Perfect Fit!

Tonight I was totally caught off guard when a friend sent a text to say that she liked the new look. New look. I was giddy with excitement.

As soon as I walked in the door, powered up my laptop and quickly typed in my blog address.......YEA! My blog finally has clothes! A new stylish outfit! {My blog has been naked for a couple of years}. With excitement I turn my laptop to show Josh. "Josh, look my new blog." "I already visited your blog. It looks great." {I think it is cute that my Josh checks the blog}

The story of the long awaited {Branding Project}...
I met Sarah last summer at the David Jay, Freedom Tour. We quickly hit it off and have been friends ever since. Sarah quickly informed me that my blog was in need of a desperate face lift and she knew the right person for the job.

Carly. She is nothing short of amazing! Seriously, she is a wonderful logo/brand/blog designer. Fabulous photographer. Seamstress. Furniture fixer upper! Decorator. And a beautiful Mom!

Check out her personal blog.
She is seriously amazing at everything!

I sent Carly a request last November for a "brand makeover." I was put on a waiting list and asked to send inspiration ideas. I sent pages and pages of ideas. After a couple of months Carly contacted me and was ready to proceed. My first idea was to play off my last name and use some type of key in the design. Long story short, I got lost in the choices, emails and chaos of life. AND then the next thing I know I opened an email from Carly that said something like "I need to move on, I am moving you to the bottom of the stack." I felt terrible. Felt as if I had been fired. I quickly acted. "Please do not fire me. I will straighten up and get serious I promise."

See old age has caused decision making to be a long thought out process. In the old days, decision making lasted all of one second and today it last days, months, years. What has happened to me?

Carly was a sweet soul and did not give up on me. I have enjoyed working with her and look forward to future projects (if she will hire me).

Thank you Carly for an amazing new look. I love the new outfit! It fits perfectly. (It is 1am and after working a 16 hour day some of this might night make sense--please forgive).

Kade

One of the greatest joys in life is watching a young child grow through the years.

Kade is such a cutie! He is always outgoing. Fun. Full of life!

Jump High

Jump.

Sounds so easy. Just jump. Pick both feet up and jump.

When it comes to cheerleading, jumping is a little more complicated than "jump". A toe-touch requires not only height but "the perfect form". Toes pointed, chest up, straight legs.

Every practice I always sounded like a broken record. "Point your toes." "Your knees are bent." "Land with both feet together."

Sometimes teenagers (I know you find it surprising) think that adults don't know what they are talking about.

A picture does not lie. A picture would allow each girl to examine, study and fix their jump.

A picture, speaks volumes.

During the "lightening delay" Friday night I had a little fun with the cheerleaders.

Leah. (you always had perfect form. pull that chest up!)






Courtney.



Amber. (your eyes are closed in every picture)

Sports Photography, Part 2

This is not my first attempt at indoor sports photography, but my first attempt with my new lens that was praised for its speed with indoor sports photography.

Volleyball is fast. I guess not as fast as basketball. But fast in the sense that I cannot follow the ball with a camera up to my eye.

Regina, your team looks great! I am excited to see what the season holds!

Go Hornets!

Sports Photography

I was recently contacted by a local magazine about sports photography. I quickly told the owner of the magazine that I was NOT a sports photographer. I lack the proper lens. AND I am not willing to spend $10,000 + to get equipped.

However, I gave in and tonight. I decided I would "attempt" to capture Friday Night football. The only thing I had going for "my camera" was the fact that my 85mm stops down to 1.4.

What I learned:
1. Football moves fast. 2. It was hard to be in the right place at the right time. 3. I lack knowledge of the sport. {you would think that cheering for six years and coaching cheerleading for six years would provide sufficient "football" knowledge. WRONG}.4. That it IS time to invest in a new camera that has better noise reduction.

Hardin High School Cheerleaders

I really put a lot of thought into locations for my shoots. The location of this shoot may seem basic to most {"yea yea cheerleaders on a turf field} however, to longtime Hardin residents this location is a big deal.

Hardin High School football will open the season this Friday on their new field. To small town folks, this must needed renovation is a big deal.

I hope these photos will serve as a reminder to all the girls as a momentous milestone.

The Vintage 80's look. (or maybe 70's :)




Captain Leah, Senior


Courtney, Junior


Kelsea, Senior


Kadie, Senior


Kelsi, Sophomore


Michelle, Senior


McKenah, Senior


Kelsey, Junior


Amber, Junior


Hayley, Sophomore


Bryanna, Freshman


Kayla, Freshman


Shelby, Freshman


Kora, Freshman


Nicole, Freshman


Ellie, Freshman

Hardin High School Volleyball, Kaitlyn