Tuesday Tunes

So Tuesday Tunes is something I started last week, and it's basically just me sharing some music I love on Tuesday's! Yep...it's that simple. :) So this week's video is actually from a very talented singer that I photographed earlier this year. You can see some photo's from his session here. You can find him on itunes just search "Ben Sharkey". I really love this song of his, the lyrics are just beautiful.




And he is also the main event at "Jazz in the City" on October 11, which is an event that will benefit the Suite Dreams project (www.suitedreamsproject.org) which is a wonderful charity. Anyone who lives anywhere near Detroit, MI should definitely go check out the show. I've heard him sing live before and it is definitely not something to be missed. Here Ben is giving the 411 on the concert:

And here is the flyer he keeps holding up in the video, if you can't attend (which I know many of you can't:) You can still donate to the charity by purchasing a ticket. And yep that is a photo I took of Ben, so cool to see it in "print" :)

Ayo, I'm tired of using technology...

So I've had a few "technological difficulties" lately and it's definitely frustrated me a little....ok maybe "a little" is a slight understatement, I've sort of had to restrain myself from ripping the computer cords out of the wall and throwing the thing out the window, but everyone does that right? Ok , maybe not so much, but my computer hasn't been the only culprit, my camera...or more specifically a memory card betrayed me as well. With my computer working so slowly that I was pretty sure a couple of mice were in the CPU spinning a little wheel flinstone style, my CD burner deciding not to work for like the 15th time, and my memory cards bent on ruining my life I was feeling slightly flustered. But now it's a new day because I finally got a new laptop that is actually faster than I am, I am no longer drumming my fingers on the desk waiting for it to catch up. I'm actually wondering how I made it this long without it, but since my computer was only like 3 years old expect another blog in a couple of years with me complaining about how painfully slow my laptop is.... computers are SO out to get us. I still have lots of pics to share but here are a few from Oregon that never got their day in the blog spotlight, and I adore these pics so that would be a travesty. Eventually some of them will make it to my "beachy ones" gallery on my website, you can go check it out, nothing but photo's from the beach, pretty much my favorite place in the whole entire world. :)

Beyonce had better watch out...

single ladies videos will never...ever....ever get old, especially if there is an adorable baby in it.

Tuesday Tunes

I carry it in my heart...

Ok, so I sort of want to hate Brooke a little for being so stunning while pregnant. I feel quite sure that if I were pregnant I would be a round miserable mess, but I can't help but love her even though she's way too stunning because she's such a sweetheart. And she used to model as did her husband so it's sort of like "photographer cheating" for me. :) Of course their oldest daughter is beautiful and I'm sure sweet Hannah is going to be a little bundle of lovely sweetness. I can't wait to meet her. :)

I've actually been reading in I Samuel and came across Hannah's Prayer, I thought it was timely since I had just photographed sweet Hannah in her mom's belly so I wanted to share it here.

"My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord.
I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.
No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God." (I Samuel 2:1-2)

Can U Believe

When I was going through these pics to grab a family shot to share on here I couldn't believe that they really didn't look like they were standing in the rain, I was sort of expecting damp looking hair and raindrops that I would somehow have to magically photoshop out, but really they look rather dry and happy! These crew was so great, they were real troopers because it rained the entire session. We shot some in the house and then went out to their family's beautiful land and they braved the rain...and the ants...They were all pretty awesome for going along with the photo's even though the conditions were less than desirable. Now... I have to admit... even though I just adored every single one of these people, Bella is sort of my favorite of the group ;) So this blog posting is a little overtaken by Bella pics but I couldn't help myself! She's just such a sweetie.

You'll notice I posted a couple of storyboards of Bella. I blog storyboards on occasion and I haven't really been offering them in print but I think it's going to be something I offer in the future. In the meantime if you would ever like a storyboard just let me know and I can whip something up for you. :)

(Storyboards are basically a collection of 2+ photo's that sort of tell a story...like the bubblegum one and the bedroom one below. They would all be printed on one print, mounted on styrene. You could place them in an easel or hang them like a normal print. Storyboards typically come in 10x20 size and square sizes)

Also Bella's dad used to play football for the NY Giants (I hope I'm remembering the right team:) So anyway I'm rooting for them tonight even though I live in Dallas and by law am apparently supposed to be a Cowboys fan. I'm doing a little multitasking and watching the game while working and as of right now the Giants are up 13-7. Go Giants! (I'm glad my dad doesn't read this blog... I'm pretty sure he would disown me for saying that)

Loved Ones

This family was so full of love, not only did I get to meet mom and dad and new beautiful baby sister and handsome big brother, but I also met grandma and grandpa. Everyone was so sweet and I could tell that everyone was just full of love for these two kiddo's. Usually with newborns I try to get sleepy shots but this little honey was not exactly up for nude napping, so we just went with it and with those beautiful eyes I guess it would be a shame not to get some photo's of them open anyway! And big brother was so cute, he would do an awesome t-rex impression, the photo of him walking away from me he's in full t-rex mode. So cute :)

Even if the sky is falling down...

