Tammi Nowack Photography Photoblog

It’s that time of year again….to be thinking about the Seniors of 2011!!

I can hardly believe that another season of high school seniors is sneaking right up on us and I am SO excited because we LOVE seniors!

Last year we started our Senior Rockstar Rep program in which our seniors get FREE senior sessions (and other cool stuff too!) in exchange for telling their friends about Tammi Nowack Photography.  Our initial year was such a success that we’re doing it again this year.

Here’s the skinny:

We’re looking for seniors (girls AND guys) that are graduating in 2011 – 2 seniors from each school in town. Send an email to: rockstars@tamminowackphotography.com and tell me you’re interested and we’ll ask ya a few short questions about who you are, where you go to school, what you like to do, etc etc.

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If you’re picked to be the Rockstar Rep for your school, you get:

Your senior session for FREE

Referral cards to pass out to your friends

Print credits for every friend that mentions YOUR name when they have us take THEIR senior pictures.

After 10 referrals, you start getting the REAL swank – cash, gift cards, even an iPhone or a Kindle!

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So….how do you get in on the action?

First, go check out the vamped up senior site HERE (recognize your friends, say “hey, I know him!”, think “ooh, that’s so cool” and imagine yourself getting rockin’ senior pictures in just a few short months)

Then, shoot me an email at rockstars@tamminowackphotography.com and let me know that you’re interested in being a rep at your school

We’ll be choosing reps within the next 2-3 weeks so get us your info ASAP! And if you’ve got friends that go to other schools, tell them about our referral program too so they can get in on it!

We can’t wait to meet you!

Be a Rockstar

I’m just kidding about the food photography part. I’ve never done food photography but it felt weird to not have a descriptive title.

So…if you follow me on Twitter, you might have noticed that there was some smack talk goin’ down between myself and my Cali-photog-buddy Zak Schwank over who makes a better guacamole.  Schwank went all “follow-through-on-my-threats” and actually posted a blog recipe with his version so of course AFTER THAT, I had to respond.

So here…dear internet – are the instructions for making the most radtastical guacamole that will ever pass through your mouth. I guess if you want to, you can check out Schwank’s recipe HERE and then decide for yourself which you like better. OR…make your own and post a link to YOUR recipe in the comments.

Here’s the stuff you need:

Cilantro, Garlic, Roma Tomatoes, Jalapeno Peppers, Avocado, White Onion, Limes, Salt

We’ll make enough Guac for 2 people in this recipe

Guacomole is a 2-part recipe.  The first part is to make Pico de Gallo.  The second is to make the Guac.  We start out by making Pico.

Dice up your tomatoes.  I always look for really firm Roma Tomatoes because I don’t like little mushy tomatoes in my guac.

Isn’t this bamboo cutting board cute?  Mine is from HERE.

A little factoid: bamboo can grow up to 8ft per day because it’s a grass and not a tree.  So when it’s harvested, 1/3 of the harvested bamboo will fully grow back within one year, making it a smarter earth-choice than regular hardwood cutting boards.  Which i think is cool.

Cuz I’m an eco-nerd like that.

Then chop up your onion. I only used about half because the onion I had was pretty big.

Mix those up in a bowl.  The key here is to make sure that the amount of tomato and onion are approximately equal.  If they’re not, the pico (which is what we’re doing now) won’t taste quite right.

Couple of cloves of garlic….

I don’t have a fancy garlic dicer like Schwank does so I just use a knife.

cuz I’m old-school like that.

Then Jalapenos.  Personally, I like to use TWO Jalapenos. WITH the seeds.

But then I’m the only one who can eat it (so says my husband as his eyes water and he runs from the room for some water).

So you’ll just have to decide what’s enough for you.  You might want to start with one, take out the seeds and chop it up. If you think it needs more OOMPH you can add more.

Factoid: I don’t ever get it, but apparently some people experience a stinging sensation in their finger tips if they handle jalapeno seeds?  You can prevent it by washing your hands after you handle the peppers.  If they burn you can get rid of the sensation by rinsing your hands in vinegar or milk.

Do NOT touch your eyes.

Or the viewfinder on your camera, where your eye will later rest.

I’m just sayin’.

Of course, **I** would never do anything so dumb.

ahem.

ANYHOO…..

Cilantro’s next.  For the 2-person recipe, I used about half of the bunch from the grocery store.

Mix it all together in a bowl.

Nevermind the chips and dents in this bowl.  (She’s had a long and checkered past and she doesn’t want to talk about it)

Take half a lime and squeeze it over the bowl and stir it in.

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Then knock back a tequila shot and put the other lime in your mouth.

WHAT?!? GET OUT OF HERE CAST OF JERSEY SHORE!! WHO INVITED YOU?!?

(Please disregard that portion of the recipe)

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Factoid: Did you know if you roll the lime around on the counter before you cut it open that you’ll get more juice from it?

Then I like to add just a bit of salt.  You don’t want too much because more than likely your chips will already be salted, but it gives it a nice flavor to add a little bit.  I like to use Mediterranean Sea Salt because it has a very robust flavor.

And i’m fancy like that.

Good. Pico is Finished!  It’s delish to dip your chips in the mixture we just made if you want to, but now it’s time for the guac.

