sessions booked between April 15th and May 31st - so call TODAY (541-436-2755) to schedule your portrait design appointment and learn more about this one time offer!
In gratitude...Just a public "thank you" to the wonderful Louise McCulloch for helping me hang the My Best Friend exhibit today - she's my #1 cheerleader and promoter and I owe her so much for letting me bend her ear on countless occasions as I talked endlessly about photography...
Louise, you're the best!
My Best FriendI'm very excited! This afternoon I'll be hanging a personal photo project of mine - My Best Friend - at The Garden Cafe located at 1086 Tucker Road in Hood River. The exhibit will be up for the month of April and will be followed in May by the photographic works of the Girl Scouts of the Gorge who are participating in my current Photography Class.
The My Best Friend project was started several years ago, when I was living in the small town of Brisbane, California. When I moved to Hood River 2 years ago, I was interviewed by Louise McCulloch for the local publication, Gorge Living; I really like how Louise summed the project up, so with her permission, I'm quoting it here:
"Friendship resonates deeply for Denise. A dear friendship had lapsed, and as this friend was going through a life-changing experience, she called Denise for support. Denise was at her side in a heartbeat. The reunion of the two best friends gave Denise the idea for a series of images entitled My Best Friend - A Celebration of Friendship. She invited local people to bring their best friend into the studio for a photo session. “Each friendship has its’ own story,” says Denise. “I discovered I wanted to share these wonderful stories as well as the images.” So she asked a new friend, writer Diane Glazman, of Ink Communications, to sit in on a session and a collaboration was born. Denise says of Diane, “She writes what I feel.” These are poignant words from a woman who feels and sees with a camera. The first installment of the My Best Friend series premiered at Brisbane’s City Hall with much local fanfare and has been exhibited widely throughout the San Francisco peninsula."
To celebrate this exhibition of My Best Friend, I have decided to have a Best Friends Portrait Special for the months of April and May: purchase a Best Friends session and receive TWO 5x7 CUSTOM PRINTS OF YOUR FAVORITE IMAGE as my gift to you - a $60 value! There are a limited number of these sessions available and I expect them to book quickly, so call me today at 541-436-2755 to reserve your Best Friends session!
When photographers gather...Got together with a few photographer friends in Portland over the weekend for a little sharing, a little shooting and a whole lotta fun! I won't bore you with the details, 'cuz really, it was all about the images, so here's a few of my favorites - all of a lovely young model, Teresa, who is as intelligent, talented and funny as she is beautiful...
Celebrating 60 Years of Service!I am so pleased and honored to be a member of Soroptimist International Hood River. Members are compassionate and professional women who are committed to the betterment of their community through service that uplifts, supports and encourages women and girls. The name, Soroptimist, means "best for women," and that's what the organization strives to achieve. Soroptimists are women at their best, working to help other women to be their best.
In May of this year, our club will celebrate 60 years of service to Hood River and it's being done with the usual sense of style and community spirit! The first ever Spring Fling is going to be a fun day to share, so plan on bringing your Mom, your daughters and your girlfriends! The event will feature a fashion show sponsored by 7 local retailers (Wearhouse, Ananas, Doug's Sports, Flow Yoga, Outside Baby, Ruddy Duck and Shortt Supply), a buffet lunch, first class entertainment, raffles and great door prizes! All this happens Saturday, May 10th at The Gorge Room in the Best Western in Hood River. Tickets will be available soon from the participating retailers and Soroptimists members.
Pictured above are some of the Soroptimist International Hood River board members who generously donate their time to coordinate club activities; they are, from L to R, starting with the top row: June Knudson, President - Carolyn Van Orden, Treasurer - Sheryl Carey - Lisa Hargrave - Harriet Kelly - Kate Brownback (who was named Club Member of the Year 2007 in recognition of her energy, enthusiasm and commitment to Soroptimist ideals and goals).
Jumping for Joy!What a great way to kick off a new season - a photographer friend brought a friend willing to play "Model For A Day" yesterday and we had a blast! She was just a little timid at first (as any sane person would be with two photographers pointing cameras at her), but soon relaxed and was up for almost anything - including jumping in 3 inch heels! I've got more great images from this session, but the "jump series" is my favorite - her face is so suffused with joy and fun, it makes me smile from ear to ear just looking at the photos!
