Capture Photography

NEW BLOG! NEW BLOG! NEW BLOG!

2011-01-17T15:52:00.000-05:00

alrighty folks!

give a moment of silence for my trusty blogger blog.....

and then immediately head to Capture Photography's NEW BLOG!!!

i'll be posting there from now on, so make sure you update any bookmarks and check back often...

peace and joy,

{2011 Randomness} - Where you AT?!

2011-01-14T14:33:00.000-05:00

hey out there!

so my grand plan really was to start my normal blog routine this week. clearly that didn't happen. not for lack of working...i've been hard at work getting marketing/pricing together for the 2011 year, moving into a studio {hollaaaaaaa!}, getting my site up and running {which, i hope you've seen...}, figuring out a new blog {still in progress...}, entertaining family, having impromptu "snow" days....

all this to say...

back to normal blogging next week!

for now, here's some of my latest favorites:

benson's first portrait....

caedmon's first studio shot....in MY studio! i grabbed these when i first went to look at this great space. started on a grey backdrop....

....and ended up thinking this was way more interesting....equipment and all in the background!

when i say "my" studio....i'm really using that term loosely. its not mine. i'm splitting it. 3 ways. and really, its my friend suzanne's and she's being super gracious and letting me and holly crash with her. i'm so SO excited. i have my first official session there tomorrow and i just can't wait. below is a look at our hard work sorting props, organizing and merging 3 photog worlds together. we still have a little spicing up to do and then i'll give ya a full 360 tour.

so great, huh?! not gonna lie, i'm just plain excited!!! {did i say that already?! :)}

and, while i'm bragging on the studio space, i need to brag on the girls i'm sharing it with too. suzanne jones and holly tye...click on their names to check out a bit of their wonderful work. we are all totally different. which is fun. and exciting to see how we'll all be able to encourage and inspire each other...

thanks for bearing with me as i get back in my groove. lots of amazing stuff to share starting next week.

until then.....

{2011 CP Biz Update} - ANNOUNCING....

2011-01-04T13:57:00.000-05:00

....OUR OFFICIAL WEBSITE!

its been a long time coming, but its finally here...Capture Photography's official site. who thought putting up a website would be so exciting?!?! but i am just about giddy and jumping out of my favorite pair of boots, i'm so excited!

this is just the first step for a whole new look and focus for 2011. keep an eye out for a new blog {once i learn the ropes....}, updated pricing, procedures, products, and, locations!! all awesome stuff that i'll be sharing over the next few weeks...

but for now, head over, browse around, and ENJOY. and BOOKMARK IT while you're at it... :)

WWW.CAPTUREPHOTOSITE.COM

i'd love your feedback also. love. just use the contact form for any comments/constructive criticisms/ you may have to say.

OH! and happy new year! we've had a great, great time of rest and family over the holidays {in fact, we still have some very happy grandparents hanging out with us....}. i hope you have as well. but, its time to start getting back in the groove....

and...

can i share a fun random fact from the flynn household lately? kiera has NOT taken this tiara off her head since she got it. not even kidding you. she's maybe gone a total of 4 hours over the past 4 weeks without it gracing her little noggin.

i'm not gonna lie...it really makes me smile.

peace and joy to you on this tuesday afternoon!
~j

{Inspire} - Looking Foward

2010-12-13T15:40:00.001-05:00

my friends and family who know me the best {and, thank GOD, still love me} know that i am HORRIBLE at mailing things. cards, gifts, you name it. and mailing them on time....whew...don't even ask. i'm awful. i wish that i wasn't. but i am.

while that is definitely on the list of flaws to smooth out...ummmm....its not real high on the priority list, if i'm being hoenst. there's some definite other doozies that need a little polish first. :)

so i'm not even fighting it this year. or feeling bad. just putting it out there and saying that that is how i am at the moment. and therefore, you won't get a christmas card in the mail from us...but i DO wish you a very merry christmas and a positively amazing new year....i just happen to be extending those wishes on the blog instead of in your mailbox.... {thank you kim for this image!!!!}

really...from my family to you and yours...MERRY CHRISTMAS. and HAPPY NEW YEAR. i truly wish peace and joy for you this holiday season.

and speaking of the holiday season, this is my last blog post for 2011. how FAST the year has flown!!! time to get ready for family, presents, COOKIES, christmas programs....and taking some time for some important projects that need to be finished up for CP.

but can i share a bit of AWESOME news with you?!

come january 1, 2011....I'LL HAVE A STUDIO SPACE!!!

YES...its the best deal everrrrrr! 2 other wonderfully talented girls and i will be splitting a studio space in downtown columbus. i'll share more details after the first of the year...but i'm so excited. its glorious. wood floors. white walls. BIG windows {for perfect light!}. mmmmmm...i can't wait.

and its the chance to create a little more separation between work and home.

and its the chance to work around and be challenged by some very different creative minds. i'll still be working mainly on location for sessions, but this affords some fabulous creative opportunities as well.

its just, well, awesome all around.

so....get excited. lots of fun adventures to come for 2011. i'll see you then....

{Inspire} - Looking Back

2010-12-09T15:36:00.001-05:00

i was scrolling through old blog post the other day...and i literally gasped out loud when i realized that some of my very favorite photos of the little sir from his first few months NEVER got posted...eeeeek! i must have posted them in my head, but then not actually done it...

anyway.

there are good types of looking back. and not so good types. this post is most defintely the good type. the type where you pause for a second and just soak in rememberance before continuing to move forward. the type that motivates you to keep calm and carry on {yay joy!} regardless of what the past has been. the kind that motivates you to continue pursuing the best.

here's a glimpse of my "lookings back" as of lately, hope you enjoy your first glimpses of these images.

these maternity shots were shot by my dear friend aaron hale. love her! she saw just what i was hoping she would see through her lens...

my VERY favorite first moments shot. this was kiera trying to figure out her new brother....

um, YES PLEASE...i don't know how i ever forgot to post above photos. they are so precious. and peaceful. and...*sigh*....perfect.

is this not the funniest thing you've ever seen? little sir was the most dashing guy at his auntie's wedding...by far!

in your "lookings back" today, may you be inspired to keep moving forward...

{2010 Portrait Session} - Kara & Haley

2010-12-08T16:16:00.000-05:00

oh my..... check out these little faces....kara and haley everyone...

what an afternoon....it was just after the cold had decided to finally descend on columbus for good. and everyone were {was? i so need to take a grammar class...} such troopers! kara and haley's mama is a photographer...she does birth photography, among other things. isn't that awesome?! what a gift. you can check out some of her work here.

but sometimes, even if you're a photographer yourself, you need someone else to take photos of your own kids. someone who sees them completely differently than you do. so....thats just what we did.

kara, haley, and tanja...i can't get enough of these big blue eyes staring back at me from my computer screen!!! i love what we captured from our afternoon adventure. even despite unplanned grumpiness. ;) you all are wonderful. and fabulously dressed {wink, wink... :)}. you would be anyway, but you also brought me peppermint mocha creamer...this only adds to the wonderfulness!!! the rest of your images are coming soon....

{2010 Portrait Session} - Morgan

2010-12-07T15:50:00.000-05:00

meet morgan....

so can i tell you first off that this little lady rocked her entire shoot WITH NO MAKEUP?!?! i mean look at all that gorgeousness just shining through, nothing to hide behind...i must admit a slight hint of jealousy at that. and then a slight hint of pride...like tyra banks when all her ANTM girls rock their "natural" sessions with her...

anyway...

this is morgan's "senior" session. she actually missed out on senior photos because she was having crazy surgeries during that time in her life. so this was to make up for it.

i love that she did that...she was super purposeful in making sure things that mattered to her were incorporated into her session, including some reminders of that season where she was forced to develop alot of inner strength. i loved hearing her say "oh, i have to tell you about this..." during our shoot and then hearing some great story ensue and then making sure we somehow captured that on camera.

morgan...IN LOVE with your amazing "senior photos". and thankful to have been able to experience a little of your heart for what is important to you. can't wait for you to see the rest of your fantastic images...

{Inspire} - Us....Again

2010-12-06T15:44:00.000-05:00

hello out there...

i apologize for disappearing for the second half of last week. i had every intent of posting away while my sister was in town...but then she actually got here and we got all wrapped up in sister goodness...chit chatting, making our favorite brownies, going through kiera's adorable baby clothes to pass on to my NIECE {yay!!}. well worth an unplanned blogging absence.

however, for today, my latest inspiration. our fall photos. this is my absolute favorite:

you can see all of kim's favorites HERE. and check out some of the rest of her fantastic work while you're there...

there are a shocking lack of photos on my walls at home. people walk in and are surprised. its not for lack of them...i just can't make up my mind. just like any normal person! :)

however, with mama being the photographer, there are a shocking lack of ALL of us together. which is why i love photo day.

i do NOT love photo day because i love being in front of the camera. in fact, i hate being in front of the camera. i think sometimes i tend to hide behind the camera as i am oh, so much more comfortable there. but what i do love are moments like these, turned into art by another creative mind. LOVE. and treasure.

we didn't plan this...we planned to hang out at kim's and do whatever came along. i told her i just wanted all of us in the photos. and her couch. those two things were a must. then she had a bag of old vintage cameras that she was passing along to me to use as props...and right before we started shooting, kiera saw them. and WOULD NOT put them down. which worked out beautifully, so neither of us minded a bit.

anyway...these are my inspiration as of late. i wish i had something more profound to say about them...but i don't. i just simply love them. and that's inspiring enough.

have a lovely monday...

{2010 Portrait Session} - Foster Family

2010-12-01T14:09:00.000-05:00

when my friend shauna was giving me the ups and downs of photographer world, she said this would happen...that i'd find these amazing creative communities wherever i went. that pretty soon i'd have more photos than i'd know what to do with because other photog's would use you to model, you'd return the favor for them or their family, you'd all try new ideas...etc, etc, etc.

she was totally right.

meet another one of my ridiculously gifted photog buddies, kim. and her rockstar family...

i asked kim to do some photos for us this fall. before you start thinking i'm a total photo hog, and get family photos every month, the last round of family photos i posted was actually shot back in april...not october when i posted them! so i'm not THAT bad. ;)

anyway. so asked kim to do photos. of course, offering to do some for her {or fully pay her for what she was worth!!!!}. she said that she shamefully had NEVER DONE FAMILY PHOTOS. EVER. minus her with her self timer and her tripod. and lots of her kids. and even more of her kids and brad. but only like 2 with all of them. so she was about due, especially for some with her in it, being JUST mama and wife and KIM, not photographer.

and then she warned me that it might be worse than pulling teeth to get everyone to cooperate.

um yea...whatever. they all totally rocked it.

raines rocked his killer blonde curls and an injured finger. grace rocked her super smile and groovy hat. kim rocked her beautiful self and even managed to get her glass of wine in a few shots. brad even rocked GETTING ROLLED ON BY A HORSE just the day before. not even kidding you. he was such a trooper.

and get excited...you're going to see some of her fantastic work tomorrow. and then you're going to want to go out and hire her immediately, as well you should.

fosters...have loved our time we've gotten to see y'all lately!!! we so love how you just. simply. enjoy. so refreshing...thank you for letting us crash your house for an entire sunday. for feeding us {twice}. for capturing such amazing moments with our family {kim}. for feeding grant beer before our shoot {brad}. and for playing endlessly with our kiddos {foster kidlets!}. and thank you for giving me the privilege of returning the favor...photowisen at least. i guess that means i owe you two dinners. :)

{2010 Portrait Session} - Illges Family

2010-11-30T22:59:00.001-05:00

gracing our blog on this tuesday....the illges family!

isn't this a beautiful family?! i think we may have had the most perfect weekend to shoot their family photos...

and ready to hear something else great about this session? its not going to sound that way at first, but i promise, it is.

here's a little inside look into the behind the scenes:

i pull up to our shoot, richard jumps out of his SUV, looks at me with wide eyes and says "the devil himself has descended upon my house, 30 minutes before we were supposed to meet you....good luck!"

of course, i know that 92.8% of the time, this happens on photo day in some way, shape, or form, so it didn't surprise me at all. but, he was right, there was some definite funk hanging over the normally cheery illges family.

now, don't get me wrong...they aren't perfect. and they'll be the first to tell you that {shannon told me that just this morning...}, but they really are typically upbeat. and, beyond that, they really do have a genuine love for each other that goes deeper than circumstances.

do you know what i mean?

and that's why i think they were able to stop. breathe. shake it off. and rock their shoot.

