Boundary Waters :: And more Holgas!

 Here is my final installment of Holgas from our trip to the Boundary Waters.

 Three Sisters island on Snowbank Lake. We camped on this island.

 Grass on the edge of the lake.

Birch Trees

The canoe in the morning.

Carrying through a portage.

Some rocks at the entrance of Snowbank Lake.

Reflections of the North Woods in the Lake

Boundary Waters Canoe Area :: Disappointment Lake

Here are some Holgas from out trip, or more specifically of Disappointment Lake!

Disappointment Lake in the evening.

  Disappointment Lake in the morning.

  Disappointment Lake during the early afternoon.

More Disappointment Lake

Dan preparing to fish on Disappointment Lake, where we caught no fish, which was a disappointment.

Holga at the Fair

I took my Holga to the Central Wisconsin State Fair in Marshfield a few weeks ago. I wasn't quite sure how the photos would turn out... I usually don't shoot my Holga at night. Last time I tried the film quality was just really degraded, but it was also inside. But with a general idea and a few double exposures and a few long exposures, a few of the photos turned out! Actually, I only took three.

This is my favorite. There actually is more detail in the shadows on the original print, but the scanner did a cruddy job and there was a ton of scan marks, so I just darkened it all out. I like hand-holding long exposures, especially with a Holga. The images from a Holga tend to be more "memory" quality for me, so the light motion blur is more forgiving than with the crisp tangibility and immediacy of digital cameras.  

Fair rides. I didn't ride any, but I ate a lot of fair food.

The Ferris Wheel. This is a double exposure. I like how it looks carnival-esque as an image, not just because it is a carnival.

Here is an interesting link about the end of Kodachrome: http://www.stltoday.com/news/multimedia/vmix_4e9f782a-aca0-11df-806f-00127992bc8b.html

I love the colors and those old family slides. Family photos never will look the same....

Some flowers for you...

Photos of end of summer flowers that I saw on my morning run. No, I don't run with my camera, but I drove somewhere to run and had my camera in my trunk. Normally I don't have enough time to take photos after running, but it was Sunday and my only plans were laying out at the lake, which was accomplished!

I have developed a strong interest in taking photos of flowers from below. I like the way the sun shines through the petals and illuminates tiny details that from the top I would never notice.

And some summer grass!

Mosinee Volleyball Poster :: Central Wisconsin Sport Photography

Last week I was asked to photograph the sports poster for the Mosinee Volleyball team. This is different than the team photo, which is usually done by studios of the team in their uniforms. The posters are more fun and usually given out at games to promote the team, as well something to collect. I think I still have my sports posters from high school swim team....

The team chose, "Sorry, Cinderella, you ain't getting this ball!" as their theme. After going through a lot of options, we settled on taking the photo in the high school auditorium. They had props and a background from a play that worked perfect - the play was Cinderella! The best part of the location was that I could use the stage lights and not set up my own lighting. That saved me a major hassle, I was keeping myself up at night thinking of how to evenly light twelve girls. There was also a moon that we could light up too! I shot the images in RAW, which I have never done before. I think I will use RAW for wedding portraits, it is just an overall larger file with higher quality.  It was a pretty fun shoot and I am pleased with the results.

I still have a bit to tweak on the photo and am not sure if this will be the final, final version, but I like the way it is turning out! I don't claim to be a designer, but I enjoy learning new skills and searching for free fonts! It is kind of mind-boggling how many fonts there are. It is pretty pink, so I might play around a bit more with the text colors.  My friend and sister who are both graphic designers helped me a bit with suggestions.

Website Updates

The summer is winding down, but my schedule sure isn't! I have been busy, busy, busy doing photo edits, website updates, Etsy projects, and photo archiving. I love taking photos and if I could just take the photos and then they would magically appear where I want them perfectly toned and cropped, I would be happy. But, as it is, there is a lot of behind the scenes/computer screen work to be done.

I have been working on some website updates and adding Holga photos to my Scrapbook area. I don't think a website designer is in my future.... but it is good to know how to update!

I also added some new wedding photos to my website. I am still playing with the updates and trying out different orders and photos, so stay tuned!

Katie and Matt :: Central Wisconsin Engagement Photographer

Last week I photographed Katie and Matt's engagement photos, which was really fun! We took photos on Matt's family's farm in rural Stratford. There were tons of fun elements to take photos with; a bridge, table, swing, field.... so we had a good time taking a bunch of different shots. I am excited to take their wedding photos next spring. If taking their engagement photos is any indication, I think their wedding will be a blast!

For more wedding and engagement photos, check out my website: http://lauraschmittphoto.photoshelter.com/

Summer light

The weekend is winding down and it was a busy one. So here is a quick post and one photo, my favorite  from the weekend. I shot it at Grand Rapids Music Fest on Friday night.

Two boys were playing catch while their parents hung out at the music fest. I don't think this will run in the paper because they only needed two photos and it isn't specific to the fest. I love the light on a mid-summer's evening, it congers up a lot of memories for me. 

