I was invited to join my photographer friend, Christy, for one of her sessions with two very pretty high school girls.  It was our first time to meet and I really enjoyed the time with them both.  Thanks, Julianna and Delaney, for letting me pose and snap pics of you all afternoon!  I hope we get to do it again soon.  It’s such a fun way to spend a gorgeously sunny afternoon!

It was great that Julia was willing to do whatever necessary to get the shot, even if that included perching herself near busy bees and climbing over fences.  She ended up with some really cool shots.

Gotta love a natural sun flare!  I love how this photo is both bold and soft.

And super cool is the fact that Julia lured a horse into posing with her with a peppermint!  Who knew that horses like the taste of peppermint?

After that peppermint, this horse was happy to pose with Julia and even flashed us a smile!

Thanks, Julia, for being such a good sport and congratulations on your graduation!  I’m looking forward to seeing what your future holds.  Whatever it is, one thing is for sure, you’ll be fashionably dressed!

Family, friends and visitors, if you enjoyed the images from Julia’s senior session, I’d love to hear which ones you like and why you like them!

And I can hardly believe that I see on it some of the first signs that fall is indeed just around the corner.  Here in Mississippi, when we see these bright red seeds bursting out from the broad, shiny leaves of the stately magnolia tree, we know that cooler months are not far behind.

And for me, it means I actually did survive moving during August, the hottest month ever.  With humidity, we’re talking heat index of 110 degrees!!  But I’m thankful that my husband and I are nearly settled in our new home and all the selling/buying/packing/moving/unpacking chaos is behind us.  In February, we helped one of our daughters move into her new home – which is really a very old home – which needed lots of love.  So until about May, we spent lots of time and effort getting things like they should be.  Then we decided to put our own home on the market.  And you know what that means!  Constantly clean  house!!  And to our surprise, it sold very quickly, so we were once again making trips to the liquor stores for boxes, and packing for a move.  The last 8 months have been a blur.  I’ve hardly touched my camera.  But it’s time to get it out and go exploring my new neighborhood.  This is my favorite time of year!

I cannot imagine being so gifted as a craftsman that I could cut a chunk of marble to the point of it looking life-like.  But this artisan surely was; and he surely did.  These horses seem to have emotion.  They appear forceful yet graceful.  I could just sit and look at them for hours.  Beautiful.  Entertaining.  Why is water so mesmerizing?  The same with watching the flames of a fire.  They just draw you in!  The next three images may look the same, but the difference is in the water behind the horse.  Subtle yet different captures of the water flowing on and around the horses.

In the image above, the horse looks powerful.  In the one below, it appears soft and gentle.  This is a great example of how the framing of a shot can provoke a particular emotion from a photograph.

This is one of my favorite photos.  It looks as if the horse is charging right at you, running with all his might.  And the water seems to add a sense of speed and force to the image, too.

And then as I was walking back toward the car, I spotted these pretty flowers and just couldn’t pass up such a pretty photo op.  These colors together just make for an eye-pleasing image.

I love purples and greens together, and this flower bed was nothing but purples and greens!  Click.

Whenever I shop at Renaissance, as I pass the hand-crafted fountain, I always roll my window down and enjoy the refreshing sound those 14,000 gallons make as they spill over and down upon the chiseled horses.  I am reminded of God’s gift of craftsmanship to mankind.  And of His refreshing the earth with water.  And for that very fleeting moment, I feel refreshed, too, and am thankful for His many blessings; the great ones as well as the simple.  As you hustle and bustle through your day, don’t miss the gift of beauty that surrounds you!

Special thanks to Jeff for always being willing and happy to stop the car for an impromptu photo session of whatever!

I was amazed at all the differing colors of green.  I don’t know much about lily pads, but I’m assuming that was due to differing stages of life of the lily pads.

It was a very windy day and the edges of the lily pads would get flipped up frequently.  It almost looked as if they were waving at us.

As I was taking this photo, a wave tossed a puddle of water onto this lily pad.

The flowers are the softest shades of white, cream, yellow and green.  Being from the South, they remind me of little magnolias.  I wonder what they smell like?  Lily pads are so pretty and fascinating, I wonder if their flowers have an equally delightful smell?  Maybe next time I’ll get close enough to find that answer!

I took this shot just because I thought it would make for a pretty image.  I like the way it turned out.

And red-winged black birds were everywhere.  Well, that’s what I call them!!  Not sure the exact name.  But they are black birds with patches of red on their wings.  What I learned about them is that they are very fussy.  They were so noisy!  They did not like us at the water’s edge, so they flew above us just a fussin’ at us.  Finally this one landed and I could take his picture.  I love the way the lily pads off in the distance look in this photo – like little green and yellow polka dots.

Besides the color variations, I was also amazed at the sheer size of some of the lily pads!!

I love when I upload photos and then find a surprise in it that I didn’t know was there.  Do you see the surprise in this one?  There’s a dragon fly in there somewhere.  Not gonna tell where!

I’ve never seen a lily pad seed pod, but I’m assuming that’s what this is.  Anyone know?  It looks like it’s been all tied up with a bow.

I love the way the water puddles up and rolls around on the top of the lily pad, much like mercury would do!  I remember when I was a child that our thermometer accidentally fell on the floor and busted open.  Little puddles of mercury danced all over the floor.  It was great fun to watch and we could make one little puddle scoot over and join up with the next little puddle to form one bigger puddle!  Mom wasn’t too happy about the situation, but it really was great entertainment for me and my brother!

