Category Archives: general

Healdsburg ranch shoot // sneak peek

Hey there. I wish I could share more from this shoot but need to hold off a bit longer. I’m just loving the results though and I can’t say enough good things about being patient and shooting film (when you can). It’s really magical. Happy holiday weekend to you! Tweet

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April 8, 2012 - 8:42 pm

Joyce Alexander - Stunning. I can’t wait to see more.

January 2, 2012 - 6:21 pm

Sarah - Patricia, so sorry for the delay! I’ve been a little extra busy with the holidays. RPL does make a huge difference on using film. I didn’t want it to be true but the extra money and time it costs there is worth every penny. I love everything that comes back. I’ll ask twitter about NY labs but I have never heard of a great lab there. If I lived in NY I’d probably still use RPL. Thanks for the comment! S.

December 14, 2011 - 4:07 pm

Patricia - Sarah,
Been bringing my contax aria along to shoot a roll alongside of my digital (nikon). My mistake is not having a pro like Richard Photo lab develop and scan. thanks for the advice. But even so, I still do very little to my images and love them because I took an extra breath before clicking the shutter or an extra moment composing.
Any suggestions for NY lab? I’m in Boston.
Are you medium format here? Can’t wait to dig into your other images. REally fresh and uplifting!

November 28, 2011 - 8:43 pm

kasandra - thanks so much for the detail Sarah! that was so helpful! you really have beautiful images and your film work is outstanding. I agree with your ‘shoot film often’ advice … I’ve been so slow to get through a roll … it’s intimidating :)
thanks for sharing all you do … your blog and pinterest are two of my favorite inspiration spots.
take care!

November 28, 2011 - 10:40 am

Sarah - Hi Kasandra! Thanks for the comment. Aside from other benefits of film the real joy is that there is very little that is done to them when they get back from the lab. I use Richard Photo Lab in LA. I’ll be honest and say that I’ve tried many other labs as well and years ago I used a great lab in San Francisco called New Lab that went out of business. Richard Photo Lab is above and beyond the best option out there (other than maybe in NY) that I have found. I ship them the film and about 7-10 business days later I get a link to download the files. I edit my selects using the rating system in Bridge and I open each file individually. Typically the most I’ll ever do is adjust the levels a tiny bit and I might dodge/burn here or there but I only spend a few seconds with each file. Then I re-size them in Bridge so they are web-ready and that’s it. It’s pretty wonderful to save hours and hours of processing and on top of that I think the results are better than when I shoot digitally. However, it’s a trade-off because it’s a slower process and it’s expensive to buy and develop film. I’m finding though that I’m moving more towards film this year than other years. It’s all relative so it might not work the same for you. The most important thing is to shoot film often or you won’t see the benefits. I’d say that you need to shoot at least 30 rolls to get started. Hope this was helpful!

November 27, 2011 - 8:12 pm

kasandra - thanks for sharing … cant wait to see more!
I’d love to hear your workflow with film … such as, do you get digital negatives from your lab, do you edit (photoshop or Lightroom), or do you let the lab make adjustments? I have my first roll of color film sitting in my Nikon f100 and I’m not sure how to process it … I know I’m making it harder than it really is :)
thanks … kas

November 27, 2011 - 1:45 pm

Sarah - Thanks Erika and Janine. ;)

November 26, 2011 - 8:55 pm

erika verginelli - wow!!! Love it Sarah :)

November 26, 2011 - 7:41 pm

Janine - I love this. I just ordered me a new film camera. I hope to try it out as much as possible.

thank you Heath Ceramics!

A big thank you to Cathy, Robin, Adam and the rest of the Heath Ceramics gang in Sausalito and Los Angeles. We always have so much fun hanging out and doing the annual photobooths. Also, a big thanks to all the kids and families who participated. I’ll have the gallery up tomorrow evening – just...

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November 23, 2011 - 2:56 pm

Sarah - Hey there! Just a quick note to the Heath Ceramics photo booth participants! The files will be up this coming Sunday, evening the 27th! I’m extending the discount until 11/30 just FYI. Sorry for the delay!

free photobooth with Heath Ceramics // this Sunday, November 20th

Hello there! We had an exciting weekend photographing at a gorgeous ranch in Healdsburg, CA. Thanks to the Warnecke Ranch for hosting the crew. We’ll have more to come from this shoot soon, including a behind-the-scenes video! In the meantime, come visit us this Sunday, November 20th from 1-3pm at Heath Ceramics in Sausalito and...

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see you at Alt // Altitude Design Summit, January 18-21, 2012

Hey there! I’m excited to tell you that I’m speaking at Alt this year. I went to this conference last year and absolutely loved it. It’s not really geared towards photographers actually and that’s partly why I wanted to go – sometimes we photographers need a break from the insularity of the photo world. I...

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November 14, 2011 - 9:42 am

Sarah - Hillary! It’s totally awesome for someone just like you. Actually, you would probably get more value out of it than an experienced blogger. There are lots of basics of blogging classes related to getting sponsors, ethical posting, even photo classes, etc. It’s a ton of fun. If you want to go you could room with me! Let me know asap though. Also, we were literally (awake) in Chicago for about eight hours. We just stopped in to see a new baby girl and had lunch then boarded another plane to the east coast. I didn’t even get to see my Chicago bestie who I haven’t seen in a year! Sorry bud, next time we are there longer you will be the first to know!

November 12, 2011 - 11:21 am

Hillary - Is Alt. just for people already doing / pursuing blogging or small businesses? I’m currently just a fan-girl of all of the people who’d be attending. I craft and design as much as most of them – I just don’t put fingers to keyboard…yet.

I’m wondering if I’d be way out of place or if it’d be inspirational and educational. (not sure I can afford it, anyway…)

p.s. you didn’t call when you were here. BOO.

colorful family // happy (almost) holidays!

Wow. It’s been busy. I hope you’re doing great and gearing up for the holidays (oh my!). We’ve been busy doing lots of holiday shoots, some fun lifestyle shoots, and I’m producing a gigantic ranch shoot this Sunday in Healdsburg. I can hardly wait! Oh and did I mention we’ve got a fun event coming...

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November 10, 2011 - 3:59 pm

Sarah - Thanks, Silvana!

November 10, 2011 - 3:50 pm

Silvana - So awesome! Love the colors, the expressions! Fantastic!