Schoooools out for Summer, or atleast two weeks aanyways

Finished up my last of five finals last night. WOOHOO! It went fairly well so I can't complain, I think that they all went pretty well! I am tired and looking forward to a few weeks with friends, family and just some good ol plain relaxing. I have 3 sets of photos to get through, I have been slacking alittle bit on that part of my life since midterms, things were just too crazy. I hope to push through all three sets this weekend so I have absoluetly nothing on my plate for the next two weeks. Well I guess except for my upcoming shoot at the LeDuc Mansion in Hastings, MN. I think this is going to be an exceptionally fun shoot though! And I get to see some good friends during and after which is a huge bonus!! I will, really I will this time get some photos posted for everyone to see.

I would like to thank all the fellow mtbers and other folks for supporting me in my photography adventures! Its been a great ride and I have been so lucky to be part of so many peoples wonderful experiences, and theres many more to come in 2009!


Happy Holidays!!

Greenway Violence

This is so sad. No has gotten physically hurt but it sounds like its only a matter of time before this kid loses it. What in the world are these kids doing? I cant imagine they have gotten much from these bikers but yet they continue to terrorize the greenway. The people that use the greenway are doing good things for everyone by using their bikes to commute and then you have some F*@#Heads that just cant wait to screw things up. RIDICULOUS!

One of my Peace Coffee teammates was one of the 10 victims to date, to be robbed on the Greenway. Here is his eerie account http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/36073164.html?page=1&c=y

Troy- I'm glad to hear that you are okay and am sorry that this has happened to you!!

This is my last weekend of homework for a few weeks. 4 finals left, 4... Then a well needed rest.  Andy and I have some vacation planned for January.  I have lots of little projects to work on but i'm trying not to book the time up so I can just relax.  Maybe strap on the snow shoes and get outside for a bit.  (pssst... Janet, I said strap-on).

Gratitude-

1. I am grateful that Doolittles is so close by, YUM!

2. I am grateful for the joy of knowing the weekend is ahead of me.

3. I am grateful for Andys Massages.

4. I am grateful for the upcoming 2 weeks off of work.

5. I am grateful for slightly warmer weather for this weekend.

Good night all!

2nd Attempt

So yesterday I went out and got a Christmas Tree and hunted through the house to find my ornaments.  Its been close to 10 years since I have had a Christmas tree.  I thought about getting a real tree from my local coop but decided against it because I don't know how the cats and dog would react.  I spent about 4 hours listening to music, decorating the new tree and then giving another attempt to my last posted art project.  I added one of the missing items but needed an extra hand which I didn't have at the time.  I did the best I could and was at least able to recreate the effect.    I came up with another idea to correct my issue but was done shooting for the day so Third time is lucky right ?

So a gratitude entry. I have been kind of crabby today so i don't feel that thankful, this is going to be a tough one.

1.  I am grateful that I only have 2 weeks left of the current semester.

2. I am grateful that I have booked a couple more weddings for this upcoming year.

3. I am grateful that Andy and I still have work with the current economic state

4. I am grateful for the health of my family

5. I am grateful that this is my last item to be grateful for today .

My Art Project

A friend stopped by today and because it got dark before we had the chance to go shooting we decided to stay in and try the shaped bokeh effect.  It started out all wrong but after about an hour of changing things up we were able to get the desired effect.  Its definitely a little haphazard at this point, it will take some time and some different materials to perfect it but we got the idea.  Here are some shots from our art session.

Good Times!!  Now to make it look super sweet like the demo, there is a great pic of a plate of cookies with a mug of hot chocolate then the bokeh effect is in the shape of snowflakes. Quite Beautiful.

I have been grateful just not on my blog for the last few days.   Here are my items tonight.

1.  For a beautiful soft fluffy snow fall

2. The warmer temps that come along with the snowfall.

3. Pear and Craisin Desert at the Roasted Pear, all warm and gooey with ice cream

4. being able to check a handful of things off of my to do list

5. closing down the evening cuddling on the couch with my honey

Time to get cuddling.  Good night

Gratitude, AGAIN

I have decided because Mon-Tuesday I dont have the time in the evening, those days of gratitude will not be shared on the blog. I will do my best to continue to share the others or atleast put them down here to be held accountable.

R- I think that sharing with you my Mission statement for this journal may help you get started:

Spend 15 minutes or so each evening to reflect on the gifts we have been given each day. To also review the tough things in life to determine the life lessons we are learning from them. Then give thanks and gratitude for the things we were able to enjoy, the gifts we have been given, and the things that may be hard but are providing us with valuable lessons and insight.

