Perspective

"What we see depends mainly on what we look for."

-John Lubbock

 

I find this quote interesting, because it is so true within our society. Most of us only focus on the negatives and some of us only see the positive, but the true way to live is to see everything with balance. Photography can become so bland if you don't find new ways to express yourself, and trust me I've had my share of the traditional "hey I'll take a bunch of pictures of you and we'll call it a day". I see so many photographers' works, and I realize the only way to make it matter is to do something different. This is getting really deep, but basically photography (not that I'm in anyway a professional or anything) is easily tiring by just taking pictures of the same thing. What's the fun in that? So based on this quote, I decided to do some perspective shooting and playing around with focuses and such. I really enjoyed this mini series, but sadly it started to rain halfway through and I had to return home. I'm thinking there will definitely be more of these in the future, but I can't even decide what to wear tomorrow so who knows.

 

 

{perspective 1}

 

{perspective 2}

 

{perspective 3}

 

 

{perspective 4}

 

Love,

Natalie

Old Bridges & Starry Nights

This past weekend, I went to one of my dear friend's house for a last minute, impromptu sleepover with a few other good friends. We had so much fun opening the gag gifts we made her, watching horror movies and then heading down to the Pitt Street bridge. There was nobody on the bridge except for a couple (who we probably scared away), and the night light made all the pictures very focused and interesting. These pictures aren't serious in any way, but I think that's needed every once in awhile!

 

{opening gifts}

 

{the birthday girl received a fashionable sweet 16 purse}

 

{ballet class?}

 

{feeling the see breeze}

 

{typical titanic pose}

 

 

It was one of those "hey Natalie bring your camera" sort of things, but I ended up capturing some memories along the way. A 16th birthday is something everyone remembers, and we all had so much fun staying up all night, partying alone on the bridge, and scaring ourselves by watching horror movies. The pictures weren't the best quality, but for the time the camera perfectly captured these movements without overexposing like a phone camera does.

 

Love,

Natalie



Mountain Air: Pictures

Last weekend was something I really needed. Not only is school fast approaching and I haven't finished my summer reading, (procrastinating, ugh) but I was really looking forward to one last vacation before the end of summer. Here are some of the pictures taken, there are more to come!

One night, we went to a local produce stand in a valley not too far away, picked our food for dinner, and took some beautiful evening photos near the sunflowers!

We found this abandoned antique shop and had to stop for pictures...

Our last day consisted of visiting a beautiful apple orchard right off the Blue Ridge Parkway, and then an impromptu visit to a nearby river for some tubing. Even though it wasn't apple season, we still enjoyed the cool mountain air and some delicious apple pie!

Love,

Natalie

Always Learning

There's always room to learn and grow, and even though I might not be taking French or geometry over the summer, I still strive to learn and keep my brain active. I didn't want to spend my summer without improving my photography, because it would be the perfect opportunity to gain some knowledge before the school year starts again. I'm an amateur at this hobby, so it's been hard to understand the equipment I use and how to take a good picture without some guided help. That's why today, I enrolled in a 6 hour photography class with Susan Lloyd Photography (find her stunning portfolio here), and I had the most amazing time. 

At first I thought I was going to be in a room of photography professionals, but it was relieving to see that the class consisted of people just like me. Over the course of the 6 hours, we learned all about our cameras, how to use them properly, how to take photos under different circumstances, and then finally we had a gorgeous model to photograph and practice. Working with our model and with each other was such an amazing experience to learn and grow together, and here are my favorite pictures from today's class:

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Love,

Natalie

Small Town Adventures

Many of you may know that I've been vacationing on a lake in Michigan for the past week, and it has been so nice to relax, take in the cool weather, and be far away from the tourist season in Charleston. Some of Charleston's suburbs are growing so rapidly that it feels like every day there is another neighborhood being built, and this means there's less of the beautiful forests and hidden islands to explore. But up here in Michigan, the nearest town {Chelsea, Michigan} is a 10 minute drive from our lake house, and this means it's just close enough to stop in for something to eat, do a bit of shopping, or take a walk along the cottages lining the streets. I took my camera with me to this little town today, because I knew I could get some lovely little black and white pictures. Enjoy!

The picture above is a classic example of cottages in Chelsea, small, decorative, and almost doll house like.

Main Street

One of my favorite stores to visit is the store pictured above. It's a newer store that sells all sorts of random, but very unique items from antique buttons to gardening supplies to even 1950's style candy!

Beautiful clock tower on Main Street

I was lucky enough to visit my grandfather's law firm, which has been in business for many, many years. The main floor has all the offices, but down below in the basement are abandoned books {computers now hold all the books}, keys to who knows where, and dark rooms full of old desks and furniture.

I'm not sure how long this American flag has been hanging here, but I would not be surprised if it dated back to when the firm opened. 

Old books lining the bookshelf

On another note, happy early Fourth of July! I'm not sure how much time I'll have tomorrow to blog, but I will try my best to wish you a happy independence day.

Love,

Natalie

Welcome! + Beach Shoot

Welcome to my blog! I've been thinking about blogging for awhile, and after some consideration I decided to go with it. I plan to feature some of my photography (+my journey of becoming a better photographer) and life in general.

My first post on this blog will feature some of my favorite pictures so far. Even though I have only had my camera for over a month, I hope to practice more and get better at this new hobby!

Love,

Natalie