Michelle Nelson Photography

New Blog

2010-05-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

I’ve been tossing around this idea for a while now, and I finally sat down and got it done. I often have experiences and ideas I would like to share, but feel inhibited posting them on this blog with the photography title. Rather than just combining it all into one blog, I’ve decided to keep them separate. I will continue to post photography opportunities I have on this blog, but I’ve created another blog reserved for random thoughts, musings, and events I experience and perchance decide to write out. Check it out if you feel so inclined.

www.runningprologue.blogspot.com

Favorite Things

2010-02-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

Living a little farther from campus leaves me with a little extra time to let my mind wander in idle thoughts as I walk to and from class everyday. Some mornings my mind is still waking up and wondering why in the world I would ever be out of bed on such a cold early morning. Sometimes I think of the dinner that's awaiting my return home. Sometimes I fingerspell every sign I pass practicing for my sign language class; however, on my walk home today my mind took me to a different kind of place. I started to compose a list of my "favorite things," all those little things that make me happy, all those things that I downright love. I thought of Julie Andrews, who states her list so well in The Sound of Music. Although mine really has no comparison to Miss Julie's, it's my list of little things in life that, quite honestly, makes me genuinely happy and even slightly excited, so here it goes.

1. Geese Honking. Combined with the smell of Moses Lake (gross, I know, but I love it) it's the epitome of my home town to me, and often one of the things I miss the most when I'm away.

2. The sound of the click of my camera taking. I know. Nerdy, but very true.

3. Mountains. I never knew how I much I loved them until I lived next to them. I love walking home from class and gazing at the beauty of the contrast of the lightly snow dusted mountains against the deep blue night sky.

4. Les Miserables. Everything from the book, to the Broadway play, to just the music. In the words of my dad, it "makes my body happy." I now understand what he meant. :)

5. Swings. The day has come and gone when I can swing all day long to my hearts delight without getting motion sick (pathetic, right?), but it still makes the favorite things list. It remained a classic favorite on the playground, even through the fads of tetherball, four square, cat and mouse, "boys chase girls," and other less important activities that would come and go. I still find myself gravitating toward the swings at a park, despite the queasy feeling in my stomach after a few minutes of the soothing back and forth motion.

6. The smell of clean laundry. Yes, I will deliberately walk down the laundry detergent isle in the store just to take in that wonderful scent.

7. New Shoes. I know, it's materialistic and superficial. I hate shopping, but when it comes to shoes, I seem to find a smile stretch across my face.

8. Boy Meets World tv series. Loved it at 10, remains a true love at 21.

9. Broomball/Broom Hockey. It's a new found love. Soccer, with a stick, on the ice, wearing tennis shoes. Best sport ever. The idea of being able to bulldoze boys who have been taught all their lives not to flatten girls to the ground, thus being scared to touch me strangely fills me with pleasure.

10. Toasted bagel+cream cheese+ham+egg+cheese=One of the best comfort foods. I'm no math guru, but I sense happiness in this equation.

The list goes on and on; cupcakes, birthdays, friendly smiles, good grades, a full tank of gas, grocery shopping, sweatshirts, hot chocolate, cereal. I could keep going all night. So what's on your list of favorite things? What are those little things in life that make you happy and brighten your day, that help shape you into who you are?

Oh, and because this is supposed to be a photography blog, here's a picture or two for good measure.

Introducing Kimball Marcus

2009-11-17T18:52:00.000-08:00

I know, just about the cutest thing you've ever seen, right? Almost three weeks ago my newest nephew was born and I got to visit Rachel and see him last weekend. What is it about babies that are so heart warming, I don't know, but I just couldn't get enough of him. He's pretty much the perfect baby too, and I don't think he was set down more than five minutes all weekend...and I have no idea whose fault that was...tehe :) It was a pretty quick trip, but there's always time to grab a few pictures. There sure is nothing quite like a newborn baby.

