Incredible Weekend!

Wow! What a weekend. Since Thursday I have been enjoying the Professional Photographers of Ohio Convention in Dayton, Ohio! My brain is so full of new information and some incredible new ideas that I can hardly decide what to try first.

This convention is held in the same place as IHC*. Just imagine that huge floor filled with rows upon rows of vendors in every category imaginable: cameras, frames, back drops, props, lenses, lighting, software, printers, tripods, printing labs, album companies, etc. - and all of this multiplied times 4-5 different companies for each category. It's amazing! Aaron and I didn't even make it through all the booths. In addition to all of this, there are several sessions you can attend throughout the day to hear experts give tips for success in a specific topic like senior portrait photography, running your studio, wedding album design, creating competition prints, children photography, etc. All of these sessions were really good and this is where I learn the most.

Yes - there are scads and scads of people there. Very crowded at times, but really neat to meet other photographers and talk shop! :-)

The session on lighting was very helpful! The word "photography" literally means "writing with light" - lighting is the most challenging part of taking a photograph.

The print competition is really interesting. We watched part of the judging, which was very educational to hear comments from the judges on why a particular print was scored low/high. I plan to enter prints next year.

*Just a note for those going to IHC in about a month. They are doing some serious construction in Dayton - not only was the "normal" exit we take to get to the Convention Center closed, but they are also doing construction at the Convention Center itself! As of now, you can't use the front entrance because of some huge contraption they are putting in that little half-circle where people normally load/unload. I'm not sure if it's some form of art or if it was part of the construction equipment. :-) Everyone had to use the 3rd floor sky walk to come and go. Hopefully, they will be done before IHC - but it didn't look too promising.

March - In like a lion, out like a lamb!

I sure am ready for Spring weather, but it appears March has "come in like a lion" as the saying goes. It's raining cats and dogs and we are supposed to have "severe thunderstorms with gusty winds and hail" (according to the radio). The only good thing about this, is that March should go out like a lamb. That is what I'm ready for.

These pictures were taken last March when I was at home in Missouri!

Khara and Kelsey always want to hold the new lambs. :-)

Ooops! Kelsey's lamb got away!

Beans and Rice, Rice and Beans

Jana - this post is for you! :-)

If you are a fan of Dave Ramsey, you will certainly know what this caption means! :-)

Aaron and I are certainly surviving on more than beans and rice, but we sure do have plenty of rice to eat now!

We recently went to Jungle Jim's for the first time (a very interesting store) and bought this rice based on a tasty experience with our good friends, Matt and Erika! One is a sweet rice and the other is a "clumpy" rice. They have real names as you can see on the bags, but that's how we define them. They each have their "own" taste, but are both excellent!!

Family . . . a priceless treasure!

One thing that makes me really sad is when people tell me they have never had a family picture taken (or it's been so long they can't remember when it was). I think that is terrible! I know, I know - I am a photographer; but, family photos are priceless. You can never go back in time. You can never "redo" that child's age. You can never wish a person back that is already gone. BUT, you can get pictures taken that will capture those memories forever. (OK - I'm getting off my soap box now.)

I was sorting through my picture files and couldn't resist posting some of these incredible families I recently photographed.

How long has it been since you had your family picture taken?

The Lambeth's
(outdoor pictures are so much fun!)

The Frederick's
(indoor backdrops - these work in any weather!)

The Henley children
(use your front porch to add character to your photo)

Larry and Carol Smith
(for their 10-year wedding anniversary)

The Hester family - extended family pictures are important too!
(the lady on the far right was my former boss)

Let it Ice, Let it Ice, Let it Ice

Wow! We hadn't had much of a "winter" yet, but we are sure getting it tonight - all at once, I think. Not really snow, but ICE!!

The radio just said over 60,000 people in Cincinnati don't have power - our lights just blinked, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and have candles on stand by. :-). I feel bad for those folks, but the ice sure is pretty.

