Sifting through the piles of resumes was so much harder than I thought it was going to be. The passion and excitement in the applicant’s cover letters made me want to choose them all!  However, this time I had to choose just one.  Through a long and tedious process I weeded out the top applicants and I just kept going back to one.

Her credentials are amazing, her passion for photography- beautiful, and most of all she possesses every quality I need in an intern. Please meet the lovely, beautiful, and my new intern: Donell Koppenaal.

I sent her a little interview to help you all get to know her a little better.

First of all, tell us a little bit about yourself:

Hello!  My name is Donell (pronounced Don-L) but most everyone calls me D (feel free!).  I’m 27, my zodiac sign is Cancer (which means I’m basically a homebody who loves the water), was born at Kadlec, raised in Richland (maiden name is Gana for fellow Tri-Citians who might know
my folks), graduated from RHS in 2001, went off to UW where I graduated with a degree in liberal arts, met a boy, got married, started a career, moved to Alabama, and recently came back to Richland to be near family and friends.  That’s my life in a nutshell. ?  I’ve always had a love for photography and, within the past two years, worked very hard to become comfortable with my equipment and abilities (I currently work with a Canon EOS 50D but am dying to see what Nikon can do). It’s only been within the past year that I’ve seriously thought about opening my own business someday and started educating myself about everything it involves.  (So much easier said than done!) I feel as if I have a solid photography foundation but nothing more and was thrilled at Meg’s opportunity. My main goals from this internship are to not only see what it takes to run a home-based photography business but also discover my own style, become consistent/comfortable with my work, and meet other people who share my passion. I don’t want to copy anyone else, most certainly don’t want to learn the editing style of someone else and want to enter the photography world with grace and etiquette – a person’s photography is a very personal thing and photographers work very hard to establish their businesses.  The last thing I want to do is waltz in undermining another’s efforts!  I simply want to further discover my own personal style and grow as a photographer.  And I’ll be honest, if I can learn to not be so afraid of manual mode on my camera – I’d be thrilled.

Name your favorite:

Movie:  Love Actually!
Food: Banana Pudding
(discovered it while living in Alabama and it’s amazing!)

If you could give the world one piece of advice, what would it be?

Practice love, compassion, and forgiveness on a daily basis and don’t forget to help others! Imagine what this world would be like if more people opened their minds, exercised a little empathy and offered assistance using the resources available to them.

If you could only see black and white except for one color, what color would you choose to see?

Blue!  I have a love affair with water and can’t imagine not being able to appreciate the ocean… or the sky for that matter!

If you could have a room full of any one thing, what would it be?

This is going to sound strange. I would want a room full of fireproof file cabinets that hold thousands of index cards.  Each index card would have a memory from my life written on it so that my entire life was written down and at my fingertips.  I’m very nostalgic and love taking trips down memory lane.  ?

If you could choose one of your personality traits to pass on to your children, what would it be?

Integrity.  Although I definitely want a loving, calm, compassionate child… integrity is most important to me. Bringing a child into this world that lives each day with honesty, moral purpose, and positive virtues (not to mention contributes something constructive to this world) is something my husband and I take seriously.  We have intentionally waited to start our family until we know without a doubt that the examples we set as parents will ensure our child possesses the qualities we find most valuable.  We did a lot of growing in our 20s and had a little selfishness to get out of our system!  I’m proud we recognized that early on.

What is one of your favorite quotes?

“Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.”
-Buddha

]]> http://photographybymeg.net/blog/2011/01/the-search-is-over/feed/ 2 http://photographybymeg.net/blog/2011/01/faq-friday/ http://photographybymeg.net/blog/2011/01/faq-friday/#comments Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:52:18 +0000 Meg http://photographybymeg.net/blog/?p=1993 As promised, my first edition of FAQ Friday (still working on a new name) I chose a few of my favorite questions to feature this week.  If I didn’t get to your question this week, I hope to answer the rest next week. Keep the questions coming!

Monika asks: What’s your fave lens for outdoor location shoots?

My absolute favorite lens for outdoor shoots (90% of my shoots are outdoors) is the 85mm 1.4. The bokeh is buttery smooth and its sharp as can be! For sure my “go-to” lens.

Megan asks: How do you get so much background blur and still keep your subject so perfectly sharp all around?

I love shooting as wide open as I can get away with. With a single subject (such as a senior) my aperture is usually always between 1.4 and 1.8.

Erica asks: Okay, okay, got me! How tall is your husband??

I am glad somebody asked! I am 5′9″ and finding a guy taller than myself was definitely on me “list”, and not an easy task. My husband happens to be 6′2″ which is absolutely perfect for me. I can still wear heals and not be taller than him. It makes my heart happy.

Nate asks: What’s your secret on getting crystal clear portraits?

Shooting Nikon. I mean…. Sorry Canon friends, just joking! A tidbit of advice for getting sharp images is to hold your breath while pressing the shutter release (try it, I think it works). I try my hardest to make my body as still as possible while making myself into a human tripod – reducing  camera shake.

Julie says: You are very strong in your faith and I admire that. What books if any do you read? You could also tell us your favorite ice cream flavor if you like:

Love this question Julie. My faith is what gives me purpose, reason, and keeps me going. I know God has placed this love and passion for photography in me for a reason and I know He has a destiny and purpose for me in this area.

I recently read the book “Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers. It rocked my world and gave me a new perspective of God’s unconditional love. I highly recommend it!

Now lets talk ice cream…. I eat a bowl of ice cream at least 3 nights out of the week. We are not talking a couple scoops, we are talking a BOWL of ice cream. Just ask my hubby or friends. Its a bit of a passion of mine.  If I could eat ice cream instead of actual meals, I would. My absolute favorite current flavor is Tillamook’s Mudslide… to. die. for!

Meggie ask: what is the best sharpening technique for the web?

There are tons of great web sharpening actions available. Some of my favorites are Kevin Kubota Magic Sharp, Doug Boutwell’s A Better Web Sharpen , and MCP’s High Definition Sharp. All do an amazing job!

I also wanted to share some recent interviews I did that address a handful of the questions that were asked this week.  Enjoy!

The Maternal Lens Low Down Throw Down with Meg Borders

I heart Face Interview with Meg Borders

Meet Meg Borders- Velvet Owl Interview

My prayer is that this house will be a home where people find peace, tranquility, and rest. I want to make years of precious memories with our family and friends in this beautiful place we call home sweet home.

I have always wanted a pot filler!

This is a good view of what we call our “overpass” or “bridge”. My girls think its a catwalk!

This frame is from the collection I will be offering to 2011 clients! 6 inch solid wood hand distressed frame. I have tons more to put up all over the house!

Look at all my natural light! Can you tell a natural light photographer lives here?

Columns designed by my hubby.

BONUS: This advent calendar my sister-in-law made for me out of burplap. I showed her the pottery barn I loved so much and she did a bigger and better job. She has so much talent!!