Andrea Linn

Our Project 10: St. Anthony’s Edition

Andrea — Wed, 09 May 2012 04:41:48 +0000

As many of you know, I have been training for a triathlon since November and I document a day each month for a project I do with a group of photographers from around the world. So, I figured, why not combine the two and now you have May’s Project 10: St. Anthony’s Tri Edition! I think I actually managed to tell the story in 10 pictures this month as well! If you want to check out my girl’s tri you can see that here.

What a gorgeous morning for a triathlon! This was the view from the Pro Triathlete’s start. We still had almost 2 hours to wait for our start. In fact, the first winner was coming across the finish line when we finally lined up in the water. We had a good time hanging out, warming up, and thinking about the swim to come. It was so nice to have a large team there to do it with. Especially people we’ve gotten to know and train with for the past 6 months. Training with Team in Training has been a wonderful experience. I raised $2,800 for St. Anthony’s and over $11,000 since last May to help fight blood cancers. I am extremely proud of that and will cherish the people I have met along the way.

After you are done viewing my day, check Kirsty’s day here.

Aaah, the dreaded swim. This was my first swim of this distance in the open water and my first salt water swim. In fact, I really have never swam before a year ago when I started with Team in Training. You can pretty much tell from my lovely form but I am proud to say I finished 10 minutes faster than I thought I would. That, my friend, is victory right there, even if it still took me 37 minutes to go .9 mile. The water got a bit choppy when you headed away from shore and my wetsuit practically rubbed a hole behind my ear but I survived. Yeah! This is our wave starting and Tim found me in the water and got a nice closeup. Not sure if that is good or bad

In my mind, I look fierce. I thought you’d get a chuckle on how I really look. I was just glad to be out of the water in the first picture, I was doing okay in the second picture but the run…oh the run…it was so hot by the time we got to the run I am smiling because it is over. I trained pretty well for this run and I finished far more slowly than my Nation’s Run. I blame it squarely on the 85 degree weather and the late start. I am just happy to be done! And, I did pay for the middle picture, it just hasn’t been delivered to my inbox for download at the time of this blog post and I need to get it done before I leave tomorrow. My hubby took the rest of the pictures

We did it! We earned our finisher medal. After training since November, it was nice to be successfully across the finish line!

After a hard day’s work, we took some time to celebrate our race, our fundraising, and our new friendships. This is part (but not all) of our Spring 2010 Georgia Tri Team. We were overlooking the city of St. Petersburg from a fun little place called Cha-Cha Coconuts.

The 2012 Meek and Mighty Tri

Andrea — Wed, 02 May 2012 03:49:45 +0000

As most of you know, this weekend was the St. Anthony’s Tri down in St. Petersburg, FL. What you may not know is that the girls did the tri too. The Meek and Mighty Tri. They hated the name of it but it was a pretty cool event. Not only were there some seriously blinged out tri kids but there were many adults who did it too. At first, I thought it was kind of funny that adults were doing a 200 yd pool swim, a 5 mile bike, and a 1 mile run but then I saw them and it was quite inspiring. I saw a 75 year old woman who looked as if she were crippled. She walked hunched over and supported by a back brace but then I saw her cruise in on her back for the swim, an assistant helped her with her back brace, and I saw her finsih on the bike and on the run. It was a lot of fun to see her get her 2nd place award in her age division. I also saw 2 men…one 81 the other 85 receive their awards. That’s what I want to be doing when I am 85!! I also got to see some pretty talented kids. The way they come in off the bike to the run…wow! I know I couldn’t do it. I think Haylee is finally convinced that actual tri apparel would cut down her transition time significantly! They both did awesome, in the top half of their age group. In Haylee’s case, only 3 minutes separated 1st from 11th where she landed and 1:10 of that was her fiddling with her t-shirt! It was a lot of fun participating as a family.

Our Project 10: Atlanta Tourist Edition

Andrea — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 05:00:28 +0000

Well, it is time to document my day along with 9 other photographers from around the world for our Project 10. This month, I had the opportunity to take a week off of work and spend it with the girls for Spring Break. Tim had to work so we decided to be tourists in Atlanta one day. We rarely take advantage of what so many people actually travel here to do. So, last Monday we ventured out into downtown Atlanta. We had lunch with Tim at the Coke building (he’s a contractor on site there), we did a behind the scenes tour of CNN which I think the girls really enjoyed, and then we went over to Centennial Olympic Park to find the brick we bought for the Olympics (which I can hardly believe will have been 16 years ago!). The brick locator sent us over to section 58 but we never quite found it…there are a lot of bricks out there! We had a wonderful day. I was also practicing my new lensbaby which is why most everything is out of focus (sometimes intentionally, most of the time not). I do really like the first picture of Coke HQ though…I think the Lensbaby had a cool effect in the lobby.

After you check out my day, make your way over to and see the madly talented Hope Toliver! I had the privilege of meeting her in Dallas last year and she is amazing.

