Maternity Photos: Kim & Blake

I was thrilled when Kim and Blake asked me to do maternity photos for them! They live in Florida, so we met (roughly) in the middle in Fairhope, Alabama, which turned out to be the perfect picturesque location. The weather was unexpectedly cold and windy, but these two did not let that stop them! We had a really fun day documenting the excitement they have in anticipation of their daughter, Stella. Here are a few of my favorites:

Just a Little Shout-Out :)

I'll be sharing some of Kim and Blake's maternity photos with you soon as promised, but first, I want to tell you how much I love the Porters. Mary and Brandon were my first-ever portrait models, and I owe my portrait skills to them. Without their willingness to let me practice, I would not have started out on this journey of learning about portrait work. All I have learned (and will learn, too) can be traced back to this maternity shoot:

And then there was this (much more difficult) newborn session with their precious son, Lawson:

Sadly, the Porters moved far away from us last year, but Alex and I had a wonderful visit with them in their new home a couple of months ago. I couldn't resist capturing their growing family again:

Aren't they adorable?

Photo A Day October: Day 31: Whatever You Please

The last day of this challenge has arrived at last. It's been another rough day. I am so frustrated by computers that I'm trying to post from my phone. I almost forgot my picture again today, so here's the little bit of leftover candy we had post-trick-or-treat.

Photo A Day October, Day 30: Clothing

I must say, I'm really glad that Photo A Day October is almost over. I love the idea of it, but my heart's not in it anymore. Real life is really getting in the way of my creativity, and it's mostly real-world stuff that's un-blog-able, so I'm not exactly filtering it into art. I'll probably do it again sometime, but definitely not next month. Anyhow, today's prompt was "clothes." It was only the second day I've worn socks this season.  (Not all my clothes were beige today, I swear.)

Photo A Day October, Day 29: Moon

Photo A Day October, Day 28: Looking Back

Photo A Day October, Day 27: Morning

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "morning." I had trouble sleeping last night, so my dear husband got me this massive and delicious muffin and some coffee this morning so that I'd be fueled for a fun-filled photography day! I had a wonderfully fun (if unexpectedly chilly) maternity photo session today, and I can't wait to start editing! Stay tuned!

Photo A Day October, Day 26: Listening To

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "listening to." The timing for this one worked out pretty well since the husband and I had plans involving live music. We saw Blues Traveler tonight, and it was a lot of fun. Not a pretty picture, but I promise that the sound was a beautiful thing, indeed.

No matter what the waitress brings, I will drink in and always be full. I will drink in and always be full. I think those lyrics are going to be in my dreams tonight.

Photo A Day October, Day 25: People

Wow, what a day. My head has been spinning since this morning. I almost forgot about Photo A Day! The prompt was "people." I've had a lot of thoughts about people today, but they are best kept to myself. So all I have to offer is this awful picture of Elvis in the window of the liquor store. Definitely my new least favorite from this October challenge, but it's been my least favorite day, too, so I guess it fits.

If you care to see evidence that I actually can take decent pictures of real people, click here.

Photo A Day October, Day 24: Weather

I must admit, I'm not as excited about Photo A Day now that my computer is failing me, but I'll stick it out. Today's prompt was "weather," so I took a picture of the scarf I was wearing to illustrate that it has cooled down a bit on the coast. Or maybe it's just that my idea of "cool" has changed. Either way, it's scarf-wearin' time! :)

Photo A Day October, Day 23: The View From Here

The prompt for Photo A Day today was "the view from here." This one was pretty obvious for me since I was sitting at my desk at work most of the day. This is the view through my window (when I put the blinds up):

I know it's not exactly earth-shattering, but after having an office (seen here) with no windows for nearly two years at my old job, I really, really appreciate this view.

Photo A Day October, Day 22: In Your Town

Today's Photo A Day prompt was "In Your Town." Ocean Springs is really a gorgeous place, so this was easy. I could have taken a hundred pretty pictures of my town. But it was a longer-than-usual day at work, so I drove straight to one of my favorite picturesque places: Marshall Park.

I like it. I don't, however, like the fact that my crotchety computer will no longer let me save full-size versions of edited photos. I might be Intagrammin' it from here on out. :/

Photo A Day October, Days 19-21 (Catch-up Time!)

Well, folks, the Photo A Day project has taken a bit of backseat to the fact that there was a SQUIRREL IN MY HOUSE. I know I mentioned that on Day 15, but that turned out not to be the end of the saga. It really is gone now though.  Anyway, that's my excuse for why I didn't blog for two days AND why these three photos are sub-par.

Day 19: Letters. A new test we just received at work, which I brought home to practice and have not looked at since (see above excuse about the squirrel in my house.)

Day 20: 4:00. I was about an hour late on this one, but here's a tree at church, where I was hanging out at a picnic.

 

Day 21: Calm. Here's the kitchen windowsill, which is where I first spotted the squirrel. Now that we're squirrel-free and all this stuff has been thoroughly cleaned, I feel much calmer, indeed. :)

Photo A Day October, Day 18: Made You Smile Today

Today's Photo A Day prompt was "made you smile today." It was a long day for me because I got up extra early to go to the dentist before work, and I developed a sore throat throughout the day. So I came home and curled up with The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It's one of my all-time favorites, and one of my therapy sessions inspired me to re-read it. For my throat, I made some tea that my parents brought from their trip out west, which I poured into this mug that my dear friend painted for me. I'm alone tonight, technically, but in spirit, I'm spending the evening with Mom, Dad, Ashley... and Charlie. :) What's not to smile about?

