Take a peek

My first photo posting is up on my other blog - The Paper Stylist. Please feel free to take a peek over there.

Return to my First Love

{Image from Flickr user Mihoko Ozaki}

I received my first SLR camera when I was 15 years old. My dad was cleaning out his closet when I saw his Canon FTb still in its original box. I begged him to let me have it and he obliged. The poor man didn't realize it was the end of my would-be medical career and the beginning of a long love affair with photography. From that point forward, I immersed myself in photo classes. I took classes in my high school and through the gifted program. I became a photographer for the school newspaper and literary magazine. I was also fortunate enough to have had some of my photographs exhibited in Student Art Shows. Photography was the vehicle of self-expression that sustained me through my painfully awkward teenage years and kept me out of trouble.

{A Contact Sheet of my work circa 2000}

While in college, I decided to switch majors from biology to art. I wrestled with being a graphic design or photography major. In the end, I chose graphic design. I didn't choose it because I loved it more, but because I knew that it was something I could do without getting quite so emotionally involved. My 20s were a time when I struggled to find my own voice and balance what I wanted for myself and the expectations of my family. At that time, photography was a deeply personal form of expression and escape. I'm also chagrined to admit that it was way for me to meet guys. What guy is going to say no to a cute girl asking him to model for her? My ploy wasn't all that clever. I learned that it only brought me narcissists that were in love with themselves. Oh well! At least I had some fun;)

{Photo by Flickr user RonJe}

It was also during that time, that photography became the way I experienced life. Minute and magnificent moments have been captured by my different cameras. Photography was a constant in my life until the Summer of 2006. My Nikon D70 and all of its accompanying lenses were stolen. It was a blow and I was inconsolable. I took it as a sign that I was no longer meant to be a photographer. I took a sabbatical from photography... or so I thought.

Throughout my break, I still took photos, only I used a point-and-shoot camera. It was an challenging and humbling experience. It forced me to really focus on composition and lighting. It was also a reminder that my camera is merely a tool. It was still up to me to decide what is captured and how it is lit. It came to a point where the poor little point-and-shoot couldn't keep up with me. I finally bought a digital SLR last summer.

In the year since that purchase, I've been photographing as though my life depended on it. In some ways, my life does depend on it. The more I shoot, the more I realize how much I'd missed it. In the midst of this rediscovery, my best friend Cicely and my dear photographer friends Pamela and Neleh have been insisting that I consider shooting professionally. I'm ashamed to admit that I've been shying them off for months with the excuse that I'm only shooting "for fun". After the last couple of months of shooting, I have to admit they were right. I take my work too seriously for it to be simply just "for fun".

My photography is now a part of my professional repertoire. I am in the process of finding my specific style and niche. Before anyone jumps to any conclusions, I am NOT getting into wedding photography. I shot a few weddings in the past and am convinced that it is definitely not the best avenue for my creativity. I have much love and respect for people in that industry, but I know it is not the best fit for me. For now, I'll be shooting a lot of portfolio work in order to better refine my style. I look forward to displaying that work alongside my design projects on The Paper Stylist blog.

It's feels good to know that my first love never left me; it just took a seat on the sidelines.

My muse has returned

For the last couple of months, all the photos that I have taken for this blog or otherwise have been done using this camera - a Casio Exilim 1050. I love this camera for its portability. It takes amazingly sharp photos and does great Youtube-worthy video. I'll still be carrying this one around in my purse. For the most part, it was not photography worthy.

After a 2 year sabbatical, this arrived today.

Not Dottie of course, but the boxes on the couch with her. Inside the boxes were this camera
and two lenses. This awesome delivery was courtesy of Rob. They were a belated birthday gift. All the items were bought used on ebay and at B&H Photo & Video. I opted for a Nikon D50, sigma 28-200 f/3-5 aspherical compact zoom, and a Nikon 50mm f/1.8. Since I have no aspirations to become a sports photographer or wedding photographer, this setup suits me just fine. I really have missed having an SLR. Like I have said so many time before, I've had an SLR since I was 15. I've felt naked without one.

I charged up the battery and was off and running. My first subject? DOTTIE! She's been "modeling" since she was a wee pup. She happily obliged me. Here are some of my first shots with my D50.

Dottie - Perplexed

Dottie- Trying to Cool Off

Dottie - Tired and Bored of My photo taking


Dottie - Chats


Here are my favorites

Lots and lots of photos to come.

