One of the biggest reasons I wanted to go to BlissDom was the photography track. It’s something I have always loved just never really took the time to study.  I did a few weddings when I first started out with my 35mm camera.  It was fun. I enjoyed a lot.  Time went on and I kinda let that part of me go.

Then my kids were born and I carried my camera as much as I did my kids.  I wanted to capture every moment of their lives.  As time went on and they have grown some once again my camera slipped away into it’s camera bag and many days went uncaptured.  I enjoyed those days but life just got so busy I didn’t pull out the camera to capture those moments.

Listening to Me Ra Koh at BlissDom just brought it all back to me again. I keep my camera out within reach now.  I capture my kid’s life, our lives again.  Listening to her words brought that love of photography back to the forefront for me.  And for the first time in my life, I bought a lens and now I want an external flash.

This is the lens I bought.  She recommended this lens and two of my friends recommended it also. It’s the f/1.8G lens for my Nikon DSLR. I never thought a single lens and a mom photographer speaking at a conference could make me feel this way again about something I have loved doing for so long yet lost.

I saw what they captured and I want the same.  I didn’t want just snapshots. I wanted to tell my kid’s story of their lives.  I want them to look back at these photographs from their childhood and I want these photographs to tell them their story, their memories, our memories.  And when it’s our grandchildren looking at these photos, I want them to see and feel our lives through these photographs.  Sometimes life takes over and the things or hobbies or however you want to put it just get pushed aside or left to wayside. They are still there. Sometimes you need someone to remind you or point it out for you.

I know this may sound kinda gushy but BlissDom, my friends Jen and Nell and speaker Me Ra Koh – all have given me back a passion for something I loved but had forget I still had in me. Thank you BlissDom, Jen and Me Ra Koh.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

Diane Cu did a presentation on photography and video I attended. Now, I’m not big on video and that’s probably ’cause I’m not very good at it.  Do you like making videos?  Maybe you do and you just want some ideas on how to make them better.  Well, let me just share with you some tips and quotes from Diane Cu’s presentation at BlissDom.  I know I’ve been sharing a lot about BlissDom lately but there was just so much good information I want you learn too.

Storytelling through your photos and videos was the main thought of the presentations. These are some of the quotes from her presentation:

Storytelling comes first.

Your story, your life journey is unique. Value that.

Your eyes are your lens, your heart is your shutter. Always see with your eyes first.  I loved this quote. It’s one I hope stays with me always.

Capture it, don’t wait. Don’t wait for that perfect moment.

Imperfections convey depth, meaning, authenticity and soul to your unique voice.  I think all too often we try to perfect in our photos and video but when we do we lose something, we lose our unique view.

Witness the little things. So many times we pass right over the little things in such a busy, fast paced world.

Don’t wait for tomorrow that may never come.

Your best camera is the one with you. If you only have your cell phone, use it. No it may not be the best quality or award winning but it can capture a moment you’ll never get back.

Don’t compare your photographs to others.  This I tend to do way too much or at least I did before I heard these words.

One statement she used a lot was “photograph beyond the obvious”. She gave the example of photographing food and rather than have a super clean plate and everything perfect around it, photograph it in it’s natural state (on the vine or tree limb). Photograph prepared food with their natural crumbs, etc. not sloppy of course but naturally how it would look when preparing it.

When photographing people again photograph beyond the obvious.  Talk to your subject, what brings a sparkle to their eyes.  That is what you need to capture. She gave an example of when she was to photograph a farmer but rather than photograph the farmer and his farm she spoke to him and noticed the sparkle in his eyes when he spoke of his children. She brought them into the photographs and oh how beautifully a story those photos showed. Not just a farmer and his farm but a generation of farmers, a father, his family and the life they enjoyed living.

And here is where the video part comes in. Putting those photographs to music to create the feeling you are reaching for. Select your music first, then your photos to include. One tip I hadn’t thought of was to change the photos according to the chord changes in the music. Finding the right music for your video can be challenging so she offered some site suggestions for locating music: www.withettique .com, www.triplescoop.com, freeplaymusic.com

For video editing she recommended Adobe Premier for the PC and iMovie for Mac

For photo editing: Lightbox rather than Photoshop

Other recommendations of sites to check out: animoto.com and community at vimeo.com

I hope some of these tips help give you more confidence and help in creating videos.  I may actually give video another try

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

The highlights of BlissDom 12 for me were the photography sessions.  There were so many great tips shared, so many stuck in my mind.  MeRa Koh was inspiring to me. Just listening to her and seeing how she got to where she is now, her inner strength, her love for family – it all showed through and with such beauty and love for photography.  She truly touched  my heart.  She was the one speaker I had to go up and thank personally for her sessions. I could barely hold back tears.

