Media Naranja Photography Blog » Personal

#19: My Brother Shawn

admin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:42:37 +0000

One of my goals(#19) on my 50 in 501 list was to do a photoshoot with my brother (something my mom has been wanting as well). We have such a good time together and I wish that we could spend more time together on a regular basis. So when I was home in July we did a quick shoot one evening and here are some of my favorites.

I like this next one because anyone who knows my brother knows he is a big goofball, so this was him trying really hard to be serious.

This is a little better…

And one last one of the true Shawn…

Catching Up:50 in 501

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 03:04:16 +0000

As some of you may remember, back in November I posted my list of 50 in 501. 50 goals to complete in 501 days. So as a quick break in between photo session posts, I thought I’d do a review here. I’ve been working on getting things accomplished, but haven’t really had the chance to post them all individually. So here’s a round up of some of the goals met.

#5: Find my own apartment

-Back in January I started renting my own mini 35 square meter apartment. It’s got a nice little kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom and its been fun making new apartment purchases(and realizing how quickly they add up) and I spent much of January making new curtains (and they actually came out quite stylishly). It also has an awesome view of the mountains from the roof.

#6: Visit a college friend

I did better than just visit one college friend- I spent 4th of July in Milwaukee with all of my favorite college people. I had such a great time catching up, eating out, visiting all there new apartments in the suburbs, and enjoying custard(can’t go to Wisconsin without it). I even finally made it to the world famous Summerfest after years of living in Milwaukee but never getting to go.

#11 Send out Christmas Carsd

-You can tell I haven’t posted much about this list in a while. I did send out Christmas cards in December. Email me if you want to get on the list for this year;-) Here was this year’s picture, taken by our friend Christian:

#15-Take a salsa class

-For Hugo’s birthday, I gave him salsa classes, which was a great excuse for us to get out, relearn how to salsa and spend some time together. We took classes for 3 months, learned a ton, and remember a very small percentage of it. But it is nice to have more than the same 2 moves to choose from. Now we just need to get out and practice more.

For those in Chile, check out www.latinmambo.cl for classes. Para la gente de Chile, visita a www.latinmambo.cl para clases buenas.

Just One/Solo Uno

admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:57:30 +0000

As many of you may know, I volunteer once a month taking pictures at a local orphanage/foster home so that the kids will have a record of their first few years when they get adopted or return to their families. You can read more about the experience here. It has been a really fulfilling and worthwhile experience. I have been going for 8 months now and its touching to see the growth of the kids. Some of them were just newborns when I met them and are now crawling, teething and interacting. The older kids who were shy in front of the camera now jump all over me the moment I arrive, wanting to see their pictures and help me take more. I was touched when one little girl asked to see her photo and then kissed the view screen. I can’t share most of the photos I take in order to maintain the privacy and safety of the kids, but I caught this one when I was there last week and hopefully it gives a glimpse into this special experience.

Como algunos ya saben, trabajo de voluntario una vez al mes sacando fotos en una casa de lactancia. Las fotos sirven como recuerdo de sus años formativos cuando vuelvan a sus familias o sean adoptados. Puede leer mas de la experiencia aqui. Ha sido muy buena y lida la experiencia. He estado yendo por 8 meses ya y es especial ver el crecimiento de los niños. Algunos eran recien nacidos cuando los conoci y ahora estan saliendo sus dientes y interactuando conmigo. Los niños grandes que eran timidos enfrente de la camera ahora me acercan y quieren ver sus fotos y ayudarme en mi trabajo. Una niña me pidio ver si foto y despues beso a la pantalla donde mostro su imagen. No puedo mostrar la mayoria de fotos para mantener la privacidad y seguridad de los niños, pero vi ese la semana pasada y ojala que de una oportunidad de ver un poco de la experiencia.

Sign up to receive information about U.S. sessions this summer!

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:50:43 +0000

I will be offering sessions in the U.S. this summer both in Connecticut/Northeast and in Milwaukee/Midwest (and who knows, maybe somewhere else too!). All types of sessions are up for grabs: maternity, newborn, kids and family, couples and high school seniors at the location of your choice.

Dates and details coming soon, but if you are interested in participating or receiving more information, please sign up here so I can plan the dates for each place. Please pass this along to friends and family who might be interested. Any other questions, please contact me at info (at) medianaranjaphotography.com

If for some reason the form doesn’t work, you can also access it here.

