Stacey Bode Photography

I just got some new Photoshop actions that make creating storyboards a piece of cake. I’m not talking week-old store-bought cake. It’s more like mile high moist peanut butter cake made with love by your grandma.

I like to create a fun layout for family portraits, weddings, etc to throw in with all the other images. It’s kinda the icing on the cake. For those not drawn to the embarrassingly obvious, I would really like some cake right now! One. Track. Mind.

Anyways…I played around and made these storyboards below using my new, groovy MCP Actions. I totally dig them, and they’re super easy to use. When a cool product cuts down on my editing, it means more time that I can spend working through my Netflix list or catching up on DVR-ed episodes of “What Not to Wear” (cinch at the waist…cinch at the waist!!!).

I can’t wait to play with these some more! Yay, new toys!

in·spire

I’m constantly inspired by the people around me who work towards something with purpose. It might be teaching children, working to help the community, donating their time, or any number of selfless acts. Just being in a room with a friend who puts energy into tasks that are more significant than easy…it fills me with a fire to make a difference in my own life. Now, imagine being in a room with 200 of these people. That was the wonderful way I spent my Saturday.

I was contacted by Anne Ehlers and Mimi Epstein, the lovely ladies of Team Forte, about photographing the Ovarian Cycle “Ride to Change the Future” event. The goal of the group is to raise funds that go directly to research for developing better ways to detect ovarian cancer early, and to work towards treatments and a cure.

The all-day cycling fund-raiser was held at the beautiful Midtown Athletic Club. Participants raised lots and lots of money for the organization, and showed up yesterday to ride for 6 hours!!! Note: I took one spinning class in 1999, and cried when it was over. These folks were unstoppable. There were people of all ages cycling. Some brought their families, some were riding in memory of a lost loved one, and some were survivors themselves.

I’m not shy about using this blog to point out what a total sap I am, and in true form, I did my share of sniffling and tear-wiping yesterday. There were signs, each carefully attached to the bike of a hard-pedaling cyclist. Several signs had photos, and included the phrase, “In Loving Memory Of…”. After taking photos of the signs, I would quietly move along, but each one choked me up.

I couldn’t help but think of my Grandma Bode, who has survived 3 types of cancer so far, my Dad who has survived two types, my Grandma Reif, who lived through 3 types of cancer before we lost her last year, and a number of friends who continue to fight it. Two priceless treasures in our lives are a healthy body and the people we love. When both are lost, the pain is immeasurable. So, my heartfelt thanks to anyone who donates their time or money to help eliminate such losses.

Thank you so much to everyone at the Ovarian Cycle event for a day full of inspiration that I’ll continue to carry with me!

There are a few pics below, but to see a slideshow of more images , click HERE

I never quite know what to expect when I show up to photograph an event, and the first words I hear are “oh no!”. I guess my friend Mike told his coworkers that I was coming to take some photos, but I’m not sure they believed him until I showed up, camera in hand.

I can completely relate. Ironically, I dread having my picture taken. So, I try to not take the fear I instill in people personally. The goal is to make the experience as painless as possible for them and reassure them that I’m here to make them look GOOD. Woo hoo!

The get-together was at the uber-cozy Krog Bar, and was held for the folks who work for Hothouse, Inc., a cutting-edge marketing company. They wanted some employee photos taken because a couple of them are going to be abroad for some time, and two others will soon be on maternity leave. Probably a good idea to catch all of them while we can. They’re also going to be adding some images to their website, and wanted some modern images that show a little personality. I LOVE that! I wish more companies would allow their fun side to be exposed! Then again, there are a lot of companies that don’t have a fun side, I suppose.

Everyone was really friendly, and they must share a lot of laughs throughout the workday!

I took each of them, one at a time, to take a quick portrait (possibly for their website). With every person, we had to make an effort to stop laughing so we could get the photos. Yay!

Mike was my first victim…

For some folks wary of having their picture taken, they sure are a photogenic bunch, don’t you think?

