StephCarson bio picture

Stephanie Carson

My favorite color is purple.  I like it so much that I decided to paint half of my house purple.  The back half.  The front and sides are a nice olive green so my neighbors would not be upset with a purple house on their street.

It is said that purple represents passion.  I am a true believer that we all must possess passion in our lives.  Without it we not only become bored, but we become boring.

Photography and Rock Climbing are my two main passions.  One supports the other on many different levels.  One is my life and the other my vent.  

I have a dog named Duck whom I love very, very, very much.  He is my protector and best bud who follows me everywhere.  He found me in the year 2000 and just seemed to stick around.  I guess he knew that he found someone who needed him just as badly as he needed to be loved.  He's 15 now and still going strong.  It must be the hiking and climbing!

The Duck has a cat named Oliver! with an exclamation mark at the end.  This is because he would get into so much trouble as a kitten Oliver! is the only way we ever pronounced his name....and Oliver! is the only thing he responds to.

Oliver! has a dog named Martin that the Duck picked up in Pikeville, Kentucky.  I suppose he wanted to bring Oliver! home a souvenir from our spring road trip in April of 2009.  To put it bluntly, Martin is a lemon.  But I still fix him when he's broken because I sorta have fallen in love with the little guy.

Other things you might find amusing (because I love to amuse)...I have 4 motorized vehicles.  A van I bought for a $170, two scooters, and a normal grown up car.  The van is neon green on the top half and taxi yellow on the bottom.  Yep, it is a retired taxi van.  During the summer I ride my scooter almost everywhere except when the Duck is with me.  I wish I could train him to ride in the front basket.  

I mostly hang out in a coffee shop in Clifton even though I really don't drink coffee.

In short, I'm just a gal who is trying to make it through this life as best I can with a lot of laughter and beautiful sunsets.

Thanks for visiting my website.  Please stay awhile and hopefully my photos will move you to gigglement and maybe then you will understand why laughter is so important to me.

The Duck and I.

Much thanks to  Mike Bresnen for coming down and spending some time with me and the Duck.  Our special day was a success!

Duck is now the proud owner of a comfy new doggie bed and a doggie ramp to make our excursions to the swimming lake a bit easier on him.  A lot of people have been asking how he still looks so good at almost 16, especially with his heartworm bout when I first rescued him.  To put it simple…I get him out of the house and keep him moving.  Lately his hips have been a little stiff and I did some research and found that swimming is a wonderful way to exercise dogs with bad hips.  So we go to the lake a few times a week to swim and it’s like he’s a puppy again.  A few times a week for a nice walk on a hard surface such as the road or sidewalk and a couple of times a week on a softer surface such as a dirt path is also incorporated into our routine.  He also follows me up and down the stairs all day long so I’m sure this helps.  I also include in his meal twice a day glucosamine tablets.  I started this when he was 10 and really think this is the reason the hips have done so well.  Also, having rugs and doggie beds around the house is a good thing.  He’s had a few misses jumping into the car so just to be on the safe side, I bought him a doggie ramp.  He seems to like it.  Now…on to the photos!!

Ten Years Ago Today

Ten years ago today started out like any other.  I was eating my little breakfast in my awesome apartment in downtown Cincinnati when I received a phone call that unsettled me.  I dressed and found my car and left for the country.  In the country was where I found a creature that would change the course of my life.  A dog who would teach me so much about living life and commitment and what it really means to keep a promise and most of all about loyalty and unconditional love.  His presence would give me the courage to do things that I would have never done such as traveling across the US with just the two of us.  He taught me to enjoy sunsets and to run wild in the woods and that it was perfectly ok to eat food that had fallen on the ground.  He taught me the simple pleasures such as sleeping in the cool dirt on a hot summer day and digging in the sand with all that you have.  This old guy has been there through the highest highs and the lowest lows.  His fur has felt many tears; his ears have heard much laughter; his nose has smelled many campfires and his eyes have seen many beautiful places.

On this day ten years ago today, I guided this beautiful black creature to my car and told him to hop in.  Skittish and unsure he did as he was told with a little help.  We drove two hours with him in the front seat, the back seat full of fire wood, windows down and radio blasting Red Hot Chili Peppers.  When we finally reached our destination, we hopped out of the car and I led him to the lakes edge.  We sat down and it was then what I did hit me.  I “stole” this dog.  I had no clue how he was going to behave.  I lived in a tiny apartment in downtown Cincinnati.  My past attempts to have pets have failed because I couldn’t commit.  I could barely feed myself let alone a huge dog.  With all of these thoughts going through my mind I looked over at this creature and knew it would all work out.  And it did.  I made a promise to Lucky on that day to protect him, to make sure he was never without a meal again and to provide him with a warm, dry bed.   I promised him that in a few months his wounds would all be cleared up and he would be healthy once again.  And with a deep breath I uttered something and really meant it… I made the commitment to never let him go.

This old guy will be 16 years old in two months.  He sleeps a little sounder lately and his eye sight isn’t what it used to be.  His hearing has all but gone and his heart is practically the size of a cantaloupe.  But he still gets out of bed every morning, stretches as much as his old legs can and follows me my yoga mat for our morning routine….and then he follows me for the rest of the day…and I smile…my little shadow.  Thanks Lucky Duck for giving me so much love.

