Mark & Kristen

Last week I had a little photo session with Mark and Kristen.  We had a great time!  We ended up shooting for three hours without even realizing it.  Here are a few of the images from the day.

They were so great to work with.  They were so professional…

I mean, they knew I was working on my portfolio so they really tried to make me look good…

 

Sometimes I had to really work hard to draw out their personalities…

They were so affectionate with each other.  And the way they looked at each other…

And they just couldn’t keep their hands off each other!

Seriously, though, they are a gorgeous couple.  They made my job easy.

Thanks, Mark and Kristen!  Can’t wait to get your photos to you!

Flattered

I noticed him, but I didn’t.  When I crossed his path I sensed, more than saw, him almost stop.  Assuming that I’d cut him off, I threw “Excuse me!” over my shoulder and kept going. 

Four aisles later, I was so focused on the ice cream that I didn’t really notice what was going on around me.  I decided to go with the low fat ice cream (a decision I would later regret) and turned to go find the alcohol (of the rubbing variety, not so much the drinking variety.)  I almost ran into his buggy when I turned around.  I quickly apologized and walked away.  

I found the alcohol in seconds and was at the check-out shortly after.  I was feeling pretty accomplished as I signed the receipt.  I’d made record time.  I was probably in that store less than five minutes.  I was patting myself on the back and feeling like a champion as I crossed the parking lot to my car.

“Excuse me!”  I turned, just as I stepped up to my car.  I thought maybe I’d dropped something and began doing a mental check in my head, “Yep, I’ve got my keys and cell in my hand.  I didn’t pay with cash…” And then he was there and he was talking.  Rambling, really.  About how he’d seen me in the store and wanted to talk to me.  He said he thought I would shop longer and was trying to come up with a way to talk to me when he saw me at the check out.  He assured me that he hadn’t been stalking me.  He told me that he knew it was weird and that I’d probably be talking about him right after I left. (Well…technically this is writing, not talking, right?)

He talked at me for a few minutes, then he finally asked my name and told me his was Philip.  Then he asked if I was a student and I thought, “Oh great, this is a college kid hitting on me and he’s going to be completely weirded out when he realizes how much older I am than him.”  Turns out he’s twenty-seven, so he’s legal.  He never worked up the guts to ask me out.  Instead he asked if he could look me up on Facebook.  

The whole thing was pretty awkward…but really sweet.

Moral of the story:  I’ve still got it.

My Weekend

I had the privilege this weekend of spending time with one of my top five favorite people: Michelle. I met Michelle in college and we are still very close.  Michelle is seven months pregnant, so this was her last weekend away before the baby.  We were so blessed to get to stay at a lake house owned by one of the families in my church.  We had lots of time with Jesus, lots of time to talk and laugh, lots of floating in the lake and lots of girl movies and peach cobbler.  I think it was just what both of us needed.

On Friday morning we woke up, had some breakfast and, with our coffee, each found a nice spot overlooking the lake.  Jenn, it wasn’t quite the Himalayas at sunrise, but it was pretty incredible. :)  It was the first time in a while that I’d really gotten to spend so much uninterrupted time with Jesus.  I won’t write about everything here, because there are some moments with Him that I just want to be ours.  I will tell you about a passage I was reading that morning that affected my heart deeply.

Colossians 1: 15-27 is probably one of my favorite passages.  “He is the image of the invisible God…”  See how it just grabs you right away!  Think about that with me for just a second.  Our God, who can seem to be so conceptual, was completely tangible in the life of Christ.  I love how John describes this experience here.  In the Gospels, we have the opportunity to see the heart of God, the Father, lived out in the the flesh.

And we know that God was pleased with Him.  Not only does the very voice of God speak this at His baptism, but again at the transfiguration.  Why wouldn’t He be pleased?  Think about it: the heart of Jesus was an extension of God’s own heart.  He cared for the sick, poor, broken and condemned.  He understood His Father’s merciful heart toward those most undeserving.  In Colossians we read that God’s fullness dwelt in Christ.

That’s actually my favorite part.  “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”  I love that God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Christ.  The humbling part of this is that the whole point of God doing it was for my reconciliation to Him.  Think about what this verse is saying.  It pleased God that Christ, His Son, in whom His fullness dwelled, in whom He was pleased, would die a violent death on a cross.  In His death, taking on the full weight of my sin and suffering my punishment so that I could be covered by His righteousness.  This pleased God. 

