Name:Christy Derr.

week: week one.

I am married and have 3 children.  

My oldest, Corey  is 20  ( I started 

much to early)   My only daughter, 

Alexis is 8 and then my baby, Jacob  

is 1.

State: Kansas (please no references 

to Dorothy and OZ)  I hear that always 

when I am out of state.

I spend waaaaayyy to much time  during 

senior sessions ( 4 hours) , then 

editing in Photoshop, then sitting with 

clients ordering. Basically everything. I would much rather be 

enjoying time with my family.

 I love interior design and started working with a photographer, 

designing sets, faux painting, etc.  I became interested in 

Photoshop and loved it, then decided I needed to be behind the 

camera to get the images that I wanted to be working on in 

Photoshop, I was not getting paid for my work with this person, 

so decided to start my own business.

I love almost any food, but I would have to say salmon is my fav.

I cannot live without my family, they mean the world to me.

Not very many people know that I take everything personally.  

I know I should be over that by now.

I like to listen to almost all music, except country, my ex 

husband loved it and forced  me to listen, so now I can't stand 

it.

I am a night owl, but need to be an early riser.

My guilty pleasure is pop.

Entertaining:  Hmmmm   Pretty much my life is entertaining.

Family first, after God , of course.

The most exciting thing to happen lately is, that I just recently

purchased an old building  in a small town, that I want to turn 

into my studio.

True: I am to critical of everything.

Meaningful:  My oldest son is in Alaska, right now in the 

AIRFORCE AND I MISS him  Terribly.

Powerful: I am a strong person, I have been through more in my 

life and have risen from building a stairway from the crap.

If I could have dinner with one person  it would be my father 

that passed away when I was 16, and pregnant.

I love Fall, Horses going to the movies alone.  And weekend 

getaways.

I do not like liars, clients that want everything for nothing 

and selfish people.

I go boating, travel and visit family.

I want to travel with my family, but I would love to live on a 

yacht and just travel from port to port.

I have a great sense of humor and love to laugh.  Everything in 

my life is funny, because if it wasn't funny it would be awful!  

So I just go with the flow and laugh about it.

I talk to much and tell to many personal things to soon.  I 

weigh more now than any other time in my life and I really want 

to change that. I need more time in the day so that I can have 

time to exercise, or at least quit making excuses.

My weakness in my business would be lighting, and business 

skills, I need to organize my business, make policies and a 

whole business plan.

My 5 strengths would be Design, loyalty, imagination, love 

people, and I like to think that I am good with Photoshop.

Your name:  Alaina Eubank

Workshop:     week 2

If you have a nickname, what is it?  I have a couple of nicknames. My friends call me Allie or Naina, my mom like to call me Lainie…and there is not way I am divulging the nickname my brothers torture me with.  

Are you single, married, have children? Single

If you have children: how many, what are their names, how old are they: Nope, none.

What state do you live in? Texas

What do you spend way too much of your time doing? Working, looking at photography forums, and running around doing all those little annoying, time-consuming task that have to be done.

What do you wish you could spend more of your time doing? Taking pictures and learning how to use PhotoShop better.

How did photography find you? One of my favorite pastimes as a kid was looking through our huge assortment of pictures and photo albums; However, it was not until last year, when a friend introduced me to a good SLR camera, that became interested in taking pictures. I had so much fun using his camera that I had to go buy a camera and lenses of my own.

What is your favorite thing to take pictures of? In my opinion, people are the most interesting subjects to photograph. I believe every person has a unique story to tell. Every picture captures a fleeting moment of their story. If you stop and listen hard enough, the picture will tell its story to you.


How long have you been doing photography? I bought my camera last October…so not very long.

Do you have a photography business?  If so, for how long? Kinda, sorta …I’m getting there.

What is your favorite food? Hmmmmm…..I am not that hard to please. I love Italian food. Pizza is high on the list of favorites. I am also addicted to Sonic Powerade slushes. As long as it isn’t shrimp or spicy Asian, I’m happy.

What is something you can’t live without? My family, chapstick, my heating blanket, funky socks, and my camera!

What is something no one knows about you? I can be really, really hard-headed and strong-willed at times


What is on your iPod or Playlist: Jim Brickman, David Lanz, Colbie Caillat, Bethany Dillon, Frank Sinatra, Switchfoot, Jack Johnson, Bing Crosby, RelientK, David Klinkenberg, and a bunch of soundtracks to my favorite movies.

Are you a night owl or early riser? I guess I am more of a night owl; however, 11:30pm is about my limit.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure? Shirking work that I should be doing in order to be lazy and watch a movie or hang out with my family or friends.

