LEA & LENS

When I was a working professional, I only kept the gear I needed to do my job. And as I photographed a rather small niche (editorial interiors), my gear was pretty honed in. A wide angle lens, a short telephoto – that was all I needed. New gear is a new experience, requiring a different […]

I recently pulled out an archived hard drive to view some of my older personal work. Maybe I was looking for inspiration, or maybe I was just feeling nostalgic. Either way, I was struck by the sheer volume of photos digitally stored that never see the light of day. I print a family photo book […]

I’ve been thinking a lot about color lately. If I had to choose between color or black and white photography for the rest of my life, I’d probably pick black and white. There is something soulful about it. It’s frank and to the point and I appreciate that. Add in some high contrast and graphic […]

It’s easy to get caught up in YouTube reviews about the perfect lens or the one with “magic” qualities, but the truth is that the only gear you need concern yourself with is the gear that works for what YOU shoot.  It doesn’t matter if your lens has the dreamiest bokeh or the shallowest depth […]

Daily life. It can feel so mundane. We look to our creative side to add the excitement and rejuvenation we crave. It’s easy to think of the day to day as uninspiring. I can easily lose sight of the reality that inspiration can strike anywhere, sometimes in the most ordinary of places.  As I reflect […]

It’s really a stunningly beautiful morning. I awoke of my own volition, something any parent knows to be the holy grail of a good night’s sleep. Though I was the first parent out of bed, there was already coffee, remnants from yesterday. It’s mine now. But I’m nice so I made a fresh pot for […]

Do you ever find yourself framing potential shots as you take a walk or drive down the road? How often do you actually stop to make the picture? Or do you feel like pulling over is too much of a hassle? You’re too busy. You don’t have time for that. With three kids often in […]

I think it’s probably obvious at this point that I am a big proponent of older gear. As each new iteration of camera bodies are released, the hype over all the latest and “greatest” so easily makes us forget that before it was released, most of us were perfectly happy to shoot with what we […]

It was 2008. I had just moved to our first duty station at the beginning of my husband’s military career. He deployed only two months after we arrived. All of a sudden, I was alone in a new place with a 2-year old and a 5-month old. Facebook was a good fit for my vulnerability. […]

I’m on my third Apple computer. The first was an iMac, which at the time (2011), seemed like the most high tech thing in the world to me. When I desired a little more portability a few years later, I switched to the MacBook Air. Why not both? Well, as with most technology in my […]

When I first began learning photography, I photographed everything. A bottle cap, a blade of grass, an old newspaper…you get the idea. I was just so excited to take pictures and apply the things I was learning that I could turn any subject into a photo op. Fast forward a number of years (to the […]

The other day, as I was critiquing a photo on a photographer website I’m part of (solicited criticism, I might add), I found myself looking at the image and thinking, “It’s really just a standard snapshot.” And in that moment, a “snapshot” wasn’t good, wasn’t worthy. A “snapshot” was something your mom took during a […]