365 project | personal

If you are friends with me on Facebook you may have caught a glimpse of my 2011 365 Project. A 365 project basically involves taking and posting one photo every day of the year. I made my first attempt at a 365 project last year and I didn't make it past February. So... this is my second attempt. This time I am using my andriod smart phone and the retro camera app. My hope is that by removing the download-edit-upload process I can actually complete the project this time around.

As I look through the first couple of pictures of  my 365 project from 2010, I am reminded of days spent traveling and enjoying snowfall. Even though I didn't get very far into the project in 2010, it is strill pretty cool to look back on the days that were captured and be able to recall specific details about them. For that reason alone, I know that capturing an image a day in 2011 will give me the opportunity to reflect on this year and remember a lot more about it than I would without this project. I am pretty excited about that.

I am not alone in this project. Are you also doing a 365 project this year? If so, link up in the comments and I'll add you to my RSS Feed of 365 projects! I'd love to follow along with the happenings in your life in 2011!

Hill City Bride | Photographer's Tea

It has been such a pleasure to be a part of the advertising family over at Hill City Bride. Jennifer has been doing so much for the vendors that advertise with HCB as well as other wedding vendors. On Monday she threw a little get together for women photographers in the area (advertisers and non-advertisers with HCB). We met at the new Ploughcroft Tea Room downtown and had tea together! It was such a lovely time of connecting with other ladies that share the same passion for photography. I am grateful to be a part of such a wonderful community here in Lynchburg. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our time together:

Jennifer, thanks for hosting such a lovely event! I hope we can do it again soon!

gratituesday: my friend sabrena

Gratituesday is a weekly blog meme I participate with over here. You should join, too! If you do, be sure to let me know in the comments because I would love to read what you write about.

Internet, meet Sabrena.

Sabrena is another photographer here in Lynchburg, but more importantly, she is my friend. Sabrena and I shared a lot of classes in college, including the same photography class. We started shooting professionally around the same time.

And it is important for you to know that she changed my life.

When you are just starting a photography business, it is very easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself and your work to others. It's easy to compare things like how much business you appear to be bringing in, how accurate your white balance is, the overall quality of your images with others, and the list goes on and on and on. It's easy to feel competitive and it is very, very exhausting.

One Sunday I was chatting with Sabrena after a church service we both had attended and she was telling me about her work. And suddenly she said "I don't worry about competition because I trust that the Lord will provide for me and my family."

Um. Woah. Imagine that.

That statement made me stop and reflect. Do I believe I was meant to do this? Yes. Do I believe God wants me to have this business? Yup. Then why am I worried about whether or not I will be successful? If it is clear to me that this is what I am supposed to be doing... then I need not worry.

And from that moment on, my life was changed.

Of course, I love Sabrena for so much more than her life-changing statement. She is an inspiration to me. She is positive, encouraging, and has a servant's heart. She is confident yet humble. I love that we both receive and give encouragement to one another regularly. I love all of the time we get to spend together... and I love that she is in my life!

So this week... I am grateful for my friend, Sabrena. She is a light in my life!

P.S. I also really love that her and her husband are comfortable enough in our home to come over wearing slippers and comfy house clothes. :)

third day | personal

So I had my 101 in 1001 list start on December 30th for good reason. That is the day I saw Third Day in concert. Which means I completed my first item on my 101 in 1001 list!

These pictures were all taken with my smart phone. Of course I left my good camera in the car... I am such a wimp about breaking camera rules. I almost immediately regretted it (though I know it was the right thing to do) because we had REALLY great seats. I had a hard time not coveting the guys who were there to actually photograph the event (and their undoubtedly amazing images)!

So... I love Third Day. I love their sound... their hearts... their message. Pure goodness.

I saw them in concert for the first time back in 2000, before I knew who they were. They were performing at Liberty University while I was visiting my sister for the weekend. (Ironically enough, Tommy was also at that concert. I love that little fact. :)) I loved the show and ended up buying  their latest album (at the time) and I listened to it non-stop for about a year and off and on since then.

Fast forward 10 years... Tommy and I love to go to concerts. We love live music and we love experiencing it together. Since we met we have been to countless concerts, but none that were of my choosing (Tommy is the music guy). I realized that little fact this year while he was deployed (ahh the things you discover during a deployment...) and I decided I wanted to go to a concert of a band that I picked. I am happy to say he agreed with me. :)

So... for Christmas he got me concert tickets to see my favorite christian group... Third Day. And we went on Dec 30, 2010. It was kind of a half-concert because they were playing at the Liberty Winterfest event... and we shared the arena with about 2,000 high school students... which was slightly awkward. Though their time on stage was shorter than the average concert (there were, I think, about 5 other groups that night), it was still totally worth it.

I hope to see them in concert again during the next 1001 days... we'll see!

meet red | personal

It's been a while since I have blogged about our pups and we've made some changes around here! Soon after Tommy came back from his deployment, we got an itch for a third dog. Tommy has said over and over that he would love a larger dog to run and wrestle with, but he always said he wanted a boxer. I don't think any boxer owner would blame me for being hesitant to bring one home. After some talking and weighing the pro's and con's we made a completely different decision. I called my mom and I asked her if we could bring her big dog to live with us temporarily to see how a third dog would fit into our little family. Meet Red. We love him.

We love how in tune he is with us. His facial expressions change like a humans. I swear.

We love that he protects our home.

We love that he curls up into a teeny little ball when he's laying next to you. He likes to pretend he is a little dog.

We love that he wants to be with us all. the. time.

We love that he can run in our backyard anytime of day and let out all of his energy.

While he does add an entirely new meaning to our "dog owner" label (there is no more denying that we are dog people)... we truly love his presence. He's big and kind and so eager to please. We are so glad my mom is generous with him and has allowed him to stay with us infinitely.

So for now? We are good. No boxer puppy needed to take care of our puppy fever! We have another handful of love now and he is already familiar to us. (And potty trained!)