Sheila Bocchine, Photographer

A pinhole wedding photograph from Natalya and Brian’s wedding in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Wow! It’s almost December, one of my favorite months of the year! It starts off on the 1st with my birthday and ends on the 31st with my favorite holiday…and lots of parties in between! It also starts one of my yearly routines: getting back everything I’ve lent out during the year and returning everything I’ve borrowed.

I’ve already started giving things back. A few weeks ago I gave back 8 jars of sand made from recycled glass… Sabrina, I have a bunch of beach props to give you back. Nicky, we have a video ‘Roam’ to give back to you. Marilyn, I have a Polaroid Back to give to you. Steve and Tabor, I have photographs to give to you. I have a few other things as well.

I like to start my year off fresh, and this way I don’t loose my favorite things and I make sure I don’t keep yours as my own. When I enjoy something I like to share it and I’m always sad when I don’t get it back.

Don’t forget, I have pinhole photographs in my ETSY shop!

The beautiful Natalya and her now husband Brian, stood for a pinhole portrait in front of this fantastic cactus. I just love how the arms look like bubbles.  Notice the drink that Brian is holding… he created a drink menu special for the wedding and the drinks were incredible with really wonderful ingredients including honeycomb.

I just wanted to thank everyone that made it to the Mysterious Exhibit.  THANK YOU!  It was a great two months and 3 pieces were sold!  Thank you art collectors, you make it possible for us to continue doing what we love… creating art!

I will be putting out a call for submissions for two upcoming exhibits in 2009.  If you want to get on my  mailing list, send me an email and I’ll add you. Each exhibit will be up for two months.

Did anyone make it to the social sculpture at the Icehouse last night?  Michael 23 held a mummification for 23 participants.  It was really interesting.  I took 3 pinholes and am really excited to see how they turned out.

I am selling a few of my favorite pinhole images on ETSY, so if you are a collector of my work or just looking for the perfect holiday gift, please do check it out:  www.daisyjellybean.etsy.com

If you need a photographer for a holiday portrait, or need your holiday party photographed, or perhaps you’re getting married and you need a photographer… I recommend four white walls photography. Their work is amazing and their prices are super affordable.

This wedding pinhole is of Natalya and Brian in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

I have a special treat for all you pinhole lovers!  I have selected a few of my favorite images and added them to my ETSY shop for you.  They are super affordable and will make a wonderful holiday gift… or perhaps the perfect gift to your own walls.

AND!  One very last mention of the Mysterious Exhibit. The closing reception is tonight.  If you haven’t seen it yet, please do stop by!  I’ll be there from 6-9pm. 1301 NW Grand Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85007.

Have a spectacular weekend my friends!

In August I was part of this really neat event called Ignite Phoenix.I gave a presentation on pinhole portraits. It’s 5 minutes long, with 20 pinhole portrait slides. Watch it if you like! You may need to turn your volume up pretty high…

I apologize if you’ve been to my website in the last week, for it was down. Not down for maintenance, it really just disappeared! It was totally crazy. But I am so grateful that it’s back!

The openings on October First Friday were fantastic! Great turnouts, amazing jazz and t’was a night filled with conversations about art! Afterwards some friends and I went to check out the bar at the recently opened Sheraton Hotel. Absolutely Gorgeous!

***I’d love for you to post your best shot ever in my comment section!***

Yesterday Problogger had a wonderful post allowing his readers to share where they hang out in the social media realm. I believe he called it a love-in. Today on his Digital Photography School blog, he asked his readers to share their best shot ever. I started to write my comment and realized that I never posted my favorite pinhole wedding image on my blog (it was before I started blogging). The above pinhole photograph is my very favorite! I love everything about it, especially how they look like wedding cake toppers. I took this wedding photograph of Kristi and Joel in December 2006.

…well now that you’ve got me started…
My favorite garden series image is Bunny and Bird

My favorite black and white pinhole image is Fall Festival from Concordia, Missouri

My favorite pinhole portraits are Jessii by the waterfall, and Babs and Kiera

and… okay, one more… my favorite image from my last (currently up until August 11th) exhibit

Well, that was fun! I also did a fun experiment to see where I am on the internet using google keywords.
Pinhole Photographer: Top of page two
Pinhole Photography: Page Seven
Pinhole: Page 38

According to my Google analytics most of my traffic comes from searches on google for my name, Sheila Bocchine, or from twitter. None of my traffic comes from pinhole. I find that odd. What do you think?

**Don’t forget to share your best shot!

My friend Kristian…. Italian male model, t-shirt designer, pet lover, super sweet, absolutely crazy… Took this pinhole portrait in Scottsdale Park, not really sure what the name of the park is, but I like to call it Scottsdale Park. You know, where the museum is and the Love Sculpture.

Weekend went by to fast. On Friday evening I had a tutorial on how to write a perfect press release. I’m going to test my new found knowledge out today! I also confirmed the exhibit at the Pie Braggs Factory for October!

