tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61545141121225359042024-03-12T20:20:28.516-06:00leslie mcdaniel photography - the blogLeslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-49366321461154940972012-06-29T19:20:00.000-06:002012-06-30T20:35:44.485-06:00Integrated Education in Northern Ireland<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm very excited to share my multimedia project on the integrated education system in Northern Ireland. Take a look here:</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/eY8AvUoYw-M?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br /></div>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-23052533914507106362012-05-31T11:41:00.000-06:002012-05-31T12:28:40.956-06:00How to Pack Light<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A friend suggested that I document what & how I packed for our recent trip to Ethiopia so I made a little video before I left to show those who are interested. Even though I'm not a packing expert, I began traveling with a carry-on only for our month-long trip to Greece in 2008 so I have a little bit of experience in packing light. Ethiopia was my 4th international trip with one carry-on bag and one "personal item" (plus numerous domestic trips). Anyway, check out the video and maybe you'll catch a couple of tips.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/eUx2JKM5tdM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A few notes about the video:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sorry for the shaky quality.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No matter how light I pack, I always end up taking things that I don't wear. I never wore the purple checked "loose" shirt I packed for "going out" and I never wore the hat or head scarves I took. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The "packing challenge" I mentioned was given to us by our team leaders. The purpose of meeting this challenge was two-fold: an act of solidarity (many people in Ethiopia only have one or two outfits) but also to just simplify. I feel I met both of these goals by what I packed.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Things I did not mention that were not packed include my zip-lock bag of liquids that I put in right before we left the house for the airport, my Kindle, my phone (which was used as a point & shoot), and a very small across the body purse. Those fit in the top of the blue Timbuk2 bag.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The "toiletries for the airplane" bag included my toothbrush, make-up remover wipes, ear plugs, inflatable head pillow, sleep eye mask, and other toiletry items that don't go in my liquids bag like clippers, tweezers, and eyeshadow (yes, I will wear make-up).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I wore another light coat/jacket over the thin jacket for my travel outfit. Addis Ababa is at 8,000 ft. and their temperatures have been averaging from mid-50s at night to mid-70s during the day. I was very happy to have this jacket on our first full day because it rained really hard and it was cold!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My camera/video gear for this trip included:</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">a travel flat tripod + ball head (carried in Eddie's larger orange backpack) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 camera body with battery grip</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 24-70mm f/2.8 lens (would really have loved to take my 70-200 but it's just too heavy and would have taken up too much space)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 580 EXII flash + sync cord (for potential off camera flash)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 external hard drive (our team leader will have a computer I can use to download photographs, audio, & video)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 CF card reader</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2 small stereo mics</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 ProTrack Alesis recording device that records to an iPod</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 small iPod</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 small stereo mic stand</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">extra AAA and AA batteries</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">camera battery charger</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Everything from the list above except my camera, battery grip, and lens were carried in Eddie's smaller "personal item" bag with my tripod in his larger orange backpack.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, that's it. For other international trips, I have packed using the "bundle" method for my clothes in a regular carry-on suitcase. If you're interested in this method, check out <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Packing-Book-Secrets-Carry--Traveler/dp/1580087833/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338486006&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The Packing Book</a>. It seems like I try something a little different each time with variations in bags based on what camera gear I want/need to take. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm by no means an expert but let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh, did you like my yogurt pants? ;)</span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-20337825804221992592012-04-02T08:00:00.005-06:002012-04-02T08:00:03.342-06:00A Northern Ireland Landscape<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These are just a few photographs from my recent travels to the beautiful country of Northern Ireland:</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFB68LUTCOyGwNmmUMSKxvF42mIFc71ZiUaXN3g-h-OAfsMl9slDlOa8_uWzDpvmWidJ6lf91O-jTUX6A9-ob7oOtG3yM9pOmiYr_jOQU8hXpM9Bjh5UdpH8IeFkZYUreCg3FsHBxztw/s320/IMG_5694.jpg" width="320" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">©<i>2012, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.</i></span> </span></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-zJ5a323D_7AZNvTUME1PlLQQyFD-0K_zxaY1Ljm6sWTPyUNf6aGxZvyBlzDCCaUcncYoZO5ZZPpJIrRuIAQRCdOLM0dw-MeJgloCBORzFYbKULYBy1LABxlnL1qDofVRXaI-YvCTV4/s1600/IMG_5779.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-zJ5a323D_7AZNvTUME1PlLQQyFD-0K_zxaY1Ljm6sWTPyUNf6aGxZvyBlzDCCaUcncYoZO5ZZPpJIrRuIAQRCdOLM0dw-MeJgloCBORzFYbKULYBy1LABxlnL1qDofVRXaI-YvCTV4/s320/IMG_5779.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Northern Ireland </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">©<i>2012, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.</i></span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH__ua6Z6PAePNrLOeK2gEX-LFK2TSg6mVu9otVye-sGtyzGJeRFcsTMVqLAyV9J9uLCJkyDpWUO0Z6jGd7n7EA9Lqx-VhyaNAfVl3NfWllQOnF5I-olVX2V1haqq1QKIBjI_ApAExG7c/s1600/IMG_5787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH__ua6Z6PAePNrLOeK2gEX-LFK2TSg6mVu9otVye-sGtyzGJeRFcsTMVqLAyV9J9uLCJkyDpWUO0Z6jGd7n7EA9Lqx-VhyaNAfVl3NfWllQOnF5I-olVX2V1haqq1QKIBjI_ApAExG7c/s320/IMG_5787.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Trail Near Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Northern Ireland </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">©<i>2012, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.</i></span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUQ0ulaFiqpzF1f8l7Lcc9i2UQ36z32R9AMhdO4OdlrLgPKZqXosN-fmWUKX_413RnSCfg4dHtbsLHk2jZ-Yvp3vf7Jcsrp_Cm0UPFfdvBOJ7CBGl8-SrIhzLKKNerqlNDmxLc7ZvIV0/s1600/IMG_5797.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUQ0ulaFiqpzF1f8l7Lcc9i2UQ36z32R9AMhdO4OdlrLgPKZqXosN-fmWUKX_413RnSCfg4dHtbsLHk2jZ-Yvp3vf7Jcsrp_Cm0UPFfdvBOJ7CBGl8-SrIhzLKKNerqlNDmxLc7ZvIV0/s320/IMG_5797.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Coastline Near Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Northern Ireland </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">©<i>2012, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You can see more in this <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leslie_mcdaniel/sets/72157629354102130/">Flickr set</a>.</span><i> </i></span></span></div>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-79157553994765494572012-03-27T08:30:00.000-06:002012-03-27T08:30:02.022-06:00Photography Activities for Kids (or Fun Adults!)<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/leslie_mcdaniel">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leslie_mcdaniel/">Flickr</a>, or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lesliemcdanielphotography">Facebook</a>, you may have seen some of the daily photography challenges I've done with friends over the past couple of months. I recently had a friend say she wanted to have her kids do a daily photography challenge over their summer break. I'm not sure why, but I never thought to encourage parents to have their kids do these challenges (probably because I don't have kids!). If you've ever thought about doing a daily photo challenge, don't worry that it's March 27, or that it's a Tuesday, or that you might miss a day. Just do it! Get your kids on board...make it a family affair by sharing everyone's picture at dinner time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm sure you have many excuses - I did! So why should you do this? Why should you have your kids do this? Here's what I've noticed:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. Doing a daily photograph generally increases my awareness throughout the day. It causes me to be "on guard" for pleasing compositions, interesting light, etc. It usually makes me more present in the moment. For example, if I had an awesome meal, I'll sit and reflect on it for a minute while I think about how to photograph it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. It helps me exercise creativity. I think you'll find the same thing. There will be days when the prompts aren't very inspiring, or YOU just don't feel inspired. However...a funny thing often happens - a few days later you'll take notice of something you could have photographed for that day's prompt...something you probably would have ignored before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, what are you waiting for? Start today! Get your kids to start! Call your friends to join the challenge with you! You can use a cell phone camera if you want! If you don't have a camera your kids can use, they could try drawing the prompts. Do you have another suggestion for how this could be modified for kids?</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHccc1NA5iKHXwSc3T1zLVomKFVltTAg5t5C5wx-HD89-VKKNCpJogShL5obRTK-_S5r755vpxNWHt1xf6S2xVCv8nR4yY2VB7kP-gt6IPci7FFxSsJRE-MoLu4Th56n38aNCl26jAg4/s1600/IMG_5071-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHccc1NA5iKHXwSc3T1zLVomKFVltTAg5t5C5wx-HD89-VKKNCpJogShL5obRTK-_S5r755vpxNWHt1xf6S2xVCv8nR4yY2VB7kP-gt6IPci7FFxSsJRE-MoLu4Th56n38aNCl26jAg4/s320/IMG_5071-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">March One A Day #10 - "Loud"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(P.S. In case you were wondering, our March daily prompts come from <a href="http://www.fatmumslim.com.au/2012/02/thank-you-march-photo-day-starts.html">here</a> and although I have made at least one photograph every day since Jan. 1, I have missed/skipped some of the daily prompt suggestions. It's all good.)</span><br />
