American Honey

Friday nights with a special plan is fun.  I like it.  It's nice to get out, to go beyond the confining walls of the house.  But, I also really like a Friday afternoon without having a big plan and nothing to get ready for.  On those Fridays I can finish up the school day and feel the freedom of not having to think about academic related pressures for 2 days! It is so freeing.  And in those moments, I LOVE to turn up some loud, fun music- sing and dance while I clean my kitchen or living room or whatever.  What type of music varies- could be bluegrass, could be jazz, could be oldies, could be Christian, could be country, etc.  Hey, sometimes it's the soundtrack to Newsies! One of my favorite country groups is Lady Antebellum. I love so many of their songs but one I really enjoy is called American Honey.  I love the sound of it. It feels soothing- it makes me sing, and sway. :) For many months, whenever I have heard that song I have had this photography vision.  It is Kate in a grassy field, with this blue dress that I love. I thought I wouldn't ever get to try to realize the vision.  The warm season would end and the dress would be too small, etc.  But, whatdya know? Super warm beginning to fall and I snuck out to work on it on Sunday.  I can't say that this is what I envisioned :) My young model couldn't quite get down the elegant yet carefree walk/stride I had pictured. And, lacking a good location, I fought with barriers in the view and other distractions.  But, as I look through the shots I got- I like this one to match the song.  It's not so lyrically applicable to my Kate.  Or to me, really.  Because I grew up early and fast. But, the song and the image match the photographic vision I had. Here it is:

(and by the way, I had never watched the video before posting here- though I see a little girl was used in filming the video. pinky promise I didn't see that before)

http://youtu.be/PgawTEzsJD0

twirling

I was able to sneak out to the park on Sunday evening to do a little photo shoot with Kate.  All the usual barriers were present- time, sunlight fading, public place so lots of people in the way, the boys fighting, one having to go to the bathroom urgently as soon as I got things where I wanted them, etc etc. :) In the midst of all that, I forgot to check my ISO. I don't know how that slipped my mind! Seems so basic.  But I had the ISO bumped pretty high from being indoors at my niece's bday. So- with my camera not handling highers ISO very well, this vision I have had for a while, and tried to squeeze in with this shoot- it's all pretty grainy.  Oh well. I'm still happy with some of what I caught.  It just isn't something I would enlarge in print. Too bad. Live and learn.

The Lord knew what he was doing when He gave me this girl.  She is so often a beautiful dose of grace and goodness in my life these days.  She is so loving.  So full of life and fun.  She enjoys beauty and cooking with me.  I appreciate this wonderful age where her heart is still so soft and sweet toward me.  I hope it stays.  Lord, please let it stay.

I was asked to be the photographer for our class reunion in a couple of weeks. Ha! FAT chance! People are SERIOUSLY overestimating my abilities! I turned them down. But maybe I will have a gig for the 30 year. :)

I hate titles

I used a "yesteryear" preset on this image.  It was one of the first I took that day,before getting my exposure right. But, when I opened it up I liked the highlights being blown out and the loss of detail actually worked in my favor, I think.

Water Hyacinth at sunset

New pics

I have several things to edit. A couple, I did a quick edit on and posted in a daily Instagram challenge.

This one- well, I think it does what I hope to do- it captures a bit of God's glory shown in the beautiful, intricate details of His creation.  I love the texture of the leaf and the play of light and shadows. BUT! I totally biffed the composition on this one.  That leaf needs some breathing room on the right of the frame! It bugs me. A lot. But, I posted it anyway because of the other things I mentioned.

This one is one of the willow trees. The wind was blowing and I was trying to capture some of that movement. It's hard to separate the experience from the image- to me, this is a very calming image. But, maybe that's just because I remember the sound of the willows, the quiet, rainy morning, etc.

This last shot was also taken at Fox Grove.  Almost by accident.  The sun was just about to slip below the horizon.  I have kind of gotten into a habit of keeping my camera on my face and turning around to see what I might be missing.  That's when I saw these WEEDS :) so pretty and illuminated by the setting sun.  

