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Ben...."I'm Positive I'm Negative"
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Hi! My name is Barbara and I live and work in Dallas, TX.

I am an artist and a photographer

For the past three years, while working at the phone company 
(8am to 5pm), I have been working with my camera in my off hours. 

 I would shoot on the weekend or evenings and edit images in all 
the other hours, playing with images and teaching myself web design 
and Photoshop..... sometimes staying up all night to do it. 
Although I couldn't call it my career it certainly was my PASSION! 

 Then I was laid off from my 8 year career at the phone company 
on March 8th, 2005 and at that moment, went full time with my camera! 

It is certainly true what they say about one door closing and another one 
opening! The day I was walked out of the building 
(that's how they do it in corporate America)....... 

I went and grabbed my camera and hopped the train to Dallas 
-- after all -- they were paying me till the end of the DAY!

At the very next stop, a lady got on the train. 
( I found out later that she was a homeless woman.) 
In a few minutes, she took my invitation to share my seat and as I was 
holding my small portfolio, she asked me if I was a photographer. 

I said, 'Yes.' 

She said, 'Full or part time?' and I said, 

'.........I....guess..... that would be...... FULL time.' 

Then she said, "I know this guy (Hal)...he's doing a documentary on the 
homeless...he needs somebody...let me give you his information." 
After writing the info on the back of one of my business cards, 
she got off at the next stop.

It was a 'GOD Wink'!

(I met Hal Samples a few days later and we have been friends  ever since! 
It was Hal that held up the lamp for me when my life was uncertain.)

The way I see it, my destiny was calling and if I had been in my office 
and not on that particular train at that particular moment...... 
I would have missed it cause my destiny doesn't have voice mail! 
( No telling how many times it called before and I missed it while I was 
staying in a job which didn't suit me, just for the comfort of the
paycheck.)

The Dallas World Aquarium is currently featuring one of my images on the cover of their 2005 teacher's guide. The aquarium is my favorite spot in Dallas!! They just opened a new exhibit in August of 2005 and it includes a huge walk under shark tank full of Bull Sharks and a Mayan jungle complete with native dancers and hundreds of birds. It's so amazing to watch the children and their interaction with the sea! Many people who have seen the image of the boy have put themselves in his place an once again become that little child...full of wonder!



                                For more images from the Dallas World Aquarium, Click the image of the Boy.......

"Artist on Safari" (above), gives a perfect view of the amazing combination of components that make the Dallas Museum of Art such a wonderful way to spend an evening. The photographer on the right is local artist, Don Preifert, who comes to draw the musicians with his pastels and passion. This night, the cello player is Peggy Honea and, hidden behind his piano, is pianist, Buddy Shannahan. It is as if Don has come up out of the tall grass on the jungle savannah to stalk his 'prey'. 
The combination of stage and audience in the image represents the DMA's best. What may have started out to be an opportunity to entertain, has turned into a stunning combination of talent in all the room. Week by week, casting one's gaze upon the stage is a treat for both eye and ear as a myriad of local musicians show us their skills, but turning the eyes outward, one will also find the room filled with artists of every sort. The Atrium is as depicted, an oasis in the desert....a watering hole in the jungle.... where the creative souls come to drink.





BARBARA SPREADS HER WINGS:

I'M PUBLISHED!!     My work has been featured on the cover and inside the TOLEDO ZOO MAGAZINE: SAFARI! summer issue! That was a real rush to hold that magazine in my hands and see my own work on the cover!  I love shooting animals and with the help of the Dallas World Aquarium staff, I have made an image catalogue available to the Toledo Zoo and many other zoos around the country for use in their PR materials.

NEW!!!!!   I'M  PUBLISHED...AGAIN!!   (dated 02-25-06)     The year 2005 was an exciting and busy year at the Dallas World Aquarium! In lieu of newsletters, staff and members contributed to and compiled a beautiful pictorial essay book giving the reader a glimpse into the history of and exhibits at the the facility. The book, released this week, includes two of my images. They are in the river exhibit section:
 
                

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