The Human Experience

This is exactly what life is all about for me.

This is how and what I see as I look out into the world.

Life is too short to allow opportunities of growth to slide by.

Go out and live it the exact way God intended for all of us to live it.

For me, I have been given so many blessing my whole entire life- the material things mean so little to me- human connection, love and clarity of self is most important.

Vivian Maier

A friend of mine who knows I love photography sent this link below to my facebook page- It definitely struck something in me. For the past 6 months or so, I have not felt compelled to go out and do any shooting whatsoever. Aside from shooting photography, I also write a great deal about my surroundings and where I am in my life. I literally have a library of entries. Yet just like I am having difficulty to go out and shoot, my pen has not made and entry in my "journal" in many months. I have completed a few portraits here and there, along with a few weddings- which of course I love. But it is not where my passion is.

When really thinking about it, it is obvious that Graduate School really played a role regarding the artistic block that I am experiencing. This story that I have posted inspires me to get back into documenting my world around me.

This story is about Vivian Maier a nanny/ photographer whose negatives were discovered by a curious buyer at an auction. When this discovery was made, it was apparent that this curious buyer had found something that was special and needed to be shared with the public. Her work, from what I saw is amazing. I will stop there and let the youtube post speak for itself.




I included a sideshow to really get more of a feel for her work.

Update: I "Climbed the Canyons!"

Two weeks has passed since I partook in the bike trek. My world has been pretty hectic so I have not had the time to blog about my experience. I finally have space and time to write.

To begin with- Romma (my bike partner) and I texted each other the night before about what was to come. We both had spent the day relaxing at our homes, stayed off our bikes and saved our energy for the next day. Prior to ending our conversation, I made a confession to her that there could be a chance that I will not be making it the entire 30 miles- not that I wanted to be pessimistic but I just had to be honest. Aside from driving my jeep I don’t think I ever done anything for a consistent 30 miles.

The bike-a-thon began at Girsh Park in Goleta at 8am. We all did not leave the park till about 8:15am. We were given directions on a pocket sized piece of paper along with markers on the road that pointed us in the right direction. I amazed myself... Not only did I complete the trek but I really enjoyed it as well! The scenery was breathtaking and I enjoyed the challenge of completing the trek. Without a doubt, I would do another bike-a-thon. Romma shared with me that she was really proud of me….as was I! We kept up a good pace….ended the trek at about 11:45am. Yah for Romma and I—We did it!

Looking back, I do not know what I was thinking……after I finished I went to shoot a wedding. I committed to the trek then later was hired to shoot the wedding. I couldn’t back down on both- God forbid.

Climbing the Canyons!

Perhaps I’m just a glutton for a punishment….only time will tell.

My friend Romma and I are heading out tomorrow morning to Climb the Canyons--- all on my bike through Santa Barbara and Goleta. It’s a bike-a –thon that is happening to raise money for Alpha. A number of my residents at hillside house attend day program at Alpha so I felt it was only right for me to support the cause.

Yesterday I received my Alpha jersey; my first biking shift that I had ever owned can’t wait to sport it! I have been riding to work and going on various treks around town. I have been saving oodles on gas which has been just one of many pluses. Biking to and from work has been such a great way to begin and end my day.

Do wish me luck! After I finish this Trek- I am off to shoot a wedding. Since everything in town is so close by: it all is very doable. Only thing- I will need to rest up today, carbo-load this evening and take care of my body during the journey. Take a look at where all I will be heading! I can't wait!

Last but not least.....please donate and support Alpha Resource Center! We are the Hillside Gals....you know, employees of Hillside House in support of Alpha. I suppose I should not hope to get voted as the best name for the duo Romma and I are! Photos to follow- Thanks for stopping by! More to come......

In the name of Love and Appreciation: Happy (husband) Father's Day to Shaun

Her name is Mandy. She is the backup singer for The Eaglefeather Project ( see post below). After the night of shooting, I rushed home and created the disk full of shots taken of the her and the other band members. Being out there with my camera working once again felt so good. It's been far too long! I have missed it. There is so much joy when I work however the real joy was seeing the expression on my clients' face as she expressed how much she liked the shots. I was asked to help her out in creating a father's Day present for her husband (of 20 years.) I was happy to. I produced the shots for her, quickly I headed to Starbucks, edited what I needed, burned them on a disk and headed out to make prints. Meanwhile Mandy, headed out and bought the perfect frame. All this in one day. The pressure was on. Her frame held 8 shots. With her patience, I produced the shots she wanted and she created the gift. I was eager to see the finished product. There it was, it turned out great! Here are the shots she picked as her collection for her husband.

