Christmas Adventure!

Last night I went out to a local shrubbery with my mom and sister where they celebrate Christmas like no other in town!! There were so many christmas lights, ribbons, bows, Santa's and all things Christmas that you can imagine. To say I was inspired was an understatement. It was the first time that I was in a retail environment snapping pics so I probably looked like kind of a weirdo but I didn't care.. everywhere I turned there were more holiday photo opportunities!!

I felt like my blog could use a little bit of Christmas spirit anyway! :)

Christmas is Almost Here!

Such a small, sad little photo but it's the best one I got when decorating today.
I can't believe Christmas is almost here and for the first time in years, I'm actually excited and not stressed. I'm really looking forward to just eating delicious food, spending time with family and seeing my friends who have all basically moved away.

So I discovered the National Geographic website. It's probably my favorite thing ever. I love how it encourages photographers to upload photos 100% unedited because they want to see our pictures and not those of a photo editing tool. So much truth. I'm usually a very heavy editor so I like the idea of trying to capture photos without needing to edit them and I'm going to make that a new project of mine.

National Geographic also encourages photographers to participate in their "assignments" so I feel that's something I'm going to attempt to join in on. Right now, their assignment is "Imagine if..." so I'll try to get creative with that.

Yay for online photo communities!!

Merry Christmas

Some quick photos I took the other day. It was so cold outside that I wimped out and headed back for the car! Next time, I'll be sure to bundle up because I seriously had no patience on this particular shoot.

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas with their families & friends! I, for one, am exhausted! The past few nights have been filled with family & food and I'm stuffed, bloated & kinda just want to sit on the couch all day, watch Parenthood & read one of my new books..but alas, another outing tonight with friends! I guess I can't really complain... at least it means I have lots of love in my life!

Just a little side note, John got me a photography book for Christmas so I'm excited to dive into it & put all my new strategies to the test!

Bokeh Twinkle Lights

Some pretty photos I took of our Christmas lights.
I've been loving the black & white effect lately so you may be seeing a lot of that here in the near future :).

Merry Christmas!

Personal Photography: Christmas Decorating

Guys, I'm kind of embarrased to admit but I just learned how to manually take photos in low light settings last night when we were decorating. Ughh, I'm such an amateur! Anyway, now that my admission is out of the way...

I thought I'd share these decorative photos from our very first Christmas tree together. :)

I liked how some of them turned out & I didn't like how others turned out but what can I say? I'm a beginner.

Hope you're enjoying the Christmas Season :)!