My Garage Band...

...consists of me. And only me.

I like to sing in my garage. Very loudly. It has amazing acoustics. And I thought it was somewhat inconspicuous... until I finished a song this evening before I left the house, watched the garage door slowly creep up, and instantly saw my neighbor across the street standing rigidly like he had just heard a drowning cat wail its head off. And he was staring straight at me.

I'm pretty sure I blushed. And I stubbed my toe as I hurried to jump in my safe-from-weirded-out-man car.

In honor of my one-woman garage band and my many fans(?), here are some photos from worship practice last night. We'll be preparing this week for Psalmody, a night of praise and worship at my church, River Bluff Fellowship.

Psalmody will be held Friday night

November 20 at 7:00 pm

at River Bluff Fellowship

on Evans Road near Ozark.

See the Psalmody fan page on Facebook for more info.

Join us if you can!

Chris & Sarah - A Few More

Here are a few more of my favorites from Chris & Sarah's photo session. I think they're stinkin' adorable! (as if you couldn't tell... see my new blog header?) :)

Welker Family

I met up with this family on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. I learned that the boys are definitely skilled players at the laughing game, that it's exciting to find an ant hill full of crawly ants, and that in order to make little boys giggle, you have to mention the word "poop." :)

Boys are fun!

The boys found ants!

Ready for Winter?

... I'm not, but these girls look like it. You might remember these gals from their family's recent session.

This shot was too cool not to post. They were definitely working the camera!

God, it's okay not to make it snow anytime soon.

Your sun-loving, warmth-embracing friend, Jen.

Amen.

Chris & Sarah ~ Sneak Peeks!

I've known Sarah since college. She and her husband, Chris, are super creative people. We decided to swap some of our talents to help each other out.  They have a design company, Austin Creative, and will be creating my Images by Jen logo, in exchange for a photo session. I'll be rolling out the new logo and a few other changes in January 2010. Can't wait! Turns out that they've never had engagement photos, so hopefully, these photos will fill that void! 

They showed up with props, fun outfits, accessories, and best of all... a fabulous attitude and a willingness to do anything! 

P.S. they both have great "serious" faces (gotta love that!). Check 'em out below!

Check out this fabulous dress. It has pockets!

...and an outtake from the shoot... Chris's reaction to a really large *wink* spider floating by his head and Sarah coming to his rescue... :)

Happy Halloween!

Stephen ~ Senior 2010

There's no doubt about it. Stephen's a stud. He's a musician, athlete, he likes to cook, and he's just an all-around good guy! We grabbed some photos downtown by some nearby train tracks and also got some shots with his djembe. More photos will be uploaded soon to my Facebook page in Stephen's album.

Facebook Love

Since I've had a lot of fall sessions lately and have been updating the blog and my Images by Jen Photography Facebook page like crazy, just wanted to remind you to click on the link here or on my Facebook link on the right of my blog page if you would like to become my Facebook Fan!

Any new sneak peeks or blog postings will show up right in your news feed!

Have a wonderful day!

PS Tuts for Photographers

What's a tut, you ask? "Tut" is short for tutorial... and there are tons of Photoshop and Lightroom tutorials out there... Just to name a few:

Tutvid.com
Deke.com
Photoshop Tutorials
Photoshop Star
Yanik Photo School

and the list goes on... but these are a great start!

I ran across this one recently at PSD.TUTPLUS.COM that is going to come in handy for future post-processing. If you're not already doing this, it will save you some time and energy!


What are some of your favorite sites for tutorials? Let me know!

The Cutest Pumpkin Around!

Here is miss Baileay making another appearance.. This time as an adorable pumpkin! More from the family's shoot coming soon!



Happy (almost) Halloween!

Happy Camera

I went to Lawrence Photo last night so that they could ship my camera body off to Canon for repair. When I was explaining what happened, Jerry took off with it and came back a minute later with words that were music to my ears... "There's no need to ship it off... it's fixed!"

He straightened up the mirror that had gotten misaligned and ended up saving me some moolah. Gotta love that. If you haven't checked out their store, you should. Lots of goodies that you need. And printing services. And camera and lens rentals. And they host classes for photographers. Check out their site.


The only bad thing for me is that the store is dangerously close to my house. Hence, my new purchase last night of some light reflectors and diffusers. Who knows what the next visit holds...

More Cuteness!

You may remember these little ladies from a past post, and as promised, here are a few more final shots. Don't you just wanna pinch their cute little cheeks?!?

Adam & Claire ~ Lovebirds

My coworker, Adam, recently married his beautiful bride, Claire. Here are a few shots I grabbed at the ceremony:

and the textured version:

the bride and her proud father... just look at his face!

beautiful fall colors...

a kiss through the leaves...

and they lived happily ever after...

Felin Family Sneak Peeks

Saturday I got to spend some time in the Buffalo/Elkland area for a photo session for my sister-in-law, Casey, and her family. Casey's mom and dad own Paradise Lake Cabin Rentals, which I've had the opportunity to use before. I loved the cabin and the experience so much that I wanted to bring some friends and go back! I offered to swap some family photos for cabin time, and they took me up on it... So here are the family's sneak peek pix...  I'm anxiously awaiting my relaxing time at the cabin next spring! (Take a look around their site and contact them to sign up for a date.. but hurry! They fill up fast!)

Mom and Dad Felin have an amazing farm, and they wanted to make sure we implemented their favorite things about the farm into the family photos... the silo, the barn, and some waterfalls located on the property. It ended up being a beautiful, overcast day with some fabulous clouds, lush colors... and a happy photographer :)

Oh! And we had to get pictures of the rest of the family... Meet Eddie and Sally. Eddie wasn't a big fan of my noisy, clicky camera, but once he got to ride on his favorite golf cart,  he was a model pup bringin' a whole lot of personality. Sally, on the other hand, was all about the camera!

Coming soon... twins. yellow leaves. fur boots. blue eyes. Get excited!

Catch-Up

So this week was an exciting week... I successfully shot a bunch of really awesome framed art and mirrors for CAS Wall Decor in North Carolina... but I did drop my camera after the first day of shooting (it was only an itty bitty baby drop, but it hit the ground just right...), so that made for an interesting day or two. But everything came together, and my Canon is off to the camera doctor to get its innards fixed.

Here's me shooting an awesome mirror... (some lucky person gets to photoshop the reflections out of this!)

Luckily, I have some amazing photographer friends who are generously letting me borrow their cameras to finish up the rest of my shoots for the month... *Jen is extremely grateful!!*

Today I went to the Buffalo/Elkland area for some family photos on my sister-in-law's family's farm. Here is the beautiful scenery and clouds that I got to work with today! 

Fall sessions to be posted soon!

Bad Blogger!

I've realized that I've been a bad blogger recently. I'm sitting here at the airport waiting to head out to Charlotte, North Carolina for a CAS Wall Decor shoot, and thought I would give an update.

My mind has been filled lately with to-do lists for my photography for this coming year... things I can do to improve workflow, things I can do to benefit my clients, and things to ensure that I have adequate backups should anything happen to my computer and my files *gasp.* Oh. and also on the drawing board is a logo and an official web site...

I have a very busy October month including this commercial shoot in North Carolina, and a bunch of family and couples shoots in Springfield. I'm excited to be able to take advantage of the beautiful fall colors and produce some great images.

I am constantly reminded how blessed I am. I love photography. It fulfills me. It makes me want to be better every day. It forces me to see things through a different perspective. It makes me happy.

I'll end this post with another picture from Brazil. I captured this image after we told a Bible story to the children. This one melts my heart...

Something Old, Something New

A sneak peek at another project in progress...

A Fresh Look

A sneak (and hopefully intriguing) peek at one project I've been working on...

To be continued...

Rio de Janeiro

Here are a few pix from my time recently in Brazil. These are from Rio de Janeiro on our way back to the states. I'll be using some more Brazil pix as filler on this blog in between photo sessions.

Copacabana Beach (from my hotel window)...

In front of our hotel...

At the Christ the Redeemer statue...

Sunset overlooking the mountains of Rio...

Ahhh Brazil. I miss you!

Be Inspired... Pink Sugar Style

I love me some Pink Sugar.
Check out one of my favorite blogs, Pink Sugar Photography.
It will make you smile.
I promise.

