A girl, a yellow dress and Adoptive Families annual cover photo contest

December 13, 2016 by Beth Shepherd

Guess whose photo was featured in the November online issue of Adoptive Families Magazine? I am thrilled and honored to share my photo, one of eight winners chosen out of ~1000 entries, for their 2016 Cover Photo Contest!

I discovered Adoptive Families magazine when we first started our adoption journey. I was so happy to find a magazine for “my tribe.” Each month was filled with articles, many written by adoptive parents, on all kinds of things adoption-related such as establishing healthy interactions with birth families, integrating a new child into your home, navigating transracial issues, bonding with your child, country information for international adoption or how to survive the wait. A treasure trove of resources and networks!

The magazine often features photo contests for Mother’s and Father’s Day, kids and pet, seasonal holidays. This year I decided to enter. My photo, of our daughter spinning in her yellow dress is not one of my crispest images, the light is blown-out in places and the background certainly isn’t as dreamy as other shots I’ve taken. But, to me, this photo speaks volumes to who my daughter is–always a girl in motion, a girl who finds great joy in a “fancy” dress.

This particular dress comes with a great story that I’d like to share. My daughter received the dress as a gift when we visited the yard sale of a friend. I’d heard about the sale the week prior and thought it might be a fun distraction on a rainy Saturday morning. After we got there, we poked around on the table outside, laden with all sorts of trinkets and finds. But it was rainy, cold and windy so it wasn’t long before we went inside to see what they had there.

Almost immediately my daughter found her first gem, and ecstatically held up a pair of red clip-on earrings from the 1960s: Can I have these Mama? I said yes and she put them on. They were her first pair of dress-up earrings and she paraded around the living room of their house, showing them off to any and everyone whose attention she could capture.

That’s when Suzanne, whose home we were visiting, asked if she could take my daughter back to their bedroom to show her something. Soon after, my child appeared–a vision in yellow tulle. The dress had been Suzanne’s, made for her by her mother about 50 years ago. It fit my daughter to a t, and she was over the moon. We brought it home and she got dressed up in her earrings, her lovely yellow dress and sparkly red shoes. We put on some music and she spun around in circles, because this yellow dress is also a fabulous “spinny dress.” In that moment my daughter was in her own little world. She felt happy–and special–this dress was chosen for her.

Since that day, the yellow dress has taken the top spot when a fancy dress is required…or even when it’s not (like when her much beloved babysitter comes over). My heart warms whenever I see her in it. Not many little girls get to wear handmade dresses these days, and certainly not a dress as divine as this one.

It’s all about the journey,

Beth

Interested in domestic or international adoption? Are you an adoptive family? You can read more great articles in Adoptive Families Magazine by subscribing here.

Porteen Gear camera bag review: BYOB (Build Your Own Bag)

October 27, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

There are camera bags and then there is this camera bag, my Porteen Gear camera bag. You know how it is when you’re a kid and you get a new superhero costume? You want to wear it all the time. Everywhere. That’s how I feel about this bag.

It’s as if this camera bag was built–Just. For. Me. And, it was. The beauty of Porteen Gear camera bags, aside from impeccable craftsmanship, is that you design a bag that meets your specs and your style. You build your own bag.

Options are plentiful. You choose the bag size first (small, compact, medium, Darby medium, or large) and then move on to selecting the leather, accent fabric, wax, interior, and strap.

Creative (indecisive?) gal that I am, I spent a few enjoyable hours trying to make up my mind because there were so many breathtakingly beautiful combinations. My chef-d’oeuvre: medium-size bag, distressed mahogany leather, gray brocade accent fabric, black waxed canvas, black strap and cognac interior. The perfect compliment for my style: a-little-bit-classic, a-little-bit-boho.

If you have any questions, and I did, Robyn Porteen–the brains, beauty and brawn behind Porteen Gear–is ready and willing to offer assistance. She is also super responsive. I asked about the different bag sizes and told her what gear I carry when traveling or on photo shoots. Then I completed my design and pulled the plug (read: sent in my order).

A couple weeks later, my bag arrived in a nondescript box. But look what lay inside! I felt all warm and fuzzy when I discovered the innovative packaging. And this was just the beginning.

Eye-pleasing and informative details about the care and feeding of my Porteen camera bag were tucked into a clear envelope, along with a post card photo of Marian Porteen (circa 1905), one of Robyn’s forbears.

