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Any idea where Alvin is in this photo? If you think you know write it on my Facebook wall. If you are clueless be sure to sign up for my blog so that you can find out tomorrow. The story is really interesting.{Hehe…can’t wait to share it with you.}
Have a great Monday!
Keep smiling,
Holly
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The cool breeze blowing through your hair, the white surf tickling your toes as the warm sun rays warms your face. Yup, its Paradise. Well, at least for a few moments while I read my friends blog. {Surprise, you are still in your own home.}She has a witty way of sharing their adventures in Jamaica and as a photographer who loves adventure I find it so fascinating and fun to read about their adventures. So if you long to get away, maybe you’ll find her blog as wonderful as I do. Be sure to stop by and say hi.
Reading other blog’s is so refreshing because it shows just how diverse and unique other people are, what they do and how they view life. So take a few minutes and enjoy another corner of the world.
As the weekend kicks off I was just thinking about the many things I’m thankful for. Here are just a few.
My handsome hunney, Nathan who loves me so.
Golden sunsets with amazing colors.
Magazines.{They give me so many good ideas.}
Fine tip pens.
My new cellphone.
You. Thank you for reading my blog posts. I love the feedback :-}
Happy Saturday and keep smiling,
Holly
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Blah picture…to wordy…green envelope {no go}…mushy gross…not the right compassion. Each card just did not seem to fit the occasion. As the minutes quickly were ticking by I just could not find the right {Holly approved} one. I rounded the corner and took a deep breath. I can do this. Then I saw it, hiding behind a hastily returned envelope, the front of the card was beautiful. My hopes were high, yes, maybe this was the one. I opened the card and slowly read the words. {Big sigh} Yes, this was worded exactly the way I would have written it. Success was my at last. And I could finally leave the card aisle.{Big grin}
Somethings is life take time. Like finding the perfect card. You have to spend some time and effort in order to show someone special how much you care. The same is true when you are working on your photography skills. It takes time to learn how to shoot in Manual Mode.
These two pictures were both shot at the same time of day, about 6:00pm. Same location about 5 seconds apart from each other. The difference is in the shutter speed setting. My camera was set to Manual Mode. 24 mm The ISO was set to 100 and the aperture is f/4. The image on the left is taken at a shutter speed of 1/100. See how the pillars are washed out and the sky has almost no detail. This exposure is to bright if I was going for a perfectly exposed image.{Subject to interpretation.} The picture on the right is the exact same except for the shutter speed. I just rolled my settings to 1/400. This setting more accurately captured the deep blue sky and the deep red brick.
Hope this sheds a little “light” on the subject of shooting in Manuel Mode with your DSLR. If you found this helpful please email or share with friend.
Keep smiling,
Holly
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Like all proud Dad’s do he pulled out his cellphone and showed me he brave daughter. With her hair waving wildly around her face she was grinning a devilish grin. She gripped the steering wheel of the family van and had all the spunk to take off on a wild adventure but alas Dad had the keys in his pocket. At 6 years she looked fully in control of the situation but thankfully that was only an illusion. {But it made for a great picture}
If you’ve been to a theme park or public park I’m sure you’ve see the parent or grandparent walking around with this enormous camera and long lens. Looking like they know what they are doing but in reality their camera is only set on AUTO. Now I’m not saying they aren’t getting great pictures but they aren’t using their camera to it’s fullest potential. Just like the illusion of control my friend’s daughter showed, the truth was, she wasn’t in control. If you just cringed and said,”Yikes, that is ME!” I’m hear to help.
Shooting in Manual Mode is one of the most scary parts of photography but also one of the most freeing.{Once you have it down.}
You have only 3 aspects to think about. Aperture, Shutter speed, ISO. So when you begin practicing, take that jump off the cliff{it’s thrilling} and set your camera dial to M! Then begin shooting a stationary object. At first you might find the picture is white and all the detail is blown out. So begin changing the Aperture. As you bracket the settings you’ll see things begin to change. Make a mental note of the settings and the changes you see. The more you do this exercise the more you’ll get comfortable in manual mode.
