Sheila Bocchine, Photographer

I posted 5 new pinhole postcard designs on my etsy site yesterday. These are three of them. I have about 5 more pinholes that I want to turn into postcards as well… then I need to shoot more pinholes, because the next photos I have won’t be released until the end of summer, for they are fall photographs, halloween, thanksgiving and holiday pinholes!

Making pinhole postcards and learning about etsy is so much fun!

I stayed home sick today.I had a headache and was in a grumpy mood. I have a lot of brides to call and a few photo jobs to book dates/times for… so I’ll be busy all day.

Is anyone going to see James Ray speak tomorrow night? Gary and I are going, we went the last time he was in town too. He’s pretty amazing and so full of great energy. Last time I took a bunch of notes, this time I think I’m just going to listen and absorb.

I am sitting outside and there is a giant wasp flying around our HUGE aloe vera plant. I kinda want him to go make love to the purple flowers and leave me alone!

This is the last pinhole image from 1231 East Thomas Street.

This pinhole image is for The Grid II, an exhibit that I co-curating with Steven Jansen. The exhibit opened on Friday June 20th and will be up until August 11th at The Trunk Space in Phoenix. It will be up for two months and is AMAZING! All framed prints are only $25 each. Last year we documented a street in Phoenix, this year we documented a section of downtown Phoenix.

Good morning everyone! Is it really Monday, already? Gosh I say that every Monday. Three day weekends, four day work weeks… Is my voice being heard? Does anyone agree with me???

So Friday night was the opening of The Grid II! The show looks fantastic! Gary’s lucky charm treats were delicious and it was soooooooooo wonderful to see a great turnout of friends, family and supporters of local art! If you were able to make it, thank you so much! If you weren’t, that’s fine too because the show will be up until August 11th. That means you have July First Friday, July Third Friday and August First Friday to catch it! Plus, The Trunk Space is open like 6 nights a week, so you could probably pop in anytime (but check their calendar first).

On Saturday Gary and I had our monthly aura photo’s done and I was quite pleased with mine this month. It showed that my ideas were processed and in action. That is a nice tid-bit of information to have. I also learned that the horrible headaches I get are because I think too much. How crazy is that? She told me to calm my mind more often. I do meditate in the mornings and in the evening… but I guess I should be doing it more often? Or perhaps for longer periods of time. It is true, my mind is always working. Sometimes I wish I could just send my mind on a vacation once in a while.

She also said some interesting things about Gary… it was very insightful. I love learning new things about him.

I also learned that your aura is cumulative from your whole life. So my whole life is full of ideas and love. I think that is right on target!

Gary and I took photos of my sister and her family on Saturday evening. That was a lot of fun. I really like her husbands family. I helped Emily (her husbands sister) get a job where I work this past Spring, so we’ve spent a lot of time getting to know each other, we even carpool! She’s leaving me to go to Japan for a year in August… Emily, I’m gonna miss you… BUT am really excited that I’ll have a place to stay when we visit in the Spring! Oh Japanese Cherry Blossoms… could Spring get any better than that? I think not.

I made more postcards this weekend! 5 new designs! They will be on my etsy site by tonight. I’ll work on them during my lunch break and then finish them when I get home this evening. I am so pleased with etsy! I’ve sold 10 postcards in the last two weeks. I think that is quite impressive!

So, perhaps you have heard the sad, sad, sad news…. Italy lost the game against Spain in yesterdays Euro Cup match, and they are out. I was devastated. They lost in penalty kicks… Italy normally rocks the penalty kicks… but alas they are out. BOOOOOO SPAIN!!!!!! So the final four teams are: Germany, Turkey, Russia and Spain. I no longer care who wins. I guess I’ll go for Germany since a German win would make Gary happy and I like a happy Gary.

How was your weekend?

The day we’ve all been waiting for! The opening of The Grid. I have another image from here that I shot 3 weeks earlier and happened to be driving by one day with my pinhole camera, (of course), and saw that the balloons were fresh and colorful! So glad I did! This is a much better version then the sad droopy balloons they had earlier.

This pinhole image is for The Grid II, an exhibit that I’m co-curating with Steven Jansen. It opens on Friday June 20th (TONIGHT 7-9pm) at The Trunk Space in Phoenix. It will be up for two months and will be AMAZING! Please come! Last year we documented a street in Phoenix, this year we are documenting a section of downtown Phoenix.