Butler Family

Kara was referred by some friends of mine. (Thanks, friends!) She wanted some pictures to celebrate Emrie's third birthday. The night before our first scheduled shoot, Miss Emrie decided to jump off of a couch and get a black eye. We rescheduled the shoot and ended up working around some rain and two broken lollipops. What troopers! I am totally in love with these photos. Such a beautiful, darling, precious family!

This was also my first shoot with my brand new 50 mm 1.8 lens. Amazing! I had a constant smile on my face while working on these. I hope you do too!

Schedule Switcheroo

I've had a schedule change recently, which opens up some more dates for sessions. If you are interested in a fall session, just let me know!

And because no post is complete without a picture, here's a picture:

This is what I would look like if I were an M&M. What would you look like?

Family Time!

I met this awesome family at Nathanael Green Park. This session was a gift for mom's birthday. How thoughtful! This is just an overall beautiful family!

Bokeh, Baby!

I just bought my new Canon 50 mm 1.8 lens tonite, and I am hopelessly, completely, utterly in LOVE. Seriously. I'm glowing.

I took it with me to worship practice tonite at church to capture some shots of my other love--music. We are having a night of praise and worship at River Bluff Fellowship off of 65 and Evans Road tomorrow night (Friday) at 7:30 pm. It's called Psalmody. I can't wait to see what God is going to show us. Come join us if you can!

Here are some shots that make my heart smile...

Jesse & Jennifer: Engagement Sneak Peeks

Jesse and Jennifer are an adorable couple getting married December 29 in Hawaii. (I forgot to ask if I'm on the guest list... Hawaii in December sounds better than Missouri in December.... hmmmm.) I absolutely adore these two. Jesse is a goofball and Jennifer is always there with a laugh and a beautiful smile. More to come...

Cutie Cousins

Here are more of the adorable cousins Zoe and Gabe that you saw in these sneak peeks.

Pure Happiness

This is my interpretation of what pure happiness looks like... :)

When was the last time you felt this way?

More children's pix to be posted this week...

Evans Family

And yet another patient family... See their old sneak peeks here.

Joanah & Jae, Part Two

You may remember sisters Joanah & Jae from their July sneak peeks... Their family has been patiently waiting for me to get back from Brazil and finish these up. Here are some of the finished products!

Scaredy Cat

Sometimes I wonder what me and my camera look like to the rest of the world...

This little kitten on my parent's farm was not too crazy about us...

He realllly didn't like the click click of my camera...

And he was just a little freaked out at how close I got to him...

But then we seemed to turn a corner...

And he calmed down a bit...

And started to relax a little...

And then he started posing...

How cute is that??

Time for a cat nap...

Yuki... Who Are You, Little Man?

I met a special little boy in Brazil. His name is Yuki. He lives right behind the church we built in Rio Branco. He has big, beautiful eyes and the most perfect little handsome face. Some children shied away from the constant click click of my camera, but not Yuki. He acted like he saw a camera every day...

Even though he was probably only three, he had an old soul. He would just sit and stare at the camera like he was hanging out with a friend. Maybe that's why I was so drawn to him. I want to know his story. I want to know what he thought of our group of crazy Americans who built a church and were always smiling and who passed out toys and made crafts with the children and took hundreds of pictures. I want to know how he felt when he received the new toys and flip flops that we gave him. What will he remember of me? What will he grow up to be? Will he believe in God? Will he be a leader in his community?

These things I don't know and may never know... But I do know that I will never forget his face. I know that I will pray for him every time he comes to my mind. And I know that I will try my best to keep in touch with him through the pastor of the church. I want him to know that I will never forget him. And that he is special. And that he is loved by a God that is so big that He brought me across the world to meet him.

Sometimes God places people in your life that you know in your soul that you'll never forget...

Meet Yuki.

The Most Beautiful Thing I've Ever Seen

I've been blessed to be able to see a lot of beautiful things and places in my life, but in Brazil last week, I got to witness something that jumped to #1 on my list of The Most Beautiful Things I've Ever Seen... I was able to view the city of Rio de Janeiro at sunset while seeing the Christ the Reedeemer statue. It literally took my breath away. I hope I never forget the feeling of awe and admiration for God's creation that I felt that night...

Grateful

I'm back from Brazil... Still trying to process things and get my thoughts together. It's hard to put into words how to describe the best week of your life!

God always uses these mission trips to Brazil to remind me how unbelievably blessed I am. This morning, I woke up two or three times thinking "I have an amazing bed to sleep in." Such a simple thought, but the reality of it was multiplied tenfold since for the past week, I have been surrounded by people who have nothing...

So those of you who are living in the United States, lay your worldly desires aside and realize that you are incredibly, abundantly, undeniably BLESSED.

More to come...

Get Out.... of the Country!!!

I will be gone to the beautiful country of Brazil from August 8-17. I promise you many pictures and stories when I return!

Zoe & Gabe Sneak Peeks

Zoe & Gabe are cousins. Here's a sneak peek of their cuteness. More photos to come when I return from Brazil!

Stained Glass Beauty

I was clueless as what to do for my Daily Pix for the day.. the sun was already down and I couldn't put my finger on what to look for...

Then I looked through the stained glass window out my front door... and so with my camera and a slow shutter speed, combined with a rotating motion, I came up with these stained glass abstract photos. cha-ching!

Adventures & Daily Pix

I've been scrambling to get the rest of my stuff together for Brazil, and it's slowly coming together. Our team leaves on Saturday the 8th and will return the following Monday, the 17th. I'm so pumped! I'll be taking along my camera grip, 2 battery packs, and 16 GB of memory. (If 16 gigs is not enough memory for me, I have a major problem). :)

P.S. I started to upload Daily Pix onto my Images by Jen Photography Facebook page (the link is on the right). A lot of photographers do Project 365 where they take at least a photograph a day and upload them for all to see. It's a good way to be consistent with getting out the camera on a daily basis and staying in a creative zone.

I think I will be changing my posting format, and instead, adding them to my Flickr site (which is currently under construction). Then I'll upload the photo and the Flickr link to this blog daily, and then this blog feed will automatically update Facebook with the most recent entry. (Technology is great... but can sometimes be overwhelming). Obviously, I won't get to post daily pix while in Brazil, but I will continue this project when I return.

Curtis & Natalie: Engagement

Here are a few more images from Curtis & Natalie's engagement session... You may remember them from their sneak peeks...

From the Garden

I'm busy finishing up some editing before I leave for Brazil... More session pix to come!

But here's a picture for today. A garden statue from Close Memorial Park

On the Farm

A few images from around the farm...

Deus e Bom! (God is Good!)

Just an update on Brazil... 

My Brazil mission trip is only two weeks away, and I am happy to say that God has provided me with the exact amount needed to take care of the expenses of my trip. I've had 9 sessions since my first post about Brazil, and I have a few more in the works prior to when I leave. I've also had the financial support of a generous friend (you know who you are!). As they say in Brazil Deus e Bom!

In the back of my mind, I know I've questioned the fact.. "Why don't you just use the money you have in savings to finance the trip?" But at the same time, it's the same premise of why we are physically going ourselves to Brazil to build the church instead of just sending the money.. It's in the physical act of working toward a goal, with God being the ultimate provider. And it's no different in my case.. He has instilled within me the passion for photography and he has placed people in my path who are willing to be a part of my experience. 

God provides.

I've obviously had quite a few sessions pretty close together, which means I've got some major editing sessions in my near future--Curtis & Natalie's Engagement session, Liliana and Girls, little Joanah and Jae, and the Evans Family. I'll be occupied with Brazil August 8-17, but I promise I'll have the other sessions edited and up for viewing as soon as possible.

I'll end with a picture of a cross a Brazilian friend carved for me out of Brazil wood.

Meet My Future Lens

After doing some research and getting opinions from some local photographers, I've decided to buy this fabulous Canon 50 mm lens f/1.8 II. (I was going to trade in the grip I just recently purchased, but by the fine print I'm just now reading, I'll be losing money). This lens will help out tremendously with the bokeh I'm wanting to achieve in my macro shots and also in my portraitures.

This lens has so many benefits.. It's cheap, it's light, and it produces sharp images. If you purchase a cheap reversal ring (around $8/each), you can also reverse the lens to get even more detailed manual macro shots. There's a terrific article on this lens here on the Digital Photography School site. If you're even considering a new lens, I would recommend that you read this article first.

