Betsy Jo Photography Blog

*See note below*

The rest of the post from our downtown Hartford shoot:

Couldn’t decide on color or b&w, so, I bring you both:

A big part of going downtown was because of this beautiful wooden door that’s about 25 feet high, arching over a beautiful entrance. So we get there, and the doors are open for a private function, and there’s a car parked in front of them. Bleh. I was slightly disappointed that we couldn’t get the whole door, but we snuck in just a little piece. It works.

This one makes me smile. No, Matt is not 7 feet tall:

Bokeh from car lights makes me happy-

Pretty brick:

I like the feel of motion in this one:

Hartford has a pretty nice skyline, doesn’t it?

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.”

-William Wordsworth, major English poet. (1770-1850)
from ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’

*I am going to be away for the week, and will have limited email access, or maybe none at all– (if I leave my laptop behind!. Photo journal posts will continue to be posted, so be sure to check back. Feel free to send me a message, but be aware that email response and order fulfillment will be delayed. Thank you!* -Betsy

No, I did not hire models to travel with me to downtown Hartford.

…This is my sweet little sister Kara and her spiffy husband, Matt.

I have another shot like this that’s all perfect, both looking at the camera and smiling. But I like this one better. See the way he’s looking at her…? Awww…

And she knows it.

You know how everyone has a story?

Well, here’s part of my sister’s story: Wherever Kara is, there are shoes. Spiffy shoes. Shiny shoes. Snakeskin shoes. Spiky shoes. Styling shoes. Just plain shoes. (Okay, I’ll stop before I start to sound like Theodore Geisel.– Which begs this trivia question: Who can tell me who Theodore Geisel is, without googling him? The descriptions I used above are a hint

Know what? I like Hartford.

So, now I just have one more little story to tell.

Back in the spring of ’08, Kara called and told me her and Matthew were getting married in September that year. And being the older sister, I had to give her some important advice. It went like this: “Kara, whatever you spend money on, make sure you spend it on a great photographer. Please. You’ll never regret it.” (Yeah, sage marriage advice, ha?Well, there was a little silent pause on the phone line, and Kara said, “Um, actually, I was gonna’ ask you to be our photographer.” “WHAT?!! No way, I won’t do it. You gotta’ get a good person to take your pictures!” She went on to say that she liked some of my candid shots that I’d taken over the years of our family, kids, etc. and that she trusted me. Uh oh.

But you know what? I acquiesced, and was her wedding ‘photographer.’ And I loved it. We got home that night, and I said to Paul, (add dramatic tone here) “Honey, this is what I was meant to do!” (Paul just smiled that cute, lazy smile of his.)

So her pictures were developed, and people saw them, and started asking me to take their pictures. And I researched, and read, and practiced, and bought books, and spent a lot of time at the library, and emailed a photographer whose work I admired, and whose presentation I respected. (Thanks, Erica!) And I took pictures every day, and went to workshops and made mistakes and learned some more. And then, a couple months after Kara’s wedding, I got a call to shoot another wedding. By then, I had learned to shoot completely in manual mode, and had a new DSLR camera and lens of my own. I came home that night after the wedding and said to Paul, (omit dramatic tone, because I was so serious)- “Honey, this is what I was meant to do.” (Paul just smiled that cute, lazy smile of his and said, “Then do it.”)

You know what? If it weren’t for my husband, and my family’s and friends’ support and encouragement and trust in me, I wouldn’t be typing this right now. But most of all, if it weren’t for Kara, there’d be a number of people who I never would have met, or portraits I never would have taken, and friends I never would have made. All because she believed that I could do it. So, anybody whose pictures I’ve taken since September of ’08, or people who are scheduled to have their photos done soon, feel free to leave a comment and thank Kara.

‘Love you, Kee. And thank you.

The sun was warm and yellow, plump in its fervor, just ready to plunge beneath the row of trees outlining the horizon. There was no discord of excess noise to mar the quiet of the evening. Only tranquil sounds– of bees buzzing lazily and leaves swaying, rustling their farewell to the day. Only the sounds of three children, walking together in a line, finding little slugs and swatting away the tiny bugs that filled the evening haze. I turned and looked at these three children, and saw with sharpness and heightened senses the many details that are easily taken for granted every day– The way the sun lit their summer-blond hair, frosting the sides of their temples white. The many tiny scratches and summertime bruises on little shins, from days of bike riding, rollerskating and soccer games in the green, green grass. The tiny mole next to his lip that always make me smile inside. How her eyes have a droopy sway to them, often looking up with a happy light. The descending curve of long lashes on his cheek as he looks down at his feet traversing the grassy field.

They sit and open their books, quiet in their concentration, almost forgetting the purpose of our little excursion. As I photograph, the books draw them in, and in the calmness, the scraping sound of page-turning interrupts the whirring of wheat swaying with the wind. And in that instant, I press the shutter, knowing that we got it. The moment. The one that tells the story of who these children are, and what they love. The moment that shows a little boy’s furrowed brow, deep in concentration, as he sounds out the words. The one that shows a young boy, working his fingernails as he is taken in by the suspense in his Hardy Boy book– the same book that my Grandpa Ryan read when he was a young boy. The moment that shows a little girl, slightly more aware of my intrusion, but unaware enough that a little piece of hair has fallen before her eyes, and she left it there. That small, 250th of a second in time that will bring me happiness for so, so much longer. A window into the little lives that I can’t hold in my hands forever, but will be deep in my heart for always.

I have a few custom photography openings newly available for late summer into the fall season. I know some have expressed an interest in making an appointment, so I am now offering a few additional sessions in late July & August. I am currently booking a limited number for September, as well.

These session appointments are granted on a first come/first serve basis. For a list of open dates, email me at: betsyphoto1@gmail.com. Thank you!