Brooke Snow - Advanced Pro

 by Terri

At Peace… | {A SPECIAL Place}

It hardly seems possible that we are in week four of this amazing class with Brooke Snow – the process has been encouraging, inspiring, motivating and very educational! The process she’s taken us through has been just perfect and I LOVE the format of this class – I will be sad to see it end, but know that it has brought me SO much more than I ever expected from the process.  Thank you, Brooke…and everyone in class, I love seeing what everyone’s vision is and being inspired by all of you…and hope to stay in touch after the class ends!

Week four…the goal was to photograph something that “inspires” us, but is not really related to photography. I thought long and hard about this and had many ideas bouncing around in my head, but once I received a call from my (favorite) cousin in the middle of the week, I knew instantly what I would do and where! My cousin, Tara, lives in Seattle in this AMAZING location, along the Salmon Bay, which links Lake Washington to the Puget Sound, just down from the Ballard locks and literally, right on (and over, depending on the tide!) the water! Whenever we visit, I instantly feel at peace, relaxed and as though nothing else matters at that moment. The views are incredible, sunsets gorgeous and watching the boats go by on a warm summer afternoon from the deck…oh my, this is truly heaven! The reason for Tara’s call was to ask if I’d take some photos of her as she is opening her own counseling practice and needs some photos of herself (which she usually doesn’t like!)…so what a perfect opportunity to complete two tasks in one afternoon. As we wandered down to the beach, we talked about what each of our visions were for our own “projects” and it was interesting that our ideas both melded together since she is wanting to present and image to potential clients of inner peace and self confidence…it couldn’t have been more ideal! We had a gorgeous, bright day (rare lately around Seattle!!) and I embraced the sunshine, using it to create some photos that I feel are calming and peaceful…of course, water, at least to me, is a very peaceful element, so I knew that there had to be an image including it. Tara has a couple of dogs, who are very sweet and loving, so we used them…or I should say, tried to use both, but one is young and had a bit too much energy for the photos, but as you can see in the one photo of her with “Merlin,” both of them are at peace as they gaze off to the water and horizon. My final image is inside their home, which is mostly glass across the front (you certainly wouldn’t want to limit the views!!)…and it is Tara’s favorite place to relax and find peace after a busy and hectic day…a book, cup of coffee and a view that can’t help but relax one…are all elements that create peace for her!

Just wanted to share this photo from later in the evening (after a wonderful dinner with Tara and her husband)…taken from the Ballard Locks, looking at the Salmon Bay Bridge. A little ways beyond the bridge is where their home is…as you can see, a beautiful location!

in Business / Families / Personal 3 comments
 by Terri

New Found Love | {Life Continues on…}

Lesson three for this amazing course I am taking, that inspires, encourages and pushes us to do our best when photographing people. I must say that for this week’s lesson, I was thinking I would have to do it in the make-up week since I would be on vacation, visiting my mom in California. Time would be busy, some shopping, a visit to a winery, hiking with a friend, walking on the beach and of course, spending time with my  mom would keep me on the go. As I sat one night at dinner with my mom, Sis, and her “friend” I was talking about how wonderful this course has been and how much I’ve learned from this…and that I’d have to skip this week’s lesson. My mom asked me why and who or what I was suppose to photograph…I told her either a couple or children. Much to my surprise…she offered for the two of them to be my “subjects!”  Pleased and excited, I had two days to do a bit of research on photographing senior citizens…that was helpful and I found some ideas for poses, which I felt might work. I knew the location would be the back yard of the house my mom was renting in the retirement community…I didn’t want to push my luck and take them somewhere they would feel anymore uncomfortable than I felt they would already feel. Also, I knew it would be limited…time, that is, and needed to move them quickly through the session, so needed to be efficient!

A bit of history…just over four years ago my dad passed away, he and my mom had been married for 48 years and had been incredible role models for us kids as to what a happy and healthy marriage is all about. Losing a loved one is incredibly difficult, but my mom is extremely strong and has kept busy and enjoyed life in the past few years…although I knew she missed having a companion. She winters in Southern California every year (she lives in Spokane, Washington the rest of the year)…and last year she met someone who caught her eye and the two of them found they enjoyed spending time together. Her friend (my mom’s term, not mine!!), Philip, had recently lost his wife to a terrible illness and seemed to enjoy my mom’s company, as well. Fast forward a year…they are still enjoying time together, traveling some, golfing, sharing meals, going to movies, walks and even beating my husband and I at Words with Friends (they are tough competition!)…and are so darn cute together. Once can see the spark they have for each other and it’s great to see that even after a wonderful marriage, life does go on and you can find someone to share your time with again. I’m very happy for both of them and know that their loved ones who are no longer here, would be happy to see them happy!

One thing I found to be a great way to help them (mostly Philip) relax was to ask them what each of them saw in the other when they met a year ago. It took their focus away from myself and the camera…to the other one and they each seemed to relax. Hearing their thoughts and the wonderful qualities that brought them together…it was heartwarming and so nice to know that my mom has found someone to share her life with, who cares about her and enjoys being with her. It’s a blessing to find the “love of your life” and when you lose that love, to find another to share life with is truly an extra blessing!

in Families / Love / Personal 5 comments
 by Terri

A Rainy Afternoon | {Josh, Amanda & Jayden}

Lesson two for this great course, Advanced Pro with Brooke Snow, and I’m loving the ideas, inspiration and encouragement…it’s just what I needed, especially this time of year. Late winter/early spring around the Pacific Northwest is a real questionable time of year for weather…it’s completely unpredictable and nearly impossible to plan outdoor sessions, without being somewhat flexible. My session for this week became subject to the crazy weather and it required we move the session indoors, although near the end, the rain let up and we moved outside for part of it as well. My subjects…or maybe they might call themselves “victims” for this week were our son, his girlfriend and his daughter…as well as two dogs, one being about 12 weeks old! Our granddaughter is 6 years old and very used to the camera, but had just returned home from a classmates birthday party, so was a tad bit “energized” and the dogs, especially the puppy…well, totally unpredictable (even worse than the weather!). Planning and posing ideas were all running through my mind and although I was able to utilize some of them, a lot of the time, I had to just adapt to what was happening and try to keep things moving along. I suppose, I should have expected a bit of a challenge before I even began because our son tends to be a goof whenever the camera comes out…following directions was a challenge for him…he either was making crazy faces or laughing…and trying to get some “serious” photo…well, that took some work. The planning did help with that, I must say…I just moved them past those “crazy” photos into something else and in the end, I was happy with what I was able to capture. Thankfully, their living room has windows across the front, so that allowed a LOT of light coming in and my husband helped by adding some fill light with the reflector where needed…thank goodness today’s cameras are much better with higher ISO’s!! Of course, I wasn’t able to “freeze” the dogs very often, unless they were being held…just keeping them out of the photos was a challenge as they were continually “wrestling” around the living room and even under me as we were shooting! Oh, the joys of kids and animals…I love it!!

 

in Children / Families / Love 0 comments