He was up early to catch the bus for his first day of middle school!
This was her first day ever to actually go to school, since she had been homeschooled from Kindergarten through fourth grade. She was pretty excited!
Both kids are enjoying school and adjusting to their new schedules pretty well. It was a bit of a shock for all of us to have to get up and get going so much earlier than we did last year. (The middle school starts an hour earlier than the elementary school.) After a pretty relaxing summer, the plunge back into a structured schedule was a bit of jolt, but we are all getting into the swing of things! :-)
I had the privilege of helping my friend, Claudia, shoot a wedding last Saturday. What an experience that was! A wedding day moves very quickly from one thing to the next. There is not much time to set things up perfectly, but you have to get the shot and you only have one chance to get it before moving on to the next thing. It's like riding a bullet train! Whew! But it was a fun challenge and this young couple and their families are just wonderful. This is the beautiful bride getting ready for her big day. More to come...
I captured this image on the 2010 Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk about a week ago. It was a lot of fun! I think this photo kind of looks like an impressionistic painting. :-)
My friend, Claudia, is starting a photography business. Recently, she had an engagement shoot and she invited me to come along, too! The couple who is getting married are just the most delightful young people you could meet. They are easy going and kind and so sweet with each other. It doesn't hurt that they are gorgeous, too! :-) At the beginning of their relationship, these two had some picnic dates at a local park, so we met there and set up the engagement shoot around a vintage picnic theme. Claudia is very artistic and a master at staging beautiful scenes, so everything was just perfectly dreamy! When we reached the "golden hour" just before sunset, the light was incredible!! We kept oohing and aahing as we clicked away with our cameras before the light slipped away! :-)
That evening in the meadow was definitely one of the most fun times I have had in a long time. I can't quite describe the complete joy I experienced in capturing these images. Claudia says that photography is "painting with light" and I think that is part of it ~ creatively expressing an idea with a camera and light. It is challenging and fun to see what you can create. Another aspect of that evening, though, had to do with experiencing beauty that God has created. Beauty that speaks of God's glory. Everything around us was lovely ~ the meadow grasses, the trees, the sky, the people ~and when we were drenched in that golden sunlight, it was like being transported to some sparkling, enchanted world. And yet, it is more than that. Something about it touched me deeply and brought me to tears... of joy, wonder, delight and the sense that this is just a taste of what is to come.
"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge."
Psalm 19:1-2
Maybe what moved me so was the realization that if I am so overwhelmed with just a taste of His glory, and with the beauty of what He has created, what must it be like to behold Him face to face in all of His glory??
Whenever I recall that evening, it brings me eventually to that thought. From a fun photography shoot with a friend to the glory of God. I love photography and am thrilled that I am learning how to, “paint with light.” And I'm finding that photography is leading me to so much more.
Here is an image from the “golden hour” of the engagement shoot. More photos from that evening to come later!
At the end of the school year, all the 5th graders spend a day at a local amusement park. They look forward to this day ALL year! Well, the big day dawned gray and rainy. :-( I went as a parent volunteer and there was such a downpour on the drive to the park that I could hardly see the road! The kids were not really too affected by the weather. They were just excited to get on with this big adventure they had been waiting for for so long! It did stop raining for the most part, although there were still a few showers throughout the day, and the kids had a great time. What a fun way to end the school year!
