Blog

What's Cooking? | Learning & Growing

2010-07-30T19:00:48Z

Question...

Are you constantly trying to learn new things to improve your skills, professionalism, and style? I know personally, that I strive to become a better photographer, marketer, wife, friend, colleague, etc. the list goes on (not necessarily in that order, but you get the picture). Why? Well, I don't think it's good to become self-satisfied in my thinking and doing.

I think it can be so easy to become complacent. I think in many ways many companies have become stagnant and have thought, "The old marketing ideas have worked, so we will continue doing them, even if they aren't as effective as they first were..." I think it's highly valuable to always be on your best game - always be researching, always be looking for new angles and new ways to say and do things.

I'm currently reading the book Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 (picked it up today and will finish the last 50 pages tomorrow - it's that interesting!) and it's unbelievable the amount of FREE sources we have to find information. Information about jobs, about how to improve ourselves, how to be more creative, and more. The information is endless. (And just a side note, in case you are wondering because of the book title, I am looking for a job - more info on that later)

Especially, when you think about the internet. This book has made me realize that the internet is constantly changing. What I have learned today about search engines and helpful sties is now old news. It is impractical to think that you could keep up with everything.

So...What does this have to do with photography or me?

I have been mulling over in my mind lately the idea of complacency and I really don't want it in my life. I want to become better in all the things I'm associated with. As things change, I want to change. I want to embrace change. Especially in the photography world. Do you want change in your specialty or personal life? When you honestly think about it, does the word change scare or motivate you? I think to become more effective in whatever your calling/job is in this life, you must not become complacent.

And just want to mention that by using the word complacent, I'm not meaning content. I DO feel that you should be content in the situation you are in. I think there must be a balance of being content, yet not being complacent. You are always looking for new opportunities to grow your skills, talents, ideas, etc., but you are okay where you're at for the time being because God has brought you to that situation/place for a specific reason. It's just not becoming stuck there, unwilling to move because you're comfortable. Which, as humans we have a knack for doing.

Anyways, that is some of what I'm learning right now. Do you have any thoughts regarding complacency, being content and so forth? I'd love to hear them.

Facebook | Business

2010-07-29T18:27:40Z

So who doesn't like Facebook?? If you're anything like me, you at minimum check it twice or three times a day! When I say that out loud I think to myself - I need to get a life! :)

Anyways, Transparent Life Photography is on Facebook now! Can I get a 'WHOOP WHOOP!'

So let's make it official and you can be my friend over there by saying you like what I do. You can even just click on the below picture and it will take you straight to me!

See you over there!

Archive Photo of the Day | Archive Photos

2010-07-28T20:45:29Z

So I am trying to get in the habit of blogging every day (if you haven't noticed) and I'm going to start on the middle day of the week (Wednesdays) posting a photo from my archives. I have so many photos I've never posted online that are so fun.

So this is just not one archive photo, but a few. About 2 years ago, my parents, Josh and I went on a trip to Disney World! Yay! :) If you've been to Disney World before you know it's loads of fun. This was Josh's first visit and I'd say he was pretty stoked about going. We had tons of fun on our trip. I never was able to post any of my Disney pictures online, which is such a sad day, but, here are a few from our trip.

This ride, I think, is one of my favorites at Magic Kingdom. It's called "Thunder Mountain Railroad". My parents and sister were sitting infront of us. It's considered to be a "roller coaster" but is still quite calm in comparison to other roller coasters I've been on!

And then there's Wendy from Peter Pan! I just happened to get her right as she waved. And then there is the crazy ride (that will seriously surprise you) called, "Expedition Everest." It's an expedition alright! It was a lot of fun to ride.

If you've never been to Disney, you should go - especially if you have kids! It's such a magical place for kids. I remember going as a kid and loving every minute of it. It was something my sisters and I looked forward to.

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Whoops! Let me try this again... | Personal

2010-07-27T19:00:34Z

This phrase, "Whoops! Let me try this again..." was constantly said a few days ago when I was trying to figure out how to make good Chai Tea.

Why???

We were having a guest from South Asia coming to our home, and I wanted to give him a good cup of Chai. As most people know, South Asians, in particular those from Pakistan/India, LOVE chai tea. On our trip to South Asia, one of the families we met drank 10 cups of tea A DAY! Sick! Well, not to them, but that is a lot of tea, milk and sugar!!!

