Sunset Over the Tetons

I've been so busy lately that I'm really starting to go through withdrawls from my photography. So, tonight I took a few moments from my day to edit a photo from this last summer. We took the kids over to see the Tetons in Grand Teton National Park outside Jackson Hole, WY and happened to catch a killer sunset! I was so happy. Anyone that knows me knows I LOVE sunsets.

Meadow Lake

Things have been totally crazy with our hunting ranch. This is the time of year I totally disappear off the map it seems. I really needed some photo therapy tonight, so I popped in to edit and post a shot of Meadow Lake that I took back in August. We went with my brother in law and his family and took our kids up here fishing. We had a blast. I'll post more later, but for tonight here is my therapy session and its all I have time for right now. Don't give up on me they'll be more later I promise! :)
Alana

Junior Prom

A few weeks ago, I had an incredible experience. I got to take pictures for a special Junior Prom. A fantastic young man named Quade asked a sweet girl named Karlee to their Junior Prom. It was to be her first date. She is 16 and is fighting off her 2nd battle with two types of cancer. She has had several tumors removed. As it got closer to prom, she found out she was going to have to be in the hospital undergoing another round of Chemo during the prom. Quade decided he and his friend Chase would go visit Karlee that night in the hospital. As plans progressed, they decided to take prom to Karlee. They both rented Tuxedos, bought flowers and got their moms to help out with dinner. Karlee's mom got her a wig and a beautiful prom dress. The hospital chipped in and helped out with a nice classroom that they decorated and put a backdrop and the kitchen help even dressed up to serve them dinner. The doctor gave her a pass so she could leave her hospital room and they were allowed to go across the street to the city park. I came along to take pictures and we were able to do a nice photo shoot both in the hospital and then a bunch of fun pictures at the park. This was an amazing bunch of youth. The boys were so polite and gracious, giving her many compliments and taking such good care of her. They really tried hard to make it a memorable night. Karlee has an amazing strong spirit she is doing all she can to beat this thing. You can really sense what an amazing person she is. Karlee had lost so much weight that they had to put a feeding tube in to help her eat enough. Her mom asked me if I could photo shop the tube out, so it is missing in some of the pictures. She has sores all over in her mouth and throat from the tube and from her white blood count dropping so low. So it was painful for her to talk a whole lot. She managed quite well in spite of it all and was even able to eat some with the boys. I think this will be a night they will always remember. I know I will and I was just there shooting photos. I feel so privileged to be asked to document such a special night. Here are just a few of my favorites from the night. Thanks so much Quade, Chase & Karlee for asking me to be there.

The New Look

I just had to make a quick shout out to Meegan and say thanks for helping me with a major overhaul to my blog. (You know I couldn't wait long to get it changed up!) I have been wanting to really showcase my photos on this blog and never felt like it did them justice...well, now I know how. Thanks Meegs you're the greatest.

History Lesson in Early Photography

Today's post is a little history on early photography and the first published female photographer. Anna Atkins.

Collection History
Photographs of British Algae is a landmark in the histories both of photography and of publishing: the first photographic work by a woman, and the first book produced entirely by photographic means. Instantly recognizable today as the blueprint process, the cyanotypes lend themselves beautifully to illustrate objects found in the sea.

The New York Public Library's copy of British Algae originally belonged to Sir John Herschel (1792-1871), inventor of the blueprint process, among his many other photographic as well as scientific advances. One of thirteen known copies of the title, Photographs of British Algae was acquired in 1985 at auction directly from Herschel's descendants.

Background
"The difficulty of making accurate drawings of objects as minute as many of the Algae and Confera, has induced me to avail myself of Sir John Herschel's beautiful process of Cyanotype, to obtain impressions of the plants themselves," explained Anna Atkins in October 1843. Mrs. Atkins (1799-1871) was an amateur botanist especially interested in scientific illustration and taxonomy. Her goal in producing Photographs of British Algae was to provide a visual companion to William Harvey's pioneering but unillustrated 1841 publication Manual of British Algae; to that end, Atkins's specimen titles follow Harvey's nomenclature.

Through her father, scientist John George Children (1777-1852) whose Royal Society circle included Herschel and William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877), Atkins was aware of the group's experiments with photography. Talbot's "photogenic drawing" technique involved placing a flat object against a light-sensitized sheet of paper (sometimes pressed beneath a sheet of glass to prevent movement and ensure a sharp image) and exposing it to sunlight until the area around the object began to darken. Herschel devised a chemical method to halt the darkening and "fix" Talbot's silver-salt image - the basis for all photography until the digital era.

Hershel experimented with other light-sensitive metal compounds in addition to silver, and in 1842 discovered that colorless, water-soluble iron salts, when exposed to sunlight, form the compound known as Prussian Blue; unexposed areas remain unaffected and the salt rinses away in plain water, leaving a blue 'negative' image. Inexpensive and easy to use, the blueprinting process, or cyanotype, is familiar today as an artists' medium.

Atkins used Talbot's "photogenic drawing" method, arranging her specimens on sheets of glass for easier handling for repeat exposures, and adopted Herschel's blueprinting process, to generate the multiple copies of specimen plates comprising Photographs of British Algae. She also used this same method to produce title pages and contents lists instead of having them conventionally typeset.

Atkins issued the work in parts, distributing them privately between 1843 and 1853. Following the conclusion of British Algae, Atkins explored the cyanotype medium for more personal expression, creating assemblages of flowers and plants in elegant and sometimes whimsical designs. In some of her scientific plates one catches a glimpse of her ability to compose an arrangement in defiance of anything found in nature.

Spring Flowers

I love my yard in the spring. Probably because the flowers all come up and I didn't have to do a thing. You gotta love bulbs. I haven't done anything with my macro lens in soooo long, I decided to dig it out today and capture a few shots before the flowers all die off. Enjoy.

Momma Moose

So a few months ago, we looked out the side door of our house and there was a mother moose in our yard. The kids thought it was awsome. What a treat to see one so close. I immediately grabbed my camera that was laying on my desk and started snapping away. Here are 2 of my favorites. At least I got some good pictures since she busted out 3 sections of our vinyl fence.

Self Portrait

Sweet Blue Eyes!

Small & Simple Things

There is so much beauty in small and simple things. How many small interesting things will you pass by today and never notice?? Stop and notice some detail today. Of course all of these photos are better up close, so feel free to click on each one to see the finer detail in a larger version.
Alana