perspective.

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

unpaved alleyways.

while all this readin’ and studyin’ of the photo biz is great, the best way to improve my photography is by getting out there and practicing.

practice. practice. practice.

well, yesterday i was hoping to have the hus-band be my guinea pig.

and after hours of begging and pleading, he finally gave in and allowed me to take his pictures. thanks, babe.

but before we went out on our photo-taking adventure, we made a stop by his sister’s house to drop off some stuff to add to their garage sale. see ya grody-ol’-hand-me-down couch!

time passed quickly and the sun was setting fast, so we made a quick change of plans and decided to simply practice a little in the alley. and once i got set up, our niece logan eagerly ran to join zach in front of the camera.

i should just ask her to be my model next time.

haha.

here’s what we got.

look at those baby blues!

ol’ bruiser-bruise wanted to join in through the hole in the fence.

i’m off to second-shoot for another wedding with the lovely helen today!

what are you up to this weekend?

p.s. don’t forget to enter in my first birthday giveaway! it ends tomorrow!

updates & tidbits.

hey friends! just a short and sweet note here.

not too long ago i mentioned that i will be creating a photography portfolio in order to showcase all of my work in one place! that is still going to happen, but just a little bit different than i originally anticipated.

long story short, in between second-shooting a wedding this weekend, i was also tuning in to a LIVE 3-day online photography course. hang tight until friday to find out because you will learn that is one of my new favorite things, and hopefully it will be yours, too!

anyway, during this course, the hosts would giveaway certain items from product credits to editing tools, and i just happened to win a ONE YEAR subscription to build my own website via SHOWIT! i am BEYOND excited about this, because i seriously never win anything! so, once i get the green light, i will be building MY NEW WEBSITE & PORTFOLIO over the next few weeks or so. but don’t worry! i’m still planning on being a part of the wonderful wordpress community by keeping my blog and linking it up with my new website!

yippee!

oh, and another–totally random–thing, here’s the latest logo i’ve designed for my brother-in-law’s oil company!

what’s new in your neck of the woods?

oh yeah, and don’t forget to enter in my first birthday giveaway!

5 friday favorites.

happy friday y’all!

well, howdy-doody, there’s my texan roots comin’ out. haha. maybe it’s because my weekend plans are filled with stuff inspired by the old west.

today, i have a special senior portrait session out on a family ranch with a true cowboy. it is going to be so much fun!

and then tomorrow the john wayne fest is happening!

let’s just say, i’m pretty excited.

anyway, aside from all this country talk, your 5 friday favorites are completely random and have no relation to the west what-so-ever.

here goes.

1. reeses. — okay, who doesn’t love reeses? need i say more? YUM. so bad for you, but SO GOOD.

2. the folding wayfarer. — while on our trip to vegas, i graduated from the $5 walmart sunglasses to my first pair of ray-bans. i am pretty stoked. i went back & forth between two styles of wayfarers, and finally decided on this one because i normally carry smallish purses and the case it comes with is literally the size of a stack of post-it notes. pretty cool, huh? and i never realized how much better & CLEARER good lenses on sunglasses could be when you choose to invest in a good pair. it was like seeing a whole new world. are you singing that aladdin song in your head? i am. speaking of, take a look at this.

3. boy meets world. — this was my FAVORITE tv show growing up. it’s a bummer we don’t have such wholesome tv shows that teach good lessons anymore. the hus-band and i recently watched all 7 seasons on netflix. i’m amazed that i could quote random parts from episodes i hadn’t seen in years, but apparently i knew them by heart. i think zach was a little annoyed with my impressive obsessive knowledge to the matthews family and friends. however, i do LOVE the wonder years, too. so maybe i just have a thing for those two savage brothers….. maybe? nah…. ;-) anyway, this is probably my favorite scene.

4. creative, inc. — as i am growing & developing my photography, i am hoping that by the fall i will become a complete & official freelance photographer and run my own business! i truly love it. but, i will have to say i worry about having to mind my p’s & q’s with all that legal jargon can be pretty daunting. i want to take all the right legal steps and do everything right the first time so i don’t have to come back and fix things later down the road. it’s super scary to be honest. but i am really excited about what opportunities lie ahead. anyway, to help me on my business quest, i’ve summoned the help of joy cho & meg mateo ilasco in their book creative, inc. it. is. awesome. for any creative person looking to make steps toward building and running a successful freelance business, this book has been super helpful in laying out all the proper steps to make sure you do it right. because let’s face it. us creatives would much rather spend time creating instead of crunching numbers and writing up contracts.

5. fab.com –  meet my new and latest discovery obsession, fab.com. think of it as the design-focused sister to pick your plum who married pinterest, only instead of craft supplies and pin boards, they have fantastic home decor, products, apparel, books, kids stuff, pet stuff, etc. that you can purchase or favorite as inspiration. at fab.com their main focus is on design, so you see great graphics, fashion, packaging, labels, and the like on everything! each day of the week they have a large discounted sale on items in certain categories. and let’s just say they are prices you won’t want to pass up. i’m definitely keeping this treasure in mind for the next gift i purchase!

welp, that’s all folks!

happy friday everyone!

gorgeous light.

as an amateur photographer trying to find and define my particular style, niche & daily inspiration, i’ve come across some amazing photographers who truly blow me away by their work.

of the many i happened to stumble upon, meet ph fitzgerald. a photographer based in portland, oregon, parker has an amazing eye for capturing gorgeous light, texture & beauty in his photographs.

after checking his blog this morning, i thought that i absolutely MUST share these with you.

aren’t these just lovely?

to see more photos visit his full post here.