Creative Photography Challenge: Project 24

I've have wanted to do a photo challenge for a while now. I follow the blogs/feeds for a few here and there, I just don't have the time like I think I will during classes to get out and complete the photo assignment for a week...unfortunately it's not getting me a grade.

I came across this particular challenge on Pinterest around the beginning of the year and I think this is one that I can do! And maybe it will get me motivated to make time for my camera as a study break : )

This particular challenge struck me as fun and unique--plus I have the list up front, this pleases the type A side of my personality : )  I have already gotten a couple down! My goal is to complete two of each category, but not give myself a "due date" other than the end of the year...

Vintage:  This is a picture I took in 2010, but I played around with some settings for that vintage look..

Sparkle or Blur

Another Catch-Up : )

You'd think with almost 3 weeks off of work I would have found time to sit down with an update, but apparently I've found other things to occupy my time : P


First thing's first....as of December 23rd, I'm officially an engaged woman! : ) We are super excited, but the wedding won't be until next summer. Cody thinks I'm slightly crazy for having as many things as I do already planned, but I can't help it! I'm SUCH a planner, and that's probably the one area where Cody and I are the most different (that and our sleeping habits, but that's a completely different story lol). He's very much a take it as it comes kind of guy, where as I usually have a good idea what I'm doing for at least the next two weeks ; )


Many have asked for the proposal story, so I thought I'd share it here--as happy of a story it is, I kinda get tired of saying the same thing over and over : )

So here's the story--he acted like he didn't have a plan for that night when I asked him the day before what time we were going to leave and what I needed to wear. I just kept getting "I don't know, what would you like to do?" I even told him that not that I expect to do big and elaborate things for our anniversary but that I was kinda disappointed that he didn't really take the time to plan something....oh little did I know ; )  

We headed up to Seattle (I didn't know this was where we were going but just figured we would). We took the exit for West Seattle so I had a feeling we were going to Alki Beach. He said "I'm assuming you know where we are going now, I thought it would be fun to recreate our first date". On our very first date we went to Seattle and ate at this restaurant called Tango for dinner, then killed time at a couple bars before the show started at Jet City Improv (hilarious show by the way!) and the ended the night walking around the park on Alki beach.So we were doing it a little backwards but that was okay, I thought it was completely adorable. So we're walkin around, I of course had my camera so I'm taking pictures of the skyline. I wanted to get one of us with the skyline in the background do I set up my camera on the sidewalk and messed with the timer, running back and forth a bunch to redo the picture till I was satisfied : P After about 15 retakes I was finally happy and we started walking back toward the truck. I assumed we were cutting it close to making our dinner reservations and he said "No we've got a little more time we can walk some more." Okay. A little before this I was just reminiscing about our first date, told him it was the first place he held my hand and the first place he put his arm around me when we sat on the beach. We walked over to this grassy area close to the water and he says:"So this restaurant that we are going to is a pretty quiet, low key place but I think you will like it. It's also a pretty classy place, and the ring that I gave you before isn't classy enough.."He got down on one knee, said "Oh my gosh I'm nervous now.." hahaha  and the rest is history! ; ) I of course said yes, and I can't wait to marry my best friend : )

The absolutely adorable ornament Cody's sister Keana got for us : )

Christmas this year was very laid back and enjoyable--as it should be! Cody and I went to his sister's house on Christmas day, and then a week later had a second celebration with my stepsister and her kids from Oregon when my brother was up here visiting. I can't seem to find the pictures that my mom sent me at the moment...gonna have to get them from her again : P

Van thinks my ring is pretty too : ) 

Some amazing fiance got him a charter fishing trip on the Sound! hehe

A few days ago I flew back from my two week trip visiting my Dad and family in Oklahoma. As much as I like spending time down there it's hard to be away from here for that long, thinking about all the projects and such that I want to get done before I start school! Nonetheless, it was a good trip--got a few rounds of golf in, got to spend some time with my grandparents, and lots of relaxing time laying on the couch or playing cards : )

Dad's new toy -- 2012 Ford Raptor....it's pretty fun : ) 

Pretty blue skies out at the ranch in Jay, OK 

I had a little friend on the ride....ironically his name was Cody *lol*

Grand Coulee Damn in Langley, OK -- fun fact, it's the largest-spanning damn in the U.S.!

Gorgeous sunset on the drive home from Grove!

My grandpa loves rebuilding cars, and he's been working on this 1964 Volvo for at least 4 years now. When my Dad and I drove down to his shop, he needed us to help him set the electronic speedometer he installed, so I got to go along for the maiden voyage to read him the directions...Dad followed just in case we broke down : P  He does everything himself, including the upholstery!

