End of the Year

As the year comes to a close, I have decided that, as a photographer, I need to make some new year resolutions. The first one is to update the blog more than once a year LOL  The last post I made was in January.  It is now December.  Ugh.  The second one is to share more of my work with the world, and share it regularly.  So to accomplish both of these, I am going to share photos right here on this blog.  

But first, I want to update you on the studio.  Since it has been almost a year (again) since the last post, there has been a lot of progress on the building of the studio. It's insulated, wired (but no main power line yet), partially sided....... Here, just check out the pictures.

siding on the back

siding on the gable

the deck boards are on

insulation!

drywall

drywall

trim on the windows

drywall on the front wall

the back wall is done and painted

Ooops.

Oh. My. Gosh.  I am going to admit something totally stupid.  Are you ready for it?  Please don't judge me too harshly.  I started this blog......posted a few updates.......and then forgot it existed.  Pitiful right?  I just logged in and checked out the last post.  The studio was just getting some walls.  This was almost a year ago.

Then, I went through all my more recent photos of the studio progress, and I realized I don't have a current one.  Ugh.  This one is the most recent one I have.  

The walls are done, the roof is complete.  I have actually moved some stuff in - that's what I'm doing in the picture above.  Those bins hold all the props I have acquired so far, organized by time of year/holiday (spring/easter, halloween, christmas, etc).  Since that photo, some insulation and drywall has been added.  Once wiring has been added, I'll be able to use the studio for portraits, regardless of whether the building is complete or not (I'd use a backdrop so you'd never see the incompleteness).  Once this sub-zero weather passes, I'll go take some pictures of the inside and outside of the studio in its current state.

Update

Wow, it's been a while.  Check out what's changed since my last update.

The little porch has been added, house wrap is on.  There are some boards and a large tarp acting as the roof right now.  The snow came early, and has not let up.  Super chilly temperatures have set in.  It may be a few weeks before any more progress can be made.

Do you see what I see......

Lots of inclement weather (rain, lots and lots of rain), and a super busy contractor (ehem, husband) delayed any further building on my studio.  It was stuck as just floor joists for 3 months.  But this week there has been progress!  So exciting!!  First, the plywood went down and there was solid floor! 

And, when I came home from work yesterday.....Tada!

Walls!!  Woo-hooooo!

That's my hubby down there, working hard in the freezing cold, all by himself.  Usually he has a little helper (our daughter) but it's a school day so little helper is off increasing her smarts.  And I am off to work.  I wonder what new progress will happen while I'm away?

Floor, floor, I see a floor

Just a quick snapshot of the view from my kitchen window.  So excited!!!

For all you other photogs out there, I know what you're thinking.  "Oh my gosh it's WAY too little to be a studio." My husband and I designed it small.   I'm not a professional - yet   ;) - so I didn't want to build a giant studio that may end up being a giant waste of space.  But it will be SO much better than a makeshift spot in a corner of my house, taking up space that we could use for something else or overtaking space that we DO use for something else, with dog hair everywhere and the kids' toys and crayons and general family clutter invading the space every time I turn around. Yes, it will be a small studio, but it will be MY small studio.  MY space to go and be creative. MY place to keep treasures like lighting equipment, a box of holiday props, or  a cool new backdrop I found.  MY space to decorate with photos that I created, matted and framed.  A little place where my hobby, my dream, my creativity, my skills can change and grow (hopefully, into a flourishing business).  Somewhere I can set up a photo shoot, walk away from it and hours, days later it's still there, not in the way, not taken down.  A lovely little spot that will allow me to still take photos even when the weather doesn't cooperate.  I can't wait for the first time someone says "oh, you're a photographer.....Do you have a studio?" and I can answer.....

"YES!, Yes, I do!"

The Location

I just wanted to share a quick peek at the cleared and leveled future location of my studio.

Hello world!

Hi, my name is Rachel.  I am a photographer in Northern Michigan.  Currently, my photography is just a hobby, and falls in second to my full time job.  However, I am working on changing that.  I started this blog to share all the ups and downs of this journey with you.

For those of you who don't already know me, you may be wondering "What kind of photographer are you?".  I have quite a selection of landscape and nature photos, and I also take portraits.  You can check out my work on my webpage and "like" me on Facebook!

I have some exciting news to share.  Up until now, all portraits I have done have been on location.  Photographing objects meant setting up my backdrop and lighting in an unused corner of my house.  There was a reason for all this trouble:  I had no studio.  My wonderful, wonderful husband has decided to change that for me!  I'm sure a small part of this is because he's tired of walking into the living room, kitchen or bathroom only to discover that it has been transformed into a make-shift studio, but mostly it's because he wants to see me reach my dream.  We came up with a design......it will be similar to this cute little cabin:

We have picked out a nice spot on our property, collected a pile of wood and supplies.  He hopes to have this small studio "dried in" (his carpenter term) by winter.  I didn't get a "before" picture of the location since I didn't realize he was starting NOW.  He borrowed a friend's tractor, and he started clearing and leveling last night!  Hooray!  I am so excited to share the progress with you!!!

Please feel free to email me with questions or leave a comment below!