Beginning {52 on Friday} | Searcy, AR Photography

This week our theme for the 52-week project is “beginning.”
Honestly, the past couple of weeks has been a whirlwind to me.  So much so, that I didn’t think about this theme until Wednesday.
Even then…..it didn’t dawn on me quite yet (thanks to Cheryl for the kick in the head) what a perfect theme it is for such an exciting time.
What excitement am I talking about.
Follow the images to see.

Beginning. The first things I think about are streets, doors, stairs….things that are a beginning to something or a start to somewhere. Here is an open door. A door that is a beginning to……

a staircase, that is a beginning to……

A New Beginning.

At the end of last year/first of this year, I did some heavy thinking and praying about my business. I knew what I wanted, but I had decided that I was going to let God take the lead. How hard is that? SUPER hard for me. I want to be in control; I want to know the outcome; I want to mold it to what I want it to be.  But….as hard as it was (still is), I turned it over to Him. And what a surprise. I believe He has opened a door. If you will, a door to a staircase, and a staircase to an opportunity and answer to prayer. I have been asked to join Zoe Portrait Art for Zoe Weddings. Maggie, Cheryl, and Kristen, you are all an answer to prayer….really. I can’t wait to see what this first year holds. I know it will be a hard road of work ahead, but only good things can come from it if we all work together!

One of my favorite verses:  “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV.

Two links for you this week. One to the Zoe blog to see what they have to say about this awesome new adventure we are on. And the next to the blog of the very talented Jon Yoder, here, for his take on the 52 project.  Keep going and follow the circle!

Happy Friday everyone!!!!

12 {52 on Friday} Week 2

The number 12.
Hmmmm….so many things that this could be interpreted as.
So why did it give me such grief???!!!!

Last week I explained what this project is all about. For those of you that might have missed out, here is the shortened version.
Fourteen other photographers and I have taken on a 52 week project with different themes every week. We all do our own interpretation of the theme and link to the next blog in line to make a circle of sorts to follow. This will definitely be interesting. You should follow along!

This week, I had a hard time figuring out what to do. Then, Wednesday night, we had board game night. And. TA DA!!! Bailey rolls 12! The second I saw it, I screamed “DON’T TOUCH THEM!!!!” I hopped up and ran for my camera.
No the photos aren’t technically perfect, not even close, but they remind me of a wonderful night we all had as a family with no TV, no phones, no computers….just fun family time. Great night!

Now go check out the next post in project here from Erin Bunting of Bunting Photography!

Happy Friday!

Baker boys | Arkansas Photography

Another blog post I didn’t get done before the end of the year.

These two brothers were so sweet and polite.  Aren’t they both so handsome??!!!

We had a great time romping around taking photos even though it was pretty cold that day.

They both were such troopers!

These are a few of my favorites from their session.

Evans Family | Arkansas Photography

I am going through and trying to blog the sessions I wasn’t able to get on the blog by the end of the year.

I have quite a few.  Let’s start with the Evans’!!

We met at Romance Christmas Tree Farm for a quick session dodging mud, as it had been so wet the week before.

But, we had fun and got some great shots.

And….I could just pinch little man’s cheeks right off!!!

Isn’t he the cutest!

Self Portrait {52 on Friday} Week 1

I have started a year long project. You read right. YEAR. LONG. That scares me just a little bit. Committing to something that long knowing how busy and hectic my life already is. But….I have 14 other awesome photographers to push me along and hold me accountable!! So here’s what “52 on Friday” is about. Each week is a different theme for all of us to be creative and come up with a photo or photos that go along with that theme. The reasoning behind it? To push ourselves creatively! And to get to know one another. It’s awesome to have friends in the photography industry that really do care and support one another. It’s an amazing feeling! I can’t wait to get to know everyone better and see the different perspectives on the themes each week!

Week 1 : Self Portrait. I secretly had a little nervous breakdown when this was decided for the first week. First off…..I HATE being the subject for a photo. I’m not made to be on that side of the camera and lens. This was quite a stretch too as I had never tried taking a photo of myself. Truth? I had to learn to use the self timer. Really. I’ve never had to use it before! While I was trying to pull this off, I was sure wishing I had invested in a remote!

