Film is like a warm cozy blanket… it’s soft and warm and feels like a place of safety. I started out in school shooting everything on transparency film. I still believe it’s the true way to learn how to be the best photographer you can be. Digital technology is based off of the priciples of film, and if you don’t understand film… it’s going to be hard to understand her more complicated younger brother. With transparency your exposure must be spot on, or you’re going to be in quite the pickle. As my career in photography has progressed I’ve gone back and forth on the matter of film. After I bought my first digital camera I admit, I thought I would never go back. Now it seems like every Tom, Dick and Harry is a “professional photographer”, and I can’t go to a networking event without bumping into 5 or 10 competitors. What makes me different, a difference that you can see? On this blog I really want to address this issue between film and digital, because I’m heading back to my roots and I’m very proud to say that shooting film makes me a better photographer. Every shot I take has thought and heart put into it, but film takes what I see and makes it smooth as butter.

I have some amazing clients, clients that understand what I do and why I do it. Kristine at Cognition Studio (the same  designer who did my killer identity design) recently approached me about doing new portraits for their website.  She was inspired by a cover of  W Magazine that just hit the newsstands with Brad Pitt on the cover… you know the one. The photos in the spread were done by Chuck Close had a very specific look. Close used an archaic technique called Daguerreotype, and if you’ve ever seen a photograph predating 1850 you’ve probably been looking at one.

The Daguerreotype was the first successful photographic process, the discovery being announced on 7 January 1839. The process consisted of:

• exposing copper plates to iodine, the fumes forming light-sensitive silver iodide. The plate would have to be used within an hour.
• exposing to light – between 10 and 20 minutes, depending upon the light available.
• developing the plate over mercury heated to 165 degrees. This caused the mercury to amalgamate (found this word on the internet) with the silver.
• fixing the image in a warm solution of common salt (later sodium sulphite was used.)
• rinsing the plate in hot distilled water.

The process of creating a Daguerreotype is detailed in itself, but the actual photograph is so desirable because of it’s ability to record even the smallest, most minute amount of detail. Sometimes the details might reveal something that the photographer had not intended.

In Brad Pitts’ case, every line, wrinkle, blackhead, and 3rd world adopted baby was revealed with the printing of his negatives.

After researching exactly how to give Cognition Studio the best from a photography perspective, I really wanted to go as true to the process as possible. Traditional Daguerreotypes have an exposure time of 30-45 seconds. That’s a LONG time to hold one’s breath, plus I had an apprehension to working with liquid mercury (I eat sushi, but come on)  Shooting film, however, was a must. I busted out the 4×5 moves for these portraits, which  was challenging enough. The focal plane is narrow so the subject must remain perfectly still after focusing while the film backs are inserted.

Yes, the filters were applied in Photoshop to give it that Daguerreotype look. I cheated, don’t tell.

My brother is a good man. And I’m not just saying that because I’m INCREDIBLY biased. A shapeshifter, he’s one of those people who can walk into any situation and fit in. Everyone likes him. He’s unbelievably smart, and considering what I know about the kinds of things he did in college I’m pretty surprised. I kid mom, I kid. His sense of humor is much better than mine. In fact, he’s made me laugh so hard I’ve peed, I mean REALLY peed. He’s handsome…. so handsome. I’m not just saying that because he looks like me with no hair. Other women have told me he is. I SWEAR. He is driven and successful, but grounded and real. He can fix stuff and build stuff and clean stuff.  He’s trustworthy and honest, so honest that growing up if he did something wrong most of the time he would admit and apologize before my parents were even on to him.

Last summer he was living the single life and then it happened. A mutual friend introduced them, and for Walt it was an easy decision. Amanda was the one. He found his counterpart in an amazing, successful, gorgeous, and good woman. He wants every possibility for her, and she for him. Their love story is only beginning and I’m so excited and impatient to see where their lives will take them. I hope it involves lots and lots of pretty babies. Clarification: Not like the Duggars‘ lots, but enough to carry the gene pool. They will marry in an intimate ceremony this summer at Broken Top in Bend, and I am blessed to be the one to capture their day.

Here are some of my faves from their engagement session. It was so hard to narrow it down because we must have shot for 5 hours, the time just flew by.

Walt and Amanda, I just love your faces off.

See what I mean about the gene pool? SHEEEEESH.

My good friends Casey and Tara just recently bought a new home. They are first time home owners and have really been enjoying all of the “nesting” that comes with owning a home. It’s a different feeling than renting, everything is YOURS. You can paint as  you wish, decorate as you wish, and if something breaks…. well they’re learning, there’s no landlord to call. I’ve really been enjoying all of their stories and adventures during this time. Including but not limited to Tara backing into the garage door and completely obliterating it, and Casey feeling inclined to do the kind of cleaning most of us do on a yearly basis…. weekly. It reminds me of the pledge I made when I bought my first car, I was going to wash, wax, and detail every day. Keep that new car smell. At some point along the way it just became the car I drove. Although I do like the fact that if I’m eating at their house and I drop something on the floor… I can pick it up and eat it. Just sayin.

I just love Casey and Tara, and when they asked me to take a couple of portraits of them with their “kids”, I jumped at the chance. This is a huge accomplishment for them, congratulations you guys! Aren’t they just adorable? I’m looking forward to their new arrival this spring of a Newfoundland Puppy, and will of course be posting pictures when he arrives.

I just love kissing pictures…

Wowzer! What a great place I have now to share all of my thoughts, dreams and photos with the world. I’m so grateful to have found Liz at CMD+Shift Design who made all of my dreams a reality with this project. I’m a pretty serious blog reader so going into all of it, I had a clear mind of what I wanted. She advised me on just how to make it all happen, and THEN SOME. Luckily Liz shares my enthusiasm for a great website.  My identity has recently been made over as well, and I plan to do a proper post about it soon, but here’s a little plug to Kristine at Cognition Studio, because without her, the design of this blog would have been uninspired. You should have seen what I used to have going on with my design, and if you did see it…. let me apologize for burning your eyes. UH-GLY.

I’ll be blogging here about my commercial photography work, my wedding work, my production work, and little tid-bits here and there about me and my life in Seattle. I should forewarn, I’m a horrible speller (thank GOD for spell check) sometimes I make up my own words, and I love run on sentences and stream-of-conciousness writing. Sorry in advance if it’s not your style. But it’s mine, and this is all about me right?

For a little tour of the page, there at the top… that’s me. Hi! I’m adding some new photos to that soon, courtesy of the AHMAZING Amy  of Amy McMullen Photography,  I’m going to have a little rotating header going on inspired by the lovely Jamie Delaine who’s work and blog I simply adore (she’s pretty rad too ;-) Below me is my navigation bar, perhaps the most important tool in the box, helps you find stuff you were or weren’t even looking for. Below that you can subscribe, and my twitter feed. I love twitter. Follow me, I’ll follow you. It will be fun, I promise.

Well thanks so much for stopping by, and check back again soon. I’ll be adding new stuff all the time.

xoxo,

Laura

And because everything is better with a picture…. here is a snapshot I took of Ladybug, my studio manager, at the beach last weekend while we were camping. She is such a model.