Desert Shoot!

You know, I've tried to be professional with this blog but everytime I want to say something, I feel like I have to sensor myself. I just can't do it anymore. I'm unleashing my self onto you! Be afraid! Run Away! Save Yourself! So as I was saying in a previous post, being in the desert has had some challenges when it comes to wedding photography. I've avoided High Desert weddings like the plague. I'm always trying to find that green patch of grass with a tree. It's exhausting because it's a desert here and we just don't have very many trees. After shooting at the Anti-Workshop in Vegas , I was inspired to try some new ideas. Now, I know that I have some good friends but Megan, Aime and Tracy were real troopers. Aime let us use her beautiful dress, which we accidentally ripped on a Joshua tree AND got oil on from the motorcycle ( you'll see). Tracy was my assistant with a reflector and a flash. After having Tracy along to help, I'm starting to think that I should always have an assistant. What luxury! I highly recommend getting an assistant. Megan was our model. I really appreciated Megan. She rode on a quad, laid on the ground in the middle of the desert, burned out her retinas looking into the sun and even did a cartwheel in high heels. That girl has talent!

You can see a slide show here.

Snow!

We usually get snow once a year. It's my kind of snow. It comes and leaves within a day. I'm not a big fan of being cold. Of course all of the kids in the neighborhood loved it. They were out running around in it until their hands were ready to fall off.


Our neighbor, Jessie.
My camera shy son.

Vegas

I had the opportunity to attend the Anti- Workshop over the last 4 days in Vegas. It's not your typical workshop. Our first exercise was to break up into group and photograph a giant Elvis cut out with a Polaroid camera. Awesome group #9 (my group) won the challenge! Yay for us. We photographed our Elvis in a bar, having a drink, at the pool with a few guys laying out, in a hair salon under a hair dryer and a few other choice locations. Needless to say, it was a blast. Our prize was Found Polaroids by Jason Bitner and Tod Lippy.

On the second day we had a shot list to complete. The Cooper's along with the Boutwell's recruited some of their past brides to be our models. All of the brides wore their own dresses and were willing to do just about anything. One bride actually got into a swimming pool for an image. Our group didn't win this challenge but we ended up with some really kick-ass images. I loved it. Doing these exercises has inspired me to do some work in my own backyard, not literally but almost. I live in the high desert and have avoided the desert like the plague. After participating in the workshop, I really want to do a bridal shoot in the desert. Look for it in the next few weeks.

Andrew & Kristen

I had the wonderful opportunity to shoot with my husband at Andrew and Kristen's wedding. Andrew is the brother of husband's best friend. They've know each other from high school and believe me, high school was a while ago for us! My husband got to hang out with the guys drinking beer in the "walk-in" while I stayed with the girls.

Into the Desert

This weekend my son and husband went to the Zen Center for Sunday services in Lucerne Valley. Since Ella is to young to go, Eric dropped us off at our friend Elaine's house. We had a wonderful time. Elaine is a wonderful artist. Her house is so much fun. It's filled with colorful rugs, pillows, art and purposeful things. It's hard to explain about true artists. They're not afraid to paint their refrigerator salmon or cut the legs off of their dining room table. They're always changing pieces of their environment to suit themselves. There is something that is so relaxing and freeing about being around them. They create a space where there are no mistakes or wrong answers.


Elaine grows her own gourds and uses them for everything from bird feeders, to seed storage, to decoration.

Ella tried kale fresh from the garden. It turns out she's not a huge fan of kale. She's her mother's daughter!

Making Things Frenzy

I 'm a person that should be kept busy at ALL times. So today instead of doing any marketing for my photography business, I decided to paint the fence. I've been wanting to paint a mural on our fence for about a year now but FEAR of messing it up has kept me away. I guess today I was fearless! So here it is. I wasn't sure how the colors would work out since I used what we had in the garage. I love it! It was hard to know when to stop. I just kept wanting to add more leaves. Finally I had to pry the paint brush out of my blue hands.

I have to tell you that there's a really mean dog living behind our fence. Now, I like dogs but this one is what my friend calls "the sand lot" dog. He 's just out of control. He actually bit my paint brush while I was painting!

Here's the purse I made yesterday. It started out as a tote. When I finished, it looked like an extra large sausage holder. I decided that it really wanted to be a purse. I needed a new one anyway. Oh, I wanted to mention that the bottom of the purse is a place mat! If you've found yourself wondering what to do with your old place mats, here is your answer.

Ella Turns Two!

Since this is the slow season for weddings, I thought I would blog about other happenings. My daughter, Ella, turned two last month. It 's always so much fun to see little kids at birthday parties. The wonder of it all is priceless. The next thing you know they are asking about your checking account balance to asses if you have enough funds for the next DS game. Really, I'm not joking !




Ella went crazy over this elephant towel.


My friend Aime giving Ella a kiss. So Cute!

Here is a slide show of the day.