I am really sorry to hear that you are suffering once again. I know that you are a very strong person and when you look deep down I know you know that to! You already know what the right thing to do is, Just make sure to follow your heart. Take a good long look at the possible outcomes for both the children and yourself. With what C just went through, is it a good idea to send him back there? You have said things to me in confidence that makes me believe that you do not want to do what you are thinking of doing, remember that once you go down that road you cannot come back.

Another Gratitude post

1.   A nice fluffy white snow.

2.  Having a perfect photo shoot with a 10 week old.

3.  Calibrating my monitor and no changes required.

4.  A good work out with an awesome personal trainer.

5.  Good health and the ability to participate in all the above activities.

Janet- Thank you for the personal training session today. You were wonderful. I was amazed at your knowledge. You knew the minute I started to lose my form, you caught me not activating my core every time I tried to skimp ; ) and you were able to give me just the right encouragement to straighten up, refocus and carry on. I was really impressed and see you going a long way. I wish you all the luck and look forward to our next meeting. 

Thank You to Jo and Baby B for an awesome photo shoot this afternoon.  You may recall, I randomly bopped into their place with my camera and did some photos of Baby B about 9 weeks ago.  Baby B and mommy and daddy weren't quite ready for me so we scheduled an official shoot and it went wonderfully. I am so excited to share some of the photos with you all.  B was so happy and smilie.  All I had to do was call her beautiful and she just lit up.    I later learned that Daddy sings to her James Blunts "Your Beautiful": ). Oh she was just the sweetest.  

Gratitude

Daily Gratitude:

1. I am grateful for "word of mouth" connections

2. I am grateful for the wide support and backing I have, and continue to experience during my photography adventures.

3. I am grateful for a restful 4 day weekend

4. I am grateful for good humor

5. I am grateful for a mothers love

Its hard to believe that this long weekend is coming to a close. Tomorrow is filled with homework, photos,  and Janet kicking my butt into shape at the gym.  I have two weddings in the post processing stage, I will get some of those images posted in the next week or two.   Hardcopy Portfolio is also in the works, very excited to see the outcome.  

Gratitude

My sister and I are starting an early new years resolution. Each evening we are going to review our day and list 5 things that we are grateful for.   Its a way for us to reflect on the positive things in our lives.  

1.  I am grateful that I got to sleep in today.

2. I am grateful that my first time making homemade chicken noodle soup went well. It was TAASTY.

3. I am grateful that my boyfriend is beginning to feel better after being sick all day.

4. I am grateful that I was able to be there for him today.

5. I am grateful that today was such a beautiful, sunny day.

It's nice to just take a few moments to smile and remember the good parts of the day : )  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

I will leave you with a very personal look into my soul.  Here is an image of my soul portrait from a few weeks ago. The artist is a Lake City local Lisa Owen.

Squish Face

I know I am probably a bad mommy because Mickers hasnt gotten his hair cut in awhile but i thinks its so cute!!!! Here he is this morning, he isnt very squish face here but i never have a camera at hand when he is ultra squish face.

Sarah, that last one is for you : )

Oops!

So I was rearended yesterday, that was quite exciting. Not bad and no injuries! The lady behind me was rearended, she then hit me causing me to hit the car in front of me. Its amazing how fast that can happen. Luckily i was near the front so all my car suffered was two small dents i think from her license, and the guy in front of me had no damage. Yay for bumpers!!

Its been awhile

I have been feeling all out of sorts lately. Not sure why, I think the thrill of my new school is gone and the pressure and lack of time is starting to get to me. I really want to take the dive head first into photography and quit the job I have but I know that its to soon for that. I just truly enjoy my photography and school takes up so much time, of all the things I have going on the job is the one I want to go. Ugh... But I cant. So here I am forcing myself to work through each day.

I had a soul portrait done this weekend which was an amazing experience. A psychic reading along with the portrait. I will take a photo of the portrait and post it when I have alittle more time. E said that it was more of a Soul Therapy session then a psychic reading, she was totally spot on! I left feeling rejuvinated and confident in the pathes I have chosen, though made me want to do the above even more. It was a very intimate experience, different then I had thought but definately worth it and I will see her again.

I also shot a wedding with Tony a couple weekends ago. I believe the photos are close to being delivered so I will post up a few of my favorites from the event when I can. I learned alot at this wedding, it was my first time shooting in a church. The lighting is lacking in a church and this one had large windows which gave quite the mixture of lights. And no flashes during the ceremony so that was the largest challenge. Then the father did not want the photographers to be more then half way down the aisle so zoom lens to the rescue for all the ceremony shots. It turned out not to be much of a problem though, the church had some nice angled aisle ways to get good shots regardless of distance.

