an afternoon at the art museum

when life slows down

{some personal photos from my family's time visiting my grandma over Thanksgiving week}

The B Family: Lifestyle Session

Here is another session I did while at Ellie Be's workshop in September. It was my first lifestyle session and I loved every second! It pushed me in ways I hadn't expected and I'm so glad I got a chance to try out the style. 

This family was beautiful. The kids were so cute and the love their parents share was gentle and so evident. Suffice to say, they were wonderful to photograph.

Nicki - Portraits

Meet Nicki, one of the wonderful models from the workshop I attended last month. The photos from this particular shoot are some of my favorites to date. This girl is beautiful and full of life and I absolutely loved working with her!

the road goes ever on and on...

Let me start by saying that this past month has been wonderful. Ellie Be's workshop was everything I had hoped it would be and I have so many great things to share from it. All of that will be coming soon! Since I got home I've been busy stockpiling posts and ideas - my hope is that those will help me to continue blogging when I don't know what to blog about.

For today, here are a few portraits of a dear friend of mine (who's a photographer herself, I'm working on getting her to start a blog). We had been talking about this location for months wondering if it was as amazing as it looked from the road. One afternoon we finally decided to go check it out - so glad we did! It was a great little adventure and we got some lovely shots.

Beginnings

Over the summer it's become clearer to me how much I want to be a photographer, how much I want to capture people as they are in their own beautiful and unique lives. I want to capture the excitement in the face of a senior as he or she prepares to set off on a grand new adventure after graduation. I want to capture the love and affection between a man and a woman who have fallen completely in love with each other. I want to capture the awe in the eyes of new parents as they get to know their newborn baby. I want to capture the joy and laughter in the relationships between parents and children, brothers and sisters. I want to capture the now so that it can be looked back with fond remembrance for years to come.

God has been working in my life in ways I never expected. This weekend I'll be attending Ellie Be's workshop - I didn't think it was going to happen, but God made all the pieces fall into place and here I am with my bags packed and ready to go.

I've been blessed to connect with a wonderful, fellow young photographer who's working on growing her business. It's been such a joy to talk to her about where each of us wants to go and what we want to do. And I'm beyond excited that I get to meet her this weekend. (you'll "meet" her after the workshop, promise)

So at the beginning of this - another step in my journey as a photographer and the opening of my senior year of high school - I praise God for the blessings he has showered upon me, for the surety He has given me that this is what I am supposed to do, and I pray that my work may always bring Him glory.

There will be a few changes around here once I return from the workshop, the biggest being that I will be blogging regularly - commence happy dancing! Until then, check out my newly updated 'about me' page for a peak into who I am. :)

We Cut Down Our Christmas Tree

There isn't a year I can remember that we haven't cut down our own Christmas tree. It's a tradition that I treasure and look forward to every year. We always get bagels before we head up to the mountains, and we always get a pictures with both Santa and Smokey the Bear before we leave. Sometimes there's snow and we're bundled up in coats and boots and gloves, other years we have jackets and hiking boots. This year it was warmer than I think I remember it ever being, but it was still wonderful and we got one of the most beautiful trees we've had.