We're back from Flagstaff but I wanted to share some fun shots from the trip. Sarah brought her yellow lab, Cyrus, and I brought Dixie. We all packed into Ryan's 2 door Honda Civic--Sarah and Cyrus in the back, me and Dixie in the passenger seat and Ryan driving. It was cozy! Cyrus is like 85 pounds of dog or something crazy like that. He liked to put his head up by Ryan and watch the road while we were driving.
And when he wanted to rest:
Pretty cute.
We stayed up in Flagstaff at Sarah's dad and step-mom's house. It was so relaxing and Dixie had a great time. Sarah's dad has a golden retriever named Wesley so Dixie had two huge playmates:
I've had Dixie for a little over a month now. She's turning out to be such a great dog! She's already grown about 3 times as big as when I got her. I couldn't resist sharing a few cute shots:
Yesterday we took a boat out on Lake Mary and enjoyed the beautiful weather. The dogs had fun running around. Check out how beautiful it was: Everybody getting settled on the boat:
Sarah and Ryan:
Dixie's first boat ride! She's looking a little wind-blown :).
I love this one with Wesley's nose in the lower right corner:
Me and my sweetie:
We had such a fun weekend! Thanks Bob and Jean for your hospitality!
Last night I got to shoot Ryan & Sarah's engagement shoot in Flagstaff, Arizona. I feel so blessed to be here--it's perfect weather and I feel like I'm on vacation or something. Plus Sarah & Ryan are friends and I really enjoy spending time with them. This is the Sarah, by the way, who designed my website. She's super-talented.
Downtown Flagstaff is where we spent most of our time and there were tons of fun places to shoot. We started out where every good engagement shoot should--at a huge mural of a cow painted on the side of a building.
Being goofy:
Sarah & Ryan are perfect for one another. She admits to being more pessimistic by nature whereas Ryan is optimistic. They claim they balance each other out. We saw these shirts at two different stores across the street and had to shoot a few shots with them:
Here's a close-up in case you can't read them:
This is totally unrelated to the shoot, but as we were walking around we came across this newspaper distribution-thingy (what do you call these things anyway?):
Ok, now down to the serious business. Check out how gorgeous Sarah looks here. I love her eyes.
Ryan's not bad looking either :).
More cute photos:
We had fun by the railroad tracks which were surprisingly busy:
I played around with a slow shutter speed to get the movement of the train as it passed by:
At the end of the shoot Sarah and I got Ryan to take a shot of us.
Oh--and this was my first shoot using my new Shootsac by Jessica Claire. It worked great! Here's me modeling it although I also had a black sweatshirt around my waist so it doesn't show off the bag that well:
What a fun shoot! I wish I could stay in Flagstaff all summer...
So the flu is gone. I'm feeling better which I'm thankful for.
Yesterday the ladies who clean my house were over and while reaching to clean a window, one of them put her weight on my desk and broke it causing my 21" monitor to fall and break along with a few other things. Ahhh!!!!! Why does everything happen all at once!?!
I took my monitor in to the friendly guys at the Apple store and they are hooking me up with a new foot for it (basically a plastic part that helps it stand up) for $100. Thankfully the monitor itself is alright. But the desk is being held up temporarily by some album boxes and now I'm in Flagstaff for the weekend :).
I'm here with my friends Sarah and Ryan who are getting hitched in August. Sarah's dad lives up here and we thought it would be a fun place to do their engagement shoot.
So hopefully bad things really do happen in threes and my grandpa's heart attack, the flu and the destruction of my office are it for me this week :).
Thanks for your prayers everyone. My grandpa is stable. It turns out he called 911 and was taken to the hospital where he had two stints put in an artery that had a clot. Unfortunately, he did sustain some heart damage and we're waiting to find out if he's going to ever have the surgery that was planned for Friday.
My parents flew out to Florida yesterday. I prayed about flying out too but didn't feel a peace about it. And now I have the flu! So I guess it's good I didn't go. I'm pretty sure this is the flu that my relatives had in Minnesota while I was there--it's been about 10 days.
I promise I have more fun things to blog about but they'll have to wait....
If any of you are pray-ers out there, please pray for my grandpa. My mom just called and my aunt is taking him to the hospital--he is having a heart attack. He is 75 and lives in Florida. A few weeks ago he was having a routine appointment and they found blockage and he was scheduled to have bypass surgery this Friday.
I just got back from an awesome weekend camping up in the Show Low area. I grew up camping quite a bit in Minnesota and some in Florida but I think the last time I was camping was back in college in Ensenada, Mexico. So I put this goal on my 101 in 1001 list because I really enjoy getting away and soaking in nature.
Some of my close friends--Erik & Marisa Spletter--who have 3 kids just got some camping equipment and are planning to do a lot of family vacationing camping-style. And they invited me along! I was excited because not only was I going camping and spending some time with friends, but I also got the chance to cheer Erik on as he did an Olympic triathlon (quarter of the length of an Iron Man). But I'll get to that in a minute.
The top photo is the view from our campsite. Can you believe how beautiful it was!? Erik & Marisa just brought along their five-year-old, Karina, and left the other kids with grandpa and grandma.
Karina is quite the rock climber for her age!
Marisa enjoying the view:
Erik and Karina checking out the sunset:
This is what it looked like from where they were standing:
On Saturday, Erik did his triathlon and it was super-fun cheering him on and documenting the race. He completed the 1500 meter swim, 20-some mile bike and 8-some mile run in under 3 hours! I can't even imagine trying this but he's done it a number of times!
I love this shot of the race starting:
And this was total luck, but I caught Erik giving us a thumbs up as he swam past!
Here he is heading out on the bike:
And starting the run:
And finally crossing the finish line:
A congratulatory hug from Marisa afterwards:
Way to go Erik! You're amazing!!
The only bummer about the three nights we spent out there was that there was a fire restriction in effect and we were only able to have a campfire one night :(. So I felt a little jipped about that. But we kept ourselves busy with some fun games most of the time:
And I turned my camera over to Erik for one fun shot of me and Marisa:
Thanks so much for the fun time guys!! I can't wait to do it again sometime!
In other news, my email is back up and I have a bunch of emails waiting for me in my inbox from when I was gone. I'm not sure if I'm missing any so if you don't hear back from me in the next day or two, try resending. Thanks for your patience!!
This past week I got to see my 86-year-old grandpa up in Minnesota. After he put his teeth and hearing aid in, we got to sit down and talk. I think old people tell some of the best stories so I asked him about how he met my grandma (who died 10 years ago). And he told me the story of how they dated and eventually eloped! I think it's pretty cute how he tells it.
He went on to tell the story of how he served in WWII as a medic for the red cross but unfortunately my SD card ran out of space. Anyhow, the part I got is 9 minutes long so I guess that's enough to put up here. Hopefully it's not too boring for you since you don't know my grandpa :).
Yesterday I shot my cousin Laura's wedding in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. It was a rough week for Laura and Nate leading up to the wedding. Nate was in a motorcycle accident and thankfully was wearing a helmet and leather jacket but still broke his shoulder blade and bruised himself up pretty good. Pain killers helped him through the wedding. And the morning of the wedding Laura woke up struggling to swallow and went to the doctor only to find out she had mono! So they were both on drugs but the wedding went well and I honestly couldn't tell that Laura was sick. Plus Lee, Laura's brother, who was supposed to be an usher, came down with a violent flu bug on the day of the wedding and was completely out of commission. I'm still up here one more day with my aunt and uncle and now my uncle has the flu! Hopefully I won't be bringing it back to share with all of you in Arizona :).
The wedding was very simple but also very special with many family and friends in attendance.
This is my gorgeous cousin Amanda up from Nebraska:
The dress:
Getting the dress on without messing up the hair is always a fun challenge:
Laura & Nate seeing each other for the first time:
We just walked around the church grounds for portraits but I loved what I had to work with:
Laura & Nate were so sweet together.
Here's the bridal party:
The groomsmen:
The bridesmaids:
Laura's dad walked her down the isle to the country song "I loved her first." It was a tear-jerker.
The cute ring-bearer:
And the sweet flower girl:
I've never seen Laura happier:
Finally married and off to nurse each other back to health :).
If you'd like to see a slideshow with more photos from the day, click here.
Today I spent some time exploring my aunt & uncle's property where I'm staying for a few days. My uncle used to run a lumber mill and used a bunch of equipment on his property over 20 years ago to build their log home. And it's still there along with a bunch of other junk that has accumulated over the years. I enjoy photographing old stuff just for the fun of it so I felt like I hit the jackpot today!
To start with, here's the beautiful log home he built:
And the driveway looking out toward the highway:
This is a tractor that my uncle claims is rare. I'll have to take his word for it.
The caterpillar's treads:
And a bunch of other rusty stuff that is foreign to me but was fun to shoot:
And old army truck cab that my uncle bought for parts:
After all that trekking through the brush, I attracted a community of wood ticks--7 is the total count that was extracted from my person. Fun stuff! Thus is life in Northern Minnesota :).
I decided to name my new puppy Dixie. It's a fun name that fits her personality, I like the south and she's tiny like a dixie cup. I don't have any deeper reasons for picking the name. Thanks to everyone who weighed in on the decision. It definitely helped me a lot to have so many ideas pouring in!
I caught this video of Dixie tonight finding the "other dog" in my office. It's hilarious.
Isn't she SOOOO cute!? Now if I could just get her potty trained and get some work done....
Happy Mother's Day to my amazing mom and all the other great moms out there!
Tonight we're celebrating at my sister's house and it's a double-whammy because my mom's 53rd birthday is tomorrow as well! I am very close to my mom and appreciate her strength and support SO much. Over the past 5 years, she has taken on the role of the rock in our family after my dad had a brain aneurysm and nearly died. She has been so amazing through the whole thing and it has really brought us closer together. I'm so thankful for her!
On another note, I just got home from an amazing wedding in Sedona yesterday. It will take me a few days to post up some photos and a slideshow but I'll try to get those up soon.
Today started out like any normal day. I helped my sister bring my nephews to the doctor and then we stopped at the mall to pick up a mother's day and birthday present for my mom. We stopped by the pet store in the mall and I honestly didn't plan on getting a dog--just oohing and ahhing at all the cuteness. But they had the most adorable little minature schnauzers! I've grown up with these dogs--they are perfect cuddling size, don't shed, and are super-cute. So I spent some time with three different dogs and ended up falling in love with this little sweetie. She's only 2 months old and very tiny. She has a really calm disposition and snuggles right up to you instantly. And she wants to be as close as possible to you. Right now she's asleep on my lap as I'm typing.
As of yet she has no name yet. So if you have any ideas, please comment! I don't really like people names for dogs and no food items or typical dog names. But I need to come up with something soon! Right now she's just "sweetie" or "puppy."