Thanks so much, everybody! Best of luck to you with your travels, babies, and the whole company!

Pasi works her way into blogland again. This time she’s featured because of her strange species ambiguity. She’s some other type of animal trapped in a cat’s body. She’s part dog, part hippo, part battering ram. Here, she demonstrates one of my favorite animal impressions…the rabbit. She does this all the time. Lays on back, curls feet. She’s either “playing bunny” or pretending that she’s a woman in a cartoon who just saw a mouse.

My guess is, she wouldn’t be happy as a cat, so let’s not break the news to her.

Does anyone else have a cat that does this???

I just took some headshots for a super-swell guy named Louis. We had a great time during his session, even though I made him nervous as I wobbled on my step stool. People who want me to take their headshots should know that I’m remarkably clumsy, and will probably trip and/or fall during the shoot. But, like I told Louis, if I DO fall, I promise to laugh all the way to the hospital…and do a reshoot for free.

Louis is currently rehearsing a play called “Some Men” at Actor’s Express. We should all go see it. Yay, support local theater!

Here are just a couple of the pics we took the other day…

I HAD to post this one. It blows my mind that this is the FIRST shot I took! Typically, it takes about 20 to 30 frames before I see someone REALLY relax and notice their personality shine through the awkwardness of having a camera stuck in their faces. Louis had it at frame #1. Unheard of.

You know I can’t end a post without a celebrity comparison, so in the smiley pic below, I’m totally getting a Billy Crudup vibe. Yes?

Louis, thanks for making my job wicked easy, and all the best in your acting career!

It IS easy being green. I’m proud to say that I’ve been working on #44 on my list of 108 goals for 2008, which is “start new practices to be more “green”.

Tomorrow is Earth Day 2008!!! We should all take a few simple steps to give the Earth a little breather from all the abuse. A few websites that I think are helpful to folks wanting to learn how to become more eco-tastic are treehugger and
10 Ways to Go Green.

Here are some of the ways that I’m moving toward a more earth-friendly existence…

• I began recycling all our plastic, glass, aluminum, papers, and magazines
  
• I switched to using only rechargeable batteries
• I changed to low-energy light bulbs
• We keep the thermostat off or only between 68 and 70 if necessary
• I buy only recycled paper for use with my printer/copier/fax
• We purchase as many used items as possible. Most of the decorations around our house are used items or things made by us or our artistic friends.
• I started drinking water out of a reusable container instead of buying plastic bottles
• I purchase products that are housed in recyclable containers
• If possible, Matt and I walk to places instead of taking the car. He’s even better about this since he rides his bike everywhere. Mine needs to be fixed, then hopefully I’ll join him.
• I eat very little meat. You may wonder how this helps the Earth. Well, meat production facilities use a huge amount of energy.

There are many more steps I can take, and I’m going to keep working on it. Today, I was reading about how to grow a vegetable garden. What I really need is an article about how to NOT KILL a vegetable garden. Wish me luck on that one.

I’m also going to call our local recycling center to purchase a special blue tote (only $15) which will let me put our paper and magazines out for curbside pickup! Ooh, the lazy girl in me LOVES that. No more hauling boxes in the car.

My latest green effort is switching my info folders for clients from poly-coated or vinyl to a natural paper fiber. They’re not only easier on the environment and recyclable, but they cost less and I can add special touches to give them a cool hand-crafted look.

For the folder below, I just stamped a design on it and added a paper label with my logo. Easy cheesy. But hopefully not too cheesy.

Here’s a version in black…

Then I affix these labels to the back of each folder. In case you’re wondering…yes, I DO save energy when I use only uncapitalized lettering.

If anyone has additional advice/suggestions on how to more efficiently hug those trees, let us know!!! Happy huggin’!

