Alex

My good friend, Alex DiFiori is one of my greatest photographic inspirations.  When all else fails, I can always count on him to kick my butt into gear and get me shooting again.  What I admire most about him is that he's constantly experimenting- new mediums, new subjects, just constantly challenging himself as a photographer.  And his work is amazing because of it.

It's important to keep skills sharpened.  No matter how much talent you've got, you've still got to go out and use it or it just gets dusty.  I try to shoot pretty often, but Alex has me beat.  His goal is to shoot one really good photo every day for a year.  To me, this is way more challenging than shooting a hundred pictures on your digital camera and assuming one or two of them came out well.  Really forcing yourself to try and take the best shot you can get is an excellent way to get better.

In that sense, film has an advantage over digital.  I think digital gives the excuse of laziness, but I tell ya, when you're paying for film out of your back pocket and your back pocket isn't exactly overflowing with cash, you definitely want those pictures to come out perfect.

I try to keep that ideal in mind while shooting digital- I try to wait for the moment and capture it when it happens instead of shooting in rapid succession and hoping something comes out salvageable.  I'm no Alex DiFiori, but I'm getting better!

Polaroid

I'm part of an organization called The Notebook Army which has been a really big part of my life over the past few years.  You buy a marble notebook, fill it with whatever you want and at the end you give it away.  Leave it in a bookstore, on someone's front step, at the bus stop, wherever.

I'm working on my third right now but I've got to confess, I haven't given the first two away yet.  Maybe I'll scan them or something, but as of right now it's almost scary to think of parting with them.  I was going through some major life changes when I wrote them, particularly the first one, and it feels odd to give them away, even though that's really the whole point.

Anyway, I was looking through the first one today and found the first polaroid I've ever taken- I had taped it to the last page.  It was the first 'studio' type shoot I'd done, really.  I set up the lights, posed the model, figured out the exposure and took a stab at it.  For a first time try, I actually really like how it turned out.

I haven't done much with film recently- too poor, mostly.  But I really miss it.  There is something so rewarding about working with film- it's an entirely different medium from digital.

Safety Net

I was looking back over some of my old modeling pictures the other day and got a bit nostalgic.  I originally started modeling with the intention of meeting other photographers and learning from them.  I accomplished that, for sure, but I got so caught up in it that I barely worked behind the camera anymore.  As an extreme solution, I stopped modeling completely a little less than a year ago.

I still kind of miss it every now and then, I'll be honest, and although I never claimed to be a professional, I'd like to think I wasn't half bad.

The problem for me was how distracted I got from the original goal.  I tend to do that a lot.  I have big aspirations but too many sideshow novelties catching my eye along the way.  Sometimes it's difficult for me to remember that I've got to stay focused, that this business is hard and takes diligence.  I wouldn't exactly say I was raised on a silver spoon, but I've always known that if I'm willing to swallow my pride, I've always got a place to stay.  I've used that as an excuse for procrastination in the past, but I sincerely try to remind myself of my good fortune whenever I can.

Having a safety net to fall back on doesn't give you an excuse not to accomplish anything.

Photo: ©Terry Eggebrecht, Post-work: ©WrittenLightPhotos

It is HOT out today!!!!!

Today I supervised an Urban Outfitters shoot- pretty exciting to have well known companies using our studio!  Honestly though, for the prices we charge I'm surprised every photographer in Philly doesn't know about us yet.  Seriously, these are prices even I can afford!

As far as affording things goes, work has been really great- I wasn't sure how I'd do with the summer months since I'm not in school and my rent is paid, but in two days of work I easily made what I needed, so the rest is pocket change.  W00t!

Please check out the studio if you get time- lots of great natural light (windows can be covered if necessary), 15' ceilings and wide open floor space.  For CHEAP.

I've been 'hired' to shoot my dad's family reunion.  It feels kind of odd to be hired by family although I guess that's how a lot of people started off.  I guess I've just kind of been doing this photography thing on my own and haven't really shared a lot of what I'm doing with relatives so to be hired as the official photographer, not as the granddaughter or niece or cousin is actually new to me.  We'll see how that goes!  =)

I'm here.

So, I finally decided to create and hopefully update one of these things.  It seemed like a good idea to try and keep everyone informed about what's going on in my world.

I was recently hired at Studio 5 South Photography Studio and am working there as some sort of studio supervisor/gig booker/publicist/artist relations person.  I'm not sure what the official title would be, but thus far I like it.

Things with the Scar Project are looking up- I have a popular website interested in making a regular feature out of it.  They're also hoping to help me make a book!  Hooray!

Still shooting my nieces constantly- they're my favorite subjects.  Recently finally had the chance to shoot with my favorite model, Shea.  We've been talking about it for over a year and never got around to it.  The pictures turned out great!

Well, I think I'll keep it short for now.  Mostly, I just wanted to say I'm here, so stick around and see what comes out of this thing.  Crazy stuff is always happening in my world!