tori lynn photography

2012-01-19T16:36:00.002-07:00

First it snowed then it rained then it froze. (And now it's snowing again).

2011-10-18T17:40:00.000-06:00

More of Evelina

2011-10-17T15:05:00.003-06:00

This is Evelina. She's sassy.

2011-10-06T15:10:00.000-06:00

"One of my role models is Bob Dylan. As I grew up, I learned the lyrics to all his songs and watched him never stand still. If you look at the artists, if they get really good, it always occurs to them at some point that they can do this one thing for the rest of their lives, and they can be really successful to the outside world but not really be successful to themselves. That’s the moment that an artist really decides who he or she is. If they keep on risking failure, they’re still artists. Dylan and Picasso were always risking failure. This Apple thing is that way for me. I don’t want to fail, of course. But even though I didn’t know how bad things really were, I still had a lot to think about before I said yes. I had to consider the implications for Pixar, for my family, for my reputation. I decided that I didn’t really care, because this is what I want to do. If I try my best and fail, well, I’ve tried my best."

—Steve Jobs (1955-2011) CNNMoney/Fortune, November 9, 1998

2011-10-05T19:36:00.002-06:00

Steve Jobs died today. It is a sad say. Even the weather says so.

(via apple.com)

On a related note, the iPhone 4S was announced yesterday.

Although I was anticipating an iPhone 5, the new camera features are AMAZING so I'm okay with a 4S. It's about time for an upgrade for my old 3GS. All my photos just look sad on it. I also need a computer and camera upgrade but those aren't very realistic right now. And won't be for a very, very long time so I'll settle with a new phone. It will be my Christmas present to myself.

2011-10-05T17:13:00.000-06:00

Does the font for the new American Horror Story on Fox remind anyone else a tiny bit of Mary Engelbreit?

2011-09-16T13:58:00.002-06:00

New hair color. FINALLY!

2011-09-15T21:02:00.000-06:00

Louie loves his new bed!

2011-09-14T11:35:00.000-06:00

I took some photos of my dear friend Emily a while back and never got around to them until just now. She's my favorite. I love her.

2011-09-13T11:29:00.002-06:00

I flew out to Nashville over Labor Day weekend to go see by brother.
Then he and I drove up to Bloomington, IN to see our Dad. It was a fun little road trip.

I saw lots of this

And this

2011-09-12T11:49:00.000-06:00

Have I told you I've been published yet?

A magazine in the Netherlands used my photo for their mail page in one of their issues.

Oh, AND they featured me in their blog. You can see it if you click riiight... HERE. There's a translate button on the site too if you wanna know what everyone's saying. Some of the translation is a little off though, just so you don't think I'm saying insane things.

2011-09-10T14:26:00.001-06:00

Meet the Wagners. Ryan and Michelle just got their first apartment so we decided to do a little photo shoot in it. I haven't done much family photography so it was fun to try something new. I also tried to think outside the box on it. I wanted them to be honest and creative. I asked Michelle to think of any props that they might like to include in the photos. As a result, we have the teapot! Ryan gave it to Michelle one Christmas and now has sentimental value for them. Also, the photos in the background are of when Michelle and Ryan knew each other in high school. Cute, huh?

2011-08-22T13:41:00.000-06:00

My good friend, Andy loves cars. Seriously, it's all he talks about. I have never photographed a car before so this was a new experience for me. Hardly any of them came out the way I hoped but a got a couple decent ones that I will share with you. Also, Andy liked that scary graffiti dude in the first one and wanted a photo with him.

2011-08-16T09:04:00.001-06:00

A dear friend of mine named Stephanie underwent back surgery a few months ago to fix her scoliosis. She has had to overcome a lot of pain and build a lot of muscles back up since then. She is a very brave, faithful and strong person. I admire her very much for all she's accomplished in her life, especially in the last few months. When I grow up, I want to be like her.

2011-08-15T12:34:00.002-06:00

My fellow photographer friend, Stephanie and I took a couple days last week to do some location scouting.
It was a lot of fun and great way to just take some photos. Here are a few of my favs.

2011-08-12T18:43:00.001-06:00

Allison also has this really great shower curtain.

2011-08-12T15:53:00.000-06:00

Allison has a pretty apartment because she is pretty.

