29 August 2014

This August Week

Well, hello there! What a hectic week. It feels like it's been a month! I've worked nearly 40 hours, tried to edit photos from the session last friday, completed the coursework for 5 online classes this week, and I'm still half-way sane. This evening after coming home from a busy day at work, though, I might have blown a little and pounded on the stairs with my fists when after realizing my lens rental wasn't waiting for me. I know, very carnal, MarLeah... I'm working on that issue. Okay, and maybe I yelled in frustration a little, too, but no one was home... 
On my way to the wedding rehearsal I just had to stop and pick up the rentals at the shipping location. It's so nice to be working with the 6D and the 70-200mm f/2.8 again. 
Now I'm trying to gain some sanity and finish editing some photos. I've always wanted to make a stake-out at Starbucks and edit. It's just so perfect. So I was really going in to town for something else, but I impulsively swung in and got a chia spiced latte and set up camp.


Hopefully, I'll make some time to hop on here again after the wedding and post a few
-MarLeahJoy

19 August 2014

Sensory Triggers


This is just a rhetorical question, but does anyone else get really vivid emotional senses when you hear a song that ties back to the first time you heard it? Or maybe just back to the time in your life when you listened to it a lot? I was just listening to music and doing homework when a song came on that was just an absolute favorite of mine several months ago. I used to listen to it quite a bit, but today was practically my first time to hear it since that time. It was the weirdest thing, but I had to skip the song because it started to give me sensory overload as it seemed to be filling my brain all the emotions and feelings from a few months ago. Not that the emotions from that time were necessarily negative or anything, but it was just such an overload that I couldn't bear it. Which brings another question to my mind: Do our emotions really change that much within a few months. Not just the "everyday up and down emotions", but more like our emotional make-up of who we are. Well I would guess so, since we are ever maturing as we experience life. Hm.
Anyway, it was quite an interesting feeling that washed over me when I started to hear and recognize the song. I've actually had it happen before with music -- when I heard a classical song again that my Kindergarten teacher would play every day during nap time, but it normally happens to me with the changing of the seasons or when a summer day feels like fall, etc. 
But one other thing... it also happens to me when I think back over little adventures I've had. Typically, they are ones that I've had by myself because there is a heightened sense of thrill with it.
Which leads me to Sunday. I was at home by myself, so after church I just went to the park to take more pictures for the about me page... that you all will be tired of hearing about and never seeing ;P Haha, well, I'll include one today.
But, here's the little spot I found that quickly became my favorite.


I had to set my tripod in the middle of the stream to get the angle of the bridge. Thank goodness for slow currents ;)


Can you spot the remote? ;) Normally, I was able to get the remote hid before it actually took the shot, but "oops! Not that time." ;P


It's been a while since I've done macro. And I kind of realized why... if the wind is blowing the slightest bit, it is so challenging to nail the focus. So I just put it on continuous and fire 30 photos for each composition... just kidding... though that might be close.


It was so cool that the berries were different colors!




Well, I have survived my first day of online classes. Ha! Which is really nothing yet, except realizing how stinking busy I'm going to be with it all. But I know that the same determination I had to NOT go to college anymore will be the same stubborn determination that will keep me going and help me make it through the next few semesters. So I'm not all that worried about it. But when I was reading through all of the syllabuses for my classes, I kind of shook my head at myself, laughed, and thought "Boy! I've really made the plunge now!" One example: I have to video myself making speeches with a 5-12 person audience. I'm not sure where I'm going to find that audience... Haha, won't this be fun?!

-MarLeahJoy

17 August 2014

The Wrap


This is the last installment of the Marsh family for baby James' first birthday session :)
I'm trying to get everything finished up before school starts! D:

So far, I've done more decorating to my room, made several DVDs (for someone who pays me to put their pics and videos into dvd format), took the pictures for my "about me" page, sewed a skirt, finished editing this photo session, put good use to the weed eater ;), and completely re-made my spreadsheet of my financial goals/plans because the original got deleted somehow? D': 
Can't you tell I'm feeling pretty productive this week? ;)

That's about the wrap of my checklist. Here I come semester number three with 5 online classes, work, a wedding to shoot, and several family sessions! I can do this! D: maybe!



I love his little content smile there :)


Cake time!






Well, I thoroughly enjoyed this session. It was so awesome to get to use her 50mm 1.2! Fingers crossed that I will like the 35mm just as well!

-MarLeahJoy

Enchantment


I'm a girl made for nature, or maybe nature was made for me.
I'm not sure. 
But the best day in my books is one spent in the uninhabited places of this world.

