The end of the adventure

Well, everyone - this is the end of the road for this Roon-Boppin' Adventure.  School is done and I am ready to enter the world of photography.

As such, I now have my very own website that I built with my own two hands - well mostly it was my fingers that did all the work.

I hope that you'll all come and visit me at my new website: www.roonbop.com

Here you'll find my portfolios as well as my new blog.  I'm really excited about all of this.  There is much change happening in my life right now and I couldn't be more excited. 

Thank you all very much for following & checking out my blog for all these years.

:)  Roon-bop

Camera being cleaned

I have brought my camera in for its first ever cleaning.  I feel very lonely without it.  My camera bag is lonely as well, and the lenses.  It's a very sad day.  On the upside, tomorrow will be a very happy day when we are reunited once again.

I felt like I should explain why I have not posted any pictures in a while.  As you know, I am currently working on my new website, which I thought would be done by now, but a lovely friend took a look at it and gave me some very good pointers, so there is more work to be done.  The reason I have not posted any pictures is because selfishly, I have been holding back so that I have lots to show you once it's time to release the website to the world AND the new (possibly not improved) blog.  The new blog will not be following my journey through photography school, but will be a journey of my professional photographic self.  I'm really excited about it and have already decided on a weekly post  :)  Though, I'll have to start shooting for it... once I'm reunited with my camera.

On another note.  I just realized that I have not named my camera.  As names are incredibly important to me, this is something that I will ponder & get back to you on.  Please feel free to make suggestions.

:) Roon-bop

Never using exclamation points again!!!

I've been reading Chuck Klosterman's latest book, Eating the Dinosaur and I just want to say:  Chuck, I hear you loud and clear - the exclamation points are gone.

Sadly, I am willing to admit that I had instinctively used an exclamation point when writing "the exclamation points are gone" and had to backspace and replace with a period.

My name is Sarah Blakely and I am a recovering exclamation point user.

:) Roon-bop

Check out this photographer: Brilliant!

I recently came across Dina Goldstein's latest exhibition: Fallen Princesses.  I LOVE it!  Great excecution, lots of fun, great tones. 

I really hope you all check out this project & take a look at her other work as well.

Finding great work & inspiration is always so much fun.

:) Roon-bop

Still working on my new website

I am still working on my new website.  It has taken me longer than I would have expected.  There have been a few bumps in the road, but I guess that is to be expected considering I've never created a website before.  I mean, I have updated a website plenty of times, through various jobs, but I've never created one from scratch and connected it.

So here is the latest update.  I have created the home page, contact page, set up my new email address, and I'm currently working on customizing my new blog space.  I decided to go with Wordpress, because I could link it directly to the site, but I have to say, so far it is not nearly as user friendly as blogspot.  There is definitely going to be a learning curve here.  I have already customized it to look (sort of) like my website, but now I need to customize the sidebars and what is included there. 

Also, I still need to create my portfolios.  This I have left for last, because I have NO clue how I'm going to do this.  I have considered doing it through Adobe Bridge, because I know it's capable of it, but I'm not sure if I am able to embed that into the page I have already created for my portfolio space. 

All I have to say is this:  Thank goodness for the internet!  Oh how it has made my life so much easier.  I remember back in the day if you wanted to learn something, you had to go to the library and take a book out, and maybe that wouldn't even have all the information you'd need.  The internet is such a wonderful thing.  And thanks to everyone for contributing to it, making it so wonderful.

Tonight, while Curtis is at school, I'm going to continue to work on the site.  Soon I hope to share it with a handful of friends to take an objective look at it and let me know what they think, and then it'll be time to launch.  I'll be sad to see this blog go, but it'll be here for me to look back on.

The future is where it's at!

:) Roon-bop

Sincerest Condolences

It is not often that a photo blog will make you weep, but unfortunately, Natalie Norton's Pics and Kicks has done just that.

As you may know from previous posts, and my list of favourites, I have long kept up with Natalie's blog.  Over the past few weeks I followed as her newborn child was fighting for his life and was very sad to read today that Baby Gavin has passed.  I wish to send my sincerest condolences to Natalie and her family.  Though we have never met, she has let us enter her life through reading her blog.

May the comfort of family and friends help you through this difficult time. 

:( Roon-bop

Been working

I've been working dilligently on creating my new website the past few days.  And I think I would have been ready to put something up, but I have to wait for something or other to tranfer before I can connect to it.  This should take about 5 business days... drag....   I am hoping to have an official launch of the new website by the end of Jan, or possible Feb1.  I'm pretty excited about it, considering I've never made a website before and I think it looks pretty good if I don't say so myself!

So stayed tuned for more excitement in 2010!

:) Roon-bop

Happy New Year!

With the first post of 2010 I would like to wish you all a very happy new year!  I hope that 2010 brings nothing but goodness for everyone (too bad we know that'll never happen).  After having a couple of not-so-fantastic years, I am hoping this is the year of awesome for my husband and I.  Hopefully this is the year of buying our first home, getting my website up, reaching my photography goals, taking on more responsibility at work and so on and so forth.

I also hope that everyone had a fun and marginally responsible evening last night.

:)  Roon-bop

Back from Stittsvegas!

I am officially back from Stittsvegas!  I had a great time spending time with my family and friends and enjoyed the holidays thoroughly.  I hope you all enjoyed the break as well.

While in Ottawa, I had the opportunity to take pictures of Bob & Lisa who are engaged to be married!  Ah, young love!  I will be posting photos of them shortly, but I still have some unfinished business to attend to:  The last of my school photos.

:(

Here are the final pictures of my handsome husband from bring your own model to class night.

:) Roon-bop

Bring your own model night

For our last class, we got to bring our own model.  I brought my husband, who is an aspiring composer for film and TV.  He will be creating a website soon, and will need a headshot of himself for that.