Sheila and Josh's Wedding

2009-08-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Sheila and Josh got married, and Colleen Donovan let me tag along with her and help her in photographing their wedding. Colleen is an amazing photographer and I always feel so honored when I get to work with her. The wedding was at the CMA church here in Moses Lake, followed by a reception at Hidden Meadow. I had forgotten how much I like to photograph weddings. I had so much fun. Here are a couple highlights from the day...

Taking a quick breather before the ceremony begins.

The lighting of the unity candle.

They looked so happy as they walked back down the aisle as a newly wedded couple.

Everyone had fun with the confetti exit.

I got to ride in the limo with the wedding party to the reception location and got some fun shots, lucky me!

Is this not a guilty face if you've ever seen one? I bet you can guess how the cake feeding turned out...

The couple's first dance turned into one of funk and jig. It was very original, and very fun.

Congratulations to the new couple! Go Sheila and Josh!

Family Happenings

2009-07-26T20:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a full two weeks I have had filled with family, enjoying every second of it. A couple of weeks ago my family got together at my uncle's ranch in Idaho for a family reunion. It's not very often that my family gets to all be together like that, so it was a real treat to hang with my sisters and parents, and watch all the little nieces and nephews interact and play together. We packed everything we could in our time together including fishing, horseback riding, trekking, swimming, four wheeling, pinata-ing, treasure hunting (put on by Grandpa for his grandboys, but the boys might argue that the junk yard hid some pretty great treasures as well.), and the list goes on. It took me quite awhile to go through my pictures and pick out my favorite ones to post, but I was finally able to narrow it down to these...

If you have not yet noticed, may I please draw your attention to Elsie's ability to stuff as much candy in her hands as possible. I'd say she's pretty well mastered it.

This was the first time Abram was able to ride the horse all by himself. I think he could have ridden it most of the day, despite the fact that the horse was about three times taller than him.

Elsie loved the horses as well. She would giggle so hard when she rode one with her dad, and even harder when she would watch them gallop around.

A highlight for Peter was the fishing. I don't think a day went by without him asking if somebody would fish with him. Once caught, he would pick those wriggling fish up and grip them as if there were no tomorrow, despite the fact that he is at the perfect height to be slapped in the face (see above).

Seth was one boy ready for adventure. With his pillowcase full of a slingshot, bow and arrow, walking stick, a "Dangerous Book for Boys", compass, etc., he was set for anything that might come his way.

I couldn't help but throw this last one in. After the reunion I went home with Lanita for a little while. This was one outing we took with the little boys. Can you tell Chase was a little more than happy?

Happy Independence Day

2009-07-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

And what a great holiday it is. What a wonderful time to celebrate this country. I too often take it all for granted, but how grateful I am for the endless freedoms we take advantage of without even thinking about them (at least I do). How grateful I am to our founding fathers that sacrificed more than we know to make our country into what it is. How grateful I am for our Constitution and government that sets boundaries to keep our country free. How grateful I am to the many soldiers who are fighting across the world to sustain and preserve this beautiful, blessed country. How grateful I am for the United States of America. My heart goes out to you. God bless America!

Transition to next topic: In light of a Fourth of July tradition my sisters' and I started several years ago, I post a picture. Every year we make a Fourth of July "fire engine red" cake, meaning we dye the batter bright red, and then proceed to decorate the baked cake with red, white, and blue frosting. This year, it is just me and my Dad this holiday, so the tradition was left up to me, probably the least artistic of all the siblings. Having said that, here is my feeble attempts at cake decorating...the finished product:

Pretty comical huh? I purposely didn't show you the drooping frosting on the sides.

Nutella

2009-06-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

It is possible to eat chocolate without really eating chocolate.

It is possible to smear a piece of bread with chocolate, and actually get away with it.

It is possible to have a chocolate sandwich with about the same amount of nutrition as peanut butter. (I know, it may sounds gross, but you're just going to have to take my word on this one.)

It is possible to turn a chocolate milkshake into something it has never been before.

It is possible to dip a banana in chocolate and not feel overly guilty about it.

It is possible to have a delectable chocolate filled crepe without the hastle of melting any kind of chocolate.

