Women’s Spa Day

I had the wonderful opportunity to not only photograph the women’s spa day at my church this past Sunday, but also to share the day with my mom, who was there to help the women accessorize with Lia Sophia jewelry. The spa day was a kick-off to the women’s group that will be launching very soon, but it also gave me a chance to work with my camera and practice shooting women applying makeup, which will come in very handy for shooting weddings. (All of the following images have no Photoshopping done to them)

Misty Majors started the day by leading the women through Mary Kay facials and makeup application. You may recognize Misty. I did her family pictures a few weeks ago, but since then, she’s changed a bit. In these pictures, you can see she has a little bun in the oven. Isaac is going to have a baby sister before this year is over!

Mary Kay consultant Misty Majors

Here are some pictures of the women using the Mary Kay products:

I loved capturing the mothers and daughters bonding by being girly.

Amy and Beth

Amy and Alyssa

Speaking of moms, here’s my mom applying mascara:

Mom applying mascara

Mom looking in the mirror

Rachel applying makeup

Josie applying makeup

Cathy applying makeup

My mom is a Lia Sophia advisor, so she was there to show the ladies how to accessorize with jewelry. My good friend Rachel, a Creative Memories consultant, helped the ladies create picture frames in which they could put the images I took after they had their makeup done and jewelry on. Head over to my church’s web site to see more pictures of the fun day.

And as always, I was behind the camera the entire day, so this is the only picture of me.

Me!

 

Photography Self-Challenge

Anyone who knows me will probably tell you I’m passionate about photography. Anytime there is an event worth remembering, I’ll probably be found with my camera in hand. I’m often begging people to let me take their picture. Everyday, I peruse tons of blogs to learn new techniques, poses and tips. Yup, I’m obsessed.

While I’ve learned a lot in the short time I’ve done photography, there is still something I’ve yet to do — shoot completely in manual mode. I dabbled with it in my photography class this past year, but hadn’t learned it well enough to be confident with it. I’ve been shooting in shutter- or aperture-priority modes for ages now. I’ve wanted to go manual for quite some time, but never quite found the right opportunity to practice it; I’ve been too afraid to do it one an actual photo shoot. But this past Sunday at our church picnic, I challened myself to shoot completely manual. There was no pressure, so I could play around with it and not worry about not capturing certain shots. And I have to say, I love it! You have so much more control over how your images turn out. Not sure I’ll ever go back now! (All of these images are straight out of the camera; no Photoshopping at all)

Here are some pictures of my hubby Tyler at the picnic this past Sunday. Isn’t he cute?

Tyler

 

Tyler shooting skeet

 

Tyler cooling off by the fan

Here are a couple pictures of Elana that I captured that day, too.

Elana on the trampoline

I love the way the sunlight looks in this one, as well as how the fast shutter speed captured the little grains of sand. The lower the ISO, the better color saturation you get in your pictures (thank you, Me Ra Koh!). The faster your shutter speed, the more it freezes the motion.

Elana in the sandbox

Here’s another one that I like because of the splattering of the egg. I made it a little bigger so you could see the goop…

Yolky mess

You can see more of this fun picnic on my church’s blog.

So what challenge are you really wanting to take on but are too afraid to try? I’d encourage you to get out there and try, try and try again. The worst you could do is fail, but every failure is a learning experience. Which means, really, you actually succeed!

 

Venting Session

I’m having a hard time right now and just needed to vent. Tyler was such an amazing support this weekend and did a great job at being so vocal at how proud of me he was for how I did in the Mini Marathon yesterday. More than that, he fit right in with my friend Jaimie and we’ve all had a blast all weekend laughing, watching tv and lounging around.

