Well, I’m pretty sad right now. Sarah Page Photography is to be considered on hiatus. Which really is just a nice way of saying, I’m closed. My camera fried last night. I’m not 100% sure what happened, but it fried and it fried my best lens as well. I believe it has to do with the new connector I bought for my flash. I will be doing my research and seeing if this has happened to anyone else and if they will reimburse me for my loss. (My photographer friends, if you have any ideas I would love your opinion!)
Because this isn’t just about my camera. I have spent countless hours building this site and working towards creating something I loved. I was just getting to a point where I was starting to really be proud of the work I was putting out. One of the greatest reasons I love photography…there’s always something more to learn, there’s nothing you can truly “master”. You look around the world around you and every time it looks different. I can’t even begin to describe how sad I am, as though an extension of myself has just died.
So! As I said, I am done. At least for now, and more than likely for a very long time. But this won’t be the last you’ll see of me…I will continue painting and creating and taking pictures with my dingy toy film fisheye and share with you my inspirations and aspirations. I worked too hard and put too much heart into this endeavor to just stop…so even without my camera, let’s keep on keepin’ on. I will still be posting regularly on here and on FB and your continued support is cherished. Thank you all so much for making this last year worth it.
715 Ermine St SE Albany, OR, 97322 USA
sarah@sarahpagephotography.com • 541-730-1342
So this morning I was lucky enough to get to shoot the Rosecrans =] Such a cute family! They were so great working with, very easy going and didn’t mind jumping into the chilly water! Which was totally my favorite part. Here’s just a small sneak peak:
[Gallery not found]It’s always fun to experiment. I’ve worked with lots of mountains etc but this was the first time asking someone else, someone I hardly know, to just dump their kids in a river haha for the sake of photography, let it be so! There’s something about the distant oranges in the rippled water that really just completes the pictures. I love it. Another experiment was playing with some new post-processes, mostly split-toning. It’s marvelous! I used to think it was witchery but I’ve since been swayed. I don’t typically try to do much in post because many times less is more and love natural the warmth of skin tones against cool backgrounds but it’s nice to change things up sometimes =]
So yesterday was a wonderful day! Creative energy was bubblin’ from 9:30AM until I, exhaustedly, passed out early in the evening. My husband drove my artsy friend, Neebin, and I to the first meet for Portland’s chapter of Creative Connections. It’s a bunch of creative ladies like us who meet monthly for inspiration =] Lot’s of talented ladies. And despite the rain, everyone was full of laughter and enthusiasm (and LOTS of sugar!) I took just a few snapshots, mostly of cupcakes… it was dismal out so low light/shutterspeed w/o a secondary lightsource, so a tad on the blurry side.
I think you get the vibe of it all =] Thank you so much, Margaret (Margaret Jacobsen Photography) for putting this on, Krystle (Sugar Krystle’s) for the delicious cupcakes, and it was so nice meeting everyone who made it =]
Afterwards, Neebin and I began plotting something we think will be AMAZING…don’t wanna leak anything right now but expect something juicy potentially soon!
Collectively, 8 different photographs I stitched into 1
I had wanted to go to the beach the night before and practice my first attempt at photographing the milky way…however, the skies were too cloudy. I moped around a bit because I’m so impatient and had really been looking forward to a night at the beach. Around 3AM I had an amazing idea…those clouds obstructing my stellar view would look beautiful at sunrise! On impulse, I woke my poor husband up, we hastily packed our gear and were out the door by 3:30! Have I ever mentioned how amazingly supportive he is? =]
Rock Formation at Nye Beach
We arrived at Nye Beach just before 5AM, which was perfect! Because the coast faces westward, the sun rises behind us and illuminates the clouds over the Pacific slowly and doesn’t wash out all the color. Another great thing…we were lucky enough to get the fog rolling in. Really gorgeous effect. It was hard for me to only pick a few…I came home with over 300 shots. Below are only 40 or so of our favorites, they’re not in any particular order. The only editing was some slight level balancing…those colors are the real thing!
[Gallery not found]As you can see, our dog LOVES the beach. And WE loved that we were the only ones on the beach for hours. One of the most relaxing days in my entire life. What a morning =] I hope you enjoyed.
I’m considering making prints available depending on how well received they are…if you had to pick 1 image, what do you think would be the best print with the most WOW factor?
<3
I was pretty bored today and saw some neat smoke photography awhile back…so thought I’d have a go at it =] Here’s what I got!
[Gallery not found]Pretty fun! My brain has created images for most of them….what do you see?
