"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"

Especially at our house. Jessica and I put our Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving (we couldn't wait) and we decorated our house inside and out. I told Jessica that someday we will have the tackiest most overdecorated house on the block; luckily she is more sensible when it comes to things like that. We both love the holiday and Christmas season, Jessica gets some time off from school, and we get to spend a lot of time with our family and friends. We don't get overwhelmed with "shopping" and we try hard to find gifts for people that have true meaning. We always try hard to remember the true significance of this time of year. It is also a great time to reflect on the last year and be excited for the upcoming year.

And yes we did put some decorations outside the house, last year we had the reindeer, and this year we have Santa to keep him company.



These last few weeks have been really incredible for me and Jessica. One thing I have learned is the importance of building relationships with other photographers. There are so many great photographers, and I can learn something from all of them; so I am very thankful that I have had the opportunity to meet and spend time with many of them. Shannon from Center Avenue Imaging hosted a get together at her house a few weeks ago and it was such an awesome time, thanks Shannon. I am also very thankful to Jenna Walker who has helped me and Jessica so much the last year. And Chris and Katie Humphreys were gracious enough to spend some time with me while they were in Colorado for vacation. I am so excited about the friendships and relationships that we are making, and I want to be able to return the generosity that so many people have given to us.

Happy Thanksgiving To Everyone

I have always enjoyed Thanksgiving because I get to spend the day with family, and really reflect on what I am thankful for. I have such a blessed and wonderful life and I am thankful for so many things. Jessica, my family, my friends, everyone who let us into their lives to photograph their wedding this year. I am thankful that I have the opportunity and ability to take pictures as my profession and I am thankful for everyone who takes the time to read my blog. I am also thankful for all of the great photographers I have met this year who have shared their knowledge and helped me grow. There are so many other things that I am thankful for, but these are the most important to me. So please remember to tell someone why you are thankful for them today.

And remember to eat as much food as you want, I know I will.

Don't worry, you're at the right blog.

As you probably noticed, our blog has a slightly different look to it. We recently got a new logo (thanks Taylor) which I will talk more about soon; and we are going to be changing some of our colors as well. We may try a few different things over the next month, so please let us know what you think. At the beginning of the year we are going to "unveil" some of our new changes; which we are very excited about. But in the mean time keep your eyes open for a few of the changes.

Happy (Early) Thanksgiving.

Jessica's family came to our house yesterday to celebrate an early Thanksgiving together. It was so much fun and we always enjoy spending time with everyone. I think we could write an article about how to have a 9 person dinner in a 900 square foot house. We had all of the traditional fare for a turkey dinner and it was all delicious. Here are a few pictures of our nephews from the day.

Sunrise can be awesome.

This picture was taken at sunrise last week while I was out hunting with my dad. Sunrise can be one of the most incredible times of day for pictures, you do however have to get up pretty early. I shot this with my new point and shoot camera, I just bought it a few weeks ago, and so far I really like it. I'll talk more about that in another post.

I think what really makes this picture is the composition. I put the rising sun in the lower left corner, and I zoomed in tight so all you see are the tree limbs. It gives the picture a mysterious look.

What Are You Reading?

My friend Jon told me about an interesting website called Shelfari. It allows you to create a "shelf" with your favorite books, then you can share that shelf with others on the site and your friends. It allows you to talk about books you have read, recommend them to others or learn about new books you may want to read.

For most of my life reading hasn't been a priority, but lately I have realized the importance of reading. So I have made it a point to read more; and it has been great. Right now I am reading mostly business and marketing books and it has been so helpful and beneficial to my business. I added my "bookshelf" to my blog on the right hand side, and you can click here to see my shelf on Shefari. Let me know if you join and I will add you as a friend.

What's Your Real Age?

I came across a very interesting website, you take a short online test and it calculates your "real age" based on your lifestyle, health and stress levels. Just go to www.realage.com to try it out. I don't want to brag but mine came out very well, so what's your real age?

Thanks for voting, here's some pictures.

Thanks to everyone who voted in my poll, if you haven't voted yet just scroll down and give me your feedback. I will definitely start adding more pictures and photography tips to the blog.

So to start it off here are two pictures I took a few weeks ago. Both pictures were taken in the same spot, of the same tree; but they have dramatically different looks. I think one of the simplest and most immediate things you can do to improve your photography is to look at the world from different angles. Get down lower to the ground, or even lay down on the ground. Try to get up above your subject, or use the zoom function on your camera to gain a different perspective.

Don't be afraid to try a few different things, if something doesn't work or look right you can just try again. So next time you are out with your camera try shooting from a completely different angle and see what you get.

"Into the Wild"

Jessica and I saw the movie "Into the Wild" last night and it was amazing. It is based on the book written by John Krakauer and follows a young man who travels across the country and finally ends up living in the wilderness of Alaska for 3 months. I can't really do the movie justice here but we both really enjoyed it. The scenery, the story and the messages were very inspiring. All of the music was done by Eddie Vedder and really added to the feel of the movie. I would definitely recommend seeing it.