What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails
That's what little boys are made of !"
What are little girls made of?
"Sugar and spice and all things nice
That's what little girls are made of!"

This little boy was so much fun to work with, what a little model! The shoot started out bright and early and he was quite asleep, but after a bit he woke up and everything got much more fun. Thanks for such a great session!

Sneak Peek pt. 2: Sarah's Family

Sneak Peek: Sarah's Family

Christmas Time = Bokeh Extravaganza

Ok kiddos, get out your primes.

You can pick up a 50mm f/1.8 for just about any mount for about $100 and it is just one of the best bang for your buck lens purchases a photographer can make.

Bokeh adds a little magic into your photos! Christmas time is the perfect time to grab some bokeh shots because there are lights in dark areas everywhere!

Pick a subject, like my friend Kris here, and give yourself a short depth of field by knocking that aperture down in the f/1.8-f/2 range. (You will have to compensate with a longer exposure time, so either skip the coffee for a steady hand or bring the tripod along.) (Or lean on something, be resourceful!) When you focus on your subject it will throw the background out of focus creating a bokeh effect if there are lights back there.

There is a much more scientific and accurate way of talking about this, but it's early, I have only had three cups of coffee, and I am just so excited about this photo that I couldn't wait another minute to tell you guys about it.

So put that 50mm prime on your Santa list and let's get some bokeh action going.

The shot I snapped above is at f/2 at 1/20th at 200ISO, D700+ 24mm f/1.4 prime.

Senior Portraits

Sometimes we're lucky enough to get handed that one perfect session. They are on time, they brought a few different changes of outfit, and when you threaten to tickle them they give you completely legitimate smiles.

This was the case with my Senior (Class of '11 Tomball High School!) from last Sunday. I was elated when he told me he brought his mascot uniform with him!

Hard Work

When you can look off towards the horizon and know that there is a goal out there that you need to accomplish, hard work and determination are the best ways to get there. They might not be the most fun, but you just have to push through.

I am lucky enough that my "work" is really fun, so keeping my head down and working towards my goals isn't so bad. =)

December has been a month full of family portraits, photos with Santa, cute kids, and helping a friend plan a wedding...... All while somehow managing to work on my vintage camera sales, planning my upcoming visit to Europe, and maintaining enough communication to make sure all of my friends are aware I am still around.

I am going to start the year out big by going to Copenhagen, Milan, Geneva, and Berlin, with a possible stay in Amsterdam. I have an unreasonably large amount of photo projects planned for myself! I will be sharing those completed projects one at a time as I complete them.

Hard work and determination brings the best result!

Turn Off Your Auto Focus For A While

I dare you!

It is time to go back to the roots some. I miss my SLR. I started shooting on a Pentax K-1000 that my mother gave me when I took my first photography class. (Twelve years ago, yuck, holy cow, let's not focus on that.)

Everything on that camera was manual! You set your shutter speed, your film speed (ISO for you no-film digital types) your f-stop, and last, but not least, you slaved over your completely manual focus lens. BUT!

When you finally got it all right down to the last detail, weren't those photos gorgeous? It's one thing to get your DSLR out and just go snap happy, but it is a totally different feeling when you know you are limited by the number of shots on your film so each one gets that extra bit of thought and planning that is unnecessary in digital photography.

I am a dinosaur.

Switching to primarily digital from film was painful. I just recently sold my Rolleiflex and I feel like I mailed one of my kids away. Painful!

We have to stick together, we dinosaurs, and find things that will help us cling to our roots and continue to have thoughtful and lovely shots with our seemingly endless supply of digital exposures.

So let's take a day, switch our lenses to M from AF, and see what happens.

Comment with some photos you took, I would love to see them!

Thanksgiving at the Waterway!

Night-Time Photography

There are so many things that make the night a magical time, so learning how to capture them with a camera is a must!

You just need a few supplies to get started:
-Camera with Manual Settings
-Tripod
-Beanbag

Shooting architecture at night is a great place to start. Since the buildings do not typically do a lot of moving it will allow you multiple chances to get just the right shot.

Start by picking a spot that offers up a little lighting. I recently had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. and shoot some of the monuments. Set up your tripod and try to shoot for larger scenes, like landscapes, instead of smaller things, like people.