Another waving lily pad.  And look, their undersides are pretty, too!

If you didn’t find the dragonfly in the previous photo, perhaps you can find this one!  I love dragonflies and was tickled to discover this one just hanging out nearby, but it was a little too far off for my zoom lens.  Oh, well, I sat there and enjoyed that little beauty for a few minutes before calling it a day.

It is a blessed day, indeed, when I can enjoy the beauty of God’s creation and have fun taking pictures of it, too!  Now I need to go learn a little about lily pads so I can marvel at the  brilliant wisdom of the Creator God.  Next time you take a road trip, don’t forget to grab your camera!

This yard ornament turned out crazy wild!  That great texture is from a window screen.  Shot right through it.  Anytime I can see light coming through purple glass, well, that makes me happier than you can imagine.  Love it!

And speaking of purple, this mushroom beauty nestled in a pot of aloe vera sitting in front of a screen window with ferns on the other side is one of my favorites of the day.  I love the purple and green combination.  Always my favorite two colors together.  And again, the screen added the perfect touch of texture.

Clematis.  White Clematis.  If you don’t have one of these beauties climbing a tree or trellis in your own yard, you are missing out!  This one is called Henry Clematis.  More specifically, it is Clematis x henryi.  It’s a classic.  Gorgeous in the moonlight.  If you don’t have one, go get one!  I’ll always have one of these growing in my yard.  When you plant it, make sure the roots are very well covered with shade.  The vine needs sun; the roots like to be shaded.  I have a broken piece of tile on the ground over the area where the roots are.  Don’t ask me exactly why I do this.  Just read it somewhere.  Seems to work!  This vine is easy care with lots of show-stopping blooms.  The next few images are all from the same vine.  The first one even has a busy little bee in it.  Love when I load my images and discover an extra surprise!

It’s not often my husband is out in the yard relaxing instead of working!  I get to enjoy a beautiful backyard mostly due to his keeping it looking so nice.  I plant the flowers.  He keeps the beds looking good.  Teamwork!  Glad he humored me with a quick pose even though he was enjoying reading the newspaper.  He can read a newspaper like nobody else!  Covers every square inch.  Marketing guy.  Guess that’s why.

Ah, the purple iris.  My favorite.  Well, one of my favorites.  But it is an absolute favorite!  Actually, I love any type of purple iris.  This one is a purple swamp iris.  I have yellow ones, too.  Purple and yellow together in the same flower bed make a stunning presentation.  I started with a few of these and now have tons.  They multiply every year.  What’s not to love?

And here’s Sarah Cat, the neighbors cat that spends all her days in our yard.  Ain’t that the way it goes!?  We like having her visit every day.  She was hiding in one of my flower beds and when I got close she sprang out and decided it was time to head home.

I like this shot because it has the birdhouse that my dad made me.  Make that “one of the birdhouses” my dad made me.  Have lots of them around the fence.  Several have little baby birdies in them right now.  As I walked around the yard, I could hear little chirps coming from some of them.  This one has a bluebird family that has come back the past three years.  At least I think it’s the same family!  Hard to tell.  And I like that it has some of the yellow swamp iris showing in the background.  And you can see all the stages of the flower: a bud, a bloom, and  . . . hmmm, what do you call it . . . a spent bloom?  Whatever!

Thanks for stopping by and scrolling through my images.  I look forward to reading any comments that you leave.  I’m already planning out what I’m going to do with my camera on the next sunny day that I’m free to go out and play.  Way too much fun!

We were on a seldom-traveled road that was perfect for a sweet little “kiss-in-the-lane” shot!  I was so busy concentrating on getting a really quick shot that without realizing it, I captured an old blue truck that had just passed by.  Perfect!!  Love surprises like that.

This is my new favorite photo.  I love love love images in shades of chocolate . . . and this one is just in time for Valentine’s Day! 

What do you do when you come across a huge tree that has been cut down and forgotten?  You turn the car around, climb up and strike a pose!  All sessions should be this fun.

Bet you weren’t expecting this next shot!  That’s Tito, a teacup chihuahua that Bonni’s has had for as long as she can remember.  And Tito got to get all dressed up for some time in front of the camera, too.

I love taking creative shots of special belongings that a mom-too-be brings to her maternity session.  Bonni chose these tiny little tennis shoes to have as props in some of their photos.  When I saw them sitting on their front porch step amid the fall leaves in the late afternoon sun, I just had to capture that moment.  I can’t resist a still life!

Mom’s thinking of all the precious hugs and kisses to come.  Dad, well, he’s thinking of other things!

I had scouted a couple of great locations for this session, but when I got to their home I was astonished at the great scenery all around.  We ended up staying in their very own yard for most of our session.  Love all the trees and all the leaves on the ground!

This is probably one of my favorite poses.  I call it “The Lookback.”  And Bonnie did it so well.

For the next image, I couldn’t decide which I like best – the 70s look or the classic B&W – so I posted both!  I look at the first one and think, “Wow, this really looks like it could have been taken in the 70s!”  But then I look at the second and think, “How striking!”  You decide!

I love the stripes going across mommy’s tummy and her hand just tucked in for a tender cradle of her baby inside.  Since this family loves the outdoors, the bamboo makes the perfect backdrop to showcase mom’s growing profile.

Since we took these photos, baby Brandon has been born and he is making life at home anything but boring!  Just remember, children are a heritage of the Lord.  Congratulations to the new family!