Friday, January 7, 2011

Project 52 | Week 1 | 2011

So my fellow photographer and friend, Shawna Peto has inspired me to not only try to blog once a week but also to start a once a week photo project. Once a week, on Fridays, Shawna posts a photo that she has taken that week and tells a little bit about it. For me...the point of it is to grow as a photographer....Sometimes I get so busy with the business aspect of all of this that I forget why I started the business in the first place.. So YES I'm jumping on the bandwagon! I'm going to *attempt* my own little Project 52...a once a week photo blog...every Friday. Thanks Shawna for the inspiration:) You can check out Shawna's fab personal blog HERE and her professional blog HERE.
So here goes.....
I took this pic this week while on a photo shoot with a fellow photographer...i love that she didnt think that I was weird for stopping to take a pic of an empty beer bottle and some abandoned shoes. :) I added a little texture to it and Florabells's b/w mink action.
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and week 1..done. Whew. Anyone taking bets on how long I can keep this up? :)

Thursday, December 9, 2010

1.1.11

Ahhhh New Years Day. I have always loved New Years. A frest start, a clean slate! And for approximately 4 weeks every January, I am the most motivated, healthy, organized momma you have ever met. My house is immaculate, my laundry is all done because I have vowed to do 2 loads a day come hell or high water, my kids are well behaved because there is a fresssh chore chart on the fridge. Their home work is all done because I have cut their t.v. time down to 2 hours a day. My office looks like it is straight out of the IKEA catalog with bins and file folders (all color coordinated, mind you.) I save every receipt, all of my appointments are meticulousy written in my calendar AND simultaneously entered into my blackberry. I make my annual shopping trip to Fresh Market for all of the new healthy, delicious meals I'm gonna make my family. Yearly trip to the local Weight Watchers, done. Skin exfoliated, check. Hair did, check. Facial, check. (Because I'm going to start taking better care of ME, dangit.) I have decided I will never, ever yell at my kids ever again and have bought a book on parenting AND anger management because I am going to be the best mom EVER and never lose my temper again and use positive reinforcement DAILY.................................... And then somewhere around the last week of January/first week of February all of my fabulous good intentions start to slowwwly unravel and the chaos that is my life inevitably begins to creep back in. My kitchen table and desk gradually disappear under mounds of junk mail, bills, and homework. My kids are watching their 8th episode of iCarly while eating Happy Meals and arguing as I yell from the kitchen to CUT IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My calendar and phone are lost somewhere in the abyss that is my car. I havent shaved my legs OR exfoliated in 2 weeks and my hair is pulled back off my face with the elastic end of a latex glove. (You fellow nurses know what I'm talkin about.) And all of my New Years resolutions are giant.epic.failures. And guess what?????? Who cares!!! I'm human! Woohoo!! Which means, THANK GOD I don't have to be perfect!!!! And guess what else?? New Years Resolutions? You get to make them again next year, and the year after that and the year after that and the.....you get the idea. So, would I love to be THAT mom. The one that cooks organic meals for my kids as I read them Shakespeare and give them violin lessons at the same time? The business owner that knows where all of my receipts are and how to to make the most of my tax write-offs and the best way to market myself and still be able to keep my artisitc vision and blah blah blah blah. The wife that always feels sexy and pretty and skinny and makes myself a priority because I know that taking better care of me means taking better care of my family. Absa-freakin-lutely!!! Who wouldn't want to be that woman!! But pssst.... Little secret. That woman doesn't exist. And if she does.....she is probably really boring or has bad breath or there is SOMETHING wrong with her!! My point is....no one is perfect. No one...not your neighbor down the street whose kids are always dressed from head to toe in the latest Gap kids clothes and always say please and thank you. Not the mom driving the SUV that is at every.single.class.party with fresh baked goods and skinny jeans.(Not that I know anyone like that or anything....ugh.) Not the co-worker that has 5 kids and never raises her voice or loses her patience or gossips and always, ALWAYS has something great to say in the sales meeting. None.of.them.are.perfect. We all struggle. As women/moms/business owners/co-workers/wives/daughters/sisters. We ALL struggle. But this year.....I'm going to try focusing on all of the things that I do right instead of all of the things that I do wrong. Do I have TONS of things to improve on? Absolutely. Will I continue to make unrealistic New Years resoltutions every year? You betcha! But am I gonna beat myself into the ground if I'm not a size 4 by May? or if I don't meet this or that sales goal by the end of the first quarter???? Not this year kids! Because I've learned that I don't have to be perfect at anything. Not motherhood, not at photography, not at being a wife, not at being a friend. None of it. I can just do my best and leave it at that. BooYAH. It's only taken me about 35 years to learn that lesson.
So enough of that hoopla..... to catch you up on the personal side of things.....We are all settled in to our new home in my old neighborhood of Glendale. I can't even tell you how good it feels to be back. I love that I get to show my kiddos all the things that I loved about this area when I was growing up. I love that they go to the same school that I went to when I was their age. I love passing the old firehouse everyday and going to the square. I love pointing out to them the house that I used to live in on the railroad tracks. Who knew that the sound of a train whistle in the middle of the night could be so comforting? Of course, I miss my Indiana girls..but there is nothing like coming home.
On the business side of things....Whew. What an insanely crazy, fun and enlightening first year!! To say that I have learned alot would be the understatement of the decade. I have met some of the most fantastic people throughout this crazy photographic journey. I have made mistakes, taken risks, grown as an artist, fallen flat on my face and gotten up and brushed myself off and kept right on going. (Not only using that as a metaphor.... I really did fall flat on my face at a shoot. True story. Just ask Colleen S.) I can only hope that all of you will continue with me on this journey in 2011. Thank you just doesn't seem to cut it. I am unbelievably grateful to all of the wonderful clients, friends and fellow photographers that I have met this year. You have made every bit of this craziness worth it.
Keep a lookout over the next week or so as the new blogsite gets up and running. All of the 2011 pricing/session/custom frame info will be listed there. Thanks again for coming along for this ride with me. Heres to hoping for continued success and most importantly, balance in 2011. :)

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Jordan | NKY Senior | Blogged

I had the absolute pleasure of taking senior pics for a friend's son a few weeks ago.
This is Jordan.

