The new blog is live.

It's official. The new blog is up and running. Click on the link below so you can view the most recent post.

https://www.vanhattenphotography.com/journal/

From here on out everything will be posted to the blog address above. You can still view posts on this blog, but nothing new will be added.

I hope you like the new site!

Cheers,

Jackie

It's Time to Say Good-Bye

It's time to say "good-bye" to this blog because next Tuesday the new blog and website will launch. It's been almost two years since I started with blogger, but change is inevitable and it's time for me to embrace it.

This picture couldn't be more perfect for this post. It's fall in New Zealand and you can see the leaves changing colors. There's just enough green left to show you how drastic the replacement of color really is.

Here I witnessed autumn for the first time. Sure I've seen fall before, but nothing like this, nothing that made me stop and appreciate what my eyes were telling me. Maybe my age is finally revealing some of the wisdom that I have gained in the past few years or maybe I'm a sucker for the power of nature, but one thing is for sure: I will never overlook the season between summer and winter.

A Nut Orchard Vacaville, CA ~ Picture of the Week

I've spent some time in Vacaville, CA now that my in-laws live there, but I had no idea what I was missing out on. I went wandering one afternoon and this is what I found. I think I walked about 100 steps to find this nut orchard. Who knew it would be that easy to find light worth dying for?

Simple Things

First of all I have a little confession: this is not my picture, but my husband's. Maybe that's why I like it so much. It reminds me of all the times we've spent enjoying the great outdoors. For us camping and hiking is a release from all the clutter and it helps us appreciate the simpler things in life.

Joshua Tree is close to Southern California so it's a nice weekend get away if you are interested. Plus the wild flowers will be blooming soon, which is when this picture was taken.

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Tenacious Motivation at Wedding & Portrait Photographers International aka WPPI

For those of you who are not familiar with the WPPI Convention it happens once a year in Las Vegas, Nevada and it's attendance has surpassed 10,000 people.

Some say it's spring break for photographers, but after my first WPPI, I feel it's more than just a party. Whether you are there to enhance your business practices, to learn how to be a better photographer, to find new products for your clients or to showcase your products, there is one thing we all walk away with. And that is motivation.

It gets us out of bed in the morning. It helps us edit thousands of images. It pushes us beyond all the monotonous tasks that we must do to run a photography studio. But most importantly it fuels us to pursue our dreams. And without a dream or a vision we consent to living an automatic life. 


Just before we left sin city, Jeff and Betsy of the ever fabulous La Vida Creations, had a genius idea: to stop and get our grub on at IN-N-OUT Burger. It didn't seem entirely original until we arrived. There were two IN-N-OUT Burger trucks sitting at the loading docks begging us to take their pictures! Jeff did the honors of ordering our scrumptious meals -- my french fries -- and Betsy and I took to the loading docks! We also made a couple of photo stops on our way back to San Diego. It was the perfect ending to a great convention!

Brilliant Colors in Cambodia

I apologize for not having this post up earlier. It's been a challenge to get an Internet connection at WPPI 2010 so I am posting this one from my iPhone. Thank goodness for technology.

Here is an image of a floating house on Tonle Sap in Cambodia. Not all the houses had this much color so I couldn't help but take a picture.

Which is your favorite? ~ Picture of the Week

These are two of my very favorite images from our trip to Cambodia. I love how the sunlight seeps through the canopy and creates diagonal lines of light on the little girl. I also love how her reaction changes in an instant. At the sight of the camera she was super shy, but when her friends made her giggle and laugh; that's when I saw her.

It's easy for me to decide which image I like best, but I am more curious to know which of these images you like better. It would be great to know which is your favorite and why. Make a little comment below.

Shontay and Brian ~ Engagement ~ February 20, 2010

Finally a Saturday with no rain! We don't normally need to make plans around the rainy weather here in San Diego, but lately we have. And this past weekend was no exception. Shontay and Brian's engagement session was close to being under a watery downfall, but lucky for them the rain let up early.

Cabrillo National Monument is such a great location and I was super excited when Shontay said she wanted to have their engagement session there. We had just enough time with the stellar light before the monument closed at 5 p.m. It's such a shame it closes so early because it is one of the best lookout points. After that we drove to the Union Station downtown.

Brian and Shontay are a warm, fun couple and I cannot wait for their wedding on October 23rd at the Mission Valley Marriott. It's going to be a stupendous day!

 

  

  

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

Just Another Day at the Office~Picture of the Week

This picture -- metaphorically speaking -- is what it's like to start a business. It's pretty scary some days. Fear and doubt are the biggest black holes that can consume you. They eat at your ambitions and your attitude. They foster bad self-esteem and are outright unproductive.

