Respect the Shooter Interview with Rebekah Markewich

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I’ve been doing a lot of self reflecting over the last few weeks and I realized that some of the biggest problems that I have with other people are actually problems that I have with myself. Anyway, it was hard to admit that I was the problem, but when I did it, gritting my teeth the whole way, you know what? I became loads happier. I guess I am being rather vague. If you read this far you deserve a better explanation. I have been a terrible backseat parent. I would get mad all of the time and control things that I should have just let be. I was letting my OCD get the best of me and kill my happiness without even realizing it. My therapist told me rather pointedly (and very kindly), that I needed to stop taking over. It has been a few weeks of doing that now and I am far happier. As a mom, it is hard to let things not be perfect. If someone puts the dishes away wrong and I see it, it is hard to not correct that person. It is hard to not complain to my husband when I think he should have given the child another chance before a time-out. It is hard to let my kids learn to communicate for themselves without speaking for them when I think they are being misunderstood. It was like I was forcing the people in my life to be perfect when I am not perfect myself. I edited this photo with my new favorite presets from @aclotheshorse. They are from her spring preset pack. This photo is from last spring. 🙈 Everything is still just coming back to life here and I really wanted to add some color to my feed. 😊 This beautiful dress was gifted from @domesticrebus - if you love antique clothes, be sure to check out her feed!

A post shared by Rebekah Markewich (@rebekahbethany) on Apr 26, 2019 at 9:09am PDT

How did you get into photography/videography?

I have been taking photos since I was a child. Back then you had to buy film for cameras and pay for it to be developed. I did chores to save up money just to take photos! Once I got a digital camera in college I began to take a lot more photos and worked on building skills.

What did you first use to take photos?

My first "real" camera was a Canon Rebel t3i; my first camera was a cheap film camera. 

Where did you go to school? Do you have any formal training/self taught?

I went to UAlbany where I got a Master's degree in history. I did not take any photography courses, but I wish that I had! I learned everything that I know from reading online articles, a lot of practice and experimenting. 

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I wrote a post earlier about pregnancy loss and deleted it because I realized that I could not deal with the emotions it was bringing up. I’ve had a lot of losses including an ectopic pregnancy which was the definition of traumatic. I have PTSD from it, actually. So instead, here is a glimpse of warmer weather, sunny days with lots of flowers and tea. I did save my caption and will share it again sometime when I know I can take it. Grief is like that. You think you are fine, then suddenly you are incapacitated. I’m just glad that I recognized that I couldn’t do it today. I think a substantial part of self care is knowing your boundaries. I think I’m ready for a cup of Earl Grey. After that I want to go to the fabric store. I am making a Laura Ingalls dress for Katherine (we love the show!) and I didn’t buy enough fabric for the sleeves. 🙈 I’m probably going to buy some fabric for myself to make another Hinterland dress. I’m wearing it again today. . . . . . #antique_r_us #dreaminginpictures #shabbychic #stilllife #still_life_gallery #stilllifephotography #tv_living #naughtyteas #LOVES_VINTAGE #shabbychicdecor #nestandflourish #thisistea #victoriamagazine #timefortea #homeisacupoftea #global_ladies #thisjaneaustenlife #pursuepretty #pregnancyloss

A post shared by Rebekah Markewich (@rebekahbethany) on Apr 1, 2019 at 9:33am PDT

If you could take photos of any 3 people who would it be?

I've never really thought about photographing other people, but I do have a dream of being able to take my own family portrait of me, my husband and two kids. A remote shutter only goes so far. 

If you could take photos of any 3 people that are no longer living who would they be?

Probably my favorite authors: Jane Austen, J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Dickens. 

If you could take photos in any 3 cities what would they be?

