MODERN FARMER

when i was younger i hated the country. hated it. i thought it was full of redneck hillbillies. (and much of it still may be. :P) my mom had an old friend and co-worker we used to visit with that lived off a farm to market road. it felt like being in another world when we were there. my mom also dated a man that lived in the country. he was annoying and slow talking and i hated him too. maybe because he was dating my mother (and i always hated those men), or i just thought he was one of those stupid redneck hillbillies.

as i've gotten older (and pushin' 30!) i want nothing more than to have my own yard that i can grow a small garden in, tend to a chicken or two, have at least two cats at all times, and if i'm really lucky, a donkey. i love animals, they have such a sweet innocence about them. i'd also like to fill my home with house plants, with the green leaves overtaking everything.

i want to be able to slow down and enjoy my time. yesterday as i was stuck in traffic for an hour all i could think is time is money. if i wasn't in this traffic i would be working on something, anything. i could be making money somehow. now, that isn't entirely true. i have no pressing clients at the moment, i was just pissed off and wanted the universe to know what i had better things to do that sit in traffic for a fucking hour. and yet i didn't. i just hate traffic, like the rest of the world. i didn't get as angry as i normally do, but i was pretty huffy by the end of it. 

thinking about this today i realized how ridiculous i can be. why be so worried about things you can't change? let's put our efforts towards the things we can. i think i've mentioned that sister's bf has been out of town for the past 5 weeks and it has been the best spending time with her. we haven't fought much, if any, which is surprising. maybe i've finally learned to control my temper. ;] we've enjoyed each others company greatly, and had many meals together. some we make, some we go out for. they've all been nice and something i'll cherish as we start to go our separate ways in the next year or so.

i guess my point of all this is i want a more simple life. i want to be able to enjoy all life has to give me and i need to make the most of it. whether that be spending all day cooking a meal for loved ones, or lazing about reading my favorite book for the 100th time. listening to that new record i've been craving until i know all of the lyrics, or simply sitting on the floor petting my cats. i no longer care to be out and seen. ok, lets face it, i've never cared about that crap.

anyways, i hope to continue to mature over the next coming months and figure out what i'm meant to do with my life. i'm narrowing it down and i have some priorities that i hope will fall in line with everything else. that may be vague, but it's the best i can do for now.

this post was meant to highlight modern farmer but i kind of went off on a wild tangent. oops! that's what happens when i stop writing words and only show you guys photos. i word vomit everywhere. i haven't read the entire issue yet, but i can't wait to do so. the cover is a tasty matte finish (i love printing.) and feels very soft to the touch. i love, love, love the last little spread. i want to hang those creatures on my wall.

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MINI SESSION

for the past few weeks i've been working hard to produce a session info packet for potential clients. my goals for this have been to gather all pertinent info into one place and hopefully answer all questions someone might have, and to help build my business by having something professional to send out. within the packet i have many options: 2 lifestyle sessions, 1 bridal session, and 6 wedding packages. my other goal is to have something for everyone. i've always had a mini session in mind, but never fully advertised it. but now i am! these are perfect for blogs, facebook pages, websites, and / or portfolios. 

not many of you are from texas, but i wanted to share this with you anyways. i love photographing people, more than i know how to express. for those of you who have kept up with my blog over the years, you might have noticed i am in a much better place now. i am still working just as much as ever, but now it's more on my personal work. oh! and i haven't officially announced this here, but i am starting a new job in a couple of weeks. one that has shorter work weeks, more vacation time, and will ultimately allow me to continue to grow my portrait business. i'm excited for these new opportunities. maybe one day i can even quit the 9-5 and work solely for myself.

MICAH

this kiddo makes me want one of my own. not quite yet though! he is probably the sweetest human on the planet. i'm lucky to know and work with his mama, so i get to see him every so often. he eats everything in site and gives the sweetest, wettest kisses.

you might notice some drool in a couple of the photos. it was too cute to clone out. :P

VSCO PRESETS

i've been photographing a lot lately and am exclusively using the vsco film presets to edit my photos. i use these for various reasons. 1) they add a beautiful feel / mood to my work, which is all shot with natural light. and 2) they make editing 10 times faster than retouching every single photo individually. i thought i might quickly go through my process for those that are thinking of getting these presets, or have no idea what they are. 

i edit everything with adobe photoshop cs6 / camera raw 7. many tutorials i've seen for these presets are done in lightroom, but i've never used this program. after watching the tutorials, it seems like you can do most, if not everything, that you can in raw in lightroom, plus some features in bridge. (photographers, correct me if i'm wrong!)

the presets are loaded into raw under the tab highlighted in cyan below. its really very simple from there. you click on the preset you want to preview and adjust in the other panels if need be. i usually don't do much editing because i really like the presets as is and want a consistent look. if i do want to change something it's usually exposure, white balance, or contrast. the above photo was shot in daylight white balance in camera, but was terribly yellow and i changed the white balance in raw to auto.

i retouched the skin in raw too. that took me a little while to get used to, but when editing a ton of photos, i prefer it. this also helps to preserve the grain that these presets apply. when retouching skin in photoshop the grain ends up splotchy, oddly smooth, and inconsistent. so that is an advantage to doing this in raw. speaking of grain, these presets were made to mimic film, so some of them have some very heavy grain. i tend to preserve the intention of each preset, but if the grain is overboard i will take it down. especially if i'm doing a session. i want my photos to be artful, but sometimes it is overkill.

i went through the 3 vsco packs that i have and picked out my 10 favorite presets for this particular photo. i do have about 5 favorite favorite presets that i use quite frequently. but i do like playing around with others from time to time. for instance, i love the color of polaroid 669 +++ above and now have to remember to use it more often.

the above photo is the preset i used for this shoot, for the color photos. it is one of my favorite favorites. i love the soft, desaturated colors (well, compared to many of the presets) and heavy grain.

these presets take a little to get used to, but i love them and i love how easy they make my life. do any of you have them? or are any of you thinking of getting them? if you have any questions, let me know. :]

MUDSMITH

found another new coffee shop to love thanks to my sister. mudsmith opened a few months ago with the intention of bringing an nyc, portland, san francisco vibe to dallas. or so i read. i love it. i love the beautifully meticulous interior, complete with stuffed animals. i love the bar in the middle of the room, and the wooden chairs and tables. i love the room in the back that has barely any light shining in. the coffee, which is french press always, was ok. not the best cup, but that's alright. i'll forgive it and remember to try a cappuccino next time i go.