Costa Rica Slideshow

I have been wanting to post more pictures from my mission trip in Costa Rica, but didn’t want to overwhelm you guys with too much….soooooo the easiest solution in my mind was to make a little slideshow!  So if you want a five minute break from work, enjoy lookin at a trip that gave me a new perspective on my life!

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I kinda needed a laugh today…here’s a link in case you need one too..

Fun Shout Out!

Thanks to my sweet friend and videographer, Claus Martel for the sweet birthday shout out!

Meet Preston Blake Moseley!

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This cute little man is Preston Blake Moseley!  We took these photos on Saturday afternoon, but today he is turning 3 months old!

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Above are Preston’s sweet parents, Laura and Blake.  I photographed their wedding a little over four (right??) years ago!  Like I mentioned in my post yesterday, I am so incredibly flattered that they wanted me to take some more photos for their family.  (and of course I loved walking into their home and seeing some of their wedding shots I’d taken in frames around the house!  I always enjoy seeing the way other people display my work!)

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We were all on the ground waiting for this little guy to give us a smile…and I’m pretty sure he waited until he thought I was finished taking pictures before he gave us this sweet little smirk below!  Luckily I’ve learned to be patient…because just when you think a moment isn’t going to happen, it happens so fast!

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I was highly impressed with how this 3 months old was able to keep his head up so well while sitting in this bucket! And I have to give Preston’s creative mom the credit for these blocks with his name in front! I thought that was such a creative idea!  Also, I will go ahead and mention that  Laura is working on growing her business in baking cupcakes for parties/showers/etc.  So…if you’re in need, let me know and I can put you guys in touch!

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And one last sweet shot of this cool family….who I hope to have the opportunity to photography many more times!

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28!

So…today is my birthday!  In honor of turning the big 2-8, I thought I’d list 28 of my favorite things…in no particular order! I wasn’t a huge fan of 27, so I’m excited to see what the 28th year of my life will entail!

1. Feeling like every time I talk about my “job,” I have to put it in quotations because it still doesn’t really feel like work! ( I hope I feel that way 10 years from now!)

2. Having realized there are things in my life that I cannot control…and being able to give it up and enjoy the ride!

3.  Having a mom as my best friend,  and a dad who I am positive hung the moon!
4. Having a job that allows me to share one of the happiest days of people’s lives!
5. Feeling adored.

6. Learning what makes people tick

7. Pulling up to a church on a Saturday and having NO CLUE what my day will include, but being ready for anything!

8. Getting a manicure and pedicure

9. Having people tell me they follow my blog.  I’m honestly incredibly flattered every time I hear that from someone unexpected!

10. Exercise. Running and Spinning are my favorite.

11. Having couples whose wedding I shot ask me to photograph their kids!

12. Strawberry Slim-n-Trim with no bananas from Smoothie King

13. Being motivated by someone I respect.

14. The 90s station on my XM radio

15. Learning one of the most important life lessons from a seven year old girl in Costa Rica.

16. Having the peace that God is controlling my every step.

17. Getting a really sweet picture of an elderly couple dancing at a wedding

18. Getting to wear Rainbows and Cowboy boots to “work” most days.

19.  Having a sermon that feels like it was written just for me.

20. Sunsets.  They kinda fascinate me.

21. Having a “job” that allows me to make my own schedule.

22. Taking my boxer, Sadie, to the park and watching her play with her friends.

23.  Being outside….primarily because I like to have a tan!

24. Cadbury eggs.  WHY do they have to start selling them in JANUARY?!?

25. Having friends in my life who still like me, even though I’m the world’s worst at returning phone calls.

26. Slow dancing

27. A true gentlemen…who acts that way because he doesn’t know how to act any other way.

28. An unexpectedly, warm, sunny day on my birthday! I’m headed OUTSIDE :)

Julie and Tommy!

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Alright, time to share a little more of my sweet friend Julie Martin, and her fiance Tommy! We took a few shots at their house in Vestavia first because they wanted their sweet puppies to be in a few pictures!  Dogs can sometimes be a nightmare, but these two were pretty precious and on their best behavior! Polly and Bruiser. (no, NOT named after the “Legally Blonde” dog!)

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Tommy wasn’t shy about telling me he wasn’t thrilled about having his picture made….and I’m pretty sure he doubted me when I told him it was going to be painless…I think once we left the house and he was able to change into his jeans, all was right with the world!