Not only is it possible, but it's acceptable.

It's possible to have chocolate without really having chocolate. It's not chocolate. It's hazelnut.

Nutella, welcome to my life.

Ode to Summer

2009-06-24T19:20:00.000-07:00

I have never been a true lover of summer. It's often too hot for me, and my skin burns easily; however, something about the long winter months stirs a longing for those warm, sunny, summer days. Now that I'm in the midst of the heat of the summer and camping out in my cool basement with a sunburned back, trying to will myself to get up and actually go for a run, but deciding it's not worth the heat exhaustion that will result, I try to remind myself why I was wishing for this season in February. While going through some pictures, I was able to come up with a few things I have decided I can enjoy and do love about this time of year, despite my feelings toward it already. I love to play on the lake--boating, jet skiing, tubing, the works. Although I am by no means a swimmer, I do enjoy floating around in a swimming pool sometimes. I love bar-b-ques. There's nothing quite like that juicy hamburger Dad grills up and that yummy potato salad Mom whips out. Although they are slightly foreign in Moses Lake, we have enjoyed several thunders storms over the past couple weeks, and I have loved every one of them.

You don't see clouds like this in the winter. Only summer makes 'em like this.

Although I am personally no fan of fishing, I love watching my nieces and nephews fish and get so excited about catching one. We are having a family reunion coming up in a couple weeks, and I cannot wait to witness these episodes again.

Okay, so even though the sun can be way too hot and intense, the sunshine and blue skies are beautiful. Plus sun flare is way to fun to play with :)

Who doesn't like that spontaneous water fight that is bound to happen at least once a summer?

Okay, so maybe summer isn't quite so bad after all. But what about you? What is your favorite part about summer?

Photoshop class

2009-06-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

My sister recently emailed me about a photoshop class online that anybody can join. The best part about it--it's free! Plus you can go through the lessons on your own time whenever you have the time. I promptly signed up for it and can't wait for it to start! Here's the link for anybody that's interested. Even if you don't have Photoshop, there are free trials available online.

http://www.jessicasprague.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=976:free-photo-editing-class&catid=1:latest&Itemid=148

The Vestibule of all Viruses--What you'll need to know

2009-06-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

I have come to discover that the germ's playground is masked under many different aliases. Some countries call it the tube, others the metro, and yet another, the underground. It's more properly known (that is if there's anything proper about it) as the subway. No matter what it's called, it's the same thing everywhere--the mainstream of microbes, the burrow of bacteria. Having said this, there is one thing everybody should know before using this unsanitary and unfun underground system--try not to worry. Try not to think. Just go with the flow and be like everybody else and become the animal you will feel like, just for this time. It's the only way come out alive.

The first thing to hit you as you descend the stairs, leaving the real world above and entering the depths of the underground system, is the sudden change in smell. You immediately feel the need to take shallower breaths to avoid as much of the recycled air as possible, intermingled with scents of body odor, some one's old fast food (who would expose their food and then proceed to eat it in this pit of germs, I never was able to figure out), traces of urine maybe?, and who knows what other foreign smells that you'll never be able to discern and that you'll never smell again except in this world of the underground.

The next thing that hits immediately after is the constant rush and feeling of anxiety as you hurriedly try to find your pass while being shoved through by some strange character. You'll pull out your little tiny pass with a sigh of relief and continue to stick it through the machine to let you into the dreary halls. You'll say a littler prayer that your ticket will work like it's supposed to and not be rejected for whatever reason. Despite your hopes, when this happens, not if, but when, you will be stuck between the door contraption that refuses to open for you, a stranger who is trying to get through, and a long line of hurried, impatient people who are yelling out of frustrations and annoyances for you to keep moving, possibly even in another language. Try not to worry. It's the human that would give over to the stress, but it's the animal that survives in this world.