I'm sure I'll be experimenting with it as soon as I receive it, so I'll be posting some shots. Check back soon!

P.S. I got my passport and new VISA in the mail today. Brazil is only a little over 2 weeks away! We received tons of toys, clothing, and shoes to take to pass out to the Brazilians we meet. On Sunday we packed these all up into 50-pound duffle bags. I even got to speak about my friendship with little Junior during church service on Sunday. I'm so excited to see what this year's adventure has to offer!

Helpful Sites for Photographers

I think I've posted some of these in the past, but here are a few sites I've come across that I visit frequently...

*Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider Blog. Scoops, tips, and comments on Photoshop.

*The Pioneer Woman--Ree Drummond. Free Photoshop Actions designed by Ree and just an overall awesome site!

*Pop Photo. Popular Photography Magazine's online site. Sign up for the newsletter.

*Rangefinder. Sign up for their free magazine (click on Subscribe at the top). Great articles in a nice, glossy mag.

*Digital Photography School. Photo tips and tutorials, cameras and equipment, and post-production sections.

*Stock Xchng. Free stock photos. Find textures and other images for Photoshop use.

*Photoshopmama. Great YouTube tutorials on Photoshop editing techniques. I am also subscribed to Tutvid tutorials.

*DIYPhotography. Do-it-yourself tips and tricks for photographers.

*Pandora. Can't edit without music? Me either. Make your own free radio stations here. My recent music of choice--Bluegrass. Random, I know.

Let me know some of your favorite sites so I can check them out!

What is it? Where is it? Guess!

Engagement: Curtis & Natalie

I've known Natalie since college. We even worked together for awhile. Then she ran off to live where the Ducks were... Branson, Missouri. She and Curtis met and fell in love while working for Herschend Family Entertainment (you know.. Silver Dollar City, Ride the Ducks..) Here are some sneak peek engagement pix taken at the Japanese Stroll Garden...

Evans Family Teasers

This family session was so fun! Mandy is a photographer herself and so I was honored to have her ask me to do family portraits! We started off at Jordan Valley Park, where the family sported their Cardinals garb, and then headed downtown for some urban shots. Even though a bird decided to doodie on my head and I lost my lens cap, I considered it a VERY successful session!

More Flowers

Here are some more flower pictures I took recently.. I'm trying to experiment with achieving more bokeh in my pix. (These have already been uploaded to my Facebook Business Page)..

Photo Walk

Some of my favorite images from today... mostly abstract.  Again, with this event, it was great to meet some other local photographers!

I'm Pumped!!

I just had my first photography workshop tonite at Lawrence Photo and I. AM. PUMPED!!  I've done enough research online, in magazines, and books to have a good grip on the technical side of things, but I know I have a lot more to learn!

A special shout-out to Tracy and Christine from Harrison, Arkansas. It was great to meet both of you.. you are so sweet!! I'll definitely be keeping in touch.

I'm also in the list-making mode right now of things I want to accomplish this year in photography. Give me a little more time, and I'll have a list to share. By posting it, I'll at least have a tad bit of accountability...

This is random, but as of right now, I've got these special dates popping up in my head...

*July 12--My one-year pix-iversary. Last year at this time, I started freelance work for pay. I love looking at those pictures and seeing how far my work has developed and matured!

*July 18--My two year house-iversary. Yes, two glorious years ago I purchased my first house. And I still love it. And I haven't burned it down yet. Or gone bankrupt. Therefore, I consider my house-buying venture a success!

*August 6--My half-birthday. I never celebrate my half-birthday. Ever. But this year I will get to celebrate it right before I leave for Brazil. Ahhh Brazil. What a sweet half-birthday present!

*September 13--(I think. or maybe it's the 19th. I better double-check because there might be a reward involved. Heck, I'll even take a cookie). My three-year anniversary at American Family Insurance (Go ahead.. sing that jingle in your head... ... Good job.) The David Potter Agency. On Sunshine. Don't forget that.

*September 19--(I think). My Canon 40D's one year birthday. Whoa. One year with a DSLR camera and your life will be changed. Forever!

I feel like I could write a novel tonite, but I'll stop here.

And because a post is not complete without a picture, here's one from Close Memorial Park that I took on Saturday...

and one from Nathaniel Green Park..

In the Works.. Joanah & Jae

Check back soon to see more of these sweethearts~Joanah and Jae!

"Princess"

Butterflies

While doing a photo shoot at Close Memorial Park on Saturday, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the park was holding a Butterfly Festival. The park has a Butterfly House, which I learned is open 8:30-5:30 on Saturdays and 11:00-5:30 on Sundays. I got some snapshots of a few beauties. I learned that the key of shooting butterflies is patience!







More photos available on my Facebook fan page. Link is on the right.

Seeing Double

Liliana is my wonderful coworker whom I've had the privilege of working with for the past three years. She and her beautiful twin girls will be moving soon, and I wanted to give her some pictures as a going-away gift. What a beautiful family!!

Live & Learn

I'm doing a couple new things this week that I'm excited about.

**I'll be going to a Photography Workshop at Lawrence Photo on Thursday hosted by Tamron. I'll be learning about exposure, lighting, composition, and post-processing techniques, for landscape, wildlife, and nature images. I don't really have any expectations about this class, but I have no doubt that I'll come away learning something new, since I've never officially had any photography classes.


**Another new thing that I'll be doing is going on my first Photo Walk. Over 60 photographers from Springfield will be meeting downtown on Saturday, July 18 to join in Scott Kelby's Second-Annual Worldwide Photo Walk. People from all over the world are joining to photograph their cities. It will be a fun way to meet some other local photographers, find some new spots downtown, and do some networking. I'll let you know how it goes!

Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden

I took some engagement pictures Friday at the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden in Springfield. I took these photos afterwards. It is such a beautiful garden! You can view more photos on my Images by Jen Photography fan page on Facebook. Click the Facebook link on the right to view.

One Month Countdown

Today is officially one month until I'm off to Brazil for my fourth mission effort. It's slowly starting to sink in!We're still in need of toys to pass out to the kids, so if you have some to spare, I would be happy to take them off of your hands!

Here's one of my favorite pictures from Rio Branco 2006. Even stickers bring smiles...

Looking forward to engagement and family sessions this weekend, so stay tuned! I will be starting to edit Robison wedding pix next week!

Thanks to all who have joined my Facebook Fan Page. If you're on Facebook, just search for Images by Jen Photography and receive photo updates and info on specials!

Kacey's Final Pix

Finally, Kacey's pix are done! Here are just a few more for your viewing pleasure.

You can keep up with Kacey and her music by visiting her MySpace page and her blog.

To see her complete album, visit her album on my Flickr site:

One More for Kacey

Here ya go, girl!

Brazil Update

I just got done posting the Stone/Jeffries pix to Facebook. You can see the rest of their photos on my Flickr account.

I will be finishing editing Kacey's pictures by the end of this week. Can't wait to show you more!

A Brazil update for you... I'm happy to say that with the last five sessions I've had, I've hit the halfway mark for the money needed for my mission trip to Brazil in August. I've still got about $1,200 to go, so if you're in need of some family, senior, engagement pix.. you name it... I'd love to talk to you about it!

Have a great day!

Get a Grip!

My beloved camera, My Canon 40D will be having its one-year birthday in September. Needless to say, I am very overprotective of it. So overprotective, in fact, that I was hesitant to take it to Brazil with me in August for several reasons:

1) Where we will be in Brazil is very dusty and dirty and hot.
2) Nice items that are left unattended have a tendency to "walk away," never to be seen again.
3) I may not have enough muscles to carry it with me all day long. It's not light as a feather!
4) I want to be able to interact with the people and not worry about it getting damaged.

However, it's been on my mind a lot lately that I might regret NOT taking it with me. And a good photographer friend of mine reminded me last night of the same thing. So everyone, I am pleased to say that my 40D will be joining me in Brazil!! One huge benefit of having such a nice camera is the battery life. It can last a long time without needing to be recharged. And I was just informed that a battery grip would be a great addition for me, and would also allow me to have a battery backup, if needed.

Here is a pic of today's purchase. Not only will it benefit me overseas, but it's a great thing to have for photo shoots here too. It houses the camera's battery and provides an additional grip for vertical photos, along with a shutter release.

