Professional Artlist Spotlight | Mysi and Craig Finlay

Name: Mysi Anne (speaking for myself and sometimes Craig, my partner in life and business)

Job Title/Description: Wedding Photographers & Flavor Experts

Personal  website: www.sodafountainphoto.com and www.facebook.com/sodafountainphoto

What’s your camera of choice? Nikon D700

Finish this sentence:
Taking pictures makes me feel safe, powerful, invincible, alive, dot dot dot.

What subjects do you love capturing the most? We both adore capturing people, candidly. So, some of our favorite subjects are actually not material. Gasps, sighs, exclamations, love, and so on.  Aside from that, Craig is an amazing Urbex photog and I am a self portrait photographer at my core. We spend January and February doing those things for ourselves and recovering from wedding season.

Who are some of your photography icons? Amanda of Type A Images (she photographed our wedding in 2009 and her work inspired us to start our business), Olivia Leigh of Olivia Leigh Photographie, Dawn of Dewey Street Photography, Rosie Hardy, Bottle Bell, Olivia Lazer, Lauren Peralta, etc etc etc.

Where do you find your inspiration to keep your photography fresh and creative? Tumblr, Flickr and Google image search. Beyond that, we find inspiration by observing through mental viewfinders every day. I see things in rectangular boxes.

What was your most fun or crazy photography moment from this past year?
This would hands down be the whirlwind ceremony in Bloomington, IN... Everything was going so fast (it had not been planned out, only thrown together wonderfully and beautifully at the last minute). Craig was photographing a flower girl in a swing and her feet came so close to his head that he swerved to avoid them and fell off the playground (which was raised up on a hill). He sprained his ankle so badly he couldn't walk for 3 weeks. The 2 year old was heard later explaining what happened to a nurse in the emergency room, saying, "I did that."

I also love to mention a wedding we shot in Lebanon. The whole experience was intense and a little crazy. There was a 10ft tall cake that was cut with a sword.  Oh, and the bride somehow ended up arriving at her reception in a boat driven by a fat half-naked man... http://puu.sh/9wsz

What’s the key to doing what you love AND making a living? I think it's the love part. Love it and other people will love it. Also, confidence.  It's very easy to get caught up in the stress and at that point, you have to step back and remember what you love about it. Always, always, always put your passion first, then the job.

Are there any Photography Associations that you belong to or recommend being a part of? We are not yet part of any professional organizations because we're not sure which we fit into. We do, however, have a top secret facebook group full of independent photographers... I highly, highly recommend being part of a group of like-minded people, professionally or casually.  We rant to, share with, guide, advise and admire each other and it makes the hard times much easier and the easy times even more enjoyable.