Want to see some great photos?

Today, it is my honor and pleasure to welcome my sister-in-law, Dorothy Lyner, to my blog. I just discovered, a few months ago, that she is a wonderful photographer. Where were you hiding, Dorothy? The few photos here are just a sample of some of the work she did. At the end of the interview, you’ll find links to the website with her pictures. So, without further ado.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Dogwood

I was born and raised in southern California.  I have spent the last many years living in the Atlanta area.  I work as a legal assistant and spend all free time either taking pictures or studying photography. 

What got you interested in photography? What inspires you to take pictures?

Over Lake Allatoon, GA

You know, initially, when I knew virtually nothing about photography, I would be driving down the road, see an old isolated barn in a field and say to myself, “What a fantastic photograph that would make.”  I would not be able to get the thought out of my head.  I was not taking pictures at this point. This happened to me a number of times in different circumstances and it finally dawned on me that I needed to pick up a camera; that indeed I wanted to capture those images that I was seeing – regardless of what it was going to take.

Civil War Reenactment

Do you take any classes? What kind of training/background do you have?



Summertime Leaf

I took a couple of classes  at a well known photography store/school here in Atlanta, Showcase Camera, http://www.showcaseinc.com. This was where I was taught the basics. I knew virtually nothing about photography when I took their classes and they were a perfect launching point for me. I belong to two successful photography clubs in the Atlanta area, Decatur Digital Photography (www.meetup.com/Decatur-Digital-Photography-Meetup) and Southeastern Photography Society (SPS) (www.meetup.com/SPS-Meetup). I gain more from belonging to these clubs than can be imagined. There are constant lecutures by such notables as Larry Winslett and Michael West, workshops, competitions and shoots with plenty of opportunity to learn about the many aspects of photography. There are pro photographers available to speak with as well as every amateur level photographer in existence. I have also taken an online course in the editing software, Photoshop Elements. I have found there is an unending volume of material online: blogs, free tutorials, and classes for a fee.

Waterfall at Callaway Gardens

What objects/subjects are you most interested in? People? Nature? Small objects? Wide vistas?

Chateau Elan  Braselton, GA

I had to think about this one for awhile.  There are so many aspects of photography you could spend years studying one faze alone and honestly I love just about all of them.  Initially I thought I was interested primarily in macro photography.  I was fascinated with close-up images and for many months simply could not take enough photos of this type.   Capturing the minute details of subjects such as flowers and insects can produce amazing pictures.  More recently I have been learning about off-camera flash.  I love the dramatic 3-D images this type of photography can yield.  It is a very different approach and I have been learning a tremendous amount about light and how you can manipulate it to produce incredible pictures.  I am also interested in landscapes, animals, and candid portraiture.

Do you develop your own pictures? 

View from Inside Westin Hotel Downtown Atlanta, GA

No, I have never worked in a darkroom.  I find it to be quite a challenge to master the editing software that is out there.  I have Photoshop Elements and Lightroom 3.  I have only recently delved seriously into Lightroom.  I can’t think of a single photographer that I know that does not use Lightroom so I am a little behind the times as far as this program goes.  I also recently acquired the Nik Software suite which I am currently learning how to use.  For all the wonderful Ansel Adams darkroom stories I’ve heard my understanding is that with the proper understanding of these programs you can duplicate what one would do in a dark room.

Do you prefer black-and-white or color? Why? 

I have primarily been shooting in color.  More recently, I have been drawn to black and white.  I am particularly intrigued by the dimensions to be explored in the area of shadow.  Every degree of light can be found in a shadow – from a very soft rendering to one that is crisp and sharply defined.   There is a lot to learn in this area and many creative options to be found for a photographer. 

Any photographers/artists that you feel have influenced you and/or inspired you? 

Where do I begin? Here are just a few:  David Hobby (http://strobist.blogspot.com/), Vincent Versace (http://www.versacephotography.com/index.php), David du Chemin http://davidduchemin.com/), David Ziser (http://digitalprotalk.blogspot.com/),
Sarah Gardner (http://www.sarahgardnertextures.com/), Mike Moats http://www.tinylandscapes.com/.

What kind of equipment do you use? Camera, filters.

I currently have a Nikon D60. This is one of Nikon's most basic DSLRs that is no longer made. Although the least expensive, I am an "amateur" and this camera has allowed me to apply myself and learn the basics. I am in consistent awe of the cameras that are available out there and what they are capable of doing. I am looking to upgrade at the end of this year. In the meantime though, believe it or not, there is still ample subject matter for me to study and practice on. I have two lenses currently: the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF/S ED VR II Nikkor Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon DX-Format Digital SLR Camera and the Nikon 40mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR lens.

My wish-list: Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4G SIC SW Prime Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras , Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED AF-S DX Nikkor Wide-Angle Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras, and the Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens.

I would love to be able to capture those expansive scenes with a wide angle such as reception halls or architecture.  Recently, I also acquired a basic flash (Yongnuo YN460-II) and umbrella (Westcott 43”).

 

Anything else you want to talk about? 

I have a great deal to look forward to and am excited about the future. 

Where can you be reached if people want to get in touch with you? Website? Blog?

I can be reached at dlyner33@yahoo.com.

I have a Flickr stream:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/25753243@N05/

I also have a website: www.goldenambiance.com

Thank you, Dorothy, this was interesting and enlightening. The  photos are absolutely fabulous. Unfortunately, I can only show a few here on this post, but I hope the visitors to my blog will hop over to your website and Flickr  (see link above) and feast their eyes on these great pictures!

And you are all welcome to leave a comment. You can leave a comment as "anonymous" if you don't want to sign it. If you do that, then please write your name in the comment.

Happy Viewing!

