Pardon Me, I'm Growing...

Please pardon me, I'm growing, and growing is sometimes a messy thing. My website is currently under construction and there is not much here by way of information on how to purchase artwork*, schedule a photo session,** or finding out where my art is on display.***

Until my website is up and running, you can contact me the following ways:

Home Phone: 810.412.5339
Cell Phone: 810.919.2327
Email: sarareed@umflint.edu
Facebook: sarah reed photography

Thank you so much!
Best,
Sarah

* Art is for sale both Boundless Arts & Beyond Coffee. If you saw something specific, but can't quite remember what it is, please email me. I am pretty good at recalling what it might be, and I would love to help you.

** I am taking appointments for outdoor shoots only at this time, unless, of course, your home or place of business is nice and open and sunny. As a currently natural-light photographer, I need sunlight to work. Please not that a studio space is in the works opening -- hopefully! -- in October.

*** Art is currently on display @ Boundless Arts in Grand Blanc, Beyond Coffee in Davison. Upcoming exhibits include Good Beans Cafe in Flint in mid-May; UM-Flint Student Art Show at G.F.A.C., Flint, May 11th; The Rowe Building, Downtown Flint, in June; Art from the Heart, 625 S. Saginaw, Flint on June 11. If you would like more information on any of these events, please let me know!

Happy Spring!

35mm film -- taken a year ago

Onion

silver gelatin print, macro photography using large (4x5) camera.

Branching Out

I've been asked to do family photos, senior portraits, engagement sessions, and weddings a number of times, and quite honesty, I felt rather nervous about that idea because those moments are so special, and I didn't want to "ruin" someone's memories of somethings. But that's kind of silly. I've been taking portraits for years now -- albeit my own family pictures and self-portrait work. It's just a matter of instead of looking inward at me and then out, I will be looking outward and then in at whoever I am photographing. It really would be an adventure and something I am ready for.

Saying this, I am in the process of developing an "official website" and price list for portrait sessions. Since I am new to capturing people in a professional capacity, I do want to offer some sort of introductory offer at a price that's fair. If you are interested in having me, drop me a line at sarareed@umflint.edu. My prices would work something like this:

• Individual | 2 hour session- $150: This session would include a CD with images taken during the session -- about 10 or so edited with post-processing and the rest un-unedited and can be used as you like with photo credit to me if used on the Internet. Other photos can be edited a'la carte (however that's spelled!) at a small fee per image. Print packages would also be available ranging from $20 - $100 depending on what you need, and purchase of a package would be required. (I am still working this out in my head!)
• Doubles Session | 2 Hour Session: -$275: See above!
  
• Group Session (3+) | 3 Hour Session- $375: See above! This photo shoot would include breaking up a group into doubles and individuals to meet your needs, and would need to run a little longer.
• Weddings or other Event Session | Times would vary -$??-- I've got some thinking to do about how to charge for something like this, but we could negotiate.
  

* Note: This group of photos were taken two winters ago using a cross-processing editing style. It's a little more non-traditional for those who like that sort of thing. My processing skills range from traditional to, well, not, depending on what you like.

Artwork at Beyond Coffee in Davison

I am so excited to have artwork up at Beyond Coffee in Davison. The coffee shop is right off of I-69 Clarkston/Davison exit. Make a right, and it's at the corner of M-15 and Lippencott Rd. They have amazing service, free wi-fi, and awesome raspberry mochas to boot!

In other updates, I've been teaching digital photography lessons at Boundless Arts in Grand Blanc -- both adult and children's lessons. Classes start about every 6 to 8 weeks, and drop-ins are always welcome! Just call ahead. (Information is on the website).

A Big Thank You!

A BIG THANK YOU to all of you that stopped by my table today at the Flint Handmade Holiday Market. Your support and compliments mean the world to me. Over the next few days I will be updating my Etsy shop (images from the shop are to the left) with items not sold at the sale. If there was something specific you wanted, please shoot me an email at sarareed@umflint.edu! Thanks again!

Wow.

What a busy last couple of days. I finally had an event occur in my life that put enough fire under my bottom to get me to do that proverbial 'something more' with my photography -- my mother-in-law has a weird blockage in her brain and our family wants so desparately to make the trek from Davison all the way down to South Carolina, but like so many others, we are flat broke. Work at the Uni is slowing down, and with a new car payment and higher insurance, we are barely making ends meet, and so I had the idea of, "Huh, well, I have tons of prints waiting and laying around in between 625s, why not just list them on the internets for sale?"

So I did. And now I am nearly to my goal of raising $400 to get the Reed Clan to see their Momma and Grandma Sue. And I am thankful. The outpouring of orders and good and kind words is making me feel something I haven't felt in a long time. And that's nice.