We hung the show on Wednesday night and it looks fantastic! I cannot wait for tonight! Openings are alway my favorite night of the month!

So wanna hear my funny story from yesterday? In the morning I work up and got a text from Emily (my carpool/co-worker) and it said she needed to drive separately because she had to leave early. So I texted her back and said okay. Well, Gary was walking Shadow at the moment, so I preceded to get ready for work. Hopped in the shower and when I got out, didn’t see Gary. So I figured he must be in the gym… and wasn’t going to make me breakfast. So I got ready and he still wasn’t there. I was looking for my keys, couldn’t find them anywhere. 20 minutes later, I realized that his wallet and work stuff was gone. I ran outside and the car was gone too. Later I find out he had to work early and was running late and just left without saying goodbye. ha! So I was home all day yesterday!

It was the greatest day off ever. Not sick. Not planned. I went back to bed, got up around 9:30am, did some things I had to online, twittered, flickr’d, myspaced… you know, the usual. Found out I had sold FOUR more pinhole postcards! yay! Got those in the mail. Picked out my 16 pinhole photos for the show in LONDON!!!! Yes, I’m showing in London next month! (Thank you Nicky Peacock). THEN to make my morning even better I found out that I am going to be featured in Without Lenses, a quarterly photography journal, about lens-less photography.

Went swimming with Gary in the afternoon… did some *other* fun stuff!! Then we went to the Mall, ate dinner, bought new make-up, and bought Gary a bunch of new clothes (yay, I love picking out clothes for him). Wait until you see his outfit tonight! He’s gonna look adorable! Maybe not adorable… Whatever. He looks good.

Then we went to SMOCA nights fashion show. Rocked out to Peachcake and ooo’d and ahh’d at Jes’s clothes, had a few drinks, danced a lot and got home at midnight. Photos of the show are here! Seriously, best day ever!

Every day will be so grand!

See you tonight!

I have another image from here that I shot 3 weeks earlier and happened to be driving by one day with my pinhole camera, (of course), and saw that the balloons were fresh and colorful! So glad I did! This is a much better version then the sad droopy balloons they had earlier.

This pinhole image is for The Grid II, an exhibit that I’m co-curating with Steven Jansen. It opens on Friday June 20th at The Trunk Space in Phoenix. It will be up for two months and will be AMAZING! Please come! Last year we documented a street in Phoenix, this year we are documenting a section of downtown Phoenix.

What do you think of affirmations? I totally believe they work. I’ve been trying to monitor my thoughts lately and when I start thinking something sad or not positive, I stop myself, take a deep breath and just tell myself something good. It doesn’t matter what it is, just something happy and positive. I’ve also been reading a set of affirmations to myself in the morning and evening. I made them up so they are unique and special to me.

I had an interesting conversation on goals with a co-worker. I have a goal of selling at least 1000 pinhole postcards each month. I think that is a great goal to have. He thinks I’m setting myself up for failure because my goal is lofty. He thinks I should have a goal of selling 12… then double that… then double that…

I think his way of thinking works for people who get disappointed when they don’t reach their goals. I’m not that way. I know when I set a goal, it’s just a matter of time until it’s fulfilled. If I keep telling myself what I want, then I take the steps needed to reach that goal. I’m never disappointed because I don’t give my goal a time limit/deadline. (That does depend on the goal, some goals definitely have a time limit/deadline because the end result is timely… like exhibition openings… obviously I have to have a deadline for making sure my photographs are taken, printed, framed and at the gallery when they want them).

I think if you have a goal, you need to keep reminding yourself of it and one day you’ll feel motivated to take the steps to reach it. I think just having the goal is the first step to achieving it. Goals can only be completed when you attach action to them.

How do you set your goals? small? with a deadline? lofty? in steps?

Just wondering. I know we are all different.

I really wanted to pinhole these silver and blue streamers over the car lot on Van Buren, so on Memorial Day, when they were closed, I sneaked in and started shooting. Well, I wasn’t high/close enough to the streamers so I looked around and decided to jump on the back of a truck in the lot… and if alarms started sounding I would run!!!! Alarms never sounded and I got the pinhole shot I wanted!

This image is for The Grid II, an exhibit that I’m co-curating with Steven Jansen. It opens on Friday June 20th at The Trunk Space in Phoenix. It will be up for two months and will be AMAZING! Please come! Last year we documented a street in Phoenix, this year we are documenting a section of downtown Phoenix.