As we were going through the photos Tony was asking me if I ever thought about Childrens photography, apparently I went alittle overboard with the cute little kids. But hey, my shots were great and I just couldnt help myself. There was this cute little flower girl who kept doing a popeye impression and then these adorable twin boys in their little tuxes. You will see when I post my photos : ). But yes, I am working on getting some experience in childrens photography as well, kids are definately a fun thing to photograph! I still need to set up my next shoot with Berit before she out grows the shots I want to do.

Well thats my rant for today, i will post pics soon

Testing

Testing 1! 2 3

hmmm.

I uploaded an app to my I phone which was supposed to make mobile blogging available. Ummm. I mobile blogged, anyone else not seeing it?? Guess I will have to try another one. So its officially a MN winter.

Winter is Mckinleys favorite time of the year. He had a hay day on our walk this morning : ) I didnt have my phone with so i'll post this photo.

I have another shoot set up with Baby Berit now that her jaundice has gone away, I am excited to try some of the really cute baby shots like the baby on the arm and tucked up in a basket and that type of cutesy stuff. I cant wait. I hope everyone had a good commute into work this morning

Reflections

I have been going through some of my old blog posts and I find myself amazed at how different my life is today, then it was at this same time last year. Last year I had what felt like all the time in the world. My blog was appropriately described as "My adventures as an up and coming mountain biker" Andy and I were meeting tons of new people in the mountain biking community, biking everywhere and during every second we could. We had both just finished up a successful MNSCS season and were sad we wouldnt see our new friends for half a year but thrilled with the up and coming winter mountain biking and snowshoeing season.



This year... now, I am satisfied with another great MNSCS season. However, this year I was the photographer for the series rather then a kick as* Citizen racer. Yeah thats right, I rocked the citizen class, bee otches!



There's this cute little joke for all the religious folk out there, yeah I know Im not religious but i beileve in fate and spirituality and all that jazz, but thats a whole nother blog post so here it is:



How do you make god laugh? .....



Ready.....



Here it comes.....



You make a plan!



My plan was to train all winter and race my butt off, literally, over the summer in the MNSCS sport class. Andy and I sat down and put our winter training schedules together and we were all set. Well winter came, I started school and my training went right out the window. I had just signed up for the peace coffee racing team again and had decided to hang my head low and rock the citizen class again, when I got an email from Jeff with the MNSCS. He had gotten my name from someone and was wondering if I would be willing to be part of the series. Possibly write some articles for the website and of course take photos of the riders. Photography was my fav past time. I was loving running out into the field to capture photos of the riders after I was done with my race. I discussed it with Andy and since my training fell through I decided to give it a go.



All summer I spent approx every other sunday out in the woods with Mckinley. We ran around and shot photos of the racers. It was much more challenging this year, I had all new gear that I was learning and I was trying really hard to do new and different things then I had done the previous year.



All and all I can see a great improvement from the beginning of the year to the end, and looking at last years picture. OMG! I have heard from many racers that they love looking at the photos so I have acheived my goal and I look forward to growing with the racers again next season.



Being the Official photographer of the series and a MORC member put me in touch with some other photographers in the area. I got to know a few of them pretty well and have shot with them a few times.. During a conversation with one of them, I say, "I dont want to shoot weddings, too much pressure, I like just hanging in the woods capturing the mountain bikers" I get the reply, "Yeah, why would you want to shoot weddings, its only the happiest day of these peoples lives, everyones happy, having a great time, and they look beautiful." K enough said!! I start seriously thinking about weddings, my photography, and where its going to go from here. Good deal my cousin is getting married in a few weeks. I give her a call, "Hey do you have a photographer" K, "Not really, we have a friend who is going to be doing our photos" Do you mind if I bring out my camera and shoot your wedding, hey, how about I come out early to get shots of you getting ready" And history was made!!! Thanks K & J!! I had soooo much fun shooting this wedding and honestly I was absoluetly astonished at how well my photos looked for being a first timer.



I owe a ton to Tony, hes helped me fine tune and tweak some things that I needed some help with and has just been there for guidance when I need it. He has been so open to letting me come along and shoot with him when he has gigs or weddings, I have gained a ton of experience and knowledge from him. So Tony, Thanks Man!!!!!



I cant help but feel like this post is leading into a really bad acceptance speech or something. Awards, Hmmm...... Best slacker?



