Hally Grace Photography

To Be An Ant

2012-03-09T12:20:00.002-06:00

Someone just told me the other day about two different artists. One of them was in a never-ending cycle of having these great moments of artistic clarity and creativity, directly followed by long, low periods of depression and heavy drinking. The other artist, a writer, looked up to this woman and saw her as a butterfly, always blooming and spreading her beautiful wings for everyone to admire, but having very short lifespans. But instead of being more like a butterfly, the writer had her own way of working - two hours a day in front of the computer, every day, whether she felt like writing or not. She referred to herself as an ant, consistently building on what she had, and never stopping. It may not seem as glamorous, but she was still a very successful writer, and was able to avoid several bouts of depression.

I'm trying to work like an ant, which is not as easy as it sounds. Whether I like it or not, I am a very emotional person, and high emotions are hard to suppress when I'm taking pictures I don't like so much. But, it is what it is, and I just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other until I find a good connection with something.

Here are a few pictures I took the other night in Kansas City, which has been swarming with crows. There will be just thousands of crows roosting in the trees and on the buildings of a block, which is a pretty amazing sight to see. I wish my photos could have done the experience more justice, but maybe I'll have better luck another night.

I've also been continuing to photograph trees - I'm still very caught up on the one behind my apartment.

I've been spending a good amount of time just trying to pull my camera out and mess around, too. Here are a couple experimental shots with the zoom, a photo from a day at the zoo, and another with Brian on a lazy Saturday...

And last but not least, a photo of Penny to bring in the new season!

These may not be the most glamorous or exciting shots, but to be an ant is not always an exciting thing. Maybe, in a few days or weeks, my consistent work will pay off into an amazing feat. Maybe.

Kansas, My Love

2012-02-01T08:25:00.000-06:00

Kansas Day was a couple days ago, which is a very important day to me. It is a day when I can remember how much growing up in Kansas has given to me. I learned how to find beauty in things that many people see past, and it gave me the patience of being mindful on a quiet day. I wasn't able to spend Kansas' birthday in Lincoln, but I was able to go back home a week before for my art opening at the Lincoln Art Center. I was really happy to be able to go out into the pasture with my mom, who wanted me to take pictures of a couple old house foundations.

The houses had been built in a valley, which must have caused a lot of grief for the dwellers, since wet Kansas springs cause a lot of water to rush down into the valleys and saturate the ground to the point of flooding. It was very humbling to go out and see the remains of the houses surrounded by nothing but the vast Kansas prairie under an enormous teacup sky. I decided to try out a couple different panoramic shots, and here are a couple photos I was able to put together...

And, like all trips back home, I inevitably have to leave. I feel pretty bad for Brian when he comes to Lincoln with me, because the four-hour drive back mostly consists of me crying. But we returned to a beautiful Kansas City evening - very springlike, with daunting clouds and a moist breeze. I decided it was the perfect time to take pictures of a tree outside of our apartment, which has grown right into my heart.

Going back home always refreshes and revitalizes me. I am lucky to have come from such a beautiful place, and I am ready to hit up Kansas City through a fresh lens.

Scrambled Eggs

2012-01-11T07:23:00.001-06:00

I've been meaning to work on more recipe cards since my Greek Yogurt photo, and I've finally gotten around to creating another one - the best scrambled eggs you'll ever have in your life...

Baby Photos

2012-01-03T07:33:00.002-06:00

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, finishing up Santa photos at other Barkery locations and getting ready for the holidays, but I am finally getting on top of all my stuff. I took these photos about a month ago and finished editing them this past weekend. It was really fun to do - she was a one-month old baby with so much personality!

Santa Photos and Artwork

2011-12-03T22:15:00.001-06:00

It's Saturday night, and I am happy to say I've spent another Saturday working (I say "happy" because I still remember being in college and feeling the sheer panic about being able to find any sort of photo work) - half of which was at Brookside Barkery, taking pictures of dogs with Santa. I re-learned a lot of small but important things about setting up and controlling lighting, which was very nerve-racking at times but also very satisfying knowing that I am capable of seeing and solving problems. Here are a few pictures from the day:

I also spent a few hours this past week helping my neighbor document some of his artwork. Also a great (re)learning experience, with the same roller coaster ride of feeling unable to do anything right mixed with a sense of great accomplishment. A few of his pieces...

(You can check out more of his awesome stuff at www.devonschillerart.com/)

I know I still have a lot of practice to go through before I can feel completely comfortable and confident in these sorts of pictures, but I am excited to be able to have the opportunity to work on such skills. I immediately invested in some polarizing filters after this initial shooting of some of my neighbor's paintings (I think he wants to have more photographed later on), which will definitely help with reflection and glare problems. Eventually, I will be able to afford a light meter, which will make a WORLD of difference in getting these pictures done right and done smoothly. I intend to photograph your paintings very soon, Dad!!!

Mother/Son Portraits

2011-11-02T08:06:00.000-05:00

I took some pictures a few weekends ago of this girl (that I used to work with, and really wished I still worked with) and her son both in my studio and in West Bottoms in KC. It was a lot of fun, but I had to set the edits on the back burner for awhile due to other photography due dates. Here are some of my favorite shots of the day...

CHIEFS!!

2011-10-26T17:59:00.001-05:00

I forgot to post this picture, a looong time ago, too...

First football game I've ever gone too, and quite possibly the last!!

Wedding Shots

2011-10-26T17:51:00.000-05:00

Man, oh man! I have really dropped the ball on this blogging thing lately!! I've been pret-ty busy, but it's back to staying on top of things. Here are a few of my favorite shots I took at a Colorado wedding (Cory and Bettina's) a few weeks ago:

It was a really beautiful wedding, and I'm so glad I got the chance to photograph it. Woo!!

Pet Portraits

2011-09-19T18:22:00.000-05:00

My supervisor, Steve, helped me practice a set-up and session of pet portraits at Brookside Barkery. We're teaming up to include customers in a Halloween Pet Costume Contest - they'll be able to get a portrait of their pet in a Halloween costume for ten dollars (donated to a charity), which will enter them into a contest to win a Barkery gift card. I'll get some publicity out of if, as well as hourly pay. Not the best pay for me, but it's a start! Here are some photos from our Sunday session. If you want to see more, you can look at the new Pets page on my website.

PVC-Stands!!

2011-09-14T08:49:00.000-05:00

Ever since I learned about the opportunity to work on pet portraits at Brookside Barkery, I've been slowly accumulating all of the "professional" gear I need - lights, stands, backdrops, etc. The biggest expense I was worried about was one of the less-needed, but still necessary, ones - C Stands. These are the stands that are typically used to hold up backdrops, and sometimes lighting or other equipment. They're surprisingly pricey, so keeping my tight budget and my old photography professors' advice in mind, I perused the internet for ideas. I found a great site that showed how to make these stands out of PVC pipe - they may not be the strongest, but for about 30 dollars, some brainstorming with a couple Home Depot employees, and a little work with Brian's help, I was able to put together two of them.

I still need to glue all of the joints together, and trim down a couple of the legs to make the stands more level, but I am so happy that they'll be strong enough to hold up a backdrop. This was my first time working with PVC pipe, and I am in love. I think I'll be using it to create my table display at the Bizarre Bazaar this year - wooo!

Bubbles

2011-09-12T08:39:00.000-05:00

Sara came over a few Saturdays ago, and we had a great morning full of lots of bubbles. Here are some of the pictures I got out of it....

Popcorn

2011-08-26T08:32:00.000-05:00

It may seem like I'm not spending a lot of time on photography (judging by the amount of time between blog posts), but I've actually been pretty busy! I'm learning that a lot of the freelance photography business deals with not even picking up the camera. Since my last post, I've proposed to take pet portraits at the Brookside Barkery (where I wash dogs - Best Job Ever!!), worked on packaging prints for the Bizarre Bazaar, helped someone learn a little more in Photoshop, brainstormed plans for a kids' stop motion animation project I'm doing in a few months, and prepped for a couple weddings coming up. And to think that I still have so much to do without my camera - agh!!!

But I did have a chance the other morning to work on a food shot - trying to show corn on the cob SO ANGRY that some of his kernels are popping... I think it kind of worked!

Rolling Along

2011-08-16T17:53:00.000-05:00

After spending days wondering if the bird feeder I made would ever attract anything, Brian notified me that Something ate all of the peanut butter. Soon after that, as we were eating lunch on our balcony, we noticed we had a friend watching us with its beady little eyes. And after a little bit of patience and a lot of excitement, I got photographic evidence of this tiny guy...

He may not be able to fly, but I'd say it's a good start to a wonderful relationship!

I spent the later part of that day in Lawrence, where I spent time talking business with Elenor and taking photos of Shadow - which was a lot of fun, I never knew that dog was so great. (Ben was a big help for the shoot.)

I've also opened up a shop on Etsy - you should check it out!! Just follow this link -

http://www.etsy.com/shop/hallygrace2?ref=ss_profile

Juggling Act

2011-08-11T13:23:00.000-05:00

I take a lot of pride in my work. If I hate a job, I still tend to bend over backwards to prove to my boss that I am worth my weight in gold. But this week, I've changed. I've decided that, as an adult, I should take responsibility for my happiness, and in order to do so I sometimes need to make sacrifices to be selfish. I quit my job as a fan photographer, which may have been good money, but had also been turning me into a life-hating, fatigue-fighting machine. I didn't want to touch my camera after a twelve hour day full of washing dogs and asking disgruntled fans to take their picture (hence the amount of time that has passed since my last post).

So now, I spend my days washing dogs (best. job. EVER!) and more of my free time working on photography. I made a bird feeder in the hopes of attracting birds to the tree growing next to our balcony, which has yet to actually work but I'm learning to be patient.

It's not the classiest thing, but if birds can find it, I'll be able to photograph them without much background distraction of a bird feeder. I've also started taking my camera out when Brian and I go on adventures throughout the city, and was able to take a couple panoramic shots on top of the World War I monument this past weekend.

There was a storm rolling in, which made for a great cityscape. I think I spent a little too much time taking pictures, though, because Brian and I got stuck in the storm on the bike ride home...

I spent this morning working on photographing eggs, and here is what I have so far.

Yay for quitting jobs I don't like!!

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

2011-08-01T17:29:00.000-05:00

Greek yogurt pancakes are not only incredibly delicious and pretty good for you, they are also really easy to make. I've been meaning to create a photo showing the ingredients being put together to create the pancakes, along with the actual recipe on top of it.

I also decided to make all of the ingredients look all sorts of anxious as a kind of a way to acknowledge how we don't really think about where the food we are eating comes from. There are a lot of people who are (justifiably) horrified by the meat industry today, which has caused vegetarianism to be more popular. And I can't stop thinking about an article my dad shared with me, about how scientists just figured out that plants can actually communicate pain (which makes me wonder - how are vegans feeling about this??).

I've been meaning to create different photos like this for awhile, and this is my first draft...

My niece and other things in life

2011-07-29T16:01:00.000-05:00

This past week has been pret-ty busy. Susan, Sergei, Vika, Anya, Sofia, and Malish stayed the night in Kansas City with us, which was a lot of fun. We took Sofia to the park close to my house in the morning. She is a walking machine!!

I also (somewhat forcibly, I'll admit) let her play with the sunglasses I got from a flea market that make me feel like an 80's drug lord, which made for a couple of good spur-of-the-moment photos.

After a good weekend with family in Lincoln, I hit the ground running with a shift at the Royals game, followed by my first day as a dog washer at Brookside Barkery - which may be the best job I've ever had! I actually got to spend the week getting paid to hang out with dogs. Granted, there is a lot of shedding hair, a medium amount of whining, and a little fatigue at the end of the day, which has made me a lot less productive at home and with my photography. I did finish putting up my dad's ties on the wall (which Brian suggested, rather than hanging them up as curtains as I usually do), and I am extremely happy about how it turned out.

Brian also seemed to be inspired by his unfinished metal mask in the studio, and built an Awesome work table in just a couple of days! He let me help a little bit, and was kind enough to show me how to use different power tools, which I am very grateful for. And I am excited to have such an awesome table to work on!!

The Bizarre Bazaar is getting closer and closer, and I have yet to actually spend real time making real progress. This upcoming week will be my big start-up week for food photos, which I am a little nervous about. But I don't think I can do much more procrastinating...

A Quick Post Before Work

2011-07-19T16:09:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy weekend, followed by an even crazier Monday, which leaves me rushing around trying to do a dozen different things at the same time. My first day of work at the Royals stadium was last night, which was a lot of fun but also exhausting! I exceeded my boss' expectations (phew!) with 521 shots of different fans willing to take a second to be photographed, but by the end of the night my mouth felt all goopy after forming the words "Can I take your picture for the Royals website?" more times than I care to count and I was so tired I was barely comprehensive while talking to my mom on the drive home. Getting home was shortly followed by hitting the pillow, but I had a restless night of sleep with Royals and White Sox fans invading my dreams and demanding that I take their photos...

Today was a mixture of fatigue and trying to get the second bedroom in our apartment converted into a studio rather than just a storage room. It's coming along, slowly but surely, complete with parking spots for Brian's and my bikes, an ironing station for real world outfits, a metal mask Brian never completed that is inspiration for not giving up, and Russian propaganda pushing us to work harder.

I was also able to find a cheap storage shelf at Goodwill the other day, which is sloppily storing a lot of art and photography supplies, including my collection of pens over the years. I spent some time a couple days ago going through them and throwing out the ones that didn't work, noting happily that I had some pens and pencils close to a decade old and all the while thinking back to similar activities during the good old days of the overflowing Pen Drawer at home.

I still have a good amount of work to do to finish the studio, since the closet looks like this:

but I have high hopes. And now, armed with a positive attitude, freshly-washed clothes, and a granola bar to eat after the National Anthem plays, I'm taking myself out to the ballgame.

The Fire Hydrants of Grinnell

2011-07-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

I recently got back from a stint at the Tiny Circus in Grinnell, Iowa, which was both an educational and wonderful experience. While I was there, I started to notice the oddity of fire hydrants - they're EVERYWHERE!! And although they all seem to serve the same purpose and have similar characteristics, they are all very unique in and of themselves. Here are a few pictures I took of the hydrants in Grinnell. I have a feeling the next step for me will be to tackle the fireplugs of Kansas City.