My weekend was marvelous! My new book arrived just in time for me to spend the weekend reading! The Answer by John Assaraf and Murray Smith is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s a blend of scientific and creative genius. Concentrating on helping you to understand what a powerful tool your brain/mind are, it leads you to clarity by having you write out the answers to certain questions. It’s about visualization and how concentrating on a few positive sentences each day, related to what you want to achieve, can transform you life.

I’m already feeling different! I already know that it’s working. I know that right now, brides are emailing me saying “Yes, we want you to photograph our wedding”. I know that right now galleries are looking at my website and portfolio and saying “Yes, we must give Sheila Bocchine an exhibit in our gallery.” I already know that right now Design*Sponge and DailyCandy are looking at my etsy shop and saying, “I must get a hold of Sheila and feature her etsy shop on our website.” I already know that right now the universe is working in my favor to make sure that I sell 1000′s of pinhole postcards each month. I already know that right now the perfect apartment at Optima will be available at the end of October for us to move into.

I’ve sold 6 postcards since last Sunday when I opened shop! Isn’t that exciting! 2 of the postcards went to London! WOW!!! I did have to make some minor adjustments to the pricing… everyone takes a little profit of the sale (etsy and pay pal)… and because my envelopes are no bend mailers the price of the stamp was actually double than I was quoted. BUT!!!! They are still very affordable and perfect for sending and framing!

Question? Are massages suppose to hurt? They were giving free 10 minute chair massages at my apartment complex yesterday and while she was massaging me I thought I was going to die… but I didn’t say anything because I figured it’s suppose to be that hard so your muscles feel really good when you’re finished? right? right? WELL, my whole upper body is still in pain. I kept making Gary check my back for bruises. I thought massages were suppose to be calming, relaxing and feel good? Can someone give any insight?

I wanted to interrupt The Grid series for this very important announcement! My etsy shop is live and running! I am so excited. I feel so good about this positive move in my life. I listed 5 items (with a run of 15 each) on Sunday and have already sold three items! Thank you sooooooo much my fabulous first customers! When I think about those sales, the smile that is already plastered to my face, grows even more!

All I want to do is blog and flickr and twitter and find other blogs that want to showcase my postcards! I have all these great marketing ideas and will spend all weekend implementing them. My goal is to sell 40 postcards a day… or 200 a week… To Start! Then I intend to sell 100′s a day, from my etsy site and through wholesale opportunities. Every day post office workers will delight in seeing the pieces go through their hands, and every day 100′s of people will check their mail to find a wonderful surprise in their mailbox! How rad is that! Life is good!

Last night was Bunco (a dice game I play once a month). Wanna know a funny story? I left her address at home knew she lived on the same side of the street as my friend. I also knew she had a basketball hoop in her driveway. I pulled up to the first house with a bball hoop and no one was home… so I knew it wasn’t the right house… I went to the second house… still the wrong house.. third try worked! ha! three houses in a row had basketball hoops! ha!

Friday night is Intenders Circle. If you live in Phoenix and want to come with me, let me know. It’s so incredible. About 10-15 people get together and have dinner at Aaron’s house… then he and his super amazing sister Ashley start the circle. We talk about what we’re grateful for and about what our intentions are. Then we hang out and talk some more. The energy is electrifying and I always leave on such a positive high. It’s off the 51 and Bell, let me know if want to join us and I will send you the details. Starts around 7:30 and ends around 10pm. I’d love it if you joined us!

Tonight Gary and I are going to a private party at a restaurant in North Scottsdale. We’re photographing it and have been invited to join this elitist group of Phoenix reviewers. Should be a blast!

Another Mother’s Day pinhole image, this one was a block south, on 16th Street, from the previous image (16th Street and McDowell). This family has been doing this a long time. Not only did they have stuffed animals with balloons, they had a tent full of ornamental clocks, paintings and other gifts.

This pinhole image is for The Grid II, an exhibit that I’m co-curating with Steven Jansen. It opens on Friday June 20th at The Trunk Space in Phoenix. It will be up for two months and will be AMAZING! Please come! Last year we documented a street in Phoenix, this year we are documenting a section of downtown Phoenix.

