Mercy!

Have you ever been to Bartlesville, Oklahoma? Well, now I can say that I have. And although it's stuck out there in Oklahoma, and most people whiz on past it on I44 like I always have... I discovered that this is a really cool place! It has an incredible downtown area, perfectly poised for a nice urban revitalization, yummy eating places (I judge a place based on good eats... that's just great), an amazing baseball stadium, very cool lofts, and from what I'm told, approx. 6,000 people come out for Friday night football games!!! Hey, a movie is currently being made there (which could possibly be a secret so I better not say who is in it), and one of only 2 Frank Lloyd Wright skyscrapers is built there. Like I said, it's very cool.
But far better was the fact that I got to reunite with an old friend to do her son's Senior pictures! Although time (alot of it) has passed, and we have lived in completely separate towns, I am amazed at how much we still have in common. Juli - how great it was to just catch up with you! What a wonderful family, what an even better story... Thank you so much for letting me take your sons pictures - I hope you love these images of your incredible guy!

Matt!

If you know me at all, you know that music is my first and foremost passion, probably not even taking a second to photography. I've noticed, though, that a lot of photographers are also musicians! I could name off several immediately as I write this...
So when this handsome senior pulled out his guitar, I perked up and jumped on the chance to grab some images that highlight one of his favorite things. He handled that instrument much like I handle my cameras (or my flute), not just with caution, but with a genuine knowledge of its valuable place in his life. Not trying to sound all philosophical and deep, but us musicians, we know what I mean.
I so enjoyed taking these senior pics! It was a beautiful evening, and we went to an incredible location. (Thanks Suzanne!) There are so many, many neat places here around Rogersville. The more I peek around corners and drive down these country roads, the more cool places I find.
And Matt, thanks for letting me take your pictures! I hope you love them!

Just Another Day at the Office

Oh, the mundane, everyday, stuff of life. It's all just work, work, work. So here I go again, another photo shoot...

It's a tough job, being a photographer. Especially when it entails running down to the lake on the day after Labor Day when everyone else is back to laboring and all. I believe it was 4MPH winds that day, about 82 degrees, and perfectly overcast (that's actually a very good thing for photo shoots). This incredible skier is Phyllis, and she also makes a pretty good turkey and mustard sandwich. Her husband, Wade, was the master boat driver, and all I had to do was hang out and take pictures. Hey, I even got to jump in and go for a spin around the cove a bit. I just need to use 2 skiis, and I don't exactly get that pretty wall of water. Yeah, I think I like my job. It may be tough on days like these, but I'll hang in there.

50 YEARS... and counting!

I sure can't say enough how this couple amazes me! Every time I am with them, I take with me a little something I can apply in my own life, to somehow improve my marriage, or fine tune my parenting. You see, they have raised 3 kids - a girl, a boy, and a girl. We are also raising 3 kids, in that very same order. The boy in the middle thing has turned out pretty good for them, so I am hopeful. But the kicker is this, they have raised some pretty godly kids, and the grandkids are now following in this legacy. So if you think I'm being all serious in this blog post, you might just pick up on how honored I feel to have taken their pictures for their 50th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! I am thrilled to consider Jim and Nancy, along with their family, lifelong friends.
Favorite recent Nancy quote:
"I am not married to my best friend, I am married to my husband. There is a difference."

I also had the joy of taking their daughter's family pics at the park this past week - Amy, you'll get to see them before the rest of the world, I promise. :)

Tiny Dancer

Where there's an empty dance floor, there has to be one brave soul who will try to get things started. The music was so pretty, she just couldn't resist. The hands folded across her chest pose... she was actually dancing in her chair with beautiful arm twirls and hand rolls. Oh, to be 2 and completely uninhibited.

ERIC M.!

As promised, here is a sneak peek from a Senior Session I did while in Oklahoma this past weekend... Eric is my cousin Jana's handsome son. (Sorry if that embarrasses you, Eric, but we moms must gush a bit) As all us midwesterners are aware of, the heat is blistering hot, especially in OK City! I know we hit over 100 that day, so we were really sweating it out. That's nothing for this guy, though, doing 2 a days in football practice makes him tough. Our little session in the evening cool of the day made me melt. It was so much fun, though, in spite of the heat, & I think we got some pretty cool shots. :) Jana - your kids are both amazing, and I am honored to take Eric's Senior Pics for you! THANK YOU and I hope you love these as well as the many others to come... (I saved my favorite just for you!)

