YEEEEAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! NOMINATED!!!VOTE!!!

Wow, just sharing some of my excitement that one of my photos made it into the nominations for Jesh De Rox's Explore Awards!



Jesh's {as well as his INCREDIBLE photog contemporaries Nate & Jaclyn, Brianna Graham, and Jessica Claire} sifted through hundreds of sunbmissions to put into 3 categories for the people's choice awards - and I actually made it in! So it's up to the voters (yeah, that's you) to get on his blog and vote for your favorites in each category! (mine is in the exploratory image category # EI-8)

VOTE HERE!!!
(www.jeshderoxweddings.blogspot.com)

This is such a HUGE honor for me, as the judges for this contest are literally the cream of the crop in my book when it comes to photographic inspiration! So, although I would love to get the chance to go to one of Jesh's workshops (thats the grand prize for the most votes....;o)**hint hint**) I'm still just tickled to death to have made it in. ***ear-to-ear grin***

This photo also has special significance as it was one from the FIRST shoot I did this year, which was the kickoff to "developing" my own personal style. Up til when I stopped doing shoots last year as Heather Picard, I was struggling to find out if I even wanted to continue with my photography, frustrated with my seemingly stagnant view of taking pictures. And then this year, after the wedding, as Heather Meyers, I DID decide to continue on, with great support from my dear Jacob. And since then, I've been having a blast looking at photography as a true artform, experimenting with great fervor (he he sounds intense) to define who I am as a photographer.

So that first shoot was huge when it came to trying out new approaches (thanks so much Jesse for being so accomodating!!!). I remember shrieking with excitement when I snapped this photo; I loved the composition so much right out of the camera (I didn't do any ps cropping at all!). So this photo is a big hoorah for stepping out on a limb! ;o)

Heather Class of 08

Okay....wowee....this shoot was sooo incredible! ;o) Man, it seems like I'm beginning to say that about every one! But I can't help it - they keep getting better! ;o) Heather and I clicked right off the bat, and her sense of adventure paired with her love for an artsy eye made for a great time! Her willingness to brave back alleys, become a spectacle on main street, and even do some quick diving behind dumpsters (nope, no details, that story stays with us! he he...), made those several hours so much fun! ;o)

I had to force myself to stop editing. I kept sayin to myself....."just one more..." these great images were just addicting! Thanks so much Heather for being such an incredible model! Hope you love them as much as I do....

The rest of the photos in the slideshow!!! Love this song! ;o)

Explore Award Contest

These are the three images I've entered in Jesh De Rox's Explore Awards. Jesh's amazing photography has been so inspiring to me - I would love the chance to go to one of his workshops! Looking forward to seeing who makes the nominations later this week!

Entry for "exploratory image"



Entry for "connection"



Entry for "exploratory post-processing"

Motorcycle Grunge

Man, I have so many photos to blog and so little time! Check back in the next several days to see the last amazing senior to close out the year (ps - can't wait to post those!!!! stylin new perspective!)

But for right now I'll post some of my chummy coworker Aaron from way back that I never got to :o) We have way to much fun working in the Estimating dept at D.H. Martins, and had equally great time taking some shots after work, even despite the less than balmy weather conditions.

Don't worry he's not quite as scary as it may appear. ;o) Although such a facade really does come in handy when it comes to feeling safe shooting outside abandoned warehouses! ;o)

















And, drumroll please.....the slideshow :o)



To end this post, I leave you with a taste of Aaron's true personality. When I ask my subjects to lean up against the wall, I usually see something like this:




or this



or this




But when Aaron is asked to lean up against the wall......



I feel pretty safe posting these, as Aaron can't do much to me considering my blackmail bag is full with a plethora of interesting outtakes ;o)

Tyler Class of 08

I've had the, um..., how shall I say...**pleasure, yeah that'll work ;o)** pleasure working with Tyler over the past several months as he's been helping in the Estimating office at David H. Martins. We had a grand time invading his grandparents really cool property to get some great shots. You can't hardly tell in the photos, but it was absolutely frigid! Thanks for being a great sport Tyler! ;o)

This is my fav - it's color temp and odd composition adds uniqueness to this relaxed portrait - yeah, if you haven't figured it out by now, I like odd ;o)












Just a guy and his truck :o)






I totally dig this one too - going for that odd thing again! ;o) Hey, after you edit gazillions of photos, the unique is harder to achieve on a personal level...always try to push that edge :o)








Watch the slideshow!!! I loved this song - especially the reference which made me think of Tyler's sweet Grandma! ;o)

Bowling Shutters :o)

Recently, we had the pleasure of hanging out with my wonderful siblings-in-laws ;o) which would be Jacob's brother and his charming wife. :o) Having not gone bowling in a loooong time, we thought this would be a good chance to do so.

