Hey All,

So this past Saturday was my photo shoot at Hot Pop with my Pre-college class at MIAD entitled "Photographer's on Assignment"

For this class (which consisted of all high school girls, and my lovely T.A. Grant), we took a trip to Hot Pop. Owner Margaret Martin gave us a tour and a little history regarding her store. Afterwards, each of the girls came up with a photo shoot idea and pitched it to Margaret and her Graphic Designer/Manager, who gave each of the girls feedback on their photo ideas, and then picked one photo idea to be produced. We spent the next few classes producing the photo shoot, and we executed it last Saturday. This Saturday we'll review what we shot, and pick a few images to send over to Margaret.

Below you'll see the crew shot, which consists of my students and their models. I might be in there somewhere too.

Check out the latest Art City in which UWM Professor Jennifer Johung mentions our upcoming collaboration!

Here is the link: http://bit.ly/fge27F

Visit my New Etsy Store and WIN A PHOTOGRAPH !

Jessica Kaminski on Etsy (<--- follow the link) or type www.JessicaKaminski.etsy.com


From now until December 12, 2010 enter to win a 16 x 20 Metallic Art Print of any image from my Etsy Store!

I want to learn from you. What is a life lesson that you have learned? It could come from anywhere: a family history, an interaction with a stranger, something that you noticed on your drive to work, something you read in a book that really affected you.

I will pick a winner on December 12, 2010.

I'd also love permission to repost the submissions on my BLOG

To Enter:
1. Email me at Jessica.Y.Kaminski@gmail.com. Title your email "Etsy Contest"
2. Please keep your story to one page or less.
3. Let me know if you are ok with having your story reposted.

Also, you can receive 15% off of your purchase by using the coupon code : Holiday2010

www.JessicaKaminski.etsy.com

Enjoy!

I'm going to keep adding more products, so feel free to visit often.

For Men Only: Jess Stern’s Stag Barbershop opened with much hoopla, featuring delicious goodies from Mo’s Irish Pub, Hector’s and Soup’s On, along with refreshing local beverages from Rehorst, Sprecher and Hinterland. It was a family affair, with help from mom Sandy Stern and brothersJared, Justin and Jack, plus grandmother Anna Schwacher, aunt Debbie Killdoo and her husband, Mike, and carpenter friend Curt Brester. Building owner Dan Marty donated the barber chairs. 

Stern’s pals and clients poured in: photographer Jessica Kaminski; Violetville Vintage owner Tina Poppy; UW-Milwaukee art history professor Jennifer Johung, wearing a stunning faux fur from Poppy’s store; Moda Salon owner Cheryl Aguinaga; Cutting Edge stylist Lynn Mueller; plus clientsLeo Ries, Ken Hanson, Ron White, and Brewer blogger Adam McCalvy. Kaleigh Gamachewas among the photographers capturing the evening. 

www.stagbarbershop.com

Last week I photographed Alayna, who is the newest addition to the lives of Brett and Stephanie (whose wedding I photographed a few years ago).

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It was so much fun to see Brett and Stephanie again, and also, to be helping them record another important milestone in their lives!

Sometimes, as a wedding photographer, I've been the last person to photograph someone. There have been a few times that I've been called upon for reprints because someone has passed away. I do not look at this as morbid, but rather, I feel lucky that I was able to photograph someone at a wedding, where they are typically dressed to the nines and laughing. Or, at least, eating cake! (Not that I would photograph someone eating cake, but you know what I mean!)

Anyways, after the shoot, Brett made a comment that I was about the 5th person to meet baby Alayna. I'm pretty sure that this is the first time I've taken the some of the FIRST photographs of someone. I thought a lot about this on the drive home.

I think, it just makes me happy that I can share my gift with others in this way.

So, one of my former students emailed me some interview questions for her class. Some of you may know that I love to eat, and that I have a tendency to use food to explain thing. My newest creation is the ice cream sundae reference! Lol.

Here are some of my answers below:

Start small and simple. 

Perfect everything about that simple task. I like to use my ice cream sundae example: An ice cream sundae is only as good as its base, which is the vanilla ice cream. So, in this example, start with the vanilla ice cream and perfect it. Find the best ingredients, figure out the best combination of ingredients. Decide how much ice cream will be in the sundae. Decide how you will present the ice cream. Pick out an ice cream scoop that you love. Make sure that your clients are happy with the ice cream, and that you can recreate it and deliver it with the same quality, every time. Then, IF YOU WANT, you can start to add other flavors to create your sundae, but you must make sure that you spend the same amount of time and detail on those other elements too.

Where did you get your confidence from? 

My confidence comes from within. By this I mean that I realized that I only have control over myself. Not everyone in the world is going to love what I do, and that is ok. What is more important is to trust myself, to do work which I am truly proud of, and which excites me. In this way, clients are attracted to a product that I already make and which already makes me happy, instead of me trying to change to create a product which they want, but which not be true to me. By being true to myself, I create confidence and support. Any time I am not being true to myself, I am chipping away at that confidence and must stop and reevaluate before moving forward.

It is hard to always be confident in what you are doing? 

It is hard to always be confident in anything, but I think this is good. I think you should always feel challenged  in your work, in order to grow. Otherwise, you become complacent. You should always have confidence in yourself that you will figure it out, but it's ok to wonder whether or not you can do something. This is good for two things: if you do succeed, it builds your confidence, increases your skills, and moves you to the next level. If you do not succeed, you realize what you can do better the next time, and you still increase your knowledge and continue to move to the next level. So, you see, its a win-win situation either way.

I just got my new issue of M Magazine which features my photographs of the Milwaukee Bucks!

Check. It. Out.

Hello All, 

As some of you may know, I had to move out of my studio this weekend. In the process, I discovered some things that I don't need, so I'll be periodically posting things on here.

First up, I have a box of Black Gable Boxes measuring 9 x 6 x 6" from Uline:

http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-9799BL/Retail-Boxes/9-x-6-x-6-Black-Gable-Boxes

I originally paid $78 for a box of 100. There are 87 left in the box.  

Come and pick them up! $20. That's less than $.25 a box!

WOO!

I also have a very exciting Promaster Deluxe Negative and Slide Sorter. It's 8 x 10, and has a stand for easy viewing. 

http://www.normancamera.com/Promaster-8x10-Negative-Slide-Sorter.html

It cost me $40. You can have it for $10. 

Or $5 and a cupcake. 

More to Come.....

i'm just a dreamer but i'm hanging on
though i am nothing big to offer
i watch the birds, how they dive in then gone
it's like nothing in this world's ever still

and i'm just a shadow of your thoughts in me
but sun is setting, shadows growing
a long cast figure will turn into night
it's like nothing in this world ever sleeps

oh sometimes the blues is just a passing bird
and why can't that always be
tossing aside from your birches crown
just enough dark to see
how you're the light over me

and by your side, girl, where the acres grow
into the strong and stunning meadow
a cowboy stumbling in the finest field
and nothing good out there won't be old

oh sometimes the blues is just a passing bird
and why can't that always be
tossing aside from your birches crown
just enough dark to see
how you're the light over me

sometimes the blues is just a passing bird
and why can't that always be
tossing aside from your birches crown
just enough dark to see
how you're the light over me