{A Reflection} 2009

SO many wonderful things happened for me and my family this year! It was a GREAT year. My amazing, supportive and loving husband helped me find my true passion in life when he took a huge leap of faith and bought me my first dSLR camera. A Nikon D60! I of course had the most perfect model to practice with - my 13 month old baby boy. My first ever photo shoot was with him, outside at a park playing with dandelions and laughing in the grass. It was in one word, perfect. And I fell in love with being behind the camera at that exact moment.

I feel so blessed to have been led down this path and to have found photography. I've always been an artist through my writing, my drawing, my painting and my profound love and respect for the musical arts. Never once did I even consider photography. It kinda "fell into my head" one night as I pondered what on earth I could do artistically to help support my family financially. {GOD}, thank you for giving me an instant curiosity and motivation to see if it was a fit. This has truly been a blessing! I am forever thankful.

Just one short month after having picked up a dSLR camera for the first time, I had my very first photo shoot with Kenna (my now awesome photography swap partner). Her family is gorgeous so I don't think I could have taken a bad photo of them. But it allowed me to play with post-editing and really learn the answers to all one million and one questions I had. I made a lot of mistakes, but luckily I received several referrals from that very photo shoot. I was officially on my way to being in business for myself!

What I love most about photography is the never-ending bank of water that is "knowledge". There is ALWAYS something new to learn and I'm so eager to continue teaching myself everything I can get my hands on! I have 2 books that I self-taught the basics. I'm now getting ready to purchase another book to learn exposure. And I'm buying my first prime lens in 2 weeks. I'm going to teach myself to shoot in manual mode: gasp -- so excited! I think shooting manually, with prime lenses, will force me to find my distinct style and take my photography to a whole new level. That's the plan atleast.

After just a handful of photo shoots under my belt, I had to go on maternity leave. My beautiful daughter had finally arrived (in a very scary way I might add!). Having gone through a labor and delivery with her, really made me cherish life in a whole new way. I didn't even know I could ever feel that way. And I think in some way, that helped me take my photography to an entirely different level.

I booked my first wedding in September (6 weeks after having Millie), with only 3 days to spare before the big day! I couldn't say no and I was so nervous. 3 days to learn as much about wedding photography as possible and I dropped $500 a new lens to make sure I got decent photos. And I'm happy to report that I'm thrilled with how they turned out for still being such a rookie! But most importantly, my wedding couple LOVED them and that was all that mattered to me. Success! And it felt GREAT. I will forever be greatful to Christie for referring me and to Emily and Joey for taking a huge leap of faith in hiring me to shoot their wedding! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Shortly after the wedding I upgraded my camera to a Nikon D300S. My first PRO camera! I'm still squealing with excitement. I also purchased my 10.5mm fisheye lens to play with. I decided to use it to start another division of experience - boudoir photography - and the photos were fantastic. I was so nervous for that event and pulling a true-all-nighter for several weeks was rough. I had great experiences and awful ones, but I'm so thankful because it has helped me grow so much as a photographer and as a business woman. I just realized that I now own a photography business and its no longer just an idea that I started pursuing only 8 short months ago. It's real.

I most definitely would not be where I am today without the love and support of my amazing family and friends! And I owe a huge, heart-felt thank you to my clients. Seriously guys and girls - you are all so kind and have such beautiful souls. I feel truly blessed to have worked with you. It's my only hope that you continue to follow my work and give me many more chances to photograph your special occasions, your events and to watch your children grow. Nothing would give me greater pleasure. Thank you to all my past clients, my present clients and to any future clients.

I want to wrap up 2009 with a slideshow of some of my favorite images. I'm very much looking forward to 2010 and all the learning and experience that will come with it! The song I chose has the best line ever. And I'll be taking it with me to 2010 and beyond.

"You can have it all - Anything you want you can make it yours - Anything you want in the world - Nothing too big or small - Anything you want you can make it yours - Anything you want in the world! What you get is exactly what you give - Never really know until you try..."

(Shakira)