Remote Controlled!

I got a remote control for my camera, see!

It's gotta be one of the coolest things ever. Ok there are a lot of other cool things but still, having a camera that runs with a remote, pretty cool.

Whittney and I had to, of course, test it out.

We had to make sure it worked when I pointed it at her head,
Or when we were not paying attention (This picture cracks me up. Although it is a very unflattering picture of the both of us, I love how we are both laughing in it. I wonder what we were laughing at?)

We had to test it to make sure it could find peace,

and then when we knew without a doubt that this remote was the coolest thing ever, we let it capture us in a non normal state- looking normal. ;)

Love,

Highlights from my 18th year

As of today, I am 19. Its pretty crazy for me to think about- maybe that I've made it 19 years or maybe that it just doesn't feel as if I am that old.

Either way I am glad to see 19 come but at the same time 18 really was a great year. It had its not so good times as well but with the good comes the bad. In no particular order here are some (aka the ones I could think of right now) highlights of my 18th year: -The end of Senior year. This included senior prom, which was such a great time.

-Getting Invisaligns to straighten my teeth. I had the actual invisaligns from a little bit before my 18th birthday until about October. Now I wear a "retainer" constantly but will get to gradually wean off of it here soon.
-Graduation!! Seniors 2009 baby!! I graduated high school finishing 8th in my class. I got a couple good scholarships from the college and a couple outside ones as well.

-My graduation party! It was so much fun. I would go back to high school just to do it again! Ok, maybe not but it was pretty fun!

-Getting my Nikon DSLR camera. Its my baby ;) I love having it and eventually I plan to get off the P setting and unto the Manual one.

-Having my photography grow. Somewhat because of my Nikon but somewhat because of my talent as well. Having people ask me to take portraits for them and doing a number of photo shoots. My photography has really advanced lately and for that I am excited and hope it continues to grow.

-Regaining Whittney back as my closest friend. There was a short period of absence with our friendship, we kind of drifted apart, but towards the beginning of my 18th year we started to come back together and now I think we are closer than ever. And for that, I am grateful. She really is the greatest friend, scratch that, sister a girl could have.

-I started college and have found that it isn't really what I expected. It has its good and its bad, some days I like it and some days I don't. I have been doing pretty well and have passed all my courses with A's or B's. We will see with spring semester but I hope that holds true.

-I made the Deans list for fall semester. Barely. but it still counts =]

-I got to be in the live audience at one of Jack Hanna's specials. It was exciting. Living where I do that is probably the only opportunity I will ever have for something like this and the closest I will ever get to a celebrity. I got his autograph to ;)

- I did my first field through school. I was in a second grade classroom. I got very good feedback so despite my nervousness and all things like that I obviously did well enough to be commended on my efforts. I really hope I am making the right choice with teaching.

I know there is so much more that has happened this last year that is noteworthy but I can't think of anything else at the moment and I am running short on time. College has kept me on a short leash so far this semester, I haven't had the time for much other than homework.

Oh, I forgot to include the fact that I got this blog and I enjoy everything about it- so thank you all who read it- you have helped make my 18th year all the better!!!

Love,

Really?? They said that???

Last week, Whittneys cousin called me up and asked me to take some pictures of her daughter, Rachel. She was going to give modeling a shot and needed some recent pictures of her. They think very highly of my photography (and of course they think I'm pretty cool as well, lol.) and so they wanted me to take them.

And so, I did. I wasn't sure I liked the turn out- the ones outside were ok but we were limited cause of the fading light and the 20 ft of snow that kept us from going anywhere quickly. Ok, it wasnt 20 ft but you get the point, lol. And then inside I wanted to not use flash, I don't like flash I like natural light, but the light in there was bad.

I took them anyways making promises to take better ones on a brighter day when I could use natural light. I edited them, hoping I could get them to look better. They didn't look so bad after that -there was a few I did really like but overall, I just wasn't satisfied. I knew I could do better.

But I guess they were good enough. According to Tracy (Rachel's mom) the modeling agent asked who took those pictures. She of course, told him that I did. And I guess he said that they were really good and that I should be doing it for a living.