These are some of her tips, I am going to keep in mind.

Turn off your flash. Consider buying an external flash so you can aim your light where you want it to go.

Always use the center focus point, then re-frame.

Photograph on concrete rather than on grass.  Concrete gives more light rather than grass which pulls away light from your subject.

You have to willing to miss shots to get great shots.

Fill the frame with the story. Less is more.

See life in frames. She even suggested using a small picture frame with the glass and backing removed till you begin to see life in frames.  I can see how this could train your eye.

Turn off the lights so the natural light from the window shows through.

Shoot either early in the morning or late at night, sunrise or sunset. Don’t shoot in the middle of the day or your photos will look flat.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

I mentioned before how much I love taking pictures but have been shy about sharing them and how one of my goals for this year is to do a 365 project.  You know the one where you post a photo a day for one full year.  Well, I’ve started it and wanted to give you the link and personally invite you to come over and keep up with what I’m doing and how I’m doing on my 365 project.

Here’s the page for you:  http://www.photographybynan.com  You can even subscribe and get each days’ photo in your inbox or if you are a big facebook fan, there’s a fan page set up too: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Photography-By-Nan/146815078763105

Here’s a sneak peek from one of my favorites from this week.

Stop by and tell me which one you liked from my first week.  I’d love to know what you think. One thing I’ve notice is I really like taking photos at night.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

Who owns your family photos?  The photos of my kids and my husband which I hold in my home belong to us as a couple and our kids.  At least this is how I see it.

While visiting my mom recently, I came across this problem.  With seven daughters there are a ton of photographs many of which there is only one copy of and there are a ton of them which were group photos. With us all so very close in age we were all very young when they were taken.  Now, who does that photo belong to?  Does it belong to mom whose had them in her photo albums since they were taken?  Do any of us have the right to take them without asking the others in the photos if they would like them?  How do you decided? Does everyone get the chance to claim it or voice their desire for it before someone takes it or should it remain with mom? All these questions popped into my head and quite honestly I don’t like the way it was handled.

What about rare photos of a lost loved one? How do you not get your feelings hurt when one person takes photos and refuses to share or tells you to scan a copy if you want one even though there are enough for each family member  to have at least one original photograph?

How do you not get offended?  How do you not get your feelings hurt or get upset about it?  Just because some family members don’t live close to “home” does that mean they don’t get any photos? How do you decide? Who decides and who should be consulted when that decision is made?

What do you think, who owns the family pictures?

© 2011, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

I hear this a lot especially in relation to what one blogs about.  You should write about your passion.  I do, well one of them anyway because parenting and my children are my passion.  They are what I live for, they bring me joy, happiness beyond belief and a strength from within me I never knew I had.  So yes, I do blog about my passion.  I’m sure you do to.

But are there any other passions in your life that maybe you don’t do?  I’d have to admit yes there is.  Well, maybe it’s not so secret a passion but still not one I feel I can’t openly share though I wish I could. Back in high school, (decades ago) I took a class and it just felt like that’s what I was meant to do.  Of course over time, I drifted away from it somewhat but always kept it close by.  What was it? My camera.  I love photography, especially black and white photography.  I take pictures and always have but I’ve moved away from the things I used to like to photograph ’cause I just don’t think people get it or at least no one I know.

My family like snapshots and photos of the kids.  And I do too don’t get me wrong. We have thousands of pictures of them and I love each and every one of them.  But sometimes, I just get this urge to photograph something totally different, sometimes something off the wall and I get a strange look from my husband or kids who wonder why are you taking a picture of that or why aren’t there any people in your picture? LOL  I know how they think and that’s ok I completely understand their logic but sometimes they just don’t get mine. I can’t be alone in this am I?

And color, oh I love color but there is just something about black and white photographs that just draw you into them that make you feel as though you are right there in them or at least it does for me.  I’m talking crazy aren’t I?

Am I or is that pre-teen girl with the art book and pencils or pencil and paper for writing poetry on the playground still there and just trying to find her creative way back out? Am I letting some fear hold her back, hold me back from indulging in my passion or sharing it?  What about you, are you letting something or someone maybe even yourself hold you back from enjoying or sharing your passion?

© 2011, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.