Love, Joleen Photography Blog

Hi Friends,

Well I did not expect to be away from here for a week! I have been very sick with two infections that kind of took over my entire body. I finally went to the ER on Friday and have been pretty heavily medicated since. I am now almost completely on the mend and wanted to say a quick hello. The next few days and through the weekend are going to be incredibly busy for me so I will not be around much. I have a lot of email to get through so if you're waiting to hear from me, please be patient. Hope you're all well + happy!

Love,
Joleen

so, you wanna be a professional photographer

i belong to this really fabulous photography group on flickr called, "so, you wanna be a professional photographer". it is such a great community with active participants and helpful information sharing. we're celebrating the first birthday of the group and you can read all of the wonderful things going on over there by visiting the blog. every day there are challenges + contests. yesterday we had to take a photo that included a cake. above is my contribution.

edited to add: in part of our celebrations, the moderators have started a lottery to join the group. find all the info. here.

japanese craft books = love

here are some wonderful japanese craft and interior design books i've purchased recently.  if you click on the images you can get the ISBN number should you ever want to purchase them yourself. here are some other scans of japanese craft books i own. the second one down, a children's clothing pattern book, was purchased in los angeles and the others during my most recent trip to san francisco. though, i've never used a pattern from these (i can't even read patterns in english!), i get a lot of inspiration from the images and ideas in these books. the pattern book is filled with beautiful photography. the book on the very top offers photographs and patterns of cute + quirky crafts, which i do intend to make!  the bottom three books are of creative interiors. i own one more of these (interior) books which i bought last summer in seattle. i can look through these over and over again. not only do the inspire me when it comes to designing my own space, but in my artwork + photography as well. i ♥ japanese craft books!

all my love

i needed to *make* something yesterday so i made this simple tag using one of the images from the new {love, joleen} collage sheets (available in march *fingers crossed*). also used vintage wallpaper, glitter, ribbon, su! stamp, and blank tag.

lot's of stuff going on in this neck of the woods. lots of thinking and decisions to be made. lots of prospect and goodness, too. feeling positive + hopeful. hope you're having a beautiful sunday. xo.

goodness

the lighting this morning was amazing so i couldn't resist taking out my handy dandy white boards and these gorgeous pink roses i bought myself this week while grocery shopping. it was the perfect opportunity to play with my settings a bit and further learn about my camera. practice, practice, practice, right? ;) and speaking of photography- last night i found a whole slew of photos from my session with miss h. how did i overlook them before?? i went ahead and added them to the set. i'll be replacing the images soon with one's that have my new watermark courteous of heather (thanks again!). the treatment on the new ones is a bit more high key, which i am really kinda loving. ;) now, i'm off to make something while the kids are down. happy saturday, friends! xo.

holy cats!

i want this!!!!

gratitude

i apologize ahead of time if this becomes a bit long-winded. the excitement over our latest issue has me so thrilled i'm about to burst. have you ever done something that you just knew was going to be a success? it just feels so, so right. that was issue #4 of portals for me. i have to be honest and tell you that this issue, for me, was almost the one that wasn't. when it came time to sit down and work this issue out i was completely overwhelmed with life. i wasn't sure if i wanted to continue with this endeavor of mine and heather's and for about five minutes i actually quit. after really thinking about this, i knew i had to continue, because it's such a great thing, with so much promise- and we need more of those in life. i really believe in this zine- i believe in our contributors as artists and writers of amazing talent; i believe the "little guy" needs to be shared with the world; i believe in our vision for portals and the vision that has yet to be discovered; i believe we have something to offer to this wonderful community.

once we began contacting people regarding the issue, i just knew it was going to be our best yet (it's definitely our biggest at 44 full color pages!). the talent featured is awe-inspiring. i've probably read the finished product a good ten times in print. i don't want this to sound like a big pat on the back because my celebration is of community + support. this issue fell together because of great content. this zine continues to grow successful because you choose to believe in our vision; because you support us every time you order a copy. and, i just want to say thank you.

this photo..

pretty much sums it up! what a crazy, productive day. still nothing about s.f., sorry. i'm missing a disk of photos so heather is going to send me another copy (thank you!). i left heather's house for home at 11 am on monday and drove straight to work to get the kids. their mom spent the day in the emergency room so i went to relieve a friend. they've been here since and i took them home around 7 tonight. then, i'll go back to work at 7:30 in the morn. tomorrow and have them until sunday. so tonight is my little reprieve. i want to be productive but i think i'm just going to be a bum tonight. :) i did get a lot of much needed housework done today and feel great about that. our kitchen is spic and span, laundry done (if not folded, yet), grocery shopping completed. i even managed to take the kids to my favorite walking spot at the base of the mountain today. it was a good day but boy am i beat.

beauty

it was a wonderful + relaxing trip! i'll write all about it over the next few days and of course will post all the photos. for now, i want to share with you a portfolio building session i had with heather's beautiful peanut. you can view the entire set here. isn't she such a sweet little subject? :) hope you're having a great start to your week!

 

s.f. here i come!

my list for the trip. leavin' in the morning.
happy weekend, friends - talk to you next week. xo!