....but in that process, what they really rocked was just being together. because if i've noticed anything about the Illges family as i've gotten to know them, its that they are most definitely good at being together.

and i share this, why?

i'm not really sure, honestly. because shannon said i could....??? :)

no really, i guess its just to say that its ok to be a mess {even on photo day...when you're hoping to be completely ideal}. we all are messy...somehow. might as well just be honest with it! but there is this amazingly powerful beauty in relationships that push through that junk simply because they love each other. i think this shoot was a representation of that to me. i realize that its a choice on each individual's part, whether conscious or unconscious, to love through the mess, not just on photo day, but every day. and its because of those consistent choices to let love cover over a multitude of junk that the beauty, not the mess, is what shines through.

i value that...i realize that its not something that you stumble upon every day {sadly}.

as per usual **sigh**...i'm not quite sure that any of this makes sense, or if i'm sounding cliche when i'm reaaaaaaally not meaning to. and i also really do promise that i'm not going to write a book EVERY time i post photos. just when i have permission. or when i feel like its important and for some reason, i just felt like people need to hear things like this every once in a while.

at least i do.

all this to say....love you illges family. thank you for your transparency. and your choices to fight for each other even when you just feel like fighting with each other instead. so glad you love your images. so glad our shoot ended with lots of laughter. so glad shannon remembered to have richard put on his vest {HA! :)}. you are each a unique treasure and my heart is thankful for you...

{Inspire} - The Real Deal

2010-11-29T10:54:00.000-05:00

hello again blog world...i hope your holiday was divine. {ok...i normally don't use words like that, but i just wanted to try something outside of my normal style... :)}. ours was. we rested. we ate...a bunch. we laughed. we, of course, had some meltdowns because 1/4 of us are 2. we spent time with friends that are family. we hung lights on the house. we just ENJOYED.

AND we did photos. for us. which i'll post later this week. i am IN LOVE with them, as i always am when i get photos of my precious family all together...with me included in front of the camera, not behind.

and those photos are totally us...but all spiffed up. which is real. totally our style, as you'll see, but i wanted to start the week with something else that is also totally us.

these are the real deal...a real look into a typical day:

this is my creative child. and very much what normal, just "be us" days look like around home.

kim, our photographer for the day, was passing on some old vintage camera's to me as props...kiera got ahold of one before our shoot and hasn't put it down since. it made for some great moments that neither of us planned for our shoot...and, of course, warms my heart that she's attached to a camera, by her own choosing.

i've just been thinking alot lately...about the heart of what i do as a photographer. that's alot of jumbled thoughts that i'm sure will come out in time, but lying underneath all of them is a desire to be transparent. to capture what is real. which actually is tricky in our culture and our line of work. we want real moments captured...but we also want to look our best, put our best foot forward, make things look as ideal as possible. none of which is bad....its just this interesting paradox that i've been sifting through

so today i just wanted to share something real. unposed. unplanned. a true reflection of a moment. to me, these shots are just as beautiful as the ones i'll share later in the week. they are ordinary...but i love seeing the beauty spill out from every corner of those moments.

be inspired to find beauty in the ordinary today...and let me know what you see!

{CP Announcement} - Holiday Deadlines

2010-11-22T15:31:00.000-05:00

happy thanksgiving week folks!!

so, in honor of the first holiday week of the season....i'm not going to be posting anything this week. my kidlets are home from school, we have lots of big plans, and, lets face it, work can chillax for a week...or, blogging at least.

but i do want to leave you with some important info for the week....

~ i'm offically booked through the end of the year. EXCITING for me...bummer if you were hoping to get a session in before the end of the year :(. i do, however, have a wide open calendar starting January 1, 2011!! so give me a shout now if you're interested in a session. i'm doing a little bit of restructuring and trying some new things in 2011 {explanation to come later...}, so you'll need to reserve your spot early.

~ any order that you are hoping to get in your hands before the first of the year {christmas cards, books, canvases, or any other specialty item} MUST MUST MUST be submitted to me no later than December 15...earlier if you can. just to allow time for production, transit time, etc.

and that's it....blogging to resume November 29...i already have a super cute lineup ready to post...your eyes will be thankful.

have a WONDERFUL thanksgiving....

{Inspire} - Bakerella

2010-11-18T23:49:00.002-05:00

**WARNING!** don't read this post unless you're prepared to become addicted...or prepared to seriously resist addiction. one of the two.

a few weeks ago my fab friend brooke plopped down at my kitchen counter with this:

she was thinking it might be cute for caed's birthday. smart her, seeing as kiera's birthday cake was the CUTEST EVER and i had recently found out that my cake lady was no longer in biz. i needed an incredibly creative cake fast.

and this was it!

its such a perfect idea.

make cake {i used my favorite Guinness chocolate cake recipe...that's right, i said GUINNESS. it'll rock your socks off}.
crumble it up.
add yummy frosting to it till you can play with it like playdough {chocolate cream cheese for us please!}.
roll it into balls {or fun shapes}.
dip it in even MORE yummy goodness.
decorate to your hearts content.

grant decided we should do lions and monkeys...since caedmon's best friends are dexter {monkey} and everett {lion}. i agreed. they were pretty stinking cute...but i made him SWEAR that he'd help me. making tiny faces on almost 50 little cake pops was not a task i wanted to tackle alone...thank goodness my mom was here too...it took 3 of us to tackle this project! at least for the first go around.

go figure...grant was the expert "get the candy coating on there the right way with the right technique" guy.

and i was the expert "taste test everything first and add aesthetics" girl.

starting to take shape!

this guy was my favorite...this is exactly how i felt after my food writer pen didn't actually work so i was having to do all the little tiny faces with dabs of frosting...

we made a few bigger cakes for the little guy...

and let me tell you, they are YUM-MY. as in, i can't stop eating them. and since it was our first attempt, plus since we didn't know how rich they'd be, we made ALOT. i kept saying to grant that he would need to take the extra's to work because i wanted them out of the house. and i keep saying to people to come over that i want them to eat them because i want them gone.

but really, i'm lying.

i'd like to keep all the rest to myself.

i'm eating one right now.....and i'm trying to talk myself out of go getting another...

never mind the fact that one 2 inch cake pop is probably 3 pieces of cake, icing, and ice cream combined....

and...the birthday boy was clearly happy. so this means mission accomplished.

here's to trying something new! thank you Bakerella!! {really...go read the story of how they started...just goes to show you that you never know where your ideas will take you...}.

be inspired today....to create something creatively DELISH!

{Personal} - Happy Birthday Caedmon J!

2010-11-16T22:16:00.000-05:00

our little guy's birthday was yesterday. which is hard to believe. because just the other day, he looked like this:

sweet little thing!!! how does that happen?!

we had a great birthday weekend...full of groovy ties, no interest whatsoever in presents because the back door was open, and bakerella adventures {just wait till you see the photos of what actually emerged from my kitchen...even i'm still a little impressed.}.

it sure is great to be one...

{Inspire} - Waiting. Nic and Dak. - Part 2

2010-11-15T13:42:00.000-05:00

i'll be honest...i'm not sure i know how to share this story the right way. so i'm just praying that jesus breathes life over the words that i'm writing...because its important. and what i can conjure up in my mind just doesn't cut it...

and, just for the record, these are things that nic doesn't mind me sharing...she welcomes it. photographers are priviledged to witness and capture intimate, personal moments...it takes time for us to gain trust with those we photograph so that we might do that. just know that i take that seriously. and am only going to share your story if its something that we've talked about prior to.

but anyway...

so if you don't know doug, nic, and dak...or if you've never heard their story, you need to go check it out HERE. {scroll all the way down in the post, past the photos...} it'll put everything else in this post in perspective...

the images from a few days ago actually started with this shot:

nic kept saying that she wanted this photo of smoking boots in her house...one that somehow showed getting snatched up for heaven so fast that her boots were left smokin' {then she'd crack up about how funny it was to think about watching us try to somehow replicate that in a photo....}

so our project started here.

and then that evolved into nic saying "ok...i want to do a shoot in my wedding dress...with me and dak...and things of doug that are significant to us - our rings, his boots, his dog tags, his sword, etc to show that he is a part of us that's not here. we're waiting for him. his broken body is now made perfectly whole and he's waiting for us to join him there. and ultimately...we're waiting to be with jesus"

in other words...she wanted to symbolically picture what she feels like their life has been like over the past few years. and to get people excited about what is to come.

she wanted to picture waiting.

she wanted to picture the battle.

she wanted to picture what it takes to fight that battle.

she wanted to picture the hope.

she wanted to picture the joy to get people to realize that in the middle of this hurting, messy, broken world, there is something, SOMEONE to give us hope.

and we need to run to him.

she has.

and she had every reason not to. from where we stand here on earth, it would make perfect sense to us that she had every reason to shake her fist straight in God's face and say "how dare you let this happen". but she didn't choose that road. she to run straight to God's arms and stay there. she chose truth over emotion. truth over circumstances.

it was, and is, a hard choice. i'm still not quite sure how she made it. its a choice that involves a battle...one that she fights every day.

because ever since doug didn't come home and went home to be with jesus instead, all of a sudden they were literally living out the promises in the verses in Psalms that say "Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families {or, God places the solitary in families and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell}; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land "{Psalm 68:5-6}.

lets be honest...even though that's a comforting promise, its not really one that any of us would choose to have to live out. and while its something that's solid to cling to, it also makes the prospects of heaven looked MUCH better than anything here on earth.

i mean, we all know that and say that...

"oh yea....heaven will be a great place to be one day...".

but nic, {and anyone else who's had a significant loss in their life} understands that and longs for that day on a whole different level.

when everything first happened, i remember her saying all the time, "jesus just needs to come back...jesus JUST NEEDS TO COME BACK." everyone handles their grief differently and i think that's part of how she chose to handle hers. to think constantly about the day when her savior will come and fulfill what he's promised - to make right everything that has gone wrong in this world.

but slowly, as her heart has started the process of healing, that has turned into something that goes way beyond just being excited to see doug again. it has turned into a passion for heaven. and a passion for getting people around her excited about heaven....and therefore, excited about jesus. who he is and what he's about.

we talk alot about the thief...who comes to steal, kill, and destroy... and who doesn't want people to think about heaven. he doesn't want them excited about it, he doesn't want them learning about it, he wants to keep our focus here. now. he wants to consume all of our energies in this world here and now.

i mean...don't get me wrong. we're in this world. we need to BE here. but living with an eternal perspective...

maybe that's what i'm trying to say. he's trying to rob us of living with an eternal perspective.

because when you have that...it changes everything.

the bible compares waiting for that day when eternal perspective is suddenly a reality to a bride waiting for her bridegroom.

i remember waiting for my groom just like any other bride....i was giddy. i was seriously fidgety. i just wanted the time to fly so that i could finally be with him. i wanted to be perfect for him...but what i didn't realize was that the fact that i knew he loved and wanted ME made me more radiantly beautiful than i could ever have made myself.

as christians, that's how we're supposed to wait for jesus...with that much excitement and anticipation. and realize that his love for us is the key to making us whole, beautiful, excited, passionate....everything we were intended to be. and he will fight to the ends of the earth to get us to realize this.

so all of that is what this shoot was about. i can hear them singing in these photos

.....You are good, You are good
When there's nothing good in me
You are love, You are love
On display for all to see
You are light, You are light
When the darkness closes in
You are hope, You are hope
You have covered all my sin

You are peace, You are peace
When my fear is crippling
You are true, You are true
Even in my wandering
You are joy, You are joy
You're the reason that I sing
You are life, You are life,
In You death has lost it's sting

You are more, You are more
Than my words will ever say
You are Lord, You are Lord
All creation will proclaim
You are here, You are here
In Your presence I'm made whole
You are God, You are God
Of all else I'm letting go

Oh, I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign....

i don't know how your heart responds to that. maybe it hits you deep within your soul and echos what your heart was already saying. maybe it makes you mad. maybe it makes you confused and think that this whole jesus business definitely is a little eccentric. maybe it gives you hope...

however it is that it makes you feel, may it at least motivate you turn around and look at jesus. and our response when we really stop and take a good look at him is always to run. either straight to him or in the opposite direction.

so stop. look. and run....

....to HIM.

be inspired today.
~j

{Inspire} - Waiting. Nic & Dak. - Part 1

2010-11-13T01:47:00.000-05:00

so we're driving in my car the other day and nic says to me "ok, so don't think i'm crazy, but i want to
get back in my wedding dress and do a shoot".

i immediately start tearing up.

