My Nephew, College & Change

At the end of June I took my nephew to the town where I went to college. I wanted to show him where I went to school and where I lived when Dawson was born. The building that housed the college has been remodeled & is now a performing arts center. As I walked around what was left of the building I was struck by how much had changed. The stair wells were completely different, the banister I used to slide down was gone. I actually recognized very little of the building. Then I noticed the men's bathroom door. It looked exactly as I remembered it, down to the sign (in the school's colors) to mark that it was the men's bathroom. I found an old classroom that still had the sliding chalkboard on the wall. I went into the gym & noticed it had been painted different colors. However the school logo was still on the gym floor & the basketball keys were still the school colors.

All this got me thinking . . . . people are always so afraid of change. But it comes weather we want it to or not. Sometimes we can see the change coming, sometimes it comes so fast we're left wondering what just happened.

Next time your world changes look around . . . I'll bet you can find something that is still the same.

         I love old buildings, they always have so much character!

            My sister, 2 of my nephews and I

I just had to post this picture of my nephew . . . . isn't he adorable                                             

Oregon Gardens

Last month my friend Tori and I went to the Oregon Gardens. We'd been trying to schedule a day for over a month, but kept getting rained out. Finally we made it on a beautiful sunny day. The only problem . . . wind. In reality it was a small breeze. However when your trying to take pictures of flowers even a small breeze can look like a hurricane in the camera. We did get enough breaks during the day to catch some nice shots

    The base of this flower always makes me think of a burlesque dancers skirt!

Lucas Zeis

Last summer I had the opportunity to photograph the Zeis family. I was thrilled when they contacted me this year to take Lucas's senior photos. They are a wonderful family and I enjoyed working with them both times.

When I arrived for the shoot Lucas was getting ready to go 4-wheeling later that day. He said he needed to get in as much fun as he could before his summer job started. Well Lucas I hope you had fun 4-wheeling and I hope your summer is full of fun, despite having to work. Good luck as you start your senior year this fall! :)

Flowers, Flowers Everywhere

The week after the accident we received hundreds of flowers. They were delivered to my mom's house, to my mother-in-laws house, to our church and to the church where the service was held. Beautiful flowers were everywhere and I wanted pictures of them. But between the shock, grief and chaos that surrounded me I couldn't pick up my camera. And now the flowers are gone.

However yesterday I received some beautiful flowers for my birthday. So instead of  pictures of flowers that represent a horrible event, I took pictures of flowers that represent a happy day.

 I couldn't decide between the color or the B&W . . . I really like them both.

 

The photo above is my favorite!!



The Last day of School

Every year on the first and last days of school the boys would stand against the wall and I'd measure how much they'd grown. They loved tracking how tall they were. They'd stand with their heels against the baseboard, their backs straight and their heads held high. I'd make the mark and before I was done they'd duck out from under my arm to see how tall they were. Well today is the last day of school, but no marks will be made on the wall today. Instead I took a picture to remember how fast kids grow and how short life can be.

Who Me?

I'm just going to put this out there . . . . On of my long range photography goals is to be asked to speak at a photography convention like WPPI. Why? I don't know, public speaking scares me to death.

When a friend contacted me about learning photography from me, I saw it as a first step to reaching my outrageous goal. But when I sat down to write the lesson I was immediately hit with my many insecurities. "What right do I have to teach a class?" I'm still in the beginning learning stage. "What can someone possibly learn from me, when I still have hundreds of questions?" "How can I instruct someone else to better their photography when I don't know how to better my own?"

But then I pause . . . take a DEEP breath and remember how far I've come. I know more today than I did yesterday, more this year than I did last year. And that information I CAN share. So what little knowledge I do have I will use to build my knowledge and teach others. And that will bring me closer to my goal . . .

Reisner Family

Last week I had the opportunity to work with the Reisner family. They are a great family full of fun and affection. They have a heart for working in Mexico with Amor Ministries and have been there several times.

There were 3 couples to work with which made capturing the emotion fun.

Don't they all make the most adorable couples. :)

These are my favorite kind of photos. People are not smiling for the camera, but they are interacting and showing emotion. :)