Take a couple of ripe avocados and slice it in half lengthwise.  The easiest way to get the seed out is to give it a good wack with the knife and it’ll pop right out.

Then scrape out the inside of the avocado “shell” with a spoon and throw it in a bowl.

Mash it up really well.  I use the bottom of a clean kids’ cup. I am SOoooo kitchen gadget savvy.

Take the other half of that lime from the Pico and squeeze it in to the avocado mash and mix it up.

Last step is to take a few big spoonfuls of the pico (depending on how chunky you like your guac) and mix it in with your avocado.

Voila!

Add in some Blue Corn Chips and you’ve got a Guac-gasm in your mouth!

Oh. One more thing.

Perfection.

Printable Recipe HERE.

It’s hard to believe it’s already been 4 months since the day Sofia entered the world.  Babies change so much in the first year and luckily Meagan & Stuart love to document those changes in photographs.  Sofia is as sweet as her parents and we had a good time catching up on the last few months and chilling out around the house for her 4 month pics.  SO good to see all of you again – Enjoy your Sneak Peek!

You can see Sofia’s birth HERE, and her Newborn Session HERE.

I love this little drool bubble.

Meagan is such a pretty momma.

When I was in 6th grade I used to go to bed around 9 or 10 and then I would decide to clean out my nightstand drawer.

And then I would notice that all my books on the bookshelf needed tidying.

And then I’d ponder what I’d wear to school the next day and I’d end up organizing my entire closet.  My mom or dad would see the light on, open my bedroom door and eyes would widen at the mess I’d created in the process of cleaning up. But then it was 1 o’clock in the morning and I already knew I’d have to be applying some extra blue eyeshadow the next morning to brighten up my sleepy eyes.

Yeah, well.

Imagine me dead center in a pile of slouchy socks, clunky heeled jelly shoes, slap bracelets, Bon Jovi cassettes, and the entire Babysitters Club book collection and you’ve got an idea what you’re looking at over here in my brain.

It’s 2am.

And I am SO AWAKE.

So I thought we’d do a little Photo101. I know, it’s been awhile since the last installment but I really DO want to get better about it. So I thought that while I’m wide-eyed over here that I’d put up a couple tips to help you get your creative juices flowing.

Over Christmas, you may recall that I took a vacation and didn’t work for about a month and a half for a much needed break.  I didn’t even want to pick UP my camera and it sat in the corner getting dusty.  AFter a few weeks though, I was itching to grab it again but I was…BORED.  Wanting to do something different.  What to do when you’re in a creative rut? You’re tired of taking the same old pictures with the same old results?  Here’s a few ideas….

1. Take a break. DON’T take pictures for a day or two.  It might be just the rejuvenation you need.

2. Try a new perspective.  One of the earlier lessons I learned in my learning path is that there are literally HUNDREDS of ways to see the same thing.  Here’s a project I did years ago (wish I could find the pics but I can’t!):

Take an apple and your camera and take 50 pictures of that apple.  Make them all different.

Sounds hard, right? Impossible, even?  Hardly!  Give it a try and you’ll see once you get going that there are TONS of different ways you can take a photo of that apple – don’t be afraid to play around with different lighting, angles, etc –you might surprise yourself!

3.  Give yourself fun tasks. Over Christmas I spent about 30 minutes taking pictures only of things that were blue.  The boys and I all had fun scouring the house for blue things.  Do a color, a shape, a textile, whatever – have fun with it!

4.  Enjoy the process, don’t think about the after.

Sometimes I’ll have the urge to take some pictures but I dread thinking about the process involved in downloading the card, editing the pictures, resizing them for the web, etc. etc. etc.  Just take the pictures! Maybe you’ll edit them – maybe you won’t.  But you might enjoy the process more if you don’t think about the later.

5. Try something totally different.

There’s a whole world of imagery out there that is completely different than your style.  That’s what defines art – it speaks to different people in different ways.  I like happy, fun, bright, crisp photos.  I don’t really dig landscapes, or stuff that’s dark & twisty.  Which is why I decided to do something dark and twisty.  Just for fun.

6. Go find some inspiration! Look at all different genres…Documentarial, Nudes, Abstract, Fashion…there’s a whole world of wickedly talented photographers out there just waiting for you to soak up.  Enjoy their vision and feel inspired!

Lemme know if there’s anything YOU want to learn more about and I’ll try to do a tutorial or offer some tips in the future!

When we met Katherine & Lewis the morning after the Big Albany Snow of 2010, I was REAAAAALLLY hoping that some of the snow from the day before would’ve stuck around.  I mean really, how many Alban-ians can claim that they had their engagement pictures done in the snow?

Alas, by the time we met up for our session, the snow had melted and all that remained was a VERY brisk wind and some chilly temperatures.  We decided to meet at Starbucks for some morning joe and a warm up and then we got started!  K&L – we had so much fun with you guys and can’t wait for your wedding! Enjoy your Sneak Peek!

This little set makes me smile.

And this one makes me laugh out loud.  If the wedding party is HALF as fun as these 2 we’re going to have a LOT of fun on their wedding day!

Leave some comments so they get free prints!