Ramblings and Photos

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Ashley — Sun, 26 May 2013 04:00:57 +0000

Welcome back to Scavenger Hunt Sunday and happy Memorial Day Weekend! I’m in a rush (what’s new), so I’m going to jump straight into the photos. I’m also going to give you an open week for next week’s list…more details at the bottom.

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The rules are simple:

Anyone can participate.
You’re encouraged to take five new photos this week for the challenge. Creativity is also encouraged!
If you get stumped, you may use one photo from your archive (although I’m not too strict about it – I do my best to take fresh shots).
Link up here on Sunday (or Tuesday at the latest) – you can use the button above.
Leave comments for at least five entries around yours (with so many new participants each week, it’s the only way I know to be inclusive
Have fun!

Without further discussion…here are my interpretations this week:

1. Vacation

I’m actually on vacation right now – hence the reason I’m using a vacation photo from 2011. We really did love visiting London and Paris. This shot was taken while on the London Eye. I’ll share current vacation photos over the next week or so.

2. Food

Last week I shared a cupcake…this week, what was left of it after the birthday boy had his way with it. I agree – they were yummy.

3. Sound

Last week, I also shared a photo of my nephew. This is the entire collage I was working on. The only thing missing is the sound of his sweet little voice gooing at me.

4. Texture

Earlier this week, I had a photo session at Joyner Park in Wake Forest, NC. While we were there, I thought I’d capture a few of Felicity. She did not like her feet on the grass…or the texture of the stone wall.

5. Anything

Finally, a sneak peak of my session from earlier this week. You can expect to see more of these two next week.

So, what were your interpretations of the items this week? Be sure to load your pictures on your blog (or your Flickr photostream) and link up at the bottom of this post. Feel free to grab a button to display on your blog along with your scavenger hunt items. The linky will be open until Tuesday night at midnight (EST). If you didn’t participate this week, but want to participate next week, next week is wide open. Just choose your top 5 favorite photos from your week and share them. It’s just that easy. I’ll be back again next Sunday with five new prompts.

Photographer’s Choice
Photographer’s Choice
Photographer’s Choice
Photographer’s Choice
Photographer’s Choice

If you’d like to contribute items to the list, just send me an email with your suggestions (I can better keep track of them this way). Each week, I will select one reader’s prompt list and give the selected reader a shout out on my blog during Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

Happy Shooting!

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Mack Turns One!

Ashley — Fri, 24 May 2013 04:00:13 +0000

It’s very common for friends to lose touch after high school or college. However, one of the perks of being a photographer is that several of my friends now hire me to photograph their families. In the case of my friend Pam, I get to photograph her family twice a year – once in the spring since her youngest was born in the May…and once in the fall since her oldest was born in November. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

With that said, I met up with Pam’s family last Saturday afternoon to photograph Mack’s first birthday party…and to capture a few family moments.

Mack is a month and a half older than Felicity. For whatever reason, that month and a half makes a huge difference. That little boy was EVERYWHERE! I was amazed at how quickly and efficiently he raced around their house.

He also made me work for a smile. Most of my shots of him are rather serious (I thought only my kid did that). And his older brother, Judah, wasn’t much easier on me. I really should start bringing bribes with me…you know, when farty noises no longer work.

But enough of me talking – we had such a good time, that I thought I’d share a bit of our day…including the ever popular…cupcake smash!

Thanks again Mack for inviting me to your birthday party. I look forward to seeing you again this fall!

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Wittle People Wednesday

Ashley — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:37:46 +0000

Welcome back to Wittle People Wednesday. Last Wednesday, I met up with my friend Michelle of St. John Photography for a photo play date. You may remember the photos that came out of our last photo play date…if not, click HERE.

This time, we met up at our alma mater, Peace College – now known as William Peace University. Michelle has such a natural eye for photography…and a beautiful ability to capture the most precious moments. Felicity can be quite interesting to photograph at times, especially when she’s tired (or just doesn’t want to be photographed – which is often the case of photographer’s children). I’m typically inclined to stop shooting and give a child a break. Michelle keeps shooting. So, while I stopped to comfort Felicity, she would capture those moments on “film.” These are some of my favorites.

Anyways…before we get to my photos and if this is your first time linking up, I only have two rules (and one suggestion):

1) Only share photos you took yourself (or photos taken of you – be sure to give credit to your photographer).

2) Don’t steal any photos shared through this meme.

3) Suggestion: copy and paste my new button to your blog so others know you’re participating.

I should also mention that your “wittle ones” can include your own children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and/or clients…as long as you were the one holding the camera. I fully recognize that “wittle ones” vary in age – so feel free to link up whoever you think of as “wittle.” Today, most of my photos were taken by Michelle but I processed them – just want to give credit where credit is due.

