Cynthia Terrell Photography

JAVEN

2012-01-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

Little boys are a delight to work with. They don't sit still very long and if you want to work with them you have to turn up the energy and be ready to run, jump and have a good time. I had a bunch of fun with Javen - never a quiet moment.

"God created boys, full of spirit and fun to explore and conquer, to romp and run... "

Author Unknown

2012-01-16T07:20:00.000-08:00

If you have a little girl in your family you should know about Cutie Pa Tutus. A Mompreneur company that produces the cutest Tutus in the whole world.

Cutie Pa Tutus , LLC is based in Charleston, SC. and was founded in 2008 by a mom who needed a tutu for her little girl's first princess party.

After an overwhelming reception in the local Charleston market, Amanda Moreno Duke, founder of Cutie Pa Tutus, decided that these little tutus might actually help her earn an income and be the hands-on mom to her two small children that she dreamed of being.

All of the work is done by their Mommy Network in the USA!

email: info@cutiepatutus.com

phone: 843-270-8474

Don't have the big bucks to spend right now? Watch Zulily for sales - especial on Cutie Pa Tutus

http://www.zulily.com/e/cutie-pa-tutus-011612.html?email=cdugcyp@aol.com&tid=&zsegid=1

Photographing Children and their Families

2011-11-12T23:09:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy my photography and shoot something everyday. Sometimes I'm working with my little G11 and capturing things like empty houses or plates of food for some idea floating around in the back of my head. At other times I'm capturing nature scenes, or travel icons, or completing some school assignment.

I've been posting images from all these different streams of thought on this blog. Many of these images have nothing to do with my people photography - but have a lot to say about who I am, and what I find interesting. People seem genuinely confused when they come across my personal work when they are looking at this blog.

I got some advice a few weeks ago - "Stop posting everything on your blog. Post just your portrait images, if you want people to contact you about creating their portrait."

So here goes.... Portraits and head shots are the focus of this blog. Children and their families will be the priority....

P.S. You can still see my other images - I'll be posting travel, street scenes and conceptual pieces as well as school assignments at Photo School News and More

Emmalynn Seven Days Old

2011-11-12T22:32:00.000-08:00

The love of my life

The love of my life,

The light in my world,

It's only you,

My precious baby girl

~Fayth Stallings~

Welcome Madison

2011-11-12T21:06:00.000-08:00

"A baby...one of the most beautiful miracles in life, one of the greatest joys we can ever know, and one of the reasons why there is a little extra sunshine, laughter and happiness in our world today."

~Unknown~

I love this portrait of Madison and her grandmother

Riley

2011-11-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

"Sweet Baby of mine You embraced my heart and Stole my breath away."

~unknown~

Miss Riley came to visit me when she was ten days old. What a precious, bright eyed little girl.

Big sister Dakota is already in love.

We finally got her to close her eyes and take a bit of a nap - but by that time we were all exhausted.

Birthday Freebies

2011-07-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

OK, OK, so it's been two months since I visited you all here. I've had a lot going on in my life - first I had surgery and was laid up for a bit, and then, to celebrate a clean bill of health, I took a little hiatus in Seattle/Vancouver/Victoria, came home for a few days and was off again to Miami and Chicago. Sooooo I've been a "busy bee".

I've collected a million images on my jaunts - now, I just have to carve out the time to download them and get them up on the blog faster. In the meantime, here is a tip harvested from Life Hacker (if you don't know Life Hacker you are really missing one of the best systems for learning tidbits of information that can "change your life" :)

Anyway this is a link to

Maximize Your Birthday Freebies by Signing Up for the Most Rewarding Programs

http://bit.ly/h3Bm6P

Have a great birthday...

Smash the Cake

2011-05-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

Food Photography with Penny De Los Santos

2011-05-17T21:08:00.001-07:00

Cerritos_Farmer's Market_5.14.2011-13, originally uploaded by cd_terrell.

I was recently talking with a vendor I met at WPPI this year. She was giving me some information on a product I have on my wish list. She said she had viewed my blog and noticed that - in her words “You take pictures of many different things”.

True enough – on the days I’m not creating images of children and babies I’m looking for other subjects – anything I can find to create an interesting image. This past weekend I found a treasure trove.
Creative Live presented a webinar with Penny De Los Santos on Food Photography. Nothing I have had a great interest in, since I don’t often find myself in the kitchen cooking – but I took a chance, turned on the computer and signed in early Friday morning. Wow! I am so glad I signed on – it was a great experience. One of the things that she reminded the participants over and over to do was to "stick with the subject" If you get up on a ladder or out on a limb - take more than one picture.

After a full day of inspiration I trotted off to the Cerritos Farmer’s Market early Saturday morning to capture some “cultural images” myself.

During the afternoon break I prepared lunch using some of the veggies I purchased at the market.

You can see some of Penny’s work here:

http://blog.pennydelossantos.com/

Images from around the world @ Penny Live/group pool on Flicker

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1641169@N25/

Thank You Creative Live and Penny De Los Santos – what an inspiration you have been.

Picture Party - Outtake

2011-02-17T15:35:00.000-08:00

Looking for something different and fun for an evening with good friends? Throw a Picture Party. Invite a group of friends to share in the cost of hiring a professional photographer to work with you individually to create professional quality photographs.

The photographer sets up in one room and works with individuals or small groups for ½ hour or so to capture some great shots. The rest of the time you and your friends get to catch up around a loaded snack and beverage table. At the end
of the night everyone has created some great portraits they will treasure, not just for the image, but also for the experience.

Even these little ones, who were in the play room while I worked with their mommies to create special Valentine's Day portraits, thought the evening was a blast....

Breaking The Rules

2011-02-15T02:17:00.000-08:00

Last week I went to lunch with a group of women I have known a very long time. We are all members of the same service organization and we spend a lot of time together organizing civic and cultural activities in the Orange County area. Occasionally we have a bit of time when we can "just have fun" and last week was one of those days. We met at McKenna's on the Bay, in Long Beach, and spent the afternoon leisurely eating a delicious meal, sharing stories and celebrating a birthday.