I am constantly (seriously every day) having to fight the urge to go shoot or do anything photography related when I should be taking care of my other responsibilities (kids, wife, shopping, bills, teaching, studying, working, too many to list)! So…here’s my version of “devil and angel” scenario. Maybe I should have added horns and halo?

Here it is…..my self portrait.

And for fun….we all are filling out this interview (week 1 only) so y’all can get to know us a little better.

1. What is the first thing you see in the mornings. My cup of coffee. Seriously. I can walk from my bedroom, through the living room, into my kitchen, and make a cup of coffee (Keurig all the way baby!) and not open my eyes until I take the first sip. I don’t think my eyes would work before that jolt of caffeine anyway!

2. Three words that describe your personality. Hmmmm…. loud (i like to laugh), dependable, workaholic.

3. One thing you wish you could do, but can’t. Teleport! Tell me that wouldn’t that be awesome!

4. First song that pops into your head………NOW!!! “I like to move it move it” (Bailey is watching Madagascar as I type this post).

5. What got you started in photography? Love. For real. I love ‘Love.’ I was asked to shoot a wedding for a family member back in December of 09, ( I had no clue what I was doing at that point) and I fell in love with wedding photography. I started studying, searching, eating, and sleeping everything photography so I could learn about white balance, ISO, aperture, etc. and how to use my camera in manual mode. I haven’t looked back. I shoot family portraits and seniors, but I LOVE wedding photography. If I had to pick only one avenue for my business to go down…it would be that!

6. What do you love most about photography? The exact moment that I deliver images to my clients and see their faces light up. I love bringing joy to people.

7. What do you hope to learn/accomplish from this project? I need to push my creativeness. And…I can’t wait to grow deeper friendships with the photographers in this group!

NOW!!! Keep the circle going and go check out the next photographer in the circle. … Patti Crump with Patti Crump Photography. Click here.

Happy Friday!!!!

Marlsgate Plantation Wedding | Arkansas Wedding Photography

This is one place that I have always wanted to visit. Seriously. Even if I wasn’t ever given the opportunity to shoot a wedding there, I wanted to at least go see it! Since I was a little girl, I always dreamed of living on a plantation and being a southern belle. Let’s just say, Gone With The Wind is my absolute all-time favorite classic movie. ***** A movie, mind you, I had on VHS and literally watched a hundred times, until one day my husband taped over with a football game that he just could not miss. How could he do that??!!! It had “GONE WITH THE WIND” in large bold letters along the tape’s spine. Needless to say, I have never let him live that one down.*****

When Laura called me up and asked me to help shoot a wedding at Marlsgate, I just about died. Really. I prayed, as I opened my calendar, that I didn’t have anything booked that day. And…….Woohoo! I was free!!!

The best part of the day……there was a miscommunication regarding preparation time, and we were there early. EARLY!! Enough time to walk around the gardens, get a tour of the house, and daydream about what it would be like to live there. I was living in a dream that day. For real!

To start, I want to post images of the house, grounds, gardens, with the dream-like light, so don’t get too bored with it because there are wedding images to follow!

And now for the wedding images.

Laura, thank you so much for asking me along! Now, go check out her blog post here for the full wedding day story and images.

Blake Taylor of The Rescue Session | Searcy, AR Photography

I was kind of caught off guard when Blake asked me to shoot some images for The Rescue Session.  Ok.  Not kind of….but extremely caught off guard! I have never done this sort of shoot before.  A band …..yikes!  I’m very comfortable shooting weddings, portraits, etc.  BUT this.  This was all together different.  We scheduled a session.  I racked my brain.  Blake sent me ideas.  Then we had to reschedule.  And reschedule.  It just seemed that we couldn’t all get together at the same time.   I had put it behind me and eased my nerves to wait for another day.

So….a few weeks ago, I got to shoot newborn portraits for Blake’s precious little girl.  And wham! “You think we could get some shots of me while I’m here?” Wow.  I wasn’t prepared.  But took the challenge.  Which I think might have been the best thing.  Otherwise, my nerves would have gotten all worked up again had we scheduled it for a later time.  We walked around for about half an hour looking for good light, lines, and whatever makes for a cool shot of the lead vocal/guitarist in a band.  Did I know how to make this “coolness” come out in these images.  I’m still not 100% sure.  I think they turned out pretty well.  And I got to play with textures….which is not normally my style.

Leave Blake some blog love and then go check out The Rescue Session on Facebook and see what they are up to!