2011-06-27T17:51:00.001-06:00

This is my brother, Robert. We were best friends in high school. He is the handsomest, smartest, nicest man I know. Now he is married to my good friend, Megan. They have a little girl. He just graduated from his AIT military training with distinguished honors.

I couldn't be more proud.

2011-06-01T11:29:00.001-06:00

If you're wondering where I get my good looks from, it's from these two crazy kids right here.

Congratulations to my dad who just graduated from NC State with his Master of Graphic Design degree.

2011-05-20T11:36:00.000-06:00

Pullin' out the big guns to flatten my roll of book arts papers. Now every time I sit at my desk, I feel so studious.

2011-05-19T10:05:00.000-06:00

Ok, back to my road trip. We're onto day two. We spent the night in Spokane and in the morning, we just couldn't pass up the giant Radio Flyer wagon. It was awesome. Oh, and say hi to Olivia! Isn't she cute?

2011-05-18T19:06:00.001-06:00

My friend, Rio is going on a mission for my church so we went out and got some nice photos of her before she leaves.
This was my favorite.

2011-05-11T10:21:00.000-06:00

We got to this look out spot seriously JUST in time. Right after I snapped these shots, the sun was gone. It was beautiful.

2011-05-10T13:23:00.000-06:00

Our next stop was this crazy house in Ellensburg, WA, called Dick and Jane's Spot. Dick and Jane are artists, hence their yard. Unfortunately no one's allowed in the fence so I could only photograph what I could see from the outside. It was definitely a fun find though.

2011-05-09T14:11:00.000-06:00

I took a short road trip to Idaho with my friend, Olivia a couple weeks ago. We took our time getting there and stopped in some cool places. I've been meaning to start posting photos from it but keep forgetting.

Our first stop was Roslyn, WA, home of the TV show, Northern Exposure. Here we met Al in a gift shop. He knew just about everything about the show. He was a really interesting guy. He probably could have talk to us all day about Northern Exposure, his life and all sorts of advice. Loved him. Olivia is a writer and probably has much more to say about him but she's still working on getting her blog started.

2011-04-23T09:25:00.000-06:00

It's been so nice this week, I've even opened my window to let the breeze in a time or two.

2011-04-21T15:34:00.000-06:00

I've been getting things done at home these last two days and it's been really nice. The weather's been beautiful and, of course, I love when I can be home hanging out with me cat. It's a good feeling. Especially since next week will be crazy busy like the last month has been. Sorry for the lack of postings.

2011-04-21T15:32:00.000-06:00

Loving the work of Jessica Phillips

2011-04-12T20:42:00.000-06:00

This weekend I went to the tulip festival in Skagit county. I got pollen all over my shoes and now they are orange.

2011-03-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

I live in Auburn, Washington.

I always try to photograph the places I live. I've been here for 6 months and have yet to do so. So now I'm starting.

2011-02-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

You may or may not know this, but I love taking photos of myself.

Mostly because I think my hair is fantastic.

2011-02-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

Love:

Thanks Todd McLellan!

2011-02-15T19:09:00.003-07:00

Confession time.

So these last 6 months I've been contemplating my career very much. Namely what kind of photography do I want to do!? I know I'm going to do commercial photography but there are so many options in that world. For a while I thought I'd like fashion then I thought interiors were for me then it was still life/tabletop work. Over the last couple weeks I've come to a realization and I am a little bit embarrassed by it. You'll understand in a minute.

When I was first discovering my love for photography in high school I fell in love with Annie Leibovitz's work. Her portraits are so captivating and defining. She was my favorite photographer through college even. Which is a little bit funny because I've never had a desire to do portraiture. I never felt I was good at it and I never really enjoyed it. My last semester in college I finally gave in and took a portraiture class. I was hesitant because most of the work that came out of that class was family and senior portrait style work because that what the professor who taught it did and the people in the class were wanting to do. When I started the class I told myself I would not do that. I would gear my work towards my commercial portfolio. My professor even encouraged me to do so which I was not expecting. To my surprise I ended up really enjoying the class and getting an A. Not and A- but an A. I also created some of what I deem to be the strongest work in my portfolio.
A few weeks ago I decided to start advertising myself a little bit for personal/family portraits just to make a little bit of money on the side while I pursue my commercial career. As I've contemplated how I'm going to make these images when people hire me, I've come to the same conclusion I did when I started my portraiture class: I need to take these photo the way I want to. Non-traditional. What's the point in taking photos if they're not something you would be proud of? After I decided that, I started to get really excited about making portraits for people.
Then I really started second guessing where I want to go with commercial photography. I want to take portraits of people but I don't necessarily want to do fashion. Then, I looked back on the photographers that have really gotten me going, including Annie Lebovitz. Almost all of them do portraiture of famous people. Actors, musicians, business men, politicians etc. Now, this is what I want to do.

