Happy Halloween!!

I hope everyone is having a great day. Last Friday, Pat and I went to a costume party at Mike and Rose Windland's studio . . . . fun, fun, fun! Anyway, here are photos of myself and Pat in our costumes. I am supposed to be Audrey Hepburn from "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Kudos out to Johnny at Hair Deco for doing such a fabulous job on my hairdo. It was awesome!
A note: the faux fox fur was my grandmother's (Audie). I love it and was excited to finally get to wear it somewhere. (I know it's not PC but it's inherited and not real or at least I don't think it's real.) Anyway here are some photos of us in our costumes. Enjoy and don't laugh.

Ty Mason

The weather here is yucky and I was supposed to shoot outdoors today. Well, since that was not possible, I had a little time to post something. I was going through some of my files and remembered this composite of little Ty and his family. He is the son of Josh and Tifinie Mullins of Chapmanville, WV. Enjoy!!

Kayla

Hey, I promised a while back to post images form this session and I'm just now getting to it. (It's just been CRAZY at the studio!!) This is a composite image from Kayla McClaran's senior session. She traveled all the way from Denver, Indiana to have her portraits made at our studio. I know, it's quite surprising isn't it?! But, believe it or not, we have four seniors this year coming to our studio from out-of-state. Anyway, Kayla attends High School at North Miami High School and she was such a joy to photograph. Her pictures turned out awesome!!

Zach

Sorry, it's been about two weeks since my last post . . . (not that I really expect anyone to be reading) I haven't been posting because I have been really busy on the computer trying to get caught up on all of my work and retouching. Anyway, I wanted to post a creative action blend image from Zach Peters senior session. I was so excited to finally create a blend like this for a tennis player. It was fun!! Enjoy!!

Modish Completed

Modish is FINALLY completed . . . and I know there are a lot of people who will be very happy!! There has been a lot of buzz and excitement about our new release. Some have been waiting for a long time and let me tell you . . . it was worth the wait. It's an awesome collection!!! I absolutely love it!! I am having so much fun creating new things with all of the elements!! For a limited time, we will be offering a bonus disc with three extra templates which were all created with Modish pieces! Here is a sample of one of the templates available for those who purchase Modish by October 9th. Have fun and don't let your photos go undressed!!

Traci

I wanted to upload a shot from the senior session I shot today. It was such an enjoyable day. The weather here in WV is starting to change and to feel a little like fall. So, I though this outfit was really fitting and quite simply too cute for words!! The senior is Traci Roberts from Westside High School. Traci and I had a great time and her photos are going to turn out awesome!!

Modish

Well, here is a look at a photo I created with items from the soon-to-be released edition of photoDUDS Senior V.3 Modish. I am so excited because the collection has turned out so cool!! I will be traveling to Michigan early in the week and then to upstate New York on the weekend to give seminars on senior portrait photography. So, they should get a nice look at the upcoming Modish collection. We hope to be shipping the new DVD in about 2 weeks.

The Many Faces of Brayden

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend!! I have been diligently working on the computer most of the weekend. As I was working on Brayden's images, I decided that I had to share his cute little face with everyone. Every time he comes in to the studio he is so cute and animated! I love to photograph him!! So here is a gallery his mom ordered for their home. Enjoy. I'm sure he'll bring a smile to your face just as he did mine!

photoDUD freebie

I am posting an image of a photoDUDs template which is going to be added to the freebie area of the DUDS' site. So many photographers were asking about testing the product for ease and compatibility, that we decided to offer a "free" wallet size template. Why so small you might ask? We wanted to keep the file size small for quicker downloads. It's really just designed as a demo test file. So, go to the photoDUDS site and give it a whirl!!
I think it turned out pretty cute. I must give a shout out to the senior appearing in the template . . . it's Allison Hainer who attends Man High School and her photos turned out awesome!!

iPod

I recently was inspired to shoot images which centered around the iPod . . . what senior doesn't love their iPod, right? The subject is Erin Stone from Logan High School and we had loads of fun creating all sorts of images of her with an iPod. (Note: The added photo on the screen of the ipod is of Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips. This is a shot I took earlier this summer from their performance at Bonnaroo 2007.) Anyway, I will probably be posting a few more shots later from this session with Erin so stay tuned . . . .

The White Stripes

Recently, I read an article in Paste Magazine about The White Stripes. I found something Jack White said in the article to be quite interesting and poignant. He stated this in response to a question about people and journalists suggesting that he and Meg had sold out.
"I’ve never understood it. I’ve always thought it was strange what happened with the underground and punk publications that really championed us when we were in our early days making seven inches. It just seemed like as soon as two other people heard of us they could care less. It’s ridiculous to champion underdogs and once they succeed to abandon them. That’s a whole lot different than building them up and knocking them down. There’s this abandonment that happens.

