Nature Has Taught Me

My father in law was a great artist.  He was not famous or known. He was a shy, quiet man. He had no formal education. He however, had a true gift. He could look at something, and just draw what he saw. He could build something out of nothing.  He was an observer and enjoyed bringing things to life. My father in law passed away recently. I will miss him. What I will always remember about him was how generous he always was in sharing his gift with others and creating art that would bring a smile to your face.

I was inspired to create the video that follows. It is dedicated to my father in law.  Please hit the link to view.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JphyX1JoNDg

Adios. Alina

 

My World in 20

O.k. so it has come to my attention that I should really make a point of actually blogging once in a while. I have been told that a missing in action page is being started in cyberspace to help catch and bring us non-bloggers to your blogging satisfaction. 

So to catch up, this is what I’ve been up to :

1. Attended a Yervant whole day event. For those not familiar with Yervant, he is considered amongst the top 5 international wedding and portrait photographers in the world. He was voted Australia’s number 1 wedding photographer for 2007, 2008, and 2009. He was really great– very informative, funny, and easy going.

2. I am now the NJAWBO Mercer Awards chair. Cool job. I get to give out prizes and look at the smiles on peoples faces. I am also in the membership committee, responsible for speaker solicitation. I am in charge of getting speakers for our dinner meetings. Pretty cool. I get to meet some very interesting people.

3. Attended an email marketing seminar. So many options. Hard to decide which way to go. Still under consideration.

4. AIPAD show in NYC. Saw some great photography from some of the masters and a lot of other great work.

5. Spend part of a day with Robert Farber and a few photo friends. Robert gave us a personal tour of his workspace and gallery and showed us his work. Just fabulous.

6. Photographed head shots for a couple of models.

7. Attended the Barb Edwards seminar. I am now using a new album and frames company.

8. Attended a procurement event. I had to leave early so was not able to fully benefit from the event.

9. Family photo session. Fun session. Professional head shots for clients.

10. Two day seminar in PA. Extremely helpful and informative. Need to start working on implementing some of the business strategies learned.

11. Attended the Sandy Puc tour. Always a must.

12. Heard Michael & Tina Timmons speak at the GPPDV. Great.

13. Hired to photograph Governor Christie & Lt. Governor Guadagno of NJ at a private event. Awesome experience– a first for me. The images above are of the Governor and Lt. Governor listening and answering some audience questions.

14. Attended a printing workshop with Scott Nichol. Polaroid transfers, done digitally. What can I say–Just Awesome! I will be making some good use of this in my fine art work. I just love this.

15. Frank Doorhof workshop in NYC. Just, Wow! This guy really knows his stuff.

16. Photographed a few performers at a Civil War Re-Enactment. Fun time.

17. Became a certified professional photographer –cpp. It’s official! So happy!

18.Donated a fine art print to the JDRF(Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) gala. My first print done on metal. Really turned out beautifully.

19.Participated in the Woman’s Head to Toe Expo. Shared a booth. What a great turnout we had. There were about 1000 people attending. Exhausting, but great.

20. Photographed my first pet bunny. Interesting experience.

O.k., so there you have it, my world in 20.

Photographer’s Pride

So if there is one thing I have learned in going to all those workshops, seminars, and classes, it is that education is important and practice is everything. To be good at something, you must practice and practice and then practice some more. You must stay current and on top of the your game. This holds true not only in photography, but in any thing you do. If you want to improve your skills photographically, then you should seek education and practice what you learn. You know, sadly, in todays world, anyone with a camera, can call themselves a photographer. I value the word photographer. For me, this has real meaning. It is someone who seeks knowledge and constant education. It is someone who feels great responsibility and takes pride in her/his work. It is someone who has been honored with the gift of forever preserving and documenting life, nature and other things. It is someone who can literally bring a smile to your face or a tear to your eyes with the images they choose to bring to life. So if you want to be a photographer then be one, but be one with the respect it deserves. Realize that you will be following in the footsteps of some great men and women. Do it with pride and honor. And give it your all. Enough said.