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We took the second round of pictures at Sloss Furnaces downtown.  We decided the this time of year almost everything is dead, so to go to some gardens/flowery place probably wouldn’t look great! So…we headed for the little more rustic look at Sloss!

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I have known Julie for about 7 years, but only met Tommy once or twice since they have been dating.  (I’m pretty sure one of those times was when he was dressed up as Santa Claus for a party!) So, I knew he was a fun guy…but I loved getting to be around them and seeing how much fun they have together.

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Julie and Tommy will be getting married May 1 of this year at the American Village…which I have mentioned numerous times that its one of my favorite venues!

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Shopping cart? Sure…why not!

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I’m pretty sure you can see from these last few pictures that I won the battle with Tommy…you can’t tell me he looks miserable in these! I’d like to think it has something to do with my mad photography skills, but I’m pretty sure its just that he is crazy in love with Julie, and he’s gonna do whatever it takes to make his girl happy! Gotta love it!

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Can’t wait to shoot y’alls wedding!

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Julie and Tommy preview!

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I’m excited to share more of these two with you soon! We had fun this afternoon!

Preston Preview!

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Sedona, Arizona

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These are a few pictures from Adventure #2 of 2010!  My friend Corrie and I flew out to Phoenix, AZ for the PF Changs Rock N Roll Half Marathon last weekend.  We added a few days to our trip so we could explore a little bit out west! I only brought my backup camera, which happened to only have about a fourth of battery life (good planning AW), so I didn’t go as crazy with the photos like I normally do!

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I’m not sure I’ve ever been up close on a cactus, but I was pretty fascinated!  They were EVERYWHERE on our drive from Phoenix to Sedona! I was determined to get some neat pictures, so we pulled off on a random exit and actually ended up in someone’s backyard taking these photos! Can you imagine this being your backyard??

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“Real Life” Olivia

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I always feel like time is flying by when I take these monthly photos of sweet little Olivia! She is now a little over four months old, and its has been so much fun to watch her grow! Since we are taking these every month, I thought it would be fun to have one of our monthly sessions be a little bit more photojournalistic.

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I told Chris and Regina that I just wanted to come over and take some pictures while they went through their nightly routine.  We had planned to incorporate a bath and a feeding (Since she is now working on solid foods for the first time), but Olivia wasn’t up for all of that! So…we just focused on getting some cute ones of them just cuddled up on the couch.

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Even though my photography style is not ultra pose-y, I really like this idea to do with babies every once and a while.  No, I do not have kids..but I can only imagine that what these type of pictures capture are going to be the times you want to remember.  Not dressing them up in a fancy dress, while bribing them with treats in order for them to smile for the “girl with the camera.” But the moments you spend at night, as a family, in your home.

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It truly is a joy to be able to capture people just simply living their lives.  What a fun job I have!

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Lauren and Ehren are engaged!

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I finally finished editing this fun engagement session I did on Monday with Ehren and Lauren.  These two met at Samford, and because baseball has been such a big part of their relationship, Lauren wanted to take some shots on the baseball field!  They each wore one of Ehren’s jerseys for the first few…which I thought looked really cute! (especially how Lauren rocked the jersey and about 4-inch heels at the same time!!)

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Lauren and Ehren have been dating on and off for about 7 years and decided around Christmas that they were ready to tie the knot! Their wedding date is not yet set in stone, but hopefully I will be shooting their wedding sometime around November!

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Ehren has played for the White Sox organization for the last 6 (right?) years, and is now playing with the Phillies.   So, with his spring training coming up in a few weeks, we had to hurry up and make these pictures happen!  With him off training, and Lauren living and working in Nashville right at the moment, its going to make planning a wedding in Birmingham a little tricky!  But I have no doubt whatever their plans end up being, it will be amazing!

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Pretty Julie!

This is my sweet friend, Julie Martin! We are taking official engagement pictures of her and Tommy in about two weeks, but she needed a few quick headshots to pass along to her hometown newspaper! I laughed when we were taking these because it felt like our ZTA composite pictures we had to take back in school!  So this is your introduction to my friend Julie.  Next up, Tommy and Julie’s engagement pictures, followed by their wedding pictures in May!

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Lola’s One Year Photos!

For those of you who have been following for a while, Lola has become quite the star of my blog! Rather than the more posed pictures, we thought we ‘d do something extra fun for Lola’s first birthday!  Wow…that was probably the hardest I have laughed during a photo shoot.  She tore into that cake like a champ and loved every minute of it!