Where’s your sense of longevity with the things you love? If you abandon a band as soon as other people like them, then you don’t love it for the right reasons. You like music for identity. You have an identity problem. [laughs] That’s not loving music. Loving art for its own sake means you don’t care what people think—which is exactly what they’re supposedly standing for. Somebody explain that. I don’t get it, man."

Anyway, if you've never read Paste Magazine go pick one up. It's an awesome magazine whose tag line is "looking for signs of life in music, movies and culture."

Here is a photo I shot of The White Stripes at this year's Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. Rock on Jack and Meg!!!

WPPI-March 2008

I am very excited to announce that I have received a platform to speak at WPPI in March of 2008 in Las Vegas!! So, to anyone who plans to attend my program please remember, "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." So, if I were to fall off of the stage and embarrass myself . . . your lips must be sealed. All kidding aside, I am very pleased to have received this prestigious honor and I promise to put on a great show. See you in Vegas!!

Vacation?????

Believe it or not I am on vacation . . . well, not really. It's very hard to explain. I am on a Home Vacation . . . for those of you are wondering "is she crazy and what exactly is a Home Vacation?" I guess it's not really a vacation since I plan to work all week trying to get caught up on all of my orders, proofs and work in general. I am continually working 12-14 hours a day trying to keep up with everything. However, it is my hope that this week I can get caught up enough to relax and maybe take a short breath. (This is better and less expensive than the trip we had planned to Los Cabos, Mexico, right?) Believe it or not I am a little more relaxed than usual, so maybe it's working a little. As you can see, I did have time to post today so that's improvement!!

I am posting a photo album layout I designed for GP Albums today. They requested I submit some album designs for their upcoming catalog and re-designed website. The images were shot of Katherine earlier this year during the ever-popular Boone County Coal Festival.

Rangefinder Article

I am very proud to announce that the August issue of Rangefinder is now out and that there is a feature article about me and the photoDUDS product. (Yes, pinch me so that I know it is real!!) Moreover, I was astonished when they called to tell me that one of my images would be featured on the cover of the issue as well. I am so thrilled to receive this recognition and exposure and I would like to thank Charmaine Beleele and Bill Hurter, for without them it would not be possible. If you would like to find out more about Rangefinder and read the article please click here.

New Website is Here!!

Finally!! I have finished the website and it is now live. Be sure to check back often, as my friends at Dinny's Designs have created a website that is totally self-managed. This means that I can update much more frequently and change text, photos and content as often as I want. So, hopefully I will be able to find a little time in my CRAZY schedule to add new and exciting things to the site.
Since I have to post text without some sort of image I decided to post a self-portrait I designed in Photoshop. The images were all shot in Austin about a year ago with my Lensbabie.

New Website Coming Soon!!

I am so very excited!!! I have been working very hard on my new website and I think I should be able to "go live" in a week or so. The site was designed by my friends Diane and Steve at Dinny's Designs and I think it's awesome!! Here is a preview of the homepage . . . BTW, the address will still be the same at www.foresterphoto.com

Holga Camera

I recently received a fun camera for my birthday . . . It's called a Holga and was originally designed in Russia in the early 80's by the state-run optics manufacturer LOMO PLC.
In 1991, some Austrian travellers on vacation purchased one of the original Russian cameras and were immediately "charmed by the unique, colorful, and sometimes blurry images that the camera produced." The camera itself is constructed very cheaply . . . it is entirely plastic even the lens) and most have light leaks due to the cheap construction. These Austrians purchased the distributing rights and began to push the the idea of "casual snapshot photography" or Lomography.
Lomography emphasizes the "don't think just shoot" style of photography. Characteristics such as over-saturated colors, off-kilter exposure, blurring, "happy accidents," and alternative film processing are often considered part of the "Lomographic Technique." Users are encouraged to take a lighthearted approach to their photography. Here are their mottos for Lomography:

1. Take your LOMO everywhere you go and whenever you go.
2. Use it any time - day or night.
3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but a part of it.
4. Shoot from the hip.
5. Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as close as possible.
6. Don't think.
7. Be fast.
8. You don't have to know beforehand what you've captured on film.
9. You don't have to know afterwards, either.
10. Don't worry about the rules.