If you could have dinner with anyone in the world…dead or alive, who would it be? Bob and Peggy Hughey are some really good friends of mine in TN. They are like grandparents to me and I don’t get to see them often enough.

What are some things that you like? A roaring fire on a cold night, Twizzlers, blankets, hot chocolate, my tigger socks, taking pictures, figuring out something new in photoshop, tennis, and reading a book that is so good I can’t put it down until I have finished it.

What are some things you don’t like?  People who don’t take me seriously just because I am young, barking dogs in the middle on the night, mosquitoes, hot chocolate that is not hot enough to melt marshmallows, and being cold.


When you can do anything, what do you do? Read a book, go find new shoot locations, take pictures, photoshop, watch a movie, or sleep.


What do you have to do before you die? I would like to go back to Belize and visit the town I live in for a while and spend some time on the Cayes.  I would also like to go back to Guatemala and go to Tikal again.



Tell us something more about you:

Funny: I have the hardest time keeping flight times straight. I am usually one of those people that are running through the airport lugging a jumble of stuff from security that I did not have time to put back in my bags. I guess it would help I double check flight times. On one particular flight, my brain did not register that there was a 1 before the 2 on my departure time. That time I don’t think I even got my shoes on before I got on the plane.

Serious: This last year has been really hard because it has been characterized by loss and broken relationships. If it hadn’t been for my parents helping me through those hard times, I probably would have gone insane because I don’t let go of things very easily.

Entertaining: I have had some form of ongoing dental work since I was about 5 or 6. I am just about to get out of my second round of braces. I jokingly tell people that I have had so much metal in my mouth that I should be able to pick up XM satellite radio without subscribing, just hook me up to the car antenna!

Philosophical: God’s gifts put our most magnificent dreams to shame. Unfortunately we often have expectations of how we want things to be and we expect God to perform to meet our expectations. It’s only when we let go of our expectations and fully trust God and what He is doing can we receive the blessings God has been waiting to pour out on us.

Exciting: I have the opportunity to come to this awesome workshop!!

True: I am finally not classified as a teenager. I don’t know how exciting that is to anyone else, but it is exciting to me. Hopefully now people will be more willing to take me seriously.  

Powerful:
“To laugh is to risk appearing a fool. To cry is to risk appearing too sentimental or too weak. To reach out to another is to risk involvement. To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk despair. To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing at all. The person who risks nothing has nothing, does nothing, and is nothing.”




Name 2 of your weaknesses:
1) I have a bad habit of procrastinating if I think the task at hand is hard or unpleasant
2) I can be really hard-headed and strong-willed at times


Name 5 of your strengths:
1) Quick learner
2) Problem solver
3) Focused
4) Organized
5) Hard worker

Your name:  Stephanie Rae Thornton

Workshop:  week 2

If you have a nickname, what is it?

Are you single, married, have children?   Married, 3 children

If you have children: how many, what are their names, how old are they:
Jase 11, Sadie 9, Lillie Kate 6

What state do you live in?  Louisiana

What do you spend way too much of your time doing?  Wondering what I need to do

What do you wish you could spend more of your time doing?   Just being with my family, without worrying whose pictures I need to be editing

How did photography find you?  I drove 2.5 hrs and spent a small fortune to have my family photographed and fell in love with the photographer and wanted to be just like her

What is your favorite thing to take pictures of?  Babies, just before they can crawl

How long have you been doing photography?   Full time since 2005,  just for fun since 1999

Do you have a photography business?  If so, for how long?   SRT Photography officially launched in August 2005

What is your favorite food?  Mexican

What is something you can’t live without?  My Husband




What is something no one knows about you?  I am afraid of things that swim in water.  I always think they will get me.

What is on your iPod or Playlist:  We have 3 ipods in this house, none of which are mine.  Casting Crowns and Chris Tomlin top my list though

Are you a night owl or early riser?   Night Owl

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?  Chocolate Ice Cream or warm chocolate chip cookies before bed

If you could have dinner with anyone in the world…dead or alive, who would it be?   My mom.  I lost her 6 years ago and prior to her illness wasn’t mature enough to appreciate her or need her advice.

What are some things that you like?  Compliments

What are some things you don’t like?   Demanding people, disrespectful children,

When you can do anything, what do you do?  Talk on the phone; don’t ask me why, but I think I like having someone to talk to all the time.

What do you have to do before you die?  Write a book.  It was a dream of my mothers and I hope to fulfill it one day.

Tell us something more about you:

Funny:  I hate my earlobes.  I never want anyone to see me without earrings.

