Jul 31, 2011
Nature's Beauty from the Far North
By Lisa Kryschuk
Greetings from Northern Saskatchewan, Canada! My name is Lisa and I am a mom to three wonderful kids! I am also a Portrait and Wedding Photographer from Denare Beach, SK. [http://www.lisakryschukphotography.com/]
One of my favorite pastimes is capturing the beauty all around us. From flowers to bugs, I truly love capturing what I see through my lens for others to enjoy.
I am not at all what one would call an outdoor girl. I am not adventureous by any means! My nature shots started with raindrops on flowers, slowly moving up to bees and spiders (which by the way, scare me silly)! With a little motivation, my husband started convincing me that there was more to the world than my flower garden. Soon birds and animals were added to my porfolio.
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Greetings from Northern Saskatchewan, Canada! My name is Lisa and I am a mom to three wonderful kids! I am also a Portrait and Wedding Photographer from Denare Beach, SK. [http://www.lisakryschukphotography.com/]
One of my favorite pastimes is capturing the beauty all around us. From flowers to bugs, I truly love capturing what I see through my lens for others to enjoy.
I am not at all what one would call an outdoor girl. I am not adventureous by any means! My nature shots started with raindrops on flowers, slowly moving up to bees and spiders (which by the way, scare me silly)! With a little motivation, my husband started convincing me that there was more to the world than my flower garden. Soon birds and animals were added to my porfolio.
The most rewarding images I have taken so far have been of this magestic eagle. I had a wonderful day with my Dad and Uncle, patiently waiting for the eagle to visit while they ice fished. When the eagle decided to join us, I was truly amazed with his size and beauty. I will never forget the thrill I got that afternoon. This experience is very dear to me... memories to always cherish.
Saftey is always a must with any type of nature shots. Bees sting, and well...bears can eat you!!! Seriously I am not trained by any means in wild animal photography, and the bear pictures were taken with my Canon 70-200 mm 2.8 L IS USM and taken from the safety of my car. I will leave the serious wildlife photography to the experts!
Many of my nature shots were taken with my 24-70mm 2.8L lens, but I finally bought a 100mm 2.8L macro lens and I am seriously falling in love! I love how close it brings you to the subject. But, now I want even closer, and have extension tubes on my "wish list".
Rubicon Estate: Photo Session Share
By Andrea Watkins
Every year our family takes a trip to the Bay Area in California to visit my Dad and extended family. This year my Dad had a project planned for the kids, so Lance and I were able to sneak away for the day.
It's been about 9 years since we had been to Napa Valley- although it's only about a 30 -40 minute drive from my Dad's house.. We decided on Francis Ford Coppola's Vineyard Rubicon Estate.
We didn't really put a lot of thought into it we just figured winery/ Coppola.. win, win.
But as we drove down the tree-lined driveway, and got closer to the estate, I couldn't help but be in awe.
The grounds were beautiful, sprawling, and well-groomed. The majestic fountain centralized in the courtyard and the large, trellis shaded outdoor patio gives this place such a calm surrender, It made me feel like I was visiting an estate in Tuscany. It would be a beautiful place for a wedding.
As we entered the estate, I took in the sights as well as the smells, it's hard to describe the smell, but if I were to venture a guess I would say it smelled like a castle.
The ambiance was just perfect, and I loved that there was a vast collection of authentic movie memorabilia displayed, as well as his wine-making accomplishments, because YES we are fans....
Andrea Watkins resides in St. George Utah. She has an amazing and supportive husband and 3 beautiful children. She has been in the Photography business for around 8 years, but fell in love with photography when she was given her first real camera at the age of 15. She uses the Canon 7D, and her favorite lens of choice is a 28-70mm 2.8.
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Every year our family takes a trip to the Bay Area in California to visit my Dad and extended family. This year my Dad had a project planned for the kids, so Lance and I were able to sneak away for the day.
It's been about 9 years since we had been to Napa Valley- although it's only about a 30 -40 minute drive from my Dad's house.. We decided on Francis Ford Coppola's Vineyard Rubicon Estate.
We didn't really put a lot of thought into it we just figured winery/ Coppola.. win, win.
But as we drove down the tree-lined driveway, and got closer to the estate, I couldn't help but be in awe.
The grounds were beautiful, sprawling, and well-groomed. The majestic fountain centralized in the courtyard and the large, trellis shaded outdoor patio gives this place such a calm surrender, It made me feel like I was visiting an estate in Tuscany. It would be a beautiful place for a wedding.
