Shooting for me.

I LOVE Tampa photoclub :) Its a great time to get together with other photographers in the area and learn from eachother, have the chance to experiment with different shooting techniques, annnnnd shoot amazing models. :) This is the first one I've been able to make it to since John and I spoke back in January, but I'm going to try harder to get out more. I love it because it allows me to do my thing without worring about the time or if it will turn out good or not, because I'm shooting for me and only me. Here are just a few of my favorites from yesterday, and you better believe I'll be going back to this location ;)

By the way, HUGE shout out to the models! They were incredible!

India.





Stephanie. (shes's a photographer too!) :)



LOVE her laugh!



Tiffany.


I love this angle, but I'm not a fan of the huge hot spot from the sun, but I still wanted to post it, if anything for the angle ;)

Last Night.

Last Night was AHHHH-MAZING! :) Thank you to everyone who came out! And THANK YOU to Brian and Briana for asking John and I to be Guest Speakers at last nights photoclub. We were so grateful to have such an opportunity to open up our little world and share a piece of it with so many people. I didn't count how many were there, but the last time I checked it was up to FORTY people! wow. We only had a brief second to share a little bit of what we do and then everyone was let loose on the models :) Thank you to those who asked questions, it was so nice to be able to help out :) I love that so many other photographers are just as passionate and excited about night shooting :) :)

Here are just a few shots my sister got of us doing our thing, hehe, and a few shots I got of our gorgeous models :)

p.s. Last night really got us thinking, and there just might be a little "somethin, somethin" for those who are interested in learning a little more from us :) So let us know your thoughts :)

Possibly one of my all time favorite photos.

I LOVE how this one feels like an old movie :)

It's My First Time...

It's my first time speaking in front of people. It's this Wednesday, and I"m a mess of nerves. A few weeks ago John and I were asked by Brian and Briana of Divine Light Photography to come to the Wednesday night photoclub and speak about Night shooting. I of course felt extremely honored and incredibly excited because this is something John and I are VERY passionate about. We don't claim to be masters at this, we just LOVE LOVE LOVE doing it! I think John, who has a massive fear of public speaking (if you know John, this is so ironic, haha) is more nervous than me.

Last year I was asked to travel to Virgina to do a one on one mentoring session for another photographer, and over the last 3 years we have received many emails from new photographers wondering when and where they could hear us speak. I honestly never thought that day would come, and so soon. I believe we're mainly demonstrating what equipment we use and how a typical night shoot goes down for us. But, it got us to thinking, and we would LOVE to open up a little Q & A on here for people who have questions about anything and everything photography and non-photography related. It would help me out on Wednesday too if I knew what people didn't know about night shooting. So please, bring on the questions! :)

Because every post is better with pictures ;) here are a few of our fave night shoots :) :)

the dutiful wife.

If I could pick an era to live in, it would be a toss up between the late 1940's and the early 1950's. Here's one reason why. Yesterday, while I was writing out my grocery list I decided that I wanted to make a meatloaf at some point this week and I wanted to bake cookies that day before John got home. Then I thought to myself, "wow, I've really got this little wife thing going on", lol. I thought back to when John and I first got married and how I always dreamed of being the stay at home wife/mom, kind of like back in the fifties or something, with my hair perfectly curled, wearing a cute little dress (and apron) all while vacuuming and with a pot roast cooking in the oven ;). Well, I haven't quite nailed all the above, but most days I do try to at least do some of these things. Most mornings I wake up with John at 6am, make coffee, get breakfast ready, and on mornings I'm feeling extra awesome, I'll make his lunch. Then I head to my desk and start working. In between editing I usually take breaks to workout, get ready for the day and try my absolute hardest to do laundry and make sure the house is nice and tidy. Then, I force myself away from the computer around 4pm to make sure I have a plan for dinner :) I hardly ever keep this going for more than 2 days. But I always try. Why am I sharing this you ask? Well, I'm being real. This is who I strive to be, and while looking to the future to see where I'm headed in all the changes taking place around me, it helps to look at who I am right now, a 1950's "housewife" trapped in 2009 ;) However, I did come across this article talking about the return of the 1950's housewife, which I found very interesting and super exciting :) Looks like its time to pick up a sewing machine ;)



p.s. I LOVE this apron from anthropologie ;) and its a must have on my Christmas list :)

It's about time :)

oooooohhhhhhhhh!!!!!! I'm super excited!!! Exactly one year ago today I picked up the book Twilight and fell in LOVE! In the following week I finished the other 2 books, only to wait 2 months for Breaking Dawn to come out. It was driving me crazy! and now, New Moon (the movie) is coming out!!!! I can't wait!!! it looks waaayyy better than the first one, so lets keep our fingers crossed!!! and wow, did anyone get a look at "Jacob", whew!

