A lot of really cool things have been happening in my professional, non-photography life, and the coolness just keeps coming! I've been invited to speak on The Rick Smith Show next Monday! I'll be discussing the children's book I wrote and the importance of educating young people about the labor movement and the rights they have in the workplace. 

For those who aren't familiar, Rick is a Teamster turned radio host who focuses on labor-related issues. I actually met Rick when I worked at the Teamsters, and I'm so excited to be on his show. He's definitely a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kinda guy! 

What I love about Rick is that he isn't afraid to tackle sensitive issues. He understands that labor rights, human rights and civil rights are inexplicably linked. If you have interest in any of those areas and aren't already familiar with Rick, give his show a listen. Most recently he embarked on a Peoples Tour For America, where he spoke with regular Americans, historians and activists about our nation's history and who really built our country. (Hint: It wasn't corporations).

I hope you'll tune in Monday, August 31 at 4 p.m. eastern! I'll be on the air live, but a recorded version of the show will also be available. 

I wrote earlier that it took a lot of convincing for me to fully understand the value and benefits of Lightroom. For years, I'd been editing photos in Photoshop and I figured that was all I needed.

Gerry Suchy, photographer, graphic designer, and tutor taught me that I had a lot to learn. Prior to meeting Gerry, I had only heard about Lightroom -- I had never seen the actual program, let alone used it. At our first tutoring session, Gerry gave me a basic overview of the program. He explained how and why it's different than Photoshop, and showed me functions that would benefit me most. It was a lot to take in, but having someone physically sit next to me and walk me through each step made the experience less intimidating.

That doesn't mean transitioning from Photoshop to Lightroom was easy. For starters, getting the most out of Lightroom means using a RAW file format.. (For those unfamiliar with the term RAW, think of a dark room. A RAW file is like unprocessed film. With the right tools, it can be manipulated much more than a JPEG file.) I never shot in RAW before 2015 because I never needed to. Before I thought about starting a business, I was doing photography solely for fun and all of my post processing was done in Photoshop... The same version of Photoshop I got a license for when I was in college... The same version of Photoshop I had been using for almost 10 years. My Photoshop CS3 was so outdated that it wouldn't even read RAW files!  

So when I began exploring Lighroom as a viable photo-editing option, using the program meant more than just learning new software. It meant changing the way I work. I'm not gonna lie: that realization was frustrating and scary and felt like an intense uphill battle. There were definitely moments when I thought learning Lightroom was nothing more than a huge waste of time. 

It wasn't until I saw the program in action that I started to understand it's full potential. As challenged as I was, I can't thank Gerry enough for helping me see the error of my ways. It might sound silly, but learning how to use Lightroom taught me many valuable lessons, including how to be more trusting and more flexible and less judgmental. 

In addition to being a photographer, I'm also a writer and labor activist. I've worked in the labor movement for close to six years now, and a large chunk of that time was spent at the Teamsters Union. A few years ago, the Teamsters commissioned me to write a book for children detailing an important strike in the union's history. I'm so excited to announce that the book has been published!

The book is based on true events and details a 1910 strike by Teamster members who walked the picket line on behalf of their horses. The story goes that, in an effort to increase profits, company executives demanded that Teamsters forego noontime feeding of their horses. Union members knew that without proper care and nutrition for their animals, they could not do their jobs. When an agreement could not be reached, Teamster members walked off the job. The strike was successful.

I know the Teamsters often gets a bad rap in the media, but take my word for it: Teamster members are some of the most incredible people I've ever met. I truly hope they and their kids love this book! 

A lot of people have asked me how they can purchase a copy of the book. If you're a Teamster and happen to be reading this post, great! You can get a copy from your local union. If you're not a Teamster but are interested in the labor movement and labor history, contact me directly. I have a limited number of books that I'm happy to share on a first-come, first-serve basis. Because the book was made possible through union dues, it is not available to the general public.

It's been six months since I started using Adobe Lightroom full-time for editing my photos and I can't believe the difference it has made! The program has allowed me to streamline workflow (which means less time at the computer!) while producing a higher-quality, more consistent product for my clients. It's a win-win for everyone. There are some days when I'm not sure how I ever lived without it!

