Carol Hill's Photography

Store Hours: September, 2011

2011-08-04T17:14:00.000-04:00

Store Hours for September, 2011

Click on the link above for the September Store Hours...can NOT wait to see some of you there :)

Peace & Pretty Pictures :)

Carol

BIG NEWS!! WE GOT SPACE!!!

2011-07-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

Well…. You know what they say “you can take the girl away from the beach, but you’ll NEVER take the beach away from the girl”…ok maybe that wasn’t the original saying but anyone that know me and knows me well will understand completely!!!.

We are moving on up! (Maybe not to a deluxe apartment in the sky), but none-the-less

Carol Hill’s Photography & Poems is expanding both our location and our services.

Starting September 1^st, 2011 my studio/gallery/photo “boutique” will be setting up camp at:

The Beach House Mall

37 Main St., Cortland NY

The studio will be located on the lower level (look for the tracks of the black cat…

Stay tuned for more information about grand opening specials, featured artist and more!

Peace & Pretty Pictures!

Carol

Finding One's Self: In "Space"

2011-07-23T11:57:00.000-04:00

(Photo Credits: Robert Kaussner's Photography a Creative Collaboration with Carol Hill's Photography)

Oh the trials and tribulations of trying to find a suitable studio space for one's small business...as I continue on my creative journey through this art of mine, it continues to amaze me just how often the (what seems easy) and what seems logical also can be so complex and just another opportunity for continued soul searching. Over the past few months I have been exploring external opportunities to be able to expand upon my services to my clients (and/or potential... OK...how about "eventual" clients). In doing so what I have discovered is that there is a great deal more to obtaining the right space than simply paying good rent, having a large enough space, accessibility of the public, etc. etc. etc.

Developing a creative studio space also means connecting for whatever reason with the space you will undoubtedly be spending a great deal of time in creating, enhancing, capturing, and producing the art that you love. So, it seems kind of ironic when I think back nearly 7 months ado about the decision I made to buy my house or as I like to call it "Ebony Estates". When I bought my home I bought it believing that it would serve as my place of refuge as well as my place of creativity and for a while that has been the case. However, as my journey continues and as I continue to "ripen" as both a woman and an artist so too are my creative mind's walls. I am learning that sometimes one must leave the comforts of there home to find their creative "self"(a second utopia? is it really possible?).

For some of my fellow artist/craftsmen ( and WOMEN) their homes have served as both their living space and their working space and most have managed to merge the two very successfully. For a moment, I thought this was possible... and to be honest some days it still is; has to be...for now. But as the walls of my heart and soul expand so does the need to bloom a little further from my created living space. In continuing to choose "home" as my primary utopia with all it's infatuate and very private energies I believe I will remain whole with the best of both worlds ( YES!! By God two utopias are certainly possible: ask believe, receive as the Secret says).

Some one recently said something to me that has motivated me even more in my quest for space...they said : "you know what they say when you turn your hobby in to your job...etc. etc. etc." Hobby? What?...in that moment it occurred to me that 1) what I do is no hobby it's my passion and my outlet...my way of expressing and visually showing the world through my own eyes, 2) in order to to taken seriously for who I am as a "professional" removing my "self" from this current space is a must and not a presumption anymore, and 3) that, I, NO MATTER what my mission with my art is in life... as long as my intentions are pure; thus so am I and it will be.

And...so I am continuing on my quest for the perfect space for ME!( honestly I may have found it...:) A place where my "space" can develop it's own style and energies similar to those I have created within the walls of my primary utopia, and as I continue to develop and find my creative "self" I know that I remain true to my art, to myself, my clients and I for all intents and purposes am continuing this transformation; my personal metamorphosis! Let my journey continue without doubts, fear, disapproval or intimidation from external as well as internal forces...TOWANDA!!!!!

With that I leave you with a quote from my friend Veronica Miller's Facebook Post today:

"A Life Lesson::There comes a time when we gotta realize that not everyone in life will accept or respect us no matter what we do, but as long as we try our best to be the best people we can be, no criticism, hateful thoughts, negative words or bad vibes can take away the good intentions we have in our hearts."

Peace & Pretty Pictures!

Carol

New Business Cards & Other Logoed Documents!

2011-07-21T12:16:00.000-04:00

Coming soon!!! (VERY) Soon new business cards and business documents with the new logo...look for the black cat!

Carol

New Watermark!

2011-07-20T21:09:00.000-04:00

YES!! Finally after many drafts I have finally perfected my watermark for my custom photography...take a gander and hit me up with some feedback! Peace & Pretty Pictures...

