Some people just ooze art.  It can’t help but come out through their pores!  Some people work hard to be an artist  and some don’t have an artistic thought in their head!  But yet I believe that all of us have some degree of artist within.  That belief comes from pondering who created us. 

To some degree we all create.  It may not be arts or crafts. But working with numbers or organizing skill can be creative.  Maybe it’s gardening or simply being a good friend or fostering a great marriage – those all take creativity.

I want to share an excerpt from a journal entry I made April 2nd.  I was thinking, writing and praying about finding joy in the process of life, the process of art.  What I’m going to share is what I thought Jesus was speaking to my heart. 

First off, I believe that God created the world, intelligent design if you will.  I see creation as very complex with many layers and details.  And at the time of creation God created from simple to totally complex.  The progress was light, sky,

waters, earth, plants,

outer space, sea creatures and birds, land animals

and lastly mankind {woman who is the crown of creation was created last but that is a whole ‘nother subject } 

With each stage He created something with more depth, more meaning and more value.  Now I know others do not think or believe this way but this is what I believe, how I see it.

Again, as I was pondering this I wrote this in a journal.  Read it as if Jesus is speaking:

“I’m all about process!  You should have seen the process of creation!  It was so glorious! When I was done we sat back and said it was good.  It wasn’t just the finished piece that was good but the process was amazing.  The building of layers was amazing, magical.  An oil painting is only dynamic when it possesses many layers to give it depth and luminosity – creation with its many layers is so full and endless. It brings great joy to humankind as well to us.”

Have you ever thought about what it would have been like to watch as it was all created?  It makes me think of the passage in C.S. Lewis’s The Magicians’ Nephew. {chapters 8 & 9}

In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice hang begun to sing.  …There were no words. there was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he ever heard…Then two wonders happened at the same moment.  One was that the voice was suddenly joined by other voices; more voices than you could possibly count….the second wonder was that the blackness overhead, all at once , was blazing with stars…The Voice on the earth was now louder and more triumphant; but the voices in the sky, after singing loudly with it for a time, began to get fainter…The Voice rose and rose, till all the air was shaking with it….The Lion was pacing to and fro about that empty land and singing his new song.  It was softer and more lilting than the song by which he had called up the stars and the sun; a gentle, rippling music.  And as he walked and sang the valley grew green with grass.  It spread out from the Lion like a pool.  It ran up the sides of the little hills like a wave.  In a few minutes it was creeping up the lower slopes of the distant mountains, making that young world every moment softer…

Many of you know that we have been offering really awesome grad announcements. We’ve been doing this since 2008.  Now many places offer this but one thing we’ve always done is offer custom cards, not just a plain boring one that everyone else has. 

This year we will be offering three options for the cards.  But our custom option is really cool because we promise that no one else in the class of 2013 will have a card like yours!  Then next year your card will be available to other people and we will name it after you!  For example, the purple card below is ‘The Olivia’.  How cool is that?!

I’ve started a board on Pinterest for ideas and inspiration.  Don’t think you have to go find that exact outfit or combo for your session.  Use it merely as inspiration.  I often see something that gives me the idea for something else.  I love Asian fashion but I buy the things I see, I just just it for inspiration for pieces I do buy.  So hopefully as I add things to the board you will be inspired. There are several trends right now that are worth looking at.  Bohemian, preppy/country club, picnic and tribal pop are a few.  I’ll try to find examples of them to pin. 

I am really looking forward to working with some 2013 grads this year!  So bring ‘em on!!!!

As a side note: I did decide to keep my Pinterest account.  I almost deleted it because of how they made their terms….They did change some really important parts and are reviewing others.  So I’m satisfied with the changes and am more careful at what I pin.

The necklace was made by some close friends and holds significance so we had to add it in.  {Don’t you just love the wrap?!  I just had it made!! }

Not only was he so adorable but his older brother did a great job too.  It can be a tough time for a toddler to suddenly have a baby upstage them.  Portrait time can be a real challenge but he did a really wonderful job.  Isn’t he sweet?!  He asked me to take some of him by himself, ‘why, what a good idea!’

So thanks for baring with me through the transitions!

Just for fun here is a sweet shot from Keena and Jeff’s wedding…..

Right now my life is full.  I have a marriage to enhance, children to raise, business to run, gardens to weed, friendships to foster,  farmette to help on {which honestly I don’t do a whole lot with!} plus church and school activities.  It is hard to think of fitting in another activity, especially one that will pull me away from my family which is my priority now.

Some days I just sigh to myself at what is on my plate.  Some people have a whole lot more going on in their lives then I.  I have friends that do and go way more then I do.  Everyone has a stress threshold and I have discovered mine.  If you are always frazzled and totally at your end, you may want to start saying no to something!  I have to keep things manageable or I get sick, physically sick and anxious!  Crazy huh?!  Well it is no fun so I refuse to light both ends of the candle.  Remember everyone is different so don’t try to be like anyone else.