Once you've made it through, you'll feel the need to get to your platform in a big rush, even though you'll most likely have to wait for the train once you get there. Don't ever count on the subway waiting for you as you enter the platform and being able to hop right on, it just doesn't happen. If anything, you will arrive just as you see the doors closing and the back of the train leaving you behind, maybe even carrying half your party along with it as well. Somebody else in your party might get a little upset when this happens. They might mumble something a little less than happy under their breath and be a little cross, regardless of the fact that another train will be coming in approximately two or three minutes time. Rather, the less than human you enjoys the company of strange people of every kind you will be surrounded by that only exist in this part of the world. Meanwhile, your human friends are busy stressing and making sure you are all still with the rest of the group, hoping they aren't the only ones that didn't make it on the subway the first time around.

Once on the train, the animal instinct disregards the thoughts of how many people have shared the same air, and touched the same spot you are, and just pretends like it's normal and not disgusting. Just don't look at the peculiar drips and substances clinging to the walls and windows, and don't think of the mice you are probably sharing the subway with. The animal feels no claustrophobia as you shove your way on, while the sensitive humans try not to get shut in the doors as they close.

Just when you think not another fly could squeeze on, suck it in and get a little more cozy with your eccentric unknown neighbor, because more people will always stuff in despite what you may think. Oh, but be careful of the pickpocket you might also be standing next to as well. When you are slowing down for your stop, you'll wonder how in the world you will shove past all these people to get out, and your human conscience might worry you'll miss your stop because you can't. Relax, somehow, by some magical miracle it works, and with an animal-like push and shove, you'll find your way through and discover yourself back out in the open air with gratitude and forgotten thoughts of any diseases you might or might not have caught through your journey. You'll walk around a while and do what you needed to do, forgetting the horrors you went through just in time for the return trip home to go through it all again, but just relax and give yourself over to that animal within one more time and you will survive just like every other time before.

I can sense your hesitancy, but see? Not to worry, this particular area is under video surveillance.

Try to disregard the bones that curiously look human, and I know it's hard, but do your best to ignore the blood splatter on the window too.

England and Paris and all that's fairest

2009-05-31T17:37:00.000-07:00

England is where most of the adventure took place. We went all over. We hiked the vast expanse of the Moors, explored Sherwood Forest while scouting out for Robin Hood, played on the beach and walked along the Cobb in Lyme Regis, and made so many more good memories. We visited the poet Wordsworth's home along with the Bronte Parsonage, one of Jane Austen's homes, Beatrix Potter's house, and many different Shakespeare properties, including a visit to his grave. It was very stirring to walk through these places where such incredible writers walked and lived as I contemplated the impact that they have had on the world. It was such a great experience.

The spirit was so strong in this little chapel where Shakespeare is buried. He was definitely an inspired man, and his work is definitely virtuous, lovely, and of good report.

It was in England that we visited even more castles and palaces, old monasteries, nunneries, abbeys, and cathedrals, including Westminster Abbey. For those of you that don't know, Westminster is a church where every monarch of England has been coronated since William the Conqueror. Many of them are buried here as well, along with countless other historic artists and scientists such as Handel, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and many others. It was so neat to be in a place of so much history.

Tintern Abbey, the remains of an old monestary.

We also had the opportunity to attend a couple Shakespeare plays put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. I must admit, because of them, I am now a big Shakespeare fan. All I've ever seen are little plays put on by high schools and little groups, but these don't even compare.

Along the lines of theatre, while we were in London I went with a group to a showing of Les Miserable. This musical is so powerful and so moving and I loved every second of it. I could have continued to sit there once it finished and watched it from the very beginning all over again and been perfectly content and happy. It was amazing. While we were there, we couldn't pass up the chance to go to the Globe Theatre either; however, I was a little disappointed to find that tickets to Romeo and Juliet playing in this historic theatre were completely sold out, so I had to just let a tour of the theatre satisfy. It was really interesting to listen to the tour guide and all the little bits of information she shared with us though. I was happy I was at least able to go look at it.

Of course we couldn't miss Stonehenge while we were there. Such a neat, mysterious place. When I die, you can bet this will be one of my questions for Heavenly Father!

