Rachel Shoemaker: Sneak Peek

I just got back from an all-day shoot with a really fun girl with a really unique style. Rachel Shoemaker traveled 4 hours — 4 hours! — to do a photo shoot with me today. Rachel graduated from high school with my sister and we’ve kept in touch through the wonderful Facecbook and MySpace, so when I posted something about free photo shoots, I was totally flattered that she wanted to travel all this way to take advantage of it. Add to that the fact that she’d never seen my work. Talk about faith!

We started at about 9 a.m. this morning in Chandler, then worked our way to Evansville and Newburgh. She was up for anything and was totally at ease in front of the camera. She wanted to try some really funky makeup for her photos, so I let her do her thing. She even helped me scout out some unique locations and pose ideas. It was totally fun!

This image was taken behind a church in Newburgh. We were both totally shocked to find that bamboo can grow in southern Indiana, but it sure made for some pretty images. And love that light! Can you believe this image has no Photoshop editing to it at all?

Copyright Nicole Neff Photography

Thanks, Rachel, for a totally fun day. I can’t wait to post ALL of your pictures, because the camera totally loves you!

 

I saw Katy Perry, and I liked it…

Tyler and I traveled to Indy last week for the Warped Tour at the Verizon Wireless Music Center, and among the acts to perform was Katy Perry. I wasn’t the biggest fan of hers before the concert. In fact, when Tyler purchased her single “I Kissed a Girl” (he’s so going to kill me for writing that) from iTunes a few weeks ago, I was mad at him for not only spending our money on it, but putting the money in her bank account.

But I have to admit, Katy Perry put on a pretty good show. She was by far the act with the most people watching. Seriously, the entired amphitheater was packed. Luckily, we had gotten there early to get a pretty good seat. She brought serious energy to her performance and had a great personality, too. I was able to get some decent pictures of her with my point and shoot…

Katy Perry @ Warped Tour, Indy

Katy Perry performing

We also saw Gymclass Heroes…meh. Not impressed.

Gymclass Heroes @ Warped Tour

Then we saw Angels and Airwaves. You might recognize the lead singer as Tom of Blink182. Angels and Airwaves was seriously awesome, and Tyler is completely sold on their music now.

Angels and Airwaves @ Warped Tour

Tom of Angels and Airwaves

Finally, the band we waited for all day was RelientK. We’ve loved their music for some time now, and this performance totally solidified that. If you know us, you know that we are MAJOR fans of The Office. Tyler and I were totally surprised and in awe when RelientK broke out in a song they wrote about The Office and then played The Office theme song. Awesome!

RelientK @ Warped Tour

Notice that there are not any pictures of me and Tyler. There’s a good reason for that…we were a hot sweaty mess that day. It was 96 degrees in the shade at one point toward the END of the day, so needless to say we had been sweating all day and it wasn’t pretty. The sun completely wore us out and I think I’m still catching up on sleep. It was totally worth it, though. I had a blast seeing some awesome musical acts with my favorite guy in the world. I couldn’t have asked for more!

 

Road Trippin’!

Tomorrow, Tyler and I are taking a day off of work to head to Indy for the Warped Tour! It’s about a 4-hour trip for us to the Verizon Wireless Music Center, but we are fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of people. And everyone says we should do this kind of thing while we’re young…and don’t have kids. So why not?

Plus, the tickets were free! My boss won the tickets on the radio for me (I was trying to call in, but didn’t get through…she did, and I’m so happy!); I’m widely known as the girl who wins stuff on the radio…seriously, I’ve seen live Gretchen Wilson (and met her backstage…I have the picture to prove it), Brad Paisley, Dancing with the Stars and Larry the Cable Guy. All from calling in to the radio. But this time, I owe it to her.

We may not seem like Warped Tour kind of people. I think it’s a little more punk/alternative than we normally would like, but since my husband is a musician, we try to see as many musical acts as possible. It’s good for the creative juices and opens your mind up to other styles to infuse into your own music. Or so I’m told. I’m not the musical one in the family.

Most of the acts, we’ve never heard of. However, one of our favorite Christian bands, RelientK, is going to be there. The “I Kissed a Girl” girl, Katy Perry, is going to be there, too. I’m not crazy about her, but Tyler likes her. Gee, couldn’t imagine why. ; ) I’m also going to try to catch Gymclass Heroes and Angels and Airwaves.

It’s going to be a hot one, for sure, but I love stuff like this. What’s better than being with your favorite guy, hitting the road and seeing some awesome musical acts for free?

And because I love putting pictures in my posts, here’s one from last weekend when my mom and dad were in town. We made our annual trip to Holiday World, and man was it a hot one. We spent a lot of time at the water park, not only because it was hot, but also because my sister is prego and can’t ride rides. Doesn’t she look so cute with her little belly pooch?

Family outing to Holiday World

And here’s one of me…and Tyler groping Santa. What am I going to do with that husband of mine?

The Neffs with Santa

 

Portrait Bonus!

Because I want my clients to be able to have great prints to hang up on their walls after our sessions, I’ve decided to add in a little bonus to my portrait prices…$100 in ordering credit! That means that you get the 2 hours session time, at least 15 images professionally edited, online proofing and ordering, and $100 in products of your choice. How awesome is that?