So what does all that have to do with giving back?  At this point in my life I don’t have time or energy to volunteer for things that interest me, I don’t even have the time for doing art like I would like.  But I’m totally ok with that because I know life is full of seasons and my ‘art season’ will come!  But what if there was a way that I could use my job to give back????  What if there was a site that I could go to and check out a whole bunch of different options to do that?  I have been a part of celebratingadoptions.org for several years and I was recently alerted to the fact that they are no longer active.  So I stumbled upon Shutter Mission

I am looking into the different opportunities and have already applied to one.  I’m excited about the possibilities to give back using my talents.  So if you are a photographer and are looking for ways to give back check out the site Amanda Shoemaker put together.  You might find something that fits you.  It is also a great resource for looking for a charity that may benefit you on the receiving end.

Happy Friday!!!

A Cluster is not just an amazing way to display family portraits. It is awesome in an office or in this case a school!  Take a look.

The purpose of this environment is to create a space where we, as the church, can set aside our many distractions and focus on the final days and hours of Jesus’ life on earth.  In this time of silent prayer and reflection, it is our hope that we will grow in our understanding of the meaning of  Christ’s life and death for us, his people.

Kate had asked me if I could document the display.  It was neat to see  how they transformed the huge room for the display.  I hope I didn’t disturb too many people while photographing it!  I felt like I was making enormous amounts of noise!  You know how it is when you have to be quiet, every little noise is magnified.

I’m a lover of art so I enjoy seeing it displayed in alterative ways.  The cool thing about this display is all of the art was done by people in our church and their ages varied from child to adult.  Each artist wrote up a description of their painting as well.  The only thing I regret about doing this project is that because of time constraints  I was unable to go through it myself.  The environment that Kate and others created really added to the experience of it.

So I wanted to share the Stations of the Cross with all my readers.

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Spring has arrived!

To celebrate we want to offer you HALF OFF your next session! 
Call us NOW to book because this offer is only available until April 7th.

You don’t have to have your session now, just take advantage of the special now!
All you have to do is book your session {by paying the half off fee} by April 7th,
and we will schedule your appointment anytime between now and August 31, 2012!

540|833|5360
christina@glimpsephotography.com

*Offer ends April 7th, 2012
*Excludes senior sessions
*Can not combine with other offers

We have a new way to help those of you who need an updated headshot for business. Instead of taking the images then waiting for days to see what came of it, we are offering a streamlined way. We will get your approval every step of the way. First we will discuss clothing, makeup and hair choices until you are completely satisfied with the direction of the session.

Next, I will adjust the details of lighting and posing until it is the best it can be. After shooting the setups we agree upon we’ll take a break to view what we have done. At this point we can fine tune anything we need to. Then, we will go and shoot another round to improve upon the first set.

When we are finished, we will view these images and choose your favorite images. If you aren’t completely satisfied we will go back and fine tune again. Your final images will then be available within one to two weeks. 

Due to the nature of this type of session we will limit how many we can book.  The special we are offering is as follows: first three to book a headshot session will get three images for the price of two!

  So if you are interested in a custom headshot that you are guaranteed to love give me a call to schedule your session!

We can create a traditional image or something that is edgy & creative.  Most of all we want to create an image that conveys your message.

Since I’m very visual, I have found that if something is out of sight it truly is out of mind.  I am a list maker and a stacker!  Knowing how I function I look for ways to be organized in it.  Instead of making lists of where I’m at with a client now I can check it off the list on my chart!  How cool is that?!! I used some frames I had on hand for Miniature panels, found some glass, printed my charts {after adding my logo and fun extras}.  Dry erase markers are quite handy!  Then I printed out some other steps in my production that are more involved and put them in the little frames at the bottom.

I have my clear file folders in a stacker to the left on my desk, full of forms and other fun stuff.  Above the production area is my huge bulletin board.  I didn’t include a shot of that because I haven’t figured out how to keep a bulletin board neat looking!  But it has all my important things displayed.  I’ll be adding some prints of my kids next to my husband’s print.  Right now they have wallet prints on the bulletin board.

A lot of photographer’s work areas seem to be so filled with light and well…bright.  I have one window in my office {today it is very rainy and cloudy}  and often it has the blind down.  I like to see the colors and brightness of my images and if it is too bright in my office I can’t see accurately.  I wonder how others do it… 

Yes, my walls are an ugly neutral color!  When we painted in here three plus years ago I had no idea what I wanted thus the neutral color.  A lot of pros I know actually paint their walls 18% gray so they can read the screen accurately.  That is hard core!  Although my camera room is 18% gray! LOL

I’m really excited about getting more organized in my life, not just in the studio.  It seems since we moved here I’ve been more scattered then I wished.  So after accepting who I am and embracing the fact that I’m a creative messy I think I can finally move forward with organization.  Too many times I would look at other professionals or at friends and think, “whoa I should be like that!  Why am I not like that?”  Then I’d try to be like them which only caused more frustration….ohh cycles why are you so hard to end?!

So if you are like me and keep trying to fit into someone else’s mould | STOP!  Be yourself {now I’m not giving anyone a license to live in utter messiness}  We can always find ways that work with our personality and bents.  So start exploring and get organized!  I promise it will give you energy you didn’t know you had!