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Jordan and I go way back....Okay....so I haven't seen him since he was like 2 but I have had the absolute good fortune of working with his mom over the years and I know she is one proud momma.
And for good reason. Jordan is without a doubt, one of the nicest, most genuine young men that I have ever met. He is a true artist/musician and has such an amazing spirit. He is one of those people that could probably put just about anyone at ease...laid back, kind and with an amazing spirit.
Kinda sounds alot like his mom:)

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And how could I possibly leave out Jordan's little sis Koryn. How can ya not like a girl that shows up to a photoshoot in cowboy boots and a newsboy cap.

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Future fashionista fo sho.

Had a blast with you guys:) Thanks for making my job easy.

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Thursday, October 21, 2010

Sunshine | Blogged

I've spent the majority of this fall shooting rather than blogging so I am going to attempt to play catch up over the next few days and blog a few of the great sessions I've had this month:) So here goes:)
This is Miss Sunshine.
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And this is Sunshine's best friend Karen....
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Who also happens to be my step-sister and one of my most favorite people in the whole entire world.
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Okay, so technically, our parents haven't been married for years, but who cares. She is and will always be my sis.
Karen called last week and asked if I would meet up with her and her girl Sunshine to get some special pics. Soon.
You see, sweet Sunshine has terminal bone cancer. These pics were taken on Wednesday....and on Thursday, Sunshine had one of her legs amputated to hopefully buy her some time. My sis wanted pics or her running, playing, just being Sunshine. I could just feel the bond and the love between these two.
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Sweet Sunshine is now home recovering and getting lots of lovin from Karen...but please keep this sweet pup and my sis in your prayers:)

Saturday, October 9, 2010

I saw this going very differently in my mind:) | Blogged

And......she's back. So...The season is almost over:( I know. So sad for me...but if I am being completely honest....I am just the teensiest bit relieved. This has been such a whirlwind year for me. I officially started my biz back in March and holy wow!! To say that I have been crazy busy would be an understatement. I have the best friends and family in the entire universe. Seriously. I have been overwhelmed with support over this past year. I have never been busier in my life and this Spring/Summer has gone by sooo fast that I barely have had time to even stop and thank everyone. :) I am forever grateful.
I am looking forward to the winter so that I can regroup, refresh, rejuvenate..whatever you want to call it. Call me weird, but I feel like photography has been my bestest friend over the past year and a half. It has been there for me no matter what, it strokes my ego every now and then, makes me feel good about myself and it can take the worst day and turn it around with just one.perfect.shot.......BUT...and there is always a but.... Photography is also a very needy best friend. My photog friends will attest to this, I'm sure. I NEED to take pics, I NEED to do just one more session.....I NEED to just edit this one last pic......I NEED to go out NOW while the light is still great.. I NEED NEED NEED. And all the while, my kids and husband wait (im)patiently for me to pull myself away from the computer, to edit one more picture, to go to one more session, to come out from behind the lens....and live.life.with.them. To stop trying to document life..and just live it. I started on this path because I truly believed that my life was too short to waste on anything other than what I was truly passionate about but throughout the course of this journey...I have come to realize that while photography is my passion...My family is my true love.
Photography is *that* friend..... you know the one. The one that your spouse loves to hate. The "fun" friend that always wants you to go places and do things because she is single and has no kids and just doesn't get why you can't come:( and pouts about it when you say no. The *friend* that calls you a hundred times a day just because. The *friend* that pulls you away from friends and family...because she fills some need in you to be good at something.
Just ask my kids. I took them to the park tonight and as always, I had my camera with me.....It didnt dawn on me until later when we were walking home...but I didnt once *play* with my kids the entire time we were there. Not once. I was too busy trying to *capture* the moment...and the sunset. When really I should have been savoring each and every second with those munchkins. Ask my husband....who hasn't had an evening alone with me since May. Not.one. Because the photography world would just stop turning if I didnt take pictures for ONE NIGHT. right. And so.....what's a girl to do. A needy, yet insanely fun and fulfilling best friend vs 4 people that I love so much that my heart feels like it will without a doubt explode. You guessed it.....There is no competition. So where does that leave SCP? Big changes for 2011. I will still undoubtedly find it nearly impossible to say no...I will still probably overbook and overextend myself. I will still probably never leave home without my camera. But my priorities have shifted...It's no longer about the business succeeding. In my mind, my success lies in the eyes of my children and my husband...not in how many sessions I can book in a month...or how many hours I can log in photoshop this week. Finding balance between my passion and my true love...that is success. Everything else is just icing on the cake. Wish me luck:)

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Fall | What to Wear Guide

Hey there all! Long time no blog! I guess maybe I should consider myself lucky that I have been so busy with sessions and editing lately that I haven't had a free second to blog! With Holiday Mini-Sessions coming up in October, I thought I would post a couple of great Fall inspired What to Wear guides! Enjoy!
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Saturday, September 4, 2010

Holiday Mini Session Info

Holiday Mini Sessions

October 23, 2010

Glenwood Gardens, 10623 Springfield Pike

3pm ~ 6pm

$75.00 for 1/2 hour session + 10 images on disc with rights to print.

Great for Christmas Cards!

For more information email me at scastlern@gmail.com. Hurry! These will go fast!