So tonight was a first for me. I attended my friends Sarah and Reuben's wedding as a GUEST. Very strange. I am trying to remember....I think this may be the first time I've been a guest at a wedding since I started my business 4 years ago. I have a bad memory though so feel free to correct me. But I think it may be.
It was a beautiful wedding that brought together a lot of old friends. Pictured above from left to right: Natalie--my sister, Shauna--a friend, Sarah--the bride, me, Lindsay--a friend, and Ellen--a friend who came down from Portland. My friend Laura, from Portland was also here as well as my friend Flaco, up from Mexico. It was fun but I almost didn't know what to do with myself--I kept checking out the photographers to make sure they were doing their job :).
Congratulations Reuben & Sarah! I'm so glad I was able to come and celebrate!
So I guess I over-did-it this weekend. Thirteen hours of shooting and yesterday I got hit with a sore throat and all that a head cold brings with it. Not fun. I've had to cancel some of my plans in order to lay low. Tonight I was supposed to get together with my friend and wedding coordinator extraordinaire, Liene Stevens. But I had to reschedule. So Liene texts me and I open my front door to find this:
HOW SWEET IS THAT? I have to say, that's over and above the call of friend duty. I consider myself to be a pretty good friend. But I never leave goodie baskets on friends' doorsteps when they're sick.
Wow--thanks Liene!! You're awesome! I definitely feel better already :).
My friend Jared was trying out a Leica camera at WPPI last month so I did a little modeling for him. I guess watching "America's Next Top Model" is finally paying off.
I know all of you are going to want to hire me now that the cat is out of the bag. But this level of skill doesn't come cheap. Feel free to inquire and if the price is right--I'm all yours :).
I'm out in San Diego for a few days. Tonight and tomorrow I have a photo seminar that I'm excited about. But I came out a bit early to hang out with my friends David & Becky. After I got my tickets I found out that they were going to be in Phoenix for the weekend so I ended up staying in their downtown condo and just relaxing for the past couple days. It's been great. I've been getting some reading done and yesterday I took a walk to the bay and shot a few photos. It was such a gorgeous day out. I really enjoyed being out and about. It was a great day for flying kites too. I saw some kids doing just that and got this fun shot:
Then I grabbed a late lunch at this place, looked out at the boats and did some more reading.
This seagull kept an eye on me from behind glass my entire meal. I'm not sure what he was thinking because even if I wanted to, I couldn't feed him anything. I don't think he got the concept of glass.
April is Autism Awareness month. These are my two nephews: Elijah (5) and Noah (6). They are the loves of my life. They are SO sweet and full of love and I couldn't adore anything more. They are both autistic. And it absolutely breaks my heart. I've been laying in bed unable to get to sleep the last two nights because I'm so angry about Autism. Let me fill you in on some of the basics about this disorder and hopefully it will help you to understand why.
Autism is a complex disorder that has no known cause or cure.
1 in 150 children are diagnosed with some form of autism. For boys, the number is 1 in 94. This makes it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined.
Symptoms can range from mild to severe and span 3 general areas: -Language development -Social development and behavior -Repetitive and odd behaviors
No two children with autism are alike. My nephew Elijah is more severe than his older brother, Noah. Elijah is 5 and is nonverbal, not yet potty trained and has difficulty being in new environments with people who are unfamiliar to him. He is very frustrated with his inability to communicate his needs. He loves to do certain activities over and over again such as watch the same videos endlessly, throw rocks, and jump in the pool over and over.
Noah is 6 and now has a large vocabulary of words. He is still unable to form spontaneous sentences and largely communicates through one or two word phrases. He is potty trained and loves to help his younger brother. Both he and Elijah are in special classes in the public schools with one on one attention from teachers. Noah loves to learn and enjoys practicing his flash cards of vocabulary words, shooting basketball hoops and lining up his toys in certain patterns.
There are some theories about the potential causes of autism. It is generally agreed that there is a genetic predisposition in children with autism that causes them to be susceptible to environmental triggers. A controversial theory that has been refuted by the medical community but is strongly held by a group of parents and a few scientists is that immunization shots given at a young age trigger autism. This is a lengthy discussion that I'm not going to go into here, but if you're interested, here are a few videos to check out on the subject:
I help my sister take the boys to a doctors appointment every week where they get chelation treatment. They are injected with a medication that helps rid their body of the poisonous toxins such as mercury and lead that their bodies are unable to process on their own. Their urine is collected and tested and we get reports of the amount and types of metals that are coming out of their bodies. This is somewhat of an experimental treatment but seems to be helping many children with autism.
One last thing I wanted to share on autism--and if you're still reading at this point, you are awesome!--are some early signs of Autism. These are important to know so that you can watch your own children and possibly help other parents out who you know. The earlier Autism is detected the more successful treatment can be. Here are some "red flags" to be on the watch for:
No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter
No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by nine months or thereafter
No babbling by 12 months
No back-and-forth gestures, such as pointing, showing, reaching, or waving by 12 months
No words by 16 months
No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months
Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age
Remember that Autism is very complex and mysterious at this time so no two children will display the exact same behaviors or symptoms. But these are some general things to look for.
One of the most frustrating things to me is that this epidemic is largely ignored by the medical community. Doctors are not taught about it in medical school. Parents take their children in to their pediatrician with concerns about their child's development and they are told that they are over-reacting and not to worry about it. And there is very little being done to find a cure. The effort is definitely out of proportion to the size and extremity of the epidemic. It breaks my heart to think of what we, as a society, may be unknowingly doing to an entire generation of children. We've got to put an end to this disorder.
If you are interested in finding out more about what you can do to be involved, check out these sites:
I just got my Toyota washed on Tuesday for the first time in over a month and last night it rains. Not only does it rain, but there's a huge dust storm. So this is what my car looks like now:
I swear I have special powers.
On a totally unrelated note, I took my friend Teri out to lunch today and I think she forgave me for being a loser friend and forgetting her 30th birthday last week. So that's good. Her 2 year old, Kailey, was with us and she just totally brightens my day every time I see her. She is total preciousness.
She sang "Jesus Loves Me" during lunch and I got it on video. SO CUTE! I think she was a little distracted by the Mexican food (understandably).
In the business world, you hear a lot about "outsourcing." I definitely have embraced this idea of paying other people or companies to do some of the stuff I don't have to do or don't want to do in order to free me up to focus on the things I have to do or want to do. As business grows, there's no way I can do it all. So in order to continue to grow and provide quality service, I need to outsource some parts of my business and life.
Some of the things I outsource are:
Pictage --- Back-end print and order fullfillment and shipping Jamie --- Color correction and editing Fox Peterson --- Accounting Sarah Marsh --- Web design and implementation
And my personal favorite thing to outsource --- housecleaning! I just started outsourcing this about 6 months ago. And just this week I found some great new ladies to clean my house. They do a great job and only charge $50 per time. I have them coming every 2 weeks. What a steal! This is a no-brainer for me. There's no way I could clean my house myself for that value. I make way more focusing on my business for those few hours every other week. And I love when my house is all clean at once.
I encourage you to think about your business and life and what you can outsource in order to free you up to grow and expand. It's definitely the way to go!
I am such a loser friend. In the past month I've totally spaced on two close friends' birthdays. Saturday was my friend Teri's birthday. We've been friends since high school and I was in her wedding and she is always so sweet and thoughtful to me. I think I even talked to her on the phone on or around her birthday! We're doing lunch Friday so I'll have to figure out a way to make it up to her.
I have all my birthdays on my iCal calendar right in front of me everyday yet I'm often so wrapped up in my own world that it's like they're invisible.
Sorry Teri!!! I love you and can't wait to see you!!! Happy belated 30th!!!
Tonight I finally had my friends Matt, Angie & Maddux over. We've been trying to set up a time to hang out for what seems like forever and finally we gott'er done. Matt and Angie are local wedding photographers as well, who I met through the Phoenix PUG (Pictage User Group) and we hit it off right away. Together they make up Sloan Photographers.
Their son, Maddux, is the most angelic child I think I've met to date. I don't think I heard a peep out of him all night and there were no toys in sight. He even sat quietly watching "American Idol" with us. We had chocolate for desert and he got his hands on two mini Twix bars and just hung on all night. Too bad he doesn't know the yumminess hidden underneath the cool, shiny wrappers :).
I'm so thankful for my friendship with Matt & Angie. Not only is it great to have photographers who are friends as we can talk shop and help each other out, but they are just darn good people who make me happy whenever they're around.
Tonight I shot portraits of the definition of cuteness. This little 19 month old is the son of my friends, Carrie and Dorian, who are a part of my church community. Every time I see him at Portico, my heart melts. So I insisted on taking photos of him.
Now, when I say I "shot portraits of him," what I really mean is that I chased him tirelessly around Freestone Park for about 45 minutes. I think he was purposefully trying to lose me :).
Braeden is quite the little package. He is full of energy, knows what he wants, and I can tell he's got a lot going on upstairs. He is a man of many expressions. Here are a few of my faves:
This is the look I like to call, "'Whatchu talkin about Willis?"
So scrumptious!
Thanks, Carrie, for helping me keep him alive during the shoot! (Mom rescued Braeden numerous times from going into the lake after the ducks he was chasing :))
I just want to give a shout out to Jesus and thank you SO much for suffering so much pain, disgrace and rejection -- even from God the Father -- for my sake. Your love literally blows my mind. I am humbled and grateful and SO SO thankful.
Today I took a day trip up north to Jerome and Prescott with my friends Shannon & Greg. Shannon has been a close friend for over 10 years and a roommate for part of that time. And she and Greg are getting married in August! I'm really excited for them. They are perfect for each other and kept me entertained all day with their plethera of "Friends" quotes that they rattle off whenever appropriate.
It was really fun shooting in the town of Jerome. There's SO many cool places there--everything is old and quaint and the town is built into the side of a mountain.
First we started out having lunch in this cute cafe:
Then we just walked around the town and had fun shooting:
Greg has some interesting poses he tried out for me. I guess he felt free to be his goofy self:
Shannon is gorgeous. Not sure how Greg scored her. But well done Greg :). She has beautiful hair and coloring and I love her smile and cheek bones. She looked great in every photo but I thought these next two were amazing:
Jerome was full of color. I love this orange VW van:
Then we moved on to Prescott and ended up just shooting a little there before finding this great Pizza place where we ate dinner. Here's a few of my faves from our time in Prescott:
My sister brought my nephews over to my pool today for a little swim. The pool is heated part of the year but it's getting really warm out so it won't be long until the heating is unnecessary.
It's always so fun to watch them swim because they love it SO much. They can just jump in over and over for hours.