Once I saw this photo on my LCD screen, this quote came to mind. It is a poetry/literary favorite of mine, though kind of cheesy and overused.  :) I was thinking I might use it with this image to make another, more cheerful set of cards.  But, my sister thought it might be too mushy to be used for a basic friendship card.  The problem with ordering the cards is that there are so many of one kind.  I want it to be versatile so I will prob look for another quote if I end up using it for a card.  I don't know, though. I'm not sure if I agree with my sis! 

I am very glad that I got to do those pictures for Holly.  They are just in love with them! It is mostly to do with how in love they are with their son :) but, they feel so grateful for the pictures.  They are ordering a copy of everything I gave them and several 10x14. It was evident during the shoot, how much they are enamored with their little guy.  Sweet.  They mentioned that the only photos they have of him are on an iphone.  I know they don't have a lot of money.  I love that at this stage of my photography journey I can justify not charging people! It is such a blessing to be able to give something like this.  I would love to capture those lovely moments for people even if I was charging :) That's one level.  But, providing it to someone who wouldn't be able to get it otherwise hits down to my roots :) and it an extra measure of blessing to me.

Last week, the kids and I were leaving the driveway, headed to art class for Jacob.  I ran back in the house and grabbed my camera.  It was rainy/misty and I was thinking about those wonderful, glorious willow trees on Dusty Lane.  I pulled over on the way to class to snap a couple pictures.  Of course I lose all sense of time and reason when I have my camera so it turned into more than a couple minutes and I had to apologize to Jacob for making him late. :) I also got busted! Jesse drove by and saw my traipsing along in the rain and knee high grasses, climbing up on the fence with my camera in hand and my car full of kids about 30 feet away! haha!  He can't understand what I was doing! :)  Well, I have wanted  a picture of those willow trees for several years.  I look at them and they are so perfect.  It's like....a magical place where dreams take root and secrets are shared.  When it is windy outside, the leaves make this amazing shhhing sound.  I don't know. I like them.  The leaves will fall soon, so I am glad I tried to get a shot- though I haven't uploaded or edited yet to see if I got anything worthwhile.

My friend also told me about a photo opp at Fox Grove with lily pads.  I am going to try to head out there later this morning before I pick the kids up. 

I definitely feel like I have turned a corner here.  I have been contemplating on how great it feels to be in this place.  Restored for the time being.  Had I never gone through the bad season (oh, how paltry the word "bad" seems in this use- so understated)-- but anyway, had I never gone through the hard times, there's no way I could feel such love and tender gratitude to the Lord for healing and restoring.  It's not like everything is hunky dory.  There are still moments of grief each day, and some days, all day.  But, I'm not crippled with it right now.  I am fully aware that this could be a short season.  Even still, I am thankful.  Incredibly grateful for right now- where things are steady in a pattern of our "new normal." Where I have had time to adjust and process.  Where I have come through so many hard things by the outpouring of God's protection and grace and goodness. Where my mind has gone forward in time to wrestle through my fears and vulnerable places, and has now found a place to rest in the Lord with all the unknowns surrounding.  I don't allow myself to contemplate the future too much anymore and don't really feel the need.  The Lord is with me. Near to me.  And if there was a cloak over all of it, I would say it is a resounding, "His grace is sufficient for me."  It just is.  Has been. Will be.

And, photography ties in here- He has given it back a little bit.  But, it has been such a giving back rather than me taking it back and it feels different than before.  I always wanted it to be an offering to Him, but now it's so obviously a gift from Him to me that worship through it is seemingly inevitable. Maybe that sounds confusing. :) I just know that there is a peace that surrounds me now.  I don't have many opportunities but I am ok with the slow pace, ready to receive the gift of the learning and progress as He hands it to me.  Ready to wait if there is no time.  I pray He protects this heart attitude.  Right now, the photography has never been more beautiful.  It is like sweet gifts from the Lord, ministering right into my heart, showing me how He gave it back a little bit and how He put the fragments of my heart back together to a degree that I can keep going.  It brings hope and faith- no matter what comes next, if He can heal and reshape as He did, He can do it again.) Not that I want to go through it again! It's so scary to even contemplate it.  Yet, as I first mentioned, without the bad, the good isn't so vibrant, nor the healing power so evident.

Ok, all for now. Now time to proof read this. Hopefully I will have new images sometime in the near future.

Final pics of Baby F

This is what I gave the parents.. I will post them all because I redid some of the ones I posted earlier.