I alluded to a collaboration with local Girl Scout troops in my last post, so let me explain: I will be teaching a Photography Class designed to earn each participating Girl Scout her Photography Badge (I think they call them "Interest Projects" now) over the course of the next two months (March and April) that culminates in a month-long public exhibition in May of the girls' photos; the venue will be the charming Garden Cafe (at Good News Gardening) in Hood River. Later this afternoon is my very first meeting with "my" Girl Scouts - this will be an Orientation meeting where we'll go over what they can expect from the classes over the next two months, iron out a schedule that accomodates as many girls as possible and get to know each other. I LOVE what I do and always enjoy sharing my passion for photography with whoever will sit still long enough to listen to me! Just a few more hours until they get to my studio, so I better go straighten things up after yesterday's session...
Time to take a break!
Just want to let you all know that Photosensitive Portraits will be on hiatus from January 20th through February 15th. It's Winter Break time and I am really looking forward to this one - time to recharge my creative batteries, take in a workshop or two, revamp my product offerings and spruce up the studio.
I've got BIG plans for 2008 and will be kicking things off when the studio re-opens again for business in mid-February! There's an Open Studio planned, a new exhibition of a personal photo project in the works, a fun and exciting collaboration with Gorge Girl Scouts, a gorgeous and contemporary new frame collection, and a new product to introduce: Artist's Choice black & white portrait prints. These prints are created by an archival giclee process on watercolor paper that results in a museum-quality work of art.
Black & white imagery has been my passion from the very beginning of my career in photography. For over 20 years I have studied with some of the finest teachers in the industry, honing my skills for the sole purpose of creating beautiful, evocative portraits without compromise. I want Photosensitive Portraits to be YOUR family's black & white portrait specialist!
All this and more when Photosensitive Portraits opens its studio door again on Feburary 15th!
Happy New Year!
What a wonderful way to start off my New Year - one of my maternity portrait clients delivered her beautiful baby girl on Christmas Eve and brought her in today for her very first portraits at only 8 days old! It was such a precious gift to hold this newborn in my arms - being that close to a brand new life always warms my heart and gives me such hope for the future. I wish you all a blessed, joyful, healthy and happy 2008!
"Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters..." *
It's the end of the year and I'm busy with archiving image files, deciding what to keep and how to file it...and I always find a few surprises along the way, which makes an otherwise tedious task a whole lot more fun! The oldest sister in these images is a senior at South Wasco County HS (I mentioned I was out there this fall for a fantastic weekend of shooting - which I PROMISE to post a few of the best location images as it was a spectacular setting!) and I asked her to be my guinea pig, I mean, model while I set up and tested my lights...well, along comes the little sister to watch and she wants in on the action...then Mom comes looking for her with the youngest sister in her arms - you just KNOW I had to put all three sisters in one portrait, now, don't you?! since the portraits weren't planned, I've applied a chocolate mocha tone to the images (yummy, don't you think?!) to keep your attention on their lovely faces...these portraits are destined to be thank you gifts for the Mom - I got a feeling she's gonna like 'em!
* thank you, Mr. Irving Berlin!
Pretty, pretty lights!
One of my favorite parts of the holidays is decorating with lights - what can I say, I got a "thing" for light! Probably 'cuz it was awhile before my parents figured out I needed glasses (I'm near-sighted), and the out-of-focus lights on the Christmas tree thoroughly enchanted me - I thought they were suppose to look that way! (Street lights at night were also pretty cool...) So I just can't resist playing around a little - here's my take on our Christmas tree this year, taken with my latest toy, a little p&s Fuji F10, a pretty neat camera with a tack sharp 10mm lens - to create your own light show, just set your ISO as low as it will go, turn off the flash, then move your camera (up & down, spin it, swirl it, go wild!) as you depress the shutter button...it will take a few tries before you develop a little control, but it's the unpredicability of the final image that is the most fun! Merry merry Everyone!
"for unto you a Child is given..."T
he holidays always feel more like a celebration to me when children are involved! This beautiful, 5 week old little boy was in my studio recently for a Christmas card session and after I knew I had those "in the can" as we old film-users used to say, his gracious parents allowed me to try a little more dramatic lighting than I have ever done before with infants. The parents were into it, the baby cooperated fully by falling asleep and I am more than pleased with the results! Fine art black and white prints were the reason I got into photography in the first place, and these images bring me full circle - I'm looking forward to having these printed on high quality fiber paper and giving them pride of place in my studio.
