San Diego & My First Wedding Assist

WARNING! This will be a longer post than usual, but it will be fun :)

It will be full of stories from San Diego, as well as how my first wedding assist with Jennifer Bowen went (hence the 'business' and 'news' tag on this post).

Starting with San Diego...

It was an amazingly fun trip! We spent a week in a beach house (we have been doing this for several years) on Mission Beach. Throughout the week, we basically "hung out" and did random things around the area. We brought our two beach cruiser bikes, and the house we stayed in had three, so we spent much time biking around the beach boardwalk and bay. We also did a lot of shopping, and a lot of Wii Bowling (thanks Brad's family for bringing it along!). We even had a fun Wii Bowling tournament, which will continue here in Arizona. My highest score for the bowling was a 238, with my super intimidating overhand/side arm bowling technique. Sadly, I did not win the tournament. I tied for 5th place with Shelby. Not bad considering there were 9 contestants!

On Wednesday night, Brad and I visited Sea World! This was a complete BLAST! I haven't been to Sea World in quite a few years, so it felt like a whole new experience. Here are a few pictures from the evening!

This is a picture of our picture on the Journey to Atlantis ride. We are in the very back (top) row. This was in the middle of the main drop, which for those of you who have not been on the ride is equivalent to Splash Mountain. I'm not a big ride person, so I'm a little freaked out as apposed to Brad who has his "hands in the air like he just don't care!" It was a pretty fun and good ride though :)

And here I am after the ride chilling with the mermaid because I got SOAKED! 

This is my imitation of the dolphins.

And here (sideways, sorry!) is Brad 'falling' into the sting ray tank.

We had so much fun! We didn't go until the evening (the park was open until 11) so it wasn't very crowded, and it was nice and dark :) Plus, we got to see an amazing nighttime Dolphins Ignite show and Shamu Rocks show!

We also went boogie boarding plenty times and spent a lot of time on the beach. We had a ton of fun! My eyes were being extremely sensitive to the salt water, so I had to buy these really funky snorkeling goggles. I felt like a luny wearing them, but they kept my eyes fresh! :)

While we were there, I did a photo session with Shelby and with the Dausend Family. I posted a few small pictures from Shelby's session in my last post. When I get onto my desktop I'll post larger pictures from her session, as well as pictures from the Dausend's session.

So the vacation was great! But it feels good to be home.

And, the night I got home, I was very busy! I had my first wedding assist with Jennifer Bowen. It was amazing! I learned so much through observation, and had a blast. It made me want to grow into a wedding photographer even more than I already do. Thanks Jennifer for letting me come, and for all your help! She's a great lady!

As for now, I'm working very hard on 'revamping' my website. It will be the same template and colors, but with newly designed pages and fresh pictures. When it's all finished, I will let you all know.

Take care everyone! Have a great week.

San Diego is B-E-A-UTIFUL!

I'm in San Diego right now, and it is gorgeous! We just returned to our beach house from a nice day of shopping and riding our bikes down the boardwalk. It's a beautiful day! The sun feels warm, but it's a great combination with the cool ocean breeze. The water temperature is freeeeezing (okay, not literally. Last I checked it was 67 degrees), but once you get in and do some professional boogie-boarding like Brad and I, it's not too bad. As for sunburn status, I'm happy to say I'm not burnt (knock on wood), but have a small strip of redness on my forehead.

Today I discovered possibly the BEST snack joint ever. It's called Yogurt Land and I love it! I'm definitely making a trip there every day we are here. Here is a link to their website, check it out! I vote we get a word in with the big guys of Yogurt Land to build one in Arizona :D I'd be a customer for life.

As promised, here are a few pictures from Shelby's senior portrait shoot (San Diego style). We did this a couple of nights ago at the bottom of Crystal Pier, and the wooden stairs at Pacific Beach. (Sorry lifeguard dudes, we totally broke the rule of 'no lingering' below the pier!)

When I get home, I'll post some better resolution pictures :)

They came out so great! Shelby did a great job, and she was such a trooper. The water was freezing, the bottom of her jeans got wet, her shoes got soaked, and sand got all over her, but she did great! Thanks! :)

These are the only sets of pictures I've taken while I've been here! But I'll be having a family and baby session, so I'm sure you'll see those posted within the week. And I'm hoping to see an awesome sunset on the beach with no clouds. If so, you'll see pictures of that as well! :)

Hope all is well in Arizona! I hear there have been some thunderstorms! Stay safe, and have a great week!

E

It's Almost Packing Time!!!

It's been a while since I've written in here, and I'm happy to say that I'm leaving in a couple days for California! I can't wait to just hang out on the beach, and take some senior and family portraits. And, I'm very happy to introduce my newest lens to my Nikon family!

For my birthday this past Sunday, I got an amazing lens from my parents (thanks!), a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens. This little baby is amazing! I absolutely love it and can't wait to give it some real work in San Diego. 

Here's a few little "test" shots with my new lens. Nothing too fancy, just getting used to it :)

I just love Brad's eyes!! So blue and gorgeous.

I'm a Nikon Girl! :) [I can't wait to get the Nikon D700!!!!!!]

Cameron's little toys are just so cute.

And this is a shot of my dog, Bussie :) He's very happy to make it on the World Wide Web and has requested more photographs to be posted of him. We'll see how that goes.