My weekend was super fabulous! I went to bed at 7:30 on Friday night and slept for 12 hours. I was desperate for a sleep so refreshing. I awoke early on Saturday, made postcards all day… uploaded wedding photos… did some other photo work related items… watched the horse race (in case you didn’t know, Big Brown did not win, he did not become the Triple Crown Winner)… took photos of the items for new etsy shop and then went to bed. A very productive Saturday.

Please visit my etsy shop and tell me what you think! I truly value all feedback! I’m pretty excited about it. I need to add a bio of myself and some shipping policies and things like that, but I was able to put 5 designs online. My goal is to have 5 more designs up by next Sunday evening.

On Sunday Gary and I went to Roka Akor with Kelly, Allison, Emily and Jose to attend the Runway Beauty Magazine launch and fashion show. SO MUCH FUN! I absolutely adore fashion shows and hit as many as I can a month, but this one was particularly nice because it was on a Sunday afternoon and it was a restaurant I’ve wanted to try for a few months now. I am definitely recommending Roka Akor. They brought samples to our table all afternoon and everything I tried was fabulous. The calamari was to die for! It was some of the best calamari I’ve ever had. I’ll admit I like my calamari lightly battered with no added zing, and lots of lemon. This calamari had some subtle spices added, I couldn’t quite figure out what the flavors were but it was delicious. Definitely not too much, and they were lightly battered! The decor of the restaurant was sleek, modern and eco friendly. Their bathrooms were amazing and had two different flushing buttons. My friends and I assumed they were for #1 and #2… save water with #1… The colors of the restaurant were warm and inviting and the drinks were excellent! We had bellini’s with saki and a mixed berry juice. So wonderful. We also had saki and white wine… I was told Friday night at 9:30 is when they do the show with the ice and machete’s, so I’ll definitely be going back to witness that spectacular action.

My friend Susan Di Staulo is the Fashion Director of the magazine. The magazine is nice. My favorite feature were all the designer pages. I loved how each page had 4 runway shots with the designers name in the middle. It was nice to be able to focus on the clothes with such clean design. I haven’t had time to read it yet, but have perused it twice. Check out all the photos Gary too at the fashion show.

We had dinner at Humble Pie and I will definitely be hitting that pizza place up again. Wood-fire pizza’s always equal yum! Their tomato sauce was sweet and smooth and just wonderful! I had a margherita pizza with fresh mozzarella, basil and prosciutto.

I set up my Euro Cup Fantasy team on Saturday morning, but I finished after the second game started and I missed the points from Ronaldo. I need to check my score today. Italy plays today!!!!! GO ITALIA!!!!!!

In the parking lot of a KFC these guys were selling balloons and teddy bears for Mother’s Day. The bears ranged in price from $40 to $200. This is the southeast corner of 16th Street and McDowell. This was actually on Mother’s Day and while I was taking this particular pinhole photo a guy in a lifted truck pulled up and wanted to know prices. He didn’t purchase anything but it was neat to witness the interaction.

This pinhole image is for The Grid II, an exhibit that I’m co-curating with Steven Jansen. It opens on Friday June 20th at The Trunk Space in Phoenix. It will be up for two months and will be AMAZING! Please come! Last year we documented a street in Phoenix, this year we are documenting a section of downtown Phoenix.

Anyone have good plans for the weekend? I’ll be working on daisyjellybean all weekend. I got a great idea last night for a logo so I’ll be photographing that this weekend. I’ll be making my postcards and finally uploading to etsy. We may or may not be watching the soccer game tomorrow morning. Gary only wants to watch the teams he really likes and I would rather make postcards. I’ll have to find someone to Tivo the Italian games for me since they are either showing at midnight or on days I have to work.

On Sunday we’re going to the Magazine launch party for Runway Fashion Magazine! It’s offices are located in Scottsdale but it’s an international magazine. My friend Susan is the fashion editor/director. It’s at Roka Akor (which I’ve been dying to try) and will also feature a fashion show! I love fashion shows! I don’t know what I’m going to wear yet. I bought a new dress two weeks ago for The Grid opening and I might wear that. It’s pretty sexy and very fashionable! Some red lipstick and black fishnets and I could model in their fashion show!

On Sunday night I’m making lasagna for my Monday Bunco night. It’s my turn to host. Yes, I play dice once a month and It’s super fun! I even won $20 last month.