Ranelle agreed to go with me to the bicentennial today so I could get some pictures of myself for a blog update I need to do soon. I need an "about me" page so bad! I've never done it on this blog, so I am determined that before I get a new blog going that I WILL form an about me page! Motivation ;)

Needless to say, I'm going to post some from our hike. 


Essentials. 
Well, Ranelle's essentials that is. 


The little Brownie camera strap broke off :/ Dr. Camera Woman to the rescue.
I really do look like a doctor there, don't I? With the glasses and the bag? Okay, maybe not.



I'm really not sure what I was doing in the picture of me holding the camera. Whistling? But hey, why not? :P Oh! and the bag is from Columbia... a souvenir from my dear friend, Amy Leyva. I happen to love it a lot!

The other one is just a little footsie picture on the path. It's the most natural perspective to the human eye because that's what we see as we are walking. Do you know how hard it is to take a picture like that of yourself, though?! It's about as hard as one I took of myself on a bike the other day. Or maybe the bike one was harder because the weight of the camera on a 5 foot extended tripod is super hard to balance while slowing a bike down. *tumble, tumble.... crash*

Tomorrow I will be enjoying my last day before school starts and then I'll just have to roll with a crazy, hectic life. ... still trying to still do all the things I love.

-MarLeahJoy

13 August 2014

Happy, Happy

First of all, I've been singing the song all this week... "You make me happy..."

Second: I know I'm showing sure signs of a photo geek when I'm excited to buy another external hard drive. I finished off 1 terabyte in less than a year, now here we go again. :)
Actually, I was backing up these photos of James' first birth date session when it gave me the notice that it was getting over-stuffed. So off to Target I went to snag up their special on hard drives this week. And who do I run into but my very own best friend? Extra bonus! 

And third: There's just a lot of big smiles and laughter in the photos below. I have to give Sannetta kudos for dealing with all the stress and organization of a planned shoot and then being a happy, smiley mom for the photos on top of it all! :) It's just hard to not literally smile when I'm editing these photos.








-MarLeahJoy



12 August 2014

Balance


Okay, I'm supposed to be a blogger, photographer, teller, student, cook, housecleaner, and launderer. On top of staying fit, spiritual, clean (um, that one is a little weird, but I know some people do indeed neglect cleanliness... trust me, I see them all, every day), and eat healthy. 
Well, I was realizing that I need to balance it all a little better and be a little more temperate with my time.
I have a personality that just wants to get the task completely done and out of the way and move on to something else. Yet I find out every time that doing that throws off the whole equilibrium. 
Right now, I want to have all of the photos of little James done and edited for a complete blog post. But today, I decided to clean the house, do laundry, exercise, spend time reading and praying, and go to work (of course) so I have a short little post. It bugs me doing it this way. But it also bugs me to not blog for a week. So, here we go!




-MarLeahJoy

08 August 2014

James


He's so cute. Perhaps all babies are cute, but when you are with them in person they are cuter!


And he just turned one. 
I used his Mommy's canon mark III and 50 f/1.2 for the whole shoot. :) 
It was intimidating to think of using it at first, but when the day came I was pumped for it and relaxed about it all... which made it a great session.
More to come.
-MarLeahJoy

07 August 2014

Dreaming


Someone please tell me that I'm not the only one who thinks about the future so much and about money and what I want to buy. 
I am so looking forward to buying a prime lens. I'm dreaming and drooling over the Canon 35mm f/1.4.
Watch me say this and then something go dramatically wrong and I won't be able to do it...  D:  But I'm shooting for buying it in November. Hopefully, it should still be at least partially green outside and good enough weather so I can enjoy it outside right away!


So... on I go dreaming.
La, La, La
-MarLeahJoy

06 August 2014

Conservation Center


I forgot to mention in my last post what happened to my camera while we were kayaking. Before last weekends I added a little post script to one blog post: "I'm going to try something different today. I'm getting a little risky and bold with my camera and water... We'll see what kind of photos I get :D"
I was actually referring more to jet skiing than kayaking, but it happened while we were kayaking. I was getting my camera close to the water getting the picture of the flower that was dipping over the water. I was using my LCD screen and it started flickering white. o.O I never told anyone about it because there's no need to worry everyone if it's going to be fine eventually. And it was :) Thankfully I actually used Sannetta's camera for the session that evening or it would have been a little hard to review the photos on my camera.

But on Sunday it was back to normally and we took a little nature walk in a conservation area with the Doolittle's that I was staying with.


They told me there would be lots of deer to take photos of... and they didn't disappoint! I didn't count, but we saw probably at least 10.


Chewing ;)



Noelle :) 
I had a lot of fun with her :) She is so sweet!



-MarLeahJoy