Tag

blue great dane - ALTMIX Photography

just a thought.

By | Personal | 2 Comments

last weekend while we were shooting, someone stopped me and asked what my favorite thing is to photograph. the question caught me off guard at first but quickly my art school rhetoric kicked in and then, i stopped myself. because the answer to his question wasn’t some esoteric explanation full of vague ideas and overarching descriptives. my answer was, simply, people. people doing their own thing, being genuine, having fun, dancing, laughing- enjoying life. there are so many different types of photographers making beautiful images who are inspired by so many different aspects of the craft- there’s no right way to be a photographer and that’s what makes our field so diverse. a successful image looks different to everyone. even if we all agree it’s successful, we find ourselves appreciating different aspects of the image for different reasons, in different ways. photography is just so personal- we can’t help but create our own narrative around a compelling image and i love that about photography. i can do my very best to capture something i find beautiful and i know, and love, that when others look at the image they will spin their own version and see that same beauty so differently through their personal lens. but we’ve still connected through the image. it’s fascinating, intimate and, at times, even exhausting.

because of that last bit, it’s always so interesting to me to hear how other artists recharge creatively. for some it’s a personal project within their own professional craft. i’m constantly amazed by the personal images created by some great professional photographers- so poignant and bold. for others, like me, energy and inspiration comes from other creative outlets and i think that is ok. if you can imagine (i barely can, my todo list is insane right now.) waking up to a whole day set aside for creative exploration what would you most want to do? after a few minutes of silence (or of falling back asleep, i’ll be honest;)) what comes to my mind is a lingering trip to the farmer’s market and an afternoon tinkering around the kitchen. for me, personally, knowing what other outlets get my creativity flowing is a really important part of my energy as an artist. so i guess what i’m really trying to say is- there is no formula to creating. however you arrive at inspiration, however you view your craft, why you do what you do- it’s personal. the way i see it, as long as you are honest with yourself in your work, you’re successful.

just felt like throwing that out there this morning. :) i have a full day of editing ahead of me and i’m feeling energized and excited to get started! maybe because yesterday i spent my afternoon in the kitchen with stella- making sauces and marinades, and my evening with matt- grilling baby eggplants, artichokes and oysters- i’m ready for anything! :)

and just because, here is miss stella in the kitchen, being awkward and adorable, her usual:

an update!

By | Personal | 10 Comments

we are happy to report that there are little buds on our trees and daffodils peeking up randomly across our yard (WHY can’t they just stay put around the mailbox in pretty little bunches??) which means: spring wedding season is upon us! this past weekend we split out time between the lowe’s garden center and the absolutely beautiful wedding celebration of margaret & daniel- it could not have been a more excellent pairing! but we’ll talk all about that later, in their wedding post. ;) for now, just a scattered little update on the altmixes:

our website! over the past couple of months we’ve been slowly updating the site, re-writing some copy, uploading new images- just generally refining and cleaning things up. and, finally, for the first time since december of ’09, we took new images for our blog header! we’d love for you to click over and check out the new look- any and all stella compliments will be passed to her in the form of a treat, go!

in other news, the garden is about half planted and we’ve thrown down some clover seed in the yard. really all that means is that the lovely view from our kitchen is now of a somewhat organized mud pit. we’re crossing our fingers for a lush, green, delicious result! but for now:

other than that, we’re attempting to cut back on our coffee consumption so please bare with us as we whine and adjust. ;)

i’m noticing that this post is getting progressively more personal. i can feel the rambling starting in the recesses of my mind and if i let this continue i’ll end up telling you all about my current honey versus sugar dilemma and trust me, that would just be too much. so, instead! please do click over to the updated site– we’d love to hear your thoughts!

stella is 1!

By | Personal | 16 Comments

on august 1, 2009 on the way home from jen & jake’s wedding in asheville we stopped at a farm to meet ‘big sis.’ the awkward little pooch with big white paws and blue eyes stole our hearts right away. we couldn’t help but giggle with happiness as i put all 17 pounds of squirmy pup in my lap and we drove off scrambling with the phone to get a pic to share with the world! stella’s first portrait:

then we freaked out.

we immediately decided that everything we’d ever read could go wrong in great danes (or just puppies in general) was already wrong with her- she might be blind, she might be deaf, she might have mites, is she limping? her hips!, she’s bloated!, she must be crawling with heartworms! oh my gosh! turns out, after all the tears, after putting everything in our cart back at petco and deciding we had to return her right away- we just needed to take her to the vet to get checked out. we should probably never have kids…

she was perfect. absolutely healthy- just overwhelmed with her new environment, new food, her own big puffy bed and also just recovering her energy after we cleaned the fleas off of her. she just needed to rest. by the next day we had our perfect little pup!

also, she winces (winks?) when we’re doing something to her she doesn’t like- i guess first baths and birthday crowns fall in the same category:

and today, she turns one year old! happy first birthday stella bella altmix! (that middle name isn’t totally official…;)) congratulations on gaining 100 pounds in the last year and also learning to sit, come, bow & eat on command. thanks for putting up with your birthday crown turned birthday necklace long enough for a few images; you’re the best!

birthday treats!

we love you big baby!