So... rain.... I love it. Really I love sleeping when it's raining, I love sitting outside watching the rain, sometimes I even like driving in the rain (I'm odd, I know). But unfortunately taking photo's in the rain is not exactly easy. We had about 20 minutes of no rain and then... well it definitely poured. But, when you're photographing three little ones that are this adorable then it's not too hard to still get some great shots of them. The three individual photo's were actually taking sitting on the back porch with it pouring outside, so we made it work!

I'm back in town and at my desk working away today, I plan on a blogging marathon so I can post as many sneak peeks as I can. I'll also be answering e-mails and generally playing catch up so if you've e-mailed me and haven't heard back I'll be touching base with you soon!

Sneak Peeks Coming! And I'm sticking with 7-25

Ok so I've been working on the photo's from Texarkana but my laptop is not exactly up to par and it's been giving me some problems but I will have them up asap. I'm definitely missing my desktop at home. I am in San Antonio right now, we went to the Alamo today and also the Riverwalk which was really beautiful, it reminded me of Venice actually. A big group of us are heading back to Austin Saturday for the game and I'm sticking with my previous prediciton of a final score Tech over Texsas, 7-25 ;) I'm really pleased with the pics from Texarkana so I can't wait to share them! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Heading to Austin

So I'm about to walk out the door, I'll be in Austin for the next week ( going to be at the the Tech/UT game... GO TECH!) I predict Tech winning 7-25 ;) Ok, now that I got that out of my system...I will be working away during my free time at getting some sneak peeks up from this past weekend in Texarkana. I had a ton of shoots and it was loads of fun (even though the rain did make things difficult a few times... during one big family session some of the clients were being so nice holding umbrella's over my head while I shot... I felt like P Diddy.) :) Here are some pics of an ADORABLE little redheaded sweetie I shot in the Dallas area a week or two ago, I'll have the Texarkana sneak peeks up asap!

The Hardway

I had to stop editing photo's today for a bit and work on doing some cleaning, so I cranked up the bose and decided to put in some music from my younger days, so I've been rockin out to DC Talk, the Free at Last album. I was obsessed with this CD back in junior high, I listened to it like a million times. Some of the songs definitely sound a little dated now, but I still LOVE them, but The Hardway in particular I think is a little more timeless. Now the video is pretty much raging 90's but I still love the song, I think it's been the theme song through parts of my life so I find some comfort in it.



And this song is from their Jesus Freak album (which I also have, and I also know every word to) and it just makes me feel good. :) This is a live version.


And one more that really speaks to me.
This verse in particular:

Father please forgive me for I can not compose
The fear that lives within me
Or the rate at which it grows
If struggle has a purpose on the narrow road you've carved
Why do I dread my trespasses will leave a deadly scar
Do they see the fear in my eyes? Are they so revealing?
This time I cannot disguise all the doubt I'm feeling



Ok, I'll spare you from more DC Talk obsession :) Oh and I had the BIGGEST crush on Toby Mac back in the day :)

I may be a little biased...

I adore kiddo's, I've always loved kids. When I was around 12 I started teaching 3 year olds in Vacation Bible School and helping with Children's Church. I was always babysitting or hanging out with my little cousins or carrying a kiddo around on my hip. Eventually I began working at a daycare and then became a director of a daycare in college and also worked as a nanny. When I got a degree in Marketing I think a lot of people were surprised that I didn't want to choose a career that was working with children, but I thought maybe I'd spend enough time working with little ones and I needed a break.

Well it didn't take long for me to find photography and of course then it didn't take long for me to decide that one of the first things I wanted to photograph was kiddo's! Every child I've photographed has something that makes them special, it's my favorite thing about photographing people instead of landscapes and other things that I could be photographing, I really love finding what makes someone unique. Well it wasn't too hard to tell right away at least one of the things that make handsome Luke special, look at his hair! I love it! I am a redhead, and that makes me partial to redheads, I think it's like we're part of some secret club that you have to be a redhead to gain entry to, or even understand. I can't even tell you the club password, so don't ask... ok I can tell Luke but that's it. :)

Not only is he an absolute cutie pie but he is full of personality, so fun to photograph, and mom and dad were so sweet and relaxed, they were a joy to work with. And the best part is I get to work with them again next week! I'm shooting the handsome guy in a salvage yard so I get to hang out with the gang and I'm sure get some more pretty cool pictures, I have a feeling when he sees all the old cars he's going to flip.

Austin Sessions

I will be in Austin the week of September 14-19 so if you are in the Austin area and would like to book a session shoot me an e-mail! Also I'm working out my October Texarkana dates, I'm coming in September but that trip is fully booked, so if you're interested in October shoot me an e-mail and I'll put you on the waiting list. I hope everyone has a blessed day!

Pretty in Pink

Ok so these girls aren't all wearing pink but I thought these pics deserved a girly title. :) I'm REALLY late posting these but they are from two of my niece's and their cousin's birthday party, they all teamed up for an amazing birthday dance party extravaganza. It was such a fun party and the kids had a blast. Oh and the title also made me think of a pic of my brother mom and I from this past weekend so I'll post it below as well, we realized that we were all wearing pink so we had to commemorate the occasion with a snapshot. (my mom wasn't wearing makeup and didn't have her hair fixed so I hope she doesn't get mad at me for posting this, but I think she looks lovely) :)