A Return to Photography

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I was a photographer long before I was a graphic designer. I got my first SLR when I was 15. My first camera was a Canon Ftb that my father had purchased when I was born and kept in storage. I was a photographer for my high school and college newspapers. Pictures were my life. It feels as though I have every moment of my life captured on film or in pixels.

I had an a Nikon D70 and matching lenses that I was in love with. They were among my prized possessions. Rob brought it with him when he went to watch MotoGP at Laguna Seca in July 2006. It was all stolen from his tent. I was crushed. I took it as a sign that I wasn't meant to be a photographer anymore. I haven't taken a photograph in 2 years.

Don't get me wrong. I do take snapshots. This blog is filled with them. However, I have not taken a well-thought, composed photograph. In the last couple of months, I have thought about how much I miss photography. I have absolutely no desire to photograph anything professionally. I just want to take photos for me. I still have a [gasp!] film camera and am seriously considering using it. To help inspire myself, I played with polyvore.com. Below is my dream setup.

We are THOSE people

It's official. Rob and I are those people. You know the ones, the crazy pet people. As evidenced by some of my posts, we love our dog Dottie. She is spoiled. I admit it. She is fed premium (read:expensive) dog food and has an accessory collection (read: collars and bandannas) that rivals my own. In the winter, Dottie has sweaters. Her most recent acquisition is her very own hiking pack.


It's bad, but I make no apologies. I will take offense to people implying that our love for our dog equates to us wanting children. I can honestly say we are no where near ready to have a "little Anne" or "little Rob" running around.

We decided to do family pictures. Since Dottie is considered family, our photos had to include her. I set about trying to find a photographer that would take photos of us with Dottie. Most said they would love to take pictures of us with our dog. Of course, the their tone changed when I mentioned that Dottie was an American Staffordshire Terrier/Pitbull. I guess they expected us to have the standard L.A. purse-sized canine. I was frustrated. I thought it was either going to cost us a fortune or we were going to have to become master at taking photos with a tripod and timer. Thankfully, I stumbled upon an Apartment Therapy - LA article about Grace Chon of Shine Pet Photos. I emailed her immediately. We conversed through e-mail and scheduled our shoot.

This past Saturday we got up at the crack of dawn to meet Grace in Venice Beach. We decided to go early to avoid the crowds and because Dottie is not a morning doggie. Not a morning doggie equates to her being sleepy and less energetic. The 2 hours we spent with Grace flew by. We had a blast. Dottie, of course, was a rockstar and loved the attention. If she hadn't had another event to attend, we would have invited her to join us for breakfast. We all got along that well.

Here are a few of our favorite pics from her blog.

© Grace Chon / Shine Pet Photos

© Grace Chon / Shine Pet Photos


© Grace Chon / Shine Pet Photos

You can see all the teaser pics on her blog. I love the photos. I really think she captured us and the love we have for Dottie. These are only a few pics, but I have no doubt we will love the rest of them.

Repetition of a Theme

Here's an another photo from my early portfolio.
I took this photo when I was a Senior in High School.

This is a photo of my would-be Senior Prom dress. I was so in love with this dress at the time. My mom and I purchased it at a Nordstrom Rack just outside of Washington, D.C. It was a steal. We bought it for the low price of $75. I was ecstatic. If only, my quest for a prom date went as smoothly. As luck would have it, I could not get a date and decided to go sans date. It was a bold move at the time, but I wasn't brave enough to rock this dress without a date. So, I wore something else. I never wore it anywhere except for in pictures.

So, I dug around for pictures of me in this dress and made a startling discovery...

my prom dress = my wedding dress!



























On the left is a photo of me in my Prom dress in 1991. On the right is from my wedding last summer. The dresses are freakishly similar. Aside from me wearing them, they had one common denominator - my mom.

My mom had suggested I wear my prom dress for my wedding since it was ivory and classic. I was horrified and immediately rejected the idea. I thought it was a Miss Havershim (from "Great Expectations") idea. All I needed was a rotting cake, a wilting prom corsage and I would have been set.

I underestimated that my mom is a clever, clever woman. I should have known she would find a way to sneak my prom dress (or an amazing facsimile of it) in . My mom and I found my wedding dress at a bridal boutique's Going-Out-of-Business sale. She handed it to me after I had tried on a multitude of blah, ill-fitting dresses. I was relieved to find a dress that fit. It was $200. I snatched it up.

I realize now that I had been duped. Thankfully, this is one time that I don't mind that my mom was right. My wedding dress is classic. I don't think I will cringe years from now when I look at my wedding photos. Now, if only I had just listened to her and had my prom dress altered. I could have saved $200!