Blog Love

I love the following photo session from Clayton Austin for the following very obvious reasons:

1. I play piano.

2. I love photography.

3. I love photos of people with random things in random places.

4. I admire photos that have great composition.

5. I'm drawn to photos that have perfect post-processing.

This session is amazing from start to finish. Check it out on his blog. There's a ton more where this came from!

Inspirations

So I pretty much have amazingly talented friends. 

Some can sing like angels. Some can play the guitar like a madman. Others can write beautiful music that comes from deep in the soul. Some friends can take something ordinary, take its picture, and turn that little bit of nothing into something extraordinary.  And even though some friends may not feel as though they are amazingly talented in any specific area, they all have one thing in common...

They inspire me.

I crave inspiration. I want to soak it all in--the good, the bad, the beautiful, the sad, the perfect, the imperfect--and mold that inspiration into something that is uniquely me. And sometimes, just sometimes... my vision can inspire others, and by that I am humbled.

My friend and former coworker, Emily McGee, is an amazing artist. She has been immersing herself in sketching recently, and she has been producing some pretty stunning portraits.

She was inspired by a photo I took of my friend's little girl, Baileay, awhile ago.

Here's the original photo...

And here is Emily's drawing...

Pretty amazing, huh?

Here's her sketch from start to finish:

The outline:

The face (the hardest part, in my opinion!)

And the rest...

And finally,

Emily's drawing vs the original photo.

Yep. I'm inspired.

What inspires you?

Broken-Hearted

Mourning the loss of a dear friend today.

Big Chuck, you loved people more than anyone I've ever met. 

I know the angels in heaven are singing at your homecoming,

and because of your passion, 

you've given me the opportunity to love the country of Brazil and its people...

You will be missed, but never forgotten...

Sua irma em Cristo,

Jen

Feelin' Vintage

I wanted to introduce you to one of my favorite photography sites, Simply Bloom Photography. Today's blog post just blew me away. It was an engagement shoot full of Coca Cola, cupcakes, and overall awesomeness. Here's one of their cupcake shots...


I love Simply Bloom's post-processing style, and they've inspired me to do some of my own more vintage-esque looks. Be on the lookout for a vintage-inspired session or two in the next few weeks!

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.

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 

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...

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.

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!

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 their stuff, go have a looksie!

Belated New Year's Resolutions...

I didn't think much about making New Year's resolutions until now... I'm a list maker, and it just doesn't feel right not to make a list. Here is a really random list of just a few things I want to accomplish in 2009...

*Make cute/pretty/personalized crafty things.
*Finish painting the trimwork in my house.
*Learn the fine art of playing the B3 Hammond rock organ for church without cringing and making ugly faces.
*Pray deeper.
*Smile more. I hear it's contagious.
*Pay off my student loans.
*Finish little projects I've started that miraculously haven't completed themselves. (i.e. a cala lily oil painting that is been a work in progress for 6 years now...)
*Save money for house remodeling and/or new car, whichever needs to come first.
*Organize my house... including the garage. yuck!
*Freshen up on my Portuguese.
*Brazil. Beach. Bikini. Need I say more?
*Take more time to encourage others according to their needs.
*Eat slower. Burp less.
*Help 2 amazingly talented musician friends start blogs and help document their journeys recording albums...
*Cook more.
*Keep the inside of my car more clean... so it doesn't look like I'm homeless and I live in it...
*Take more pictures. Make people smile. :)

The end... for now.

Brazil Mission Trip 2009

I am super-excited about photography for the upcoming year! One reason I am excited is that I have the opportunity to return to Rio Branco, Brazil with my church for a mission trip through a great organization called Christian Missions Unlimited (CMU). This will be my fourth time to Brazil with this wonderful organization, and my third time back to the city of Rio Branco. Our mission while in Brazil to build a physical church building for a congregation that is meeting either in each other's homes or in outdoor pavillions, but who do not have the resources themselves to build a physical church in which to fellowship. During the few days we are physically building the church with bricks and masa (cement), we are able to form special relationships with the adults and children in the area. Words can't express how blessed you are by a experience like this... Every time I go, it feels like I've been able to take away so much more than I can physically and spiritually give. The people we meet are generally very poor materially, yet they have so much to offer to those they come in contact with.

