uh apple.

watch me.

5 friday favorites.

good morning!

the past few days i’ve been up and at ‘em super early! but hey, i’m not complaining, it gives me more time to do things in a day.

today’s 5 friday faves are focused again toward the things i’ve come to love as i am starting my business. and speaking of, i am excited to announce that i will be re-branding madisoncary in the very near future! :-)

do you want a small hint? i know you do. okay. it is my preferred condiment choice on a hot dog.

but to be honest, i don’t really eat hot dogs at all. they kinda gross me out. blech. i just wanted to use that as my illustration. okay, now that THAT is cleared up, on to today’s favorites!

1. showit — this website company is THE BEST. when i first won my 1 year subscription to showit, i had no idea what i was getting into. the only thing i was thinking about was “this is awesome, but now i have to figure out this thing.” the people behind this fantastic company are so encouraging, helpful & supportive. even my fellow showiteers are out to help one another as we each build and grow our businesses. and best of all, showit is SUPER easy to navigate. it’s a site made for creatives, so you have to worry about coding on your own. all you have to know is how to basically set up a powerpoint and make it look pretty. :-)

2. pass — this is the sister company to showit. pass is the way i plan on going when i deliver my images to my clients. it is a “in the cloud” type of host that allows you to upload your hi-res images into an event and share them with your clients via facebook or email. with the click of a button your clients can access, download and even directly publish their images to a facebook album. and the best thing of all, the photographer WILL ALWAYS be credited. it automatically goes to facebook with all of your info. pretty cool, huh? no more haggling about those photographer credits! let’s just say i’m pretty pumped, because as a part of my business model, i am going to strive to be mostly if not completely digital & paperless. yes! shoot & share, folks!

3. bird by bird — anne lamott is one of my all time favorite authors. she is a tell-it-how-it-is and a no-sugar-coating-it kinda gal. my first encounter with one of her books was in my spiritual formation class in college. in this particular class, i, along with 10 knowledge-driven students and 1 wise, old professor, spent time reading memoirs, praying, journaling & discussing life together around a small conference table with big, worn-in leather chairs. it is easy to say that this class was probably one of my most favorites ever. anyway,  we read through anne’s rugged & truthful journey of life in her book, “traveling mercies.” go read it. bird by bird is another memoir, however some great advice on writing has been weaved throughout it. i can’t wait to soak up more of her witty humor and helpful tips as i embark on the road to improvement.

4. moleskine — a little cliche, i know. but who doesn’t love a good, plain notebook? and now that they come in all shapes, colors & sizes, there are a spectrum of writing companions to choose from that will happily host your written journey on paper. i use a plain black notebook for journaling, a red planner & kraft-colored pocket-sized books for on the job. genius, pure genius. did you know that moleskines were used by famous creatives such as vincent van gogh, pablo picasso, ernest hemingway and bruce chatwin? maybe that’s why they are so “hip”.

5. la croix — my newest obsession. the pop of club soda meets the flavor of a fruity beverage, without the sugar, calories or sodium. score! every now and then i crave the bubbly-ness of a coke–yes, in texas we refer to EVERY kind of “pop” or “soda” or “soft drink” as a “coke”–and la croix has become my go to choice in order get my fizzy fix. and, if it doesn’t have enough flavor for you, you can always add a little mio and a wedge of lime!

whoomp, there it is.

happy friday folks!

perspective.

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

the redhead in my life.

everyone in our family knows that may is a special month. uh huh, you better believe it.

not only does it host a particular day when we show our moms some extra lovin’, but it also contains the date, may 22, i.e. my momma’s birthday!

growing up, sometimes birthdays would get extended over the course of the entire month in our family.

probably because a day seems to fly by so quickly, you could hardly catch your breath to blow out your birthday candles.

so, with that being said, happy birthday mom! here’s to another year!

helen byrd photography

hey there, cupcake!

whew! what a whirlwind of a weekend it has been!

we made a quick trip to austin friday, came back early sunday to photograph precious emmy‘s 1st birthday party and then celebrate our graduating seniors with a cookout at small group!

we even managed to watch the annular eclipse, too!

and yes, you better believe that as soon as our evening was over, we crashed hard last night.

here’s a summation of our weekend in pictures.

momma jeannie (aka zach’s girlfriend), the lovely bride rachel, her friend ashley and sister molly

emmy’s 1st birthday

so many cute kids were at this party!

homemade german chocolate cupcakes! YUM.

some of our awesome seniors with jay.

eclipse in texas. pumpjack and all.

now i’m just hoping i didn’t kill my eyeballs while taking this photo.