Senior Portraits | Nick

I had a lovely time at the cast party -love.those.people.- and a fun but interesting shoot -surprisingly had enough daylight despite super heavy clouds but then got kicked off a field that both I and my friend/client had used before for a shoot!- and was able to completely finish Nick's shoot -color and b/w in one day, I'm happy!- and now posting some before uploading tonight's shoot. It's been a super productive and wonderful day:) Have any special Memorial Day weekend plans to share?!

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Nick was one of the easiest guys I've ever worked with! {but shh. he doesn't need to know that. he already has a big ego! :D} He's really relaxed in front of the camera and knows when to pull off that cowboy swagger! This shoot was the first full portrait shoot I had done in almost a year and it was so much fun to try new things and get comfortable with portrait shooting again! Thanks for graduating and giving me the opportunity Nick!

See more from the shoot HERE

{all images belong to me. please ask before using or re-posting}

simply a ramblin' day

Today is a super overcast day...and it's actually cold too. The song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" sung by Israel 'IZ' Kamakawiwo'ole just came on my Pandora station and it suddenly put me in the mood to blog. {random note: for some reason, that song always makes me think of a day like today rather than a bright sunshiny day}

I might be in the mood to blog...but I really haven't an idea what I'm going to blog about. It's probably more of an excuse to take a break from editing. I've been at it since 9 this morning! But this photoshoot has been a bunch of fun to work on. It was the first full shoot I'd done since last fall sometime and has helped me to get back into the swing of things. I'm 3/4 of the way finished with it and maybe I'll have some posted by this weekend:) Here's a sneak peak until then though!

Tonight is the first of many cast parties and I'm so excited to see all those wonderful people again! Then afterwards, if it doesn't rain, I have a mini-shoot scheduled. Please pray hard that it doesn't rain cause we've already had to postpone it twice this week because of the weather and my friend/client's husband leaves on assignment with the Marines on Sunday! {random note: I don't know what it is about *this* weekend but I've had more than 5 invitations to events just for tonight! 'Course I can't do them all...but I wish I didn't have to pick and choose! haha}

Micah's birthday was last weekend but because of family being in town, grad stuff and the play we didn't get to completely celebrate it! So Mama and the little chillens came up with the idea to get him 20 gifts since he was turning 20...and the very last one to be opened was the game "20 questions":)

 They wrapped each gift individually and signed who wrapped it and then placed them all in one huge box, wrapped it again and signed notes on top:)

I suppose now's as a good a time as any to write a blurb about last week...'specially since I keep mentioning it!

Daddy's car, Micah's car and Micah's motorcycle all broke down within a few days of eachother the week before so we all were trying to trade the van around and get everyone where they needed to be!! Talk about making things even more hectic! But the Lord orchestrated everything and taught us all even more patience:) I spent almost every day at the U of I for dress rehearsals and then productions for the Pirates of Penzance musical. It was such a wonderful bonding experience for all of the cast and each night we all looked forward to coming back the next day and performing together again! 

I spent Friday with my fellow graduates as we prepped for the grad ceremony, decorated and went to ice cream with the Pastor before heading to another play production that evening! Saturday we accidentally slept in so we had to scramble a bit but we got everyone up to the church in time and finished final prep before the grad ceremony started. 

The ceremony was incredible! And what can I say besides, "we did it!". I say "we" and not "I" because there's no way I could have gotten to that day without the Lord's strength and the hundreds of people (no exaggerations!!) that God providentially placed in my life at just the right times to help me in my journey.  

 {There was a photographer there who took care of everything so we didn't have to worry about capturing all the special moments and we haven't gotten those pictures yet but when we do I'll try to post a few!!}

After helping with the clean up, I headed back over to the U of I for the final production of Pirates of Penzance. Definitely a very bittersweet night for everyone but it was our best yet and knowing we had given it our all felt so good! To God be the Glory!!

We went to Steak and Shake, after cleaning up, for a cast party.... and we were all still so pumped from the performance that we just *couldn't* be done yet! So we asked the manager if we could perform one of our song/dance numbers for the employees and customers and he said YES!! No matter that in the real production, it was solely a pirate song. The girls knew it just as well and had been performing it all week back stage! But doing it at S & S with almost the entire cast was the highlight of the whole week. Truly epic!

 View the video HERE!