As we entered the estate, I took in the sights as well as the smells, it's hard to describe the smell, but if I were to venture a guess I would say it smelled like a castle.
The ambiance was just perfect, and I loved that there was a vast collection of authentic movie memorabilia displayed, as well as his wine-making accomplishments, because YES we are fans....
and much of the memorabilia is integrated throughout the property so that you can enjoy it all while you sip your delicious wine. 
I honestly can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon. I'm glad we decided to do it.
Andrea Watkins resides in St. George Utah. She has an amazing and supportive husband and 3 beautiful children. She has been in the Photography business for around 8 years, but fell in love with photography when she was given her first real camera at the age of 15. She uses the Canon 7D, and her favorite lens of choice is a 28-70mm 2.8.
Images by Andrea Watkins are available for sale {here}.
Documenting the "Everyday" with Style
by Jacque Larsen
I LOVE to scrapbook but life is busy, so I just don't have much time. I have four children, ranging in ages from six to fifteen. My children are active, participating in dance, guitar lessons, football, basketball, swim team, track, not to mention afterschool homework, church and community projects. To keep up with all of those things, but still make time for scrapbooking, I have turned digital! Digital Scrapbooking has allowed me to document the everyday things and the once-in-a-lifetime moments in such a convenient way. I'm so glad that in 20, 30 or 40 years, I will have these pages at which my family can look back. I love that I will have helped them to remember the fun things that they did and all that they accomplished. It’s about the memories! In fact, my photos aren't perfect. Like most moms, I'm usually chasing my children around at the last minute trying to document their accomplishments. Lately, I have found that carrying around my DSLR has even become cumbersome and I've started using the camera on my iPhone. I've taken over 600 photos on my phone since February 2011. I'm amazed by the quality and by the moments I've captured that I would have otherwise missed. The wonderful thing about digital scrapbooking is the convenience of using a digital camera with those easily accessible digital kits. I can download pictures to my computer, without waiting for prints, and start scrapbooking immediately! Technology really IS amazing, isn't it? What do I scrapbook? If your children aren't inspiration enough or you need some ideas to start out with, here are a couple of my favorite topics:
Here are a few of my favorite basic products to share with those who have dabbled a bit in digital scrapbooking or those that are itching to get started, but aren't sure of what to purchase first.
For me, it is so important to have certain basics to start with. Then after a few layouts you will quickly learn what your personal style is and can go from there. I think every scrapper, beginner to advanced, should have at least one of each of the following. The site www.the-lilypad.com , where I sell at, has put together an ESSENTIALS category for you and me. You can find it here. http://www.the-lilypad.com/store/home.php?cat=211 My essentials include a few nice alphas, every scrapper loves fonts, a pack or two of plain neutral or solid colored papers and some kind of adhesive (staples, tape stitching). Then you can start adding other fun elements, ribbons, buttons, doodles, tags, word art, etc. to your hearts content. Templates are also a great way for beginners to start scrapbooking.
The Lily Pad (TLP) {here} holds my favorite pages and galleries chalk FULL of ideas and challenges where I know I can go for constant inspiration and motivation to get my scrapping mojo moving!!
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Photo-a-Day:
Take a picture on each of the 365 days this year. Some pictures will illustrate bigger moments and some shots will be routine stuff in your life. It all adds up to complete the puzzle of your life RIGHT now. Add a quick sentence or two (or more) about the photo so you won't forget why and when you snapped that picture.
All About Me:
Whether you are scrapbooking about you, your child, or teenager, focus completely on what makes up that person’s life right at that moment. Include details such as: favorite thing to wear, favorite thing to eat, what they love, where they've gone, who they hang out with, where they work, why they do what they do. Tell about other favorites, their hobbies, their friends, their schoolwork. Snap pictures of them or just of their things. These are some of my most beloved pages. I try to do at least one of these for each of my kids every year.
Other ideas to scrapbook include:
- Family journal, have each person take responsibility for a layout or more. Use extended family too! Combine all finished pages in a book!
- Self-Portraits, on my said cell phone I couldn't count ALL the self portraits I have of my 15 year old daughter. They are so awesome and I love scrapbooking them!
- Scrapbook other all time favorite photos, of your children, your spouse, your best friend, the world around you, ANYTHING.
- Scrapbook about your home. Focus on every little detail of things that you love.
- Pregnancy & Baby's first year.
- Travel and vacations.
