busy busy

I've been busy with fun shoots lately!! I've got an actual post in the works, but for now a post of a cute couple on my photography blog :)

*click on image to see more*

big birthday boy

nope, the OTHER big boy.  He refused to give me a normal smile. That morning he asked me if we could just celebrate his birthday every other year.. LAME. I said no way.

This is what happens when you put two angel food cake mixes in one big pan...it got even got worse than this!

 

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY (yesterday) SETH!!

 It did turn out yummy though with a little ice cream, strawberries, and fluff. Seth's fav.

After Seth worked a little bit, his parents came and watched Warren for us so we could enjoy dinner and a movie together, then we came back and had a little family partay! (THANKS mom and dad ellsworth) I'll spare you all the things I love about my manly man ;) LOVE YOU TO THE MOON & BACK, SETHY POO. (He LOVES that nickname ;) ;)

things i secretly love

I'll admit that I'm random, I've been told that a few times. I have random thoughts a lot.

The other day I was thinking about how much I love hospitals. Let me explain, I like being taken care of in hospitals:) I really like being able to and told to sleep all day because I need to, to heal. I like being brought my food without having to get out of bed. I like the pain killers that make you woozy and throw you into that dream stage where it pretty much forces you to sleep. I like the warm, fresh from the dryer blankets they bring you. I like the countless supply of beverages, pudding and crackers they let you have.

I've never had a bad experience with any nurse or doctor the 4 times I've been laid up in a hospital, so what's not to like!? :)

I also really like flying and being in airports. Airport and plane bathrooms do disgust me and the high prices of food in airports are dumb, but other than that, I like it. My dads a private pilot and so we grew up flying most everywhere farther than Oregon. I did complain a lot on those trips though, because there wasn't a bathroom and not much room to move around or sleep. I don't really have reasons why I love airports and flying, I just do.

And a picture of my almost walking boy. 

The end.

warren meets maggie

Meet Maggie......................&....................Meet Warren

Warren wanted to play with Maggie, but wasn't so sure about her.

So Warren got a little closer...

and....

After getting slimed and with a little help from Wendy, Warren was okay petting Maggie :)

I was kind of surprised that Warren kept crawling towards Maggie, after she gave him a bath. He didn't cry at all and kept getting licked time after time. This was his first time ever being around a dog so I grabbed my camera, and I'm sure glad I did:) That picture with Ren getting a full face lick was the first time he crawled toward Maggie, she turned and wanted to taste him :) haha.

she's in business!

This blog has kind of been put on the back burner these last few weeks. I've been busy with photo biz-ness! Which has been sooo fun! A week ago, or so Christianne asked me to do a photoshoot for her and her GORGEOUS 'blossom bands' that she makes. It was so fun and I felt like it was my breaking point (in a good way) for photography. Meaning, the style and how I edited. I love LOVE them. I was so happy/excited she asked me to do it for her. These headbands are now for sale!! Here is her site, which you can find her etsy shop to the right hand side under, 'Shop Now'. I'm excited to sport blossom bands :)

Check it out! http://blossomchicboutique.blogspot.com/

Here are just a few:) 

ever go through the...

"Man, I'm not as good as I thought I might be" stage?

For me personally, I'm talking about my journey into photography. I hope this will flow pretty-fully, but I have thousands of thoughts running through my head that I can't type them fast enough. I may just make a list then expound on that.

ok so I'm going to make a list...

☛ I started into photography because I LOVE capturing the beauty around me and trying to do it in a creative way. Whether it be nature or people.

☛ Since there are a TON of photographers in Utah, I immediately felt like everyone was trying to one up the other. (I realize that may just be my own reaction and thoughts and no one elses, BUT... but it's still there)

☛ There's so much to argue in what you should charge, what the going rate is, what prices say about your photography, blah, blah, blah.

☛ The money isn't my motive.

☛ But I WILL admit, sometimes I get caught up in thinking about the possibilities of what my dream team camera gear would be, and of course, that takes a little moola.

☛ I want to become better NOW. (Sometimes I have no patience) I want to practice everyday on people and ideas and locations. That's not realistic. I can't just walk up to people and say, hey would you mind me practicing on your family for a little bit of a donation?! (As much as I would like to do free sessions and just shoot a lot, it takes time, so to be compensated definitely helps)

☛ I want my editing to be clean, almost true to life, so it seems like there is little to no editing. I want my images to be timeless, almost so that you couldnt put a date on to when it was taken according to the "in style" of editing at that time.
I'm having a hard time achieving what I want and it's really pulling my hairs out.

☛ There's a silent pressure to find the coolest location, have the best poses... Me no likey.

☛ I struggle with liking my photos, this is where the "man I'm not as good as I thought I might be" comes in
And I'll tell you why. My favorite thing to do is to have my camera at an event and capture things as they are 'in the moment'. You get the real deal. That's why taking photographs of kids just following them around while they do something they love is DE BEST! Don't get me wrong, I like to take family photos, but here is where the struggle comes in in liking my sessions while going through and editing...they feel too staged sometimes. I really really try to not make my sessions that way. But of course you have to get some cute ones where the whole family is looking. I guess I just need to change the way I do my shoots. I almost just want to say, if you would like to hire me as a family photographer, I want you to choose something your whole family likes and I will come and document it for you. For example: if your family likes to camp.. let's go camp. I'll take photos of your family together sitting around the campfire, listening to someone play the guitar and sing songs together/story telling, cooking tinfoil dinners, laughing at laffy taffy jokes that aren't even funny they make you laugh.

Those are the kind of family photographs I want to hang in my house someday. Once again I do like the staged, everyone smile and look here photos. But one or two are all that I want. The rest I want is memories of what our family is all about. I want images of Seth making warren giggle when he nuzzles his head into rens belly. (I know I'm in charge of getting that shot and I'll get on that) but those are the kinds of things I want my photography to be about with those that hire me.

That's where the other thing of...how to make the clients feel so extremely comfortable that I can get them to just sit down and talk as a family and laugh and what not without feeling self consciousness that at any point I'll be sticking my lens in their personal space, or not.

I applaud you if you made it through all my jabber. Am I the only one out there that would like my life/family to be captured that way instead of, "ok everyone look right here.. smile.. let me see those teeth.." ? ( I'm quoting myself on that. blah)

good friends in small, far away places

Our trip to WA a couple weeks ago turned from a weekend into a week in a half in the last 10 minutes right before we headed out the door. I was already packed for the week and a half though:) An old college roommate of mine lives in ID, but only 2 hours away from my hometown in WA. We decided to meet in the middle in a random tiny little town at a park. It was a pretty good sized park for such a little place. (It is bigger than my hometown so I guess it was pretty big;) ) haha.

The drive there was gorgeous, but A LOT of the same:)  Everyone has their own gorgeous, come on now, I grew up on a farm;)

 

(finally caught his fish face!)

It was soo fun to see Katie and meet her little one. He's soo close to walking!! He can take two or three steps. (Probably more, now!) Warren and Lincoln were born 3 days apart. Lincoln was 2 weeks late and Warren was 1 week early. They had fun tackling each other and climbing over each other while Katie and I chatted it up.

Can't wait to see you two again!! Oh and Tyler you can come next time if you want.