It sounds a little silly to say I want to photograph famous people for a living. At least, I feel a little silly saying it. But, it's what I want to do and I'm sticking to it. The technical name for it would probably by editorial portraiture but for those of who don't understand what editorial is (it's basically shooting stuff for stories in magazines. Don't worry, I didn't understand what it meant for a long time.), it basically means I want to photograph famous people. I should probably move to NY or LA now huh?

Now, what's a photo blog without photos? Here's one of Jack who will probably be famous some day.

2011-02-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Have a cookie. They're delicious.

2011-02-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to build better sleeping habits which means I've been waking up (or at least trying to) early. I am by no means a morning person. I hate getting out of bed. But, I do have to say that I love the morning time. It's probably my favorite time of day. It's just so soft and peaceful. There's something truly magical about getting up with the sun.

2011-02-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

As mentioned previously, I need a radio. Here are some more that I like

from Anthropology

from Urban Outfitters

one with a turntable would be nice too since I don't have one anymore.

2011-02-03T16:40:00.000-07:00

So, as you know, I'm trying to stay more up to date on current issues and I'm not very good at reading the news so I thought maybe I could listen to it? This means a I need a radio and I want this one from here.

2011-02-02T16:12:00.002-07:00

The White Stripes called it quits for real this time. So much for my dream of photographing them someday. They're just so beautiful. In honor of my love for them, here's my favorite photo of them by Kutlu studio.

2011-02-01T18:10:00.001-07:00

I know it's a month late but I made some goals for myself for the year. I know they may sound really basic, especially the last two but I'm really bad at all of these things.

2011-01-31T15:07:00.000-07:00

Many of you have probably heard of The Sartorialist. If you haven't, please check out his blog. His work is really beautiful and inspiring for photographers and fashion-lovers alike. I found this video on him today. I loved the insight he gives and hearing and seeing a little bit of how he works. Now I find him even more inspiring.

2011-01-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

updated my website! please take a look:

http://www.toridickson.com/

2011-01-24T18:17:00.002-07:00

I can't wait for summer.

2011-01-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

The other night I wore peep toed shoes and just didn't feel like painting the toes that wouldn't show.

2011-01-21T17:13:00.001-07:00

Only Will Smith's child could pull this off.

2011-01-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

So I have decided to allow myself to take portraits for people in order to make a few dollars. Wether it be family, senior, engagements, whatever. When I decided to announce this on Twitter, there was a little opposition. So, I just want to let you all know that just because portraiture is not my preferred genre of photography, does not mean that I wont love it. My ultimate goal is to become a commercial photographer and if reaching that goal means I have to do some other stuff along the way to make money, so be it. As long as I'm taking a photo, I couldn't be happier. I'm almost positive every artist has to do some work that is not their preferred specialty in order to reach their ultimates. I love photography in every way shape and form and I promise your portraits will be beautiful if you let me take them.

2011-01-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

I would just like to take some time to thank my friend over at, The Boob Nazi (I know, silly name right? But, I love her.) for linking my blog in one of her posts. Because she is ever so popular I received 123 hits yesterday!!! 86 of which were from her blog. Now, if only those people would KEEP looking at my blog and possibly comment on occasion, I would feel a little bit famous. If not, I guess I'll try to live off the one day of fame I had.

2011-01-19T02:22:00.000-07:00

I can see you but I can't hear you! Please comment on my blog next time you stop by. I'd love to hear from you.

2011-01-17T18:29:00.000-07:00

I love my cat.

2011-01-14T14:50:00.002-07:00

Sometimes I'm really proud of the color schemes of my outfits.

Today was a secondary triad.

2011-01-13T14:35:00.002-07:00

The light in my room at night.
(30 sec. exposures)

2011-01-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

I like this:

By Jessica Hische

2011-01-06T17:38:00.000-07:00

My cousin drew me a flower so I made good use of it.

2011-01-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

Favorite Things #3:

Books!