As great as all of that was, all I can focus on right now is that he left to go back home so he can be at church-band practice and then church. I have to be at work in the Indy office for a couple more days, so I won’t be able to go back home until the middle of this week. It’s so difficult after being married nearly three years to be apart like this. I know I’m being a big baby, but I just feel like a part of me is missing when he’s not around. It was all I could do to not pack up my stuff and go home with him…

Excuse me while I go cry a little…

 

Heavenly Hoedown

Tonight, Sojourn celebrated our new building and coming together as a family with a Heavenly Hoedown! We had a great turnout, but the most important part is that we had a TON of fun! We started the evening off with some food…a tater wagon, chili, hot dogs, and some delicious desserts.

Next, we began our tournaments. Dan was the winner of the pool tourney.

 

 The last foosball game between Matt and Mike was a nail-biter…

But Mike came out victorious!

Kody interviews Matt, who blames his loss on Mike’s distracting shiny head…

And the winner of the rock, paper, scissors contest was Bailey!

And finally, Gabby was the winner of the “Huh” game. At the beginning of the party, everyone received a sticker. If you said “huh,” the person who caught you took your sticker. Gabby’s final count was 29!

We also did some line dancing as well as karaoke. We rocked the house!

Isn’t he just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?

You’ll be sorry you missed BJ and Matt’s rendition of “Man of Constant Sorrow.”

Thanks to everyone who made this night a success. It was definitely a fun night for all!

(All images shot with a Canon 40d/50 mm 1.4 lens, no Photoshopping)

 

Another weekend bites the dust

How is it that the weekends go by so darned quickly? I’m beyond frustrated that I have to go back to work tomorrow. Today was so beautiful that it made me just want to call in tomorrow and instead drive around with the windows down, breeze blowing in my hair and the music turned way up. But alas, it’s back to reality.

My weekend wasn’t altogether too productive. Too much going on for that, really. Saturday, I went on a 5.3-mile run. It was really great, even though it was in a light drizzle most of the time. That evening, we had a wedding to go to and after that we caught the Michael Peterson benefit for the Army at Roberts Stadium. One of our friends had box seats, so we were way above watching the show. Pretty cool to be up that high.

Today, I woke up at 6:30 and got ready for my run. I only intended on doing 11, but my miscalculations put me at more like 12.5. — in just under 2 hours. I think had I not gone on the run yesterday, I could have really been a lot faster. I’m feeling very good about the Mini. But needless to say, I was tired and sore afterward. 

Then we had church (the service was great and got my spiritual battery recharged!), ate out with friends, and took a much-needed nap. This evening I did round one of the senior pictures for my co-worker’s son. Originally, they only wanted to do head shots tonight, but when I got there, they also wanted to do some more fun ones. I think there are quite a few that really turned out well, and they seemed to like them, so that’s the important part. I can’t wait until I get them edited and can show you all!

 

Weekend recap

I was bad this weekend…I didn’t get a single run in. I was just so exhausted all weekend that even the thought of going on a run made me tired. I was aiming to get a 9-miler in at some point to keep on schedule with my half marathon training, but that certainly didn’t happen. And to make matters worse, I ate a bunch of junk that I shouldn’t have…pizza, Easter candy, banana bread, and powdered donuts. I’m not proud of it, and I certainly can’t continue on this pattern. I’m make a small goal for this week…I want to work out every week day, even if it is just a short run or some crunches and push ups at night. If I think in small terms, maybe I won’t be discouraged like I was at the thought of running for an hour and a half this weekend.

On the positive side, I did get a lot accomplished this weekend. I went to our church’s scrapbooking event and got about five pages completed. I haven’t touched my scrapbooking since the last retreat, which was a few months ago. I colored my hair, which didn’t turn out like I wanted…it was much more of a reddish tint than I thought it would be. I’m planning to re-color sometime tomorrow since that will be the 48 hours I need to wait between colorings. I also completed all of the things we need to send in our taxes, which I’ll be doing tomorrow. And I even painted my nails tonight. They’re now a pastel pink, in honor of spring. Which, by the way, has not come in full force like I’d like for it to. I’m ready for weather in the 60s with no rain. I’m so tired of this dismal rainy weather, and it’s really starting to bring down my normally happy demeanor.

