PUG MEETNG : MIKE LARSON

This past Tuesday, Kelly and I ventured out to Decatur to attend Pictage User Group (PUG) Meeting, and having Mike Larson as a guest speaker. I had never heard of him before but I was pretty sure that we were in for a real treat. This was our first time attending a PUG Meeting and I am sure we will start going more often. As soon as Kelly and I walked in the door, we were greeted with a warm smile and some southern hospitality by Shari Zellers.

Mike literally took me by surprise with his unreal presentation. He really offered some wise advice on not getting burned out with the business which he spoke from experience. I love it when photographers are so open to share their ups and downs.He was very accommodating with his knowledge. He also spoke about leadership and how we have to act like CFOs, after all we are CFOs of our business. Mike mentioned one of my favorite speakers/authors, Dave Ramsey and John Maxwell. I never really payed attention to the leadership aspect of running a business, but Mike sure did put me in my place. Since starting photography I am learning a lot about myself.



Mike has a technique that he uses called a camera toss. I know you are probably thinking what is the world is that? Well, what he does is he puts the camera on self timer and throws it up in the air. If you are heroic enough to try it then check this out. Good Luck in trying. .That is definitely going out of the box. I don't think I would try this, but his pictures are incredible.



If anyone is in the Atlanta area and is interested in hearing John Maxwell speak, he will be at my church on February 13th and 14th. Please let me know how your camera toss goes?

TO DO LIST FOR 2010

I know that a list is vital, but I've never been a list maker. I find myself making lists and not following them. So I have decided the heck with them. Today, I decided I would give it another try and make a to do list for 2010. Also, don't be a hater. Leave me some blog love with your comments!!! :0) *Have a great weekend!!

1.Absorb as much information as I can at WPPI 2010.

2. Grow as a person and as a photographer

3. Take a Photoshop class.

4. Attend as many workshops as I can.

5. Meet and second shoot with as many photographers as I can, so that I can learn.

6. Read, Read, and Read some more.

7. Grow closer to God.

8. Enjoy every moment with my husband.

9. Learn to love myself.

10. Create a website.

11. Take as many pictures as I can.

12. Attend a Jasmine Star workshop!!!!

13. Develop powerful relationships and friendships.

14. Be content with who I am and what I have!!!

15. Get out of Debt!!

16. Learn who I am.

17. Overcome fear.

18. Stop worrying about what others think.

19. Eat better and exercise.

20. Become a better wife.

22. Let go of rejection.

And most importantly......"Have the best YEAR of my LIFE"!!!!!!

FEAR OF FAILURE.....

Failure....Why is it that we are so afraid to fail but, at the same time we are so afraid to succeed? I have to ask myself this question daily. Have you ever wanted something so bad that it hurts? I know I have. That is the way I feel about photography. I eat, drink,and live photography - heck it's all I think about! I was so petrified to start a photography business. My biggest fear was, what if it fails? I have to keep on telling myself - A failure is someone that gives up without trying. If I don't try, I will always wonder what if in the back of my head. Will anyone like my pictures? What is my style? What am I good at? What am I not good at? These questions are constantly playing in my head. My fear of not making my parents proud. My fear of leaving school to become a nurse to pursue photography. What if I don't make it? Again, those what if questions playing in my head. Why are we so afraid to run after our dreams? Is it the fear of failure? I know that God provides, and that is something that I am reminded of on a daily basis. How about the time I went to Europe for six weeks by myself and was getting short on money, someone mysteriously deposited $1,000 in my account!! Again, God provides. What about the time, I got an email from Kate telling me I got accepted for her internship. That was totally a God thing!!! Someone taking the time to share their up's and down's to help someone else follow their dreams!!! Besides, isn't it our failures that make us better? I leave you all with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt: It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. P.S I have some pictures of a recent session that will be posting soon!!!

liana's PARTY

Last Saturday, my friend Kelly and I had attended the launch party for liana photography's website at StudioWed here in Atlanta. We had such a blast meeting new people and checking out Liana’s new website. I had been looking forward to this all week and was afraid it was going to be cancelled due to the weather. It was such a pleasure to meet liana, Michelle White, and Megan. One of the photographers that I meet was Michelle White. We talked and we talked and talked some more. Through our conversations I found out that she knows someone that I know. What a small world!?! Michelle had also attended Jamine Star's workshop this past November and was telling us all about it. I was so jealous, but also happy that she was able to attend and learn so much. Michelle it was so nice to meet you. I can't wait to get together and hang out. One more thing....This was my first week of my internship. I will blog more about this later!! Till then enjoy my photos from Saturday!!!

Aren't these cute?!? Liana made these. Left to Right: Michelle, Me, Kelly, and Megan Kelly and I with Liana

