new lens=new images

When shooting these, I felt that they should be dark and rich in tone with a slight sepia tone to them. It's hard for me to explain why or how I wanted my work to be. While shooting, things just speak to me in a sense. I started to get images in my head of how things might've been shot in the 1920s in the Southwest.

It's very hard for me to explain my work, and I know I should be able to to by now! LOL

springtime in los angeles

talk about a busy day today!

i just created a spot for me as a vendor on this site:
http://www.weddingwire.com/DeirdreRyanPhotography

and last night i created another type of shop for etsy:
http://deirdreryanphoto.etsy.com
it's for my digital restoration work on old images :)

here's my list:

-little casear's pizza
-having a great ppo healthplan so that my daughter could get her physical today(she's doing great!)
-shrek one and two
-fizz pop
-drive thru car washes
-home depot
-thrift stores
-gorgeous sunny day with a nice cool breeze
-my daughter taking naps while in the car
-knowing that i was able to get things done today and managed not to collapse
-my faith
-getting morning hugs from dave and my daughter
-our health
-2 cars that are in excellent condition
-family
-friends
-food
-water
-a clean place to live that is loving and safe

Happy Easter

today was an absolutely gorgeous los angeles day, a bit too warm for me at times, but overall very relaxing :)

here's the list:
-my daughter looks cute as a button in a new dress
-the sun was out and there was a breeze
-i was able to sit on my window seat in our sunroom and enjoy the breeze while reading a book.
-david was able to organize our work area a bit.
-our dog got to enjoy the outdoors and roll on her back in the grass
-had a great and relaxing time with friends the other day into the evening discussing art and other topics ;)
-spoke to family on the phone
-we give thanks for everything we have everyday
-the evening is now nice and cool, perfect :D

Come See Deirdre and Amanda At The Southpark Flea Market March 30th!

Deirdre Ryan and Amanda Lockrow will be at the Southpark Flea Market this coming Sunday, March 30th from 9AM-4PM.
Family friendly venue!
http://www.southparkfleamarket.com

http://blackbird72.etsy.com
http://www.aklockrow.com

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA!APRIL 4th! About Frakin Time LOL!

why did i become a photographer?

today i am finally able to go through some business cards that were given to me during the flea market. one of them was from my customer, a fellow photographer named joseph:
joseph marble works

on his site, he talks about his path on how he chose to become a photographer and i found it very inspirational. let me quote him:

" I had been walking around the Meiji Shrine when I decided to take a squat and pull out the book I'd been reading. On page 116 of Hunter S. Thompson's "TheProud Highway" there is a letter to his friend Hume Logan who had asked the young Thompson for some career advice. Thompson could have been writing to me.

To sum up the letter, Thompson responded by saying that it was impossible for
him to give career advice to anyone but himself because he could not possible see
through the eyes and heart of the would be advice taker. He did however say this.
Let's assume that you think you have a choice of eight paths to follow (all pre-defined paths, of course). And let's assume that you can't see any real purpose in any of the eight. THEN-and here is the essence of all I've said-you MUST FIND A NINTH PATH.

I don't think I've ever gotten better advice. After a bit of trailblazing I discovered
mine."

reading this i though that i should explain myself better as well :)

the path to photography was one that i think runs more in my family. growing up, i was surrounded literally be cameras. slrs to point-n-shoots.

my dad was in the army(calvary/he like to play with tanks) and served many years and retired as a lt. col. he always took pictures in every country he was stationed in. so many of his images looked like he was a photographer for national geographic magazine.
his father, my grandpa was also an avid photographer as was my uncles and my other grandfather on my mother's side.

as a kid, i had many interests. i wanted to be a dancer, a nurse, a painter, a musician(well i do play classical piano), and for the longest time i wanted to be a fashion designer and graphic designer.

high school was when i really started to work on becoming a graphic designer through yearbook and photography. but it wasn't until college that taking pictures became my world.

literally

during that time, all of my past influences came flooding back into my brain and i flourished. i finally found a way to express myself and i was actually very good at it.

now that i am a mother, i feel the need, the urgency to be not just the best mom i can be for her, but also the best at photography in my own way, on my terms :D

yeah this post is longer than i intended, but like i said, i was inspired, thank you joseph!

THIS makes me HAPPY!

I'm In A Philly State Of Mind

A lot of firsts happened in this city of brotherly love. Philly has had a tough time lately, but I still love the city. This is where I met my husband and growing up there were class trips and family trips into the city all the time.

