It's official! Still Frame Gallery is open for business at 372 Main Street in Longmont, located upstairs in Cayenne Kitchen. Many thanks to Jean and Dan Ditsler of Red Wall Communications for creating a beautiful logo. I am so excited about the potential that I have to create wonderful portraits of babies to senior citizens and every stage of life in between.
I had the pleasure and a fun opportunity to capture the weekend retreat at the YMCA of the Rockies for the freshman class of the Silver Creek Leadership Academy coordinated by Carrie Adams. I met Ms. Adams in the Leadership Longmont program we are both participating in that is put on by the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce. I have joked with Carrie because for the first time someone is listed before me since she is C. and I am D. Adams. :-) I suggested The Success Principles for Teens by Jack Canfield as a good book to incorporate into the leadership program and to introduce to the teens. This was an awesome group of young adults that gives me hope for the future.
www.youtube.com/user/PcProductionsVideo#p/u/0/v1L2lLdq-Rk
I had my fifteen minutes of "fame" on Wednesday, April 7, 2010 when a routine pick-up to get Matt at the Denver International Airport after his trip to DC turned into national news because of a diplomat having a smoke on the plane. This photo of me talking with reporters about a message from Matt is all over the Internet. My name and/or this photo ended up in the Denver Post, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Huffington Post and a multitude of other news websites. It was a rather surreal and interesting experience. Of course I am very glad that Matt is home safe and sound. It just goes to show though, you should never go out without some lipstick on. At least I was wearing one of my favorite sweatshirts!
Final details for a Teen Photo Contest are pending but I am personally very excited about sponsoring this local competition to showcase aspiring photographers in Still Frame Gallery. My thanks to Lena Nicholson, a talented teen photographer, for providing me with a catching image to use on the flyer.
In cooperation with Debbie Adams Photography, Longmont’s ArtLink and St. Vrain Valley School District, we are looking for aspiring photographic talent, ages 12 to 18, to showcase in a new gallery on Main Street in Longmont. Be a Facebook fan of Debbie Adams Photography for contest details to enter or send email to info@dlaphoto.com. Winners with the Best Shots will be framed and on display at Still Frame Studio & Gallery from July 15 through August 31, 2010. Contest is open to any teen living within the SVVSD.
Matt and I rocked out with Bon Jovi at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Wish I was closer and had my pro camera but these images taken from the monitor above the stage will have to do as my memory of a great concert. Jon Bon Jovi is hot!
On May 1, 2010 Debbie Adams Photography will have a beautiful, spacious studio as well as an art gallery upstairs at Cayenne Kitchen. To say I am excited for this wonderful opportunity to establish my business in the community of Longmont would be an understatement!
It is truly amazing how the Universe works when there is flow. Cayenne Kitchen was the first store I went into during Ladies Day Out on April 30, 2009 when I had just moved to town. A few months later during ArtLink on July 17, after Cayenne Kitchen had moved to 372 Main St, Terry Nichols introduced herself as a neighbor up the street from where we live on Morning Dove Dr. She then became the kitty sitter when we went to Santa Barbara for a family wedding in October. In the new year, on the 8th of January, I attended a Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce Business Before Hours at Cayenne Kitchen. I asked Bill Nichols "what is upstairs?" and his reply was "Your future photography studio." Of course I had to laugh but was also intrigued to check it out so went upstairs and fell in love with the space. Wow, I could only imagine what it would be like to have all that space, high ceilings and a wood floor. How wonderful it would be. . . and so with positive intention and great delight I am going to find out!
I have been a professional photographer for over 30 years. I had an epiphany at the age of 13 while walking home from school in New Jersey. It was the sudden realization and comprehension that my life was up to me, no one would take care of me. I was responsible for making things happen. If it was to be, it was up to me. My 8th grade year book states I was going to be an actress or a photographer. I was very fortunate to get a job as an apprentice in a photography studio after graduating from high school. My photography education was by working, attending workshops and industry conventions, reading and taking a lot of photographs.
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8th grade yearbook and portrait of me in the late 70s!
I am very thankful to be here today to share my lifelong passion of doing something I love, capturing the light and holding time still.
Photography is your own personal vision and the camera, doesn’t matter whether it’s film or digital, is the tool that enables you to interpret what you see with light. I clearly remember my “a-ha” moment when I got what f-stops and shutter speeds were all about. F-stops are the aperture or opening of the lens which determines the depth-of-field (how much is in focus) and shutter speeds determine how long the lens is open.
There are 12 essential elements that make a good photograph: Impact, Creativity, Style, Composition, Print Presentation, Color Balance, Center of Interest, Lighting, Subject Matter, Print Quality, Technique and Story Telling.
Today’s digital technology makes everyone a snap happy photographer, but if you want to make a living as a professional, it helps to stand out among the crowd. You have to have passion and a positive attitude in what you do to become the best you can be, not only in photography, but in how you live your life and take responsibility for it.
I enjoyed a successful wedding and portrait photography business in Santa Barbara, California for 25 years. I thought I would live there forever on the California coast with palm trees and ocean breezes but an opportunity to change, brought us to Colorado less than a year ago.
We spent our first summer hiking over 100 miles in the Rocky Mountains and I took thousands of images of the spectacular beauty that surrounds us. We love Colorado and are very happy to be here. My passion has been reignited and I have created a new collection of art images.
Even though I am new to Longmont, it is through planning, persistence and building relationships that will enable me to establish Debbie Adams Photography as the premier photographer in the community. I am very excited that I will have a gallery and studio located above Cayenne Kitchen at 372 Main Street in the spring. I invite you to visit my website and blog at dlaphoto.com as well as become a fan on Facebook where I will be announcing the details of a teen photo contest for aspiring photographers that will be showcased in the Still Frame Gallery this summer.
“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice;
it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”
-William Jennings Bryon