After lunch I spent a little time walking around, clicking the shutter on my camera. I liked the images so much I decided to break the rules and post them here.

What rules? Glad you asked.. there seems to be an unwritten rule that photographers should "show what they want to sell" when they post photographs on their blogs, but that doesn't always work for me. Sometimes I find something, a person, a rock or a plant that is intriguing, or beautiful, or just plain ol' strange and I want to share that image with my friends.

So today no people pics. No families, no kiddos, no picture stories from special events... just a couple of my favorite images from a day with friends.

Tea at the Culver

2011-01-21T16:56:00.000-08:00

I love tea. Black tea, green tea, Chai tea, spiced tea, herbal infusions and fragrant tisanes - I luv em all. As a little girl my mom would offer me a cup of tea and milk (mostly milk). But I remember how grown up it made me feel. Although tea with milk is still a favorite of mine, I tend to drink more herbal infusions with just a little honey or stevia……So when I was invited to tea with my “Red Hat” friends I was raring to go. I picked up my friend Barbara, we each popped on a red had and found our way to the Historic Culver Hotel for tea.

The Historic Culver Hotel, in Culver City, California

Designated as a historical landmark, it is well worth the drive.

We had a great time. More Seniors Just Kickin' - Red Hatters at Tea
images here. (PS. these are all low res images - so no full screen -
one day I'll be independently wealthy and will pay for the high-res
option :) In the meantime - have a chuckle...

Photo LA_ 2011

2011-01-17T02:49:00.000-08:00

Went to Photo LA – it is the place to go if you are a collector and have thousands of dollars to spend and it is also the place to go if you are photographer and want to network with other photographers, have your portfolio reviewed, attend interesting lectures, or most importantly, be inspired by the work of your fellow photographers.

There are thousands of photographs hung on the walls, placed on the floor and in viewing bins

There are photographs from around the world ...and opportunities to get involved in the photography community.

Light Work

Rob Carter

I take a minute to chat with Bruce Hall (Blind Photographers Guild. Bruce is partially sighted but is considered "legally blind".) He does underwater photography and has some wonderful images of his two sons , who love to play in the water, in this exhibit. Bruce and I took a printing class together at Orange Coast College and I watched his work on this print. (Our instructor: John Hesketh – Photomation printing in Anaheim)

Next, I stop by Samys Camera and [the =equation]2 and have my pic snapped for their “guerilla art wall”.

A huge soft box towers over the "models".

Details, details, put the bag down, pull up your jacket, place your glasses in your bag - OK. that is what the photographer should have said to me - what a missed opportunity - good lesson for me.

This image was captured at the Women In Photography International booth.
Much better - perhaps I will join their organization after all :)

Then it's time to get a bite to eat at SALT out in the lobby. I have Smokin Turkey (turkey, gruyere, brie, arugula, cranberry mustard on ciabatta,) and a cup of tea.

Just as I am walking out the door I run into David Healy. He has been a guest speaker in some of my classes at Cypress College. He is a master printer and photographer – but all in Silver Gelatin, and I can’t find any links to his work (will keep looking and post when I find something to share – his work is breathtaking.)

Outside I ran into my friends Greg and Itzell and their two boys Gyasi and Kwame. What a great day.

The Real Meaning of Christmas

2010-12-17T08:06:00.000-08:00

Children's Christmas programs are always a delight. Their bright

eyes and joyful spirits are like Christmas packages, all wrapped

up in their very best, with a surprise waiting inside.

A Southern Food Tour

2010-12-15T13:28:00.000-08:00

The southern states are known for their hospitality and great food. I was in Texas and Alabama this last week and spent almost as much time in restaurants, as I did walking around seeing the sights

and celebrating the newest Doctor in our family - Thomas Turner Payne, DPT

Celebrations in Dallas was the first stop on the "food tour".

Broccoli , kale with walnuts and dried cranberries, baked sweet potato, smashed potatoes with the skin, fried okra. The next day it was dinner at

Wintzell's Oyster House

in Montgomery, Alabama.

Unfortunately, I fell off the wagon and started a real binge. Fried Green Tomatoes with some kind of yummy sauce, Gumbo, Fried Catfish, Fried Hush Puppies and Sweet Tea

I almost forgot to mention the Pecan Cobbler topped with TWO scoops of vanilla ice cream... Yowza.

I did not order the Pecan Cobbler - but I did have a taste - well a couple of spoons-full.

More food at a celebratory lunch the next day. It's not everyday you get to say congratulations to two people who have received a Doctor's Degree in their field. Congratulations Dr. Thomas Payne and Dr. Cora Huitt : Doctors of Physical Therapy.

I fly back to Texas the next day where it's on to the next food stop Luby's in Dallas for a late lunch and I top it off with dinner the last day I'm in Texas at Pappadeaux. If you've never been - you have got to go.

I end my orgy with Mississippi Catfish Opelousas - Blackened Catfish with Shrimp, Oysters and Crab meat in a Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce and a side of dirty rice. Another glass of Sweet Tea. That's it, the end of the line - it's back to California and "skinny food" for a while.

A Visit with Nonnie and Grandpa

2010-12-08T02:19:00.000-08:00

Grandparents are similar to a piece of string - handy to
have around and easily wrapped around the fingers of
their grandchildren."

Author: Author Unknown

View the Animoto video featuring the youngest of our crew.

A Visit with Nonnie and Grandpa

Mussels for Dinner

2010-11-27T20:13:00.000-08:00

Is there anything better than good friends, good food and a little music to start off the holiday season?

Mussels for Dinner

Amy

2010-10-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

It is always fun to work with children when you play with them they

forget they are in front of the camera. No camera smiles here - there

is nothing better than the real deal.

I purchased a set of great templates from Ariana Falerni [wwwarianafalerni.com] She has furnished virtual rooms that allow a photographer to show a client how wall groupings will look in their home. (She calls them Wall Display Guides)

You can place canvas or framed groupings in different arrangements - great for those of us who do not want to invest in frame displays, or carry them around in the trunk of our car. She get's my vote - Thanks Ariana - a great idea. (The images in this dining room are from the Canvas Grouping Set - 16x20 - you can see more examples on her site.