Anyways, so Josh and I went to the store and I strategically (as much as I knew to be) picked out two boxes of tea and some milk (I already had sugar at home).

Batch #1: So my first batch (using two tea bags) turned out okay...lol Josh was my taste tester (poor guy!). The first batch lacked the taste of tea.

Batch #2: So I tried a similar but different method, using two tea bags again. And AGAIN, it didn't taste like tea. Mostly milk and sugar. I guess if people like the weak (very weak) taste of tea, then this is perfect for you.

Batch #3: By this time, I realized that I needed to follow the directions on the box (GO FIGURE! Sometimes I amaze myself). :) This time I used 10 tea bags, 1 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of sugar, and boiled it all together. It wasn't too shabby. Josh said it tasted pretty good. I felt pretty good about that.

Batch #4: This was the real batch that I needed to care about, because, our South Asian friend was at our house, expecting some decent tea. Whew. Talk about pressure! So, I prepare everything like I did for Batch #3, and then went to make sure everyone wanted tea. I walked in the room, and said, "I'm assuming everyone wants tea, right?" And our South Asian friend, with a surprised face says, "Yes, I would love tea. Can I have mine with no sugar?"

Oh Crap. I thought in my mind. All I know is to make this tea with sugar. "Sure!" I replied enthusiastically, trying not to let on that his comment threw a wrench in my perfect plan.

After thinking for like 5 seconds, I decided to do his cup of tea the more "traditional" way (boil water, put the tea bag in the cup, pour the water over the tea bag, add milk, done). Everyone else got what I originally planned and all was well. At least I think. My husband affirmed me (thank you hun hun) and so did another one of our guests, but as for our guest from South Asia - I'll never know. lol

So, after my 4 batches of tea, I used 26 bags of tea. That is a lot of tea.

Now, if you come over to my home, you can have decent tea - hopefully this newfound skill will improve :) - and this time, I won't go through 26 bags of tea!

Have a great day!

78 lbs of...!!! | Personal

2010-07-26T16:53:53Z

Before moving to Arizona, we had heard about a Co-op from a friend in this area. The Co-op is called Bountiful Baskets, and it's quite amazing.

Within the first week of moving here, we purchased a conventional basket and anticipated Saturday when we were going to pick it up. We were SO excited. Yes, we're dorks - getting excited about produce!! ha!

Anyways, so on Saturday morning, we went and got our basket and were so impressed at how much you got. Our entire fridge and produce cart were filled with yummy goodness - AND, there were a few odd things I had never tried cooking before that were tossed in (like white asparagus - who cooks with white asparagus?? I've never even heard of it until that day!).

So, we decided to do it again this week, but this time we thought we'd buy two baskets. Again, we were excited and kept thinking, "what might be in our baskets this week?" We got there at 7:00 AM (which is too early for a Saturday) with our white laundry basket ready to pick up our items.

It was quite overwhelming!

Once we stuffed our white basket, both of us had to carry it to our car. We were quite amazed, again, at how much fruits/vegetables there were.

So much so that we weighed it - which it ended up being 78 lbs of produce for $31.50! Which, with all the produce we got, it averages out to be 40 cents/lb for each item. Unbelievable!

So, we began to think, I wonder what's all inside of this basket? I mean, we saw it all, but wanted to write down and see if it was really worth $31.50.

So included in our baskets was:

Watermelon – 2

Pineapple – 3

Peaches – 6

Pulouts – 10

Bananas – 14

Tomatoes – 4

Blueberries – 2 pints

Romaine – 2 heads

Grapes – 3 lbs

Cauliflower – 4 heads

Corn – 12 ears

LRG Japanese Cucumber – 4

Yukon Gold Potatoes – 10 lbs

I'm still amazed at how much we really got. Now the challenge is to use it all before it goes bad!! If you live in an area where Bountiful Baskets exist, I would suggest trying one basket. It really is an amazing deal and you get to eat healthy! :)

This picture above is our microwave stand/produce cart. Josh and I made it after we moved because we wanted a place to put all of our produce (so it wasn't all on our counters). And, we wanted a place to put our microwave. So tada! We made a microwave stand/produce cart! I picked out the color to paint it and I think it turned out nicely.

