Blooming

It seems like photography is blooming in my life. On Friday, I spent hours (and I do mean HOURS) photographing one of the swimming pools that the family business built recently. In the daylight, in the dusk and in the darkness. Pools with great night lighting have wonderful ambiance. :) We did talk about letting me climb onto the house roof for shots from above... but settled for simply putting an 8-foot ladder onto a boulder. Dangerous, but not-so-dangerous as the roof idea. :)

Oh, and the picture above was taken with my very cool new 50mm f/1.8 lens! The lens is SWEET! ... and that beautiful flower is in my front hedge. Pretty much the only really gorgeous flowers in my gardens are growing in the front hedge, which I now refuse to touch--because there is also poison ivy/sumac/mysterious something that infects me every time I go near. So the hedge grows in peace and the rest of my gardens are annuals and first-year perennials with very little motivation to bloom. Honestly, the roadside daylilies across the creek look better than my garden! * sigh*

Anyway, Saturday was the very, very exciting day that I get to second-shoot my first wedding!! I spent hours hanging with the bride & bridesmaids, running up and down 3 flights of stairs in a mansion, trying to stay cool in hot summer weather, gathering the groomsmen for photos, changing lens, ooohing and ahhhing over gorgeous pink rose decorations, learning stuff about weddings and trying to capture moments of joy. Lessons learned: Even a 4:00 pm ceremony is too early on a blazing hot summer day. Don't wait 'til last to do the bride's hair. Have a wedding planner who knows everything and remains calm through anything (the wedding planner at http://www.lilymanor.com/ was ridiculously AWESOME! She did the cake, the flowers, the catering and had decorated this mansion in the most amazing ways!). Schedule, schedule, schedule! And many more technical lessons that I will carry with me for a long time... to sum up, I STILL love weddings. And I definitely want to photograph more. There's just something beautiful about documenting such forever memories. :) Oh yes and the wedding food was delicious!

I (heart) Sundays. REST and relaxation on the mountaintop with the family. Bonding with The Little Bro over military/crime drama TV shows. We are good at figuring things out. It's the ridiculous amount of mysteries I read as a child... A long misty walk at dusk, picking summer wildflowers that smelled of woodland rain, smiling and laughing down the lane. Sunday night traditions with the family. Popcorn and a little Chuck Norris. Some time in the hot tub.. and I didn't wanna leave!! I love the mountain!