I've moved!!

I have moved over to my new website! This new website has my blog in it and so I will no longer be updating my blogspot blog. Please come over and join me at www.annachipman.com!

Taking control of our lives

I have just discovered Marie Forleo and watched this video of her interviewing Chris Guillebeau, the author of The $100 Business Start Up. I am intrigued by his book even more so after listening to his interview. He has some really great thoughts and sounds like a great way to live life. One of the quotes I really enjoyed, which Marie did as well since she made him repeat himself so she could tweet the quote, was: The choices we make now affect the opportunities available to us in the future. So simple but so very very correct.

Check out this video and let me know what you think.

What I am up to...

I have been rather quite lately. I am finding that being a full time mom is a much bigger job than I ever realized. I love my job so much and I am having so much fun with Myles. He just turned two last weekend and we are approaching our year anniversary of me being home with him (it is really about a month and a half away but eh, who is really counting.) We have been taking a painting class and it is great to see the transformation from the first class, where he was afraid to get paint on his hands, to the last class where he was getting more and more in to all the paint and tape! He is a really funny guy and keeps me going all day long every day!

Anyhow, I know that hearing about Myles isn't the only reason you come around to read this blog...right :)

Besides hanging out with Myles I have been taking an online business class with The Right-Brain Business Plan and, man, have I been learning about myself! I hope to be able to put these practices to work in a much more efficient way both for myself as well as my viewers. So this is the reason I have been so quiet! My days are spent with Myles and my nights are spend working on "homework". I must say that I love being a student and I love learning new things!

I don't wanna leave you high and dry for images so I am including one of my "new" roses. It is "new" because I it is one that I took when Bryce, my husband, and I went to the Berkeley Botanical Garden a couple of years ago. I just recently opened this one up and fell in love. I fall for flowers a lot! This image hasn't been named yet so I am totally open to ideas...

                                                  © Anna Chipman

My logo

Just wanted to upload my logo so that:
             1. You could see the logo in colors of my logo. I always have my logo on my images but   
                  it's never in color.
             2. I can work on my branding more.
             3. Show off the work of my wonderful husband.

Jiffy's bouquet

Dusk Rose

Sunset Rose

Parting the Veil

As I said in my last post, how has it already been two months, I have been working on flowers that were from bridal bouquets. I finally worked my way back, after photographing a beautiful 13 day old little girl, to the flowers from my best friends wedding. I tried out two different colors with the first rose cause I was just having so much fun with it....which do you prefer? I have a hard time choosing because Dust Rose was the original color of the bride's flowers and Sunset Rose was a color that I just couldn't resist.

I also took a departure from my typical color images with a black and white. It was really fun to try something new with my flowers.

This has been really fun taking this photos for my friends and I am now in luck....my sister-in-law is getting married next April and Becca, Jiffy's sister, is getting married in March. So many fun weddings to look forward to next year!!!

Bridal Bouquets

I have mentioned, at least on FB, that I have been clearing up space on my hard drives. I have found some really great images to work on, images that are copied on two or three places and lots of stuff that just needs to be recycled. One of the folders that I found was from my brother-in-laws wedding back in October in 2010, just month and half after Myles was born. I had taken a few abstract images of his bride's, Kayla, bouquet. She had a lovely bouquet of sunflowers and I have to say that I just love sunflowers.

Here are a couple images from her bouquet.

My Phoenix Flames

 

 

Sunset Caviar

This past Easter weekend was my best friend's wedding out in California. She had a beautiful bouquet of a mixture of white flowers, which I am now sorting through and plan on sharing with you guys in the coming weeks. I will share more info about this wedding and set of photos when I post them. Maybe even sneak in a bit about our after wedding Disneyland trip!

I haven't been to too many weddings recently but am finding that photographing the bouquet is something fun for me to do. Then it is a unique remembrance I can give to the bride.

Every parents nightmare

Earlier this week I read one of the saddest stories I have ever heard...any time a family looses a child it is the saddest story. A story that after reading I had to get up and check on my son who was sound asleep in his bed. A family in Illinois had a three year old son that they lost on Sunday. They don't know the cause of this loss. They had put him to bed and they checked him once in the morning, he was fine, they when they checked on him again a short time later he was blue and gone. You can read about it directly from them. http://bit.ly/wM7289

This Friday, March 10, there is going to be an auction to help raise money for his funeral. I have donated two images to this auction to help raise money for the scariest thing that can ever happen to a parent. Here is the link to the FB page that is going to have the auction. Please take a little bit of time and check out all of the items up for sale to help this family out. http://www.facebook.com/AuctionForElias

Thanks for listening to me in these moments of sadness.