I love me some pictures.

Beauty Queen

I headed to my hometown this past weekend and got to see my friend's daughter make her appearance in the toddler swimsuit competition in the city fair. The babies have their baby show. And the toddlers have a swimsuit competition. It's quite adorable. You may recognize Miss Baileay and her incredible curls from her recent photo shoot! 

It came as no surprise to me, but Baileay won her division of the competition. How could she not? I like to take at least 1% credit, as I purchased her adorable swimsuit that she modeled so beautifully. She made faces and blew kisses at everyone and did her "wiggle" dance. When they announced her as the winner and gave her the winner's medal, she clapped adoringly. Such a crowd pleaser! 

She's really too cute for words...

VBS Kid Pix

We are having Vacation Bible School at River Bluff this week, and the kids are having such a great time! Here are just a few pix from last night...

Vacation Bible School

Life is a little too busy for me this week to do much photo editing... I'm helping out with the music and dancing for our 30 kids at Vacation Bible School at River Bluff. We're using Lifeway's Boomerang Express and we're in "Australia". It's a fun time to be with the kids and watch them get excited about learning about Jesus. Plus, they're so gosh darn cute. I'm scheduled to take pictures tomorrow evening, so you'll see some fun pictures soon!

Falando Portugues (Speaking Portuguese)

I don't really think it's hit me until this week that in less than 7 weeks I'll be in Brazil. And for the fourth time. How crazy is that? After I wrote the last post, I'm just on fire again for the purpose that our group is going for... to help others form a relationship with God and accept Him into their lives.

I have a unique advantage over almost all the people in our group that are going. While the others will be able to communicate with the Brazilians through gifts and actions, I will also be able to communicate with them in their own Portuguese language.

I learned Portuguese after I went to Brazil for the first time in 2005. I had such a deep desire to be able to communicate with the people that God placed in front of us. And for 9 months, I took Portuguese lessons from a native Brazilian from Sao Paulo that I met in Springfield. And the following year, in 2006, I was able to return to Rio Branco and meet with Junior's mother and listen to her and console her as she told me about Junior's death. God allowed me to learn Portuguese for a reason. I consider it a gift.

And for that reason, my heart has been burdened to do something more with my gift of language this year in Brazil. I am burdened to speak more than just the look-at-me-I-know-Portuguese words (Oi! Tchau! Boa noite! Bom dia! Obrigada!).... Instead, God has burdened me to really focus on having meaningful conversations with those we meet. I want to be able to sit down with a group of ladies and ask them deep questions about who they look to for comfort, about their thoughts on God, and explain to them the purpose of why our team is there. I want to be able to look men in the eyes and remind them that they have a responsibility to be leaders. I want to hold a child and sing them a song about how Jesus loves them.

I believe that God will use me if I simply trust in Him.

If you think of it, please pray for me... that I can continue to refresh my memory of the language that I already know, and that I will continue to learn more in these next 7 weeks. Pray that when the time comes, I will not be shy or timid, but that I would be bold in speaking Truth with those I meet. Our team will be without an official translator this year, so pray that God would give those of us who can speak Portuguese the ability to communicate effectively. And pray that if necessary, God would give us the words to deal with any mean people at the airport. :) Amen.

Try out your Portuguese here... Have fun!

Toy Request for Brazil

I've been cleaning my house yesterday and today for hours upon hours... I have a bunch of ladies from church coming over on Tuesday evening and I want to get my house in tip-top shape, as most of them haven't seen it yet. It's been awhile since I've had people over, so I haven't exactly been the best at having things picked up. :)

As I've been cleaning, I've noticed how much "stuff" I have. I don't consider myself to be a very materialistic person at all. I like simplicity. Whenever something new comes out on the market, I'm always the last to have the urge to buy it. But as I was going through my house full of stuff, I became disgusted with myself at how many material possessions I have. At one point in time, I "needed" these items, and now most of them are sitting around unused, even forgotten about. Even though I got rid of several boxes of things at a yard sale on Saturday, I still keep finding things that are completely useless to me. 

In the next few weeks, I've made a pact with myself that I'm going to go through things once again and weed out what I don't need cluttering up my house. I realize that this inner struggle with materialism also comes out of the fact that I will be leaving for Brazil in 7 weeks. And every time I go to Brazil, I am hit hard with this truth--that there are people in third world countries who have very few earthly possessions to their name... but who are able to find satisfaction and happiness through their relationships with God and His people.

Where do you find your satisfaction?

I'd like to take the opportunity to ask you to consider donating some of your "things" for my upcoming mission effort to Brazil in August through Christian Missions Unlimited.  We have 25 people on our team and each one of us takes over 50 pounds of toys, shoes, clothing, and MORE toys that we give to the children and adults that we cross paths with in Brazil. Our main focus for the mission effort to build a church home for a community. In our free time, we walk up and down the streets, meeting people and loving on the kids. When we give "gifts," a language barrier is crossed, and through our actions, they are able to see that we are there to share with them, to bring smiles, and to be their friends. More importantly, our prayer is that they will see the bigger picture and realize that we are only there because of one reason--that we love Jesus Christ and want to help them form a personal relationship with Him.

If you would like to make some form of donation, please contact me. I would be more than happy to talk to you about it!  Some common gifts we like to take are: McDonald's toys, other small unbreakable toys, flip flops and small shoes, caps, bracelets, dolls, and other small items.

Here are some pictures of some of the children we have been blessed to meet: This first picture is especially dear to my heart, because the boy on the left was my buddy, Junior. 

Junior and I formed a special bond and kept in touch by mail after we met in 2005. We would write letters back and forth and send each other small gifts. He told me once in a letter how he kept the toy cars I gave him in his "secret place" so nobody else could take them. They were obviously gifts that he treasured. I was looking forward to seeing him again in 2006, as we were returning to the same city, but four weeks before we left the states, I got word from another Brazilian friend that Junior was in a bad accident. He was riding his bike and was hit by a car. He had head trauma so severe that he ended up passing away within a few days. I was completely crushed, but I knew that God had placed him in my life for a reason. I was able to speak with his mother and provide her with a photo album full of pictures I had taken of him. In return, and with tears in her eyes, she brought me a letter that Junior had written to me but had not yet mailed. I was overwhelmed with emotion and so grateful that God chose to give me this story to share with others.

I still can't repeat Junior's story without crying (which I am doing as I type)... but it just goes to show how our actions and our small gifts can touch someone's life and help form relationships that are so precious. Every time I think about Brazil, I think about Junior. And I think about how ironic it is that I go on these mission efforts to give to the people of Brazil, but how it is ultimately me who comes away feeling like I have been blessed abundantly.

**I have raised $800 towards paying off my mission trip. My June 1-Aug 1 photo sessions will help finish off the remaining $1800, so let me know if you would like to book a session!

How He Loves Us

I came across this worship leader, Kim Walker, on YouTube and am in awe of her voice. I always have a tendency to be drawn toward great altos, since their songs are generally in my range. The lyrics are so true...Take a listen! 

Kim Walker--How He Loves Us

He is jealous for me 
Love's like a hurricane, 
I am a tree 
Bending beneath the weight of 
His wind and mercy 
When all of a sudden, I am unaware 

of these afflictions eclipsed by glory 
and I realize just how beautiful You are 

and how great your affections are for me. 

Oh, how He loves us so 
Oh, how He loves us 
How He loves us so. 

Yeah, He loves us 
Whoa, how He loves us 
Whoa, how He loves us 
Whoa, how He loves.  

We are His portion and 
He is our prize, 
Drawn to redemption 
by the grace in His eyes 
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking 
So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss 

and my heart turns violently inside of my chest 
I don't have time to maintain these regrets 

when I think about the way 

He loves us, 
whoa, how He loves us 
whoa, how He loves us 
Whoa, how He loves 

Stone/Jeffries Family

Jenny contacted me to do some family portraits for her parents' recent anniversary. She and her brother's family wanted to present their folks with a gift of family photos. We met on the family's five acres where we got some great shots outdoors with the foliage. We ended the shoot with a celebration of silly string and squeals of laughter (and also some tears... silly string in the eyes doesn't feel good!)

Here are some sneak peeks!

Cousins

Silly string is fun!!!

