Brittney... the brave one

My first-ever "real" photoshoot was the result of my dear friend Missy trusting me with her daughter, Brittney's, Senior Pictures! It took us awhile to find a date where we all were free, but oh, it was so worth it! We went out last week on a BEAUTIFUL day and spent about an hour at Rockcastle. Brittney is one of the sweetest hearts I've ever known. She is gorgeous, inside and out. We had a lot of fun!!!!

This was one of our first shots - bullseye!

Our 2nd location was this barn near their house - the weeds were high, the sun was setting and God only knows what we were stepping in... but oh, the pictures!!! These were later in the shoot but I had to go ahead and put them on here:

This shot blows my mind. She's a gazelle. Effortless. Big sigh.

I love these next 2. They are very similar, but if you look closely there is something very different in her face. This first one is a little more hesitant...

...and then in this one she seems more confident to me. She has chosen her path.

This is the Britt I know!

I hope Scotty has his stick ready...

We brought this chair from my house - it really went well with her outfit and the setting!

I was so upset that this shot came out a little blurry - it was her best pose on the chair! But, I decided to add a little film grain to it and just embrace it.

I love the lighting in this one...

Once mom Malissa and sister Emily arrived at the shoot, Britt really started loosening up. We were all just chatting and I caught Brittney in this position and snapped it!

The barn was magical. I wish the sun had been to MY back instead of hers, but we made it work!

Tiny dancer...

One of my favorites... it's as though the grass is tickling her feet

This is just classic Britt

Brittney and the Barn were both breathtaking!!!!

Thank you Brittney, for trusting me with your Senior Pictures! You ROCK!

My niece Morgan... target practice!

Ok, so when I decided to take this photography thing seriously, I realized I needed some practice! I found out my beautiful niece was coming in town with my mom to visit so I asked her if I could use her to hone my skills. Abbey tagged along (see other post). We drove all over Hendersonville and the girls were WONDERFUL little guinea pigs for me! Here are just SOME of the breathtaking photos I took of Morgan...

I'm thinking the jumpy picture is going to be one of my signature shots. Morgan is a dancer, can you tell???

I know this look...

This girl has personality coming out her pores...

All-American girl...

Don't even think about it...

We had finished the shoot and were going into my house and I remembered I wanted to get some shots by a brick wall. I happened to have one - my house! I quickly took out my camera and we snapped these without a second thought. They were some of my favorites!!!

I love you, Morgie! You are a star and I'm so glad to know you!!!!

Abbey - my precious baby girl

Abbey tagged along with me and Morgan... when it was her turn, she hopped right up there and started modeling her little heart out. Oh, my! She is not shy at all. I love this child so much...

Uh huh...

Signature jumpy picture - she had to follow Morgan...

I love these shots - she just kept giving me these LOOKS...

Oh, goodness. Is this a sign of things to come?

And then she was done. That was it for her!

I love you, my beautiful, sweet, wonderful girl. You make my heart sing!!!

Prestonsburg, KY

This past summer, I went home for a few weeks to the town I grew up in - Prestonsburg, KY.

I have to be honest - when I was growing up, I thought my hometown was awful. I certainly didn't think it was beautiful... and more than anything it felt stifling.

After I left, however, my opinion of my little town changed dramatically. I began to miss it... long for it, even. The mountains were less oppressive and more impressive. And let's face it - my family was there!!!!

In case you didn't know, I got a super-duper camera for my birthday - a Nikon D60 with an extra telephoto lens. Whoo hoo! My first pictures were actually from our family trip to Gatlinburg, but I haven't really gone through those and identified which ones are "professional" enough to put on this website - I had only had my camera for a few days before we left for that trip.

But while I was in KY, I had the opportunity to take some artsy pictures of my beloved hometown. Without further adieu, here they are!!!

The above picture is such a cool shot. I'm looking in on my uncle's barber shop (which used to be my grandfather's barber shop) and somehow managed to get every single person in the shot.

For some reason, this picture of my son, Luke, looks like a picture that would be in a Parenting Magazine, ha ha!

This is a shot of the new Court House, which isn't technically "new" anymore.

I'm standing at the corner of Court St and S Lake Dr, looking at The Strand Twin. I've taken in many a movie at that place!

If you are from Prestonsburg, you will recognize this as "Fountain Corner" corner. You can see just how far I was away from "Family Dollar" and "Taco Bell"... and yet, to show how awesome my little telephoto lens is, look at the picture below:

There actually was even a better picture, but this one was more artistic. :-)

This is another shot of my uncle's Barber Shop. It's the best!!!! Uncle Gary has a Men's Bible Study there every Tuesday night and close to 30 men show up.

the cross on top of Irene Cole church

What used to be Hereford's Department Store

Pretty, pretty town.

The week I got my camera...

We went on a family vacation to Gatlinburg with Aaron's side of the family. I was really just learning how to use my camera, but managed to get some cool shots. I like candid action shots because they bring out the personality...

Hot Summer Nights...

Or afternoons, as it were. No matter what the toy companies come up with, there aren't many things as fun as hooking up the good old sprinkler!

Proud Mommy Moment

My Luke got baptized at the first baptism service for the merged church. My heart was filled with joy to watch my husband baptize my son, just like he did Abbey several years ago. For now, Lincoln says "I don't love to get baptized." Ha... hopefully he will change his mind!