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</span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-35571640148647723342012-03-20T12:41:00.002-06:002012-03-20T12:54:39.255-06:00A Multimedia Project - Integrated Education in Belfast, NI<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSBn6xkGpKrinx-yTFIAyhGXo_mFzqf8KcMQJQuxPe1MwN1Zl2kvz4rJc3fDsojpPrKbmeecGCRD2QGFDGdv86GLN7K7R5Q-XW-sl42CWgNgOkasShTMob7XCAkLcbDfhqAfimFPhDEg/s1600/IMG_5113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSBn6xkGpKrinx-yTFIAyhGXo_mFzqf8KcMQJQuxPe1MwN1Zl2kvz4rJc3fDsojpPrKbmeecGCRD2QGFDGdv86GLN7K7R5Q-XW-sl42CWgNgOkasShTMob7XCAkLcbDfhqAfimFPhDEg/s320/IMG_5113.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I recently returned from a trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland in the UK where I began a project on Integrated Education. Here in the US, the word "integrated", in relation to education, probably conjures up thoughts of the racially separated schools in our past. However, in Northern Ireland, a school is "integrated" if it enrolls students of Catholic AND Protestants faiths, as well as those of other or no faith.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Integrated Education can best be described as the bringing together in one school of pupils, staff and governors, in roughly equal numbers, from Protestant, Catholic, other faith and no faith backgrounds. It is about cultivating every individual´s self-respect and therefore their respect for other people and other cultures." - <a href="http://www.nicie.org/aboutus/">NICIE</a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The goal of these schools is not only to put students of different faith backgrounds into one school, but also to actively promote dialog about their similarities and to build respect for those of other faiths, beliefs, and cultures. There are currently only 61 integrated schools in all of Northern Ireland. </div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I will begin to share a little about my trip and the project as I dig into the photographs, video, and audio I captured from the three integrated schools I visited in Belfast. I'll also explain how I latched onto the idea of this project and why I am so interested in what these integrated schools are doing. Along with those posts, I'll share a little about what I've learned about this amazing country, their Troubles, and the hope they have for their future. I hope you'll find these things interesting and inspirational since I've discovered that many people I talk to here in the US don't know a lot about Northern Ireland. All the information l share will be from one person's perspective, but I hope to share a little about how these integrated schools are working for a better future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the meantime, I'll leave you with this image above. I walked up to a mural on one of the "peace walls" in the city and almost immediately saw this message. I don't know "Elizabeth" from Arizona, but her comment, "Peace Through Education" is a good summary of what I hope to share with this multimedia project. </span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-14743803851825758222011-10-24T08:00:00.001-06:002011-10-24T08:00:10.548-06:00A TEDX Talk - Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You know TED, right? Ideas worth spreading? Even if you don't know TED, I'm going to pretend that you said, "Yes, of course!" while you drop everything to redeem yourself <a href="http://www.ted.com/">here</a>. I've found so much inspiration for my photography work and life in general from the talks I've come across on TED. Today I want to share a TEDX talk by Brene Brown entitled <i>The Power of Vulnerability</i>. It's been almost one year since I watched this talk but I recently came across my notes and was inspired once again</span>.<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The TED website describes her talk like this:</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Brene Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk at TEDxHouston, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity.</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">" </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The talk is about 20 minutes long and I don't think you'll regret watching it:</span><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><object height="374" width="526"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param><param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talk/stream/2010X/Blank/BreneBrown_2010X-320k.mp4&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/BreneBrown-2010X.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=512&vh=288&ap=0&ti=1042&lang=eng&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=brene_brown_on_vulnerability;year=2010;theme=itunes_podcasts_society_culture;theme=how_the_mind_works;theme=a_taste_of_tedx;theme=what_makes_us_happy;event=TEDxHouston;tag=Culture;tag=communication;tag=social+change;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="526" height="374" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talk/stream/2010X/Blank/BreneBrown_2010X-320k.mp4&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/BreneBrown-2010X.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=512&vh=288&ap=0&ti=1042&lang=eng&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=brene_brown_on_vulnerability;year=2010;theme=itunes_podcasts_society_culture;theme=how_the_mind_works;theme=a_taste_of_tedx;theme=what_makes_us_happy;event=TEDxHouston;tag=Culture;tag=communication;tag=social+change;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;"></embed></object></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are some of my "take-aways" from this inspiring talk:</span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Let go of who I think I should be in order to be who I am.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fully embrace vulnerability.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We can't selectively numb emotions. When we numb the bad ones, we numb the good ones, too.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Am I losing my tolerance for vulnerability?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Vulnerability is the birthplace of joy, love, belonging, creativity, and faith.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I can practice vulnerability by </span></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Practicing gratitude and honoring what's ordinary in my life</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Allowing myself to experience joy & love.</span></li>
</ul></ul><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What do you think about being vulnerable? Do you think it's a good or bad thing to be vulnerable? I'd love to hear your thoughts.</span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-37932368913445373182011-10-10T08:30:00.001-06:002011-10-10T08:30:00.254-06:00<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Happy Fall! As I mentioned in my previous <a href="http://lesliemcdanielphotography.blogspot.com/2011/09/tourist-attractions-and-their-people.html">post</a>, I tend to find photographs with people more interesting. There are times, however, when I'm only drawn to shape and color (and the absence of people). In general, I tend to love designs that are curved and flowing (or that contain circles) and I am very drawn to the color red, sometimes yellow, and displays of bold color in general. There was a time in my life when I only loved neutrals - black, gray, white, cream, beige, etc. After I crossed the line into color in my wardrobe and decorating style, there was no turning back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I came across some giant displays of fall on a recent trip so I decided I wanted to focus on small sections of these giant displays to create graphic photographs consisting mostly of color, line, and texture. I hope you enjoy these images of fall:</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRcxdzS3vYLOVMQaQwFqBKLxze0Aw6u0EZ1FI0Wm9jRQLTt03hYM2SwGEARUn1_c4TaeG-sQhBICkcKNLa5MSTwhnfjJ4xWdBKs_zDwkntj9kR2hjZG3iuNcl4zPWgH1kzjnh_cjIQMEc/s1600/IMG_2168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRcxdzS3vYLOVMQaQwFqBKLxze0Aw6u0EZ1FI0Wm9jRQLTt03hYM2SwGEARUn1_c4TaeG-sQhBICkcKNLa5MSTwhnfjJ4xWdBKs_zDwkntj9kR2hjZG3iuNcl4zPWgH1kzjnh_cjIQMEc/s320/IMG_2168.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5p2ha-Sa9v-NQvsD-751BYVvKFcNl5M7Hju2kkF1bP4uWZGnG2m4gXRlqa4F_xR_o0ypQdCxpBOflfDY47vv34jZlzjJPnZqatq52AsaTth9Pm7NWmjeRipHnlS5yRuGlrb9OTfYjLfw/s1600/IMG_2165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5p2ha-Sa9v-NQvsD-751BYVvKFcNl5M7Hju2kkF1bP4uWZGnG2m4gXRlqa4F_xR_o0ypQdCxpBOflfDY47vv34jZlzjJPnZqatq52AsaTth9Pm7NWmjeRipHnlS5yRuGlrb9OTfYjLfw/s320/IMG_2165.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fNxKI6XSb0qgE5t2jY8tXKB3n8JgJPQWCfqCKJRJ2ivSqSS2VNP-VRWYUAZtAUDn_MC3yW4zW61a79afZKicLrixve1yEvXk1o18QozLsYZBr1nVEhPgWTxkVfWXyjkPM4zguCn7YYU/s1600/IMG_2167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fNxKI6XSb0qgE5t2jY8tXKB3n8JgJPQWCfqCKJRJ2ivSqSS2VNP-VRWYUAZtAUDn_MC3yW4zW61a79afZKicLrixve1yEvXk1o18QozLsYZBr1nVEhPgWTxkVfWXyjkPM4zguCn7YYU/s320/IMG_2167.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-42143187913273723722011-09-28T14:22:00.000-06:002011-09-28T14:22:30.678-06:00Tourist Attractions and Their People, New York City<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Whenever I watch a movie set in New York, the movie cannot end without my proclamation of "I want to go to there." Since I had never visited this great city before last week but had seen it portrayed in countless films and documentaries, I dubbed it the most familiar unfamiliar city I have ever visited.</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Just last week my husband and I met some friends in New York for our first NYC experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There was so much I wanted to photograph that I felt a little overwhelmed and often traded the view through my lens for simply experiencing the city with my camera tucked away in my bag. Don't get me wrong, I made plenty of photographs, but in retrospect...not as many as I would have liked. At one point, my friend even commented that she was surprised I hadn't taken more pictures. The thing is...when I am on a trip, I will often make pictures of landmarks or touristy things, but I am much more interested in photographs that also contain people. Sometimes the arrangement of people seems "messy" to me (too many in one place, or not arranged in a way I think would make a pleasing composition)</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and I'll pass up the opportunity. Other times I'll spot something I want as a backdrop (a landmark or tourist attraction) and wait for someone to enter into the right spot or to arrange themselves in a way I find pleasing within the frame. Here are a few such photographs from my recent trip to New York City:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseQbNJUuTTsulN0uzYcjzCpIKwWmxSUkwJQMh_4wHLFFxDK1hXYKoIkjKiV4ECPDkecWim-lPTTO-H7Jsh0b-_dnkJL0Zv7YcJ80b0MyF5lyXyuewkgYxYr2Lcn8453Uar1wp_e8EdZs/s1600/IMG_1945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseQbNJUuTTsulN0uzYcjzCpIKwWmxSUkwJQMh_4wHLFFxDK1hXYKoIkjKiV4ECPDkecWim-lPTTO-H7Jsh0b-_dnkJL0Zv7YcJ80b0MyF5lyXyuewkgYxYr2Lcn8453Uar1wp_e8EdZs/s320/IMG_1945.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span>American Museum of Natural History - Hall of Ocean Life</span></i></span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.</i></span></span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YjAi1Kc49wvuGj-E4ICoHcd0bMxuqebTXyMGZnBvpI_mFpqW7SzqA2uKdezfYvgQiS6NTKeYoGeqZ9sm1la_cYqIENuuUtzWJAx9x1JjFFYjoJjVH9_RAzvfbwkDAJsXFNDNwTLRJao/s1600/IMG_1962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YjAi1Kc49wvuGj-E4ICoHcd0bMxuqebTXyMGZnBvpI_mFpqW7SzqA2uKdezfYvgQiS6NTKeYoGeqZ9sm1la_cYqIENuuUtzWJAx9x1JjFFYjoJjVH9_RAzvfbwkDAJsXFNDNwTLRJao/s320/IMG_1962.