the christmas card that never was.

so I'm sitting here organizing all of the end of 2010's pictures and I came across these...
I've titled them quite poetically:

"the christmas card that never was."

I know that there are some of you out there who as soon as october 1st hits you're thinking "gotta get my christmas cards done!"
I know this because I've photographed you and I LOVE your organization.
but for me...there are some years where this just does not happen for me...
and this year, I'm afraid, was one of them. :)
so for all of you that were expecting a christmas card from me this year,
here it is...merry christmas and happy new year to all of you! :)

polaroid memories. :)

little bit about me and my family...
my dad. :)
my dad has always been a gadget guy.  I simply love that about him.
he's always been the first to get new gadgets...
new green screen original apple home computer.  yup, we had one with ACTUAL floppy disks.
                         pacman was never so cool as on that first computer we owned.
new cell phone when it wasn't even popular yet.  he even got me one!
huge and clunky and I'm pretty sure it weighed 8lbs.  but it was SUPER cool! :)
he's the first in line for a new blackberry...an ipod...a mac book....
yup, he's a gadget guy. :)

some of my most vivid memories of my dad involved taking pictures.
he had this sweet olympus film camera as a kid...which is awesome because
I now have great visual memories of me and my brothers and sisters growing up!  :)
he'd make us pose in front of famous fountains in the east coast.
         that we played in...yup.  public fountains and we were splashing around in them...awesome. :)
in front of a giant crab in massachusetts.
    that scared my little sister so much that to this day she still gets a little nervous at that story. :)
in front of the niagra falls...no words for how crazy amazing that was.
all four of us kids standing in a row in rainy door county...
                     I seriously loved that place, but it always seemed to rain...
but before that olympus film camera, was a genuine polaroid land camera.
yes.  an original polaroid camera.
he used it mostly for taking pictures catalogueing restaurant food for his job.
but sometimes, if we were lucky...he'd take pictures of us.
goofy faces.  calvin & hobbes distorted faces.  monkey faces.  crazy funny faces.
it. was. SUPER. cool. :)
how you could take a picture and immediately out popped a warm rectangle
that you shook and flopped and then slooooooooooowly your face would fade into the picture?
pure magic.  well, if you're five.  :)
yup, my dad had the sweetest polaroid land camera when I was a kid.
it fascinated me.

why am I thinking about polaroid cameras?
well, because my grandpa turned 90 years old yesterday.
yup.  n.i.n.e.t.y. :)
my mom made this really cool collage video of pictures that he's had since 1921.

think about that...1921.
    he's seen the great depression.
        he's seen pearl harbor.
              he's been through the 50's, the 60's and the 70's.
                   he's had the pleasure of loving and then
                         holding their hand as they passed of two extraordinary beautiful women.
                             yup.  90.  crazy. cool.  and a TON of memories.

so my grandpa and my dad got me thinking about memories...and cameras.
and I wonder...what are your memories?  what are the things that have filled up your lifetime?
THAT is this weeks challenge...take a photograph of something that brings back a memory.
it could be a wedding ring or piece of jewelry...a photo OF a photo...a book...a place...anything! :)
I want to see part of your life story this week... [kreatid challenge] memories.
and because I know polaroid land cameras are had to come by...
you can use this png. at the end of this post as an overlay if you wanted in photoshop...
but you SO don't have to...I simply want to see YOUR memories.  :)

and WHAT is the prize your are wondering?!
I know! (you have to say it like craig fergusen...it's funnier.  I promise.) :)
kyla from one late night has g.e.n.e.r.o.u.s.l.y has offered to donate to the winner of this weeks challenge
this ADORABLE polaroid land camera plush!

I should say that SHE is giving this away because I SO would not give it away...
   I covet it and WANT it and would NOT share. :)
      BUT she is nicer than me and is generously donating this!

a little bit about kyla and her company...
"...For my handmade pieces I really try and come up with something fun that both children and adults can appreciate.  I have a super huge love for photography and my camera’s adventure everywhere with me!

