Basics of Lillypad Studios

My name is Samantha and I enjoy taking pictures of about anyone and anything. Photography is something that I greatly enjoy and finally and progressing from taking a hobby into a business.  I am able to do a variety of types of photography including engagement, special occasion, wedding, maternity, boudoir, family portraits, baby portraits, and milestone; pretty much anything you can think of! I am willing to travel short distances (up to 50 miles) to your location and I am familiar with some picturesque spots that I can personally recommend. With your session fee, I include all digital rights to your photographs that have been individually edited with professional software and a print release to have the images printed at the location of your choice. I also offer professional prints and several different photo keepsakes including books, available upon request.

Contracts must be signed for large scale jobs (such as weddings) and a 50% deposit is due when contract is signed: an additional 25% is due a week before the wedding day, and remaining 25% upon completion of products, and the cost of any additional products or prints. 

When you decide you are ready to book, please contact me with the following details:

-What is your occasion? (wedding, maternity, etc)

-How many subjects will be photographed?

-Where are you located and your desired location to shoot? (a local park, your home, a church)

-What date are you hoping for? (I prefer a range of dates if you’re able!)

-Any special requests/styles you prefer (such as more artistic shots, formal/posed, candid, etc)

- A little bit about you and any special poses or ideas you have/have seen that you like.

Thank you for joining me on the journey!

This blog is officially becoming my website promoting my photography business! I will be posting past photos and current client's pictures periodically, as well as my occasional thoughts :) looking forward to sharing my new adventure!

walking with Dr. Francis

 The walk with Dr. Francis was really interesting and fun- I asked him where his favorite place he'd ever been was and his answer was "here, right now." Talk about living in the moment. He is a talented banjo player and very entertaining to talk to. 

 UD had some beautiful flowers!  As we were walking, a reporter for the Dayton Daily News stopped and interviewed us- glad we took the "razor wire route" :)

Although the day was a little overcast, it was comfortable weather for a walk. It was nice to meet both Dr. Francis and Furaha; When we arrived at the Sinclair campus, I was able to show off the student gallery in building 13 (which incidentally is one of my favorite places on campus) Unfortunately, I wasn't able to hear his lecture, but given the choice between the two, I'm glad I was able to go on the walk!

Ginsberg and the malicious blather that ensued

Ginsberg's Howl is awe inspiring, raw, and beautiful. James Franco's portrayal of him is nothing less than stellar. I actually pod cast the Allen Ginsberg reading of Howl (and 7 other poems) from iTunes and Franco was spot on; the animations in the film (that were inspired by Ginsberg's actual illustrations, awesome) were vivid and organic and followed the feelings that inundate from the poem. 

I did not agree in the slightest with people in class that stated this poem is only valid due to the context of when it was published- sexual and social oppression is an ongoing monster that should be completely extinct in the year 2014, yet here we are, in a country so afraid of honest sexuality that we bury our heads in the Bible and spout words of religious nonsense. Homosexual couples are no different than heterosexual couples, just as interracial couples are no different than couples of the same race. 

DIFFERENT IS NOT BAD! it's just different! BE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY!

a sneak peek of coming essays

In writing the literary essay assigned for Streetcar Named Desire, I spent an obscene amount of time trying to come up with a new perspective of the play, something that both interested me to write and would be interesting to read. I settled (with the help of Professor Cassel) on looking at Blanche's character from a psychoanalytical point of view. With the help of the DSM V, the internet, and a past professor, I feel that Blanche, while in my opinion still not a character I particularly care for, is a sympathetic character. She suffers from horrors in her past unknown to most of the supporting characters in the play, leaving them to take what they see and make judgments against her.

Histrionic Personality Disorder is defined as "constant attention-seeking, emotional overreaction, and suggestibility. This personality's tendency to over-dramatize may impair relationships and lead to depression," and coupled with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, alcoholism, and abandonment issues, Blanche is three gallons of crazy in a two gallon bucket. She doesn't have a choice but to be all over the place. Stella has been indulging her whims their entire lives and continues to do so, literally until the end when the doctor and nurse escort her out of the run down two room apartment.

