This week I had the opportunity to Stop and Smell the Roses - I mean look at old pics from the past few years - and it brought back sooooooooo much....

....My first wedding that I almost refused to shoot, all the amazing people I've met along the way, the heartbreaking stories and the amazing ones too, how bad some of my old stuff needs touch ups (or would be better off Not PSed) LOL....

I thought it would be fun to share a series of images from days gone by that remind us of why we do what we do. So post yours up!!



(Reminders of) Why I love what I do...

My very first wedding


If it wasn't for this untraditional bride begging and pleading for me to take this job, I probably would not be here right now. Got word a bit ago they just had their first born baby boy



All the amazing brides that have been so good to me. Here's Sam - we did her bridals sneaking around a locked bldg during the FIRST OSPS


...and Leanna, John, Renee, their friends & family in Sedona this year. Leanna and John set out to move to Europe soon to live there as missionaries. Their day was so special.





...because photography is healing. Taken during OSPMC... she's recovering from cancer (that's actually a wig)...



...because I'm so blessed to witness events like this.... (thanks Ben V for this - so awesome to see the kiddies taking in such an amazing event)






A reminder that I'll always love to shoot fashion... and should do so more often because it's so fun for me.




... because I don't know what I'd do if I hadn't met so many amazing friends in this industry..... (this one's right after I met Jazzy for the first time)



....because everyone has a story to tell and has beauty to unveil.... no matter what color their skin or how old they are...






A reminder that it's okay to cry because you're so happy. Just try not to let it fog your vision too much when taking pics of the bride crying




... because it's a reminder of moments that went by so quick they were gone before we knew it... (I actually don't remember seeing this ever before and it's really growing on me even though technically it leaves a lot to be desired)



... because we're only limited to our imagination .... of what we shoot, where we go, and who we meet along the way. (a senior shoot that I wouldn't usually do but did and had a blast)

(fireworks in Cabo last month)


... because it allows me enough time off to schedule time to go away, give a little, and live a LOT... and just feel ALIVE (Iguacu Falls in Brazil ...we took a zodiac boat down thru there...AWESOME)

I have always been a person that looked forward and not behind. Over the first 30 years toting a camera, I did not care to take pictures where people were the subject (rock concerts and snap shots of my kids dont count). And then something clicked about 2004. And thats all that I wanted to take pictures of. Maybe I reached an age (finally), where looking back actually meant something. And capturing memories to one day look back and be able to remember was of utmost importance to me. So I shot my first wedding in March 2004, then decided to go into to learn mode for a while. And now its time to break out and show the world what I see!

what a great and inspiring post

Interesting Mike. I wonder if part of this is a male/female thing too. I can def. say from my knowledge that us girls are often the ones to get more of a thrill out of reminiscing about the past. But I do know a few grooms that are as giddy as brides too...

Indeed. Show us yours!!! (BTW.. my 1st wedding was March04 too!)








Show us some pics

fabulous post.
Very inspiring!

Wow, I'm prolly gonna cry by the time I complete this... yours, Liana, is amazing, and so inspiring!!

Well, before I really knew what I was doing, I was constantly documenting the people that I loved. It was my way of expressing how I felt about them:






( I could go on and on and on with these... every photo of my family makes me wanna cry!! )
Photography then made me realize that I can express myself much better visually than I could any other way... it allowed me to think of myself as an "artist"



Then photography began to compliment my love of travel...






And then things started to change drastically in my life. We talked about the possibility of Carrie Viohl Photography becoming a real live business, we dreamed about what would happen if Phil didn't have to work, and could go back to school again finally, we took a giant leap and, fast forward a couple of bumpy years... we opened a real studio!


We put some serious money down on some camera goodies that we could barely afford...

WE got BUSY!! We started having more fun with clients!



My husband did go back to school...


We were very busy with weddings, and having FUN!



The kids were doing well...






Things got crazier, I got a chance to hire Renee'...


Things got even busier, I hired my best friend, Haley...


And many hundreds of thousands of photos later, here we are.
There are more than a thousand images that I couldn't post in my second photobucket account.

Photography was the first thing that made me feel independant and strong. Supporting my family with this obsession of mine is the most amazing accomplishment of my life.

