This is the place...for FESTIVALS

One thing, I love about Missoula, is the fact that there is never a dull moment. It could be a weekend long festival, concerts in the park or farmers market on Saturdays, there is always something to do. This past weekend I went to the Car Show. Everyone was willing to have a picture taken of their precious babies & I was fascinated by the stories of restore & rebuild. What passionate people with their pretty rides.

I broke the rules

Don’t worry mom & dad I was instructed to ‘break the rules’ of photography for an assignment this week. You can all rest now knowing that I haven’t caused any trouble…YET! I had a lot of fun playing with these new techniques such as blurring, panning, zooming, ghosting & light painting. Here are some I thought I would share. *WARNING* some photographs may cause motion sickness.



GHOSTING


PANNING


Rule of Thirds


Zooming

Assignment #1

Now I know why they named it ‘Summer Intensive’ it is packed full of lectures, labs, field help, critiques and much more. One of my first assignments in our Visual Studies class was to photograph a sense other than sight. Boy did that open Pandora’s Box. I had idea after idea on what I wanted to portray, yet still not knowing how to use all the tools in my tool box this became harder than I thought. Do I do all the senses in one picture or narrow down to just one? Do I use a human subject or an animal? Well after much debate, failed attempts at a few ideas the winner was ‘TOUCH’





My peer’s feedback was that they felt the colors were pleasing; they liked the angle it was shot at. Having the toe submerged was a good idea and that it felt very feminine & delicate. I would say I survived my first RMSP Critique! What are your thoughts?

This is Home for now

Three weeks ago today, I packed up my car & left for my new adventure in Missoula, MT. Leaving everything I had known for the past 26 years behind. As I looked in my rear view mirror, I thought to myself “What are you thinking?” knowing I was driving away from family, friends, a great job, a life I had attempted to make for myself. There was a lot of soul searching in that 8 hour car ride, moments when a tear would fall because the fear of facing the unknown was so foreign to me. Then happy glimpses of this new life ahead of me & the excitement of the opportunities it may bring. Not sure if it was a knot in my stomach or butterflies during that car ride but I’m ok with never knowing. I still cannot answer the question of what I was thinking & that makes me smile. What brings me comfort each day is that I did it; I actually DID something for myself instead of THINKING about it. I am here, in this moment!

The Rocky Mountain School of Photography is an amazing place & I feel so lucky to be learning from the best of the best. Each day I am a sponge, soaking up all the knowledge that is shared & I can see that this is where I need to be right now. Missoula is a wonderful place full of Cowboys, Hippies & everything in between, I’m not sure where I will end up next but know that this American Woman is pursuing Greatness!

“The pursuit of Greatness is always daring and calls fourth our true potential. Never underestimate your power for the greatness!”