I’ve started a separate blog/site where I can direct clients so they won’t have to deal with sifting through all my ramblings on life in general to find info on my services. But if they like my ramblings they will find a link to the Eccentric Mother blog there.

Click on the picture above to check it out.

So one of my myspace friends is a band named J Minus. I believe they are from Washington State. Probably Seattle where so many great musicians are born. Must be something in the water out there. Anyway they are getting ready to release a new CD in a couple of months. Their music is beautiful. Laid back but uplifting at the same time. I can hear the love of they have for their music in their playing. They are very talented and I think they will go far.

 Check them out cause they are a great band-http://www.myspace.com/jminus or http://www.jminus.com/

A Classic Comedy Murder Mystery.

All I really have to say about this movie is…Billy Burke is in it. She is so funny in this movie. I just love her portrayal of Mrs. Topper. Topper Returns is a screwball comedy/murder mystery about a happy go lucky beautiful ghost who was alive and well in the first ten minutes of the movie. She persuades Mr. Topper to help solve her murder and save her friend from a similar demise. Along the way they are helped by Eddie the chauffeur played by legendary black comedic actor Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson. The hilarious sleuths are pursued by Mrs. Topper (Billy Burke), who is convinced Mr. Topper is fooling around with a younger woman, and her reluctant maid Emily.

If you like classic movies you will love this one and guess what……this one is in the public domain so you can watch it for free! Right here-http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4732710015928288721

I finally learned, after years of lugging around babies, that getting down to their level is not only easier on my back but also more comfortable and interesting to the baby.

I now shoot babies without a tripod while flat on my stomach or sitting cross-legged. I prop my elbows on my knees or the floor to stabilize the camera.

Ah why didn’t I think of this years ago! No longer do I have to deal with a grouchy baby who is afraid, and with good reason, of falling from the posing table. I must admit I’ve caught a baby or two by the leg before it’s head hit the floor. Let me just add here- no babies or animals have ever been harmed by my photography.

High-key photography is the most beautiful way to photograph children in my opinion. There is nothing to clutter up the portrait and distract attention from the subject. It truly is a timeless image that will look good in most any frame and hang in any room. It will always be stylish.

I love it when the portrait is all about the details of a child. The flawless skin, tiny hands and feet, and sparkling innocent eyes. High-key compliments all of these things.

                                                                             It is easy to add some texture with light colored throws. Babies just get so excited when a big person gets down on the floor eye to eye with them and that is my recipe for cute baby photography.

All Images Copyright Studio V Photography/Valerie Graham 2008

Monochrome Before Color

In the past photographers used dyes, oil paints or watercolors to brush color onto black and white or sepia processed prints. This was known as hand tinting or color touching. Color touch portraits have a dreamlike quality for me. I tend to reserve color touching for images that are all ready exciting or surreal.

I use a simple technique for color touching digital images. Using Adobe PS3 I create a duplicate layer of the image and then process that image to true black and white. NOT GRAYSCALE! I tweak the tonal levels in the black and white layer to my satisfaction and then select the eraser tool, which I lower the opacity of quite a bit.

At this point, it is all about personal creativity. I think too much vibrancy in color touch, especially in portraits of people tend to look over done. This is why I lower the erasure opacity.

By zooming in and with a steady hand I simply erase the areas of the black and white layer that I wish to be color touched, revealing the color layer beneath.

I always include color touch proofs with a clients portfolio.

All images copyright Studio V Photography/Valerie Graham 2008

Babes laughed her head off when she saw these little octopus dogs. These guys were boiled for a couple of minutes to make their tentacles spread out. I discovered later that if you microwave these guys after making the tentacle cuts, the tentacles curl more. They are sitting in a dab of catsup amongst carrot curls and mini cheese sticks. Also included are ranch cream cheese stuffed cucumbers and mac and cheese.

The Brit was a little envious of Baby Girls bento lunch so I made him one as well.

I just couldn’t make octopus dogs and carrot curls for a fifty year old man though.

His big boy bento is sheppard’s pie, cheese stuffed cucumbers, sliced tomato and a roll.

Is Portrait Photography Art?

Is Pablo Picasso an artist?

“I have discovered photography. Now I can kill myself. I have nothing else to learn.” -Pablo Picasso 1881-1973

I think portrait photography is most definitely a form of art and like most art there are many different styles and degrees of talent involved.