It's tough to admit, but I've been in the black hole once or twice. However, I've always made it out. Largely because failure is not in my dictionary. And secondly, because the journey has been one of the best things I have done since marrying my husband.

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Another Look Into the Temples of Cambodia~Picture of the Week

It surprised me when I realized that I hadn't posted this picture of Prasat Beng Mealea. But then again there is a slew of pictures that has not adorned our picture of the week.

If you have been keeping up with our posts, this is the hidden temple I talked about in a previous blog entry. So now you know the name!

I am working on a new website and blog so I am keeping this entry short and sweet. See you next week!

Jackie

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Waking A Stranger~Picture of the Week

"He's asleep. What should I do?" Brian asked me as I crammed our souvenirs into our REI backpack. We had to take an early flight from the Atatürk International Airport so Brian could get to his temporary work place in Little Chesterford at a decent time.

I tiptoed from our room to the lobby where the front desk man was fast asleep. His head rested on his upper arm while his forearm covered his eyes. Horizontal on the wee couch he snored. If we were in a cartoon, the lobby chandelier would be swaying to-and-fro as the over-weight man inhaled and exhaled.

My walk back to the room was not quieted by tiptoes because it was going to take an earthquake to wake this dark-haired man from his deep slumber.

"We don't have a phone to call a taxi so you have to wake him up," I responded.

"Do you want me to wake him up?" I asked Brian expecting him to turn down my offer.

He replied how any loving husband would, "No, I will do it."

As Brian disappeared around the corner, my heart steadied it's pace and I sighed with relief. I was afraid to wake a complete stranger in a foreign country. Was it polite? Would he be angry when he woke up? Does he speak English?

"Is he up?" I asked when Brian returned from the bear's den.

After a few laughs and a couple deep breaths Brian gave me a quick update of the situation. "Yes, he is awake now. I had to shake him a few times before he finally opened his eyes. I apologized for waking him, but he said it was okay. He is calling for a taxi now."

We stayed a couple blocks from this view in Istanbul. It's a 10 minute walk from the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) and the Ayasofya (Hagia Sofia). Even though we had to disturb the front desk man from his nap, we -- without a doubt -- would stay there again.

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Sheepish Sheep~Picture of the Week

After a brief discussion with Brian about today's blog post, we came to the same conclusion: write about trying to take pictures of New Zealand's sheep.

If you asked any farmer, he'd say we were a bunch of tourist city kids giving fright to his sheep, but all we wanted were some pictures of New Zealand's cream fleeced friends.

"Wow! Look at all those sheep! Pull over! Pull over!" It was tough for me to stare in one direction because I was driving and Brian was navigating. Katie, Matt and Jim were in the back seat gawking out the window as if aliens had just landed in the field next to us.

The sheep-herder--a guy driving a beat-up truck--was waiting patiently for his flock to funnel through the open gate. It was like watching a white cloud of smoke being sucked into an empty room.

Our five-door, silver chariot slowed to a stop on the shoulder of the two-lane road. "Camera! Where's the camera?" I asked frantically.

By the time we got out of the car and crossed the road a majority of the sheep had already passed through the gate's mouth. But as we got closer the herd stopped in their tracks and changed their direction. They ran back into the field away from us. We knew this couldn't be good so we withdrew our forces for another encounter.

Unfortunately the next showdown was less successful. The sound of our wagon's rubber tires against the gravel shoulder signaled the sheep to run before we came to a complete stop. There was no point of even getting out of the car, especially since my f/2.8 70-200mm was parked at home in our 26th-floor apartment in Singapore.

A few more attempts left us empty handed, and by now it was just Brian and I left to duel. As we drove we noticed that some fields were surrounded by waist-high hedges crowded with thorns. It was the perfect plot: walk below the hedge until the fluffy, four-legged animals were in shutter-release range.

We parked the car about 70 meters down the road and walked as if we were Quasimodo in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Giggling like children we drew closer. Small holes in the thorny hedges allowed us to calculate our distance to the confrontation. Slowly we observed the view above the hedge and the curly-haired mammals froze. Our heads popped back, below the hedge as we gathered ourselves for our last chance to capture a digital image of these shy creatures.

"On the count of three..one..two...three!" I whispered as we jumped standing tall seizing as many frames per second as we could. First the sheep stiffened as if frozen in time. Then every muscle in their body screamed, "release" and out came the liquid and solid waste of a grass-fed farm animals. Despite the slight delay the white-faced cowards took off running to the opposite side of their home front and we walked back to our hatchback gleaming with victory.

It's not what I had visualized in my mind, but it is such a good picture of the immense stare before the flee.

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