I got my first ‘big girl’ camera on Christmas morning when I was thirteen years old. Sitting in front of the tree was a mountain bike for my sister and a Yashica slr camera on a tripod for me. That morning my dad sat with me showing me how it worked and teaching me the exposure triangle. There were no green automatic dials on this thing, I had to do it all by hand. My first subject was my sister riding her bike.
If you add up the years since I learned on that camera they are less than the years of experience I have. Somewhere along the way I put my camera down. Growing up I only thought of photography as a fun hobby. However, over the past few years I had an epiphany. I realized that photography is much more than a fun hobby for me. I found that it is my creative outlet, when I never suspected I had creativity to share.
Now I have this computer that is full of my creations. I think they are getting kind of lonely, or I might just be making this up to give myself a reason to share them. Anyway, they were my motivation for starting a blog. I’m tired of my lonely images sitting there. I want to share them – not because they are great – but because they are part of my creative journey.
Some of my favorite subjects are my four crazy, adorable, amazing kids. I am sure they will appear on this blog. Maybe I should apologize right now because it’s likely they will appear here a little too often. It’s just that they help guide me on this journey that I am on today. And I can’t forget my husband of nine years who gives me never ending support. My family makes my journey worthwhile.
UPDATE 8/31/11:
I recently wrote an article for Clickin’ Moms about my photography journey.
Christy - I would love to know what you’re shooting with.
You are incredibly talented at catching moments. Two faves are the red balloons, and baby with window blinds. Very handsome photos.
Stacey Haslem - Thank you so much Christy! I use a Canon 5d Mark ii. Your two favorite shots were shot with the Canon 28mm 1.8. I have since replaced that lens with the 35mm 1.4. Thank you again for your kind comments <3
Mark - Hello! Your story is both beautiful and inspiring, a great match for your work. I did notice on Clickn’ Moms it says you use Nikon D700. What inspired your shift from Canon?
Stacey Haslem - Hi Mark! I think both Canon and Nikon make great cameras. It came down to features that are important to me that I was hoping Canon would incorporate. The big one was spot metering from the active focal point. I spot meter the majority of the time. With Canon cameras spot metering is only possible from the center focal point. Nikon can spot meter from active focal points. I toggle when I focus and making the extra step to meter from the center point drove me crazy. Finally, I decided to make the switch. I am very happy with my switch, but I don’t believe it has made a difference in my work. Its just a lot more comfortable for me as a shooter.