I took this from our back porch - I kept looking out the door thinking how beautiful this tree is. The tree branches keep getting lower and lower to the ground, so I hope it doesn't lose any branches!

This tree is beautiful too! This is on campus right outside the Ad Building. These branches are definitely on the verge of breaking - they are normally not near this low to the ground!

Two More Birthdays Today

This week has certainly been the week for birthdays! Today is my mother's birthday - and a very special one it is!

Happy 60th Birthday, Mama!

Today is also Grandma Herring's birthday - she is 74 today. Wow! I hope I look this good when I'm 74.



And one more . . .

An early happy birthday to Grandpa Young who is 85 on February 12.

Cameron. . .then and now!

A very happy birthday today, to my brother-in-law who is 14 years old TODAY! Happy Birthday, Cameron!

THEN . . .
When Aaron and I starting dating, Cameron was only 3 years old. This first picture was Christmas of 1997 (he was 4 years old then) and absolutely loved this outfit that Aaron and I got him for Christmas.

and Now . . .
Wow! Cameron is now taller than me and looks like Aaron more and more each day. This picture was taken this summer when Cameron stayed a week with us.

Hope you have a really good birthday, Cameron! We'll celebrate this weekend!

Happy Birthday!

Happy 19th Birthday to my dear friend, Jaleesa Ford!

We have so much fun working together - (probably a little too much)!

I took this in the fall when I was setting up for a family portrait - she let me test my lights on her. Thanks, Jaleesa! You're the best!

Blue Friday - even at GBS!

Yes, we had Blue Friday at GBS (unoficially declared by me!) :-)

Some wore blue and didn't even really know why, but I told them it was for a good cause! :-) A few other staff members were already gone when we did this picture.

Dave Frederick is in the back covering his face with his tie - he said he wore blue "by accident" but I told him I knew he was a true Colts fan at heart!

GO COLTS!

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

We had a really good time during our "D-Group" session tonight. D-Groups (discipleship groups) are what we have on Wednesday nights here at GBS in place of the regular prayer meeting. Volunteer staff/faculty leaders take a group of students into their home and discuss different topics or lessons to help us grow spiritually. Since Aaron has class on Wednesday night, I have a group of 8 girls and they are a wonderful bunch!

Tonight was a different sort of night, but I really felt like we should talk about this so we did. The topic: self-confidence. We discussed what self-confidence is, why it is important, and how to obtain it if you have none or yours is low. Then we played a matching game where each girl was given a paper with two different behaviors associated with either self-confidence or low self-confidence. They had to read them aloud and determine which category it fit into. This brought up lots of discussion points, which were very good. Before they left for the evening, I distributed 8 papers with each girl's name listed individually at the top. We each wrote one positive thing about that person and then passed the papers around until everyone had written a compliment about everyone else. The compliments were not shared with the group, but it appeared everyone really liked this idea and enjoyed learning more about self-confidence.

Self-confidence is extremely important in almost every aspect of our lives, yet it's amazing how so many people struggle with it. I loved this quote I found online and shared it with the girls tonight at the end of our meeting:

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." -Oscar Wilde

Hittin' the Slopes!

Yes! We finally did it! Aaron and I went skiing today!!! Kevin Moser has been asking us for a few years now to give skiing a try, and so this year we finally did. We loved every minute of it - well, maybe not all the falls. We both fell more times than we can count, but so did all the other beginners! That's just part of it - you have to get out there and do it.