Appalling. Certainly wasn't expecting that. Makes me feel good that he thought my photographs were that good though, especially when I thought they were very far from it.

Now, I have yet to be filled in on how Rachel did with the whole modeling thing so I will get back to you on that but I bet she did great, I mean look at her! Shes beautiful, a perfect model. See for yourself with a few of the pictures that I actually liked, although I am not sure which ones the agent liked because I don't know which ones they brought:

Thank you Rachel for bein such a great model, and thank you to whomever the agent was who actually liked my pictures!

Love,

Put your hands in the AYer!

This week over at i♥faces the theme is "Hands on fun" They figured after featuring feet and tooshies, it was time for the hands to get their chance in the spotlight! In my photography adventures, I find ideas on the internet that inspire me, so then I go out and use that idea to do my own thing. Also, I love getting messages across in an artistic photograph and so I do that as well. I've gotten some neat photographs that way and that leads me to my entry:

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Well, what do you think? I enjoy comments- so feel free to leave me one and I will return the favor!

Have you entered your own hands photo this week? Do you want to enter your own or just go and check out the other entries? No problem, just click on the i♥faces logo at the top of this post!

Thanks for looking!!!!


Love,

I Can’t Stop Time But I Can Capture It

My Opinion Essay for my writing class. I hope you like it- The professor did ;)
I love photography; it’s one of my greatest passions and my most favorite things to do. I love the way the strap grazes my neck, the way the grip fits perfectly in my hand like it was made just for me, the way the autofocus whirrs as it gets ready to take the picture, and then the soft but audible click as the camera captures a moment that would otherwise be lost and quickly forgotten. I love how photography can capture an instant, a moment in time that individuals will want to remember but could never recapture. How it freezes that moment so that it can be looked upon for years to come.

Photography also allows me to change something ordinary into something extraordinary. With a camera in hand the possibilities are endless. With the right view and level of creativity I can turn an everyday scene into something phenomenal and breathtaking. It’s almost magical which makes it so much more enjoyable for me. Another thing I love is how a simple photograph can tell the viewer so much. It can portray almost any emotion; from devastation to extreme joy. It can entrance the viewer allowing them to feel as if they were there in the millisecond of time reliving all the emotions and activities that were captured. In this world I can’t stop time or go back to a time and relive it but with photography I can capture it and that’s good enough for me.

I've been experimenting more with different editing actions. The last two are examples of a couple new actions I like, what do you think? Do they work?

Love,

On my calendar,

On todays date there are two words written followed by a few exclamation points. These words are important and not to be ignored. They are not lightly taken and after you read them you should start thinking about celebrating, which is what I plan to do because those words read: Kelleys Birthday!!!!! And that's an event that commends celebration in my book!

Kelley,

Happy 19th Birthday my dear friend! I am so glad you and I are such good friends you are a great best friend and I am ever so grateful to have you in my life. I love how open minded and how you fight for what you want no matter what you have to do to get there. Your determination and strong will are just a couple qualities that I admire in you and through that I am learning to be a better person. I love the way you think outside the box and you make me realize things that I wouldn't have thought of before. Your filled to the brim with great advice and you always help me no matter what my situation. You encourage me to shoot for the stars and never give up and that's just the thing I need to hear sometimes. Your always there for me and whenever I need something I know I can count on you. The best thing is- you always have the greatest stories. I love getting text messages from you they always brighten my day no matter how sad I may have been feeling. (Dea, I just sucked a hamster into the vacuum. Dea, I am wearing fat people shorts, you know the kind that are supposed to sweat fat off your legs?) Oh, Kelley. I'm so glad your one of my best friends. What would I do without you??

Happy Birthday Kelley!!!! Love ya girly!!!

Love,

Smoochie smoochie!

Its i♥faces time and since valentines day is Sunday, the theme this week is "We heart kisses!" I was limited in my options but I thought this one would be a good one for this week:

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Awww, sisterly love. I look this of the girls awhile ago, I whispered to Mikayla to plant a big ol kiss on Taylor and she did! Slobbery kid kisses, too cute!

Thank you for viewing my entry! Comments are always appreciated and I will return the favor!! Want to enter your own photo or see the other entries?? Click on the i♥faces logo at the top of this page!

Love,