Until next time. Adios.

Alina

Filling You In

Hello Fellow Blog Followers,

The last several months (August till now), have been kind of busy, with work, my website,workshops, photography and travel. So let’s see, to fill you in:

1. I was in Israel and Jordan for a couple of weeks. A totally awesome experience, kind of surreal in many ways. The photo above is from Israel. 2. My website is also up, finally! Still need to work out some issues, but it is up, nonetheless. The website is http://www.alinabliach.com or/and  http://www.alinabstudios.com Both url’s bring you to the same website. 3. Have been busy shooting so many headshots lately that I feel I should perhaps add a tagline to the website –Headshots and More? 4. December just flew by with holiday type portraits, attending and hosting holiday parties, attending kid’s choral performances and just getting together with family and friends. I also picked up a corporate client as well.

5. January brought more headshot work. Also attended a Farber workshop, http://www.farber.com/home.html. Learned some very cool techniques that I’ll be incorporating into some of my portrait work. 6. Planned and organized a vendor type show with various types of vendors selling their goods and services. It was a first for me and it proved to be quite successful with a nice turnout. I showcased some of my portrait work and awarded some prizes to some of the attendees. It was definitely a lot of work to put together, but well worth it and the feedback has been all positive. 7. Keeping up with the food photos has been kind of tough, because hey, when I cook, I like to eat. I have to make it a point to serve a separate serving of food just for photo purposes and just photograph it as soon as we are done eating. I tried doing it before we ate, but that did not go over too well. I’ve shot a few, but I am way behind on that project. Hoping to catch up. I’ll post some when I get a chance. 8. This weekend I’m scheduled for a couple of portrait sessions with some really cute kids. I’m really looking forward to this. It should be fun.

I love the colors in the image above–the blue of the sky, the green of the plant and the brown tan-like tones of the wall and vase. I like how the greenery seems to be coming out of the vase or the ledge itself. It’s hard to tell from the angle in which I took the image. I was shooting up at the ledge from about 10 feet down. I love the straight angled lines on the wall of the ledge and the curved lines on the vase. I feel they work well together. They go hand in hand. There is such beauty here, in this simple image. You have nature coming together with something that has been made by the hand of man, coexisting harmoniously. It just feels peaceful. Enjoy.

Adios. See ya next time.

Alina

Working it.

Wow! Where does the time go? It seems like the days just fly by and I’m always trying to play catch-up on the many projects and ideas I have going. I really enjoy writing this blog, but sometimes I feel there are just not enough hours in the day to accomplish all.

I had a very interesting conversation with a few people recently regarding networking and networking groups that I thought I would share. Some people are just so turned off by the whole networking group idea that they just won’t hire you because you are part of a networking group. Even though your work is excellent, you provide great service and your prices are fair, they still won’t hire you because you are part of a group and they feel it’s unethical. This just makes no sense to me. They like you, your work, etc., but won’t hire you because you belong to a networking group?  I don’t really think it matters whether you belong to a networking group or not. We all network. If you belong to a group, good for you. I hope it’s helping you in your business. I think what matters is the work, the service, the price. They should all be top notch and fair. Remember if you are going to recommend someone you are in essence putting yourself and your reputation on the line. Recommend only those that you feel are worthy of it and you in turn make sure your work is worthy of a recommendation.

The photo up top is that of dinner two nights ago. It was so, so good. It was an herb rubbed chicken with spinach, tomatoes and a balsamic wine reduction. Delicious!

See ya next time. Adios.

Alina

Positive Energy

Hello. I had a busy week. I made about 20 headshots for various clients this week. The photograph up on top is that of Leanne Gerrard.

Leanne is a Life Success Consultant,http://www.leannegerrard.lifesuccessconsultants.com/

Leanne is an extremely genuine person who just loves what she is doing. She’s had a tremendous, positive impact on many individuals. She helps you realize your potential and leads you on the path towards achieving your dreams. She offers workshops, coaching and seminars. Her classes are inspirational, fun and rewarding. She will help you succeed at leading the kind of life you had always envisioned.