{and if you know nic, you probably are too...}

there's an abundance to say about this shoot...but for today, hit play on the music below - it fits these images perfectly - and let these images sink in. they may or may not make sense to you, but take them in.

i'll share thoughts and the bigger story tomorrow...

{2010 Mini Sessions} - Goetzinger Twins

2010-11-11T16:57:00.000-05:00

double trouble or rather, double ADORABLE...the goetzinger twins!

love these sweet boys...and was so excited to FINALLY get to photograph them again. i photographed them in utero {so really, photographed their beautiful mama and their incredibly obnoxious....er, huh, HANDSOME AND AMAZING daddy :). you know i've got nothing but love for ya al...for real folks, he really is amazing.}, and then right after they were born when they were tiny tiny. we'd planned to do it when they were a year but all of a sudden a year turned into two...which happens when you're trying to chase after two tiny ones at a time!!

aren't these two just BEAUTIFUL!? they are gonna be total heartbreakers one day...honestly...

Goetzingers...we've got nothin' but love for ya. thanks for letting me chase your cuteness around for a half an hour...and thanks to the little guys for offering to share their pretzels...i know that says alot because pretzels are a big deal. :)

{2010 Mini Sessions} - McBride Family

2010-11-10T16:20:00.000-05:00

round two...some of my very favorites...the mcbride family!

the mcbride's have a special place in my heart...for alot of reasons {peanut butter pie....stellar game playing skills...never a dull moment in conversations....way fun senses of humor...some of the sweetest hugs ever between our kiddos....etc, etc...}.

AND

part of the fun of their mini session is that it was the first time i've gotten to photograph them since the FIRST FIRST time i've photographed them...when lexi was little, little and ryan wasn't even in the picture. i was just starting out and they were brave.... :). really though, i didn't even have a blog then. i don't think i even knew what a blog was then! but i used some of their photos for some of my first blog posts {you can see them here... don't judge...i was under serious learning curve mode... :)}.

and here they are almost 4 years later...lovin life and rockin some cheetah leggings...travis included. he was just hiding his under his jeans....

{kidding, kidding...c'mon trav, you can handle it! :)}

mcbrides...i'm so glad to have been able to capture some classic mcbride moments/classic mcbride faces. some of them will be ALL OVER my website...they are too precious not to be. i know there will be more to come...and i can't wait! y'all are the best...

{2010 Mini Sessions} - Tye Family

2010-11-09T15:48:00.001-05:00

the first of our brave souls to bear the COLD that descended on on columbus last weekend....the tye family!

the whole time i was editing these precious faces i kept muttering "awwww....cutie PATUTIES!!!" thankfully no one walked around me otherwise they may have thought i was a little nuts....

this is the tye family. as they are, this fall, 2010. they are bright and vibrant and full of life. and totally wear fun shoes {even maggie, with her "sock shoes"}. it was SO my privilege to capture these moments of them together...i was kinda bummed when i realized our time was up...

holly is also an I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E photographer specializing in newborn photography. she seriously has a gift...its been fun to watch from the sidelines a bit as she's narrowed her focus to what she really is passionate about in photography. i keep telling her that i'll have another baby JUST so that she can do the newborn photos. you must check out her work on her BLOG {NOW...GO....don't even finish reading this blog! :)}. and she's also been a huge encouragement to me as we both sift through this crazy world of home, husbands, kids, photography and everything in between...my heart is grateful for that. big time.

we plan to do this again soon...something about a guitar, their chiuaua {sp?!}, and a dinner table. i'm giggling with excitement about the possiblities! :)

tye family....it really was my pleasure!!! grant's too...he loved getting to sprint up the hill with the girls. and i loved getting to have you in front of my camera. i hope that you're jumping up and down with excitement about your photos...i was. :) i look forward to the smile and wave tomorrow.....

{Inspire} - Plans

2010-11-08T09:53:00.003-05:00

{this was a sweet moment during my weekend...dak had earned a ton of lollipops during his shoot...and he shared almost all of them. on his own! he wanted to make sure everyone he loved had good things too...}

i had quite a weekend. and it did not go as planned. but it was oh so much better...

when i was originally looking at November 5 & 6 on the calendar, i was thinking "PERFECT for mini sessions." i've been wanting to try them...alot of photographers do them, especially around the holidays. they are super efficient for all involved. and just fun.

so, i planned it out. came up with 10 slots, locations, etc, etc....put the info out on multiple occasions. i thought "for sure these will book up in no time".

nope.

3. i booked 3 sessions. 3 out of 10. not so great...

now i know sharing that is not a good traditional marketing tactic, but i'm sharing it anyway because i believe in the power of transparency. i'm not even going to try and pretend like something was one thing when it really wasn't.

actually...the weekend was a total success, just in a very different way than i had planned. but, before i realized that, i was feeling pretty defeated. it was discouraging that those sessions didn't book. i really wanted to try them out because it may be a big part of how i work next year. and i don't know why they didn't fill up like i thought...maybe i didn't put it out there enough. maybe i priced it wrong. maybe the weekend didn't work for folks. maybe....___________________. i could fill in the blank with endless "maybes".

i just kept saying "i know this is a good idea. i know i'm a good photographer. why is this not working?!"

and then a voice in my heart reminded me that i'm not in control.

if you know me, or check this blog regularly, then you know that i love jesus. not in a fluffy way. not in a "religious" way, but in a very real way. in a relational way {don't worry...i'm not going to beat you over the head with a bible if you book a session with me. quite the opposite. its just an important part of my life, so i share it...}.

relationships are messy...sometimes i'm not a huge fan of the things God is doing or how he does them. sometimes we're wrestling with him. sometimes i don't get it OR him. sometimes i do. sometimes i'm a a point where i can really trust him. but bottom line, i believe in him. he has my heart. i've given control of my life to him.

and that doesn't mean only the areas i want to, that means life. Capture Photography included. way back when i started, i know he said "i want you to SUCCEED at this. i've given you this gift...but i must be the one to show you how to use it, balance it, incorporate it into the other things of life i've given you to do."

its really amazing to see how he does that...there are times when work comes right when i need it and when i can handle it. there are other times where shoots cancel and reschedule and i needed them too otherwise i would have been in over my head, done half ass work for my clients and not been what i needed to for my family. i always have just what i need, just when i need it...even if it doesn't look that way from where i'm standing.

and i am learning to trust that. to trust him in this area. this business and industry moves FAST. the way that i have to {and chose to} work in that industry to keep everything that i've been given to do in balance, probably often looks directly opposite of what it would take to be successful. but yet it is...because i'm not in control.

so once i remembered that and remembered that i could trust that, this weekend started to look much brighter. some really cool things happened...and i had 3 fantastic mini sessions and one super unique shoot that i'll share during this week. i learned some great things as well...for instance, i definitely identified some kinks that need to be worked out if i'm going to make these types of sessions be as efficient as i need them to be. thank goodness i was learning that with 3 sessions instead of 10...that could have been a total disaster.

ALL THIS TO SAY.

this weekend was amazing. and not because of anything that i planned...but because someone else is in control. because there are bigger things going on in this life than just what i can see.

and i'm so thankful to be a part of that...

stay tuned this week...great stuff to come!

{Family Session} - The Peters

2010-11-06T12:35:00.000-04:00

one more post today....i know i don't normally do two posts a day, but i have a FULL week of posts lined up for next week {i know, impressive, right?! :)}

anyway...the peters family....

i love this session...for numerous reasons - funny faces {thank you lane!!}, pure adorableness {thank you reagan!!}, fantastic shoes {thank you steph!!}, but mostly the fact that everyone is together {thank you devin!!}...my military families are some of my favorites to photograph, just for the simple fact that they are all there together. in military world, that fact that is normal life for most is something that isn't taken for granted.

and can we all please give steph mad props for how she styled her family?! ...coordinating, but not too matchy matchy and it fit their simplicity as a family PERFECTLY...but just with a little bit of spice. LOVED IT.

peters fam....thanks for running amuck with me for an hour and a half and letting me photograph some great moments with you ALL. and i have some great lego/fairy ballarina photos to add to the mix as well...they'll be with your proofs. :) capture photography {and the flynns...} loves the peters family!!!

{2011 Seniors} - Rhett

2010-11-06T12:03:00.000-04:00

another one of our unique seniors...rhett!

when rhett met me for his session he hopped out of his truck {in bare feet...because he kept losing his shoes...crack me up.}, pulled out his sword and said "i thought maybe we could use this....maybe..."

so as i'm thinking through how i'm going to incorporate this sword {because obviously it was important to him...and things that are important to my clients are important to me}, and what to do about the whole shoe issue, rhett's dad calls him with a surpise to use on his shoot...an old 1970's Corvette Stingray.

now, i don't know the second thing about cars...but apparently, that was a pretty big deal. and it made alot of noise which means it was probably an even BIGGER deal. i wished that i had a guy photographer with me to see how they would have handled shooting with a car...i was thinking "ooo, these reflections off the curves of the car are pretty cool. and...come to think of it, this is almost the exact color of those Coach bags i've been eyeing...". i'm such a girl...

anyway, rhett is great and his session was pretty dang memorable. he totally is who he is, likes what he likes, and that's it. simple. i love that. and i don't know alot of other highschoolers who can be studying how to speak CHINESE and be totally into it...and after this senior session, i've decided that no matter how old they are, boys/guys/men do not change much as they get older. put them in their favorite place, give them a weapon of some sorts and/or a cool car and they couldn't be happier.

RHETT...you're awesome. your session really was memorable and i'm thankful to have had the privilege to shoot it. keep loving what you love and stick with it...you never know where that's going to take you. and a BIG THANKS to the mystery donor of the car...i know that made your day!

{Inspiration} - An Idea

2010-11-04T22:53:00.001-04:00

remember a few weeks ago when i decided to start inspiration days? i got more comments on facebook and my blog than probably any other post i've ever done....apparantly lots of folks, mama's or otherwise, are very much in the same place.

my sweet amazing friend sue left me the following comment that i had to share:

I've been there... all mom's of wee ones have been there. In your descriptions of freedoms you missed the biggie...the freedom to be spontaneous, which for me has always been my road to creative inspiration. So plan spontanaity (sp???) Huh? I know it sounds crazy but plan it. Plan days with no plans and do whatever your heart tells ya to! Hire a sitter with no plans made and see where the Holy Spirit leads you. I used to ask the girls what we should do for the day and whatever their little minds decided was what we did...go to the zoo...ok! bake cookies... ok!! open the junk drawer and make some art out of nothing... ok!! Cornie? Absolutely! Memories made and fun shared? Absolutely!

i love her...she is a creative, fun, wise, REAL lady who has {and is} raising two really amazing girls. her comment was simple...one of those "dude...why haven't i thought of that?!" moments. i was so thankful she left it...we tend to kind of do this already any way, but i definitely want to try and be a little more intentional about it...

i'll keep you posted on the results...and i want to hear yours too!

{Personal} - Oh My....

2010-11-03T17:56:00.001-04:00

halloween 2010....little miss and bubbas style...which this year = magically adorable.

these all pretty much speak for themselves...so no alot of words from me today.

enjoy!!

{Family Session} - The Whites

2010-11-02T14:25:00.002-04:00

the white family, everyone!!!! ritchie and molly shot our family photos {which i ADORE. positively ADORE.} back in the spring...so this is me returning the favor...we headed to the middle of nowhere on a very chilly october morning and this is the result of our adventures:

i am learning that there are 3 major compliments you can get as a photographer {i'm sure there's more than 3, but these are the top 3 in my mind...}

#1 - have clients refer you to their friends....

#2 - have people contact you who say "sure, send me your pricelist, but i don't really care. we love your work, you're TOTALLY our photographer"....

and #3 - have other photographers ask you to photograph their families.

so really, this post is just one big confidence booster for me....

kidding!!!!

...that sounded totally arrogant....not what i mean. what i do mean is simply that it really is a total honor to have the opportunity to shoot for other photographers.

we truly love this family...and i say "we" because ALL of us flynns love us some whites! we are really privileged to know not all, but some of their amazing story as a family...so when i look at these photos, i know a little of what's behind them and that makes me love them all the more...{the photos AND the family}. they are just fantastic....genuinely encouraging, but not fluffy. honest and real, but with perspective. radiantly generous, and not because there's anything in it for them.

you really can't ask for better than that.

so...white fam...loved getting to shoot white people. :) i can't wait for the next time. you all really do bless our hearts and are a huge source of encouragement in photography and life in general...and i know i'm not the only person who can say that...your consistency in who you are individually and as a family reaches far and wide and is not without effect....

ps....check out ritchie's fantastic work HERE!