Favorite Things: Google Reader

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:18:48 +0000

I’m hoping to start a new feature on the blog talking about some of my top picks. Right now, one of my favorite things is Google Reader. Those familiar to the blogging world probably use this regularly, but for those who don’t, it’s great. I started using it a couple months ago and quickly filled it up with all my favorite blogs. Its so nice to be able to log-in and see who has new posts right away instead of having to go to each individual blog itself and hope that they have a new post up.

If you already have a Gmail account, it is super easy to get started(just click on reader in the top left hadn corner of your gmail account. If you don´t have Gmail, you can still setup a reader account at www.gmail.com/reader.

Give it a try and be sure to add: www.medianaranjaphotography.com/blog to your list of subscriptions to see my latest posts.

Some other great blogs I follow and find entertaining(photography and non photography related)

Melissa Jill: www.melissajill.com/blog

Betsy King: www.betsykingphoto.com/blog

Cake Wrecks: www.cakewrecks.com

Jasmine Star: www.jasminestarblog.com

And because every post is better with a picture, here´s a quick shot from a birthday party a photographed a little while back.

Have a great weekend!

Francisco’s First Christmas & New Lens

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:50:58 +0000

I’m a little behind on posting, but will have New Year’s and some client posts up soon. In the meantime, here are some fun memories from my nephew Francisco’s first Christmas.

These pictures were taken with my new 50mm 1.4 lens, my Christmas present to myself and goal #25 of my 51 in 501 list. Well, the goal was to try it out, but I figured I’d go ahead and buy myself a Christmas present after all the hard work that has gone into this year and starting a business. I’m so happy I did because I absolutely love the lens and the great results it produces and am excited to use it in some of my sessions coming up.

Enjoy!

Feliz Navidad!

admin — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:14:52 +0000

Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad to everyone. I hope that you enjoy this holiday creating special moments with those you love.

For me, being in Chile, this is my first warm weather Christmas, and while it does take some getting used to, I do have to say that it has its perks. After Christmas eve dinner and presents last night, we went out to see Christmas lights at 1 am without having to worry about being cold. It was really nice to go out to the plaza in Providencia and see all sorts of people sharing and enjoying the beautiful display. I missed being with my family but at least had some good subsitute company with Hugo´s family.

More to come soon. Happy holidays everyone!

La Serena/Coquimbo-Part 1 (50 in 501 #1)

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:17:51 +0000

I have been wanting to get out of Santiago for the weekend for over a year now and finally had the chance to on Halloween weekend as Hugo and I headed north to La Serena and the Elqui Valley. I had been planning this trips for a couple of months and was so excited when we finally arrived. And now, I can cross of the first thing on my 50 in 501 list. Yes! This post is a combination of pictures taken with my camera and Hugo’s point and shoot. Hope you enjoy this quick peak of our trip. Next week I’ll do part 2 with pictures from the Elqui Valley. Enjoy!

Love the Andes Mountains

Arrival to La Serena= Lots of Walking

And here’s me taking that shot above….very rarely do I have a shot of me in action…

After walking around and exploring La Serena we decided to have lunch at a place that had been recommended to us. Possibly the worst meal I have ever eaten….oh well, we got a good laugh about for the rest of the trip:-)

The afternoon was spent on the beach-a little cloudy, cold and windy, but still relaxing.

On Friday, we headed to the sister town of La Serena, Coquimbo and visited the port. It ended up being pretty exciting as the fisherman brought up their catch and sold it right along the water and then tossed the leftovers back into the water. They attracted a huge group of sea lions, who competed with the birds for their next meal.

More to come from the rest of the trip soon!

50 in 501-A list of Things to Accomplish

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:42:52 +0000

I have been working on both setting some goals for myself and making my blog more personal, so I think this is a great combination. This list was inspired by one of my favorite photographers, Melissa Jill, who created a 100 in 1001 list. Basically the idea is to have 100 goals or things you would like to accomplish in 1001 days. I think its so helpful to have this on here to help keep me accountable and motivated. Because I have no idea what country I’ll be living in 3 years from now, let alone what I will be doing, I’ve decided to do a slightly abbreviated version of 50 goals in 501 days. I’ve come up with almost 40 so far, and will leave the last few spaces for new goals that come up in the next couple of months. They are a mix of life and photography/business goals and are in no particular order, just how they came into my head. The idea is that I will post when a goal is accomplished so that I have some satisfaction and a record of a job well done and my readers get to learn a little bit more about me and my experiences, especially those here in Chile. I started this list about a month ago, so I will have some goals recently accomplished to show you soon. Perhaps this will motivate you as well to create your own list, or at least think about some things that you would like to accomplish.

