Class of 2001.

Laura and Nick were a part of my ridiculously small high school class.  The three of us almost make up half the class, and now they are married with two children.  Laura owns and runs a children's clothing boutique, The Blue Ladybug.  She makes adorable clothes and accessories for kids, and she is really good, check her out!!



We recently reconnected at church, and are now in a woman's bible study together. I am so grateful to have her back in my life, she is always a voice of encouragement to me and my photography. A week or two ago, I went over to hang out for awhile, and when her kids got up from nap time, I got to play with them a bit. 




This is Elissa, what a sweet face.  She is just over 1 yrs old , i believe.  She wasn't so sure about me at first, so she was a little more camera shy.

Here is older brother Cameron, who is 3.  For some reason, he thinks I am great.  Trust me, the feeling is mutual, he was so fun to play with.

 

  Cameron was requesting pictures of all his cars and blocks, and after taking a picture of a block, he put up an identical block for me to take a picture of.  This face convinced me to take a picture of the second block.  :)

 Things got a little silly from here on out. ;)

 

 

Love this family, and so glad to be a part of their lives!!  I'm glad to say I have two new friends, Cameron and Elissa.  :)

Dreaming Out Loud.

" I GET LOST IN THE BEAUTY
       OF EVERYTHING I SEE...
            The world ain't as half as bad
                  As they paint it out to be..."   

                                 

                                   


This Is some lyrics from the band One Republic, and their song : Come Home.  Music, like photography, is a big part of my life.  My Ipod is filled with music of all genres, less country then others, but still pretty diverse.  While reading and listening to this song tonight, this line hit me... I get lost in the beauty of everything I see.  WOW.

As a photographer, this is so true.  I find beauty in some things that others don't.  When I think of the earth, and how it came to be, it just grows my respect and awe for God.  I mean, He has made some incredible things!!  I haven't been very far around the world, but there is beauty everywhere, even Muskegon!! Here are some shots I took out at Lake Michigan a week or two ago. 
Remember that God made this, and have a great monday!

 

  

 Is that a shark??  HaHa. Or a log...

Flashback Friday: Canoe Trip

I love looking back through old pictures, so i'm going to try to do a "flashback" post every Friday.  So here is the first one, my family canoe trip.  We try to go every summer, but this year was well documented, because I had recently bought my digital camera.  The year was 2006, and I do remember a couple of canoe's tipping over.  I, of course, was in a kayak with my camera in a zip lock baggie.  Stupid, but it worked for the day.

 Blue skies! 

 

My Nieces Alyssa (on the left) and Haley.  :)

I hope you enjoyed looking backwards. Happy Friday!!

Stumped. Or. Stomped.

As a girl growing up with three brothers and no sisters, it comes to nobody's surprise that I am competitive and I like sports.  For the most part, I like them all, except for golf.  I don't play golf, I don't like to watch golf, it's just not my sport.  So when i went to college, picking a career was simple.  Nothing made sense quite like Exercise Science. I hate math, history bores me, and the thought of teaching little kids scares me.  After 4 years of anatomy and physiology, anatomical kinesiology, and other such classes, I graduated with my degree, only to learn it really won't do much for me without a second degree.

While at college I took a couple photography classes.  I quickly discovered I loved taking pictures, and found great joy in taking and developing photos.  Never thought I would be doing it for a living, but it seems that is where I am.

Five years after CU, I decided to go back to school to pursue a career in Physical Therapy Assistant, from Baker College.  More anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, intro to PTA and many more. All leading up to the application to the program, the first attempt was no good. I re-took classes, received my bonus point, and tried again.  Out of anywhere between 60-80 applicants (only 20 accepted), I got my letter this past Thursday.   Knowing my grades weren't the greatest, I didn't expect to get in, so I started to create my back up plan.  Which really became my plan.  Opening my letter this week to see I once again have not been accepted, showed me what God wants me to do with my life.

So here I am, about to go all in as a photographer, and I have to be honest, i'm kinda terrified. Can this be what I do for a living? Can I make enough money to pay my bills?  Can I really have a job that I LOVE and am passionate about? I hope the answer is YES, it needs to be YES.

So in my story, my happy ending is me, my camera and nothing but God's beauty for me to capture.

Newborn: Breton Mann

Ron and Linda Mann were both coaches of mine in high school.   Linda coached volleyball the couple years I played, and Ron, and his brother Bill were my basketball coaches.  Ron and Linda's daughter Rachel, is a couple years younger then me, and I had the chance to take some pictures of her son Breton. 

This may be my favorite newborn picture...ever. :)

MY Soccer Girls

I just finished my 6th school year of coaching at CCS.  Volleyball, basketball and soccer are all sports I love and have coached over the years.  It is no surprise to anyone that soccer is my favorite to coach.  We had four seniors this soccer season, and they will be greatly missed next year.  I just wanted to share a few shots I took throughout the season.

My fellow coach/friend Linda...and the parka. :)

 

How can one family have so much talent??

My center mid, and defense.

My sweeper/stopper...and their guns?  This was on a trip to Mackinac Island with the freshman class. 

The senior girls on graduation night.  Goodbye! The last 4 or 5 years have been so fun!

Just for fun.

My nephew is in his first year of baseball, he's only 7.  He gets sidetracked sometimes, and has gotten hit by the pitcher so many times he is afraid to hit the ball.  But they are just so cute!  I had to share a few of the pics I took at the game last week.  I just love this boy...he makes me smile.

 He's got his game face on.

Open your eyes buddy! 

 I love this one...he got tired and thought he should sit.  :)

Love ya Jr Mint.  :)