Keep smiling and keep shooting,
If you found this helpful please email it or share it with a friend!
Holly
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You know, sometimes you just can’t help but overhear someone else’s converstation. Like in the grocery aisle, when they are standing right next to you, looking at MilkyWays and 3 Musketeers. {Come on. Get the 3 Musketeers! They are way better!} Or in the dentist office. Today I was sitting less that 4 feet away from a total stranger who was telling her sister all about Mom and how she was doing. {I could tell you all the details but I wont.} As she babbled on and on about this and that, it struck me how many words a woman will use while talking about a subject.{I resemble that statement.} What was funny though was when she finally hung up, closed her eyes and pretented no one else was in the room another man came in, checked in and sat down. As we all do, to avoid talking to a stranger he made a phone call too. His one sided conversation went like this. “Hello…huh….yup…oh, no…yup…yup…ok, that is fine…yup….bye.” Yes, the difference was so striking I had a hard time not laughing out loud. Both communicated. Both talked with someone. Both gave their point of view but in very different ways.
The same is very true when we take pictures. Give a camera to 2 people, in the same place, at the same time and you’ll end up with 2 different sets of pictures because each of us is unique. We see the world in a different way and our photographs reflect that truth. So celebrate your uniqueness in your photography and get out there and shoot.
Keep smiling,
Holly
PS. For those of you following Alvin. He was at the First Christian Church of Clarksville. Alvin and I were shooting a wedding here and I love the red doors outside. They are so bold.
Here is a little history of the church taken from their church website.
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It’s Monday! I know, I know. We don’t usually get as excited about Monday’s as we do Friday’s but each day is a blessing from the Lord so thank Him for today and it might surprise you what He has in store :-)
Well, Alvin has been exploring more of the amazing town of Clarksville. Take a guess and let me know on Facebook where you think he is at :-).
Keep smiling,
Holly
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Cheese. Check.
Yeast. Check.
Pepperoni. Check.
Pizza sauce. Check.
Yes, I finally had the needed ingredients to make the pizza. I checked out, paid for my groceries and headed home. I made my pizza dough, set it aside to rise and began the other preparations for the meals. Oops! 20 minutes later my pizza dough was still rising, more than double it’s time and size I needed. {Gulp} I quickly rolled out the pizza crust and popped it into oven. It looks good, maybe it will be ok. Thankfully, my work and distractedness {:-)} payed off. My husband and friends were impressed with my light and fluffy crust{Guilty grin,I meant to do that, really.} Even though I had flour and corn meal spread all over the counter, an hour worth of dishes to do and a warm kitchen on an August afternoon it was worth it.
Later that night my husband continued to rave about my “great pizza” and it made me realize. “Made from scratch” isn’t better because it is healthier, tastier or incredible different, it’s because of the love and effort you put into it that makes the difference. So have fun and make something from scratch.
Keep smiling and have a wonderful Saturday,
Holly
PS. If you enjoyed this please email and share with a friend.
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NO! It can’t be true. One SD card!!?! 7 more hours of this couples wedding day. I will miss so many pictures! With my heart beating and head pounding I awake. {Big sigh} It is only a nightmare. A nightmare that wedding photographer’s can relate to when they are honest. Yes, it is our job, we are paid for the pictures that we capture in 250th of a second but the remaining true fact is the art that we create still makes us nervous. Very nervous. The fear that we might not have enough SD cards, the right lens, enough batteries or a hundred other details is enough to make every wedding a knee knocking experience for more than just the bride and groom.
Yes, I did have this nightmare the other night. But it scares me into checking and rechecking my list before this weeks wedding.