I added this images to my etsy shoppe, go take a look:
11x17 prints

Update On How The Southpark Flea Market Went

well i would be lying to say that amanda and i sold everything and there was a huge crowd of people.

the number of vendors was tiny as there was supposedly a threat of rain and therefore most vendors didn't show up. so because of this there wasn't a huge crowd of people coming through either. see you need vendors for people to say," oh wow, let's check this out!".

BUT

i did sell 2 of my photos and i had a great time with amanda and her awesome boyfriend, lu. my husband, dave, came by with our daughter as well.

before the show, you must understand this:
you spend quite a bit of time and money in preparing your items. and for me a bit more as i needed stuff like:
plastic bins
cloths
table
receipt booklet
and other misc. items

i found my bins that included handled covers at target. i happened to come across them in the sewing machine section. i also got a label maker for $19 at target too. i labeled my bins with the prices and no one can say they couldn't read them! LOL my tablecloth is actually a really cheap target queen sized flat sheet. i wanted black, but they only had white in my price range of less than $10.

food can get pricey at these things, even with a vendor discount. i'm always one to bring my own food on road trips, etc. trader joes is my favorite place to go for the food i love and not too $$ either. i got brie, pita bread, hummus, olives, bottled water and other munchies. i prefer to eat light and as many mini meals as possible. being out in the elements(wind, sun, etc) this is best. dave and i have a hard cooler with a big handle and wheels, so it also doubled as a a small table to eat off of.

so did i mention the weather? usually in the early morning during the springtime, it's cold, so ALWAYS dress in layers. i wore a t-shirt, a long sleeved shirt and a wool sweater and a land's end squall jacket (that link shows the men's but mine looks just like it in a woman's size).

amanda had 2 business card holders, so i borrowed this one made by http://tresijas.etsy.com
it's a business card holder that is made out of recycled LP's.



i loved it so much and held my mini moo cards great so i ordered one and it just arrived today!

so, amanda and i are going to give this market another shot, so be sure to look for us on march 30th.

here's the list for today:
-having the energy to make homemade mac-n-cheese for me and my daughter's lunch and making extra for the rest of the week.
-shrek one and two
-hubby staying home from work yesterday so that i could rest and get better...it worked :)
-delmy, our cleaning lady who came yesterday
-our tax return

sick toddler :(

my darling 18 month old has a nasty head cold and she is still being a good girl! breaks my heart to see her like this. but it won't be the last time ;)

so this is why i have been lacking in postings lately. that and preparing for the southpark flea market.

THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 16th!

thankfully i got the bulk of my printing done the other day. i'll be having 4x6s, 8.5x11s, 11x17s, perhaps some 13x19s and i will be selling my larger 16x20 fully matted and framed pieces :)

oh and now i accept mastercard and visa for those of you who don't carry cash :)

if you are local to los angeles here are the details:

Vintage, Collectibles, New & Used... The coolest stuff downtown.
Every Sunday 9 - 4 8th and Grand
Downtown Los Angeles
Take the metro red line to 7th Metro Center
Music • Food • Kid Friendly
$2.00 ($1.00 with Flyer or ad, this is on their website) Students w/ ID, kids under 12 & Seniors Free


I will be sharing a booth with Amanda Lockrow.

Our booth is located almost at the entrance and we'll be flying our newly made banners :D if sales go well, then i might do this every months.

i'm thankful for:
-vicks
-humidifers
-water
-milk
-tissues
-vapor baths
-my sick daughter
-excellent PPO insurance
-my husband
-our families
-our friends
-a gorgeous day
-the means to get what i needed for this coming weekend :)

Etsy's Handbook For Handmade Vol 5

I will be in the Etsy Handbook For Handmade Vol. 5 :D

Description from:
Timothy Adam Designs
With 140 etsy artists featured in 4 volumes, the handbook to handmade is a small cut of very talented artists from around the world.

"the handbook to handmade" is a 80 page monthly volume of 35 ETSY artists and their shops...this is a promotional tool that is used to help promote artists and etsy. the first volume was a success, with a great mix of artists from 36 different cities from around the world.

The handbook is sent out to each of the 35 artists for them to use it as a promotional tool.

EACH ARTIST WIIL GET A COPY OF THE BOOK!!

the video below was made by:
Bead Keepers

i created a social networking site!