A Mini Disaster

2010-06-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

Nice France - Saturday, May 22nd

From the airport in Nice we take a taxi to our hotel. 40 €. = about $50 AND
we give him a tip… But the Hotel Ellington is nice. On a beautiful tree
lined street a bit away from the active tourist area but close enough to walk
where ever we want to go. The room is neat and pretty spacious for a
European hotel. There is free wi-fi in the bar area and scads of black and
white prints of jazz artists on the walls.

We drop our bags on the bed and I scurry to change the lens on my camera
to hit the streets. "Oh no." I discover my card reader is not in the camera
bag :~( . This makes my need to get out and into a store urgent – No card
reader –is a disaster in the making. We get directions to a nearby FNAC
(a Best Buy type of store) and are on our way. At FNAC they only have
CF card readers that use a USB connection – bad news for me – it will take
forever to download images from the 5D Mark II…. I buy it anyway, but
get directions to a professional camera store - just in case.

With no time to waste, most stores will close soon and since tomorrow is
Sunday, and Monday is a National holiday – there will be no chance to
purchase a card reader if I don’t get it today. So it is off on a trot…. We
make it to Rue Massena and a gaggle of tourists but luckily, Arta-Photo
store is still open, and they do have a card reader that connects by Firewire.
Whew…. disaster averted.

Click on photos to see full size.......

Rue Massena - only pedestrians are allowed.

Restaurants and shops line the street.

The street vendors waiting patiently for the all the stores to pull down their shutters.

Once the regular stores are closed for the evening,
the street vendors display their wares.

On Our Way

2010-06-04T02:50:00.000-07:00

My daughter, Charlotte won a fabulous, all expenses paid trip, and decided to take her mother on a wonderful vacation. Round trip to France and then a Mediterranean Cruise on the Legend - a small boutique ship of the Seabourn Yachts line. She was tickled pink and I was tickled pink too.

I planned to Twitter, Facebook and Blog my thoughts every night - but realized I forgot to order an International Data Plan when I looked at the "free" AT&T message on my phone - each MB of data will cost me a whopping $19.95 - so long "Tweets" it's good old pencil and paper and the computer keyboard from this day forward...

We arrive at the Paris airport sleepy and sore from an eleven hour non stop over the polar cap (and Iceland - boy were we lucky the Eyjafjalla Glacier volcano decided to settle down ).

After sitting on our bottoms so long our feet are swollen. I knew better than to take my shoes off - but Char forgot...

The Paris airport, is pretty much like any other airport - there are people sleeping or using their "devices", eating food or reading, anything to take the edge off the boredom - but in contrast, it is also very different from our good old LAX - gigantic and dare I say it - beautiful..... glass and steel and modern seating everywhere you look.

Can you believe it - all the announcements are in French :) It made it just a bit difficult for us to find our way to our connecting flight- but we made it, and were soon on our way to the French Riviera and Nice.

Good bye Paris - we explore your neighborhoods when we return next week...

Looking down I see a harbor filled with yachts and later learn it is St Tropez.

We land in Nice and the Cote d' Azur

Dana Point St. Regis Hotel

2010-05-03T00:24:00.000-07:00

Volunteered to photograph a group of women participating in the
Destiny Makeover program. The photo shoot was held at the
St. Regis Hotel in Dana Point - what an environment. I only
had a few minutes to catch a couple of snapshots - after all my
primary purpose for being there was to capture images of the
girls.

The Poppy Preserve

2010-05-01T01:56:00.000-07:00

Robert drove me up to Antelope Valley to the Poppy Preserve this afternoon. As we got closer to the preserve I could see that the poppies had their faces shuttered. I thought perhaps the sun was too low in the sky, but when we parked I quickly learned why. The strong winds had stripped them of their pretty crinoline skirts and left only the center petals wrapped tightly around their bodies, it was the end of the season. I was sad, but decided to shoot anyway - I'll remember to go a little earlier next year.

I have a few more images from the day posted on my Flickr Photostream

Mini Models

2010-04-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

These little models were at the LA Shoot This event last Sunday.

So many photographers - so few children but some adorable shots anyway.

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

2010-04-21T00:55:00.000-07:00

NILMDTS is a non profit organization of professional photographers who come to the aid of families who want a photograph of their little one who has been "called home"much earlier than expected. The photographer captures beautiful images of their child and gives these images to the parents free of charge. Some parents frame these images and keep them as a document to their child's short life, other keep the images in a safe where they can go to honor and cherish these simple memories.

In the training, directed by Madonna and David Nicholson, posing and lighting was a major part of the afternoon session. Madonna suggested we carry a couple of black pieces of cloth to serve as a backdrop and to wrap around the mother. Lighting was one light with an umbrella. A reflector was used when more fill light was needed. The light stand they used was a a stand that collapsed when picked up and legs snapped back when the stand was placed in position. They used a bracket that held the Pocket Wizard and the Speedlight.

Practice, practice, practice, thinking about a monolight instead of my Speedlight- so I can see the light BEFORE I press the shutter.

Women of Service

2010-04-19T02:16:00.000-07:00

The Orange County Chapter of The Links, Inc. Presented four extraordinary women with awards this past Saturday. Ruth Graham May Siegrist Ph.D, Thelma Edwards, Gloria Kappe and Sylvia Turner. The Links are committed to recognizing women in the Orange County Community who exemplify the goals of our four facets: Service to Youth, National Trends, International Trends and The Arts.

My good friend Julietta Williams accepted the award for Gloria Knappe - who could not attend the luncheon.

What a Week or Two

2010-04-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

last week I went to the doctor and got the verification that I needed to "watch the plate" - you know - diet.
This week I was at the dentist and got the news that I have TWO cracked teeth - what's going on with the body?

The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been. Madeleine L'Engle

More tomorrow - going to bed now.