Oh, and happy new year! 2011 is going to be the best year yet. I can just feel it.

2010-12-21T07:53:00.002-07:00

I finally bought a pair of fish net tights about a month ago. I've always wanted a pair and I just love them. If I could wear them every day, I would.

2010-12-17T18:03:00.002-07:00

Who's ready for Christmas?

2010-12-10T22:51:00.000-07:00

His name is Louie and he's siamese and 1 year old and perfect in every way.

He enjoys:

sitting on his perch

cuddling

looking out the window

getting in the middle of whatever it is I am doing

cleaning

sleeping

being cute

He also enjoys climbing book shelves, chasing things (visible or not) and sitting next to me or in my lap while I'm reading. He also cuddles up next to me when I sleep. It's precious. We're in love.

2010-11-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I did. Plus, I received the most amazing package this weekend from my friend serving a mission in Poland for my church.

2010-11-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

I may not listen to their music, but I do love the Jonas Brothers for reasons like this:

2010-11-23T15:22:00.009-07:00

Celebrating the "Haul-idays" with Chronicle Books. Bloggers all over are posting lists of books up to $500 for a chance to win them! And, if you comment, you can win too!

2010-11-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

Favorite things: cameras

2010-11-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

First snowfall of the year for Washington.

2010-11-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

Say hello to the new addition to my room. Thanks Grandma! I've always wanted a Raggedy Ann and Andy!

2010-11-08T18:23:00.000-07:00

My grandparents that I am currently living with worked in a Marshallese ward for my church until just recently. Before they left the ward, they were given a sort of good-bye party and as is tradition with the culture, were given pieces of island jewelry in thanks. When my grandma brought them home she showed me all the pieces and told me a little bit about each one. She also asked if I could photograph them for her and they were to beautiful to say no! I probably would have done it even if she hadn't asked me. Here are a few of my favorites. I had a hard time narrowing them down.

2010-11-04T13:33:00.001-06:00

So I haven't really made any photos since I graduated in July. I've taken pictures of family and such but I haven't done much else. Though, I did take photos of my grandmas house...

Anyways, I've been working on this idea for a while but it's taken me much longer to get off my butt to do it and do it right. So, I'm working on a series of my favorite things. I have a lot of things and I love things. Looking at things, holding things, etc. So I've decided to go through all the things I own and love and photograph them. My goal is to do one a week. First on the list: typewriters.

2010-10-27T13:07:00.002-06:00

I just really love this shot.

2010-10-18T12:38:00.000-06:00

We took my niece to the pumpkin patch on Friday. She had so much fun. I just can't get over how cute she is!

And look at this tiny pumpkin! So cute!

I loved all the deformed squashes

This one looks like a star!

2010-10-18T12:04:00.001-06:00

So great:

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

2010-10-11T19:29:00.002-06:00

I love cats. and ikea.

2010-09-27T11:51:00.001-06:00

My brother's family. Aren't they beautiful? He's joining the army in a month.

2010-09-21T18:01:00.000-06:00

I got a new cousin last week.

Say hello to Davin.

2010-09-20T12:30:00.002-06:00

Ok, kids, I am in need of some projects. I have a few ideas but more never hurts. You have any?

Photography projects are preferable but anything involving creativity is good.

Oh, and free.

2010-09-18T11:35:00.002-06:00

Here's kelsey. One of my very most favorite people and quite possibly the best model ever.

2010-09-09T13:40:00.000-06:00

More reasons I love camping (especially in Washington):

Logs

Rocks

Trees

Rivers

Roots

Stumps

2010-09-08T18:23:00.001-06:00

I went camping this weekend. This is the first time I've been camping at a real camp site and in Washington (as opposed to in my Grandparents backyard or in Idaho). It was great. I forgot how much I love camping. It was very nostalgic for me. When I was a kid, that's what my family would do for vacations since we could never really afford to travel far or stay in a hotel.

Here are the reasons I love camping:

Perfectly roasted hot dogs

Nice, warm fires that leave their scent on everything

Tents

Sleeping bags

Stay tuned for more.

2010-08-30T15:57:00.000-06:00

Check out this typewriter I found for $2!

2010-08-27T19:03:00.000-06:00

This chair was in my house growing up but between me, my brother and lots of moving, it got pretty trashed so my grandparents took it back and restored it. It's such a beautiful chair. I wish my parents could have kept it. It's a real antique. Over 100 years old I believe.

