Nicole Neff

It’s finally here…MY NEW WEB SITE IS UP! That’s right, just head on over to www.nicoleneffphotography.com and check it out. There you can find my prices, see galleries, contact me and order prints (if you go to the proofing gallery and enter “public,” you can order some of my artwork). I’m beyond excited, and it’s been a long time coming. Here’s the first picture you’ll see on my site:

There was a lot that had to fall in to place before I was ready to unveil it: get the pictures edited, choose a web site, decide the layout/colors of that site, choose prices, see an accountant, fill out all of the paperwork to become an actual business, wait for the site to go live, wait, wait, and wait some more (there was a server problem that delayed the visibility of my site). There are a lot of people who I owe thanks to for making this all happen:

• My fabulous husband, Tyler, who encouraged me not to wait until Christmas to get a web site like I had planned. I’ll never forget walking hand in hand with him on the beach in Hawaii and talking about my future business plans. I just about stopped in my tracks when he said, “Why wait until Christmas? Why don’t you just do it now?” Since then, my imagination has been running wild with all of the things I could do with a business. He’s spent a lot of nights in bed alone because I’ve been up late planning, designing, and researching everything that I need to put into this business, but he’s not complained once. I’m such a lucky girl!
• Brenda of Appointed Design…she’s my design diva. Not only has she done a FANTASTIC job editing the photos I’ve sent to her, but she’s been a great friend who has answered sooo many of my questions along the way and even took the time to critique my web site before I decided to go live with it. We may live hours apart, but our friendship and faith keeps us close.
• My accountant, Larry Bitter of Brown, Smith & Settle here in Evansville. I’m sure he’s tired of all my emails asking questions that probably seem like no-brainers to him. I’m simply not a math person, so wrapping my mind around all of this accounting stuff gives me a headache.
• All of the people who have scheduled photo shoots with me have given me confidence that I actually CAN have people who want my work to hang on their walls. I have to pinch myself sometimes when I think about all of the great people who have entrusted me to take their picture.
• Last, but not least, God. I’ve prayed and prayed about this and it just feels right. And now that it’s actually happening…how blessed am I? God has blessed me with this passion and talent for photography. I’m nothing without Him, and I must give Him all the glory!

So go to my site, browse and leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

I know it was like two weeks ago when I said I had an announcement, and I promise it’s coming soon. Things are taking a little longer than I thought they would, but I AM making progress, so that is good. And believe me, it’s BIG news. At least in my mind it is. I can’t wait to share!

I’m so glad it’s the weekend. It’s too bad it’s going to be busy. After traveling last weekend to visit family up north, I came home pretty exhausted. This week feels like I’ve been running non-stop and my body is craving sleep. I should be in bed right now, but I have to post a blog. It’s just my style.

Last weekend in addition to taking my cousin’s picture, I also got the opportunity to go to my niece’s baptism/dedication. She’s getting big so fast, well for her anyway…she’s a tiny girl! Here are some pretty cute pictures of the little sweetheart:

Here she is with her daddy, Adam, who is a Methodist minister:

The district superintendent came to baptize her:

This is mommy, Kyla, holding Elizabeth. I love how this picture turned out. I shot at a really small aperture so everything except Elizabeth’s face is blurred:

This next picture makes my heart SO happy. This is Grandma Helen holding Elizabeth. I love the look on her face; it just seems like such a peaceful moment.

And finally, Tyler and I were outside waiting for everyone to go to lunch when I decided to play off the reflection in his glasses. Love it!

In other news, I finally started running again yesterday. It had been a month since I’d done any running at all (before we left for Hawaii) because I had cut my foot on a rock in the ocean in Hawaii and then I had my wisdom teeth removed. One month off really makes you feel out of shape! I’ve done 4 miles each of the past 2 days, so we’ll see how long it takes to build up my endurance again.

That’s right — I’m offering FREE photo shoots! These can be family, senior, engagement, fashion, business, baby, pet, maternity or any other kind of picture you can imagine (well, almost anyway)! That’s a $200 value for absolutely nothing but the pure joy of spending some time with yours truly!

I have some pretty fun shoot sites in mind, but if there is a place near and dear to your heart, you are more than welcome to let me know. Once I’m done with the pictures, I’ll send them off to be edited and then upload them to my proofing section where you can order however many pictures you would like!* You can even give friends and family members the password to your online proofing site so they can order prints, too. Couldn’t be simpler! If interested, leave me a comment and I’ll get in contact with you so we can set up the shoot.

I did a photoshoot this weekend for my cousin Rebecca and had an absolute blast. These were “just because” pictures since her mom never likes the quality of school pictures. Rebecca and I had a great time laughing, and we even had our own Talladega Nights moments. We found ourselves saying several times “I don’t know what to do with my hands” and then bursting into laughter. Rebecca will be a senior this year, and I look forward to doing her senior pictures. She’s a natural! (These images are straight out of the camera…no editing whatsoever)

*NOTE: I am no longer offering free photo shoots. However, you can check out my web site www.nicoleneffphotography.com for my current portrait session price.