I remember when I was little and the camera was always the item that I couldn’t really “play” with as it was breakable and expensive. When I was about 10, Crayola came out with a bright yellow film camera and I was in heaven; I finally had a camera that no one was concerned with me breaking. I was addicted for life!

That memory really stuck with me, and I thought about making something for that in between time that children could really benefit from; thus the Plush camera was created.
I get to custom these little babies into the buyers taste, and each and every one I make seems to get cuter!

I really like to dig back in to my childhood for creative ideas. I think the market is so chalked full of really manufactured 100 times duplicated things, and I like to think that out of all of those things on your shelf the unique ones are the most talked about! Just think boxes and rows filled with shiny plastic toys, and a cute handmade plush thrown right in there. I would be drawn to it instantly.

I like to brainstorm, and then create. If I mess up it’s all part of the process. When I’m happy with a shape and product I create a pattern. I really like to incorporate color and texture. If I can put a button on it, I will! I love them.

One of my big rules is don’t create it just because it’s popular! Ultimately you do want to sell, but you don’t want to sell yourself out. When creating each item; as well as finding thrifted goodies I stop and think would “I” keep this or buy this. I create for myself first and foremost. If I am 100% behind an Item, I can put my name on it and be proud of it being in someone else’s home."

you can find and friend/fan her here:
etsy shop: www.onelatenight.etsy.com/
facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/OneLateNight-Handmade-and-Vintage/133384440057643
twitter: twitter.com/onelatenight
blog: onelatenight3point14.blogspot.com/
flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/33124996@N02/

super cool, no?! 
so THANK YOU kyla for your generosity!
and remember to check out the rules for this weeks challenge here!  :)

passion wears many faces.
  for some it's in what they DO...
    for others it's in what they SEE...
       and for some still, it's deep inside their SOUL...
yes, this [kreatid challenge] was super fun to take a peek into each of YOUR lives and see what drives you...what makes you tick...and it was an honor.  :)

the winner of this challenge is awarded a $50 gift certificate to the ever inspiring Oh Snap Boutique!
I simply love her slogan
"come in...be inspired...let your photo's shine!"
simply PERFECT for what she designs and creates in her shop!  her eye for detail is apparent in each one of her creations...showing obvious passion for what she does!  definitely a place to hit up more than once!  THANK YOU kasia for your generous prize...only spreading more inspiration and passion!
I simply love your generous heart! :)

*side note* voting this weekend was T.O.U.G.H. and the winners that won this week got their advantages by adding extra votes by tweeting (ex. check out my entry (s) in this weeks [kreatid challenge] @jendriesbach is hosting here...), by posting in the [kreatid challenge] flickr group, and by posting on the kreatid facebook wall.  I'm SO not saying that you HAVE to do any of this to participate...I'm only explaining how the winners were chosen!  I personally am always wondering how the winners win in other challenges that I participate in, and I don't necessarily ever get an answer for those - which is fine because I mostly like just participating anyways!  but for those of you who not only like these challenges, but are competitive too (SO, not pointing fingers) :) there you go...you get a vote for each of the things I listed above for EACH entry (up to three), plus each comment/like/favorite! 

now that that is out of the way...on to the winners of this weeks [kreatid challenge] passion...

picking a favorite was SUPER hard for me this week!  I simply LOVED summer montoya's "sing to the Lord" passion...and I thought pam beeson's "poloroid/boots" was fantastic!  but since I'm only picking one, I really loved the color palette's in heather hurzeler's "paint" photograph...it wasn't stylized at all and it simply was a great beautiful photograph!

heather's words "...a passion for creativity... inspire, create, get messy! I have a passion for painting.
I am thankful for our God the creator of Creativity! ;)..."  love it and thank you for participating! :)

and now on to the winners!
third place to two beautiful entries goes to theresa hodge!

"...The passion to shoot.  I like to take photos. Can you tell?

One of my passions is photography. I love challenging myself to find the beauty in everything. Some of my favorite things to take photos of are typically things that others find ugly like urban decay and peeling paint.