Well, anyone who knows me knows that I am a perfectionist when I shoot. I have found it very hard to take snapshots when I am travelling because I want everything to be just so and due to that fact I rarely photograph out of the studio. So, the Holga is kinda perfect for me. It's supposed to look sort of weird or bad so then I have no worries. I am posting a couple of shots I took with the Holga while I was recently travelling in NYC. Enjoy!!

iPhone

Well, I have to admit it
. . . I was one of the 500,000 people who purchased the iPhone in the first weekend it was on sale. We just happened to be in New York City the weekend of the launch. So, we simply had to stop in the SOHO Apple store to see it in person. I was hooked. Now, I have been an Apple person since 1984 (yes, my first computer was a 512k and I've never owned a pc) but I really wasn't planning on purchasing an iPhone right away. But, after seeing the device in action I was in love!! I worried that I would have buyers remorse but after only three weeks of use I can't ever imagine life without it. For me it's a perfect fit.

photoDUDS-Babies

I am very pleased to announce that our first photoDUDS DVD for Babies is finally here!! It's named Precious and it has some awesome graphics and templates to help in the creation of baby albums, galleries and announcements. I am looking forward to using it on many of our new creations.

Ledger-Ison Wedding

Just wanted to share a couple of photos from a recent wedding I shot in Charleston. Shanna and Dennis are a really special couple and the photos from their wedding turned out awesome! I want to wish them the best of luck for many happy years to come!!

Bonnaroo '07

Well, we just returned from Bonnaroo 2007 where we were blogging for the Charleston Gazette. It was tons of fun but lots of work! I really enjoyed taking a break from my regular portrait work to stretch out my craft and shoot something entirely different. While on the trip I photographed artists such as: The White Stripes, Wolfmother, The Police, Ben Harper, Spoon, The Decemberists, John Butler Trio, John Paul Jones (Bassist Led Zeppelin), Wilco, Kings of Leon and The Flaming Lips. If you want to check out some of the coverage please click here.

Sarah and Chad

I wanted to share a couple of wedding images of the newlyweds Sarah and Chad Hovis of Charleston, WV. I went to high school with Chad's bother, Chris so it was especially enjoyable seeing so many familiar faces from Logan. It was a beautiful wedding and a wonderful day. Congrats Sarah and Chad!!!

Bridal Portrait?

I have been working diligently on designing a wedding coffee table album for Jessica and Jared Fox. While sorting through the images, I came across this fun image we shot the day of Jessica's bridal session. I thought it would be nice to share . . . so enjoy!!!

New DUDS

I was working with some of the new DUDs Diane created for our upcoming DVD which, as of yet, is untitled. (We're tossing around the name Tattoodles . . . simply because the designs are inspired by both doodles and tattoo art.) Basically, it will feature an eclectic collection of brushes for portrait enhancement. We hopefully will be putting out the DVD sometime late next week. I am in the process of writing a short article for an upcoming GP Albums newsletter and we are trying to coordinate the release with the publication of the article. If you want to check it out visit www.photoduds.com sometime soon.

Senior Season Officially Begins!!!

Well, hard to believe but it's already here . . . senior portrait season. I officially shot my first senior yesterday. It was Scott High School's Micah Ballard. (I want to give her shout out for being elected SHS Student Body President--way to go!!) Anyway, I have been photographing Micah and her family since she was about 7 years old, so it was really nice to start out the season with a friendly, familiar face. We got lots of really nice images and I want to share one that Micah and I were so very excited about!! I could hardly wait to get home to see these images we shot of her in this year's prom dress. We were really trying for something different and I think it turned out awesome!!

Baby Collection

I was up late last night (much too late I'm afraid) working on a new brochure for the Baby Collection. For having finished it at nearly 3 a.m. and in spite of my drowsiness, it turned out pretty well!!
I love shooting the Baby Collection images!! It's so much fun to share in other people's joy and to watch these children change so much in their first year of life . It's such a rewarding experience to able to help other capture their most treasured moments.

A Day at the Beach

A few weeks ago we ran our Beach Special at the studio. We brought in 17--50 lb bags of play sand (which seemed never-ending when Katherine and I were packing it out of the studio), a pier and lots of shells to create our set. It turned out great and I've started processing the photos. It's so fun to see all of the wonderful images!!! I am posting an image of Sophia Pearson, who is such a cutie and had such a fun time playing in our sand!!

Seniors 2008

It's rapidly approaching . . . . the 2008 senior season.
Yes, it's hard to believe that I will start photographing the graduating class of 2008 in only 8 short days!!! I can hardly fathom it myself!!! This week I will frantically be updating the studio with new props, finishing the 2008 price list and painting some areas of the studio for use as backgrounds. We sent out the letters earlier this week to the 60+ seniors we already have scheduled so far. (If you are planning on scheduling a senior appointment, please be advised that currently our first available opening is sometime in mid-September)

Ryan Adams Concert

I am super-excited!!! Tonight was are going to see Ryan Adams in Morgantown at the Metropolitan Theatre. This will make the third time we've seen him in concert and the previous two were simply awesome!! We heard from a friend who saw him in concert earlier this week that Ryan was unable to play guitar or piano due to a recent skateboarding accident. Bummer!!! Still, it should be a great show. I am posting a photo from the first time we saw Ryan in Washington, D.C. at the 9:30 Club.