This weekend was way too short, and I’m sad to have to go back to work tomorrow. The only thing that makes me excited for it is the fact that the UPS guy will be delivering my new toy, the Canon 40D with the 50 mm lens, f/1.4. Otherwise, it will be a sad day…I have to get my allergy shots and I have to go to my fundamentals of imaging class. Don’t get me wrong, I’m learning a lot, but it’s amazing what two extra free days during the week can do to your schedule. I’m ready for classes to be overwith so I can start putting what I’ve learned into action and booking some clients.

 

Productive Weekend

I accomplished quite a bit this weekend. I always hate to see the weekend go, but it doesn’t hurt as much when you get a lot done.

Saturday started out with going to get my driver’s license renewed. Long story short, I’d been driving on an expired license since my birthday in October and didn’t realize it until Friday night. I was in and out of the BMV in 20 minutes.  Then I went to pick up our Angel Food order and get the oil changed in Tyler’s car. The rest of the day was spent working on dishes and taking a nap since it was rainy out. I was so excited that I woke up to sunshine, so I put on my running gear and went on a 7+ mile run (unfortunately, I don’t have all those fancy schmancy gadgets that tell me my distance, so I’ll have to drive it to see). It was a FANTABULOUS run! I made it back in about an hour and 5 minutes, which is pretty good. Afterward, I cooked dinner and we had a friend over and watched Saw.

Sunday was a good day, too. I got up early and did dishes from dinner the previous night before I headed to church. Afterward, we went shopping for food to grill since it was such a beautiful day out. BJ and Rachel were to come over and have lunch and finish up our HAWAII plans! We got everything ironed out, and figured out our main activities: horseback ride through Haleakala crater on Maui, and on Oahu we’re going on a 45-minute helicopter ride and snorkel/kayak trip. Of course, we’ll also tour the Dole plantation and spend plenty of time on the beach. We also finalized our car rentals on both islands. It feels good to get it all done, but not to pay for it. Nonetheless, we’re beyond excited and can’t wait for May to get here!

I always feel so reluctant to come back to work. Where do the weekends go? Luckily, I had a jury to get ready today, so that motivated me a bit more than a usual Monday morning.

EDIT TO ADD: Thanks to Tiffany’s suggestion, I now know that I ran 7.46 miles yesterday. Whoo hoo!

 

Winter Jam

This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend a really great concert. Winter Jam, featuring several Christian artists, came to Evansville’s Roberts Stadium. Since I have sort of taken on the youth program at my church, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get our kids out to hear some really great music with a solid message and at a price they could afford. Tickets were only $10 at the door but no one would be turned away if they didn’t have the ability to pay.We were under a winter storm warning with the threat of ice and snow for the evening, so the crowd was not too big. Tyler got to the stadium to wait in line at 5 p.m. so we could be one of the first in and get the best seats. I joined him after work and after I grabbed a quick meal for us from Mickey D’s. To say it was frigid would be an understatement, but Tyler was such a trooper even though he’d been waiting in line much longer than I had. Luckily, the sleet stopped not long after 5, so at least we weren’t soaked AND cold.

They finally let us in at 6 p.m. and I paid my money so I could go in and save all of our seats. Tyler waited at the door to give the kids their money (they had paid ahead since we weren’t sure how the ticket/seat situation would be handled). They were only letting a small number of people on the floor, and I nearly had to fight off several people for the seats I was saving…I had my purse, coat, scarf, camera case, program and several other things strewn across 12 seats. Some people were not happy, to say the least, but our kiddos had some of the best seats in the house! We were only about 15 rows back, so not bad at all.

 

First up was PureNRG. They were three young kids who did more gymnastics than singing. It will be interesting to see if they change their style or just stop performing once they get older. After that was Group1Crew. This trio was a hip hop group, and the female singer was AMAZING! I’ve heard them on XM 32, but they were so much better in person.

