Get ready for it... lots o' pics!

Wow! Where to begin...

So, back a couple months ago, I received one of the most flattering, wonderful emails I've ever received. It was from sweet Dawn, a photographer that knew me online only. She was wanting to come out to Texas from Missouri to spend a couple days here with me working on all things photography. Me, being me, loving to share photography with anyone who has the passion, I said heck yeah! Come on down! We started planning, and we settled on October 18-19. So, yeah, that was this past week.

She flew in on Thursday while I was at preschool, and so we hooked up when I got home. The plan was to do some shooting Thursday evening & Friday morning and then work on post processing with Photoshop on Friday afternoon. At least, that's how I thought it would go. :-) Unfortunately, we didn't get many shots Thursday evening, and, not wanting to disappoint (ha! seriously! I was nervous...), I thought maybe we should go ahead and start on some post processing. So, yeah, we got through my typical work flow Thursday evening, and she was so, so quick to catch on!

Friday, though, we set out with little miss Maya as our only model since Emma's in school. And, well, with Maya it's a toss up. She might cooperate, she might not. But, I think I've figured out the trick. GET HER ALONE! Ha! Seriously... I could NOT believe how cooperative she was. She was such a little trooper. We dragged her all over town for HOURS, and she never protested. When Curt & Emma got home from school, Dawn & I (and our laptops) headed to Starbucks to work in Photoshop some more.

It was such a good time. Seriously. Dawn is just the nicest, most thoughtful, smart girl. She got some AMAZING shots, and I can't wait until she posts some on her blog! Plus, I feel like I improved my own skills along the way. I got some pretty decent shots of my mei mei, too! In fact, they're some of my new favorites of all time. (For now. Ha!)

Anyway, you should most definitely go check out Dawn's blog. She has a sweet little family... three girls that are all 2 years apart. Her oldest two are really close in age to Emma & Maya. Fun stuff!

On to my Friday photos:

This next one is one of my newest faves. Color or B&W?

A little full sun swingin' action. If I'm being honest, this is a photography nightmare for me... full sun AND the subject moving toward & away from me constantly? Yeah... not fun.


Okay... side note on these next few pictures. You may remember this crooked little building with the yellow window frame from this post back in March. I love, LOVE this location. It has so much personality, and so much charm. Anyway, when we were there on Friday, I noticed a piece of paper taped to the front of the building. It said something along the lines of, "Save this building. Come to the town hall meeting on Monday."

Ummm... NOOOOOOOOO!!! I LOVE this building, adore it! I swear to you, I'll cry if they tear it down. It's the sweetest, tiniest little thing. Seriously. It's like the size of a walk in closet or something. No, really. It's not taking up much space, and I really don't know what they'd do with that land if they tore it down. Nothing will fit in that narrow little space. :-( Anyway, I'm just sad about it. Plus, there was no date about the town hall meeting, so who knows if that Monday has already passed. I'm gonna look into it, though...
She thought she was so clever using these sticks as ears. I love that she has a sense of humor, though.
This is the front of that crooked little building with the yellow window frame. I'm telling you... it's cute.

What do you get when you add together a little fake smile, some crazy cat-like catchlights, and bare belly? Another of my new favorites... :-)


Dublin Dr. Pepper, baby! If you've never had one, you're missing out...

I'm not sure that I like this one in color. I don't know why. What do you all think?


And this... this next one... it's hands down my most favorite of 'em all! LOVE it. And, I love it in B&W, too!

So, yeah... that's a lot of pictures! I'm telling you, I had such a good time. I'm so grateful that Dawn was able to come. As stressed out & busy as I've been lately, it's surprising how therapeutic this was for me. Thanks so, SO much, Dawn!