Well, here we go!

Welcome to my blog!

I consider myself an artist--in digital photography and graphic design mainly--and this is my first attempt at a blog. I'm a little apprehensive about this because it's essentially a writing project, and I haven't done much writing at all since college a year and a half ago. I pretty much swore off reading, researching, and writing indefinitely. So this blog may start slow, but I decided it was important to just start anyway. My best friend, Shelly, kept encouraging me to start a blog to get my work and ideas out "there", so here it is: Picture Making and Rule Breaking.

To what does that title allude? Photography--especially digital photography-- is about making a picture. Not just snapping the shutter, but conceiving the shot's composition, exposure, focal point, impact...all that good stuff. Then comes editing: when you can get really creative with countless adjustments and even make the ideal picture if the raw photo doesn't match your vision. Rule Breaking is what happens quite often when I create art. There are certain principles artists keep in mind when creating everything from paintings and drawings to photos and graphics, but sometimes to create something truly original and interesting, we break those rules. In my opinion art is about aesthetic appeal, not statements or social positions, and if it looks good to the artist and the customer then rules are irrelevant.

Who does this girl think she is?? Well, I'll tell you a little more about myself (even though pretty much the only people reading my first blog post will be my hubby, friends, and family). I grew up in small town Iowa, and I loved it. And I miss it. I have a wonderful, big, loving family with lots of God-fearing Dutchmen and lots of naughty, tasty food.... Anyway, after graduating as salutatorian of my high school class, I attended Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa (art major, graphic design specialization and management minor) and graduated cum laude in May, 2009--there's four years and a zillion dollars I'll never get back...Since graduating, I've been doing freelance design projects and photography sessions for family and friends in addition to my full time job as a nanny. I hate it when people gripe about the economy, so I'm not going to do that.... Mainly, I moonlight as a custom wedding album designer for a local photographer who's link you'll find at the bottom of the page.

Believe it or not, I actually like manual labor, and the joy I get from creating something is probably why I became an artist--or am trying to be. Those traits must come from the carpenters and farmers in my family.... Photography is my favorite. Period. It gives me unexplainable joy to be out taking pictures for whatever reason. I never leave home without a camera. If I could, I'd spend 80% of my time traveling to cool places and taking photos. On a gushier note, I also love warm socks, peanut butter in ANY form, fresh flowers, thunderstorms, freshly fallen snow, cooking and baking (mostly baking--I'm still a Scholten). Most of all, I love enjoying those things with my amazing husband, Derrick, whom I've known most of my life. We started dating as junior and sophomore in high school, got married July 5, 2008, and the fun hasn't stopped! I am incredibly blessed to share my life with him.

So, moving on, in this blog I plan to exhibit my own designs and photos, comment, give hints, and perhaps teach how I did them. I'll also comment and critique marketing campaigns, advertisements, and products. I welcome your comments, blog suggestions and feedback, and if you know another photographer, designer (or employer!) who might enjoy following my blog please pass the word along!

Now it's time to publish my very first entry from the Squeaky Chair Diaries. That was one idea Derrick came up with for my blog's title which refers to our annoyingly squeaky desk chair. It made me laugh but it didn't really describe the blog's content. Too bad.

Well, here we go!