So here goes the list so far:

50 in 501

Start Date: October 13, 2009

End Date: February 26, 2011

1. Take a weekend trip outside of Santiago-Completed November 1, 2009

2. Get permanent residency in Chile

3. Learn to drive a stick shift

4. Book a baby’s first year package

5. Find my own apartment

6. Visit a college friend

7. Get a photograph published

8. Create a full business plan

9. Go surfing

10. Create a studio/office space

11. Send out Christmas Cards

12. Learn how to put slideshows on my blog

13. Redesign my website

14. Do a photo shoot with my parents

15. Take a salsa class

16. Get my knees healed and run a 5k

17. Second shoot a wedding

18. Finish bedroom update project

19. Do a photo shoot with my brother

20. Take a cooking class

21. Visit a new state in the US

22. Understand lighting with an external flash and use it!

23. Attend a photography workshop

24. Bake a pie

25. Try out the 50mm 1.4 lens

26. Create or purchase a set of photoshop actions

27. Visit a new country that I haven’t been to

28. Send a friend a surprise package

29. Send a real letter in the mail a month for 6 months

30. Read 2 books to benefit my business

31. Have a real picnic outside

32. Create a sole proprietorship for my business

33. Attend a photography networking event

34. Volunteer at a sports event

35. Make a mosaic something

36. Visit Barrio Brasil in Santiago

37. Go to a soccer game in Chile

38. Create a complete recipe book of my favorites

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

Photography for the Greater Good/Fotografia para el bien comun

admin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:53:57 +0000

(Espanol abajo). There is a big movement in the world of photography to try and help people through pictures. The are large movements like Help Portrait, Think Pink Photography (which I am a part of) and individuals who inspire, such as Zack Arias and his series of motivational blog posts. All of these things gave me further motivation to give back with photography, something I’ve been looking for ways to do for a while.

An acquaintance introduced me to an orphanage/foster home for children ranging from newborns to 3 years old. It is a great organization with over 40 kids in their care here in Santiago. The staff is diligent, caring and have a great responsibility for the kids living there. These children have arrived at the home because their family decided to/or was determined unfit(for various reasons) to be able to care for them. It can’t be an easy life, but they always greet me with smiles.

I have embarked on a project to photograph all the kids in the home once a month. Each child has a folder where we store the photos and follow their growth. The idea is that when the children either return to their family or are adopted, they have a record of their infancy and/or childhood and have these important memories, just like other kids who are in more fortunate situations.

It is truly an enlightening experience that makes you appreciate what you have and your upbringing. I’m lucky that I had a great supportive family growing up, with lots of memories and pictures, so I am glad to be able to at least help these kids in some way.

I have so many cute pictures of beaming smiles and big eyes from my visits at the home, but due to their at-risk situation, I can’t show their faces. So here’s just a small sampling of what I can share.

Hay un gran movimiento en fotografia ahora para ayudar a personas a traves de fotografia. Hay grandes grupos y personas individuales que estan inspirando y coordinando varios esfuerzos.

Una conocida me introdujo a una casa de lactantes aqui en Santiago. La gente que trabaja alla es diligetne, carinoso y feliz y esfuerza muco para cuidar a los 40 ninos entre recien nacido y tres años de vida. Los ninos estan alli porque su situacion familiar no les permite vivir en casa. No tienen una vida facil, pero siempre me saludan con sonrisas.

He empezado un proyecto de ir a la casa una vez al mes para sacar retratos de todos los ninos. Cada nino tiene una carpeta donde guardamos las fotos para mostrar su crecimiento. La idea es que cuando regresen a sus familias o sean adoptados, tendre un recuerdo de su infancia/ninez como todos los otros ninos.

Es una experiencia muy linda que te hace apreciar lo que tienes. Tenia suerte de tener a una familia que me quiere y que me apoye y me alegro poder tener la oportunidad para ayudar a estes ninos de alguna forma.

Debido a su situacion de peligro, no puedo mostrar sus caras aqui, pero por lo menos, puedo incluir algunos momentos que capture.

If you are interested in supporting this great cause, either with monetar support, donations of diapers and forumla or by volunteering, please let me know.

Si esta interesado en apoyar a esta causa, con dinero, donaciones de panales o comida, o como voluntario, avisame.