And if you want to see what I was able to capture from the week click HERE or HERE

 Okay. Break is over and I must get back to work. Have a marvelous weekend!!

Picture credit:Elle Rogers, Julie Walsman, Emily Gluntz

Senior Portraits | Riley

Riley -understandably- was not looking forward to getting Senior pictures taken but I think he did great during his mini-shoot! We worked extra fast and hopefully it wasn't *too* painful to have to smile for the camera!

{p.s. I was incredibly nervous because I hadn't done a photo shoot in over three months- my Senior schedule just didn't allow very much photography! Thankfully I was only a few weeks away from getting back into the swing of things:)}

vintage twists on modern

This last week I graduated and participated in an incredible musical production but more on that later... Check out these vintage social networking advertisements! Love them!!

via Neatorama

Film Cameras: Canon T70

{As I continue to introduce my film cameras, let me first point you back to that first post if you didn't have a chance to read it. It will definitely give you a little more detail before you proceed to read this one! Read it *here*!}

This next camera {the Canon T70} came to me in yet another very unexpected way. I was shooting a basketball tournament and one of the parents from our team {from a family I've known for 4-5 years} came up to me and was asking me about my post-grad plans,etc. The answers obviously had to do with photography so our convo followed a route down that trail. 

He started telling me how years ago he and his wife had shot weddings together but ever since then, their camera and equipment had sat in a closet. {sound familiar?!} Out of the blue he said, "you know, it's been sitting in that closet for at least 20 years...and whose to say it won't sit there another 20-- do you want it?" 

Goodness! I wasn't expecting that! Well of course I was interested but I didn't get the vibe that he was completely serious so I continued to feel him out..."Sure, I'd love to see it", I said, "What kind of camera is it and what would you ask for it?" My Daddy walked up right then, heard what we were talking about and almost immediately said, "she knows she wants it!" and we laughed. Then Mr. B threw out the clincher. "I bought it in Italy while I was in the Navy and stationed there...and it's been over 20 years so it's got to be really old."  Oh YES, was I *ever* interested!! So I asked again, "how much would you like for it?" and he responded immediately, saying, "It's been sitting there for all these years and we're not going to get any more use from the camera-- you can just have it."  "Really?! Are you serious?", I asked. "Sure", he said, "I'll bring it to you sometime soon." 

He brought the camera to me at the end of year sports banquet and as soon as I pulled it out I was in love with it.{with a big silly grin slapped on my face;)} The strap was one of the first things to catch my attention. It's so bright and cheerful and vintage. I love it. And...well, I love just about everything about the camera. The lens is a perfect range too. I am blessed.

Camera: Canon T70 {manufactured in 1984} Lens(s): 35-105mm 3.5-22f  Flash: Canon Speedlight 277T

Events: Mama's Day

Mother's Day in the north dawned gray and rainy but thankfully that didn't effect our Sunday morning moods too much and we even got to church 15 minutes early!! {sometimes it does seem like a small miracle when that happens!} Micah joined us for the first time {he usually attends elsewhere} which was really special too as we celebrated Mama's Day

Pastor Keddie's message was *so* good. I haven't been so spiritually fed in such a long time! {being mentally fed at church is good but does not compare at all to being spiritually fed}. I scribbled down such an awful lot of notes but I'd just like to share a few points that really jumped out at me.

Moral Failures & the Church: Dealing with Ourselves       

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

{Recap from previous message:  When dealing with sin in the church, you can't just ignore it and hope it goes away. It's not to be winked at as if it doesn't matter. If sin is made public in the church, it must be dealt with publically. Declaring that it's none of the church families business and "keeping it under the rug" only makes the problem worse and drives away accountability. Glorying in sin is NOT good-- for don't you know that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?}

• Are your actions -or inactions- hurting yourself, others, the church? "Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God & he will exalt you in due time"

• When your prideful mind isn't taken care of-- the more the evil spreads throughout your soul and to those around you.

• A realistic view of personal sin is the first step to the road of repentance & renewal. Are we really wanting to be searched by the Lord? "Purge *out* the old leaven that you may become a *NEW* lump!"

• A christian testimony isn't about how blessed you are-- it's *all* about Christ!!

• 1 Timothy 6:12- Begin to *fight the good fight of faith*! Take action! Continually call up the Lord to purge you and make you new again! We don't have the strength in ourselves which is why it's the power of God unto salvation! Take encouragement in what God has already done in your life-- He is NOT limited!

