Slap-it’s back to reality | Kirkland, WA Photographer

Here I am coming back from winter break… it was snowing and about 25 degrees around here when I arrived on Thursday night. Thankfully, during the Winter break, I went to Las Vegas where it was sunny and about 55-60 degrees. It was lovely. I visited Las Vegas for WPPI as it is there every year. I was inspired on many levels and had the opportunity to meet, mingle and learn from some great photographers. Each day was filled, I mean filled from 8:00am to 10:00pm with classes, speakers, and meet-ups.  I was struggling with light the whole time I was there-feeling frustrated that I was never able to get some “normal” light to work with.  And then, I was reminded about the secret of the casinos.  There are no windows and no clocks with hopes that you will stick around all day and night without regard to time.  Ah, tricky.  On one evening I met with Kelli France and other students from her Francypants Academy for some headshots.  MGM Grand did  not look kindly upon us trying to use their pool grounds about eight minutes before they closed.  We squished in as many as we could but when the clock struck 5:00pm, they approached with a smile and reminded us that it was quittin’ time.  I am ready to put into action some things that came from this conference!  I am ready to work on my craft.  I am ready to get some models.  I am ready to make some changes.  Unfortunately, my head is swarming and I can only do so much at a time.  I am learning patience.  I thought maybe one thing per month would work for me.  : )  BUT, first I am making changes around here.  Remember my Photo A Day project?  I am keeping up with it but try not to bore you here.  I am entertaining the idea of keeping it where it is now… on Flickr.  So, if you are at all interested in my personal project of documenting the daily and ordinary, you can go to my flickr set.

One of the speakers, Mary of Justin and Mary Marantz, made the biggest impact on me. It was a perfect way to end my WPPI experience.  Thank you to Kristin Conk for convincing me that I needed to be there!  Most of the speakers I didn’t know much about so it was great to branch out and discover some awesome talent and some very saavy business people!  Below is a picture of some business cards, duh!  I excused myself to the restroom and came back to a fancy display of some business cards.  : )  I thought it was creative, regardless of the lovely overhead lamp, and wanted to document a fun moment with other photographer ladies at lunch.  Thank you WPPI for the opportunity to mix with these gals!  I look forward to going again next year.  Until then, Studio 54 will have to dance the night away with Mr. Ferrari bling boy and his orange pants!

Winter Break | Kirkland Family Photographer

All the schools will be out, the ski slopes will be swamped and the snowmen will be made…. it is winter break and I am doing just that!!!!  BREAKING.  You see, I am from AZ and need a REAL winter break.  I either need to get out and make the most of it or take a vacation from it.  Either way, I won’t be plugging away at the computer while I am BREAKING.   More from me in a week.

Photo Challenge Week 6 | Kirkland, WA Photography

I love a good theme!  Themes keep us cohesive and understandable.  There are many ways to interpret every photo technique and personal style and expertise plays into it too.  I’m enjoying the photo challenge as it give me a tidbit of focus each week.  I realize I may be boring with my personal daily Photo A Day, BUT I am hoping to accomplish many things and at the top of that list is making sure I journal my own life in addition to others’ lives.  (Did I just grammatically handle that sentence properly?)  So, in an attempt to not only complete my Photo A Day self challenge, I added the weekly photography challenge to hopefully learn more and explore more with my camera.  So, what was I saying?  Oh, themes…  This week we focused on Cars.  I am no car girl for sure (I will stick with Kirkland Family Photography) which is probably why the extraordinary stuck out to me.  I was going for old grainy look and feel.  This truck was just in the middle of all the thorniest bushes one could find.  It had moss growing from the top and it’s insides.  It truly was a site to see.  I could tell that people were puzzled as to why I was photographing this truck as they drove by.  Sometimes the exciting part of photography is just that… to see what peoples’ reactions will be.  I have more plans for this big guy but I anxiously await the next “theme” so I can go whole heartedly toward my next victim!