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The photo below is from my walking tour of New York City. I love to walk around the city and look for images that speak to me. The image of the graffiti on the wall of the building and the ladder leading down tell a story of people struggling, reaching beyond what only seems possible, and expressing themselves in any way they can. It speaks of survival and the need for self expression in this very urban area of the city. Making images, are what

inspires me. It is my positive energy. It is this positive energy that fuels me and energizes me to live the kind of life I want to live.

—–

Yup, I had this photo shoot today in beautiful Bergen County, NJ. So there I was taking a tour of the grounds, picking out good locations for the family which I was about to photograph. The mom was giving me a tour of the property and pointing out certain spots that she thought may work for her family’s portrait. The property is quite beautiful, gently sloping down on the sides. Now yesterday it had rained – a lot. And there were wet leaves on the ground. So there I was with my nice clean clothes, holding my camera, walking down the slight inclination on the property, when all of a sudden, without any warning whatsoever, I fall flat on my ___. Ouch! Talk about painful and embarrassing. Me and my clothes were no longer clean, but hey, I saved the camera. I got some nice photos of the family and by the time the shoot was over, my extremely muddy ___ was now dry caked on mud. Ahh, nothing can make you more humble than falling on your ___ in the middle of a shoot. Yes, a very proud moment. I actually think being embarrassed once in a while is not such a bad thing. It humbles us and makes us more human. So to all those people out there who have fallen flat on their ____, I humbly salute you. I have now joined your club.

Until next time. Adios.

Alina

Old Shoes

Barnacle Shoes

About a year ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art with my husband to see the Robert Frank exhibit, Looking In: Robert Frank’s The Americans. What a great exhibit it was! Robert Frank is a living photographic legend and a master photographer. His photographs documented America and what it meant to be American. The prints themselves were beautifully printed and simply presented. Those photographs historically depicted an America of a time gone by. They revealed to the viewer looking in, a historical pictorial account of America. As I viewed each of the great images presented, I could not help but wonder about the people in the photographs? Who were they? What kind of lives did they lead? Where are they now?

I came upon the “Barnacle Shoes” in the photograph above as I was walking along the shore. I had to stop and make the photograph. Looking at these old shoes, I could not help but wonder who they had belonged to. Who had worn the old shoes?  Were these shoes from a foreign land and just now washing up on our shores or were they simply discarded, forgotten, or just left behind? The more I looked at the shoes, the more questions I had. I look at these old shoes as Robert Frank must have looked at his subjects when photographing The Americans. I am looking as the observer documenting and asking questions of what I see. I am choosing to make a photograph of barnacle shoes that have washed ashore. It is those of us who are photographic observers and documentarists, who constantly strive to show others that which most people, simply walk by and disregard. Perhaps we too should be more like Robert Frank and “Look In” to our world and help document our pictorial history. Document those things that are important to you and you hold close to your heart-your family, your children, your pets, your loved ones. Document your history so that you will always remember.

Until next time. Adios.

Alina

Love Smile

The Kiss

There is no greater feeling in this world than that of love. Love is not only something that you accept, but something that you must also give. It’s about you being good to people and showing some kindness and compassion. It’s about treating people how you would want to be treated. It’s about being considerate and helpful and concerned for each other. It’s about being selfless and doing something for someone. Love can make someone feel special, feel hugged. It can warm the heart and put a smile on your face. It can make your day. It can be given by a simple “hello,” a friendly handshake, or a warm “love” smile. Or it may be given in a letter or a note.

Today, I received my “love smile” in the form of a thank you note from a great lady, Barbra Edwards, my Marathon Press representative: www.marathonpress.com

She wrote:

Dear Alina,I love to visit you. You will always do well with your kindness. People love you.

Thanks,

Barb.

Thank you, Barb. Your kind words really meant a lot to me today. You are truly a special person and people love you too. Thank you.

And to everyone out there, for the rest of the week practice your “love smile” on all those you meet. You may just make their day.

Until next time. Adios.

Alina