Early Morning

So I don't know why... but I woke up wide awake at 3:30 this morning and was up wandering around. So I booted up the Mac to do some net surfing and was checking on some of my favorite photo blogs when I found one that made me tear up a bit. One of my favorite photographers, Amy Wenzel, just found out recently that her husband, David, has a mass on his brain.

They both have a strong faith in the Lord, which is so evident, but I wanted to pass on their blogs to you in case you wanted to lift David and the family up in prayer. They are both so young and talented and have a long life ahead of them...

Here's Amy's blog...
and David's blog...

and a link to Jasmine Star's blog and her entry about him, along with some photos she took awhile back of David and Amy...

No Pain, No Gain

So I think I have my first injury from my side job in photography (although there have been a lot of close calls)... and I have a lovely swollen, itchy ankle to prove it. It looks like some kind of spider decided to knaw on my right ankle during Kacey's photo shoot on Saturday. I won't go into details, but it's red and oozy and it appears as though my ankle has gained about 5 pounds. Some quick evaluations by nurse Rebecca Robison and her father, Dr. Mike Good and a few antibiotics later and I'm good to go!!

On a happier note, I should have some Stone/Jeffries sneak peek pix posted Thursday night, so check back then!

Until then, stay away from spiders.

Kacey's Sneak Peeks

Here are some sneak peeks of Kacey's photo shoot... More pix coming in the next few weeks!

Beautiful Things

After a long day of taking pictures on Saturday (Kacey's photo shoot turned out great!), I had to take advantage of the beautiful weather and head over to Nathaniel Green and Close Memorial Parks to snap some of the gorgeous flowers that are out right now. The rose gardens were absolutely stunning! The sun was down before I could capture any images from the hosta garden, but it's amazing and I'll be headed back there for more! Enjoy!

Update

I had a family photo shoot this past Saturday. We had some awesome weather to work with. Sneak peek pix will be posted soon!

I'm excited about my upcoming session with my friend, Kacey, who just recently wrote and produced a Christian CD. We're finishing up her project with her photo shoot for the cover. You may remember Kacey from her anniversary session with her hubby we did last year...

Until then, I'll leave you with the link to the blog of one of my favorite photographers. You can see some pix below. I stalk her blog daily. She's incredible. When I get married, and if I had loads of cash to blow, my dream would be to have her do my wedding pix...

Jasmine Star

Elizabeth's Prom

I was asked by my friend, Lee Ellen, to photograph a very special event. Her good friend, Elizabeth, recently got engaged and Lee Ellen was busy planning a special night for the bride-to-be. Elizabeth never had a high school prom, so Lee Ellen waved her magic wand and made prom appear. It was complete with the oh-so-cheezy balloon archway, prom keychains and picture frames, dancing, and of course, crowns for the Prom King and Queen. 

Robison Wedding

I was asked along with my fellow photographer friend, Anna, to photograph a wedding for one of my good friends, Rebecca. Her big day was Sunday at StoneBridge in Branson. You may remember Jon and Rebecca from their engagement session...

The rainy weather wasn't very cooperative and brought the outdoor wedding inside, but the bride, ceremony, and reception were beautiful nonetheless, with vintage accents here and there... Here are just a few of my favorites. I'll be editing the rest throughout the next few weeks.

Sunny Skies

I apologize for the blogging hiatus recently... I promise there will be additional photos and updates in the coming weeks. Until then, have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend!

Meet the Johnson Family

Curly hair. The longest eye lashes I've ever seen. Gorgeous eyes.  And a killer smile. 

Yup, boys....Baileay's gonna be a heartbreaker!! 

Little Baileay's mother, Annie, is my best friend from high school. I was soooo excited when Annie and Aaron asked about a family photo shoot and some photos to celebrate Baileay's first birthday. We spent three hours out and about and Baileay loved every minute of it, as you can see...

Feast your eyes on these...

See Baileay's Album on Flickr here.

And family pictures...

See the family's photo album on Flickr here.

One More

And another picture for mom because she can't wait one more day to see the rest :) Can you blame her? Look at this face!

Melt My Heart

I can't contain myself any longer... I have to give you a Sneak Peek at what I'm editing this week... You'll see more of this precious little gal soon!

Beach Time

Here are some fun beach pix from my Florida excursion... These were taken at St Augustine Beach. Can you ever get bad pictures on a beach? And who knew that seagulls were so photogenic?

And proof that I was actually there, basking in the sun... (Random factoid--this was only my second time at a beach. My first beach experience was two years ago in Recife, Brazil! I will probably get the opportunity to visit the beach in Rio de Janeiro in August!)

Wall Decor

Here are some of my new favorite pieces from CAS's new product line. The photo shoot we had in Florida at the manufacturing plant went well. After lugging around about 400 pieces of wall art and mirrors and velcro-ing them onto a wall of carpet, I have a whole new appreciation for wall decor!

Blog TLC

Hey guys! I'm back from Florida and I'll be updating you with a recap of my time there.

I just noticed that my blog links to my Facebook photo albums have expired, which is something new Facebook has decided to do. Joy. I will be updating those soon and maybe starting a Flickr account so you can view all photos in one stop.

Here's my Flickr account if you want to keep up. I will be posting session photo sets here.

Florida Adventure

If I'm being honest, I'm not quite ready for my 5:55 am flight tomorrow morning for Florida... I still have a lot of last-minute things to get together before I head out for my mini-vacation/commercial photo shoot. It's been a pretty interesting week and I've learned a lot about having flexibility with the unexpected.

Plans were changed for the upcoming Florida shoot... Lisa, Becca, and I are going to use Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as our free days, which will involve a visit to Universal Studios, the beach, and some fabulous outlet shopping.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will be our work days shooting CAS's new product line. Ordering rental studio lighting has been quite the experience...

Here are some things I've learned this week:

* Procrastination is my enemy.

* Go with your gut when you think that people are being rude to you. They are. And they don't deserve your business.

* It's good to know people who know things.

* Stay calm when things don't go as planned. Something will come along that works just as well.

* With a little prayer and wisdom, it will all come together in the end. :)

Random thoughts:

* I hate to pack. I hate it with a passion. I will procrastinate, and I will ultimately forget something.

* I love my house. Especially my sweet new decorative shelf for my office. I'll post pix soon.

* I need a vacation.

* Roller coasters are calling out my name. I am so ready.

* I'm excited to fly again. Weird, I know. The window seat is my favorite.

* Made my last payment on my living room furniture. It's officially mine. woot.

* Thank God for good friends!

Have a wonderful Easter weekend! And remember what it's all about...

River Bluff Retreat 09

My church, River Bluff Fellowship, has gone to Branson for the past few years for an annual retreat. Here are some pix I took from this year's get-together.

See more pix here.

Refreshed

Guess what? The sun is out! I feel refreshed! Thank you, God! (However, I'm just going to try to ignore the fact that it's supposed to be yucky outside again tomorrow...)

I had a great Friday and Saturday in Branson on our church retreat. I'm excited about some photo projects coming up soon. I just bought a really cool big decorative Todd Oldham bookshelf for my home office that I found at a flea market. This is all really random. I'll quit now.

Blah.

Blah. That's how I feel. I haven't been motiviated.. to. do. ANYTHING. And I blame it primarily on the yucky, dreary, get-your-hopes-up-nice-weather-one-day-then-it-snows-the-next-day type of weather we've been having recently.

Give me some sun.

Pretty Please. With sugar on top.

Make Your Ears Happy

My friend, Lee Ellen, just uploaded the two songs she wrote and recorded that I mentioned in one of my past posts. 

Check out "A House to Clean" and "How Should I Feel" on her MySpace page: www.myspace.com/leeellenstarks.

Do yourself a favor and make your ears happy by listening to some Lee Ellen goodness...

Upcoming Adventure

So I have exciting news... I have a commercial project coming up that I am really excited about. I was approached by my friends Lisa and Becca at CAS Wall Decor to shoot their new product line for the season at their manufacturing plant in Orlando, Florida in April. 

CAS stands for Creativity Assortment Style. They offer a huge selection of framed imagery, a mirror collection, and other decorative items. I'll be getting to shoot their product line for their catalog and website. I'll spend a few days in Florida working, and possibly making a day of it at Walt Disney World with Becca. I've never been before, and it's on my life list, (and I helped send a few hundred Wish Kids there during my days working at Make-A-Wish) so I hope I get to cross it off my list of things to do... Wish me luck!