The last couple days of the trip were spent in Paris. People aren't kidding when they say the French are a passionate people, and Paris really is a great city of passion; passion for art, passion for their culture, passion for their heritage, and yes, even passion for each other as we witnessed floating down the Seine River. While in Paris, I developed some passion myself. I now have a passion for stain glass. I've never been a huge fan of much stain glass, that is until I entered the Sainte Chapelle. Upon entering the old chapel covered in stain glass from wall to wall my mind far changed from its unimpressed impressions of stain glass. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, and was my highlight from Paris.

Sainte Chapelle-imagine this, times about 17, completely surrounded by stain glass. It's literally breathtaking.

The Eiffel Tower at sunset. It's funny to think that when it was first erected it was thought of as the most hideous monstrosity.

The view of Paris from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Another passion I gained in Paris is for the opera. Okay so not really, more for the opera house. I didn't actually attend any operas, but I did walk through the opera house, and that was enough to change my mind. Even though I'm not a huge opera fan, I wanted to go to one just so I could go into the building again. Big, ornate, and gorgeous. Loved it.

What would Paris be without going to the Louvre, right? In addition to the Louvre we went to the Musee d'Orsay and saw some more very famous, very beautiful art. It was great.

The Opera House-I think I heard faint ringings of the Phantom of the Opera echoing from the basements (that's right, plural).

The Louvre

Although it's good to be home, I want to go back at the same time. I learned so much about so many different things. It really was a once in a lifetime experience. I loved it, and I would do it again in a second.

Where to start

2009-05-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

It's been a while and my blog has been neglected. I've spent the past month in Europe on a study abroad, and let's just say my blog was not at the top of my priority list. Now that I'm home though, I must come back to life as we know it, and face the realities of life again...sigh. As far as blogging goes, I don't quite know how to go about tackeling it. I have seen and experienced so many incredible things. There is so much to say and show. It's kind of daunting. There's only one thing to do but get started!

So, a month ago I flew out of Salt Lake City, and after saying good-bye to American soil, I found myself in Ireland 24 hours later. Ireland is probably the most green place I have ever seen. I have never seen that brilliant shade of green in nature before. It was beautiful. In our several day stay in Ireland we visited the Cliffs of Moher (a.k.a. the cliffs of insanity from Princess Bride...for real). We went to the Irish writers museum in Dublin, rode bikes around the island of Inishmore in the pouring rain, visited castles, and stayed in creepy/gross hostels, but we won't dwell on that. While in Ireland we made a stop at Trinity College where we viewed the Book of Kells, which is an ancient manuscript of the four gospels written and decorated in a remarkably beautiful way. Within Trinity College is a room called the Long Room as well, which, like it sounds, is a very long room. Go figure. What is neat and unique about this room, however, is that the walls are lined with bookshelves full of ancient books written by Socrates, Aristotle, and many other great philosiphers of old. I absolutely loved this room. Everything from the smell, to the overstimulation of the eyes trying to take in so many books, and the feeling that came over me to be in the midst of so much history. Yes, it sounds silly, but this room was one of my highlights from the whole trip. I just loved the special spirit the room contained.

Dublin Castle

The street in Galway we stayed on, and yes, many streets are cobblestone and narrow in this part of Ireland. It's pretty neat.

Overlooking the Galway Bay. You can see the city of Galway on the horizon of this picture.

The Cliffs of Moher. If only pictures could do them justice. They don't even come close to showing their majorist enormity.

First comes Ireland, then came Wales, home to some of the most genuine and welcoming people. We stayed in Cardiff and visited Chester for a couple hours where we walked along the top of the wall encircling the the city. The Romans would stand guard on this wall and watch for any threats. In addition, we traveled some more, walked through more castles, and then headed into England.

Skipton Castle

On top of the wall surrounding Chester. P.S. Just disregard any closed eyes :)

On the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Holyhead. Isn't it beautiful?!

