Courtney Z Photography: Courtney Z Photography

Showing posts with label Courtney Z Photography. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

We're Moving!

If you haven't yet noticed, this Blogspot blog has been pretty quiet. It's not for lack of work. In fact, it's because I've been pretty busy. I'm in the process of updating my website and I also have a new blogsite! I'm going to keep this blog active for a while (until I can move everything over), but I didn't want you all to be left in the dark in the process.

Come on over and take a look around. :)

Courtney Z Photography

courtneyz.com/blog

info@courtneyz.com

Sunday, May 10, 2015

10 on 10 - May 2015

This year we have had the 10th fall on some pretty fun days which gives me the opportunity to change my mind about what I'm going to post at the last minute and to find a new, fun 10 on 10 project the afternoon before it needs to be posted. Before we get to that though, make sure to check out the other 10 on 10ers listed below. They always have something good in store and some good eye candy.

Brittany Conner Photography

Anya Elise Photography

A few month's ago I posted 10 portraits of women in celebration of International Women's Day. For May's 10 on 10, I realized (this week) that the 10th is Mother's Day! It seems only fitting that I use this as a day to celebrate a few of the mothers around me.

Over the last 2-3 years I've been fortunate enough to have some great friends who have become even better moms. I've been lucky enough to watch their kids grow from little bean sprouts to wobbly nuggets of curiosity. Through that time, I can say that my understanding of knowing that it is difficult it is to be a mom has grown ten-fold, while simultaneously knowing that my understanding of life as a mom is close to zilch.

From what I can gather, motherhood is at the very least, life unexpected. Most days, it seems like you're just hoping you don't royally mess up the little being that came into the world nothing short of perfect. That's a lot of pressure! Which is why we have Mother's Day. Today is the day to thank your mom for caring about the amount of sleep you get, for worrying about the kind of dye that goes into those fruit chews, and for making sure you have sunblock on any uncovered skin on a hot sunny day, even when you're 28...

To all my mother family/friends/neighbors, thank you for all that you do. It's easy to see that no one loves you like your own mom. Know that while it may not be said often, us kidos really appreciate all the love that you put into giving us the best life possible. I can unequivocally say being my mom was/is not easy. I'm stubborn and have a strong rebellious streak (sorry mom), but I can also say that I got my best personality traits from the perseverance and love of my mom.

With all that being said, this month's post is documenting some of the moms in my life (and a few of the neighbors to my friend that were out in their yard). Thank you all for being a part of my last minute, mom appreciation 10 on 10 post, but more importantly, thank you for being your own best mom. I was pretty quick in taking most of these photos, but it was so fun to see five different women and see how much they love their kids and how much their kids love them back. It's instantaneous and unmistakable.

I'm wishing these five ladies and all the other moms out there the best Mother's Day. ...and if you haven't yet, use this as your reminder to call you mom and say 'I love you'.

Until next time...

Friday, April 10, 2015

10 on 10 - April 2015

Here we are again. Another 10 on 10! These are quickly becoming my favorite time to post because I've been trying to be a bit more intentional about what I post and how I photograph for the 10th. Before we get into that though, be sure to check out the other 10 on 10ers linked below:

Shaw Photography

Brittany Conner Photography

Twinty Photography

Anya Elise Photography

CLB Creative

To be totally honest, I didn't have anything for this post until today (which is now yesterday, the 9th). I knew it was coming, and usually I can capture something in my life throughout the month, but this past month, I have had a handful of projects and just wasn't able to get something together to use for a 10 on 10. So I broke out my camera the day before the post was due, and decided to start practicing some free-lensing.

For those that don't know, in short, free-lensing is when you hold a disconnected lens (from your camera body) in your non-shutter hand and clumsily attempt to focus. It isn't easy, but the effect can be fun, and it's good to get all this practicing done before using it at an actual paid shoot. Not all of these are done free-lensing, but that was my focus for this month's post. I was even able to convince my bff to let me practice on an actual human. She didn't know that meant her at first either.

Thanks for indulging a lady in her nerdy habits. Until next time. :)

Friday, September 26, 2014

30 Days of Awesomeness! ...continued

Last week, I posted the first half of my 30 32 Days of Awesomeness adventures, and as promised, this week is the second half. Just to recap a bit, Chase Jarvis partnered with Borrowed Lenses to put together this really incredible giveaway AND, I WON!!! Pretty random because I never win ANYTHING, and really, really awesome! I was able to use a month's rental of top of the line equipment. I chose my month so that I could fully take advantage of all this gear. Weddings, families, professional soccer, environmental portraits for a few small businesses, senior sessions, a new project that I have a brewing (more info coming soon), and lots of random photos of my own life.

For those who just want me to stop blabbing and get to the goods, here is a list of the gear that I got to play with for a month:
5d Miii camera body
16-35 2.8 L II
24-70 2.8L II
85mm f1.2L II
70-200 2.8L II
200-400 f4L Extender1.4x

And, just a quick refresher, you will notice that for each photo, I also included all the info below the posted photo:

Day

description

camera body, camera lens

focal length, ISO, shutter speed, aperture

flash (if used)

Day 17: Sunday, August 3rd, 2014

Craig Mitchelldyer let me tag along in the media section for a Portland Thorns game

