Crush on 2010

Flipping through memories today as we close the book on 2010.  It's been beautiful. 

{ thanks }

Crush on Senior Portraits { Reno Nevada High School Seniors }

The end of the year is filled with filing and sorting and running into photographs that were completed for the client but I never got to share with you here on the blog. Yesterday, I shared why I love photographing high school seniors and thought I would give you some unseen shots. 

richelle

You may remember her from a past post. This particular shot was to be used in a photography challenge, but time got away with me. I missed the deadline and here it still sits on my desktop waiting its turn. The challenge was "smirk". I think Richelle nailed it!

amy

I had a blast photographing Amy at her amazing family home. Thanks for letting me in on the inside jokes. And Sam, it was so { convenient ;) } for you to have been there! Thank you both for such a great day!

The black and white shot of Amy at the piano is one of all time favorite portraits.

I can't wait to meet the new Skye Snyder Photography 2011 Reps. If interested, check out this old blog post to get an idea. 

Crush on Beginnings

With 2011 fast approaching, I thought it fitting to consider a photo challenge to kick start the new photographic year. Many people, pros and hobbyists, have undertaken the Project 365- a photo a day. After 365 days of observing your world like a photographer, it starts to look different.  There are many of these 365 days of___________.  Jotting down something for which you are grateful, eating a salad every day, spending $1 less than the previous day, etc and my MUST-DO List, dare I say, resolutions have started to flood in.
1) After photographing and/or editing for 365 days x undisclosed # years = stagnant or stale
    After photographing and/or editing for 365 days x undisclosed # years =  reinvent, reinvent, reinvent.
I'm shooting for the latter.
2) After viewing the i heart faces, self-portrait challenge, I realized that I have never done this. I always thought a self-portrait was one that the artist composed of him/herself. In the challenge, it appeared there were photos taken of a photographer by someone else. Do you think this is a self-portrait? #2 on the MUST DO: A true and intentional self-portrait. They are difficult. Focusing, composition, spontaneity, the self-reflection,  and the message. Tough.

* going to take one that doesn't have a black box in my face.

* way too grundgy. definitely doesn't say anything about who i really am. this is what i look like though.

3) Film my children more. play with moving pictures more. compile a short film. for me.

4) Become a better cook. I love food photography and the artistry of cooking but I'm really no good at cooking. Our families have furnished us with all types of culinary tools. So many, a special cupboard in the garage has been given to them. Watch out basil! I intend to use you up in 2011.

5) Hopefully, that cooking will lead to lots of food photo opportunities which leads to me photographing a food spread for my beloved, Sunset Magazine.

The list is much, much longer. It has to be in order to fulfill MUST DO #1. Reinvent. #1 is being tackled early and has been underway for the last 6 months. The reveal will happen soon.

Finally - Which would you like to see turn into a 2011 Photography Contest? Children? Food? Daily Life? Goals?

Crush on Senior Portraits { High School Seniors in Reno Nevada }

One of my favorite types of sessions is the senior portrait. Every time I leave one of these sessions, I leave with a smile and think how my last couple of hours certainly didn't feel like work. Instead, I always have a great time with my seniors. I  really can't imagine ever tiring of photographing seniors. They are upbeat, willing, fun, adventurous...and just plain seem to lack the seriousness and rigidity of other types of sessions. Who would ever tire of this killer shooting combination? 
Here are a few from a session that I never had time to post. Meet Amanda and Isaac, high school sweethearts who wanted to do their sessions together.

isaac

super laid-back, genuinely sweet, all-american handsome kid

amanda

When I was photographing Amanda, I was constantly reminded of Greek sculpture. She has the same gorgeous lines as these classical works of art. In a world that's often too pumped up, make-upped, extra fluffed and fake,  I am thrilled Amanda let's her natural beauty shine through! Breathtaking girl who knows where she's headed. One day you may be staring into her eyes as she puts you into a deep sleep - a future anesthesiologist.

meet Erato the Muse of lyric poetry

  meet Urania the Muse of Astronomy

Our 2011 Senior Search will be posted soon. Follow the blog if you or someone you know would be interested in being a Skye Snyder Photography Senior Rep. Click the links below to see a Senior Rep Session sample.

jocelyn
olivia
amy

the wedding photographer's saga | chapter two

Want to begin at chapter 1? the wedding photographer's saga | chapter one. 


chapter two
I was spun, so I began my wedding hibernation.
I deleted the wedding slideshows from the website, referred all incoming inquiries to other local photographers, and began to reconnect my relationship with people through the camera. 
Old and new portrait clients filled my appointment book; babies, bellies, their families, and lots of loving moments. By nature, weddings have lots of loving moments, but they are fast paced and extremely amplified; hence all the joyful tears and laughter. Portrait sessions are a relaxed kind of love. The kind we live on. Like oxygen, it's simply there and it sustains us. The kind we often take for granted. The photograph that hangs over the mantle reminds us of that life-sustaining love. 

