Always there with a "smile"

We have a bit of an "extended" family that lives with us.  They are the best company, and they provide unconditional comfort when we are feeling down. They are not very good at cleaning up after themselves and  can be quite demanding. Of course we are talking about our beautiful animals. We have 1 dog, Gracie, and 3 cats, Whiskers, Reggie and Betsy.  I have been wanting to photograph them for a while now, so today I decided I would give it a try. Photographing animals is a little like photographing toddlers. They move around a lot, blink eyes, and when they are done, they are done.  I managed to get photos of all but Betsy who is a little shy. She would have none of it today. Reggie is the one on the bottom looking off to the side, the other two are Whiskers including his "Smiling" pose, and of course,  Gracie, who by the way is terrified of the camera and flash.  She looks a little like a deer in the headlights.  She is my shadow, where I go, she goes.  We are blessed to have their unconditional love. 

Kent Heritage Festival

Its been a few days since the big day. Kent Heritage Festival was this past Saturday. The weather was pleasant and thanks to the help of my friends and family, everything went smoothly (only slight issues with my banner). Thanks to Annette for hanging out with me for part of the day. 

I have been working for weeks to prepare for my annual booth at the festival. It is a way to display my work and meet potential clients.  My favorite part of  the day was when people I have photographed in the past stopped  by to say hi ( and look for their photo).  

This year, I introduced a new photo series, Real Life. I am especially excited about this because, It is what I have always wanted to do, to take natural portraits of people just being themselves. 

I attempted to take a picture of my booth, but for some reason, the picture was gone from my camera (funny) So instead,  I decided to post a copy of my Real Life postcard. 

I had a wonderful time on Saturday, and we topped off the evening with Fireworks and dippin dots. 

A day in the life

Today I had the pleasure of photographing two very handsome young men. We had so much fun!!

When it was time to go, S said he didn't want me to go, and really I wanted to stay too.  I have been wanted to do something a little different, to get out of the studio and do some everyday life pictures.  These two guys have truly inspired me to do more of this kind of photography, I love it. Here is a sneak peak for Mom and Dad of the boys. 

More to come...

Change is good

The past year has been a year of firsts for me.  I have made a conscious decision to step outside of 

my comfort zone.  After stepping back and looking at where I was, I realized I wasn't very "comfortable" in that place.  So I have have done many new things.  One of them being planting a garden. If you know me, you know I could kill silk flowers so this was no easy thing for me.  With the help of several friends and family,  I decided to plant small raised bed with just a few things in it, to ease myself into it.  Here is a  picture of  my lettuce, and a rainbow over my little garden, which is painted pink. 

Another thing I decided to do, is to try my hand at canning and preserving.  My hubby and I went out and picked 16 quarts of strawberries, and I made jam. My dear friend lent me her canner, and gave me a quick tutorial on it, and my very patient Mom supported me thru the process.  I took a couple quick photos of the before and after.  It was a pretty quick and painless process and we can enjoy the rewards the whole year!!