5D Miii, 200-400 f4L Extender1.4x

560mm, 8000, 1/1250, f5.6

Day 18: Monday August 4th, 2014

The beginning of dahlia season

5D Miii, 70-200 2.8 L IS II

200mm, 640, 1/100, 4.5

Day 19: Tuesday August 5th, 2014

King of the Yard

5D Miii, 16-35 2.8 L II

16mm, 800, 1/250, 3.5

Day 20: Wednesday August 6th, 2014

Jehn Glynn // Visual Designer

5D Miii, 24-70 2.8L II

Left: 70mm, 100, 1/640, 3.2

Right: 42mm, 100, 1/640, 3.2

Day 21: Thursday August 7th, 2014

Skating #LikeAGirl

5D Miii, 70-200 2.8 L IS II

130mm, 200, 1/1000, 3.5

Day 22: Friday August 8th, 2014

A glimpse of the coming fall

5D Miii, 70-200 2.8 L IS II

200mm, 640, 1/200, 2.8

Day 23: Saturday August 9th, 2014

Nabil and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary

6D, 70-200 2.8 L IS II

200mm, 400, 1/100, 7.1

Day 24: Sunday August 10th, 2014

Meet PDX interview with Michael Cox of Wild Abandon (more info coming soon)

5D Miii, 24-70 2.8L II

24mm, 320, 1/30, 5.6

600 EX-RT on camera flash

Day 25: Monday August 11th, 2014

Z says it's bedtime

5D Miii, 24-70 2.8L II

42mm, 1250, 1/25, 2.8

600 EX-RT off camera bounce flash

Day 26: Tuesday August 12th, 2014

A photographer's "selfie"

6D, 24-70 2.8L II

70mm, 160, 1/180, 4

umbrella mount on 600 EX-RT off-camera flash

Day 27: Wednesday August 13th, 2014

Fresh crab and artichokes for dinner

5D Miii, 16-35 2.8 L II

16mm, 2000, 1/20, 2.8

600 EX-RT on camera flash

Day 28: Thursday August 14th, 2014

Not a little bud anymore

5D Miii, 70-200 2.8 L IS II

135mm, 800, 1/80, 2.8

Day 29: Friday August 15th, 2014

A little mood lighting for Friday dinner

5D Miii, 70-200 2.8 L IS II

200mm, 2500, 1/160, 2.8

Day 30: Saturday August 16th, 2014

Another fabulous view from another fabulous wedding

5D Miii, 24-70 2.8L II

24mm, 320, 1/80, 16

Day 31: Sunday August 17th, 2014

Senior portrait season in full swing

6D, 24-70 2.8L II

28mm, 400, 1/200, 4.5

Day 32: Monday August 18th, 2014

Up early to catch the sun rise over Mt. Hood

6D, 200-400 f4L Extender 1.4x

200mm, 100, 5, 22

I can't tell you how much fun I had playing around with all of this gear. It gave me an opportunity and a little push to learn more about lighting, choosing the right gear for the right situation, and really just play around and get to know what each lens can do. Needless to say, I've added a few more things to my ever growing "too expensive for Christmas" list.

Thanks again to both Chase Jarvis and Borrowed Lenses!! I'm forever grateful. :)

Friday, September 19, 2014

30 Days of Awesomeness!

Think way back, back to February. In February I won a giveaway. It was kinda funny because I enter a fair amount of giveaways. Not to the point where I seek these contests out or anything, but if I follow a person or a blog consistently, I enter many of their giveaways (if it's not spam). It's one click. Why not?! ...but I never win.

Well, guess what?! I won!!!

I'm a big fan of Chase Jarvis. I so admire his (perceived) fearlessness and tenacity. I mean, this guy knows how to dream big and get shit done. Anyway, one day, I saw that he tweeted me. It said that I won his giveaway for a "dream camera kit". Cue the skies parting and the hallelujah chorus.

So what exactly did I win you are all asking? Chase Jarvis paired up with BorrowedLenses to put together a 30-day free rental of one amazing camera body and 5 equally amazing lenses. Seriously!! It really was 30 days of awesome! Buying gear is crazy expensive, but renting gear isn't cheap either, especially this kind of quality gear. A few of these lenses I rent regularly, so I was familiar with how to use them, but there were two that I hadn't even touched yet. It was an opportunity that I quickly decided to take FULL advantage of.

Incase all you gear heads are chomping at the bit, here is a list of the insanely awesome Canon gear that I was able to play with for a month:
5d Miii camera body
16-35 2.8 L II
24-70 2.8L II
85mm f1.2L II
70-200 2.8L II
200-400 f4L Extender1.4x

I wanted to use this as an opportunity for a short glimpse into my future life. I gave myself some time so that I could use all the gear during peek wedding season, but also to plan and set up some projects that have been bobbling around in my head for a while (more on MeetPDX another time). It really was just the kick in the pants that I needed.

Take this long story as an intro into 30 Days of Awesomeness (...it was actually 32 because I'm sneaky and chose to have my 30th day fall on a weekend so I couldn't possibly ship it all back until Monday). As part of this month long adventure, I wanted to make sure that I did something to use the gear everyday, so I decided to shoot, edit, and post at least one photo a day for the whole time I had the gear. Obviously most days I took many more than one photo, but for the purposes of not overloading my audience, I will just use one per day.

If you follow me on Facebook, you have already seen all of these photos, and if you don't, take a moment to click on that "f" in the upper right hand corner of the blog and go like my page so you don't miss out on more fun photo projects like this (shameless plug).

And now, without further ado, here are the first 16 days of my 3032 Days of Awesomeness. Since I was focusing a lot of my attention on exploring all of the gear, I also posted a brief description of the image and how the image was shot below each image.

Day

description

camera body, camera lens

focal length, ISO, shutter speed, aperture

flash (if used)