Your name: Erin Beth Freeman

Workshop: Week 1

If you have a nickname, what is it? Oh, this is funny!! Do I really have to tell you? LOL!! OK, I will go for it, it’s “Earwig!” It’s a name that my dad has called me since I was very little…I can’t believe I offered that up! It’s so embarrassing.

Are you single, married, have children? I am married, it will be two years in September. I just had my first baby in Jan, he is turning 7 months. He is the joy of our lives!! I thought “Ok, a baby is going to change my life, am I really ready for this?” But I had no idea how much joy and happiness our boy would bring!! We just want to eat him up everyday!!

If you have children: how many, what are their names, how old are they:

Yes, Jack is 7 months old. Jack Wayne Freeman. Not to be confused with John Wayne though they do sound similar!

What state do you live in ? Davina – you live in Utah? So do I! Yes, as Davina said right now I live in Utah. I was born and raised in California however and I will always consider that my first home. But for now I am settled here enjoying the ski life and my husband and baby!

What do you spend way too much of your time doing? Oh, this list could get long. Let’s see…I spend way to much time stalking other people’s blogs. Primarily other photographer’s blogs, I love it!! The rest of my time is spent with my son when I am not working at my “office” job. But I don’t see how I can count spending time w/ my son as “to much time.” You can’t ever spend to much time with your babies! I also am obsessed with a clean house, my husband would definitely say I spend to much time cleaning our house.

What do you wish you could spend more of your time doing? I wish I could travel more. There are so many places I want to go, I have a list of about 100 places to see before I die (yea- sounds like the travel channel!!) however I made this list up a couple of years ago and I am determined to do it all before I die! So what is my next big adventure after this workshop? Going to Italy September 2008!! Can’t wait!

How did photography find you? Photography has always been my lifelong passion. I am always the one who brings the camera to every single event or party. All my friends know that they didn’t need to bring their cameras b/c I take all the pictures and then made copies for everyone! In college I took several classes and It’s always been my passion, it’s what moves me and inspires me. It’s just been recently however that I am really dedicated to it.

What is your favorite thing to take pictures of? My favorite thing to take pictures of is definitely people! I love capturing that moment, whether it’s a laugh or a smile, I love photographing kids, families and babies.

How long have you been doing photography ? I have been doing photography on and off for years for friends and family but recently I have been given the opportunity to reevaluate my life, figure out what is important to me, things like that. It was very clear to me that my passion for my photography is where I need to put 100% of my time so I would say I have been seriously pursuing photography for about a year now.

Do you have a photography business? If so, for how long? I am not officially opened for business yet! But my goal is to be open within the next 6-8 months as of now I am continuing to build my portfolio for my soon to be website. I am hoping to learn lots of great things at the workshop that I can apply to my business when I get back.

What is your favorite food? My favorite food is Mexican by far!! Anything that is hot and spicy I love!! I cannot get enough of it!

What is something you can’t live without? I can’t live without my wonderfully supportive husband and my baby. However, you did say “something” so I would also have to say that I cannot live without chapstick!! I have to put it on every night before I go to bed, it’s like a ritual. I also cannot live without my coffee, ohhhhhhh there is nothing like waking up to a good cup of coffee. Oh, did I mention a good glass of wine? Now that I think about it, there are a lot of things that I can’t live without!! LOL!

What is something no one knows about you? This one is hard, let’s see..To those that are close to me, I am an open book, I guess if I had to say something that not a lot of people know about me is I love reality shows! I am a junkie, it’s embarrassing and a little sad but that really is probably something a lot of people don’t know about me. It’s one of my guilty pleasures!!

What is on your iPod or Playlist: On my IPOD is Keane, Audioslave, 2-Pac, Ben Harper, Daughtry, Dave Matthews, Dixie Chicks, Justin Timberlake, John Mayer, Michael Buble, Plain White T’s.

Are you a night owl or early riser? Well I definitely used to be a night owl but since having my baby I am an early riser!! No choice there!!

What is your favorite guilty pleasure? Snickers and a big ol’ glass of milk.

If you could have dinner with anyone in the world…dead or alive, who would it be? Definitely John F. Kennedy, I am such a Kennedy fan!! But maybe Mother Teresa as well, I am always amazed at how much she gave of herself to others.

What are some things that you like? Reading books, sleeping in, my dog Dutch. I love to ride horses, planting flowers, a great big fire and a cozy blanket, going skiing just after the perfect snow fall when the sun is out and the sky is blue or hiking on an open trail just my dog and me and the mountains all around.

What are some things you don’t like ? Mean spirited people, people who put others down, people who are mean to animals. Traffic Jams, commercials on radio stations and waiting in any type of line.

When you can do anything, what do you do? I take out my camera and take pictures, or I just chill and read a good book or sometimes I just take a good ol’ nap!

What do you have to do before you die? Complete my list of 101 places to go before I die, and to love my family as much as I possibly can.

Tell us something more about you:

Funny Here we go again, something else that is quite embarrassing, but oh well at least you guys will really get to know me!! Whenever I go pee, I have to tickle my lower back. It’s the only way I can go!! My husband thinks it’s the weirdest quirk he has ever heard of and he’s probably right! But for some reason as soon as I tickle my lower back I go pee right away!

Serious I am a very loyal person to my friends, there isn’t much one can do that I wouldn’t forgive. I am a firm believe in forgiveness. It’s not always easy but it’s worth it for the good of your soul.

Entertaining I can do a pretty mean roger rabbit! Yes, that is a dance that I used to perform quite regularly back in the early 90’s when it was popular!!

Philosophical Always trust your gut instinct, it never lies.

Exciting I am with Kelly, I am still so excited to be a mom!! More so then I ever imagined, I can’t wait to have another one! I am also thrilled to be attending this workshop, I know it’s going to be an experience I will never forget!

True I know that we are on this earth to help each other out, we are here to make a difference in each other’s lives and to learn from one another.

Meaningful My family is the most meaningful to me, whenever I have a bad day as soon as I walk in and see my son and he smiles I just smile back and everything else that went wrong doesn’t seem so important anymore. Also, my husband gives the most meaningful hugs ever! His hugs always mean so much to me because I can just feel his love when he hugs me.

Powerful Mmmmmmmmmmm….knowing what you stand for is pretty powerful and never wavering. Always stick up for what you believe to be right and true.

Name 2 of your weaknesses: Oh, I am slightly obsessed w/ a clean house and I would have to agree with Lauren, I hate math!! Yuck!

Name 5 of your strengths: Outgoing, optimistic, loyal, a genuine concern for others and I’ve been told I am a good listener!