This is actually my shot, before Michelle arrived. I am in love with Felicity’s blue eyes.

I know I didn’t say much today about each shot, but I hope you enjoyed these shots of me and my favorite girl nonetheless. Thanks again Michelle for capturing us together. I’m so thankful to have you in my life!

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Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Ashley — Sun, 19 May 2013 04:00:16 +0000

Welcome back to Scavenger Hunt Sunday! I’m writing this with an hour and a half to spare…a sleeping baby in my lap…and 25 minutes of battery life so I will keep this brief. I also failed to get one of my photos and I’m feeling lazy so I’m just going to leave it out. I hope you all will understand – it’s been a busy week and I don’t think this week is going to get any better. Good times, right? Anyways, if this is your first time joining the hunt…welcome. If you’re rejoining us, I hope that last week’s items inspired you. This week’s list is provided by: Christine E-E.

▼ Grab my button code ▼

The rules are simple:

Anyone can participate.
You’re encouraged to take five new photos this week for the challenge. Creativity is also encouraged!
If you get stumped, you may use one photo from your archive (although I’m not too strict about it – I do my best to take fresh shots).
Link up here on Sunday (or Tuesday at the latest) – you can use the button above.
Leave comments for at least five entries around yours (with so many new participants each week, it’s the only way I know to be inclusive
Have fun!

Without further discussion…here are my interpretations this week:

1. Three

1, 2, 3 – Felicity sees THREE cupcakes.

2. Hand(s)

These are my nephew’s hands…and feet. I’m currently working on a little project for my mom. This is part of that project. More to come.

3. Fence

Yeah – I didn’t photograph a fence. Ooops.

4. Cuddly

This photo was taken by my friend Michelle during our latest photo play date. Felicity wasn’t so sure about having her picture taken. We’ve clearly entered the age of not wanting to cooperate for pictures. I’m afraid this phase is going to last a while. But, she still likes to cuddle. So, that’s good…right? More from this session on Wednesday.

5. Sign

This isn’t a sign, but it’s close. I photographed a one year old birthday party today (Saturday). I’m hoping to pull together a little preview later this week so stay tuned.

So, what were your interpretations of the items this week? Be sure to load your pictures on your blog (or your Flickr photostream) and link up at the bottom of this post. Feel free to grab a button to display on your blog along with your scavenger hunt items. The linky will be open until Tuesday night at midnight (EST). If you didn’t participate this week, but want to participate next week, your items are listed below…sponsored by Christine E-E.

Vacation
Food(s)
Sound
Texture
Anything

Thanks again Christine for the great Scavenger Hunt prompts. If you’d like to contribute items to the list, just send me an email with your suggestions (I can better keep track of them this way). Each week, I will select one reader’s prompt list and give the selected reader a shout out on my blog during Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

Happy Shooting!

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Declan: 9 Month Old Portrait Preview

Ashley — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:32 +0000

Last week, I met up with Declan on his nine month birthday for a little portrait session.

Nine months old is probably my favorite age to photograph. Most babies at this age can sit up and stand up well on their own…but won’t run away from you. Sure, a lot of them are crawling, but if I can make enough silly noises…they tend to stay (mostly) still.

The only possible challenge of this age is teething…which creates fussy babies…and along with that, smiling. For example, my sweet baby was all smiles at six months old. Somewhere around eight to nine months, she decided that smiling on camera hurt. If a smile is captured, it’s a miracle!

Smiles were NOT a problem for Declan. He was one happy baby during our time together. Granted, I work very fast because I believe babies have short attention spans when it comes to being photographed…but he was a real champ.

Heck, Declan was not only a champ…he was kind of a flirt. His father need not worry – this little boy loves the ladies.

While I was working with Declan, his mom and Grammmy tried to entertain Felicity. For those of you who have met Felicity, she is a sweetheart…but she is strongly attached to her mama. And when she’s not attached to me, she tends to fuss…or worse, cry (at varying degrees).

Fortunately, this did not stop Declan from working the camera. He kept smiling and babbling at me as I snapped away.

I guess it’s true what they say about photographers’ children…they are the ones that won’t smile. Luckily I don’t have that same effect on my clients. With that said, I certainly enjoyed hanging with Declan and can’t wait to see him again – hopefully, at the pool!

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Wittle People Wednesday

Ashley — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:46 +0000

Welcome back to Wittle People Wednesday. I don’t have much to share with you this week. Actually, I haven’t been on my computer much since the weekend. I had a session cancel on Saturday – so, I decided to enjoy my family a bit without technology. It was really nice. I do think I have a few photos from Mother’s Day, but I haven’t downloaded them to my computer yet. That said, I do have a couple of images to share today. Enjoy.

Anyways…before we get to my photos and if this is your first time linking up, I only have two rules (and one suggestion):

1) Only share photos you took yourself (or photos taken of you – be sure to give credit to your photographer).

