A "Picture-Perfect" Day!

Somebody up there must LOVE Girl Scouts - 'cuz we had glorious weather for our "Meet the Artists" reception on Saturday! Family and friends enjoyed the blue skies, the wonderful artistry of the girls and the fabulous food generously donated by the Hood River Hotel. Here are a few snapshots of a memorable afternoon...

A Studio Portrait Session

At one of the very last classes, I (this is Denise writing, btw) demonstrated different types of portrait posing and lighting and then put my camera in the girls' hands to create portraits of each other. They had a really good time directing each other and playing with different lighting "looks" - from these portraits, you can tell they were paying attention AND having a good time with the assignment! Five of the portraits pictured here were created by the girls in the class - I provided a little retouching and cropping (and the last image of adult Girl Scout Sophie Whitehead, SuperMom to our youngest Girl Scout, Gabriella).

Now you'll know what the Artists look like when you come to the Meet The Artists Reception this Sunday, May 25, from 2-4pm at The Garden Cafe at Good News Gardening on Tucker Road in Hood River!

Spring: A New Beginning!

The exhibit is up - tell all your friends and go check it out! The girls did a beautiful job on their images, each one telling a different story with her camera.

And don't forget about the MEET THE ARTISTS reception that will be held at The Garden Cafe on Saturday, May 24th from 2pm until 4pm - this is your chance to meet the girls who participated in the photography class and talk to them about how they came to create their own particular vision of Spring: A New Beginning!

Our grateful thanks to our sponsors of this exhibit:

• Bruce Burton, DMD - Family Dentistry
• Alford Landscape Services, Inc.
• Hood River Hotel
• Pageworks Design, Inc.
• Louise McCulloch of Don Nunamaker Realtors
• The UPS Store

And a Very Special Thanks to The Garden Cafe for giving us the opportunity to display our work at their lovely venue! Please come down to the Cafe and check out their yummy breakfast and lunch menu - don't forget the great coffee and relaxed and beautiful surroundings to enjoy it in!

behind the camera

The Girl Scouts take a turn in the studio!

Professional photographer, Denise Rehse Watson, guided each young photographer into taking some excellent shots of each other.

Come back to see how their pictures came out!

Gabriella's Kitty

This is a picture I took of my cat Misha during spring break.

Sophie's picture of the week

Fling the paint on!

I have a new favorite image I have recently taken! I took about 40 pictures last weekend while my family worked on a project. We are making a sound-proof music room to house the drum set I bought my husband for Christmas. We decided to do a combination of canvas, fabric and foam to cover the walls. Here, I captured my husband splattering paint on the canvas in what he called sunset colors. Later, the canvas was covered in oranges, reds, pinks, yellows and more.

Getting Started

Amancay here... with some of my older girls, at our first/second session of GirlScouts Photography class with Denise.

I myself am also very passionate about photography, and aim to shoot and share daily! I look forward to sharing this joy with "my girls!"

Introduction

Hey! I'm Ely (pronounced like Eli, yah, its weird) and I have been in Girl Scouts ever since I was in first grade. Being in this photography class should really be exciting. Sometimes, I have a habit of staring at a picture for as long as possible and take in all the details. Especially if it's an entertaining one! So far, I have accumulated much information I didn't know was needed to take a photo. You look at a photograph and you would think that there's nothing more to it. I know now that there is probably a story behind every picture. So, I 'll stop ranting on about much of the obvious. Be our guest and enjoy the beauty of photography.

Jumping for Joy!

Denise Rehse Watson, photographer, speaking: I can't believe how much fun I am having with these "Girl Scouts of the Gorge" - their humor and energy is so contagious! I'm looking forward to several more weeks of working with these intelligent and delightful young women, helping them further their understanding of photography and celebrating their achievement with a group exhibition at the Garden Cafe (in Good News Gardening) in Hood River for the month of May. A public reception is planned, so be sure to watch this space for that announcement!

Gabriella, turtle girl

Hi. I am one of the five Girl Scouts who is participating in the photography workshop. I am very excited to be doing the class. I enjoy photography, especially landscaping. I especially like coming up close to things you don't usually take pictures of. I am the youngest of the photographers. I am a sixth grader at Hood River Middle School. I have been in Girl Scouts for five years and just recently bridged to Cadettes.

This picture was sent to me by my grandpa who lives on Maui. He sent it to me because of my love of animals, especially turtles. I wanted to share it with you because it was funny and I like turtles.

I can't wait to learn more from Denise about photography. I had lots of fun at the session we had on Sunday. The jumping pictures are cool!

Gabriella

about this blog

Hey! You're probably wondering what this blog is about. We are a group of Girl Scouts, ranging from 6th grade - senior in high school. We are learning about photography from a professional female photographer in Hood River over a period of six sessions. We will have an exhibit in May of our photography at the Garden Cafe (Good News Gardening). Thank you, Denise Rehse Watson, for teaching us!

Sophie's addition

Okay, I'll get things started! I know everybody is busy, especially during the week. So, I'm sure others will post soon.

I am so excited to be a part of the Girl Scout photography workshop! It is an honor to be the adult Girl Scout who gets to join the older girls for an amazing experience. I know we are all going to learn a lot.

I have added in a picture I took at my parent's house on Maui at Christmas, 2006. The chameleon was in the bushes by their porch. I waited for him to come out into the light and took several shots of him. I had to hold my breath when I took pictures so as not to scare him away because I got the camera only inches away from him. I love getting photo moments like that!

I look forward to watching Denise show the Girl Scouts her tricks of the photography trade!

Sophie