I just can't wait to go to San Diego! Not only to "beach it" and enjoy the cooler weather, but I'm so anxious to take pictures! They will be posted on here as I take them, and a few days after I'm back, expect to see an update on my official website! I'm going to be updating photographs in the galleries (especially in the couples and group categories), as well as possibly changing a few things on the site. I'll be sure to make a post when I update the website!

I'm so excited to go to San Diego, and when I get back I have a lot of things planned! The day I come back, I'm out to Chandler to assist Jennifer Bowen with a wedding. Then, I will have all of my pictures from San Diego to go through! I will have hundreds. Then it's updating and publishing the website, and dropping off my business cards at Cabin Coffee.  Then I will have Lighroom to deal with. Ordering my copy, and playing around with my RAW images. I'm sure this will all be very enjoyable and interesting, but I'm going to be a busy girl! 

Well, I hope everyone is having a great July, and I will be sure to add photographs here from San Diego! Stay tuned to see my exciting beach adventures! :)

Baby Cameron

Hi everyone! Here is the latest update on my nephew! He turned three months old yesterday, and here are some pictures I took of this cute little boy on his first Fourth of July!

You will notice the reflection of his little glasses :) I'm on the far left, my mom in the middle, and the teeth of my sister (his mom) on the far right. We were trying to make him smile; however, he was clearly not in the mood.

We finally got a smile out of the little firecracker! It only took about 20 minutes, but we got one!

Here are the black & whites:

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! I sure did!

This week will be my week of full-on organization! I have two rooms that can both use severe organizing and de-cluttering. If I'm proud of how I will change up these rooms, I will post pictures of my success!

Take care!

E

Oh, my little white dress

Here are some pictures I took yesterday of my little white dress :)

This dress was from my first communion, back when I was in 3rd grade!

It's so cute and tiny.

I can't believe I used to fit in this thing.

I hope everyone has a great Independence Day!

This evening I'm going over to Brad's grandparents house, and his cousins will be there so hopefully I'll get some group shots! And this afternoon I'm probably going to my sister's house and taking pictures of my beautiful nephew in his cute 4th of July clothing! I'll be sure to post pictures here when I get the chance!

Stay cool everyone, it's a hot one outside!

E

The Purpose-Driven Life

Tonight, I finished the Purpose-Driven Life book by Rick Warren. It's an absolutely amazing book, and I encourage anyone to read it who has not done so. It will really change how you see life, and I just can't describe how great it is! :)

Summer classes are officially over! I submitted my final assignment this afternoon, and I feel like this huge weight has lifted off my shoulders. Those classes were a pain, but now I'm happy that I got those classes done in 5 weeks, rather than 15 weeks during the "regular" semester. It feels so nice!

I also had some fun today shooting some of my make-up :) here are a couple of pictures from my frenzy:

This is my favorite eye-shadow pallet :) It's by Urban Decay and I pretty much use every color here...except for the aqua 80's blue :)

And my brushes!

Hopefully someday I'll get to take pictures like this before a wedding! Improved versions, of course :)

E

The price tag on a small business is not small.

I'm a little confused as to why a small business is called "small." Rather, it should be "Small sized business, with big expenses." I've spent a lot of money on this business (granted, I love photography and everything I buy is well-worth it, business, or no business) but I still have plenty of things to buy to enhance my small business.

Here is a break-down of what I've spent thus far to improve and build my business:

Camera and Lenses: $1,200 (granted, I would have bought this regardless)

iMac: $1,300 (grated, I would have bought this regardless)

One semester of photography classes (to begin this fall): $700

Photoshop Elements: $100

Logo: $50

One year website hosting: $50

One year website domain: $2

Business Cards: $8

Photography Book: $25

Thats about $3,335 I've spent thus far. And I have more spending to do than I've spent already! Here are things I would love to buy to improve my business, and eventually will as I build my business, starting with the most important tools:

Time Capsule: 500GB of space for $300, but I'll probably save to buy the 1T of space for plenty of space in the future for $500

More memory cards!: About $100 or so worth of cards

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom: $300

iLife '08: $80 (to make flyers, newsletters, etc.)

Nikon Speedlight SB-800: $390

Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 lens: $1,000

Bigger gear bag: Probably around $100-$200

Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 ED-IF zoom lens: $1,800

Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 ultra wide angle lens: $1,500

Nikon D3 camera body: $5,000 (Okay, realistically, I'll probably be getting the Nikon D300 body at this point, which is significantly cheaper at $1,650. I'll save for the D3 when I'm rich and famous)

Invest in a flash website: I'm not sure how much this will cost, but I'm sure it will be expensive!

Adobe Photoshop CS3 (Probably CS4 or 5...maybe even 6 by the time I get here!): $650

Mac Pro: $2,800

Nikon D3: $5,000 (if I had not gotten this before. Otherwise, multiple bodies!)

MacBook Pro: $2,000

Photography Classes: $2,100 (based on 3 more semesters, at $700 each semester)

Plus, random expenses that will incur along the way, such as lens filters, photography workshops/seminars, extra years of website hosing and domain name, more business cards, printing photographs for portfolio, portfolio books, etc!

Granted, it will take me years to reach my ideal equipment, but hopefully I will get there some day! I love photography, and it's where my heart is! So it's all worth it!

So I will start saving my money today! Hopefully I will get my Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens for my birthday next week! That would make me super happy and bring my portraits to the next level!

Have a nice week everyone!!!

E