Having enough batteries for a whole wedding is always important because as anyone with a digital camera knows. Camera’s drain batteries quicker than 2 year old eats gold fish. Thankfully many DSLR’s don’t rely on AA batteries but a external flash will. I’ve found that the energizer recharge 2300 mah nickel-metal hydride work very well. They charge very fast and onsite this is great! I always find a spot to plug in my charger and then rotate through out a wedding to keep me going. It has saved me many times by being able to recharge quickly and go. I’ve also found that they last longer than regular AA batteries.
So don’t miss a special picture because your batteries are drained.
Keep smiling,
Holly
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She was a ballerina.I like ice skating. Her dad worked for an Ivy League school. My dad was a farmer. She had long straight hair. Mine was very curly. She made A+. I struggled to read.
A stamp was .24. The winter Olympics where held in Calgary, Canada. The Hubble telescope was put into operation but all we cared about was wearing our BEST FRIEND heart necklaces. It was 1988 and my best friend came into my life. She and I were very different and still are. Today she is a Dr. and I’m a pastor’s wife. Life had taken us many miles apart but when she gave birth to her first son I was so proud of her. Congratulations!!!
So today, take 10 minutes and call someone you’ve not talked with in a while. Tell them you love them, ask them to meet you for coffee or come over for dinner. Most of all take time to thank the Lord for your many, many blessing He has given to you today. A friend of my recently sent the say, “What would happen if you woke up this morning with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?” A very good thought.
Keep smiling,
Holly
PS. I you found this blog helpful, please email it to a friend!
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Yes, sometimes technology can make our lives more frustrating. Like last week when it took 3 days {Y.E.S. 3!} to back up my 50,000+ images on my laptop to my external hard drive. CD’s just aren’t cutting it for me. But then there are times when I love {hugs and kisses and all} technology. Today I’ll let you in on a little secret {well not really so secret} program that just might make your life a little simpler.
I have a very organized system for filing my digital photos. I have to be, right!? I talked about it here, if you want to know more. But sometimes I want to quickly send the pictures to my Mom or a friend and I’ll use Google Picasa. It is a VERY easy program to use. Just download the program and it will find ALL your pictures on your computer and organize them by folder and date. You can just scroll through the pictures, click to make some simple editing, collages, email them and more. It is very handy!! Just check this video out for more details.
Soon, you’ll be sharing those cute pictures with Me-maw in a flash.
Keep Smiling and join us on Facebook,
Holly
PS. Yesterday Alvin was in Lasater’s Coffee and Tea on Wilma Rudolph Blvd. I love this little spot! Because I get really hyper, talk fast and stay up REALLY late when I drink caffeine I’m not a coffee drinker. But I love their Strawberry Fruit Smoothies with white whip-cream piled high. The friendly, “Welcome to Lasater’s” greeting is a nice customer service touch I enjoy. {Customer service seems to be rare these’s days so when I find it I become very loyal!} So next time you get a coffee craving or a smoothy is calling your name , head down to Lasater’s!
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Yes, it is Monday already!! Hopefully you’ll start off today with a little smile as you try and think of where Alvin is today. You can post your answer on our Facebook page if you think you know where Alvin is in Clarksville :-)
Keep smiling and have a wonderful Monday,
Holly
Filed under Where is Alvin?!
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Happy Saturday!
So many times when I’m talking you’ll find me waving my hands, making crazy motions in the air just to try and explain what I”m talking about. {We all know you understand me better that way!!} But when I pull out a picture you know exactly what I mean.
In the same way online, pictures do mean a thousand words. So this week when I learned that Twitter added a feature to include images I was really surprised and excited. For a long time I’ve not really know what to do with Twitter. Really, who wants to know where I’m at or what kind of chili I’m eating. But as a photographer I’ve been able to use Twitter to find other photographer’s and the amazing speed with which news travels is changing our world. {Sometimes for good and sometimes for bad.}
Pictures are well loved on Facebook, we all know and use that feature. I’m sure that allowing them to be shared on Twitter will also bloom as more and more people add an image to go along with their well thought out {or maybe not} 140 characters :-)
You can find me on twitter too.
