A conversation with Carla Christina Contreras: Part 7

How long does it take you to get an average photograph?

Click – done. Are you talking about the total process of picking something that I will want to actually reprint? Then I would say it could take several hours. I recently was taking photographs of a piece of my photography art… it took me three hours to get four pictures I liked.

Photo credit: "Rooster"

Click here to learn more about this poultry art image

Monday's agriculture website of interest: HEIFER INTERNATIONAL

I have talked about this website once before, but in light of the current crisis in Haiti, I thought it might be good to bring this organization to everyone's attention again. Heifer International is a non-profit organization that seeks to help people by providing them with animals to help feed and provide income for their families. Heifer International details their current and future projects to help Haitians here.

Click here to read the previous blog post about Heifer International.

A conversation with Carla Christina Contreras: Part 6

How do you decide what to photograph?

Colors are like candy to me! Anything that catch’s my attention – something usually very colorful – I photographed a group of gumball machines recently – the color was magnificent!

Picture credit: "Just Chillin' with the Girls"

Click here to learn more about this cattle photograph

Friday's website of interest to art enthusiasts: DENVERARTSYGAL

For anyone who loves art and music, I have found a great blog for you to follow. The blog is by Denverartsygal. I wish I could tell you more about her, but she doesn't list any additional information about herself. She has beautiful videos combining art from some of the world's best artists with appropriate music. There are other blog posts too about a variety of topics, mostly dealing with photography. Another warning as well, you will have to look through the titles of her blog posts to find the ones that interest you; there is no search box on her blog.

Nonetheless, it's a great blog for an "art vacation" and you'll find me retweeting her posts from time to time if you follow me on twitter.

A conversation with Carla Christina Contreras: Part 5

What is your technique?

I started shooting digitally in the mid 90’s, a simple 3x zoom camera. I purchased my first digital SLR in 2002. My digital photographers “darkroom” consists of about $20,000 in computer equipment and software. I spend hours reviewing, processing, and organizing my digital negatives; digital photography is VERY time consuming.

Picture credit: "A Southern Cow Belle"

Click here to learn more about this cow photograph

A conversation with Carla Christina Contreras: Part 4

Where do you get your inspiration?

My inspiration comes from being present… from paying attention to what’s happening moment to moment. I could be on my way to getting new tires (true story) and be moved by something I see on the way to my appointment – have to pull the car over to capture the inspiration. I have many award winners because I take this time to honor my photographic passion and insight.

Picture credit: "Do I Know You?"

Click here to learn more about this beef cattle photograph

Monday's agriculture website of interest: AGDAY ESSAY CONTEST

While I have featured Ag Day before on the blog, I wanted to bring to everyone's attention an essay contest the organization is sponsoring. The Agriculture Council of America (ACA), sponsor of Ag Day, calls on seventh- to 12th-grade students each year to submit an original, 450-word essay about the importance of agriculture. This year’s theme is “American Agriculture: Abundant, Affordable, Amazing,” and the deadline is Feb. 12. The contest winner will receive $1000 and be flown to Washington, D.C. to receive the award during the "Celebration of Ag" dinner. Information about the contest can be found at the Ag Day essay link.