Photo A Day October, Day 17: Fruit

"Fruit" was today's Photo A Day prompt. I kind of wish I'd had something else on hand besides an apple since I already used an apple on Day 9, but oh well. I kind of like the simple still life anyway.

Photo A Day October, Day 16: Something You Wrote

"Something you wrote" was today's Photo A Day prompt. I've been kind of enjoying how this challenge serves as a visual daily diary of my life, so rather than break out the markers and write something a little more visually appealing specifically for a photo, I just took a picture of something I wrote at work. I was writing a psychological assessment report that included an intelligence test. I score these tests with computer software, but there's one measurement called the General Ability Index that the computer doesn't calculate for me, so I have to pull out this chart and figure it out on scratch paper before I type it up in the report. It looks like this:

Fascinating, I know. ;)

Photo A Day October, Day 15: Dinner Time

Today's Photo A Day prompt was "dinner time." Here's my bowl of chicken noodle soup:

I used a super-easy crockpot recipe, and it was delicious. And I definitely needed comfort food after I came home from work to figure out that there was a squirrel living in the chimney/microwave exhaust vent. Of course this would happen when my husband is out of town for a week. But thanks to this soup (and the local "Critter Eliminator"), I feel better now. :)

Photo A Day October, Day 14: Makes You Laugh

I didn't get around to my Photo A Day until late this evening. The prompt was "makes you laugh." Most of the things that make me laugh are more verbal than visual, so this was a bit tricky. I ended up with another pile of books. These definitely made me laugh when I read them. :)

Photo A Day October, Day 13: Landscape

So, I missed blogging yesterday due to some technical difficulties. I'm afraid my poor ole Macbook may be on its last legs. Alex brought it back to life, but we'll see how long it lasts. I think I know what I'm asking Santa Claus for this year.

Anyway, yesterday's Photo A Day prompt was "Landscape." It sounds easy enough, but I kind of struggled with what to do. I even wore this t-shirt for a little inspiration, but strangely enough, I couldn't find any snow-capped mountains in Southern Mississippi. I know there are landscapes everywhere, but somehow my mental image of a "landscape" is different from what I see around here. Maybe it's partly because of a recent conversation with my dear brother about how the sound of the Dobro makes our hearts ache for hills--if you haven't heard the new Mumford & Sons album, go listen now!--but when I think of "landscape," I picture layers of hills rolling into each other all the way into the distance. I think of layers. When the land is flat, there just aren't any layers. So here's what I came up with:

I actually took this from the car while traffic was a bit backed up in Biloxi. I like that it has some depth even though the land is flat. I miss hills, but if I ever move away from here, I'll be grieving the loss of these gnarly live oak trees, and the ocean view on the other side of the street.  God always has a way of using my viewfinder to remind me that His creation is beautiful everywhere.

This is my Father's world, 

and to my listening ears

all nature sings, and round me rings

the music of the spheres.

This is my Father's world: 

I rest me in the thought

of rocks and trees, or skies and seas;

His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world, 

the birds their carols raise, 

the morning light, the lily white

declare their maker's praise. 

This is my Father's world: 

He shines in all that's fair;

in the rustling grass I hear Him pass;

He speaks to me everywhere.

-Maltbie D. Babcock

Photo A Day October, Day 12: On the Table

Today's prompt for Photo A Day was "on the table." Alex and I had dinner with some friends, and I got so caught up in conversation that I forgot to take a picture while it was still light outside as planned. I thought I was going to be disappointed with myself again, but to my surprise, I actually really like this after-dark shot. The out-of-focus lights strewn about the porch light up that live oak pretty nicely. I'm not that much of a wine person (and this glass wasn't mine), but doesn't it look inviting? Cheers!

Photo A Day October, Day 11: Something Close Up

Today's Photo A Day prompt was "something close up." I figured this would end up being a pretty macro flower photo, but I've been under the weather today (thanks, sinuses), so it didn't happen. After work, I curled up on the couch and asked Alex to pick up pizza for dinner. I haven't moved since, so here's my photo:

Not blog-worthy, but I said I'd post every day, so there it is. Hopefully I'll feel (and photograph) better tomorrow.

Photo A Day October, Day 10: Emotion

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "emotion." Since my clients are off-limits and my husband doesn't like having his picture taken, the only available model I had today was myself. So I put together this silly little collage:

It reminds me of these visual aids we therapists call "feeling faces." They have 30-50 hand-drawn facial expressions on them and are useful in assessing the moods of kids who don't yet have much of an emotional vocabulary. Six-year-olds aren't going to tell you they feel "frustrated," but they can point at a face that communicates the same thing. How funny would it be if I created my own "feeling faces" with these crazy self-portraits?!

Photo A Day October, Day 9: Red

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "red." I actually worked pretty hard at this one. I used my real camera and did all kinds of arranging and re-arranging and swapping of these red items. I took 29 versions of this picture. I picked a favorite but still wasn't happy with the empty wall space, so I added text to fill it in (along with some other editing.) Here's the final product:

I got so into red that I didn't want to stop creating, so I ended up making this treasury, too. Check out all these fabulous red Etsy finds!

Treasury tool by StylishHome.