For the shot pictured above I used the settings f/3.5 with a 5" exposure. I still used a polarizing filter even though it was night time, and I am really pleased with the results.

Play around with length of exposure until you get what you are looking for. I try to stay low on my ISO ("Film Speed") to reduce grain, but if you are having a really hard time getting the image to show up then go ahead and increase it.

Long exposures let you capture fun effects like light streaks from passing cars and movement with light.


The tripod is great for shots that capture the whole area, but if you are looking for shots where you lay on the ground then get out your little beanbag. It may seem silly, but it is a great way to steady the camera while you are shooting when a tripod isn't an option.

I hope this helps! Have fun shooting :)

Not Your Mom's Maternity Photos

In the world of Mommy-Chic, there are no rules. Maternity portraits capture that tiny stretch of time when you are busy cooking up that little bun, and the style of portraits you go with can range from super traditional, to the wild and crazy, to the Hot-Momma-Chic. Whatever style your mommyness takes, you can be sure Constructive Tendencies Photography will capture it in a way that makes you go "Woah." Maternity session specials are happening right now, so get it while you can!

Bridal Shoot: Where? Galveston.

When you have the option of a full formal bridal shoot where you aren't constricted by the progression of your ceremony date, the world is your oyster!
I am taking this opportunity to share with you all of the fantastic places where bridal shoots can happen, from the severely obvious, to the not so well-known. Of course, the exact spots are tightly under wraps (I don't want to give away all my secrets!) but these entries will give you great ideas and help you plan out your time so you get the best shots possible.

Bridal Shoot Location One:

Galveston
With its historic buildings, brick streets, gorgeous mansions, and Gulf Of Mexico view, Galveston is a wonderful backdrop for Bridal photos. Despite the BP mess, the beaches are still lovely!

Galveston has many turn of the century buildings that are fantastic for shoots with the bright painted colors and architectural details. Bright and colorful candy shops and quaint little cafes give extra detail to your photos and can make for some great albums.

The beaches range from built-up Seawall views with backdrops such as the Hotel Galvez, to the more natural "Bride in the Sea Oats" beaches that are more isolated.

Here are a few shots I have captured in and around Galveston, enjoy!

Best Portrait Ever Service- Now available!

Today's entry is to let everyone know that digital art services are now available for all portraits. This can be performed on images that you supply to me, or we can meet up and do a new shoot. I will take your thoughts and requests and keep them in mind to make something really special for you.

This image was created for Erik Smith of Potbelly (www.myspace.com/potbellymu

sic) to commemorate his appearance at the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Evans, which had a really awesome rainbow theme. I took this theme and applied it in a hand painted style to create a really fun piece for him.

This service is available on any kind of photo, so send them my way and let's see what kind of art we can create together.

-Carlynne
www.ConstructiveTendencies.com

I do love a good bridal shoot!

The weather was hot-hot-hot but the pictures were just gorgeous!

Carlynne Welch
Constructive Tendencies Photograhy
www.constructivetendencies.com

Flash Flash Lights Lights

As photographers we are all trained to hate the flash, but in some situations it is necessary.

We wedding warriors are forced to make gorgeous photos in dim churches, super dark reception halls, and quite often the outdoors just do not cooperate in terms of providing wonderful light. We turn to our speedlights for assistance, unhappily, but with a few bits of insider knowledge we can take those bright and awful bursts of light and turn them into something wonderful.

Today's entry features some general information on which batteries to choose for your speedlight. I currently shoot with a Canon 580EX II, but these tips can be applied to just about any speedlight of your choice.

Recently I discovered that using a P-E4 battery pack can greatly reduce the refresh time on my speedlight. Nothing is worse than missing shots waiting on that little red light to turn on again! If you are internet savvy you can find them for around $20 online. They hold 8 batteries and greatly increase the rate at which you can get shots, and for an antsy wedding party ready to get their groove on this can be a lifesaver.

Inside your speedlight and battery pack you need some batteries, and the general consensus is that the Eneloop lithium rechargeable batteries are the best. They are a little more expensive to get started out with, but after three uses they completely pay themselves off. They retain their battery life much longer than other rechargeables. (They look really cute, too.)