On Saturday we photographed the wedding of Jessica and Diondre Travis. They planned their wedding in two weeks and it was fantastic! (more people should plan their wedding in two weeks) They were a gorgeous couple and had a gorgeous two year old daughter. I enjoyed both of their families and the highlight of the evening was watching them dance. I’m not sure where people learn to move like that… but WOW!

I love that Gary and I get to photograph weddings all the time. I couldn’t imagine doing anything besides photography. We get to photograph people’s celebrations and parties! We get to photograph family reunions, friends laughing and new beginnings. What could be better than that?

On Sunday, Gary and I both pretty much slept the whole day… then ventured out to photograph lightning in the evening. We were out for 4 hours coming home empty handed. BUT! We did use our fantastic iphone gps to take the back roads to a small town called, Florence, Arizona. Gary wanted to photograph their clock tower and we hung out for a while waiting for the storm to arrive. It never did. So we headed further east to Superior, it looked promising, sudden bursts of light flashed across the sky… but no bolts of lightening. Sadly, we headed home.

What do you think of this image? 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. I’m photographing balloons, streamers and flags. I’ve been a little obsessed with these objects for years now and how they are used to draw you into their business. Does it work? It does capture my attention but not for the reasons I think they are hoping. I like colorful, shiny objects waving in the wind…

Last night I overcame a fear… a fear of singing in public… I owe my new found singing career to a video game, and that game is: ROCK BAND! If you know me, you’ve heard me say, “oh yes, I sing all the time…. in my apartment and in my car”. I used to have a dream of going to karaoke but would always chicken out. BUT NOT ANYMORE! Bring on the karaoke machine! When, where, what time, who’s going with me?

I am the best rock band singer in the world. Yes, I said in the world! If you dare challenge the greatest rock band singer in the world, I choose Weezer’s ‘say it ain’t so’ and The yeah yeah yeah’s ‘maps’. I have been practicing that Weezer song since I was 15 years old. I think they would be proud of me!

These are the last two pinhole photographs from Jessica and Jonathan Standifird’s wedding that I’m going to post. I hope you’ve enjoyed the series:

The three tasty wedding cakes from Jessica and Jonathan Standifird’s wedding. A mix of vegan, edible flowers, super chocolaty goodness and a groomsman cake in the shape of a piano.

Last night Gary, Kate and I went to the Scottsdale Premier of The Opus (a movie) at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. There was quite the excitement buzzing around the lobby. We arrived just after 6pm only to find we had assigned seating. I was bummed because I wanted to sit with Kate, but the universe must of been on my side because it turns out we had seats right next to each other! How rad is that!

It started off with speakers Tim Ralston, the creator of visionboardsite.com , I liked him. He was a lovely opening speaker. I remember about a year ago… maybe two years ago he found me on myspace and I checked out his site but it seemed like a lot of work to create a video vision board, so I never did one. I also remember it being free, and now it’s $30 a year. I wonder how effective it really is? Obviously I get it and I’ve made numerous vision boards from cut out magazine clippings and the concept of a video vision board is pretty neat!

Then Doug Vermeeren, an International speaker, author and creator of The Opus took the stage. He was your typical fast talking, motivational, engaging speaker. I also liked what he had to say, but he could have left his wife in her seat. I don’t think she wanted to be on stage while he tried to make out with her… okay, it was a few pecks on the cheek, but still… I wanted to watch the movie. I did enjoy his story about jumping off a cliff into the freezing cold waters of a Canada River. I also liked how he kept saying to Live in the Now! Make decisions and do them now! And he had a slide of a wonderful zen proverb: “Leap and the net will appear.” That is a wonderful quote. I do always feel great when I just leap!

So the movie finally started. Here’s what I liked about it. I liked the life story and theme of the Violin player, who’s name escapes me at the moment. I like the message of the film. I believe we should hear the message daily. I also believe that following your heart is a valuable lesson learned. I liked how a few times throughout the movie I had the urge to clap, almost like I wasn’t watching a movie but at an actual presentation. I also like how simple the movie was and the simple language used.

That being said, if you’ve seen The Secret… it’s a better film. I didn’t think this film was very original. He even used many of the same ‘teachers’ that were in The Secret. When he was speaking to us before the move started he talked about how he interviewed 400 of the top achievers, the most successful people in the world. He came up with a list of 50 questions to ask them. I wanted to see more of that. I wanted to hear why these people were successful. I wanted to see them and hear them speak. If I wanted to see the same people that were in The Secret I would have stayed home and popped that DVD in.

Also, the color scheme was just like The Secret, only not as good. The Secret is brown and antique like which goes with the story of unveiling the ancient secret. In The Secret, the guests or teachers were sitting in front of the camera just talking… and they were doing the same thing in The Opus. I’ve read that this is The Secret after The Secret… but I don’t buy that. Did Rhonda Burns have anything to do this with film? She wasn’t mentioned by any of the speakers and she wasn’t in this film at all.