M.I.A.

I realize I've been M.I.A. with photo session pix, and I apologize if that's what you're here for... but that will be changing shortly. With the weather getting nicer outside, my calendar is starting to fill up a bit. YAY! (My allergies, on the other hand, are not appreciating the weather change as much... My throat is a wee bit sore!)

Work in the world of AMFAM has been insane these past few weeks, and I have been slightly scatterbrained (huge understatement), but my goal for these next few weeks is to get my life organized... starting with taxes. I've been putting it off, but alas, it must be done. And soon. It might not be as bad as I'm dreading, but if there is any kind of refund involved, you can bet your booty that Jen is buying a new wardrobe. Yes sir, new shoes, new jeans, new fun shirts, new handbags, the whole sha-bang. My closet is very malnourished at the moment and something must be done about it to plump it up...

My smilies and frownies of the week:

Smilies:

* Got my new mortgage statement in the mail, and my monthly payment went down $11 buckaroos. yeehaw!

* The sun is out. The weather is amazing. I am inspired to clean up and organize. That just doesn't happen for me in the wintertime...

* Church was awesome on Sunday. 340 of my family in one room! 

* Work = very busy = very good.

* Long walks and good talks with friends...

* God is faithful.

Frownies:

* I have this nagging feeling that I'm forgetting something...

* Sore yucky throat. Hope it holds up for Sunday singin'. I may have man voice...

* The garage didn't clean itself like I asked it to...

* Ate out way too much this week. arghh!

Words of Affirmation

I'm a big Words of Affirmation fan. I like to give words of affirmation because I know it is important to lift up and encourage others, but more importantly... I LOVE to receive them. Words of affirmation are how I feel loved and appreciated by those I care about. (What's your love language?)

I got a random voice message from a long-time friend last night. She said that the only reason she was calling me was because she wanted to let me know that many times she has taken my friendship for granted, but that she wanted me to know how much she appreciated my spiritual guidance, prayers, and friendship through the years. She said that I meant a lot to her and that she thought I needed to know that for another week. She ended by saying that I affect a lot of people in my life and then she thanked me again for being there for her.

This is me receiving words of affirmation. --> :) I think my heart smiled when I listened to that message... It meant so much to me to hear those words. So many times we don't realize how our actions positively affect those closest to us...

Have you encouraged someone today?

Words to live by: 2 Timothy 4:2
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

GarageBand Junkie

I was officially introduced to GarageBand last night on my Mac... and I'm in love. For those of you who don't know, GarageBand allows you to play and record your own music and lay your own tracks right on your computer. Pretty impressive. And it's able to generate some pretty good-quality stuff.

My girls Lee Ellen and Kacey came over last night to work on a great song called One Voice by the Wailin' Jennys, and 4 takes later, we had a pretty good track. Since then, I've already spent countless hours laying down piano, guitar, and vocal tracks for some of my favorite songs. It's slightly addictive. And I'm so excited. I've always wanted to write music and lyrics, but every time I've tried it's like pulling teeth, with nothing but painful results. But this... this gives me a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, the creative juices will flow, and I can get something together that I am proud of.

Wish me luck.

A Look Into the Past

My Grandma, Alverta, turned 93 last Sunday. (Ninety-three years is a looong time, FYI.) She was born in 1916. She grew up wearing feed sack dresses and playing with corn husk dolls. She walked to school for miles in the snow. She raised chickens. As an adult, she worked in a chocolate factory (just like in that one "I Love Lucy" episode).  She survived the Great Depression. She also worked in a factory that made parts for war equipment. She met my grandpa, who immigrated here from Germany, and they fell in love and got married and had my dad. She stands at a whopping 5 feet tall and 93 pounds. To this day, it still irritates her that she has dark hair with a few grays, rather than a full head of white hair like the other ladies at church. 

This is just a brief glance into her 93 years on earth.

There's a lot more about her that is still a mystery to me, but each time I'm with her, more truth is revealed. 

As I was spending time with Grandma this weekend, she pulled out a photo album that she treasures. On the very first page was a picture of a beautiful 8-month-old baby girl taken in 1916. She was outfitted in her best white dress. The picture was in perfect condition. It was a picture of her. 

Her picture reminded me of why I love photography. A picture has the ability to capture life and emotion, history and hope. And through the years, even without words or explanation, its image can still speak powerfully to those who are able to view it with their own eyes.

Capture. The. Moment.

Grandma at 4 years old.

My great-grandparents sitting in our front yard. 

I grew up in the house my great-grandfather Witte built,

 and my parents still live there.

My grandma in the back, with my great-grandparents.

Again, this picture is in my family's yard. 

We still have the cellar and the shed there.

A picture I took of Grandma last year. 

My favorite photo of her.

Glass Jar Photo Frames

I came across this idea today for a new twist on photo frames: See directions at Photojojo.com. I might make some of these magically appear at my house...

Smilies & Frownies

Here's my list of today's Smilies and Frownies. Smilies outweigh the Frownies. Woot.

~Smilies:~

*The sun is out. Woke up to chirping birds.
*Good hair day.
*Warm enough to wear a skirt. And cute boots.
*Early Payday.
*The Boss is gone for two weeks. Party!! (Not really, but it's fun to act like it...)
*Photography projects coming up.
*The AmazingFantabulousness of Photoshop
*AMFAM bonus + Dog/house sitting = Paying off debt = Home improvements coming soon!
*Rio Branco, Brazil in August. Polishing up on my Portuguese.
*Music. Singing. Practicing guitar. Getting callouses.
*No Mr. Grumpies today in the insurance world.
*44 oz. Diet Coke
*I heart my friends. 'Specially the silly ones.

~Frownies:~

*Missing church at River Bluff this Sunday. Boo. Going home to A.C. to celebrate Grandma's 93rd birthday. Yay. Yay balances out the Boo.
*Messy kitchen.
*Still have to get my car's boo-boo fixed.

*Need to go grocery shopping.

More River Bluff Kiddos

Here are some more kiddos from church that I photographed a few weeks ago. Altogether now... say Awwwwwww.

WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!

Why, you ask, am I WOOOOHOOOing? Well, people, Jen just made her last student loan payment to MOHELA, and it feels GRrreat!! Keeping my scholarships all four years at SMSU definitely helped out in the student loan department, so I didn't start with a huge amount of debt. I absolutely hate having debt, so I am excited to have this yucky monthly payment out of my life forever!!

With all the extra wads of cash, I'll have now, I foresee some home improvements in my near future...

Self-Portraits

Here are some self-portraits I ran across yesterday. I took them about 3 years ago the first night I got my Canon Powershot S5IS, which is a great point-and-shoot camera. (I still keep it as a back-up. Its best feature is the flip out viewing screen). I stayed up til 3:oo that morning playing around with lighting and the self-timer. (We photographers are easily entertained!) These first two pix reveal my inner desire to be a hand model. (Yes, I even wrote a post about it...) Like any photographer, I am rarely in photos unless I take them of myself. And I prefer it that way... cuz then I have access to the Delete button for those less-than-flattering shots... :) I'll have some more self-portraits to add later. I just won't add them all at once, because that would make me look vain... hmmm.

David After Dentist

I saw this hilarious video on YouTube. The little boy, David, went to the dentist and was a little drugged up. SO FUNNY!! It had around 3 million hits after being online for 5 days.

I Feel Ahhhhmazing

No new photo updates today. However, I do have to say that I did just have an amazing one-hour massage. Debra from Back Rubbzz is my favorite person right now. I've been going to her for a few years now for sporadic massages (and I would recommend her to anybody! Your first visit is only $39.95). But lately I've noticed that with all the computer work I do during the day, and then with photo editing after work, it's really killing my right wrist and causing slight tendonitis. Believe me when I say I would rather eat wood chips than get carpal tunnel syndrome... so I've decided I need to get massages on a more regular basis. Regular like as in every month. Starting today. I'll just consider it preventive maintenance with a splash of Ahhhh. I feel better already...

Coming up... Edited vintage pix from my Grandma. Oh! and a photo session with Kacey and her guitar!