If you are interested in viewing my work for sale, please puruse the following links:

• Etsy | Sarah Reed Photography
• eBay | Using my husband's username over there
• Facebook | You can 'fan me' here

Thank you everyone for your support. It means the world to me.
xo

PS Oh, and a blatant brag! My photo, Time Expired, is going to be featured on the next Art at the 625 promo material!

Holga

I shot two rolls of 120 film with the Holga last summer on the shore of Lake Huron at The Huron House in Oscoda, Michigan. My husband go to this bed and breakfast twice a year -- once during winter and once during summer. Well, the black and white roll didn't turn out. Just two prints from that roll -- of something abstractual that I have no clue what it is. But the second roll of expired 120 color film turned out rather nice, I think.

You can view the rest of the images on my Flickr page.

In other Big News, tomorrow is the Art at the 625 at 625 S. Saginaw Street in downtown Flint. The event runs from 6:00 pm until 10:00 pm. Light refreshments will be served, and there are nine -- maybe ten -- artists showing/selling their work. Should be an amazing time.

Well, It Sure has Been a While

I know I have been eerily silent here. I suppose I will call it a hiatus, but the truth is I have been taking a lot of photos this last year and doing a lot of evaluating and thinking and debating, which has resulted in a lot of change for me. Things that I once thought were right for me are now all wrong. I have changed.

I quit UMUC (online college) and transferred to UM-Flint (local) -- majoring in writing, women and gender studies while concentrating on photography, something I just can't shake no matter how busy I feel. I start in the Fall '09. On top of that, Chris and I spent some time downtown, and in spite of what people say about Flint, MI, I've fallen in love. There is an underground river running through Flint consisting of passionate, strong, and determined artistic folks who want Flint to grow and thrive. I've dived in myself. So has Chris. It's his hometown. If you want shit to change, you got to be the change. You've got to seize those little opportunities in your first and run.

And speaking of opportunities, on May 8, I have the happen chance opportunity to attend my first showing/sale downtown in Flint @ 'Art At The 625' located at 625 South Saginaw Street in Downtown Flint. It happened kind of simply. I went and ate a sandwich and soup at The Lunch Studio, searched for store's name on Facebook so I could "fan" it, recognized the owner's profile, added her, and then on her wall, saw a call for artists. Sent off an email, and now here I am scrambling to pull together up all the fragments and disjointed photos I have taken over the past three years and finally doing that proverbial 'something more' I have been talking about doing.

Feels pretty awesome.

If you are in the area, I invite you to drop in.

Heading West

I've been wanting to take more self portraits, but I've found that getting a good focus with a manual camera has been nearly impossible for me. For some reason, I just can't 'get it.' But a quick search today gave a really simple answer --it's called reverse focusing. What you do is use a tripod. Put your camera on it and then figure out where you want to place it, and where you want to aim it at (that is, where you will be). Then, take off the camera and go to the spot you will be at and then set the focus so that you are focusing on the tripod. Manual cameras, I guess just care about distance, not so much a particular object, and so then you take the camera back to your tripod, set the timer, and scramble to your spot, pose, and wait for the click. Advance the film, and repeat as many times as you can stand to. Sounds simple enough, huh? Now I just have to give it a try. I will let you know how it goes.

[For some more ways of setting manual exposure, go here.]

Photo: Black and white film. From my Trainspotting Set on Flickr.

Knotted Up Inside

I shot some film over the weekend, and I am pretty happy with what I came away with. I am in the process of posting more prints for sale in my Etsy Shop. I have more to say, but I am all knotted up inside. Periods suck.

Remembering Where I've Been

I always have good intentions of keeping track of where I've been, but sometimes that I just get so caught up in the moment, that I just don't see the point of remember everything, but it's also nice to record progress, which to me, is the point of living. Progressing to where you can feel yourself changing and growing every day. As adults we so often loose that child-like growing (I think of my own kids and how every day I see and watch them change) and just become stagnant. I guess we figure that we grow up and then just grow old. It's the laws of nature. But the mind does not have to be that way, just our bodies. But the substance that makes us who we are keeps growing and expanding. So, maybe keeping track of that can be important. Anyways, I digress (i.e. ramble!). Here is what I've learned/done/wanna keep track of:

** I was able to get my dozen prints to Shots Magazine in time for their Feb. 1 deadline. I just received confirmation for USPS. I also ordered their self-portraits issue just because I really believe in this magazine. It's amazing seeing a magazie filed with photos rather than pages and pages of ads for things I cannot afford and/or do not need. Pick up an issue if you get the chance.

** I learned that I really enjoy shooting images of food. I've had such a love/hate relationship with food up until recently (I was heading into anorexia around the time I met my to-be husband) . But now I see that loving food is fine if you eat right and enjoy it and are thankful for what it does for the body rather than engorging oneself. Nothing wrong with that.

** I submitted a photo for a Jones Cola label. Pretty neat if you ask me.

** I have plans for a mini photo shoot. Nothing fancy, but I plan on shooting of a roll black and white along the railroad tracks behind our neighboor hood.

