Archive for December, 2009

I hate to say it, but I made a real dumb move recently.  It’s worse than my worst blonde moment (which are not uncommon around here).  Back in October, I entered a couple photos into the Popular Photography Reader’s Contest.  With over 4,400 submissions, I wasn’t really expecting to hear anything back and I didn’t.  So when they published the winners, I looked through the magazine with awe and made some mental notes for when I enter next year’s contest.  And that was that.

When I returned from my Christmas break, I decided there was no time like the present to clean out my junk mail.  I think I had about 1300 emails and had been avoiding it for quite some time.  It contained a lot of GAP sales and Disney Reward updates and PhotoJoJo ideas.  Nothing urgent, just kind of fun to look at.  As I went back farther into the early November emails, one of them caught my eye.

From: Lindsay      Subject: Popular Photography Magazine- Readers Contest

I didn’t quite know what to expect, but as I read it, my heart skipped a beat…

–
Linzee Karasik
Art/Production Assistant
Popular Photography Magazine

WHAT?!  I read it several times over to make sure I wasn’t imagining things.  But it’s true.  Apparently one of my photos was selected as a finalist in the Contest!  And I missed the submission deadline!!! What a disappointment.  But I honestly couldn’t help being totally excited that I had even been considered.  So I awkwardly wrote Linzee back and gushed “Thank you’s” and “I’m sorry’s” and asked if I could possibly enter the photo into another contest.  So we’ll see.

Here’s the image they selected, taken earlier this year:

I’ll be kicking myself as I frame the email!

Since I’m going out of town for the holidays, I just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who makes time in their day to look at/read/comment on my blog posts and facebook fan page.  There are those of you who forward my work on as well, and that is invaluable to my business.  It means so much to me as I set out on my daily adventures and take a swing at this whole photography thing.  2009 has been a year full of good things and I’ve learned so much.  I can only continue to grow and go up from here.  But I’d never be able to do that without all of your support.  I’m getting the chance to make a career out of something I love, and I never in a million years thought that was possible.

So too all of you – thanks.  Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Festive New Year, Joyous Holidays…all of the above.  Make the most of each moment!

Love, Jaana

Since none of my major fears came true on Day 1 (thank goodness!), by the second day of shooting I was feeling a little more comfortable.  However, there was still no time to dilly-dally.  The 30 minute sessions just FLY by.  And some were even shorter than that because of unforeseen issues and cold weather.  But I got the basic shots needed and only wish there was more time to play around and get a bit creative.  Hopefully next time.

The English Family:  These guys were seriously troopers.  It was bloody cold outside that morning and I knew they were freezing their buns off.  So I literally asked them to huddle together for warmth and give me those smiles.  We did these photos in about 15 minutes so the kids could get warmed back up in the car! Brazil Pups:  OK, so I’ve never photographed pets before (except for my lazy cat.  He’s an easy target.)  So I was looking forward to the challenge of dog photos.  And honestly, it was a challenge for me.  They were so easily distracted, it was a little difficult to get the shots, but I was glad everything turned out.  And as always, it was good practice.  It’s actually pretty funny thinking back on it now, because we really tried to get them to wear these santa hats, and as you can see, they ended up with red beards most of the time.  Cute anyway!  The Bradley’s:  This was another speedy session because they got a flat tire on the way to our location!  But I was so glad they made it and we had just enough time to get some great photos.  How cute is that baby?! The Bueno Family:  Ah, I love these guys! Karli is one of my best friends and I was so happy to see her with her new hubby and stepson.  They are seriously awesome people and it was an easy breezy session for me.  Luckily, Karli thinks I’m a funny person.  So if nothing else, I can get her to laugh at almost anything.  So much fun.  I think their son will be a comedian someday too. The Calamity Family:  This session turned out to be such a pleasant surprise.  I don’t know the family all that well and was just thinking it would be a standard family shoot.  Then they showed up with 3 beautiful daughters who all play concerto violin!  Oh man.  I could’ve taken pictures of them all day.  The backdrop was great, the girls were great, the violins looked so…cool.  The Bruggeman’s:  It was about this time in the day where I started wearing down.  As I drove to the next location, I could feel my energy being sucked from me.  But then this bunch came out to play and got me right back on my toes.  A big, fun family with some of the best goofy faces I’ve ever seen.  Love that.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the promotion.  As I mentioned it was a great experience for me.  I’ll be coming out with some new deals soon, so keep checking back!