Nature Has Taught Me

Hello World. It's been a while. Here is a little something I was inspired to create. I hope you enjoy it.

My World In 20.

O.k. so it has come to my attention that I should really make a point of actually blogging once in a while. I have been told that a missing in action page is being started in cyberspace to help catch and bring us non-bloggers to your blogging satisfaction.

So to catch up, this is what I've been up to :

1. Attended a Yervant whole day event. For those not familiar with Yervant, he is considered amongst the top 5 international wedding and portrait photographers in the world. He was voted Australia's number 1 wedding photographer for 2007, 2008, and 2009. He was really great-- very informative, funny, and easy going.

2. I am now the NJAWBO Mercer Awards chair. Cool job. I get to give out prizes and look at the smiles on peoples faces.

3. Attended an email marketing seminar. So many options. Hard to decide which way to go. Still under consideration.

4. APAD show in NYC. Saw some great photography from some of the masters and a lot of other great work.

5. Spend part of a day with Robert Farber and a few photo friends. Robert gave us a personal tour of his workspace and gallery and showed us his work. Just fabulous.

6. Photographed head shots for a couple of models.

7. Attended the Barb Edwards seminar. I am now using a new album and frames company.

8. Attended a procurement event. I had to leave early so was not able to fully benefit from the event.

9. Family photo session. Fun session. Professional head shots for clients.

10. Two day seminar in PA. Extremely helpful and informative. Need to start working on implementing some of the business strategies learned.

11. Attended the Sandy Puc tour. Always a must.

12. Heard Michael & Tina Timmons speak at the GPPDV. Great.

13. Hired to photograph Governor Christie & Lt. Governor Guadagno of NJ at a private event. Awesome experience-- a first for me. The images above are of the Governor and Lt. Governor listening and answering some audience questions.

14. Attended a printing workshop with Scott Nichol. Polaroid transfers, done digitally. What can I say--Just Awesome! I will be making some good use of this in my fine art work. I just love this.

15. Frank Doorhof workshop in NYC. Just, Wow! This guy really knows his stuff.

16. Photographed a few performers at a Civil War Re-Enactment. Fun time.

17. Became a certified professional photographer --cpp. It's official! So happy!

18.Donated a fine art print to the JDRF(Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) gala. My first print done on metal. Really turned out beautifully.

19.Participated in the Woman's Head to Toe Expo. Shared a booth. What a great turnout we had. There were about 1000 people attending. Exhausting, but great.

20. Photographed my first pet bunny. Never really quite realized how truly to the side rabbits have their eyes positioned. Found this somewhat challenging, photographically speaking.

O.k., so there you have it, my world in 20.

Photographer's Pride

So if there is one thing I have learned in going to all those workshops, seminars, and classes, it is that education is important and practice is everything. To be good at something, you must practice and practice and then practice some more. You must stay current and on top of the your game. This holds true not only in photography, but in everything you do, including this blog. If I want it to work, then I must also keep feeding it (writing, regularly). If you want to improve your skills photographically, then you should seek education and practice what you learn. You know, sadly, in todays world, anyone with a camera, can call themselves a photographer. I value the word photographer. For me, this has real meaning. It is someone who seeks knowledge and constant education. It is someone who feels great responsibility and takes pride in her/his work. It is someone who has been honored with the gift of capturing once in a lifetime moments. It is someone who can literally bring a smile to your face or a tear to your eyes with the images they choose to bring to life. So if you want to be a photographer then be one, but be one with the respect it deserves. Realize that you will be following in the footsteps of some great men and women. Do it with pride and honor. And give it your all. Enough said.

Until next time. See ya. Hasta luegos.

Alina

Time and Networking

Wow! Where does the time go? It seems like the days and weeks just fly by and I'm always behind trying to play catch-up on the many projects and ideas I have going. I really want to make this a daily (maybe too ambitious?) habit. I actually enjoy writing and hopefully you enjoy reading as well. But I just sometimes can't seem to find the time. I think one of the things I'm finding the most challenging is trying to organize myself and my time appropriately. It seems there are days when I start off in the right direction but then get side tracked by something else. Focus! I must Focus and have a plan! I focus and get into a zone when I photograph. I need to get myself into that same frame of mind when I'm doing other work. O.k., so I need a plan. Any ideas? Please hit me in the comments.

