GCBlogs

Before she was a photographer she was on the other side of the camera as a model. In 1978 she Started out as a commercial photographer for magazines, but has now changed over to portrait photographer in 1998. She likes to shoot the stages of life for example couple, pregnancy, then the baby. She definitely looks at photographer as a piece of art. She wants her consumers to feel comfortable. Her consumers say that she is energetic and makes you feel at home. And this creates a wonderful studio environment. One lady said that she didn’t feel that she need to worry about how her hair and clothes looked because she knew that she could trust Linnea. Linnea understands that body language can make or break the picture, so she is very patient and works with her consumer. She says that a hand out of place can cause her to throw out a picture. She also likes to play with lighting and the usage of shadows. She does not have a degree in art, but rather psychology which she feels helps her to tap into the human connection during her sessions Linnea has three studios in California. She shoots digitally so your shots are available in color, black & white, and sepia. She is the member of Professional Photographers of America, International Registry of Children's Photographers, Professional Photographers of Los Angeles County, Women in Photography International Professional Division, Professional Photographers of California, Pregnancy Portrait Photographers, Getty Images famous photographers, Wedding and Portrait Photographers International She recently did a series called Images from the homefront. These pictures show military personnel with their family and show the emotions of how the family feels.

Topics and Issues 3
Greg Lehman was the speaker for the third Topics and Issues session. It was held in AD 28. It wasn’t your standard art lecture, but a lecture that was helpful for every household. He showed some pictures of the houses that he has built that is environmentally friendly. He talked about the process that he has went through and the struggles that he has endured to make sure that each house is green. He started building the first house in 2001. He had to build the house the wrong way because he didn’t want to impact the trees around the building plot. For the frame of the house, he used whole tree trunks. Then used hay for insulation and cob walls. He used space very efficiently, by using every nook and cranny. He put his dining room in a small round spot that wouldn’t have been able to be used for anything else. He bought most of his supplies locally. He finished the house in 2006. He learned from his mistakes and is now in the process of building a duplex. He is using blue foam to help keep the heating bill down. He is putting all of his focus into energy saving mechanisms. This has been very apparent in the energy bills that he receives. The last bill was only $36.50. He believes that his next project will be a jewelry shop in his back yard. He wants to be able to heat it totally by solar power. He believes that he can learn from this project and then put these lessons into practice on another house. He said that the most important thing for an eco-friendly house is good insulation. This helps keep the house either warm in the winter or cool in the summer. Greg said that the hardest part is passing code. He said that it could be done, but it was very difficult. From this lecture, I learned that we can learn from our mistakes and go on. Greg didn’t get discouraged when his first house wasn’t perfect, but he learned from his mistakes and kept going. Greg’s lecture also reminded me that art is not in a box. But it can be anything that is creative.
Posted at 21:45 #

[www.mystiquephotography.com...] -- Yet again, my photographer for the week is a portrait photographer. Her name is Lori Brown. She serves eastern and western Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, but is also willing to travel beyond that. One of her pictures on her site is from Ohio. She shoots children of all ages, families, senior pictures, engagement, and wedding pictures. She is currently doing a series called “Trash the Dress, Dude”. This is where she will have a girl in a prom dress, bridesmaids dress, or even a wedding in places that you don’t normally see that kind of attire. Theses can be shot in fields, on top of cars, and parking lots. She has been shooting, since 1992. She has taught herself the techniques that she uses. Currently, she shoots with a digital Fuji camera. She says that she shoots a lot more than her client will ever see. The reasons are that not everyone is ready at the same time and that some moments just happen. Many clients ask if they can see the unedited photos, she refuses this. She wants her clients to trust her to let her make the choice. I thought this was interesting, because maybe her clients would like something that she wouldn’t. But on the other hand, I understand not wanting other people to see my unedited work. I like her work because of the unusual ideas that she can come up with. A lot of her work looks like paintings, but natural. Her children’s pictures are not always focused on the face of the child, but other parts of the body as well. Her pregnancy pictures would make the mom feel beautiful, even during a time when she is not feeling all that beautiful. Her wedding pictures captures images that I would never have thought of doing, such as the picture with the rings in the flowers. Her senior pictures are not ordinary senior pictures with a few props here and there. They are taken in places that match the senior’s personality and hobbies. You can tell that they love working with her to get the best photograph possible. You can tell she does a lot of editing or special lenses to get the pictures that she does, but it doesn’t look unnatural. Lori is a present day photographer that I think is going to be around for a while. She has won numerous awards and competitions. I hope you enjoy her work as much as I did.

