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