And check this out–unzip the nifty pocket on the front of the bag and you’ll find a small zippered pouch, lined with groovy fabric. Robyn always includes a pouch with the purchase of any bag. Note to self: Great place to store credit cards, cash, keys and sundry items I might take on my photographic journeys, even my passport should I get lucky enough to head overseas. The zippered pocket is also the perfect spot for stashing my camera lens, which I’m always trying to stuff in my back pocket…but I don’t always have a back pocket.

Next up, exploring the interior of the bag. Wally, my trusty assistant and muse, was up for the task.

He thought the bag was just about right for two kittens or one medium-sized cat. Upon further inspection you’ll find:

Exterior front: aforementioned zip pocket and three open, smaller pockets–two that could be used to hold your phone or keys and one that is decidedly for a pen, which is really awesome because I can’t tell you how often I sift through the minutia in my purse looking for something to write with.

Exterior back: one open pocket for a notebook (the old-fashioned kind), e-reader, magazine.

Interior: generously padded on all sides with two circular (and non-detachable) pockets, a center area, and a rear velcro pocket.

The rear inside velcro pocket is about 10-1/2 inches wide, which fit my Kindle handily. Most tablets would settle in quite nicely. I’d wondered whether the medium-sized bag would be big enough to meet most of my needs and it is. Here’s what my bag looks like with three lenses (and the Kindle). I could pack it like this if I wanted to carry my camera around my neck and not in the bag. I can envision several useful combinations: camera, extra lens and flash; camera, small stainless steel water bottle, loupe and gorilla tripod…you get the idea.

This past weekend I used my bag for a photo shoot and it was a joy to carry. Light and comfortable, nothing like one or two of the [insert famous camera bag maker name here] leather bags I’ve bought but never take with me on the road because they are just way too heavy and bulky.

Aside from being–well, look at me rockin’ my Porteen Gear bag–one thing that sets these bags apart is they don’t scream camera bag, which comes in very handy if you happen to be traveling in a locale where a camera bag that screams nice camera is an invitation to theft or worse. And yes, there are other camera bags that look like purses but they tend to appear more Upper East Side and some of us–like me–are more East Village/Brooklyn, if you know what I mean.

Want to BYOB? Check out the amazing options on the Porteen Gear website, and you can find Porteen Gear’s Etsy store here, with ready-made bags are available for purchase. And not just bags. You can select from wide array of camera straps, wrist straps, small leather travel bags, camera bags for DSLR, point-and-shoot, mirrorless cameras. And–hey boys–Porteen didn’t forget about you! There are men’s and unisex style bags too.

I received this camera bag for review purposes but all the opinions expressed herein are my own.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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Three iconic Seattle sites by twilight

January 14, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

When I think of Seattle–my city by the Sound–surrounded by mountains and water, three images always spring to mind: Mt. Rainer, The Space Needle, and ferries. This trifecta is always iconic and, by twilight, spectacular.

Mt. Rainier

Mt. Rainier, with a summit elevation of 14, 410 feet is the highest mountain in both the state of Washington and the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest. An active volcano, Mt. Rainier is also the most glaciated peak in the contiguous United States.

The Space Needle

Built in 1962 for the World’s Fair, the Space Needle defines the north end of Seattle’s skyline. At 605 feet, it was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River.

Ferry lights

The Washington State ferry system is the fourth largest ferry system in the world. 22 auto-passenger ferries crisscross Puget Sound taking travelers to islands near and far.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

ClickinWalk: Photographer moms take to the streets

November 15, 2013 by Beth Shepherd

On Sunday, September 29th, I took part in the third annual ClickinWalk, sponsored by ClickinMoms, an online community of over 15,000 photographers. ClickinWalk offered an opportunity for women to bond with others in their city who share their passion for photography. During the walk, local photographers spent time together visiting, exploring their city and taking photographs. This year there were participants representing 58 U.S. cities and international photographers from Canada, the Netherlands, England, Okinawa and Guam.

Of course, this being Seattle, it probably won’t surprise readers when I say that on the day of the walk we were deluged with a drenching downpour and strong blustery winds, the likes of which we usually don’t see until November. Nevertheless, a hardy group of women, cloaked in raincoats and Wellies, met on the Seattle waterfront and spent a couple hours taking pictures of our lovely, albeit gray and wet hometown.

ClickinWalk also held a photography contest. Participants could submit photos taking during the walk in several categories to win fabulous prizes. I wasn’t a lucky winner–there was stiff competition and most of the winners were professional photographers. But I sure had a lot of fun because, as it turns out, there is a lot of inspiration to be found when you combine Seattle at its rainy best with a group of awesome camera-toting moms.

Here are a few of my shots:

Take the road less traveled, Beth