Sixty

I grew up tagging along with my dad to our camp for fishing, trawling, setting crab traps, etc... I admit it; I'm from a family of outdoorsman. My dad even taught me to water ski when I was eight on the lake near our camp. I grew up in some part there, with my dad and all his buddies.

The great thing about my dad is that he is still friends with those same guys from high school; they see each other regularly and get together for special events. I only keep in touch with one person from high school, so these guys amaze me. Some of these same guys were in attendance at my dad's sixtieth birthday party, along with neighbors, friends, and family.

Road Trip!

We drove to Venice, Louisiana on Saturday. Not because of the oil spill and not because there's anything special there; it's a marina full of boats for goodness sake!

However, my good friend Megan wanted to drive to the southernmost portion of Louisiana, so we did. It was good trip with some super fun girls. I convinced them to dress cute, so we stopped for pictures all along the way.

Kirsten

Kirsten and I met back in 2002, at a training session before we both moved to other countries. We managed to keep in touch most of the last eight years, despite being separated by thousands of miles and oceans. She is one of the most wonderful women that I know, full of passion, kindness, and completely genuine. She's the person that I always want in my corner of the ring on this journey called life, and I'm so thankful that she's my friend.

I was thrilled when she got engaged to a wonderful man and asked me to design her save the date, invitation, etc... for her upcoming wedding. She finally sent out these Save the Dates, so I feel it's okay for me to show it to y'all now.

The Crosby Clan

Dr. David Crosby is my boss and my pastor. He constantly gives me a hard time about causing trouble around our office (totally unfounded), which keeps life my work life interesting. He is one of 13 children in his family, so it is understandable why he's always poking fun at me. His daughter asked me to take a group photo of the family since it was the first time everyone had been together in awhile. Here are my favorite outtakes from the afternoon.

Carson's Party

Carson is four today! I had the pleasure of being invited to photograph her party this past weekend. It was held in a their friend's backyard, and it was one of the best party locations for photography that I've seen lately. First and foremost, there was amazing, diffused light...the day was perfect. In addition, it was just full of amazing windows/shutters as decorations and hanging flowers everywhere. I wish you could have been there with me.

Maternity: Round Two

No, I didn't photograph pregnant ladies boxing...that would be wrong on so many levels. I did have my second maternity session over the weekend. Despite the sun and the rising temperatures here in the city, it was a lovely afternoon spent with Rebekah, Mike, Mallory, and Brady (still in the oven).

Joe: In Action

Joe is a good friend. When we have extra time or just for fun, we set up shoots to stay creative and scope out new locations in the city. We always prefer when we have wonderful models/friends willing to come out with us for a portrait session, but sometimes we just end up taking pictures of stuff like graffiti or a location. After awhile of shooting objects instead of people,  I tend to get bored or uninspired. In those instances, I sometimes just capture Joe doing his thing.....documenting! And in some instances, the light is just too nice to pass up. :)

He also wears fun colored shoes...

In addition to being a great photographer, he also plays guitar/sings at The Neutral Ground coffee shop on the first Friday of each month at 8 pm. That's tomorrow, so come out to hear "Agent 86."

Carole: Part One

Carole and I have been friends for awhile, and we really bonded on an insane trip to India last spring. On that trip we were together 24/7 for a whole week. I'm surprised we didn't kill each other since we have very different personalities. Thankfully, we didn't, and now she is graduating with her master's degree in public health next week.

In honor of her graduation, she wanted some pictures since her parents are thousands of miles away. I had a really great day letting loose and having fun with these friends while making images. Joe was nice enough to set up all the studio equipment in his house to avoid the rain, and our friend McKenzie tagged along to do the hair and makeup. The rain finally stopped enough for us to finish the day outside.

Party Crashing

My co-worker's daughter had a birthday, and I crashed her party. She was turning seven, and I had another friend who was attending the party that invited me to come along. So I did.

I offered to take pictures since I was uninvited. I had a blast hanging out with Joy in their backyard. She was so much fun. I got to experience her jumping off of a swing, climbing a basketball goal, and gymnastics. It was incredibly windy, so her blonde curls were flying all over the place during the pictures.