Archive for 'our life'
When I started my wedding photography business I left my staff newspaper job behind. I always thought I’d have time in the “off season” to shoot documentary photo stories. A marriage, lots of mountain biking, two kids, and ten years later and I’m finally digging in. I realized that if I want to explore photojournalism and get back to my roots, I can. I set off in December to tell the story of Flagstaff After Dark… and I had a lot of fun in the process. Just hitting the street and getting caption information again was a thrill. I love photojournalism because you have to capture the moment without setting it up, staging it or directing it. Sometimes it makes you uncomfortable and sometimes it makes you feel powerful. Some nights I came home frustrated but mostly I came back invigorated. To capture a documentary moment, the photographer has to be in the right place at the right time, create a composition in an instant and tell a story. It’s a real challenge and I’m hooked again just like I was 13 years ago when I started my first newspaper job. I know that these images are mostly fluffy and fun but I am going to continue to explore this topic in more depth. Some of these images ran in Northern Arizona Mountain Living Magazine as a three page feature photo story. I’d like to thank all the Flagstaff businesses and people who allowed me into their world. All of the images are available as prints or for commercial purposes. Please contact the studio for more information.
(story by Jamelle) Cameron and I had a speed mini session for our own family Christmas cards this week, in a rushed attempt to pull something together to mail to grandparents and friends. We literally caught the last 15 minutes of daylight at my in-laws driveway. Just a friendly reminder that our kids never behave any better for our 10 minutes of fame in front of the camera, and you can see, in my case, who gets all the attention these days.
Thank you again for our wonderful community of friends and family who support us in our attempt to balance life as young families and working professionals. We are so thankful for jobs that we love- even if our families are the last to get photographed. Merry Christmas! ~Jamelle
Well, it’s official. Starting tomorrow, I’m the mother of an amazing third grader. To celebrate we tried on a few of the new school clothes and enjoyed the beautiful Flagstaff summer afternoon near our home. And of course, little brother didn’t want to be left out of the photos! ~jamelle
It’s very important for any professional to set aside time for continuing education throughout their career. I had a wonderful experience this past February to do just that and attended Foundation Workshop, in Glen Rose, TX. Thirty or so ”students” (professional photographers) break up into five teams lead by respected established wedding photojournalists. All week you learn about storytelling, and get to step outside the comfort of the wedding world. The students stories dove deep into the everyday lives of rural Texans. I set out to tell the story of a boot shop in Fort Worth, Texas. I spent two full days shooting and long nights receiving priceless feedback from a group of peers in order to create a set of images. One of the greatest lessons I learned is that photography is not just about cameras, composition and style; its about humanity. Its about having a tool and skill to tell the story of others. Though this exercise was a learning process for professional and personal growth, I’m so glad to have the opportunity to share a couple of the images that I shot in Texas. Thanks so much to my team, and team leaders for such an amazing experience. My photo story of the boot shop will be displayed at Mix Flagstaff this month on their projection wall to kick off First Friday Art Walk. As a technical side note, Cameron would like me to mention that I used off-camera strobe to shoot these photos and ALL of them are candid and not posed. I was constantly moving my lighting and adjusting the power of the strobes all day long. It was a tedious process but with great results. I decided with my mentor Ben Chrisman and team leader David Murray to “clean up” the background of this strip mall shop by creating my own good light. ~Jamelle
Ever since the infiltration of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, I have stopped sharing my family on this blog. I realized this week that this blog is an important place to share our personal lives because our clients are expected to share their most personal moments here, so I why not join the club and share some of mine. The kids were sick this week and I spent all week home with them (read: I’m ’bout to lose it) so when Daddy was home for the weekend, Owen and Harper were ALL about Daddy. Normally we divide and concur at bedtime but last night Harper said, “Daddy, read me stories, too.” I feel really lucky to be able to capture these type of moments for our family. It’s a treasure and it’s what I want to start doing more of for our clients. Incidentily when I mention it as an option, people freak out and tell me they don’t want to have me come to story time, bath time, breakfast time, etc. I’m here to tell you, people, forget dressing up fancy because these are the type of moments you’ll treasure forever. This was last night at our house. ~Cameron
My baby girl love s Tío Norm. In our house we named my sister and her husband Tia and Tío (spanish for Aunt and Uncle). We got the idea because my brother and his wife speak Portuguese (Karla is Brazilian) and that’s what their kids call us. I’m long overdue for a “my kids” post, so hopefully, I can edit one for later today.