Before

After

 So fun! I thought it was pretty cool to share the first ride with him since I don't see him but twice a year <3

Finally catching up!

Fall mini sessions: success : )
First Thanksgiving I've hosted: turned out pretty good.
Fall semester complete: check, finally!
Wait where did fall go? And why isn't there snow on the ground yet??
Christmas tree cut and decorated: it's pretty!
Presents wrapped: almost ; )
Photo sessions over break: in the works!
Studying for PCAT in January: I'll get there...

Wow. It doesn't look that busy when I sum it up like that, but man on man have the last few months been packed! I honestly wouldn't have it any other way, evidenced by the last two days, my first two days off from the end of the semester and I've helped my mom decorate her new house for Christmas, made  an Ikea run, and gotten my brothers futon put together and entertainment center hooked up. I'm not complaining my any means, but as much as I say I want to, this girl clearly doesn't know how to just sit still : )

So let's go back to late October/early November. I finished up the fall mini sessions that I was doing and had so much fun doing them! I can't wait to do it again next year and hopefully get a few more booked, but the amount I had was just enough to keep me happy and sane ; ) Here's a quick recap of the 3 other fall sessions that I did..

The Giovanelli's
This adorable little family was way too fun to shoot, and the leaves at Wright Park were absolutely perfect! Even though they live out of state, I hope to get to take their family portraits again next year when they come to visit their family!

The Gay Family
Even though their little girls were just not in the mood for a photo shoot, it was still a pleasure to work with them--not to mention the girls are absolutely adorable!

The Belcourt's
I have the pleasure of working with the lovely lady of this household, Maria. It was so much fun getting to meet her husband and kids and capture some great pictures of those handsome boys she's got : )

Thank you to all of you for the opportunity to work with you and your families! It was a great learning experience for me and hopefully you are as proud of the end product as I am : )

Thanksgiving this year was the first time that I, and Cody, hosted dinner. We jumped all over trying to find different spins on the holiday traditions, and aside from the turkey taking longer than we thought in the smoker it turned out great : )  (A very big thanks to my stepfather for getting the turkey ready for the smoker!) I actually had fun making everything, with the help of my wonderful mom, and maybe it was because we weren't cooking for very many people, but it was pretty stress free!

The end of Thanksgiving break brought on the final two weeks of fall semester, along with getting our Christmas tree and making the house a little festive. I also checked off another DIY project off of my to-do list and I like how it turned out..

While I was out painting and waiting for the vases to dry, I had a little friend pay several visits to the feeder on the back porch : )

A few more random pictures to share..
One morning I got ready to leave and had to hold off what I was about to do and get my camera to capture the beauty outside my front door

Words cannot describe how happy I am to be done with this semester! I do not have to return to classes until February 8th--it will be a glorious two months off, and man do I have a lot of things lined up to get done! I am taking the PCAT again on January 10th so I need to start being diligent about studying for it at least a few hours every day. But, I am so excited for Christmas time, for my brother to visit in January, and to head out to Oklahoma for a few weeks in January to hang out with my Dad and the rest of the family down there. This break from school is much needed : )

I think the last bit of news is that Cody and I "celebrated" our 3rd anniversary on December 7th--it's in quotes because we just went out for Chinese that night : )  I got him this poster he has been talking about for months, but I haven't gotten my present yet...I guess I was booking up our weekends and he needed a Friday or Saturday to take me wherever it is he wants to take me. Oh an my present was too big to wrap so it was being kept in the back of his mom's car...? I don't know what this boy has up his sleeves, but I will find out what he's had "planned" next Friday ; )

Be on the lookout for the latest photo shoots soon : )  I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas--only 8 more days!

Taking Time to Learn

Every time I pick up my camera I try to expand upon what I already know how to do. It's not always easy. I get into a comfort zone with the settings--sometimes forget to change them, and then get to be very thankful for Lightroom and Photoshop ; )  The other day, a photographer that I follow on Facebook posted a status update that I really needed to hear..

"There are so many bad photos out there because the photographer wanted to be artsy. Your clients are art by themselves. Their chemistry should be your canvas. By the way, I'm not saying I haven't been guilty of the same thing but I wish someone had told me before getting distracted by other artists' work. If you're a photographer, capture your clients as they are, not as you hope to impress other artists" - Carly, Carly Bish Photography

I sometimes catch myself being caught up in thoughts like "They take such good pictures, I want to be  able to reproduce that" or "They got the lighting so perfect on that shot", and "How do they think of these poses?!"