I won't give all away in this post, but the above snippet helped me to have a better acceptance of Blanche as a character.

and now a word from E.E. (coupled with more talks of disparity and clarity so it's pretty good)

Please bear with me as I complain about my progressing mental process and try to take the journey with me, as I know on the surface it may appear that I drift. I've been thinking a lot lately (which can be dangerous, ask pretty much anyone) about my future and how obtainable it feels, while concurrently feeling that I'm never going to get there. My goal is to teach literature at the college level, which I am fairly confidant that I am capable of doing; my struggle is time. I checked my course requirements for transfer and I'm not four classes away, I'm eight: which isn't a terrible stretch (well it's twice the original number but still) but that eight classes is in addition to the remaining (approximately) 20 classes I have to take before I'll even have my bachelor's degree. At that point, hopefully I can get picked up by a school to teach freshman comp while I get my master's and then I can teach for real. Ideally, this will take about 3-4 years and I'll be able to stay in the area, preferably at Wright State (not going to lie, my heart wants Miami but it's an awfully long drive to Oxford from Huber). But there are no guarantees, no certainties that I am doing the right thing with my time, money, and life.

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” 

― E.E. Cummings

thank you, E.E. for always having an appropriate sentiment for my trials and tribulations. I was surprised to see his name absent from the American Lit 2 syllabus, but understandably as every person has specific preferences when it comes to authors and poets I won't always have the opportunity to always focus on my preferred works. To be honest, the following is probably one of my favorite poems (and happens to be an E.E. Cummings work!)

she being Brand

she being Brand

-new;and you
know consequently a
little stiff I was
careful of her and (having

thoroughly oiled the universal
joint tested my gas felt of
her radiator made sure her springs were O.

K.)i went right to it flooded-the-carburetor cranked her

up,slipped the
clutch (and then somehow got into reverse she
kicked what
the hell) next
minute i was back in neutral tried and

again slo-wly;bare,ly nudg.       ing(my

lev-er Right-
oh and her gears being in
A 1 shape passed
from low through
second-in-to-high like
greasedlightning) just as we turned the corner of Divinity

avenue i touched the accelerator and give

her the juice,good

                              (it
was the first ride and believe I we was
happy to see how nice and acted right up to
the last minute coming back down by the Public
Gardens I slammed on
the

internalexpanding
&
externalcontracting
breaks Bothatonce and

brought allofher tremB
-ling
to a:dead.

stand-
;Still)

I laughed all the way through this poem the first time I read it, and still laugh as I read it now. I adore everything about it- the structure, word choices, double entendre, the whole nine yards. For anyone whom is unfamiliar with E.E. Cummings, please check out his work. It's fantastic. 

The point I am trying to reach is that no matter the seeming set-backs and slip ups, there is always a silver lining to everything. I may be 30 by the time I am out of school, but the point is that I'll be doing something that I love so what does it matter how long it's going to take to get there? I'll be getting paid to read and talk about books with people. How awesome is that? not to mention that I can decide (within the guidelines obviously) what we do in the classes I teach. I've had so many influential professors (and teachers before college) that inspired me and made me think that I cannot wait for the opportunity to (hopefully) inspire others and make them think. 

an extensive recap of the preceding three days

to begin, happy belated St. Patrick's Day- the annual celebration of my favorite color and an excuse for the general public to drink on a Monday before noon and not be judged too harshly. this particular year however, I became an auntie again! Abel Jay was born at 7:33 am 7lbs 8 oz <3

from there, my husband and I took advantage of our rare day off together and had lunch, shopped unsuccessfully for a new shower curtain (if he'd just accept that what I like is the best choice for the bathroom, we'd have a new curtain.....), and began "spring cleaning" that morphed into "let's remodel the kitchen!" We pried the paneling off the wall and spent some quality bonding time demolishing our home. 

after a field trip to Home Depot for paint and other supplies, we got to watch Frozen (because Disney Movie Club membership has perks like getting a movie the day before it comes out since it was pre-ordered in January) and have some family time with Dallas <3

Throw in a few other events, such as me submitting sculptures into my first college level art show, laundry, work, a doctor visit (this time for Rob), and we've arrived at the present. Thanks to medical issues and resulting doctor appointments, I missed the last two classes and so therefore had an intense apprehension of approaching James Watson and his Double Helix. I detest science in a manner that I cannot adequately express with academic language so we'll leave it at science is an unwelcome subject. I read the posted literature and watched the accompanying videos, and still did not feel confident. However when I began reading, he wasn't as terrible as I'd anticipated (luckily). The scientific terminology was exhausting, but manageable. I particularly enjoyed naming my two assigned chapters (chapters 5 and 11) but was not a fan of seeking out allusions. I fear that I may have taken too much "common knowledge" for granted- it's difficult to gauge whether or not someone else's understanding is equal to my own when it comes to wording, but what's done is done (thanks Macbeth). I named chapter 5 "The Journey to the Beginning" and chapter 11 "The Art of Disproving" (a clever nod to Elizabeth Bishop in my book) and found 3 allusions to each respective chapter. Here's to hoping my group members have similar titles and allusions!