Boys, a Car Show, the View from 30,000 feet and the Tulip Feilds

The last few months of 2010 were really hectic for me. I shot quite a few portrait sessions and a wedding. Along with being a mom, wife and working several part-time jobs I had little time for myself. So when I sat down to review how 2010 went . . . I was surprised to see how many personal photo's I'd been able to take earlier in the year. I wanted to share just a few of them with you. It's a long post . . . sorry I have the worst time deciding which pictures to post and probably post to many. :)

This is my oldest son Dawson. He just turned 12 and is enjoying being in Jr. High

Devin is my youngest (about to turn 10). To get a serious photo from him is quite an accomplishment. Usually I get photo's like this . . .

My nephew Eddie is cute as can be and is pretty good at letting me take his picture. As long as he can see it on the back of my camera right away! This second photo of Eddie was taken at the airport while we waited for our plane to take us to Florida.

As we flew to Florida I'm sure I embarrassed my sister every time I sat with my camera pressed up against the window of the plane. I was just so captivated by the cloud formations we passed. And I couldn't pass up a chance to get this shot of Mt. St. Helen's and Mt. Rainer.

             Experimenting with silhouettes. . .

One of the things I love about photography is the ability to make ordinary things beautiful. These 2 photos are of weeds that grow in the field behind my house. I have the top one as a 20x30 print on my living room wall. And as soon as I can find a frame I'm going to put the bottom photo up as well.

My first car was a white 1989 Mustang with a moon roof. So I have a special place in my heart for Mustangs. While shooting some pictures of the cars at Oktoberfest the owner of one let me get into his car. I captured this photo of the steering column.

    And of course the grill with the iconic mustang . . . .

                  A couple other car details from the car show at the Oktoberfest in Mt. Angel

Messing around one rainy afternoon I came up with this shot of the "Dead Man's Hand". These were supposed to have been the cards Wild Bill Hickock was holding when he was shot in the back.

I went to the Woodburn Tulip Festival a couple of times this spring. I went once with a photographer friend and once to take a class on macro photography. Even though the weather did not cooperate, I enjoyed my time there and plan to go back again next year.

 This is one of my favorite photo's. I entered it in the Oregon State Fair and now it is hanging on my wall.

After Thanksgiving I took a job taking pictures of Santa at an upscale mall. On our down time I would look out the window, of the Santa house, at the huge Christmas tree. One day I noticed you could see the mall reflected in the ornaments. So I brought my camera . . . . unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to get the shot with out MY reflection. :)

A Review of 2010

As I sit down and try and plan for 2011, I thought it'd be a good idea to review some of my favorite photos from 2010. Of the 12 photo shoots I did this last year, 4 were for family, 2 were for friends, 2 were to help high school seniors in need, and 4 were honest to goodness business building shoots. As I go through these photos’s I can see how I’ve improved. I can see the mistakes I’ve made and how I’ve corrected some of those mistakes. I am still working on setting my goals for 2011. But I do know among those goals I want to improve my photography more and to build my business.

I loved working with all my clients this year . . . . and I'm looking forward to a year of growing my business even more. :)

These pictures of my nephew were done to help build my portfolio. However, I forgot to check my camera settings before the shoot. Turns out I had my settings all messed up . . . these were the only 2 pictures from the shoot that turned out. You can be sure . . . . I check my settings before every shoot now!

                 I love the light in this one . . . Perfect!

This one still makes me giggle . . . . Rachel and Travis, I love you guys! :)

A lot of my favorite photo's from the wedding (like this one) were taken by my friend Angie Abbe. For using a DSLR camera for the first time she really rocked her first wedding shoot. Thanks Angie!!

Another favorite of mine that Angie shot! Look at the expression captured on the brides face . . . . that's what shooting weddings are all about . . . Capturing the Emotion!

This one is one of my favorites because I have a hard time getting people to relax (probably because I can't relax) and give me natural expressions. However with this shot I was able to capture a very natural expression on my sister-in-law's face. And I just love her smile! :)