Hahhaha... I started out with like 50 images, and osp said NO, so I pared it down to these. Fun to think back about how this lifestyle that we are now leading started.
I know that this is still too many images for a reply, but Liana's idea to scroll back through our memories is brilliant!! Thanks for the awesome idea, girl!

What a cool post!! Thanks, I needed that.

Carrie... you got ME all teary-eyed!!!

Thank you for sharing. That's awesome about your hubby going to school, opening the studio, hiring friends!!

i LOVE love LOVE your travel ones especially. The one of the old woman...WOW!

Okay...back to moving...

What an awesome post! i loved seeing your journey through photos, Liana and Carrie!

Liana & Carrie,

Great images! It's so much fun to see how 'seasoned' photogs have grown!

This is such a cool thread. I don't have pics to show at the moment, but I remember falling in love with photography when I was in college, while I was taking an elective photography course. I remember the feeling when we hung our first assignments on the wall and voted for a stand-out. It was awesome.

Now, exactly 10 years later, I experienced the power of photography. Shooting from the heart to capture the little unscripted moments that happen every day that mean more to a family than anything, and shooting from the head to create dramatic portraits that capture the style and sophistication of a couple/individual within that moment in time. Both are equally important.

Ten years ago as I sat in that classroom and worked in that darkroom, I never would've imagined becoming the "professor" of that same class. And when I see the same fire in a student that I had as a student, it puts a smile on my face.

It's only natural for a vocation to occasionally find moments of mundaine ritual. I find it rare in this vocation. But when I do, I think back to the excitement and emotion of the first time I saw that B&W print "appear" on the paper while submerged in the developer. It was amazing. It was exciting. It was half accident and half incident.

Toward the end of his rich and storied career, hockey great Wayne Gretzky said that even as a pro, skating under the lights and cameras of the NHL, he always imagined he was a boy, still skating on his father's rink in the back yard, with lights strung from the corner of his house to his neighbor's. That was the place where he fell in love, and that was the place he always returned.

I return to my place often.

I love being a photographer. I love working with Joy. We are so blessed and so undeserving.

This is an awesome post Garrett!!!!! With no pictures attached, the pictures your thoughts conjur up in my mind are extremely vivid!! Back in my highschool and college days I was absolutely amazed at every roll of negatives and every wet print that came out of the tank or tray. It was absolute magic. Then a lot of things got in the way and all that magic was far distant in my mind. Only the last 3 years did those feelings really begin to resurface, and then surfaced with a vengence when I happened upon OSP! Finding this community has been the biggest catalyst in photography that Catherine and I have experienced!

I *love* this post!!! Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos Liana and Carrie

I know this thread got lost in WPPI craziness... didn't even see your post until now G$

You mentioning the darkroom... kind of makes me want to go back there ... just for old-times sake. Or maybe break out some Portra 160 and my Holga... if I can find it any of the boxes from this move! Good times for sure.

I remember listening to a 20-hr book-on-tape about Hong Kong in the darkroom back in college... they did the voices and everything... so whenever a photo classmate would ask me something unexpectedly I'd jump a little and respond (with accent thanks to those tapes brainwashing me.). LOL.

Okay.... I KNOW YA ALL HAVE MORE PICS/STORIES OUT THERE!!!!!

Hockey ROCKS!!!





...so does this thread and everyone in it.

Liana,

It's funny you should bring this 'memory-lane' thing up...

Today I broke a 7 yr. 'fast' from shooting film.
I went to my local camera shop, purchased a roll of Pro 400H, loaded it into my Canon AE1 and shot some images of my kids - the light was beautiful.

I can't wait to see them. And yes, the first shot I took, I chimped! Doh!

I will post whenever I get the film developed.
But it felt good, and reminded me of how important it is to anticipate 'the' moment, I plan to now pick up a used 1v HS and shoot some film at our little OSP-MN get-together.

Actually, it's Jose Villa's fault - I was reading more about him in the latest Rangefinder and on WedShooter. His approach inspired me to go back to my roots.

And I guess that is what i love about being a photographer.
You can experiment, grow and flourish. There is never a ceiling to our industry - it just keeps growing and getting better. I see it as a calling.

(First of all, I missed you so much Dan )

Okay, I don't have a bunch of pictures... nothing that I can show from the very beginning... But I can show you why I do what I do... today...

We do it for these guys... because photography gives us the freedom to invest in their lives.





