Kelly makes her debut in my First Photo Shoot!

Kelly was the first friend I made in Knoxville back in September. She knew I was working on my photography, and she recently asked me if I wanted a model for a photoshoot! DUH!!! No Brainer!!! Kelly and I got together this weekend, and boy did we have a great time! So many of her photos turned out beautifully! She was a perfect first model because she was patient with me, and she was up for anything. We had so much fun! I have posted a lot of pictures, but it was so difficult selecting photos to post because Kelly had over 150 photos that turned out great! Thanks Kelly for making this a blast!

Tricks are for Kids!

I am going to come clean here and now...I have had a lot of hobbies over my relatively short lived life. I seem to be endlessly looking for something fun and exciting to do, but I wind up getting bored pretty quickly and move on to the next thing that will hopefully give me a newfound purpose and create a little escape from the monotony of life. I've tried too many things to count, each of them failing to ease my boredom or ceasing to challenge me. I can't really remember exactly how I decided to get into photography. Most of my decisions are made upon impulse without much thinking or rationality. I have always liked taking pictures, but the actual commitment to photography that required a new deep pocketed camera was made in less than a few days. But I knew I had to have a new camera, and I knew I wanted to take serious pictures. I wish I had more time to devote to my new love, but I try to find the time as much as I can, and I hope I am slowly growing into a better artist. I have a long way to go, but I am very much enjoying the challenge. Yes...that's it! I am finally challenged by something and cannot believe how much I have learned. In fact, I learned a few post production tricks today while I was staring into my computer. They're not perfect, but I am proud to say I have a few color selective tricks up my sleeve! It's fun so it's worth it! I feel like a kid again!!!

Calabash, NC

I never turn down a trip to the beach, so Michael and I jumped at the chance to go to the North Carolina coast for a long July 4th weekend. We traveled to Calabash, NC, a quaint shrimp boating town popular for it's down home feel and "Calabash Style" seafood, which means fresh fried! We stayed in a charming village called Brunswick Plantation. 3 picturesque golf courses surrounded an antebellum clubhouse and traditional Carolinian homes. I simply enjoyed sitting on the back porch having a drink and listening to the bull frogs! We had lots of fun relaxing on the beach, eating seafood, and playing golf. We didn't want to leave!

Nicole Got Married!

Last weekend, Michael and I went down to Alabama to be a part of Chris and Nicole's wedding festivities. Michael has been friends with Chris since high school, and I have become friends with Nicole over the past few years in just the few opportunities I have gotten to see her. The wedding weekend kicked off on Thursday night with a lingerie shower for the bride to be. I brought my camera along to capture some of the night's events, which started off with a little bubbly and tranformed into some interesting games and watching Nicole open some fabulouse presents!

Getting the Party Started!


Nicole's name for the evening was "Sugar Tits." We were all given "dirty little nicknames" for the evening. Unfortunately, I got stuck with "Puddin' Pie." Not very sexy if you ask me--but those of you who know me and are laughing right now, know just how well that fits me!


Nicole and her grandmother "Bootylicious!"


The gifts started out great and just kept getting better!




So sweet!!! I want some of these!


This is just the beginning of Tiffany's gift...


Which came with some tassles from none other than New Orleans.


She loaded up on some great stuff...I hope they got some use on the honeymoon!


Hands down best gift of the evening! WOW!!! I wonder what Chris thinks of this one!

Sweet Pea

Today, I simply wanted to dedicate some space to my second love (uhhh...who am I kidding) my first love:

Miss Scarlett Belle

Home Sweet Home

Michael and I went home for the weekend to see my family and go to our friends Taylor and Evan's wedding. We only spent a short weekend at home, but I felt that we successfully made our rounds and were able to see lots of family and friends, which made for a great weekend. My aunt Paula celebrated her birthday, so we headed to her house on Friday night to do an ol' fashioned family cookout (minus the softball game-sorry Michael). I always love the opportunity to see my whacky family, and we had an awesome time. Saturday started early with a good washing of the car since it was spattered with bug gut graffiti all over the front of it! We fit in a few games of bowling with my parents mid-afternoon. I came in last place both times (always seems to be a theme with me!), but it was great fun. Saturday night, we headed to the wedding. I wish I would have taken my camera to the wedding on Saturday because everyone was absolutely beautiful, especially the bride, but I wanted to enjoy myself without having to worry about lugging around my camera. It didn't really look good with my outfit anyway!

Here are some shots of my family I took during my aunt Paula's birthday cookout.

Michael and Lil' Man shooting some hoops.


Scarlett wants in on the action.




She shoots...


She scores!!!


Sabrina loves the camera!


Kelsea


Waiting for dinner in the sun...somebody's gotta do it!


Sydney


Happy Birthday Paula...Just ask Kelsea how old you are!!!

Schnitzel, Scattergories, and Snakes

This weekend, Michael and I visited his brother Sean and Sean’s girlfriend Caroline in Young Harris, Georgia. Sean moved there recently and works as the Director of Residence Life at Young Harris College. It’s always fun to hang out with Sean and Caroline because we always find something exciting to get into, and when Michael and Sean get together, all bets are certainly off!

We started off Saturday morning with a trip to Helen, Georgia, an allegedly quaint and picturesque Swiss-German town set in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I was very excited to see what awaited us in Helen, as I eagerly anticipated being transplanted into another world in just 30 short minutes! Well…Helen was German alright, if “German” means a short row of Swiss-looking buildings built for a theme park attraction—think Gatlinburg with a few Swiss details and fewer concrete black bears. We were in another world alright, just not the world any of us had pictured. Helen was far from quaint unless you associate charming with rumbling Harley Davidson engines! As we always do, we made the best of the situation and headed to a bier garden to down a few brews and eat some schnitzel and sauerkraut. The highlight of the afternoon was our dining entertainment, which consisted of a one man band (very loose description) and his beloved hot pink ipod. It didn’t take long for us to decide it was time to go home!

Upon our return, the competition portion of the weekend began. Let me preface by saying that the McGreevey family produced two very competitive sons, and no time spent together goes by without some friendly competition. We started off with a game of disk golf, and nothing is worth mentioning about this game except for that I seriously throw like a girl and the maintenance crew forgot to mow the grass—which does not make for pleasant playing. Oh yea... I guess I can admit the defeat that Michael and I suffered during our inaugural 9 holes.

We brought the competition inside for the evening and started off with a few games of dominoes and a game of darts, which I decided to sit out for fear of sending anyone to the hospital. My lack of aim paired with sharp flying objects is definitely not a good idea. Finally, we got to my area of expertise—Scattergories! When it comes to any tests of my physical skill, I will raise my white flag high! But I was not going to be defeated in Scattergories! After six games and several arguments over word choices consisting of Mr. T…Royal Crowning…Tyra Banks… J*#$ in 1942…and Hip People, I was gloriously named the victor. It was about damn time I won something.

Sunday involved round #2 of disk golf in a different park with much shorter grass. Michael and I emerged as the winners, but the most memorable part of the day was almost getting bitten by the giant black rat snake I met while traipsing back to the car. I promise to walk the path next time, even if it takes a few minutes longer. And yes…he was big! Not quite the size of an anaconda, but he was big.

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend with many hilarious moments, a surprising town, and great adventures! I would happily do it all again (minus meeting the snake)!

Ladies and Gentlemen...I present you with Helen, Georgia!

Ahhhhh....

Boy do I wish I were back there right now!