life points

i have heard it said that your life is defined into a points system. the more stressful situations, good or bad, the more points you rack up. ron and whitney are apparently big rollers and if this were vegas they'd be comped everything from a presidential suite to a seafood buffet.

within 9 months; they met, point. fell in love, point. got engaged, point. she put her house on the market, point. she moved in with friends, point. built a house, point. they got married, point. and to top it off closed on the house upon returning from their honeymoon, point.

with all these huge life changes happening in such a short amount of time, it might be easy to gloss over their vows as just one more event in a progression, but i paid careful attention during their wedding and know that the business that took place that day was the most monumental.

i noticed a heavy band on her right hand and asked what it was, i should have known. her mother and brother walked her down the isle, but along with them whitney carried the symbol of a promise her mother and father made, long before he passed away. i think whitney's understanding of the promise she was about to make to ron was perfectly clear, she had seen it play out in her home; sickness and health, til death us do part.

so while the excitement slows to a soft hum, i pray they hold dear to that moment when they knew that they knew that they knew.

back to diapers

she has a twelve year old, and now a 17 week old. she was finished with diapers, bottles, naps, and the inability to know for sure what was making him cry. but as overwhelming as it might be carla seems to approach this second round like it's nothing new. she has the calm of experience, yet the excitement of the new.

rucker on the other hand has had her alone for 12 years, and while this may seem like the perfect opportunity for a 12 year old to sprout horns, he seems pretty okay being a big brother to dallas.

train with mandy

first she was a friend of a friend, then she became a client, then a friend, now i'm her client! i love how that works.

mandy is incredible. she knows her stuff. she is the most displined person that i've ever met, other than my husband. she has a heart of gold and is genuinely excited about helping women achieve fitness.

i've been struggling with a knee then back injury for over a year. i haven't been able to train for triathlons, races or really exercise at all. it's been really depressing, but because of mandy i found someone to help me figure out my back and now she's helping me build back my strength and endurance without hurting myself.

mandy is working on her website so i can't give away all the photos i took for her but i was so excited to shoot her that i had to post a couple. please check out her blog, it's full of good tips and info. www.trainwithmandy.blogspot.com

family photographer

the first time i met the extended overman family the only baby was max. the second time i photographed them there was langley, luke and easton. kathy joked that i was like a royal or presidential photographer documenting the life of her family because they were always growing and needing to include a new overman.

i remembered that statement specifically because it made me feel so honored to be the one to capture such an important process, the growth of a family. the legacy that started with kathy and bob is continuing in the lives of their precious children and grandchildren and i get to be a part of the memory.

this time, i met kendall and caroline, and learned that the overmans will be growing by two in the next year. the legacy will grow and hopefully i will be right along side them to capture it all.

a smidge bit terrifying

picture this. 20 photographers, none of which really know each other, and certainly don't know their clients, in a location they have never seen, given five minutes each to photograph a couple, get to know them, and shoot something different. all the while being critiqued, and judged by the other 19 who just happen to be behind you photographing your subjects at the same time from a different angle. this my friends is called a Shoot Out, and it's scary.

i went to chicago last week to meet a man that i've been working with for the past couple of months named Dane Sanders. he is leading the charge in the photography industry to make it more about being collective and less about being grumpy amongst photographers. he put on the best workshop i've ever been a part of. it was more than just photography, it was personal.

part of the workshop included the shoot out. as i explained above i was shaking in my boots. i really enjoy the personal parts of photographing people; learning their story and not rushing the shot. five minutes to connect? WAY out of my comfort zone. our "clients', erica and cory were judging us on who connected with them, made them feel most at ease in the most profound way.

as we walked along ridge street i heard them yell, "this is our first location, who wants it?" i'm not sure if it was because i thought i might throw up if i waited too long, if the location looked good to me, or if i just was so excited i couldn't handle it, but i threw my hand up in air charged forward, and yelled, "I want it".

it was an incredible experience to watch other photographers, ask questions, and shoot along side leaders in the industry who weren't too cool to share ideas or cheer for us. when all was said and done erica and cory were allowed to choose 2 photographers to win the shoot out. i happened to be one of them.

here are a couple of shots just for fun. i need to thank pixel2canvas for the incredible 20x24 gallery wrap.