Rainy Rainy Days!

Rain, rain, go away.....wait, maybe not.  One of the photography groups I am involved in presented us with a photography challenge entitled "The Falling Rain".  It's an open album to deposit photos into, and it's been open for a few weeks now, and I hadn't really thought about submitting anything until it started raining yesterday, I was bored in the car, and realized I had my camera with me....so here is the result!  Hope you like 'em.

So what do you think?  EMAIL ME and tell me!

As always, see more of my photography at www.mtsphotography.zenfolio.com and don't forget to add me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook

Published!

Just wanted to write a quick blog post to let everyone know - I've had my first magazine publication!  It's not the cover of Practical Horseman or anything :) but I'm excited!  My picture of Deanna Hertrich kissing the nose of her best buddy St. George was in the February/March 2010 "Equestrian" magazine.  Deanna & George had a tremendous show season, and I was proud to see them be honored with a picture and placing in the Eventing division.
Who knows - maybe one day soon, I'll be telling ya'll one of my images is on the cover of a magazine!

So what do you think?  EMAIL ME and tell me!

As always, see more of my photography at www.mtsphotography.zenfolio.com and don't forget to add me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook

Let's go to Church

I'm having so much fun in Photoshop with the images I took at my recent photo shoot in Gary, Indiana at an abandoned church/cathedral.  It was just such a wonderful place to photograph - I felt like a kid in a candy store.  I was totally immersed in what I love most - seeing through the lens of my camera, and making it into art.

I decided I have too many "favorite" images to share in my normal blog post, so instead - click below to go to see the images as a slide show on my website and enjoy!

Abandoned Church Slideshow

So what do you think?  EMAIL ME and tell me!

As always, see more of my photography at www.mtsphotography.zenfolio.com and don't forget to add me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook

Wow, what an Adventure!

I know I've mentioned in previous blogs about various excursions with the www.meetup.com photography groups.  Recently I went on an outing to Gary, Indiana to explore an abandoned church/cathedral.  It was such an awesome experience, and I had such a great time.  More info & pics will follow, but I just had to share the story of this particular image, and why I am still limping today.

This was an AMAZING opportunity for photography - I felt like a kid in a candy store, and my artistic eyeball was on overload.  At one end of what was probably the theater area, there is a raised stage off the concrete floor, covered mostly in old clothing- riddled with holes.....I shot pics for awhile, watching other photographers pick their way across this stage, carefully, but with no serious issues.  I decided to go for it myself - the balcony area at the back of the theatre was so cool - the sunlight was streaming through the broken windows - I just couldn't let it pass me by, despite the potential dangers.  Up on the stage I went.  There were other photographers in the area, wandering around, shooting, and I worked my way across the stage to the far back, and took a series of images encompassing the entire balcony area from left to right. 

After reviewing the images in my camera, and deciding I had "gotten the shot" I took a step back while putting my camera down (it is on a strap that goes across my body diagonally and the camera hangs at my side).  No sooner had I let the camera go at my side when....crack!  There goes the floor out from under me...and I start falling thru a hole in the stage.  It's amazing how many different things can run through your mind in a split second.  Things like "well, this is going to hurt" and "maybe I'll get out of work for a few days" "I hope someone figures out to call Jeff for the insurance info" to finally "holy shit, there is literally over $4,000 in camera gear hanging at my side that is going down with me." In a split second, I had my camera back in my hand, held up over my head - while yelling "someone get my camera" as I fell.  I literally ended up hanging waist deep in a hole, feet dangling - one arm holding myself precariously up, the other holding my pride & joy up over my head.  Many of the men there rushed to my aid, and I wouldn't even think about taking a hand up out of the hole until someone took my camera and got it to safety first :)

All in all, I was lucky.  The camera suffered no real damage other than getting a little dirty, and me - well - it could have been worse.  I got a couple scrapes on my leg, and somehow managed to smack my knee on the way down on something, and it's four colors of black & blue right now, and swollen pretty much twice the normal size.  Want to know what stung worse than my knee?  Yep, my pride.  The guys were complete gentleman, and I got a hoist to safety out of the hole, and I am happy to report the girl in a hole jokes were kept to a minimum.  Did I let that end my day?  Nope.  Out to the truck, took some Advil, and carried on!