I’m not a mother, so I can’t fully relate to this, but try with me.  Imagine this is your son.  This person is an extension of yourself.  You watch him grow up and be fully obedient to you.  You watch him take a stand against injustice and invest his time and energy into serving others.  He is a leader and a lover of people.  Can you imagine, if this was your son, how proud you would be of him?  My parents told me on a regular basis how proud they were of me and I was (and still am) so imperfect.  He was perfect.  Now, imagine standing by and watching as the very people he served and loved turned on him.  The one person who was beyond criticism is facing heinous accusations.  The man who always stood up against injustice has no one taking his side.  And you stand by and watch as he bleeds for them.  Even as he hangs there, he is interceding on their behalf, pleading for their forgiveness.  And it pleased God to do this.

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.”  Oh, Father, help me to never be moved from the hope held out in the gospel.

Several times throughout the weekend Michelle and I talked about how blessed we were to have such a beautiful place to stay…for free!  We talked about how we had both been struggling in our walk with the Lord and how we really didn’t deserve to be blessed so much.  What we forget is that, even if we had done everything right and not struggled, we still wouldn’t have deserved God’s blessing.  But our God was pleased to pursue us in order that He might bless us.

There is no god like Him.

I Confess

I came thisclose to writing a post about Wheel of Fortune.  This post may or may not have included a reference to Pat Sajak and botox in the same statement.

Clearly,  I am not in a good place, people.

I’ll update you on my weekend soon, though.

Just some things I needed to get off my chest

Dear Co-worker,

It is unecessary and undesirable for you to actually spray the Oust directly onto the toilet seat.  If you’ll notice on the can it says that it “kills odor-causing germs in the air.”  A quick spray in the air should get the job done.  As a courtesy to the rest of us, please stick to the air.  No one wants to sit down on a damp toilet seat.  Even if we can smell the Oust and use our context clues to piece together what happened, it’s still unsettling.

Thank you.

Dear Macbook,

I don’t know how to say this except to come out and say it:  I feel betrayed by you.  I know it’s not entirely your fault.  I realize that Sony has made some shoddy batteries for Macbook Pros as of late, that it’s not just you with this problem.  I realize that you have a short in your AC adaptor, so that if I move suddenly, or breath, or blink, or allow my mind to dwell on the thought of moving too long, you’re going to think you’re not plugged in anymore.  And I do realize that it’s because of this battery issue that, the second you become convinced you’re unplugged, you completely shut down as if you had no battery attached at all.  These things I’m fully aware of.

But you’re aware, too.  You know I’m right in the middle of editing wedding photos.  You know that, every time you shut down like that, I lose whatever I was working on.  Especially that last time you did it.  You knew I’d spent a half hour getting that picture just right:  removing the ugly hole in the wall, adjusting the exposure and retouching it.  Couldn’t you have held on for just a second so that I could have saved my work?  Maybe given me some sort of warning?

You know, you are replaceable.  I do have renters’ insurance now.  So, if I accidentally threw you across the room and you were destroyed forever, I could get a new Macbook Pro.  The only thing keeping you safe right now is a $500 deductible.  You better straighten up.

Sincerely.

Dear Raid,

First, I just want to commend you for the bang up job you’re doing of taking care of any intruders in my house.  You really do “Kill Bugs Dead.”  I do have one concern, though.  I noticed last night that, once I’d killed the bug dead, my throat felt a little weird.  Almost like it was closing up a little.  Raid doesn’t “kill people dead” does it?  Because last night I took care of him with one shot.  There are times when I’m dealing with a particularly fierce tree roach and I may use your product slightly in excess.  Should I be concerned?

Anxiously awaiting your response.

After a stressful evening…

wherein my entire photo library disappeared for about a half hour (including the hours of editing I’d already done), I have a sample of the fruits of my labor.  Thankfully the damage wasn’t permanent and my library returned intact.  (Thank you for praying, Amber!)  So, here goes:

And there you have it.  A few shots from my shoot with Victoria and a few from the wedding.  I hope you enjoy!  

And now I would like to take a moment to commend WordPress in general for the tremendous strides they’ve made in the photo uploading process.  Photographers around the world thank you.  

Dang it!

I want to know how people do this in Photoshop!  It looks like you could step right into that barn!

Monday?? Already??

What a crazy weekend this was!  It was an absolutely fabulous weekend, but crazy nonetheless.  It involved lots of the following things (in no particular order):  photography, parents, music, sweating and walking.  Several of these things happen to be a few of my favorite things (I apologize for the song that’s now running through your head).  I’ll let you work out for yourself which things they are.

Friday right after work I went out with one of my co-workers and her daughter to do some portraits around campus.  I can’t wait to post a couple of these for you to see.  Man, did this girl do a good job of making me look good!  She’s got gorgeous red hair, tons of personality and is not camera shy in the least.  Sometimes I gave her some direction, but I think the best shots I got were just all her.  I would tell her what to do and start snapping, then she’d take over and make crazy faces or do the perfect not-quite-smiling face.  I’m going to stop here and just let you see for yourself later.

