meet Beatrice Robin Matthews...the smallest baby i have ever held.

so...two weeks ago this little baby girl was born.
i got to hold her! and i suspect that my camera might weigh more than her.
it is SO WILD!

you might remember abby and sean from earlier in my blog...
i photographed their wedding, and earlier this year i photographed them while abby was pregnant with this darling girl.

i loooove this family.
sweet, smart, caring...gah! beatrice is a lucky little baby.

the matthew's are getting ready to move to TX and i am very grateful for this opportunity to meet up and photograph their budding family.








what a lovely family!

nyc lightbulbs.

for the past few nights i have been waking up at 230/330am with my mind flicked on like every lightbulb in newyorkcity.

this NEVER happens because i am a log sleeper, so i have been excited, thankful, and productive.



since i had such a productive morning, i took myself out for breakfast at cameron's.

i cried at breakfast. not like sobbing, just a quiet tear up.
maybe it was the extra egg my waitress gave me. or my brother's first phone call from germany to me, minutes earlier. or my current emotional state due to the fact that i am leaving america indefinitely. or my inability to sleep past 330am.
but probably, it was the extra egg my waitress gave me.

test shots: for the fun of it.

earlier this evening my bb desirae helped me figure out some test shots.
unfortunately, nothing worked for what we were going for...and we will have to try again (and so it goes) but we got these fun (and for me, hilarious shots).

the last photo is an actual decent shot.
but the point of test shots is humour, as far as i am concerned.

and so, here is desiare in my apartment, a few hours ago.












these are all test shots for a project that will be happening in a few weeks...a project i want&expect everyone to come out and be a part of.
details to come later this week (once i get a final test shot so i can promote it properly!)


(((((((((((((((((bam!))))))))))))))))

while posting these i (may or may not have) realized that i am going to miss things!
like desirae. and this red chair. and maybe even my room-mates. and parallel parking (which i can now do). and comfort and familiarity.
i was born into the military, and so moving every few years (even months) has been my entire life. safe to say, i can handle it. but...cleveland, tn is by far the longest i have ever lived anywhere.
THAT'S A BIG DEAL!

ah. no more tears. all that to say- it's good times ahead. i'm here for another month (maybe 5 weeks) so, let the good times tumble around us all.
yeah.

on goals, and the imporatnce of.

click on this so it becomes larger, and read it.




this article, written by my friend tony eubank, was written when i was nineteen years old and just just just starting to make photos.


four years later and i have achieved every goal i made.
(hot dang!)

goals:
-saving up for a digital camera (now, three digital cameras later...)- check!
-graduating college and going to Hallmark Institute of Photography- check!
-actually moved to 1st street, in my favourite part of town- check!
-hearing the train a few times a day!- check!
-moving back to cleveland, tn after photo school to open my own business- check!

and then,
ever since i lived in germany (my last two years of high school) i put it in my list of goals to live overseas again. last year, when i wrote my career business plan, i put that in as a 5 year goal.
and (as my brother recently informed me), i used to send my brother postcards (while i lived in germany) telling him how much i wanted to move back to germany.

move to germany- check! (well, in a few more weeks)
ps. i'll be living in heidelberg.






goals are crucial.
i feel strongly about setting goals, being motivated, and working hard.

as my friend will once said (and this is my favourite motto slogan i have ever heard):
WORK HARD. BE YOURSELF.

sleep well. stay warm. make goals.

Ethos 3rd Anniversary Service.

it was my pleasure to attend and photograph Ethos' 3rd Anniversary celebration service at City Church in Chattanooga this past sunday. there are a lot of people who go there, and if you are looking for a community to get involved in, i'm going to throw at Ethos as a recommendation.

Shannon Chapman is the pastor, and he's awesome! His wife Mande is incredible! The whole staff are super legit, and the worship team is brimming with talent.


check check check it out!
































i'm thankful for the opportunity i had to go and shoot here.

a sort of Q&A

the question keeps getting posed to me:
"are you still going to take photos in germany?"

kind of a confusing question for me. and borderline offensive.
it' s like me saying "hey, i heard you're going out of town...are you going to abandon everything you love? maybe stop breathing and being a human?"
right, sounds far-fetched, but those are things that actually go through my head.

ps. one way plane ticket has been purchased baby!



but,
duh.
i'm still going to make photos.



sr: the swedish airplane/super model





i've also decided to start posing the funny stuff that happen on a daily basis in my life.

i have avoided doing this because, frankly, people use the internet as a bathroom to poop and throw up all their personal, depressing information. it's tacky and embarrassing so i try and keep things clean, vague, with only a hint of personal information on here. and also, i don't want to embarrass anyone else. but, those days are over!

story number one:
at cracker barrel with my friend logan. checking out. the song "friends in low places" by garth brooks comes on. i turn to logan and say "ahhh! this song is soooo sexy!"
the cashier is a young man and immediately starts belting out the song, singing along with garth brooks.
i mean, how more obvious can you be?



here are some things i have been working on as of late:




good day to you all!