Announcing! The NEW WEBSITE!

Would a grand-reopening be complete without a brand new website?  I think not.  

I cordially invite you to join me in a philosophical look at photography, life, and 7th grade physics.

Paula

www.prbphotography.com

Whew!!!

I am insanely busy and my to-do list is enormous right now.  But I am happy to say my slideshows have been fixed.  YAY!!!!

Ok, don't hold me to it.  But I am hoping to go live with the new website late tomorrow.  So stay tuned!

Paula

OOPS!! Belated V Day Wishes!

I realize how utterly bad it is that the Crushaholic TOTALLY MISSED Valentines Day!  I am sending this from deep in a digital hole to say sorry.  Ever since I got 'healthy' again I have been working from the time I wake up until I go to bed with barely a break.  The new website is coming along - gorgeous - very me - but a LOT of work.  

Please accept my apologetic cyber flower!

Technical Issues

The good news or bad news first?  How about the bad news.  I am experiencing technical difficulties at prbphotography.com  Some babble about hosting and updating and errors and blah blah.  For whatever reason updating to the new host has taken DAYS....  Ian is handling it.  I would be in trouble if I had to as I haven't a clue what he is talking about when he explains it.  I sort of glaze over and say yea yea and pretend to be listening.  Hours on the phone and chat we are realizing that Ian has to troubleshoot the issues FOR the tech support because they keep screwing it up.....  bla bla  But for now my slideshows are on the fritz and who knows what might go next.

The good news?  The reason I am having tech difficulties is partly due to the fact that I just bought a brand spankin' new website and we are having to get our hosting updated before we can go 'live' with the new site. In the next week or two there will be a bright, fresh, clean, and exciting TOTALLY NEW www.prbphotography.com, new slideshows, new online ordering, etc.  

Stay tuned and sorry about any frustration it may have caused in the interim!  

Ok.  After publishing this post I realize that my blog is not working properly, either.  Go figure.  I guess if you are reading this the problem may actually be fixed.

Um, no.  Problem still not fixed.  But at least the entertaining banter is back on.

Really loving this one

Wow.  Sorry, Brie!  You have been replaced with Josie!  How gorgeous is she?  I am seriously crushing on this photo from a cold and rainy shoot.

Empathetic Photographer

I needed to prepare for a client who wears glasses today.  And, because I am the only visually impaired person in our household, that meant the camera had to be turned on ME.  Wow.  Glad that only happens once in a blue moon!!  Well, I learned a lot.  It was worthwhile and now we have this lovely shot of me that isn't distorted (because my classic self portrait involves a wide angle lens at arms length --- see large nose in above photo....)  Bravo Ian!

More City Dog

My project City Dog continues with a new installment - City Dog Enjoys the Weekend. 

City Dog Goes to the River

City Dog 5
Originally uploaded by Crushaholic

Crushes Galore

I am seriously crushing over City Dog and Wanderer Dog.   

Confession #5

This confession is short and sweet.  Not too deep but I need to vent as I sit here wide awake - past midnight - in bed with my computer.  Somewhere in Oklahoma Steph is rolling her eyes.  Ohmigod Paula is still a geek, she is saying.

Here we go--

Confession #5:  I am miserable at shifting gears.  

When inspiration hits me, watch out.  If it hits just right I can work and work and work and work.  Obsessed.  Tonight I ate dinner at my computer which was only possible because my dear husband cooked it for me.  He also did homework, the bedtime routine, and dishes.  I get Obsessed.  Addicted to my work.  And, now I reminded, I am totally prone to insomnia.  Don't worry.  I don't mean "up for days" here.  I am not going to go Britney on "ya'll".  But I am soooo excited about my photo shoot with Brie today - and my new series City Dog - I am brimming with great ideas and new locations for dogs and kids and future city dog shoots with Brie and other dogs and even Roger and Evan and anything else that my mind races and is going a mile a minute and I just can't seem to shut it off.......  Miserable!  I lay here thinking about lighting and HDR and how to handle glass glare and where to go with an 18 month old that does NOT have any drab grass. I close my eyes and begin to photoshop all my captures.  I try to relax but all I can see are vignettes and is it really possible to make a catchlight brush??  Isn't that just cheating?  I would NEVER cheat! HMPF!  I never have been good at shifting gears.  Just as I can't shift gears to fall asleep I also can't shift gears to wake up.  Because here it is well past midnight and I am going to be dragging in the morning.  As it is I am NOT put together in the morning at kindergarten drop off.  Some moms have it all together first thing in the morning - nice hair and clothes and make up - and I am not one of them.  No, I will not hit the shower until well after I return home for a second cup of coffee.  Until then it is the same running pants, fake Uggs, and a YMCA tee with a ratty gray sweater.  Every Single Morning.  Picked up from off the floor approximately 30 minutes before we have to be out the door.  Drag the kid out of bed who wants to get up as little as I do.  Harass him to get dressed as I am rushing to pull on my sad outfit.  Drag him out of bed three times since he keeps climbing back in and putting the covers over his head.  Unbrushed ratty hair and dark circles (on me AND him).  Coffee breath - me. Milk breath - him.  It is just not a cute sight.  Maybe typing a little will make me sleepy and force me to stop staring at my photos.  I am really trying here.  I will note that I intended this to be short and sweet and yet I keep typing... I think I may be starting to snooze....