This photo was taken with my iPhone while standing on the beach and looking out at the Mediterranean Sea. The light you see in the distance is a ship."

and her second entry...

"...Swoosh Passion
One of my passions since I was 8 years old has been skiing. On Saturday I got the opportunity to ski in the Spanish Sierra Nevada mountains. This photo was taken with my iPhone. You can almost see the Mediterranean Sea in the distance..."
love it.  swoosh passion.
someday I want to learn how to swoosh.  I think I would be passionate about it. ;)

and in a narrow second place is emily johnston's two entries...
what's even cooler is that she was featured on another collegues blog - the woman who creates
the vintage tin tiles...SUPER cool!  :)

"...my passion. i've wrestled with this for 3 days and concluded that technically people are my passion, but it is much more than that. encouraging people, that is my passion..."
love it.  and we all know I LOVE the Ebonics of words...beautifully done. :)

and her second entry...

"...passion: intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction TO ALWAYS FIND THE LIGHT & GOOD IN EVERY SITUATION..."
someone commented "who doesn't LOVE light through a tree?!"  and I would have to agree! :)

and finally our winner of this weeks challenge and the $50 gift certificate to Oh Snap! Boutique...
elizabeth weitz!

"...photography, art...it moves me. I love it!..."
LOVED the beautiful minimalism of this shot and the post processing was most definitely inspiring...well done, yess! :)

again, THANK YOU all for participating...and I look forward to seeing what you capture this next challenge!
p.s. SUPER excited about this next weeks giveaway...I'll give you a hint...think retro...too cute! :)

nothing is impossible. :)

"...when work, commitment, and pleasure all become one
          and you reach that deep well where passion lives,
                  nothing is impossible."

seeds.

one of my most favorite things is the sound of wind.
I find myself associating the gentle whoosh of soft wind with tall "almost touch the sky" pine trees.
the sound is quite distinct...almost like the ocean, but gentler somehow.
      in order to hear it you can't walk.
              you can't talk.
                       you almost don't want to breathe.
                                                                             it's almost like it's whispering.

                can you hear it?

this weekend I got to go up north with eleven girls.  really there were around 500 people there.
but for me, it was me and these eleven girls.
you've heard me talk about these girls here.
I love them.  and for no other reason than because He loved me.

the week leading up to this weekend has been somewhat strange.
I got a message from one of "my girls" from ten years ago...
a message from one of my girls who I loved and still love deeply.
a message from one of my girls who landed on a much different path than mine.

her simple message restored my hope heading into this weekend.
hope that I didn't even know had been lost.

fast forward to this weekend.
me and these eleven girls.
the eleventh girl really isn't even a girl anymore.  she's a lovely woman.
a woman who is living grace and a walking proof of persitant prayer.  yes.  I love her.
the other ten challenge me and grow me in more ways than I think I even know yet.
they sharpen me.  they challenge me.  and I love them.
why?  because He has loved me much.

the verses that were whispered to me as a gift are still resonating in my head.

"...but there is one thing I remember,
                   and remembering I keep a grip on hope:

      God's love could not have run out.
         His merciful love could not have dried up.

    they are created new every morning. how great is Your faithfulness...
         (I'm sticking with God. I say it over and over again.)  He's all I've got left.

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits.
    to the woman who diligently seeks.
        it's a good thing to quietly hope.  quietly hope for help from God.
            it's a good thing when you are young to stick it out through the hard times.

when life is heavy and hard to take,              go off by yourself.
                                                                      enter the silence.
                                                                          bow in prayer.
                                                                             don't ask questions.
                                                                                 wait. for. hope. to. appear.
                                                                            don't run from trouble.
                                                                        take it full face.
                                                                   the "worst" is never the worst.

why?          because the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return.

these words restored my soul this weekend...
    and I was reminded that I have been gifted eleven lovely girls...
        and a simple seed of hope.  :)

passion

I posted this quote not too long ago about passion...