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON trailer in HD

are you ready?...I am!

I've been a little behind on posting the last few weeks because John and I have been "spring" cleaning our home and ourselves. ;) We're preparing for a busy, busy year, and trying to get as much stuff done around here before it all begins. Even including shopping for clothes (a girl needs to look cute while shooting a wedding ;), getting a pedicure (Lord knows when I'll be able to do that again, lol) and getting my hair trimmed and colored :) All this adds a little freshness and newness to the new year of business. It's been great, and everyday the UPS man is here with something new, lol, it feels like christmas :) Gotta stock up on biz cards, and new equipment for our upcoming year.

There is so much coming up in the next 12 months! Yes, I said TWELVE! Usually, I only time line us to have a lot going on in the next 6 months, but it's just not so this year. Which is an exciting, awesome thing, and a little exhausting. I can't reveal everything, that takes the fun out of it. But we have a lot of amazing shoots and weddings lined up this year (more than we had anticipated, wooohooo!) and we're finally getting a lot of exposure, which is really awesome. John and I have tons of trips coming up at the end of the year. One of them very possibly being out of the country :) more on that later :)

I can't wait to see where God leads us this year with our lives and in our business. So bring it on! :)

Here are a few photos of our trip to Virginia at the beginning of the month :)


photos from the Natural Tunnel


the Natural Tunnel was actually behind us in this shot, but this one turned out cooler, hehe


this cat met us in the parking lot, and followed us all the way down the trail and back again. We called him our little tour guide :)

Today.

WOW, you have to admit right now, that no matter who you voted for in the election, today is a little exciting. Whether you are nervous or just excited, we are living history. Not our grandchildren, not our grandparents, but us. I don't talk politics with many, but today has a lot of importance to it, no matter who you are.

:)

"I Do Bouquets"

Last Friday I got together with the girls at "I Do Bouquets" to get a few shots for their new website. They do an amazing job over there and I highly recommend them to all my brides! The website will be up the first of the year, but in the meantime, if you need to get a hold of them, the number is 727.391.8746. And of course, here are my favorites from the shoot :) :) :)




this one was my favorite (because of the colors of course) so after the shoot, I got to take it home! Thanks girls!

the doghouse for christmas?

HA! I saw this commercial this weekend and it's hilarious! you just have to watch the whole thing! hahahahaha

"what is that on your lip???"

Praise God!

Yay! They're letting my dad go home today!!! I'll be going over there later to make sure he's all set up :) I'm so glad he's doing so much better! Thank you again to everyone for your prayers! I've said this before and it's amazing what the power of prayer can do!!! I'm sure most of you have seen this video before, but I feel like this guy right now, hahaha. (yes, that's my dorky side coming out) ;)

Locking up my mom!

Actually, it's all in good fun, and for Jerry's Kids! :) My sister signed my mom up to be locked up...that's right, She's going behind bars to help Jerry's Kids© and MDA. To be released on good behavior we have to raise bail and need your help!

All you have to do is click here to make a secure, online donation before 12/03/08. Your donation will help families living in our community and help guarantee her an early release. :)

This is so much fun, a few years ago I was asked by the MDA to photograph the "jailbirds" as they came in, lol, it was too funny. :)

Thunder!

Speaking of music...soooo, the subject of AC/DC came up today, and now this song won't get out of my head! ahhhhh, so I'm sharing it! haha. Great song to edit to :)

p.s. they're coming to tampa this December! woooohooo! I love crowds like this, so I would be in heaven! :) Can you imagine the high these guys get from playing in front of a crowd like this? wow!

The Meridian: Tampa

Last night John and I did a shoot for The Meridian Hookah Lounge in Tampa. I LOVE this place! I just wanted to share a quick few of my favorites! Enjoy! Friday night we're shooting Orlando Meridian! woohoo!










the awesome Colt Clark!