Peeps

2010-04-12T00:33:00.000-07:00

I should have named this post 3 strikes because there are three parts to this post - but decided "peeps" worked better....

Last week I went to the doctor. I wanted to check on a couple of little white spots that appeared on my face and discuss the fact that my tremor was getting a bit worse - or at least more people were commenting on it. Drum roll......the verdict...

The white spots are the result of sun damage - some folk get dark spots - others get white specks or in my case big white splotches - the doctor didn't use the words - age spots but I got the message. WARNING: don't forget the sunscreen no matter how much melanin you have in your skin.

O.K. so on to the other reason I made my way to the doctor's office - the Catherine Hepburn body movements... the little tremor that reminds me to keep that shutter speed up a bit higher than recommended. Yep - it's still there - it's not my imagination - and no it's not Parkinson's (thank goodness). "Here is a little pill that should help," he said very calmly - he didn't even blink an eye - I wondered if there was a pill for every thing..... I filled the prescription but have not decided if I will actually take it - no horrible side effects listed on the information sheet, so I will probably give it a try - we'll see.

Here is strike three - , I jumped on the scale and learned that I had gained a few pounds (to be really honest, my clothes have been trying their best to give me a little hint ) but now it is more than a little weight, it is a whole bunch of pounds. It was a throughly depressing morning. So what did I do to lift that blue cloud weighing me down...

I opened a box of peeps and ate them all... too good :D

This probably more information than you really wanted to know - but stay tuned, in the next posts it's back to the photo stuff - and boy do I have a lot to share...

A Photographer's Prayer

2010-03-29T01:53:00.000-07:00

Browsing in my Google Reader list this morning I ran across a post by Nikki Incandela - A Photographer's Prayer, that I just had to pass on to all my friends.

As I bring my subject into focus and prepare to make each

portrait, never let me forget that I'm creating treasures for

some family, a keepsake for loved ones, assisting others to get

their life's work out into the world. Keep me sensitive to the

qualities and virtues of others, that I may draw out into the

light the beautiful radiant belongings of their hearts.

Help me to be an artist, collecting the beauty of every soul, the

glow of youth and inner child of every client, the gentleness,

the laughter or tears of each life that is precious in my sight.

Deeper than a means of livelihood, give me the perspective

to see my photographer's art as a service to others, making

life richer and more memorable.

Between the lights and shadows, the ups and downs and the

rolling years, keep me from getting out of focus or off center,

   so that my life and work may be framed with dignity and
   colored with contentment. Allowing only the highest of myself
   to shine and recognizing the highest self within all others. That
   all come and go from a place of pure love......

Amen!

   ~The author of this prayer is unknown unfortunately and I've
   adjusted it slightly to fit my core beliefs a little more. I hope
   you enjoyed it and it allows you to know me just a little bit
   more. :o)

Nikki's Blog

Thanks Nikki, I love it. It's a prayer that expresses many of my own feelings about photography, It's not about making money or marketing for me, I just want to create images that families will treasure for ever. Yes I know I have to charge for my time, I'm not independently wealthy and all that gear costs, big bucks, but I'm lucky enough to be in a part of life where making money is not as important as it once was - for me it's all about the joy of creation.

O.K. - no more reading or writing - it's back to looking for those *&%$# "lost" files - I've been searching for the last two days. I should be sending up a prayer that I will find them soon - the silver lining on this cloud is that it has motivated me to reconstruct my whole Lightroom Catalog.

Big Brother - My Uncle Edwin

2010-03-26T01:59:00.000-07:00

My brother Thomas, and I were in Chicago for a few days to say goodbye to my Uncle Edwin who reached the wonderful age of 96.5 (isn't it interesting that young children and older adults always append their age with additional months - I'm 2 and 1/2 or I'm 87 and 1/2 - the rest of us mark the passage of time simply with yearly increments).

Here is my uncle a couple of years ago, cuddling his wife - they were

married the year I was born - 1940. Pretty close to 70 years of marriage

now that is really something to crow about.

He was a strong man who lived a wonderful life. It made us sad to know
that we would no longer hear his stories about growing up in Texas or
about his work as the Director of the Physical Education Department at
Roosevelt University in Chicago but we were comforted by our memories
of our time together and our faith of his transition to an unlimited spiritual being.

We flew in to O'Hare Friday evening and awakened Saturday morning to snow. Snow everywhere - and me (A California Girl) with not a clue how to drive in the snow or even walk in the snow.

View through the hotel window.

Plus, the shoes I brought to wear were a pair of cloth shoes and some sling backs - I was lucky I had traveled in a scruffy pair of old boots - which I was
able to pull on and wear with my suit. I ran down to the front desk
to report I needed help getting to the car.... They looked a bit startled
but sent someone out to shovel the walkway and brush the snow off the car - Thank You Marriott Courtyard....

Cerritos Library Book Signing

2010-03-18T00:36:00.000-07:00

The Cerritos Library hosted 10 African American authors at "Ingredients for a Good Read" a book signing and panel discussion this past Sunday. The event was sponsored by the Orange County Chapter of the Links, Incorporated and the National Black MBA Association. The room was full of excited people sitting on the edge of their seats, anxious to hear about their books and learn more about their writing and marketing processes. I had the good fortune of being invited to photograph the event.

Ivan Houston

Black Warriors: The Buffalo Soldiers of World War II

Denise Nicholas

Fresh Water Road

Attica Locke

Black Water Rising

Paula Woods

Dirty Laundry

Pamela Samuels- Young Murder on the Down Low

Samella Lewis Art Historian, curator and author and editor

Whitney LeBlanc Blues in the Wind and Denise Nicholas

Christoher Johnson Hang up the Phone

Gar Haywood Cemetery Road

Gary Phillips The Jook

Cerritos Library Staff Pat , Julietta Williams, Cerritos Arts Commissioner,

and Joyce Norwood, event chairperson

It was an exciting afternoon with the moderators Gary Phillips and Pamela Samuels-Young adroitly fielding the audience questions and managing the panel discussions so the audience remained engaged and interested.