I was only really scared at one point - and I think it's only because of what someone was telling us. Aaron and I had gone through the lessons, practiced for quite a while on the bunny slope, did the beginner's hill a couple of times, and felt ready to go on to the next step. So, we did. Matt and Tara McCasland were with us and were great coaches. They had been watching us and said we were ready. We rode the lift up and at the very top of the hill we ran into a guy we knew. After chatting for a few minutes, he asked if we had done that particular hill before. When he discovered it was our first day skiing and our first time on that hill, his eyes got really big and said, "Oh, no - you're going to have problems!" We were thinking, "What!?" He went on to say that I would probably be okay, but since Aaron was bigger, the momentum he would pick up would make him go too fast and he would probably "run right into the line of people at the bottom of the hill." I am not kidding - those were his words exactly. We quickly said goodbye to him and were like, "Great! Here we are at the top of this "nightmare" hill and there was only one way to get down!" I was about ready to shove the guy off at the top if he wouldn't have stopped telling us all these horror stories. I'm not kidding - he was very serious. I "suppose" he meant well, but the damage was already done. Grrr! Matt and Tara told us to just forget what he had said, but that was a little bit hard to do. I was scared and there was no where to go but down. But, I told Aaron, the worse thing that can happen is . . . we'll fall! And we did! :-) But, we got back up and continued down the hill and had a blast! We ended up skiing that hill about 3 more times before it was time to go. We really enjoyed skiing and plan to go again. Thanks, Kevin, for insisting that we try! Here's some picture to prove it really happened!

What a fun day! I'd do it all over again!

Actually, getting off the lift is kind of difficult. Aaron would ride up with Matt so he could help him, and Tara would ride up with me to help me.
For non-skiers, the lift does NOT stop, you have to ski off of it - yes we both fell getting off of the lift. :-)

An "action" picture of Aaron!

Kristin and Mark Foster also skied for the first time today
(not many pictures of them since they had to leave early).

I would like everyone to notice the sign above Aaron's head.
We were advancing - whoo hoo!

This is a little far away (I wasn't about to get that close with my camera), but from left to right is Matt, Kevin, and Aaron.

It was VERY crowded on the slopes and in the ski lodge. We didn't know any different, but Kevin said it was the biggest crowd he had ever seen out there - at least 9,000 people!

Bless Tara's dear heart! She helped me so much and was very patient. She even waited for me while we laughed hysterically after my pitiful fall so she could help me get up. Honestly, the hardest thing I did all day was getting UP after a fall. Try doing that with 6-foot feet that are very slick on a hill!!!

Flu Bug

I love this picture (courtesy of Dr. Farmer). It seems like so many people have been sick lately - this bug must be working overtime!
Thankfully, I have NOT had the flu this year (knock on wood - I'll probably be punished for posting this) . . .

Putting It All Together . . .

I'm in the middle of putting Dorcas and Matt's wedding album together and decided I had to take a break. (What better way to break than to blog!)

When I put an album together, I have to see ALL the pages together before I start so I'll make sure it comes out even. (Getting it even is harder than it sounds with horizontal and vertical photographs all having to match together to fit on a page as well as the album pages ending on the left.) So, I do all this "seeing" by laying it out - all over the floor! I don't have the luxury of my own "studio" with a work flow table, so everything in my home becomes my work space! Here's something of what it looks like.

And the winning caption is . . .

"Little Flyer"

Thanks to Matt Deuel for this great suggestion!

Thanks for all the suggestions. Yes, Nancy, even Dr. Farmer game me some great ideas. I couldn't decide what to use and after asking several others, this one got the most votes.

Caption, anyone?

I need your help!

I just found out today that I won 2nd place in a photo contest - hooray!!! The contest is through IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis), which is where I completed my photography training. The funny thing is, I didn't even remember which photo I had submitted (I barely remembered entering the contest since it was last April). However, the kind lady refreshed my memory and I instantly knew which photo she was referring to. This is my nephew, Kaden Burley, and was taken in March of 2006.

This photo will soon be on display in the Union Building on the campus of IUPUI and they asked me to submit a caption - that's where I need your help! If anyone has some ideas for a cool caption, please help me! I'm kind of stuck as to what to submit.

What a Saturday!

I was here . . .


And Aaron was here . . .




Two very different events, but we both enjoyed our respective places very much (although I worked hard today)! Sandra Holden and Zane Hatfield's wedding went really well and the Colts won! We'll both sleep very well tonight! :-)

Christmas at the Inlaws

Since our parents live so far away from each other, Aaron and I rotate holidays with our families. When we have Christmas in Missouri, we celebrate Christmas with his parents on New Years, which was the case this year. Here's a few pictures from the occasion!