Where has the time gone?!!It's been so long since I posted to this blog, it's just downright embarassing - I am going to make a New Year's Resolution (yep, it's just about time for those!) to get back in the swing of things and update this blog in a timely fashion! So much has happened since my last posting: October was a whirlwind of senior portraits - I think I photographed some of the loveliest young women at Hood River Valley High! Then there was my adventure at the D-G Ranch in Maupin, where I spent the weekend photographing seniors from South Wasco High School (there must be something in the water in Maupin, because all the girls were gorgeous!)... November was filled with family portraits (just in time for the holidays) and on a less cheery note, a hard drive malfunction that gave me a good scare (remember, alwaysalwaysalways BACK UP YOUR DATA FILES! thank goodness I had backups, that's all I'm going to say about that!)...there's just so much to share, I hardly know where to start!
I guess I'll start with TODAY, as good a place as any: my good friend, Tammy, a fabulous portrait photographer in Camas, WA (Studio K Portraits, check her out!), came to visit me today accompanied by her charming grandmother, Helen. Tammy has created wonderful portraits of her grandmother, but wanted a portrait of the two of them together, to celebrate their close relationship - I was pleased and proud to help her out!
I could hear the voice of my mentor, Monte Zucker, whispering to me as I directed Tammy and Helen into place: "get close, hug each other, love each other!" What you see posted here is Tammy's (and mine!) favorite image from today's session - the loving bond these two women share really comes across...it's destined to be a big canvas in both Tammy's and Helen's homes and for sure will soon be gracing my studio walls as well!
Short and sweet this time - I'll collect my memories of the last couple months and do my best to tell you a bit more about my adventures before we ring in a new year...
Tag, I'm it!Received an email lately from a friend (and amazingly talented photographer!), Amy Steipech - seems I've been "tagged"?! Okay, I admit to being unhip and had to ask someone what this meant - it means I have to write 8 things people don't know about me on my blog...well, here goes:
1. I met my husband (that's him standing next to his best friend, Jim, in the portrait above) by answering an ad for crew members in Latitude 38, a San Francisco sailing magazine - "Sailing to Tahiti in June. One more female crew wanted. No experience necessary - enthusiasm a must!" So I called this guy Steve, interviewed for the position and 3 months later Steve, Larry, Grania and myself sailed out the Golden Gate, turned left and spent the next 9 months cruising the South Pacific! Steve and I were married a year and a half after we returned to the States. (Ladies, want to get to know a man? Spend weeks at sea with them in a small sailboat!) Steve and I just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary and can honestly say we're happier than ever...
2. I've had thyroid cancer - 25 years, two surgeries to remove my thyroid and a golf ball-sized tumor later, I'm free and clear...
3. I was a street actor for 5 summers in a row at the Northern Californian Renaissance Faire - yep, I played a peasant gal (Gloriana Beatrice - but you can call me Glory B!) and had a rollicking good time doing it! I modeled myself after my favorites comediennes, both queens of slapstick, Carol Burnett and Imogen Coco (dating myself, fer sure)...
4. I knit - well, sorta...I've made ALOT of scarves and even a stocking cap or two (a skill learned at class at Knot Another Hat), but that sweater I started for my husband 3 years ago still needs sleeves (and doesn't have a chance in hell of fitting him, I knit it soooooo tightly!) - but I really do enjoy it! It's like meditation for me, I just zone out and concentrate on the task at hand...
5. I LOVE to watch cooking shows - the Food Network is my most-watched tv channel! I must say, I really really miss watching "The Iron Chef" in the original Japanese...
6. Years ago in San Francisco, I met Diana Ross (of The Supremes) while rushing to my aerobics class - I ran right into her and knocked her into the arms of her security escort! When I looked up into her face, I knew right away who she was (hey, I grew up in Detroit at the height of Motown's best years) and blurted out, "I'm so very sorry! Hey, you're Diana Ross! I'm from Detroit, too!" She smiled weakly in my direction and was whisked away by security...
7. I collect photography books (no big surprise there, huh?), but with a definite emphasis on women in photography - it's all about getting inspiration from the way these women integrated their love of photography into their lives, how they combined family, lovers and everyday living with their pursuit of excellence in their art...
8. I am a coffee snob. While I am no longer able to drink several cups a day as I did in years past (cutting back has helped my insomnia tremendously, who'da thought, huh?!), I make a point to thoroughly enjoy the one cup I allow myself in the morning - only the very best will do and for me, that means Peet's and please, make it French Roast, cone-dripped or french pressed, dark and delicious...anything else is just settling and I just won't settle for second-best when it comes to my coffee!
The other part of this "tagging" business is that I'm supposed to "tag" other photographers to participate in this list-making...so here are the talented, amazing and wonderful people I've chosen to introduce you all to!
Jodi, Debbie, Michelle, Andy, Andrea, Jackie, Maria and Rebecca...enjoy!