I had a very interesting conversation with someone recently regarding networking and networking groups. Here are some of the questions that came up. Are networking groups really worth it? Is an "exclusive per business only type" of networking group better than a "nonexclusive" type of group? Do networking groups really get you more business or do they hurt you in acquiring business? Some people are just so turned off by the whole networking group idea that they just won't hire you because you are part of a networking group. Even though your work is excellent, you provide great service and your prices are fair, they still won't hire you because you are part of a group. This just makes no sense to me. They like you, your work, etc., but won't hire you because you are part of a group. I don't know, but the way I see it is, whether you belong to a group or not, aren't we all somehow just really networking every single day in our daily lives. Think about it. You (Miss/Mr. Photographer) had your house painted. You loved the guy. Hey, he did a great job. Your neighbor down the street is looking for a painter for his house. So what do you do, you recommend your guy. You are networking! Now let's say Mr. Painter happens to be painting another customer's house and happens to overhear that they are looking for a photographer for their daughter's Sweet 16th, so he now recommends you. Networking! So after giving this some thought, I don't really think it matters whether you belong to a networking group or not, if it's exclusive or nonexclusive. We all network. If you belong to a group, good for you. I hope it's helping you in your business. I think what matters is the work, the service, the price. They should all be top notch and fair. Remember if you are going to recommend someone you are in essence putting yourself and your reputation on the line. So network and join groups. But recommend only those that you feel are worthy of it and you in turn make sure your work is worthy of a recommendation.

The photo up top is that of dinner two nights ago. It was so, so good. It was an herb rubbed chicken with spinach, tomatoes and a balsamic

wine reduction. Delicious!

See ya next time. Hasta Luego.

Alina

I'm Back!

Hello Fellow Blog Followers,

I am back! Had a few very busy months but will hopefully be blogging again somewhat regularly. So let's see, to fill you in-- 1. I was in Israel and Jordan for a couple of weeks. A totally awesome experience, kind of surreal in many ways. I'll be posting pictures in the near future. 2.My website is also up, finally! Still need to work out some issues, but it's up,

nonetheless. The website is http://www.alinabstudios.com 3.Have been busy shooting so many headshots lately that I feel I should perhaps add a tagline to the website --Headshots and More? I...I don't think so. With all the fine art and landscape work that I do, I'm still trying to figure out where best to add all the portrait work that I do. I'm not sure if I should just put everything under a separate gallery titled portraiture or just have the portrait work appear on the blog itself. I want to make everything work uniformly. Any suggestions? 4. December just flew by with holiday type portraits, attending and hosting holiday parties, attending kid's choral performances and just getting together with family and friends. I also picked up a corporate client as well. 5. January brought more headshot work. Also attended the Farber workshop. Learned some very cool techniques that I'll be incorporating into some of my portrait work. 6. Planned and organized a vendor type show with various types of vendors selling their goods and services. It was a first for me and it proved to be quite successful with a nice turnout. I showcased some of my portrait work and awarded some prizes to some of the attendees. It was definitely a lot of work to put together, but well worth it and the feedback has been all positive. 7. Keeping up with the food photos has been kind of tough, because hey, when I cook, I like to eat. I have to make it a point to serve a separate serving of food just for photo purposes and just photograph it as soon as we are done eating. I tried doing it during and before we ate, but that did not go over too well. I've shot a few, but I am way behind on that project. Hoping to catch up. I'll post some when I get a chance. 8. Tomorrow is the last day in January and I'm scheduled for a couple of portrait sessions with some really cute kids. I'm really looking forward to this. It should be fun.

The photo above is from Israel. I love the colors in this image--the blue of the sky, the green of the plant and the brown tan-like tones of the wall and vase. I like how the greenery seems to be coming out of the vase or the ledge itself. It's hard to tell from the angle in which I took the image. I was shooting up at the ledge from about 10 feet down. I love the straight angled lines on the wall of the ledge and the curved lines on the vase. I feel they work well together. They go hand in hand. There is such beauty here, in this simple image. You have nature coming together with something that has been made by the hand of man, coexisting harmoniously. It just feels peaceful. Enjoy.

Hasta Luego. See ya next time.

Alina

Positive Energy

Hello. I had a busy week. I made about 20 headshots for various clients this week. The photograph to the left is that of Leanne Gerrard.

Leanne is a Life Success Consultant, http://www.leannegerrard.lifesuccessconsultants.com/

Leanne is an extremely genuine person who just loves what she is doing. She's had a tremendous, positive impact on many individuals. She helps you realize your potential and leads you on the path towards achieving your dreams. She offers workshops, coaching and seminars. Her classes are inspirational, fun and rewarding. She will help you succeed at leading the kind of life you had always envisioned.

