My best friends' wedding.

 

                          I love the editing on this photo. It looks like a painting already. The colors are so awesome and the lighting just seems to radiate through the image.

                          In December one of my college roommates and best friends got married to a really cool guy. I was privileged to be a brides maid and came armed with my camera. The sun was amazing that day but the photographer had her sitting in the shade under a tree that cast strange shadows on her face and dress. This was a huge lesson to me of the importance of good lighting vs. bad shadows. Between the bad shadows and all the people circling around her, it was difficult to get good shots. But after shooting many pictures and running them through my image editor (Gimp), these images emerged. Not too shabby if I say so myself.

Exploring Oak Creek Canyon



My photographic endeavours took me to Oak Creek Canyon this last fall. It is beautiful. Not many places in Arizona has so many leafy trees that change amazing colors in the fall. In fact, as we walked the trail through the canyon and felt the cool humid air around us, it almost felt like we weren't even in Arizona anymore. I defiantly recommend this hike to even the beginning hiker. We even saw some children, lots of dogs, and a wedding party taking pictures. There is however, a more challenging route for the more experienced hiker. It's called the "off route" path. In other words, there is lots of room for exploring and just having a great time.

Fun with the flash

I took to the bathroom utilizing the mirror to create the great reflection of the boat behind it. Then I turned off the lights and began shooting pictures. The bright flash against the absent of light defiantly gave a cool effect. A very fun activity and maybe something to explore further.

Trip to Tonto National Park

Tonto National Park in Arizona, a beautiful and fun hike and the perfect place to test my outdoors photographic skills. These were some of my favorite shots. Not bad if I say so myself. The hansom gentleman in the photos is my husband. I great photographic subject if I do say so myself. He did tend to be a little dramatically poesy in many shots though.

My journey in the world of photgraphy

 Original Photo that I took of the wax figure Marilyn Monroe at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Hollywood California

This is what the image looks like after I did some editing in Gimp

So the second picture is a little flashy and cheesy, but it is fun and clearly illustrates different editing techniques. I edited this picture in Gimp to use in my Digital Art and Photography class. The students can easily see the things I have done to the photo and the stark contrast between the two gets them excited to begin their own editing. It also got me excited to try my hand at being a better photographer and digital artist.

What a year!

The past few months have been a roller coaster. Last May we, my husband and I, decided to become foster parents. There was a specific child that we knew who was in need of a family. So, we undertook the long process of going to foster classes, background checks, moving into a larger place, and so on. By September we finally had everything in place for the child to come to our home. But, it was not to be. Just as we were about to get certified to be foster parents, a relative was found who wanted to have him come live with them. Frustrated and sad but glad that he could have a home with family.

Our home did not remain empty for long though. My brother was having a hard time getting a job were he was living so we invited him to come stay with us for a few months. He was luckily able to find a job very quickly and began working and saving money to get his own place. My parents had also been having a hard time finding employment so in November we invited them to come stay with us as well. Suddenly, our two bedroom apartment was very full. As they began looking for employment and for a possible place place to live,  my husband and I decided that since we were not going to be foster parents, and probably wouldn't be for a while, that we needed to move back into a one bedroom apt. to cut down on cost. It was suddenly as race for my family to find jobs and their own apartment as we were going to be moving out the end of December.

Thanks to many prayers, one week before we moved out, my family found their own apartment. We were afraid that we would have to send them back to their home town were they could not get work. It was with some apprehension though that they got the apartment because, my dad still had not gotten a job. Again, with many prayers he procured a job two weeks after Christmas. All would be well.

 Me and my Husband got moved into our new place. He started a new job that would give him the flexibility he needed to take time off to apply to the local police departments. That as well was part of the roller coaster as he had earlier in the year applied to Flagstaff and was hired on condition of passing the polygraph test. That darn polygraph test. He took it twice; didn't fail but didn't pass either. He came back twice with two inconclusive results. That was hard to swallow. But he is trudging on and applying to the other departments in the area.

So why do I write all this? What does it have to do with art? Life has everything to do with art. It shapes the things we do and were we go. During this roller coaster, I had next to no time to create any new art. Although, sales at the gallery were very well! I have since started a couple of new ballerina drawings which will be done shortly and I will post on here. But, what I have done the most is photography. This year at the charter school I work at, I have been teaching the Digital Art and Photography class. My knowledge of Digital Art and Photography was I would say lacking so I have in my own photographic endeavours been focusing on become a better photographer and digital artist. I will post this work in the next few blogs.

The amount of art that I have created in the past year has been next to nothing and in many ways it leaves me feeling quite unaccomplished. I have trained myself to gauge my accomplishment of the year based on the number of art pieces I have completed. But the things that have happened this year and the things that have been gained have been exceedingly great even if they are not tangible. While we did not become foster parents, we did help my brother and parents get jobs and find a new place to live. My husband better got to know my family. We learned a ton about being parents and about the foster and adoption system which will no doubt be of great use in the future. Me and my husband have become closer as a couple as we dealt with all these things together. My husband decided on the career path that he wanted to take and gained valuable experience from his first application to Flagstaff.

This had been one weird crazy year. Not at all what I expected. But it has been enriching and filled with many great and unexpected blessings.