Authors I admire - Linda Cassidy Lewis

Ever since I began to publish my novels independently, I have been reading works by other indie authors and I found a wealth of great books by fabulous writers. These works have kept me entertained for many hours and have given me new insights. I have cried and laughed with the characters and was often deeply touched by the stories.


One of my favorite authors is Linda Cassidy Lewis. Her two novels THE BREVITY OF ROSES and the sequel, AN ILLUSION OF TRUST, deal with the many facets of love and relationships, with its painful and joyous moments, and with the powerful influence a person's past can have on her or his present life.





THE BREVITY OF ROSES

Blurb: Jalal Vaziri has looks, money, women--and a habit of running from reality. Convinced he's only running from a father who hates him, a career mistake, and endless partying, he abandons Wall Street and reinvents himself as a poet in a California beach house. A fresh start is all he needs. When an intriguing woman enters his life, he believes all his dreams are coming true. But too soon those dreams dissolve into nightmare. Jalal flees again. He's nearing the point of no return when another woman blocks his retreat and challenges him to finally face the truth about what he's trying to outrun.

 

In this contemporary tale of love, loss, and redemption, a desperate man discovers his salvation lies in an unlikely source.

My thoughts on The Brevity of Roses:

Every once in a while, I come across a work of literature, which is not only fascinating, entertaining, and moving, but which touches me on a deeper level. The Brevity of Roses by Linda Cassidy Lewis is one of those books.

The Brevity of Roses is a story about love, the power and beauty of love as well as the fear it can trigger and the pain it can cause. Love is what the three main characters--Jalal, Meredith, and Renee--struggle with.

Jalal, a handsome American-Iranian poet from a well-to-do family escapes a life of drugs, alcohol, a career he hates, and a lot of superficial relationships by moving across the country from New York to California. He finds love and embraces it but when tragedy strikes, he withdraws from life. Underneath the shiny veneer he presents to the world, he is slowly dying. Meredith, an anthropologist, struggles with feelings of guilt toward her former husband which hold her back from giving her heart fully, and Renee, a waitress and survivor of childhood abuse and neglect, falls in love but when it gets serious, her first reaction is to run. But it is the tenacious Renee who ultimately manages to break down the walls Jalal has built around himself and forces him to face his demons, a grief so deep it threatens to undo him.

While reading this book, I was often reminded of a quotation by May Sarton in her book Mrs. Stephens Hears the Mermaids Singing: "Love opens the door into everything, as far as I can see, including, and perhaps most of all, the door into one's secret, and often terrible and frightening, real self."

The Brevity of Roses is a carefully crafted, beautifully told story. The characters are complex and believable, flawed but loveable. With vivid descriptions, the author manages to engage our senses, our thoughts, and our emotions. And, without any explicit love-making scenes, she creates a highly charged and sensuous atmosphere.


AN ILLUSION OF TRUST, the sequel:

Blurb: In this sequel to The Brevity of Roses, Renee Vaziri discovers that even when your dreams come true your nightmares remain.

When Renee Marshall locked the door on her dark past and married Jalal Vaziri, she hoped for a quiet life in a California coastal town. Now, with a sexy, adoring, wealthy husband, one beautiful child and another on the way, she dares to believe happily ever after could be her future. But doors don’t always stay locked. As the stress of living in Jalal’s high-society world increases, the traumas of Renee’s past begin to poison the present and threaten to destroy everything she treasures.

Is it her imagination or is Jalal keeping a secret that will end their marriage and rip her children from her life? And could it involve Diane, the woman who reminds Renee too much of Jalal’s beloved first wife?


My thoughts on An Illusion of Trust:

After a rocky and passionate relationship which began in The Brevity of Roses, the prequel to the current book, Renee and Jalal have tied the knot. Renee still can't believe her luck. Here she is married to this handsome, sexy, charming, intelligent man who also happened to be rich. Coming from a background of having to struggle for every penny, a miserable childhood and young adulthood, Renee is finally able to enjoy love and security. But the trauma of her past, which she stubbornly tries to push away, doesn't just dissolve in this seemingly idyllic environment. And that past keeps erupting, making her feel insecure and inadequate, making her doubt the love of her family, the love of her husband, and her capacity as mother to her two children. And Jalal, though a loving husband and doting father, seems to have a whole bunch of secrets he doesn't want to share with his wife, increasing her insecurities and fears. All of this leads to an emotional explosion, and we begin to wonder if the two will ever be happy together again.

I loved the author's first book, The Brevity of Roses, and was eagerly awaiting the sequel. I was not disappointed. Linda Cassidy Lewis once again presents us with a sensitive and psychologically profound work, full of vivid details. Her main character, Renee, is a troubled woman and her behavior seems often unreasonable. I sometimes felt like smacking her. But the author does an excellent job of showing her vulnerability and her basic good heart and we keep hoping and rooting for her.

The Brevity of Roses and An Illusion of Trust are available on Amazon and I hope this post inspires you to give them a try. They are truly remarkable stories:

Linda Cassidy Lewis's Author Page on Amazon

The Author's Website and Blog

HAPPY READING!

Family Portrait is also available on B&N, Kobo, iTunes (iPad), and Smashwords

I wanted to give those readers who have one of the many non-Kindle eReaders a chance to read my books. They are available on Kobo and B&N (Nook) and Smashwords:

An Uncommon Family (Family Portrait, Book 1)
Love of a Stonemason (Family Portrait, Book 2)
Emilia (Family Portrait, Book 3)  

The first book in the series, An Uncommon Family, costs only 99 cents on all venues (including Amazon). 

My Books on Kobo

My Books on B&N

My Books on iTunes (for the iPad)

My Books on Smashwords

Of course, they are available on Amazon for the Kindle as well:

My Author Page on Amazon 

Happy Reading!