{Inspiration} - FREE STUFF

2010-11-01T10:39:00.000-04:00

apologies for the lack of blogging last week! i wanted to leave up the end of the year announcement as long as possible...which worked well with the fact that we had costumes and fall parties galore! but i'm back on track for this week...

for your monday!

i don't know anyone who doesn't get inspired by getting something for free...me included...

Angie from Simplicity Photography is giving away a free holiday card template on her blog. {ps....i just recently discovered her and am IN LOVE with her work...its super inspiring all by itself...photogs, she has some fantastic products to make your life a whole lot easier.}.

anyway, as i was downloading it, i was inspired to keep passing that yummy feeling that you get when you happen across something that costs you nothing...

SO....

if you use the following template for your christmas cards, for every 3 packs of 25 that you order, you'll receive 1 for free! below is an example:

front:

inside spread:

back:

everything in this card is fully customizable...colors, fonts, graphics. i tailored the colors to fit the McNay's session, but the original colors are beige and tan...and can be tweaked to coordinate with your session.

5x7 folded card

Art Linen Finish

$65 per pack of 25

1 pack of 25 free for every 3 packs that you order!

and below are the rest of our great templates for this holiday season...no freebies on these. but they're still adorable! fonts and graphics are customizable on these, however, colors are not.

all cards:

5x7 flat card

Art Linen Finish

$50 per pack of 25

front:

back:

front:

back:

front:

back:

front:

back:

front:

back:

front:

back:

i MUST have your holiday card order by DECEMBER 5th....so sorry, no exceptions. this is to ensure that you can get everything in the time frame that you need...

there are also a few spots for mini sessions still available and only a few spots for full sessions available for the rest of the year...contact me asap to secure yours! {capturetheflynns@gmail.com or 706.575.8100}

{CP Announcement} - END OF THE YEAR INFO

2010-10-26T11:55:00.000-04:00

this is precisely what i feel like doing when i walk through stores in the fall, before halloween, and see decorations out for CHRISTMAS:

for heavens sake...i want to enjoy the season i'm in....i don't want to see christmas decor out when i'm thinking about halloween and thanksgiving, i don't want to see valentines day stuff out when its thanksgiving, and i don't want to see swimsuits when its the holiday season!!!!

you know what i mean?!

however....

it is important to plan ahead...especially in the photography world. so, despite my disdain for having to think about things outside of their season, i do need to put up an "end of the season" announcement.

SO! here it goes...

~ i have limited sessions available throughout november and december. and i will not take any sessions past DECEMBER 5th. if you are hoping to get a normal session in by the end of the year, i suggest you contact me asap as spots are super limited!

~ any order that you may want in time for holiday purposes must be submitted to me by DECEMBER 15th. anything submitted after that date will have to wait until the first of the year.

~ i have several spots still open for our mini-sessions, november 5th & 6th. that's coming up fast....you can check the info HERE...definitely consider these for knocking out your holiday photos!

there you have it....hope to see you before the end of the year. :)

{Inspiration} - 8 Years

2010-10-25T13:53:00.001-04:00

8 years ago today i was probably just getting my makeup finished...and grant was most likely wrapping up his impromptu dance party with his groomsmen in our front yard {yea, i'm not kidding...}. it was cool and rainy then, just like its been here today. that did a number on our photos, but it made for a perfect wedding weekend to just hide away together.

we've been randomly reminiscing all weekend. just fun little random things. grant said last night that he didn't even remember where or if he slept the night before our wedding because he was so excited. i remember waking up in the morning and you probably couldn't have wiped the grin off my face if you tried...and i NEVER grin in the mornings {i hate mornings. generally speaking...}.

i was remembering this morning back to the week that i met grant. i knew that week that that was it. i know...you only hear that in movies and stuff...but it was really true. something in my heart just knew. i even wrote it down. i remember writing that i wasn't sure what was going on, but i just had this sense that i needed to pray for this random {and, eh hem, attractive} guy that i had met...and i needed to pray that he would lead our relationship. i felt like a complete retard writing it, but i couldn't get away from it and i had to be honest with someone about what my heart kept hearing and my journal seemed like the least judgemental place.

and wouldn't you know...that was it. HE was it.

it does my heart good to remember. i think it does ANYONE'S heart good to remember. to remember where we've come from and where we're going. to remember the amazing, and the tough. i wish that i could say that we've had 8 years of fairytale marital bliss....but that would be a complete lie. i don't think i've ever been uglier to anyone in the world than i have to him...and vice versa. but i also know there's no one else in the world who has seen or experienced the very best of me the way he has. thankfully {thank you JESUS}, the "not so fairytale-ish" moments in those 8 years have served to define us and push us closer together just as much as the good has. so i'll take that just as it is.

grant looked at me yesterday while we were just plopped down on the couch and said "you know, i wouldn't trade anything about the past 8 years. because its been together. i know we aren't perfect and neither is our relationship. but there's no one i'd rather do this adventure with".

and i completely agree.

so here's to 8 years...and remembering our story.

be inspired today...

{Family Session} - The Blantons

2010-10-22T15:06:00.001-04:00

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON 2010 FALL MINI SESSIONS - NOV. 5&6 - CLICK HERE!

for your friday afternoon....the blanton family!

{i've seen photographers use these huge whirly lollipops alot...always wanted to try it...and now i understand why they're such a big hit! instant smiles and bursts of color...PERFECT. thank you fresh market for always having a hefty supply on hand!!}

i pray over all of my sessions. not in a weird creepy way, but in a real way. just asking for light and subjects to cooperate. for connections to be made. and for jesus to speak to me through a creative whim or thought to turn my client's capture photography experience into something that goes way beyond just getting a good picture taken of themselves.

sometimes those answers manifests themselves in funny ways.

like the blanton's session...shelly and i had carefully talked about location and outfits. she is very methodical and thinks through EVERYTHING and i love that about her. however, when we showed up to our perfectly planned location, what we didn't plan was a tractor.

yep. that great green funktastic tractor.

little s saw it and his eyes INSTANTLY lit up....apparently tractors are one of his favorite things in the world.

i didn't know that and couldn't have planned it better if i tried! it was just one of those sweet little answers to make their session extra special....and a 3 year old a little extra happy.

blanton family...thank you so much for a wonderful session! i loved that it felt a little more like a catch up session rather than a photo session...however, i'm pretty pleased with the photos that we snagged in the middle of that catch up session. :) christmas card worthy for sure...i look forward to the next time!!!

{Inspiration} - Peace. Joy. and Strength.

2010-10-21T16:28:00.000-04:00

its thursday. which means "be inspired" day....and wouldn't you know, i totally need it today.

first off...who WOULDN'T be inspired by a little bit of baby love?!? look at this little guy!!

i ALMOST edited out the little dimples in his bootie...and then i thought to myself "whhhhaaat? shame on me...those are totally part of the effect!" so they stayed. i won't get away with shots like this for long...he's almost too old. so i had to take it while i could.

and funny story to go along with that...

kiera totally thinks while its nap time. i mean, she sleeps, but she wakes up with the most crazy ideas in her head that i know she's been mulling over while she's been resting. we shot these photos of little bubbas in the morning and after her nap she jumped out of bed, stripped off everything below her waist, plopped herself in the same chair, just like caedmon had been and said "mama! take photos of me....and my bootie!"

i could NOT stop giggling. she was rather disappointed when i explained to her that we weren't going to do that...

anyway.

moving on...

so my inspiration quest must start here...with these faces.

this little guy inspires me with peace. ever since he was born, there has been this overwhelming sense of peace that he has brought into our home.

i cannot explain it. but its there. and it wasn't before he came. its his unique piece that he brings to the puzzle.

it makes sense...caedmon means "wise warrior". a warrior's quest is ultimately to bring peace {hopefully!}... and he so has.

and is.

and will.

i am inspired by these sweet looks of his. i see this look all the time. either followed by a huge grin and some really hysterical bouncing, or followed by him snuggling his head onto my shoulder and just resting there before he's off on his next adventure.

and while i'm inpsired by the peace that our little warrior brings...he's inspired by cheerios. he can't get them in his little hand fast enough....

and this one...brings joy with her. kiera joy means "dark joy"...completely fitting. like her brother she always has added that dimension to our family.

and is.

and will.

one of my favorite parts of the day is the 2.34 minutes right after nap time when the whole world is right still. kiera's hair is always INSANE and she has some random thought that you can tell she's just been dying to share...like what i mentioned above. my heart absolutely overflows in moments like those.

and kiera's inpsiration....scissors.

seriously.

at least for the moment.

she will cut up ANYTHING {have learned that the hard way...} in the name of making projects. below she's doing a little bit of found art...a red piece of paper. some rafia ribbon. and parts of her tutu. oh, and a glue stick and she couldn't be happier.

she can so easily find joy in simple things....

and when i think about what this love brings to our family...its definitely strength. strength of mind, strength of heart, physical strength, strength of character, strength of humor {that doesn't sound right, but you know what i mean...}, i could keep going with that list.

he is logical when i am all over the emotional map.

he is confident when i'm hesitant.

he is consistent when i flit about from one thing to the next.

all things i love about him. and need from him. granted...the tables flip from time to time, but by and large, this is how it is.

he is most definitely our strength...and if you need anything to be inspired, its a solid foundation that you know you can't shake.

and grant's inspiration...us.

its alot of things, but mainly its us. he makes that clear by how he lives out every moment of his life.

these faces are my daily inspiration. even on the challenging days {which there are plenty of...}

i love them.

i treasure them.

and by no means do i ever want to forget, or take for granted, how important they are.

so....what faces inspire you?

peace, joy, & strength today!

{2011 Seniors} - Jocelyn

2010-10-20T23:06:00.001-04:00

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FALL 2010 MINI-SESSIONS, NOV 5 & 6, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

another one of our wonderful, beautiful seniors - Jocelyn! below are my favorite picks from her session:

what a great session with jocelyn....i love her free, yet no-nonsense attitude. even when we were chatting about her session, she knew just what she wanted {simple location, no brick, edgy different light was a-ok}. for someone who's all over the place {moi!}, i love the types of people in the world who have this type of outlook....

and we had quite the adventure, which every shoot always is, but this one just makes me giggle when i think about it...we were planning on a fun tree swing, and ended up with suitcases. i thought i was stepping on some solid ground and ended up in mud almost over the top of my favorite boots {nice}. we thought we were good to go at the location where we were shooting...but we actually got locked IN and had to find some, um, "creative" ways out.

the reason i mention that is because that is so is how life is in this season of open possibilities. you head in one direction but sometimes the things you were pursuing change all together. sometimes you hit a few detours...that should be overcome, just take a little work. sometimes you get thrown a total curve ball and just have to get creative with your perspective. and in the end, its still you...just a little reinvented.

so...jocelyn...thanks for a great session. i even loved the car trip just hearing more about your dreams for the years to come and listening to you and michelle banter back and forth {um, hilarious!}. and, speaking of, a shout out too to michelle for keeping you laughing and comfortable, maneuvering that crazy reflector, and photographing my boot demise... thank you michelle! :) you are more than equipped with what you need for your adventure ahead...it will be exciting to see where your road takes you...

{CP Announcement} - UPDATE for FALL MINI SESSIONS - NOV 5&6!

2010-10-19T14:04:00.000-04:00

howdy howdy....i neglected to mention a few important things in the original post, so just a quick update on the Fall Mini Sessions {for the original post with more info, please click HERE}:

~ when you sign up for your spot, you'll need to make a $50 deposit to hold your spot within 24 hours of booking. you may do so via paypal...and i'll send you instructions on how to do so! you may pay for your entire session then if you'd like, or, must bring your payment the day of your mini-session.

~ military discount DOES apply! so 20% off the $250 session fee.

again, there are no restrictions on the type of shoot it needs to be - senior, family, just kids, couples, kids in halloween costumes {ooo...now there's a fun idea!!!}, christmas card photos, whatever! the only restrictions are on time and location - 30 minutes per session, Flatrock Park, no exceptions.

i completely realize that everyone may not be thinking about this now, but remember that the holiday season is RIGHT around the corner...and this is the perfect solution to busy schedules...30 minutes and your holiday photos are DONE, you can cross it off your to-do list! wouldn't it be great to have christmas cards and even a few christmas gifts {those mini books included in the session are a grandparents DREAM!} all finished by the end of november?! yes...i think so!

give me a shout if you're interested/have questions...706.575.8100 or capturetheflynns@gmail.com.