p.s.  If you ARE reading this Steph - I am thinking of you and that big belly!  Any time now!!!!

NEW CRUSH ALERT!!!!!!!!!!

NEW CRUSH ALERT!!!!!!!!!!  I am in love with my City Dog Series!!!!  

My latest 'crush'

In following the theme from Confession #4, I will begin to share my current photo crush.  Quite timely - I did a photo session with my son yesterday after I posted my confession.  How wonderful that my first shared photo-crush will be a shot of my beloved little one!  

p.s.  I just couldn't narrow it down to one.  My newly discovered location is brimming full of wonderfully lit and texturized gems!  Praise you O Photographic Gods!  For I appreciate this wonderful gift!  :-D  Now if you could hook me up with a D3, THINK of the possibilities.  Right.  I know - dream on.  It is always worthwhile to try.

Confession #4

I want to start by saying that I have been a total mess lately. I have just gotten over a very long bout of bronchitis. During one of my coughing fits I managed to fracture two ribs on my right side and possibly one or two on the left side. On Thursday I was healing nicely when I did something CRAZY. I bent down to pick up my shoe and I coughed. POP! Rebroke the rib(s) on my left side.... I am really trying to take it easy but it is against everything in my head to sit still for days straight. Ugh. Sitting still leads to lack of motivation for me. Luckily I am on the mend. I just need to force myself to not do anything crazy - like bend over and cough - so that I may fully recover.

Not only that, but this past week I turned 35 and that means I may be close to over the hill. I haven't been carded in months. My son recently told me that I may DIE soon because I am soooo old. That in itself is worth being depressed about.

Anyway, on to Confession #4:

The crushaholic crushes on her own photos. Yes, it is true. I fall madly, deeply, insanely in love with my favorite photos.

I am friends with a wonderful family, Sam and Terri. Sam is an experienced and impressive photographer. Not only does he run a very successful wedding business, he is also a photography instructor on the side. I respect him immensely. One of the things he teaches his students is to not fall in love with their photos. I guess this makes sense. Just like when you fall in love with a stranger you enter a haze of blindness. You miss the flaws and may even interpret them as an asset. With a new love you may perceive beauty that others cannot see. The same is true with photography. The critiques of others will feel personal. A dispassionate eye is an honest eye. Seems like very good advice - something that maybe I should take to heart. I mean, how would I know how to be? I am not nearly as experienced as he is. Maybe if I disconnect and take a step back I will view my work rationally - with a fresh eye every time. Right. No. I am too emotional for that. I fall madly and deeply in love with my favorite photos. Am I even delusional about them? 'For today, it is the best photo ever taken by mankind. The sky has opened up and dropped heavenly art on my lap for I am the goddess of photography.' HA! Well, as with any other crush the excitement fades quickly. And, then I am on to find the next fix. Fill the hole. Continue the path of addiction - seek the key to the Gods of photography who may gift me with another gem.

So is it bad that I fall in love with my photos? It makes me very vulnerable. I put my all into them. And, maybe my all isn't always enough. Surely as I look back at my old photos it was CLEARLY not enough many times. But I think my all is getting better and better every day. For me, putting the emotion into the photo is what gives it life, love, depth. So will I take Mr. Hughes advise to disconnect from my work? NO WAY!!!! I will continue to love my work because that is what makes it me - different from the rest. Complex. Not everyone may like it but no one can deny that someone loves it - even if it is only this self-confessed crushaholic.