I had as much fun at this event as I usually have when I am working with little children...

New Directions

2010-02-26T00:24:00.000-08:00

Capturing Treasured Moments - I changed the sub-title of this blog because I have decided this site should be dedicated to the more formal work I create. I think it will eventually evolve into a very special place to view great images. I plan to post the grab shots and other work I like on my Photo School News blog. A place for everything and everything in it's place.....

First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.

Napoleon Hill

Rainbows

2010-01-25T19:56:00.000-08:00

I was running out of the house between storms last week when I saw this rainbow. I always have a camera with me - so it didn't take long for me to pull it out of my purse and start shooting. Across the street one of my neighbors was out with his camera too. (Rainbows don't occur that frequently in Southern California so we were all excited). Keeping my finger on the button, I trot over to chat with a fellow photographer - he's busy shooting, but takes time to say hello. I find out he uploads his work to Flickr and tell him I have a photostream there too. We part after a few minutes. I'm fascinated by the fact that we live so close, and except for a chance encounter, we might never have met in person (I've been here 18 years) but we share a common interest on the web - fabulous.

You can see his rainbow image here

Add a Photo Test

2010-01-12T08:42:00.000-08:00

Simon Roberts Video Interview (via lensculture)

2010-01-05T08:03:00.000-08:00

I'm always going back and forth about where I'm going on this photo journey. Sometimes I'm sure I want to do something commercially, just because all the gear is SO expensive and it would be nice to earn enough $$$ to purchase what I need - well want. But there are other times that I'm sure I simply want to explore the themes that are interesting to me, and produce images that may not make people happy, but will make them reflect and think.

Simon Roberts Video Interview (via lensculture)

Photo Writings

2010-01-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

Up early today - stayed with my resolution of getting in the bed by 11:00 PM so my eyes popped open around 5 AM. Listened to an archived version of TWIP then clicked over to Photojojo to see what was happening on that site. Came across a post about James Pomerantz - a MFA photo student who has a pretty slick blog. A list of photo essays caught my eye. I've read some, but not all. I wonder if I can get them at the library? Trying to hold on to my other resolution "use money wisely".

Photo Writings

2010 Goals and Resolutions

2010-01-03T22:10:00.000-08:00

I couldn't believe it when I signed on tonight and looked at my last post date. It's been a whole month since I did any writing in my blog :( Hope you've been keeping up with me on Flickr

or on Facebook .

What are my photography goals and resolutions?

Write a real business plan

Complete my website (or pay someone to do so)

Order some business cards

Improve supplemental lighting skills

Read the manual for my 580ExII

Practice, practice, practice with the Pocket Wizards

Decide which photography association to join (WPPI? PPA?)

Give more thought to the stories I'm trying to tell with my

photographs.

   Would still like to do a series on Sunday Morning Best.
   A series of images of people of different faiths dressed for
   worship service. I started this series as a classroom
   assignment but would like to really work on this idea this
   year.

The second idea came as I visited with my mother's friend
Edna chatted a little bit with her about her time as a

WAC in WWII. It started me thinking about the other Women

who have stories to tell about the time they served the country.

   Wouldn't it be great to find and interview these women - not
   sure how many are still living, most would be n their late 80's.
   Their stories should be fascinating and their
   portraits interesting.

Edna, tells me a funny story and laughs up a storm.

Union Station

2009-11-27T03:53:00.000-08:00

I drove into LA Tuesday to photograph the big Thanksgiving dinner at one of the LA Food Bank distribution points only to learn that there had been a communication error and the dinner would not be served until Thanksgiving Day. There were two other photographers (Romina Naiam and Carly Cram) with with me and after a short discussion we decided to spent the morning getting in a little street photography. We walked a couple of blocks to Union Station and found a number of people willing to to model.

I would love to use some of these images for my 365 Strangers project but only one meets the criteria
I have set for this project:
   Introduce myself and learn the subject's name
   Talk with the person I want to photograph and learn a little bit
   about his/her life
   Remember the subject's name when it is time to upload the photograph

I only remember names of two people I photographed Tuesday :(
I should have written them down.

365 Challenge

2009-11-17T00:06:00.000-08:00

In the 1860’s, all art roads led to the Salon in Paris, which was the most important judged competition of art in the western world. In a period of just over 10 years, the Impressionist masters like Renoir, Monet, Pisarro, and Caillebotte battled it out in a competitive and cooperative tour de force that created a panoply of creations that we cannot imagine the world without.The reason Paris became the center of the art world to enable an explosion of new art was a combination of new technology in travel and communications combined with Napoleon III’s focus on the infrastructure around the Salon.

Today the same thing is happening – only no one really seems to realize it in a grand historical sense. It’s called Flickr. Flickr has become a techno-Salon, allowing the world to use the Internet to easily enter the competition and force them to evolve and improve their art. The automated “Explore Algorithm” does a pretty good job of automatically choosing the best photos that are uploaded every day. Go ahead and look at the current some of the best in the last 7 days. Click RELOAD a few times and I promise you will see something that impresses. It is quite unbelievable the level of art and beauty that is created every single day. Now, all of this amazing art on Flickr can either inspire or intimidate you depending on your mindset for competition. I hope it inspires you to upload one photo a day and see if you can make it in the top 500 or the top 10 for the say — and don’t give up. Competition makes everyone better; this is an undeniable truth and you are not realizing your full potential if you keep yourself removed from the process.

(From Trey Ratcliff" Don't get stuck in Customs)
I got a good start with my 365 challenge. I continue to shoot every day but reviewing and making a decision about which image should be uploaded and digging down into that instruction manual, is tougher that I would every have imagined. Getting back on that horse tomorrow.....

I

The Women's Conference

2009-10-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I came to the orientation for volunteers and today is the big day. There will be 10,000 women here today another 4000 for The Night at the Village and 24,000 tomorrow.