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span>American Museum of Natural History - Hall of African Mammals</span></i></span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4aVxnfPJY60hpvlQcIviJb5ITElbX4rQ_aetLhJupC5w07oJ6VJrBO8jOHBEcaF05O8qZdw1nYyq1zzM637TECi8IEqYcEdE2gtIzXJyD8Bt9GQWIqNcaldm8X_Wt8JBdMKboNj-qpQs/s1600/IMG_1966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4aVxnfPJY60hpvlQcIviJb5ITElbX4rQ_aetLhJupC5w07oJ6VJrBO8jOHBEcaF05O8qZdw1nYyq1zzM637TECi8IEqYcEdE2gtIzXJyD8Bt9GQWIqNcaldm8X_Wt8JBdMKboNj-qpQs/s320/IMG_1966.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span>American Museum of Natural History - Hall of African Mammals</span></i></span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf90rxrudjmXghkTLtJCW2F0M-uSrQxz9BZDRGRf8VOU3R4kg2y8TvXB3eRzzaigXwq3-JDCmYqfBAKIYkFVpZRhHeWgTkKHRcjffuHoZaIv4Aoh3SdzJJ18IKtZfnbbY2lmhLocvWvNI/s1600/IMG_2085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf90rxrudjmXghkTLtJCW2F0M-uSrQxz9BZDRGRf8VOU3R4kg2y8TvXB3eRzzaigXwq3-JDCmYqfBAKIYkFVpZRhHeWgTkKHRcjffuHoZaIv4Aoh3SdzJJ18IKtZfnbbY2lmhLocvWvNI/s320/IMG_2085.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span>The Central Park Mall</span></i></span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.</i></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWLgIVAX_LhKWPIbNTU0mG6I3FjT-OAwelAN0aPjWDJIVhGYHFyU0paq6Ek5DQG1uWBNwr61rLrHp10l4jfQwaMtebHscdH3lC_HbSajcvDJUIs2kqsRqjI9k3oQYMheIXTzLhVvMIN1Y/s1600/IMG_2003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWLgIVAX_LhKWPIbNTU0mG6I3FjT-OAwelAN0aPjWDJIVhGYHFyU0paq6Ek5DQG1uWBNwr61rLrHp10l4jfQwaMtebHscdH3lC_HbSajcvDJUIs2kqsRqjI9k3oQYMheIXTzLhVvMIN1Y/s320/IMG_2003.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span>Lobby of the Empire State Building</span></i></span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMFKNpCE8oeovOI4s_wyQTDCaAHDaD9-4C4dwLWtxIQjVhO1UkLnDEf8HNABYfSffjxgeXmtvS0Q3N-UOlE9jxE6IA73EaQBTELNOx0pzXBRyI4fxgTDEXwiPaWPt057ruC2MCDwMBJHw/s1600/IMG_2128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMFKNpCE8oeovOI4s_wyQTDCaAHDaD9-4C4dwLWtxIQjVhO1UkLnDEf8HNABYfSffjxgeXmtvS0Q3N-UOlE9jxE6IA73EaQBTELNOx0pzXBRyI4fxgTDEXwiPaWPt057ruC2MCDwMBJHw/s320/IMG_2128.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span>Washington Square Park</span></i></span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.</i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-24181871444401350952011-08-29T08:49:00.001-06:002011-08-29T08:54:15.369-06:00Prepare, But Be Ready for the Unexpected<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When I am hired for an assignment, whether I'm hired by the University, a business, or a family, I mentally prepare by visualizing the types of images I might make and what the experience will be like. This doesn't mean the photographs I will take are set in stone, but it's just my way of prepping myself for what I might encounter (emphasis on the <i>might</i>). </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I imagine many photographers do this to some extent, as do people in other fields. Sometimes, I even go as far as sketching out my ideas.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Other times I just visit the location in advance to think about options. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I do this mental preparation with the understanding that there will still be "unknowns" and surprises. This is a good thing because it allows me to create images spontaneously. Somehow, this mental preparation for what I think I will encounter helps me better prepare for the unknowns. What do I do, then, when the situation I had mentally prepared for doesn't actually happen?</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is when I rely partly on my experience</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and knowledge</span>,<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> but mostly I decide to be flexible and just go with the flow to capture the new situation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I recently had this experience while on assignment. I had mentally prepared for a certain type of image-making but when circumstances prevented that from happening, the client asked if I would play the journalist role to capture the event as it was happening.</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My response? Sure! How did I mentally prepare for this? Well...there wasn't much advance mental preparation I could do for this.</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My job became keen observer. Watching, waiting, anticipating and absorbing what was happening around me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How does mental preparation help in your work? Does this advance prep help, even if the situation is nothing like you had imagined?</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'd love to hear your comments!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You can see more images from this assignment <a href="http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=10144&origin=homepage">here</a>.</span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-31618848570949594652011-08-22T09:43:00.003-06:002011-08-22T15:34:52.087-06:00Ricky Padilla - Brown Water Coffee<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>This is Part II of a new portrait project about people in Bozeman who are doing great things. Please check out Part I <a href="http://lesliemcdanielphotography.blogspot.com/2011/07/andrew-babcock-roc-wheels.html">here</a>. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Clean water. It's something so simple that we never even consider it unless it's taken away from us due to a natural disaster, flooding, etc. These circumstances are pretty rare for most of us so it's more than likely we will never experience the inability to have clean water during our lifetimes. If we do, it will be for a limited time. Imagine, though, if one of your major daily struggles was to locate, gather, and transport water for your family that is dirty and contaminated and puts your family at risk...but you have no other choice. If you are a female, you will begin this task at a young age and will likely lose the opportunity to go to school to perform this simple task. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ricky Padilla and his wife Tana are passionate about helping people have access to clean water. The mission behind <a href="http://www.brownwatercoffee.com/">Brown Water Coffee</a> is to provide a high quality product to its customers while also funding non-profits for clean water. Brown Water is set to launch this Friday, August 26, 2011 with a line of ground and whole bean coffees. From every 12 oz. and 1 lb. bag they sell, they will donate $2 to help a community get clean water. They have decided to use these proceeds to fund <a href="http://www.water.cc/">Living Water International</a> who take a sustainable, community-based approach to provide mechanical wells and pumps so communities can have access to clean water. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Each bag of coffee you purchase will be made to order and shipped within a timeline that provides optimum flavor. The tagline for Brown Water Coffee is "Drink brown water so others don't have to." Be sure to check out the launch of <a href="http://www.brownwatercoffee.com/">Brown Water Coffee</a> this week!</span><br />
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<tr style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Ricky Padilla, CEO Brown Water Coffee</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Ricky's office is decorated with photographs from Living Water International that serve as a reminder of his mission</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></td></tr>
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<tr style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">The office of Brown Water Coffee</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i></td></tr>
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<tr style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Ricky's favorite blend is Guatemala - check for it online Friday!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></td></tr>
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<tr style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Ricky demonstrates the taste-testing process of the beans he has just finished roasting and grinding.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></td></tr>
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</span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-79853142036686852852011-08-02T13:51:00.004-06:002011-08-04T20:05:31.005-06:00Guest Blogger - John Felkins<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Today I'd like to introduce you to John Felkins. I have known John for many years and have only recently learned of his love of photography. John is an amatuer but he is like a sponge for photography knowledge. I try to answer as many of his photography-related questions that I can and he's definitely asking the "right" questions - things that really matter and that will help him to improve his photographic skill and vision. His main interest in image-making is landscapes and since his somewhat recent move to Nashville, TN, he has taken an interest in photographing a Hackberry tree right next to his house. Today he shares with you his personal project and his goal to capture this tree in a variety of lighting and weather situations while also using it as a subject with which to experiment and try out the things he learns about photography. I hope you enjoy his project and maybe it will inspire you to start your own personal photography project!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Laboratory</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">by John Felkins</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Behind my house is an old Hackberry tree. When I say old I mean about 40 years old which is how old I am so it's not really that old! But like me it's a gnarly old tree and has some good character - worthy of photographing. My photography is in it's infancy and as such I'm still exploring "my style". The old Hackberry tree has provided me with a great subject on which to try different techniques and has kinda become a teacher to me. Everything from different lighting situations, different perspectives, and even painting with light have been attempted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The tree is so nearby I can walk out the back door and just try something new. I like exploring new areas all the time but it is nice to be able to just go out the back door and start making photographs and the Hackberry has been a good canvas for that. It helps me to make pictures as often as possible. Daily is great. At first I thought I'd get bored with one tree but as I began to photograph this one tree I started to notice things a lot more. The sameness of the tree accentuated the changes around it. Light, seasons, and weather all became a lot more apparent to me. It was like I was paying closer attention without being told to do so. I felt more connected with what was going on around the tree and that encouraged me to look closer and find new ideas about how to photograph the tree.</span><br />