Our Project 10: Seattle Edition

Andrea — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 06:00:00 +0000

It is that time again…time to document a typical day in our lives. Once again, I wouldn’t call this typical but I would call it a day on the road…I don’t always get to see the city or visit special friends but this time I made the most of it. I am just landing home from a week in Seattle where I sat in meetings everyday, all day. I was glad I got one day out in the city as the weather was chilly but beautiful and nothing is better than Seattle when it is sunny. When you are done, please check out my friend Jobrina’s day HERE.

Our Project 10: February

Andrea — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:02:07 +0000

It is that time again…when I and 9 other photographer from around the world document one day of our lives during the month taking roughly 10 pictures throughout the day and post them on the 10th. I chose to document a “typical” day in January. January has been CRAZY busy. I am training for a triathlon with Team in Training which has a fundraising commitment. In order to raise the money, I have been teaching photography classes. In January, I taught them on Saturday afternoon, which meant I left for my weekly brick (bike then run) at about 7:30 a.m., got home around noon, showered, and class started at 2 p.m. We’d usually wrap up about 4-4:30. In this particular day, I decided to have a mommy/daughter night out of shopping and dinner. Not a bad way to end a very hectic day!!

When you are done, don’t forget to check out Kirsty Larmour from Abu Dhabi (how cool is that??) and see how she spent her day…

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Our Project 10: Christmas Edition

Andrea — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 06:33:37 +0000

It is the that time again…when I and 9 other photographers from around the world document a day in our life. We take 10 (or so) pictures throughout the day (in the case of my last 2 posts I’ve taken them over an evening/beginning of next day) and post them on the 10th. I am excited to share our Christmas with you. Normally, Christmas is a bit bigger. Tim and I both come from big families with tons of Aunts and Uncles and cousins and we usually celebrate in Ohio with the larger extended family but this year, we decided to keep the car in the garage and celebrate at home. As it turns out, my parents didn’t have any kids to celebrate with this year so they were able to come down and join us which was really nice. We had a nice dinner, went to church (their should be a beautiful candlelit service picture in here but Tim was HORRIFIED when I whipped out the camera phone to capture it and I had to put it away…but I am telling you it was beautiful!) and the girls got up at 6 a.m. to open presents. We spent the afternoon (and I am talking 5 straight hours) playing Dominoes and playing Christmas music. I’ll be honest, we haven’t turned on Christmas music since… I hope you had a Merry one and wish you a wonderful 2012!!

Now go see what the gorgeous Jobrina Hofleit of Jobrina Hofleit Photography did for her Project 10!

Our Project 10: IU Edition

Andrea — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 06:08:11 +0000

I can hardly believe it is time for our 10 on 10 project again! One a month, we document a day (in this case 2) with 10 (ish) pictures, and post on the 10th. I knew exactly what I was going to document this time even though the skies were gray. We took a roadtrip to Indy for Thanksgiving and on the way we stopped to visit my alma mater…Indiana University! It was the girl’s first trip to IU and my first trip back in almost 10 years which I find hard to believe. We had a great time showing them around, visiting our favorite places, and eating our favorite food. We didn’t get a chance to go in the Chi O house because everyone was home for Thanksgiving. That was disappointing but oh well We also got to check out the fabulous new swim facility that was built after I graduated. I keep hoping the girls would want to go to swim camp there someday!

Next check out the fabulous Jobrina Hofleit of Jobrina Holfleit Photography to see what she’s been up to this month.

Our Project 10: Auburn Edition

Andrea — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:56:36 +0000

If you’ve been following us, you know that for the past 3 months I have been participating in a Project 10 with 9 other wonderful photographers from around the world. Each month we document a day in the lives of our family. I am seeing a recurring theme in my posts and that is swimming. This month, I documented a day in the life of a swim meet that was on the road. This month we traveled to Auburn, Alabama. Since it is only a few hours away, many, many kids from our neighborhood were able to participate so it was fun not only for the kids but for the moms and dads as well. The guys got to go golfing and the girls got a night out. The kids had a great time terrorizing the hotel and trying to find their coach’s room. They were not successful!

Now check out how Jennifer Foster spent her day!

Shooting for a Cure: Class Information and Photo Sessions

Andrea — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:14:49 +0000

Well, it is official! I am 9 days away from starting my 2nd season with Team in Training! This time around I will be a mentor for the newbies on the team. Somehow, I think I’ll be more of a fundraising and you can do this kind of mentor than an “athletic” mentor. We’ll see. Either way, I am looking forward to it. We will be training for the St. Anthony’s Triathlon in St. Petersburg, Florida which will take place on 4/29/12. I am excited because there is a kids tri the day before so we can make a family event out of it.