I use art principles in my portraits every time! I arrange lines and curves in the portrait with the subjects body. I position lights to create shadow and depth. I create color and texture with backgrounds.

I can even strip the natural color from an image and recolor it using my own eye and imagination as I have done with the painterly effect portrait of Sizz shown above. Most talented photographers I know of have artistic abilities in other areas, as well as an interest in art in general.  Picasso’s work and life as an artist is immensely interesting to me. I try to recreate Rembrandt’s lighting. And I love imitating George Hurrell, my favorite glamour photographer.

Sizz- Hollywood Glamour.

I use soft focus and dramatic lighting in the style of George Hurrell in my glamour photography. 

George Hurrell was an amazing artist in painting and photography. Check it out here-

http://georgehurrellestate.com/early_hollywood/index.htm Photography.

http://georgehurrellestate.com/paintings.htm Painting.

All images copyright Studio V Photography/Valerie Graham 2008

It never fails- when most mothers learn that I allow my kids to watch horror movies and TV shows they look at me as if they’ve just seen a cockroach. Meanwhile, their child is mindlessly running in circles mimicking Spongebobs laugh over and over and over and over……

“My children would have nightmares if I let them watch scary movies.” They always say.

As if I tie my ten year old down, tape her eyelids back and force her to watch Rob Zombie movies. Pa-Lease…I know the difference between quality fantasy fiction that is not only entertaining but stimulating to the imagination and that brain rotting psychologically damaging crap that is other wise known as Rob Zombie movies and Spongebob cartoons.

In no way am I saying that they, Rob & Bob, should be banned. On the contrary, I firmly believe they have every right to express themselves however they wish just as I have a right to call it crap and limit my children’s viewing of it.  Oh they watch Spongebob, but the minute they start imitating him is when I decide it’s time they start watching something different. Like Goosebumps by R.L. Stine. Goosebumps, which unfortunatly doesn’t air on television anymore, is also available through scholastic books. And I can’t believe so many mothers think it’s evil! There’s always a lesson to be learned within a Goosebumps story like- appreciating your loved ones, not taking things that don’t belong to you, or if it’s green and hairy and has one eye then just run away.

My kids and I are all in agreement that Goosebumps is quality kids horror and well worth uploading to the ipod.

                                                                             After the dougnuts had risen for the second time, we set up a doughnut making assembly line.

 My job was frying, draining and moving the slightly cooled doughnuts to the glazing area. Babes was in charge of glazing, decorating and quality control. 

We made plain glazed, chocolate and maple iced and used nuts & sprinkles. The doughnuts were a bit time consuming but not too difficult to make.

Glazing.

Quality Control.

…..The final product. 

I got this recipe from Anne over at Simply Anne’s Blog. Check it out and see how beautiful her doughnuts are! http://simplyannes.blogspot.com/2007/07/blog-post_18.html

This recipe is so simple you don’t even need to write it down. I use tenderized round steak from my favorite grocery store- Food City. If I can’t find tenderized round steak sometimes I use cubed steak or if I’m feeling particularly violent that day I buy round steak and beat it with a meat mallet. Traditional southern style or country fried steak is much thinner, and served with white gravy.

My family likes brown gravy and a meatier texture steak. I simply dredge the steaks in flour with a little salt and pepper and then fry in about 1/4 inch vegetable oil over medium high heat.  They should be fried crispy golden brown on both sides. My favorite gravy to use is Knorr classic brown gravy mix. Just add a cup of water and heat to a boil while stirring. Tasty!

One of my favorite photographers, Diane Arbus, always liked to get to know the people she photographed by observing their lifestyle first hand. She would hang out with people and become familiar to them. If you know this about Diane then you can understand and appreciate her work much easier. Most of her subjects were out of the ordinary people living on the fringes of society.

I like to see comfortable, natural expressions on the people I photograph. With children I like to catch them being themselves to preserve a bit of that magic that is them at that age in their life.

Diane was radical & brave in her photography style and techniques. I don’t actually go hang out and observe the people I photograph but I do get to know as much about their lifestyle and personalities that I can before and during photography.

When children come to my studio I let them explore and ask questions while I sit with mom and reassure her that it’s perfectly fine for them to look around. They climb on chairs and stools, look up at all the lights, dig through my boxes of props while asking what’s this over and over. By the time they get around to the tripod with the camera they are pretty comfortable in their surroundings. Nine times out of ten, when they finally notice the camera, their next question is; “Will you take my picture?” Music to my ears!