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<div style="border: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I started with closeups and worked towards photographing the entire tree. One night a saw a lot of lighting bugs around the tree and had to get some pictures. I ran out the back door, forgetting to spray my legs with insect repellent, and started shooting away. Setting up my tripod and shooting as the sun went down, I ran out of options when it got dark until I thought of something I had seen in another picture. I yelled for my daughter to bring me a spotlight and I tried painting with light a little. I got some cool shots that and sadly I also got a good batch of chigger bites! </span></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>©2011, John Felkins</i></span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>©2011, John Felkins</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="border: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">©<i>2011, John Felkins</i></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFyknYFv8sS-R6p2f6I95TYN5o1-zXI9LhBr3zrz3sHIu5k4KODTB1-5uU21ws-Y6tzCxheZlrC8o54E274rvxSLT8GcXdN_RRZPXkfJ9WwpMYJibZ61Y5XxO6YSHtmgxCqi4ww73laVw/s1600/JohnImage1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFyknYFv8sS-R6p2f6I95TYN5o1-zXI9LhBr3zrz3sHIu5k4KODTB1-5uU21ws-Y6tzCxheZlrC8o54E274rvxSLT8GcXdN_RRZPXkfJ9WwpMYJibZ61Y5XxO6YSHtmgxCqi4ww73laVw/s320/JohnImage1.jpg" t$="true" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">©<i>2011, John Felkins</i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border: medium none;"></div><div class="separator" style="border: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-87409338706500384462011-07-25T09:30:00.002-06:002011-07-25T09:30:02.887-06:00From Homelessness to Home: The Hill-Smith Family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the fourth installment of my Homeless to Home project, about families who have sought help from the <a href="http://www.familypromisegv.org/">Family Promise</a> program and who now have their own home, I photographed Crystal and her two children. After losing her home, Crystal immediately called Family Promise on the recommendation of someone who told her about the organization. Thankfully, they happened to have exactly three spots open - perfect for her and the kids. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At first she was scared about the limit of a 3-month stay. She wondered how she was going to make a turn-around in 3 months: find a job, become financially independent, and find a place for her and her kids to live. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, at the very end of her three months, someone called Family Promise and wanted to donate a trailer. Gloria, the Executive Director at Family Promise, knew she had the perfect family for the trailer. She wanted Crystal to go check it out first because the person donating it mentioned that it was in very bad shape. Luckily, someone offered to fix it up by replacing the flooring. Crystal and her kids moved into the fixed-up trailer but then the 2010 hail storm caused extensive damage. Just two months ago, Crystal and the kids were able to move out of the two bedroom trailer into their current three bedroom apartment.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, which of the family portraits do you like best? I threw in the silly one because the kids wanted to do "funny" pictures and I think it shows that they have a lot of fun together. However, I'm more likely to use the first or third photographs as the one whole-family portrait. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the kids, I kept trying each of these in black and white for some reason, but then settled on the color versions. Of the three choices for Shanna, which do you prefer? And finally, which portrait of Zeke do you prefer? </span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-25071437651297700262011-07-20T09:30:00.007-06:002011-07-20T09:30:01.093-06:00Andrew Babcock - ROC Wheels<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I met Andrew Babcock last Thursday for my first portrait in my new series. Although I've tossed around a few ideas for a title of this series, none have stuck. As with all my projects, I believe this one will become more narrowly focused as it progresses. For now, I'm simply seeking people in Bozeman, MT who are doing cool or interesting things that make a difference.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Andrew is the Executive Director of ROC Wheels in Bozeman, MT. Prior to the suggestion from a friend to photograph someone at ROC Wheels for my project, I had not heard of the organization. After checking out their <a href="http://www.rocwheels.org/">website</a>, I got really excited about the work they're doing. They not only assemble and provide wheelchairs for children (or very small adults) in developing countries, they also include educating the public and the recipients in their mission. The pediatric wheelchairs are specifically designed to be durable in the countries they serve. By providing the Bozeman community with the opportunity to volunteer as wheelchair assemblers, ROC Wheels educates the volunteers and also gives them a sense of ownership in the process of helping others by providing mobility. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">ROC Wheels was started by Wayne and Lee Ann Hanson who began with the idea of Kid Kart and prototypes of jogging strollers. Kid Kart grew quickly due to demand from parents and therapists to best serve the needs of their children. The company was then sold to Sunrise Medical where Wayne worked in R&D. Eventually, he would found ROC Wheels with the focus of designing & distributing pediatric wheelchairs for children in developing countries.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Andrew, who when asked what his job responsibilities are smiled and said "everything", earned a business degree at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin. After graduating, he moved to Montana and spent time as a self-professed "ski and fishing bum" and enjoying outdoor life in this beautiful state. He eventually felt a gnawing desire to do something more with his life...something that would allow him to help people and in his own words, "get back to using my brain". After searching for the right position, he settled in as Executive Director at ROC Wheels six years ago. Andrew does everything from working with volunteer groups to visiting the current manufacturing facility in Morocco (and later this year, the facility in Iraq), to working with their established networks in the developing countries they serve. According to Andrew, coordinating a wheelchair distribution can take 8-12 months. A team of 6-20 volunteers (and very rarely more than two staff people) spend 8-14 days traveling to remote areas to custom fit 20-40 people each day. The actual amount of mobility products distributed during this trip can range from 100-400, depending on the need in the area and the available funding.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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</a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The two portraits above obviously have a very different feel to them. In the top one, I wanted to express Andrew's passion for his work and for helping people. Therefore, I directed the light onto his face with a 10<style>
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</style>° grid over the strobe. I'm still deciding if I like the resulting effect and shadows. For the second image, I wanted to create a a confident feel with Andrew's stance and the camera angle. I chose to use a 60" umbrella on this photograph in order to light more of the background. Working in a warehouse type setting where some of the wheelchair assembly occurs did have its challenges but I'm fairly happy with these photographs.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After photographing Andrew on Thursday last week, I came across a little card on Saturday that said "Make your career matter." That's exactly what I'm trying to do and it's what brought Andrew into this type of work. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How do you make your career matter? </div>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-65180953538074143442011-07-18T12:53:00.001-06:002011-07-18T12:56:58.973-06:00My First Opportunity to Photograph Dance - IndepenDANCE<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">IndepenDANCE, an all volunteer, non-profit organization, was formed three years ago to give dancers over the age of 18 an outlet for dance and choreography. According to the group, there are not a lot of opportunities for dancers to showcase their talents outside of the university. I was hired as the photographer for the organization's annual show on June 23, 2011. This was my first time to photograph dance, but I really loved it! Since I was not familiar with these specific dance pieces, or dance in general for that matter, it was a lot of fun to hear the music and to anticipate the moves. It was a challenge to work with the pre-determined lighting sets, but the challenge was a good one. There was a total of 18 dance pieces, all of which were unique. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are a few of the photographs I captured from the event:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihJVDPKoSyLVpqSTknG_GWIKEhPz-twnrIejz6kdpEEjUDhfLYoxb6Y5rKnxoPKBKbEkzRSK9bvhs6-tujdSIh-b650oqgkkpiMlRzEXptNJr84wHn0-XCcg1ngULjLWCFdJPuWQ0rmoU/s1600/IndepenDANCE-11-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihJVDPKoSyLVpqSTknG_GWIKEhPz-twnrIejz6kdpEEjUDhfLYoxb6Y5rKnxoPKBKbEkzRSK9bvhs6-tujdSIh-b650oqgkkpiMlRzEXptNJr84wHn0-XCcg1ngULjLWCFdJPuWQ0rmoU/s320/IndepenDANCE-11-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUpOYZmZytP51jP7GbgrKf3uQJxWAzB7rVDsEaBLsUWmDpZV9fFB7hlMp5SaVYb_heqqWpcIX6VH8lqgSrV3H8UyPuTrPQqhhEkVwcwtR_ufVn8z43_2tXAhfsKaW4Auo4yJB4fFqVIWc/s1600/IndepenDANCE-60-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUpOYZmZytP51jP7GbgrKf3uQJxWAzB7rVDsEaBLsUWmDpZV9fFB7hlMp5SaVYb_heqqWpcIX6VH8lqgSrV3H8UyPuTrPQqhhEkVwcwtR_ufVn8z43_2tXAhfsKaW4Auo4yJB4fFqVIWc/s320/IndepenDANCE-60-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg759Ei41rXrDAOSuDweCW3a83sNEKIt66rRIZ_W0gN7SUiz4xqw_di0uJjlfBkEvRSmpEIfHPu813cZLEMk8nMHHTNya24HvRw_9oHegxDgMksfdqqmdzw2Ep2H9cdjr9xClt6HvK4A-A/s1600/IndepenDANCE-82-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg759Ei41rXrDAOSuDweCW3a83sNEKIt66rRIZ_W0gN7SUiz4xqw_di0uJjlfBkEvRSmpEIfHPu813cZLEMk8nMHHTNya24HvRw_9oHegxDgMksfdqqmdzw2Ep2H9cdjr9xClt6HvK4A-A/s320/IndepenDANCE-82-2.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilGehSgukIZ9S4DL5cwFToMBVn5jfcto8XThc_u1lpzto431eCLkXA-pdjN8-JL3YDT7koc8NnVsBgUkTVKsItXzJxw6ozznLasJa25IqXnaxeoakztUHrBHbNoHf7f2aPNcWQIaysT_8/s1600/IndepenDANCE-159-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilGehSgukIZ9S4DL5cwFToMBVn5jfcto8XThc_u1lpzto431eCLkXA-pdjN8-JL3YDT7koc8NnVsBgUkTVKsItXzJxw6ozznLasJa25IqXnaxeoakztUHrBHbNoHf7f2aPNcWQIaysT_8/s320/IndepenDANCE-159-2.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6UFQ-AH5-dv_TLVZg-iy4Ltuw_LofewBs4hH_q-TdI2zxxz3XVS69PY70GsI-3CfnBP3AtCEn_148SziCJwtcntjZOnLv_qbrDK6jC9NjWvFFTTKjA8nx1icr2CFxZ39IXkzFHvDZxM/s1600/IndepenDANCE-173-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6UFQ-AH5-dv_TLVZg-iy4Ltuw_LofewBs4hH_q-TdI2zxxz3XVS69PY70GsI-3CfnBP3AtCEn_148SziCJwtcntjZOnLv_qbrDK6jC9NjWvFFTTKjA8nx1icr2CFxZ39IXkzFHvDZxM/s320/IndepenDANCE-173-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPoV8D7d32ftsZHbxxUPKrzmR7aJe1VhXfQwqdyjzj5kDFIqaPw7sIisrJtK9XSd1l9XHoB8j-7-5vjpdxQZk4FnWW95B6ybMASbqhUUE8irklB5tbR8WvboUKlaT223j-6y9VdcWEkgk/s1600/IndepenDANCE-201-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPoV8D7d32ftsZHbxxUPKrzmR7aJe1VhXfQwqdyjzj5kDFIqaPw7sIisrJtK9XSd1l9XHoB8j-7-5vjpdxQZk4FnWW95B6ybMASbqhUUE8irklB5tbR8WvboUKlaT223j-6y9VdcWEkgk/s320/IndepenDANCE-201-2.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCgcWHx6G8XbIw56DzxWnkM6PFv2my6vPFAszsj5Fno-VCtFNvlfGMXfl3erapobTyoQ5jW_S-vW0tl3bkIvHpADoMMsMY5GRH_URlRXivt1alxx8ECSxffdHg7PW8hIbLlWA2xl_t40/s1600/IndepenDANCE-225-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCgcWHx6G8XbIw56DzxWnkM6PFv2my6vPFAszsj5Fno-VCtFNvlfGMXfl3erapobTyoQ5jW_S-vW0tl3bkIvHpADoMMsMY5GRH_URlRXivt1alxx8ECSxffdHg7PW8hIbLlWA2xl_t40/s320/IndepenDANCE-225-2.