As I photograph and catch up with my old clients, we discuss my wedding hiatus. I'm never eloquent about this, afterall, I probably photographed their wedding and wouldn't want them to think it was a dreadful experience. Quite the contrary. My clients' sympathetic assumptions that I was leaving due to the infamous Bridezilla creature couldn't have been more off base. I've never seen the beast. My brides and grooms are cool people.  Sure, they get emotional, overwhelmed, a little impatient at times, but not insane. So, it wasn't about them. 


Maybe I didn't want to leave the industry? What if it was something else that was causing my discontent? I decided to make a list and get to the bottom of it.

to be continued...

Crush on Newborns in the Outdoors

I cannot remember the last time that my "in box" of images was empty. I am completely caught up. Christmas prints are delivered to all my clients and I have a week to organize. This is a Christmas miracle. I want to start this personal celebration with some of the photos that I never had time to share with you during the year. 
Meet Baby Audrey. I had the pleasure of photographing her Mom and Dad while pregnant, Aubrey's first pro shoot, and the entire clan this year.
Baby Audrey and her beautiful Mama

the whole family gathered in the fall for a session

Please share your thoughts using the commments link below. I love to hear from you.

Crush on Fix-It-Fridays

The snowfall has canceled many a plan today which gives me the perfect excuse to play around with an i heart faces Fix It Friday photo. Every friday, a contributing photographer's image is posted and the rest of us get to play with it in our digital darkrooms. This is my first attempt at at Fix-It Friday image. You can show off your before and afters, learn from others, and provide step-by-step instruction to help teach and inspire other photogs.
Here is the original shot by Michelle Johnson...

here is my color attempt...

Michelle's OOC (Out Of Camera) shot looked a little blue (cyan) to me...added a little yellow using the color balance tool in Photoshop CS4.  Seeing them together, perhaps mine is too yellow now? I blurred out the background using the Gaussian blur tool. Darkened the image overall using Levels. And went back into areas on the face that were bright and darkened them a little more.  

and my black and white edit...

When I work with black and white---I return to my film darkroom roots using the channel mixer tool. Play with removing red, blue, green tones and having fun.  I LOVE a very contrasty black and white shot.  Once I have the general contrast down, I use the burn and dodge method to fine tune it. This image has a filter of almost vanished sepia on it.  I also cloned out the branch that ran through the center of the image--a little distracting. 

My big confession---I don't use layers. I don't know how. My Photoshop knowledge is pretty basic. I have been playing with some textures lately and stumbled on the overlay tool. More accurately, I stumbled around while following one of Jodi of MCP ACTIONS tutorials. She is amazing and if you are techtarded like me, you'll form a crush on her classes too.

Head on over to i heart faces and try your hand at this week's edit. 

Crush on Now and Then

I photographed this family a few years back when the little girls were wee. We did a two part session at the park and at their home.  I thought I would shoot off a few more after stumbling upon the perfect light in Mom and Dad's room.  Those ended up being my favorite. 
that was then...

this is now...

this is now...

that was then and now...

i'm sure it will be a very merry christmas...very, very soon.

i cannot wait to meet the new babe in 2011.

Please share your comments below...i love them. happy holidays to all.

Crushing Cancer with the American Cancer Society

I don't get to photograph for personal reasons much, but when I do it's the Nevada skies and landscapes that I escape to. This is one of my favorite landscapes of 2010.

DO NOT COPY, PRINT, OR SCAN. PROTECTED BY US COPYRIGHT LAWS

LEGAL PROPERTY OF SKYE SNYDER PHOTOGRAPHY

I was driving east after a shoot in Lake Tahoe -- cool alpine light turning warmer as I hit the Reno city limits. I love being in the Sierra Nevadas but I prefer to photograph -or more accurately- experience the desert. The desert evokes my better self- a more spiritual, thoughtful, and compassionate me.  The shadows,  the colors, the light on the golden sunburned grasses soothe me. Somehow this photo makes me feel like everything is going to be all right.

Because of that,  I chose to donate it in the American Cancer Society's silent auction in Fallon, Nevada. The Relay for Life Kick-Off Dinner & Fundraiser is January 14th, 2011.  This signed, framed (16x20) print (11x14) Skye Snyder Photography Artist Collection Photograph has been donated to the event and can be bid on during their auction. Donations to support cancer research and patients can be made through this link.

A special "thank you" to Heather Walker for purchasing and donating the gorgeous wood frame to encourage a higher donation for the cause.

A special "thank you" to Melody Nixon, a volunteer of the American Cancer Society and Race For Life Sponsor Chair, for contacting us and including our art in this auction. 

Because...everything's gonna be alright. 

Which makes me think of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds". Enjoy. 

the wedding photographer's saga | chapter one

According to The Knot subscribers, Skye Snyder Photography was picked in 2010 as one of the best wedding photographers in Nevada.  We've had a lot of phone calls since then and a lot of weekends photographing brides and grooms beginning their married life together.