That’s when I say, “Yes, I would love to take your picture and you know what? You can wear whatever you want and do whatever you want. Make silly faces, stick your tongue out, jump up and down….I want you to just go crazy!”

When I create a portrait of a child my goal is immediately draw attention to the child’s expression. The first thing I want the viewer to notice is that child’s personality.

I hope that the image of the child stimulates the viewers brain enough to imagine the sound of that child’s beautiful laughter.

These are future memories. The ability for the mind to time travel back to a place in life that was magical and precious and all too brief.

Children’s portraits should be centered on the child and his/her personality. I hate seeing superstore studio portraits with their gimmick backdrops.

Do you want portraits of you child or advertisements for Disney and Nickelodeon! I try to educate my clients about trends in photography by telling them this- “As much as your child might adore the latest cartoon character, please try to realise that twenty years from now your child and grandchildren will be looking at these portraits and asking you what the heck is this about.” Thank god my mother doesn’t have a 16×20 wall portrait hanging up depicting me at age eleven with the smurfs frolicking in the background.

We all know the super studio gimmick to get you in, pay a ridiculously cheap price for several identical wallet size prints. Then they guilt you into buying more. So just take advantage of their gimmick and get the little theme prints for your album and then JUST SAY NO to their high pressure sales tactics and walk out. Then go home and call me for the real deal.

Images: “Natalee”, “Funny Face”, and “Sisters” copyright 2008 Studio V Photography/Valerie Graham.

It’s really easy to find streaming full episodes of Night Gallery online. If your a 70’s child like me, you will probably remember this show. It was next generation Twilight Zone with Rod Serling as the host. You might be surprised at how edgy this show was for the times.

The episode “The Return of the Sorcerer” with Vincent Price (my personal Jesus) is my favorite episode. I know co-star Bill Bixby is cheesy and the body parts scooting across the floor are ridiculous. But when Vincent makes his entrance wearing  long black robes with the huge red upside down crucifix emblem, I was transfixed.

I am in awe of this mans acting ability. He becomes his character so completely that I actually am concerned that if there is a hell he may accidentally be condemned to it. And the scene where he is talking about his evil warlock brother is just amazing. My favorite lines from that scene are when he is talking about Vern loving his brother ….”She taunted me by loving him…. for POWER!” For POWER over both of us!” 

To this day every once in while out of nowhere at any time or place, Sizz or I will suddenly say “For POWER!” in our best imitation of Vincent and then resume whatever it was we were doing. No one knows what the heck we are talking about and assumes we are crazy.

So check out Night Gallery and try to watch The Return of the Sorcerer episode. It ROCKS!

One of my favorite dishes is chicken enchiladas. I first learned to make them from my mom years ago. I didn’t make them very often though because the recipe was so time consuming. The sauce was from scratch and it required heating each corn tortilla in an oiled pan, then dipping into the sauce before filling and rolling. It was so messy! I’ve developed my own way of making them that uses canned enchilada sauce and doesn’t require the long messy tortilla preparation. The ingredients are:

2 whole boneless chicken breasts

1/2 a medium onion chopped

1 cup sour cream (or more)

1 can enchilada sauce

Package of flour tortillas

2 cups shredded cheddar

Cut chicken breast into equal sized pieces for faster cooking. In frying pan add chicken breast1/2 cup water or chicken broth and onions to pan, cover and simmer on medium low til chicken is tender, done and shreds easily. About 15-20 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer till any liquid is mostly gone if needed. Using 2 forks pull/shred chicken as shown in picture. Turn off heat and stir in sour cream.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat flour tortilla shells according to microwave directions. Line oblong cake pan with foil and lightly spray with cooking oil. (Don’t forget to oil pan or the enchiladas will stick!) Roll about 1/2 cup of chicken mixture in each shell and place end side down in pan.

Pour can of sauce over the enchiladas and use a spoon to spread and coat each one. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Last 5 minutes remove foil and sprinkle cheese over.

Serve with tortilla chips, salsa, re-fried beans &/or rice.

YUMMY!

Rachie Poo is my middle child. While Sizz & Babes are trashing the house, screaming & beating each other half to death, Rach will be sipping a cup of cocoa while watching a movie or quietly drawing in her sketch book. She is the only child I have who will help clean the house without being asked. Physically Sizz is my clone but Rach’s personality reminds me most of myself as a child. She’s quiet, bashful, thoughtful, and can drink an entire gallon of chocolate milk in one day.