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReoSRWayoKishFU_eu-m737JZildYyO26ARHm1hSR__NGmv65aLvHkduS6-IyYIMqCw4D0vQccWFatQP7B5V1lM8RcIXYcGGJojoiZXvWVXneCswp4aQZu1eFlcPnmNyQATLZWhEUM5Q/s1600/IndepenDANCE-245-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReoSRWayoKishFU_eu-m737JZildYyO26ARHm1hSR__NGmv65aLvHkduS6-IyYIMqCw4D0vQccWFatQP7B5V1lM8RcIXYcGGJojoiZXvWVXneCswp4aQZu1eFlcPnmNyQATLZWhEUM5Q/s320/IndepenDANCE-245-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you are interested in seeing more photographs from this event, post a comment with your email address and I'll email you the link to the gallery. Prints are also available.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-63648336414508258872011-06-28T08:40:00.001-06:002011-06-29T21:08:58.898-06:00Guest Blogger: Photographer Juliette Osen<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>I recently asked Juliette Osen to write a guest post about her 365 Project. I cannot say enough positive things about this mature and amazing</i> <i>17 year old who aspires to become a professional photographer. I first came to know Juliette when I contacted her family about participating in my adoption portrait series and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb8VcdrU2fU">multimedia project</a>. You can see my portraits of Juliette and her family <a href="http://lesliemcdanielphotography.blogspot.com/2009/03/osen-family.html">here</a> and <a href="http://lesliemcdanielphotography.blogspot.com/2009/03/osen-family_22.html">here</a> which were part of my <a href="http://www.lesliemcdaniel.com/Portfolio.cfm?nK=7666&nL=1&nS=4#0">Forever Families</a> project. Her already large family adopted two boys from the Philippines</i> <i>and Juliette's mom has home schooled all of the Osen kids, including the older ones who now live on their own. Juliette also recently passed her second degree black belt test in Taekwondo. She is so very hard on herself and she pushes herself to excel in everything she does. Enjoy Juliette's post and be inspired by her work.</i></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Project 365</u></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">by Juliette Osen</span></span></span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></i><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I look at the pictures I take as a way of documenting parts of my life, as a looking glass that will bring me back in my life years from now. So to me the idea of documenting a year of my life with a picture every day made perfect sense. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I started my 365 project on New Year's day. At first the project came easily to me and didn’t seem challenging at all. It forced me to work on concepts I had thought of but had never taken the time to work on. It was exciting to photograph every day and to actually have a purpose. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Soon though, I ran out of juice and ideas. I had lost all interest in the project and landed in a rut. I was bored with my life so taking pictures to document it bored me as well. I realized, though, that completing this project was important to me and would be a major accomplishment. I am naturally not a quitter and I'm extremely dedicated to anything I start. So, I made the commitment to finish the project, no matter how impossible it seemed.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Before long I regained my enthusiasm for the project. I again felt that passion, and strove to make each image beautiful and to represent each day well. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are still days when making that picture seems nearly impossible so the result is a far from perfect picture. Other days though, I get an idea and I'm so excited I want to try it immediately. Whether or not they turn out the way I want them to, I am still trying and experimenting and delving deeper into the world of photography. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today is day 179 of my 365 project and I have yet to skip a single day. This project has helped me work through stuff in my personal life and is teaching me so much about photography. I can see the improvement in my work since I started and I'm so glad I've stuck with it. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I plan on continuing the project, making a memory for every day. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrYestWV068mQ6R4TrlVqBVIZPdNjSEam3z95s-nmjiuxpr5wp0MlA0cco3Th_qcrPbaVZeW8eKpgxLJlZ90sgjr6NZlIkTOalcqP_s-7IJT7rg9kWfTfavLhsw9VCMrz1aMnTf7fIbk/s1600/DSC_0026+%252815%2529%2528edited%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrYestWV068mQ6R4TrlVqBVIZPdNjSEam3z95s-nmjiuxpr5wp0MlA0cco3Th_qcrPbaVZeW8eKpgxLJlZ90sgjr6NZlIkTOalcqP_s-7IJT7rg9kWfTfavLhsw9VCMrz1aMnTf7fIbk/s320/DSC_0026+%252815%2529%2528edited%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Day 54 - </i>©<i>2011, Juliette Osen</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhmhU08BeI_N5-zHEjd9cmm6cU1-VXcE4pXdY1_xIyn_sC0txd9vf7fmOUbiyIT0Y3cdNtQc0ysTmPCvKEsNtjMdbZSDRcOy99cjrcjLHNsVDGh0CUXKJlCFuC2FLigDR-S4Ej4WJLCM/s1600/DSC_0046+%25286%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhmhU08BeI_N5-zHEjd9cmm6cU1-VXcE4pXdY1_xIyn_sC0txd9vf7fmOUbiyIT0Y3cdNtQc0ysTmPCvKEsNtjMdbZSDRcOy99cjrcjLHNsVDGh0CUXKJlCFuC2FLigDR-S4Ej4WJLCM/s320/DSC_0046+%25286%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Day 141 - </i>©<i>2011, Juliette Osen</i></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXL4GX4chVL6ov2JhTznM4ancGyZvUU-5849sIHLfVTc70pyVlMOpoCvGnhWk8WymiA0tlVSdYvOC7QapncZoPA6EoVPBgOImOT8zTPmkbi0FKYQTHYmthGexYQnIhbJZnTrjCTKEWeo/s1600/DSC_0006-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXL4GX4chVL6ov2JhTznM4ancGyZvUU-5849sIHLfVTc70pyVlMOpoCvGnhWk8WymiA0tlVSdYvOC7QapncZoPA6EoVPBgOImOT8zTPmkbi0FKYQTHYmthGexYQnIhbJZnTrjCTKEWeo/s320/DSC_0006-1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Day 160 - </i>©<i>2011, Juliette Osen</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I encourage you to check out the remainder of Juliette's 365 Project on her Flickr stream <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/julietteosen/sets/72157625723781836/">here</a>.</span></span></i> <i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Also, feel free to leave her a comment with a word of </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>encouragement to keep going.</i></span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-15232346017304886102011-06-20T09:31:00.000-06:002011-06-20T09:31:38.004-06:00Fundraising Photo Booth<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Photo booths at weddings and other events seem to be very trendy</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">now. When I was recently asked to run a photo booth for an adoption fundraiser, I thought it sounded like a fun way to contribute. Since there was already an admission price for the music and art fair, we chose to offer the photo booth pictures</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">for a small additional charge. Several people let us borrow costumes and accessories so people could dress up for their picture. If you are planning a fundraising event, I would</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">highly recommend adding a fun photo booth!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCCOIvtChCLaUZ51Ty-t0s0wGnp9Yzp063l-FrtQWpPu3xnUKrgsyfoUOw-nHFRobiloW4if07C4uNeAeT3ABFVyyVFVVIb42tpGzG-H29yY8jyri_0zkI3gUbc8Yda9Ljv5zg1QDRLIA/s1600/IMG_0101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCCOIvtChCLaUZ51Ty-t0s0wGnp9Yzp063l-FrtQWpPu3xnUKrgsyfoUOw-nHFRobiloW4if07C4uNeAeT3ABFVyyVFVVIb42tpGzG-H29yY8jyri_0zkI3gUbc8Yda9Ljv5zg1QDRLIA/s320/IMG_0101.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me with one of my assistants in front of one of the costume racks</i></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWp49vcKDHV_fWg2YbUs4Yx1siln08vHbCz8IXg-Eu3Hmm2jRVsEoBTAvJnxCv9dRsidI_zGWO217uPHQoOBLZZEUUoRx-_0OTkQfLVaBsENBAgqTFN6VraSYb2q5Ba7glckYD9YNs9c/s1600/_MG_2475.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWp49vcKDHV_fWg2YbUs4Yx1siln08vHbCz8IXg-Eu3Hmm2jRVsEoBTAvJnxCv9dRsidI_zGWO217uPHQoOBLZZEUUoRx-_0OTkQfLVaBsENBAgqTFN6VraSYb2q5Ba7glckYD9YNs9c/s320/_MG_2475.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2yOOdvtqtzDMhqW63DLmzo5jNHYRtd_ODXIpf1OUBvEx2hqa9vK0v7W5_51HDhuuCn2Cf8qhTQla162a556gWa8V2HbGX29CQKZzKifhXhNdm3j-qRItEFuPA9ZBJ130q9FtGwyFkfk/s1600/_MG_2486.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2yOOdvtqtzDMhqW63DLmzo5jNHYRtd_ODXIpf1OUBvEx2hqa9vK0v7W5_51HDhuuCn2Cf8qhTQla162a556gWa8V2HbGX29CQKZzKifhXhNdm3j-qRItEFuPA9ZBJ130q9FtGwyFkfk/s320/_MG_2486.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFdSBpoxOqyk5Xod4soOoh3i5SxiRk0XqTHD48GqNSgjQG-3F8CpwVnyXgfG59edinJ-cMUn5Z8sOc2pCOPOywn4ZmTxJSLLiHXds6Qle1LjNyr6ZWsc3XVjnhEAKCBG40SdnFo2eS4A/s1600/_MG_2494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFdSBpoxOqyk5Xod4soOoh3i5SxiRk0XqTHD48GqNSgjQG-3F8CpwVnyXgfG59edinJ-cMUn5Z8sOc2pCOPOywn4ZmTxJSLLiHXds6Qle1LjNyr6ZWsc3XVjnhEAKCBG40SdnFo2eS4A/s320/_MG_2494.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwW9kLQxtH7ScJ_X15yCMRbQzV_Li1ARLSofBaH8C5WE_xCVDGm2jiwDs4mIouvKS_MvgSOw6tEoWHBJEP2MIWBZZ0fGbX_kpD5rjVVk-vOyM01uwMPaSZ8N6CpQrQrhZ29oSPwpfxjg/s1600/_MG_2514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwW9kLQxtH7ScJ_X15yCMRbQzV_Li1ARLSofBaH8C5WE_xCVDGm2jiwDs4mIouvKS_MvgSOw6tEoWHBJEP2MIWBZZ0fGbX_kpD5rjVVk-vOyM01uwMPaSZ8N6CpQrQrhZ29oSPwpfxjg/s320/_MG_2514.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-56459343596492353102011-06-06T08:30:00.049-06:002011-06-06T09:27:35.278-06:00The Emergence of Spring in Polaroids<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Spring in Montana is really just an extension of winter. Late spring can be a cruel time of rainy days punctuated by a few warm, beautiful, and sunny days. The cruelty comes when the rest of the country is enjoying consistently warm, actual spring-like days and we are still having rainy (and sometimes snowy) days. When the sun arrives, the entire town is out enjoying the day.</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On one of these recent beautiful days, I carried my Polaroid SX-70 around my neighborhood to record a few glimpses of warm weather. When I lived in Memphis, Tulips and Daffodils would often arrive in February. Here in Bozeman, MT, Tulips are still in their prime now in the first part of June. The trees have just recently begun to be covered in green. These pictures are a reminder to me that on the cloudy, rainy, and cold days</span>, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the sun will shine once again. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXBD-PFn70TNlq2UJD5goVoj9NdofwNNx9tXCwys4roqmcvRI9m8HHV4Edt53SOmxjAa6WYmXzydhJTt7KNFVQYI4MpbldP57RRflgeJUf9hVFFsF8CI_w7rtVKfafK1ty6gGVkghDCU/s1600/PolaroidTree_Jun12011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXBD-PFn70TNlq2UJD5goVoj9NdofwNNx9tXCwys4roqmcvRI9m8HHV4Edt53SOmxjAa6WYmXzydhJTt7KNFVQYI4MpbldP57RRflgeJUf9hVFFsF8CI_w7rtVKfafK1ty6gGVkghDCU/s320/PolaroidTree_Jun12011.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Blue Skies and Green Leaves</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgpMmDNncjzMaPQGejUjXQ5ztt6MDzdcmKDRtI8cFnjx1paZ9Liz33zw_3WivmDgkqUO1WGeOLO4BUH1fCQDeFv26hI3vjvZwaP6biVdFEF8uHaTnw2QiP6pBtO9PcUGDVcAknZlf1oY/s1600/PolaroidTulip_Jun12011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgpMmDNncjzMaPQGejUjXQ5ztt6MDzdcmKDRtI8cFnjx1paZ9Liz33zw_3WivmDgkqUO1WGeOLO4BUH1fCQDeFv26hI3vjvZwaP6biVdFEF8uHaTnw2QiP6pBtO9PcUGDVcAknZlf1oY/s320/PolaroidTulip_Jun12011.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Tulips</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFMCEbGAFW5AdnLB9U7D2y1hqeXrjU7h4anO6rL1eVi-Dyi0ickD-X3liKQjmmbydKYFG4hX9OaC6I6DltCDxv_rSRImPfx2PefCJkGFKscTeYhut5eTOYVjDmiMII_EXUTJ0QCsgcEs/s1600/PolaroidWeeds_Jun12011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFMCEbGAFW5AdnLB9U7D2y1hqeXrjU7h4anO6rL1eVi-Dyi0ickD-X3liKQjmmbydKYFG4hX9OaC6I6DltCDxv_rSRImPfx2PefCJkGFKscTeYhut5eTOYVjDmiMII_EXUTJ0QCsgcEs/s320/PolaroidWeeds_Jun12011.