Spring time in February

It's spring!!!! Oh...wait.... it's still February!

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day out and you wouldn't believe it's the middle of February. I was walking to class in a light jacket and I was roasting!

I was done with class for the day and I could let this beautiful day go by without doing a photo shoot outside! I got my friend Rachael to take a few pictures before she had to go to class then continued to do picture with Lauren afterwards. We ended up doing a few shots around the main part of campus and it felt amazing to be outside shooting in the amazing weather! Although it was really windy, it was still beautiful!

Here are some shots from our session!

Day 47

February 16

"Afternoon portrait"

As a little kid I never knew that the moon was also visible during the day time. There were three things I associated with the night: dark, stars and the moon. The day I found out that you could see the moon in daylight was probably about the coolest thing since fruit roll ups!

I've always looked at the stars at night and wondered who else was looking up at them too. I saw them as a blanket that kept my family and friends safe when I'm not around and I'm too far away to see them. They're like billions and billions of eyes watching over them to protect them. But the moon.....the moon is one eye, watching over all of us to keep us safe. Unlike the stars, it's there to see us even when the sun is out.

The moon is my connection to my friends and family when I'm not around. One of my favorite lyrics says, "I'm jealous of you moon, tonight you get to see her". And it couldn't be more true! Every time I see it I'm jealous of who its seeing right now, but it makes me happy to know that we're all being protected by the same eye in the sky!

Day 46

February 15

"The Eye in the Sky"

Happy belated Valentines day!

It's been a busy past few days so I'm finally catching up on my blog and posting recent 365 pictures! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long

If you asked many of my friends and family members how I feel about Valentines day they would probably tell you that I hate it with a passion. Growing up, I was never a fan! I think out of the 20 Valentines days I have 'celebrated' in my life, I have spent about three of them lying on the couch sick. In elementary I had to have all my valentines sent home with my brother for me because I was gone from school for about a week I was so sick. My seventh grade year I was home on the couch yet again because I had the chicken pox! Talk about love!

Over the last few years I have always looked at it as a 'terrible day'. Last year my dorm had a Valentines day dance, and I got the honors of naming it "The Dance of Love, or Lack there of". I had the idea that Valentines day should be a day to spend with your lover and all the romantic stuff!

On Valentine's day I was chatting with my friend on Facebook and I told her "Happy Valentines day best friend, I love you!" We chatted a little bit and got on the topic of giving and receiving gifts for Valentines day and I said that Valentines is hyped up as this day that guys have to give girls chocolate, roses, take them out to dinner, and show them extra attention. But why does that just have to be on Valentines day? Shouldn't that be everyday? (not the buying them roses and goodies, but the showing them how much they love them) Why do they have to go the extra mile just one day a year? And why is it always about dating couples? Shouldn't it be a day to tell all the people you love how you really feel about them and how much they mean to you?

I think so!

On Valentines day I made my boyfriend his favorite kind of dessert bar and did the one thing that I knew would mean more to him than anything else, drive down to Denver to surprise him. I asked his mom to help me make sure he would be home and the surprise would still work. And lucky for me, it worked out perfectly. I've never seen someone so surprised, confused, and happy all at the same time!

I realized this year that Valentines day isn't about gifts. It's about telling the people close to you just how much they mean to you.

The best thing gift you can give to someone is your friendship, love, and loyalty

I think this ring says it all....

Day 45

February 14

"Love. Friendship. Loyalty"

Happy belated Valentines day fans!

Fail to be prompt = photoshoot =)

Talk about a change of plans!

My roommate is doing a two week long performance and she invited my boyfriend and I to it over a month ago. We decided last week what day we wanted to go with our friends. Since I am a student, my friends and I all got free tickets but I had to pay for Scott's ticket. The performance started at 2 and we were planning on getting there around 1:45 but were running a little late. We picked up Rachael on our way and walked into the door at 2:05 and the ladies at the door told us the performance had already started and we couldn't go today and would have to go to another showing. Talk about depressing!

We walked outside of the building and stared at each other and said "Welp, what are we going to do now?!" It was a gorgeous day outside for the second week of February with a whopping 65 degrees! So leave it to two photographers to turn a fail to show up early into a great photo shoot with a friend. We spend about an hour and a half walking around a part of campus taking pictures of Rachael.

I just loved her green eyes with her green shirt!

Day 44

February 13

"Green"

Shoot with More Love

Talk about a great day surrounded by photography! On Saturday I went to the Power of Passion seminar featuring photographers Sandy Puc and Jerry Ghionis. I'd have to say that I walked out of that seminar feeling so motivated and inspire and it felt amazing! As part of the seminar they gave tips on marketing for your business as well as tips on wedding photography. Listening to the two photographers was so moving! Sandy, like me, started photography at the age of 17 (I think I started around 15? maybe 16) and it's incredible to see where she is now!

Jerry had so many good things to say that really hit me. One quote he said was "You don't have to be the best, you just have to be better than last week." This one hit me so hard because with my 365 project I constantly feel like I have to have an amazing photo every day and if I don't get that then I've let myself down, when in reality all I need to do is improve. Every day is a new step, practice, and a whole new learning experience. I might not have an amazing photo every day, but as long as my photos are better than last weeks and I'm learning then nothing else matters!

Another thing he said was "Shoot with more love". Too often we get wrapped up in photography to the point that we just shoot and don't think about emotion and reactions. Jerry told us stories about his photos and how he got the reactions he did and it taught me so much about what I can do to get better photos, especially with my wedding photography.

So for my photo for the day, maybe I took him a little too seriously in the shooting and love department...

Day 43

February 12

"Shoot with More Love"

Music + Photography = bliss

There are two things that have helped me throughout my life, 1- photography, and 2- music. Combine the two and I am one happy person! The day my Zune died was the saddest day of my whole life, but Wednesday afternoon when my new one arrived, I was the happier person alive!

I have been so overwhelmed the past few weeks with everything I need to get done for classes, work, and life in general. One thing I have been working on is a self determined graphic design project where I am making a book that is a combination of both my graphic design and photography work. I have been so busy with other homework over the last few weeks (as well as too big of a sissy to take pictures in the negative degree weather) that I haven't been able to get the shots I wanted so for a few days I got lost in music and photography and I was loving every second of it. Just me, my camera, some good tunes, and the outdoors!

These two pictures are going to be a set in my book to display the contrast of following the common path and making your own.

Day 42

February 11

"Go With the Flow"

When I took this picture the whole time I was just thinking of the song "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac

Day 41

February 10

"Go Your Own Way"

Boudoir shoot with Lauren

Oh my gosh I love boudoir shoots!!

A few weeks back I did a boudoir shoot with a friend for fun to build up my portfolio and get some more experience. My roommate also offered to do a session with me and I was so excited to be able to do another shoot! I had so much fun the first time that I couldn't wait to do another one!

We did Lauren's shoot in our dorm room so space was limited and I'd have to say it made it very interesting. There were times I was pushed as far up to the wall as I could go and had my head turned sideways so I could get the shot. But I got some good smiles out of Lauren while I did it!

We had such a great session and I got so many great shots it was so hard to pick a favorite.

But here is today's picture and I will have some others up soon!

Day 40

February 9

A Pair of Heels