BEING R.E.A.L

So where do I begin??? What a crazy week this has been for me. I hate it when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and you feel like nothing is going your way. Is it just me or do you ever feel like that? This past week, I felt like Oscar the Grouch. As much as I hate it when I get in moods like this, God always has another plan behind it. I don't know where I would be without my husband's love and patience. This week I called him (I can't remember why) and he could tell I was not in a good mood. I mumbled some stuff to him and then I said,"Good Bye". A couple minutes later he called me back and asked me what was wrong with me and I told him that I did not feel like talking about it. Whenever I am in one of my moods he constantly bugs me until I tell him what is bothering me. As much as I hate when he does this I have to be honest and say that it really makes me see that I am being a little dramatic. Especially, when he is wright about something and I know he is but I don't want to admit it. Oh, me!!He always reminds me not to get upset about something I have no control over. I am learning from him more and more each day. How compassionate, loving, and patient he is. It's funny how we are so different but at the same time we compliment each other. The other day he came home and brought me roses, boy did he make my day. I just can't say how much I adore fresh flowers. I believe they are a girl's best friend, besides diamonds! Whenever I start to write a post on my blog, I always ask Daniel to proof read it for me. The last time I asked him to proof read one of my posts he gave me a look, and asked me if I was sure because when he tries to give me his opinion, I get upset. I told him I will try to not get upset. I hate to break it you but my trying did not work. I walked away to refresh my mind and when I came back we just looked at each other and laughed!! I apologized to him for getting upset. A couple of days ago we were sitting in the living room and I turned to him and told him," Baby, thank you for loving me with my flaws". I mean I have the best husband the world could ever offer. I would not trade him for the world and I am so in love with this man!! Sorry, if I seem too personal but I am just being REAL. I leave you with a picture of my flowers: Hope you have a great Sunday.

DAMARI

A few months back my cousin, Damari came in town for work. She has one of the luckiest jobs and she gets to travel the world. Every time we are together we have a blast. We decided to take a mini road trip to Helen, Georgia. I wanted to take her to see the beautiful German town and Georgia Mountains. On our way we keep on seeing great spots for pictures. I can't remember how many times we stopped to enjoy the scenic view and take a breath of fresh air. It was the perfect day. A guy told us that it had been raining the past few months and it was the first time the Sun had made an appearance. We stopped by at Hofer's Bakery for lunch and it was delicious. As soon as I walked in Hofer's I could smell the fresh bread and pastries. This was the first time I had been here and it was not bad at all. Most of the time, I like to try new types of food. As soon as we started to walk around I felt like I was back in Germany with the chalets and cobblestone alleys. The Chattahoochee river runs through the middle of Helen. During the summer you can tube along the river and take in the scenery. Damari is such a beautiful person inside and out. It's not often that we hang out and see each other but when we do we always pick up where we left off. I just could not resist not taking her picture. I mean look at her, she is gorgeous and fierce. Damari's dad is my dad's twin brother. How cool is that to have a twin uncle. I remember the first time I saw my uncle I thought he was my dad :( We had a blast hanging out and taking pictures. Damari had such a blast being a model for me. I will always cherish the time we had!!! Thanks girl and I love you!!! Happy New Year!!!! Um, didn't I tell you she is beautiful??

BOOKS ARE A GIRLS BEST FRIEND....

I know that New Years has not arrived yet but something I am going to do more of in 2010 is read, read, read, and read some more!! I use to be a book worm when I was a little girl. My favorite books to read was R.L Stine and The Babysitters Club. I could sit for hours and hours just reading away. I remember reading a book, and feeling like I was in another world. It helped me escape my every day life. My sister would always tell me that I read too much. Books are enriched with so much knowledge. The most important book I MUST read more of is my Bible. Where would I be without the word of God? I want to base my business on His foundation. Gods word sustains me and always reminds me to trust in Him. Whenever I feel like I can't do this or feel fear rising up His word is always there to comfort me.To remind me that God gives me the strength to do everything. What an awesome God we serve, to know that He is always on our side. I will end this post with a scripture from Psalm 18:30 (The Message) : What a God! His road stretches straight and smooth. Every God-direction is road-tested. Everyone who runs toward him Makes it. Have a fabulous Thursday!!

THE CAMP FAMILY

This weekend I had the pleasure of photographing a family that is dear to my heart. Nathan and Lisa have been a HUGE blessing to Daniel and I. They are the type of people that you can always count on and I just adore them!! They moved to Orlando a few years ago and recently moved back to Atlanta. We had such a blast with them and their three kids - Madison, Landon and Justice. Hey, their kids even said that Daniel and I were cool grown ups!! How could I not love these kids!! This family totally rocked this session. They toughed out the cold weather and were so much fun to shoot. After our session we decided to have lunch at Fellini's Pizza. If you have never been there then you must go and try them out. There food is good! After we had pizza we went to The Yogurt Tap. This was the first time Daniel and I had ever gone, and I will say that this place is so cool. I now leave you with pictures from our session.... Madison Landon Justice Lisa, you are gorgeous!!

TAKING THE PLUNGE

I have some exciting news to share with you all. Where do I start? I got accepted to intern with an awesome photographer, Kate Byars. I feel so honored to be under her wing. I will forever be indebted with her for her time and her knowledge. I met Kate while I attended WPPI Roadshow in Atlanta. The weird thing is, as soon as we saw each other we both said, " I know you from somewhere!" I remember thinking "where do I know her from?" Another funny thing is Kate attended the conference with another Atlanta photographer I met on OSP, her name is Jenny Widmaier. This was the first time ever that I met Jenny in person. When I heard that Kate was looking for an intern I immediately contacted her to let her know that I was interested in the intership. We met for coffee to discuss what the internship was about. About a week later, I got an email from her telling me that I had been choosen to be one of her interns. I remember reading that email and feeling numb. I was so excited, and I knew this was the perfect time for this. So, I am taking the plunge and I've decided that I am putting school on hold. I am so excited to be focusing more on photography, learning, and growing my business.

So, So where do I start....I know it has been awhile since writing a post. Please forgive me!!! I have been extremely busy. My husband is finally home!! You start to realize how much you miss someone when they are gone. I also purchased a new camera. I am happy to say that in a couple of days I will be a proud owner of a Canon 5D. I currently shoot with a Canon EOS Rebel and I know that with the Canon 5D it's going to rock my world. I am determined to start blogging more. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!! Please remember our armed forces and their families that are overseas. Here is a great fall picture. Enjoy!!!!