I have been assigned to the Media Tent. I was hoping I would be selected as a photographer - but here I am accepting the images that others are capturing, resizing and uploading so they can be posted on the Women's Conference Web Site - O.K. but not nearly as much fun as being on the floor in the middle of all the action.

We get the first details of our assignment from Sherie

More Gear

2009-10-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

The Canon G7 and the little G11 are on the shelves and I would so like to have one of each. I like to use two camera bodies when I work with young children - so I don't fiddle around changing the lens - and I absolutely love my G9 - it is always with me day and night. It takes wonderful night shots and wide angles - but it has stopped capturing in Raw :( and although my 20D is still strong - I would like to have access to the new technology in the 7D.

So those are my reasons, however, I also need (note the difference - need as opposed to like) I need to return my friends 85mm f2.1 and purchase my own, plus, and this is a big plus, I need to replace my desk top computer or my laptop - they are both reaching the end of their life spans - AND....
I should finally move on from CS2.

Oh - one more thing on my wish list. I would like a really wide angle lens before I go on the San Diego Photo Trip. Both the 17mm f2.8 and the 16-35 f2.8 look really wonderful.

Those people who think Digital Photography is cheap because there is no film to purchase and no processing fees are in for a very rude awakening.

I keep plastering this quote from Chris Orwig (Visual Poetry)all over the house. I put it in the notes app on my Iphone too. Perhaps if I read it over and over again it will sink in and I will move on with the cameras I already own.

"Advancement in photography doesn't come from building up an arsenal of gear, Rather it comes from growth, which happens inch by inch and year by year."

The Brewery Arts Complex

2009-10-09T02:51:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to visit the studio of photographer Rob Greer today. His studio and his home are located in the Brewery Art Colony in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. You can see the colony as you drive North on the 5 freeway between the 10 Connector and the 110 Connector. You will know it's the Brewery when you see a huge smokestack piercing the skyline.

Learn more about the Brewery or attend the Fall Artwalk October 24th or 25th 11am - 6pm.

Rob was a fantastic speaker, He shared lots of information about his start in this business,
his work style and ethic.

I had a bit of conflict when deciding where to write this post. On this blog that is about me and my work - or on my Photo School New Blog since I went to the studio with my Cypress College Wedding Photography Class. I chose this blog because there were a couple of insights that I hope can begin to inform my own work.

One: " Show your BEST Stuff". This is something I have heard over and over again. Jerry Burchfield said it this way: "If you have 10 show 5". This is so tough for me. I always fall in love with the images I create and I find it extraordinarily difficult to throw anything into the trash. As a result I have thousands of images cluttering up my hard drive space and prints spilling out of the bedroom closets and hidden under or behind all our casement furniture.

Rob Greer, on the other hand, told us he goes through a process to select images for his own portfolios. He starts by asking friends and then respected photographers to review the 20 or so images he has chosen and asks them to identify their least favorite two or three. I guess I could go to a portfolio review and pay to have my work reviewed by other professionals but I could probably make a pretty substantial down payment on a piece of "good glass" for the fee some of these critiques charge. Rob suggested that new photographers get together and critique their own work, so I think I'll try to come up with a plan to organize a portfolio critique on campus.

(Do I think the two images I chose for this post are the best I captured today? No.... Then why did
I post these - one seemed to document the space (see that smoke stack) and the other was a great detail. Maybe I will go through the files, find the best of the bunch, optimize one or two and replace these documentary images...... maybe)

Another point that resonated with me was Rob's admonishment to be sure our insurance is updated and that it cover equipment, liability and "errors and omissions". I probably don't need errors and omissions yet, but I really should begin to research liability coverage and update my scheduled equipment since I bought the new Pocket Wizards this week.

I should check out membership in PPA and look at their insurance plans.

The Photographer's Eye

2009-10-05T00:59:00.000-07:00

Last week I spent some time reading The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman . Not only was it a great review of the elements of composition, I found the text and the images really inspiring. Chapter one is devoted to The Image Frame. It is a dense chapter. Freeman covers Frame Dynamics, Frame Shape, Stitching and Extending, Cropping, Filling the Frame, Placement, Dividing the Frame, Horizon and Frames within Frames - a lot of reading on a subject most photographers think they handle best intuitively. I found myself trying to think more analytically about composition as I captured images during the week.

I noticed this window as I walked across the OCC Campus. It is a view into one of the Ceramic's Instructors' Office and a

perfect image for building my own portfolio on The Image Frame

Filling the Frame and Dividing the Frame are elements discussed in Chapter One of the Photographer's Eye.

Freeman states "Facility at using this frame depends on two things: knowing the principles of design, and the experience that comes from taking photographs regularly." I can't help but believe I could also improve my photography by reviewing my images with these compositional elements in mind. Perhaps this would help me decide which images are most interesting, which are mundane and finally allow me to discard those that simply occupy a bunch of my hard drive space.

Three Hundred Sixty Five_Day 9

2009-10-05T00:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still taking one photograph every day. This is the easiest part of the challenge. Reviewing the images and deciding which is the best one to upload is the real challenge for me. I finally got around to uploading images from days 7, 8 and 9 earlier tonight. You can go to my Flickr Photostream, click on 365 Challenge and keep up with everything I have uploaded. You can also go to Tasra 365 and see the images everyone in the group has submitted.

Reading a page in my manual every day however, has been an even bigger challenge and I have yet to make this a daily habit.

I do think just getting these three tasks done everyday will improve my photography. I've already noticed that I am not very persnickety about focus. Sometimes my images are sharp in just the right place other times I don't quite hit the mark. I think it is that I favor shooting wide open, and I tend be a little shaky- so this week I will test out some other
f stops and see if it is possible to marry my love of shallow dof with precise focus - and maybe I should go back to lifting some light weights and build a little muscle in these hands and arms.

Three Hundred Sixty Five_Day 2

2009-09-28T02:05:00.000-07:00

Cuauhtemoc Mexica Dance Group

I captured so many images this weekend it was hard to decide which one to select for day 2 of the 365 Day Challenge. I finally settled on an image from the Cuauhtemoc Mexica Dance Group. (Learn more here ) If you click on the image to see it full size you will notice that the headdress is sharp but not his face :( Lesson learned, when shooting wide open at 2.8 be sure the focus point is where I want it.)