We do it because of these people... because with their love and support, we can have an amazing career that is incredible fun along the way... and because they believe in us.





















(i'm stopping there... but the list goes ON and ON... I am weeping just thinking of how much I love all of these people... and how much their support has meant to us.)

I was going to add a section saying, and we get to capture moments like... and then add some of my favorite moments. But I realized that when thinking about the road that has brought us to where we are... it's not events... or even "captured moments..."

It's people.

I do it because I'm part of a team... and together we've chosen photography as our path to our ultimate future...



I love you guys.

This thread rocks! I'm getting teary & they're not even my photos!

Lovely, Amber!! I love that your post is all about family and friends!

I love this post!! Thanks for sharing everyone!

My story starts somewhat similar to yours Liana... My next door neighbor who I grew up with asked me to do her wedding which I was completely terrified of doing! I almost said no, but her family had the faith in me to do it so somehow I did!

this is Lauren:

and her wedding:
Her wedding was on the day of her older brothers birthday who had passed away when I was in 6th grade due to a brain tumor. As I was taking the pictures of Lauren getting ready that morning her mom started crying as she thought about how perfect things had ended up... that I, who knew Wesley well, was there as the photographer to record the moments of that special day. I gained a sense of the impact I was making, and knew that I was taking part in something much bigger than taking pictures. I knew that there wasn't anything, not even the crazy stress of a wedding day that could keep me from wanting to do this for more people.


Lauren's maid-of-honor then hired me for her engagements, her wedding... and then maternity photos... and then baby photos:



And then her husbands brother hired me for their engagements... and the list keeps growing. The power of word of mouth is nuts!



But, this was all in May of last year, and just the summer before that was when I first got into photography. Josh at Hume Lake Christian Camps (Shua) saw some pictures I had taken with my little 2.0 canon powershot and asked if I would be interested in working for him as the summer intern photographer. I thought about it really hard and instead chose to be a counselor... that was what seemed to fit my personality best and besides, what was I going to do with a photography internship?? I was a business/finance major for goodness sake! Josh ended up talking me into the job and I learned everything I know about photography from him, totally learning-by-doing (the Cal Poly SLO way!!). This was a HUGE step of faith for me, I had no clue what God was up to in the process or as to where it would lead. So I learned photography at Hume Lake Christian Camps:

and this is a little taste of what I did there:


It has been such a journey of faith being behind the camera, and I'm coming up on my 2 years in photography this summer!! I can't believe the places I've been and the gift God has given me to do this. I even learned how to survive a winter in the mountains... that's a big deal for someone from so cal! Hume Lake was not where I ever saw myself living, but God really used that place to stir up a love for photography and simplicity. I learned to stop and pull over, and reflect on the beauty that surrounds me each and everyday.



Since my first wedding with Lauren, the I've continued to witness the powerful role photography has in our lives:

From capturing moments when words can't suffice:



To the one's that take you by surprise:


And my favorite... the proposal... getting to be a part of the moment where it all begins:


And watching a new family formed in an instant. This is where Faith learned she now had a Daddy:



I consider photography to be one of the hugest blessings of my life, as it is something God is continually using to mold me and challenge me to trust Him with. He has shown me that His plans and dreams for me are FAR greater than I could ever dream up myself!! It just makes me that much more excited to see where the next 2 years will be going and how drastically they might change from what I know now. I'm so unbelievably blessed to be doing this!

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Easter Sunday!!!


Liana, thanks for the reminder to stop and smell the roses

Karey, your post totally made me cry... beautiful work, you have a gift. I can't wait to see what your producing in 5 years!



My LIFE is about my friends and family!!!

Thank you Amber!! I can't wait to see either

Awesome thread!


I've only been shooting for 4 months so I don't have as much to show but, just today I was thinking about doing my 'first Semester Checkup' - I just recently passed my first set goal and am in the process of setting my new goal for the next 4 months.

baby steps, but great to see your work guys!

I love this thread. You are so inspirational! To see how far you have come so fast is amazing. It gives me so much hope for the things that I may someday be able to do. Capturing those moments is what I really hope to learn. You do it so well and I hope you never stop growing. Fabulous photos. Really!

+1

Thanks ya all for contributing. Now I KNOW others have reasons why (and pics to go with). SHARE time