Marrakesh

Paris

London

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Well, Katherine is sick now. It is just a head cold, but it makes for complicated day, requiring a lot of patience. My main interest for the day is to listen to my current Star Wars novel after finishing my work. I took a break from Star Wars novels for some Charles Dickens, fantasy and Elizabeth Gaskell, but I am back to them now! I think I read/listened to about 20 SW novels last year. 😬 They are very fast- If I am focused I get through one in about three or four days. But where do I have that much time to read?! Well, I still have to rest a whole lot so I have significant down time. I also like to do housework with headphones so I listen to books while cooking and cleaning, sometimes. Audio books pretty much changed my reading life. I had a very hard time being able to read without getting a migraine after my head injury, so audiobooks became one of my main hobbies. Just an FYI: If you live in the USA, you can download the app Libby to access audiobooks from your public library. If you live in NY you can also get a NYC public card (any NY resident can) and have access to their huge collection of audiobooks (and ebooks). That’s not an ad- I just love books and wanted to share again how easy it is so get them for free. Dress: @christydawn (gifted) Cardigan @jcrew . . . . . . #momentsofmine #awhisperedbeauty #simpleandstill #asecondofwhimsey #simplebeautyseeker #floral_perfection #alliseeispretty #thisjaneaustenlife #pursuepretty #nothingisordinary #myhappycapture #christydawn #slowfashion #sustainablefashion #timelesselegance #lifestylephotographer #modeethique #slowfashionmovement #vintagefashion #portrait_vision #whomadeyourclothes #sustainableliving #springstyle

A post shared by Rebekah Markewich (@rebekahbethany) on Mar 25, 2019 at 9:00am PDT

What is your goal when you capture photos of someone?

I try to capture their emotion which is often quite fleeting. There is a huge difference between a perfect pose or capturing an emotion. I do not even try to capture emotion for my self portraits, but It is my main goal in wedding and family photography.

What music do you listen to when you edit photos?

I sometimes listen to audiobooks. It depends on what kind of edits that I am doing. If they are complicated, I prefer silence.

What's your favorite app on your phone?

Instagram for sure! For photo editing, I use Lightroom Mobile and VSCO

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I am pretty sure I could drink twenty cups of tea today. It isn’t a great day for me, but thankfully my friend was able to bring the kids to homeschool group with her and I don’t have anything planned for the rest of the day. To be honest, all that I really want to do today is listen to my audiobook “Inheritance” which is the last book in a series of four that I’ve been listening to this month. So it is a forced relaxation day 😉. I’m ok with that. I had been feeling concerned about my kids not reading as much as I want them to. I mean, they were doing very well scholastically, they liked reading picture books but were turned off at reading longer books. I wasn’t seeing the spark of joy about books that I’ve always had. That completely changed when I prioritized trips to the library. Now they are completely obsessed with reading novels and often put it before screen time. I can’t tell you how much I love seeing their happy faces at a bag bursting with thick books. Daniel can’t even bear walking out the library without trying to read a book while walking. 😆 It confirmed to me that kids really do thrive when given a lot of options/variety. Also, PSA for those of you who live in NY- you can get a NYC public library card if you are a NY resident and have access to their utterly enormous collection of audiobooks and ebooks. You can listen to them via the app Libby which is just as convenient as Audible. This is totally not an ad- I just want to share the great info! 😊 Oh, and disclaimer: this is totally not tea. It is food coloring in water and I edited the shade of the color via lightroom to make it match my current color scheme. 🙈🤷🏼‍♀️ . . . . . . . . . #ehlersdanlossyndrome #nestandflourish #simpleandstill #holdthemoment #botanicaltales #asecondofwhimsey #gatherandcurate #thatvelvetfeeling #make_more_magic #culturetripbooks #booksbooksbooks #littlestoriesofmylife #objectproject_book #makeitblissful #styleonmytable #bestbookishpic #natureonthepage #still_life_gallery #cupsinframes #homeisacupoftea #naughtyteas #makeitblissful #global_ladies #bloomandgrowtogether

A post shared by Rebekah Markewich (@rebekahbethany) on Feb 15, 2019 at 9:20am PST

What is your dream as a photographer?

To be able to take beautiful photos indoors and with poor lighting- it is such a challenge!

What is some advice you would give to someone with a dream to be a photographer/videographer?

Don't wait for fancy gear! Just get started with whatever you have.

Where can people find you? (social media, website, etc)

www.instagram.com/rebekahbethany