Impromptu Session Featuring Dana

So Dana and I were out flea marketing on Valentine's Day, and since it was such a sunny day, I had the urge to break out the ol' camera. She agreed to be my muse for the day, which tickled me pink (whatever that means...) I learn something new every time I do a photo session.  I've learned that some people have lazy eyes, and have a hard time looking directly at the lens. I've learned that others have a hard time making a "serious" face. And then there are some people that will giggle uncontrollably when they are being photographed... like Dana. We entertained ourselves for a little while, but I have to say that I was probably the most entertained because of Dana's non-stop giggle attacks.

Feast your eyes on this eye candy... See more photos here.

David Crowder Concert Pix

I went with some friends to the David Crowder Band concert held at Remington's. What a great performance! His music and lyrics are so powerful. Here are a few of my favorite pix from the night.

You can see the rest of the album here.

Hit Me Baby, One More Time!

I just noticed that my blog has had it's 2,000th hit. Not too shabby for a 4-month old blog! Thanks to my daily visitors for keeping up with my work. I hope it's somewhat entertaining for you!

This post is short and sweet, but just know I'll have more pictures up within the week.

Tonite I'm off with some friends to see the David Crowder Band perform... Should I take my camera?? :)

Photoshop Phun

Since I'm a self-taught photographer and also have never had Photoshop (PS) classes for post-processing, I rely on the web a lot for research. I recently came across a link to a site for free high-res stock photos, stock.xchng at http://www.sxc.hu/. If you're looking for some free pix to manipulate for your site, with no copyright repercussions, this is your place. I'll be using some of these photos myself while learning some new PS techniques. According to the quick stats, there are 390,295 pictures currently available and more photos are added daily. You are able to search the database by word, resolution, category, photographer, and date.

If you're a blog stalker like me, you may also love the Blogs tab, which gives you access to the blogs of a lot of creative people.

Another favorite feature is the Tutorials tab, which gives a ton of tutorials for PS techniques. Some tutorials are definitely better than others, but if you're a PS beginner, it's a great place to start diving in.

I've also been looking at a lot of PS tutorials on YouTube. My favorite "teacher" so far is photoshopmama. Not only is she good at explaining editing processes, but the videos and visuals are some of the best I've seen.

For a sample of some of her work, click on the photo below to access Photoshop Mama's Pencil Sketch Tutorial, which is great!

If you know of any other great sites for free stock photos or PS tutorials, please email me!

Happy Photoshopping!

Charles & Alice Engagement

This is another set of pictures that I didn't have editing software to access at the time of the shoot. Now that I have access to it, I've played around with a few of my favorites.

You can see tons more of the unedited photos here.

Natalie...

Some more pictures I found from awhile ago. I softened these up a little...

Chris & Teresa's Engagement Pix

I took these pictures of one of my best friends, Teresa, and her now husband, Chris, a few years ago for their engagement photos. I didn't have access to any kind of photo editing software then, but now that I can play around with Photoshop, I found a few of my favorite pictures to spice up a bit.

Hit-and-Run Blues

I woke up this morning wide awake and so pumped about another Monday at work in the world of American Family Insurance (okay, so maybe that's a slight overstatement. In actuality, I was groggy and was wishing I could crawl back into bed with my snuggly flannel sheets. And then I stumbled smack dab into the bathroom door). As I was entering the garage to get ready to hop in my car, I noticed something slightly crunchy-looking about the front of my car. IT was crunchy... as in--squished, scrunched, dented, dinged. Somebody had hit my car!! 

The hood is dented in right above the driver's side headlight, just missing breaking the headlight by thismuch. The bumper also has cracks and peeling paint too.  Was I upset? No. People do stupid things all the time. I work in insurance and hear about it every day. It's just irritating when you are on the receiving end of someone's ignorance. It would be a perfect world if people would take responsibility for their actions. Amen?

As I was racking my brain trying to figure out when it had happened or what had caused it, my only conclusion was that it had happened sometime Sunday afternoon or evening.  

So if you happen to see a vehicle running around with part of my poor car stuck on it, please STOP what you are doing, flag them down, and give them a good tongue-lashing for me. The end.

Sunny Skies

The sun is out. Spring is coming soon. I can feel it.

I'll be posting a few things soon...

* River Bluff Valentine's Day dinner community group pix. Cowboy theme = Good times.

* Edited engagement pix from last year...

* Edited vintage pix

* Pix from today's impromptu shoot with the lovely Dana

* Baby pix from First Baptist Church

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

I celebrated with two wonderful friends, some brownies, ice cream, wine, and our strapping green friend, The Hulk. Doesn't get any better than that :)

*muah*

Fun With Frames

I just finished up this project I started a few months ago. I had purchased a chair at a garage sale about 6 years ago and just found some fabric I wanted to reupholster it with to match my bedroom. I also had this old antique frame that had been repainted that I purchased at a benefit auction. I decided I wanted to showcase some of my jewelry using the frame. I had some leftover fabric from the chair and decided I should use it to bring a little bit of texture to my frame. I purchased some cuttable cork board at Hobby Lobby, cut it to size to fit the frame, and wrapped it with fabric. I stapled the edges of the fabric to the cork. Then I stapled the cork to the frame. Stick some push pins in the cork and then hang on your jewelry. Voila! Instant, useful yet decorative wall art!

Lee Ellen's Demo

I was blessed to be able to hang out with one of my best pals, Lee Ellen Starks, last Saturday as she started recording her first CD. The recording process is art itself. She was such a pro and had such a positive attitude, even when she got frustrated with herself. Her friends, Ben, Katherine, and I were there to encourage her, provide massages when necessary, and make her laugh hysterically. I entertained myself by pretending to crochet a Snuggie. (it was really a scarf, but don't tell anyone. Snuggies are way cooler)... After 6 hours of hard work, she came away with two completed original songs. I am SO PROUD of her and encourage everyone to keep up with her on her blog. I love how vintage-y these pictures feel...

Candids by Courtney

*Inspirations*

Here's another great photographer I've come across... Candids by Courtney. She's a natural light photographer from Florida who takes beautiful baby and family photos. There are tons of pictures of her kids on her blog, and they are absolutely B-E-A-U-tiful!!

Here are some examples of her work...

Pioneer Woman Photography

*Inspirations*

I've decided I want to share with you sites I come across that inspire me. Here's today's treat. I was recently told about this site called The Pioneer Woman. Basically, it's a blog-site by a stay-at-home mom who is really talented in a lot of areas. She's a great writer who tells all kinds of stories about life on the ranch. She writes about photography, Photoshop techniques, cooking, decorating, gardening, and homeschooling. It's very entertaining. I especially love her step-by-step Photoshop tips. She also has some free Photoshop actions I'm looking forward to downloading soon! I'll be visiting her site daily!

Spring Cleaning?

I know it's not officially spring yet... but I've been in the mood to clean and organize my house. I'm hoping I'm getting out of the winter-blues funk I always get in every year. I can't function without sunshine!!

Anyway, I tackled my first room last night, my bedroom. Vaccuuming, dusting, rearranging, finding those missing socks... Oh, and I finished one of my "projects," a framed necklace holder I just never got around to finishing up. I'll post pix of it soon, as well as a chair I reupholstered to match it.

I also had some help hanging my new mirror in my living room, and it looks fabulous, if I do say so myself... I'm also trying to get some of my "honey-do" projects marked off my list of things to do around the house. Since I don't have a honey, I guess that leaves them up to me to do... hmmm. I just had help changing out all the light switches and receptacles in my house. Thanks, Jason! I wasn't about to touch that on my own!...

My Grandma sent me a few more vintage pictures in the mail that she wants me to edit and enlarge. The one that brought tears to my eyes was a simple snapshot of her and my Grandpa, who passed away when I was in high school. I look forward to working on those and seeing the smile on her face when I give them to her for her 93rd birthday.

I'm getting antsy about getting internet and cable at my house tomorrow... I joke about it, but I really AM getting high-tech... Surround sound, laptop, cable, and internet all in the span of one month! woot.

I'll post some pictures soon, since this is like, a photo blog... :)

High-Tech

I'm digging my way out of the ice age and will soon be caught up with the rest of the world... Yes, I'm finally getting the internet and cable at my house! I've gone almost 2 years without it, but now I see that it's a necessity if I want to continue learn more about photography and editing on a more consistent basis. Mr. Mediacom guy is coming on Tuesday to give me the hook-up. I'll consider it my birthday gift to myself!