I hope these tips for getting better flash refresh have been helpful, and I will have more information to come.

My Gary Fong diffuser arrived in the mail today and I am very curious to see how it holds up! It looks absolutely hilarious, but if it can give me some great lighting than I am more than happy to look like an idiot who strapped a margarine cup to my speedlight.

Now On Facebook!

I added this blog to my facebook profile so everyone can be forced to listen to my rambling. Lucky for you guys I don't update often :P

Changes!

Recently I have gone through a bunch of life changes! I feel they are all for the better, but they certainly caused a long absence.

I now have a fully functional darkroom at home, hurray! With a little luck I hope to start sharing some of my silver gelatin prints with everyone.

I am planning on overhauling my website a little bit. Right now I am having some trouble making the thumbnails show. Sometimes they work just fine, other times they are black. I feel it is time for a nice newlayout overall and will be making those changes shortly, you know, class the place up a little.

My ModFauna Etsy shop has been doing well, and with the summer months I hope to add more pieces. I will be doing a collaborative project between my photographic work and ModFauna work, so keep your eyes peeled!

Infared Fun

The look of infared is something I have always loved. In thi spiece I captured that look digitally, and textured the overall image to give it a very antique film feel. It is a digital piece, shot on my trusty DSLR.

I have recently obtained my very first Rolleiflex and I am proud to say that my roots in darkroom photography will finally start to show again! I am looking forward to sharing some really fun Rollei images with you guys in the coming months. Until then, enjoy this piece.

Work and Excitement!

I am now an employed Studio Photographer, woo hoo!

I really enjoy the position so far, and with time I will have enough confidence to start experimenting at home with studio lighting and equipment. I would like to rent a space to have my own studio one day, we'll see!

I will be posting Photo Of The Week images number 5 and 6 pretty soon! I have some fun new shots in editing right now, and I hope to share them with you soon.

Last night was a fun shoot with Hannah and Jason, so one of my photos will be from that.

I have been doing loads of shooting on the 35mm SLR, and once I have a film scanner I will start sharing them.

March Giveaway!

Since the very first giveaway was a success, I am happy to announce February's giveaway! The winner will be informed via email on March 1st.

This month there is a choice again. :D

Option #1




The Retro What? Cow

This image was taken outside of Fredericksburg, TX. My fiancee and I had a terrific stay there recently, so this month's prizes are both going to be from there. This print is a high quality, professionally printed image in 11x14 and is perfect for that bit of unexpected charm in your home.

Option #2

The Sepia Hill Country Road

This image was taken outside of Fredericksburg, TX as well. This highway is the road you take to get to Enchanted Rock State Park, and is simply one of the most scenic and beautiful drives I can remember. This print is a professionally printed 11x14 unmatted piece, ready to frame.

Also included with either option is a 50% off coupon good in any of my shops, and a credit for one free photo retouch. Please see my listing here for more details about photo retouching.

How to enter:

There are lots of ways you can enter! The more you do, the mor entries you get, and the better chance you have at taking home your prize. The first thing you need to do is follow my blog. Only blog followers will be considered for the prize! Even if you have done other things to get entered, you will not be considered until you're a follower. Following my blog is worth one entry.

Please include an email address with all comments!

Facebook:

*You can become a fan of my photo page here. - 1 entry (comment here telling me you did)
* You can make a comment on a photo I have posted on my fan page and tell me why you like it, then leave a comment here telling me that you did - 1 entry (up to 5 total)

Twitter:
*Tweet about me and post a comment here with a link to it - 1 entry (up t0 5 total)
*Tweet about my giveaway and post a comment here with a link to it - 1 entry (up to 5 total)

Etsy:
*Start a forum thread telling about my giveaway (make sure you include a link to the blog!) and post a link to it in a comment here - 3 entries (unlimited)
*Purchase anything from http://www.charmingmittens.etsy.com/ http://www.thecharmingmitten.etsy.com/ or http://www.modfauna.etsy.com/ and post a comment here with the link to your purchases- 15 entries (unlimited)

Ok! That's how you do it. Good luck! I will tally all of the entries on March 1. The winner will then be contacted and asked to select their prize and I wil have it shipped off to them that same week.