Manual: I read pages 65 and 66 Setting the White Balance and Custom White Balance. Setting WB is easy enough for me - just make a judgement and turn the wheel. ( I should memorize the settings so I don't have to try to see those little icons in the bright sun). Custom WB is a bit more difficult. Taking that extra step to find a white object and import the data is time consuming and a bit of a nuisance for street photography or when photographing events like the Watts Towers Jazz Festival. I just put it on AWB, shoot in RAW and make changes in Lightroom when necessary.

What a Weekend

2009-09-28T01:26:00.000-07:00

I spent Saturday at the Watts Towers Day of the Drum Festival and returned today for the Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival today. What a party it was. Good music, good people and great fun.

I chose images for this post from the Shine Mawusi troupe performance Saturday Morning. If you have a Facebook account you can learn more about SHINE Mawusi and the traditional African dances they perform. You can see more images from the Watts Towers Day of the Drum Festival and the Simon Rodia Jazz Festival on my flicker photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cynthias_gallery/

S.H.I.N.E. (Sister, Healing, Inspiring, Nurturing, Empowering. Mawusi – borrowed form the Ewe language of Ghana “In the Hands of God”.

I have a bunch of images so it is going to take some time to sort through them, make my selections and get them all uploaded. Keep checking in to see more……

Three Hundred Sixty Five_Day 1

2009-09-28T01:23:00.000-07:00

I was following up on an assignment to browse through the image of some photographers suggested by one of my instructors (Greg Bumatay Greg's Blog ) when I ran across this challenge posed by Scott Bourne to Tasra Mar. The idea is to take three actions daily for one full year.

Take at least one photo every day
Read at least one page in my camera manual every day
View other professional images everyday

It sounded like something I could do - since I take photos almost everyday and spend some time viewing other photographers work either on the internet or at a gallery pretty frequently - the only thing I wasn't doing frequently - was reading that dratted manual.

Another incentive is that Scott states I will improve my photography drastically If I take these actions every day. So I signed up and got started right away - I plan to add some of my images to this blog but I also joined the tasra365 flickr group , so be sure to check in there to see all 365 of my images as they accumulate over the year.

I could not resist capturing a portrait of this precious little girl being carried in her mothers arms.

Yesterday I captured images of two of my grand daughters, Zoe and Dakota. Today I dropped by the Watts Towers Drum Festival and watched some amazing percussionists and dancers - I chose this portrait of a little girl being carried in her mother's arms as my first entry in the 365 challenge. The festival continues tomorrow so tomorrow's image will probably be created there too.

Manual: Using the Quick Control Screen - I must have skipped this component on day one - at least I don't remember what I read - so I don't think that can count. Today I read pages 38 and 39 Using the Quick Control Screen. The problem is that I have already changed the settings in my camera - and the Multi Controller Button no longer controls this function. It looks like I have a puzzle to solve. Finding my Quick Control Screen and how to access it.

Happy Birthday

2009-09-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

I’m in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago where my mother’s older brother lives. I traveled here with my brother to help celebrate my uncle Edwin’s 96^th birthday. It was a wonderful party but just a bit poignant because we see him growing more and more fragile as the days spin by. Big Brother (that was the name we adopted from our mom) kept telling us how rich he was to have the love of his life by his side (married 69 years to our Aunt Gladys) and his family and his friends visit him. We ate cake and ice cream and sang happy birthday – He gave us a great smile in return.

Happy Birthday Big Brother – we all love you.

Lake Michigan - North Shore

2009-09-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to see Lake Michigan from the North Shore. I have been to Chicago several times and I have seen the lake from that perspective but never from the North Shore. So I twisted my brother's arm and he finally said O.K. We jumped in the car and took off in the general direction of the lake. When we got to Highwood, Il. we took a chance and turned right. Wow - did we discover a jewel - Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve . I couldn't wait to climb out of the car and start capturing images. Here are three of my favorites.

I wish I could go out again today, but rain is forecast and I can't imagine my brother will choose to spend his morning driving me around the lake, and I don't think it would be particularly wise for me to go off traipsing through the forest by myself. I Hope I can use one of the images I captured here for my new landscape assignment.

Crystal Cove

2009-09-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

I was down at Crystal Cove State Park with the Available Light class from Cypress College yesterday. It was in the middle of the day and the sun was really bright. I set my camera up and tried to capture some slow shutter speed images to make the waves really smooth - but I was not very successful. After a while I took a walk into the historical district and took photos of some of the cabins. Finally the sun began to recede and I saw these little shoes sitting on one of the posts stuck in the sand. When I stopped to look at them, I could just see a little guy pulling off his shoes and heading straight for the waves?

A lesson from Raul

2009-09-09T01:32:00.000-07:00

I've been wondering how other photographers get such large photos on their blogs. I looked at Ari's blog this morning and sent him a message asking for his help... later I saw Raul and told him about my frustrations. Right away Raul offered to help, and gave me a little tutorial on how to embed larger photos on my blog - so here goes my first try.....

Voila. I had to change the format of the blog to fit in the larger image but I think this
arrangement will do a better job of showcasing my work......Thanks Raul.

P.S. Next time I won't make the mat quite so wide :)

More Photos

2009-09-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite images from the shadow assignment in the Available Light class.

I came up with a "brilliant" idea this morning. I decided to start a new blog to post the images I submit for class assignments. This will allow me to keep my Cynthia Terrell Photography blog primarily restricted to personal work and the portraits I create with families. The new blog is named Photo School News. The address of the new blog is:

http://cynthias-photoschoolnews.blogspot.com/

Ariel

2009-09-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

What a joy it was to work with Ariel and her family this week. We were on the lawn at the Cerritos Library and boy did we have fun. Ariel was a little live wire. She climbed on the tree trunk and jumped down, she ran across the lawn and rolled in the grass - I was exhausted when I finished but captured some great images.

