Valentine's Mini Sessions : Iowa City, Photographer

Sorry for the lack of blog posts the last couple of days.  The last five days have been hectic.  My nephew was finally able to go home from the hospital today, which is a huge relief I have been so stressed and distracted worrying about him.  Sunday was a jam packed day of shooting mini sessions with my good friend and fellow photographer, Erin Kirchhoff from The Locket Photography.  I was exhausted after shooting from 10-5pm and I thought my fingers might fall off from being outside, but it was totally worth it.  I have never done anything like this before.  It was a great challenge to do seven different sessions with a new couple or family every hour.  Erin and I had to work quickly and come up with fun, creative and different pictures for each session.  Here are a few from our day of mini sessions.  I'm sure I'll be posting more later in the week.

I hope everyone had a great Monday.
Minda

Jace

It has been hard a stressful day.  My nephew Jace was put in the hospital with a bacterial infection in his lymph nodes.  It is hard to be in Iowa City; I wish I was in Ames with my little man.  Feel better soon and sending you my love!

Valentine's Special!

Erin 'Manson' Kirchhoff from The Locket Photography and I are joining forces to offer a $50 Valentine Special!

We're booking 30 minute mini-sessions in downtown Iowa City this Sunday, January 30th!  

      ~ each session includes a DVD and copyright release of all edited images - just in time for Valentine's Day!

Kids, families, couples! And who says you have to have a boyfriend on Valentine's Day?  Get a group of girlfriends together for a fun fashion shoot!

Email me at m.davisonphotography@hotmail.com to book your session now, times are filling up!

Available time slots:

     - Sunday, January 30th, 10 am - BOOKED!

     - Sunday, January 30th, 11 am - BOOKED!

     - Sunday, January 30th, 12 pm - BOOKED!

     - Sunday, January 30th, 1 pm

     - Sunday, January 30th, 2 pm - BOOKED!

     - Sunday, January 30th, 3 pm - BOOKED!

When I've had a bad day

I've had one of those days.  A project I've been working on has not gone as smoothly as I would like, and it is really hard for me to let negative comments roll of my back.  It isn't personal, but I take it that way.  When I've had a bad day one thing that helps bring me peace of mind is Romans 12:12, "Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer."  I know this experience at work will make me a stronger person, and there is also hope in knowing that tomorrow is a new day.

Minda

Alison & Ryan Part II

Alison and Ryan were so much fun to photograph.  I was excited to have my first winter photo session, and Alison and Ryan's excitement for having their engagement pictures taken in the winter helped pump me up even more.  The ped mall in Iowa City was the perfect setting for our morning photo shoot.  We were able to easily pop inside for a few shots when we needed to warm up.  Alison and Ryan ended their session with a snow ball fight, the perfect ending for a perfect morning.

I hope everyone had a great weekend
Minda

Alison and Ryan: Iowa City Engagement Photographer

Here is a quick sneak peak from the engagement session I had this morning with Alison and Ryan.  I had so much fun with Alison and Ryan taking pictures around the ped mall in Iowa City.  You guys are the cutest, you make my job as a photographer so easy and fun.  More to come later, but for now one of my favorites.

Tea Time

It is cold outside; the bone chilling freezes the snot in your nose cold outside.  In order to stay warm I've been drinking a whole lot of tea.  I took these pictures using a lens that I rented for my engagement session this weekend.  Hopefully I'll like the lens and it will becoming a part of my permanent collection. :)

Have a great weekend.  Drink some tea and stay warm!

I love how much blur this lens creates when using a single point focus point!

Happy Birthday Lisa!

Happy Birthday to the greatest friend in the world.  Love you! Hope you had the best day!

Ode to the Peanut Butter Egg

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret....I'm in LOVE with the Reese's Peanut Butter Egg.  It is the perfect combination of peanut butter and chocolate.  Every Easter my brothers and I would steal the peanut butter eggs out of each other's Easter baskets.  A couple years ago (yes my brothers and I still get Easter baskets, I am not ashamed!)  my mom got smart and started giving each of us our own bag.  My brothers go through their bag of peanut butter eggs right away, but I like to savor mine for as long as possible.  Thankfully Reese's started making hearts for Valentine's Day and trees at Christmas.  Thank you to my wonderful roommate Michelle for buying me my first Reese's Peanut Butter Egg of the season.

Now go out right now and buy one!
Minda

Photo Tip Tuesday

I've taken a few basic photography classes, but for the most part everything I've learned about how to use my camera has been self taught.  I've learned even more over last 1.5 years through shooting manually.  Setting your camera to the right aperture, shutter speed and ISO to get the photograph you want can be hard and at times very frustrating.  One easy thing you can do to improve your pictures is setting your white balance mode.  Nearly all digital cameras have the ability to manually change the white balance mode.  Setting your camera to the correct white balance will help make the colors in your picture more true to what they really are.  Check your camera's user manual to learn the different white balance modes your camera has, and how to change it.  In the picture below I took the top picture with my white balance in automatic mode, and in the second picture I set my white balance to the cloudy setting.  The difference in color is incredible.  I hope you find this little photo tip helpful.

Have a good night
Minda

Snow Day

I had a perfect lazy winter day.  I spent my day sipping green tea and reading a good book, while the snow fell outside.  It was beautiful.

Have a wonderful Monday
Minda

A Fantastic Weekend

It was a wonderful weekend.  I celebrated in the marriage of one of my good friends from high school and got to spend time with my nephew Jace.  I love weddings; I never get tired of going to them.  I'm a total sap and it is very rare that I don't tear up at least a little bit, which can be interesting when I'm taking pictures.  Congratulations Wade and Jayna, enjoy every minute of being Mr. and Mrs.!