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Weeds</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">©<i>2011, Leslie McDaniel</i></span><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I chose my SX-70 for this little outing for a few reasons. First of all, I love square photographs. Secondly, I love actual prints so the SX-70 would immediately satisfy both of these things. Also, I love the color and slightly fuzzy style I get from my camera. Before I headed out, I knew I wanted to capture these glimpses of spring and summer. I also know that my style tends to be fairly "clean" in that the subject either fills the frame or is carefully and thoughtfully arranged and would work well within a square format. All of these things helped me to decide to choose my Polaroid SX-70 camera over any of the others.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It sounds like a big part of the southern U.S. is steaming hot today. Wherever you may be, what are you doing to enjoy YOUR weather? </span></span><i> </i></span></div></div>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-37640495775078642392011-05-31T09:36:00.000-06:002011-05-31T09:36:02.946-06:00Guest Blogger: Photographer Kelly Gorham<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today I am extremely pleased to introduce <a href="http://www.gorhamphotography.com/">Kelly Gorham</a> as my guest blogger. Kelly has been a big influence as I've grown as a photographer. He has helped with advice, ideas, and encouragement. As an intern for Kelly at Montana State University, I observed and experienced lighting people in various situations "on the fly". In other words, I observed Kelly in vastly different situations and he always came up with a quick, effective, and beautiful lighting solutions. This helped to give me confidence when I was on my own assignments. The one thing I carry with me on every assignment is something I learned from Kelly - "Treat every photo assignment, no matter how small, as if it's the most important." Please enjoy Kelly's post today as he talks about something he learned about his own work and his encouragement to fight through the laziness. </span>Be sure to take him up on his challenge at the end.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Zoom With Your Feet</b> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">by Kelly Gorham </div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">…my metaphor for photography and life</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> When I was six-years-old, in the 1970’s, and got my first camera it used film and flash cubes and had a fixed focal-length lens. You may remember a flash cube only had four shots in it. After I threw many tantrums when I’d run out of film or flashes, my mother lectured me and instructed me to make each photo count instead of photographing everything as I did.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This trend continued through my life of photography as I used a view camera with prime lenses in college and a Pentax K1000 with one lens during my first two summers interning with a daily newspaper. It really forced me to think about my photos and zoom with my feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During these years I managed some pretty creative compositions and explored my subjects more thoroughly since I had to move my body to get different perspectives.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This all fell apart when I upgraded camera systems and got my Nikon N90s with 28-70mm f2.8 and 70-200mm f2.8 lenses. I was working for a daily paper in Nevada and found myself working much more quickly. This was in part due to my heavy assignment load but also because the zoom lenses made me lazy. For years I would get to a scene, have a look around, and then pick a couple good angle and fire away with the motor drive cranking like a lawnmower. There I was, just standing and zooming. Oh, maybe I’d take time to switch between the two lenses but the interaction I had experienced with my subjects from an early age was gone. I used the technology like a crutch and it made me lazy and as a result the photos suffered. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fast forward twelve years and I’d been shooting digital for about ten of those. Yup, you guessed it, even lazier. With digital I could see every photo as I captured it. We call this <i>chipping</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> in the industry. It’s almost like a funny photo ballet. You really see it at sporting events with a row of photographers bobbing their heads in unison from the action to their LCD screens. So now, I’m still standing and zooming but have even less concerns because I can see instantly if I’m getting the shot. The challenge is gone. Even if it’s a poor photo I’d be in Photoshop trying to salvage it. Of course, photographers are famous for saying, “I never </span><i>Photoshop, </i><span style="font-style: normal;">I’m true to the subject,” but let’s admit it, we’ve all gone through that phase of trying to squeeze every bit of information out of every pixel. Is the photo too dark? Fix it in post. You didn’t get close enough? No problem, crop it in post. Too lazy to wait for good light? No problem, shoot a bunch of bracketed photos and merge them in HDR (high dynamic range) software. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 2008 just as my laziness-induced obsession with HDR imaging and zoom lenses was reaching critical mass, my 28-70 broke. Oh crap. It was a morning before I had several news assignments. The 70-200 would be too long for all these assignments. I grabbed the only other lens that was with me at the time, my trusty $89 Nikkor 50mm f1.8 that I had previously only used when shooting food and products and went off to the assignments. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Suddenly photography was tough again. I was crouching, squatting, laying on my belly and on my back. I stood on chairs and tables. Wow, I was moving again. This lens didn’t allow me to be lazy. I was thinking about my subject and interacting with it. I didn’t even chip. I just shot the photos and hoped for the best, just like the days of slide film. When I got back to the computer I downloaded the photos into Adobe Lightroom and was amazed at the quality. It was like the 23-year-old version of me walked into the room. The photos were interesting, well composed and perfectly exposed. I didn’t change a thing in the computer. I simply exported the images and sent them off to the editors. I was a photographer again. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Soon after, I went to Berlin to shoot a project about relics of the Cold War. I carried a 20mm and a 50mm. The project was the highlight of my career and has exhibited around the U.S. and in Germany.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now in 2011 I carry a 28mm and an 85mm throughout the day. I shoot sports with a prime 300mm f2.8 and use a 1.4x teleconverter when I need the extra oomph. I still have a 70-200 and use it when needed but I travel light and think about my shots. Instead of researching cameras with bells and whistles and massive zoom lenses, I find myself dreaming about compact mirrorless<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a> cameras with prime lenses and very few controls. I treat every photo as though it’s the most important image I’ve ever captured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here’s a challenge for you. Take one camera with one prime lens and go for a stroll. No filters, no gadgets. Just go and explore your subjects and force yourself to break from the restraints of technology. Enjoy life for what it is and make the most of it.</div>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-21420561213390002472011-05-16T08:30:00.002-06:002011-05-16T08:30:00.264-06:00Getting to Know You<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As I've read about best practices for running a blog over the past year, one thing I consistently come across is to know your audience and to always offer content that is of interest to them. I tend to mix the content of this photography blog between my current projects, things I find inspiring, guest posts from people I'd like to introduce you to, and how-to type posts with ideas or suggestions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I try to keep my reader in mind as I write, but I thought this would be a good time to conduct a short survey in order to offer better and more interesting content. So, dear reader, why do you read this blog (even if it was only one time) and what content are you most interested in reading? With your help, I can offer things that are beneficial and worthwhile to you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I know there may be people who stop by and read an occasional post but never comment. So, if you have ever read any of my posts, I'd love for you to leave a comment below:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> What do YOU want to read about and what would you like to see from this blog? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Which posts have you enjoyed the most?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thanks for your help! I sincerely appreciate your comments and your time, and thanks for reading!</span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-25357190645269528712011-05-09T08:30:00.007-06:002011-05-10T16:32:02.797-06:00Capturing Natural & Complimentary Portraits<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of my recent freelance jobs was to photograph Montana State University faculty who received a promotion and/or tenure this year and who didn't already have a portrait on file with the university. Of the 34 or so who received this honor, 21 did not already have a portrait. Even though the portraits were mostly head shots, </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">each new environment was a challenge.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I really loved meeting each person and the varied environments in which I met them. Upon arrival, I needed to quickly assess the location and lighting and how to make the most pleasing portrait within a fairly limited time frame. One of the main challenges was to help the person get comfortable and relaxed with me in a short amount of time. Capturing a casual, relaxed, and real smile was key. Making this happen, however, depends on several variables.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are a few tips on how I work with people to try and help them relax in front of a camera:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. If the person seems busy and stressed, I do my best to assure them I will not take much of their time and I express my sincere thanks for meeting me in the midst of their busy schedule.