We decided to go with harsher lighting to make it more interesting.  In these shots, it's just him (he's so handsome)!  Next post will be him with his guitar.  But that won't be until the 28th of Dec because I am Ottawa bound!

Happy Holidays to all!

:) Roon-bop

Happy Holidays

OMG I just saw this video greeting and its SO cute!

Happy holidays everyone.  Looking forward to goodness in 2010!

:) Roon-bop

She's got a good Aura - part 3

So, this is the last pictures of Aura.  I really like these ones.  I think they are my favourite of her.  Mostly because to me they look like a classic painting.  I love the tones, I love her sari, I love the way she is posed in them.  She's so awesome!

Tomorrow I leave for Ottawa, so hopefully I'll get my pictures of Curtis posted before I leave.  My in-laws only have dial-up and my parents don't have the Internet at all (I know, I can hardly believe it myself!).  So that means that there will be very little internet activity from yours truly until my return to Toronto.  I will make sure to get something posted tomorrow before my early morning departure.

:) Roon-bop

She's got a good Aura - part 2

Well, last night was my last class.  It was nice to see everyone's work.  I am sad that its all over... but well, it isn't quiet yet, because I still have pictures to show.

Here are some more of Aura.  I really like the way these turned out.  She was such a great model to work with, great personality, beautiful, fun and down to earth. And good news!  More of Aura tomorrow. 

:) Roon-bop

She's got a good Aura!

I'll be heading to class for the last time tonight at 6 o'clock.  Today is the day we show our final work.  There are no more pictures to be taken.   There is however some bright news:  I still have photos from 2 models left to share.

Today and probably for the next couple of days will be Aura.  I had a lot of fun with her, and as a result, have a whole bunch of pictures of her.  That and the fact that I got a LOT of time with her on the set, because 2 of the 4 other people taking pics with me didn't feel like taking pictures.  It was a nice change to have more time with the model.

Aura came to the studio with a couple of beautiful saris.  I had a lot of fun playing with that and allowed for a good variety of poses and shots.  She was great too and brought some ideas to help make some awesome pictures.  And I love her green ring!

:)  Roon-bop

D&E

And here are some pictures of the lovely couple!  This is it for Elena, Daniel and Matteas.  Thanks again to all three for some great pics! 

I guess I'd better get started on post-production on the pictures of Aura.  I've already picked my favourties, but I haven't done any work on them.  I'm excited for these pictures though, because Auro wore 2 beautiful saris.

I can't believe it!  There is just 2 models left in my post production - Aura and Curtis... and then that's it... finito!  After that I need to work more dilgently on my website.  w.o.w.

:) Roon-bop

Daniel

Daniel is also a model.  He came to class full of energy and a bag full of clothes.  He was certainly a funny guy!  This is evident by his choice of accessories.  I really enjoyed working with Daniel, because he was up for anything.

Don't worry, this isn't the last you've seen of Daniel and Elena.  Tomorrow you'll see pictures of the two of them together.

:) Roon-bop

Elena

Elena and Daniel, the parents of sweet little Mateas, are themselves models.  It was a very diferent experience working with a professional model.  Elena would move very fluidly into different poses.  I hardly had to speak with her at all!  (As in providing coaching).  She was very nice, and I LOVE her sweater.  She said it was her mother's.  The fact that its vintage makes me love it even more. 

Last night was my last class in the studio.  Last class for People Photography - last studio session in the GBC studio ever.  It's crazy.  I have 2 more classes (last business class on Saturday and last People class (which will be going over our work) on the 21st).  Then that is it for me.  Crazy.

Tomorrow will be pictures of the wild and wacky Daniel.

:)  Roon-bop

Baby Mateas

Baby Mateas was the youngest model I have had in the studio to date.  There certainly were some challenges.  It was difficult to get a good picture of both baby and parent.  Sometimes it'd be a great pictures of Mateas, but not so great of Elena or Daniel (and vice versa). 

That being said, Mateas is such a good baby!  He didn't cry once, and the little guy was there from 6-10!  Amazing!  Funniest part of the evening?  Mateas going to the washroom on set with no diaper!

Tomorrow?  Pictures of Mateas' mother Elena.

:) Roon-bop

The last of Kyle

So, I wanted to take a moment to explain this picture of Kyle, because it slitghtly fits into Rembrandt lighting, which was one of our assignemtns.  There was a whole class dedicated to this, but of course, it was the class I missed.  We even have an assignment to produce one and it was looking like I wasn't going to get it, when I found this!  It's not perfect, but considering I hadn't set up the lights with this goal in mind, its not bad.

This was achieved by using one light on the left side of his face.  Generally, I believe that the model would be looking straight on.  The light has to be positioned just right, and the second the model moves, the effect is gone.  Rembrandt lighting, is a traditional lighting technique used for portraits, however is not employed often today.  The goal is to light up one half of the face, much stronger than the other, and have a triangle of light under the eye.

This picture of Kyle is not a great example of such, because of his angle and the strength of the triangle, however you can find more pictures from Google images.

:) Roon-bop

Into the Light, Kyle

These pictures might be the result of one of my most awkward moments behind a camera (thus far).  Asking a man I just met to take his shirt off... was... weird.  However, I did learn from the experience.  The more awkward I make it, the more awkward it will be.   Thank goodness Kyle was not shy!

So, for these pictures, I decided to do something a little different.  I shot into the light, so the light (soft box) is behind him.  I really like the effect this had on the contours of his muscles and the way it lit up his face.
The third picture I also really like.  Kyle looks like an alien or something.  I was plesantly surprised with how that turned out.  Something to keep in mind for the future.

:) Roon-bop