• God *is* in the business of forgiveness, but we *must be* REPENTANT! IF we stumble, we have an advocate who will save us, but we don't have an excuse to continue on in our sin.

• Ezekiel 36:27- I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments & do them. There's a new nature at work in you-- be what Christ has made you unto salvation!!

There's a family of ducks which always makes it's home in the church courtyard and every year they have to let them out through the church because the ducklings are to young to fly out!

 Pastor Keddie "shepherding" them out the door:)

Aaaaand we had a family picture taken {thanks to Mary!} for the first time since last summer. But enjoy the "bloopers/getting ready collage" first:) haha oh and notice how the family "grows" in each shot. It took us a while to corral everyone.

We took Mama out for lunch {something different for a change-- ever since I can remember we've always cooked her a meal at home for Mother's Day. I can't say why we did it different this year except that Daddy wanted to do something a little different!} and later that afternoon, the sun came out for the rest of the evening, completing a lovely day! I just hope Mama enjoyed as much as we all did. Though we don't always show it, she means so much to us all and I can't think what we'd do without her!

How was your Mother's Day spent?

Love these darling ladies a *whole* bunch!

Vinyls, in search of

I've found some fabulous records at Luna CD & Vinyl and Half Price Books and my friends have found some great ones at Goodwill {my next place to look!} so I was really excited to stumble upon this insightful blog post from Jill at Lune Vintage. If you like to pick up used vinyls as well, this might be a helpful post for you too;)

"I've mentioned it before, but it's worth going over again. Thrift stores are great places to find vintage vinyl for your personal collection. Here are some pro's and con's regarding this venue for finding records.

The Good

• Thrifted vinyl is CHEAP! 0.50 cents to $5. Easy and satisfying retail therapy!
• Since you're not spending a lot of $, you can pick up a record just for fun, try new bands, or just grab it for the cover art.
• Sometimes, you can find a real score that will make your day!
• Looking at so many albums can prompt you to discover something you didn't realize you were looking for.
• It's cool to see the name of the original owner on the sleeve, and sometimes the date they purchased the album so many years before you picked it up.
• The cracks and pops from a well loved record are cool with me. If I wanted clarity, I'd listen to my ipod.
• It's no biggie to upgrade to a nicer copy when you see a double.
• When you need to get out and de-stress, flipping through stacks and stacks of albums is fun, and can be done with a coffee in hand.
• Keep chilling at home on the sofa with your new vinyl, a few candles, and a glass of wine (or if you're preggo like me, a decaf coffee). 

 The Not-So-Good

• Flipping through these stacks is a dirty job. Your hands will feel grimy quick, so bring sanitizer.
• Digging is fun, but if you're determined to build your collection FAST - you're going to get really frustrated. Expect to see a lot of Nana Mouskouri, Neil Diamond, weird gross polka and kids records before you come across something you dig, even a bit.
• Don't hold your breath for perfect (or even good) sleeves. It's the used and abused that usually make their way to the second hand market. I'm personally ok with names, pen marks, warped and ripped covers as long as the record is good.
• Watch for bends and warps in the record itself (they're pretty durable tho). Second hand stores don't care about how they pile their records, and most of your fellow customers won't care how they rifle through them either.
• Scratches. Always examine the vinyl before buying. You probably won't be able to return it if it skips. Superficial, shallow scratches usually won't make the record skip, but they can damage your players stylus and add extra distortion (crackling). Take a chance on light scratches, but pass deep ones by with a sigh...
• Dirty records are bad for your player too. Clean with a microfiber cloth to remove dust. If the vinyl has a film, try a soft microfiber cloth damp with luke warm soapy water. Dry extra water off then rub record with a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol to remove any soap residue. Dry and spin!
• If you're looking for a collectible copy of your favorite albums, visit your local record store. It's worth it if you really love it."

{Jill mentioned digging through stacks or buckets of vinyls and it's so true- here's a shot of Kelsey and I at it-- but it's oh-so-worth it sometimes!}

{all credit for vinyl info and images 1,2 & 3 goes to Lune Vintage}

Snapshots: Elaena

I caught this little munchkin watching me as I took my P.A.D. one day and with that gorgeous evening sweet light as my inspiration, I couldn't help but capture a smidgen of Elaena's personality {and her mood swings, might I add! she's a true girl;)}