Blue Bucket

Mom's helper

This weekend I have the honor of sharing in life with one of my best friends, Caitlyn, and her little family. Part of the deal was that I would come and capture some of their everyday life and what a joy it has been. Cait is an incredible mother who loves her 2 little girls and is truly investing in their hearts at every moment... everything is a learning opportunity and life is simply celebrated in thousands of ways throughout the day.

These shots are particularly precious to me because Caitlyn has a unique gift in the kitchen and her sweet little girl, Annie, is catching on to this family tradition already.

Annie looked down proudly at her pajamas this morning and exclaimed, "Polka dots!". Priceless!

With more photos on the way, I did want to give this little sample. Meet the whole family...

And the best part is that Cait and Josh still really love (and like) each other after being married almost 6 years!

See... told you.

Sweet boy

Yesterday Gabe came to BooneOakley for another project I am working on, but of course as long as he was there I had to snap a few shots for myself. This little boy simply melts my heart because as I was shooting he kept running back to me, squealing "Amy! Amy!" then hugging on me. Sigh. He is darling. His mom brought along a lollipop to keep him entertained and as you will see, I think it worked.

This was an interesting experience for me too, because I usually shoot in more natural settings. I like this because 100% of the focus is on Gabe, not his surroundings, so this is likely an area that I will continue to experiment with depending on what clients want or need.

Just starting out...

Ready for the lollipop?

Ohhhhh yeaaaah.

Action!

So my adventure with Photoshop CS3 has already been rip roaring... and uh, amazing. I feel like the moment I loaded the software on my beloved MacBook Pro, I have all this power at my fingertips and I just have to learn how to harness it! Tonight I've been playing with some fun actions that I got from my buddy, Ree (also known as the Pioneer Woman). I decided to go back to the photos of Will and Tiffany (remember them from Nashville?!) and play up the images with a little drama. I feel like the hardest part with Photoshop is not over doing it, so bear with me as I figure this out. Either way, I'm excited about sharing this journey!

As I was working with this image Ross passed by and said, "I like this one best because it just just a boy and girl, and you can really tell they like each other... no matter who they are." I agree. Plus I do love a classic black and white.

Or maybe with a more vintage feel...

Can you tell I'm having fun yet? This one looks just how I adjusted it... "Ethereal and Lovely".

This one is interesting to be because even SOOC (Straight out of camera) it almost looked like a painting... so with a little boost little ole' Cooper looks pretty dreamy.

And because I love seeing "before and afters" here is this one just so you can see what I'm talking about!

I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments, or questions - so fire away! Trust me, there are many more photoshop gems to come.

NoDa: North Davidson Street

One of the hottest up and coming areas of Charlotte is NoDa, home to several great restaurants (Cabo Fish Taco, Bordeaux's, Moon Dog Pizza), music venues (Neighborhood Theater, The Evening Muse), and my personal favorite a delightful little coffee shop called The Smelly Cat.

I found this this happy bench behind the Smelly Cat and it sums it all up, NoDa rocks!

And it boasts this fun wall on the other side:

Kristen was one of the models for the day and I'd say she looks downright fabulous!

Farm Dog

Welcome back. Funny how a long weekend can feel like and eternity when most of it was spent away from the computer and the internet! Bristol got an extra special long weekend because we were in Ohio with Ross' family, so she got her first experience as a farm dog - lots of wide open space, tall grass, and endless delicious smells! Here are a few of my favorite shots of her taking in the whole experience. Did I mention that she slept so hard on the 7 hour drive home that we kept having to call her name to make sure she was still alive?!? Now that's when you know that you have one tired puppy!

She loved getting her head out the window. I heart this shot.

You just have to see what Bristol was seeing out the window, because its stunningly beautiful. I have a thing for old barns, and this one is particularly close to my heart because Ross' family owns it.

For this shot, I definitely walked out in the middle of a soy bean field in my skirt and flip flops. Ross sure got a kick out it, but we both agreed that the precision and beauty of these fields needed to be captured. Not many people get to appreciate these kinds of views!

I couldn't get enough of the great textures. I got these while Bristol was running around like a wild child in the tall grass...

Oh yeah, back to the farm dog in the tall grass...

And if this photo doesn't say farm dog, I don't know what does. I like to call this "3 noses"...

And one more... just one more because this moment was too precious for words. Our nieces, Stella and Morgan, cuddled up for a Saturday afternoon nap!

 

Edgewood Farm

Meet Meg. She has been the proud owner of Edgewood Farm for the last 41 years, but the house has been there since the early 1800's and has recently been declared a national historic property. She was sweet enough to invite us out for a personal tour so that some of the elements could be documented. At 81 Meg is still full of life and lots of fantastic stories...

As Meg welcomed us into the kitchen, she offered us pink lemonade and shared that her kitchen sink just might be her favorite part of the house because it was the place the had stood watching her children and grandchildren play. She also seemed quite proud that she has never owned a dish washer. This woman was delightful and beautiful as she shared her life with us.

I found lots of treasures as we wandered out into the garden...like old pots, rows of birdhouses...

Okay this one was for me, but this silver ball just seemed to be begging for a self-portrait!

Edgewood Farm is also well-known for its annual sheep shearing, looks like this little guy managed to keep his wool this time around...

And speaking of little guys, this kitten was crouched on the garden pathway looking so sweet and innocent...

But wait, this little guy is more fierce than I thought!

And one final thought that I just felt was the perfect ending to this Edgewood experience...

US National Whitewater Center

Yesterday I had the privilege of traveling out to the US National Whitewater Center with BooneOakley to get some shots that will be used in an upcoming project for the city of Charlotte. Not only was it a BEEE-autiful day, but there is just so much great stuff going on out there that I was delighted to capture a few iconic elements of the Center... and having lunch outside on the patio was pretty delicious as well! if you live in the Charlotte area and haven't made the trip out there, what are you waiting for?!?

Let's start with one of the largest climbing wall in the Southeast... belay on anyone?

Check out this kid just getting after it on the wall - how awesome!

His little brother watched... or kept himself entertained with all those big rocks...

I was loving what the wind was doing with the flags...

And now on to the fun stuff - the water!

You have to watch this series for the poor guy who got popped out of the boat...

Going, going...

Gone!!

Another Blue Bucket

My dear friend Ellen sent me an email this morning and I just had to share.

"spent the weekend with family this weekend, thought of you when i took these :) so funny, he spent the afternoon at the slip & slide letting the water hit him in the head, and then drip from his hair into the bucket, he LOVED it. too cutie."

Love the blue bucket - thank you Ellen!

Nashville: Part 3

You may be wondering, how many parts could there possibly be to your weekend trip to Nashville?! Okay okay this is the last one. I just had to tack on these because they are so precious. Did I mention that we got to meet Ashley's boyfriend for the first time too? Yes, we did. And he is fantastic. And he adores her. And he is renovating an old house (I just think that is cool). That was great to watch and its just fun to see 2 great people find each other.

After seeing so much of Ashley, you might just feel like you are getting to know her... isn't she fabulous?

Nashville: Part 2

The other part of our trip to Nashville was getting to see our dear friends Will and Tiffany who have lived there for over 2 years and we just needed to see their life, meet their pups, and just share some good quality time together. After a session in their awesome backyard with Cooper and Griffin. both rescue dogs, we headed out for dinner and great conversation. Thank you Tiffany and Will... for being who you are and for sharing in the ups and downs of life with us!

Oh Griffin...

Cooper looking quite sweet...

I clearly had a bit of an obsession with the boots...