new lens! [personal.]

whew! what a week.

After my internship with Jessica Shae a couple of weeks ago, I was inspired to adopt a new addition to my family of photography equipment. Both Jessica and Hannah, the other intern (see her blog here) had a 50 mm lens for their cameras, which is an excellent lens for portrait photography, and all their images were turning out b-e-a-utifully. I have a manual 50 mm lens on my film camera, and I love it, but now that I'm mainly using my digital camera again, I decided I'd get a portrait lens for it.

After browsing several of my favorite online camera stores and reading some articles, I purchased my 50 mm f/1.4 lens. I was so excited for it to arrive, so that I could start taking some truly stunning portraits and practicing some new techniques.

I have been blessed with a LOT of friends that are simply gorgeous, both inside and out, and I began planning photo shoots with them so that I could play with me new lens once it came in the mail. As of last Tuesday, I'd planned AT LEAST one a day for the next week and half. I couldn't wait - I knew I was going to be so busy, snapping my shutter and spending some quality time with dear friends, allowing me to practice and at the same time, showing them their own true beauty.

First of all, my lens was late. It was supposed to arrive between Monday and Wednesday, and of course, it didn't show up until Thursday. After several days of checking our mail box multiple times daily (it's a box down the street, and usually all we get is junk mail, so typically we're lucky to remember to check it weekly), it finally came a day late, which meant I had to cancel some shoots. Thankfully, my gorgeous friends are also very gracious and understanding.

Second of all, it was the wrong lens. It was actually a really great lens - for my film camera. It was a completely manual lens, so it had a hard time communicating with my digital camera. As much as I wanted to keep it, it will soon be on its way to another home.

However, this story has a happy ending (so far...)
my digital 50 mm lens should be arriving today, so I can get back to shooting my beautiful, beautiful friends :)

I was hoping to post some of their photos today, but all the lens nonsense happened, and well.... maybe next week. ;)

That's all I've got for now!

love, love, love.

lizzie: just for fun [bryan/college station, tx portrait photographer]

I just posted these on my old blog, but I'm still really excited about them, so I'll share them here as well :)

world, meet my friend Lizzie.



AKA Princess, Meerkat, Cupcake, Muffin, the list goes on…. I’m known this little nightmare since day 1 of freshman volleyball. Boy, that was a delight… but meeting one of my lifelong friends was definitely worth it.



We’ve been classmates, traveling companions, and partners in crime. We share too many inside jokes to even try to count. I don’t think I have a memory from high school that doesn’t include Miss Prissbutt.







isn't she gorgeous? I don't know what it is, but I think I have a thing for redheads, and I am so lucky to have so many as dear friends :)







Some of our favorite things range from henna, dying our hair purple, vintage shopping, hats, Disney Princesses, traveling, eating chocolate icing straight out of the can, and general silliness to philosophical discussions about morals, religion, and life and hypothetical conversations about our futures. One thing is for sure - she knows how to make life interesting, and that’s one reason I am so blessed to have her as a friend (another bonus is that she is a very gorgeous and very willing model ;))







She and I live very far away from each other now, so I cherish all of our moments and memories together. These pictures were taken when she came to visit me one weekend over the summer. Some of these just scream "vintage Hollywood glamour" to me... I am so lucky to have such beautiful friends :)



That's all for today, friends.

love, love, love.

first post! [bryan/college station, tx portrait photographer]

Hello, big beautiful world! And welcome to my new blog :) I am still tweaking all the little details of my new little corner of the web, but I thought I'd get started by posting some pictures I took last summer.

This is my dear friend, Kaitlin. One reason that she and I are such good friends is that she and I both LOVE flowers. (There are multiple, much more significant reasons, but I think that reason alone is good enough :)) So last spring when all the wildflowers started blooming, what choice did we have but to go out and take some pictures?

Isn't she pretty? She belongs in a field of flowers. :)

As the color of her hair may suggest, this redhead is truly on fire. She is one of the most intense people I’ve ever met. She’s simply bursting with passion, love, joy, spunk, and spirit. Her loyalty and generosity know no bounds.

She’s always laughing about something, usually a prank she’s pulled. Her daredevil antics keep everyone laughing. I’ve caught this girl coloring her two front teeth with permanent marker (which turns out to be not quite so permanent.) She’s also quite the little monster, threatening to set fire to/run over/eat any cat that crosses her path, black or not - bad luck for the cat to cross Kaitlin’s path!

But all in all, this girl is a true sweetheart, and I am so blessed to have enjoyed such a beautiful friendship with her.

That's all for today, friends!

love, love, love.