Then they had a youth leader reception, so while Tyler and I were at that, Mandisa sang. From what I was told, she was amazing. I was pretty upset that we had to miss it. But at the reception, we got to be up close to the lead singer of Skillet and also Barlow Girl. I think Tyler was a bit starstruck to be that close since Skillet is one of his favorite bands.

NewSong, who I wasn’t too impressed with, played a few songs. They were more praise and worship, which isn’t too energizing for a concert in my opinion. But to each their own.

Skillet’s show was absolutely amazing. They had some amazing pyrotechnics that shot really high in the air and even caught a towel on fire on stage. We could feel the heat at our seats, so I can only imagine how hot it was on stage. Most of all, I was impressed with the band’s stage presence. The lead singer was so energetic. And I loved that his wife sang, played keyboard and guitar, and they also had a new female drummer to replace Tyler’s favorite dummer, Lori. I definitely became a huge fan after this show. I got their CD from Tyler to listen to on Friday and I couldn’t get enough of it!

Steven Curtis Chapman ended the show. He was really great, too, and I can see why my mother in law is a big fan of his. The entire band, which now includes his two sons on guitar and drums, was really solid.

If Winter Jam comes to your area, it’s definitely worth your $10. If you want to read about the concert in more depth, read about it at the Courier & Press.

 

Highs and Lows of 2007 and a Fast-Forward to 2008

Highs:

1) Finishing the Evansville Half Marathon without passing out. As many of you know, I wasn’t that lucky in 2006. And considering how hot the weather was in October this year, this is definitely something to be proud of.

2) Tyler’s band, BorrowedTime, got off to a good start. They played a handful of local shows and one in Columbus, Indiana. Tyler, BJ, and Cassie are the core members and they’ve had some turnover throughout the year. As of now, it’s Tyler on drums, BJ on vocals and lead guitar, Cassie on vocals and accoustic guitar, Logan on the saxophone, and Daniel (aka Dandy) on bass.

3) I really grew spiritually. Much of this is thanks to a little book called Captivating but mostly to some really awesome, authentic Christians in my life. I’m even unofficially getting the youth group at our new church, Sojourn Newburgh, off to a start. I’m very excited about what the future for this church holds.

4) Tyler and I celebrated our second anniversary with a trip to St. Pete Beach, Florida. We had some rough times in our first two years, but we made it through. And we’re stronger than ever. It was a great trip, but we found out we’re kind of boring when we don’t vacation with at least one other couple.

5) We found out Tyler’s sister is pregnant (I can’t WAIT to be an aunt!). It’s a girl and her name is Elizabeth and she’ll be here in April! We were totally shocked by this because Adam and Kyla swore they’d never have kids. In fact, when Tyler’s parents tell people they’re going to be grandparents, everyone assumes it’s Tyler and I who are expecting.

6) I earned some extra income by writing/photographing for the Courier & Press and also by doing some copy editing. There were some really fun stories that I was pretty proud of and that allowed me to be creative. It was a lot of work at times, but I was glad to earn the extra money so I could buy Tyler an iPod Touch for Christmas.

7) I went on Accutane for my acne. It sucked that I had to do it, and there were times that I hated the medicine with a passion (dry skin, always thirsty, blurred vision, fatigue), but I’ve been off of it for about 3 weeks now, and my face is clearer than it’s ever been. I’m praying that my face stays clear, because it was a lot of effort and it was NOT cheap.

8) I got to go home for Christmas. I hadn’t been up north since May so the trip was long overdue. It was great to see my family (although I only got to see my mom’s side) and share in a tradition that was such a huge part of my childhood. There was nothing like Christmas at the Jones’.

Lows:

1) Tyler’s papaw had a decline in health, thanks to Parkinson’s and Alzheimers. He is now in a nursing home, where we don’t get to see him too often because of his eating and sleeping schedule. I would love nothing more than for him to have a complete turnaround and get better. It saddens me to see a man once so full of life ravaged by these horrible diseases.