Carol

Newly Created WaterMark

“So Carol, What Type of Photographer Are you Anyway?”

2011-07-12T16:45:00.000-04:00

I often times get asked the questions “what type of photographer are you?” Or I am asked “what types of pictures do you take?” My general answer over the years has been that I am a photographer that takes many different types and styles of photography. As of late however I am finding that there is much more of an emotional complexity to the photos that I choose to take, and I've learned that it encompasses more than what “style” or what type of photographs I generally take.

I suppose that if someone asked me what types of photographs I took today I would have to say that my photography or my photography style is that of capturing both memories and moments be they human made or within the environment around me. I wouldn’t want to pigeon hold myself into a "category" of photography/Photographer (i.e. wedding, portrait, promotional, landscapes etc. etc etc….). I have tried over the course of the last 3 or so years to attempt MANY styles of photography and I have attempted to develop my own unique label but alas; to no avail.

It would seem that my interests are varied and my subjects tend to be diverse in so many ways. I have always loved the following quote by Maya Angelou “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength. Diversity and self-expression are the life-blood of ANY artist or craftsmen, so when I look through my lens I am many times not really thinking so much about what genre my photo might fit into but rather will I successfully capture the visual reflection that’s before me; the TRUE reflection of my own eye.

I have spent a great deal of time on advertizing and on attempting to offer more mainstream and less risky types of photography services to my customers, but somewhere in the middle of trying to conform and apiece the masses I started to loss focus of why I started taking photos in the first place. Instead of focusing on the diversity of the subjects around me I started to focus more on keeping up with “The Jone’s” so to speak…I was starting to ask myself questions like “do I need a better lens?”, “would a Canon 50D be better for this or for that?”, “should I do (as was suggested once) and dive full force in wedding and portrait photography? because as my adviser stated "it's your bread and butter honey" ”, I asked questions like “Should I get Photoshop CS5, Lightroom or Elements etc, etc, etc.?” So on, and so on, and so on...

I went for about a year asking myself and sometimes even others (True story, I actually asked for advice...) “what can I do better to define who I am as a Photographer and make myself more appealing to the general public?” After all most of the “photogs” I know have some very clearly defined direction whether it is indulging (quite successfully I might add) into wedding photography, concert/event photography or pregnancy and portrait photography...it didn't matter it was the same they ALL at the very least had a direction to go into…but here I was still dabbling about in to here and there and will quite frankly everywhere!!

A funny thing happened, however, one day late this past winter, and that was that the answers to every single one of my questions came to me like a lead brick!…And for heavens sakes could it have been more plan and more simple I thought? Really???

The Answer: Was that I am merely who I am…I am an artist, I am a life long learner, and I am true still to my craft. But most importantly what learned was that I am doing what any good artist does…whatever the hell THEY like for the reasons they choose! And guess what; I LIKE it all and so I try to capture it all…but if I had to actually put it in words for everyone of the people who often inquire...I guess to get them to to better understand I suppose the only thing I could say is that I capture my own moments, your moments and no matter what they are they are all precious memories; especially to ME! Peace & Pretty Pictures my friends

Carol

Leaving Our Comforts: Taking Risks Again

2011-07-11T21:50:00.000-04:00

Howdy Folks!

I am BACCCCCKKKKK! Some of you might remember that about a year and a half ago I had a pretty active blog site showcasing my various poems and writings. I made the choice after about a year of blogging to give my voice a much needed "rest". I started to devote a bit more time on my photography and took more time to simply enjoy life rather that write about it (God..oh yes, he plays us some days like a strategic chess game). Anyway... What I learned, however, was that a voice like mine was quite hard to keep under wraps and so with a little encouragement and a peep talk from a few friends I decided to again tap into my writing abilities.

What you all may find a bit different in my style of writing now is that the relevance of my thoughts have changed, they have evolved and they have in many ways changed! Like the old saying goes I suppose "change is the only constant in life". So... my hope is to write blogs that have meaning and a purpose; blogs that help to promote healthy adult conversations and blogs that showcase my art as well as other local and distant artists that I admire and quite frankly enjoy!

We all have a need to express ourselves and for each one of us we achieve that personal level of "expression" in many forms...writing and photography happen to be my passions...they are my ways of expressing much of what I can sometime not say with the spoken word.

I hope that you visit my blog site now and again and I hope that when you come here that you truly embrace and enjoy my works ( and or the works of the many others I may share)...Peace and Pretty Pictures my Friends :)

Sincerely,

Carol Hill, Photographer & Poet!