Self with a stache.

Same background as the previous post.
And my brother got my fake moustaches on sticks! How wonderful!!
They are really nice. Gourmet mustaches, if you will. They are hand-carved and a great touch to any outfit.













I was just posting these as I downloaded the images from today's INCREDIBLE wedding.
Now that it's done...I'm taking a trip to sleep city.

Andy D. Goodner

If there's one thing I'm good at, it is home making.
Decorating, arranging, cleaning, ironing, painting (walls, not canvases), sweeping, mopping...I enjoy doing these things. Mainly because I can't live/work/be happy in a place that isn't clean. Like Michelle Branch's album "Spirit Room," that is what my home is.

I found this wooden piece of wall in an old storage room I was cleaning out, and I want to use it for more portraits I take in my home. The window light during the day is ideal! These portraits were taken with straight up window light at about 11am, with the Mark Deuce, and the 85mm.

I asked Andy to take his shirt off because it was neon orange. And I don't like neon, super bright trendy colours in my photos. That, and cars. I will do anything I can to avoid having cars in the backgrounds of my photos. It dates the photo and...I want my photos to be timeless. No cars cluttering my backgrounds!


Andy! (check out his KILLER design work by clicking on his name)








I have a wedding today and it is going to be sooooooo good!
Gosh! I'm stoked. This couple is rad and they both love art and the wedding will reflect that.


I have been riding my bicycle (with it's red glitter and brown pleather seat) every night. Mainly just around Lee, but through the streets of Cleveland as well. What a thrill! I love it. What a good investment.
Alright, Hobby Lobby is having a sale on frames so...I'm going to go nab some.

CLEVELAND, TN

Dear Cleveland, TN (&all residents& those who are close),

I am home!
I am officially a Bradley County resident and it feels incredible to be back.
The heat feels like a constant hug, wrapped close and always comfortable. The train is as playful as always &I rode my bicycle with it tonight, trying to keep up as it flew by.

As of yesterday, I have a TN license and plates.
The DMV spelled my name wrong, which turned my three and a half hour wait into a comical experience for me.

Also, I have been leaving the make-up alone for a while, as this photo reflects. It feels so good to be able to rub my eyes and not worry about mascara. And my contacts last so much longer when I don't wear makeup.

You could say (and it would be an understatement) that I am happy to be home. In Cleveland, TN.

And I am available for booking photo sessions for weddings, senior portraits, engagements, maternity, family, and baby.
Just send me an e-mail at sararenee@sararenee.com to get the ball rolling!

Speaking of booking weddings...
here is a sneak peek of Tyler&Rachel Garvey's wedding that I flew back to TN for last month.
It was at the Grandview up on Lookout Mountain (which is one of my favourite wedding venues) and this wedding was BEAUTIFUL! I love these people.




















Tomorrow I am going to Kentucky for a wedding, and I anticipate great things!
Good-night all over the world.

My hero: Sir Conan Doyle/Sherlock Holmes.

Sir Conan Doyle:


This man is my hero. He invented the character (who is based very much on his own person) Sherlock Holmes. He was incredible! Read up on him!

This is what his tombstone says:
STEEL TRUE
BLADE STRAIGHT
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
KNIGHT
PATRIOT, PHYSICIAN & MAN OF LETTERS


I'm not a big girl into quotes, ever...BUT Sherlock Holmes gets me. We have so much in common! We would have been such great partners. friends. colleagues. etc.etc.

Here are some of my favourite quotes:
"I never guess. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."

"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius."

"My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or th emost intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltaion."

&my favourite:
"Life is infinitely stranger than anything the mind could invent."

Mmmm...Sherlock Holmes. My hero.

Brother&Becca

Here are some portraits of my brother and Becca taken in Newport, Rhode Island earlier this week.
















We tramped around, went to mansion(s), ate great food, drove Oceean Drive, tried to fly a kite (i tangled the string mighty bad, see photo below), and just hung out. I liked it very much.

Photos I did not take, but instead are in.

(you are not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition).


Here are the photos that should go with a blog 2 blogs deep.
I am so sick! My face probably weighs 7 extra pounds with all the fluid that is in there.
Newport, RI was my destination vacation and it's cold, rainy, and I am sicksick.

But I got to see the Brothers Bloom last night which is a great movie!
I am attracted to big noses on boys.

Brother/Sister/Colter/Kylene

Kylene (fellow Hallmark 09 graduate, whoopwhoop!) and her brother Colter-Wolter came over today for some photo making. they are cool. Kylene is one of the nicest girls I have ever met. she is a great baker too. good times have been had with her...shoot man! i am going to miss the people in my life!







i love kylene's eyebrows!










these were shot with the new Canon Mark Deuce (baby!)
the camera makes my eyes shine with happiness & joy.
i used to be able to flow through the 5D menu without even looking...my fingers knew the dials so well! and now, i have to read and learn it. this only serves to excite me about when me & the new 5D know each other inside and out.


things I love (the first thing being lists, of course):
rain, humidity, strength and honesty (because that is what girls are attracted to), heat, green grass, shooting wide open, sticking my feet out while riding a motorcycle and wearing Tom's, being a graduate of the best photo school in the world (actually, it really is), my brother, hugs, beards, how funny i am (really, i have so many stories), fake moustaches, skeleton keys, my brother (really), breakfast foods (especially everything bagels), sleeping on the floor, giving people mnemonic-ish names in my cell phone, external harddrives (not Western Digital), Del's lemonade, Williamson, Jimmy, Gabe (my three favourite teachers), and having short fingernails. oh, and that iphone update was nice as well.

tomorrow i go to Newport, RI for a week of whatever the heck i want, and then a beeeeautiful wedding!

End of Phase Four, now it's time for real life!

alright, so a lot of big deals have been happening in my life as of late.

one- my car was broken into & the mamiya, light meter, 2 lenses,&2tripods were gone (as mentioned earlier).
two- i graduated.
three-i don't have a permanent residence lined up for when i move to TN.
four- i purchased the canon 5d mark deuce.
five- i rode a motorcycle. twice. it was awesome.
six- i have packed up my belongings and am starting the trek to TN soon.
seven- i met my brother's girlfriend and i really like her. finally.

it's one of those things where people say "no big deal" frequently. nope. not here. my life is full of really big deals.


this is my brother & becca (girlfriend)

clint (fellow Hallmark graduate) made these heads and was going to throw them away, so i adopted them.



so i realized that i loved moving around as a kid because it was pure adventure. all i had to do was get in the car (or airplane) when my parents told me to. and now...now i have to get boxes, make plans, schedule, pay money, etc. etc. in order to move. and now, it's not as fun.
my body has been so tired&stressed lately that i'm worried. i think it will get better (especially when i spend a week doing noooooothing in Newport, RI this week).

last night there was a big hoo-hah party with all the teachers and students and i realized...i like these people. my teachers have been CRAZY. they have changed my life. they've raked me over the coals, made me shoot &re-shoot, told me their stories, listened to mine, helped me define my business plans & life goals, and one of them even drove me home on a motorcycle.
what's great is that they are no longer my teachers, but my friends.

last night everyone was taking photos with little point&shoot digitals. but i do not have one of them (unfortunately), so...i have nothing to show.

um,
this photo is of my friend Chayanne and i at a party a few weeks ago (he is an amaaaazing photograher)

Shamus&Co.

This evening I got to hang out in Shamus' basement while the band practiced.
They sound soooo good! This harmonica player tore it up!










Tonight I ordered the 50mm f1.4
Prime lenses make my mouth water.
I have to keep swallowing every few seconds.