I had fun taking some photos of Noah (6) and Elijah (5) which is always challenging because they're both autistic. I watched a "Larry King Live" recently and found out that more kids are being diagnosed with autism than AIDS, cancer and diabetes COMBINED. The number is 1 in 150 kids now. With the rate for boys being 1 in 94. Autism has really reached the level of an epidemic and is getting very little attention for how prevelant it is. The cause and a possible cure are still unknown.
Anyhow, my nephews are super-cute. Here's a few shots of Elijah. I love his floaties :)
And Noah hit a mile-marker today. He lost his first tooth! Unfortunately it was in the pool somewhere. Notice in the photo on the top of this post, he has a whole set of teeth and on this one, he's missing the top middle one on the left:
Last night I went with three friends--Julie, Scott & Sarah--down to Tucson to see my favorite comedian. (Sorry I had to use the one where you were talking, Sarah, the other one was blurry. :)) This guy is HILARIOUS. It was so much fun laughing all night. He does the best voices and facial expressions, to the point where, it doesn't even matter if what he's saying is funny--he's just funny to watch and listen to. And one of the best things about him is that he's clean, which is something that is hard to come by in comedians these days.
Last night I had Liene Stevens of Blue Orchid Designs over. I've gotten to know her a little and we are becoming fast friends. She brought Philippino food and I gave her a little crochet lesson. Here's Liene starting a baby blanket:
She's going to be done with that in no time :).
We also watched the movie "Born into Brothels." I first heard about this movie by reading Liene's blog and it peaked my interest. So I put it on my list to make sure I didn't forget I wanted to watch it. I know it's an easy goal to complete, but I wanted to make sure I was intentional.
The movie was about a young photographer, Zana Briski, who spent a few years living in the red light district of Calcutta, India. She got to know many of the women who make their living through prostitution as well as their children who live in some of the worst conditions I've ever seen. She got all of the children cameras and film and began to teach them about photography. It's amazing everything she poured into them -- even working tirelessly to get many of them accepted into boarding schools so they could escape their bleak fate in the brothels. This movie is definitely a "must see." I'm going to watch it one more time before returning it to the video store just to try to take more of it in.
Thanks Liene for a fun night! Can't wait to do it again!
So, at WPPI I'm eating dinner with some of my closest photographer friends. I've known these guys for over a year now. And all of a sudden they start talking passionately about literature and Shakespeare and stuff and I feel like I'm in the twilight zone. These guys are fun-loving and passionate about photography and I know they're smart and stuff but I was a little stunned by the fact that they were all so impassioned by this topic.
I started video taping them about 10 minutes into the conversation so by now they'd already covered a lot of ground. And a warning to those of you who don't know Isaac Bailey, Stuart Thurkill or Jared Platt or who aren't fascinated by literature--you might find this video extremely boring. But if you do know them, I hope you'll find it as entertaining as I did.
I finally got to take Jamie to dinner for her birthday tonight. We went to Mexican and I of course had fajitas :). Above Jamie is enjoying her flan.
Jamie has stuck with me for a year and a half so far and tells me that she is going to work for me forever. I keep telling her I'm going to need her to sign a legal document stating that :).
It was fun filling her in on WPPI and hearing everything she is up to with her growing portrait business. She has evolved into an amazing photographer! I'm so proud that I can take a little credit for her.
Thanks for the fun night Jamie! And for being the fun, great person you are.
I'm sitting at the Las Vegas airport waiting for my delayed flight to board so I thought I'd post real quick. Above is a photo of me with my buddies Todd Watson and David Jay, the superstar masterminds behind ShowIt Web software that any photographer who is even slightly cool uses to post slideshows on their websites. I was glad to run into them on the tradeshow floor and connect for a minute since there are thousands of people here and it's pure craziness.
I'm coming home a little tired out but with some great ideas I'm going to pursue as well as a few new products and I'm a little closer to checking off a few more business goals on my 101 list. I'll have to post on those a little more in the future.
OK, so maybe not REAL love. But Josh Groban is AMAZING!! I just got back from his concert. His voice is pewer shooga. I can't believe his range and how effortlessly he sings. He had an amazing group of musicians with him too. It was a total feast for the ears. And the set was great as well.
A huge thanks to my friend Julie who surprised me with his CD and tickets for Christmas. I had so much fun on our hot date! My good friend Marisa also came with and it was so special because both girls have 3 kids and we actually got a chance to talk uninterupted :). Here we are eating Mexican before the concert:
Unfortunately, the mean guys at the gates wouldn't let me even take my little point and shoot camera into the concert so I don't have any fun shots to share with you. But it was a great night!
Bright and early tomorrow I'm off to Vegas for a photography convention. I'm looking forward to networking with friends and getting to know new people. I'm sure I'll come back inspired and challenged!
Sean Michel was one of the groomsmen at Clay & Rhonda's wedding and I met him the day before at my favorite Thai restaurant in Greenville. I found out that just a couple months ago, he auditioned in Memphis for American Idol and made it as far as Hollywood! As soon as I heard that, I remembered seeing that episode. Here's his audition:
It was fun getting to know him--he had a lot of fascinating stories to tell. He has a band that tours around America. Click here to find out more about it and hear some of their songs--good stuff!
Rhonda & Clay are two friends who I love dearly. They got married on Saturday and I was so blessed to be able to be there to witness their vows and to document the day of their wedding. It was really special to me.
The girls hung out and got pretty in the morning at Rhonda's mom's house. Rhonda held nothing back from the camera:
Rhonda is the cutest lil' southern bell with a drawl and all. I find myself wanting to talk like her when I visit :).
She looked absolutely gorgeous and glowed all day:
Clay and Rhonda saw each other before the wedding and we got some great portraits around the Furman University Campus that was absolutely beautiful.
This is Clay and Rhonda seeing each other for the first time:
The bridal party was large and a lot of fun. I got to know most of them as we hung out in the days prior to the wedding. Clay and Rhonda are both so good at being friends and it showed by the quality people and the amazing support they had in this group. Some came from as far as Taiwan to be there.
The ceremony was in a beautiful chapel on the university campus. Rhonda's dad walked her down the long isle:
And gave her away:
The ceremony was really full of meaning. I cried a little :).
Man and wife! Finally! :)
The first dance was sweet:
And they had a fun sparkler good-bye.
It was over so quickly--everything just flew by!
To see a slideshow with more photos from the day click here. The song is sung by one of the groomsmen and was played at the wedding--more on him later.
Clay & Rhonda--I'm SOOOO happy for you guys and miss you already!
These are my dear friends I am visiting here in Charlotte this week. Michelle has been my friend since 4th grade -- for 20 years now! We only went to school together the one year in Minnesota. I remember riding the bus with her to school and singing songs. Then she moved away and we were pen-pals. I have over 50 letters from her from that time. We both moved numerous times and then when we were in high school she flew out to visit me each year because her dad is a pilot. Then I was in her wedding nine years ago. And since then she has had 4 kids. I've been doing the visiting the last few years and it's been nice because I have shot 4 weddings in the Carolinas now so each one is a good excuse to visit her. God has really blessed me with her friendship and used us in each other's lives over the years. We always have the best deep conversations about life. Anyhow... now that you know my life story :)
Today the kids were playing in the backyard--the weather is GORGEOUS here. And so I did some shooting and got some great shots of their cute family.
This is Gavin, the oldest:
Logan is next:
Rhiannon is the only girl:
And Aiden is the baby:
I love his chipmunk teeth:
Here's Brian and Michelle:
And a cute shot of the three boys:
I love this family. The kids are each so special and have their own unique personalities. My friend Michelle is an absolutely amazing mom. She blows me away. It's crazy to think about where we are now and how far we've come from the little girls who rode the bus together in 4th grade. Life is one amazing, unpredictable journey.
Just wanted to post real quick that I made it to South Carolina last night and have gotten to catch up some with my friend Rhonda (3rd from the right). She and I lived together for 3 months in the summer of '99 while we took part in a ministry/discipleship program through Kingdom Building Ministries which included a one month mission trip to Thailand. It was an awesome experience.
Rhonda is marrying Clay (2nd from left) on Saturday and I'm excited to have the chance to shoot their wedding. They are really great people and I feel so blessed to be here. The photo above is of a bunch of us involved in the wedding going to lunch today at a Mexican restaurant. Good stuff.
Tomorrow I'm doing a late engagement shoot around Greenville with Clay and Rhonda so that should be fun. Stay tuned for fun pictures to come!
Today is my lovely assistant, Jamie's birthday. She has been working with me for a year and a half and I appreciate her as a person and everything she does for me SO much. She shoots most all my weddings with me and is very talented. She also takes care of most of my color correction and editing so that I can focus on other parts of the business which is a HUGE help.
You are awesome Jamie! And per the usual, your belated gift has been ordered but not delivered yet :). We'll celebrate when I get back!
It feels good to check this one off my list because it's a big one. I can't believe I did it! Every single day since February 6th I have blogged. When I started my blog last April I couldn't imagine coming up with something worthwhile to say a couple times a week let alone every day. But this last month has stretched me and helped me to think outside the box with blogging. I think it will help me going forward to make my blog interersting and keep it consistent--even if I'm not posting every day.
Tomorrow I'm leaving on a jet plane for the Carolinas. I will be shooting a wedding in SC on Saturday and visiting friends in both the Carolinas the rest of the time I'm there--a week total. So it should be fun! I will be available by email and phone but it's hard to say what internet connection will be like so I'll try to blog a couple times. Hope you have a great week!
My friends Michelle & Haines, whose maternity shoot I did a few months ago, just had their little boy, Tate, on Saturday morning! He is 6 lbs and some change and 19 inches long. I got to stop by the hospital yesterday to meet him and shot a few photos while there. Oftentimes I don't find newborns super-cute but Tate is a cutie and I'm always so amazed at how tiny and soft newborns are.
Yesterday my mom came over to hang out with me during the day a little. She had just had her hair done that morning and looked so cute. So I said we should do a photo shoot with her and my dad on one of the days she gets her hair done and she said, "How about today?" So we did it! It was a little sad though cause it was SO windy so I don't think you get the full effect of the hair-cuteness. But look how cute my parents are together!! They are some of my favorite people in the world and this August will celebrate 33 years together. I'm proud of them for sticking through some tough times. They know the meaning of their vows, "in sickness & in health." My dad nearly died of a brain aneurysm 5 years ago and his recovery has been a long one. But he's doing well and we are SO thankful to be able to still have him with us.
We had fun taking some photos with my dad and both of his babies:
He loves his motorcycle. Yes, my dad is a hard core biker-dude.
Those of you who know him are laughing right now. He's a gentle-spirited electrical engineer nerd in real life but I think the motorcyle helps him feel like he's a little more on the cool side :).