So, the opposite is found in the car below, excuse me, I mean the Lamborghini below. I knew this car was fancy because I used to play MASH as a kid and I would list Lamborghini as one of my car choices even though I had never seen one before.  When this one pulled up, I was excited to see what my childhood dreams were all about.  The lighting was tricky on this afternoon.  I had about 4 minutes to get some shots as everybody was ooh-ing and aaaw-ing over this beauty (casting shadows and blocking my views and angles).  Have you heard the chat, “you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit,” in your home?  Well, that’s how I felt.  I want to be excited about cars, I knew I should be excited about THIS car and therefore, I wanted to have my sweet time with this one but since I wasn’t possible, I did my thing and had to move on.  Maybe I should schedule more time with this one too?  Although, who needs an appointment with the one above?

Photo A Day | February 6-12

Moving right along here…  The most exciting day this week was February 10th.  On Thursday I had more energy and giddiness than I have had in a while.  I put that positive energy to good use and took myself out and treat me to a photography date.  You’ll see what I mean…

February 6-its simple… Give Me Sunshine!  Our nightly family prayer. (and a photo already posted)

February 7- Going to the gym… First, I need to get the gumption to go. Then, I need to pack my gym bag because I like to get ready for the day AS SOON AS I am done. Also, I need to pack a towel because the towels there barely go from hip to hip, let alone all the way around my body. My towel never fits in my bag, everything starts to overflow, it bumps against me as I walk and falls down when I try to buckle my son in the car. BUT, I still go hoping that someday I won’t have to pack my own towel because theirs will fit all the way around me. : )

February 8- I love to see her bed made… I check her room before she escapes to school to make sure the job has been done. I always have to smile when I see some lumps under the covers, knowing that her sheets and blanket are all crumbled down. Baby steps… clean the room, then teach the details. : ) The picture on her headboard is her friends from AZ. I love that picture-they have been friends since maybe 2 years old or just before. They are all 8 now.

February 9- The children thought it would be a grand idea to decorate for Valentines Day. This was their idea…”Let’s write on sticky notes each letter of Happy Valentine’s Day and stick it on the door.” They went about their project and are very determined to keep it there for a while. It is more than I have done for Valentine’s Day-bless their loving hearts!

February 10- Look what I found! I had to take myself on a walk today. It was a beautiful sunny day (again) and I haven’t been in the best of moods… I was giddy to get out with me, myself, and my camera. I walked down by the pier and found some cool lightposts, some men enjoying their afternoon pipes and some awesome fluffy blowy thingees. It was a much needed walk!

February 10th continues… Feb 10 must have been a very ambitious day as I have all these pictures to prove it. I have these books in my car at all times, you never know when I will need to break out into adventure mode! They have been in my car for months and months but I love them there. It helps me look forward to things to come (Like the Tulip Festival-who wants to join me?).

February 10th STILL continues… What would a sunny day be without a visit to the park? And, the tire swing. Is there anything more fun than a tire swing with your friends?

February 11- Do you ever wonder about the things you do for you kids… like leave a million lights on at night just as the kids request? I was just about to doze off to sleep and realized OH NO, I haven’t taken a picture for today. i was even proud that it was a Friday night and I was headed to bed early until my realization… So, I got out the camera and just lay on my bed thinking about what I could possibly capture for the day. I took a picture of the clock and was going to put something about Friday night and the time I was going to bed, then I took a picture of my husband watching a movie on his laptop, then, then I looked out toward my door and saw what could have been a neighbor’s house on fire. What is with ALL THE LIGHTS? Oh yeah, its for Flip. I had to smile and think about 1. how much I love him and 2. how to get him to pay the electric bill. :)

Happy Valentine’s Day

To share in the love on this day, I thought I would share this with you… A little about what I love and a little bit about what I don’t love and my JoTotes camera bag.  BTW, don’t expect to ever see me dressed up in a fancy fluffy pink shirt unless I run into you at church!  : )  Just sayin’  AND, I should have let those darling kids of mine join in the movie making because after several takes and getting about one minute from completion before one of them poked their head in the camera or behind the sofa, I was ready to give up.  All I can say is thank goodness for some good ‘ol fashion Quiet Time.