{Inspiration} - Starting Somewhere

2010-10-18T13:36:00.001-04:00

this is one of the first photos i can remember taking. i stumbled upon it while i was cleaning out our garage a few weekends ago {and shame on me...it should be on a frame on my wall...which it will be, shortly.}. this is a really powerful photo...but more on that in just a second. i have a few other things to share, so bear with me, it ties in...

i had a realization a few days ago. i was in the kitchen making THE BEST homemade chicken noodle soup, talking to our little man as he was banging tupperware together. grant and kiera were on a date, so that left the house pretty quiet...if you can believe that tupperware being banged together is "quiet" in my house.

quiet = time to think. which i've been doing alot of lately. i think without even realizing it. in all honesty, i was feeling a little sorry for myself. i felt horrible {hence the soup}, which was my own fault for drinking martini's the night before. grant makes really good ones {cause he pretends he's 007 when he's bartending}, i had just had a complete meltdown on the couch about the state of our 2 year olds heart, which prompted some much needed encouragement from my husband...which came in word, AND liquid form. he's the best.

{SIDENOTE...ok, don't judge me because i drink. we'll be the first to tell ya that we totally enjoy alcohol. responsibly, of course. grant brews beer, we love sitting down with our friends with good wine, or some new sort of yumminess, and just kicking back. anyway, i realize that some folks may stop reading my blog if they hear that i drink...or maybe, just the opposite, maybe other folks will start reading it because we do! just thought i'd mention that...in my quest for candor on my blog :)}.

SO. not feeling great, which was my own fault {my tolerance is WAY low...unbeknownst to me!}. and feeling a bit sorry for myself. i was trying to put a word to this nagging feeling in my heart that had suddenly come to the surface. and i realized...i am just uninspired.

this followed by a host of other "i" statements:

"i need inspiration"

"i feel stuck"

"i miss freedom"

"i feel like i'm not getting anywhere"

i feel...i need...i want..."

"i"

"I"

"I"

and then i felt a gentle tug on my heart, which i know is jesus, saying "ok...that's enough "I". if you're going to focus on an "I" word, pick another one". my heart heard what he was saying. i feel uninspired. so come at it from a different angle. focus on INSPIRATION, not the fact that you aren't.

this is such a strange season in life because things seem to be so extreme. the season is rich. i'm talking practically dripping with creamy richness. its amazing. there is nowhere i'd rather be. i am completely thankful and peaceful, yet at the same time, i have never felt so stretched, pulled, or drained and dry in any other season that i can remember...at least in the ways that i feel that i am now. some days feel completely victorious. and the next minute i can be at a complete loss for how the atmosphere has changed so drastically.

{please hear me...this is not a complaint. its just my desire to honestly share where i'm at. i know there are others there who probably need to know that they have a buddy who's trying to figure it all out too}.

but, bottom line, i really do feel uninspired on all levels...there is just a part of me that is thirsting for that inspiration and motivation, i just don't know what that needs to look like or what form it needs to take. i realized also that i used to find it in freedom...the freedom to travel, the freedom to discover random adventures waiting for you around the corner, the freedom to not have a need for an agenda in the day, the freedom to not necessarily have to be so aware of time or boundaries. with that freedom now restricted {somewhat, and in a good way, i learn good things from those restrictions!}, its easy to feel like movtivation and inspiration are lacking.

but they AREN'T. its just time to find them in other places and new forms.

SO.

that being said. i've decided to dedicate mondays and thursdays to "inspiration days" on the blog, in a practical effort to keep me focusing on what does inspire me vs. what doesn't. so mondays, because...we all know how mondays feel. i'm an idealistic person, but i still hate mondays. and thursdays...i just always need an extra push. the weeks not beginning, but its not over yet either.

maybe you're needing to go on a journey like this too. or maybe you know someone else who is. so i invite you along with me! and would love it if you'd share your inspirations as well...leave a comment or pass on a link to your blog post...

back to that photo i started with...

i was in highschool. i always really thought my dad's camera was cool, but for some reason, on this trip to Texas to see my grandpa, i picked it up. there was a scene outside of these windows that was stunning....the sun was setting behind two shrimping boats in this dazzling array of oranges, magentas and purples. i was completely enamored. it would have been impossible for me NOT to take a photo of it. so i grabbed my dad's camera...i don't know if i even knew how to work it, but regardless i took the shot anyway. it was perfection. its another one i should have framed{...note to self...need to find that}.

i was so enthralled when i came back inside that i kept taking photos. as amazing as that first photo was that i just described, it doesn't have near the power that this one does. my dad and my grandpa had a broken relationship due to some horrible things that aren't necessary to go into here. i didn't even meet him until i was 14. i remember watching my dad go through this process of healing...learning to forgive, then learning to honor even if it may not have been deserved. i know that was hard for him. but he did it anyway. and in the end, a relationship was restored. and it was beautiful, not perfect, but beautiful. it took years and years, but it happened. we started traveling down to Texas to see my grandpa and step grandma and have some of the best memories there as a family. that only lasted a few years before my grandpa died...and then grandma carol not long after him.

and all of that is wrapped up in this one moment between father and son in an old hole in the wall, throw the shrimp straight on the table, dive restaurant in the middle of rockport, tx.

can you see it?

better yet, can you FEEL that in this photo?

maybe its just because i know the background, but i can.

THAT inspires me. i want to incorporate more of this in my photography, and to not forget that its shots like this that motivated me to pick up a camera in the first place. its easy to get lost in looking for the perfect shot that's perfectly framed, composed, and posed , and in doing so miss some of the power that photography holds.

so there you have it...i hope this has stirred your heart like it has mine. look forward to much, much more.

be inspired!

{ps....fasha....a coffee date at starbucks says this post makes you tear up. i love you :)}

{Family Session} - The Fisher Family

2010-10-15T15:13:00.002-04:00

FOR INFORMATION ON 2010 FALL MINI SESSIONS, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

you know that line in ELF where he says "oooo, FRANSISCO, that's fun to say!" ...i keep thinking about that when i say "fridays photos are of the fisher family!" its fun to say!

anyway...i digress {as per usual}.

the fisher family, everyone!

this family is so precious!! everyone came ready for an adventure....and we certainly had one! but also had smiles the entire time...it was obvious that they all genuinely love being together...which makes all the difference in the world.

fishers! aren't you glad we got so many great photos by the tractor before we got the boot?! :) i truly loved your session and getting to see each of your personalities come straight to the surface. your joy as a family is definitely contagious. the rest of the photos from your session will be ready shortly...and i'll tell you...i had a hard time narrowing down my favorites, so i can't wait for you to see them.

{Personal} - Little of This and That

2010-10-14T08:32:00.002-04:00

{FOR INFORMATION ON 2010 FALL MINI-SESSIONS, CLICK HERE}

a few more photos of my little ones today...the light is perfectly soft in the doorway to our back yard riiiiight around when we're done with breakfast. hence...the camera comes out.

this little guy...isn't staying little for very long.

he's crusing around.

he thinks its hilarious to push off of where he's holding on to and plop right on his little booty onto the floor.

he also thinks its funny to do this in the bathtub where its ridiculously slippery and i gasp every time he does it.

he popped yet another tooth today.

his sense of humor is totally coming out.

those big eyes will grab ya and just not let go.

and he said "mama" and "dad-o"...and not just once. i think i also heard a "bubbas" sometime in there, but that may have been an accident.

a month and a day from today and he'll be ONE.

and this one....

these photos perfectly describe her. her auntie bought her these groovy leg warmers. she wears them on her arms. of course! this makes perfect sense in kiera world {which, actually, i totally get}.

this one has begun twirling around our living room singing "once upon a dream" and asking her dad-o to dance with her.

{um, yes please, MELT MY HEART.}

this one has seriously been challenging my heart lately. we are definitely knee deep {sometimes neck deep} in two.

lots of character building.

lots of tears.

lots of rolling around on the floor and kicking...and not just from kiera. {ha! kidding...although sometimes i feel like it} and therefore ALOT of time in the orange chair.

lots of lauging.

lots of saying delightfully funny sentences.

lots of spontaneous hugs and loves...and singing.

lots of learning {she made sure grant knew that it was october, not september, last night at dinner}.

basically, ALOT of extremes.

good and bad, she's totally a keeper.

so, regardless of what the day brings, we just put leg warmers on our arms, throw our hands in the air, and roll with it!

{Personal} - The Aquarmeum

2010-10-13T10:42:00.001-04:00

*****don't forget - fall mini-sessions {Nov 5&6} - check out the info HERE. i just announced it this week and slots will go fast...contact me asap if you're interested!*****

one of the fun perks of our trip up to the great ATL to photograph the mcnays was we got a fun weekend in the city.

WITH GRAMMY!

my mom was in town for a conference, so we got an extra special trip with her. we played at great parks, we ate yumminess, we saw random parades, and we went to the aquarmeum...

{ps....i do know how to spell 'aquarium'...but kiera's new term for it is much more endearing...}

i LOVE the lighting in aquariums...any time anyone wants to do a unique session....you let me know!

seriously, these things were the size of my face...not including legs.

my official new favorite of the aquarium. i can't even remember what they're called...dragon seahorses? whatever, they're awesome to photograph.

also a fav to photograph...

happy wednesday wonderful readers!

{Family Session} - The McNays

2010-10-12T14:50:00.000-04:00

making their 4th {or 5th?} blog debut...the mcnays! and introducing the latest mcnay...true!

i love the mcnay's yearly session...and this time, the extra special treat was getting to meet sweet little true. he is SUCH a charmer and just goes right with the flow the family. i thought that we were going to be extra ambitious for their shoot and lug 5 kids, 4 adults, a host of camera gear and lots of snacks up to stone mountain....thankfully {and wisely}, ami put the kabash on that and said "umm, what if we just stay HERE?"

and i'm so glad we did...i LOVE sessions in client's homes. they automatically feel more comfortable. because...well...they're at home. plus the mcnay's living room is just perfection...{i admittedly want to steal their groovy rug and wall color}. a few books {the mcnay's adore reading..}, well traveled suitcases {they also adore traveling...}, and a den chair {i'm assuming they adore this chair as well...} out in the yard later....and this is what you get!

MCNAY'S...loved getting a snippet of time with y'all. here's to another amazing year in the life of the mcnays. true is such a little man...ADORABLE! and, as always, so great to see everyone and experience what's new in the world of the mcnays. thank you for the comfy sheets, pancakes, not judging me as my baby attempted to eat rocks, and graciously ignoring my rather obstinate 2 year old who kept disrupting your photos... :)

{CP Announcement} - FALL MINI SESSIONS - Nov 5&6!

2010-10-11T14:50:00.000-04:00

ohhhh, get excited everyone...because i am! mark your calendars because i'm doing our first ever CAPTURE PHOTOGRAPHY MINI SESSIONS - November 5th & 6th. i'm only offering 10 slots total, 5 on each day, so book your slot quickly. they'll go fast! the times for the sessions are:

Nov. 5th & 6th
2:00-2:30
2:45-3:15
3:30-4:00
4:15-4:45
5:00-5:30

and...just in case you've never heard of a mini session, and to explain ours in more detail, let me break it down for you:

~i pick the location...this fall, we're going to keep it simple and be at FLATROCK PARK....lots of nature to be had out there and its beautiful in the fall...

~you show up for a 30 minute session...short, sweet, & to the point! PERFECT for kids {or adults for that matter} with short attention spans, families with busy schedules, christmas card photos, or just an excuse to have some new photos made, etc.

~i capture some WONDERFUL images for you and pick out the 15 best {so that you don't have to sit and deliberate over which photos to choose}. i'll FULLY FINISH, not PROOF, FULLY FINISH, with that special capture photography spice, all 15 images.

~you then choose your digital negative option - either ALL 15 images in a 4x6 resolution digital negative format, or 5 images in full resolution digital negative format. 4x6 res dn's are perfect for christmas cards, scrapbooking, printing out your own prints up to an 8x10, or posting online. Full res dn's...well, you can do just about anything you want with those...those files are big, bad, mamajama files!

~i design your mini accordion albums for you with the images from your session. these things are GREAT. they are 3x3 and unfold to a customized layout of the images from your session {see the example below}, and they come in packs of 3. they are a perfect christmas gift and i will tell you that every one of my clients that i have shown them to have immediately ordered at least one pack from their session since i started offering that option.