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A few of my favorite Costa Rica shots

We didn’t exactly do a whole lot of site seeing while on this trip…so here are a few shots  that hopefully show you a little bit about our journey!  I don’t think commentary is necessary…just enjoy :)

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I’m back!

Wow.  If only I could explain to you in words what an amazing time I had on the mission trip in Costa Rica! Luckily I have this fun little photography hobby that helps me tell a story I couldn’t even begin to describe.

The few days leading up to the trip, and even the first two days in Costa Rica, I honestly was not exactly sure why I had signed up to go.  However, it only took about 48 hours for God to reveal  to me exactly why I was there!

There is so much I want to share about the things God accomplished not only in the small town of San Francisco, but also deep down in my own heart.  Truly life changing.  But, I have to remember that this is a blog and not my personal diary.  I love sharing things with those of you who follow my blog, but I’d much rather tell you the details of our trip  in person.  So, if you’re interested in me talking your ear off, gimme a shout!

I took about 800 pictures….which I am still sifting through, but just for the sake of showing you something…

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This was our team!

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And this is the 7 year old girl, Dania, who stole my heart while I was there

Let the traveling begin!

I’m going to start this blog with this statement: I am lucky.  I love my job.  Have I mentioned that? I mean, I really LOVE my job! I find my smile getting even bigger when I am describing to people what I do for a living.   One of the primary reasons that I love my job so much is that I have FREEDOM! I have quite a bit of work lined up for 2010 so far, but I am going to spend the first 2 months doing alot of traveling…and I am beyond excited!

January is typically a pretty slow month for me, so a few years ago I decided that I was going to declare January my “month of travel.”  I’m typically “stuck” the rest of the year working, so I have planned to take FULL advantage of my down time and TRAVEL! I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned on here how much I love to travel.  I’m almost positive the primary drive behind that desire is so that I can come back with photos of much different content than what you are used to seeing.  Photographing people is my favorite, but I like the challenge of shooting something new.  So….don’t expect to see alot of wedding stuff for a few weeks.  (I’m actually not shooting a wedding until MARCH! Crazy!)  But hopefully you will still be interested in the other things I am working on!

My first adventure starts on December 30th.  I am traveling with 14 other people from my old church in Kentucky to Costa Rica for 11 days.  I have been dying to go on a mission trip for about 5 years, but almost every one I hear about is during the summer.   I NEVER have 2 weekends in a row off in the summer, so I was more than thrilled when my sweet cousin, Sarah Parrish, told me about this opportunity.   To be perfectly honest, I don’t know many details about this mission trip.  Which, for those of you who know me, you know thats hard for me not to know exactly what I’ve signed up for!  There are about a billion questions I want to ask, but I’ve just decided that I am going to be along for the ride.  No plans. No details.  No preconceived ideas of how I think things are going to go.  All I know is that we are going to help build something, and play with kids while teaching them about God! Got it. I’m in. Cant WAIT!!

I’ll be back on January 9th.  Prayers for safe travels, and that God would use me in a big way would be much appreciated!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from Kentucky!

I was born, and spent the first twelve years of my life in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  Since both of my grandmothers still live in BG, we spend most holidays visiting “our roots.”  I was always mesmerized by the lights that were put up each Christmas in “The Square” in downtown Bowling Green.   This is the first year I have had my camera, so here is a glimpse of the wonderland of lights they set up each year! It makes me feel like I’m about ten years old again every time I see them…which just puts a warm feeling in my heart!  There’s nothin like going “home!”

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Lastly I just wanted to show off my beautiful grandmother as she celebrated her 86th birthday on Christmas Eve!

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Merry Christmas!

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This was the runner-up photo for my Christmas card this year!  And for all of you out there who think its cruel to dress up your pets…I do agree…However, its strictly for the sake of a photo to make you laugh! I PROMISE I don’t make her prance around the house in this!  I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

In case you were curious…

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Long Overdue!

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So this is terrible, but I took these pictures back in OCTOBER when I visited my sweet friends, The Riherds, in Oklahoma!

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My primary reason for the visit was to photograph their precious little Aubrey, but Ashley took me on a little field trip to the Oklahoma City Memorial.  To be honest, when she mentioned going by there, I wasn’t extremely interested, but once I got there, I was pretty fascinated!

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I am almost positive that I was in the fourth grade when the Oklahoma City bombing happened, so at that point in my life I wasn’t too interested in what exactly happened.

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However, when I was actually standing in the place where it happened,  I was inspired me to learn more about what happened that day.

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I think this last one is my favorite!

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