Thursday, May 27, 2010

~ Bullriders: Boys of a different breed ~ 

In a world where time seems to slip away from us, it's good to know that there are still a few out there who make seconds count- These boys practice their "work" so they can strap themselves on to the back of a bull for an 8 second ride. Some may call them crazy, they just call themselves COWBOYS!

 

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Something to stop & think about TODAY, because TOMORROW will be too late:

"If I had my child to raise all over again, I'd do less correcting & more connecting,

fingerpaint more & point fingers less,

take my eyes off my watch & watch with my eyes,

care to know less & know to care more,

stop playing serious & seriously play,

I'd take time to see the trees & acorns more often,

be firm less often & affirm much more,

model less about the love of power-and more about the power of love."~ [K]

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

I woke up to the beautiful sun shining in my window this morning well before my alarm went off. After I checked off a few tasks from my 'to-do' list for the day, I put on my SPF15 (my doctor would be so proud), cranked up the tunes, and got myself all set up to bask in the sun for a while... Make that "while" about 25 minutes! The fierce Enumclaw winds kicked up and blew in a nasty storm, bringing with it a mini-monsoon. So much for my moment of catching a few rays. It is, of course, here in the great Pacific North West where we go from wearing tank-tops & flip flops to sweatshirts & Muck boots all within the same hour. Although the weather may be unpredictable, we certainly are entitled to our fair share of fabulous photo opp's. Once again, I am enjoying the beauty of the great NW through the eye of my camera lense...

Sunday, May 16, 2010

              "Little Jeans, Big Dreams!"

~ This Daddy is gonna have his hands full with this adorable little cowgirl! She couldn't have been any cuter as she waited patiently next to Daddy for her award after "Pee-Wee Barrel Racing."

Thursday, May 6, 2010

We have a busy weekend ahead, as it is our kids' 1st rodeo of the season in Roy, WA. (North West Jr. Rodeo Association). I am locked & loaded and ready for lots of action filled shots. I will be posting new pictures to http://www.hoofprintsphotos.com/ as soon as possible. There is a special discount on individual print orders for the N.J.R.A. contestants- details on the website!

Every once in a while, we still get out to the park and the kids run a muck (hence Emma's appropriate attire- "Muck Boots"!) while I click away. I love great action shots and candid faces of little ones as they enjoy life. I find that the best photos are taken when my subjects are un-posed, perhaps un-expecting. I prefer to let the kids just be kids, do silly faces, get dirty, and remain in their own environment. I keep my lense on them, rather than having them keep their eyes on me. Children have VERY short attention spans when it comes to portrait shoots, but let them do what they love doing, and you'll end up with more great pictures than you know what to do with! Keep the camera close by... and don't forget the spare batteries!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

I have truly enjoyed seeing the "wonder" and curiosity of life as Sophia, my 2 year old niece, experiences it. Being a mother, we go through the day to day life moments, and watch them in amazement. However, it all seems to fly by so fast. With Sophia being the only "baby" left in the family, I seem to be able to focus more attention on those sweet moments. If only we could turn back the hands of the clock and relive some of our kids' younger days. But since we can't, I'll just be grateful for the moments I have today...

Monday, May 3, 2010

Today I focus my blog more on life, emotions, & family- here's why: Yesterday was my Anniversary! My husband Jimmy & I have been married now for 13 amazing years, which I have spent learning who I am, who I was, and who I want to be. We have had MANY great times in our marriage. And, like most other couples, we've also had some rough spots.

We have both set aside our own dreams so that the other could chase there own. We have both picked eachother up when the other has fallen down. We have both pushed eachother away only to ultimately reel eachother back into our arms for good. We have both broke eachothers hearts and we have both learned how to mend them. We know that the key to our future requires and depends on BOTH of us!

Our families continued love and support during such difficult times was such a huge key to our success. Not many of our friends remained neutral to both parties, but the ones who did showed who are our TRUE FRIENDS. Those friends that continued to love and support both of us, without passing judgement are the friends that helped us pull through those hard times and make it past. Your guidance, support, and most of all, your PRAYERS, are what allowed us to be able to celebrate yesterday. Thank you again to ALL of our wonderful support system- From the bottom of our hearts, WE LOVE YOU!

We celebrated the day yesterday quite casually, but TOGETHER- and that is all that truly matters! We took our boys fishing at the local State Park/Lake. I took hundreds of pictures, ended up with 100+ "keepers" (pictures, not fish!) After spending 45 min. packing all of the items Emma listed that she needed to stay over one more night at her friends, I went to drop it off, only to find that she changed her mind and came home afterall. Was I mad? Not one bit- I missed my baby girl! She left early Sat. a.m. & would've been gone 'til Mon. p.m. had she not chickened out! I love my lil' chicken ;-)

Saturday, May 1 2010

Welcome to my blog! As if I needed yet one more thing to do on this computer o' mine, my dear sweet Sister introduced me to "blogging." Well, monkey see-monkey do... so here I am! This is gonna be so much fun, but let's see how long I can keep this up...

So, my plans/goals for today: Finish cleaning my bedroom after re-arranging it yesterday, put away my basket of clothes that my oh-so-patient husband folded last week, and bake a carrot cake before my ingredients go bad. What I actually got done today: Uh, how do you like my blog?? I got on the computer this morning to see if the internet was working (sure enough it was!) and have been on it ever since. No clean room, no laundry put away, no carrot cake made.... aw, darn-it anyway. Well, at least I made lasagna for dinner (no, not a frozen pre-made one!) I guess there's always tomorrow for the other stuff, right?

Actually, I did a bit of work on my HOOF PRINTS PHOTOGRAPHY website earlier today. I'm getting geared up for rodeo season. There's LOTS of pictures to be taken in my future, and i'm getting so excited to capture those moments on film (well, it's digital... but you get the picture!) I feel like I do my best photography when my subjects are in their own environment, and the moments are completely natural and candid. That's why photographing cowboys & cowgirls at rodeos & other "horse-y" events works so well for me. I hope to have many great new photos to share soon.

G'Night!