Claire is a woman of many faces. When I was first getting to know her, I saw a show called “Clown Show for Bruno” at Push Push Theater. I remember seeing this doll-like statuesque woman who’s performance was really captivating. After the show, “off-stage” Claire passed me several times, and I had no idea it was the same lovely lady from the show!

I’ve now known Claire for some time, and have always thought that she’s such a beauty. So much so, that I had to photograph her the way I see her in my head. Here’s the Claire that resides in my brain…

Understandably, she needed something with clean hands for her new acting headshots. So, we got to “play camera” again! Yay!

Here are just a few of the shots we took…

So, I can’t help doing this weird thing, where I find similarities between the people I know, and famous people. It really has no purpose, but it’s something my brain just needs to do, and I don’t put up a fight. Disclaimer: I truly celebrate the uniqueness of people, and realize that comparisons are not necessarily constructive. My brain does not understand this disclaimer. SO, forgive me Claire, but in the pic below, you totally look like Samantha Morton…one of my favorite actresses. Scroll down for even more comparisons….

Stick with me on this one, maybe you’ll get it if you picture different hair, but I think below, Claire looks like Kate Hudson. Yes?

With the Kate Hudson thing above, it’s not shocking that below I see Goldie Hawn.

And this one is all Claire. Just Claire.

Too. Much. Fun.

Kara and Steve came over last night to view all of the photos from their fabulous wedding last month. I got to hear some great inside stories from their big day, including their guests asking why Tina Fey was at their wedding. I just write comedy as a little side project to my photography.

Naturally, after looking at their pics, we had to shake it on down to Trader Vic’s’ for some tropical drinks and Tongo Hiti tunes. Those adult beverages are both magical and deadly. Kara and I were engaged in a marathon of giggles. At one point, we were both massaging our sore cheeks.

Kara & Steve, you’re the BEST! So glad we got to catch up and share such a good time. Once my liver recovers from last night, we’ll have to go whoop it up again!

Here are the pre-drink “before” pics. When “before” pics are necessary, you know you’re in for some trouble.

Steve looks like he’s up to something by the first sip!

Matt doing his look that I’ll call “super villain senior portrait”.

What do you get when you cross Tina Fey and a muppet???

Kara got her special wedding tiki mug back…hooray! Steve toasts to her happiness. I love that Kara’s description of the mug to the gentleman who agreed to go find it was “it looks like me, but on a mug”. So true.

Steve was brave enough to order a drink that comes with it’s own safety hazard. He managed that beverage without ever having to stop, drop, and roll. Most impressive.

The “after” photo! I think this proves that men and women really ARE different….at least when filled with rummy goodness. Girls Gone Wild. Boys Gone Sensible.

…the first day it’s warm enough to open the windows. Aaaaahhhhh. I finally don’t need to wear a sweater around the house, the cats get a cruel hint of what freedom would be like, and I start counting the days until my barrage of mosquito bites and my first sunburn of the season.

Wow, I’ve known these two for a loooong time, and you’ll struggle to find two nicer people. I met Jill ages ago when we both worked at the same pharmacy, I think in like 1975. Ok, maybe it was the 90s during the Grunge Dynasty. Jill looks exactly the same as when I met her…an adorable ray of sunshine. She later came to work at the biomedical company I was at, where Joel works as well. Joel is one of the people I was thankful for when I was at my day job. He’s one of those sane people who “gets it”. You know, someone who can be professional and human at the same time (NOT easy to come by).

I was so out of the loop at the company (at least about people’s personal stuff) that when Joel contacted me about wedding photography, I didn’t even know he and Jill were dating! Well, that was a very pleasant surprise indeed.

Here are some pics from their fun engagement shoot at the
Atlanta Botanical Gardens. It was so great to see you two and have a quiet stroll through the flowers. I can’t wait for your wedding next month!!!

Any guys reading this, please take note…Joel did not try to push Jill into the pond. Not once! Chivalry lives!

Oh, this next one brings me acres of joy!

Joel and Jill moonlight as supermodels.