Photography In the Light - Lifestyles - The Guinn's

  

  See me digging up old sessions here.  These pictures are a couple of years old, but I found them on my hard drive and wanted to put them here.  These are friends of ours from Hawaii.  Sam had acquired this vintage board, and the concept came to life from there.  A few retro swimsuits, accessories, and the aforementioned board, and we were off to the races, so to speak.
    For a location, we chose a secluded cove on the west side of the island at Ko Olina.  It took a bit of rock "maneuvering" to get the board over to the cove, but it was the perfect spot for these shots.  When I think back at all the photo sessions I've done (Over 70 now!) this stands out in the top 3, for sure.  It was so much fun, both of them are extremely photogenic, and its in one of my favorite places in the world. 



The happy couple.  Christa did her own hair for this shoot, and it fit the theme perfectly.

They had been married less than two years at this point, and were still basking in the love glow. 

I think they will always be that way, though.

Looking at these makes me wish that I could go back in time and do the session again, having

learned as much as I have over the last two years.  However, I think a big part of photography

is being confident on the knowledge you have while still aiming to improve every time you do a photo

session.  These pictures, technically wrong as they may be, are still favorites.

Reminds me of a vintage post card.  Sam had done some modeling before

and Christa is just a natural beauty; they were so easy to shoot.

I think this is what Oahu looked like 50 years ago.  Minus the technicolor.

Black and white conversions are harder than most people think.  I didnt know this

at the time, and I cringe a bit looking at how I processed these shots.  It's more than just

desaturating, or changing the gradient map.  Brightness, contrast, levels, hue and saturation,

a good B&W conversion takes awhile to get right.

 Vintage editing is a whole 'nother thing too. 

I <3 backlighting.......

The beautiful Christa herself.  She's due to have a baby any. day. now.  I wish I

could have been there to do maternity portraits for her and take pictures of her

sweet little son, Shepherd.



Photography In the Light - Bumps - Ally Rose

  

 

   Ally  is the first new face I met upon moving to Elizabeth City.  We were at a playgroup, and I knew immediately that we would be friends.  At the time, she had a tiny two week old and a rambunctious almost-two year.  Our sons were about 8 months apart, and we started hanging out and getting to know each other.
Since then, Ally has become an indispensable friend and our boys just adore each other.  This is Ally's third pregnancy and the first time she has opted not to find out the sex of the baby.  It has been fun playing the guessing game and dreaming about who it is hiding out in that adorable belly of hers. 
   Ally's birthday was last week, so we spent the day shopping, hanging out, and enjoying some girl time.  My birthday gift to her was this photo session and I knew that we would have a blast because shes so photogenic and fun to be around. 
   For this session, we drove to the Ghent district in Norfolk.  Ghent has a bunch of BEAUTIFUL old homes and its right on the river, so I knew it would make an excellent backdrop for her photos.  Sometimes its nice to get out of Elizabeth City and try new locations. 

I love to find unexpected pockets of color.  These yellow bushes are all over the place right now.

 There really is nothing more beautiful than a pregnant woman, at least in my opinion. 

Ally has pretty rough pregnancys, but through it all, she is so optimistic, upbeat, and

happy.  This time around she was chasing two toddlers on top of being pregnant,

 but she still managed to keep things running smoothly. 

We shot these pictures around 6 pm.  This time of year, the light between 6:00 and 6:45-ish is just

to die for.  Initially, I was kinda bummed about that big building in the background, but now I like

the colors it reflected onto the water.

 Bump......perfect.

I cant help but think she looks 15 years old in this picture.  I know thats bad, being she pregnant

and all, but she is just such a tiny thing.  This is my favorite shot from the session.

 A bunch of people have asked me how I edited this shot.  I wont go into detail, but I took a picture

of the concrete and superimposed it over the original shot at a lower opacity.  I love the effect.

 The mamma to be, again.

 I think blue.



Life In the Light - An afternoon in the garden

Today (March 16th) started out looking like an inside day, if you know what I mean. 

It was rainy, cold, dark, and one of those mornings that make you feel like you live in Seattle,

even though its North Carolina and its supposed to be warm and sunny by March.  Lo and behold, though

the sun made its appearance around noon, and we decided to get out and get our garden on.  So, with Banban strapped into his carrier and Noa loaded down with garden tools, we made some progress with our own little Eden.  Of course, we had to take a detour to the garden store to get some supplies, but it was a great afternoon and a fun time to spend with my little boys. 

Noa LOVES being in the garden.  Even when i'm not with him, he will spend a solid 30 minutes watering, weeding, and just playing around.  A few weeks ago he dumped a HUGE bucket of sunflower seeds into one of the beds.  I thought I had gotten them all out, but I noticed about 10 little sunflower seedlings peeping up today.  I started to pull them out and was immediately stopped by my 4 year old telling me that they were, "My little baby plants."  So, it looks like we will have sunflowers growing along with our tomatos this year.

Romaine lettuce.....and weeds.  

3 of my 6 beds.  The far one (with the trellis) has sugar snap peas and onions in it right now.  Soon, I will be planting some cukes in it too.  The middle bed is full of strawberries and a handful of potatoes.  The bed at the bottom of the picture is romain lettuce, spinach, and a handful of onions.  The onions (all 100 of them) are kinda spread all throughout the place because I just needed a place to stick em. 

Broccoli.