Good luck! The more you do, the better your chances!

A Photo A Week #4

Bearial traveled with the Fiance and I to Fredericksburg this weekend for our Birthday (his) + Birthday (mine) + Valentines = Birthentines Day Trip. This is at Enchanted Rock State Park in Texas and Bearial is showing his retro side.

Shot with DSLR and edited in CS4

My Very First Giveaway Winner! Desiree :D

Desiree will have the option of my two photo prizes.

Congratulations!

Happily Inked Birthday!

My oh-so-talented friend The Relshak drew this for my birthday! Dinky is the supercute co-main character of his strip. I love it! You can find more of his work here: http://www.happilyinked.com/

It's Raining Weddings (hallelujah it's raining weddings)

Ok. So. Wedding booked for the 14th of February. Woo!

It's in a smallish country town named Madisonville, and I am VERY excited about it!

On top of that, there's a chance that I will have a wedding in June as well. (Thanks to my awesome sister, whose friend remembered that I love photography!)

I'm so excited! This is WONDERFUL!

Photo of the Week #3

This week I used my trusty Pentax K-1000 35mm SLR to create this awesomely twice exposed image. I was having fun making my little ModFauna animals play around the house and this shot was taken on the balcony.

Camera:

Pentax K-1000 analog 35mm SLR

Coolest Thing Ever

I found this really cute product on one of those giveaway blogs.

It's SO neat that I thought I would share it with you guys :D

What they do is make it possible to print your own fabric using your printer. It's so cute, and there are so many ways I could use this!

I have been experimenting with furoshiki wrapping for the ModFauna animals and for my photos and I really love it, but it takes so long for me to hand block print the fabric. It would be amazing if I could use this stuff to create a really intricate and awesome design for the fabric and use that.

http://www.misosouper.com/http:/misosouper.com/giveaways/inkbloom-giveaway-diy-sci-fi

CharmingMittens Revamp

The problem with a photography shop on Etsy is there seems to be no way to make all of the images in the shop look like they match. The shop always looks jumpbled in my opinion, so I decided I would try to do something to clean it up a bit.

Slowly I will be working to replace each cover image with a framed one, so be patient as my shop starts to look really jumbled! I am also updating and correcting all of my image descriptions to include all of my information.

{ModFauna}

The {ModFauna} blog is live!

Check it out here:

{ModFauna}

ModFauna's Sixth Treasury!

How awesome!

My Year Of The Rooster Chinese Zodiac fauna made it into this super cute treasury!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=83406

The Teal Duaflex

Here are the photos I promised of my teal Duaflex!

If anyone is interested, it is for sale -> here <-

A Photo A Week #2

This week I have chosen something I really love. Vintage cameras are a passion of mine, everything from antique hawkeyes to Duaflex TtV cameras, they're all wonderful! These three images were taken using the Through The Viewfinder style. They are available in my etsy shop here.

Teal Duaflex II

My paint brush knows no bounds!

From painting an envelope, to a box, to the back of a photo for a prettier signature, to flowers on boxes for a prettier delivery, to a pony (which started ModFauna) and now to a Duaflex II.

Tonight I stared longingly at the broken and seemingly un-fixable Duaflex II that graced one of my floating shelves. I sell Duaflex cameras as well as many other vintage and antique cameras online, but this one was in too poor shape to pass along. It had a corroded mirror and a missing film advance knob. I decided that if it was just there for decoration, why not make it as pretty as possible? So off to work I went, disassembling and laying everything out on the table.

I looked at the corroded mirror, worn completely to the glass with no reflecting, and looked over at my compack and did some work. It's surprising to me how perfectly the compact mirror fits into the camera, so in it went.

I selected a very pleasing shade of teal for the leatherette and after taking everything apart I painted all leatherette surfaces with two coats, then sealed with a clear seal. After much cursing during reassembly, my camera looks fabulous!

It still has no film advance knob, so for the film user it is still useless, however, for the TtV photographer it is in fabulous working order. I am very pleased with my creation!

