Photography by Peggy

Leslie ~ 6 Months

2010-10-08T20:21:00.003-04:00

This is a month late since I've been a bad blogger lately but they say all good things come to those who wait! ;)

Leslie is now 7 months old with just as many teeth! She's working on # 8 so pray for us. September was a rough month but I'm loving every minute of it. I can't believe how fast she's growing. I'm excited for each new thing she learns but a little sad at the same time. Her personality is really starting to develop (not that you'll really get to see that in these since I was competing for her attention with 3 dogs) and she cracks me up everyday. I love her so much it makes my heart hurt!! Well on to the good stuff!

I know there's drool but her eyes are gorgeous!

One of the distractions!

The grand Finale

Beach Beauty

2010-08-18T20:14:00.002-04:00

This weekend was our annual family reunion in Daytona Beach, Fl and Leslie's first time in a pool and at the beach. She absolutely LOVES water and is my little fishy. We couldn't stay out long since she's still not old enough to have sun screen but we got some cute images for her baby book in her super cute yellow bathing suit.

Erica & Philip are ENGAGED!

2010-07-08T19:58:00.005-04:00

Ah LOVE...

When I first met Erica last year I thought "Man, this chic is a lot like me!" and I knew we'd hit it off. I loved it when we would have the same schedule at work because it just made it that much more fun and we always helped each other work their magic in the camera room. I'm sad that she didn't move to Tallahassee sooner so we could have become friends sooner AND I'm sad that we both moved from Tallahassee around the same time but not close to each other at all. Hint Hint Erica & Philip: MOVE TO JACKSONVILLE PRONTO!! =)

Well enough of my lack of persuasion skills and on to the hot couple! Last November, her long time sweetheart, Philip, proposed. Everyone at work knew he was going to ask and it was really exciting watching her tell everyone all about how he did it! It was hard for me to wait until she brought it up though. I wanted to see her hand as soon as she got there but thought better of it in case for some strange reason Philip didn't ask. I blame it on that episode of "Friends" when Chandler didn't get to propose to Monica like he planned and everyone had to play it off when they asked to see her hand. It was on repeat in my head (probably had something to do with the crazy pregnancy brain!). They're planning a Fall wedding for next year and I'm really excited for them! I just know it's going to be beautiful and Erica's going to make a gorgeous bride. Philip's not so shabby himself! ;)

Enjoy!!

MY FAVE!!!!

To see more of this gorgeous couple visit The Fan Page.

All Star in the Making

2010-06-23T21:01:00.006-04:00

Anthony's season ended a few months ago but he didn't mind showing off the skills he learned for me. I'm hoping that next year I'll actually get to make it to some of his games to really catch him in action. His little sister Maliyah also showed off her skills as well. These two are great and I love photographing them. Maliyah's "We just lost the game" faces are great!

My Little Rock Star

2010-06-22T15:11:00.006-04:00

I know I've neglected my poor blog since Christmas but I had a VERY good reason. My super awesome little Rock Star was born in February and it has been a big adjustment ever since. She is by far the BEST thing I have ever done in my entire life. It's a wonderful thing being able to watch her grow and discover things every day. Learning how to be a momma has been a major life changing event for me. Now instead of only having to worry about getting myself ready each day now there's two and we have almost mastered getting out of the house on time!! Since Leslie is almost 4 months old now and this is her first time on the blog I'll treat you to a quick glance at our life these past months starting with her birth.

Leslie at 3 Months

Merry Christmas!!!!!

2009-12-18T22:46:00.001-05:00

Nicole ~ Bridal Session

2009-11-17T16:36:00.003-05:00

Nicole and I moved to Tallahassee from Jacksonville at almost the same time last year. She was moving in with Danny and Adam's job transferred us here. It was really great already knowing someone in a new place. We don't always get to hang out because of busy schedules but it's always fun when we do.

Danny proposed to Nicole last Summer and they became Mr. & Mrs. in October of this year. Unfortunately Adam and I had prior engagements and had to miss the wedding but from the images I've seen it was beautiful and a blast. I'm really bummed we missed it, so to get my "Nicole as a beautiful bride" fix I suggested to her that we head out to the awesome field I know of to get some shots of her in her gorgeous gown before she has it cleaned. She was all for any reason to put on her dress again! We set out last Saturday, which was a beautiful and super sunny day, and had some fun.

Nicole ~ Sneak Peek

2009-11-14T20:20:00.002-05:00

My beautiful friend Nicole recently became a Mrs. in October. Before she has her dress cleaned we decided to roll around in the grass to get some awesome bridal shots in her gorgeous gown. Enjoy this sneak peek and stay tuned for the full blog post coming soon!

The First of Many...

2009-10-22T22:16:00.014-04:00

This year will be the first year that Adam and I send out Christmas cards as the Hellenthals. I always just tacted on his name next to mine on the Bryant family cards each year. This year things have changed. No longer will there be a mass Bryant Family card. From now on it's just the Hellenthals. This is very exciting for me. I've been waiting a while to become a Hellenthal and not only am I one now but we are expecting a little Hellenthal in February. This means that next year's card will have nothing but a cute little baby girl on it. Which is even more exciting (the baby not the card :))!!