So anywho, this is getting to be quite the story so all in all. I now have 3 weddings under my belt, 5 on the books for next year. I have shot families and a new born, engagement sessions, and more to come. So my blog description has been rightfully changed to "My adventures as an up and coming photographer". Dont be afraid to walk the new path life lays down for you because it just may be the best experience you've had so far!! I havent been on my bike in a few months because of school and photography but luckily I have a large expanse of mountain biking friends who are not letting me forget it. Things may have changed tremendously but I am very happy with where they have come and I look forward to the many adventures that lie ahead. I have a couple rides scheduled in the next few weeks! Woot, so quit reading this dang blog and get out and ride!!!!



Oh yeah, I posted this last year around this time and I thought it is extra appropriate in my life right now because free time has become all to obsolete. enjoy



Life
Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

Do you run through each day on the fly?

When you ask "How are you?" Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head?

Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow." And in your haste, not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say "Hi?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away. ... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

More photos

I had wanted to share a few photos from a family shoot and a new born shoot but hadnt had the chance, so here are a few of my favs from those days. I'll tell you, I learned that its quite hard to get three kids to all smile at the same time for very long : )

This sweet little Baby's name is Berit. She was approx 1 week old here and had developed a bad case of jaundice so we fixed that with some black and white images : ) I was only supposed to be taking pictures of the baby but you know how that goes, cute things just need to be photographed.

Tom & Laura

First and Foremost, Congratulations to Tom and Laura on their recent engagment!! I am thrilled with the opportunity to be the photographer for their wedding this June. I had such a great time shooting their engagment photos this past weekend! Now heres the hard part, trying to pick only a few of my favorites to highlight

The couple had a great idea to have some photos done with their new pup Riley. I was excited about giving this a try. Well Riley he had another thing in mind. He jumped into the water and started running back and forth having a good old time. We ended up not getting quite the shots we had in mind because Riley was alittle to wet for close ups but I ended up with some really nice shots of them playing with the dog : )

Just Got out

So the Blog Police arrested me last Thursday.... I just got out. Apparently lack of blogging is means for a stint in the clink. My week off gave me lots and lots of time to think about what to put in this blog, but then I forgot it all because the guy in the cell next to me wouldnt shut up!! Kept clanging his dang metal cup against the Thundermug!

So I guess I'll give you alittle glimpse into my weeks before.

School at St. Kates is as good as it can be, holding strong to my A's as my classes continue to get harder.

Got a nice little break with some ladies when Janet hosted a wonderful ladies night. I forget how fun a hearty dose of estrogen can really be. We joked about being big dorks and if we should talk about biking all night, then we spent the whole night talking about biking and laughing. Okay, I guess there was some climbing discussions along with sex, drugs, and rock n roll. and maybe a game or two. Wait all of that still pertains to biking. I guess were just big dorks : )

I drug Andy to a Reba Concert and I think he liked it ; ). Reba is by far one of my all time favorite singers. She is even more amazing in concert. She performed with Kelly Clarkson, never been much of a fan but I left the concert pretty amazed. Way to go Kelly!! She sings this great song called "A Beautiful Disaster" Good stuff, especialy with a Reba Duet.

Even Barbara Jean (Melissa Peterman) from the Reba TV Show Made an apperance at the concert. She was hilarious!! Putting on a Red Wig and prancing around like she was Reba. Good Times!! She even sang the theme song "Im a survivor" with the gals. Pushing Kelly out of the way so she could sing with Reba, Hilarious!!

Hmmm. What else.. I did another fun engagment shoot with a couple, however I havent delivered the photos yet so no sneak peak for you right now.

Shooting a wedding on the 8th of November which should be good times.

E- I will post pictures of the baby, I swear I really will!!

I also did my first family photo shoot, that was interesting. Three super sweet and cute kids until they missed their nap times then I'll just say that the photo fun ended.

My work (AKA Real Job) has been hit by the economic downturn as I am sure everyones has. They will be doing some layoffs. This has made things very interesting and stressful at work as of late. Its rumored that they will be doing the layoffs tomorrow or Monday. I dont think it should effect me but thats the fun part of layoffs, you just never really know. So Im spending some time looking into what I would want to do in the event I dont have a job any longer. I think school would become a full time gig so I am looking at it as a postive thing. If I get laid off then I go to school full time and will be done that much faster. I guess im lucky that between photography and massage I can pretty much just pick up more of those items and still be sitting pretty good.

I'm also sad today because there was a lost puppy in the swamp by my work, a few of us went into the swamp trying to find the puppy but weren't able to find it, he was howling but has stopped now. Hopefully he will be alright and find his way out. Its like a jungle in there, poor guy!

Okay well thats enough for now. I will post photos in a few days of some of my recent projects. Don't forget to vote. Blah, blah, blah.....