and it got me to thinking about what I'm passionate about.
anyone who knows me, knows that THAT list is long and colorful!
my man/kids/God/church/family/photography/art/music/piano/nature/people to start! :)

this week I met someone who was passionate about her work and I was genuinely inspired by her!
kasia owns and runs "oh snap boutique"

a gorgeous, fun site specializing in action and templates and fun things for photographers!
and the stuff she produces are fresh, modern and adorable!
she even has a freebie if you'd like to try her out!
her passion has turned into a colaberation with kreatid and she has graciously offered the
winner of this weeks challenge a gift certificate to her store!  SUPER cool!

see the discussion wall on my facebook page for more details on how to win and what to post
and GOOD LUCK!  :)

the cost to follow

I'm going away this weekend...up north.
oh, yeah.  it's wintercamp time. :)

my husband is one of the student ministries pastors at our church and
every year around this time, we take around 400 kids up north on charter buses.

away to learn.
away to be undistracted.
away to be quiet.
I can not wait. :)

if you think of it, pray that God does big things while we're up there...
here's the design I did for the brochure...
oddly enough, the cover of Lenka was my inspiration board for this one! :)  I know.  I'm strange. ;)

winners of [kreatid challenge] and polar coordination :)

I am so happy today.
why am I so happy today?  you ask.
be-CAUSE the first ever [kreatid challenge] was a bigger success
than I ever dreamed it would be!  happiness!
the challenge DID just that...it challenged me and I was genuinely inspired by all the entries!
(yes, I said ALL...there was MORE than just one, like I feared!) :)
woo!  (oh yeah, I SO just woo'd!)  :)
if you'd like to participate in next weeks challenge starting this friday - check back here for details!
again, THANK YOU for all who participated...this has been SO fun and I hope fun for you!  :)

honorable mention as my favorite goes to theresa this week.  by trade, she is a graphic designer/photographer...she never fails to inspire me and her use of reflection and color were just that..visually inspiring!  using her iphone, no less!  crazy talented! :)

here are the top three entries (based on likes/favorites/tweets/comments!)
*insert drumroll here*

in 3rd place (by one vote!) emily johnston

you all know I'm a total fan of shoes...can't have enough of them!  and LOVED her description of this photo "...in MY WORLD i am a tightrope walker. finding balance between Him, him & them. in MY WORLD i am a conductor. orchestrating my roles as daughter to The King, wife to my beloved and mother of our two boys. in MY WORLD i am me. comfortable and smudged, graceful and polished..."
love it. :)

in 2nd place...elizabeth weitz

 her description "...so, my world, contains a little bit of a lot. Everyday, photography, babies, my man, cherry coke zero, the bible, gardening, coffee...pieces of me and my world. :)..."
love that, little bit of a lot.

and the WINNER with a solid 30 votes this week is none other than lindsey stamm!

her words "...Josh and Lindsey - pretty much "our world" right now:) Does that sound selfish?..."
no, lindsey.  not selfish.  true and b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l.l.y. captured!

again, congratulations all of you - this was incredibly fun!
I'll be posting next weeks challenge this friday!

p.s.  some of you asked how I created (kreatid) ;) my entry for this week...

1. stand in one spot and take appx. 12 photographs in a circle.
(pretend you're a clock and take one photo for each hour.) :)
2. load all the pictures into photoshop. (I use CS5.)
3. click >file >automate >photomerge make sure blend images together is checked.  click >add open files.
4. crop image to trim negative space...make sure you leave the image super long horizontally and not too tall vertically.  flatten image.
5. click >ctrl >shift >I together to resize image.  copy the width length and paste into the height length. (the image will look hyper-stretched vertically...you want this.) :)
6. click >filter >polar coordination...make sure you click from rectangle to polar coordinate.
7. use the clone tool to fix any small overlaps.

that's it!  I'd love to see what you come up with!  :)

the choice.

do you see the burnt edges?

the frost did that.  yes.  frost.  in arizona.  I know.

that's kinda how I felt about four hours ago...burned a little bit.

let me explain...

today was a seriously strange day.

no scratch that.  this week has been an odd week.

you see, this week I was faced with the reality of this verse...