Weddings are not mild.  They are in-your-face, impressive emotion inducing events. Mama dresses her daughter for probably the last time and the first time in many years. The soon to be husband sees his bride arm in arm with her beloved father. The heartfelt vows and pledge to one another. Loved ones who have passed are honored by candles, bouquet, charms, a special single flower. The firsts of everything; kiss, dance, meal, etc.  By design, the wedding is an emotional roller coaster.  The ones that have the most loopy-doops of emotional twists seem to fair as "the best".  Wedding photographers ride strapless, backwards in the first car and pray they don't fall into the holy water.  We manage emotions, calm uncertainties, and reassure the family that all is well. One of my brides who is now a friend put it best, "I didn't know when I hired a photographer that I was also hiring a therapist." Maybe other photographers don't experience this? I have to. Empathy is how I capture my photographic moments. I find it impossible to do this without absorbing into my clients' sensitivities. Needless to say, after high-intensity nine hour affairs, weekend after weekend marinating in magnified affections, a girl can get spun.


I was spun so I began my wedding hibernation.


stay tuned for chapter two....

I always welcome your comments, your wedding stories. {thanks} for sharing with us.

Crush on {TUESDAY TRIV} 12.07.10

{TUESDAY TRIV} Here and on our Facebook Page. 

What to do:

Leave your answer here in the comments below or answer on Facebook (you must first "like" our page to do so--Facebook's policy, not mine)- The first correct answer wins $10 SKOSH BUCK$ ( $$$ that can be redeemed at Skye Snyder Photography toward our full line of services and products---keep reading there is a bonus question). Answers collected until next Tuesday's Game. 

QUESTION: In the photograph below, the arrow is pointing to an artwork. Who is the artist of this very famous piece currently on exhibit at the Denver Art Museum?

BONUS QUESTION and for another $10 SKOSH BUCKS:
The PAINTED portrait (yup--that's a painting, not a photograph) was created by whom? This artist takes my breath away and was so lucky to see this one and another in Reno at the Nevada Museum of Art. 

Crush on {TUESDAY TRIV} WINNER 11.30.10

The matter of winning comes first...
here is the hat with names

here is the hat with names and the drawing hand

here is the winner from the drawing hand from the hat with names


Congratulations, Victoria! You won the drawing for $20 SKOSH BUCK$. You have managed to collect quite a nice little pocket of BUCK$ - $140! Thank you for participating and for sharing such kind words with me.

I have written everyone's words on post-its around my computer screen. Total motivation. THANK YOU!

The reason I asked for everyone to help describe my style is due to a new look for Skye Snyder Photography (stay tuned). I have learned that I can't get all my sites, pages, blog, etc. cohesive looking (technically starved photog) and have turned to the expertise of Corina Nielsen to brand me. (certain this will be pain-free unlike a happy california cow--branded with the state and a perma-grin).

I have also learned that I have no idea what my style of photography is. I know what I like. I know how I like to shoot. I know how I want it to look; simple. real. and interesting. Woh- was it really that easy? Maybe.

And "maybe" reminds me of another topic...the story of "The Farmer's Luck" by Jon J. Muth from Zen Shorts. If you are looking for a wonderful children's book consider this delightful story that retells Buddhist teachings in simple, kid-loving taoist fashion.
If you are loving the ultra-groovy embroidered camera strap, visit souldier online! I have two and LOVE them.

Crush on i heart faces ::: Self-portrait :::

Good Morning.  i heart faces has me mulling over the idea of a self-portrait. It's this week's challenge. And a challenge it is! I used to take self-portraits when inspiration hit. Now, I photograph Ruby, my 6 year old muse. I struggled with this challenge and then remembered this self-portrait.

We had just returned from a boat ride to Land's End, the farthest tip south in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and one of my favorite spots on earth. We stopped for a sweet treat. This little metallic ball held its own sweets; sugars of all types. When I shoot, my focusing hand always looks like the queen drinking tea. My Ruby is primping and fixing her hat in the ball reflection. This portrait seemed fitting this week.

Thanks to all the other entries for sharing. I have added "Self-Portrait" to the MUST DO list.

Crush on Deb Schwedhelm

Crush on Deb Schwedhelm

Deb Schwedhelm, a photographer working in Tampa, Florida, has stolen my artistic heart, opened it up and filled it with soul-tingling images. I heart faces.com holds weekly photo challenges for all lovers of photography to share, inspire, and encourage one another. This past week, the challenge was Scenic Black and White.  The Guest Judge was Deb Schwedhelm. From over 400 images, she chose the top ten winning images. Her real-life approach to photography was clear in her selections. They are wrought with emotion and powerful storytelling qualities. These were the type of images that inspired me at eight years of age. They gave me the courage to ask for a camera and begin recording my world through a lens.

I am so grateful to have discovered Deb's photography through Angie and Amy of i heart faces. Please take a minute to get lost in the winners' images and visit Deb's site. Get a kleenex. You'll need them to get through her photo story with Max.

I am so thrilled and humbled to be a part of this week's Angie and Amy Picks.
thank you.