My dear friend Janelle came to visit this past weekend.  I always adore her company and pull her in to model for me when I have the itch to shoot.  With beautiful weather, an amazing sunset and a beautiful friend, how can you NOT want to shoot?  Here are a few images from our evening together.

Big emphasis on ‘significant’.  Andy is the mega to my byte.  He is my better half.  The calm to my storm yet the fierce rush my heart demands.  I think he is just as beautiful as the first night I laid eyes on him.  At his best friends house – I finally got up the nerve to go meet him.  We had talked on the phone for weeks, and I admit, I made up a few excuses to meet him before that night.  I was nervous, and he was sincere.  A huge change in my life and I questioned the rush of emotions I was feeling.  As 2am was approaching, I had to leave and take my friends back to their car.  Friends who were nice enough to go with me the first night I met this crazy beautiful man from the internet.  “Will you come back tonight, after you drop them off?”  Um, I’m not sure what kind of girl he thought I was, but absolutely not.  OK, so I jumped the gun and assumed he was being rude, but he wasn’t at all.  Instead, I went back the next night, and every night after that.  I couldn’t stay away, and now I tell him he’s stuck with me.

He had told his Mom and friends before we had even talked for the first time that he was going to make me his.  He saw me on our friend’s online profile, a mutual friend, whom we are following to the beach in just a few weeks to photograph and DJ his wedding.  I’m rather excited to see this come full circle, and after 4 years, he’s still making me his.  Gladly, and whole heartily.  I adore him – simple as that.

These are just some simple portraits I took this evening.

Sometimes I really get the itch to shoot when I have a day with nothing scheduled. On these days, I often have friends that I can get together with to experiment or practice or put together an idea we both had. On this particular day, the weather wasn’t helping, but Kari and I wanted to play around with studio shots. Oh, but what about me being a natural light photographer, though? Well, that didn’t stop me. We set up in front of a big window and I stood between the window and Kari and tested my shots.

I don’t shoot much studio work at all and prefer not to, actually. It was a fun learning experience, though – and one that helped out both of our portfolios. Kari started out as a model for me but has become a great friend who I adore to her core. She’s going big places, and I cannot wait to sit back and smile and watch her grow in such a strong and popular industry.

While I strive to work and be better at taking my own advice, I have always adored the quote above.  I think it is easy to get caught up in ones own day or way of doing things, and when someone or something crosses our path unplanned, we tend to get bothered by it.  Perhaps someone didn’t react to something the way you thought they would to a favor you asked for.  Or perhaps they don’t live up to the image you had of them in your mind.  The flawless and perfectly groomed image.  Maybe you didn’t get up early enough for work and the person serving your coffee can’t understand that you’re in a hurry and needed your coffee 2 minutes ago.  We always have options with how we behave and the actions we take when things aren’t going our way.  When these things involve other people, I think it’s important to tread lightly.

I think it’s important to remember how heavy spoken words are.  How long they can linger, and the damage they can do.  I think it’s just as important to remember that you have no idea what the person on the other end of your life at the moment is going through, or has gone through, to make them the person they are at that inopportune moment in time.

I think it’s important to celebrate the difference in this world, accept that things are ever-changing, and just because someone isn’t the flawless image you held them up to – you can still love and accept them for who they are.  Take a minute to relax, breath and perhaps be a little uncomfortable for the sake of someone else.  Bite your tongue often and learn that it is a heavy sword, and be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Heather brought pretty Penny along for a quick (seriously, about 30 minutes) photo shoot a couple of weekends ago.  The trees were in perfect bloom, Easter was right around the corner and we could comfortably wear a nice little dress!

These are just a few of the photos from our short outing.  Penny is growing into her unique features and mama looked quite beautiful herself.

I adore Heather’s funky new hair!

Penny is such a happy baby, and Heather such a great Mother.