 

Minda

My Blue Picture Box

I have a blue picture box given to me by a high school friend.  The outside of the box has old high school pictures and my name written in gold glitter.  The inside of the box contains cards, letters, pictures, gifts that I have received from family and friends.  Of all my material possessions, the items inside my blue picture box are what I hold dearest to my heart.  Every once in awhile I go through box; read old birthday cards and look through the stack of pictures that remind me of some of the best moments in my life.  Tonight I went through my box and pulled out a couple items that are my favorite.

Minda

It's Tradition

I'm not a big fast food person, I'd much rather eat a peanut butter sandwich at home than go through a Wendy's drive thru.  However I do make an exception when it comes to Pancheros.  It is pure deliciousness.  My co-worker and friend Nancy and I have this tradition of sorts during basketball season.  On a week night when there is a home basketball game at Cornell, we drive to Cedar Rapids do a little shopping at a few of our favorite stores and then have dinner at Pancheros before heading back to Mt. Vernon for the boy's basketball game.  This is seriously one of my favorite things Nancy and I do together, and tonight was our first night of Pancheros and men's basketball.  Thanks Nancy for a perfect night of food, good conversation and of course basketball.

Good night everyone!
Minda

The Total Package

I have been thinking a lot about the kind of photographer I want to be.  I didn't start taking pictures because I thought some day I'd have the honor of photographing the important moments in people's lives.  Honestly I still can't believe all the amazing opportunities I've had over the past two years.  Since I've kind of just been along for the ride as my career as a photographer has progressed I haven't spent very much time thinking about all those things that come along with having a business.  Branding, marketing, packaging, business plans....thinking about all these things makes my head spin.  Plus being creative and taking pictures is WAY more fun! :)  In the next year I'm going to try and be more "business minded."  I've begun the process of creating a new logo and branding, and I've started to pay a lot of attention to how I can give my clients the best experience possible from beginning to end.  Packaging is an important part of giving your client the complete experience.  One company that I think does a great job is Stella and Dot.  Stella and Dot is a jewelry company, but I think they do a great job of giving their customers a great jewelry buying experience from beginning to end.  Here are some pictures of what their packaging looks like.  The lighting isn't the greatest, but I think you get the idea.  I got the biggest smile on my face when I got my little jewelry box and opened it up to see the message, "You have a great eye."  It made me feel so special. :)

Have a great night everyone,
Minda

Oh Christmas Tree

Yep, that's right our Christmas tree is still up.  I love this tree; it is white with florescent colored lights and gold, red, silver and green ornaments.  Some might think our tree is a color disaster, but I think it has spunk!  At work this afternoon we took down the Christmas trees in our conference room and lounge, and I got to thinking, "How long is too long to keep your Christmas tree up?"  My roommate Michelle has declared that she will be keeping our two Christmas trees up until February.  How long do you keep your Christmas tree up?

I hope everyone had a great Monday.
Minda

Ode to edamame

I love food, and I especially enjoy eating food.  One of my favorite things to eat at dinner is edamame.  I could probably eat it every day of the week, and tonight was no exception.  If you love edamame as much as me, or if you want to try it out here is a great recipe for edamame hummus - Delicious!!

Minda

Winter Sunset

It was so nice to finally see the sun again today, it has been so cloudy and gloomy this past week.  I seized the opportunity to take some pictures at sunset.  I would have loved to stay out longer but I lost my light quickly and I couldn't feel my fingers after about 10 minutes!

Minda

Man of the House

Max aka Maximus is my roommate Michelle's dog.  He will be leaving us for a two week doggie training camp, so I decided to take some pictures of our sweet Max.  Isn't he adorable!?  Look at that face!  We're going to miss you Max, the house will be empty without you.

Have a great weekend!
Minda

Salsa!

It's only January 6 and I'm already slacking! :) Luckily I have a good reason...salsa dancing!  I learned how to salsa dance last night at Spy Bar in Marion.  Seriously so much FUN!  If you live around Iowa City or Cedar Rapids you have to go.  Salsa dancing is every Wednesday night, and don't worry if you don't know how to salsa, because they give lessons before the dancing begins.  As a result of my very late night of dancing I'm going to be drinking a whole lot of this today.

Have a great Thursday!
Minda

The Flower Vendor

My favorite painting is Diego Rivera's The Flower Vendor.  This painting was given to me as a gift while I was a LVC volunteer at Southeast Asian Ministry in St. Paul, Minnesota.  This painting has moved with me to five different houses and two states, and is currently prominently displayed in my living room.  I could look at this painting for hours; the vibrant colors and the sea of calla lilies are breathtaking.  You can view more of Diego's work here.

Minda

My Second Home

For the past 2.5 years I've been a commuter.  Every week day I get in my little blue Saturn Ion and drive the nearly 30 miles from Iowa City to Mt. Vernon.  Most days I don't mind the drive along highway 1. Taking in rural Iowa in all it's glory, and enjoying the 40 minutes each morning and evening to be with my thoughts.  Lots of great ideas have come to be along that stretch of highway.  However, sometimes I feel like I live in my car and the rapidly increasing mileage and constant oil changes are a reminder of just how much time I spend in my little blue Ion.  As I was driving home tonight I took a moment to take some pictures from my second home.  I'm sure the person in the car next to me thought I was nuts, as I sat at a stoplight taking pictures in the dark.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Monday.

Minda