Kennedy's Book

Sorry it's been a while since I posted but I have been super busy trying to finish all of my senior orders. Anyway, we just finished a "My First Year" book for Kennedy Shilling and I wanted to share some of the pages with everyone. This book was purchased by John as a Mother's Day gift for his wife Kendra. I am sure he received BIG bonus points for such thoughtfulness!



It was so much fun watching Kennedy grow throughout her first year. She changed so much between each session. She was great fun and has loads of personality!!! She especially enjoyed her cake at her 1 year session, as you can see from the photos.

Katherine

Hey, I'm just taking a short break from retouching. I thought I would upload a new image I created of Katherine which uses the photoDUDS product. The background paper is from the upcoming Senior, Vol. 2 titled Sunshine. Since it is such a nice spring day, I felt this image was appropriate. I hope everyone is out enjoying this beautiful day!!

photoDUDS-don't let your photos go undressed

I am sooooo very excited!!! I am launching my new product designed especially for professional photographers, photoDUDS this weekend.



I am set to speak on Sunday at the Professional Photographers of Pennsylvania Convention where I will debut the Fresh, Senior Vol. 1 DVD.

After conceptualizing the product about 3 or 4 months ago, I ultimately contacted a designer, Diane "Dinny" Miller, to help in the creation of the designs for the products. I couldn't have found a better person to work with on this project. We really seem to connect creatively and her designs are exactly what I envisioned for the products. Plus, she and her husband Steve have created an awesome website--photoduds.com













Basically the product was created to aid photographers in designing all sorts of creative images, marketing pieces and specialty products. It's sort of like a "designer in a box kit." I've had so much fun playing with all of the elements: background papers, brushes, word art, templates and embellishments!!! I feel like a "real" designer with this product at my fingertips. I hope everyone else will too.

New Jewelry Designs!!

I am very excited to announce our new line of photographic jewelry from K. Cooper Jewelry Designs. Each piece is custom designed with your photographs. Some of the various pieces they offer are: necklaces, rings, watches, Italian charm bracelets, bangle bracelets, pocket knives, money clips, and earrings. Our samples should be in the studio in few weeks . . . either stop in a see what all we have to offer or you can view all of the designs by clicking here.

Max

This week, I was working on an order for Gary and Stacy Bowen from their son, Max’s one-year portrait session. I found them so cute that I had to share them!!

But first, I would like to give a little bit of background about Max and his family and my relationship with them. I first met Gary (aka Spanky) when he came into the studio to see about my photographing he and Stacy’s wedding. Months later, I spent a day with them photographing their wedding at the Deer Park Inn in Buckhannon, WV. Although it rained on their outdoor wedding a few adjustments were made and the day turned out glorious. As did the pictures!!!

So, when Gary and Stacy had Max, they called the studio and set up with our Baby Collection program in order to capture Max as he changes throughout his first year of life. Well, let me just say, Max is such a treasure and all of his sessions were so fun and exciting. He enjoyed it so much and I was able to get some really creative shots at each of the three sessions.
And, now Gary and Stacy are expecting their second child, a girl, in June!! So I am looking forward to sharing in their memories of her first year as well. In fact, today I photographed a maternity session for the Bowens, where I got my first glimpse of baby Bella (well, sort of) for the first time.

Let me just say, it’s been such a joy in sharing with Gary and Stacy’s life by creating lasting images for their family to enjoy throughout their lives!!

Santa Monica

Well, my seminar went extremely well. I had nearly lost my voice by the end of the day, but the group was awesome and really interested in all that I had to say about senior portrait photography.
After the program well travelled down the coast to Santa Monica where we were staying for the next two nights at the Georgian Hotel. For all those movie buffs out there, several scenes from "Get Shorty" were filmed in this hotel. The hotel is located on the coast and situated two blocks from the Santa Monica Pier and two blocks from the Third Street Pavilion, which is the site of countless shops and restaurants.


We drove down the coast a couple of miles to take in the sights of the famed Venice Beach area. Walking down the boardwalk, our eyes were captivated by all of the colorful and eccentric street performers, craftsmen selling their wares, and simply the un-common folk walking, skating, dancing down the street. I had always heard about what you might see at Venice Beach and it's all true. We loved it!! Also at Venice Beach there a numerous courts for basketball, handball, shuffleboard and paddle tennis. You can also stop at the Muscle Beach area to watch the bodybuilders "pump iron" in an outdoor gym filled with various weight-lifting machines and barbells.