Creative Environment

This is certainly not the first time it's been said, but I find the environment around me to be incredibly influential on my state of mind. When I'm at the day job, the clutter of paperwork, maps, and plant specimens feels right. Those are the tools I use to do my job.

At home, clutter really bothers me. (This is ironic, since I have forever been kind a messy kind of person.) It bothers me more now that I run my photography business out of my home. I like things neat, clean, and aesthetically pleasing while I'm doing creative work. We're making progress towards turning our new home into that lovely creative environment. I thought I'd share some glimpses with you.

Dining room, as seen from the living room


Dining room sideboard


Living room side table


Guest room window


Not sure if you can tell, but I'm a hippie at heart! I'm loving blending the budding stylish side of me with the earthy, "tree-hugging dirt worshiper" side. Turning this house into our distinctive home has been really rewarding, and it provides a nice creative project when I'm feeling burnt out on photography.

Do you have photos of your creative spaces? Feel free to post links!

Warm April Days

I had plans to photograph either more natural history specimens or more beach scenes today, but wasn't able to do so. I was, however, able to procure some white clover seed with which to overseed our lawn! Perhaps not so photographically thrilling, but a good Earth Day purchase.

In lieu of the planned natural history/ocean photographs, I strolled around my yard and picked some flowers to photograph. I love the fact that I have a yard with flowers growing in it!

Lilies of the Valley


Cherry Blossoms

Portraits

I've mentioned briefly in the past that I have a little home studio setup that I've been practicing with and tweaking, etc. Well, today my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew came over to help me practice! Here is my favorite shot from the day:



Aren't they a cute family? The lighting was good in that there weren't any harsh shadows and everyone's face is well-lit, but I think I need more of it. This one was pushing the limits of the camera as far as digital noise and shutter speed are concerned, and brighter lighting would help with that. It wouldn't be quite as crucial if there wasn't a wiggly little baby to capture! Overall I'm quite pleased with this portable little setup.