Babes is my backseat philosopher. With her it’s not why is the sky blue it’s what if’s. After being raised in the very strict & cultish Mormon church I decided that I would let my children find religion without any assistence from me. I only offer my opinion, when asked, and that is usually based on proven historical facts.

She sits safely buckled in the backseat and gazes through the window at the world passing by and it is at this time that she thinks most deeply.

“Mommy, what if the earth was like a tiny piece of dust and what if the universe was just like a drop of rain falling and we didn’t know it?”

My mind began to chunk away a bit like my hard drive does right before I get a fatal exception error warning message from windows. After about a minute Babes jars me out of my mental loop.

“Mommy! WHAT IF the earth was just a tiny speck of dust and…”

“I heard you Babes I was just trying to figure it out. Well Confucius say listen to this song.” And then I slide in a cd.

I’m not aware of too many things
I know what I know, if you know what I mean
Philosophy is the talk on a cereal box
Religion is the smile on a dog
I’m not aware of too many things
I know what I know, if you know what I mean, d-doo yeah

Shove me in the shallow waters
Before I get too deep

What I am is what I am
Are you what you are or what?
What I am is what I am
Are you what you are…

-Edie Brickell & New Bohemians http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPs7-5feq-M

……daughter, sister, aunt, friend.

Ask anyone who knows me and the words weird, crazy or freak will be thrown in there somewhere. That’s fine with me I strive to be different. I am an unconventional mother, wife and photographer. I strongly encourage my children to be themselves and not be pressured into looking or dressing any certain way to fit in or please anyone. I don’t shop at the mall. Discussions about trendy kids clothes turn my stomach. My kids major concern with clothes are if the jeans are comfortable and does the t-shirt have something cool printed on it. I am totally against standardised testing and am very disappointed in our educational system. I give my children permission to make pictures with all those fill in the circles with a no. 2 pencil t-cap tests. I educate them in art, world history, music, literature, and the real facts about government because if I didn’t no one would.

My husband is an ex-british citizen who has found himself living in southern appalachia with what he thinks must be the craziest woman in the world. I love him with all my heart and if it were not for his total love and support I could not be the eccentric mother that i was destined to be. 

learn more about me- http://eccentricmother.wordpress.com/about/

Sizzle is my oldest wild child at nineteen years old. Babes is my youngest at ten. It’s pretty obvious how Babes or Baby Girl got her nickname. She is the baby of the bunch and there are a chunk of years between Sizz 19, Rachie Poo “Rach” nearly  17, and Babes who will be 10 in a couple of months.

Babes is just spoiled. Not spoiled rotten but spoiled in a way that I just can’t help. There’s a dramatic voice of emotion in my head that says things like; “This is the last child you’ll ever have.” or “When she’s a young beautiful thirty year old you’ll be sixty, if your even alive,  so give her all you can now.” I remind her constantly that she is not aloud to grow up and get married and that she will live with me and be my Babes for the rest of my life. She then reminds me that when she grows up she is moving to New York City to work for Animal Control. Thank you very much Animal Planet.

Sizz was born when I was just barely twenty years old. She had this pile of poofy, thick black hair. It really did look kind of strange. Like a wig or something. She also had this line of dark fuzzy hair that continued from the top of her neck down her spine and ended in a little duck tail at the top of her butt crack. Her skin was olive and her eyes were like shiny black pools. Her Papaw immediately nicknamed her Sizzilena Maria because he thought she looked like a Spanish baby. Well in a monkeyish kind of way she did. Sizzilena was shortened to Sizzle or Sizz.

 Sizz has the most awesome personality. Everyone and I do mean every single person she meets instantly likes her and wants to be her friend. But as her mother I know another side of Sizz. The evil alter ego. The Siz that throws two hundred dollar cell phones across the room in a rage and cusses like a one legged sailor. Let me just say something here about my eldest daughters vocabulary. It all started when she was around fifteen years old. My sweet southern twang talking babies had a habit of spelling certain words as if their tongues would rot off if they actually said them. As I recall it all started with H-E-double hockey sticks. I remember saying; “For Christ sake, it’s HELL, H-E-L-L spells hell and you won’t burn in it for saying it I promise!” They looked up at me with innocent yet suspecting wide eyes and I know what they were thinking. What the hell is she saying?  Yep-I gave them permission to cuss. As long as they didn’t cuss in a stupid way or just for the sake of cussing. I figure it is a form of self expression and because I’m an eccentric mother I give them some extra length of leash in some areas. Besides they are intelligent girls on the verge of womanhood.