Keep smiling,
Holly
Filed under Saturday Surprises
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I’m sure you’ve heard these words from a friend or family member before, or maybe you’ve said them yourself. “I don’t like how I look in pictures” “Pictures make me look so fat” “My face looks so awful.” I might point out these usually comes from the female section of the populations {Smile} Many times you’ll find women who will hide behind their camera’s so that they DONT have to be in pictures. But I just want to encourage you to realize, when I camera is aimed in your direction, it isn’t because your family wants to make you feel bad or make fun of you {except at that bridal shower where they made you wear a T.P. “wedding dress”} They are taking your picture BECAUSE you are special and they want to savor those special times. So do everyone a wonderful favor and just S.M.I.L.E :-)
My heart and prayers go out to all the military families who have lost loved ones in the helicopter attack and I know that all of their family photos will become very special to them now and in the future because it is now all they have. So please give your family and friends a smile, someday those pictures will be incredible special and they wont want to dig through hundreds of pictures to find one where you weren’t hiding your face.
Smiling is a gift, an express, a friendly way of expressing your feelings of love and care towards those who are behind the camera.
So keep smiling,
Holly
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Christen is pure gold! From the time I asked her to be a part of a fashion photoshoot she was all over it.
These 7 inch earring from Buckle looked perfect on Christen, who is also a model professionally.
With this fall’s trends including metallic color’s I thought it would be fun to do a “gold” look. Galilee did a tremendous job pulling off a truly gold look.
Thanks for being a great model Christen!!
This outfit looked so great and I love this blouse from Express! You are so glam Christen!!
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Keep smiling,
Holly
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When I first met Aubree she was in a wedding I was photographing. She had a glowing smile and proved that she loved life, having fun and her iphone.
The rainy, overcast day didn’t discourage Aubree in anyway. She grabbed the cowboy hat and threw on her heels and with a great smile through her head back. Click, click and we were off.
This adorable blouse from Forever 21 was perfect for this site. Aubree, you did an awesome job!
Galilee again did a great job with this subtle but powerful makeup selection.
Aubree had such a great confidence about her, she was a lot of fun to spend time with. You’ll go far girl!
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Keep smiling,
Holly
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Answer for Monday Mystery: The adorable little Alvin was photographed at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Library. Be sure to stop by and check out more of the amazing landmarks that are displayed in the second story window! A lot of time and effort went into creating each and every one! While you are there be sure to get yourself a library card so that you can enjoy the many wonderful features of our public library. Reading has always been a hobby of mine and no matter where I’ve lived, the library has been one of the first things on my to-do list when I’ve moved.
Here are some great photos from this weekend.
Aren’t her eyes lovely?! The beautiful makeup by Galilee just brings out her sparkling hazel eyes.
The wind actually worked in our favor here. How often does that happen!?!
We worked long and hard on coordinating everything.
I was so excited when she pulled out her awesome shoes from Khol’s! Talk about great taste! I love heels and would have a whole closet just for shoes if I could.
Stay in touch with us on Facebook.
Keep smiling,
Holly
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Welcome to Monday Mystery.Can you guess where Alvin is in Clarksville? Post your idea in the comments below and then subscribe to the blog so you
can find out tomorrow if you were right.
Enjoy and have a great day,
Holly
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Welcome to the first Saturday in August! Today’s Saturday surprise is a furry friend who will now be a part of every Monday blog. Subscribe so you wont miss a single adventure!
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Keep smiling,
Holly
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Maybe you’ve seen the M A S on your camera and wondered what does that mean? Even deeper question, what do they do?! Each one means something different. M stands for Manuel, A stands for Aperture and S stands for Shutter Speed. They all perform special functions to help you take better pictures by allowing you to tell the camera what to do rather than it telling you how the pictures should look.
For more great information please subscribe to this blog or follow us on Facebook.
Keep smiling,
Holly
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Are you drooling over camera glass? Wishing you could purchase a shiny new lens for your camera? Hopefully this video with help a little in your decision making process.
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Keep smiling,
Holly
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