2) Don’t steal any photos shared through this meme.

Here’s Felicity wearing one of my outfits (from my childhood). Isn’t she cute? With that said, happy Wednesday. See you on Friday with a preview from my session last week.

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Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Ashley — Sun, 12 May 2013 04:00:44 +0000

Welcome back to Scavenger Hunt Sunday and Happy Mother’s Day! I will be enjoying my very first mother’s day with my little family of three…and I hope that each of you will be doing something equally fun. I also still have a lot of editing ahead of me. I always knew that May would be a busy month for me but WOW. Anyways, if this is your first time joining us, welcome aboard. If you’ve been a part of the hunt before, I hope this week’s list inspired you. Next week’s list is sponsored by Susan of Happy No Ears.

▼ Grab my button code ▼

The rules are simple:

Anyone can participate.
You’re encouraged to take five new photos this week for the challenge. Creativity is also encouraged!
If you get stumped, you may use one photo from your archive (although I’m not too strict about it – I do my best to take fresh shots).
Link up here on Sunday (or Tuesday at the latest) – you can use the button above.
Leave comments for at least five entries around yours (with so many new participants each week, it’s the only way I know to be inclusive
Have fun!

Without further discussion…here are my interpretations this week:

1. Perspective

I did a Google search for “perspective” and saw a number of images that looked very similar to the one I’m using today. This is a photo of my pregnant friend, Kellie, during our maternity shoot last weekend. Isn’t she beautiful? I do love this perspective…and the leading lines.

2. Golden

I rarely get out during the golden hour anymore…and that’s all I can think of when I hear “golden.” So, I edited a recent photo of Felicity to look as if it might have been taken during the golden hour.

3. Bloom

Our perennials are just starting to bloom in our front yard. This particular one was covered in ants when I first walked over to photograph it. I can’t wait to see it in full bloom.

4. Dark

First of all, I have no idea what I was thinking when I added in the side panels to this image. With that said, this is the night light we keep in our room so that if we have to wake up to tend to Felicity…we don’t trip over anything. Unfortunately, I have to unplug it every morning because of one very curious 10 month old.

5. Local

When I got pregnant last year with Felicity, I joined a message board for women expecting in August 2012. That group of women are still connected and one of them lives about 2 miles away from me. We got together recently so I could photograph her son on his nine month old birthday. He got rather tickled with himself at one point during the session. Let’s pretend that I asked him, “how much do you love your mommy?” And he responded “this…much!” You’ll see more of this little guy on Friday.

So, what were your interpretations of the items this week? Be sure to load your pictures on your blog (or your Flickr photostream) and link up at the bottom of this post. Feel free to grab a button to display on your blog along with your scavenger hunt items. The linky will be open until Tuesday night at midnight (EST). If you didn’t participate this week, but want to participate next week, your items are listed below…sponsored by Susan.

Three
Hand(s)
Fence
Cuddly
Sign

Thanks again Susan for the great Scavenger Hunt prompts. If you’d like to contribute items to the list, just send me an email with your suggestions (I can better keep track of them this way). Each week, I will select one reader’s prompt list and give the selected reader a shout out on my blog during Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

Happy Shooting!

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Kellie & Justin: Maternity Session Preview

Ashley — Fri, 10 May 2013 04:00:12 +0000

In the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to photograph some of my dearest friends. And today’s beautiful pregnant lady is no exception. Kellie and I went to Peace College together…even lived together. Now, she and her husband are expecting their first child, a little girl, in July.

Even though she’s still nine weeks out, we decided to go ahead and photograph her growing belly…you know, while she is still enjoying being pregnant vs. waiting a few weeks to allow exhaustion to set in. I believe I had my maternity photos taken at 32 weeks, and considering Felicity was five weeks early…I was glad I did. I’m pretty sure Kellie had that in mind when she planned her photos early as well.

However, even if she had waited until later to be photographed – I hear of way too many pregnant women say that they don’t want a camera to come close to them. Perhaps they don’t feel beautiful…maybe they feel fat. Whatever the case, I must tell you that you are beautiful and growing a baby is so worth remembering.

We decided to meet up at American Tobacco Campus for a more “urban” take on maternity. All week, we watched the weather – just hoping that the rain would hold out. I assured Kellie that I would almost rather have an overcast day for the even lighting, but I would bring my umbrella just in case. Well, the rain did hold out…and I got my wish for an overcast day.

This was actually the first time that Kellie has seen me “working” as a photographer. She already knew I was crazy, but I’m not sure she realized how crazy I could get in order to capture the shot. Even still, she was willing to go with whatever I had in mind. As a result, I think we captured some really beautiful moments.