2010-08-26T18:07:00.000-06:00

inside.

2010-08-25T21:47:00.000-06:00

Today is the front yard! I suppose I should have started with this... oh well...

2010-08-24T19:31:00.000-06:00

I've always tried to photograph the places I live. It's taken me a while to get around to it this time but I started today. In the next few days you will get to see all my favorite parts of my Grandma's house (which is where I'm living now. Today I started with the back yard.

2010-08-24T00:48:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my niece's 1st birthday.

My sister-in-law made a fantastic cake.

2010-08-15T01:08:00.000-06:00

The other day I got some filmed developed and told them I don't need any proofs printed (my plan was to just scan them in). As I was driving home from picking up the film, it occurred to me that I don't have a scanner nor do I have access to one now that I'm not in school... this makes shooting in film somewhat more difficult.

On another note, I got my business license in the mail today! I pinned it up on my cork board along with the pictures I liked and tore out of magazines. Tori Dickson Photography is coming along nicely :)

2010-08-03T20:56:00.000-06:00

I rode my bike to this used bookstore today in downtown Auburn. It was the most amazing bookstore ever! They restore a lot of books and do professional bookbinding. They had a really great collection of leather bound first editions and lots of other really beautiful old books. Many with gorgeous illustrations in them. I spent a good while in there drooling. Then they closed. I plan on going back and finish looking around and maybe talking to the owners. It's just an elderly couple. They seem real nice.

They also had 3 cats roaming around! It was heaven.

I gave in and bought one of the books. I shouldn't have but I just couldn't help it. Here are some photos of it for you. I wish I had had my camera with me in the store. Maybe next time.

Here's the front and the spine.

The speckled pages... I don't know if there's a special name for that.

It has several of these great color illustrations.

and many of these.

Needless to say, it was worth all 19 dollars I spent on it.

2010-07-31T23:17:00.001-06:00

went camping with the fam and meant to take more photos with MY NEW 85MM 1.8 LENS. but i didn't. i need to take more photos. really.

but i did snap a couple of my niece. i can't get enough of her. ever.
she's only 11 months old and already she's way cooler than i could even hope to be.
but at least i have this new lens. it does beautiful things.

2010-07-25T12:40:00.000-06:00

I have the cutest niece. She is just a little monkey that loves to climb. (But her dad loves her anyways).

2010-07-19T20:32:00.000-06:00

Jaidyn is getting married!

2010-07-12T13:05:00.004-06:00

I threw a Sock Hop this weekend (for those of you who don't know what that is, it's just what they called dances in the 50's). It was a great success. We played old rock and roll (nothing newer than 1964), had real ice cream sodas and danced, danced, danced!

2010-07-06T12:15:00.000-06:00

Had just the most fantastic weekend. I went camping for a night with these kids and it has been the highlight of my summer.

2010-07-05T01:16:00.000-06:00

We went to the lake today and made this turtle. Then, as we were sitting there, soaking the sun, two little girls came along and just stomped on it. I'm glad I got this photo when I did! Children are evil.

2010-07-02T09:01:00.002-06:00

Have a happy Independence Day!

2010-07-02T08:47:00.001-06:00

2010-06-30T11:18:00.003-06:00

I found the coolest bag ever at Target last night. It's awesome in the most ridiculous way. It has a picture of a cat and not just an illustration of a cat but an actual picture. It was $5 and I just couldn't resist.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2010-06-23T12:35:00.000-06:00

Meredith. Love.

2010-06-22T12:46:00.001-06:00

Laura and Adrian are two of my favorites.

2010-06-19T12:39:00.000-06:00

Whitney loves to sparkle.

2010-06-17T12:13:00.000-06:00

Geri is the cutest.

2010-06-15T12:49:00.001-06:00

I am not a fan of photographing groups. But I am happy with this one photograph (out of the many I took).

2010-06-11T09:24:00.000-06:00

I took my first roll of 35mm color film since high school. It was fun. I enjoy shooting in film. I need to do it more often.

2010-06-10T11:38:00.000-06:00

I'm pretty sure that everything you need to know about Brady is in this photo

2010-06-09T13:53:00.003-06:00

Michelle is graduating.

2010-06-08T20:41:00.002-06:00

Amy is a dreamer.