Serious: I am in desperate need of counsel from fellow photographers that are trying to run a business, raise a family, and do them both without losing your mind!

Entertaining:  I can’t sing, I can’t dance.  I love to paint?

Philosophical:  I believe that God is in control of my chaos.

Exciting:  I did 12 weddings in 2007 and already have 11 booked for 2008.

True:   I am a registered Nurse

Meaningful:  I love to do things for other people.  People trust my advice.


Name 2 of your weaknesses:   Organization & Procrastination

Name 5 of your strengths:  My Faith,  I am strong, I am honest, I would drop everything for you, I’m not afraid to ask for help

Your name:  Shannon Montez

Workshop:      week 1   

If you have a nickname, what is it? My husband calls me Shaniqua sometimes…

Are you single, married, have children? Married to Dave, 4 children.

If you have children: how many, what are their names, how old are they: 4 kids: Shelby 10; Matthew 8; Sophia 5; Franklin 3.

What state do you live in? California

What do you spend way too much of your time doing? Sitting around, reading or looking at the internet.

What do you wish you could spend more of your time doing? Sit around and read or look at the internet without feeling guilty about it. :)

How did photography find you? Through scrapbooking… I got heavily involved in scrapbooking, had more than a hundred pages published over the course of a couple years, did design work, etc... Good pages required good pictures, so I was always trying to improve my photography. Eventually, photography became my focus and scrapbooking faded into the background. The technical side of photography was always intimidating and scary for me, so it was great that I practiced and learned a lot for several years without even realizing I was doing it!

What is your favorite thing to take pictures of? People, specifically the connections between people or telling a story.


How long have you been doing photography? I’ve had a camera since 6th grade, but growing up in family where a cent was not to be wasted, film was used sparingly and it wasn’t until I got my first digital camera in 2002 that I really began to explore photography seriously.

Do you have a photography business?  If so, for how long? Yes, about 2 years.

What is your favorite food? Depends on the day. I’m a big fan of food. Love it. Eat it every single day. :) I especially love food that I didn’t shop for or cook or have to clean up!

What is something you can’t live without? Food, water, air? Besides that, I love sugar. I’m sad if I don’t get enough. Oh, and I love having a notebook handy at all times so that I can dump my brain into it when it gets too full, I kind of feel lost without my handy dandy notebook.

What is something no one knows about you? I don’t think I can share that, but most people don’t know and love to laugh at the fact that I was a clogger for, like, 10 years… most of my childhood.

What is on your iPod or Playlist: I love music I can sing to. If I can’t understand what they’re saying, it’s hard for me to enjoy. Other than that requirement, I love most music from country to opera… I also love rare moments of silence…

Are you a night owl or early riser? Night owl. I have a hard time winding down, and a hard time winding up. :)

What is your favorite guilty pleasure? Eating garbage after the kids go to bed. Well, not actual garbage, but yummy treats I don’t want to share with The Mouths. Coke and sunflower seeds, or Oreos, or ice cream, whatever it is I’m craving. It’s my reward for making it through another day.

If you could have dinner with anyone in the world…dead or alive, who would it be? My husband, my girlfriends or my family are my favorite people to eat with, but it would also be interesting to talk to Oprah and the virgin Mary and heck, why not, God. I like to think big, and I have a few questions. :)

What are some things that you like?
People that are genuine. Music that makes me feel. Food that is yummy. Fresh laundry. A clean house (too rare an occurance!). The smell of my childrens’ and my husbands’ neck. Bad weather (also too rare an occurance here in the Bay Area!). Cozy socks. A hot shower. A good pen to write with.  Some sugary treat. A good nap. A great picture that makes me stare at it for a while. Hugs from little people. Movie theater popcorn, at the movie theater. Lazy Saturdays. I think I could go on for quite a while here…

What are some things you don’t like?
Selfish people, people without a good sense of personal space, being hungry, being cold, the smell of garbage and motor oil, being sick, too much noise for too long, standing in line, crowds.

When you can do anything, what do you do? Take a vacation, or eat out with friends or family, or sit and read for a bit, take a nap. I guess it depends…

What do you have to do before you die? Go to Europe. Or somewhere “over there.”