Saturday morning I had an early start with a wedding that started at 10 a.m.  That meant I got to the church a little closer to 9 a.m. to start taking pictures of details and a few portraits before the ceremony.  Pat and Erin were a referral.  They are actually my very first referral.  The other weddings I’ve done, or will be doing, are friends.  Michael Andrew, a local photographer, wasn’t able to cover it so he sent them to me.  When I first talked with Pat, the groom, he told me he definitely didn’t want pictures of himself “posted all over the internet for the world to see.”  Then, when I met with them, Erin talked about how uncomfortable Pat gets around cameras.  Needless to say, I was thinking that getting Pat to smile might be a challenge for the day.  Turns out there was no need to worry.  Erin looked stunning and, if I were Pat and had just married that fox, I’d be smiling all day, too.  Erin has given full permission for me to use pictures of her, so I’ll try to give you a little sample later.

While I was shooting the wedding, my parents were driving down for a visit because they’re pretty wonderful like that.  We arrived at my house at almost exactly the same time.  We quickly got their stuff in and headed to lunch.  Then drove to Birmingham for City Stages.  My friend, Micah Dalton, happened to be playing there that night, but we got there early enough to hear some other great acts as well.  Overall, it was a great day aside from all the walking, sweating, standing and the smell of overused cooking oil and onions.

Sunday was a little more laid back.  After church and lunch I took my parents to see The Hulk.  Then we came back and I cooked dinner for Dad for Father’s Day.  (Don’t worry, we let Mom eat, too.)  After sitting on my back porch enjoying the very pleasant evening, they headed home.  It was so great to have them here!  It’s been a lonely summer with no roommates.  It was nice to have people in my house again, instead of just the usual.

Not long after my parents left, I got a call from one of my closest friends from college.  In a four second span of time he proceeds to tell me that 1) he’s engaged 2) the wedding is August 9 and 3) they want me to be the photographer.  After my head quit spinning, I told him I would love to be his photographer.  That makes four weddings on my calendar this summer (including the one I just did.)  It’s not much, but it’s a start.  I’ll be using these, along with portraits that I rope people into letting me take, to build a website that I hope to have up and runnning at the end of the summer.  So, now I need your help!  Especially you, Knyt, I could use some clever wordsmithing. :)  I need a name for my photography business.  It needs to be fairly simple so it’s easily remembered, but personal or unique enough that someone doesn’t already own the domain.  Let me know if you have any ideas.

After I got off the phone, I prepared to dig into the obnoxious amounts of photo editing that I had ahead of me.  I began to organize the photos and separate out the ones I wanted to actually edit.  About 3.4 seconds into this process, my computer shut off.  I did not panic, as I had not gotten very far.  There weren’t a ton of changes to lose.  I push the power button to pull it all back up.  It began to boot up, then shut down again almost immediately.  It didn’t even get far enough to show anything on the screen.  So, apparently my computer had decided to take the wedding photos hostage.  I tried a handful more times while attempting to control my breathing so I didn’t have a full out panic attack.  No luck!

Here’s the crazy thing:  I had, literally, back up my entire computer only moments before.  When I was loading the images, the dialogue box came up to ask if I wanted to delete the images off of my card and eject it, or just eject the card.  I chose the former, because they were already on my computer, no need to take up my card as well.  After making that decision, I started to feel nervous.  If something crazy happen, I would lose their wedding day!  So, I decided to back it all up, just in case.  It’s a good thing, otherwise I would not have been able to sleep.

 I fell asleep last night praying for my computer and woke up doing the same. This morning, I tried again.  Still no luck.  I brought my laptop into work and immediately went to the Apple troubleshooting page.  I did a search and was fully prepared to take the support gurus at their word.  If they told me that the only way to cure my computer was to eat my keyboard, I would have immediately begun to disassemble it.  Let’s be honest: my keyboard and my lower intestine are both replaceable and both cost around the same to replace, Pat and Erin’s wedding is irreplaceable! 

So, I plugged in my computer and decided to try it one last time…and it powered right up.  Like nothing was wrong.  Praise the Lord!  Pat and Erin’s photos were all fully intact, as was my lower intestine.  It’s a good day.

Sorry for the lameness of this post.  It’s not very creative or funny.  More just informative.  I have no idea why you’re still reading this.

Amber, I never do these.

I must love you a lot.

