Jai Masih Ki! (Praise the Lord in Hindi)

I am home!!! After what felt like an eternity on planes and in airports yesterday wouldn't you know our flight from Dallas to Amarillo was cancelled due to bad weather. Half of our team took a cab from DFW to Love Field and caught the next flight out on Southwest. The other half of the team was able to get on an afternoon AA flight out of DFW. I'll tell you the extra money I had to spend on the Southwest flight was well worth it to be able to see Jeremy & Ella a few hours earlier. I am so happy to be home, to hug my family, and to get to sleep in my own bed! I'm excited to get back to work too. I have several sessions to edit and wedding albums to design over the next few weeks. I'm praying that I can get well caught up very soon!

I experienced so many great things in India and still have tons of photos to show you all. I'll continue to share with you some of what I experience here on my blog over the next week. We were able to do a bit of sight seeing while in India. You definitely can't go to India without going to the Taj Mahal! What an experience that was...I was speechless the whole time. It was such a blessing to get to see it with my sweet friend, Ashley, too. We took an overnight train (an interesting experience in and of itself) to the Taj, got there before sun rise, and drove around tho the back of the Taj across the river to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately, it was extremely foggy and hazy and the river was way down so I didn't get any great pictures of the sun rise or the reflection of the Taj in the river. It was so surreal to stand in silence and look at that world wonder though. I will never forget it! Due to the overnight train ride we don't look too hot in the picture below...haha!

We also went to tour the Khajuraho Temples. One thousand years ago 85 temples were erected, 20 of which remain standing today. The architecture and sculptures of these temples are absolutely amazing; although, not entirely G, PG, or even PG-13 rated. You see these temples are also known as the Kama Sutra temples. Needless to say, I won't be showing you any close up shots of these temples as they are quite graphic (as was our guide!). You can see the intricate detail of the carvings even from far away! They truly are a marvel to look at.

Everyone loves a Scottish girl!

My parents spent a few weeks in Scotland in October. Before they left the states I gave them a crash course in photography. Well, I think it certainly paid off! Their pictures are awesome. I'm going through some of them to pick out images to print. Here are some of my favorites so far. Enjoy!

Vacation::Biltmore Estate

More pictures from my recent vacation to the Biltmore Estate with Ella, my mom, sisters, and nephew. Click here to see my previous post about my trip. I have TONS of pictures and might share more soon so check back! Peace+Love.

Silly car-ride pictures. :)




Ella at the Biltmore Estate farm yard. This little girl LOVES animals so much she didn't know what to do with herself here. She introduced herself to the horse and it proceeded to try and lick her face off with it's ginormous tongue. She laughed and said, "Silly horsey". She held a baby chick and was so excited she looked like she was in a trance. Haha...I love my Ella!


The farm made her sleepy.

The front door of the Biltmore House. This place is HUGE!

There are statues all over the estate. I am always amazed at the great condition they are in...especially being well over 100 years old.





We let the kids throw goldfish crackers in the reflecting pools for the fish. I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to do that though. :)

Glorious

So sorry I have been M.I.A. lately. I have had just enough time to get my client's their photos and not a moment more. I even had to work on vacay. It wasn't that bad. ;) Speaking of vacations. I had the opportunity to visit one of my absolute favorite places in the whole wide world last week. I went to Ashville, North Carolina to visit Biltmore House. Biltmore House is a French Renaissance-inspired chateau built by George Washington Vanderbuilt II between 1888 and 1895. It is 175,000 square feet, has 250 rooms, 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, and even a bowling alley. The 125,000-acre estate were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted...for those of you in need of a history of architecture lesson Mr. Olmsted also created New York's Central Park.

My family vacationed in Ashville several summers throughout my childhood. The last time I was there was in 2004 around New Years. Christmas on the estate is beyond words! I was happy to say the least to be able to go back with my mom, sisters, nephew, and Ella. We had a glorious time. I can't wait to go back! Here are a few images of the estate. I have many more photos to come. Peace+Love.

This first image is one of the many views from the hotel we stayed at on the estate. The hotel is quite magnificent itself. :)

Happy Christmas

Hello all! Here are a few images that Jeremy & I did just playing around with Christmas lights. I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas. Blessings!

Sky

I took these this afternoon while Ella & I were playing outside. The sky is so blue today and the clouds look gorgeous. God is the most fabulous artist there ever was! He is simply awesome. Shalom.

Btw, for all you photogs out there, the sun in these images is not the product of Photoshop. No lens flare or filters were added...just a little bit of color correction and added contrast. The black & white one was taken w/ my camera set to "red filter b&w" and the last one was taken with my in-camera sepia tone set on low.

Art

Well, I have a busy week ahead of me. I have a class tonight, a bride to meet with on Wednesday, and an a.m. shoot on Thursday before leaving (hopefully right after) for Dallas. Friday & Saturday I'll be helping my mom & sister out with their garge sale and at some point during my trip we'll be shooting Leah & David's family portrait. I have tons of editing and some more shooting to do while in Dallas as well. Wish me luck!!! I'll leave you with a couple of images from last weeks class. Peace.

Black & White

I started taking photographs long before everything was taken over by digital. I'm not that old...I've just been shooting since I can remember. My first pro camera was a 35mm. I used to shoot everything with b&w film, too. Film black & whites are just so beautiful to me. If you've ever had the chance to see Ansel Adams' work you'll understand what I'm talking about. Digital black & white is totally different believe it or not. I definately don't like it as much but we live in a digital world now so I guess I have to adapt. The coolest thing about digital though is Photoshop. I usually don't like to over-process anything in Photoshop but I really like what I got out of it today. Let me know what you think. Also, my art images are always available for purchase. If you see something you are interested in just shoot me an email for printing options & pricing. Peace!

Art

Here are a few more images from Gene & Retha's house on my birthday. If you look around their property you can find some great stuff. I love anything that's wearing a little rust. Enjoy!