Alternative Process!

I love the idea of creating something with your hands. When it comes to art, I much prefer working hands on rather than on the computer. With photography, working in the darkroom is like therapy for me. No matter how stressed or frustrated I am I can go and spend hours manipulating images, mixing different chemicals and changing exposure times all in the name of coming up with the perfect print. I don't get this feeling as much when I work on the computer.

Though I use my digital camera the most, my heart and passion still lay primarily with film and working with raw materials. Not to say that working on the computer is easy, it is a lot of work and still takes a certain amount of talent, but hand made prints capture something more for me.

I have been looking into different digital transfer methods using products like Lasertran and InkAid. These would allow me to still shoot in digital, yet I would also get to work with the images hands on.

Here are a few Van Dyke and Gum prints I have made. These photos hardly capture the raw texture of the paper.

The above Gum Prints were made using negatives given to me by my grandpa. That's actually him as a young boy on his farm in Kansas. The negatives were from the late 40's to the early 50's.

Know What You Don't Know

There are many classes that I will remember from college, but one class, particularly one teacher, will always stand out as one of the most influential people in my college career. Sandra Frank taught Professional Practices and drilled into us the idea of "knowing what you don't know." She is one of the most hilarious, motivational and talented teachers I have ever met. This phrase has been bombarding my mind this last week as I start to move my photography work to the next level.

After inquiring with a few photographers for work, I realized that there would be more opportunities for me if I knew and was more familiar with certain aspects of wedding photography. For example, I'm not that familiar with album design. Photoshop is something I normally avoid working with in an attempt to maintain a "true" image, and there are a ton of other programs that I have no knowledge of whatsoever. Instead of getting discouraged, I began to focus on the concept of "knowing what you don't know." Maybe I'm not familiar with album design yet, but what’s stopping me from learning it? Nothing!

It is so easy for people to talk themselves out of trying new things simply because they may not be good at it, or because they don't know how to do something. What's stopping them from learning?

This week I want to learn more about how to do album design. That is my goal. I am going to "Know what I don't know."

Introducing Lilyana Photography!

I am thrilled to now be introducing Lilyana Photography. This name has come from many many long hours of thought, and I am very happy to finally establish it as the foundation for my photography. My first name, Carrie Ann Photography, was taken... thus began the journey to come up with a new title that represented me without using my own name.

Lilyana comes from combining Lily and Anna. Both are names from my family history, Lily, coming from my moms side, and Anna coming from my dads. These women represent almost every emotion I hope to capture with my art. Their lives were filled with strength, passion, courage, and an unrelenting love for everyone around them.

This is such an exciting time for me and I'm really looking forward to expanding my talents and putting my work out there for people to see.