And that's about that. I am sure there were other things along the way, but I rather just keep those thoughts blurry and filed away.

Photo: Film, 35mm, shot with a FUJICA using manual exposure. More film images here.

Is film photography dead? Never!

Sometimes It Is

Sometimes things are greener on the other side especially when the other side provides you with basics you need to function properly. I've been sick for the past few days -- horrible snotty stuff -- and it's so nice being able to sleep soundly in my own bedroom letting Chris take care of everything else. In the past, there was no separation of sleep areas. If I happened to fall asleep in my former bedroom, and if Logan wanted to nap, I would be kicked out of the bed so Logan could sleep. (If I were in the room, Logan would want to play.)

I guess my point is that I am grateful to be able to function (or 'not function' [i.e. sleep]) when I need to.

I am thankful for the things that most people in traditional living situations probably take for granted every day.

Cold Feet or Not, I am Diving In

I have narrowed things down to sixteen fifteen photos. I have to make my final decision and get these prints sent off tonight. Wish me luck, people. I am still struggling with feelings of insecurity, but I'm sure that will pass.

8x10

My 8x10s arrived. I printed them with a bit of a border on the right and left so that the upper and lower parts of the photo weren't chopped off. I am pretty happy with how they look. Now I just need to matte and frame the one, and mail the other off to the person who purchased it. It's nice feeling knowing that this will either be hanging in someone's home or office.

Photo: Digital.

Cold Feet

I have cold feet. I am rethinking about submitting to Shots Magazine, but for some reason I am feeling like my work is not good enough to submit. It might just be hormonal or something, but I am feeling rather insecure.

Photo: self-portrait, film.

Logan

Logan has adjusted to being in our new home. I almost typed "finally" before that adjusted, but I stopped myself because three days to adjust seems more like a short while than a long while. The first night here, he was pretty much scared to go to sleep -- or maybe too excited -- but the second night, he was plain old stubborn (I think he gets that from his dad, or maybe from his mom, but probably from the both of us) and I sat with him and sang and talked to him while he "screamed it out." I was there, and so I know he wasn't so much scared as stubborn. Finally, I said, "Look, Logan, this is your bye-bye bed; this is your room; Mommy is here. You are tired. Go to sleep, butthead." And I left the room and shut the door. He yelled for about another 7.27 minutes, and I am guessing fell asleep. He slept for 14 hours. The next day, he seemed better and he even napped after crying for about 5.24 minutes. And last night, he went to bed without a peep. I am relieved. He's adjusted and in record time which leads me to believe he is a healthy, well-adjusted little guy.

Photo: Film, Logan watching TeleTubbies at our old apartment.

Moving Day, No Longer Boxed

We moved on Saturday, and in spite of reserving a truck with Budget Rental 72-hours in advance, and them not having it when we went to pick it up, we were able to move about 90% of our stuff on Saturday. We ended up going to a Uhaul and they had oe etruck left (and not to mention they had perfect customer service). A good family friend of our also unexpectedly showed up and helped us move our sofa and chair and entertainment center (the heaviest of our stuff), and so all-in-all things went smoothly.

Logan had a very rough night the first night sleeping here-- he really wanted to just "go home" to our old apartment in spite of his WOWs about moving here. Last night was better. I think mostly because he got up at 6 AM Saturday morning and stayed up 11 hours straight and conked out around 6 PM. He woke up this morning at 7:00ish. So if he refuses to nap today, at least he won't be a blubbering sap of a boy. He's been in and out of his room all morning playing with his toys in direct contrast of him screaming every time he tried to go in there (he's stubborn), and so I really think today will be better than yesterday.

All of our stuff is pretty much moved in. I just have about three or so very small boxes to unpack, and I might just leave them unpacked for a while. But it's pretty nice being here. It's odd to wake up in the morning and turn on some classical music, drink some coffee, and eat a slice a toast without the kids waking up. Our old situation consisted of Logan sleeping in the living room and the bathroom being right across from Molly's room, and so as soon as Chris opened our old bedroom door -- the very second -- Logan would start screaming and Molly would wake before she was completely rested. And so with the screaming and the soggy wet Pull-Up and me pre-coffee and Molly wanting in the bathroom and Chris showering and me staggering with a sinus headache trying to tend to two small children -- changing diapers, getting sippy cups, toast, and putting on coffee and all the while Chris trying to get ready and I still having to pee super bad, life was, quite frankly, hellish, but we managed like that for nearly a year-and-half.

But now... but now, I wake to peace and calm and coffee and toast and a hot shower all before the kids even get up. And Molly woke up first with a kiss and hug, and I could be 100% there to help her with a smile rather than a groaning and moaning grumble. It was nice this morning, and I am thankful that the Universe worked things out for us. Life is good, and I am grateful.