I actually think that many of these “poses” would work for any couple, but I love how they showcase this couple’s love for each other…and the love that they will have for their new baby. What they don’t know yet is that the love they think they have for her is only a fraction of what it’ll become.

In particular, Justin has no idea what he’s gotten himself into. I don’t think any man really does until that baby is born – that is when they truly become a daddy.

Meanwhile, I believe that women become mothers almost immediately. Kellie has certainly fallen quite naturally into that role. By the way, I mentioned earlier that it was an overcast day. It was also quite chilly. I bet you would never have known that if I didn’t tell you – gotta love Photoshop!

With all that said, I thoroughly enjoyed this session and I can’t wait to meet Baby Lillie. Thanks Kellie and Justin!

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Wittle People Wednesday

Ashley — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:36 +0000

Welcome back to Wittle People Wednesday. I’m working this week (for my former employer) so camera time is limited until tomorrow. However, I was able to get Felicity to show off her new teefies to me on Monday while it was pouring rain outside (you may remember me saying that I thought she was teething bad last week). If you can’t tell exactly how many new teeth she’s sporting…I’ll just tell you. She’s got three really strong teeth on the bottom. One more tooth seems to have cut through on the top, while two more (one on top, one on bottom) are lying just below the skin. For those of you who have children, you know how painful teething is for our wittle ones…and Felicity is definitely feeling the worst of it. Good thing I love snuggles!

Anyways…before we get to my photos and if this is your first time linking up, I only have two rules (and one suggestion):

1) Only share photos you took yourself (or photos taken of you – be sure to give credit to your photographer).

2) Don’t steal any photos shared through this meme.

I got so caught up in teeth earlier, that I failed to mention what is going on in these photos. I thought I might get a little work done on my computer. Felicity reminded me that I was definitely not going to get anything done while she was awake. So, I thought I’d photograph her instead. As you can tell, a camera strap is as good as a computer cable, so she’s reaching out for it.

I pulled away my camera strap and she gave me this look. We get this look a lot.

I must have made her laugh – she squealed in delight.

So much fun! With that said, happy Wednesday. See you on Friday with a preview from my session this past weekend.

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Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Ashley — Sun, 05 May 2013 04:00:07 +0000

Welcome back to Scavenger Hunt Sunday! I’m in the middle of doing laundry and preparing for tomorrow’s (or rather today’s) shoot, so I’m going to get straight to the photos. If this is your first time joining us, welcome aboard. If you’ve been a part of the hunt before, I hope this week’s list inspired you. Next week’s list is sponsored by Kimberly.

▼ Grab my button code ▼

The rules are simple:

Anyone can participate.
You’re encouraged to take five new photos this week for the challenge. Creativity is also encouraged!
If you get stumped, you may use one photo from your archive (although I’m not too strict about it – I do my best to take fresh shots).
Link up here on Sunday (or Tuesday at the latest) – you can use the button above.
Leave comments for at least five entries around yours (with so many new participants each week, it’s the only way I know to be inclusive
Have fun!

Without further discussion…here are my interpretations this week:

1. Background

Several months ago, my father-in-law planted a small orchard. I was hoping to photograph Felicity in said orchard this past weekend (with the orchard being the “background”), but it was a bit colder than I expected. Instead, I decided to photograph Felicity wearing a new dress her Mawmaw bought her in front of their mountain view. What a background!

2. Spotted

As you can see, Felicity’s new dress has lots of polka dots…and so do her shoes.

3. Weather

I shared this photo on Friday as part of a three month old portrait preview, but I just can’t get enough of it. A little rain isn’t going to stop me from capturing beautiful moments!

4. Motion

I’ve always wanted to capture a little girl blowing dandelions. Fortunately, my niece was ready and willing this past weekend…and I think it works for motion. I also think this shot looks so magical. Love it!

5. Sweet

My niece is so sweet with Felicity. While my nephew was taking a nap, she went outside with us to take a few photos. It always helps if I have someone to make Felicity smile/laugh/giggle while I snap away. Once I was done taking photos of just Felicity, I thought I’d capture the two of them together in a non-traditional way. Very sweet.

So, what were your interpretations of the items this week? Be sure to load your pictures on your blog (or your Flickr photostream) and link up at the bottom of this post. Feel free to grab a button to display on your blog along with your scavenger hunt items. The linky will be open until Tuesday night at midnight (EST). If you didn’t participate this week, but want to participate next week, your items are listed below…sponsored by Kimberly.

Perspective
Golden
Bloom
Dark
Local

Thanks again Kimberly for the great Scavenger Hunt prompts. If you’d like to contribute items to the list, just send me an email with your suggestions (I can better keep track of them this way). Each week, I will select one reader’s prompt list, add those items to what is currently on tap and give the selected reader a shout out on my blog during Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

Happy Shooting!

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