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. As I'm setting up and assessing the location, I also engage them in small talk about their work or hobbies (if something in their office suggests a pastime). I try to find and express a common connection. This can be anything from places I've traveled, things I've studied, or hobbies I enjoy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. It can be difficult to be funny on the spot with someone I just met, but I try to be as light-hearted without sacrificing professionalism. What I say or how I do this just depends on each person and how they are responding to me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. If I give a compliment, I make sure it's 100% sincere. I never say "Oh, I love that shirt you're wearing!" or "I love that painting behind you!" if I don't mean it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With this project, I would sometimes ask them to give me that big promotion smile...or that "I'm finished with that grueling tenure process" smile. That would often illicit a genuine smile, although sometimes brief if I had to move my camera too much to put it in front of my face. In other words, I had to be READY for it. That smile can quickly melt when they remember I'm photographing them. :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are a few of my favorites I picked for different reasons:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFysVHby9stS-EwBw80cj0FOxelEL3UKTthGijAK1gywiznuZnMf0PU0-tR-GVTwWaFu975xMc4S8236ZHLj8MIb2JyytD6_RzUaY2BAfBBCEwq_ew5hIqPNDFJwLDI01wxgAKlWpuyY/s1600/KristinRuppel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFysVHby9stS-EwBw80cj0FOxelEL3UKTthGijAK1gywiznuZnMf0PU0-tR-GVTwWaFu975xMc4S8236ZHLj8MIb2JyytD6_RzUaY2BAfBBCEwq_ew5hIqPNDFJwLDI01wxgAKlWpuyY/s320/KristinRuppel.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">©</span><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">2011, Leslie McDaniel</span></i> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMLGIe27L8qc6_2BhjDxJtACkk16cKx26L2iNHVncNn1dB4DkDzgAcy-8LZ9OHeg33-L7Qint51M5LWO_3xKhHl1YaPtVq4zrFD4fzJbo-UHWsRp4Yo99tzrVZUqKFCMmm7W30RAlSFgk/s320/MarkGreenwood.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">©</span><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">2011, Leslie McDaniel</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjb1FbH-h9Cq5s3Cr9xE5YPZuPyESiW-qSf-h7Ji5GdIRX2Y6uE_g5LW_HvLNwt4tyI440zYkt4R4_UnvJWntAK8azkGQo_b0y82lCT1hrgL3PxA0szV3G-Kb-XQ8M_8IPFksh1xB9SKg/s1600/JamesThull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjb1FbH-h9Cq5s3Cr9xE5YPZuPyESiW-qSf-h7Ji5GdIRX2Y6uE_g5LW_HvLNwt4tyI440zYkt4R4_UnvJWntAK8azkGQo_b0y82lCT1hrgL3PxA0szV3G-Kb-XQ8M_8IPFksh1xB9SKg/s320/JamesThull.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">©</span><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">2011, Leslie McDaniel</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Oy4pYfsFd_2N758HO9Ct6-w09mDGl_LI6MdKibr5Xv9YPpnSEkCn-vTfFxE0smTRTirX3kFGo5HtotKI-XpbbcW0GxqX9DBUgSPkwpHxcgpacAPbdl1X7Pbj4GO59MBZgQKaiKb2nxc/s1600/PrasantaBandyopadhyay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Oy4pYfsFd_2N758HO9Ct6-w09mDGl_LI6MdKibr5Xv9YPpnSEkCn-vTfFxE0smTRTirX3kFGo5HtotKI-XpbbcW0GxqX9DBUgSPkwpHxcgpacAPbdl1X7Pbj4GO59MBZgQKaiKb2nxc/s320/PrasantaBandyopadhyay.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">©</span><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">2011, Leslie McDaniel</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For this portrait series, I used a variety of lighting set ups including window light with a <a href="http://www.f11photo.com/spec-sheet.html?catalog[name]=PROMASTER%C2%AE-SystemPro-ReflectaDisc-5--in--1-41%27%27-promaster-reflector&catalog[product_guids][0]=e205f475-a623-45b9-a65d-94aa520f1fb3">reflector</a> and a</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">flash head on a light stand with a "shoot-through" <a href="http://www.mpex.com/browse.cfm/4,4643.html">umbrella</a></span>. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When photographing people, it's very important to determine the best pose, angle, and lighting that is most complimentary to the subject. In a previous <a href="http://lesliemcdanielphotography.blogspot.com/2011/02/tips-on-posing-for-photographs.html">post</a>, I gave some tips on posing for portraits. The importance of using these things to the advantage of the person being photographed can be illustrated by the following example. Look at these two portraits of the person in the first portrait above. The following portraits were made back to back. However, slight changes that occurred </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">to the angle of her body, lighting, and her hair </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">in the moments between the two images resulted in photographs that almost looks like two different people:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7v5NTv3lMDrYSfslrPWjkcDQRbIxewSVlXMdB9WnEehhr4qEMoHEzADiQsoiFYL7OwJ9vrMlfWvYxLVBn-W7nAYvrKEjd1whXJXLkGP6MZqPOHgLdww1h8jPtgPhKL50jCgg5tY5odY/s1600/_MG_8182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7v5NTv3lMDrYSfslrPWjkcDQRbIxewSVlXMdB9WnEehhr4qEMoHEzADiQsoiFYL7OwJ9vrMlfWvYxLVBn-W7nAYvrKEjd1whXJXLkGP6MZqPOHgLdww1h8jPtgPhKL50jCgg5tY5odY/s320/_MG_8182.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11:20:40 AM</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtkY9Y-uR83Yat26Z0EuEcNQuA1xhAhjowFYXLT6lReUN9KsbLsOQnYL2z_s-XuSxOyc0G3AbLpcLLL0iMTghCyS9ZpXWqhmpCRaalZkK7U5gEHYDw5HXthklH72xPo2Qho4BculkD1E/s1600/_MG_8183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtkY9Y-uR83Yat26Z0EuEcNQuA1xhAhjowFYXLT6lReUN9KsbLsOQnYL2z_s-XuSxOyc0G3AbLpcLLL0iMTghCyS9ZpXWqhmpCRaalZkK7U5gEHYDw5HXthklH72xPo2Qho4BculkD1E/s320/_MG_8183.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">11:21:08 AM</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As you can see, I chose the first photograph of her at the top of this post over either of these because I felt her smile, pose, and the lighting in that one was the most natural and complimentary.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What process do you go through to make the most complimentary portrait of a person?</span></div>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-22948397526082109612011-05-02T08:30:00.002-06:002011-05-02T12:58:46.178-06:00Rethinking Landscapes<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I recently wrote a <a href="http://lesliemcdanielphotography.blogspot.com/2011/04/landscape-photography-as-opportunity-to.html">post</a> about using landscape photography as an opportunity to slow down. I sort of lamented about my inability to make interesting landscape photographs. I'm also generally not drawn to the landscape photography of others. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On a recent trip to nearby Yellowstone National Park, I decided to take my medium format camera to attempt landscapes in squares. I'm not sure why I haven't tried this before. Even though I completed an entire non-portrait project entitled <a href="http://www.lesliemcdaniel.com/Portfolio.cfm?nK=11496&nL=1&nS=7#0">I Heart America</a> with a medium format camera about a year ago, I've never considered capturing landscapes in squares. I think I've found a way to give landscape photography a try. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are a couple images from the Mammoth area of the park:</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCRRfezEhGanFyWqJxSRcGqNsRpp1X-0pmsyZ3Z9KD8dDpXTTiyTZU_2JwA8kAnUmFGy0aPMUJYcPskHGWIh3PBlfUjayLKhWtQWXPMFJwarPK6GSUgznGw8a1IJuYc7ik1A8FB-UCEs/s1600/Yellowstone4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCRRfezEhGanFyWqJxSRcGqNsRpp1X-0pmsyZ3Z9KD8dDpXTTiyTZU_2JwA8kAnUmFGy0aPMUJYcPskHGWIh3PBlfUjayLKhWtQWXPMFJwarPK6GSUgznGw8a1IJuYc7ik1A8FB-UCEs/s320/Yellowstone4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7S3g4tIa6p2yHPlqE0jsYfrb7EodN-7GdgYKzzPhBWhHMUXktEBKJpk3M0Rr3chfoXiWG9p5oHrW4pQeQfVQEOHGQzFPRIF6EMHZsgLhp10Gzb8UoO8RbCz3_jTMOrd8swfUiQ1R8POg/s1600/Yellowstone4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKW92qKIcyUPDZcXgOJm6B2MqTUJhOQJ-ahyNktSrFNgCtrASvSVHUr9IOPnJM0L6_9jJPm_uIikSWbt-LHSJA-S7BQQDQiOCGkbGfC77A-5aHHPPTZXBc15Dano6uzYdtYisWKwd4Irg/s1600/Yellowstone2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKW92qKIcyUPDZcXgOJm6B2MqTUJhOQJ-ahyNktSrFNgCtrASvSVHUr9IOPnJM0L6_9jJPm_uIikSWbt-LHSJA-S7BQQDQiOCGkbGfC77A-5aHHPPTZXBc15Dano6uzYdtYisWKwd4Irg/s320/Yellowstone2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The funny thing is that I'm still more interested in landscape photographs that have people in them, such as the first one. After this little experiment, I'm thinking about starting a project with the medium format of the tourists I encounter in the park. This would allow me to work with both people and landscapes with a non-traditional landscape format.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What do you think of these images?</span>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-537846929417457042011-04-25T09:45:00.000-06:002011-04-25T09:45:20.441-06:00Guest Blogger: Photographer Dan MacDonald<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Today I'm pleased to have a guest post by <a href="http://dsmacdonald.com/">Dan MacDonald</a>. I attended the <a href="http://sfp.montana.edu/">School of Film & Photography</a> at <a href="http://www.montana.edu/">Montana State University</a> with Dan and had the opportunity to witness his creativity through his photographic projects and the installations for his work at our senior shows. Today Dan shares his new project with us</i></span><span style="font-size: small;">:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sometimes I Stop Along the Way</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I started this project while on a trip this past summer, but the idea had been germinating for sometime before that. I should also start by saying this project is probably an outgrowth of a larger interest I have in architecture. I am not so much interested in the technical aspects or even the design of buildings, but I am interested in them more as a potential physical expression of personal, social, and cultural feeling. Which leads me to the rest areas. Some are utilitarian, some are quite elaborate (sadly none of the ones I’ve shot so far), some have extremely trendy architecture that screams out which decade it was designed in and some are for more modest with a specific era of design and construction difficult to pinpoint. What I find interesting about them is their purpose is extremely utilitarian, primarily a sanitary place to dispose of bodily waste, and secondarily a place to stop along the way for rest from a journey. Yet many states have used them to showcase quite a bit of local pride, and often the designs of these areas reflect some version of the local culture of the region they’re in. Yet I think they’re often overlooked, people are usually in a hurry to get wherever they’re going on a trip, and I mean honestly it’s a place to poop. Yet someone, perhaps a team of someones, spent hours designing this unusual space and yet oddly purposeful place, and more people spent many hours constructing it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So I’ve set out to document as many rest areas as I can, my criteria for the project so far has been to only shoot ones that I actually have to stop and (ahem), rest at. I’ve tried to shoot them in a straight-forward documentary fashion that doesn’t try to make them more than they are, but I am taking a more considered shot than just jumping out of the car and snapping the first angle I see. Usually I’ve taken no more than 5 shots at each one and these are shot digitally but have nothing but the most modest of color correction comparable to what would be easily achievable with color film and C-prints. The rest areas seen so far in this project are mostly in Montana, but there are some from Washington, Oregon, and California as well. I see this project continuing for quite some time to come as my travels hopefully take me all over the country.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01eQ0br78TkEBzBriEDpsoLUVobGgc7DYBkuwemVgRObN-0HPWApQA14MZjpx-qC1TWFU4HknrKymtuOLMc5-3mEx7K3Lo5B3ZcVBw76CZ0CJS6Lvjam9P6_llTHqTu4ecwf2fZFnv5E/s1600/pbr.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01eQ0br78TkEBzBriEDpsoLUVobGgc7DYBkuwemVgRObN-0HPWApQA14MZjpx-qC1TWFU4HknrKymtuOLMc5-3mEx7K3Lo5B3ZcVBw76CZ0CJS6Lvjam9P6_llTHqTu4ecwf2fZFnv5E/s320/pbr.