~you receive 10% off any additional products that you'd like to order with the images from your mini session...if you so choose! all of your images will also be uploaded online to our site where you can, order gift sized prints {8x10 & below}, make your own book, or even layout your own christmas card design. enlargements and specialty items you'll get to work with me on... :)

if you are interested, please shoot an email to capturetheflynns@gmail.com or call 706.575.8100. i can't wait to hear from you!

{Personal} - Us

2010-10-06T22:18:00.000-04:00

introducing....well....us.

i mentioned yesterday that you'd be seeing more of our family shots from our AMAZING friends {ritchie & molly white}. and here they are...the photos are pure RW photography wonderfulness, edits are by me...for now {this is why my logo isn't on them, but my border is. they aren't my work...but i also want to make sure that no folks decide to snag them for their own...}. i'll be excited to see the spin he puts on them...whenever he gets the chance. if you've checked out his site, you know by now, their work is over the top RIDICULOUS, so they're in high demand!

i love these. there's simply no better way to say it.

i love that ritchie caught me doing kiera's hair. i've always wanted a photo of that, we do it EVERY DAY.

i love that molly thought to get a shot of kiera's toes peeking out from under her favorite book...a mama knows just what another mama wants to see! {sidenote - i love that molly got to take a break from mama world and COME on this shoot! i love that i got to hand her my camera so that she could shoot alongside her hubby and learn. she captured some great great moments...}

i love that we were in our home. i asked ritchie and molly to do that because i LOVE shooting in peoples homes. its just intimate. and its says so much about them. so, naturally, i wanted that for us too. next time, i'll let ritchie pick our location, but this time, i appreciated him humoring that one request...it just fit with that time in life.

i love that they grabbed shots that focused on our sweet caedmon. he has such a go with the flow personality that its easy for him to get lost in the background. kiera is very in your face {in a good way}, active, and interactive. she can very easily steal the spotlight because she just has that kind of charm {or because she can pitch a REALLY good fit that no one can ignore!}. so i teared up when i was flipping through our images and saw the ones of just the little man in focus. he deserves that. and i adore them.

i love that these were just us. as we were. in that moment and season. they are very, VERY us. from the pigtails to the zebra pants to the snack container and oliva book to the sweet chubby toes of our little guy.

ah, LOVE. i could go on and on.

and part of the reason i posted these today was that this morning, i got to return the favor for the white's and their boys.

this is the great thing about being a photographer. you meet such amazing OTHER photographers. with different eyes and different styles. its like you have access to all of this amazingly diverse artwork right at your fingertips! you swap doing photos for each other. you learn from each other. you challenge each other. its great. even today as i was doing their shoot, i was learning a huge amount just by watching the differences between how i would approach a shoot vs. how ritchie would. not to mention getting to spend time with amazing folks....you'll be seeing more of them soon.

SO!

ritchie and molly...i know we did this 6 months ago...but thank you. again. we treasure these. and always will. and we treasure you. thank you for being a safe place for us to be us, whatever that may look like at the moment. we value many things about you, but that would be one of the things at the top...can't wait to get my hands on your images from today....get excited!

{Personal} - twenty9

2010-10-05T17:58:00.001-04:00

in my mind, i'm still twenty2. however, my actual age, as of today, is....

{can i please say, first off, that i am IN LOVE with this photo...it is an absolute gem of a moment. completely us. our great friend {ritchie white} shot this and i adore every single moment he and his rockstar wife molly grabbed with their cameras. more later...i'm returning the favor for their family tomorrow and i cannot WAIT!}

twenty9 is a little crazy to me! like i said. in my mind, i'm still twenty2. i don't know why twenty2, but that's just how it is in my head.

and, since age is a state of mind, i guess i'm going to stay twenty2 forever....

i was going to post some sort of deep thoughts on age and getting older and life experiences...but then grant started sending me these hilarious texts. ALL DAY. telling me "happy birthday" in twenty9 different ways. only it was like double that amount of texts because he says alot. i was going to post all of those instead because they were so funny, except....they got a little, ehem....personal. not quite blog appropriate material... ;)

but, the point of that would have been to say, today is great. nothing out of the ordinary. just constant reminders of people who love me. and love me well...sometimes even in spite of me. super grateful for that...

and that's all i have to say today, really. oh, except, in closing, in the appropriate words of brian regan {who's show sunday in columbus was my birthday present!!!}:

"there's no cake, theres no ice cream, happy BIRTHDAY."

{Thoughts} - Small Things

2010-10-04T15:31:00.000-04:00

this has been on my mirror for quite some time now:

i'm a Van Gogh fan. all the way. his texture and movement completely speak to my soul...and apparently, so do his words.... i stumbled upon this the other day, ironically, as i was trying to tackle 50 big things all at once and becoming increasingly frustrated that NOTHING was getting accomplished.

and, wala, "great things are done by a series of SMALL things brought together", pops up randomly on some site i was perusing.

perfect.

i know this.

it fits right into where i am in life. if you don't keep up with the small things, all of a sudden all you have are HUGE projects to attack...i.e...you don't keep up with the small messes, you have one huge mess of toys, clothes, diapers, and dishes to overcome. you don't keep up with the small "character building moments" with kiddos and you have a huge attitude to adjust.

painful.

i know this.

however, i don't live this.

well, i take that back, i do in many areas, like with kids especially, but for the most part, i have to be reminded...

SO... after staring at this quote for months while i brushed my teeth and put on makeup, i have {hopefully} abandoned my pursuit of tackling huge things and instead am trying to become consistent {or persistent...or both??} at attacking little things. and, in the process of doing small things, accomplish big things.

and, here's my attempt to keep myself accountable. i'm putting this out there...every monday, no...wait, every other monday {it takes two weeks to form a habit, right?}, i'm going to post my "small thing" for that two weeks...both personally and professionally. maybe this will help keep me on track....and maybe even inspires others to do the same. who knows...we'll see where it goes!

for now, here's small thing #1 personally - work out 5 days a week.

um, harder than it sounds. not like a 2 hour bust your ass work out every time, but, consistency! doing SOMETHING 5 days out of the week.

small thing #1 professionally - blog 5 days a week. {the two will probably correspond somewhat...i don't know that my brain will handle it if i don't!}

i TRULY want this blog to, clearly, be a blog that displays the work that i do. but, i want it to be more than that...a journal of sorts. and, i believe strongly that there is power in being personal. maybe folks who are wiser than me in the business world will disagree, but that's my stance and it always has been and always will be, in some form or another, part of the capture photography world. especially if i'm going to ask my clients to be personal with ME so that i can capture the best photos of them possible...i should {and want to} do the same in return.

there you have it...i'll see you tomorrow... :)

{2011 Seniors} - Hayley

2010-10-02T14:02:00.024-04:00

happy to introduce to you a positively delightful lady....Hayley!

hayley and i had a blast with her session...she loves all things theatre and, just as her mama told me when she emailed me about photos, she has impeccable taste. in all things, from music to clothes to, well, LIFE. i keep saying that she was positively delightful...but i just can't think of a better way to describe her!

we used {the springer opera house} for part of hayley's session. she has spent significant time there an it its played a special role in helping to develop one of her passions, so it seemed perfect to capture part of her session there. everyone there was super accomodating {thank you SPRINGER!} and were so thrilled to see one of their theatre babies heading into an awesome season of life.

hayley...thank you for such a WONDERFUL session! i loved dreaming up our game plan, diving into your amazing style, and getting to see your sweet personality come out in the process. here's to a little inspiration from audrey, anthropologie, and the inventor of the "smise".... :)

{Family Session} - The Gibsons

2010-10-01T10:10:00.002-04:00

the gibson family in black and white everyone!!!

so this is the wonderful gibson family!! ashley is a hairdresser here in town that i met randomly one evening when kiera decided it would be fun to run around with trevor....and then this summer, i show up to photograph one of my brides getting ready and guess who was doing her hair?! ashley! so few weeks later she worked a little magic on the post partum FUNK that was my hair and i agreed to do the same for her photos.

and, honestly, we needed a little magic on the day of their session. you know me...going to be authentic...and this was honestly a hard shoot for me. NOT because of this great family, but just what was going on at the time - brooke and brandon were in the hospital, in labor with briar and my heart and therefore my creativity, was most definitely with them. it was an intense weekend so i was struggling....i don't think i even realized quite how much so until i picked up the camera for this session.

but, in the end, we got some wonderful images! ashley is from NY and Ricky is from here...a beautiful combination of city and country. she was telling me that she so misses where she's from...but wouldn't have her life be any other way than it is here. they are amazing together. and its so obvious that they just adore trevor. so our goal was to somehow represent that merging of two worlds through their photos...and in a style that would fit their home (hence all the black and white).

so gibsons, thank you for your flexibility and your understanding. you all are wonderful!!! enjoy these images...there are more to come!

{Update} - Briar's Celebration

2010-09-30T16:31:00.000-04:00

ah, hello again blog world. i get so motivated to blog more often. and then i get super distracted. i'm working on my consistency and focusing my mind...will get there!

anyway, i think also subconsciously i wanted to leave the last post up as long as i could. to in some way honor the sweet little life that was only here on earth for a short time. the thursday after he was born, there was a celebration service for briar. below is one of my favorite images from those moments:

of course, brooke has the whole story on her {BLOG}...keep checking up on this wonderful family. they have amazing things to say...

it is really difficult to find words after something like this happens...and when i say "like this", i don't mean that in a trivial way...i mean it as something that is just almost impossible to wrap your mind around. or something that escapes understanding. or just leaves you wondering...."really? REALLY?!"

and yet, his parents chose to celebrate...and celebrate this (as brooke put it...SUPER well, i might add...i snagged it from her blog):

"He (briar) is made whole. He knows ALL THINGS from the beginning to the end. More than his parents know. And he is going to be there waiting when we arrive. That is special. Also, that his short time on this earth was marked with so much. Not that you can ever "rejoice" when someone dies, because it pains our human souls, but I would say it was as close to "rejoicing" as you could get...to feel complete in our pain".

i have been completely humbled by little briar's life. i'm not quite even sure how to express it in words. but the impact is still sinking deep into my heart. i've asked jesus alot of questions. i keep leaning on the verse in hebrews that says "now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see..."...{my paraphrase}.

i have faith and am SURE that babies being born with fatal defects is not God's heart. its the result of living in a very broken world.

i have faith and am CERTAIN that one day - one amazing day - jesus will make all things right. that's why he came in the first place. to set right what has gone wrong. to rescue a world in desperate need of saving. and even now he is doing that, in part. he turns to good what satan totally means to destroy. this is why brooke and brandon can celebrate...because they know this. and because they trust it.

not that that is an easy thing to trust, or something you just accept on a whim. trusting jesus like that takes knowing him, wrestling with him, listening to him, learning about him, asking him the super hard questions....and accepting what he has to say.

all this to say...

sweet briar....i am so thankful to be one of the few who met you. it was truly an honor. people are coming to jesus because of your life and your story. people are being challenged. people are stopping to think. your life, even though none of it was lived out outside of your home with your mama, was and is most definitely NOT in vain. it just doesn't look like we are used to things looking. i'm so blessed to have met you here...and can't wait to meet you perfectly again. one day.

{Update} - Sweet Briar

2010-09-13T13:26:00.001-04:00

dear friends....i have an important introduction for you today. sweet briar. if you aren't a regular blog checker, you can read about his story in Brooke & Brandon's Maternity post.

look at those perfect tiny toes....so very sweet! his momma and daddy, obviously, announced it the best:

"Briar Allen Whitis was born into the arms of Jesus at 3:38am on September 13, his momma's birthday. Thanks for all your love and prayers." - Brooke & Brandon

this is the only photo that i'll post, as obviously the rest of their photos are very personal and intimate....i'll leave it up to them if they want to share on their blog in the future. but, i did want you to know that he arrived, was wrapped up in amazing love from his momma & daddy, family, and other precious friends and caretakers, and went straight to be with jesus.

know that so that you could love on this sweet family with your prayers.

they know he's with jesus. they know he's whole. they know he's healed. they know they will get to hold him, laugh with him, tease him, run, jump, snuggle, explore and play one day.

but today hurts.

and it won't be the only day that hurts.

even though they may be joyful that their baby boy will know nothing but perfection as he lives with jesus; here, on earth, in our very real world, it hurts.

so, as you think of them...pray. and pray often.

peace and joy today my friends.
~j

{Kiddos} - KEE-eerah n' Bubbas

2010-09-11T10:31:00.000-04:00

when i ask kiera who's in these photos, she says "KEE-eerah n' Bubbas!" cracks me up almost as much as the photos do...

here's the mini-flynns end of the summer photo shoot...i hope it makes you smile as much as it does me...

normally when i think summer photos i think of trying to capture what summer FEELS like..normally this involves lots of light, sunflares, etc. etc...like a few of the shots you saw from austin.

but someone had said to me that since caedmon is such a chunky tub-o-love, that i really should stick him in some tires and pretend he was a michelin baby. i just couldn't get over the idea and thought it was HILARIOUS...so i diverged a bit from what i saw in my head, and i'm so glad i did. i absolutely ADORE these!!

adios summer time...hello FALL...we are excited for your cool mornings, your crisp smells, crunching leaves and drinking spiced cider. even though its still 90 degrees here in columbus...we know you're on your way!!