 Well- Babes who was present and heard the whole consent to cuss discussion has taken the attitude that it is just beneath her to utter any words that aren’t pure, magical, or in reference to the color pink. Rach continued to spell until just recently. She will come out with a hell or a damn occasionally. Around me anyway. Sizz, on the other hand, embraced the freedom of vocabulary and expressed herself in a rated pg fashion until she reached eighteen.

The day Sizz turned eighteen, H-E-double hockey sticks burst open and the demon of all language that is foul & revolting leapt out and possesed her. Sizz doesn’t just say a cuss word. She takes that word  and turns it into several lines of shockingly wicked poetry that causes the hairs on the back of ones neck to stand up and in some cases the stomach to heave. She’s the best swearer I have ever met.

Baby girl hates school lunch. On the ride home from school one of my twenty questions is always; What did you have for lunch? Without fail her answer is always sponge. Sometimes it’s brown sponge with this junk that is supposed to be gravy and sometimes it’s white sponge that looks like chicken but tastes like sponge. Some day’s there’s even sponge teriyaki and on those days Babes sucks the teriyaki sauce off the sponge so I suppose she is getting some nutrient. $1.75 and she sucks teriyaki sauce and drinks chocolate milk.

So what’s an eccentric mother to do?

Goggle “cool lunch box recipes” and discover the world of Japanese bento box lunches. OK so maybe I’m not that great with pink pressed rice hearts. It looks more like brains. If Babes can suck fake teriyaki flavoring off some soy sponge then I don’t think she’ll have a problem eating my brain heart. And the boiled egg chick with the carrot beak and sprinkle eyes nestled in the buttered egg noodles makes up for the brain heart.

My backyard is a jungle full of tomatoes and yellow squash. I never knew how recipe challenged yellow squash is until I had them in heaping piles on every flat surface in my kitchen. I mean, there’s just so much fried squash a person can eat. Tomatoes on the other hand are wonderful any which way you serve them. Fried green tomatoes with ranch dip, big salty slices of red tomato on bread with mayo, tomato on everything and with every meal. I did very little to my tomato plants this year. After they were starting to droop over from weight I tied them here and there to keep them off the ground. I wish this picture was scratch & sniff.

I’ve been getting requests to shoot weddings lately which is not normally my forte so I’m posting a little announcement here about my experience and views on wedding photography.

I have shot weddings in the past but it was only on a “doing a favor for a friend” basis. I have always intentionally NOT advertised as a wedding photographer for many reason which I will list with explanations- so if you need to refill your coffee, run and pee, or throw a load in the washing machine now would be a good time.

• Phone consultations- my personal cell number to call me whenever and however many times you wish to discuss your wedding photography.
• Face to face consultation- If you schedule this at your rehearsal dinner that would be an excellent time for the wedding party to meet me and I’ll bring my camera along for some extra coverage at no additional charge. Other fun times to do this- bridal shower or bachelorette party. (I don’t stay the entire time) At this meeting I have a quick checklist for you to complete if you haven’t done so already to let me know what shots you must have. Also, a 50% retainer is due me on this day.
• Wedding day coverage- My staff and I arrive to the wedding location when you arrive and photograph your wedding and reception. Most couples prepare at the location but if you prepare elsewhere we will accommodate for that. Staff includes Female photographer (me)-coverage includes- bride preparations, mood & location scenery, detail & decorations, guests, ceremony guest point of view, wedding party group shots, food, festivities & highlights. Male photographer (the crazy brit)- coverage includes- groom preparations, guests, ceremony wedding party point of view, wedding party group shots, details & festivities. Videographer- (Lindsay)- Shoots video highlight segments to be used on the DVD. Our staff is professionally dressed in darker colors. (Also the remaining balance is due me on this day)
• Editing & Production Stage- Usually takes many hours over a couple of weeks. Each image is analysed for quality, edited and enhanced. Many copies of b&w, color touch, digital artwork will be included with the originals. DVD includes still images and video choreographed to music selected by bride.
• Final Product- A 4×6 print portfolio containing approximately 250 prints in a gallery style portfolio album. 1 master image cd with copyright release. 6 Dvd’s. Online guest gallery.

Total Price- $1500.00 (50% down at consultation and remaining balance due on wedding day)

Now that is darn cheap for memories that will last a lifetime