New photos added and lots of new items in the shop! You can purchase prints, canvases, greeting cards, tote bags, throw pillows, towels (including beach towels), phone cases and much more! Check out this link for new items for sale on my site!
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You can now purchase some of my art prints, here!
As many of you know, I have 100’s, OK…1000’s and 1000’s of photos I have not posted on this website and I am constantly taking pictures! AND, you can now purchase prints, posters, framed prints, T-shirts, cell phone covers, tote bags, greeting cards, PILLOWS, even shower curtains!! I’ll be adding more photos weekly! Share with your friends who are looking for gifts! These photos are a TINY sample of what I’ll be offering. Just CLICK on the link below!
Link to a few photos I’ve posted on 500px-More to be added!
What an inspiration! Tracy, age 53 (yes, she is 53!)–personal trainer and fitness advocate
What a fantastic, inspiring shoot! My friend Tracy, turned 53 on April 23, 2015, the day of this shoot. Yes, she is 53 years old!! Amazing! She is a personal trainer based in Chattanooga, TN, and is dedicated to helping others maintain their fitness goals as they age. I’ve known Tracy since before she started this journey (in the ’80’s) and watched her amazing transformation from a body builder to a fitness instructor. We started this as a “fitness” shoot, but Tracy and her husband had the hotel room for another hour, so we decided to do an impromptu boudoir shoot! Neither of us had ever done a boudoir shoot. She was a natural and we had a blast, with lots of giggles!
From her website: (http://fitbal.org)
Living Strong & Courageous…regardless of age- even after 50!
Tracy has advocated physical fitness, health & complete well-being for 28 years. Her main focus is making sure her clients’ transformation into a healthy life is a joyful experience.
What began as a hobby, teaching aerobics and later weight training in 1987, transitioned into her passion for life. Dedicated and disciplined, she works toward fitness with fierceness and empathy. Tracy believes that precise goals and a flexible plan of action are both necessary in learning and mastering the basic fundamentals of fitness, the keys to happy and long life and indispensable to monitor the on-going positive change process.
Demonstrating fitness through body balance, her eclectic style incorporates weight training, cardiovascular exercise, stretching, proper nutrition, quality supplements, prayer and meditation on a daily basis. Everything is connected; heart, mind, body, soul, spirit working well together inside and outside.
Tracy started competing in bodybuilding contests in 1988 and won shows in Mississippi, North Carolina and The 1991 Tennessee State Championship. She won her first national title in New Jersey at the NPC Junior National Championships in 1991; first Middleweight and Overall. She placed in the top five at the NPC Nationals and USA until 1995. Although she did not compete for several years, she would frequent many shows on a yearly basis.
As her interest in Fitness and Health increased, she enrolled in continuing education concentrating in Human Ecology and earned certifications in personal training and group exercise instruction. To this day she enjoys working with individuals, small groups and teaching classes.
Time passes and she learns about NPC Women’s Physique. Professional critique sessions were arranged and she made the decision to compete. She won two Class A ,Physique titles,(NPC Eastern Seaboard and NPC Southern Classic) then achieved her unspoken dream of becoming an IFBB Professional in July 2012. Now in her fifties, she encourages athletes that she meets to work, stay healthy and embrace every minute.
”It is going to happen. Aging is our reality. All of us are going to grow old, but that does not mean we sit down, watch life pass us by and lose our spirit for active living! We simply modify and keep moving.”
“Count your blessings, life is not perfect but it is still a gift. Fitness is an all-inclusive adventurous journey with many pathways. Maintaining a conditioned relaxed fit is essential for sustained health, peace and happiness.”
If you would like to see more photos or purchase prints, you can go to this link: http://lisalemmonspowersphotography.pass.us/tracy/
© Lisa Lemmons-Powers and LisaLemmonsPowers Photography, [2015]. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Lisa Lemmons-Powers and LisaLemmonsPowers Photography with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Mom
I recently posted a blog about family photos. I wanted to share a photo I took of my mother, Helen, last Thanksgiving. She is one of the youngest, most active 74-year-old women I know (as is her twin sister, Dorothy)! You can see a few photos of them in the old photos I posted previously.
I want to acknowledge my mom for being so supportive of me in pursuing my love for photography and gifting me several cameras over the years (not to mention her support in some of my other endeavors)!
Thanks Mom, I really appreciate everything you do for me!
The John Cowan Band at the Down Home in Johnson City, TN
I wanted to share a few photographs of one of my favorite singers/musicians and one of my very favorite venues, The Down Home, in Johnson City, TN (my town)! This is John Cowan, formerly of New Grass Revival. I was an avid fan of New Grass Revival for many years before they split up. John is currently the bass player for The Doobie Brothers.
Photos—A Plethora…..
In my previous blog, I talked about how I got into photography and about all of the photos I have saved in albums, boxes and on hard-drives.
I sometimes wonder where all of my photos will end up–in a landfill, an antique store?? I always wonder why there are always a bunch of family photos in antique stores. Didn’t anyone in their family want them (or even know about them)?? Makes me sad. And because I don’t have children of my own, I’m afraid that’s where mine will end up. Although I have a wonderful stepdaughter who is now 20, I seriously doubt she will want to keep my thousands of photos and albums. I’m posting a photo of some old family photos taken YEARS ago! I cherish these old photos of our family and ancestors.
I am so happy that I am now taking photos of other families. I hope they will be passed down from generation to generation. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been fascinated, looking at those old, fading photos of my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents when they were children.