Watercolor Twirl

I walk through old hallways, through creaky doorways of the centuries old church, I listen to the ceremonial toasting of the bride and groom, the joy absolute on peoples faces. Trying to be inconspicuous, with multiple cameras dangling around my neck, I find that incredibly hard to accomplish. In one of those surreal moments, though, I hear the sound of children laughing, playing, and girlish giggles. Creeping in the room as quietly as possible, I crouch low, adjust my camera settings, and do my best to capture one of my all time favorite moments. Sometimes the memory of it all is better than what a lens and camera can do. They are simply tools in the hands of an artist. My eyes, my heart, will remember the beauty of this moment better. Hopefully this rendition, void of actual color or clarity, will simply jog my memory in the future, and bring me back to the darkened room filled with little girls dancing in the shadows, much more interested in the size of the twirl in their dresses than the wedding reception going on nearby.

{By the way, this is my sweet niece, Grace, taken at her brother's wedding in London.}

Shannon

Can you say windy?! I think the gusts were like 40mph on this nice sunny evening. Now a little breeze is kinda nice, it adds movement and emotion to a shot. But gusty, knock you off the ledge kind of wind is not so desirable in a photo shoot. We worked with it pretty well, though. Fortunately, we had chosen to be in downtown Springfield, where there are lots of alleys and buildings to hide between. Shannon did great and was so flexible with my ideas. The light was yummy,too. So all in all, she made my job easy and now I have the impossible job of narrowing it down to only about 40 images to showcase. You, my faithful, curious blogger friends, get to see my first 3 barely edited images from this session.

Shannon- you are beautiful, inside and out! I had a great time and I hope these images convey a glimpse of who you are. Thanks for letting me be the one to take your senior pictures - and Congratulations!!!

Guess Where I've Been...

It's CANCUN, MEXICO! The Northern side of Isla Mujeres, to be exact!


I thought about making this a contest, but since most of you have probably seen it on Facebook, via Helter Shelter or one of our kids, I think it wouldn't be a grand idea.

I have some great new images, but I was on vacation, so there were many days when my camera never made it out of the bag!
I may post another one, if I feel like it. Then again, I might not. :)

It's good to be busy...

Editing, editing, editing. That's what I've been up to every spare moment. Last night those "spare moments" didn't happen until 11pm through 2am. Last week was my busiest week so far in photography, and now I get to sift through the hundreds of images I shot for multiple people. It's good to be busy! I love it! I can't tell you how rewarding it is to create those "WOW" images, and when you get it right - that sigh is amazing.

So, in hopes of getting it right... Here's a few I shot last week.
More to come!

Twins! B & Jaz

I am learning that with babies, especially when there's more than one... you must work fast.I couldn't wait for this one, though. I was all set up last night, so when they arrived promptly at 9 we were ready to hit it. Everything went really well, and in spite of that middle pic ( I just couldn't resist posting it!), the babies were in a very pleasant mood. I had the set all warmed up with space heaters, all kinds of fluffy blankets, and a cute little rocker. However, the ones that turned out the best are the headshots where the babies just bounced on Mama's knee and followed the rattle with their eyes! So much fun. I hope you love these pics, these precious girls are so fortunate to be in your care and I do hope it's gonna be forever. Foster babies are truly special.
By the way, a big thanks to Sarah and Linda for driving all the way out to do this session! I don't see how you do it, girl.

epiphanie

I have a really cool camera bag, but this one is even cooler because I am a girl. We like purses, and shoes, and accessories and stuff. So, here I am wanting yet another camera bag, for those days when strapping on a sleek, strap ridden backpack to tote my gear around just isn't goin to cut it. The bag above is an EPIPHANIE camera bag... I want one, so I will shamelessly post this to my blog to earn the right to enter a contest with high hopes of actually winning one, FREE. I'd like a camera, too, by the way. A Canon 5D Mark II... I can't tell you how I think this would catapult my photography into the business of my dreams. I mean the camera, not the bag, although an Epiphanie in red is a pretty good place to start...