I do believe I will make a habit of this. I would like to paint one or two more and see if they sell. I think it would be very fun to have a TtV in a designer shade. I have aspirations of possibly adding designs... We'll see. For now, everything will be in solid, and I'll have to wait until I see how they will sell.

Pictures to come soon!

A Photo A Week #1

I decided to kick off my weekly photo project with a little architecture. I am fortunate to live in a really fun area of town! This image was taken near my home in a really beautiful Italian revival building.

This image was taken on the DSLR and edited in CS4

Omg So Busy!

Things have been the best kind of busy lately! I am fabulously thrilled to introduce some completed projects, as well as some projects in the works!

I have one design project that is just wonderful, but is requiring the utmost care! I just haven't been able to get it QUITE right, but I am working on it still. Slow but fabulous!

Photography Authentique is a new up and coming boutique photography studio with a fabulous eye. Run by the wonderful Leany, her bright and beautiful designer photography is sure to catch eyes.

I am lucky enough to have the pleasure of designing her logos and branding, how wonderful! It has been a much slower process than I have thought it would be, but I know I can deliver. I took the weekend to explore antique shops and get the right kind of inspiration to make the drawings perfect.

ModFauna's Fifth Treasury~!

www.modfauna.etsy.com

Check out the hand painted wonders and spruce up your habitat!

We are currently featured here: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=104924

12 Months, 12 Fabulous Home Projects

I am always making something. Always. I can never sit still!





This year I have decided to turn my creative eye towards my living space. I make so much stuff, but nothing for myself or my home, this must change! I have talked myself into ordering prints for the house, so now I have three fabulous framed pieces around.

This is a photo I took while at the Messina Hof winery in Bryan, TX with my famil the sunday after Christmas. It was such a fun day that I decided having a print to remind myself of it would be pretty great. It is in a black frame with a double mat in white sub black and the colors look just wonderful. Next to it sits a vintage water droplet shaped pedistal candy dish with a fresh coat of teal paint, two porcelain white birds, and a tiny ceramic teal acorn. Overall it gives that corner of the room a very nice feel.

The other two images are the left two images from the January Giveaway 4x4 collection. I wouldn't try to give them away if I didn't love them myself! They are in repainted green frames.

JANUARY'S PROJECT

So, big project idea for January. Headboard.

I am going to do my best to find a bring home (up all three flights of stairs) a reclaimed antique door and work some magic on it. (This is assuming my lovely lovely friend ThePaperElement is generous with the use of her hatchback because unfortunately the hybrid can't fit something like that inside! Bummer!) A little sand paper, some nails, some slats and hardware, and I hope to have a fabulous door headboard. I haven't decided the color yet, but I am sure it will come to me. I'll post some pictures once it's complete!

Prelim ideas for February include armoire and chandelier.

Black and White Treasury

Yay, some of my photo work is getting exposure!

I made it into a beautiful black and white themed treasury by KaroldVintageArt.

Thanks Karol!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=82041

I'm feeling inspired.

Or rather, I am feeling the need to explain more of my work.

That in mind, I am going to copy the fabulous idea of someone I saw in the (oh so addictive) Etsy chat today. MattAllen on his blog decided that once a week a picture would be shown. It has to be taken that week, but it can be an image from any of his cameras.

Love the idea.

I need motivation in my life.

I'll do my best to get started on it, and with each image I will make sure to tell its story. Hopefully the image will come with an accompanying etsy.com listing, but we'll see. Some images might be the best thing ever, and some might just be for fun.

I'll go ahead and start today!

ModFauna's 4th Treasury :D

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=81597

How fabulous, we have now been featured in four treasuries!

Go take a look at what we have been up to:

{ www.ModFauna.etsy.com }

(Scroll down for Giveaway Info)

I added loads of new photos today to my website. A few new TtV photos, as well as a large handful to the Austin album in the Places section.

www.constructivetendencies.com

I have a bunch of Potbelly pictures in the works! They are just the most awesome band, I really enjoyed their shoot. I hope to work with them again.

If you would like me to add my artistic touch to your band, just send me a message or leave a comment. I can alter already completed photos, or if you're in the greater Houston area I can come take some of my own.

Enjoy the new pictures!