No recession here

Here is a video I made for my Multimedia class this summer. We had to create a "statement" video, and I decided to do mine on Alpharetta and the non-recession. I strongly believe that as long as we have h2 hummers, apple computers/iphones and 800,000 homes we are not in a recession just a displacement of money. Check it out!

Impromtu Photo Shoot

The neighbors came over today to grab just a few headshots for a modeling event they have this weekend. They went to a casting call last weekend on whim and they all three were asked to come back for the second call with lots of different agencies. They were so much fun to shoot with and it turned into a little mini photo shoot. We had a great time and my husband gets an A for some great assisting. I shot with Photogeonic Strobes and a 50mm 1.8

Lily's Run

A few weeks ago I set out to shoot my feature for photojournalism. I found out about an event near my home that was a 5k event for an 8 year old little girl named Lily. She was recently diagnosed with advanced neuroblastoma, a cancer in the abdomen. Just a few weeks prior she had started school and was a cheerleader in a youth league. I went to the run not sure what to expect. The place was packed and full of energy with bouncing tunnels for the kids, a live band, lots of vendors and a few falcon cheerleaders. In the middle of the event the forsyth county fire dept brought Lily to be with her family. This part was unplanned and a big surprise to most. With a weakened immune system she is not supposed to have close contact with others outside her immediate family. She spent most of the time in the truck waving to friends but made a special appearance onstage to sing a song. She sang "The Climb" from Miley Cyrus, one of her idols. There was not a dry eye in the crowd, including myself. Its hard to shoot and cry at the same time. I met many of the family members towards the end of the event and they couldn't have been any kinder and thanked me for coming. Lily has such a fighting spirit and is ready to conquer this. Her family lives by the phrase "Anderson Power!", their last name. I am very moved by this little girl. I am not sure if it is her love for peace signs and neon green, or her willingness to move forward acknowledging she has a long road ahead. I don't complain about being tired, or having too much to do anymore. I hope to have her same outlook in my life. I had the priviledge of meeting "Aunt Kristen" a few days later and showing her the video. I will remember this for a long time.

French Fries for Amy

So I was hit with writers block...what to blog today??? Classmate Amy suggested french fries, due to the large plate of fries people at our table were sharing for breakfast. I was a little hesitant trying to figure out what french fries had to do with photography. Well, it turns out that there are hundreds, yes hundreds of stock photos to sell of french fries. Who knew french fries would be such a hot photo commodity but apearantly I am missing out. So thanks Amy if I run out of photography options my fall back plan will be french fries. :)

Digital Photo - Buyer's Guide 2009: Storage | DPmag.com

Digital Photo - Buyer's Guide 2009: Storage | DPmag.com

Check out this great article and links to digital storage solutions. As photographers we are faced with a difficult tasks of managing thousands of files that could crash and be gone in an instant. With film, you at least had a hard copy and then the negative. The negatives are the hard copy now and it is a great idea to have a smart backup plan to save your images for a very long time. I lost a laptop, had a hard drive crash and two thumbdrives go out on me all in one year and I am so thankful to have backed those images up. Looks like as we go into our second year I will need a secure and trusty plan for backing things up!

The Atlanta History Center: Dia de Muertos

Today the Atlanta History Center hosted the Dia de Muertos celeberation. It is a day celebrating the generations past. The center describes the day as " an ancient festival rooted in Mexican heritage and serves as a way for families to remember their deceased loved ones and to celebrate their children and the continuity of life." The food smelled wonderful, the music was great and it was a beautiful day. Overall a fun experience and would recommend everyone to catch it next year.

Dia De Muertos and an Iranian convoy protest thing...

Thanks for the title D. What a day. We have an assignment in our photojournalism class that is called a feature. A feature is a lighthearted newspaper type photo that tells a story in itself. I headed out with classmate Damian to the Dia de Muertos celebration at the Atlanta History Center. The day of the dead is a hispanic celebration to honor those who have died. Click here for more info on the history. We had a great time at the event and got some fun shots. What really takes the cake is just a few minutes after we left we noticed red, white and green flags. It turned out to be Iranian flags on 20+ cars. We caught up to them in a parking lot when they stopped to regroup. I told them we were photojournalism students and damian quickly handed out business cards and started taking names. They put us in the middle of the caravan with them and we paraded around Atlanta for an hour and a half protesting Iranian President Ahmadinejad and the current Iranian regime. It was a great experience and at the end of the caravan we had the opportunity to stop and meet the people who organized this and swapped info to continue shooting at some of their events. I love days like today, set out to do one thing and end up with something completely different in the end. I really cannot wait to see everyones feature photos.