He had so much fun with these photos:
Then we took some shots around Freestone park.
And finally ended up in old town Gilbert where we ate at the new Oregano's there--yumm! But we took a couple shots while waiting for our table.
Love you mom and dad! Thanks for everything you've done to bless me and impact my life!!
When I was around 6 or 7 years old, I had a Rubik's cube and was in awe of my older cousin who could solve it. It blew my mind. It's always been one of those challenges that seemed impossible. So I thought it would be fun to figure out the mystery... and I have conquered! I know--I'm a big nerd for spending my time on this. I've always been a little nerdy--got a minor in math in college. But it's fun to be able to solve it and have that sense of accomplishment.
So today I was supposed to have an engagement shoot but the couple had to postpone last minute so I took my whole Saturday off to spend time with my good friend Jessica which just so happened to be on my list. Now you may wonder why spending time with a friend would be considered a legitimate goal. Jessica has been my friend for a long time. She has two kids--Sydney is 8 and Grant is 5. I've been friends with Jess long before she had Sydney and we've been through a lot together. Last year she got remarried and she now lives out in the boonies beyond the limits of Queen Creek -- about a 45 minute drive from me. And our relationship has changed a bit this year. I don't get to see her nearly as much and have only made the trip out to her house once. Isn't that sad? So I decided I needed some quality time with her and would make the effort to go her way.
But we didn't spend the whole day out at her house. We started the day at Grant's little league game. Which was a lot of fun. Here's a great shot I got of one of the little leaguers at bat:
Here's Sydney playing with her most cherished toy--an American Girl Doll. I haven't seen Sydney in months and she is getting so big and seriously talks like a grown up.
This little guy is playing the outfield and is totally prepared for any fly ball that may come his way:
I love this shot of the team as they wait their turn up to bat:
After the game and lunch we made the trek back to Jess & Daniel's house. They live off a dirt road and burn their own trash and they don't even really have a city name to call their own. Right now they're "borrowing" "Queen Creek" for their address even though their house is 10 miles beyond the edge of town. I give them a hard time for living so far out. Here's their house:
We went next door to my friend Lindsay's house. Lindsay is also Jessica's sister-in-law. She is pregnant and I got this great shot of her:
She was watching some cute dogs. Check out these ears:
We hung out for awhile working on a school project with Syndey. Here's Sydney--I can't believe how gorgeous she is!
To wrap up the fun-filled day, we went ice skating! Sydney made the honor roll so this was her reward. It was the first time ever skating for both Sydney & Grant!
Getting laced up:
The whole fam:
Now mind you, all of the following shots were taken while I myself was on skates on the ice. Pretty impressive, I know :).
Grant was really tentative at first and either held onto mom or the side:
But then he got this walker-looking-thing that helped him not fall and gain confidence. It was really cute:
I caught this action shot of him wiping it even with the walker:
But then he got rid of the walker and was wizzing around the rink on his own. He had a blast!
I got some cute shots of Jess & Daniel as well--still newlyweds :).
What a fun day! Thanks guys for hanging out! I hope it's not too long before we do it again :).
I only have an hour left to get my blogging in for the day. I'm on day 13 of blogging every day working toward a full month. Almost half-way there! This is going to get a little tough I think.
Today I was pretty much out of commission. I shot a great wedding yesterday and I will post some photos in the next couple days. But today I was more than the normal amount of exhausted after a wedding. I think the unusual heat and the sun took a lot out of me yesterday. Anyway, I pretty much laid around most of the day until I went to church this evening. My church meets at 6pm on Sundays. We're a very small church right now and we rent out a meeting room in another church building in Chandler. Our name is "Portico." I love my church. Even when I feel wiped and like I have nothing to give, I can just show up and be myself and feel loved. It's like a family.
I wanted to just give a shout out to my church and let you know that we have a cool website that just got updated with some of my photos. Click here to see the site. Check it out--you might recognize some of the photos. One of my 101 goals is to take more photos of Portico for the website to be able to update it more and make it more personal. So I'll have to work on that. But I think it's a pretty cool site so far for a young, small church. Goodnight :).
70. Finish crocheting the blanket I started years ago
I'm excited to report that I just checked off my first goal on my 101 in 1001 list! Woo-hoo! It's not a huge one but it feels good to make some progress nonetheless. Over three years ago, probably before I started my business (although I can't remember for sure), I put this blanket in the back of my armoire and forgot about it. Recently, while cleaning stuff out of my bedroom for a garage sale, I found it and remembered that I used to love to crochet. I used to enjoy a lot of things but the last four years have been mainly consumed with starting my business. I love it and it's great to be focused so I don't have any regrets. But I used to be a lot more domestic and craftsey. So I put it on my list. I had to look at the instructions again and re-teach myself how to crochet--that's how long it's been. But I did it and only a week later - it's finished! I didn't realize it but it was close to 90% done sitting in my armoire this whole time! How sad is that? I could have been using it this whole time! But it feels good to finish a project. And I love the blanket. It fits in my living room perfectly!
My adorable nephew Elijah turned 5 on January 5th but the poor guy didn't get to celebrate his birthday until just last week. He was sick for awhile and then the family just couldn't all get together until now. But I don't think he noticed. He's autistic, non-verbal and still hasn't caught on to the birthday thing. But I was excited because he seemed to enjoy his party for the first time in his life! He usually goes in the back room to watch videos when a lot of people are in the house because it just overwhelms him. But he hung out with all of us the whole time!
My sister is such a great mom - Elijah is on a VERY strict diet and can't have like 30 major ingredients so she found a way to make a special cake just using nuts, egg whites and powdered sugar! And it was good.
Here's some more fun pics from the party. I just had my point and shoot so they're not too fancy but I still wanted to document the event.
Me and my cute dad:
Elijah playing with his favorite gift - large legos:
My brother-in-law, Josh, giving his best pose for the camera:
So I'm making some progress on completing my list of 101 in 1001 - not actually checking off goals yet, but just finishing LISTING them. Mandy Hank, another local photographer, emailed me and said she was motivated by my post to do her own list of goals. I was excited for her and then found out that she thought of 101 things before me! She ripped some of my ideas off and then I ripped some of hers off, it's been great.
So if you're reading this and feel prompted to try to come up with a list of 101 goals for yourself, I would love to hear about it! And you don't have to be a photographer to do this - Marisa, Julie, Shannon - I know you're reading this :). If you have a way to post your list, send me the link and I'll post it here for others to be inspired by. If you don't have a way to post it, just email me your list and I'll post it for you. Fun!
Here's a few lists to help inspire you and get you going on your own:
So I mentioned in my last post about the Debbie Allen seminar I went to last night. She encouraged us to write down our goals. This isn't the first time I've heard that. Jessica Claire, a photographer I love, shared her list of 101 things she wants to do in the next 1001 days on her blog. It was fun to read through. I guess I'm not that ambitious of a person. I used to be much more so. I used to be much more goal oriented. Don't know what happened to that.
But for some reason, this time, I was motivated to try it. So I started writing things down last night. I like lists. I like to check them off. But this is overwhelming. Debbie Allen said that if you write down your goals, they seep into your subconscious. So I'm just going to see what happens. I'm not going to be primarily motivated by my list. I like to live life, listen to God, and see what happens - be open to opportunities that present themselves.
I've only gotten to 51 goals. I am stuck! I guess I'm pretty content and don't want too much. And some things I want most don't really fit on a list like this - like getting married to the man of my dreams who likely doesn't exist. But it's not like I can work toward that goal. Another reason I'm stuck at 51 is because I've already accomplished a lot of goals in life so far. I've done so many things I've wanted to do so far. So I need your help. Post a comment if you think something else should be added to the list and I'll consider it. And I'm going to keep brainstorming and adding as things come to mind.
Oh - here's the list and I'll update it on this same post as things progress:
101 goals in 1001 days
1. Print & hang photos in my upstairs living space 2. Learn to grill meat 3. Blog every day for a month - completed 3.6.07 4. Get a dog - completed 5.10.07 5. Invent something 6. Flatten my tummy 7. Take a road trip and stop along the way at cool places to take photos 8. 2nd shoot at a wedding with Jessica Claire 9. Shoot a wedding on another continent 10. Take a cruise 11. Order pens for my business - completed 3.19.07 12. Get a wedding into Grace Ormonde 13. Enter some photos in a print competition 14. Speak at PartnerCon 15. Read one book per month for 3 months to benefit my business 16. Research a well – known photographer of old 17. Travel to Europe 18. Visit the Mibu tribe in Papua New Guinea 19. Take a dance class 20. Write down the systems of my business – create a manual of what I do 21. Win another WPJA award 22. Join Toastmasters 23. Develop a business exit plan 24. Visit Andy & Shannon in NH once a year 25. Market myself in Portland for summer weddings 26. Update my wardrobe – needs help! 27. Practice the guitar each day for a month 28. Throw a party 29. Get my office TV hooked up so you can see the internet on it 30. Get my phone set up so I can access the internet anywhere on my laptop 31. Organize my office closet 32. Do the splits 33. Visit Becky in San Diego while David is in Iraq 34. Visit my grandparents on the farm in Nebraska 35. Babysit for the Swansons 36. Buy out my parents' investment in my house 37. Create a photo book of my nephews for my sis 38. Spend a whole day with Jess out at her place - completed 2.24.07 39. Tape record my grandma telling stories 40. Improve the packaging of my products 41. Learn how to make sticky rice (Thailand style) 42. Stay at a luxury resort & go to the spa 43. Develop a menu of favorite dishes to make on an ongoing basis 44. Get Michelle Neese to visit me 45. See Brian Regan, the comedian, live - completed 4.1.07 46. Take a painting class 47. Visit Australia 48. Learn Lightroom software 49. Go skiing again 50. Solve the Rubik's Cube - completed 2.25.07 51. See a musical on Broadway 52. Shoot the cover of another national magazine besides Destination I Do 53. Figure out how to get video on my blog and then post videos - completed 3.24.07 54. Take a story-telling class – I'm horrible at this 55. Go camping - completed 6.3.07 56. Put up window treatments in my house 57. Book 20-25 weddings each year 58. Begin sending out anniversary cards to past clients 59. Take a carriage ride in Central Park 60. Go on a picnic 61. Become CPR certified 62. Go to an APU Chrismas Choir concert 63. Babysit my nephews once a month for a year 64. Be on "Simple Photo Minute" - completed 5.16.07 65. Get a wedding published in Arizona Bride Magazine 66. Post on OSP once a week for 3 months 67. Find good legal music to use on slideshows - completed 5.2.07 68. Go to Serrano's with Shannon at least once a month between now and Aug. 69. Do something to help raise awareness for autism or help find a cure 70. Finish crocheting the blanket I started years ago - completed 2.16.07 71. Add 7 more intro slideshows to my website 72. Update the "press" page on my website 73. Take more photos for Portico (my church) and add them to the website 74. Read a classic literature book I haven't read before 75. Upgrade my 17" laptop - completed 2.28.07 76. Look into a health savings account 77. Visit Shannon after she's married and living in Chicago 78. Take photos of my parents - completed 2.28.07 79. Do a photo shoot with Josh & Natie without the kids 80. Visit one of the 15 states I haven't been to yet 81. Donate blood 82. Have a neighbor over for dinner 83. Watch a sunrise 84. Write a letter to the child I sponsor in Niger 85. Go apple picking 86. Run a 10 minute mile for 3 consecutive miles 87. Clean out the packaging material in my garage that needs to be recycled - completed 3.20.07 88. Watch the movie "Born into Brothels" - completed 3.30.07 89. Go to a photography gallery 90. Get some canvas prints made 91. Try an in-studio viewing after the wedding 92. Refine workflow to get album designs done 2 weeks after weddings 93. 2nd shoot weddings with 3 local photographers 94. Improve my website search optimization 95. Upgrade my custom blog to use larger photos - completed 6.13.07 96. Implement surveys & gather client feedback at numerous points throughout the customer experience 97. Look into hiring a publicist 98. Partner with Sarah to begin a signature line of print products that incorporate my photography 99. Upgrade the proof books I offer 100. 101.