"I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink.

but then they will say 'when did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink?'

then I will say to them 'whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored,

that was me—you did it to Me."

but what if that person you fed ended up lying about needing to be fed?

should it change your response the next time?

after a lot of thinking and gardening today :), I think that no.

it shouldn't change how I respond.

He has been so generous with me.  it's not up to me to judge someone else's heart.

maybe a little bit more wisdom needs to be peppered in...

                                    He's put a lot wiser people around me to help with that...

yes, my heart might have gotten a little bit frost-bit today...even felt a little stinky inside.

but I still get the choice, the choice.  to be as fragrant as a rose made for His purpose.

               it's always a choice.

brothers and sisters :)

this fun session made me think of my own brother and two sisters...
there's nothing quite like them, really.
it's especially interesting when you look at birth order traits...

First	Middle	Third	Fourth
Natural Leader	Flexible	Risk-taker	Close to parents
High Achiever	Easy-going	Outgoing	Self-control
Organized	Social	Creative	Leader

 
it's not an exact science...but it's fairly close. :)
you should see us when our whole family hangs out...it's quite amusing, really...
talking over each other - fighting for being heard,
    quippy little witty quips,
        punches on the arm when it's gone too far :)
            deep - minute long mini-conversations...
                and at the end of it?
an underlying happiness at being friends as adults.  :)
I love it...and I love them.  tremendously.

yes, I got to hang with this family for an afternoon, and the similarities were very amusing...
         except with a lot more testosterone (poor erica) :)

thank you so much chris, erica, david + bradley!  your session made me smile! :)

my world. :)

so I started a weekly group [kreatid challenge] on flickr...go here if you'd like to join!
everyone is welcome...
use your phone, use your point and shoot, use whatever you've got...
it's supposed to fun and inspiring...so join! :)

why is this my world?
I come here nearly everyday.  and I love this place.  and I love the people that are in my world.  :)
is it the only part of my world...nope.
but it is most definitely a favorite place in my world. :)

crazy.

this week was crazy.
crazy emotional|biz-ay|intense|awesome|sad|joyful|frustrating|fun|interesting|growth.

vacation ended.
I mourned the loss of my friends son.
I rejoiced at the marriage of two good friends.
I worshiped with one great loud voice at the inaugural services of my church.
and I stretched my mind learning new thoughts for kreatid.

I have a lot of thoughts on each of these...but for now, I promised myself I'd make a better effort to rest and so far, I really haven't...so happy weekend to you and I'll catch you all next week!

there are at least two. :)

"adults are just obsolete children."
                                           dr. suess

I saw this from another photographer I'm in a group with and smiled.
smiled because there is at least one other person like me in the world.
crayons, colors and childishness...I like it all.
yup, it just made me smile.  here's to never being obsolete. :)

1+1=7 ♥

ahhh, the maccallum's. 
I genuinely LOVE this family!
you might remember them from here and here and my first ever shoot here...
(yeah, it's hard to go back and look at my lack of editing skills...but it's growth, right?) :)

my friend lisa is this edgy, g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s., rock star kind of a chick
who makes having five kids look effortless and gorgeous!
did I mention that she homeschools her kids and runs her own business?  check her out here!
matt is the glue that holds this family together...he's quick to laugh and makes lisa's eyes light up. :)
and the little people that they've produced are hilarious and adorable!
one of my favorite things about the kids is their eyes!  lisa has these crazy gorgeous sea green/blue eyes that change color that she's given to lorelai and now, most likely connery...whereas matt's warm brown eyes were given to drew, topher and ezra (cool names, yeah?!)...each with a different unique shade...super cool. :)
these people are definitely a joy to photograph and watch grow year after year!

 

 

and they're newest A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. addition...connery mae!
here's the backside to her new year/baby announcement she had me design!

they're just too cool.  :)  thanks for another amazing session, maccallums! :)