I’m thinking about switching from WordPress to Blogger. Does anyone out there use Blogger? I don’t really care for the templates on wordpress…they’re too limiting. If anyone has used Blogger and/or WordPress, would you care to give me the pros and cons?

Do I really need another? My husband will tell you no. He tells me I may have an addiction to reading about photography. He may be correct, too.

But Andy Biggs is so deserving of being followed. His work is A.MA.ZING. I found out about him through Shoot the Blog’s interview with him. Go to his blog and Shoot the Blog’s interview and prepare to be amazed.

His work would look amazing in my safari-themed living room. And really, the prices aren’t too bad, but by the time I’m able to afford one, he’ll be famous and the prices will be much higher.

I have some big and exciting news to share with you all veeeeeeeery soon. There are some details to be worked out before I share, but I’m expecting to deliver the news in the next couple of weeks. So check back often…until then, here’s a clue!

Could it really be so obvious? Surely not, right? Bring on the guesses, except for those of you who are in on the secret!

Wow. That’s all I can say.

If you have, I’m sure you probably would remember. This sign was outside their terminal in Oahu. We thought it was hilarious.

On the not-so-funny side, we flew Go! Airlines, whose airplane to Maui smelled like a nursing home and/or urine. Tyler repeated the entire trip over to Maui: “We only paid a dollar (for the flight). We only paid a dollar.”

The past few days I’ve felt awully lonely. While I know I had Tyler and other people watching over me the entire time, the weekend is such a haze to me. And the past couple days as I’ve battled the pain from dry socket, everybody’s been going on with their life as usual while I’ve been sidelined to watch TV, surf the Internet and sleep. It hit me last night and this morning just how alone I’ve felt. I’ve been longing for true human interaction, without realizing that my God was there for me all along. Through this all, I’ve completely forgotten His promise to love me and watch over me.

On my way to work this morning, I heard the song “Watch Over Me” by Aaron Shust. I’ve heard this song several times on my XM radio, but this morning, the words really spoke to me. I’m posting the lyrics here today just in case someone else could use the reminder that God is always faithful to His promises.

I was lonely
You came waltzing over to me
And Your eyes they saw right through me
And You heard each one of my cries for help
And You came to rescue me
I was broken
Every prayer that I had spoken
Reached Your ears and all my tears weren’t cried in vain
You carried all my pain
And put me back together again
You watch over me in the darkest valleys
You watch over me when the night seems long
You help me to see the way before me
You watch over me; You watch over me
Always faithful
To be leading, at this moment
Interceding for Your children
Though I’ve wandered astray from Your infinite ways
You’ve never left me alone -[to chorus]
Take this frozen heart; awaken me
Never once have You forsaken me
Even though I walk through this shadow of death
You will guide and defend me
You’ll guard and protect me
Even though I walk through this shadow of death
You will lead me home

The past five days have been super trying for me. After getting my bottom two wisdom teeth pulled, I was on the road to recovery. Or so I thought. After a blur of a weekend (hello, Lortab!), I got up Monday and just didn’t feel well enough to go to work. So I called in, thinking one more day should seal the deal. I slept most of the day, slacked off the Lortab that night, and then woke up Tuesday morning with so much pain. But I didn’t want to call in to work yet another day. I dragged myself to work, and on the way had so much pain that I was in tears. I toughed my way through half a day and just couldn’t do it anymore. I came home and went to bed, hoping to sleep it off. Again. It didn’t work after four days of sleep, so I’m not sure why I thought another day would help.

My mother-in-law, the saint she is, called the dentist she works for and got me in to see him. She just didn’t think I should be in so much pain after having so many days pass after having the surgery. And she was right. I had dry socket, and the dentist numbed my mouth again (yes, I cried like a baby) and packed my incisions with clove oil. After it was over, my mouth was numb for a couple of hours, and I’m sure that I sounded like a complete idiot when I tried to talk. But I swear, if I never taste clove again after this is over, it will be too soon.

I’ve not been able to eat much the past five days. I’ve lost nearly five pounds, not that it’s such a bad thing. But I’m craving Mexican food, pizza, and popcorn. And heavens, I love my dog, but she has been so spoiled by having me at home that she has been in my face non-stop. She wants my attention more than I think she wants treats. And she REALLY likes treats.

I guess I just want my normal life back. I want to be able to take care of my husband rather than have him take care of me all the time. Really, he has been so great to me: patient, caring, and loving. I’m ready to get back behind the camera again. I want to build my skills as well as my portfolio. I’m ready to go at this full force. I’m ready to have energy.

Really, I’m not trying to complain. I’m just realizing how extremely grateful I am for my life and the people in it. Sometimes when your not able to do the things you want, you realize just how important those things are.

And since I always love pictures in a blog, here’s a picture of my dog, Lola:

Now, imagine her right in your face about 10 hours a day, and that’s how it’s been for me the past three days. Really, I do love her, though.