I am my own worst critic when it comes to anything to do with a creative outlet or school--my scores, my photography, how my scrapbook looks, perfection in my typed reports--I can always find something wrong with it. After reading Carly's post on Facebook, it brought to the surface what I already knew: This is first and foremost my hobby, and the reason I have been asked to do the photo shoots that I have is because they like the photos I have taken. Simple as that. To every one of you that have allowed me the pleasure of photographing your families and special occasions, as well as anyone who has ever told me that they like the pictures I take--I can't thank you enough!

I continue to grow with every photo I take, and I'm excited to dive deeper into the world of portrait photography as I go along. This past weekend I had so much fun with my first Fall Mini Session shoot, these ladies (and precious little boy) were awesome subjects, and we couldn't have asked for better fall colors : )

Hope you enjoy a few of my favorites from that day, and look out for my faves that come out of this weekend's shoot!

The Energizer Bunny didn't have a full class load, work, and photography on his plate...

It has been yet another busy month filled with everything from stressful school weeks to surprisingly relaxing and sunny days where I got a lot done.

First off, I think I finally got all of my photos hung up in the house! .....with the exception of the canvas print I need to order by this weekend with a Groupon that I have, but I don't know what I want to put on it! On a side note--I <3 Groupon, but those darn expiration dates sneak up on me every time!!

Here are a couple of pictures of the living room and dining room put together...we are already thinking about where to put the Christmas tree! : P

The shelf in the corner of the dining room was sanded and painted by yours truly today, which brings me to my next topic of conversation: my I-did-it-by-myself projects! ; )  The boys got the tools out, but this girl used them like a pro--and led me to discover how much fun hand sanding a shelf is NOT!! Note to self: don't rescue a shelf from Goodwill whose openings are too small for the power sander to fit through, even if it is only $2... : P  Despite the less than perfect removal of the stain on the inner shelves, I still like how it turned out. Here's a couple before and after pics of the future holder of my shot glass collection : ) The big shelf I decided to tackle after I got home from school today, already got a coat of paint on it! The best part: the power sander fit in all nooks and crannies of this one! ; )

 Before, sanded, and finished : )

Almost forgot to take a before picture--okay I did forget, so it's already got some paint on it, but you get the idea. It was a "pretty" shelf that had wonderful stain marks on the top : P

I've been a little project bee this week (thank you, Pinterest, for sucking me in to the dark hole of awesomeness!! hehe) Michael's craft store has all of their fall decor on clearance right now so I couldn't resist gathering a few things to make a fall wreath to hang on the front door. Including the glue gun and glue sticks, it cost less than $20 to make, and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. Yeah, I probably could have found one already made for about the same price, but there's much more satisfaction with the one I made myself. A few weeks ago I also made something I found on on Pinterest that was super simple and easy. All you do is take a picture frame and put a piece of scrapbook paper in the opening and ta-da! Instant dry erase board..

Also in the works this weekend--baking!!! On the menu: homemade chicken noodle soup, chocolate porter cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (maybe peanut butter, haven't decided yet...), and Halloween sugar cookies. I definitely don't need all those sweets hanging around in my house, so they will be appropriately distributed among the friends and family once they have passed my taste test.

Last weekend I was in dire need of some get away from thinking time, so I decided the perfect remedy would be to take Joey's nephew out to the park for a little bit. I killed two birds with one stone with this one--not only is Joey beyond entertaining these days, I was able to break out the camera and have some fun. I had gotten so caught up in school I couldn't believe weeks had gone by since I'd even touched it! It turned out to be a perfect fall afternoon and hanging out with Joey was exactly what I needed, even if it was just a short hour that I forgot about all that was waiting for me to do when I got home. After that though, it didn't seem so bad : )

 THE coolest watch ever...

Hey Ashaley, my watch has lots of stuff on it.

Oh yeah? Does it at least tell you what time it is?

Um nooo....but it has a couch on it and it blows air!

That must be a Marry Poppins watch!

No, it's mine.

: )

This has been a rather long post so I'll wrap up with this fun shot I took on Tuesday morning. My mom told me about this old truck close to PLU that has a tree growing through the middle of it in a field. When she told me this I imagined a pretty big oak tree right between the cab and the bed, and even though the scale and grandeur is not quite what I had pictured, I think it's just as cool...

Hope you all have a great weekend--I know I will, it's payday on Friday and my weekend off work so that's always happy! : )