Rather than taking on the overwhelming task of trying to tell you everything I ever did on the trip, and to save you, my fellow reader, from reading a saga of events, I have decided to end this entry here. Keep checking back for part 2 of the European adventures of the British Literary Pilgrimage Tour. England and Paris have yet to come!

And there goes the final project.

2009-03-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

Well, my photography class is about done and I turned in my final project yesterday. Hurray! For this last project we just had to take a bunch of pictures of a single theme and put them together in some sort of scrapbook, web gallery, multi media presentation, etc. I decided to take pictures of several different pianos and put them together in a slideshow. Hope you enjoy!

More photography assignments

2009-03-05T19:25:00.000-08:00

My mom requested more photos from my photography assignments a while ago, so here are a few more. They are from a conglomerate of assignments we've had regarding composition, color, motion, lighting, etc.

This assignment was about composition, focusing solely mainly on the rule of thirds and leading lines and such. I owe my roommate big time for sitting out in the snow in the freezing cold weather while I tried to hurry and take the shots. She's a gem!

There are four difference color schemes we learned about in my class: harmonious, complementary, monochromatic, and polychromatic. For this assignment we were supposed to pay attention to those color schemes. This photograph is monochromatic, meaning there is only one dominant color.

For this assignment we were required to experiment with different kinds of artificial lighting as they all cast different colors. I figured I'd make my brother-in-law proud and used good ol' LED.

Last but not least, that is if you're still reading this (sorry, it's kind of a boring post this time), our motion assignment. Yes, there's my roommate again. She makes such a great model!

Totally pointless

2009-02-24T15:02:00.000-08:00

Going to school in Rexburg, Idaho in the winter is...an experience. One thing you ought to know about Rexburg is that it is really really cold, and snows. A lot. The snow is never shoveled or plowed anywhere, resulting in a lot of ice everywhere. It has become an art to distinguish between the patches of ice that are bad news and to be avoided at all costs, and the patches of ice that really aren't that slippery and no problem to walk on. You can imagine what happens in the process of learning this art, I don't think anymore explanation is necessary.

There is a particular spot on the sidewalk just outside my apartment complex that has a sheet of ice layers of inches thick, and very slippery. The fear of falling and looking like an idiot exists within everyone, but let me make myself clear, looking like an idiot is inevitable. Let's be honest, we have all spent many flailing moments, looking like an idiot with arms and legs flapping in every direction, staying erect on our feet by some miracle. Somehow, we still manage to justify our dignity since we "didn't actually fall."

Over the past couple of days, the weather has been beautiful and the sun has been shining, aka, the temperature has been above the freezing point of ice. Following our logic, this means melting. This means standing water everywhere, particularly on the sidewalk that used to contain the ice of fatality, which has now transformed into the lake of saturation and depth, and by that I do not mean wisdom.

Upon reaching this complimentary wading pool of ours, a decision must be made within a matter of moments. One has several choices. You can a) attempt to walk around the gigantic puddle and get stuck in the mud, ruining your shoes, b) walk through the mounds of snow remaining to the street, and pray you don't get hit by any angry drivers, or c) suck it up and wade through the pool, still ruining your shoes and also soaking the bottom of your pants. having tried them all, I've come to the conclusion that risking my life, venturing into the street, and going around the whopping waterway is the best choice, in my opinion, even at the expense of driver's road rage. I'll go with option b and take my chances. It has been great fun.

Snowshoe Adventure, survived.

2009-02-11T19:39:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I got to go snowshoeing for my first time. It was a lot of fun, but man was it tiring! About halfway through I hurt bad, and by the time we got home, I was pooped. We hiked a very long 6.5 miles and went up to Mesa Falls here in Idaho, and it was beautiful! There were lots of trees everywhere, which was nice for a change from the flat, barren wasteland that I live in, and even though I am surrounded by a ton of snow all the time, I must admit, I even enjoyed the snow. We couldn't have had a more beautiful day for our outing either. The sun was shining bright and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Sometimes we were hiking in just our T-shirts...and it is the middle of February! It was glorious. I must say though, next time I go snowshoeing, I plan on going at my own pace and my own distance, which you can probably count on being a wee bit shorter.