Once again, I will be raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This season, I am raising money in honor of Grayson, a little boy who turns 6 this month. I met him through my wonderful network of photographers. His family helped out at the Face2Face workshop that I attended in Dallas last March. A blog has been started for him to document his journey. It is When Skies are Gray. I encourage you to check it out and leave some love for this little cutie pie and his family. I know that the money I raise is helping families like his and has truly made a difference in the survivial rates for children with cancer in the past 20 years.

I would like to take my passion for photography and merge it with my desire to raise money for great causes. This is where Shooting for a Cure came about. You can read a little bit more about it in my previous post, located here. To do that, I am going to be teaching another beginner photography class as well as taking pictures for the holidays in exchange for a fully tax-deductible donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Shooting for a Cure Photography Class

Dates: Saturdays @ 2 p.m. 1/7, 1/14, 1/21, 1/28

What to Bring

Camera
Camera’s manual
A favorite picture (explain why you like it)

What you will learn

Your cameras buttons: what do they all mean?
How to get that blurry background and make your subject standout!
How to get great action shots both indoor and out
Use composition to make your shots more “arty” and less “snapshotty”
Getting a great picture straight out of camera (SOOC)
Aperture/Shutter Speed/ISO: what in the heck is it and how does it all work together?
What different lenses bring to your pictures

Assignments

Weekly Assignmnets
See examples and get a related assignment to reinforce the lesson
Post to private share site and get feedback
Have fun!

To secure your spot, please make a $125 donation to the following website:

Andrea’s Fundraising Page

Shooting for a Cure Photo Sessions

Many people have asked me if I could take their picture for Christmas or Holiday cards. I would love to in exchange for a donation! Here is what I can offer:

For a donation of $150 you will get 1-1/2 hours of my time, at least 20 fully-edited images on cd plus photos optimized to share on Facebook or other online sites. I can also help you out with professionally printed images or Christmas cards at a reasonable rate.

Here are some examples from a recent shoot I did with the Walsh family:

Give me a call or shoot me an email if you are interested in setting up time.

Cell: 678-852-3807

Email: aferenchik@hotmail.com

I hope together we can find a cure!

Andrea

Shooting for a Cure

Andrea — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:57:26 +0000

I have been wanting to write this blog post for some time. I am very excited to share the work of my students from my first beginner photography class! The idea came about when my friend Anita mentioned that there were so many photography classes but she really wanted something in person. She said that she learned better when someone explained it to her. So I thought long and hard about it. I’ve taken many classes over the years and felt like I had enough knowledge to teach people how to use their cameras. How many times have I heard “I bought this fancy camera and I have no idea how to use it?” or “I bought this fancy camera and my pictures don’t look any different?” So then it became, do I do this for free (no!) or do I charge (that’s kind of weird to charge your friends!)? At the time, I was raising money for Team in Training which benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I decided that I would do it but I would require a donation to Team in Training. I got great feedback for this idea and thus the class began. We did a 4 week in-person class that covered all of the camera settings, creative use of aperture, shutter speed, and touched on full manual. We finished our class with a field trip down to this really cool community south of Atlanta called Serenbe for a photo field trip to put our skills to the test. We had a great time. We also had a contest for an Amazon gift card to see who could come up with a name for the class. We had some GREAT ideas but ultimately, we chose “Shooting for a Cure” which my friend Jennifer Parsons came up with. I also gave a “consolation” prize to my friend Mallory for coming up with the whole charity tie in to the name. I felt like the name was generic enough that it could be used for any charity and it was also generic enough that it could be used for classes or photo shoots or any photography related fundraiser. It was perfect! Jeanine Linder who made my Andrea Linn logo, also made the Shooting for a Cure logo. She is so amazingly creative and so nice to work with…I absolutely love her ideas! I am hoping to do another class in the January timeframe (details to come soon) as well as some Fall photo shoots to raise money for the Spring season of Team in Training. I have been blessed with a full time job and I feel like this is a great way to combine my love of photography with my desire to raise money for great causes. I hope that this is something that can be ongoing and can grow in the future.

Now I am happy to feature my student’s great photos from class. I was so proud of them. Everyone eagerly participated, did the assignments, and shared their work. We are looking forward to more field trips in the future where we can continue to practice and grow our skills as well as just have a great time!

In Anita’s words: ” The first one (flower), I chose because I took this picture in manual mode. A month ago, I wouldn’t have been able to choose my own settings. I would have relied on the automatic ones to do it for me. My purpose in taking his class….beyond the fact that it was for a great cause, was to be able to achieve this! My second one I love because it was such a fun day and we got to use everything we learned leading up to that day. One of the things that I have taken away from this class is that there are “snapshots” and then there are “photographs”….and this one is a photograph, that tells a little bit about what kind of day we were having….FUN!”

Here are some more great images from Jennifer…

And my friend Mallory:

Finally, I wanted to share my favorite photo from our trip to Serenbe. If you want to see the rest, you can check out My Flickr:

Next week I will be sharing more pictures from class, details on my next photography class as well as opportunities to get your family pictures taken for a great cause! Stay tuned…