Tonight I went to a marketing seminar for professional photographers. Debbie Allen, the author of a number of books including "Confessions of Shameless Self-Promoters" was the speaker. I always find these types of seminars helpful and motivational. Even if I hear some of the same things, it helps me to actually eventually ACT on them. Anyhow, I'll share something I got out of the seminar in the near future. But I just wanted to write real quick about something that happened to me for the first time in my life.
I showed up a little after 6 for the seminar that was supposed to run from 6-9 and sat down in an open chair on the isle. Two seats away from me sat a friendly-looking girl. Usually I introduce myself right away but for some reason I didn't. About 15 seconds after I sat down she asked, "Are you Melissa Jill?" I responded affirmatively and we proceeded to talk for the next hour until the seminar ACTUALLY started (I learned my lesson about PPA meetings :)). She turned out to be a good friend of a bride whose wedding I am shooting in December. She will be a bridesmaid in the wedding. And she is also very interested in getting into photography herself. It was fun getting to know her. But it was such a strange experience being recognized by someone I have never met. She had seen my photo on my website and recognized me purely by that. It also showed me the advantage of having my face on my website. But that was a first for me. I've never been the type of girl to crave fame or want to be in the public eye. And I'm not saying I'm the LEAST bit famous. But it made me think about people who are recognized daily by those they don't know. What a weird thing. I don't envy them. Not that I minded tonight but I don't think I would enjoy that on a larger scale.
Well, off to implement some new things I'm motivated to do...
This is my 100th blog post! Woo-Hoo! I started my blog last April and I've really enjoyed chronicling my life both in business and personally. It's turned out to be a lot more fun than I originally expected. I actually expected it NOT to be fun at all but just a constant burden hanging over my head. But here I am, 10 months later and I'm so glad I started. If you haven't started a blog for yourself, you definitely should. It's been so great for my business--totally FREE marketing--and it also serves as a sort of picture journal of my life. It's fun to look back and remember so many great memories from this past year.
The two scruffy creatures in the above photo are Pebbles and Kachina, my parents' minature schnauzers. I also consider them my dogs since they are 11 and 13 years old and I've lived with them a few times after college. The past week they have been living with me while my parents are on a cruise in the Carribean. It's been an adjustment for all of us. Kachina has left me more than a few presents on the floor and I'm going to have to have my rug professionally cleaned when they leave :). They also aren't used to stairs. Pebbles is old and really CAN'T come down the stairs. She tried and slid on her face most of the way. So I take pity on her and carry her down. Kachina comes down fine but is convinced she can't make it up the stairs. She really can but she doesn't think she can.
Here's Kachina's "please carry me up the stairs" face:
Pebbles is Kachina's mother and they are really cute together. They enjoy their afternoon naps on my sofa while I work at the computer:
I don't have any dogs of my own but have been thinking about getting one lately. I go back and forth. It's an extra responsibility I'm not used to but it's also fun to have someone SO excited to see you and cuddle. So we'll see...
I have to say this is my favorite family I've ever done family photos for. Definitely NOT the easiest. But my favorite. This is my sister, brother-in-law and two adorable nephews. We've attempted family photos numerous times throughout the years and it's always more work than usual because Noah (6) and Elijah (5) are both autistic. Noah's gotten a lot better and will hold still and try to smile at the camera. But he's easily distracted and Elijah is usually the distraction. The boy won't sit still and won't look at the camera no matter what a loud fool I make of myself :). But I love them to death so we always do our best. Even though it takes a lot of energy, we always end up with some cute photos in the end. The best thing to do is keep moving. So we do things that are fun for the boys. Noah loves swinging:
And recently he's taken up basketball:
It's pretty amazing. The basket towers over him but he ends up making his under-handed shots a good percentage of the time. Here's some more cute shots of him playing:
And a cute one of Josh and Noah. Josh is so good with the boys.
Here's my sister taking Elijah down the slide:
After some fun on the playground equipment we went on the merry-go-round. Elijah lit up.
And finally we ended our outing with a ride around Freestone park on the train.
I love this one of Elijah. Poor guy was SO cold by this point.
Well, I made it home. It was tough to leave. I love this family so much. Thursday we did some family photos. They were troopers because the temperature was in the 30s!
This is Shannon & Andy's cute house that I got to stay in for the past week:
My room was on the 3rd floor and had slanted low ceilings that mirrored the roof line. It's very homey and charming.
Anyhow, all of the portraits we did were in the front and back yard and we defrosted inside between groupings.
Shannon & Andy mainly wanted photos of the kids but I made them take some just the two of them. They make such a cute couple. They've been married for 13 years and together for 20!
Here's Madeline (8) and Grace (3) together on the front porch swing:
And I love this shot of Grace looking up to Maddy:
Here's dad with his girls:
And finally, individual shots of the three kids:
I miss them already! Thanks so much for a great week you guys!! Love you!
Today we did some more fun exploring around New Hampshire. I love the history in this state! We first drove to a little town named Swanzey and found 5 covered bridges. I think the state has around 50 of them total.
This is the Carlton bridge. It was first built in 1789 and then rebuilt in 1869. It looks like it's been spruced up since then with a fresh coat of paint but talk about old!
This is the Cresson bridge. It looked pretty similar and was built in 1859.
The Thompson covered bridge had this marker in front of it saying it was originally constructed in 1832 and then reconstructed in 1993.
I liked the lattice work and walkway that made it unique:
I believe this bridge was called The Coombs. But it wasn't well marked and was much less travelled than the others we saw.
And finally, this is the Slate bridge. It was constructed just a few years ago in 2001 so it was very pretty and fresh.
Here's a side view--it was pretty long.
This sign warned those who crossed it:
The covered bridges were a lot of fun to see--not something you come across in Arizona.
On our drive we also came across this amazing abandoned barn. It is 3 stories tall and the roof is partially caved in. Many of the windows are broken out and the paint is peeling like crazy.
It was pretty amazing. I love old red barns and there's practically one around every turn in NH country. I think I'll do a photo study on them next time I'm here.
I'm also fascinated with really old graveyards. I know it might sound weird but it's really interesting to walk around them and look at the tombstones and wonder about people's lives back then. We came across this one on a hillside next to the road and it caught my interest right away. The tombstones were SO weathered and the leafless trees that surrounded them made for some striking images. My favorite is the one at the very top of this post.
Check out the intricacies and the weathered look of this marker:
Many of the tombstones were incredibly thin and some were difficult to read.
Others were very simple and clear. Many of the tombstones didn't have dates that people were born and the years that they died were largely in the 1800s.
This marker was very distressed and read: "Malachi W. son of Malachi & Tameson Richardson. Killed in battle at Cold Harbor, Va.. June 2, 1864. 21 yrs. 2 mos. & 22 dys."
Here were some beautiful markers of husbands and wives buried next to one another:
These two were born in the late 1700s:
And this was a very sad sight. Three tiny stones next to one another. All children of the same parents - two boys and one girl all born in the 1870s. One only lived to be 4 days old, one lived a year and another 3 years. Very sad. But a reminder of the infant mortality rate that existed not too long ago and what a difference modern medicine has made.
Even though sadness surrounds graveyards to some extent, I also find them very beautiful - a reminder of those who have gone before us and of the fact that our time here is short. As the old hymn says--"This world is not our home. We're just a passin' through..."
Today the weather cleared up and Shannon, Grace, Marshall and I took a little road trip. We stopped at the beach and got out for a few minutes. It was a nice day but the harsh wind made it SO cold out on the coast. Here's a few fun shots I got at the beach:
Grace looked so cute in her red coat and stylin' sun glasses:
And Marshall was adorable with his hood up:
Here's the whole cute gang:
And Shannon made a sweet note in the sand for me:
After the beach we drove to this great little town named Exeter. I love all the history in New Hampshire. This little sign talks about how Exeter was one of the four original towns in the colony starting in 1638 and became the capital of the state during the American Revolution.
I also really like all the architecture and old buildings on the east coast. They have so much more character than a lot of our cookie-cutter houses and stucco bulidings in Arizona. Here's some other fun shots from our time in Exeter.
A cool red barn:
A fun old mailbox:
A piece of art on a shed alongside the road:
An old window on the side of a barn:
A rusty latch on an abandoned buliding (pictured at the top of this post):
And some tall marsh grass growing out of the wetlands:
After exploring a bit we had worked up an appetite for lunch and stopped and this cute cafe. Outside was this fun old bike:
Here's a cute shot of Shannon and Grace during lunch. Shannon is such a great mom! Even though I don't have kids of my own, I feel like I have learned so much from her example.
After lunch Grace wrapped herself up in the cafe curtains. It made for some cute shots:
And finally, on the way back to the car, Marshall and Grace did a little window shopping:
SO CUTE! I love these kids. It's going to be hard to leave in a few days.
I'm in New Hampshire visiting some good friends of mine and taking a week partially off to relax a little. It's partially because I have my laptop and am still checking emails and blogging a little. But it has been such a relaxing really blessed time so far. I was hoping for some snow but the weather here is unseasonably warm and pretty much feels like it does in Phoenix right now. Although it has been raining pretty much non-stop since I've been here. So unfortunately I haven't been able to get outside with my camera to do some exploring. But I'm hoping to do so later this week.