Cake anyone?

2009-01-28T20:44:00.000-08:00

I have two nieces that were born a week apart a year ago. They just celebrated their first birthdays this month. In celebration, my two sisters got together and partied, and seeing as I live only a couple hours from these festivities, how could I miss out? So despite the bad weather, I took the weekend off from school and joined them. It was so much fun to watch them interact with each other, devour their first cakes, open new presents and toys, and gorge ourselves with more cake. Not that I'm biased or anything, but I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I'm pretty sure I have the cutest nieces and nephews ever!

photography assignment 1...complete

2009-01-20T20:55:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a photography class this semester and I am loving it! It's a pretty basic class, but it's a good way to solidify what I know and still learn some things. We just had our first assignment, and I had a lot of fun with it. It was simple enough, we just had to take 24 photographs of a single object and then turn in our top four. My roommate plays the violin and I thought it would be a pretty good object to shoot, so she let me take pictures of it. I thought I might share a couple of the images.

The Browns!

2008-12-29T11:56:00.000-08:00

It's official, I have the cutest nieces and nephews and the most beautiful sisters ever. In the past six months I've taken all of their pictures and they all make the pictures look so good. Always. My sister Becky came home for Christmas and seeing as her last "family portrait" consisted of her and Micah's wedding picture, we ran outside and took a couple shots. Moses Lake has actually been dumping snow for the first time in a long time, making beautiful shots. I love snow pictures! Fortunately Becky and Micah were willing to freeze a little bit. Becky was even willing to sit right in the snow. I felt bad for making her do it, but not bad enough to not make her do it ;)

and it's finally over

2008-12-17T21:33:00.000-08:00

I made it throught the semester!! It's over, and so is my visual media class :) Here's my update and final outcome on the project I blogged about. I'm so glad it's over. It was pretty much the biggest nightmare of my life, and everything that could go wrong with this project did, but it's done now, and that makes me so happy. Anyway, my roommate suggested making a birth announcement for her nephew that was born not too long ago. I thought about it for awhile, and decided I liked the idea. Seeing as her nephew was in a different state, I didn't actually take these pictures, they just sent some to me, but I put it all together. I used photoshop to edit the photos, illustrator to make the rattle, and indesign to put it all together. I've always been a lover of photoshop, but now I'm converted to the other programs also. They're amazing!

The front of the announcement...

...and the back of the announcement

The Jeppsons

2008-12-07T16:46:00.000-08:00

I took my sister's family pictures while I was at her house for Thanksgiving a week or so ago. We had such a fun time, I wish I could go back. We had a good time taking pictures, and the kids did such a good job. It was kind of cold and sitting for a camera is never at the top of the list for the most fun thing to do to a three year and almost one year old anyway, but as you can see, Peter especially was full of fun, goofy grins. Fortunately, my parents were right behind me jumping around to get both kids to look, but we never could quite crack a smile from Elsie.

I love these pictures of Elsie. I couldn't decide which one I liked better, so I put both of them up.

She finally gave in and I caught a small smile!

Then my parents wanted a couple quick pictures so it was their turn to jump in the camera hot spot. Family pictures all around!

Class project gone awry

2008-12-06T15:46:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week I was working on a project for my visual media class where I needed a picture of a water droplet. I figured to save time, I would just grab one off google images, but after awhile of searching, I couldn't find one that I liked and that would work, so I resorted to my original idea of just taking the picture myself...so much for that time saver. So I busted out my camera, turned on my bathroom sink, and had some fun snapping away. I was just focusing on getting a single drop that was the right size and shape and not much else, but some of them actually turned out kind of cool.

It turned out that I couldn't make any of the pictures I took work either, so after a long time of working on this endless project, I ended up having to start from scratch and figure out a whole different project! What was that about time saving??? I was so frustrated, but at least I had fun taking some pictures and I think I have something else figured out that will work, right?

I'm falling behind!