This would be especially great for seniors and families to take advantage of before school starts up again. Fill out the contact page of my web site and set up a portrait session right away…this deal may not last forever!

And because it’s rare to find a picture of me since I’m always behind the camera, here’s a little picture that David of Cathy+David Photography took of me at a meeting in Indy this past week. Thanks for capturing me when I’m not making one of my many silly/animated faces, David!

Photo by David of Cathy+David Photography

 

Trading in the Indiana weather…

for this in Hawaii. Be jealous. I would be if I were you. ; )

Wed May 21		Partly Cloudy	85°/73°	20 %
Thu May 22		Mostly Sunny	85°/73°	20 %
Fri May 23		Mostly Sunny	86°/74°	20 %
Sat May 24		Mostly Sunny	86°/74°	20 %
Sun May 25		Sunny	86°/74°	20 %
Mon May 26		Mostly Sunny	86°/74°	10 %
Tue May 27		Sunny	86°/74°	10 %
Wed May 28		Mostly Sunny	85°/74°	0 %

 

Opening Day of the Indianapolis 500

As part of our entry to the 500 Festival Mini Marathon, you receive a free ticket to opening day at the Indianapolis 500. I had never been to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before (other than the run the previous day) so Jaimie and I decided to head out to the track. We were able to park on the lawn within the track, which I thought was pretty cool. You never know how big that old oval is until a) you run on it for 2.5 miles or b) you try to find your way around it and then figure out how to get back; it ain’t easy!

The opening day is really just rookie day. All of the rookies try to qualify for the actual Indianapolis 500. We sat on the bleachers in absolutely perfect weather just watching these newbies fly around the track. One rookie that Jaimie and I were particularly fond of is Will Power. I kid you not, his name is Will Power (throw your fist in the air and say his name…it’s exhilerating!). Other than having a cool name, apparently he’s pretty good because he posted the fastest times of the day.

We also got up close to some driver whose name we never figured out, so if you know who it is, leave me a comment and let me know:

The Unsers were also there to give a talk and sign autographs. I know they’re a pretty big name in racing, but I could care less. I just thought it would be cool to get a picture of someone famous:

We had a great time just laughing, talking and learning the panning technique for photography (you get a pretty cool effect, especially with the race cars driving so fast!). After that, we went to Carmel to do some shopping. The entire weekend was a great time catching up with an old friend. I have a feeling it won’t be the last time we get together and hang out! (Please excuse my absolutely frizzy hair)

(All of these images taken with a Canon SD 1000 point and shoot)

 

500 Festival Mini Marathon

Today, I ran my first — and probably not last — 500 Festival Mini Marathon. It was the perfect morning for a run…overcast, cool and dry. I ran with my friend Jaimie, who ran it last year. We got up at 5:45 and were out the door by 6:20 a.m. We quickly found parking at the race and then waited in line at the port-o-johns. If you know anything about running, they are a popular place before a race. We weren’t as early as we could have been, so waiting in the lines made us a bit nervous. But luckily, we were able to make it to our corrall just in time for the start.

Tyler went to the start line to wait for us to make our way up. We started in corral K, which took only about 15 minutes to reach the start. It was estimated that corral Z would take 30 minutes to make it to the start, if that tells you anything. Even with 35,000 runners, the race coordinators find a way to make it a very seamless start.

The race was a blast. I’ve run the Evansville Half Marathon twice, but it is nothing like the Mini Marathon. There were people every step of the race cheering us on as well as musical and dance groups entertaining us. I think I was smiling most of the race. I felt good running, but more than that I was having fun. I decided that having fun was going to be the most important factor for me. In the past, I’ve put too much pressure on myself to do well. It was great to have Jaimie there running with me and keep me pumped.

My goal for the race, other than to have fun, was to run it in less than two hours. I’ve not been able to make that goal the past two races, so I was determined. I felt great and was on pace the entire first half. I started to get a side stitch at mile 11, so that was the only time I stopped to walk. I ended up running it off and was able to continue a good pace. I am happy to report that I made my goal and finished with a time of 1:58:44, or a 9:04-mile pace. I finished 494th in my 20-25 age group, 1947 out of women finishers, and 7425 overall.

Thanks to everyone, especially Jaimie, who encouraged me for this race. And a HUUUUGE thanks goes out to Tyler, who came all the way from Evansville just to see me race. Well, really he saw me at the starting line and then wait for over two hours until I made it back. He wins Husband of the Year award for sure.

 

Beautiful Sunset

Last night as I was running, I couldn’t help but enjoy the fabulous weather and scenery. The flowers are blooming, trees are starting to get their leaves and the sky was a fantastic blue. About midway through the run, I came across this old water tower and realized that the sun would be setting behind it…a perfect photo opportunity. So I ran back home as fast as I could, grabbed my camera and hopped in my car.

The sun was still up as I was leaving, but by the time I arrived back at the water tower, it was all but hidden. I was disappointed until I realized that the sunset was a brilliant purple and orange, better than I could have imagined. I parked my car, put on my hazard lights, grabbed my Canon 40D and started clicking away. I was more than pleased with what I got, but I’ll let you be the judge.

I’m so glad spring has finally arrived!

EDIT: I realized that I had put sunrise, but this is obviously a sunset. And it’s a water tower, not a silo. I was tired when I wrote this. Sorry guys!

 

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.