Wow, you guys asked some good questions! Some I knew immediately how to answer, but a few I had to take a bit longer to think about. I'm gonna break this up into two posts, because there were so many questions and I want to try to answer all of them. So today I'll answer the more technical questions that took a bit more time and are more-or-less in the same category. Ready? Let's go!
Abi asked:
I've had a lot of blogs in the past (probably about seven over the past seven years), and most of them were very different from this one: from theological musings to cool things I'd found across the internet. My inspiration to start up this blog was really my stepdad Bob. He had a DSLR that he had replaced and so wasn't using anymore. He knew from my mom that I'd been scraping together pennies to buy a better camera (I was tired of only having my husband's Blackberry to take pics of our son with), so he generously gave me his old camera, and I started this blog as a way to motivate myself to learn to use it well. It can be incredibly discouraging and confusing learning photography when you don't have a community of photographers around you. I've still got a ton to learn, but I know that most of what I've already learned, I would never know if I hadn't started blogging my progress and meeting other photographers who were blogging their tips and progress along the way.
Leyla and Michael asked:
This was the tough one, for two reasons:1) I don't at all consider myself a photographer - not because I'm trying to be modest, but because I don't plan on doing this professionally, I know I have tons to learn, and I have always had this fear of inciting the wrath of professionals by daring to categorize myself with them - even in my head. I mean, let's face it: a lot of photographers can get pretty vicious about someone with less training and an entry-level DSLR using the "P" word to describe herself - especially if she's in the SAHM category. Somehow, thinking about what inspires my photography just seems... like I think I'm hot. And inspired. But I need to get over that fear. And when I realize that that's something I need to get over, I also realize that...
2) I think there are so many things that inspire anyone to create something. It's rarely just one thing. There's a quote by John Calvin that always particularly inspires me every time I read it:
When I'm happy with a photo I've taken, it's almost always because I feel it embodies the hope and joy I want to always maintain about the world God's put me in. That sounds kinda pretentious, but it's no joke: if a photo I've taken bums me out, then no matter how good it is, I'm probably not gonna showcase it, because I don't hold a bummed-out view of the world. I think that, as a stay-at-home mom who is on her way to having three children under three and simply can't get out for girl nights, ice cream dates, nature walks, or even weekly trips to the park, it's especially important to me that I learn to rejoice in the world immediately around me - even if I see it every hour of every day. I don't want to see this time of life as something to simply get through so I can really live later. I want to see the joy and beauty in it now. That desire daily inspires how I choose to photograph the things around me.Arvee asked:
I use a Canon Rebel XT and a 50mm f/1.4 fixed lens (though I sometimes still use my 24mm f/2.8 too).
Most of the curves and actions I use come from Julia Trotti. My favorites are her Hummingbirds curve, Left Hand Blues curve, and Ambers curve - all of which you can download for free from her beautiful blog. I try to find a balance between maintaining a consistent aesthetic that's true to my personality, and not boring people by only using the same colors, subjects, and curves over and over and over again. But there are about half a dozen curves I tend to use pretty consistently.
You guys are a lot of fun! On monday I'll answer the easier, less-technical questions you guys asked, so stay tuned. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
