Dana Joy | 2 Months

 Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to photograph lovely Dana Joy. She is such a sweet baby girl! Her mom was my teacher for 4 years, and she also is my mom's good friend from college. So, you know, we know each other pretty well! :P

 We tried getting a lot of smiles out of her, but once she got tired, we wasn't going to stay awake and not be heard!

 I really like the one above, even though it isn't very clear, because it looks like she's praying! Isn't that adorable?!?

 Dana had such cute smiles, but she just learned out to "find her fist" so her fist was almost always in her mouth! I think this is my favorite picture!

 They had the cutest headbands for Dana to wear! 

 Dana has three brothers just like me, only all of her brothers are older. One is two years older than me, the other is one year older than me, and the last brother, Karl, is a year younger than me (I'm good friends with him).

 This was my first session with my 50mm and I have had countless amounts of compliments on the pictures already! It makes me so happy!

 I can remember vividly when Dana's mom told my class she was pregnant. Everyone was shocked because it had been 13 years since her last baby! We were all so happy for her and since I saw her almost every day, we could "watch" her baby grow!

 /\ Many people's favorites.

And of course, you have to capture those little details like hands!

Do you like photographing newborns/babies?

Before and After Edit

/\Before

/\After

Yes, I know my arrows stink...

/\Cloned objects/Edits

 I recently learned how to clone by the lovely Miss Emily Sacra and I was so happy and proud of how I edited the photo above. All of those distracting wires, boat covers, and houses were definitely catching my attention and they needed to be removed. Yes, maybe my cloning looks bad, but for the first time, I think I did a pretty good job! :)

Sour Cream and Onion dip

Ingredients

 ~Sour Cream

~Chives

~Ranch Seasoning {first picture}

~Chips {I thought Ruffles potato chips tasted well}

1. Take your sour cream and add about 2 tablespoons of Ranch Seasoning

2. Stir completely. Add more if necessary.

3. Take your chives (fresh cut from our garden) and wash them

4. Cut your chives into small pieces-- I used kitchen scissors because it worked easier for me

5. Stir your chives to taste. My parents say that the more chives = more taste. 

6. Enjoy dip with chips!

I really like this recipe if we have a bag of chips because it is a super easy, cheap way to add a little zest to normal chips. I made this recipe so many times and I love it. I usually don't like dips for anything, but this dip I LOVE. Oh and I'm not exactly sure if it's called "Sour Cream and Union Dip," but my brother Zach calls it that because he says that's what most people call it. So anyway, that's what I'm calling it! :)

Enjoy!

Welcome Home!

33. Buy something new for my camera

My morning started early. I woke up at 5:45AM to take senior pictures. All I was thinking was, "I want to get my 50mm." I have been wanting a new lens for a while now, but I haven't had to the chance to get it. And now that I have sessions coming up, I really wanted it. I begged my brother to take me to the bank and then to Best Buy. He said he would take me! I was SO excited to go! When I went to the bank (which was recently redone with newer technology), there was a super long line. It is rare for there to be such a long line. I was probably waiting for 15 minutes. It was crazy. When I finally got to "go" the women said, "Thank you for waiting so patiently!" Haha! So I got money out of my account and my brother Zach and I headed to Best Buy. I walked into Best Buy not knowing exactly where I could find my lens, so I found the "camera" section. I looked for a little while and then my brother was in a rush so asked someone to help us. He said, "Just a few minutes please, I'm almost done here." Ugh, we waited for a while again, just to find out they only have lenses in Canon and Sony. I was super bummed out because I really wanted my lens before my family session this week. My brother said that after his dentist appointment, he'd take me to National Camera Exchange. Such a nice boy!

After waiting a few hours, we got ready to go and left. When I got there, I walked up to the counter where all of the lenses are. A guy walked up to me and said, "How are you? Can I help you with anything?" Boy did that guy make me happy!! He helped me right away, found what I needed, let me test it out, and he knew what he was doing! I was in and out of the store in about 5 minutes. Amazing. 

So here I am with a new lens. A 50mm, 1.8 aperture. I have fallen in love with my camera again and I can't wait to share with you pictures from another trip that I will be taking this weekend. I absolutely love the bokeh it produces and how much more crisp my photos look. I hope you will enjoy the pictures I take with my new lens.

Which photo is your favorite so far?

2012 Independence Day {v.2}

"America is like fireworks.

We started from a base and we branch off from the base; each going in our own direction. There are people (the sparks) from all different personalities and colors. Each one is free in the air. Sometimes there are hard times in our life (when the firework dies out), but another one is soon to come."

~Madie, July 2012

2012 Independence Day {v.1}

 Yes, it has been a week since the 4th, but I'm just now posting about it.

 Our morning consisted of going to a  neighboring city for a parade.

Boy, was that parade long.My mom threatened to leave early because it was so long and the temperatures were unbearable.

 After our morning parade, my older two brothers went off on their own and did their own thing, so my younger brother Luke and I were home and completely bored.

 We begged mom and dad to take us somewhere, but because of the heat, there wasn't much outside that we wanted to do.

 So what did we do? We went on a house tour. Haha! No, I'm not moving, but we looked at all sorts of houses (the lake houses were my favorite) while listening to my new CD by Jamie Grace.

 We were looking at houses for a little over an hour before the sun went down and it was time for the city firework show {that apparently is the best in the Cities}.

 Let me tell you, this picture made my night. Gah!

 I never knew that fireworks were create such great bokeh! :P

The finale.

 So even though I didn't go out of town like I have every year, it was nice to experience something new and in my city for once. Last year was close to a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But this year, I just might have found some enjoyment in it.

What did you do for the 4th? Were you restricted from fireworks because of the drought?

Guest Post

32. Guest post on another person's blog

Hey! I hope you all are enjoying your summer! I went on another trip last weekend, so I'm sorry for my absence. I'd love it if you'd check out my guest post at Borrowing Photographs. I spent a lot of time working on it and I love how it turned out. :) Let me know your thoughts! Thank you!

Megan | 2013 Graduate

22. Take senior pictures of my brother Zach

When I was visiting family while in Nebraska on my trip last week, I had a little opportunity to take a few pictures of my best friend. I spent two night at her house, but we did not have a good chunk of time to take quality pictures. We were constantly busy with something. These pictures were taken within 10 minutes or so. I took more than pictures than here, but these are some of my favorite. I'm so proud of my friend. We've been friends since we were neighbors. Even though she's almost three years older than I am, we still love hanging out twice a year. We giggle for hours. She always puts a smile on my face and I see a bright future for her.