Tell us something more about you:

Funny  I pooped my pants in third grade. Maybe that’s not funny… is there a category for too much information about me? :)

Serious I pooped my pants in third grade. And not a little bit, either. That’s serious business. So serious, I didn’t dare to call my mom pick me up, and ended up spending the time between lunch and the end of school in the bathroom. My teacher must’ve known, but didn’t come fetch me from the bathroom. And when people would come into the bathroom, I’d raise me feet so they couldn’t recognize my shoes. And on the bus-ride home (poor fellow passengers…) I pretended like nothing was wrong, acting surprised when someone commented that I had something brown on the back of my pants. How this didn’t forever brand me as “the girl who pooped her pants in third grade” is beyond me… It’s seriously lucky that I escaped any major playground taunting because of it. They must’ve known how seriously big my muscles are. I mean, were. Back then.

Entertaining I pooped my pants in third grade. Entertained? No? Oh. Sorry. Also, I’m a former clogger. While this fact may be entertaining, no one will be entertained by a performance again. Grown women should not clog. Too much “stuff” starts bouncing and it’s just not pretty. Believe me. And there will not be demonstrations. Ever.

Philosophical I believe you get what you really really want, so you have to be aware of what it is that you want…



Exciting I won a scholarship to the greatest workshop in the world!

True I feel blessed that I’ve found “my thing.” When I talk with other women who don’t have a “thing” there seems to be a sense of something missing. I’m glad to have something I feel passionate about a driven by. Ok… think nice things there, I guess that can sound bad if you’ve got your mind in the gutter, but I don’t know how else to say it!

Meaningful My family means the world to me. While they drive me crazy occasionally, they fill my life and keep it interesting.


Name 2 of your weaknesses: I can be scatterbrained and flaky and disorganized. I am easily distracted.

Name 5 of your strengths: I am creative, I am genuine, I’m an optimist, I am smart, I’m fun.

Your name:  Jennifer Wathen

Workshop:    week  2

If you have a nickname, what is it?  
Ferfer or Aunt Ferfer that became popular when my nieces were younger and could not pronounce my name.   

Are you single, married, have children?  
Married, with one Jack Russell Terrier named Casey, and no children yet.

If you have children: how many, what are their names, how old are they:
Our Dog, Casey… She’s 5 years old and thinks she runs the show in our house.  I think she does too…  

What state do you live in?
Indiana

What do you spend way too much of your time doing?
Reading Blogs…

What do you wish you could spend more of your time doing?
Spending time with my family and relaxing

How did photography find you?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a camera in my hand.  I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of being able to freeze time by taking pictures.

What is your favorite thing to take pictures of?
Emotions and interactions from people when they don’t think I’m watching….

Do you have a photography business?  If so, for how long?
Yes, for just over one year now.

What is your favorite food?
Spaghetti with warm garlic bread and a great salad...

What is something you can’t live without?
My husband and family.

What is something no one knows about you?
That’s a hard one.  I can’t think of anything.  

What is on your iPod or Playlist:
iPod… I don’t have one but I love Christmas music.  It usually starts right after Halloween.    

Are you a night owl or early riser?
Night owl, for the last few months I’ve been finally getting to bed around 3am.  

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
 Chocolate

If you could have dinner with anyone in the world…dead or alive, who would it be?
When I was 11, my cousin died at the age of 21.  He had Muscular Dystrophy.  I would love to have more time with him.

What are some things that you like?
Spending time with my family, a good night sleep, the mattress warmer on our bed, anything with chocolate in it, having my dog Casey watch TV with me, floating in the pool on a hot summer day, being able to clear my head while I ride the lawn mower, Christmas time, and fresh snowfall and having my husband walk through the door at the end of the day.

What are some things you don’t like?
Static electricity, Microsoft Vista, laundry, water chestnuts, sweet tarts, having to hunt for the cordless phone and trying to answer it before the answering machine picks up, irresponsible people, not having enough time in the day to accomplish everything I need to get done.     

When you can do anything, what do you do?
Taking time to sit in silence and collect my thoughts.

What do you have to do before you die?
Read the Bible all the way through.

Tell us something more about you:

Funny
My nose wiggles when I laugh really hard.

Serious
I have self doubt about the quality of my photography.  I always think I can do better after seeing them on my computer.  

Entertaining
I always thought growing up that by the time people were their thirties they had it all figured out.  I just turned 30 and I now realize nobody does.

Philosophical
Am I worthy of all the wonderful things in my life?

Exciting
At the end of February I get to meet a wonderful group of women who share the same interest and passion in photography that I do.

True
This will be my first time on an airplane…  No, Really...

Meaningful
I’m so thankful for my husband and family believing in me.

Name 2 of your weaknesses:
Self control around food
Organizational skills.

Name 5 of your strengths:
Giving
Independent
Confident
Crafty
Good Problem Solver
Thank you so much for taking the time to fill out this questionnaire!!  We are so excited that we get to learn more about you.