Basically, I love anything to do with the laws of attraction… Esther and Jerry Hicks… Intenders Circle’s… positive thinking… etc. I think this film could have been brilliant if it were done with more originality. I just feel like it was a not so successful remake of one of my favorite films. I did enjoy it, but as an artist myself, copying someone else’s work is a big no-no.

I did like my goodie bag which came in a reusable Sunflower Market Bag and included:

The Jackrabbit Factor by Leslie Householder, Fighter Pilot Performance for Business by Ed Rush, Pocket Mirror from Southwest Institute of Healing Arts that reads “Toe Reading is a Mirror to your soul”, A copy of Spark Magazine, A red button curtesy of visionboardsite.com, copy of AZ Net News, copy of AZ Weekly

Gary and I talk about this often… how people perceive The Secret. He disagrees with the greediness of some people. Yes, it does appear that most people who watch The Secret or who bank off of it are trying to get rich quick and they all have their own way of approaching the situation with their tried and true course/method. They all talk about how to get rich, live in a mansion, buy that 35 million yacht, enjoy yourself, not go to a 9-5 job…. And we argue over this… I think that is what some people want. I know lots of people motivated by money. Some people believe the key to happiness is hundred dollar bill riches…

I THINK… that the message these films and websites and courses teach us should be applied to our individual lives. I don’t need a 35 million dollar yacht, but I do want to travel around the world… I do want to spend all my time taking pinhole photographs… I do want a large, gorgeous apartment with a huge balcony so I can entertain and throw parties for my friends and family… I do want to be bill free! I do want to be a famous pinhole photographer… I do want to exhibit work in The Whitney, the Tate, SMoCA… I want to experience different cultures and sleep in every hotel in the world! I do want to spend a year documenting myself wearing a different costume each day! I do want to send love through the mail and have a successful pinhole postcard company! I do want to sleep in every morning… work out after my eyes have adjusted to the light… drink juice on my balcony while reading a book with Gary. There are lots of things that I DO WANT…

Perhaps a film will come out that will feature people who want good things and are manifesting them. People who want to just be happy without bathing in hundred dollar bills. Our society is so bling-bling oriented that to appeal to the majority of film goers, they probably have to address the issues that they are interested in. Also… I think it has to do with the WOW factor. Someone who doesn’t have a lot of money but wants it will be wow’d by films and courses like these. With the state of our economy and increasing gas prices… money is on everyone’s mind. AND to travel around the world it does take some of the green stuff.

What do you think?

Sunburst audience pinhole photograph of Jessica and Jonathan Standifird wedding at the Japanese Friendship Gardens in Phoenix.

It was a lovely three day weekend. The quinceanera on Sunday was wonderful! It was definitely the fanciest birthday party I’ve ever been to.

Started my weekend with a poetry reading on Friday night, then met with a client on Saturday morning, did some shopping (!) and found the most adorable vintage sweater pins! They are gold and look just like my glasses! The second I saw them I had to have them. I will find a way to wear them with everything for a few months! I also scored with a pair of searsucker shorts embroidered with skulls and a very sexy 50′s style pin-up dress! I will wear the dress to the opening of The Grid on June 20th.

I went through my Grid photographs yesterday and picked out about 12 good ones… I also went pinholing and am eager to see the images from yesterday’s shoot. I desperately wanted a perfect shot of the streamers above a used car lot on Van Buren and since they were closed yesterday I was able to sneak into the lot and jump on the back of a pick-up truck to get even closer to the gorgeous blue and silver streamers! I cut my outing short due to the numerous ants that attacked my foot when I must of accidentally stepped on their home. The lure of colorful large balloons and then… eek, ouch! owwwww!!!! I kicked my shoe off and was jumping up and down as my feet burned on the scorching hot pavement. Oh, the things I do for the perfect shot!

Jessica and Jonathan married on a lovely afternoon in February, at the Japanese Friendship Gardens. This wedding bubbled over with love and genuine friendships. It was a beautiful sight to see. I love this image SO MUCH! It is one of my favorite from their wedding. This is the father of the bride. I asked him to hold still for a few minutes, about 5 minutes later, after running around looking for my other tripod I came back and he was in the same position. Perfect!

I am so grateful that photography jobs have been rolling in!! It is quite wonderful. Gary and I photographed the Phoenix Poetry Slam Team last night at The Clarendon Hotel (my personal favorite hotel in Phoenix).

This weekend we are photographing our first Quinceanera and next weekend, a wedding in Scottsdale!

I sent in 7 rolls of film for an exhibit that opens in June. I should get them back today and I cannot wait to see what developed. The Grid opens on the third Friday in June, so if you’re in Phoenix, please stop by. It’s the second year we’ve done this. This is what it looked like last year. This year instead of a whole street, we are each focusing on one section of downtown. It will be fabulous!