Shannon and Andy have been married for 13 years and have 3 unbelievably adorable kids. I'm going to hopefully shoot some family portraits later this week but I shot a few photos of the kids around the house as we've been hanging out.
Madeline is in 3rd grade and super-smart. She's a great big-sister:
Grace is 3 and is very sweet and cuddly:
And Marshall is 1 and a little mischevious. But also SO cute:
Here's Marshall trying on his big sis's boots:
Anyhow, I hope to be able to shoot more in the next couple days so stay tuned for more NH fun!
Last night my family celebrated Christmas. I think it was my favorite one so far. Mostly because my 6 year old nephew, Noah, was finally at the age where he really got into it. He was so cute and excited and helped everyone else open their presents. When he got a present open we would ask him what it was and he would often screech, "ANOTHER BOX!" It was SO cute. Of course there was an actual present IN the box but it was cute that he was so excited about the box itself.
Here's Noah before we sat down for dinner looking all cute and adult-ish with the freezer door open. All he kept asking for all through dinner was ice cream:
Here's my cute family sitting down for dinner at my parent's house:
From left to right - my dad, Noah, my mom, my brother-in-law Josh, my sister Natalie. The little diapered kid in the background is my youngest nephew Elijah. He still doesn't get what all the fuss is about so spent the majority of the evening watching Family Feud and playing in the back room.
Here's a close-up of one of the many highlights of the night--the honey-baked ham. SO yummy.
My mom admitted to going a little over the top with the gifts this year. They practially blocked our view of the trees at the beginning of the night:
Father & son ready to open presents:
We got Elijah to sit down and help open one gift. Hopefully next year he'll be more into it.
A couple of Noah's favorite gifts--a train set from Grandma & Grandpa and flash cards also from Grandma & Grandpa.
Noah is autistic and LOVES his flash cards. He is quite the wiz at learning his words from them. He must know hundreds by now and it is so cute how much he enjoys learning.
How many people does it take to assemble a toy?
Some of the other favorites of the night - my sister with her new steak knives:
Mom with some new earrings:
My dad with a tiny version of what my mom is going to allow him to buy for himself--a new motorcycle.
And the best reaction of the night caught on "film" - Josh opening a new wedding ring from my sis:
I got some great gifts as well. My favorite is a black video iPod from my parents - thanks mom & dad! I was totally surprised by it. Believe it or not, it is the very first iPod I've ever owned. Hard to believe, I know.
Finally, here's a bad attempt at a self-group portrait using my wide-angle lens:
Today was a fun day. I went downtown to partner with my church and Crossroads Youth Intervention to spread some Christmas cheer to needy children and families. I was told that many of these children will get nothing for Christmas except what they received from us today.
Above is a line of people from the surrounding neighborhood patiently waiting in line to enter the event. Here's some more pictures of some of the 200 or more cute kids waiting in line:
This little boy wanted me to take a picture of his little lizard he was carrying around:
When kids entered they were given lunch:
There was live music, a bounce house, some arts & crafts for the kids to do, and a message about the love of God in Christ--given in both English and Spanish. When the kids left, they were each give a new toy to take home with them:
When I do this type of thing, I always end up feeling more blessed than those who are there to receive the blessing. It's amazing how that works.
I am in protest. Against December. It shouldn't be December already! How is it possible that Christmas is just weeks away? Time is just going too fast. It's been hard for me to adjust and get in the Christmas mood this year for some reason. Christmas is like my favorite time of year so that's one of the reasons I'm bummed because I just want this time to go slow so I can savor it.
All of my friends and most of the rest of the country have had their Christmas decorations up since the Saturday after Thanksgiving. But I finally got mine up last night! Yay! Thanks dad for your help! This is my Charlie Brown country tree:
It's cute and little and is helping me somewhat to adjust. Here's some of my favorite ornaments:
Mr. Moose:
A reminder of the real reason for the season:
Button-legged snowman:
I haven't done one ounce of shopping yet. Thankfully my sister is like my wife in that she's doing a lot of shopping on my behalf. She's sweet--she'll call me up from the store and tell me she found something for our mom or dad and ask if I want to get it for them :).
I want to make sure I stop and slow down and reflect this year and soak it all in. It's hard with so many things on my TO DO list but I'm going to try.
One thing that always helps me to get into the Christmas spirit is my absolute favorite Christmas song- "Welcome to Our World" by Chris Rice. You need to definitely look it up on iTunes and listen to it and buy it. The lyrics are awesome. Jesus is amazing for all he has done for us!!
I hope you are able to enjoy all the joys of this season. And if there's anything else you think of that will help me with my adjustment to December--feel free to share!
Some of my extended family is in town for Thanksgiving from across the midwest - 7 aunts & uncles and 8 cousins. I've been trying to take some time off to spend with them this week since I don't get to see them often enough. Yesterday we took a day trip over to Algodones, Mexico. We ate at a taco stand and I walked around doing some street photography while everyone else shopped. We were in a very touristy border town area but it was still fun to walk around and see some of the culture. I love all the bright colors and old textures.
Here's a guy who was working extremely hard in the heat to entertain the tourists and get some tips: I found myself photographing a lot of gates, chains and locks that day. Here's a few of my favorites:
Some more bright colors:
As I was walking by these locals asked me to take their photo:
Another fun shot:
This little boy was so cute and loved having his photo taken:
On the drive home I got a cool shot of the sunset:
It was a great day shooting just for the fun of it.
Today I got to spend some time with Teri, my best friend from high school, and her adorable little girl Kailey. It's always fun to hang out with them and recently I insisted on taking some photos of Kailey because she is just SO cute. I couldn't resist. Here are a few of my favorites from our laid back, "hanging out" shoot today:
Next week I get to do a family shoot with them so there's more cuteness to come!
Starting tomorrow, I'm shooting 20 hours worth of weddings this weekend. They're going to be great but if you don't hear from me after Sunday, it's quite possible that I dropped dead in the process. Just wanted to give you all a heads up :).
This week has been a tough week for me. I've been in the process of getting a new website designed for months now and the whole thing has been a tough experience. This week it's come to a head so I've been a bit stressed out.
But God is good. He's also sent some encouragement my way in the form of emails from past clients who received my newsletter this week. I always love to hear from each of you even years after the wedding. You each have a special place in my memory and heart. Here's part of an email from Miranda whose wedding I shot in North Carolina in February 2005:
Last night was my 30th birthday party! It was so much fun. Most of my favorite people were there. It was extremely special to have so many people I love together in one place. That doesn't happen too many times in a lifetime. And on top of having many beloved people there, we got to do one of my favorite things--dance! Some country line dance instructors came in and taught us all a thing or too and it was quite comical.
I know many of you had fun with it but some of you were just good sports--thanks especially to my dad and Josh for trying so hard :). You guys are cute.
My friends Jamie and JT blessed me by taking pictures all night. Thanks guys! So all these fun shots and the ones on the slideshow are theirs. After taking a look at the photos, you'd think we were all a bunch of drunkards instead of church-going folks. This, for instance, is not only my friend Scott, but also my pastor:
Hard to believe, I know.
You'll definitely want to click here to see the slideshow from the night and many more shocking and comical photos.
I want to send out a special THANK YOU to my friend Julie who is so extremely thoughtful and sweet and started planning this party for me back in July! Can you believe how I luck out in the friend department? On top of that, it's her 31st birthday TODAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE! I love you!
Then yesterday I went to lunch with Scott, Julie and the boys. I also got to talk long distance with my friend Michelle from North Carolina. And my friend Shannon from New Hampshire sang to me on my voicemail :). Thanks to so many of you also for the emails, cards and calls. It was kind of an emotional day for me just thinking about how thankful I am for my friendships. I am truly blessed with life-long friends who are so faithful and true.
Today I got to hang out with my mom, sis and nephews in the afternoon. I took some cute photos of my youngest nephew, Elijah who is 4. Both of my nephews have autism and are so special. Elijah's favorite thing to do is throw rocks. He can sit in the backyard for hours.
And then tonight my parent's took me to dinner at Shabu Fondue. It is one of my favorites. You get to cook your food in front of you and then for dessert dip things in chocolate! It's entertaining and yummy. Here's me with my birthday dessert:
Amazingly the birthday fun isn't over. It's more like a birthday week this year. Julie, my sister and mom are throwing me a party Friday night that I'm really looking forward to! I feel so spoiled. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to all of you for pouring on the love and for being such amazing people who I feel honored to call friends.
Life gives us so many reasons to celebrate. I love that I get to work at other people's celebrations. Weddings are positive and joyous.
Maybe this is one of the reasons I never cease to be startled and saddened by some of the really dark, hard realities of life. I was talking with my friend Jessica the other day about some of the hard things we and other friends have been through just in the past few years. It's unbelieveable to me how many really heart-wrenching things happen just to me and people I love, not to mention all the things we hear about other people living through on the news.
I read a paraphrase of Revelation 22:4-5 today:
"Some day all of the darkenss will lift, and we will need no candle, no sun, for the Lord God will be our light. We will see His face, His name will be on our forehead, and we will reign with him forever and ever."
Thank God for such a hope! This is the reality we were created for.
I was just really encouraged by this verse today and wanted to share it with you.
Last night I got to go to my 3rd Arizona Diamondbacks game of the season with my parents. I love going to games with them. They buy me food and we cheer loud and talk about how great certain players are and how stupid others are--it's a great bonding experience.
Last night was such a beautiful evening in AZ. It was refreshing because there was actually a cool breeze as we walked to the park--the first one I've felt here in months! And they opened the roof! Here's a shot from our seats on the 1st base line:
Pretty good seats! I don't think I've introduced them on my blog yet, but here's the people responsible for my existence:
They are so special to me--thanks mom and dad for your support! Here's a shot of me and my dad (gotta love the guy in the background with his tongue sticking out):
This game was my last one watching Luis Gonzalez as a D-back. He's going to be a free agent at the end of the season and only has a few home games left. It's sad because he's been the heart and soul of the team for so long. He hit the single that won the final game of the world series in 2001 and is a huge fan favorite. It was touching last night because there were tons of fans holding signs in support of him that they showed on the big screen throughout the night. And everyone would stand and applaud for a long time when he would come to bat.
This girl was cute a few rows in front of us. She was supporting Gonzo on the front of her sign:
And had this on the back:
It made me smile cause I love the race they have between relish, mustard & ketchup. And it's funny because ketchup actually won last night! What are the chances?
Here's my cute parents sharing an ice cream:
And my dad with carmel on his chin:
It was an exciting game. We were ahead of the Colorado Rockies 6-4 in the top of the ninth and our stupid closer Valverde walked someone, gave away a triple and then threw a wild pitch and all of a sudden, it was a tied game! And it stayed that way until the 16th inning! Being the faithful fans we are, we stayed to cheer the team to victory. We got to experience another 7th inning stretch and sing "Take me out to the Ball Game" again in the 14th inning. My dad wanted to leave but I kept saying I was sure this was going to be our inning.