2) My allergies were horrible this year. I had to take several days off to take care of them and to basically sleep them off. I’ve been on Allegra for over a year and it still didn’t help. I’ll soon be going on allergy shots soon, which I’m not too thrilled about.

3) I was really sick for about three weeks. In fact, today is the first day that I actually feel better than 90%. This not only made me cranky at home, but also really made me miss a lot of work and get off of my running routine. It was a nasty virus that I just couldn’t shake.

4) I have lost touch with a lot of friends I hold very dear. Life is busy, plain and simple. But that’s no excuse to forget about friends who have made you who you are.

5) We didn’t have any measurable amount of snow. My poor Tyler’s only wish was to have snow to go out and play in. Every time we’d have snow in the forecast, he’d wake up in the morning and check outside, only to be disappointed. It would be great to have a big snow so we could go out and throw snowballs at each other and also so Lola could try to eat all the snow in sight. Seriously, she has her tongue out the entire time just licking at the snow. It’s pretty cute.

Up for 2008:

1) I start classes at Ivy Tech in January. I’ll be going back so I can learn the basics of photography and hopefully build up a clientele so I can have a business. It would be great to be able to stay at home when I’m a mom (one day).

2) Borrowed Time will record a demo in Nashville in January. They will spend an entire weekend as well as the following Monday recording about 5 songs. (I’ll spend much of my time taking pictures and scrapbooking with Rachel.) The band hopes to make it in the lineup for some summer festivals. It would be Tyler’s dream come true.

3) I’ll be running the 500 Festival Mini Marathon (the biggest half marathon and 8th-largest road race in America) in Indy with my college friend Jaimie. She currently lives in DC where she is a law student, but she’ll be coming back to practice law and live in Indy a couple weeks before the race. I’m really looking forward to connecting with her and catching up on things. 

4) We’ll be going to Hawaii for our vacation. A woman I work with is graciously letting us stay in the home she owns on Oahu - for free. I’ve already purchased all the plane tickets and booked our hotel for while we are in Maui for one night. We’ll be going with BJ and Rachel, so it should be a lot of fun.

5) I’ll be doing less work on the side so I can focus on family and friends. This means turning down some stories, but it will be worth it. I haven’t had a chance to breathe lately.

6) Sojourn Newburgh will launch at the beginning of the year. New year, new location, and a lot of faith in what God is doing we hope will equal helping to change the lives of people in the area. We could certainly use prayer, but if you’d like to give, you can do so online at www.thesojourn.org. I’m going to be trying to find interesting ways to decorate the youth room, so if you have ideas, let me know. Right now, I’m thinking chalkboard paint on the walls.

I may add some more later as they come to me, so check back.

 

Next step to becoming a photographer…

So I’m almost positive I’m taking a photography class at Ivy Tech during the Spring 2008 semester. I’m pretty excited about it. It will be the Basic Photography class since that is the prerequisite for all the others. Tyler’s being such a trooper by not taking classes if I take this one (for two reasons: he loves me and also because he hates classes).

I’m also going to speak with Elizabeth Pugliese over coffee sometime soon. She and her husband do wedding photography in addition to working at the Courier & Press, where I’m currently a freelance writer and photographer. I was very happy and surprised at how willing she was to meet with me and discuss what she does. Of course, I guess when you love what you do, it would be hard to contain that excitement. 

There’s a lot of uncertainties for me before taking this class: 

1) I’m not sure what camera to buy, if any, before I take the class.

2) Do I need to get an associates in photography, or should I just take a few classes and then work on building my portfolio?

3) Should I completely forego the classes and just learn on my own? Some say experience is the best teacher.

4) What brand of camera would be best? What should I get as a beginner? I don’t want to have to upgrade right after I learn what I’m doing.

I’m really looking forward to finding out more. I borrowed a church member’s camera over Thanksgiving and I realized I have a LOT to learn. Some of the pictures were pretty good, some not so much. I guess you have to start somewhere, though.

For you photographers out there, I’d really appreciate some advice!