Good Friends

Here's just a few shots of some great tweens! They were so excited to get dressed up and head outside on the first 50 degree day in months! And even though this wasn't an "official session," (I just took a few shots of each) I think they all look BEAUTIFUL!!

A Bit 'O Business

What? A backdrop?! Artificial lighting?? Well, it seems I am now also doing corporate business portraits. Why? Because everyone just loves to get this done? Let's be honest, it's a CHORE for most people. I know this first hand because my husband, who is a wonderful business man, has not had his picture retaken for the company since 1993, give or take a few years, and a few pounds, and a few pair of glasses.
This is actually quite fun for me. I like the set up and I'm offering a great deal with an extra opportunity to get a FREE PHOTO SESSION.

So, here it is:

**For only $60, I'll come to your office and take corporate business pictures of up to 5 people. $80 for 10 people, $100 for more than 10 people.

**Each person will receive a disc with 3 images to choose from. Images will be completely edited, with choice of background colors.

**Every person who participates will get their name in a drawing for a FREE photo session! Drawing to be held on March 31 - my husbands birthday.

**Every person who participates will receive 30% off any prints if they schedule a regular portrait session that day(Family, couple, kids, senior, etc...).

Now that is a FANTASTIC offer. It's easy for your office, because I COME TO YOU and you can get several people photographed at one time. So quit procrastinating and set up your appointment today (Greg...)!

This offer is good until April 1st. It's a perfect time of year to get a fresh new look for your business cards or brochures. Just contact me and we'll set up a time...

Michelle

Isn't that the most gorgeous hair you've ever seen!??? Get this, it's real. No fake color... real. I've been thinking as I've looked through her images today, I'm so glad we didn't wait until Spring to take these. By that time, the colors of the season would be here, and I actually think it would compete with the vibrancy in her own unique coloring. Even though we were thinking we could get this in before the snow melted away, we were instead faced with 50 degree warmth and a nice overcast day (great for photos)! Michelle is a special young lady, and I'm so glad I got to take her photos!

CS4 vs iPhoto

I am learning, learning, learning. After much frustration, I have finally figured out that there are certain photo editing tweeks that I have performed in iPhoto, that look great while editing within iPhoto. But the moment you click "Done" those edits are lost. They don't get transferred to a printed image at all. Basically, iPhoto does not do what it is supposed to do. So, with that, I migrate over to Photoshop CS4 where I belong anyway. There I can reduce all that grainy noise, remove spots, and add a person into a shot because they inadvertantly wandered away during the photoshoot. (How does that happen?)
So here is a before and after image... can you tell the difference? One was done with the iPhoto (free with the purchase of my Mac) and the other was edited with Photoshop CS4 (NOT Free at all)!

{{This is fun, I may have to make a contest out of this...}}

Winter Walk

Sometimes I miss the convenience of living in town... a quick run for milk, a drop by visit of a friend, and generally less snakes and stuff. But not this day. On Wednesday, we all woke up to a blanket of icy fog, and I was fortunate enough to have a stay-at-home morning to do laundry. And like all good photographers, or otherwise procrastinating homemakers, I opted for a walk among the glorious crisp white trees and fields. Days like this make me never want to get in the car... (especially since it's a Toyota).
The picture in the middle was taken with my new 50mm 1.4 Canon lens. See how the ice crystals on the tip of the branch are clearly in focus, while the rest is all blurry? Well, that's on purpose, folks. It's called "Bokeh." While my composition may be a little off, I love playing with that depth of field. It's so precise, that a pic of my dog's face can have her nose in focus, while the eyes get blurry. We want to avoid that, so it takes practice. Practice. Practice... I do love the results, though. I'm also learning about White Balance, and studio flashed set ups. You have to be a constant learner to make it in this business. It's technical. It's Art. It's people. It's JOY to me. And it's why I'd rather venture outside instead of hopping in the car to go to WalMart. **Sigh**, that's where I'm headed now...

London Wedding... Brad and Sarah

I can't describe in words, probably because I'm a visual person, how incredible this trip was to London! First of all, it was my sister's eldest boy getting married, second, he married SARAH. They are truly smitten with each other, a pure joy to be around, and I am blessed to have been a part of their big day.