Alameda tree blooming

I have been working on these images from the tree was outside our house in Alameda. Each image has a different feel to it...a bit of texture and testing out different colors. I loved watching this tree bloom and I would be lucky sometimes and be outside when the wind would come up and blow some of these beautiful flowers across the yard. I am really going to miss my tree blooming this year.

A little more personal

I'm pretty sure I am the luckiest girl alive...you know why? A year and half ago I had Myles who has changed my life in so many ways that I can't even count them all. I was just sitting and making a list in my head of all of the wonderful things about my life...and you know when you sit down to write them all out they just kinda fly away.

-I haven't had a minute alone, not even in the bathroom, in I don't even know how long. If I am in the bathroom alone that means that there is a little boy standing outside the door saying, "Mommy" with his hands under the door.
-I don't typically get to work on photography until Myles goes to bed at night...but I am home with him every day and it is a dream come true.
-Probably haven't had a whole week where I have slept through the night in well over two years...but you know you can actually kinda get used to that.Coffee helps!
-I have learned more about myself than in the 30 years I had all to my self before Myles. I have also learned a lot about the things that my parents did for me. Amazing how much time and energy they put out raising me and my sisters. Being a parent is true love.
-I fall more and more in love with my husband everyday watching him dive onto the bed to cuddle with Myles.
-I am so lucky to have a kid with a great sense of humor. How does a one and half  year old know to do some of these things? Like today, I was trying to show off all the words he can say, so what does he do? He decides "Hat" is the word to say, I say, "say Myles" and he says "Hat". "Say Mommy" - "Hat", "say camera" - "hat" and then bursts out laughing. I swear we did that for 15 minutes and if I stopped I hear "hat" coming from the back seat.
-We read a lot and I have read Road Work and Little Blue Truck so often I don't even have to read them anymore, I know parts of them by heart.
-We watch Curious George, Caillou and Shawn the Sheep and it is so cute hearing all of these shows being said by name by a little boy who says the names between gibberish.

Like I said, I had a whole list of things that I was thinking about writing down but I just can't think of everything now. I hope that this glimpse into my life was kinda interesting. Sometimes I forget to let other people in on what is going on all around me and just focus on all the photo stuff on here cause it is about the only time I get to talk about photography...anyhow rambling.

Myles and I heading out on a photo adventure.

© Anna Chipman

Thaspia Villosa

Thaspia Villosa

© Anna Chipman

Typically I don't name my images after the actual plant but this time it already had such an interesting name that I couldn't help it!

When I saw this plant I thought, "my goodness this is gonna make some great photos!" And I have to say that I agree with myself. I have a few other even more abstract views of this plant and maybe next week I will post them for you to see as well, which would mean that I need to get working on them.

Show at Mama Java

Some of my Intimate Abstractions are showing at Mama Java in Phoenix right now. This is such a cute coffee shop that I just had to get my work in there! So many coffee shops you go in now are loud and play loud music. The whole time I was there today I kept thinking how I could relax with a book there.

Here are a couple photos of some of the work hanging there for the month.

Abandoned Water Park Article

 A fun e-magazine I was looking at today. Really awesome images...kinda makes me wanna go find abandoned places to take awesome photos like these. Of course Alameda had a military base that is "abandoned" but so many businesses moved out there...so that wouldn't have worked. I really miss having great locations like that around. I guess I need to discover more of Phoenix to see what I could find.

http://bit.ly/uS26i9

Google: Louis Daguerre

Today Google is celebrating, what would be the 224th birthday, of Louis Daguerre. Always fun to see what Google will have as their logo, doodle or whatever you want to call it... for the day and especially fun when it is photo related. I'll have to remember to mark my calendar for next year and see if they do something extra special for the big 225!

50 reasons not to date a photographer

I saw this and thought it was too funny not to share. I found a few that I really relate to such as number 7, 33 (someday soon I will post some images from my trash the dress session with Blue Chair Photography) and 34.

Enjoy!!

http://bit.ly/tFC4yn

A Garden Variety - Hand of Light

Adding texture to my images is something newer that I am trying out. I've shown you guys a few that I have worked on but I find it really fun, which again I have probably said before, to see the transformation, nah, I mean completes the image with adding a bit of texture. I suppose that, of course, that is my own opinion but since it is my work I feel it makes it complete. :)

You can find really great textures in many different locations. One person I follow on FB offers MANY different textures Jessica Drossin Textures. She often gives away samples of her textures as well. I would recommend checking her out.