Adam and I haven't had photos taken in a very long time. Other than just the random, not really trying, more just because ones of course. So in my quest to better understand how to properly adjust my camera for exposure we set out to a beautiful field in Tallahassee. It has lots of tall grass and trees which is perfect for us. It was not an easy task to say the least. I set up the tripod, posed the hubby, hit the timer and ran to my spot. For the most part everything turned out great. There were only a few that I reshot. It's pretty much hit or miss when you don't have someone watching head placement. We also didn't stay out very long because I choose the windiest day for a photoshoot! I spent so much time trying to untangle my hair after it got blown all over the place, that and the baby got hungry so mommy had to eat! =) All in all though I'm VERY happy with our first official photos as Mr. & Mrs. I can't wait to 1) choose a card design and 2) receive them in the mail.

Then of course we had to get some updates of the baby bump.

My sweet boy!!

Baby Craze!!!

2009-10-12T15:37:00.004-04:00

I have been neglecting my blog here lately as you can tell. Ever since June my mind has been racing with any and everything to do with the baby. I have the nursery all planned out, the baby shower invitations are designed and ready to print once we locked down a good estimated delivery date, crafty things to be made for the nursery are tumbling in my head and so much more. It's on the verge of driving me crazy. Until we move out of this apartment and into a house I can't actually create anything. If only our lease was up well before Squirt's arrival. Oh well. I have settled for starting her scrapbook. Oh, did I forget to mention that Squirt's a GIRL??? Yes, Yes!! I'm very excited about this. I would have been just as happy if she would have been a boy but there are just so many more cute little outfits and things for girls. I have already planned what she's going to wear for her 2 yr old photo shoot. I told you I'm going crazy with the planning! The only thing we haven't decided on yet is a name. There are some good contenders in the pot but we probably won't decide until she's actually born (which I'm being told is going to be more around Feb 16th than Mar 5th).

Sonogram at 20 weeks (10/5/09)

Sucking her thumb

In the craziness that has been my world these past few months I haven't been focusing on photography or my website which is amazing to me. I'm finally starting to really feel the withdrawl for shooting. I've been invited to a Jax Shoot Out club event later this month and I really hope I'll be able to make the drive down to Jacksonville. There are so many reasons I want to move back home and being able to attend these workshops with fellow photographers is at the top of the list. It's time to put the baby craze on hold for the moment so that I can grow as a photographer. That way when she comes I'll be even better and will have (hopefully) mastered shooting in RAW by then. I'm looking forward to meeting some of my favorite photographers that I blog-stalk at the shoot out this month.

Life in the Fast Lane

2009-08-07T15:48:00.008-04:00

It's been a while since I posted anything here. Nothing exciting happening in the photography world for me lately but majorly exciting stuff happening on a personal level! Things have definitely moved to hyper speed since June and I'll explain why. On June 11th I found out that my honey and I are expecting our first little one (which I have already nicknamed Squirt)! We are beyond excited about this. Plus this took place a few weeks before we got married, double joy in less than a month. Things have been crazy with finding a doctor and making appointments to going through the motions to change my last name on EVERYTHING! I still have a lot of name changing to do but it's slowly getting done. I went for my first doctor's appointment last week and got to see Squirt for the first time. It was amazing to see that little heart beat fluttering away on the monitor. It finally seemed real to me after seeing that. At my next appointment the end of this month I'll actually get to hear the heart beat. This I am VERY excited about. I'm going to try to record it so stay tuned for that. Well, I thought I'd drop in and share my latest awesome news while I wait to leave for Daytona (more to come on that later) and also leave you with some photos. What's a photography blog without photos right??!!

I wrapped up a pregnancy test and gave it to my mom as an "early birthday present". Hey I'm the only girl and no way was I going to be normal in telling her I'm finally having a baby!!

She thought it was a nail file at first!

Bring on the tears. She honestly cried for like 5 minutes!!

And now it's time for Squirt's first photo debut!

Isn't it the cutest thing you have ever seen? I know it is for me. I am a little concerned about that big head! Please don't let that growth pattern continue!

Dance, Dance, Dance

2009-06-08T14:04:00.057-04:00

***Warning***
Very Image Heavy
=)

On May 30th The Center of Creative Release was the setting for a dance workshop and bazaar hosted by Kay Picart of Kinaesthetics. There were a few vendors there that specialized in dance clothing and jewelry such as Jenny's Accessory, Ultimate Fashion, Head Over Heels Dancewear, Sunshine Alterations, and Kinaesthetics. Participants in the workshop were able to browse the different tables and see some wonderful items to enhance their dance wardrobes as well as some wonderful art pieces such as:

Then it was time to start the workshop. There was both a beginner and advance workshop. While I was watching everyone learning and having a great time I once again found myself wishing I would have taken dance growing up. If I ever have any daughters I will be sure to expose them to dance and hopefully they will love it even more than I do.

Three of the Pros watching the students

Getting back on track

2009-06-08T13:47:00.004-04:00

Last week was nerve racking to say the least! Of all things to go wrong my laptop crashed. I was beyond freaking out. I hadn't finished editing my latest set of images and hadn't backed anything up since April so there was a potential to loose a lot of stuff. Luckily Adam came to the rescue and saved the day! Not only was he able to recover the images I was for sure I lost but he was able to completely restore the laptop back to the way it was before it crashed. It's like it never happened! I don't have to delay any longer in posting things or connecting with the outside world. I have been going through withdraw not being able to "stalk" my favorite photographers or chatting with friends. Thank goodness for computer geeks!! Not only was I pleasantly surprised that he worked his mojo and completely fixed everything but I also had an e-mail waiting for me from the fabulously talented Kay Picart telling me that she finished the painting of Adam and I!! I sent her a few different images to choose from and she kept it a secret of which one she picked but she didn't make me wait to actually get the painting before she showed me. I was thrilled in her selection. It's one of my favorite pictures of Adam and I that I have taken so far in our lives together and now I have an awesome painting of it to decorate my mantel. Thank you Kay for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this for me. It means the world!!