Multiple Sclerosis For The Rest Of Us

Come on in!

wow! what a day!

well, i think that i have accomplished a lot with my blog today!

i found this terrific FREE template from www.suckmylolly.com and i love it! it's clean(until i mucked it up with "stuff" lol!) and easy to use.

today i got in the mail only one bill! huuzzaah!

i then received THREE packages!
1. this:it holds business cards, IDs, money or can be used as an old school cigarette case. i got it to hold business cards to hand out and cards i receive. i picked this one(it was soo hard to choose too!) because i share halloween with my mom for our birthday. yup, i was born on her birthday :D and since i'm a brunette..viola! LOL
to get one like this or other designs go here:
Sweetheart Sinner Creations

2. i got GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!!!! 2 boxes each of Shortbread, Thin Mints and Tagalongs(now called Peanut Butter Patties).

3. my monthly supply of Copaxone, my daily ms medication.

HEY! it's FRIDAY!!!!! woohoo! that means i have my husband home all day for 2 whole days! i miss him dearly when he's at work. you would think that after being together for a total of 13 years, 11 of those years married, i would not feel this way. but i do, so there! :P LOL

heres the list:
-my daughter calls me mama or ma
-we are able to find some extra cash to keep our dog healthy
-it was another gorgeous and sunny day here in los angeles
-i was able to nap for 20 minutes while my daughter napped
-i am POSITIVE that i will make some sales from my artwork....soon ;)
-other than my body feeling like lead and sore, i am in good spirits and look forward to a quiet evening with my family.

The Waldo Ultimatum

this is funny, enjoy!


The Waldo Ultimatum - Watch more free videos

please excuse the way my blog looks

i am in the rocess of creating something FANTASTIC and more pleasing :) links, etc. will return shortly :)

thank you!

cards, flea markets and life :)

i've been asked to join amanda to share a booth at the south park flea market on april 16th. i'm pretty excited to do this as she is a VERY talented jewelry designer and i have not been in a fair since i used to live in bordentown, nj. the last one was the iris fine arts festival.

i decided to create little freebie bookmarks to put in packages of sold items and i'll have them at our booth too. easy to make here at home too :D

today was a gorgeous day!

-the sun was shinning and my daughter and i played in our yard.
-my client's business cards that i designed for him arrived and they look fantastic!
-my daughter laughs and crys at the drop of a hat, yet i still smile and give her hugs and kisses :D
-i spoke to my mom and my grandmother today.
-actually i talk to my mom everyday ;)
-several people suggested that i have people pay to advertise on my blog here.....wouldn't that be nice?
-i'm so lucky and happy in so many small and large ways!
-my gorgeous and smart daughter is sleeping as only a child can, so i am going to have a nice glass of wine and read my book in bed :)
-LIFE IS WONDERFUL!

another good day

-made a point to add my work to other social networking sites
-my treasury that i added today is already at the near top of the page!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=3200

-i love my family!
-i love our dog, diabetic and all :D
-there is so much to be thankful here in my life, i am so overwhelmed with happiness :)
-listening to my baby girl laughing with her daddie during her bathtime.
-letting my baby girl run around naked(naked time) after her bath..she LOVES this :D

Little Ladybug Designs Virtual Baby Shower

I have this great friend who is creating WONDERFUL designs for clients all over! Please read below and check out her site and event!

You're invited to Little Ladybug Designs Virtual Baby Shower!
When: March 27-29th
Where: http://www.littleladybugdesigns.com

An adoptive mother to be, who was picked by a contest, is being showered with baby gifts from numerous sponsors. Visit http://www.littleladybugdesigns.com/pages/showerevents.php to see the list of sponsors and read about the winner.

Not only is the mother being showered with gifts but all of the guests who attend this Virtual Baby shower get the chance to win these same prizes!

Simply visit Little Ladybug Designs on March 27th-29th, visit the party page, enjoy games, entertainment, music and more, then leave one comment in the guest book per person about your favorite giveaway or thing about the party in our guestbook and you will be entered to win a great prize from one of our sponsors!

Little Ladybug Designs is offering free return address labels for a guest, and free shipping (insurance not included) for EVERYONE! What a fun way to congratulate new mommies

Featured on a Wedding Website!

http://www.do-it-yourself-weddings.com/los-angeles-wedding-photographer.html

I'm featured in a blog!

http://quirkynberkeley.blogspot.com/2008/02/deirdre-ryan-photography.html

be sure to leave comments!