Lauren Wakefield

When you’re a photography major, you’re expected to do A LOT of work and you end up with A LOT of really big files.  Because of this, while I was in college I was forced to buy and external hard drive.  Between all my classes, projects, and dance photography I was doing for work there just wasn’t enough room on my now broken lap top (good thing I got the hard drive)!  So,  I purchased a 500GB external hard drive and put ALL my photos and projects on there.  Every photo I had taken in college, my senior thesis project which consisted of pin up girls, all airbrushed and saved to this handy little box.  Also, all my photos from my summer in Europe (a little graduation present to myself and from my parents) which as you can imagine are images and memories that just can’t be replaced.  Well, to make a long story short…my wonderful, handy hard drive went missing 3 years ago.  Right around this time I had my first car stolen (sad face) and I was convinced that it was in my car when it got stolen.  I searched high and low, in every spot I could think but had no luck.  I finally came to the devastating conclusion that it was gone.  I tried not to think about it, but whenever the thought creeped in my head that I had lost everything that had shaped me as a photographer I would feel nauseous.   Well…the search ended about a year ago when I accepted reality.

A few nights ago I was doing laundry and cleaning up my room.    My boyfriend has just started school so he has been using my desk to do his homework.  I had some decorative storage boxes and things stacked up on there so in order to create space, he sat everything on the floor.    So I’m walking out of my room on the way to the gym, and a little spark of curiosity peeks my interest.  I thought to myself, “I wonder what’s in these boxes?”  So I lean down and pull the lid off…and sure enough…there it is…staring me in the face.  My long lost hard drive!!!!!  When what I was seeing registered in my brain I literally couldn’t speak.  I gasped and Gary (my boyfriend) was asking me what’s wrong, and I couldn’t even find the words.   I found myself literally hugging this little black box like it was my long lost dog.  I shed a few tears for my happy reunion and declared that day the best ever!  So now that you have the back story…the purpose of this post.  I spent hours going through all my old photos and memories.  And I thought it was be the perfect idea to share some with all of you…

I guess you could say this is where is all began.  This is me at my cousin’s house taking my first pictures of her brand new baby, my cousin, Makena.  Such a cutie!

There were so many pictures of my little guy, Goose.  He was such a cute, little puppy and he has somehow grown into a fat, massive dog.  But there’s nothing better than coming home to one of the many faces of goose.

These are a few of my MANY photo projects I did in school.  It was always fun to try and turn my tiny little apartment into a photo studio.  It’s so funny to think back to shooting with film and the hours I spent in the darkroom.  I am so glad I got the chance to learn traditional photography…because there will never be anything like it.

These are some of my favorite pictures I’ve ever taken.  They were taken with a view camera (those huge cameras with the black cloth that goes over your head).   I used 4×5 transparency film and the quality you get is unparalleled.  This photoshoot is one of the best memories I have from college…

And finally…my senior thesis project.  I received a grant through my school to complete this project.  I’ve always had a somewhat obsession with pin up girls so the choice for my project seemed obvious…

So that’s the end of my little trip down memory lane.  Hopefully it was as enjoyable for you as it was for me.  Looking back at all this has made me realize more than ever that I am exactly where I need to be.  This is my passion and I feel like the luckiest person in the work that it gets to be my job as well!  Happy Tuesday!

Happy Earth Day everyone!  I feel so fortunate to live in the best city on the entire planet!  I have decided that in honor of earth day I am going to become a recycler….not the “recycles sometimes” recycler…but 100% committed.  It’s a small step but at least it’s something.  If everyone does a little it can help a lot!  High five mother earth!  You rock!

A few months ago I met Ashley and Brandon.  Brandon was getting ready to leave for Iraq and Ashley has asked me to take pictures of them together.  I was a little nervous because I wanted them to be exactly what she wanted.  I knew these would be very important to her during her time away from him.  I wanted them to be perfect.   We met early in the morning and if I can recall correctly I think it was about 17 degrees.   Temperature aside…the day was perfect.  The light was amazing and Ashley and Brandon were so great to work with.  They were willing to do anything  and just have fun which is all a photographer can ask for.   They were so incredibly cute together and couldn’t stop laughing.  Some of the most touching photos are the times when they just couldn’t keep a straight face.   The way Brandon looked at her was so sweet the camera almost doesn’t do it justice.  (almost!)  I must have taken 1000 photos by the end and trying to edit them was harder than I could have ever imagined.  They were all so awesome!  Brandon has been gone for a few months now and it makes me feel great to know that Ashley has these to keep her going.  Here are some of my favs…

Ashley really wanted some pictures with Brandon in his uniform.  When he put it on you could really see the emotion in both of them.  It was definitely bittersweet but it was such a cool thing to be able to work with such a great couple.

After all is said and done, this is one of the most rewarding sessions I’ve ever done.  I hope you enjoy looking at the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them…