Today's my big day... Today at 2:15 pm I turn 27. I'd like to say THANKS to everyone for the birthday wishes. I happen to love where I am in life right now, and I'm excited about what this new year has in store for me. For the past few years, I've described my late 20's as "Solid" and I still feel that that word applies to me now. I've got a great job, an amazing church family, friends and family that are so supportive... I have the means to pursue my passion for photography, God has provided me with my own house and has allowed me to be financially stable, and the list goes on and on... To sum it up, I just feel so Extremely Blessed.

I want to share with you some verses from my favorite Psalm, Psalm 139. Whenever I think about the future, these come to mind:

Psalm 139:15-18

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.

P.S. If you're new to the site, for the last three engagement sessions, I forgot to post the link to their additional pix on my Facebook. I just added them today. Be sure to click on those links to check out the rest of the pictures from their sessions!

Blogging

I've been a little lazy with the blogging recently. I haven't been able to do much editing lately, but I do have a few things on my to-do list...

* My Grandma's 93 birthday is coming up March 1, and she had a picture from the 1930s of her, and her sister, Nadine, and some of the neighbors that she wants me to work on so that we can enlarge it for her. I haven't worked much with editing vintage photos yet, but the photo is in excellent condition. I'll get it posted as soon as I can!

*I've got some old engagement photos I found that I want to get posted on here to add to the collection. I'm going to spice them up a little in Photoshop, since I didn't have access to that at the time...

*I'll be hanging out with the amazing Lee Ellen Starks on Saturday, as she starts recording her first CD. I'll be tagging along with my camera so that she can have pix to update her blog with.

*I need to create a different header for February, the month of love... hmmm...

My 27th birthday is Friday, and I'm excited for a girls' night that includes sushi and a chick flick :) More to come later!

River Bluff Kids

I took some pictures of the children's volunteers and kiddos at church on Sunday. We're going to be recognizing volunteers soon and encouraging others to volunteer in the children's area during the service.

Who can say no to these faces??

Mac Momma

I'm officially a Mac Momma now... My MacBook Pro was delivered two days ago and is fabulous! I'm kinda stuck right now with what I can do with it, since I don't have Photoshop yet or the internet at my house... But that will come soon enough. I was hoping that I could "use" the neighbors wireless internet on a consistent basis, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen, so I'll have to just break down and get the internet at my house... The nice thing is that I can deduct that monthly bill for tax purposes :)

I took some pictures at church on Sunday. We are having volunteer appreciation event coming up and I was asked to take some pictures of the volunteers and the kids... I got some pretty cute pix of the kids...

Hopefully, I'll get to edit these pictures soon and I can get them posted. Be careful out there in the snow!

Jon & Rebecca's Engagement Pix

Re-posted from October 2008...

Rebecca and Jon are wanting to create a save-the-date postcard for their upcoming wedding, so we set out on a shoot downtown to get some early pix. Most of them are off-centered for the purpose of adding wedding information to the postcard... We had a lot of fun, especially when we came across an old building that we got to explore..

See more pictures here.

Zach & Stephanie's Engagement Pix

Re-posted from December...

Zach and Stephanie are getting married in May. They enjoy nature and wanted to get some pictures outside, so we headed to Springfield Lake and also got a few shots downtown. The best part of the day was after the shoot... when Stephanie, a licensed massage therapist, gave me a one-hour massage. I should make that a requirement after every photo shoot... hmmm...

See more pictures here.

Michael & Emily's Anniversary Pix

This is re-posted from December...

Michael and Emily were wanting some pictures for this year's Christmas cards. In conversation, I found out that they never had the time to get engagement pictures taken, so we recreated the proposal and took some belated engagement shots as well. Michael and Emily were great about spotting some fun locations and props.. such as these hay bales, a bright green spot of grass on a hill, and an abandoned girl scout building. They were so modelesque--and we had such a fun time... The best part of the shoot was taking action shots of Emily running and jumping into Michael's arms.. the slow motion pictures on my camera were hilarious!

See more pictures here.

ARRRRGHHH!

The reason for my frustrated scream is that I was trying to clean up my site a little and accidentally deleted some posts... My plan was to remove the "engagement" labels from these posts and just lump them together into "couples." However, I found out that the instructions aren't real clear on here on how to delete labels, so I ended up completely deleting about 6 posts. Unfortunately, there is no "undo" button on here.

ARRRRRGH!!!

So if you're looking for examples of my engagement pictures, be patient with me as I get those loaded again.

thanks.

Introducing Lee Ellen Starks!

I just helped my amazing musician friend, Lee Ellen, set up her very first blog! I designed her header from our photo shoot pictures we did a few months ago, which was a lot of fun. You should check out her blog and go support her at some local gigs!

http://leeellenstarks.blogspot.com/

Commercial Project

I was contacted by Michael Perry of New Seasons Landscaping to photograph a recently completed project that included a bridge, a built-up patio, and an amazing enclosure, complete with a super-cozy fireplace and an amazing ceiling. It sure made me envious! It was snowing the day of the shoot, which made things interesting. I'm sure it was pretty entertaining to watch two grown men follow me around with umbrellas to block the snow. :) Anyway, here are some pretty pictures for you to look at.

Shutterfly Products

I've been getting emails from www.Shutterfly.com for awhile now. Shutterfly is one of those online places in which you can do a lot of fun things with your photos. I received an email for some free and on-sale items, so I thought I would give it a whirl. The first coupon was for a free calendar from Shutterfly, and all I had to pay was $5.99 for shipping. So I created an Images by Jen calendar for my home office with some of my photos from 2008 sessions. I was pretty impressed with the quality of the calendar... It's not top-quality, and I'm sure there are some sites that have better products and less-compressed images, but since it was free, I can't complain. I decided to keep it pretty simple so that the photos would pop. Here's a tiny snippit of what one of the months looked like... (minus the orange box around the picture)...

I also decided to try to get two poster-sized advertisements together to try to get some business for upcoming Spring sessions. These 11x14 collage posters were on sale for $5 each plus shipping. Again, I'm satisfied with the end results, although I wish they gave more options as far as fonts and font sizing on the templates. I actually purchased these as a promotional offer to get a free 8x8 photo book. However, Jen didn't read instructions very well and forgot to put the promotional code on the last page of the purchase, and therefore, will not be getting the free book. Silly Jen. Let this be your lesson... When you're trying to get free things, read the instructions. Very carefully.

P.S. T minus 6 days and counting until I get my MacBook Pro in the mail.... *smiles*

MacBook Pro = Mine.

I did it. I bought my MacBook Pro. On sale. Now I wait (patiently?!) until it arrives. My life will never be the same...

Music to the Ears

I've been looking around on YouTube a lot for Photoshop Tutorials (found some pretty awesome ones...look out for some new editing techniques!), and while I was looking at some music videos, I came across this guy and his brothers. Their band is called BoyceAvenue and they do a lot of popular cover songs. I've spent a few hours listening. I think I'm in love with his voice.. and his guitar and piano playing abilities are a nice bonus... ;)

Their web site: http://www.boyceavenue.com/

And here's a sample video:

Buy Handmade at Etsy Shops

A lot of crafty people these days can earn extra income by selling their crafts on an Etsy Site. An Etsy Site is "your place to buy & sell all things handmade." The only things that can be sold fall into three categories: Handmade--Goods handmade by you, Supplies--Commercial and handmade crafting supplies, and Vintage--Items 20 years or older with vintage appeal.

You can search for items several ways, including by product or location, even color! If you're business savvy enough to create your own store, it could be a great way to earn some extra cash. It's also a great place to buy one-of-a-kind items for yourselves or gifts for others.

Check it out. http://www.etsy.com/

Here are just a few examples from Springfield MO.

missindie indie fashions and fiber art...

elsiecake paintings, canvas, embroidery...

Red Velvet Art

I'm on my way to crossing off my first Belated New Year's Resolution of being more crafty... I came across the blog of this really crafty, talented group of girls called Red Velvet Art a few months ago and I've been blog-stalking them for awhile now... I signed up for their spring online craft class and I'm excited about making some new, fun things. Check them out. Get inspired. They are opening a store on Commercial Street on February 6 (my birthday!), so if you like the