Here's the image Kay sent me of the painting:

Be sure to check out her website, http://www.kinaestheticssportasart.com/, to see the rest of her work and pricing for comissioned pieces.

Center of Creative Release

2009-05-18T17:49:00.030-04:00

The Center of Creative Release had their Grand Opening on May 8th. The night was full of dancing. Not only were the guests entertained by very talented dancers but they were also given the opportunity to learn some of the steps of the various routines. The Center of Creative Release is not only a dance studio but also an acting studio as well. They are located at The Heart of Midtown 221 East 3rd Ave, Tallahassee, FL 32303.

Meet Chloe Kitty

2009-05-18T15:28:00.008-04:00

I celebrated my 26th birthday a little over a week ago. For my present Adam was going to surprise me with a little kitten. She was going to be a present for Bear, my 7 yr old lab, as well. He loves kitties!! Unfortunately we couldn't find a girl that day anywhere. I was really bummed but I resorted to the wonderful website, Craigslist, and a week later I finally found her! She was the runt of the litter and the sweetest. I fell in love instantly but I had to give the other kittens a chance and played with them all but I kept coming back to her. She is just the cutest little thing! We named her Chloe and I think the name fits well. Chloe's slowly adjusting to her new home and her new big brother. They still aren't too sure about playing with each other but Chloe loves using him for a pillow and playing with his bushy tail when he's not looking!! I grew up with dogs my whole life so this is a big adjustment for me but luckily Adam grew up with cats so he's teaching me all their quirky little ways. Chloe still has 5 siblings that need homes so if you are interested and in the Tallahassee and surronding areas check out this listing on Craigslist. They really are sweet little kitties and would make great additions to anyones home. Now for the best part of the post....It's Picture Time!!!

Worth the Wait

2009-05-17T09:06:00.003-04:00

In January I met Beth Morgan of B.Mo Foto and Molly & Cristina of The Red Fly Studio and we had an awesome play date with Lauren. It was my first time hanging out with other photographers and it was such an awesome experience. Those girls are some of the coolest, nicest, talented people I have ever met. I've been anxiously awaiting both of them to post their images of Lauren so that I could share them with all of you and here they are!!!

Molly's

Beth's

I know you will enjoy these as much as I did!

Grand Opening Details

2009-04-19T17:54:00.003-04:00

Below is a short YouTube video with details for the grand opening for the Center of Creative Release coming up in May that I mentioned in yesterday's post. If any more details are given I'll be sure to post them here.

Dancing the Night Away

2009-04-18T20:49:00.071-04:00

On April 10th I had the pleasure of attending the semi-grand opening of The Center of Creative Release. Their official weekend long Grand Opening extravaganza will take place next month. If you are in the Tallahassee area you should definitely come out. I know it's going to run from May 8th through the 10th and there are going to be all kinds of exciting things to do. I can't wait to attend the official opening next month and I will be sure to post all the details before hand.

This particular night was blessed with so many amazingly talented dancers there and I had so much fun capturing the event. I have always loved dance even though I myself have no rhythm, unless of course I'm home alone, then I'm the greatest dancer there ever was! Once the Center has their website up and running I'll be sure to post that too. For now enjoy some of my images down below. It was extremely hard to narrow down a few favorites out of over 400 images, so beware, this is very image heavy. Enjoy!!

Modern/Jazz/Capoera Solo by Tom Stratton with musicians Ramine Yazdanpana and Vivianne Sturizaga Newcomer Foxtrot by Cody and Gena McDaniels

Mid-Eastern Dances by Firestorm

Bronze level Bolero by Jim and Carolyn Terrell

Rumba by Rick and Cindy Pellin, Tallahassee's most visible amateur DanceSport athletes

Salsa by Corazon Dancers, Jason Pribdle and Renee Frangione

Zumba Dance-exercises with Ms. Sue Tucker and the Zumba Junkies

Polynesian Dances by Kahu Ahi

Bronze Level Waltz by Jim and Carolyn Terrell

Theatrical Bolero by Rick and Cindy Pellin, Tallahassee's most visible amateur DanceSport Athletes

Argentine Tango by distinguished Tango dancers, Dubravko Kakarigi and Dr. Alex Penn Williams

Cabaret Three Man Number with Dr. Picart, 2006 US Open Champion, with Jerry Rivera, Tom Stratton & Maurice Smith

Meet Joshua

2009-04-13T23:57:00.009-04:00

My aunt has wanted children for as long as I can remember. She all but gave up hope after many years of trying but at the wonderful age of 44 God has finally blessed her with a beautiful little boy. Joshua was born in February and I finally got to meet him last month. He is super cute and I am so happy for my aunt. Last weekend while I was in town I decided to take some pictures of MaKayla & Gabriel and Joshua tagged along for the ride. I wasn't able to get very many because he started getting fussy and was having none of it. After a while my aunt and I decided that we would spare him any more trauma and wait until next time I'm in town to get more. I can't wait too go back home and see how much he has grown. And now the favorites...

