i hope you always,

dream

imagine

wonder.

hats.

{WINTER} hats.

add so much character

to a picture 

this time of year.

i love them.

(right along with these baby blues)

Sidney {Galena Senior Photographer}

She has the most beautiful blue eyes ... I could shoot them all day. I didn't have a lot of time with Sidney, but with the little time we did have together, you could tell she was a natural in front of the camera. I hope we get to spend more time together on my photography journey.

Let's Do 52 - Week 3 White/Negative Space

WEEK THREE

WHITE SPACE (aka NEGATIVE SPACE)

the picture I submitted -

my gorgeous, HUMUNGO, spoiled, cat Baby.

(you'll see him, or his brother Bonz, much more - love my kitties).

and the other shot I thought of entering,

let's do 52! {SHARING}

For Paint the Moon's first week's theme

the theme choices were:

sharing

or

natural

I chose SHARING.

wasn't sure what I'd capture between my three kids

but here are the two I debated entering.
(i actually had a third of K & A playing Wii together, but accidentally deleted it)

the first was shot in my basement = no good light = high ISO = a lot of noise.
So, not the best quality shot, BUT, I love everything about it.
both my boys received a set of drums for Christmas.
what you don't see is Aiden's little tiny set right next to Ryan's.
Aiden wanted NOTHING to do with his "small drums",
so his AMAZING big brother shared his.
i LoVe Aiden's face in this picture as he rocks it out.

this was my choice shot though.
aiden also got a tent for Christmas.
once i put it together, he immediately
gathered all his favorite "babies",
a book, a pillow, and a flashlight;
then read them all a story.
LOVE.

photography projects/challenges

I'm jumping into a couple different photo challenges - to do just that - challenge myself in which I will learn and grow as a photographer. 


(disclaimer to self - I am going to do my best to enter every.single.week and have many ... or even a few ... shots to choose from for each challenge.)


I'm excited to see what creativeness I have hidden under all these "analytical/financial" layers of mine and what level I can take my photography passion to.

The first project is a weekly challenge hosted by I Heart Faces. I have been following them on Facebook for a bit now and am learning SO much, but even more so, I LOVE oooing and ahhhhing at everyone's amazing shots! They are so welcoming and I just love what they're all about.

The next project I'm taking a part in is, Let's Do 52! that is hosted by Paint the Moon. I have recently found this site and have fallen in love. The author of this site, Annie, is inspiring and encouraging to say the least. Every week there will be two categories to choose from in which to shoot. 

I'm taking the leap and stepping out of my comfort zone, yet in the same breath, it feels perfect and I'm in crazy about everything photography. I was going to start my own project and post a "daily snapshot", but these will actually give me good direction and themes to work on each week, without the stress of posting a picture a day. 

I will use this blog as my project journal and post the pictures I submit for each project (in their own post) along with lessons learned. 

I LOVE comments.  Positive comments make me {smile}; constructive feedback is very welcome too - in fact I want to learn from your comments; ugliness is not allowed and I'll go back to what my mom (and I'm sure your mom) taught me, "If you don't have anything nice to say, please don't say anything at all." {grin}. thank you.

I'm an aspiring photographer, I'm here 


to share. to learn. to enjoy. 


to smile.


oh, and to have fun.

hope you do too. 

~tammy

Jacob {Galena / Sunbury Senior Photographer}

I never thought of taking senior portraits, until J. I had never met him, but knew he was a senior, knew his mother, and decided to venture out of my comfort zone (of munchkins). I called her up out of the blue, and low and behold, she was in the process of trying to get something scheduled. This young man is amazing and I really had a lot of fun with him. He was very open to suggestions, was patient with my "let's get one more shot" or "let's try this", and I loved how he wasn't "too shy" in front of the camera. In fact I enjoyed it so much, I think I'll reach out to more seniors next year. It's fun taking pictures of all ages. Each has there own challenges and I'm still trying my niche.

I learned so much through this shoot. Don't forget about the feet, shadows, shadows, shadows - especially when shooting by a tree; play around with different exposures; and much more, as I know I'll continue to learn from each session.