2008-11-30T19:19:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I'm a slacker. At least in the blogging world. School has been so busy and consuming that I haven't had very much extra time. So I apologize for not posting anything in a long time. I just got back from Thanksgiving break and I figured before the last few weeks of classes started up again I would hurry and get another post up. So once upon a time I took more pictures of Brittany and Kole for their wedding. I wanted to take lots more pictures at their reception and stuff, but the happy couple were casting death glares to anybody with a camera pointed their way. They make me laugh, they were so sick of pictures. But anyways, we got a few formals in a couple days before their wedding, and it was a good thing because it turned out to be insanely windy on their actual wedding day...welcome to Rexburg.

Over the Thanksgiving break my whole family got together and I got to take some family pictures for my sister. Hopefully this time it won't take me quite so long to get them posted, so keep checking back, and wish me luck on finals!!

And P.S. I have not idea why my pictures are coming are showing up smaller than my other posts or why my header is not showing up. I will have to try to figure that out. Sorry!

Brittany and Kole's engagement pictures

2008-09-20T18:33:00.001-07:00

This week I got to go out with Brittany and Kole and take their engagement pictures. No matter what Kole says, we had fun and being in front of the camera is harmless! We ran onto campus here in Rexburg and took some pictures in the gardens. They are so pretty this time of year. All the flowers are in full bloom and the grass is so green. Brittany and Kole are so cute together! Kole couldn't keep his eyes off Brittany and Brittany couldn't stop smiling. I've been roommates and good friends with Brittany for a while now, and Kole is a lucky guy. They are going to be so happy together. Good luck you two!

Otto's family portraits

2008-09-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

Just before I left for school I got to take the Otto's family pictures. I've known the Otto's since before I can remember, so it was nice to go out and have some fun with them while snapping some photos. They are such a neat family and it has been so fun growing up just down the street from them. We went to the Hardy's backyard which is full of pretty flowers and lots of other plants, along with a little waterfall. The Hardy's do such a good job of always making it look good and keeping it all up. Now if I could only keep a plant alive...

Tanya and Matt's Wedding

2008-09-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I went and helped photograph Tanya and Matt's wedding at the Beecher Hill House in Wenatchee. This was the last wedding I was able to help out with with Colleen, and it was a photographer's dream, minus the fact that I was sick. It was a beautiful place, the weather was perfect, couldn't ask for better lighting, and the bride and groom were the sweetest people. Here's a few of my favorites from the day.

The first look brought out a few tears in Tanya.

Tanya hid on the staircase while she waited her turn to walk down the aisle so no Peeping Toms could get any sneak peeks of her.

Getting ready to be escorted downt the isle.

Don't they look so happy and excited?

They had the neatest centerpieces that were the perfect touch to their outdoor wedding.

During the reception we stole Tanya and Matt and snuck off to the orchards to take a few more pictures of just the two of them.

The toasts that were given were very sweet and heartfelt.

My New Blog!

2008-09-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for my new blog! Colleen Donovan helped me put it together late one night and she did such a good job making it look amazing. Thank you Colleen!!! I can't wait to get going on it.

This summer has been a busy one filled with lots of fun. I was able to be an assistant photographer to Colleen on several different weddings and ran a second camera. I had a ton of fun while getting a lot of good experience at the same time. With so many pictures, it was hard to recap them all in just a few photos, but here's a handful of them anyway.

These are from Mike and Stephanie's wedding out at Hidden Meadow. Even though it was blazing hot, it was beautiful and we still had fun.

We made the little ring bearer cry during formals when the two flower girls leaned in to kiss his cheek, but I caught him in the act himself a little later!

This next group of photos is from Rami and Kameron's wedding out at Cave B. It was the first time I had ever been there and it is a gorgeous place. The view from the ceremony overlooking the gorge was amazing.

These last few pictures are from Scot and Annalee's wedding here in Moses Lake. I loved Scot's reaction when he saw Annalee for the first time. He just couldn't stop looking at her.

I also helped out at Tanya and Matt's wedding a week ago so keep checking back! There's more to come!