{Fashion} - Annette Sunshine Designs

2010-09-10T08:55:00.000-04:00

another fantastic part of my time in Kansas City...a great shoot for Annette Sunshine Designs! Annette is working on breaking into the wedding industry in KC with some of her wonderful designs...so, first step, great photos! keep an eye out for many more wonderful creations coming from her studio...

thank you annette for letting me creatively collaborate with you. i know this is the first of many and i can't wait to see what your beautifully creative mind continues to dream up! Erica, Alexis, Joy...y'all are great...way to rock it! and thanks to 909 Walnut for letting us use their lofts and rooftop gardens.

{Creative Development} - Austin part 3

2010-09-09T16:45:00.001-04:00

alrighty...last part of my austin photos. we had some AMAZING friends come in and join us for the weekend. Brandon & Shauna...our wonderful friends from Germany. and Simon & Cindy, our other wonderful friends from San Diego.

Shauna is also a photographer...an amazing one. and one of the ones who helped give me a kick in the pants to get moving in the photography world (if you're a regular blog reader, i know...you've heard me say this 50 times...)...she is forever an inspiration not just by her art, but her life...which is totally a work of art. SO...after substantial catching off, we set off on a photo excursion....

we didn't go far...it was HOT. and the company was too good to just sit and take photos all day...so we really only walked maybe less than a block before we were in a groovy little restaurant ordering up some cold beers and good conversation. Grant missed out because he was still working (boo), but we had 2 photographers, one awesome graphic designer, and two passionate nursing students, both in different stages...so there was LOTS to talk about. its one of my favorite things when friends from one stage of life and so easily connect with friends from another...we don't live in Texas...but they all do! and i have no doubt they'll all probably see each other...

...anyway...i digress....

the challenge...photograph texture (for me). and get the exposure you want without checking the back of your camera. i got a little distracted with light and depth as well...but still. FUN.

{Personal} - Austin Part 2

2010-09-07T16:16:00.000-04:00

so....continuing on with Austin...

it was grant's birthday weekend, which meant he got dibs on deciding what we'd do...and he was bound and determined to make it to a roller derby match.

have you seen Whip It? with Ellen Page? its great....if you haven't go out and rent it right now. its all about roller derby...and finding yourself...and all that good stuff, but ever sense seeing it, grant thought it would be a super fun date night to actually go SEE a roller derby event for ourselves. (if you have no clue what roller derby is...go google it. :) i'm not sure i'll explain it super well in all of its quirkiness!!)

and, he was right...it was definitely an experience! below are just a couple of shots to get the feel of the evening...

ok, just so you know. this shot is totally intentional. like i mentioned in my last post, i only too my 24mm lens with me on this trip...and based on the restrictions of where we could stand, i knew i wasn't going to be getting any great close up action shots...so i went for the "this is what roller derby feels like" shot...hence the blur.

one happy birthday man. he was CRACKING up the whole time...

part three tomorrow....

{Creative Development} - Austin part 1

2010-09-06T14:17:00.001-04:00

alright...so backtracking a bit. forgive me for jumping all over the place, but i really wanted to post my last post as soon as possible...keep praying for brooke, brandon, and briar...they are walking through hard moments...

it feels a little trival to jump from that to this...but...the blogging must go on.

all of these shots over the next few days were taken while i was in Austin, TX...it was a GREAT weekend away...just me and the hub-ster...our first one since having two babies. my first morning there, grant had to work the conference he was there for, so i had the morning to myself while i was waiting for friends of ours to get into town.

at first i didn't know what to do with myself.

it was...

QUIET.

and no one needed anything.

AMAZING.

so i let my thoughts settle. took forever to get ready. watched part of a lighting DVD that i've been wanting to get to for forever. got lost in ideas, images, and yummy crepes....

as i sat in this little creperie next to our hotel and read, sipped cafe au lait, soaked up the euro music and listened to the authentic french owner shoot the breeze with his regulars, i seriously felt for a second like i was back in Europe...as long as i didn't glance out the front window and see the P.F. Changs across the street...

this wall that i was sitting next to was my favorite...

you'll see the photo below again...with a better explanation. but, i had an INCREDIBLE time thinking through some great things for my brand, how i approach business, etc.

i mean really. it started on the plane and continued the whole weekend...but thank you Fast Track Photographer and my Diet Coke napkin for kicking off the thought process...the two together (plus alot of thoughts that have been swirling around for a long time) created this great creative epiphany that i was almost giddy about. in all honesty, the marketing/branding/business side of this whole photographic journey doesn't come naturally for me, so i was thrilled that for the first time i felt like i was able to focus the direction of Capture Photography and really put into words what i want it to be about across the whole spectrum from the most mundane business detail to the greatest creative idea. i'm so excited about it...and working hard on making the ideas actual reality...you'll be seeing the first of them soon!

i did some wandering with my camera after sitting for i don't know how long. one of my favorite things to do, that doesn't happen near as often as it should. plus i love exploring a city that way. even if i don't have a camera with me, i record shots in my head just as if i did. i also have this growing love of experiencing how architecture shapes a city..so here are a few of my favorite shots of cityscapes.

oh, and ps...all of these shots were shot with a Canon 24mm f/1.4 lens. i LOVE fixed lenses. they are sharper, clearer, and force you to MOVE and get creative with how to get the shot you want out of them. i knew i'd be in a city and want a little bit of a wider angle, so this was the only lens i took with me, on purpose, just to challenge myself a bit.

more tomorrow...

{Maternity} - Brandon, Brooke, & Briar

2010-09-02T20:41:00.001-04:00

i know. i promised (again) photos from our time in KC and Austin. and they're coming...but i wanted to share these first and you'll understand why in a moment.

these are extra special photos.

these are our positively wonderful friends....Brandon, Brooke, & Precious Briar. if i start talking about how amazing they all are, you'll spend 20 minutes reading. so, just know that if you ever pass them on the street, IMMEDIATELY go introduce yourself and ask to be their friends....

aren't these guys great?? they love, laugh, and live hard...that sounds cheesy. i really don't mean it that way. they just really do. they live passionately for each other and the work they've been given to do. brooke is ridiculously creative...i would like to steal her house, and her style, in all honesty. brandon is a hoot and our sides hurt after spending time with him at some of the antics that can occur.

but...i want to share more of their story with you than just that. they are in the middle of quite a journey...and they've given me permission to share a little bit of it with you.

so b&b were thrilled when they found out that they were prego...we traveled with them over new years and talked and talked about all things baby...pregnancy, life with kids, weird things that happen before and after having babies...we spared NO detail...which made for some pretty funny, and pretty authentic conversations. brooke took kiera for runs out on the mountain where we were staying, and brandon even carried 8 week old caedmon around in our sling half the time. i mean seriously...they were practically better parents than we were that weekend! and sure enough, not long after, they were calling us with really good news!

however, they found out early on (earlier than most do, actually) that little briar was diagnosed with {anencephaly}, which is a fatal neural tube defect...to read more, just click on the link. (just a heads up...this site was made by parents and families affected by anencephaly. they all very bravely are sharing their stories and photos, in honor of their babies and in order to help others. so please, browse respectfully and know there are some hard things explained and depicted).

to make a long story short, while he is alive and kicking (quite literally...he was bumping brooke half the time we were shooting!) like nobodys business, brooke's body is acting as a life support system for the little guy. he will only live a short time after he's born, if he makes it through the birth process at all. not exactly how you picture your first baby coming into the world, or any baby for that matter.

hear me...

i don't share that with you so that you'll feel sorry for them.

i know their hearts and they wouldn't want that.

i share that because you never know when your story is going to find its way to someone's heart who truly needs it.

i share that so that you can know little briar. because i feel like part of my job as a photographer is to share who people are through their photos (and sometimes words too...), and this happens to be a huge part of who little briar is.

its his story, and brooke & brandon's story, and it needs to be told. there is a quote on the site that i've linked that says, "You are valuable because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you have done but simply because you are." {max lucado}. and that pretty much sums up how they've chosen to see briar and how they've chosen to celebrate his life.

and i share that to share with you their strength and transparency through this whole process. brooke and i have had some very real conversations...to me, she is an amazing balance of raw honesty and faith filled perspective. they have had alot of extremely hard decisions to make. ones that i can't even imagine. instead of avoiding them and avoiding the tremendously uncomfortable emotions that come with them, they have taken a deep breath, grabbed each others hands, leaned in hard on jesus...and walked straight into the storm...together.

that's just like the first sentence in the book that is their life right now...and honestly, i'm not really going to do them justice if i keep trying to tell their story to you, in words at least (photos i can do...). brooke has an amazing {BLOG} (its always has and always will be amazing, but she's been sharing her story day by day as well...) that does a much better job than i ever will of sharing their journey.

so while you're out there surfing in blog world, pay her a visit...

and, if these photos come to mind over the next days and weeks....pray. pray hard for this sweet family. briar could be here in a matter of days, or it could still take weeks. they are anxious to meet him. and nervous. and, i'm sure, a whole lot of other emotions that i'll let brooke tell you about.

b, b, & b....we love you. this goes without saying. i mean really, how could we not love you...we're tight...brandon, you and i are the only ones in the world who caed has errr....uh...."bonded" to...:) thank you for letting me photograph this very important time in your lives...and for trusting me to do that. we admire and are challenged by your courage. even if its the courage just to sit up and get out of bed in the morning to face the day. i loved getting to watch you two just be you...with briar...during your shoot. your love for life, each other, and your sweet little boy, is contagious. love it. we pray hard for peace, joy, and strength as you keep walking one step at a time.

{Engagement} - Jeremy & Erica

2010-08-30T15:45:00.000-04:00

we are back in fabulous Columbus Georgia from 2 weeks of great traveling to see my side of the family, and a great weekend away for just grant and i...i have lots of awesome images to show you. however, these are the best of the bunch...for obvious reason!

my sweet brother asked his lady to marry him!!! he TOTALLY took her by surprise and created an incredibly memorable moment for them both. we are all so SO excited for them...and, selfishly, for us...Erica is going to be the best sister-in-law!!

CONGRATULATIONS YOU TWO!!!!!! erica, we promise, we'll make up our girls night... :) :)

PS....GUYS....want to really sweep your lady off of her feet? hire a photographer to capture some awesome images not just of staged engagement photos, but the actual engagement. this is the second engagement i've photo stalked on request and, believe me, those moments are priceless. absolutely priceless. just a thought...give me a shout if you're interested! :)

{Personal} - As Promised...sort of...

2010-08-21T13:51:00.000-04:00

alright....i know i said in my last post that i would have all these great blogs that were scheduled to post this week. but...the truth is, we've been traveling. it was completely on my to-do list before we left....and...yeaaaaaaa....got the boot. i am still getting into our travel groove with babies. it was my first time to fly just me and two kiddos. so...needless to say, i didn't get my blogs scheduled as i wanted to.

