Michael and Amanda

Ezra

English Mastiff

AND a big huggable teddy bear!

Fall Shoot

Please check out the rest of the photos from this shoot and let me know what you think!!

A Girl and Her Fiddle *

Baby Autumn

Fell asleep as she was sitting up being burped and I had to grab a picture. Sweetness!!

Some shots from my first ever "Family" photography shoot

Straight out of the garden and...

straight out of my camera! (no editing)
This is my great Grandpa TB and Grandma Inez's garden this year.

Murray's Mill

This was a tractor "parade" driving around Murray's Mill during the 2009 festival this year. While I was snapping pictures, little did I know (Although I found out later) that this was my great great grandpa's tractor that he put together himself from a kit. One of his sons had it restored and brought it to Murray's Mill Festival. Pretty cool huh?

Cute with a capital "C"

Pamela

Sunday's Picture of the Day

I did a photo shoot the other day and realized something...There are new babies all around me!

Congratulations to all the new mommies out there! May God bless you and the little one. :-)

Kilian

I love this horse. Kilian is built like a brick wall and has the face I've always imagined a war horse to have. Today I just wanted to capture his solemn disposition as he relaxed into his daily routine. His face could almost tell a story.

My goal in this photo was to capture two things and blend them together so that the viewer is drawn to one thing and then another--but still show contrast in my picture. I think I achieved this because the first thing to draw your attention is the tag on his halter and then yours eyes go straight to his. At least, this is what I'm hoping. My contrast was achieved in turning the picture to a Black and White.

Please post your comments below!

Update

Sorry it's been so long since the last post. Things have been busy. (Sorry, best excuse I could come up with!) The truth is, my laptop crashed a few weeks ago and along with it, my photoshop software. I'm in the process of reinstalling it on another computer but I've got to get the files on that computer backed up and then clean the PC off so it will run better. Then, I will be back to my picture taking self. Hope everyone has had a wonderful summer because it looks like wintertime is just around the corner. Later!

Thursday's Picture

I haven't been out much with the camera lately. I've been having fun and in the process, one forgets to photograph it. :-D Thanks for stopping in. The following picture was taken near Julian Price Campground on the 2 mile hike around Price Lake. We got to the bridge just in time to see the sun set.

New Slideshow

Here's a look at the new slideshow that will go up with my new website soon. Thanks for looking!

July Fourth at Blowing Rock, NC

These are some sites I found in Blowing Rock, NC this past weekend. All of the window shops had decorated for the holiday and it made for some fun picture opportunities. The day was filled with fun! Went for a beautiful stroll down the street that morning, met up with friends, watched the always exciting parade, listening to the Cockman Family sing, then played a game of tennis that ended up lasting almost 3 hours. Fun stuff! That evening we all treated ourselves to dinner at Sledgehammer Charlies. We finished just in time to catch an incredible fireworks show right outside town. All in all, it was a great great weekend! Thanks to all the family and friends who made it happen! :-)

July Fourth Weekend

So.... What is it?
It's tree fungi that was literally as big around as my waist. It was huge!

Friday morning me and my family headed up the mountains to see Linville Falls. I've uploaded the rest of the pictures from our trip on my facebook acount. Check 'em out!

Influence

Poet: Joseph Norris

Drop a pebble in the water, And its ripples reach out far;
And the sunbeams dancing on them may reflect them to a star.

Give a smile to someone passing, Thereby making his morning glad;
It may greet you in the evening, When your own heart may be sad.

Do a deed of simple kindness; Though its end you may not see,
It may reach, like widening ripples, Down a long eternity.

Something I believe with all of my heart.

Tuesday's Pictures of the Day

Ok, so I'll admit it. It's not hard for me to do so seeing as there is no way around it... I have REALLY been a slacker! It's not helping that my computer seems to be on it's last leg. It's slower than a turtle on crutches. I don't know what's wrong... Could have something to do with why it's overheating now.

Anyways, on a brighter note... I hope things have been going well for you today! I'm starting to realize: There is no day without sunshine. It's just whether or not your eyes can see through the clouds. Enjoy the pictures! They are of two kitties I was privilaged to meet Saturday. The bigger handsome one is Zeke. And the small pretty one is Grace.

Missing my Buddy today...

This picture was taken on one of our many walks together in the woods. There's miles of trails behind the house. Once we got out there, I would take his halter off and it would be just me, my dog, and my horse. Good times! :-)

Fiddler's Grove Festival 2009

It's hard to believe Fiddler's Grove has already come and gone once again. Up until, it seems like it will never arrive. During, you don't want it to end. And when it's over you wish it had lasted longer. I miss falling asleep to the bluegrass jamming that goes on continuously through the night. I miss waiting on the edge of my seat to hear who won the competitions. I miss sitting back in my chair and relaxing while listening to incredible musicians play their heart out...

This year they were calling for rain all weekend but as it got closer to the festival, the forcast said it would hold off until Sunday afternoon. Lo and behold though, Saturday evening the clouds could hold it back no longer. It drizzled all evening and finally started a real rain by Sunday morning. I missed Sunday but I'm told the show still went on with the audience migrating to sit under on the stage under the roof with the musicians. I'm sure that was a sight! If anyone has pictures of that awesome moment, please let me know.

The picture above was taken during a light drizzle Saturday evening while me, Mary Lynn, and Elizabeth were going on a short walk. We stopped for a moment to listen to some music. The whole aspect of standing in the rain, hovering under a tiny umbrella for the sake of bluegrass made for an awesome picture. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Once again, Fiddler's Grove was a wonderful experience and I can't wait to do it again next year!

Congratulations to all those people I know who placed in the competitions! You guys were awesome!

Thursday's Picture of the Day

Here's a picture of me and my Australian Shepherd, Blue, while on a hike one day. It's not very often that viewers are allowed to see photos of the photographer. There's 2 reasons for this: A, the photographer is almost ALWAYS the person BEHIND the camera. And B, lo and behold, most photographers are camera shy.

Photo courtesy of Michael Gabriel. :-)

Wednesday Picture of the Day

This is my little cousin, Caleb. What is he eating? Well... I could just say "Cake Icing". Which is the honest truth. But the rest of the story is that he's eating off of a sponge from my Grandma's Graduation Cake--It turned out to be a surprise SPONGE cake with icing on top! The grandkids all grabbed a sponge and proceeded to lick the icing off. That's when I snapped this picture. So cute!

Tuesday's Picture of the Day

Monday's Picture of the Day

Sorry it's been a while since the last update. We layed Buddy to rest last week and this week has been busy with company in a things. Enjoy the pix! Keep checking in this week for more. :-)