Anyways, that is our new adventure each week. You should try it if you get a chance!

The Chumley's | Maternity Portrait

2010-07-22T19:00:30Z

WARNING: This couple is full of smiles, laughter, and extreme cuteness! Beware of laughing and smiling yourself because of the contagious smiles in these pictures!

Meet the Chumley's! I LOVE this couple so much. They are some of our dearest friends back in good ol' Texas! Before moving to Arizona, we were able to stay at their home and see some of their last days being pregnant before Conner was born (which he was just recently born! Yay!).

We have known this couple for about three years now and they were apart of our community group. Kind of funny, but I did all the maternity pictures for each girl in our group (See them here: Samantha, Jennifer, & Julia). It is interesting that each shoot is a completely different one. It's fun!

Anyways, enjoy these pictures. I have loved every minute of them!

So we tried doing a more serious photo, and the previous pictures showed how much they couldn't stop smiling and laughing! Finally we got a serious one...

Only to get another laughing one! It didn't last long!!

This one is one of my favorites. I love using props. They add so much to pictures!

Ashley is gorgeous - love the beautiful eyes. They stand out so much in the color picture.

Another one of my favorites. They just look perfect for each other, huh! Beautiful!

Another serious turning into laughing. :) Ha!

Look at that belly! :)

And lastly, another one of my favorites! I think we were all rolling on the floor laughing after this one!!

Love you Phillip and Ash - I'm so excited for the little bundle of joy you have began to take care of. I can't wait to meet him one day!

Summer Fun Special! | Promotion

2010-07-05T17:00:05Z

I'm offering 30 minute sessions for $75 for the month of July!

Where: the Phoenix, Arizona area (including Tempe, Scottsdale, etc) on location - you pick the location, I'll come and photograph you!

Who: You, your family, your dogs, your fiancé, your husband/wife, your best friend, etc.

When: A time when you are free and want a session! Better times would be early mornings or evenings.

What you will receive: Besides this incredible deal, you will receive a CD of all pictures edited. You can post them online and print off as many as you want. They are yours (just not to sell).

Contact me for more details and to schedule your session!!

Chris | Senior Portrait

2010-07-03T23:39:26Z

Chris is a fun guy with a BIG smile and a BIG heart. He just finished up his Senior year of High School and is headed off to college.

We met through my sister's friend. Chris hadn't gotten Senior pictures yet and still wanted some so while we were still in Texas (which, by the way, I'm no longer living there - more to come on that later) at my parents home, we picked a date, a place and a time and made it happen. It was SO much fun walking around the downtown La Porte area finding different places to portray who Chris is. I hope that these pictures do just that!

Enough of me rambling - here are the pictures!

Thanks for looking - hope you have a GREAT 4th of July weekend!!

Allison Cap & Gown | Senior Portrait

2010-06-26T05:42:13Z

Time to take a break from my trip pictures and show you some portraits!

I don't think I can say how proud I am of my baby sister! :) She is now officially finished with High School and is now starting college in the Fall! Congrats Allison!! So, SO proud of you!!

I did her previous Senior pictures without her cap and gown and you can see those here. My Mom and her wanted some pictures of her in her cap and gown and I happily said yes! Anything for my sister! So we played around in a park and had some fun.

Thanks for looking! I hope to post some more pictures from our trip, another senior session and a maternity session!

Have a great weekend!! :)

Abstract

2010-06-12T17:00:37Z

Typically, when I session, I love to photograph people - their expressions, their cultures, their love, etc. The pictures you're about to see, I randomly shot while around different cities. It's very different than what I normally shoot, but I think it is good to branch out from what you're comfortable with.

Going on this trip was way out of my comfort zone. The culture being completely different, I didn't know what was down or up. I couldn't speak the official language, I didn't know what any of the dishes were (except one or two), I didn't even know how to get around the city! It was a mess, but what a growth opportunity!!

I feel that in order for me to grow in any aspect, I have to push myself beyond my normal limits - beyond my normal comfort zones. Hopefully, you've seen different things that I've never produced before on my site in the past month or so.

There is much more to come after these pictures - two senior portraits and many more pictures from my trip explaining the culture that I experienced for the past three months. I hope that you've enjoyed these.

Hope you enjoy your weekend. :)