A Long Lost Friend {FILM} | Edmonton & Red Deer Portrait Photographer
Wow, have I ever forgot about the challenge and excitement of shooting film. You only have 24 shots, you don't get immediate feedback via LCD, you have to rely on your gut. You have to think everything out ahead of time: composition, lighting, exposure and then wait for emotion. It is kind of fantastic to go back to the basics and breakdown a shot like that. Personally, I think it was just what I needed. A roll of film in a digital world to remind me what makes a photograph amazing. To bring me back to what made me fall in love with photography. And, you can't deny we all love the excitement of picking up a newly developed roll of film and then eagerly thumbing through the prints the second you are back in the car.... So here is my first, of hopefully many improving, film posts!
Truly,
Karmen
P.S. Yesan is a great photographer! You should check out her work at yesanham.com!
© Karmen Meyer Photography 2012. All images are property of Karmen Meyer.
kmeyerphotography.com….. kmeyerphotography.com/blog….. Twitter.com/KarmenMeyer
Africa Journal {WE HAVE FAITH CARAVAN} Day 11 | Edmonton & International Photographer
November 12, 2011 | Chitimba, Malawi to Lilongwe, MalawiDay #11- And we are off, leaving lake Malawi much to soon. Part way into the drive we discover we are stopping in Mzuzu, Malawi for a flash mob and mini-concert! As it is with most of the caravan activities, we knew nothing about this, haha. I never really figured out if there was a communication problem or if things were really getting planned this last minute. But either way, it was great little concert, so much more personal then the ones hosted in the capital cities!
Been wondering what the trucks looked like? That's them in the above photo.
TenSing Norway, as well as, the other speakers and performers put on an awesome show for everyone that gathered!
Ryan taught a couple of the boys to use the camera! They were so excited about that.
That was definitely not the only teaching going on. Caravan members were out and about talking to everyone about the purpose of the caravan and, of course, collecting more petitions!
Where you find a group of people, you will definitely find somebody selling something. I am glad to have met this bunch!
After the concert, we piled back on to the trucks and headed to our next campsite. We arrived at the not so fantastic Mybuya Campsite at around sunset. It was in the middle of Lusaka (Malawi's capital) and lacked that gorgeous countryside appeal. Also, they had very little water; it ran out completely only 45minutes after our caravan arrived! But it didn't matter much, everyone was tired from a full day. We had supper, attended some meetings and went to sleep.
Truly,
Karmen
Africa Journal {WE HAVE FAITH CARAVAN} Day 9 | Edmonton & International Photographer
November 10, 2011 | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Iringa, TanzaniaDay #9- Another looooong drive day, tents down before sunrise and back up after sunset. Today's twisting, narrow, mountain roads have brought us to a campsite called The Old Farmhouse, it is adorable! No power or electricity, but it is clean and cozy (as far as we can tell in the dark). The showers are warm, heated by a delicious smelling, steamy wood-stove and the 'long-drop' toilets are lit by flickering tapered candles; an ambiance I have certainly never encountered in an outhouse! The only downside…. It is FREEZING! After roasting in the Dar es Salaam heat the past two days, I literally cannot stop shivering. Lucky for me, I have brought a ‘Canada’ sleeping bag so I stay somewhat warm through the night, others not so much =(November 11, 2011 | Iringa, Tanzania to Chitimba MalawiDay #10- I honestly don’t remember much about this day, which means most of it was probably spent on the truck again. We crossed the border into Malawi (obviously) and arrived at Lake Malawi. We are staying overnight in another beautiful campsite nestled into the mountains, called Hakuna Matata Campsite. And would you believe it, they have a free power outlet. I wish I would have taken a picture! There was power-bar, after power-bar plugged into this one poor socket as everybody desperately tried to charge their electronics. Ryan, Ruth and I sat on the steps with our laptops, well, on our laps and try to edit in between power outages. It is quite a funny picture now, but I assure you at the time nerves were beginning to fray and it may have called for our first drink in Africa.The gorgeous Lake Malawi..
The bar, where we found the electricity =) To the right you can see the tents we sleep in every night!
Below is what mealtime around the trucks look like! And yes, we have basically ever meal at the truck.
© Karmen Meyer Photography 2012. All images are property of Karmen Meyer.
kmeyerphotography.com….. kmeyerphotography.com/blog….. Twitter.com/KarmenMeyer
the seriously stunning sawyer | Boudoir Photographers
Please let me introduce you to the strong, the sexy, the stunning Sawyer... ENJOY!!
[postlinks]
2012 Marathon Dates {coming soon} | Edmonton & Red Deer Boudoir
Oh my goodness, can you believe that my last post is from October?! I am so sorry to have neglected my blog these last few months. As some of you probably know, I was blessed with an amazing last minute opportunity to travel to Africa to photograph a youth organized caravan. The whole thing was just a wonderful {maybe sometimes trying} experience but it left me a bit back-logged with work here at home. FINALLY though, I am all caught up and the time has come to start planning this year's BOUDOIR MARATHONS!!! I am currently in the process of booking locations, hair, make-up and everything else that we might need to make this year's marathons the best yet. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or just want to get booked in early feel free to send me an e-mail here!