The Eddie Eaglefeather Project

I'm back!

NO, I did not drop off the face of the earth. I guess I would call it a leave of absence from my Blog. Researching, writing and editing my thesis has been monopolizing my time and energy. That combined with work, travel out east for the Holiday's and trying to meet all the deadlines for all of the above has caused me to prioritize what needs to be done. Unforntunetly blog writing came last. The good news is that I have been just as busy working shooting portraits for clients. So it has been a roller-coaster to say the least!

The Christmas Holiday's have come and gone. For me, it went by way too quickly. I spent quality time with my niece, nephew and my parents which was most enjoyable. Watching movies, reality television and overall enjoying the time spent. Having this quality time with my family has been a long time coming. Blessings are opening right and left of me- for that, I am just taking it all in and feeling so grateful in the process.

Today being the last day of 2010, I walk through with great satisfaction. To start off, I handed in my thesis to both my editor and Thesis adviser. I am exactly on schedule and feel great about it. That, coupled with tomorrow being my Birthday- things just could be or get any better.

Tonight, spending time with close friends and cheering in the new year! Tomorrow- of course, a birthday party for me......You couldn't possibly think I would let the day go by without properly honoring yet another year of life! While it's hard being so far away from family, it gives me so much comfort to know that I am close to my "family" here in Santa Barbara.

So here's to 2011!!!!! Happy New Year!!!!!!

Yosemite

Mica

Portraiture

Carolina Schoenborn Photography

Aside from shooting Landscape and Abstract Photography, I am expanding my horizons into Portrait and Wedding Photography. Recently, I attended a Birthday Celebration for a new client. I will be shooting her engagement portraits and have been contracted as Wedding Photographer for her Fall, 2011, Wedding.

I have been networking within the Los Angeles, Santa Ana, San Diego and Santa Barbara areas, and advertising my Photography business through "word of mouth." I will have my own website up soon. In the interest of gaining more expertise, I have participated in several workshops and have enjoyed traveling and working with fellow Photographers, in the Southern California area.

My home office in Santa Barbara is finally complete. There, clients are able to view my work up close and personal by viewing my portfolio and displayed work. During face to face consultation, I provide the opportunity to review in detail the various packages for special occasions and portraits.

Below is a sample photo of the Birthday girl and an attractive couple, one of the many guests in attendance. Location of event: Tee Off, 3627 State Street, Santa Barbara, 93105

Carolina Schoenborn Photography
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
805.453.5202

Thanks for visiting!

Photography Workshop

What do you see????

Dark Side of the Lens

Eat Pray Love

Big Dipper

THEM

I have been busy working on a few finals for school...in the meantime- how bout some old school Van Morrison? Back when he was in THEM. On October 9, 2010- I will be going to see VM, 5th row at the Santa Barbara Bowl!!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Maternity Photography

“Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be...Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before.”

-Erich Fromm-

Life itself is a journey. My journey is taking me places least expected. When I was 10 years old, I told my parents that I wanted to be photographer. I am 32 years old now. I live on the other side of the United States from where I was raised- I am not sure if I found photography or if it found me. Regardless, I am off on my new journey looking through new lens....and I love it! I have told a few of my friends from School that I feel so happy from the inside out when I am working with my Nikon. I love it.

My most recent client asked me to shoot her Maternity Portraits. I was honored and so willing to document her process of bringing a new life into this world. For the next 6 months I will be completing portraits in different settings. First, as you can see I chose the beach. In all, I shot 945 shots!!!! I had so much fun. When I am working I am so full and extremely in the moment. My client had so much energy which made my job of capturing images much easier. It just flowed.

My portfolio is growing. I can say I enjoy the money involved in this work, but that is not what is important to me. I LOVE MY WORK with all of my heart. Love is all that matters to me. My soul has opened tremendously. That 10yr old in me that was not heard is now free to do what she loves. I feel free and I have an overall feeling endless possibilities in the horizon.

