hi! remember me???

OMGOSH! what a whirlwind of a year! between home schooling the monkeys, having weekend visitors almost non-stop, taking care of everyday things, and things that are NOT so "everyday" like FIRES... i've been going a mile a minute! {yes, fires...we are so blessed that it didn't reach our home, but instead burnt our yard & field and everything in it's path. we are so fortunate to have had raven {the wonder dog~ see the right side panel}, if it weren't for her, it would have gotten the house, and it could have been much worse for the kids and i...j wasn't home at the time} but i won't bore you with the gory details of how, what & why, i'll finish by saying that it was one of the MOST TERRIFYING experiences of my life, and i NEVER want to go through anything like that again. oh. and the story involves a woman with no teeth and two drunk farmers. no joke.

anyway~ thanksgiving was great, spent with family who came down from s. dakota. my cousin, who is a budding photographer there took our family pictures while she was here. i love that her and i have that in common, and i think she's great at it!

these next pictures are of my little bride and groom who are getting married this coming summer. they were so much fun to shoot, up for anything and full of gumption!



and these are from a photoshoot i did with my best friend. i'm still amazed at how busy i've been with pictures. i've had to turn work down! it seems like every weekend i've got at least one shoot booked, sometimes even two or three. i have loved doing it, and have loved the experience it's given me. my main goal is to do fine art and families/children/seniors on the side, but i've been so busy with the "side" part, that the fine art half has been neglected. i'm not complaining though. i've been able to buy new lenses, equipment, etc., thanks to the families that have allowed me to have a "peek" into who they are. it's been so fun and rewarding to meet them, and see their family through the lens of my camera. it's been fun growing and seeing my progress as a photographer, and to see myself inching closer to becoming the "artist" that i want to be. i'm still not there yet. but i'm getting there, and i'm so excited!


this little family i shot is just adorable! they have little miss autumn, and she was my first REAL experience with shooting a baby. while i'm not into the whole "baby in a bucket or coccoon" thing {i really want to stay FAR away from that box}, i did enjoy the "on the job" training. i would've liked to get a bit more creative, but we were on location, and it was chilly. not a good mix for a 6 week old. :)

other than that, everything is good! i'm working on a few projects, including an embroidery pattern company... nothing big, but fun and another outlet for creativity. my blog will also be changing a bit. i've been weighing the options of having two blogs, or three, if i keep a personal blog. so until i decide, you'll see a few minor, but hopefully exciting {to you!} changes around here!

happy december 1st everyone!