I’ve been tagged. And here are the rules (which I’m breaking). At the end of the post, the blogger tags six an, as of yet, undetermined amount of people and posts their names or screen names, then goes to their blog and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged.

 

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

Having just graduated from high school (holy crap it’s been ten years!), I was beginning my short-lived career as a lifeguard for the city pools.  This means that at this particular moment ten years ago, I was sitting on a lifeguard stand, blowing my whistle and telling some kid for the 29th time to QUIT RUNNING!!  The amount of sun that I got that summer will probably lead to melanoma, but man, did that tan look good!

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today?

1. Make it to 4:45 √
2. Do some portraits for the daughter of one of my co-workers √
3. Eat leftover Olive Garden and edit pictures while I watch more of Season 2 of Felicity
4. Get organized and ready to shoot a wedding tomorrow
5. Clean my house so my parents, who are coming to visit, don’t think I’m a walking health code violation.

√=Accomplished since I first started this post, but I was too lazy to come up with other things to put here.

3. Snacks I enjoy:

Popcorn (particularly of the pour over cheddar variety), chips and salsa, ice cream

4. Places I’ve lived:

Athens, TN; Chattanooga, TN; Orlando, FL; Tuscaloosa, AL (Roll Tide!)

5. Things I’d do if I were a billionaire:

Wow!  I could get excited about this.  Aside from supporting lots of organizations and ministries, here are a few of the things I would do:  write a book, do freelance photography for non-profit organizations (for free) and start a non-profit organization that funded trips for college students to take short-term trips to third-world countries to raise awareness of poverty and social injustice.  Oh, how I could go on…

6. People I want to know more about:

Jesus.  Angela Thomas. C.S Lewis. A.W. Tozer.

7. Name two things you have in common with Oprah:

I think the things I have in common with Oprah are pretty obvious and there’s no need for me to rub it in.

8. You can tell a lot about a person by…

Their eyes, their smile and how they treat their siblings.

9. Are you a yeller when you get angry?

Nope.  But I get firm and I get serious. 

10. Have you ever danced in public?

Yes.  My personal favorite was in seventh grade when I was on the cheerleading squad and we did a dance routine to “Old Time Rock ‘n Roll” during half time of the basketball game.

11. What did you do to deserve your first detention?

I don’t think I ever had detention.  How lame is that!?

12. What did you do to deserve your first paddling?

No paddling, either.  I do remember when I was in kindergarten and we were having art and Ms. Harrison told us to put down our crayons and I didn’t hear her.  She saw me still coloring and started yelling and made me get in the corner.  After the shock wore off, I started to cry.

13. Name three things you like about the town you live in.

1. It’s a college town
2. I live 4-7 minutes (depending on the lights) from where I work
3. Roll Tide

14. Name four things that you love to do.

1. Take pictures
2. Spend time with friends, talking about our feelings
3. Hike and camp
4. Travel and explore
5. Blog stalk

15. Name something unusual you carry with you wherever you go.

A wallet-friendly copy of my college diploma (laminated and everything!) because you never know when that might come in handy.

p.s.  Amber, thanks for the reminder.  I currently have a fork residing in my purse as well! 

16. What’s your favorite website?

I wouldn’t even know where to begin!

17. Where and when was your first kiss?

Where: on the cheek; When: during show-and-tell when my kindergarten teacher went to talk to a parent.

The “real” kiss was in seventh grade when Matt Berra’s mom dropped me off after we went to see a movie together.  He walked me into my parents basement and awkwardly planted one.  Sweet memory.

18. What would an enemy have to say about you?

I smell sometimes. 

19. Favorite childhood memory.

So many:  Camping at Holly Flats, walking around “Spook Hollow,” “wrastling” with my dad, spot light time when we’d climb into my parents’ bed and read a book, that time my parents made green eggs and ham for breakfast thinking it would be cute and we refused to eat it (well, it’s my favorite memory now even if I was upset at the time.)

20. Any regrets?

Yes, but not many.

Well, I actually liked this one.  I don’t often play these games, but the questions were really good on this one.  

OK, I’m tagging the following bloggers:

1. Jenn: Because she can give the international perspective
2. Michelle: Because she’ll have the cheesiest answers
3. Karin: I’m not sure she’ll do it, but it will be funny if she does (even if she hasn’t felt funny lately)
4. Falcon: Because she’s so cute and will have great answers
5. Knyt: Because he’s a wordsmith and will be intriguing to read

Ok, go get ‘em tiger!

My Discovery

Folks, I think I’ve found it.  After months of trial and error, I’ve finally found it:  the perfect combination of wrinkle release spray and dryer time to leave my clothes virutally wrinkle-free.

I may never have to iron again.