Patiently waiting

I'm patiently waiting for this crazy hail storm to blow through town so I can get outside and photograph one of my favorite families - their little girl is almost a year older since I last photographed her and her little cousins at their grandmother's house along the Hoover Dam reservoir. I don't think they would mind me sharing a glimpse of their lazy-dazy afternoon with Grammy - complete with dogs, kisses, a Popsicle party, and 3 kids in a hammock. (Maybe Mother Nature will get the hint and move her little spring storm along.)

Lucky 13 for Earth Day!

13 things all photographers can do to be greener.

By American Photo Staff
September/October 2007

The good news: Digital photography has taken huge amounts of chemicals out of our waste stream, including bleach and silver, not to mention millions of plastic-coated prints. The bad news: Digital sucks down a lot of electricity and requires new equipment, which consumes lots of resources and creates considerable eco-impacts, usually far away. Here are a few things all photographers can do to be greener.

1. Watch the Power Meter
With digital, you'll need to keep your power consumption under control if you don't want to warm the planet: Every kilowatt-hour you use produces about 1.4 pounds of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Choose Energy Star-certified equipment, and turn off or put to sleep your computer, display, printer, and scanner when you can. Invest in a power meter like the Kill A Watt to keep tabs on your usage -- you may be in for unpleasant surprises.

2. Choose Your Power
A digital studio, including your Mac Pro computer, your Epson Stylus Pro 3800 printer, and your Nikon D80 charger, will consume hundreds or thousands of kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. Make sure that power is coming from renewable, non-carbon-polluting sources. Through your utility, switch to wind, hydro, or other sources; it may cost a little more, but rebates can help with that, and you're making a difference where it counts, at the source.

3. Recycle Everything
A digital studio will still produce paper waste -- it makes up about a third of our trash. Recycle every scrap; making a ton of paper from waste requires about two-thirds less energy than from wood pulp. Recycle ink cartridges (office stores and online retailers will give you credit for empties) and, when necessary, electronics. Electronic waste has harmful metals and chemicals; give it to a recycling plant that will salvage for useful parts and not just dump it in a landfill.

4. Shoot Locally
Transportation accounts for one-third of the average American's "carbon footprint" -- the CO2 and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. If you're typical, you're responsible for about 15,000 pounds of CO2 a year. One round trip to shoot Maui's jungle could account for half of that.

5. Offset Your CO2
Can't stay home? Can't get your computer, scanner, and printer off the grid? You can help offset your footprint by buying carbon credits via companies such as CarbonFund.org and NativeEnergy. Your money will help create renewable-energy sources and meet other conservation goals.

6. Conserve Energy
The basic energy tips you're practicing in your nonphoto life will work in the studio, too. Using compact fluorescent bulbs and taking a degree or two off the thermostat in winter (and adding a degree in summer) will save energy and keep hundreds of pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere.

7. Unplug It All
Rechargers and other equipment left on standby create phantom loads that waste megawatts every year. Unplug rechargers and power down anything you're not using that has a little green or red light on it. You'll save money and keep CO2 out of the atmosphere.

8. Watch the Chemicals
Processing in a darkroom? Use chemicals less harmful to the environment, such as Kodak's Xtol and other ascorbate (vitamin C) developers. Manufacturers say quantities you use at home can be disposed via your sewer. Check silvergrain.org for nontoxic solutions.

9. Find Greener Options
Explore recycled papers such as Red River Paper's Green Pix, use rechargeable batteries (NiMH is better than NiCd), and, if you print a lot, buy ink in bulk rather than blowing through plastic cartridges. Extra credit: Get a solar-powered battery charger.

10. Be a Responsible Consumer
Vote for the environment with your wallet: Ask camera, paper, and film manufacturers about environmental efforts, from recycling to energy use to materials.

11. Shoot the Change You Want in the World
It's not just how you shoot, it's what you shoot. Think about how your images can represent solutions or illuminate a new angle on an environmental problem.

12. Spread the Word
Small steps add up when millions join in. Tell two friends about your new, greener way of looking at photography. They'll tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on...

13. Make It Last
A long-lived camera is environmentally friendly. Do your research, buy great stuff, and treat it right: It takes a great deal of materials, energy, and pollutants to make a new camera, and pretty much zero to keep your current one in tip-top shape.

City Streets teaser

I'm getting pretty pumped over my newest photography offering, City Street Sessions, in the downtown area (see my previous post for all the details). So, to throw out a little teaser, I've snapped a few shots of possible photo op stops in the Short North - the hippest, happening-est spot in all of Columbus. Who doesn't love the SN! Every nook and cranny spread over several miles of streets and alleys packed full of off-beat clothing shops, local artisan galleries, organic eateries, fair trade coffee bars, murals on buildings (like the Mona Lisa Condos wall), and my favorite piece of SN heaven - the Little Shop of Shoes (the owners know me on a first-name basis - that's scary).