I’m too sexy for the camera | Queen Creek, AZ Photography

I was sorting through the largest Queen Creek Photography family session I have done to date, which by the way was my own large family of 28-if I remember correctly, and found these treasures.   My dear boys arrived early with me to set up and check light.  They were so patient and willing, it was unbelievable but fortunately I have these pictures as proof.  I’m not sure what I promised for this kind of behavior…???  They sat while I played with dials, set up lights, took down lights, switched out lens, and started all over.   Eventually, the rest of the party showed up but thankfully I had these two to help me prep.  The session went smoothly, I loved the light and the building structure was a perfect size for our bunch.

Photo Challenge | Week 5 | Kirkland, WA

I don’t love to be in front of the camera.  I don’t mind it but I would rather be behind it. BUT many times through classes, groups, conferences, blogs, etc. we are challenged to accomplish a self portrait.  What does that mean?  Get in front, use a remote and then check out how your hair looks and if you look fat or skinny?  : )  I’m not saying I haven’t done (ha) that but this challenge was different… we were to capture something we love or something we love to do.  I was lucky this week because we have had some sunny days-beautiful sunny days.  I would sit at the window in my office, while my son was at preschool, and just marvel at the beauty while enjoying a little heat from the sun’s rays.  I love sunshine and maybe more now then ever.  I love to see how it brightens the day.  I love to see all the neighbors come out of their caves.  I love to see all the pets attached to leashes out for walks on a sunny day.  I love to see the water sparkle.  I love to see the water from the day before glisten on the tree branches.  I love sunshine.  And, nightly my family and I talk about what the weather will be tomorrow, meaning the next day, so my daughter can plan appropriately for school.  I never knew at age 8, and probably didn’t know until my 20′s, how to relate temperature to the weather.  I knew super hot or pretty chilly.  I didn’t know what number that equated to.  Now, my kids know that 50 degrees means chilly-bring your jacket.  They know that 20 degrees means possible snow.  They know that 75 degrees in AZ is a perfect day.  So, I wish for sunshine everyday.  This painting I have in my home was a treasure I found just before we moved-I knew it needed to be with me!  For week 5 challenge with Sandi Bradshaw’s group, I chose to include me and sunshine-as you know we go together like peas and carrots.  I am looking out the window (staying bundled in my fleece, which I wear everyday/all day), expecting sunshine for the day.  It peeked out and didn’t stay very long but what I did see was beautiful!

Photo A Day | January 30-February 5

Well, this week surprises me-it is the last few days of January and moving into February.  Pretty soon we will be singing holiday tunes.  A couple things happened this week…  1. I signed up for a 52 week challenge with a specific topic.  2. I signed up for The Flash Bus in Seattle and it was sold out a few days later-I’m thrilled and excited about it!  3. I will be going to WPPI in Vegas on February 20th and I was sent a reminder email this week-which blew my mind away that we are already in February.  4. I finished my product catalog and my home design guide.  These have both been on my to-do list since the beginning of 2010.  Seriously.  They were both big undertakings with lots of details to work out and formatting to handle.  A huge sigh of relief and a big sense of accomplishment was felt this week!  Having this Photo A Day project has kept my focus-remembering why I love my camera and how life can slip by (both the good and the bad) so quickly.  Here is another week in my life.  : )

January 30- Must there always be piles at the bottom of the stairs? Must the children leave stuff to be cleaned up later (Ok, so there might be a thing or two that belongs to me)? This view is from the front entry… nothing like, “Hi, welcome to my home. The piles… oh the pile. We are lazy but we will get it upstairs someday.” This picture does not depict its true form. It only gets worse from here. The children must not have had a fun day as the stairs do not show the heaps and mounds of clothes and toys! Big Sigh…

More at that junkyard | Queen Creek, AZ Photographer

…real moments, real feelings, real people.  This is it. Hilarious (to me).  This little guy was being silly-so silly.  I photographed him last year during the Queen Creek, AZ mini sessions and he was silly then too.  If you take a quick look on the home page of Lisa Heuer Photography (and be patient while the slideshow loads) you will see him as the fifth one in the show.  He is still as cute as ever and just as goofy as ever.  When I leave a session and go back to load the pictures, I laugh all over again.  I get to be THERE again.  This family had a friend who was photographed just before them and the two of them together were great.  I could have followed them all day, curious to know what they would do, to see them use their imagination.  BUT, the sun was setting and they were getting dirty.  : )