Below is the magical shot I was after right before the grand fall.  I had decided I wanted to try my hand at stitching a panoramic image together in Photoshop.  Here is my balcony shot that will always remind me of the day I took a plunge for photography...literally.

So what do you think?  EMAIL ME and tell me!

As always, see more of my photography at www.mtsphotography.zenfolio.com and don't forget to add me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook

Change can be Good!

As much as most of us dread change in our everyday lives - sometimes it is inevitable, and sometimes, it's for the better.  MTS Photography has been up and running for awhile now, and one of the things that I didn't put much effort into thus far was marketing, especially in the logo department.  As time has gone on, I came to realize a few things.  The logo I created was simplistic, and consisted of a hard-to-use font and a bit of Microsoft Clip Art (the camera with the wings).  My business deserves better than that.  I should have a professionally designed logo that clearly brands my photography, has visual impact, and makes a statement.  I didn't want anything similar to any other photographers out there - that was a big concern for me.

That's great.  Now the really hard part to admit.  I am not a graphic designer, nor do I ever aspire to become one.  I just don't have that type of artistic creativity, patience, or training.  So what's a girl in need of a logo to do?  Hire a professional.  So that's what I did - I went out and hired the best - Violet Jackowski of Fire & Earth Photography and Multimedia Design.  CLICK HERE  to check out her website.  Poor Violet had no idea what she was in for when she agreed to design my logo - I had to be her worst nightmare.  I had no real idea of what I wanted, but plenty of ideas about what I didn't want :) and just enough knowledge to be a pain.  Violet was so patient - she came up with so many creative ideas and interpretations of what I was hoping for.  As the weeks went by, I changed my mind time after time, pursued one avenue, then did a 180 and went the other way.

Despite my commitment challenge, we finally did it - and I am sooooo proud to be showing off the world debut of the new logo for MTS Photography!

So what do you think?  EMAIL ME and tell me!

As always, see more of my photography at www.mtsphotography.zenfolio.com and don't forget to add me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook

Oh That Man of Mine

Anyone that knows my husband Jeff well knows his witty, sarcastic sense of humor and preference of "shock value" with some of his comments on Facebook :)  Underneath the amusing clown exterior, there is quite a sensitive soul, somewhat introverted with his feelings, hopes, & dreams.  I find I often overlook his quiet, unassuming nature, and sometimes takes something like this to make me appreciate him all over again.

Everyone knows my hobbies - photography, photoshop, & horses (not necessarily in that order, hehehehe).  What about Jeff, though?  He's pretty easygoing, preferring time at home with his Xbox 360 or Playstation, with his buddy Kramer always at his side.  A couple years ago we invested in a hobby of Jeff's from his childhood, and bought our camper.  I've grown to love camping quite a bit, enjoying the quite solitude with nature (while Tweeting on my Blackberry, haha!) and of course, dragging my camera along on ever hike & walk we take.  Recently, Jeff decided to become re-acquainted with another childhood hobby - fishing.

Fisherwoman I am not.  When I was a kid, I wanted to hang with "Daddy" and fish - he even got his little girl her own rod & reel set.  While we were on a family vacation at Lake Delevan, out on the pier, fishing, I was distracted (about age 8, I think?) and left Dad fishing along with my rod & reel on the dock.  Lo and behold - my little rod snagged a fish, which promptly took off with rod & reel into the water.  That, folks, was the end of my fishing career.  I remain optimistic that Jeff's fishing endeavors will not suffer the same fate as mine did.

I wish him much happiness and entertainment in the years to come with his fishing hobby, and will remain quite content to participate while keeping safely behind the lens of my camera.

As always, see more of my photography at www.mtsphotography.zenfolio.com and don't forget to add me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook!