photo52

How many people out there dream of just doing their own thing? Being your own boss. Make the photographs you want to make. Wouldn’t that be nice? Well, in an effort to make that happen I’ve decided to give this a try. I will be selling my archival photographic prints at the Portland Art Festival on August 28 from 9-4 along with about 300 local and regional artists. I’ve enjoyed printing my work and I’m excited to show it. The goal here is to have some fun, see if this could be another outlet for my work and of course, another source of income. Here’s a preview of the prints that will be on display. All of the photographs will be from my personal project on Water.

Images from Maine, Virginia and Mexico.

If you’re in the area on the 28th, stop by and see me!

Afternoon Annie

My little personality-packed Boston Terrier, Annie, has been a favorite of editors and FotoWeek DC volunteers for some time now. Her welfare, not mine, is the first question I get from many of these admirers. “Hi Hannele! How’s Annie??”  I don’t mind at all, in fact I love telling people about her. It makes me happy. She has this ability to make grumpy people smile and children scream with excitement. It’s good to be a dog. Especially a quirky, cute one. For Annie’s photo story, go to her gallery on my website.

Occoquan Reservoir #3, 2010.

I love every aspect of this personal project. It gets me back out on the water, which is where I naturally love to be. It’s ingrained in some way. On the water. Near the water. With the water. In the water. It has also helped to give me a little more focus on what my photographic purpose could be…

With all of the horrifying news coming from the Gulf of Mexico these days, I feel that this project is even more important than me getting to play in a kayak. It’s made me realize that I’d like to take it a step further and do some good. Make a difference. Educate people and help fund conservation projects. Because we humans need water. Clean water. As a photographer, I’ve been searching for that cause, that purpose for years and it was right in front of me the whole time. This cause is a natural fit for me. So please, if you have any suggestions or places that you think I should check out, let me know. This project will be long term.

For now, I will be donating a percentage of my print sales to help clean up the gulf.

Let’s hope they can plug that hole soon….

Occoquan Reservoir #2, 2010.

Occoquan Reservoir #1, 2010.

Thank you rain and warm sun, the garden isn't dead yet!

So back in March I decided I wanted to start a vegetable garden. My first. I’ve always done some container tomatoes and herbs but this year, it was time to dig in the dirt and get serious. I started my seedlings and watched them grow about 2-3 inches high and then stop. Nope, they were not going to grow anymore. They were done. Ok, fine. So I headed off to the farmer’s market and spent less than $20 for tomato, pepper, nasturtium, mint, and basil plants. Hooray. The rest I’m growing from seed and seems to be going pretty good. Well, except when a little Boston Terrier named Murray gets in there and steps all over the broccoli.  I could have done without that….

The summer squash plant that will likely take over the entire garden and the nasturtiums.

Couldn't get rid of my containers, tomatoes and basil. yum.

Lake Champlain #1, 2010.

Lake Champlain #2, 2010.

Here are a few more images from my Water & Light project. Enjoy!!

Burlington International Airport, Vermont

Hi Everyone! I hope you remembered that the “Moment in Time” was today at 15:00 UTC (11a.m. for me). Did you participate?? I was at the Burlington Airport waiting to go through security, so here’s my contribution.

Send me links to yours, I’d love to see what photographs my photo friends from all over the world made!

Mmmmm...

I don’t know about you, but when spring comes around, I get excited about gardening! Not the flower kind. The vegetable and herb kind. I like to plant things I can eat. Because, I love to eat. And when I eat something that I grew myself, it really does taste a whole lot better. (Not to mention I know how it was produced, which to me, is a pretty big deal.)

This year, I’m trying my hand at a full blown organic vegetable garden with all kinds of yummy things. I still have to pick a spot and figure out how to make it work, but it’s going to be great! I’ll keep you updated on the progress  and will be welcoming any advice you may have.

please. help.

An early spring day at the Occoquan Reservoir

Balance.

If I’ve learned anything in the past year, it’s that running around doing work all the time is not conducive to having a clear, creative mind. When I have a To-Do list a mile long, there’s little chance of me creating new, interesting work. My mind just isn’t in it.

So, how does one deal with the pressures of life and still produce good work? I’m not really sure, but my current game-plan is to find balance on a daily basis. Some ways I’ve been doing this is getting up a little earlier to practice yoga and meditate in the morning, playing with my dogs when I get home, and leaving time before bed to read my book. Today I explored a new park with David and the two pups, which is where I took the photo above. It has helped. Tremendously. It sounds so simple, but finding time in your day to clear your mind is difficult, at least for me. But it seems to be necessary in order to approach your work life with fresh ideas and positive energy…

I’m always up for suggestions, what do you do to balance work and life??

Scoping the yard for kitties

Well, Murray has certainly made himself at home. Over the past 2 months, he has taught me that my life is all about him. Yes, that’s right, I was put on this Earth to play, massage, feed and walk him. I can’t sit in a chair without instantly having him in my lap. He yodels. Yep. It’s a sound I’ve never heard from a dog before. He’s a little stinky. He’s constantly hungry. He apparently wants to eat our neighbors cat. He doesn’t really know how to run. He hops instead and it’s hilarious. He can tuck himself in the bed better than I can. He thinks it’s ok to be on the bed. He has de-stuffed every one of Annie’s (my other Boston Terrier) toys. Worst of all, he has terrible gas. But then he looks at you with those great big goofy eyes and you can’t help but giggle. He has a big heart and can put up with Annie’s moods better than any dog I have ever seen. He’ll be your best friend in a matter of seconds. Best of all, he can make me laugh on even the toughest days. I’m in love.

Yodeling

feed me.

yum. that was good.

Hi Everyone,

I’m sitting here watching the Hope for Haiti Program on tv and felt compiled to do something. I made my donation but wanted to do more. So, I’m putting one of my prints up for sale and 100% of the sale will go towards the American Red Cross. To purchase the print go to my etsy site.

Thank you.

Lake Wesserunsett #7, 2009. 100% of print sale goes to the American Red Cross!