Welcome to Images by Donna U's Photography Gallery and Blog.
I am Donna Underwood, owner, photographer and artist of Images by Donna U. I love nature, people and a simple lifestyle which naturally flows into my photography and art pieces. This blog hosts photographs of my sessions as well as some of the photographs I take for myself because they touched my heart and now prints of many of my original art pieces I painted and sketched. . Hopefully this will open a window into who I am so we can get to know each other.
Viewing life through the lens of a camera I want to help you capture breathtaking moments as they happen in everyday settings.
My soul desire as a photographer is to preserve memories that are gone in a heartbeat so you can cherish them for a lifetime.
More updates to art mediums I am working in
While I love pencil sketching, I have been busy exploring other mediums to round out my artistic skills. Recently I delved into charcoal sketching which brings even more realistic nature that I crave to my black and white art. I have added a folder to the gallery which includes charcoal drawings as well as watercolor paintings. Both are so very satisfying to my need to create art.
My most recent attempts are in pen and ink! This is the medium I steered clear of for decades due to its unforgiving qualities for any mistaken stroke. I recently attended a Renaissance Fair in Florence, Alabama and made sure to carry my camera. While the crowded spaces of all types people and booths didn't lend to great photo portraits, the abundance of dressed up characters were pulling me to photograph them for future pen and ink sketches. There was one gentleman I call the ringmaster who did indeed make an excellent photography portrait subject. So I also included those portraits with the pen and ink ones. I am in process of sketching all of them and loading to the website as I do. You will meet some very interesting characters if you choose to click on the Fair folder in the pencil sketch gallery.
These people were very gracious in allowing me to photograph them for my renaissance world folder. I am eternally grateful for such willing subjects. Below is a preview teaser of the newest folder.
It has been a minute.
Life just keeps happening and time flies by before we know it. I wanted to let everyone know that I have added a few new products to the Fine Art Menagerie gallery. I recently rekindled my love of pencil sketching. So, I would like to share those with all of you. I am using an 11x14 sketch pad so all the prints are formatted for that size. They will work in some other sizes and you will be able to see if there are blank areas once your selection is in the shopping cart if you choose something other than 11x14. All prints are photos of my original sketches. I hope you enjoy viewing these prints drawn straight from my heart.
Street Photography Update
It seems I have been a bit remiss in my blog posting for a few years. I will attempt to rectify that situation starting with this update. While my camera continues to be my constant companion, this one night I left it home in order to concentrate on my 24th wedding anniversary. After an amazing meal my husband and I decided to stroll down the street in the city before heading back home. A homeless man drew our attention at the fountain with his guitar so we stopped to listen and have a chat with him and his companion. This is an area that I had taken photos of homeless before so it brought back long ago memories. Mr. Rodney Winters is the guitarist and his friend is Uncle Steve. While Rodney was more a newcomer to the scene, Steve was actually on these streets years ago when I took photos you will find in my street photography album. Somehow I didn't see him at that time. Steve was able to update me on some of the men I had photographed which was very interesting and sad all together as one passed away in an abandoned house fire and another had acquired an art teacher position at the local university and now has an apartment. I couldn't help but want to add him and Rodney to my street photography album so took these images with my phone. God bless and keep these gentleman safe.
Business Portraits
I had the pleasure of shooting a business portrait for the VP of Programming on Momentum's Board of Directors to be published on the organization's website. The link below is the article with the final choice portrait.
http://momentumleaders.org/face-time-with-cara-ross.php
Below is another version of the portrait taken during our session.
Just Like Mommy
I have been working for a while now on a couple of new photo projects and was able to complete one of my favorites today. I am now offering a photo session for young mothers and their 4 to 7 year old daughters called "Just Like Mommy". Here are a couple examples of my first shoot. This mother and daughter were a joy to work with and I am well pleased with the end results. Little Elena plans to wear her mother's dress when she gets married so it is even more special for them to have these photos. If you would like to create very precious memories to pass down for generations please contact me to book a session.