I am what is called a “shoot and share” photographer. I don’t sell individual images, but try to give clients all of the images from a session I determine to be acceptable. I realize I may not know what the client will like the most. Clients can choose which ones to download, print, share or save (look under my tab that says PASS galleries for more information about that).
I think it is so important to have photos you can cherish and pass down to future generations. Skip the local, discount store photo studios with the backdrops and over-posed shots. And, although you probably take your own photos for posterity, try to make sure your photos are in focus! Please contact me if I can help you create some wonderful heirlooms and memories.
Why I “became” a photographer
Many people ask me how I got into photography. Well, here goes:
I’ve always been a photographer. I’ve taken pictures for over 40 years, for as long as I can remember, definitely since grade school. I have old fading photos of friends sporting their orange and white safety patrol belts, hanging upside down and doing handstands on the playground and just hanging out being kids. I was fortunate to be raised in a neighborhood reminiscent of the “Wonder Years” back in the good ole days of the late 60s and the 70s. I know I’m now telling my age! To you “youngsters,” I must sound like I’m ancient, but you know what “they” say, “50 is the new 30…?” 😉
Many friends say that if it weren’t for me, they would have very few photos of their families. I always have a camera with me, so they expect me to be there to take photos of whatever we’re doing. I have countless albums of cruises, trips, just cats, tons of flowers, sunsets, family and friend get-togethers, and thousands of loose photos stored in boxes.
I remember the first camera I used had the cube flash. 4 flashes, and you had to change the cube. Then came flash stick. I think you got about 10 flashes with that one — amazing!! Then came the camera (film) w/ a BUILT IN FLASH!! Woo Hoo! I’ve gone through several point-and-shoot digital cameras (both film and digital), the handy dandy Polaroid and countless disposable cameras! And, how can I forget the iPhone! I can’t imagine the money I’ve spent on film and prints over the years. Thank goodness for the invention of the digital camera!
In the 90s, my uncle gave me my first SLR, a Canon EOS 10s. I was thrilled! However, I never had the sense back then to take the thing off auto. Cringe! What a waste!! My uncle is an awesome landscape/ wildlife photographer and I had admired his work since I was a tike. He did try to explain Aperture, ISO and shutter speed to me, but for some reason it seemed too much like algebra to me (NOT my best subject in High School). He is a doctor, so I knew he was probably a lot smarter than I was!
Last year, I finally got my first DSLR, a Canon T3i. I decided it was finally time to take my camera of auto and actually learn how to use it! With the help of several mentors and hours and hours of studying, I now shoot in manual, RAW, and have decent editing software. I recently updated to a full-frame camera, a Canon 6D, and LOVE it!
Now I have thousands of photos stored on my computer and back-up hard-drives! More on all of those photos in my next blog…….
Lifestyle Photography
Lifestyle Photography
I was very flattered when a fellow photographer (brytneeannephotography.com) asked me to write a guest blog about lifestyle photography. That was when I also realized I rarely blog (or write) on my own blog site! I admit I can be a slacker when it comes to writing.
So, what the heck is lifestyle photography? I guess it is kind of self-explanatory, but I think of it as capturing those moments when the subjects aren’t really paying attention to the camera. It’s capturing them, living their lives without being posed. I prefer natural light, so my shoots are usually done outdoors. I seem to favor black and white images for lifestyle photography, probably because of the mood it creates and it is not as distracting as some color images.
Because I seem to always have a camera in my hand, my friends and family now expect me to be taking pictures of all of our get-togethers and of other life events. This also makes my gift giving easy. Those photos make great Christmas and birthday gifts!
I love shooting children interacting naturally with their parents. It’s amazing to look at the photos later, and see where you’ve captured tiny, loving nuances in their expressions while they play, smile, tub noses and kiss. Those are memories to cherish!
While doing actual family portrait sessions, I try to snap lots of photos in between trying to get the child(ren) to LOOK at the camera! Ok, don’t look at the camera! Now I’m off on a tangent, but don’t you hate having to say the child’s name, over and over…I feel like I sound like an idiot. And, I’m sure the child agrees! And, I often use a “shutterbuddy,” * which is a silly looking little lens cover of an animal and has a SQUEAKER. So, I’m running around calling the child’s name, “squeaking ” and pleading with the child to LOOK at the animal (or whatever it is). Well, for what it’s worth, it does work. Sometimes. I can’t imagine what the parents are thinking.
I think it’s also important to catch those moments when a child isn’t so happy. That is usually when the child is tired of the “old” lady with the black box in her face, following them around. So, don’t forget to get those pouts and tears, too! Those will be great shots for their parents to embarrass them when they’re older and they show them to their boyfriends/girlfriends.
Of course you always want to try to get shots of genuine laughter. I can usually get those shots when I’m backing up and falling over a rock (or a big stick, or a dog). They always seem to think that is pretty hilarious. They also find it amusing that once I am on the ground either from falling or trying to get “at their level,” I can’t get up, not very easily at least. I sometimes have to roll around to get to up on my good knee. Ha ha. Very funny. “I meant to do that!” ;-p I get so wrapped up in shooting, I fear one day I’m going to back over a cliff I’m sure many of you can relate.
Ok-seriously though, just get out there, let the parents play with the kids and shoot away!
I have found that many of my clients’ favorite images are the ones they did not know I took. Sneaky, huh?
lisalemmonspowersphotography 