Coming Soon: Website which will have more of the portraiture that I have done with various clients as well as some of my work which is what I would consider more abstract than anything else.

Viva La Fiesta!

I am not claiming this to be my best work by any means, however I could not consider myself a Santa Barbarian without posting Fiesta Celebration which took place this past weekend. I barely made it there. I needed rest after a week of school so it was hard for me to get up the energy to spend time in crowds and deal with lines and lines of people. Just not my idea of fun. Nevertheless, I made it to the show at the SB Court House this past Saturday. I had to grab some shots, however as I had mentioned, this is not my best work at all. It was hard to really get up there without blocking the view for others. In person, it was quite a performance. I look forward to the years to come to really get out to people watch and be more involved in the festivities.

One Step At a Time

Last month at about this time, my computer decided to break down on me. Basically, a virus entered and made it so that I could not get to my desktop. The fact was that what entered my mind was not so much about losing the papers that I had written for class rather, I felt ill with the idea that all of my photos that I have taken to build of my stock may have been lost forever.

My computer had been running slightly on the slow side the day prior. It raised suspicion however I did not see any warnings indicating that there were any viruses. Then while at Natasha's place, I turned on my computer, and instantly my screen turned blue, I froze and preceded to ask Natasha if she knew what was up with my computer. I started to hyper inside. She of course did not pick up on my nervousness and started to question me about whether I had all my files backed up on an exterior hard drive or not. What a remarkable idea to do such a thing, however of course did not- I had always thought that would be a grand idea, but never made it happen. Natasha was calm while all I wanted to do was take a hammer to my computer, which of course would have solved everything.

Natasha preceded in calling Dell Customer service (she is so good to me!) found out that there is probably a virus and that my computer needs to get looked at and adds at the end that there is a possibility that all files are gone. Thanks for stating the obvious. I spent the next few days worried to death as to whether my files would be retrievable or not.

It tore my up to think that the slide show at Pacifica that I had hoped to put on would be canceled due to me losing all my photos. In fact it made me ill to think about it. I found out that my files were retraceable and had everything backed up on an exterior hard drive immediately. Just this past week, prior to showing my slide show, I informed my classmates of how close I came to not having anything to present in my slide show. That for me would be heartbreaking to face. I am grateful that all that I had worried about had a happy ending!

The slide show was a hit. It ran an hour and a half. I was so happy with my shots and was so proud to show my work to both students and staff at Pacifica. I had a large selection of music which added more flavor to the show. I had the music reflect whatever was being showed-I had a mixture, some which was Joni Mitchell, Peter Gabriel, Everly Brothers, Frank Sinatra, Loise Armstrong all the way to Nine Inch Nails and on and on- overall it was quite an eclectic selection.

I learned so much by this experience and loved showing my work. After the slide show was done, I took note of what I would have done differently along with what really worked. I have picked up a few clients along the way thus far, but truly it was great to hear and see the reactions first hand and hear the laughter and sighs as each photo was presented.

On to more great news. After a few weeks of searching for the right place, my friend Natasha and I found a house that we will be moving into this month on the 15th. The house is more than we could have wished for. 3 bedrooms, high ceilings, open floor plan, huge kitchen and plenty of space, 1900 square feet in all with a great front and back yard. We found a great deal with my work. My work has property all around the facility and planned on renovating the house and having it rented. My boss heard word that I was in search for an apartment and mentioned to me that the house was available. It is safe to say that Natasha and I would not ever find this kind of deal anywhere else, so we grabbed it! What makes this wonderful is that Natasha was willing to give me the third bedroom which ultimately allows me to create my own office for my photography. It will be my own studio where I can meet with clients and display my work.

Lately I have been doing a lot of portraiture- both family and individuals. I happily picked up a wedding for next year as well as worked at a graduation party and various family events. I have found my calling which gratefully is just an added bonus to my work as a Therapist. As I may have mentioned in the past, in some way I would like to see myself combine the two. Regardless, I need to work in baby steps for now. Keep things simple and take in all my experiences.

Eventually, I will have a website so I can advertise myself more effectively. In general, there are so many photographers- it seems everywhere I look someone is walking around with a Nikon shooting away, but hey, that's just the way it is. My desire is to love what I am doing, have fun and find each job as an opportunity for more growth. Right now, it is all about starting a name for myself and see what lies in store for me!