The church we built in 2005, Igreja Batista Morada do Sol.
Click here to see a link to a YouTube video from a special service there.

God has blessed me with some very special relationships with Brazilian friends, and they are people who I will never forget. I was so impacted after my first time to Brazil that I came home and immediately started taking Portuguese lessons (the native language of Brazil) so that I could communicate more effectively with the people of Brazil my next time around... Being able to speak the language actually impacted me more than I knew it could. One of the special people I met in Brazil in 2005 was a 12-year-old named Junior. We bonded pretty instantly and he lived close enough to the church we were building that I was able to go to his house and meet his family and his beloved poodle, Leon. Since he was one of my favorite new people, I took a lot of pictures of him during our short time together. We continued to write each other letters during the 11 months before I was able to return again in 2006.

Four weeks prior to my return to Rio Branco in 2006, I received word from another Brazilian friend via the internet that Junior had been in an accident. He was riding his bicycle one day and was hit by a car and had severe head trauma. A few days later, I found out that Junior had passed away from his injuries. I was heartbroken. Prior to his accident, I was looking forward to being able to see him again and to give him a hug and to give him some new presents from the United States. Instead, I was blessed enough to be able to see his family again and surprise his mother at her house. I explained to her that I could speak and understand Portuguese now, and she immediately started sobbing and going into details about what had happened. Even though I couldn't fully understand everything she said, it was obvious that she was hurting and was in a deep state of grief. I gave her a gift while I was there--a photo album of the pictures I had taken of Junior. As her eyes filled with tears once again, she went to another room and returned with a white envelope. She explained that she found the envelope, which contained a letter and some gifts that Junior had intended to send me but had never mailed. As I walked back to meet up with our group again, I was amazed at how God was able to use such a little guy to make an impact in my life. Every year now when I return to Brazil, I am thinking of my buddy, Junior... and knowing that those of us who are going to Brazil with CMU have the same opportunity to impact someone else's life... for the better... for helping them understand through our words and actions that there is a God who loves them and can give them peace and hope and fill them with a joy that they may not yet be able to comprehend.

*Just a second while I dry my eyes...* Okay.. Now onto what I am so excited about. I have been blessed by friends and family in the past for helping support me financially for the mission efforts I have been on. I am excited to say that the first $2600 I make from my photography in 2009 will pay for my entire mission trip to Brazil this year. I am excited about it simply because I'll be using the talents that God has given me to be able to give back to Him in this way... and that thrills me more than I can explain! So if you know of anyone needing some pictures that wants to donate to a good cause, send them my way!

Here are just a few of my favorite photos from my past mission trips to Rio Branco and Fortaleza, Brazil during 2005, 2006, and 2007.

One of my favorite pictures of me and this adorable little boy...

My good friend, Daniel, and me at the dedication service...

Christmas at My House

I love to decorate--especially at Christmas! There are so many beautiful, sparkly things to see, and I love the soft glow of white Christmas lights... Here are a few photos from my house decorations this year. I hope they inspire you to try a few new things this year...

Prop a full-length mirror behind your themed setting for an added effect.. 

and don't forget to find a way to incorporate some lights for a soft glow...

This is a super-cheap idea... Just fill a decorative bowl or wineglass with ornaments of all kinds, stick in a flower if you want, and set them on top of some Christmas lights to illuminate them...

Got an old mirror laying around? Put a bow on it! 

More pictures and decorating ideas coming soon!

Photo Blogs I Love

My most recent obsession is being a stalker... a blog stalker, that is. I've found some fabulous photographers who keep blogs to update their clients on new and exciting things going on within the business, and who post sneak peeks of recent shoots. They do a great job of keeping things interesting and current so that people will want to come back for more.

Here are just a few of my favorites. They're not local... I just found them on the web. They inspire me, and I think they'll inspire you too... (you may want to right click and open in a new window)


Indie Jane Photography

Blue Lily Photography

Brianna Graham

Cope Photography

Amy Wenzel Photography

Brenda Acuncius Photography

Pinkle Toes Photography

Jasmine Star Photography


Let me know if there are any fabulous blogs you would like to pass on!