Moving...

Announcing an end, and also a beginning.

An end: I will no longer be posting here on this blog... it is officially being 'retired.'

But it's a good thing!

A beginning: From now on, you can find me here, and here.

I've got lots of fun things to post, so please follow me to my new spot!

Pretty

I'm a total sucker for a pretty flower... probably because I can't grow them. This is another one, courtesy of Corey.

Working On...

Almost Four

Ever since this girl decided she didn't care to be around auntie's camera, she's shown up on my blog waaaay to infrequently. Happy to share another picture of her now... and I can't believe she's about to have her fourth birthday! She's growing up way too fast!

Winter Weekend

Just spent an extended weekend at this beautiful cabin in Winter, WI.



Isn't it beautiful? It's on it's own little island in the middle of a lake. I loved it! More pictures soon....

Rainbows

Hello there...! I haven't been around too much on this blog lately, and I'm sorry! My photo blog has taken a bit of a backseat for the moment while I work on some big changes in my life (all really, really good ones, don't worry!). Will definitely be back soon with some super-good stuff.

Did you guys happen to see this rainbow last Thursday night?



Don't tell, but I was totally driving on Highway 53 going about 72mph when this rainbow (and a faint one behind it) appeared... I reached over, grabbed my camera out of it's bag, got my settings all set, and did a few things I won't say because it probably wasn't too safe and got this photo. What can I say... Rainbows like this just don't happen very often!!

Answer to Blog Challenge #4

I'm really late in posting the answer to my Blog Challenge #4... sorry! First, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to the few brave souls who gave it a shot. You rock!!

The answers that I think are true are numbers 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 10.

I put the wonderful commenters names in a hat and drew one out... and the winner is Brooke!! Thanks, Brooke, for playing along!! Your fabulous prize will be on it's way to you :)

And I can't post without a photo, so here's a picture from this weekend. This is my sweet niece, Natalie, exercising her camera skills (which of course I just LOVED every second of!!).

July 2009 Top Ten

July 2009 Top Ten... fun stuff! This marks a full year of Top Tens~ the very first one I ever did was August of 2008, so the next time I do a Top Ten, it will mark the start of the 2nd year of them for me... that's so crazy! I love it! It's such a blessing to be able to share pictures with people.

The usual disclaimer: Here is my "Top 10" list of pictures taken in July of 2009. Again, they aren't in any particular order, and there are lots of different reasons they might have made my list... Some I like because of things I did well technically, some I like because of the subject matter-- some just make me proud when I look at them, as I grow and learn at this whole photography thing.

Baby On The Way...

Last week I had the absolute pleasure of taking maternity pictures for this wonderful mama-to-be... It was a gorgeous afternoon and just the perfect day for getting some photos! It was pretty sweet, too, that dad-to-be and big brother-to-be were willing to hang out with us, too. They're going to be such a great family!





I had seen the 'heart on the belly'-type pictures before and didn't know that I'd ever want to do one myself, but when we gave it a try I actually loved how it turned out!















We actually did the session at the house of the grandparents-to-be, so this picture is especially neat because the window that you can see is the bedroom where mama-to-be grew up...





This one? Melts my heart, I just think they look so sweet...





This one is fun with the contrasting patterns and colors...



Thank you soooo much, Liz, for such a fun session! I loved having the opportunity to take pictures for you guys and I'm so excited to meet your new little one in a few months!!

The Sweetest Family

I've been pretty lucky to take pictures for some really great families in the past year... the family I had a session with a couple weeks ago was no exception. In fact, they were just the sweetest family and I can't say enough nice things about them! They're a beautiful family of five, soon to be six... I had so much fun at their session and even though they've very recently moved out of town, I'm hoping they'll be back on my blog after their baby girl arrives!

Blog Challenge #4... {there's actually a prize!}

Tonight I'm in the mood for another blog challenge! It's been a really long time since I've posted one, so it seems like a fun idea to post one tonight... and it's going to be a good one! And I'm even going to give out a prize!! {So you should totally give it a shot!}

For tonight's challenge, check out this photo I took of my sister a few weeks ago:



So here is the challenge... I am going to write a list of statements. Some I think are true, some are not. Take a look at the list, and try to figure out exactly which of the statements I think are actually true. And there's a prize for this one! I am giving away a brand new, super-cute mini photo book/album... it holds 16 wallet-sized photos, and it's perfect for carrying around in your purse. {I love mine- it stays in my purse and holds some of my favorite pictures of my loved ones.}

The specifics~ Post a comment at the end of this posting with your name and your answer. (Click on the word 'comment' at the bottom of the post, it's really easy!). I will NOT publish any of the answers until the end of this week, so it will look like no one has commented... Don't let that scare you off from commenting! I will post all of the comments at one time, at the end of the week and when the challenge is officially over. If there is more than one person with the correct answer, I will put all the names in a hat or do a random-number generator or something like that to pick the winner of the prize. Cool, huh? {And for the record, I'm doing this because I think it's fun, so be a sport and play along!}

So, which of these statements are true (according to me)? Just list the numbers in your answer...... answer by Thursday night, July 23rd, at midnight!!!!

1) My sister is probably going to flip when she sees that I posted this photo.

2) This photo would be better to me if she was smiling.

3) We were standing in a jungle when I took this photo.

4) I think my sister is beautiful, even without make-up and what she might call a "bad hair day."

5) I think the lighting in this photo is pretty cool.

6) I definitely don't like taking pictures of my beautiful sister.

7) This photo is not really "my style."

8) If I was to describe this photo using only one word, I would say "moody."

9) I totally don't care even if my sister WERE to flip that I posted this photo because I love it and this is MY photo blog. :)

10) I really hope that at least a few of you reading this will give this a try!

*********ETA: I've decided you do not have to get the answer correct to be eligible for my fabulous prize... anyone that leaves a comment with an answer will be eligible... don't be shy, my beloved blog readers! I know you're out there!!

Extreme Doggie

Having a little fun with my doggie tonight...

{He makes me smile}.

And here's another one, just for my hubby who thought the first one was "too weird."

Addison

Addison is one of the young ladies that came to The Secret Workshop in May... seriously, she is just sooooo pretty!! Just thought I'd share a few of her pictures!

{And I realize she isn't looking at me in any of the pictures... there were dozens of us all hunched together trying to snap some shots- it was practically impossible to get her attention when 30 other people were all going, "Addison, look over here!", etc... I'm not exactly a quiet person but I sure wasn't going to scream in order to get her to look my direction! Luckily, I like the pictures anyway.}