- Month by Month calendar type pages or give yourself Weekly or even Monthly Themes. You would be amazed at all the inspiration available on the internet. Have a look around!
Remember, like your photos, your pages don't have to be perfect. You just NEED to get that memory on paper (or a digital file, haha!). There are so many tutorials available to get you started. Use your photos to document the everyday. Don't be afraid to take that first step! I've included some sites that may be a huge help to getting you started if you are a beginner.
Here are some great tutorials and descriptions of what digital scrapbooking is and how to get started. There are so many talented designers, most of which I have the pleasure to work with. Some of them have posted very detail instructions and descriptions as to what digital scrapbooking is and how to get started. Here are a couple of my favorites:
By Karah Fedricks: -What is Digi-Scrapping?
By Krista Sahlin: -How to Start Digital Scrapbooking
Here are a few of my favorite basic products to share with those who have dabbled a bit in digital scrapbooking or those that are itching to get started, but aren't sure of what to purchase first.
Download it {here}
Download it {here}
Download it {here}
Download it {here}
Download it {here}
Download it {here}
For me, it is so important to have certain basics to start with. Then after a few layouts you will quickly learn what your personal style is and can go from there. I think every scrapper, beginner to advanced, should have at least one of each of the following. The site www.the-lilypad.com , where I sell at, has put together an ESSENTIALS category for you and me. You can find it here. http://www.the-lilypad.com/store/home.php?cat=211 My essentials include a few nice alphas, every scrapper loves fonts, a pack or two of plain neutral or solid colored papers and some kind of adhesive (staples, tape stitching). Then you can start adding other fun elements, ribbons, buttons, doodles, tags, word art, etc. to your hearts content. Templates are also a great way for beginners to start scrapbooking.
The Lily Pad (TLP) {here} holds my favorite pages and galleries chalk FULL of ideas and challenges where I know I can go for constant inspiration and motivation to get my scrapping mojo moving!!
The TLP BLOG {here} also hosts many challenges and tutorials on HOW to do so many techniques that are great for us ALL to learn and know!
Here are some of my (not so perfect photos) shown in a few scrapbook pages I've created recently.
It is so fun to start a scrapbook page with a blank piece of paper that we work to mold and create into these masterpieces we call scrapbook pages.
If you ever have a question or need help getting started feel free to contact me jacque@larsenfamily.com, I will be happy to encourage you along on this amazing record keeping journey.
**COUPONS JUST FOR LVP READERS!!!**
I have created a coupon for Last Vegas Photographer readers, to use in MY TLP STORE {here}
ENJOY 50% OFF your purchase of $10 or MORE using code [LVPM_JLL].
AND
15% off STOREWIDE if you use this code [4READERS]
Expires August 31, 2011.
**COUPONS JUST FOR LVP READERS!!!**
I have created a coupon for Last Vegas Photographer readers, to use in MY TLP STORE {here}
ENJOY 50% OFF your purchase of $10 or MORE using code [LVPM_JLL].
AND
15% off STOREWIDE if you use this code [4READERS]
Expires August 31, 2011.
Styled Couture Wedding: Santa Monica Pier
By Christina Bentheim
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This was a styled couture wedding shoot at the Santa Monica Pier featuring gowns from La Belle Elaines in Seattle and Renee Pawele Bride accessories.
There were two "couples" for the shoot. All of the models had just met that day and did a nice job of creating chemistry with each other that translated well in the photographs. The weather was super overcast, which made the sky yucky, but the light fantastic!
Meet Natalie and Patrick--both out of southern California.
Those doors were closed when we started shooting, but then a delivery truck came and we shot in between the guys delivering loads into the storage there.
The shoes and cotton candy were inspirations of Emma Smith who designed the shoot. She thought it would be fun to show a couple having fun while being all dolled up.
One of the crazy things about this shoot were all of the models dressed up on the pier--and the crowd's reactions to them.
We stopped traffic everywhere we went and people were randomly saying, "You look beautiful! Congratulations!" They had no idea it was a styled shoot--and that's just what we intended!
Credits For This Shoot:
Photographer: Red Corduroy Media Group {Photography} L.L.C. [http://www.rcmgphotography.com/]
Event Organizer/Stylist Emma Smith: [http://www.emmajanephotos.com/]
Wardrobe: La Belle Elaines (Seattle)
Accessories: Renee Pawele Bride (Orange County)
Hair/Make-up: TM Make-up and Hair (Los Angeles)
Hair/Make-up: TM Make-up and Hair (Los Angeles)
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