Truly,Karmen
p.s. Want to check out photos from my trip? There are right over HERE!
[postlinks]
Africa Journal {WE HAVE FAITH CARAVAN} Day 8 | Edmonton & International Photographer
November 9, 2011 | Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaDay #8- Rise and Shine, it's a beautiful day! And let me tell you, the view at Kipepeo (Swahili for butterfly) is even more impressive then it was at night; the Indian Ocean is clear, blue and inviting while the beach is made of whitest and softest sand I have ever seen. I think I am ready to just set up camp and never leave. But, the caravan has different plans...Today is our second concert! However due to the available electricity and occasional WiFi, FINALLY, Ruth, Ryan and I decided to stay back to get some work done. For the majority of the day we sit inside a beach hut, enjoying the silence, the view and the work. That being said, we just couldn't resist a couple sea-side walks and my FIRST EVER SWIM IN THE OCEAN!! It was slightly terrifying (upon seeing some jellyfish I refused to go in past my head) and absolutely spectacular. It was during one of these little breaks that Ruth and I encountered some locals selling there handmade jewellery, shells, and dried sea animals. I don't know what it was about these three, normally I would scurry away so not to be guilted into a purchase. But, they were open and kind and it was great to talk to them. And, of course, take their picture! ENJOY!!Truly,Karmen 
© Karmen Meyer Photography 2012. All images are property of Karmen Meyer.
kmeyerphotography.com….. kmeyerphotography.com/blog….. Twitter.com/KarmenMeyer
Africa Journal {WE HAVE FAITH CARAVAN} Day 6-7 | Edmonton & International Photographer
November 24, 2011 | Mountains to Durban, South AfricaDay #23 - Ok, so here is the deal; I am TERRIBLE at keeping a journal. The minute things start to get busy, writing takes a back seat, which is to bad because my memory is awful! So, I sit here on the ‘last' truck ride to Durban and it is high time I get caught up. Well, actually, it is not so much getting caught up as it is getting it sorted. The busy days and nights of driving, setting up/ taking down camp, concerts and meetings have definitely begun to meld together. Every 3 to 4 days is a new concert, new people and some new experience.To help you get a clearer picture of the experience I think I should explain a general day:-We wake up very early, normally anywhere between 3am and 6am. (yup, I consider waking up a 6am sleeping in these days!)-We have an hour to pack up our tents, eat breakfast, and get loaded onto the big trucks. (In case you don't remember, there are 6 trucks that fit about 28 people each)-Then we hit the road, we drive anywhere between about 8 hours to 15 hours. Most days seem to take about 12hours.-When we finally arrive at camp, we set-up our tents and meet with our groups to do the daily chores of food prep, getting water, cleaning the truck, doing dishes….-The next step for me is usually search for power and internet in hopes of getting some work done. This usually fails, and I join my fellow caravaners in the pool/ocean/lake or play some pool (super popular here!) before going to bed and doing it all over again.Did that help paint a picture? Good, now I can try to get us caught up on all the days I have neglected journaling about. Here we go!November 7, 2011 | Nairobi, Kenya to Arusha, TanzaniaDay #6 – FINALLY, we are hitting the road! Our first travel of day was a long one, about 13 hours with a border crossing at Tanzania. We have met our official new truck family, made up of wonderful people from Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria, Norway, Canada, and the United States. As you can imagine, with this many nationalities crammed into one, small space there has some occasional culture clashing. It is taking some adjusting to get used to each others ‘way of doing things’. Perhaps the most noticeable amount of tension is in the morning when half the people are pumped and ready to sing and dance, and then there is the other half who would much rather catch up on the sleep they lost while former half kept them up all night talking, singing and dancing! I will let you guess which nationalities belonged to each half. Haha, yup.... but honestly everyone is getting along so great. I just love learning about all the different cultures. But, moving along, we arrived out our campsite (called Snake Park) after dark and set-up our tents in the rain..... supper, then bed.November 8, 2011 | Arusha, Tanzania to Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaDay #7- It’s time to wake up and pack-up at 4am this morning. It is still raining and we are grumpy! Today our truck travels about 15 hours through the gorgeous and diverse Tanzania. Ok, and when I say gorgeous and diverse know that am NOT doing it justice! Sadly, some of our poor caravaners weren't in the mood to admire the gorgeous landscape; they were really, really sick. For one of the trucks, this turned their 13 hour drive into a 17 hours one, YIKES! I won't get into the details, but let's just say it wasn't pretty... did I mention there are no bathrooms on the truck. I guess that's one way to get up close and personal with Africa, well Africa's roadsides anyways.Fortunately though, everyone did make it to the gorgeous Kipepeo Beach Campsite on the Indian Ocean. We set-up, eat and fall asleep to the sound of the ocean. Here are some shots I snagged out the window of the truck as we were driving! Did mention that Tanzania is soo gorgeous?? ENJOY!!
That cloud covered mountain back on the right hand-side is Mount Kilimanjaro!!!
Sorry about the lack of photos, it was a bit of frustrating task to get any good shot out of the window of a bouncing truck. But I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of Tanzania!
Truly,
Karmen