BUT...i do have some images for you today.

we've been spending some time in kansas city with my family...but i am currently blogging from my hotel room in Austin. grant is here working a conference. my babies are with grammy and campa and a slew of awesome aunties and uncles. and i am on a hot weekend just me and the hubby!

can i tell you how excited i am? we have needed it. just some time away to just be. and be together.

we roamed around the city last night. ate, drank, talked, laughed, hung out with new friends.

we went for a run together this morning, and today we're seeing old friends who we can't wait to get some precious time with.

i'm taking naps.

roaming around with my camera in a new city.

doing some much needed thinking about Capture Photography.

sipping cafe au lait in a little creperie (sp?) that feels like a slice of europe in the middle of a VERY american city.

having positively FANTASTIC creative epiphany's thanks to a diet coke napkin and Fast Track Photographer (more on this later...i'm SO excited...)

anyway. we are just breathing. its wonderful.

but, while we handle time away well, we miss our babies. of course! so here's a few photos of the faces we're missing.

these are my latest favorites of our little man. just shot around the house, which is one of my favorite things to do with this age. i have SO many more but to my dismay, forgot to copy them to my travel hard drive. these were already on my computer, so you'll have to wait to see the rest later....but can you BELIEVE how yummy he is?! and that smile! if it got any bigger his face would bust.

and these are kiera's two year photos....which, she turned two in april, but better late than never. i love these as well...the hair in her face, dirt on her feet, light in her eyes and looks like "mom, really?" so her....that little face challenges and melts our hearts all at the same time....

this is asher...you've seen him alot if you're a regular blog follower. whoever said chivalry is dead hasn't met him. his heart is so genuine! kiera is completely allowed to marry him. we shot these in his back yard, so he was roaming around with us...he also may have had another pair of kiera's princess shoes on at one point in time....

princess shoes on the wrong feet...my favorite.

have a fantastic weekend everyone!

{Personal} - LEARN

2010-08-13T14:50:00.001-04:00

i'm pretty sure i've shared these images before...but i love them so much, i just have to share them again. plus...they totally tie into what's on my heart lately...

i fully believe that the more personal you are with your clients, the more personal and comfortable they'll feel with you. and the better i know them, the better their photos will be...they'll be richer, more significant and full of heart.

if i expect that of my clients, of course, i fully intend to do the same in return. to share my life and my heart honestly and openly. however....i haven't done a great job of sharing anything personal lately or telling much of our story. and not because i haven't wanted to...its just been finding the time.

so, here's my start to catching up on the personal side of the world of Capture Photography.

like i said earlier, i love these photos. i shot them back in january when caedmon was about 8 weeks old. we were all still trying to wrap our heads around this beautiful mess we had once again found ourselves in the middle of that is the introduction of a new member to your family. he had gone to sleep, kiera had picked out a RANDOM outfit earlier in the day and needed some QT just her and her mama. so while little man snoozed, we plopped on my bed with snacks, juice, books...and the camera.

these photos are a mess. you can see the crap piled up next to my bed. kiera's hair is everywhere (normal... ), her diaper is hanging out, the light from the windows is blown out (done on purpose...i like the feel that it gives vs. trying to make the light in the room perfect. it reminds me that sometimes when we quit trying to make things perfect, we have an easier time seeing the raw beauty in what just IS). but they will be on my walls. they are absolutely beautiful to me because they reflected just what was going on in life and in my heart at the time.

it was a mess. we were trying to figure it out. and it was beautiful. our hair may have been a mess and everything a little (or ALOT) askew but we wouldn't have been anywhere else.

we have been learning so much in this season. i feel like that's been the word that jesus's spirit has been speaking to my heart for a long time....

learn.

learn.

LEARN.

and we are.

we are learning about our identity as a family of four. caedmon is learning about his new world to include a love for cheerios and an intense interest in the dogs bones instead of his toys. kiera is learning to be a sister and share her world. she is learning to fully love life...and is good at it! grant and i are learning about what in us needs to stay and our family needs to mold itself around...and the things that need to go away for a season and come back later...and the things that need to go away altogether.

there are intense victories in our learning...and some definite disheartening moments. nothing major, just normal life "what in the WORLD?" moments, if that makes sense. we are learning to find joy in it all.

i'm learning to be structured. this is probably the most foreign concept for me.

EVER.

i just don't function that way. and, consequently, i have had a lot of amazing moments in life because i have no problem dropping whatever when something else important or significant comes along.

but i also haven't been very efficient either. i am the queen of starting projects and not finishing them. i tackle big things in spurts instead of small things consistently. i live on a perpetual roller coaster between insanely busy and ominously quiet. that is just me, i've always been that way. its actually a comfortably familiar place. poor grant has to keep me grounded when i come up with some idea to do something new about the other 40 ideas that came all at the same time that because i tackled them all at once, i haven't had the time to make sure they're seen through to the finish yet.

as you can imagine, when i'm running a household, raising two babies, wrangling the circus that is our two dog's and satan in the flesh (our CAT), supporting a husband, and building a business...my natural way of functioning doesn't really cut it.

let me rephrase....doesn't cut it AT ALL. the natural affinity to go with the flow helps with the random happenings that are life with kids, but that's about it.

and so

more learning.

i am learning to live out of MY box...which may look like living IN someone elses box, but for me, its definitely outside of the box to implement structure, routines we can count on, CHECKLISTS for heaven's sake!

one.
thing.
at.
a.
time.

and...in that, i'm learning that within structure, comes the freedom to have flexibility.

and i'm learning that LEARNING does not mean doing it perfectly on the first shot. it means being frustrated, it means having to dig your heels in and work to just figure it out, it means failing, re-evaluating and then trying something new.

i know, that's obvious, right?? i guess what i mean to say is that i FEEL the meaning of learning in a whole new way...in new depths in my physical life, mental and emotional life and even deep within my spirit. i FEEL the tension of it all. sometimes i wish that tension away...but i've had to stop myself. its the tension, the struggle, the fight between the place of comfort vs. the place of challenge that produces the strength and the character.

before i hammer the world "learn" to death, i'll leave it at that. i have more to share, but i will in time.

have an amazing weekend. learn. be smack in the middle of where you are. and may your heart be at peace there.

and stay tuned...i have more great images to share over the next week...

{Kiddos} - Will & Luke

2010-08-10T22:36:00.000-04:00

speaking of superheroes....i have two more for you...will and luke!

the very first shoot i ever did for will and luke was when luke was just a little newbie...somehow during the whole process, will ended up running around in his superhero cape. it was hysterical. and just plain awesome. i remember telling melanie that one day we'd have to do a shoot with both boys in superhero capes.

so here you have it...

generally speaking, my philosophy on doing photos for kiddos is to do as much as possible for them to NOT realize that they're having photos taken. you either have kids that totally start cheesing it as soon as the camera comes out, or who won't have anything to do with you. so, to avoid either extreme and get as much pure personality as i can, i use as much distraction as possible.

what's funny though is that for girls...typically...a blade of grass or something pretty or shiny will suffice. boys however....are a bit different. our list of "distractions" for this shoot looked something like this:

~ roll tires around a yard
~ throw a stick for Blackie (who also charged a few of the photos)
~ climb things
~ spill things
~ sing ridiculous songs
~ overflow a bubble machine
~ find a frog
~ climb a staircase
~ jump off the staircase
~ climb the staircase again
~ find a guitar
~ sing "i'm...gonna rock and roll...ALL NIGHT..." LOTS of times (hilarious...)
~ etc, etc, etc...

will and luke...thanks for the adventure, buddies!! happy to chase you two superheroes around any time...and melanie, next time, mimosas!! ;)

{Kiddos} - Baby Trey

2010-08-09T19:01:00.000-04:00

yikes!!! i had all these posts lined up to, well, POST...and then this one somehow slipped through the cracks. my apologies!! here's the Reedy Family featuring Baby Trey...

isn't little Mini Vin Diesel positively adorable?! his mama was joking the other day that she thought he totally looked like Vin Diesel in baby form and i completely have to agree....

anyway, this is yet another stellar family to add to my "wonderful Capture Photography families" list. i think little boys in superhero get up is the best. i'm sure i'll feel this way even more after watching my own little man grow up, but from the beginning, its in their little hearts to be the bravest, fight the villain, save (and get!) the girl, BE THE HERO! of course, the struggle is then that nagging question of if they have what it takes to be the bravest....but that comes much later and is totally topic for discussion another day...

i digress...anyway, the original point of that was....THE REEDYS and superheroes. i LOVE that brenda put gary and trey in their superhero shirts for the last half of their session because you can just tell that those two boys total are the superheroes of their mama/wife's heart. at least, this is how i see it from behind the lens.

Gary, Brenda, Trey...loved your session! thanks for being yet another one of the brave to tackle the summer heat for your shoot. can't wait for the next. and can't wait to fly like superheroes one day ;).

{Family} - Crowder

2010-08-09T00:25:00.000-04:00

for your viewing enjoyment....the crowder family! jacob, emily, and resident in-house rockstar, little isaiah!

this is one of Capture Photography's new families. aren't they great?! they are a blast to work with...they are those kind of folks who laugh alot (or, roll their eyes alot...depending on if you are jacob or emily...). who don't take themselves, or anything that doesn't deserve to be taken seriously, too seriously. who just enjoy what they've been given.

they have a quote hanging in their house that says "we may not have it all together, but together, we have it all". you can completely tell that they live and breathe the heart that is wrapped up in that statement.

so, crowder fam, thanks for a completely refreshing morning....clearly, it was not the ridiculous HEAT that was refreshing...i'm talking about the company! i'm looking forward to many more...!!!

{Engagement} - Carrie & Don

2010-08-06T16:13:00.000-04:00

Carrie and Don are engaaaaaaaged!

what a FUN couple! we met briefly before their shoot so that i could hear them tell their story together and i think i almost cried about 5 times just hearing how their lives were being woven together in even the smallest details.

don couldn't stop making carrie laugh half of the time while we were shooting. and the other half the time they just ignored me completely and got lost in each other....which is PERFECT. just as it should be for engagement photos.

Don & Carrie...i am so excited for you and how your already incredible story is going to continue to grow richer together with each moment and experience that passes. congrats again!!!!

{Kiddos} - Lane & Reagan

2010-08-05T23:24:00.000-04:00

Hola blog world! here to make your day a bit brighter: lane & reagan...

first off....love these kids, i mean who wouldn't?!

and secondly, i have to admit, that i am totally jealous of a one year old's hair. yep. i mean, again, who wouldn't be?!?!? every time i see reagan i just think of this adorable 1920's sassy chic! those curls are just to die for...

anyway, normally i say things like "this was such a great session" or, "it was a blast photographing so and so"....but, if i can have an honest moment, this was actually a bit of a tough session.

LOVED IT, of course, because i love these kids and this family, but it was a little challenging. reagan was just fine, she was her happy, jolly self. you may not be able to tell, but lane was just having a ROUGH day. it was all his mama or i could do to even get him to barely stand in front of the camera. my normal tricks weren't working. his mom's normal tricks weren't working.....

steph finally pulled him aside for a chat, then sent him to the car for a break and some gatorade, came back, looked at me and said "he misses his dad...."

my heart sank...these guys are one of our many amazingly brave military families, and, at the time, his daddy was deployed (back now, safe and sound!). that is hard on anyone's heart, but especially a 4 year old.

so...i put the camera down, grabbed lane in a bear hug, plopped us both on the ground and talked it out. we talked about how he was sad, how he didn't like being the only boy in the house, how talking with his dad on the computer just wasn't cool any more...it was all of a 2 minute conversation, but it was still important.

sometimes i forget to put down my camera and be a person...you know? its for fear that i'll miss some great moment. usually that relentless attachment to my camera is a huge strength that really plays into my style of photography, but that day, that was not the strength that was needed.

it was more important to give hugs.
be understanding.
not force it.
to completely change gears out of photographer mode, even for just a minute.

we still had some bumps after that, but it was much, much better. and...in the end, lane decided it would be a good idea to send the balloons to his dad rather than take them home in the car with him. that was a happy thought for him to be able to connect with his dad in that way, even if it was something small. i couldn't have planned it better if i'd tried....

so, favorite kiddos (and mama... :)), you both are wonderful. thank you for reminding me what is really important and for braving heat and bad days! and yay for dad's being home....!!

{Kiddos} - Curtis Kids

2010-08-04T15:20:00.000-04:00

remember sweet lily? well, here's big bro & sis....jackson and riley! and, a few glimpses of mom and dad too....

anyone who does a session, wedding, WHATEVER in the middle of summer in the south makes it onto my "bravest folks on the planet" list.

i love this family. they are sweet and simple and i completely admire that about them. we wandered around their farm, played on the tractor (PS...isn't that tractor great?! perfect thing for kiddos to climb and play all over for photos!! i may be a little obsessed :)), ran around in the corn, took LOTS of breaks to get a little relief in the AC, but finally it was just time for ice cream....which, of course, made everyone happy.

meredith, john, jackson, riley, & lily....thanks so much for a great session! it was wonderful to meet and see the whole family together. can't wait till next time.....