Be sure to check out <a href=”http://www.thumbtack.com/or/albany/henna-artists/high-quality-affordable-photography”>my photography services</a> at Thumbtack!
Quite literally ;] I just got back from an awesome family session…these guys were so much fun to shoot! I know sometimes people get nervous in front of the camera…but they did not hold back, and the images are fantastic! Very…colorful haha What a great family =]
[Gallery not found]Now, I’m not sure if they have a bubble machine in their backyard all the time…but now I totally want a bubble machine for mine! Because bubbles (and bowties) are cool.
Okay okay…no more puns or Dr. Who references…just enjoy the sneak peek!
People have looked up at the stars since the beginning of humanity and the complexity of what lay beyond the Earth continues to intrigue and amaze. In an attempt to bring myself as close to the skies as possible, I decided a few months back to begin practicing astrophotography. I bought a shiny new lens and began waiting for the perfect night sky. My ultimate goal is get a shot of the center of our own galaxy, the Milky Way…which I can do with the equipment I have now, but I need more practice and a lot of preparation before I take it on. I also want to photograph nebulae…but I will need a better lens for some of the deeper areas.
Now that summer has come, the clouds so fond of the Willamette Valley have begun to back off some and the nights have been clear and crisp. My hubby and I drove along the Hwy 20 and parked in as dark an area as possible. Now, ideally we would want to be higher or further out in the middle of nowhere. The stars weren’t as bright where we were but since we headed out on a whim at 2AM we weren’t prepared for pitchblack hiking or hours or driving. This spot was perfect for practice!
Shooting the stars is not so much hard as it is just time-consuming…it requires a lot of patience and trial and error. It requires advanced knowledge of your camera and you really need to take advantage of all the great things it can really do. Below are some of my favorites from the night!
[Gallery not found]I know, not super amazing…yet! But there are some really interesting things about these images that I am thrilled about! For instance…I know that even when I look up at the sky and see it dotted with white, I know that they are really reds, blues, yellows… but I did not think I would be able to capture their spectral classes! I did this by slowly unfocusing as the shutter was open…creating a blob of the stars’ color illuminated behind it. If I were to keep it sharp with a faster shutter speed, the stars will remain the white dots like we see in the sky everynight.
What I learned I need to do differently: Play with longer exposures! I was only doing 20 second, 30 second exposures, requiring me to increase my ISO to 1600…this creates a lot of grain. I also was not able to get authentic star trails…if I create an exposure for 30 minutes, I will have captured the rotation of the Earth in my photograph =] The thought of that blows my mind =] Another thing: wait for the moon to become a sliver in the sky…this time is was mostly full, and the less illumination the better. It will allow me to set my exposure longer and make the stars brighter, reaching stars you can’t even see with your eyes. Create/study star maps. I have a few months to get the angle I want from the Milky Way…I will need to figure out the best location, time, and make sure it’s a clear night. Get a remote, or set the timer…even when I mount my camera on a tripod, there is still slight vibration from my hand when I press the trigger. Eliminating any movement is best. Get familiar with the mirror lock setting.
Anyway…I was blown away, and now I am more eager than ever to proceed with astrophotography.
Today Safe Haven Humane Society celebrated their 8th Annual Paws in the Park! I’m so happy that so many people came out to support them! Everyone was encouraged to bring their puppies with them to hang out and participate in the walk. I was so happy to finally get to meet Hank, shy little thing, the English Mastiff who was rescued from a negligent home last year. Though really, there’s nothing so little about him anymore, he’s gained all his weight back and he’s a healthy happy boy with his new family =] Moxxi even got to say hello =]
Group shot! Look at all the puppy love!
These puppies were so excited and the event was just so much fun to capture! In fact, I filled up my entire CF card in just the first hour and a half =]
[Gallery not found]Safe Haven currently has several puppies up for adoption who would love to come home with you =] Find them on Facebook!
Second session practicing proper technique, today Joel helped me =] Now, I don’t typically shoot a lot of males so I realize my posing of him is a little generic…however, the main focus was slowing down and getting the shot just right…which I accomplished! I noticed that today I shot with much more ease than yesterday. Hopefully it will come with more and more ease as time goes by. I really want to nail this aspect of my work before I begin the more creative work again, so that they will truly be masterful.
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Here is my first set of headshots using “proper technique”, as so wonderfully demonstrated with the lovely Kaylie =] This is my second time shooting Kaylie (we did Sugar Skulls body-painting a few months back) She did her make-up and we played around with some feathers (and failed miserably at applying fake eyelashes haha) and voila!
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