Today we will celebrate with “pupcakes” and a hike in the woods followed by a photo session by the awesome photographer Mike Bresnen who has graciously offered to come down from Cincinnati for this special occasion.

by Chester

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Women of Cairo

The women of Cairo were some of the nicest women I’ve been around.  It was not tourist season during our visit so we were two of few tourist around.  The women openly would smile and wave to us from across the street or even from the cars as they were passing our taxi.  Many of them would say, “Welcome to our country.” as they passed us on the street.  When Keller and I were fumbling around trying on scarves in a shop, some other female customers stopped and shyly helped us put on the garment properly.  They new very little English but spoke to us with their hands and universal hums and sounds.  The Egyptian women are also some of the most stylish women I’ve come across…a very close second to French women.  Their head dressings come in every color/pattern that you can imagine and the dressing always will compliment their outfit for the day with the perfect accessories.

by Chester

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Cairo!!

My time in Cairo was one that meant so much to me on many levels.  It gave me a better understanding of my Muslim friends and it taught me that things aren’t always what the media puts out there.

We arrived in Cairo around mid-day via plane.  By the time we made it to our hotel it was 4 hours later.  The entire time we did not see a single stop light.  Thousands of cars turning and braking and zipping all around us.  Regardless of the lack of traffic lights, traffic seemed to be running smoothly.  Amiss the cars in bumper to bumper traffic would be horses with carts full of the days produce or poultry.  I was dying to pull my camera out and snap some photos but didn’t exactly trust the cab driver.  Who knows where he would have taken us had he known we were each packing a few thousand dollars worth of equipment?  Needless to day, our over concern for our safety was, while valid on a small scale, an overreaction.  Once we were settled into this vastly different culture of our own, I felt safer in Cairo than in Paris.

As usual, I have way more photos than I should really post on the blog.  So, to justify, I’ll simply split it up into a few post!

I want to start with the photos I took last.  It was out last night in Cairo and our friend Mohamed took us to some areas rarely visited by Westerners.  We came upon this store front loaded with mannequins.  Strange little kid mannequins of all sorts.  It was like a mismatched haven where all the leftovers went when they had no other place to go.  Sorta creepy.  I was delighted!  .  The only thing I did not understand was the clothing as well as the mannequins were Americanized.  I did not see Egyptian Children walking around in this clothing.  Actually, I haven’t seen American Children in this clothing since the early nineties.  I was like we were in a time warp.  As soon as I took these images, I put my camera away.  A good way to complete the trip.

Lovely Columbus Wedding

LOVE this bride!!  Meet Alicia.  When she told me she did her research when she hired me, I didn’t think much about it.  That’s what every bride should do is research any of their wedding vendors.  On the wedding day I found out through others that she actually RESEARCHED me!  She studied me and my business for a school project for like, a year or so and wrote a paper about it.  A few years later when Eric proposed, she decided to use me as her photographer!  I take that as a compliment!

As most of you know, I smashed my thumb in a wood splitter 10 days before this wedding.  This is a prime example of why you need to ask your photographer two things….do they carry business insurance and what is their backup plan.  Business insurance is a MUST for any photographer for liability issues…it’s there to protect you, the client.  Also for your protection, a backup plan should be throughly be spelled out in any wedding vendor contract as well.   As soon as I left the hospital, I knew what I had to do…why?  Because my back up plan was already thought out years ago.  So, at 11pm at night on the way home from the hospital, I made the necessary phone calls to get my plan B in order.  Plan A was for me to shoot the wedding as I normally would.  Plan B was for me to hire another lead photographer and also have my 2nd shooter Menad.  I would also be shooting.  Even though I was fairly positive I could work Plan A, it’s always important to have a Plan B well organized before as far in advanced as possible just in case it needs to be implemented.  I wouldn’t know how my thumb was going to work until late Friday afternoon the day before the wedding because I would not be getting my splint off until then.  Well…I think I overestimated my body and it’s capabilities of recovery.  I had to go with Plan B and StephKeller was able to shoot the wedding with me and Menad.  I pretty much did shoot lead for most of the day but it was nice to have Keller there “just in case”….and to have an extra set of hands when I needed to change lenses.  A must for a prime lens photographer!  It was awesome shooting with Keller again!!  Her smile and positive energy radiates the room and makes the day fly by.  We work with each other so well  A shout out to all of those wedding photographers out there…whenever something like this happens…play it safe and hire an extra photographer “just in case”.  Because if you need to take a break it’s good to have a reliable lead photographer there with experience to pick up where you left off.  The wedding day is not the time for 2nd shooters to “practice” lead photography.

A big shout out goes out to Keller and Menad who graciously helped me throughout the day and allowed me to do my job with integrity and confidence knowing they had my back.  Also, a huge thanks to Alicia and Eric and their families for not freaking out when they saw the huge splint on my thumb!  Y’all are great!!

…and now…..we MUST get to the photos….

by Chester

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what a cutie!!

Last Post, Alicia!

Just a few more….

Red River Gorge Family Session

So happy to have the Sease family come down here from Dayton, Ohio for a fantastic photo session!  Many of you are inquiring about a session down here.  I’m starting to schedule the Red River Gorge sessions for October and November now…shoot me an email and we will get that going!

by Chester

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Alicia…here you go!

but i got a good shot!  (see below)

by Chester

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More!

I just know that Alicia is lovin’ the blogging today so I’d thought I’d give her two blogs in one day!

by Chester

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