Here he is in the 15th:
But truthfully, this was just the first time I caught him on camera dozing off. I think it started back in the 3rd inning. :)
Finally in the 16th with 1 out and the bases loaded, Chad Tracy hit a sac fly to bring a runner home. And the final score was:
We left the ballbark happy and exhausted after over 5 hours at:
Go D-backs!! We will miss you Gonzo!! Thanks for all the memories.
Today was another great day at PartnerCon. We heard from a panel of photographers, including one of my mentors David Jay, who talked about community.
For the most part, the wedding photography industry is very unique in that we have a mentality of abundance and seek to help each other out with our businesses rather than compete with one another. It's such a great thing, I think, and has blessed me greatly in my business. The idea is that community and giving to one another only helps us and makes us stronger. We all gain knowledge from one another and when you give you find out that you get a lot back in return.
I also went to 3 classes given by 4 great photographers: Davina Fear, Nathan & Amber Holritz and Me Ra Koh. Davina is a really genuine, fun mom from Utah who talked about being who you are and getting to know your clients:
I came away from her talk inspired with some new fun ideas for engagement shoots. So if you have an engagement shoot coming up soon, we should definitely talk.
Nathan & Amber talked about how to make working from home work for you and I was definitely challenged in the area of setting and sticking to a schedule. I think I could accomplish a lot more on a day to day basis if I thought through and was more intentional about how I spend my time.
And Me Ra Koh was so refreshing in that she shared a lot about her life--the good and the bad--in her journey to where she is today--a nationally known photographer who charges 10-15k per wedding. Some well-known photographers who I look up to are really great and share a lot about their success but they have this "bigger than life" mystique and seem to have it all together. I appreciated so much Me Ra's vulnerability in sharing the struggles as well as successes.
So now I'm back home and have time to reflect on and process everything. Even more than the knowledge I gained this year at the conference, I am so thankful for the networking and relationship building that took place. Building a community with other photographers, both on a local and national level, makes my job so fun, inspires me and infuses me with even more passion for what I get to do for a living. Thanks guys!
Today has been great. I love hanging out with photographers--what a fun bunch of people. We had some fun with the fish eye in the morning session. Here's a shot of Stuart Thurlkill, me and my new friend Mark who wins the award for facial hair:
A weird cartoon-distortion phenomenon happens when you take a photo of someone with the fish eye lens only inches from their face. Let me demonstrate:
Mark reminds me here of Yosemite Sam:
And on the bus tonight I got this cute photo of a little girl a couple seats in front of me:
No distortion there--just pure cute-ness.
You might think from seeing these photos that all we do is get together in LA and goof off for a few days and call it a "conference" but we like to call it "networking" and we do listen to speakers and sometimes take notes. One more day to go...I'll try to retain something productive to share with you tomorrow :).
Today I headed with some other photographer friends to LA for a photography conference. I'm really excited to see some friends from all over the country and I always come away from these conferences inspired and challenged. They're great! I'll post some other fun photos in the next couple days. Here's one of Jen, Kim and I on the plane:
Hope you all enjoyed your Labor Day today. I got to hang out with my family which is always one of my favorite things to do. On our way back from the park, I saw what I think is the brightest rainbow I've ever seen:
It was unbelieveable. The picture just doesn't do it justice. Anyhow, this is kind of a random post, but I also wanted to say that I'm so sad that Steve Irwin, the Austrailian Crocidile guy, died today. So sad!
He was just so hilarious and always made me smile. The world has definitely lost a gem.
I love posting photos and new work on my blog and sharing it with all of you. But I also want my blog to be about who I am and what I believe in. So if you're here to see photos, feel free to skip this post. This is a non-photo post :).
Years ago when I was in college (I can't believe how long it's been!) at Azusa Pacific University in CA, I sang in choir. That may sound kind of nerdy to you but it was an amazing choir that I was privileged to be a part of. We gave concerts around southern CA weekly. And one week we sang for the leadership of a non-profit ministry -- Voice of the Martyrs. I hadn't heard of them previously but they have since had a huge impact on my life. We were there to encourage them but we ended up being the ones encouraged. As we sang praises to the Lord they didn't just observe as an audience, but they entered into worship with us and God's presence was heavily felt in the room. I grabbed one of their free newsletters after the concert and found out more of what they're about.
Pastor Richard Wurmbrand founded VOM over 30 years ago. He was in prison in Romania for 14 years for his faith in Christ. In the `60s he and his family were ransomed out of Romania for $10,000 and came to the U.S. where he began traveling, educating the free world of the atrocities committed against Christians in Communist and other restricted countries. VOM's five main purposes are based on Hebrews 13:3 -- "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." Their purposes are:
1 - To encourage and empower Christians to fulfill the Great Commission in areas of the world where they are persecuted for their involvement in propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ. We accomplish this by providing Bibles, literature, radio broadcasts, and other forms of aid.
2 - To give relief to the families of Christian martyrs in these areas of the world.
3 - To equip local Christians to win to Christ their enemies who are opposed to the gospel in countries where believers are actively persecuted for their Christian witness.
4 - To undertake projects of encouragement, helping believers rebuild their lives and Christian witness in countries that have formerly suffered Communist oppression.
5 - To emphasize the fellowship of all believers by informing the world of atrocities committed against Christians and by remembering their courage and faith.
As I read their monthly newsletter, my eyes were opened to "the real news" - what's really going on around the world that the media never tells us. It's unbelievable. Growing up in America with the freedoms we enjoy, I never would have thought that people in other nations suffered so gravely for what they, and I, believe. Hearing these true stories motivates me to pray for these people in other nations who I will not meet in this lifetime but with whom I have much in common. Their faith strengthens and encourages me in mine.
If you are interested in being encouraged and hearing "the real news," click here and sign up for a free newsletter. It just might change your life like it did mine.
My trip to Portland wasn't as long as I would have liked but I did get to stay an extra day after the wedding to hang out with friends and relax. A bunch of us went to Edgefield, a vineyard near Portland.
I'm not much of a wine drinker. I sip it sometimes but haven't found anything I like much. I tried alcohol when I was five. My dad gave me a sip of beer and I've been cured of the desire for it ever since. But I do like pinã coladas. I had one of the best ones ever at a ritzy restaurant we ate at in Portland this weekend. I think it was one of the best ones ever because I couldn't tast the alcohol. Anyway, I digress. I was with a number of wine lovers so they tasted and I took photos.
This is the whole crew. From left to right: Shawna & Brent (friends who live here in Phoenix and are engaged), Keri (my ex-roommate who recently moved to Portland) Josh and Natalie (my brother-in-law and sis), Dawn & Pete (friends who lived in Phoenix and whose wedding I shot but who now are doing their medical residencies in Portland), and my friend Ellen (another former Phoenix dweller who now lives in Portland).
We ate at a fabulous restaurant on the vineyard:
And looked around a pretty garden:
And this is just a random shot I took in a glass blowing shop that I thought was cool:
So that's all folks. I'm safely back home in Phoenix. Always glad to be home but left a piece of my heart in Portland... And now this is starting to sound like lyrics to a song.
Portico is the name of my church community. We meet on Sunday evenings at this Methodist Church in Chandler:
We're renting a kind of ugly room from them for super-cheap because we just started Portico last fall and don't have money for our own building yet. Here's the beautifully flourescent-lit room we meet in:
I was asked to take some photos this Sunday and had a lot of fun doing it. I love my church. We're small but I feel like I'm home there. I love the people and the atmosphere of grace.
Here's one of our fearless leaders, Scott:
I also got the chance to hang out with the cute kids for a bit:
Here's some other sweet moments I caught:
Fun times! Can't wait to see what God has in store for us!
I got a new camera yesterday! Yay! It's a Canon 5D--12.8 megapixels, full-frame sensor and bright and shiney new. The full-frame sensor means that my fish-eye lens is even fishier. I realized I haven't put some photos of important stuff up on my blog, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to have fun with my new camera. Above is my office where I spend a lot of my time. It's also where I meet with clients and boss Jamie around. This is Jamie:
Cute, huh? She's going to hate me for posting this. Ok, so I don't really boss her around. We work together and she mostly just gives me a hard time usually. And then I threaten to fire her and then the cycle repeats itself :). It's great to be able to have fun while working.
Today for lunch, my friend Marisa invited me over. She and Erik and their three kids live really close by and I love hanging out with them whenever I can. I even feel free to invite myself over sometimes. Their kids are so cute and have been my models for years.
Here's Keith eating what he refers to as a "po-ca-ca":
Along with my new camera, I also got a new lens--an 85mm 1.8. It's like Christmas in the summer :). I love my new lens too. It's got a great wide-open aperture so I can get shots like this where the whole background is out of focus:
I caught a picture of Marisa:
And then Marisa and Karina having a sweet moment:
Gotta love baby parts:
Keith is sure to be a genius one day, starting on the phonics so early:
Thanks for letting me try out my new stuff on you guys! You're great!
I just got home from beautiful San Diego and had such a blast this weekend with my friends David & Becky. They are a lot of fun and cooked yummy food for me and put up with me sleeping in their living room for four nights--thanks guys! Yesterday we went out to a beach on Coronado Island and had fun taking some photos.
This next one of the three of us took awhile to get. I set up my camera on a timer on a small wall about 30 yards from the water and then sprinted out to jump in the shot. I just got the back of me running a couple times and had to get faster :).
I'm in San Diego to shoot a wedding tomorrow. It's such a beautiful city and I'm excited to be here for the weather and to visit my friends David and Becky who moved out here from Arizona a few months ago. I love them and miss having them around so much. Above is a photo of me and Becky. We spent the day walking San Diego and I did a little shooting. It's always fun to shoot new places.
I'm staying with them in their cute downtown condo. This is the view from their balcony. You can see the bridge on the right that connects San Diego to Coronado Island.
I noticed right away that they like to make ugly things pretty in this city. Check out the metal electrical boxes that are painted--I thought this was so fun to see art created out of what would otherwise be an eye-sore:
Here's a retired Naval ship that looked pretty cool in the harbor:
It was also fun to see quotes painted on the sidewalks:
The inside of the train station:
A nice and patriotic homeless man:
Seagulls that posed for us:
Prettiness: San Diego is a very patriotic, military town:
It was a fun day--can't wait for the wedding tomorrow!