Where did the summer go.

2009-08-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, the summer has absolutely flown by and I didn't get any of my summer photos up on the blog. I had a great time though, playing with the camera and capturing shots all over the place. Kids, teens, infants and plenty of scenics - I can't wait to share them with you.

Today I had a great session with Mycala. I'm posting some of her pics now and will post examples from the other sessions I had this summer - in the next few days.

More Pics

2009-07-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

I was at dinner with some friends the other night and 2 out of three said this blog had way too much reading. So I'm trying to find ways to add more pictures without staying up all night constructing a collage through Photoshop. Greg Bumatay one of the Cypress College instructors suggested Picasa (this link is to the Mac version but you know they must have a PC version)

I signed up for their free service - but still haven't learned how to create a collage :)

You can get to a random selection of some photos I took of Dakota Grace last weekend by clicking on her name. but it not the same as having the photos right here on the blog page - technology - it is really hard to keep up with all the changes :(

Making Decisions

2009-07-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

One of my favorites from my portrait session with Gladia Bell *

I was reading an old copy of Photographer's Forum this morning and ran across an interesting quote by Gary Monroe. "One must have an appetite for failure. Ninety-nine percent of my photographs are near misses. I don't make photographs for recognition. I make photographs for my edification."

The quote captured my attention because, I also create photographs for my edification. Each time I complete a photo session I increase my knowledge of how the camera works, and how to work with the camera. Then, there is the joy that comes when the image appears in the dark room tray or on the computer screen. (I would say on the LCD screen of my camera - but I just cannot see enough detail on that tiny little screen.) It's hard work, but most of the time, picture taking is just plain great fun. I'm reaching the point where I want to be paid for the time and effort I put into creating a great photo - hence all the work this summer establishing online galleries, and a website, designing business cards, and trying to post to this blog at least once a week. Yet, I know when I do reach the point of being paid for my work, it will always be the fun of creating the images that will continue to bring me back to the camera.

The other part of Monroe's quote - "Ninety-nine percent of my photographs are near misses." rings true for me too. But probably I have more absolute misses and fewer near misses than he does. I'm not willing to spend all those hours working on something that is not as good as I can get it when I'm in the traditional dark room, however, on the digital side, it is difficult for me to delete anything but the worst of the worst. Up to this point I have been willing to post or print the "near misses" and close to the "gosh awfuls", because I like the pose, or the light, or the expression on the face - something attracts me to the photo even though I know the exposure is off, the image is a bit soft or something else simply doesn't work. "Winnow judiciously", my instructor Jerry Burchfield admonished, more than once, as I tried to decide which image to submit for a class assignment. I'm just beginning to understand what he meant.

S0, starting today I'm committing to making better decisions, only the best of the best for publication. I'll keep those "not quite ready for prime time" images in a separate folder for now - but no more near misses for my galleries....

* I love taking portraits of people over 80, I call these images my Legacy Portraits. Gladia is 87 years old. She still drives, stays busy volunteering several times a week and keeps close tabs on her friends and family. She was bubbly and energetic the whole time we worked together. You can see more of her images here. An example of too many "near misses" mixed in with the winners.

Luis

2009-06-19T00:06:00.000-07:00

My modem crashed last weekend :( The new modem finally arrived yesterday and it took several hours before I could get up and running -but here I am - back at the keyboard.

Last week I was able to work with the family of a newborn, Luis was 18 days old when these images were captured. I tried to get his mother to allow me to come a few days earlier so he would still be curled up like a pea pod - but he sure is cute even though he has already begun to stretch out his little arms and legs.

I really do enjoy working with expectant mothers and their newborns. Be sure to refer any moms who are interested in a maternity portrait or photos of their newborn (less than 3 weeks old is preferable) I'm still building my portfolio, so there is no sitting fee and parents can purchase prints at reasonable prices.

Please forward my contact information

Email cynthiaterrellphotography@yahoo.com

Flickr http://flickr.com/photos/cynthias_gallery/

Telephone (H) 714-527-8298

I'm on Facebook: http://profile.to/cd_terrell but I'm not sure that is the best place for a potential client to be introduced to me. I'll keep the both the Facebook account and my mind open, but in the meantime, send any referrals to flickr - I just established the account and should have some portraits posted by the end of the month. They can also call me for a link

to private collections.

Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens

2009-06-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

My friend Barbara and I spent the day at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens last week. We missed seeing the Corpse Flower a.k.a. the Big Stinky but had a wonderful time wandering around the desert gardens. (June is a great month for seeing the desert flowers in bloom.) Later we strolled up the hill to the Japanese gardens and peeked in at the Bonsai Court. It is impossible to see all 14 gardens in one day and we didn't even try. We walked slowly and leisurely and when we got tired we flagged down one of the little trams and hitched a ride back to the car.

Here is a link to some of the images I captured. There are a bunch of them so you may want to view them in stages :) More time on your hands? View the slide show.

A special thanks to my Cerritos walking group who gave me the heads up about the free day at The Huntington.

Answers

2009-06-01T00:06:00.000-07:00

This image was captured from the floor beneath the capitol dome in Sacramento, California.

See a slide show of more images from Sacramento

Every week someone asks me if I have a web site where they can see my work, and every week, I shake my head and say no - not yet. I'm sure some people who would be willing to model for me, take my lack of a web presence for a sign that I am not really serious about this work.

I still have so many unanswered questions. How do I get people to model for my fine art projects. What is the best way to get my images out - so people will be able to recommend me to people who want a special portrait of their parent, or their child? How much time am I willing to spend building a referral network? When someone wants to purchase large prints, who will help me with some of the technical aspects of the work? (Do I really need to know how to create archival prints or cut mats?) Where do my travel images fit in with the contemporary portraiture and other personal projects I have started? How many hours am I willing to give to the commercial aspects of this work?

Although I still don't have the answers to all my questions, I've decided to take the plunge. I'm working vigorously on my website, and those of you who follow this blog will be the first to know when it's time to pop the champagne corks.