Rochelle's Project 52

I have decided to really up my photography game with a 52 week project.  So I looked at a bunch of other people who have done projects like this and took my favorite items from their lists and made my own.  

There were so many good ideas out there.  As I went through the lists there were a couple of handful of ideas that deserve more than one weeks time.  I plan to work on those at another date (keep an eye out for that).

On that note here is how this project will work.  Every week there’s a theme.  At the end of four weeks I will pick my favorite images from each theme and post it here.  Keep an eye on Facebook and Instagram though I plan to post images in both those places through out the 52 weeks.

I would like to invite you to join me on this challenge.  Post your favorite images to Instagram or Facebook.  Be sure to tag me and use the the following hashtags, #RochellesPhotos & #RochellesP52 so we can all see what you’re shooting.  The official start will be next Sunday the 10th, so you have a week to get you camera and creative thinking going.  Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Here is the list of subjects we will be shooting for the next 52 weeks.

1: Time

2: Window

3: Love

4: Sleepy

5: Spring

6: Macro

7: Emotion

8: Earth

9: Under

10: Smile

11: Shadow

12: Patriotic

13: Senses

14: Wisdom

15: Fall

16: Neighbor

17: Golden

18: Spooky

19: Motion

20: Remember

21: Bokeh

22: Numbers

23: Morning

24: Guilty Pleasure

25: From where I stand

26: In my cup

27: Motherhood

28: Negative Space

29: Celebrate

30: Still Life

31: Patterns

32: Faceless Portrait

33: From Above

34: Night

35: Lights

36: Self-Portrait

37: Clouds

38: Something Old

39: Something New

40: Hands

41: Technology

42: Shoes

43: Flowers

44: Close-up

45: Black & White

46: Glass

47: Sensual

48: Kiss

49: Lace

50: Orange

51: A street

52: Rainbow

Extra: A Bad Habit

Oh and Happy 4th of July!!!

My Photography Inspiration

When I started in photography I was in junior high.  And there were no digital cameras being used.  The teachers always encouraged us to learn about as many other photographers as we can.

Through out junior high and high school one photographer and his style stuck with me.  When I was using the dark room I would try his style.  I never did get very good at it.

Without further ado.  My inspiration is Jerry Uelsman.

My favorite images of his have a subtle oddness to them.  Some you might not even notice at first glance what is so off with it.  Below are some of my favorite images. 

This image is probably my favorite of them all.

Lake Retreat: Heaven

From our end of the lake we headed straight for the south side.  To hear about our first stop, check this post out.  The north end, where we were staying, was devoid of most human life which made it quite and peaceful.  I would have guessed that the whole lake would be like this.

I felt like I had just drove into New York city (minus all the trees).  The south end of the lake has a very different feel from the north end.  There were cars every where.  People up and down the sidewalks.  It was a bustling city.

I wanted to come to this end of the lake for pretty much one reason.  What I would consider the biggest attraction on this end of the lake.  Heavenly.  No I’m not an angel, no one had to die to visit Heavenly. What is it then? Heavenly is a large ski hill.  Yes, the biggest pull of Lake Tahoe is all of its ski hills.  But this one has a gondola you ride to get to the top of the hill.  Why go in the summer? Because of the village at “ground level”.  There are some sweet shops and fun stuff to check out.

Have you ridden a gondola to get to the top of a ski hill? If you haven’t you should give it a try sometime.  In the winter when you have your skis and poles, all you think about is there’s no time to load all of this on.  How am I supposed to get the skis and poles in that tiny plastic compartment and step into the glass can, all while its still moving.  Then there’s other people around trying to do the exact same as you.  How do we do this without knocking each other over?..... That’s exactly what went through my head the first time I rode on a ski lift gondola.  Summer time is different, there’s no skis or poles, no heavy clothing.  The gondola is the same, you just aren’t. 

Would you like a little piece of heaven for your home.  Now you can own a piece of Heavenly.  Pick your print size here.

Looking for something similar? Visit my shop.

Be sure to not regret this by years end

Is it time for your family photos?  But you're not sure when you should book the photographer and what time frame will work for the whole family.  What ends up happening? You put off scheduling the shoot and miss getting the kids frozen in time.  Thats time you can't get back, ever and those children will be gone in a short amount of time.

I don't mean to try to alarm you.  I just know what happens when years down the road someone asks to see what your daughter looked like when she was in elementary school.  You go for the class pictures.  Those are a great answer but....

Wouldn't you love to share and remember what the whole family looked like in that same time period?

I am a huge advocate of my family having photos done about every 2 years.  Sure I'm a photographer so we don't have to fit into an "outsiders" schedule.  But we all still have busy lives and those lives get busier as the family expands.

How do you find the time?

The first trick is to pick a member of your family, typically your mother works great.  Gift her a family photo shoot.  Why wait for her to set it all up.  Once its a gift she will be more motivated to at least keep it on her mind.  Plus what mother doesn't love gifts that always remind them of their kids.

Your second trick is to get mom to decide on the season they would like the pictures taken in (some times it works great to set it up around when the gift is received, especially if it was a Mother's Day gift).  Try asking her what her favorite season is, if she isn't sure.

And the 3rd and final trick is to book the session and make everyone commit to it.  Because really talking about what is the perfect time for everyone didn't get you to a photo shoot 4 years ago.  Just rip the band aid off and book now (we can talk exacts in a week).  Now is the time to freeze time.

Lake Retreat: Ocean Replacement

I am a lover of water, though I can’t swim and freak out when I can’t touch the bottom.  Since I love being around water so much I like to plan our vacations to large bodies of water (And I’ll at least get my feet in the water).

One of our recent trips was to Lake Tahoe.  Which if you haven’t been in the summer time I suggest you go (and I’m not being paid to say this).

I was in aw of the whole drive into the lake.  We had been in the Reno area for a different trip so I had an idea of what the area looked like.  What I didn’t realize is what the drive into the lake would be like.

The drive was up and up, then all you could see was the water and pine trees.  The crazy thing was after going up, we had to drive back down at least half the distance before we reached our hotel and the lake.

More on the drive later (be sure to come back for that, I’ve got some good stories).

This image was taken on the day we drove around the whole lake (which did not take as many hours are I had expected).  I sat down on a rock there at the shore and listened to the waves crashing at my feet.  Wishing I had a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine. 

It felt like I was sitting on a beach with the ocean stretched out in front of me.  If you’re looking for an ocean trip but for what ever reason you can’t make it to the ocean Lake Tahoe will be a pretty good replacement.

Would you like a lake to drink your coffee or wine by? Purchase this print here

Looking for something similar? Visit my shop.