Up to the challenge

I was challenged by Jackie, a blogger and friend of mine, to post the 4th image from the 4th folder on my computer. It took me almost a week to do this because I most of last week out of town and I wasn't near my 24" iMac, which has all my images. So here goes...

It was getting late in the day when the flower girl decided she was
done rehearsing. You can see the tissue paper in her basket that
were representing the flower petals she would be laying down
the next day at the wedding. She is a cutie for sure, but just a little
overly dramatic, don't you think?

This picture is of Casey, the daughter of my wife's sister-in-law's sister-in-law and flower girl. Did you get all that? Well, anyway... it was taken on June 16, 2006 in Cary, North Carolina. I was the photographer for my sister-in-law's wedding and I was at the rehearsal when I captured this image. The participants at the rehearsal had been going through things for about 40 minutes when the flower girl decided she was done. She laid down in the middle of the imaginary aisle in a very dramatic way. As if she was telling her mom, who happened to be the wedding planner, that she didn't think all this practicing was really that much fun.

It is interesting to think about this image and where I was nearly three years ago with my photography. I had always been involved in photography to some degree throughout my life, but I only really began to try to make money at it when I entered the digital revolution. Actually, this wedding that I was in North Carolina to photograph was only my first "paying" job. I say that because I was paid by my sister-in-law even though I told her I would do it for free just to get the experience. I had only recently purchased my first Digital SLR, a Nikon D50, a few weeks earlier. That camera now is with my sister, who is loving it. You check out her blog and see the great images she is creating with the camera. I gave it to her as her Christmas gift last year and her Birthday gift this year (she doesn't know that second part yet, but she will when she reads this post :)

But now I have nearly three years of trying to make money as a photographer under my belt. Oh yeah, and a new camera. I bought a barely used Nikon D2x last year from a photographer in Florida, Tom Grissman, who was getting rid of his so that he could get the new D3. You see, even though I say I am trying to make money at photography, it isn't my full time job... yet. I work during the day and do photography and other creative work at night and on weekends. So far that is working for me, but if I felt I could really make it in photography, I would do it in a minute. Maybe one day...

To end this post, I must challenge four other people, in keeping with the theme. So here are my four picks:

1. My sister, Megan (of course)
2. My friend, Tyler
3. My favorite baby and child photographer, Piper
4. A player to be named later