Summer is here and I am jonesing to get out with my camera and take some pictures of random things as the weather becomes warm and it feels like God is beckoning me outside with his own hand.

I've been looking at SO many photographers' websites in the past few months. I want to know why I like the ones I do, why I don't care for certain styles, etc. I am very drawn to shots of children, which is not surprising considering my natural affinity for kids. Although I realize that extra lighting is almost always added, I really love natural lighting. There's something in the talent of a photographer to use what he or she is given and produce amazing artwork that people can cherish.

I'm also learning what I do not like. I've been praising Evan for his photography style for almost a year now, and I mean every word. I love his black-and-whites and I love his eye for an interesting angle. His shots are a great blend of a photojournalistic style and a personal touch. One thing I've discovered that I do not care for is photography that is really, really artistic. I looked at a wedding photographer's blog and his pictures were SO "artsy". What do I mean by that? Gosh, I don't even know. The subjects were extremely posed. There were a few emotional, personal shots, but for the most part it was just overwhelming ART ART ART. Look, I lined them up with some boxes and made an interesting shape. Look, this person and that person side by side look like a rectangle. Look, one person is in a window and one is not. I really dig photography that feels emotional and spontaneous.. which, thinking about it, nothing about a wedding is spontaneous. All brides [attempt to] plan out every spare second of the wedding events. Perhaps this is good insight as to why I've never felt the calling to be a wedding photographer.

As I discover more things that I like and dislike, it makes me more excited to get behind my camera. After all, you can't know what you want to do until you konw what you DON'T want to do!

Yes, you heard right.

On our trip to Memphis this weekend, we had about an hour to waste while waiting for my pals to appear at Panera Bread for lunch. I remembered that Bellevue Baptist Church is supposed to have some really pretty grounds, so I headed that way. We parked near a small nicely landscaped area and walked over to a wooden swing. We even reminisced while sifting through the pebbles to find "fossils!"

David built me a little "teepee" out of twigs. He makes fun of his own hands, but I love them. They are big and rough, calloused.. Perfect "man" hands..



The day was so beautiful.. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue and the clouds looked like big puffy cotton balls!



After rolling around in the cool pebbles for a while, I sat up with my camera - and immediately asked David to "freeze!" This picture takes me right back to the calming breeze and beautiful weather.



My favorite part of the female form is the dip at her wasitline while lying down.. Soft and curvy, sexy. Women are so lucky!

I took a random <24 hour trip to Memphis this weekend and went to visit my dad's grave at Memorial Park. It's been over two years since he passed away, yet he never had a proper headstone. This weekend I saw the proof that my money-grubbing aunt was really being truthful when she said that she *finally* ordered the headstone. Words cannot express how happy and peaceful I felt when I saw that he finally had the respect of a proper gravesite.



As I knelt on the ground by his grave, I looked up and saw what looked like a disco ball hanging from a tree limb above his grave. As I looked closer, I saw that it was a large glittery Christmas ornament. I giggled at the thought of a disco ball hanging above his grave - he was a DJ on the side and really loved music. It couldn't possibly be a coincidence that someone had hung a disco-ball-looking Christmas ornament on that tree. :-)



My dad and I weren't very close, and didn't spend much time together until I was about 17 or so, but I respect that he did attempt to make up for lost time by being involved in my life. He wasn't a perfect parent, but no one is. I honestly believe that he did the best he could with the emotions and opportunities that he had, and I was happy to pay respects to his final resting place this weekend.

About a month ago David and I went over to a friend's house out in the country. I took my camera in case any photo opportunities presented themselves.. and did they ever! As I sat out on the porch listening to the sounds of the guys in the basement nailing down hardwood flooring, I heard another sound that I couldn't identify.

Curiosity struck me and I grabbed my camera and hunted down the culprits making a "psychotic bumblebee" buzz. It was three little hummingbirds playing tag as they sipped nectar from a feeder on the porch! I did my best to stake out the feeder; I got as close as possible and stood very still. Soon the little guys were buzzing and humming all around me, making for some great photo ops. Here are a couple of the pictures I got (edited using Picnik.com)!

Last night I decided to make cupcakes for David as a special treat when he got home. After frosting 5 or 6 of them, I had an idea.

I chose a really pretty one with chocolate sprinkles, took a bright three-headed lamp from the living room (too bright for that room, actually), and a stack of library books and began experimenting with lighting in the kitchen.

It's no professional studio, but it'll do!

I sat my model on top of an upside-down wine glass and used the books to elevate it. Flowers that David bought me yesterday became a beautiful backdrop for my pink strawberry-frosted masterpiece! I was so pleased with the results!

David surprised me with a field trip this afternoon to Cheekwood, which is a museum and botanical garden in Belle Meade. For Memphis folks, it is reminiscent of the Pink Palace in both structure and story. We wandered around for a while, saw a great Faberge egg collection in the museum, and took some pictures outside around the gardens. It was really just too dang hot to do much exploring.

Beautiful flowers

Sitting outside at the gardens.

Looking aloof in a hallway outside the museum.

David spelled something special with sticks.

My house cleaning business puts me in contact with all sorts of interesting people; yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting an amazing photographer here in Nashville named Evan Baines. I had been talking to Evan's wife for about a week via email, and she had informed me that he is a photographer and pointed me to the direction of his website(s). Holy cow, was I stunned!

I showed up and began my basic tasks, but it wasn't long before Evan and I were talking about photography and he was showing me some of his favorite pictures. Man, this guy is the real deal. As someone who has been interested in photography as an art for some time, I've seen my share of photographs that really impressed me from time to time, and by different artists. And that is what Evan is - an artist. His photographs are not mere pictures captured by a lens; they are works of art.

Well, enough bragging on him; his work speaks for itself. It was just really cool to see the work of someone that I respect and find interesting. As a naturally intelligent and creative person, not many people intrigue or impress me. I'm generally bored with people that I meet on a daily basis. No offense, y'all.

Anyway, the point of this was that he explained aperture to me while I was there and I promise you, as many times as I've read it in books, it did not make sense until he showed me what exactly it is on the camera. I seriously saw a light bulb light up over my head. Of course, when I got home I broke out my camera ( I think it needs a name? ) and set it to "A" mode to immediately try out this new skill. It worked! I set a lower aperture and took a picture of my hand right in front of the camera lens. Voila! The background fades to a blur behind my crisply-detailed fingers. Cool!

Excited, I ran back inside and decided to let Studmuffin the cat out of the house for a little outdoor mini photo shoot. Maybe some pictures of him in front of some shrubs would make it look like he was in the jungle.

So that didn't work; cats are not only completely oblivious to any other living being not holding a bag of food, but they also have no concept of photography. The only thing I really accomplished by lying on the ground holding my camera and saying a sing-song "Studly! Studly!" was making my neighbors wonder if they should ask if I'd taken my medicine. I did get a couple of cute shots that my mom really liked of her grandcat. Then I went inside and messaged a pretty friend on Facebook to ask if she'd like to be a model for a play session this weekend. I'm finished with the cat.