Topics and Issues 2
Topics and Issues 2 Hong Lu Hong Lu was born in China, growing up during a strong communist dictatorship. She worked in the rice fields seven days a week, but used this time to draw the people that she worked with. She has studied art and education. She has started a television program teaching children how to draw and paint. She came to the United States to study art even more. Because Hong Lui is Chinese, she has faced discrimination, many countries did not want her to be in their country. She had to wait for four years for her passport. Finally, she was able to come to San Francisco to start her work. Her work has been affected by her passport, the word alien, and her green card. Her work also has been affected by stereotypes, such as fortune cookies. I like the way that she uses her art work to express her life experiences and the way she felt through these experiences. She chose to use artwork to let her voice be heard and fight imperialism and discrimination against gender. She didn't let the hardships that she experienced get her down, but let these hardship create masterpieces of art. She also let the voices of past generations of women that had no voices then, be heard now. She does this by taking older pictures and incorporating them into her paintings. I also like the way that she uses products from the country that she is doing the art work about. She doesn't try to reproduce the products with a cheaper country. I had never thought that I could be another person's voice with my artwork, but Hong Lu showed that you can be. Not being able to be at the presentation definatley had it drawbacks, because the video did not show the PowerPoint. So I was not able to see her work. This also caused me to have a hard time visualizing what she was saying in her lecture. I think I would have enjoyed seeing her artwork.
Posted at 21:56 #

Blog #2
Janine Memon Dietz is my photographer for this week. She has named her photography business Saving Grace Photography. She specializes in portrait photography. Her favorite subjects are children. She loves to get to know the children. She feels that she can only get a true representation of the child if she is able to gain the trust of the child. She tells on her website that she loves to photograph children because they are the most revealing, because they are not self- conscious. They find beauty in the small things of life and can be captivated easily by these objects. She feels that childhood is like a fleeting moment and it is her job to capturing it. She feels that in each photo shoot she is a story teller. Janine’s photography does not consist of extra lighting or unnatural props. She says she uses what is around her including natural lighting. She likes the shoot to be in the child’s natural setting or a park. The props that she often use are hats, baskets, and natural things in the outdoors. Janine’s photography includes maternity pictures also. In these photo’s, you can also see her love to use the natural setting. Many of the pictures on her website of maternity shoots are taken in a bedroom or in front of a window. I believe that Janine’s work caught my eye because of the natural simple beauty that is captured in each photo. No not every hair is in place or each child is doing the perfect pose, but she captures the memories and the moment. I feel that the parents would remember when each photo was taken during the shoot. You can almost tell what each child is thinking or you can see the mischievousness oozing out of their eyes. Also, these are the kind of pictures that I want to be able to take. I don’t want to capture the perfect pose, but I want to capture the memory. Photo Site www.savinggracephotography.com Blog www.savinggracephotographyblog.com
Posted at 21:26 #

Blog #1
Stephen and Jennifer Bebb specialize in wedding photography. They are based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They started a business in 1999 as a side job, but it quickly grew to the point that they were both full-time by the end of that year. Now ten years later they have a thriving business. I really enjoy their photography, because they seem to capture real moments, not staged moments like most wedding photographers so often do. You can tell from their photography that they enjoy working with their clients and their clients enjoy working with them. They like to get to know the couple by having a shoot before the wedding, maybe an engagement shoot. Even if the wedding is a traditional wedding, they just don't take the traditional wedding pose. But they look around and capture everything from the dressing room to the last goodbye. Each couple receives their own unique set of pictures. No two sets are alike, partly because the wedding styles are different, but because Stephen and Jennifer's goal is to go into each wedding with a fresh start. You can feel the passion and love that the couple has for each other. You can see the beauty in the small details of the wedding. You can feel the excitement. You can see the laughter and the tears. Stephen and Jennifer have a remarkable talent for capturing the memories. They also are starting to do portrait photography. They enjoy shooting family portraits. Again, these are not your normal everyday family portraits. Jennifer gives an example of them shooting a family in their house on the mom and dad's bed having a pillow fight. This once again shows what a dynamic duo that Stephen and Jennifer make as a photographer team. Awards and Accomplishments One of the top ten wedding photographers by American Photo Magazine. (2007) Canon asked them to review the new 5D MkIi. (2008) Judged the Winter 2008 Wed Competition. (2008) Featured Speakers at the One Conference (2008) Fusion is Now The DVD (2008) Photography Website http://www.tyingtheknot.net/index2.php Blog http://www.bebbblog.com/index.php Other Sources http://www.popphoto.com/americanphotofe atures/3854/the-top-10-wedding- photographers-2007-top-10-wedding- photographers-continued-page2.html
Posted at 23:31 #