This one was taken by Jacob and I love the composition and movement even though I think it might have been unintentional as he was shooting from the hip - literally! ;o)
*****I recant my previous statement of Jacob's "unintentional" picture - I was later informed that it was QUITE intentional, and he used great precision and concentration in executing that shot - my most humblest apologies ;o) It must've been another shot that I thought was taken "less seriously" - cheers to the budding photographer! ;o)******

yeah, I think the goofiness must run in the family





Bowling alleys have less than stellar lighting for taking photos, so I was messing around with long shutter speeds. Here are some of the results plus some more ps tweaking ;o)










Though I might post the t-shirt design I did for our women's vball team. Being the first I've ever done, the actual shirts didn't turn out too bad, being bright turquoise blue with dark brown printing.







Wow I've got so much to do! Currently tryin to edit 5 shoots, placing 3 print orders, finishing 3 school assignments, designing a couple of Holiday cards......and then there's that whole fulltime job and house and meal thing.....AAAAHHH! ;o) This is definitely my busiest time of year, so looking forward to slower times!

Senior Vogue, sneak peek!

Wow...

What do you get when you put together:
2 Heathers
1 gorgeous blustery day
1 cool hat
2.5 hours
a handful of "happy dances" (!!! inside joke...he he)
and off the charts enthusiasm?

= an Unforgettable Shoot! :o)

Heather and I had such a blast yesterday and when I went to pick a teaser photo to post....I couldn't pick just one!!! So here they are Heather! ;o)

I was shooting ALL day yesterday.
The latter half of the day I was doing the type of "shooting" shown above
And the other half was spent doing this type of "shooting"!



Yep, I went and joined this PA hunting craze this year: it's so big around here that the entire Excavating company I work for shuts down, giving there employees paid time off for the two first days of rifle season! And I figured it had to be great just because I got to spend some "bonding" time with my dear husband. ;o)

So besides the bonding, I came away with even something more - a deer! :o) I was pretty tickled to actually get a doe as this is my first time hunting and really handling a gun much! I had swallow some serious fear after a I had a nasty case of scope-eye from shooting Jacob's 270 on Thanksgiving day, but it's all better now and even have something to show for it!

I'm soooooo tired and sore though from the type and length of activity yesterday - my body will definitely won't let me forget how much fun I had! ;o)

Giving Thanks....

Such a gorgeous day...a few images of the splendor today

This jaunty little leaf blew across my frame as I snapped the shutter




We have so much to be thankful for.
One of those things would be our incredible friends. Recently we were able to gather a bunch of our old volleyball crowd for a night of some good games. We aren't able to get together as often, so much has changed....lots of us have gotten married, some are leaving...but it was so great to be together again. Not everybody was present, but we thought it a good opportunity for a photo


Nobody said we were normal ;o)




But I must say the thing that I'm the most thankful for is the person I'm able to spend every day with. The one that shares all my joys, who's there strong and steady through everything. My perfect balance. The Lord has been so good to me in giving me you. My Jacob.




Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Senior in Downtown C-burg, CASHS

Got to hit alot of our favorite locations with this shoot, and even some new ones as we stopped by CASHS for highschool reminiscence shots ;o) Be sure and watch the slideshow for more!

This one is my absolute fav - it's different, totally pulling off the whole "i'm ready to take on the world" look ;o)






This one brings back a hilarious memory. Right before we took this photo, an old man tried to inform us that it was a very bad place to take a picture because the light was so harsh. He wasn't just giving it as a suggestion - he meant it (!) and stood there trying to convince us it was going to be a terrible picture. I guess I'll let you be the judge! ;o)


















love the color in this one








Here's the slideshow!