Have a super fabulous weekend! I try not to get online too much on the weekends. I spend 40+ hours a week on a computer Monday to Friday so computer free weekends are always my goal.

Love this one too! See a pattern here. ha! This is at the same location as the previous photo. I will be hanging them both because I like them equally for different reasons.

This pinhole image is for The Grid II, an exhibit that I’m co-curating with Steven Jansen. It opens on Friday June 20th at The Trunk Space in Phoenix. It will be up for two months and will be AMAZING! Please come! Last year we documented a street in Phoenix, this year we are documenting a section of downtown Phoenix.

My muscles hurt. I guess that’s a good thing right? I did not go to the gym this morning, but I did take my dog for a half hour walk. It was such a gorgeous morning and walking through the sprinklers was fun too! The best part was how happy she was when we got home, she isn’t so lucky to have 30 minute walks every morning. I love when dogs smile. She was so happy and so tired that she didn’t even sit with me on the couch, she just sat on the floor tired, smiling and panting. Oh sweet sweet Shadow.

Speaking of Shadow, I need to put her on a diet… we went to see The Grigio last night and wow! I have to live there! Talk about luxury living! The only itty bitty teeny tiny problem is that Shadow weighs about 48 pounds and their dog weight limit is 35… so, um, yea. I’m going to manifest a break for our dog. Once they see how sweet and old she is, they will definitely make an exception. Either that or she’s going on a diet until we move in, ha!

Go take a tour of The Grigio. They are spectacular! Bamboo flooring, real granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, balconies that over look Tempe Town Lake, spiral stairs that lead to an adorable loft, a gym that’s better than LA Fitness! All the machines have their own personal tv’s! How rad is that! There is a cafe on the premises that will deliver food to your room. They have a whole floor for parities that they throw for their residents! The rooftop deck has amazing views of Tempe and Phoenix and the Mill Ave Bridge. Our tour guide said it’s the best spot to watch fireworks! Their pools are like fancy hotels. Roman tubs, oh how I miss taking baths. Indoor parking! Hallways that take you to your apartment. The doors don’t face the outside! Elevators because they have 5 floors! Pure love for that apartment building!

I set up our printer last night and printed the labels directly onto the cardstock and it was perfect!!!!! PERFECT! So much better than the white labels. I’ll be making postcards all weekend and they will be online by Sunday. I promise!

The Euro Cup Starts on Saturday! If anyone wants to join us, we will be watching the Euro Cup at the Blackforrest Mill German Restaurant in Phoenix. Italy, THE BEST TEAM in the competition, will be playing their first game on Monday. We are for sure going this Saturday morning and next Saturday morning. If you want to join us for some German Brunch and a little Euro Cup, let me know!

Another balloon image! I’m having so much fun with this project. There is another one that goes with this image but I’ll post it tomorrow. What do you think of the light pole on the bottom? I’m still debating weather I’m going to leave it in or not. The only reason I did leave it in is for direction of the image and sense of where it is.

This image is for The Grid II, an exhibit that I’m co-curating with Steven Jansen. It opens on Friday June 20th at The Trunk Space in Phoenix. It will be up for two months and will be AMAZING! Please come! Last year we documented a street in Phoenix, this year we are documenting a section of downtown Phoenix.

Another successful day of working out for 1 hour and 15 minutes. I even took a shower this morning. That is dedication. I’ve been taking showers at night because there isn’t enough time in the morning to work out, take a shower, get ready, eat breakfast and make it to work on time. Phew. I do more before 8am than I do from 8-5, how insane is that.

As a photographer you have the option to crop or not to crop. As a pinhole photographer, I thought cropping was taboo until about two weeks ago. My goal was to always take the perfect shot and be able to print full frame from the negative. That is the decision I made as a pinhole photographer. After looking at my images from The Grid, I’ve decided that some of them look better cropped… and therefore I cropped them. I’m even going to go back to the original scan and play around with different crops. Only for like three images, but still, it’s a HUGE thing for me to admit out loud since I was always a little against cropping.

I guess my new goal as a pinhole photographer is to take a gorgeous photo and then to be able to make it even better if needed. I’m just going to embrace the digital options that surround me. When I get my film developed I get hi-res scans of all of my images and only print from the scans. I don’t even unwrap or cut and page my negatives anymore. They are pristine, never touched by human hands. How strange is that? Interesting how art evolves, isn’t it…