Last weekend...

Last weekend I had a chance to do a little bit of this.....

 

Relaxing in the hammock and reading.

Canoeing in the marsh

Exploring through inlets until we were forced back to the shore for more eating and hammock-ing by the swarms of horse flies. I was surprised that no large spiders fell into the canoe, which is a fear for me when going under low branches.

But at least we got to see lots of lily pads, which I have been wanting to take pictures of for awhile.

But I didn't quite get the right shot

Still not quite right. Oh well, there will be more summer weekends to try.

I am off for the next five days and am heading up to Duluth this weekend to shoot Tim and Jill's wedding. Should be a fun wedding in a beautiful setting!

A Little Break

I need a break! I have been working to color correct some photos and it is frustrating! Magenta and cyans are not my bag. Here are some photos of breaks. These are a few older photos that I found from pre-Marshfield and job times. 

This is in Iowa at RAGBRAI. The summer after I graduated, I rode for two days and took photos for The Daily Iowan, my college paper. I rode and took pictures, but since I was split between two things, I didn't do either one especially well. The guy on the unicycle, who was from Iowa State, would put on a show every for the bikers and the host towns. 

I think I took this photo in Washington, Iowa while I was an intern for the The Gazette in Cedar Rapids. This man was playing Spanish guitar during a fest, where Chris Dodd would appear (he was late and that was the reason I was there). Anyway while I waited, I ate good Mexican food and listened to the guitar player, so it was time well spent.

This was another photo I took while working at The Gazette. I was covering a math competition for middle schoolers. It was between tests and these two boys were playing some role playing card game. I like this photo because they are really excited about their game, and the boy on the left is wearing a math shirt. 

As you can see I might be digging around in my archives. I have been trying to organize.... trying and found some older photos that I liked and forgot about.

Origami Mobile

Obviously, I take a lot of photos. But sometimes I like to make things.... and then take photos of them! While I was off between working a split shift, I worked of an Origami Mobile for my Etsy site. I usually put photos and cards on the site, but I also make baby mobiles. I started when I made one for my nephew and since been getting requests for them for other nephews and friends. They are fun to make and are a great baby shower gift!

 This is the one I made this weekend. You can find it here on my Etsy site. 

A detail shot of the wire. I was using sterling silver wire, but I couldn't find a strength that would hold up the mobile and that was still affordable. The gauge that I would purchase would be 22g, but it was over $4/foot, which adds up. I switched now to a thicker gauge, but not sterling silver. 

 A detail of the beads that I string between the cranes. I choose the beads based on the color of the mobile. 

This is a custom order that I did. 

Oh and if you don't know what Etsy.com is, here's the deal: It is a website where you can purchase handmade crafts. The stuff is really unique and you can search for what you want by color or location. For example, if you are really into buying local and keeping your money in the community, you can search for crafters in your area. We recently did a feature for the Marshfield News-Herald (where I work for my real job) on local Etsy artists Pretty {much} Art. They do graphic prints and printed accessories for the home or you! Their stuff is super-cute; I have been waiting for the perfect person so I can gift them their coasters!

I buy a lot of gifts on Etsy. It is so much more personal to give someone something that was hand-crafted and you know that they won't already have something similar. I get so sick of items that are mass-produced, are totally not unique and fall apart as soon as you use them.  It is also nice to purchase something that you know is perfect for the person you are giving it to. It makes shopping enjoyable and kind of like a treasure hunt.

My Etsy Site: www.lschmitt.etsy.com

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July! This is my favorite holiday, but unfortunately this year I have to work. Normally I head to Iowa to celebrate in "America's Hometown", which is my hometown's slogan, but this year I had to put my hours in. I did make it home briefly to hang out with my nephews and family.

We shucked corn on the back steps. This isn't Iowa corn, I think it is from California. Sad. Iowa sweet corn won't be ready until the end of July or beginning of August.

I am off to photograph festivities. Have a safe and fun holiday!

Black and White Holga

Things have been pretty busy here, but I did get a chance to scan a few Holga pictures. Once again I used the Illford Super XP-2 black and white film, which you can process in the same chemicals as color film.

Rainy trees in Marshfield. The black and white film fits the grayness of  June, especially the past two weeks. Luckily the sun has come out again and the rain has stopped!

A double exposure of Dan trout fishing. I really like the way this turned out, and how the photo isn't so sharp, it makes even fishing seem dreamy.

We had to walk through all this wet grass to get to the fishing hole. I feel like this photo looks like I am walking through the jungle, although it is really just weeds. I like this photo in black and white, it gives it more of an abstract feel. If it were color, you would right away know this is just grass and not the jungle. I did order more color film though, and it is loaded and ready to go!

That is all the photos for now. Hopefully I will get some nice photos from quality time in "America's Hometown" this week and from the central Wisconsin Fourth of July festivities! Enjoy the long weekend!