The Simple Pleasures

2009-04-12T16:03:00.022-04:00

I never get tired of photographing my beautiful niece MaKayla. She has always had a mind of her own and it has ALWAYS been a great challenge to capture her being her. She's growing up so quickly and now she has a partner in crime, Gabriel. He will be a year old in June, which I can hardly believe it's already getting so close. He has started being so expressive and fun just like his sister. I can't wait until he finally starts walking and makes it a challenge for me as well. Right now he just crawls away but he's not all that fast so I don't have to work as hard. Once he starts running, if he's any thing like his big sis, I'm going to be in for it and I can't wait. It's always so much fun just letting children be the way they are. No props, no posing, just them running around having a good time. I wish that they lived closer so I could follow them around all the time. I miss them a whole bunch, along with the rest of my family of course, but the two of them the most. They have taken up residence in a special pent house size spot in my heart and will forever remain there. Since I'm missing all the egg hunting fun at the Bryant house this year I thought I would share with everyone some fun images of MaKayla & Gabriel from last Saturday at a park in Green Cove Springs. Being an aunt is truely a blessing and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Ps. Gabriel was a little more concerned with eating little flowers and leaves than having his picture taken! That's why he's hunched over or has a hand balled in a fist in a few if you are wondering...

Art in Motion

2009-03-23T16:32:00.021-04:00

Dance has always been one of my favorite things to watch. It's one of the most beautiful art forms there are. The only reality TV show I have actually allowed myself to watch and in turn become addicted to is the Fox show So You Think You Can Dance. I absolutely love it. I for one have no rhythm and the only time I partake in dancing is usually when I'm at home jamming out while cleaning where no one can see me! Not everyone has my no rhythm curse and they spend years learning and practicing dance. One of those people is Caroline "Kay" Picart. She is becoming one of my favorite clients and I thoroughly enjoy watching her perform. I've made a couple of posts on here of her performances and each time they just get better and better. Like I mentioned in the most recent post, my favorite part is the "death drop". I love hearing the audience gasp when she starts to fall. It's such a fluid, graceful movement that it amazes me that people actually think that she's going to do a face plant! Maybe that's the idea behind the move. Whatever the purpose of it I think it's beautiful and it will always be my favorite. This performance was during the City of Tallahassee's annual banquet honoring employees that have been with the city for over 20 years. It was held at the University Center Club at the FSU Stadium in one of their banquet halls. The lighting was a bit tricky and I ran into some minor issues but I still think the images came out stunning. It's hard to not capture wonderful images when you have such beautiful and talented dancers as your subjects. Below are some of my favorites, including the "death drop". Enjoy!!

All in the family

2009-03-20T18:30:00.038-04:00

Last Sunday was a fun day filled with lots of family, sand, sun, & the ocean. We met up, minus two cousins, at Hanna Park in Jacksonville to update the grandchildren pictures we took last year. There are 17 grandchildren in my family on my Mom's side alone. Even with two missing we were still a sight to behold as we all walked onto the beach in a sea of Hot Pink and Baby Blue. We found a nice spot near the dunes and set up camp. It's always a trying time with so many people and trying to get them to all look in the right place with eyes open and hopefully smiling but in the end all the images captured that day are great if I say so myself. I have one good lookin' family. My wonderful twin, Krysten tagged along to help me out whenever a shot required my presence in front of the camera instead of behind it. She did awesome and I am officially going to make her my assistant. She has the same eye for things that I do not only in photography but in life and everything that goes along with it. This is why she is my twin! Below are just a FEW of my favorites (some were taken by Krysten). There are well over 180 images and I have lots of favorites but there is no way to post them all on here. Enjoy!

All of us minus 2

My youngest brother Nick & I

My assistant & Twin, Krysten & Adam

Adam & I

This skinny minnie weighed a ton!! =)

She has the best smile in the world!

My brother DJ, MaKayla & Gabriel

My sister-in-law Vanessa, MaKayla & Gabriel

Tiffany, Jeremy & Hailie

Hailie LOVES the water

Jeremy & his daughter Hailie

Anthony's 1st time writing his name in the sand

My brother DJ & nephew Gabriel

My niece MaKayla

Tadd, DJ, Nick, & Jeremy

TiffanySonia & her children Anthony & Maliyah

The Bryant FamilyThe Arzuaga Family

Let it be dance

2009-03-12T23:28:00.016-04:00

This past Sunday I had the privilege of being an invited guest of the wonderfully talented Caroline "Kay" Picart to attend a service at the Unitarian Universalist Church to capture her dance piece. The service was completely different from anything I'm used too. It was quite an experience. The sermon was about how you view things in the world as well as people and yourself. I really enjoyed myself and hope to be able to visit again. I do already belong to a wonderful church myself, Christian Alumni Fellowship but I would like to visit UUC again. My purpose of being there as stated earlier was not only as a guest but to capture the amazing dance routine put on by Kay and her partners. This routine is very similar to the one she performed at the Daddy-Daughter Dance with some minor changes. At the DDD I wasn't in a very good spot and I wasn't able to fully enjoy the performance. It truly is an amazing piece as well as beautiful. Having seen this dance done 3 times now (there was another performance tonight that I will post later), I have come to realize that I have some favorite parts. One of them being the "death drop". She starts out on her husband's shoulders and he "drops" her down toward the floor face first and stops her just inches from it. It's such a rush watching her "fall". There's always a few gaspers in the crowd. The other one of my favorite moves is the embrace that her and her husband share for a brief moment. I have posted both of these below. Before Kay and her partners went on there were two other couples accompanying her group. Their performances were just as beautiful. It truly is an honor to be apart of people following their passion in life and being able to preserve it for them in still life. Below are a few of my favorites including the "death drop". Enjoy!!

The Embrace

The "Death Drop"

Super Dads and their beautiful daughters.