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I spend Saturday in New York City at the PhotoPlusExpo. I love checking out what's new in the industry and meeting with old friends. I find attending the expo inspirational and exciting. I always come back with new ideas and a fresh perspective on some old techniques. The energy at the show is always invigorating and it really motivates me. Can't wait to try out some of what I saw and learned!

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The photo on the right is from my walking tour of New York City. I love to walk around the city and look for images that speak to me. The image of the graffiti on the wall of the building and the ladder leading down tell a story of people struggling, reaching beyond what only seems possible, and expressing themselves in any way they can. It speaks of survival and the need for self expression in this very urban area of the city. Making images, are what

inspires me. It is positive energy. It is my positive energy. It is this positive energy that leads me to live the kind of life I want to live. So this week, make images that inspire you and bring you positive energy.

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Yup, I had this photo shoot today in beautiful Bergen County, NJ. So there I was taking a tour of the grounds, picking out good locations for the family which I was about to photograph. The mom was giving me a tour of the property and pointing out certain spots that she thought may work for her family's portrait. The property is quite beautiful, gently sloping down on the sides. Now yesterday it had rained - a lot. And there were wet leaves on the ground. So there I was with my nice clean clothes, holding my camera, walking down the slight inclination on the property, when all of a sudden, without any warning whatsoever, I fall flat on my ___. Ouch! Talk about painful and embarrassing. Me and my clothes were no longer clean, but hey, I saved the camera. I got some nice photos of the family and by the time the shoot was over, my extremely muddy ___ was now dry caked on mud. Ahh, nothing can make you more humble than falling on your ___ in the middle of a shoot. Yes, a very proud moment. I actually think being embarrassed once in a while is not such a bad thing. It humbles us and makes us more human. So to all those people out there who have fallen flat on their ____, I humbly salute you. I have now joined your club.

Until next time. Hasta luego.

Alina

Old Shoes

Barnacle Shoes

Today I headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with my husband to visit the Robert Frank exhibit, Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans. Wow! What a great exhibit! Wonderfully curated. Robert Frank is a living photographic legend and a master photographer. His photographs document America and what it means to be American. The print themselves are beautifully printed and simply presented. These photographs historically depict an America of a time gone by. They reveal to the viewer looking in, a historical pictorial account of America. For those people traveling to or living near the New York City area, this is a must see exhibit. It should not be missed.

I came upon the "Barnacle Shoes" in the photograph above as I was walking along the shore. I had to stop and make the photograph. Looking at these old shoes, I could not help but wonder who they had belonged to. Who had worn the old shoes? What kind of people were they? Where are they now? Were these shoes from a foreign land and just now washing up on our shores? Were they simply discarded, forgotten, or just left behind? How long have they been at sea? What kind of lives did the people wearing these shoes lead? Did the people know each other? Were these the shoes belonging to people lost at sea? The more I looked at the shoes, the more questions I had. I look at these old shoes as Robert Frank must have looked at his subjects when photographing The Americans. I am looking as the observer documenting and asking questions of what I see. I am choosing to make a photograph of barnacle shoes that have washed ashore. It is those of us who are photographic observers and documentarists, who constantly strive to show others that which most people, simply walk by and disregard. Perhaps we too should be more like Robert Frank and "Look In" to our world and help document our pictorial history. So this week, take time to document your world- your family, your children, your pets, your loved ones. Document those things that are important to you and you hold close to your heart. Document your history at this particular point in time.

Until next time. Hasta Luego.

Alina

Love Smile

The Kiss

There is no greater feeling in this world than that of love. Love is not only something that you accept, but something that you must also give. It's about you being good to people and showing some kindness and compassion. It's about treating people how you would want to be treated. It's about being considerate and helpful and concerned for each other. It's about being selfless and doing something for someone. Love can make someone feel special, feel hugged. It can warm the heart and put a smile on your face. It can make your day. It can be given by a simple "hello," a friendly handshake, or a warm "love" smile. Or it may be given in a letter or a note.

Today, I received my "love smile" in the form of a thank you note from a great lady, Barbra Edwards, my Marathon Press representative: www.marathonpress.com

She wrote:

Dear Alina,

I love to visit you. You will always do well with your kindness. People love you.

Thanks,

Barb.

Thank you, Barb. Your kind words really meant a lot to me today. You are truly a special person and people love you too. Thank you.

And to everyone out there, for the rest of the week practice your "love smile" on all those you meet. You may just make their day.

Until next time. Paz.

Alina