Happy Mothers Day!

My mom is a Cryptid to my photography, kind of like Bigfoot, or the Chupacabra. She's hard to capture not moving or running away from you. Now I know what you're thinking, "I can't believe Bailey is sitting there on Mothers Day comparing her mom to the Chupacabra." But I strictly mean that in photographic terms. She never considers herself to be camera ready, so she pretty much runs when she sees you coming, or she talks and gestures a lot, because well, she's a talker.

I captured these two images during my last Christmas visit. I told her I was testing light. I was, but I also managed to catch her right as she was about to leave the room. She saw me coming. So she, of course, throws her hands on her hips all disgruntled-like and gives me "the look" and starts talking. She tells a short story and then she made herself laugh, and I finally caught the second image, which I think captures many things that I think makes her so special. You may not see them when you look at it, but i'll elaborate a bit more.

I love this image because it depicts my all time favorite characteristic of my mother, and that is, her ability to find the humor in any given situation. I love that in her most stressful moments, she a can stop and laugh at the absurdity of it all. I love that she can tell a story and the end result is usually something funny or strangely poetic, in some whacked-out way. I love all the things that she will never stop looking at as imperfections. I've always thought she was beautiful and I always will.

If you are reading this and have a Mother that you love, leave a comment on what you think is her best characteristic.

In closing, sorry mom for posting photos of you that you probably wouldn't have approved of me showing anyone. haha! It was necessary for storytelling reasons, because I had to let people know how awesome you are. K thanks!

I love you, and Happy Mothers Day! 

Spaceman on a FULL moon

So, last night was apparently the biggest full moon we'll like, ever see. EVER. I had decided I wanted to do some experimental photoshooting with some friends of mine, and I ended up not even taking any good photos of the supermoon. My mom said she'd even pay me for them. I am a terrible daughter. Sorry mom. It's only because I was super busy doing other photography related things! She'll forgive me. Thanks mom, you're the best! haha.

Anyways, I needed subjects, and who's gonna turn down a free photoshoot. My friends Chuck and Hollie were totally down. It was a win win. I've been studying uses of off camera lighting, and I was anxious to put this knowledge to use. I've worked with strobing in the past with my friend Alec, but this time, I had more of a grasp of certain things, thanks to watching some Zack Arias stuff and really taking time to let things sink in.

Chuck does game development and plays the bass, and Hollie is his girlfriend who does accounting. I guess it really is ironic that we chose to shoot on the giant moon night, seeing as His portfolio site can be found at  www.aspaceman.com He also happens to have a favorite shirt that has a monkey in a space helmet on it. It's posted below, but mostly covered by his bass.

I really do love the aspects of controlled lighting. It's like owning a tiny sun, except you can move it around and turn the power up or down.

Anyways, I'm only going to post a couple of favorites up, simply because I don't have a ton of time today, and also, because I have yet to actually even look at the rest. They will come in a more formal post, later down the line. For now though.....

Also, I just think my husband is one of the most handsome men I've ever known. Just putting that out there. :)

Hasselblad's

I figured since I've been stuck in editing land for the past two weeks, I'd take some time to make a quick blog post showing some images I got back from the lab today. 

My dad has a Hasselblad 501cm with an 80mm manual focus lens. His Christmas present was for me to do a photoshoot with him. I used my Mark II for majority of the shoot, but also shot a couple using the Hasselblad. Here's the two that came out really great! My dad has a cool face.

The next day, Ryan and I took the Hass out for our afternoon horse petting session. We spend time with the horses a lot out there, because its pretty cool to hang out with these gorgeously massive, yet gentle, giants. It's not something you do everyday when you live in a bigger city.

Then there's one image that seriously makes me emotional when I look at it. 

This one. 

This photo epitomizes the feeling I get when I'm with them. Like there's a bigger connection with this animal then I understand. Like I am going to be fine, and it knows it, which in turn causes me to believe it. It's calming and soothing, just like each moment I spend petting, and being sniffed or nosed, by this magnificent creature. The funny thing is, I remember thinking "dang, I just got her in focus, and she goes and moves her stupid head!" haha! Little did I realize, it was the type of moment that would cause a wonderful happy accident, and thus become my favorite image from the roll.

and if my intuition serves me correct, i'd have to say.....

I'm pretty sure Ryan feels the same about the horses.

-Bailey Nicole Photography

Bring it 2011!!!

Today is the last day of 2010. I'd like to celebrate by posting a year in photos. These are all just favorite random images I've taken and kept hidden while learning more about photography, as well as some that make me laugh or touch me in some way. These are posted in order of date taken. This is kind of a preview of all the work I've put into Bailey Nicole Photography and as you can see, how far I've come since I started back in April. I've played with many different styles and ideas, and I've learned so much about light and texture. I've also met some really wonderful people along the way. This has been a very busy year for me, and I look forward to continuing to learn while having an absolute BLAST.

See you in 2011!

Happy New Years Everyone!

-Bailey Nicole Photography