2009-02-10T20:00:00.025-05:00

Last weekend I had the opportunity to cover the Tallahassee Northside Rotary's Annual Daddy-Daughter Dance. It's a charity dance and all proceeds benefit the Rotary Youth Camp for disabled children, the ACS Relay for Life, The Panhandle Infant Mortality Project and other Rotary charities. This was the 4th year of the dance and each year the number of Daddy/Daughter couples grow. I'm not sure what the total was for this year but The Moon was packed. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. We always hear about how awesome super moms are but no one hardly ever talks about the super dads. These dad dressed up in their finest (most of them matched the girls dresses) and escorted their beautiful daughters to a prom like dance. Then they danced the night away. Some of these super dads were escorting 2 & 3 daughters! I was so glad to be invited to the dance to photograph the event and it was a great learning experience for me. Below are some of my favorites from that evening.

Just what every little girl needs LOTS of sugar!!

Getting some instructions on the Electric Slide

YMCAThis super dad brought his son as backup!The smoke machine was a huge hit.

She had a golden ticket.

The beautiful Caroline Picart doing a wonderful performance.

This super dad braved the dance alone with his 3 beautiful daughters.

My favorite scene of the night. His littlest angel feel asleep and he kept on dancing with his other daughter.

Who doesn't love a good contest?

2009-02-04T16:48:00.006-05:00

Scarlett Lillian is just one of the many awesome photographers that I follow daily. Her work is so inspiring not only to me but to so many others. She likes to hold contests for different things that usually involve having the chance to meet her and learn some of her secrets or some other nifty things. The WPPI convention is coming up in Vegas and she is holding a workshop for those who want to participate. The contest rules were to take a picture with yourself included in some sort of Vegas theme and include the words "I want to Shoot with Scarlett in Vegas" somewhere in the photo. The entries have been posted on her blog and it's up to everyone to vote on their favorite. I myself am not going to WPPI (maybe one day) and also did not enter the contest but I did vote. I'm not going to say which one was my favorite but I encourage you all to stop by her Blog and vote for your favorite. Some of the entries are really funny and very creative. Good luck to everyone that entered!

So much to do!

2009-02-02T20:22:00.012-05:00

There is so much to do and so little time to get it all done! I think this may be one of the reasons I'm an obsessive planner. It's an illness I'm seriously considering seeking professional help for! This weekend I'm shooting a charity Daddy/Daughter dance, so exciting, but this is not my problem. No it's the monstrous shoot I'm planning with my family to take place next month! Last year we had our first ever group pictures with all of my cousins. At the time there were 13 of us and we have never had a picture with all of us in it. Someone was always missing. My Grandma bugged me for what seemed like an eternity about it. I wasn't even into photography yet when she started in on how she doesn't have any pictures with all of her grandchildren. Once I realized my passion was going to be photography I quickly made it my mission to end this no picture business. It was so much fun but also a big chore in planning everything. Trying to coordinate 13 people is a lot harder than most people think. I have major respect for wedding/event planners! My Grandma's favorite color is yellow so one of my cousins and I decided that's what we should all wear. It ended up being pretty funny because not everyone was told which shade of yellow to get! We ended up with 3 different shades of yellow! Anyway we had such a great time and my Grandma loved them that I decided that it should be an annual thing. Especially since my nephew was born a few months later to bring the total to 14! This year we are going to the beach and the girls will be in Hot Pink (my favorite) and the boys will be in Green. I've been planning out poses and fun stuff for us to do all while on the hunt for a super cute shirt and khaki shorts. My brain is exhausted! I haven't been sleeping because of all the poses and ideas running through my brain! I've even dreamed of some. I'm telling you it's an illness this over planning business. I even planned out the e-mail I was going to send the next morning when I realized it was time to start planning the shoot! Well, I'm off to do some laundry and more planning but I will leave you with some of the pictures from last year....

My cousins Sammy, Sonia, & Sonia's children Anthony & Maliyah

My Little brothers Nick & DJ, Myself & my niece MaKayla

My cousins Tiffany, Jeremy & his daughter Hailie

My cousins Tadd & Tara

The 13 of us

My playdate with Beth, Molly, & Cristina

2009-01-29T21:36:00.015-05:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to hang out with 3 fabulous photographers last week and let me tell you I had a blast. I was extremely nervous the whole time being around such talent! Beth of B. Mo Foto invited me to tag along with her and Molly and Cristina of Red Fly Studio to photograph Lauren. Lauren totally rocked it! The only direction she needed was being told which way to point her eyes and half the time that wasn't even necessary. She was so much fun to shoot. I really enjoyed myself and learned a lot watching the girls work their magic. I'm still waiting patiently to see the awesome shots they got. Be sure to check their blogs that I linked to see what Lauren looked like through their eyes and I'll be sure to post it here when they do get them uploaded.

Personal Note:
Beth, Molly, & Cristina,
I want to thank you for letting me come along and learn, share and play. It was just the inspiration and kick in the butt that I needed to start really striving to become the photographer I know I have in me!

Now, Enough with the gushy girlie stuff and on with the pictures. These are my favorites of Lauren from that night:

My favorite shot of the day!Beth let me play with her pocket wizards & SB-900!My camera & I had a minor disagreement & the shutter stayed open much longer than it should've. I still love the shot though. It kind of looks like the forest is on fire.

Being sick is for the birds!

2009-01-26T20:26:00.006-05:00

So the last 3 days were beyond awesome but now I'm sick! Ugh! I hate being sick. When I was younger I always looked forward to it because I got to skip school but now that I'm an adult it totally sucks! But I'm fighting it with as much vitamin C, chicken noodle soup and Nyquil I can get. I can't afford to take a sick now. There is so much to do to get things rolling. I'm putting the finishing touches on my logo, still hammering away at HTML to finish my website, working on contracts and other business related documents that this cold will just have to take a seat on the back burner.

