Field of beauty

This is Katie. Isn't she georgous!? Katie was such a treat to work with. She is 6 but thinks she is 13! lol! She also believes she is America's Next Top Model. She kept on giving me these intense stares like the models do on the show! ha! I totally think she could be America's Next Top Model when she grows up. :-)

Love and Happiness

A very good friend of mine, Tiffany, and her fiance' Sydney, traveled from Knoxville for their engagement session with me today. We had a great time going from one location to the next. I was so happy to see Tiffany truly happy and in love, with the man of her dreams!

So, CONGRATS Tiffany and Sydney! I'm so happy for you! I hope you guys had as much fun as I did!

My session song pick is Two of Us by Aimee Mann.

Waiting On The World To Change

Sometimes life gets so complicated, so hectic. When my life gets like that, I go out by myself and shoot random objects. It is so calming and relaxing. Even if just for a little while, I can forget about everything that's stressful, everything that is putting me on the verge of crying out loud.

I've felt a bit frazzled here lately. I've had to fight with some doctors and our insurance company because of an unexpected complication involving my son's upcoming surgery. His surgery has been pushed back and we will have to pay more money than we originally thought. I hate doing this to him. I feel as if we take two steps foward only to be pushed backward. I had to really fight with the hospital just to get him scheduled for surgery. And now, it has been pushed back once again! He is on the verge of yet another ear infection, because of massive fluid build up in his ears. He has been with out tubes in his ears for 5 months and it has taken quite a toll on him. His ears hurt and his hearing is beginning to suffer. Why do things with doctors and insurance companies have to be so complicated?

Here are some shots from my quiet, theraputic adventure. This is how I clear my mind. How I keep my sanity in tact!

I feel that the song by John Mayer "Waiting On The World To Change" sums up my feelings for this post.

Summertime

Ahhhhh, sweet summertime! This is the kids' first Slip-N-Slide, and they are absolutely thrilled with it! I have a feeling that next months water bill will be a bit more than usual! lol! That's ok, it's worth it to see the pure joy on their faces!

The song that is playing is a song I remember my dad singing all the time when I was little. He would tap his fingers on the steering wheel, while driving us to school, to the beat of this song.

You Belong To Me

I try every year to get shots of my two together. And every time, it turns out a complete disaster! My kids seriously do suffer from photographer's kid syndrome and the symptoms worsen when they are together! I ALWAYS have to do a "head swap" or sometims a full body swap just to get ONE good picture with both kids looking at the camera! That was before I really found my style. Now, my style is more photojournalistic and natural. These are the first pictures of my two together since I've "discovered" myself. I love these pictures so much. It is the first time I have ever been able to capture that sibiling bond that they share. Every shot that is in this post is being printed really big! Thank goodness I have a big house! lol!

I tweaked my usual B&W conversion for this shot. I wanted to duplicate a process I learned in the B&W darkroom in college.

Sorry I have been neglecting my blog and the blog group. Been super busy here lately!

Thank you all so much for supporting and visiting my blog!

Beautiful

For the first time since I had my daughter (4 years ago) I feel beautiful. After I had kids, my body changed....ALOT! And it gave me some self esteem issues that I have battled with ever since. Well, that's gotta change! How will I ever be able to teach my daughter to see her beauty, as well as others', if I can't reach into MYSELY and see MY beauty? My husband, Jonathan, took some incredible pictures of me yesterday, on my birthday. And I was joking with him saying that I was going to "liquify" my body in PS to make myself look skinnier. Only I was half way serious! When I started to edit the pictures he took, I had an epiphany! I have decided to embrace me (ALL of me) for who I am! No more worrying about how I am not "beautiful" by America's standards. I am short and curvaceous, and you know what? That's ok! Because I feel good about myself! So here I am. The true me!

Oh, I had an absolutely wonderful birthday! On June 5, I had the most incredible experience. I had my home birth session. It was amazing! I will not be sharing the pictures from it, out of privacy and respect to my client. Then, yesterday, my mom took me out and I got a new haircut, which I LOVE! After my haircut, Jonthan and I spent the day in Nashville. We took pictures of each other all day. It was really fun! We then went to The Melting Pot for a nice romantic dinner. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday!

I have these pictures in color as well, and I really like them in color. But, I edited them in a different color space in PS and when I upload, the colors are dull and nasty! So I just flipped them all to B&W for my blog.

Random Thoughts

Ok, bare with me here, this is a long post! I've been so busy with my clients' sessions that I haven't gotten around to my own photos lately! All of these shots were taken in May. They are shots of my kids and their cousins. These shots show how I see these children.This is my FAVORITE type of photography! I absolutely adore capturing kids being themselves!

And I also wanted to share a few more of my favorites from last weekends wedding.

Sorry, these photos have been removed. :-)

June is going to be a fun filled month for me! Next week is my 22nd birthday. My husband and I are going to downtown Nashville for the day. I will be doing some shots of the two of us together. I am excited about doing them! We have not had shots of just us in forever! I also have a home birth session any day now, 2 engagement sessions and a famiy session for this month. And my son will be having a minor surgery at the end of the month. Nothing serious, but I am still nervous.

Until next time.....