Grab your BFF and meet me in the SN for your very own photo spread! (Just remind me not to schedule your session along with the 2,000 other people who frequent the monthly Gallery Hop!)

Photographer or "passionographer?"

To be a photographer, you must first know who you are. Matthew Jordan Smith

I just received the newest issue of Rangefinder magazine and immediately flipped to an article about MJS, an elite fashion and celebrity photographer or "passionographer," as he was coined by the writer. Just by looking at his cover photo, there was no doubt about which term best describes Matthew's style, as well as his philosophy. And, after reading about his life and commitment to his art, I am inspired to discover why I take photographs, to dig down deeper and find my own vision, to stay true to that vision, and to challenge myself beyond what I think I am capable of. Which term best describes me? I'd like to say the latter but I'm definitely a work in progress.

Passionographer = personally committed to creating art that stems from the connection he or she makes with the human soul in front of their lens.

Don't fence me in...

guard rail

defensive end

KEEP OUT! (or in?)

black pawn moves two squares

iron clad

With camera bag in tow, I headed downtown to the old deaf school where there is a beautiful topiary garden guarded on all sides by a weathered wrought-iron fence (whenever I visit the park, I'm instantly reminded of the Edward Scissorhands movie and my secret love affair with Johnny Depp). Anyway, I had planned on taking some shots of the flowering trees and whimsical topiary statues but got totally "hung up" on photographing the fence instead (I know, my perspective has always been a little whacked - living sculptures, fence, flowering dogwoods, fence...I'll take the fence, please.) I started focusing on the points, curves, weight, shadows, and textures of the intricate ironwork while these little captions just kept popping into my head. For some reason that day, the fence spoke louder to me than the trees and the monkey shrubbery. Who knew?

April showers bring April flowers

As promised, Mother Nature has blessed us with showers AND flowers on this warm April day - before the rain, a few tulips joyously greeted me this morning in the front yard (I'm a real sucker for a pretty flower).

So much for Spring has finally sprung!

I was all set to head out yesterday morning on my annual Spring Has Finally Sprung photo shoot (I love when the sky is turning a soft shade of blue, flowers are blooming, grass is growing, and the light is fantastic!) when I realized the garage door was already open. Hmmmm, did my husband forget to hit the button on his way to work? (Sorry, Babe, you always get picked on, huh?) My first reaction was to try closing the door but it wasn't goin' anywhere. Which meant I wasn't goin' anywhere, either.

Now, we live in a typical subdivision in a typical suburb with the typical sense of security we all appreciate. But, I couldn't just leave the house knowing the garage door would be wide open for all to see! I just knew someone would drive by, look in, and see our beat up old lawn mower and think to themselves, "Boy, I could sure use a beat up old lawn mower." So, I put the Canon away, got out the Yellow Pages, and found garage door repair - that's me! I got on the horn and within minutes I had an appointment for a repairman to come out - an appointment for TOMORROW morning! Wait, that means our door is going to be open all night long! (That's exactly what I said to the company dispatcher and she said, "yes, that's right, maam, tomorrow morning." Silence.) OK, I can deal with this. It's only one night - what could happen in one night?

Later that evening, as the clock struck midnight and it was time to toddle off to bed, my brain kept saying, anyone could just walk right into the garage and take...take what? The beat up lawn mower, the half-used gallon of Pretty in Pink paint, the broken lawn chair hanging from a nail on the wall, the 20 or so empty flower pots stacked in the corner? You get the point. It's all a bunch of junk. So, with nary a second thought, I hopped in bed next to my husband (he was already snoring - see, what's there to worry about, anyway?) and proceeded to have nightmares about the lawn chair attacking me in the middle of the night.

Forget the pretty blue sky and daffodils - I should clean out the garage instead.

City Street sessions

Parks and playgrounds make great photo backdrops but so do urban streets and alleys, complete with amazing architectural angles and interesting textures. That's why I'm offering my City Street Sessions in downtown Columbus on the weekends during the month of June (weather permitting). Picture yourself in...

• as many locations as we can get to
• as many poses as you can pull off and
  
• as many changes of clothing as you can hop in and out of

Sessions are available in 2, 3, or 4-hour increments or as an all-day outing with creative fees starting at $150 with two complimentary 5x7's of your choice. You call to schedule - I'll bring the GPS.

Urban meets Cowtown - only in Columbus Ohiya

Tutu to you, two!

I love, love, love a little girl in a tutu so I couldn't wait until it was this ballerina's turn to come in for her session. I've been photographing her since she was a wee babe and now she's a BIG girl of two - oh, my, where has the time gone? My sweet little girlfriend couldn't wait to show me (and Mommy sitting off to the side) a pirouette in her pearls!

Drum roll, please.........we've got a winner!

CONGRATULATIONS to Lisa B. for being the first client to post a comment on my blog! The B. Family is the lucky recipient of a complimentary creative session just for keeping me company. Whew, I was getting a little lonely out here in blogger land! OK, Lisa, just give me a call and we'll get something on our calendars.