On a lighter, less cold grumpiness note...

I got to spend this past Friday afternoon with 3 amazing ladies, Beth of B. Mo Foto and Molly & Cristina of Red Fly Studio. They let me tag along with them while we played and learned all while photographing a wonderful model named Lauren. Eventually I'll be posting some of the pictures that I got that day so stay tuned. For now it's chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese for me.

Krysten's Weekend Photo Session

2009-01-13T20:03:00.004-05:00

We had such a great time and she was the perfect model! Day 1 consisted of her climbing on buildings and laying in front of stores while Day 2 she was laying under overpasses and on train tracks and not once did she complain about how dirty she was getting! Who could ask for more? She was game for anything. We originally were going to do everything on Saturday but we got a late start so we had to move the glam session to Sunday which I think was for the best. The weather was really sunny and perfect on Saturday which went well with the graffiti walls and Sunday it was a little rainy and cloudy which I think set the mood perfectly. I haven't found a slideshow program yet so I'm only posting my favorites of each day here but you can always take a look at all of them on Myspace or Facebook.

And now the favs:

Day 1 Day 2

Krysten's Glam Session Sneak Peek

2009-01-12T13:35:00.008-05:00

Sunday we concluded our weekend photo session in a super cute dress and downtown Jax. Krysten was such a trooper laying under overpasses and train tracks! I'm sure if we would have asked her to jump in the river she would have done it. Yesterday was the perfect end to a perfect weekend. I can't wait to finish editing all the photos from this weekend and get them posted but for now enjoy this little preview from yesterday!

Twin Day 1 Sneak Peek

2009-01-11T00:41:00.007-05:00

Today was a fun-filled day in the Five Points area in Jacksonville. Enjoy this little preview of Krysten's first day of her photo session. Tomorrow we will be doing a glam~grunge session so stay tuned for those sneak peeks and the rest of the photos from today.

Sassy, Fabulous, and Rockin' Nineteen

2009-01-08T00:04:00.000-05:00

Today marks the nineteenth year that my Twin has graced this Earth with her presence. We aren't really twins but we are so much alike that we should have been. It has been amazing watching her grow. Adam and I started dating when she was 9 years old and she's been like the sister I never had. She'll be leaving me in a few months to join the National Guard against my best efforts to convince her that a life as my sidekick is so much more fulfilling. She's the coolest chic I know.

Krysten I hope you have a wonderful Japanese birthday dinner and I can't wait to see you this weekend for your photo session!! I love you girlie!

Planning Bliss

2009-01-07T13:33:00.010-05:00

This year is going to be a big year for me. I can feel it. I'm going to take the steps necessary to learn all that I can about photography and how to get started. I have several photographer's that I admire and study their work daily. They truly are an inspiration to me and make me want to succeed. When you have the time you should totally check them out. Corinna Hoffman Photography, Scarlett Lillian, and Darice Michelle Photography to name a few. They all do such great work and I hope to be as successful as they are. With my new found determination to become the photographer I want to be I am in the process of planning two photo sessions with two very important people to me. The first one is going to be with Krysten, a girl after my own heart. We are so much alike that we call each other "Twin". She's turning 19 tomorrow and part of her gift is going to be a photo session that will be taking place this Friday in Downtown Jacksonville. I can't wait and be sure to check back for the photos. The other session is going to be for my youngest brother Nick. He is an awesome guitarist and will one day be playing at different venues around town. It's always a joy to hear him play and see first hand how much he has grown as a person and an artist. He's date hasn't been confirm yet but check back for those photos as well. I'm so excited for this year. I know it's going to be great!!

Twin and I on Christmas Eve

My Rockstar Little Brother Nick

Ready for 2009

2009-01-02T20:59:00.006-05:00

It's hard to believe that it's already 2009. This time last year I was very excited about taking my very first Photography class. It was that class that helped me to realize that Photography was the path my life was going to take me. I've been dragging my feet getting things started but this year will be different. This year will be my year. I've already purchased my domain name and business cards. I'll be acquiring my business license in the next couple of months and this month I plan on focusing the majority of my energy on my website. It's a scary thing going out on your own but I know I can do it. I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone that has had faith in me and kept me going this past year. I know you will all still be there for me this year and many to follow and that knowledge helps me stay focused. Thank you and I love you!!

~ On New Years Eve I whipped out the camera for some long exposures and we goofed off with sparklers and a bonfire. We didn't have any good fireworks but we had fun with what we did have.

'Tis the Season

2008-12-28T13:32:00.027-05:00

Usually Christmas is an exhausting time for me with all the running around to everyone's houses but this year was different. We still had the same amount of places to visit but we hadn't seen everyone in such a long time that the anticipation outweighed the exhaustion. Our visits back to Jacksonville are usually pretty short so we don't always have a chance to fit everyone in so it was exciting to see everyone. I finally got to meet my cousin Tedimarie's beautiful baby girl, I spent some time with a very close friend, was surrounded by tons of family, and ended the night at an old familiar home that's always inviting. I'd have to say that out of all the past Christmas' this one was the best.

MaKayla & Gabriel's Christmas Session

2008-12-22T16:52:00.022-05:00

On December 16th I drove over to Jacksonville to visit my niece for her birthday. I can hardly believe that MaKayla is already two! I don't get to see her and her brother Gabriel very often so I took the opportunity on my one day trip to grab some shots of them in there Christmas best. MaKayla is one of my Rock Stars for those of you who don't already know. She's my favorite person to photograph. She has a great personality and I just follow her around and capture her doing her own thing. Right now at the age she's at it's impossible to get her to sit still long enough to get the right shots with her brother but the ones of her on her own are awesome. Hope you enjoy!!