After a bit, I noticed that Noa was no longer helping me.  He had found his way to the puddle at the end of the driveway and went inside to get his little boat and toy turtle.  I love seeing his imagination grow and watching him create his own little worlds.  Four is such a sweet age.

 Banyan is the sweetest and easiest baby ever born.  Seriously.  He is just a little lover and as long as hes attached to me, I can go about my business.  We scored some tulips for 1.00 each, so I grabbed these terra cotta pots from the garage and started planting.  I cant wait to have colorful tulips to flank our front stairs.

 I put 25 strawberry plants in today, and Noa (my official waterer) made quick work of drowning them in mud.  It really takes a concerted effort for me to remind myself that this garden doesnt have to be perfect and that letting Noa be a part of it all, crooked rows and mud included, is priceless.  I hope that he will look back on these times some day and see value in life, growth, earth, and nature.

Tulips, 1.00 each!  I bought pink, purple, and yellow.  

 Poor Mr. Turtle got left in the puddle.  Noa REFUSES to take the tag off him.

 No trip to the garden store would be complete without a few goodies.  I snagged some Dahlias, Gladiolous, and Peonies for our flower bed.  The Elephant Ears, a staple of a good southern garden, are going on either

side of the side fence gate.  I love Elephant Ears because they remind me of Hawaii.

 Since it seems I never post pictures of myself, he is a snap, via Austin, of Banyan and I.

 I am thankful every day for a home that is warm, safe, happy, and affordable.  I know I am blessed, and I am grateful for a husband who works hard to provide a fun and happy life for his family.  God is good.

 Onions - about 50 of the 100 that are scattered throughout the GreenBean Garden.

Sugar snap peas

This is why I love little boys.  Look at those muddy toes and dirty jeans.  He is so in the moment and I adore that about him.  I truly do treasure each day I get to spend being his mom.

Today is done, today was fun.  Tomorrow is another one.

Photography In the Light - Seniors - Janna Ellinwood

 Most photographers, when asked, will admit that they prefer a specific type of photo session.  Personally, I enjoy photographing adults.  It's not that I don't like doing family session or photographing children, I just enjoy the flexibility that comes with working with a subject who can, a) take directions, b) stand still, and

 c) who, generally, wants to be photograhed.  In that vein, I was more than happy to do a senior photo session for Janna.  Not only is she just beautiful inside and out, she is so photogenic

and uplifting to be around.

The location that I used for this session is one of my favorites; an abandoned house that is just begging to be photographed.  I have done sessions here in all seasons and for all purposes and I still

enjoy each time I get to shoot here.  Maybe sometime I will do a post of all the different sessions

I have done at this location. 

I have made no secret of my affinity for blue eyes.  As soon as I saw Janna, I knew we were going to have fun.  Her eyes just drank in the light and photographed beautifully.

 When I first opened this picture on my computer, I was a bit taken aback.  It was almost erie, in a haunting way, like a little girl who had just set her house on fire.  After editing it, and staring at it for 10 minutes, it grew on me and I really like it now.  It's still a bit freaky, but in a good way, I think.

 Love her facial bone structure in this shot.  If you are a photog, you will immediately know what I mean.  If you are not, you will think im weird and looking too far into things.

 Accessories really do make the shot.  If I ever do a photo session for you, do me a favor and bring lots of accessories....hats, scarves, jewelry, cute shoes, coats, ect....they can take an average picture up a notch.

 One of the things I like most about this location is just the variety

of settings to take advantage of.  The house itself, of course, the field behind it, the fallen

trees; it has really been a great find for me.

 Fresh, clean, and beautiful....that's why I love seniors.

What a day off works looks like for the Bean Family.

Periodically, my husband feels the needs to acquire a project.  Generally, I dont mind.  It's good for his psyche to be elbow deep in a messy chaotic "man mess" and it gives he and Noa a chance to hang out.  Sometimes, though, I wonder if he knows what he's gotten himself into.  Case A: this boat. 

I came home from shopping yesterday to my husband telling me that he had bought a boat.  Now, he didnt spend much on this at all, so its definitely not the $ that bothers me, but I see something like this and I wonder a) how long it will be an eyesore in my driveway, b) how long is it going to take him to clean it up, and c) what is my share of the profits.  To his credit, he usually doubles his money put into it, and he is great about letting Noa be his little helper. 

So, on this beautiful sunny day, my husband is outside tinkering on this boat and chilling with the four year old.  Honestly, Im thankful that he's so capable, creative, and vested in spending time with our sons.  I am a blessed woman. 

  - I take out the camera to get some "before" pictures of the boat. 

Noa finds this to be a perfect opportunity to cheese it up and

pose for the camera.  He obviously gets that from me.

 Yep, that would be my sewing tape measure stolen

from the sewing room. 

It's official, spring is coming.  This does

my heart good.

 Here she is, Austin's newset find.  He calls the process of acquiring

these boats, "sailboat picking."  Noa is especially fond of

this activity, and they spend Saturday mornings driving around

back country roads looking in peoples yard for abandoned

sailboats.  This is what they found last week.

 Hard at work

I was shocked today when for a snack, Noa told me he wanted

celery with peanut butter.  Noa generally has an aversion to celery that

competes with an arachnophobic's aversion to spiders.  Come to

find out, he just wanted to lick the peanut butter out of the celery.  

 "Don't worry, mom.  I'm not going to chop up the flowers,

I'm just going to watch them to see if they come out."

Happy President's Day!