As much as I love the program now, learning how to use it didn't come without some nudging. Even before I thought about starting a photography business, I knew a lot of industry photographers -- okay, let's face it, almost all industry photographers -- use Lightroom for post processing. My initial reaction to this was good for them. I'm not one to blindly jump on the bandwagon, so it took some serious convincing for me to really understand why Lightroom is such a valuable tool. Here's why I love it:

Better workflow 
Before using Lightroom, I used Photoshop to process all of my images. Because Photoshop doesn't have the database functions Lightroom has, this meant going through photos one by one and jotting down the individual file name on any photo I felt was worth keeping on a piece of paper. Then I had to open each individual file in Photoshop and make my adjustments. Depending upon the number of photos and my availability, editing a single shoot in Photoshop took me between one and two weeks. Lightroom offers a number of functions that completely streamline this process, making it much less cumbersome. The difference is like night and day!

Consistency
In addition to its time-saving features, Lightroom allows me to be consistent from one photo to the next when editing for exposure, color, tone, and saturation. These things can be done in Photoshop, but Lightroom makes the process incredibly easy.

Pre and post-processing organization
One of Lightroom's best features is its ability to organize photos. A lot of photographers swoon about it's pre-processing organizational capabilities, but my favorite is the kind of organization Lightroom allows you to do post-processing. In one fell swoop, I can resize, name, tag, and save all images from a single shoot!

When friends Bethany and Jarrod first told me about their engagement and asked me to be their wedding photographer, I was thrilled. Over the year that we've known each other, these two have quickly become some of my favorite people and their engagement is definitely something to celebrate. As their photographer, I had visions of romantic couples photos on a bright, summer day in the middle of Acorn Park, home of the original Silver Spring, the waterway for which our community was named -- the community that brought them together.

Unfortunately, the older I get, the more I realize -- and have come to accept -- that life doesn't always go as planned. Due to unfortunate circumstances, those blissful photos never came to fruition. In fact, it quickly became clear that I wouldn't get to photograph Bethany and Jarrod at all before their big day. 

For photography purposes, foregoing engagement pictures isn't ideal. Engagement photos are a great way to establish a photographer-client connection. Clients learn how I work, and I learn the best way to communicate with each couple to achieve the best photos. On a friend level, the entire situation just plain sucks. As trivial as it sounds, engagement photos have become a right of passage in our culture. They're right up there with the proposal and wedding prep itself, and, in my mind, Bethany and Jarrod not having any is unacceptable.

So, when the happy couple invited me to their church -- Grace Episcopal -- last Sunday to get a rough sketch of how their ceremony and reception would go down, I took the opportunity to do a mini engagement session with them. The session wasn't planned, but these two were game just the same. 

As I watched Bethany and Jarrod through the lens of my camera, it felt as though they set aside all their cares, fears and frustrations and, for a few moments, focused only on each other. The connection they feel for each other shines through even the darkest of days, and, to me, is proof that love conquers all. 

Yikes! It's been a little while since I've posted on my blog. Travel will do that. Cliff and I just got back from spending a week at home in Nebraska. We celebrated the marriage of two college friends, spent time on the farm in Schuyler and, of course, ate at Taco Inn! 

Just before leaving on the trip, I spent a Saturday morning with Katy and Josh at the Fenton Street Market. Those who know Silver Spring probably know the market well. It's one of this community's hippest Saturday hangouts, and it made a marvelous backdrop for engagement photos!

As much as I love the market, I was initially a little nervous going into this shoot because I didn't know what to expect at the location. I usually photograph couples and families at parks and other venues where there aren't large crowds and noisy distractions, but this day at the market was perfect! It was so awesome watching Josh and Katy enjoy themselves as they strolled up and down the aisles, looking at fun crafts, jewelry and gifts.

The best part was just how easy Josh and Katy were to work with. It's clear they're over the moon for each other and I wish them the best as they begin this great new chapter in their lives!