Location is the Key

Over the past few months there has been something about Downtown Albuquerque that I have been completely drawn to; I don't know if it's because I see it as our own little metropolis set in the middle of the desert, the architecture of both the new buildings and the historical landmarks or the excitement of the side street shops, cafes and the people milling about. Aaron and I took a drive yesterday and went down Gold, a street I don't normally drive down, and there were two buildings that I absolutely fell in love with! One of them is a newly renovated hotel with beautiful old English style architecture and awesome steps leading to the main front doors and some on the side of the building, a perfect location for natural light. The other location is one of the banks downtown, but it's not a newer high rise style of a building that goes straight to the heavens. This building has gorgeous arches and beautiful cream colored stones and some incredible large windows that will allow for a splash of awesome reflected light. I nearly knocked Aaron's hands off the steering wheel pointing out these two locations and jabbering on about how great it would be to take some shoots at these two buildings. The only thing I need now is subjects to shoot!!! Anyone wanting a shoot, let me know!

Details, Details, Details!

It never fails, every wedding photography blog I read and every website I visit, the photographers talk so much about being able to see the details in the weddings they have been privileged to shoot. The rings around napkins on a table, the small strand of beads draped off of the table's center pieces, the candles placed on the gift table, etc, these are the pieces of a wedding that, at times, can be the most beautiful part of the day. Don't get me wrong, pictures of the bride and groom, the wedding party and the overall venue are beautiful and an absolute must, but the details provide such an in site into the couple being married and can tell such an amazing story. Last weekend I went to my cousin's wedding in Lubbock, TX that was held at the Baker Building in Downtown Lubbock and it was absolutely gorgeous! I've posted some pictures below of some of the small details of the venue that spoke to me and, hopefully, tell a bit of a story themselves. Enjoy!

Pho Endused Coma

Yesterday a good friend of mine at work took me to a Vietnamese restaurant where I was introduced to Pho (pronounced fah) and it was incredible! Pho is a bowl of broth, mine had beef broth, rice noodles, bean sprouts, herbs (I chose basil but you can also chose cilantro) shallots and your choice of meat (I chose beef) and the meat is sliced incredibly thin so it's not too heavy. In a nutshell, I was eating a bowl full of Heaven! When they set my bowl in front of me I looked at my friend and said, "There's no way I'll be able to eat all of this!" My friend informed me the bowl is mostly broth and since the meat is sliced so thin and the noodles are light I'd finish the bowl before I knew what I was doing. And that's exactly what I did! Over great conversation I sat and devoured the entire bowl of Pho! I need to back track a bit here and tell you before we left my friend informed me I would be in a "Pho coma" after indulging in this bowl of Heaven and I, honestly, didn't fully believe her thinking this "coma", as she called it, was used as a way to describe the amazingness of this bowl of Vietnamese noodles. I didn't believe her until I got back to work and within an hour I was almost completely incoherent as to what I was doing; it was worse than a full stomach of turkey on Thanksgiving! I had co-workers asking me questions that would have been easy to answer on any other day, but being in this Pho induced coma I had to literally sit and stare at my co-workers for five minutes before providing them with a half decent answer! After my experience yesterday I will gladly place myself under another Pho induced coma! Thanks Heidi for introducing me to this bowl of Vietnamese Heaven!!

Eric Senior Portraits

I was given the opportunity to shoot Eric's senior pictures and had a grand time with it! Eric is an incredible young man who is very involved with his JROTC and I decided to try and find a location that would reflect his passion. I was able to find the NM Veteran's Memorial Park near Kirtland Air Force Base and it was the perfect spot! I have lived my entire adult life in Albuquerque and have never visited this amazing location. The light was a challenge for me since it wasn't the "peak hours" for the best photography light (which is an hour after the sunrises and right after it sets) but I had an excellent time and loved the challenges the light gave me.

Thanks Eric for giving me the opportunity to shoot some great senior portraits!

Unsure Beginnings

I have been practicing photography for the past four years, using my Canon point and shoot, experimenting with my Olympus 35 mm film camera and finally, my Canon 50D XSI DSLR. When I first started working with my DSLR I have to say the thing terrified me! There were so many buttons and settings and no matter how many buttons I pushed and how many settings I changed my pictures never, EVER, turned out the way I wanted them to. I went through a period in which I got incredibly discouraged and didn't touch my camera, it just sat in its bag nice and clean, untouched and unused. I don't know how such a small piece of equipment could scare and intimidate me so much. After many conversations with my husband, most of them encouraging and some asking why I spent the money on this camera if I was going to keep it in a corner unused. It was after a few of these conversations I went and bought some photography books, took my camera out of its bag in the safe corner and never looked back!