The textures that I am currently working with are Totally Rad - Dirty Pictures. I really like their stuff and use their actions as well.

And now...my newest image.

Hand of Light

© Anna Chipman

My Big Move

So we have made it to Phoenix...and apparently I have been thinking a lot about Alameda. I was working on images and after I had been working on them for a while when I noticed that one looked like waves and the other like flames. I dunno if it was just coincidence or if I had been looking for something that would represent my thoughts.

This move back to Phoenix has been a real hard move for me. Though now I am closer to my family, something I really enjoy, the readjustment phase is something that is taking me a bit to adjust to. I miss the Bay Area a place that was my home for over six years.

 My Alameda Waves

© Anna Chipman

My Phoenix Flames

©Anna Chipman

Reflection - A Garden Variety

Today is one of those days that you live and wonder how it happened. This afternoon I received very sad news of my uncle passing away. This was very unexpected and just no warning. Huge life changes like this make you question your own life and how you are living it.

Today also marks the passing of Steve Jobs which, I suppose, typically wouldn't affect me as much as it did today. However with my uncle passing away I was reading some quotes by Steve Jobs and they seem so poignant. Amazing how something someone says takes on a life of it's own within someone else's head.

Quotes from Steve Jobs:
(from CNN)

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do," he told the Stanford grads in 2005.

"If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on."

I know that my uncle loved his work and I have to believe that he was very happy and satisfied with his life. Family or friends passing makes you take a hard look at your life and if we are truly satisfied with our lives or just doing what we do to get by. Photography is certainly what makes me happiest. I love the time that I get to spend with my career and only wish I could be doing nothing but photography. I am happy spending time in nature and discovering life.

Pardon my broken thoughts, I hope that I have made some sense. Rest in peace uncle Marty. You were loved and will be missed.

Reflection

© Anna Chipman

Ruth Bernhard - Book Review

I have been reading Ruth Bernhard - Between Art and Life for the last few weeks, I don't get a whole lot of down time except my breaks at work, and just finished it today. First off I must say that that Ruth Bernhard is one of my favorite photographers...her, Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham.  You may notice theme throughout all three of their work...elegant nudes which focused on the line, light and beauty of the model. Anyhow, I am distracting myself with thinking about their images and not continuing to tell you about the book that I read.

I really enjoyed getting to read more about Ruth Bernhard's life as a photographer in San Francisco, of course she was in many other locations as well, but I really latch on to the San Francisco part with living in the Bay Area. She was an amazing photographer and, from people's reviews, she was a great teacher. Sometimes you see all the work a photographer has created and you forever about all the things that they had to go through in their lives, that they also have tough times just like you and I do. 

Ruth grew up in a family that didn't seem to care to much about her one way or the other. She had a sister who wasn't told that Ruth was her sister until she was like 18 or something like that. Later in life she suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning and that resulted in her not being able to print her work anymore and had a harder time focusing to take photographs. Then there were the great opportunities that she had like meeting Edward Weston and Ansel Adams and countless other ground breaking photographers. 

There are so many great things about this book that I don't even have the words to tell you everything about it. Obviously the best way to know everything about the book is to read it yourself! I very much enjoyed this book and I actually think this is the second time I have read it, last time would have been in grad school so I would have been busy then too. I found this book to be quite inspirational and really wish that I could have met her and taken some of her classes. 


I love her work and have included one of my favorite images, which of course is the cover of The Eternal Body, and her most popular image.

Photo: Ruth Bernhard, “Perspective II, 1967″

A Garden Variety

Three images for this week. You have seen Whirling Dervish before but I was working through the new images that Farmboy Fine Art has just picked up. I picked these three images because of the color connection.

A Fire Inside

 Polar Aurorae

Whirling Dervish

Better late than never

Cloak and Dagger
© Anna Chipman

So here it is a month since I have posted. I was so proud of myself earlier this year with keeping up with blogging every week. August was a busy month for us with Myles birthday, both in Alameda and in Phoenix, and then one thing after another came up. Tuesday evenings come around and I think alright...tomorrow I need to post a new image...and then the next thing I know it is Friday.

So I have worked up a new image to show you, even though I am supposed to post on Wednesdays, I am going to do it now so that I get back in my groove. Cloak and Dagger is an abstract photo of a lily. This image is one that Farmboy Fine Art has picked to be among the images that they sell of mine.