Yay! They arrived!

2008-12-06T15:43:00.005-05:00

I finally got my business cards today! I'm so excited. They look awesome.

Moving Forward

2008-12-04T23:47:00.004-05:00

Last week I finally purchased my domain name! I'm so excited. It's a lot harder than I expected to get the page up and running smoothly (which it isn't) but I'm working on it. I also purchased my business cards last night. I haven't been able to focus on my business since things have been so extremely busy at work with the holiday season. Fortunately I have plenty of people in my corner encouraging me and that's what keeps me going. As long as I keep moving forward I know I will get to where I want to be. Until then I'll just keep learning and tying up all the loose ends that come with starting your own business. Fill free to check out my site. I've run into some glitches but I hope to have them worked out soon.

www.sflyphotography.com

Say No To Meat

2008-09-14T22:27:00.003-04:00

I have decided to become a vegetarian. It's something that I have been thinking about for some time now. I actually tried it for a month last year and haven't been able to stop thinking about picking it back up again since. This time I plan on making it a life style and not just something I was doing because of Church. I don't really eat a lot of meat as it is so it shouldn't be to hard to quit all together. I've been doing it for 2 days now and so far so good. I feel really good about this decision. I have to research different veggie recipes so I'll have enough of a variety to keep me focused. I'll keep everyone updated to my progress.

Unforced Photography

2008-09-07T22:18:00.003-04:00

Adam and I headed out to Tom Brown park this evening in hopes of getting a nice Sunset shot. When we got there I noticed a canoe sitting on a bank. I thought it looked great and would make a really awesome Black & White. After I took that shot we headed towards a part of the lake that gives the best view of the Sunset. Unfortunately we didn't make it. Oh well, at least I got the awesome shot of the canoe!

Season Opener

2008-09-07T15:53:00.011-04:00

Yesterday was the first game of the season for FSU. While we were waiting in line to hand over our tickets it started raining! We got soaked. Adam more so than I did since he was shielding me from the rain. It took forever to finally get to our section since everyone was hiding inside away from the rain. The rain let up and we went to our seats. It was pleasant for a few minutes then it started pouring again! Of course we sat in the rain and got drenched. It was fun. The FSU students were extremely rowdy and were doing their version of the "Rain dance". After about 10 minutes of rain the sun came out and the students roared. It was hilarious. It was like they actually stopped the rain with all of their chanting. The game was supposed to start at 6 but was being delayed until 7. Once it finally started around 7:30 and FSU got the first TD of the game the stupid Refs delayed the game again for another hour because of a lightening warning and of course it started raining again. We decided to go home since we were soaked and didn't feel like waiting for an hour (again). We listened to the game on the radio in our dry clothes at home. There will be other games. Next time we'll be prepared with Ponchos! The Noles slaughtered W. Carolina, 69-0. Here are the few pictures that I managed to take yesterday.

The rain stoppers

Taking a break from HTML

2008-08-27T19:08:00.008-04:00

I'm steady learning HTML so that I will have a hands on experience with the building of my website and it will be truly my own. I'm going through some of my pictures to decided what I want to use for a gallery once it's built. Here are some of my favorites so far.

Geek Session

2008-08-25T09:50:00.003-04:00

This week I will be spending the majority of my time learning how to build my website. So far it doesn't seem that hard but I'm sure it will get more challenging once I start getting into the heavier HTML codes. I'll keep everyone updated on my progress. I'm really excited and I can't wait to start building it. Wish me luck!

Fayhem

2008-08-24T08:16:00.013-04:00

Friday-
Sometime during the wee hours of Friday morning Fay finally reaches Tallahassee. For most of the day all we were experiencing was a steady rain that was just a little stronger than a drizzle. It was nice. I hung out in the apartment with the Bearinator and read with the doors open, enjoying the nice little breezes that would come and go. It wasn't until that evening when I decided to make a food run that the down pour came. I got completely soaked running from Publix to my car. Once inside the "Rolla" I was totally committed to willowing in my own pool of self pity for leaving my big Golf umbrella at work when I got a call from Adam. His luck was much worst than mine. It was almost 8 p.m. and he just got a service order that something has gone wrong at the UPS site in Cairo, GA which he was now heading too. On top of having to drive to GA at 8 o'clock on a Friday night he was lost. I had to rush home to access Google and help him find his way in the down pour. When I finally made it home I tried calling him with no luck. Hmm, why wasn't he answering his phone? Finally he calls. He just finished changing a flat tire in the rain! Apparently while turning onto a street he hit a big puddle of water which then drug him onto the median and popped the tire! With the tire changed and Google at our beckon call we were able to find his way out of being lost and headed to GA. He had to brave fallen power lines and debris the whole way there but made it safe and sound. Once he fixed the problem there he returned home to me. Talk about a nightmare!