Friday afternoon I got to hang out with some of my favorite people--other wedding photographers--and we went bowling--which is something I haven't done in a VERY long time. It ended up being super-fun. The fun group above is as follows (clockwise from me in the lower left corner) Britton & Jared Platt, Jefferson Todd, Isaac Bailey, Marcia Mauskopf, Rebecca Bouck, Stuart Thurlkill and Kim Jarman. They are all amazing photographers and I ripped off some of their shots to show you along with some of mine for my blog. I won't name names, because I don't want to publicly humiliate them, but I am proud to say that I did beat a few of the boys' bowling scores. I'm not a great bowler but I always think anything over 100 is pretty good and I bowled a 102, 108 & 119. If we would have bowled more, I'm sure it would have just gone up from there :).
Photographers are pretty crazy when they're put together with a bunch of cameras. I could hardly keep track of mine--everybody else used it more than me :). Plus I nearly got assulted numerous times with one. Here's one example:
And here's an embarassing shot of me feeling disappointed with one of my throws. I'm pretty competitive and hard on myself :).
I love this one of Stuart...pure joy.
And here's another good one of Stuart--a flattering close-up with the fish-eye:
Jared brought his cute little boy, Britton who had a lane to himself next to us with the bumper rails. He was pretty cute. I think Jared bowled a few on that lane too, to feel better about himself.
Here's Kim in action...good form.
We played in two teams and my team kicked butt. Here's a shot of us doing a team cheer with JT and Rebecca being sore losers :).
I had a blast and feel so blessed to have friends in the industry to hang out with, be inspired by and learn from. Can't wait to do it again!
These are the beagles I've been sleeping with for the past three nights. Zoe (L) and Baxter (R). My friends, James & Mandy, are out of town and they told me that their "babies" were used to sleeping in bed with them. So I got suckered into taking over. They are really good dogs--well trained and all, but it's just weird sleeping in bed with someone else's animals. I'm used to sleeping by myself and moving around freely and all. But Zoe needs to be touching me--usually laying right on top of my legs or between my feet. And then they have this internal alarm clock that tells them it's time to get up and eat at 5:45 AM! Even on Sundays! I think Zoe was mad at me for making them go back to sleep until 9:30 this morning because when I woke up I couldn't find one of my flip flops. I looked all over and was asking them where it was, holding up the one flip flop I still had. I finally found it in the back yard. I know it was Zoe because when I was asking them about where the shoe was, she would cower and then roll over on her back like I was going to beat her with it. But there was no beating. I'm a dog lover. I'm not sure I love dogs as much as James & Mandy do--enough to sleep with them every night--but they are faithful friends.
Thursday we had another PUG meeting--our local network of photographers that get together once a month to talk business. Mostly we just have a lot of fun. David Jay--my mentor and long-time friend--was back in town to share all the secrets to his success. He is awesome and I owe so much of my own success to him. A bunch of us went out for dinner after our meeting--David's on the left, Shannon Rice, and Rebecca Bouck.
Here's Davide Greene from Canada and Megan Resch of Tempe:
JT ordered the Nachos Grande and it was the grande-est nachos I've ever seen:
Here's me and David. I'm not sure what that face was about....I wasn't pinching his butt I swear. There were witnesses who can confirm.
JT again and Bruce Steffine who is taking the major step of going full-time in photography like next week. Yay Bruce!
And here's Isaac Bailey--well loved but sometimes has trouble posing for photos:
I love our community of photographers here in the valley and am so inspired and spurred on by them. Can't wait to get together again soon!
I'm a big country music fan. I love it and have since high school when it wasn't so popular. It's got a great sound to it and you can say stuff in the lyrics that you just can't in other genres.
Anyhow, last week 12 girlfriends and I got together and went to a Rascal Flatts concert. We sat on the grass at Cricket Pavillion and it was hot and fun. The grass is a sketchy place to hang out. A fight broke out right behind where we were sitting and before I knew it I was flying forward into a bunch of people. Ok, so I didn't fly but got pushed really fast. And I think the security guards steer clear of the grass too cause nobody came. But it broke up pretty fast.
We had a blast. If you're one of those haters of country music, just give it one more chance and this time, listen to the lyrics. Some of them are pretty funny and others just touch you.... Good stuff.
Today Ellen and I spent some time downtown shooting Portland culture. It was again record breaking heat today - 102 degrees. And Portlanders don't believe in AC as strongly as Phoenicians. So we found a lot of kids and families hanging out at this fun spot trying to stay cool. It was pretty cute. We had lunch on the waterfront and walked around the marina:
I thought this shot would make a good postcard:
And we hung out with some interesting characters at Pioneer Square:
Tomorrow I head back to Phoenix. Can't wait to come back in August!
So today was sweltering in Portland so some friends and I went to the coast where it was absolutely gorgeous. Come to find out that we were risking our lives by doing so. Check out the signs we encountered on our way:
Don't worry--we made it out alive. No giant waves today.
Things continue to go well up here. I'm having a great relaxing time. Come to Portland during the summer! It's so great. I'm staying with my friend Ellen. Here's some more cute pics of her:
She lives in a cute small town called St. Johns.
You have to drive over this awesome green bridge to get there:
I'm off to a BBQ with some friends--more later :).
Out and about shopping in the Portland burbs today we found this fun wall art and Lindsay as she so ideally embodies these sentiments, agreed to pose for me.
And here's something you don't see in Phoenix:
Unfortunately there was only one umbrella in the bin, and it wasn't raining so I don't know if Portlanders are good at just borrowing.
And throwing something away in this city is a task in itself. Check out the trash bins in a market deli we visited for breakfast:
This week I'm up in Portland--one of my favorite cities to visit. I love it up here--it has a very distinct culture, is very artsy and is green--literally and figuratively :). It's also in the 50s to 70s right now which definitely beats the 110 degree heat that everyone in Phoenix is enduring.
The main reason I came was to shoot an engagement shoot for Tad and Diana, a couple who is getting married up here in August. But I extended my trip to hang out with friends and to get away for a bit. I'm enjoying shooting for fun up here and will post some photos from my trip throughout the week that paint a picture of Portland or are just plain fun.
When we stopped at a gas station yesterday, I saw this car:
And here are some other fun shots around town. I love the colors:
My friend Ellen lives here. This is her being all "model-y":
My roommate, Keri, also happened to be up here visiting Ellen and friends this last week. So our trips overlapped today and we got to hang out. Here's her cute mug:
Our friend Lindsay is also here from Phoenix. Here's her looking like a movie star:
We ate at my favorite Thai restaraunt in Portland and had a fun girl day:
Tonight I did a portrait shoot with my friends Greg and Shannon. Shannon has been a great friend of mine for like forever--15 years or something crazy like that. She is great. And she has also assisted me at many of my weddings. She helps me with my equipment and computer stuff and just helps things run really smoothly--it's one of her many talents :). I love her and am so thankful for her. We had a great contentedly single club going for awhile and then Greg came into her life a few months ago and now I think I'm the only one in the club.... bummer. Greg is great--he owns all the seasons of "Friends" on DVD and is basically the boy version of Shannon. They are very cute together. I completely approve.
It was a fun shoot tonight. It's amazing what having a comfort level with each other does for helping the photos to be natural and amazing. That's why I try my best to get to know my clients before the wedding day. The more we know each other, trust each other and feel comfortable around one another, the better the photos.
Thanks for your friendships and a fun night Greg and Shan!
This is my super-cute nephew Noah. He turns 6 this Monday. And that's his mom, Natalie, my younger sis. I got to hang out with them today which is one of my favorite things in the world to do. Tomorrow is his last day of kindergarten and my mom and I went to his class to visit him and observe today.
He was so proud to have us there and showed off a lot. After school we went back to his house and he promptly took off his clothes down to his underwear--which is what he always does at home--and started to play. I guess it's good to be comfy at home. Anyhow, I got some fun half-naked kid photos.
He loves being in front of the camera and seeing pictures of himself. And I think he might take after his aunt because later tonight he stole my sister's phone and went around from person to person in the house saying, "smile at me," and taking pictures with it. The only problem is he always had the camera backwards and took all super-close-ups of himself. But we're working on it. The passion is there and that's what's important. Technical skills come with time. :)
Today some photographer friends and I went to lunch at Chipotle. Mmmm. Good stuff. Jared Platt brought his son Britton. Kids are so cute. He started playing with my sunglasses and I got some fun shots. I love the shot at the top with the cup that says, "We all have to start somewhere." So true. I think back to when I first picked up a camera. I never dreamed that I would be able to take pictures for a living. I didn't know anyone who did and I didn't even have it on my radar. But God took something that I enjoyed and showed me that I could make a business out of it. Amazing! I still can't believe it. I still have so much to learn but I look back at some of my prints from my first photo class and it's amazing how far I've come. We all have to start somewhere. If there's something you've always secretly dreamed of doing--start. You never know what could come of it.
At WPPI I was inspired by a number of photographers. Parker Pfister & Joe Photo were two of them. They talked about "shooting for your soul." Sometimes as wedding photographers, we get so caught up in making sure we get the images that we think our clients "want" that we lose sight of shooting what we enjoy and what ultimately makes us who we are as artists. This style and uniqueness that each of us has is also what draws clients to us and inspires them to trust us with their wedding days. So really, everyone wins if we are freed up to be artists and shoot from our souls.
Parker and Joe encouraged us to get out and take field trips where we are freed up to shoot anything--outside of the wedding box. So a bunch of my photographer friends and I did just this a few weeks ago. Kim Jarman, Stuart Thurlkill, Jared Platt and I all went down to Mill and just shot whatever. It was a lot of fun! We met some interesting people. While I was shooting the pink bike, a guy on a bench nearby said, "Are you really taking pictures of that bike?" He was completely thrown that anyone would photograph a random bike on the street. And we made friend with some heavily pierced girls who were very nice and let us take their photos. The really goofy guy in some of the slideshow photos is Stuart. You should definitely think about going into modeling Stuart :). Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day. Click here to see the slideshow.
I have the honor of being able to lead a local network of photographers who use Pictage -- my awesome online lab and business service provider. Pictage is like having another employee--they handle so much for me and it frees me up to do what I love - shoot and work with people. Anyhow, our group that meets here in Phoenix monthly is called a "PUG" - Pictage User Group. We meet on a monthly basis and network, get to know one another and learn from each other. It's amazing what a community is forming among us. And it's so great for me to have a group of photographers to call on if I ever need anything as well as to refer weddings to if I'm already booked. They are amazing and I learn so much from them. We just had a meeting last night and took this group shot.
I just got back from WPPI - an annual national photography conference in Las Vegas - and decided that it is time for me to start a blog. So I'm excited but also think it's a little crazy--who has time to keep one of these up? :) But I'll give it my best.
WPPI was amazing--I learned so much and was so inspired by other photographers. Here's a couple pics of some of my friends I hung out with:
