‘light of the world…shine on me…love is the answer’ ~ todd rundgren
so adore this little heart shaped twig, stumbling upon it and how it silently spoke…
…’love is the answer’.
wishing everyone a lovely valentine’s day…
xo’s ~ susan
2012…what a year!
oh my…it’s been months since i posted here! life’s been…well…busy!
what’s been happening? lots of good stuff!
1st grandchild…husband became a judge…& sweet gumball blossomed!
things to do: organize photos, put into movie format, get it up on blog!
baby…campaign…family vacations…i know what i’ll be doing over
the weekend.
for now, seeing that this blog is connected to sweet gumball,
here’s a short recap for 2012.
here you go…a sweet update with pics & bits…enjoy!
ah…sweet gumball…the dream becomes a reality! after years of hard
work, photographing (thousands & thousands and eons of shots) classes &
studying…amazing instructors…well, my sister approaches
me and says…’you’re talented sue…and it’s time you do something about it!’
so…i did! we…did! my sister karen and i partnered up, along with oh-so-supportive
husbands and family…dove right in…lots of sweat, hard work, sleepless nights…then
voila!…the dream…becomes reality! {big sigh}
now that you know the ‘bits’…let’s take a peak at the ‘pics’… 
xo’s ~ susan
nyc gift show…bldg booth
…building the booth…
‘sue & karen…all grown up’
‘hand stretch canvas wall art & cards’
‘art…from the heart’
‘lil’ karen…lil’ sue’
What is it that your heart longs for?
What is it that your heart longs for?
I took this shot of my youngest daughter last week, on the 13th anniversary of the day
my Dad died. It was already evening, and it seemed like the day had just passed all too
quickly. Without much thought, I grabbed my camera, the little old heart leaf I had
found weeks before, and my daughter, Amanda.
After many silly shots with the leaf, and lots of laughter…there came a moment where
I just placed the leaf on Amanda’s forehead and asked her to close her eyes. I looked at
her and thought…this one is for you Dad (aka: Pop-Pop) This was the shot. As she lay
in the grass, blue skies overhead, a part of me felt like he was there smiling and quietly
whispering…message received…miss you too.
hugs ~ susan
my.sweet.little.morning.
week #2 for time capsule class ~ making videos
Wow…week #2 was quite a challenge! This video was made completely with my
little iPhone. {sigh} :)
xo’s ~ susan
‘a.simple.little.walk.’
{if you want to watch the original version click the ‘vimeo’ link on picture}
week 1: ‘creating time capsules’…this was my 1st attempt at creating a video from
my photos. so.much.fun! enjoy!
xo’s ~ susan
‘light…the photographer’s muse’
{here is a clip from my post at Focusing on Life Group that was posted today. this is
my last post with this wonderful group, due to a crazy busy schedule, but you’ll still
find me here on my own blog…and an occasional guest blog here or there.}
What is one of the main elements needed to capture an image? Light…glorious light!
Whether it’s natural light from the sun…
…man made from a flash…
…flashlight in the dark night…
…computer screen light…
…and the oh-so-fun write-in-the-night…bic lighter light!
Bottom line is…we as photographers adore light! We rely on it to capture images and chase it throughout the day…for that perfect moment to shoot. Here’s to all of you having some fun out there and finding that oh-so-spectacular light!
xo’s ~ susan
‘sweet baby girl’
Just found out my daughter and son-in-law are having a girl! A sweet baby girl. Wow… :)
xo’s ~ susan
‘today’s forecast…bokeh-licious!’
With spring flowers and abundant sunshine making it’s presence known in sunny
Texas, bokeh is in the air! To capture the beauty of sunlight bouncing off nature’s
canvas, and see it redirected into scrumptious little circles of color, is magical
{to read more, please click here where my post is featured}.
Today is bokeh-licious in more ways than one! I had a beautiful dream and
made it happen. After over a year and a half of hard work, support from family and
friends, the company I’m involved with ‘sweet gumball, inc.’ was launched
yesterday! Big Yay! And…big thank you to Jimmy ApRoberts for coming up with our
website design!
It’s so sweeeeeeet! {pun intended!}
Here’s to you my friends…may you have a bokeh-licious forecast in your future!
xo’s ~ susan
‘a photo walk with friends’
Every day I thank the universe for embedding the passion of photography into my soul.
It is through this passion, where I feel the most connected to…well…everything! And
speaking of being ‘connected’…if it weren’t for our online photography classes, the above
photos and memories would not even exist. Yay for the internet!
So…have you ever taken a photo walk with friends? Set the self timer and jumped off a
bench? Posed for the ‘non-pose-pose’ to look like statues? Found yourself taking more
photos of your friends than the actual nature you intended to capture? For me…I adored
every minute of this walk focusing more on the silliness of the moment, and not so much
on the forest canvas.
Every once in a while, my eye would find a heart shape here or there, on the ground and
in the water…even a smiley face spray painted to a tree. But, I still was more interested in
capturing the photographer shooting that image of the smiley in the tree. Not only was
the tree smiling, but so was I. Big thank you to Kris, Angie and Suzanne for such a great day!
When was your last photo walk with friends? Please share with us your images and why it
was so special to you.
xo’s ~ susan
‘cheers to new adventures!’
A few months ago, a group of women photographers asked if I would be interested
in joining a new blog they were creating called, Focusing On Life. Of course I said
yes! Photography, writing, creating . . . YES! Even with my business about to launch
in the next 2 weeks (been 1 year of preparing), the news of a grandchild (my first),
2 teenagers still at home and my husband running for Judge . . . the answer was
YES . . . count me in!
So, here is my post for today:
“Photography + Creativity = Living In The Moment”
One of the joys of photography is capturing life’s little surprises in creative ways.
It’s all about seizing that special and carefree moment . . . the ‘memories for the future’
that don’t want to go unnoticed. The moments when you’re camera beckons you to
pick it up . . . a little bit of ‘carpe diem’ being channeled through the camera lens.
To me, that aspect of photography brings such joy. Living in the moment and being
lucky enough to capture it . . . a true high!
This shot was taken for my daughter and son-in-law to announce their ‘pregnancy’
{so excited} on Facebook. Truth be told, I’m quite drawn to the creative side of
photography. Whether it’s picturing the shot or processing it in Photoshop, if it
involves creativity then it has my full attention and find myself completely
in-the-moment. {sigh}
So my friends . . . what is it about photography that gives you a feeling of living
in-the-moment? Do you swoon over creating, processing and camera gear? Are
you drawn to Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture? Or is it the sisterhood/camaraderie
of Flickr, Facebook, and blogs? How would you complete the equation below?
Photography + (you fill in the blank) = Living In The Moment
xo’s ~ susan