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.

f/14
1/400
ISO 400

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.