A Girl With A Camera Meets A Girl With A Guitar: Part 2

Here's the 2nd part of Danielle's shoot which includes some of my favorites. It was really awesome to do this shoot with her. I just love the light we had to play around with. I don't want my photos to be like others. I don't want awkward posing in front of a camera. I want them to be natural and to capture a story about the person or people in front of my lens. As always, feedback is certainly welcome.

A Girl With A Camera Meets A Girl With A Guitar

What a perfect way to start a monday. I love shoots like this. When the light is perfect and we're chasing it around to capture it before it disappears. And the girl, Danielle, was fun to work with too. I asked her if she would lay on the ground and she says "yeah!" like it's the best idea ever. We had an hour to do this, because we were losing daylight and, well, the mosquitoes were eating us like we were their last supper. So this is what happens when two worlds collide, and a girl with a camera meets a girl with a guitar.

I'm only posting half the images for now. There's quite a few, so I'll put the rest up tomorrow. I'm always looking for feedback, so please let me know what you think in the comments section below or shoot me an email at amhamilton04@gmail.com.

Meet Danielle: A girl with a guitar.























I'm really loving doing this. All of it, from meeting new people to editing to blogging about it. I love the process and getting the chance to be creative with this passion. It makes me excited to do it again and to capture something else beautiful.

My New Work Space

All that hard work in China really paid off. One of the reasons for going to China was so that I could afford to buy a new computer at the end of the summer. But the summer was spent nursing my old computer. I knew it was going to go any day. It's 4 years old, I only spent $500 on it when it was brand new. I was pushing my luck. 1 week before I was set to come home the power cable broke. No way to charge my battery that only holds a charge for about an hour at the most.

So I was so excited when I could pick up this new baby! My new photo editing Dream Team.










My new 13" MacBook Pro. Originally I was going to go for the 15" but after further consideration and lots of discussion I opted for the 13" and getting a 23" screen for photo editing. Really when I thought about it 15" wasn't going to be big enough, so my solution was to get the smaller, more compact computer for transporting back and forth from school, and get the larger screen for doing serious editing at home. I'm so happy with it all and can't wait to really dive into it.

Home Is Wherever I'm With You

I'm back from China! Actually I've been back almost a week now, but I've been occupied trying to get over jet lag and things. My first day back was filled with diving and beaching with good friends. Kind of perfect really.

But it's really nice to be home and to be inhaling clean air again. I know everyone talks about how polluted China is, but summertime is not a good time to be breathing in China. I'm feeling some lasting effect from it.

Lots going on as I get ready to go back to school. I've gotten a couple new toys which I'll share here later. Right now though, I'm just looking forward to enjoying this last sliver of summer here in Florida.

Sights Around The West Lake

~Inside on a stormy afternoon~


~A beautiful evening to follow~

100th Post! And back where it all started...

There is something inspiring about this place- Xi Hu. Especially on a day like today, when it's a bit overcast, but the skies are clear of smog because of last night's downpour. The lake really lights up and shines it's magical side. This is what I think of when I think of China. I've come back here after a summer of working to relax and meet up with some friends. But I was captivated today by the lake and am feeling a new energy to photograph it and other lovely things in Hangzhou.

So this is where I spent a year of my life. I never thought I'd be happy to be back here, but I have to say, it feels like coming home a bit. I've walked, cycled, sat at the shore of this lake so many time contemplating living in China and how much it changed my life and my outlook and general attitude. If ever there was a life changing experience, coming to China was it for me.

Although I'm excited to go home (FL home), I'm feeling really content being in Hangzhou right now. This was a long summer filled with hardwork, heartbreak and seeing sides of China that I don't really love at all. So it's nice to be in a familiar place that has taught me so much and to remember the parts of China that I fell hard for. Quite fitting for my 100th post I think, the beautiful West Lake.

Baby Zoë and Her Baby Blues

A water baby, there's no doubt about it. It's in her genes actually. Both mom and dad are water babies, so there's no keeping this little lady away from the ocean. She's also bilingual and has both her parents wrapped around her chubby little fingers. But who can blame them?








~Daddy Time~






~And Mom~