A Sonicare toothbrush for both of us (don't worry - there are 2 separate heads). When your mother-in-law is a dental hygienist, your teeth must be on their best behavior!

Fondue - a Herring family Christmas tradition! Takes a while to eat, but very yummy, indeed!

We only use this green table cloth for this meal because it's old and fondue splatters easily. :-)

Cameron got a leather jacket for one of his Christmas gifts - he loved it!
Cameron is growing like a bad weed - he is only about 5 inches shorter than Aaron now and only 1/2 size behind him in shoes. One thing I don't get, though - people have actually asked if Aaron and Cameron are twins! Come on, now! They do look similar, but they are 16 years apart!!

Living High on the Crab!

Wow! We had the most incredible supper tonight - Jeff came by before he had to go to work and brought crab! Jeff cooked it while I watched and learned - as this was a first for me. I also learned how to clarify butter - never heard of that before tonight either (remember, I grew up in the country). The crab was extremely delicious!

They were huge as you can see!

Just giving you another idea of how big these things were!
(Actually, Aaron was talking on his cell phone after we were done eating, so I grabbed the one remaining crab and pretended I was too! He didn't think it was as funny as I did, but he did snap a picture for me.) :-)


That's all!
Thanks for a great supper, Jeff!

Really Cool Christmas Gifts

Don't you love unique Christmas gifts? Here are some really cool ones from this year.

All of us kids got these candy canes. I've always liked things that were personalized, so this was right down my alley.

This book is incredible. I haven't read it all yet, but here are a few of some really neat tips I already like:

1. If you're always a mitten or a glove short at your house in winter, try this: Hang several pant or skirt hangers in the hall closet. Ask family members to clip pairs together on the hangers when not in use. -Liz Grove, New Carlisle, IN

2. To get rid of the leg dents that heavy furniture leaves in your pile carpeting, place an ice cube in each dent and let them sit overnight. The water from the melted cube causes the fibers of the carpet to swell. The next morning, use a towel to scratch and fluff out the dent until it's the same level as the rest of the nap. -Sally Clark, East Bradenton, FL

3. In your bathroom, keep those odds and ends of pins, clips, rubber bands, etc. in a plastic silverware tray. -Rachel Siegrist, Lititz, PA

4. Use a meat pounder instead of a fork to make a pretty design on your cookies. -Ann Z., Coon Rapids, MN

All the kids with their stockings!

Makin' Memories

Christmas really is my most favorite time of year! Aaron and I sure made lots of memories this year as we had the privilege of "parenting" our nephews/niece (ages 10, 7, and 5) on a 10-hour trip to Missouri. We were planning on riding along with Vicki and the children, but when her grandmother unexpectedly passed away, we took the kids with us so she and Jeff could go to the funeral and the kids wouldn't have to travel 8 hours to PA, 8 hours back to OH, then 10 hours to MO. It really was a fun trip, but very different from how we normally travel. We hadn't been out of Cincinnati for more than an hour when Kaley was asking how much longer to Grandma's. :-) Then, we discovered what Caleb had received for a Christmas gift - a recorder! Before he started in on it, he did kindly ask, "Let me know if this is disturbing you." We rode along for a little while listening to him shrieking out "Hot Cross Buns" when we finally asked if maybe he could wait until we got to Grandma's house so there was more room for the sound to escape. It was so funny! They were really good and we did enjoy it, but we were ALL ready to be there when we finally turned into the drive about 9:30 that night.


The trip home was much different as it was just Vicki, Kaley, the baby, and me. (Jeff and Vicki had flown out to MO on Christmas Eve.) Jeff flew Aaron back to OH a day early for work and the boys both wanted to go to. Here's Caleb and Drew getting all settled.

Before they left, Jeff took Mark and Phil for a plane ride. They flew over the house and we all went outside and waved as they whizzed by. Yes, the plane is rather small, so click on the picture to see it better.