Saturday-
As I got ready for work I kept hoping that my boss would call and tell me that the power at the studio was out and I wouldn't have to go. No such luck. Driving to work was interesting. Streets were closed and traffic lights were out which made crossing 6 lanes a bit tricky. Once again arriving to work I was wading in that pool of self pity. The rain was picking up and my umbrella was inside the building I was about to go in. I made a mad dash for the door and to my surprise I didn't get to soaked. Although the studio hadn't lost power we were getting cancellations left and right! My boss decided that we were more-in-likely going to close up shop early which made my day! We did some cleaning getting ready for our digital conversion next month and then around 1 she sent me home. The drive was pretty much the same as before. Roads closed and no traffic lights. I just had to detour half way around the Hassee to get home. My day was looking up while Adam's was looking down. He had gotten a call at 11 am telling him that the site in Cairo was flooding and he was probably going to have to go up there. Thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment would have to be evacuated. He finally got the call around 4 pm that he needed to get to Cairo pronto and of course I was going along for the ride. I couldn't pass up a good photo opt! Driving to Cairo was a huge pain. It was raining so hard that you could barely see the road and our defroster couldn't handle it's job and our windows were foggy. Plus I couldn't get any good shots of the fallen trees or anything! Ugg! Stupid rain messing up everything. We finally reached Cairo and our fears realized. The center was flooding pretty bad. We walked through the front office which wasn't to bad, no water at least, then opened the next door to at least an inch of water. There were 2 little offices, a bathroom and the main little hallway which were all completely covered with water. We were greeted with even more water when we opened the door to the warehouse. The water in there was ankle deep. We could hear a steady flow of water so we investigated. The culprit...a sewer manhole cover. Yuck! All this time we thought we were walking around in run off water from the streets! Nope it was freaking coming up from the sewer! But we had a job to do. We had to get the water away from the servers. While Adam geeked out with that task I sloshed around and took pictures to document the event. No way was I leaving without capturing what had happened. Besides the big wigs would need them to assess the damage. With our dirty tasks completed we headed home. Showered. Got something to eat. Then crashed for the night.

Sunday-
We finally got our power back at 6 o'clock this morning after not having it for 20 hours. Woohoo! Adam has to drive back out to Cairo to get the computers up and running. The flood is being disbanded as I type. Maybe today will be almost nice.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday. The ones in the car aren't the best since we were driving and the windows were foggy.

The Source of the flood

Born in the wrong Era!

2008-08-22T18:57:00.005-04:00

As I sit here listening to the pounding rain, waiting for the power to go out, I wondered what I want the most in life. A Nikon D300? A trendy neck strap? Food, since I am starving right now? Nope. None of those. Not even close. The thing I want most, the one thing that will make me happiest, even more happy than getting married I suspect, is a Classic Volkswagen Van! I have wanted one of these since I was knee high to a grass hopper. I was totally born in the wrong Era! I would give my right arm for one. The ones that still exist are either so extremely run down that there is no hope of revival or they are in such great shape that they're pricey. Those who know me well probably immediately pictured me driving one of these babies! I know I do! Maybe one day when I'm a successful Photographer I'll be able to find one in good condition and be able to afford it. Oh, to dream.

Family Reunion 2008- Daytona Beach, FL

2008-08-22T16:01:00.008-04:00

My family gets together every year in Daytona for the Reunion. We are a large bunch coming from all over. Most of us live in Jacksonville, others are further down South, some in Georgia, Virginia, and Indiana. It's a great tradition and I look forward to it every year. The best part is that even though you may not have seen certain family members for months on end it doesn't seem like it. We are such a close family that it doesn't matter how long it's been we all just pick up right where we left off. I had a lot of fun this year because I was an active participant. I spent the whole time running around photographing everything. I'm even more excited about next year because not only will I once again be the Reunion memory keeper but I will also be part of the decorating committee. Ok so there was never a committee before but my cousin Sonia and I are going to create one and next year we will have a rockin theme that I know everyone will love. I'm even going to work on an album with some of my favorite pictures from this year to take with me next year. What can I say, I'm a creative freak and look for any chance I get to do something artsy. Below I have posted a few of my favorites from this year. Enjoy!!

There was an old lady hat parade...

And she was the Grand Dame!!

I'm a Spacer!

2008-08-22T15:42:00.002-04:00

I was reaching maximum capacity with my Flickr account and decided that I would clean it out. Why do I need to keep all these pictures anyway right? So yesterday I went through and deleted everything. It was only after I doomed all the pictures to a fate of the internet eternal deletion that I realized "Oh, wait! Now my links for all my blogs will be missing and the pictures won't be viewable." A little to late for that realization. I probably would have made that connection sooner if I hadn't abandoned this blog and been making regular entries like a good dobie. I could go back and edit all the blogs here and on Myspace and re-add the pictures but I just don't have the patience for that. I'm just going to start anew and move on. What's done is done and we can't live in the past!

A little update

2008-04-29T11:07:00.003-04:00

I will be doing my very first engagement shoot this Friday! Melanie and Victor are getting married on June 7th and are very close friends of mine. I am very excited for them and cannot wait for the session. Check back next week for pictures from their shoot.

Some other news....

I am offically moving to Tallahassee this weekend. My boyfriend was transferred with his job and has been there since March. I stayed behind to finalize some things and will now be joining him Saturday. I'm really excited about the change but nervous at the same time. I'm still going to travel to Jacksonville from time to time to cover existing and any new shoots. Please keep us in your thoughts as we start out on a new adventure together!!

2008-03-20T01:26:00.000-04:00

I am a small time photographer in the Jacksonville area. Photography has always been a passion of mine and I have recently turned it into a profession. I can be contacted at shutterfly_photography@hotmail.com or message me on Myspace http://www.myspace.com/shutterflyphoto

Upcoming Photo Shoot

2008-03-19T22:30:00.000-04:00

Friday March 21, 2008

Melton Grandchildren- Friendship Fountain 6:30 pm

If you are a member of this family and need directions or information on what to wear please contact me at shutterfly_photography@hotmail.com. I'll see you there!!