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRzcr7yze9E7nb0usOYoE0y_ooNpaeKGLuMkkwMdJQcWCruVOY_ZxBxT124jZ-7by0EIvjCoM9Nd69x9OmFLVkGJnYdYrJ0-HTMPsc5GaJVtme864NSySw4IN9LzJQo2LXgFYZishB98/s1600/trip.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRzcr7yze9E7nb0usOYoE0y_ooNpaeKGLuMkkwMdJQcWCruVOY_ZxBxT124jZ-7by0EIvjCoM9Nd69x9OmFLVkGJnYdYrJ0-HTMPsc5GaJVtme864NSySw4IN9LzJQo2LXgFYZishB98/s320/trip.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmiSuOtQ-CyxVP-__6y7fjjmL7GyEVeThQjtwxSwxlHGhf6-hvkb7QeCLhQ2mJFL6HXqM3mOGTsXR4IEyR_3KemzElPXnq7H6ooRtjHcdfZT50eI-fVMHRiTBVO1UBPMXzAGyBI3U3ks/s1600/reststop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmiSuOtQ-CyxVP-__6y7fjjmL7GyEVeThQjtwxSwxlHGhf6-hvkb7QeCLhQ2mJFL6HXqM3mOGTsXR4IEyR_3KemzElPXnq7H6ooRtjHcdfZT50eI-fVMHRiTBVO1UBPMXzAGyBI3U3ks/s320/reststop.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>More of Dan's project and other recent work can be seen on his <a href="http://shutterfaster.blogspot.com/p/pit-stop.html">blog</a>.</i></span></span></div>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-84700830926470233252011-04-18T08:15:00.001-06:002011-04-18T08:15:00.372-06:00From Homelessness to Home: The Young Family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is a continuation of a series. You can see an explanation of the project and the first family </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://lesliemcdanielphotography.blogspot.com/2011/03/from-homelessness-to-home-wright-family.html">here</a></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i> and another family <a href="http://lesliemcdanielphotography.blogspot.com/2011/04/from-homelessness-to-home-reuter-family.html">here</a>.</i></span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today I'm pleased to introduce the Young Family:</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDGgtG7VxS474vtzBCNLnhR1XDvUc5KVh0-RDkEhOUHectDVybGZO87MYUpgKVcUOcchaXa18SanfJ8zLQXcxA_bA3OUzR90i_b8W5OYxDEkYaiUp5EF1acWs3648cFMSWOUtIVnhgjo/s1600/_MG_7844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDGgtG7VxS474vtzBCNLnhR1XDvUc5KVh0-RDkEhOUHectDVybGZO87MYUpgKVcUOcchaXa18SanfJ8zLQXcxA_bA3OUzR90i_b8W5OYxDEkYaiUp5EF1acWs3648cFMSWOUtIVnhgjo/s320/_MG_7844.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Karen is raising her two sons, Bryan (12) and Nathan (7), in this apartment that she's had for the past four years. It's the very same apartment they moved in to after their <a href="http://www.familypromisegv.org/">Family Promise</a> experience.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Click here to hear from Nancy and her praise for Family Promise:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='28' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyn0AtSNOSz8Uo2lQ3xUqsvj0rcRIcIWaQ1O1kwUZyjhdYe7C2zp_N-WMHn438hhdbG7yLjGUR6eerPgdcoGQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyy8cjz0s55PefwKsRMDJwMPVzSP7ubQL1k3PXnXtslZgh90Q9J758mY3WRtCbRMW9vWelmhG-krnjcatG0IyYbFY2nV2OSE7eEFOuaFDcVNUaMZLobsZwotppkcfvyZ-sj_NUylpPTsA/s1600/_MG_7873.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyy8cjz0s55PefwKsRMDJwMPVzSP7ubQL1k3PXnXtslZgh90Q9J758mY3WRtCbRMW9vWelmhG-krnjcatG0IyYbFY2nV2OSE7eEFOuaFDcVNUaMZLobsZwotppkcfvyZ-sj_NUylpPTsA/s320/_MG_7873.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The two boys (Nathan, left and Bryan, right) share their room equally, each getting a wall to decorate as their own with posters and memorabilia. </span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRTHH0AwxRF19WsMHmoifdraHunzE2qLkTqUc0-_WjDs_E6yBz0RuHtQeg4AwqrCdBXIqxytPt15vrEZpSAi4DFJeWk8oAM_vVlja-R4OM-5T9Rzy2rNWFcEHSXwwvI6YBhOR5utxlYA/s1600/_MG_7858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRTHH0AwxRF19WsMHmoifdraHunzE2qLkTqUc0-_WjDs_E6yBz0RuHtQeg4AwqrCdBXIqxytPt15vrEZpSAi4DFJeWk8oAM_vVlja-R4OM-5T9Rzy2rNWFcEHSXwwvI6YBhOR5utxlYA/s320/_MG_7858.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nathan was super excited to show me all of his favorite things, although sometimes he had trouble choosing his favorite. :) His bed is made up with a quilt each boy received from Family Promise.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPlugXw3aycoy_K7m_rWdK_58F6cw8UMqds474CswFIfi_c29L39HHtiZs88PAV2H1vFn6cDkWt0T8yHRS_2cyvRwu0jMl-hyzkCzvn6VK6ZXcqmrgKkcCflb4M2zYgw2jvFnx3bGfjA/s1600/_MG_7855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPlugXw3aycoy_K7m_rWdK_58F6cw8UMqds474CswFIfi_c29L39HHtiZs88PAV2H1vFn6cDkWt0T8yHRS_2cyvRwu0jMl-hyzkCzvn6VK6ZXcqmrgKkcCflb4M2zYgw2jvFnx3bGfjA/s320/_MG_7855.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I had a great time hanging out with the kids and trying to capture their smiles. Even 12-year old Bryan starting loosening up a bit towards the end...</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJaj6aTOTysihpAQa0LgWolrB0OiaTMhG-IHntyDc0mvgX78fy0ygV8WK0eQkexX7I_FOZ5GxvbMIOtjrO-3-55Gd9_QIU0tcYKLsu544ltQXHiWUssVBhipL8Tr8gPzoDKy-8rQvLXtE/s1600/_MG_7881.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJaj6aTOTysihpAQa0LgWolrB0OiaTMhG-IHntyDc0mvgX78fy0ygV8WK0eQkexX7I_FOZ5GxvbMIOtjrO-3-55Gd9_QIU0tcYKLsu544ltQXHiWUssVBhipL8Tr8gPzoDKy-8rQvLXtE/s320/_MG_7881.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">...even enough to show me his mad hacky sack skills.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What do you think of this project and images so far? I'd love to hear any feedback you have, positive or negative, or ideas you might have to share. I understand that your comments will won't have anything to do with the families I photographed. One thing I miss about being in school is having regular constructive criticism of my work. Thanks for any comments you might have!</span></div>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-20675729006416001732011-04-12T08:00:00.003-06:002011-04-12T08:00:12.851-06:00Landscape Photography as an Opportunity to Slow DownI recently had an email conversation with a friend who asked my advice about photographing a particular scene he had come across while hiking. He was frustrated with the photographs he made because he felt like he wasn't able to capture the beauty of what he saw. I admitted that this is actually one of the reasons I do not like landscape photography very much - it seems like I can only make boring landscape photographs. I can relate to the frustration. However, after giving him some suggestions of a few things to try, I came across this <a href="http://www.pixelatedimage.com/blog/2011/04/the-art-of-avoiding-seduction/">blog</a> post by photographer <a href="http://www.davidduchemin.com/">David duChemin</a>. I love this advice from his short blog post:<br />
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"Don’t allow yourself to be seduced by your subject matter. A beautiful scene isn’t necessarily a beautiful photograph." He goes on to encourage us: "Instead <b style="font-weight: normal;">allow yourself to be seduced by, and fall in love with the light, the moment, and the geometry of the frame."</b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;">When I first started really concentrating on photography and learning about light, I felt like the world was new. Potential photographs were everywhere! In other words, I paid attention to how the light fell on things and I noticed the beauty in the things around me everyday. One of my daily prayers now is that I will be more aware of my environment and my surroundings. I don't want to surf through life without taking in all the little beautiful details. I want to find things to love about every moment.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_H70gxpyekOzjtd5M4gXs-7jGNzEe3qj_ukD4uUr_ne2LEM8Pv5VyKJhO4V2ToCIFlMaEpwN2A8KhGrzg3zI3i_nyDUsL9PazT0iXVIjWrNqXXHyi2KgSn6qi_5i8CgbS6UE6BIvWSk/s1600/IMG_0308_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_H70gxpyekOzjtd5M4gXs-7jGNzEe3qj_ukD4uUr_ne2LEM8Pv5VyKJhO4V2ToCIFlMaEpwN2A8KhGrzg3zI3i_nyDUsL9PazT0iXVIjWrNqXXHyi2KgSn6qi_5i8CgbS6UE6BIvWSk/s320/IMG_0308_web.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This is one landscape image that I feel did turn out the way I had hoped. I photographed this herd of buffalo hanging out in the fog while traveling through the southern section of Yellowstone park early one morning. The fog was so thick it felt sad and heavy yet peaceful. </i><style>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">©</span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">2011, Leslie McDaniel</span></i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;">What are your frustrations with landscape photography and what tricks or tools have helped you to make the photograph you want?</b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;">And finally, how do you make yourself slow down and take in the fleeting moments of your life?</b>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154514112122535904.post-83419307312487484212011-04-04T16:56:00.000-06:002011-04-04T16:56:12.604-06:00From Homelessness to Home: The Reuter Family<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meet Nancy and her son Austin. Nancy's story from homelessness to home involves going from living in an unsafe roommate situation to living in a warehouse. Finally, she was connected with Family Promise and has now lived on her own with her son for a couple years. She and Austin both loved their experience in Family Promise, but were obviously ready for their own place towards the end. Even now, they remain connected to Family Promise who also helped them to find a working vehicle when their old one died.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJb0tfw1IiUetOGcpXB9QIxShs5DQTxvGXijRXiA-gTqRFQYkqVxRjd5hzM1Nw1qxccLt3s8PdRaz7PMkO0Kdpa5NR6VorgCjCpPfRVg_zLIgF6qb8LyJBLtZDqzci4OTDZDPqAD3wW7E/s1600/_MG_7526-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJb0tfw1IiUetOGcpXB9QIxShs5DQTxvGXijRXiA-gTqRFQYkqVxRjd5hzM1Nw1qxccLt3s8PdRaz7PMkO0Kdpa5NR6VorgCjCpPfRVg_zLIgF6qb8LyJBLtZDqzci4OTDZDPqAD3wW7E/s320/_MG_7526-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Austin loves having his own room and has decorated it to represent the things he loves. He also has a goal to climb Mt. Everest one day so he hung the Nepali flag above his bed.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Listen to Austin's response when I asked him how Family Promise has changed him: </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='28' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyNU-LCaiVAhfi2LJw8ZL7pL7-NlrJ_bTB_GOA61oFC1GsVZtmV4lmutRPBqpavAxBIgVRh7CxpBMEIhXdkpA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQTZNQBbtjYCAHon0xROi4XpajHTixAxeNvber4QLR698N6FAJ4YqL23aenTTfxbG5f0CAlB2CyP5JDnesHWEv7lLjfQ-tw7cqVNKLEwP2GujNaAVsUq8ngxDDCN88AODLFkLQsNxnN8/s1600/_MG_7550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQTZNQBbtjYCAHon0xROi4XpajHTixAxeNvber4QLR698N6FAJ4YqL23aenTTfxbG5f0CAlB2CyP5JDnesHWEv7lLjfQ-tw7cqVNKLEwP2GujNaAVsUq8ngxDDCN88AODLFkLQsNxnN8/s320/_MG_7550.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the hour and a half I spent with these guys, I could tell this mom & son duo have a great time together. </span> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfWJfEZYUtvJhOwU1mgjXaaOKmRDpugfzK4NV6L44CWn6WAE6mTknLxaQiPuiH4PKOcN_atjvSxz8Hbof8hVbqhzMVO7cnbsA2PIF5uICVlfuKVlUsFsbCskWRBFphJi9TZcPcHtP4iCA/s1600/_MG_7569.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfWJfEZYUtvJhOwU1mgjXaaOKmRDpugfzK4NV6L44CWn6WAE6mTknLxaQiPuiH4PKOcN_atjvSxz8Hbof8hVbqhzMVO7cnbsA2PIF5uICVlfuKVlUsFsbCskWRBFphJi9TZcPcHtP4iCA/s320/_MG_7569.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i> </i>Nancy & Austin pose outside their home.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Do you have any ideas or suggestions for ways to photograph my future project participants? </span></div></div>Leslie McDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867885746259588081noreply@blogger.com0