Photos by Christy

Studio Lights!!

2012-01-22T19:42:00.001-06:00

As some people have pointed out, it's been a while since my last post. I sincerely apologize. I haven't taken a lot of photos lately. But, for Christmas, my amazing parents got me two things I've wanted for a while now: 1) a good tripod and 2) studio lights. This weekend, I finally got the chance to set up my new lights. I got my dad to model for me for one shot and then today I made Jerry pose for me (don't worry, he got treats).

Jerry!! So cute on the black backdrop!

Poor guy doesn't like heights...

Does anybody out there want to be my next subject?

(I can only take so many photos of Jerry...)

Meet the Rayfields

2011-11-28T15:57:00.000-06:00

On Friday, I took photos of one of my co-workers, her husband and the newest addition to their family.

They were hoping for a Christmas card picture. I hope one of these will work!

Don't they make a cute family?

Sitting on a colorful stage.

Playtime!

We thought it'd be cool to take a photo by the caterpillar-like balls. I toned it this way for a special effect, but don't ask me how I did it, because I don't remember! I vignetted the edges, that's all I remember.

This was the last picture I took. I had to delete a few photos from my CF card to make room, but I think it was worth it, don't you?

Navigating Nashville

2011-11-13T16:27:00.002-06:00

As many of you may know, last weekend I traveled to Nashville to visit with some of my best buds, Emily and Matt. Emily is a nurse at Vanderbilt Hospital and Matt is a graduate student at Vanderbilt. He was pretty busy with papers and reading and grad school stuff, but Emily and I had a fun time exploring Nashville together. I was amazed by the amount of history she knows about the place. Nashville impressed me. The people were friendly and the scenery was great, I'm really glad I decided to go in the fall, the autumn colors were simply gorgeous.

I feel like I should warn you that this particular post is very long. 74 photos to be exact. I tried to make some of the photos smaller and bunch them together, but it's still long. If you don't have time to read through it now, I suggest you look at the collage I made (below). It sums up my trip pretty well. If you just want to see the pictures, click on one and a slideshow will appear - thank you blogger! If you do have the time though, I suggest you read the whole post as not all of my photos are in the collage and let's face it, my captions and narrative are pretty amazing. You'd definitely miss out if you only look at the collage or quickly scroll through the photos.

Here is the aforementioned collage. I promised Emily and Matt I'd make them one for Christmas. I feel like there should be a drumroll here...

So on Thursday, I drove down to Nashville and Emily and I went window shopping and then had frozen yogurt at a place called CeCe's. I talked about this in the previous post, so let's get to Friday's fun. We went to the zoo in the morning. Emily hadn't been to this zoo yet because it cost money to get in and she didn't think it could be as good as the zoo in St. Louis. It wasn't, but it was a pretty nice zoo. To be honest, I think we're a little spoiled by the St. Louis Zoo. I enjoy going to zoos whenever I travel. Some people may think this is lame or that zoos are just for kids, but isn't there a kid in all of us? I find pleasure in the small, simple things in life, and I love going to the zoo and learning about the different animals.

First up were these fun monkeys. Well, the small black one was fun. The other one was pretty boring. When he finally decided to be active and swing on the ropes, he only made it halfway through before he needed a break. After all that activity, they needed a snack.

Next up? Meerkats.

This meerkat was standing off by himself...the poor thing was shivering (it was a cold, overcast day). I guess he was the "lookout" meerkat. They must not realize they're in the zoo...

Time for the aquarium.

Emily is pretending to be afraid of the dinosaur. Which picture does she look more scared in?

This albino wallaby was just chillin'. Until some kids came up and tried to pet him.

Flamingos!

Why aren't humans this cool?

I love fall.

Hey there, giraffe.

I see you trying to hide behind that tree! Good try, though.

Posing with Emily.

Fun fact: giraffes are Emily's favorite animal.

I really liked this tree. I'm kind of standing awkwardly on it for this picture...

Lunch time! Let's have some pancakes. I'm sorry, I don't typically think to take pictures of my food, but here is a photo of the outside of the restaurant...

Onward to Vanderbilt's campus. Emily informed me that Vanderbilt is an arboretum.

This is a statue. I know it looks like a tree, but it's not really. Take a closer look.

Here is Vanderbilt's library. We went in to say hi to Matt. (He works in the video section.)

Every time I passed this awesome dragon, there were a ton of cars parked in front it it. This was the closest to an empty street I saw... stupid car. I didn't feel like photoshopping it out. In my collage I stuck a trolley in front of it and photoshopped out the bottom...

Well, we did everything we had planned for the day and it was still early. What to do? I know, let's go downtown!

They're very proud of their history in Nashville.

Um, that's a lot of stairs...

More stairs...

Reflection fun.

I just really liked the name of this business.

The picture on the left is the actual picture. We were in some building thing walking upstairs to get a better view and this was in the stairwell. Or wait, this was on top of the observatory thing...anyway, I flipped it in Photoshop so the N would face the right way. (I just felt like I needed to disclose this in case anyone wants to go to Nashville to see that view.)

I couldn't pass up this photo opportunity.

Yes, this is the bar Coyote Ugly. No, we did not go in. My friends, Stacy and Chris went to Nashville over the summer and they went in and took pictures, so I feel like I've already been there.

Here is Emily kissing Elvis. Shh don't tell Matt!

Stacy told me about this Boot Country store. She and Chris bought some boots when they went to Nashville. I'm not really a cowboy boot person though and it was on the other side of the street, so we didn't go in the store. I did get a really cool shot glass from one of the souvenir stores down there though.

Is it sad that I didn't even notice the pigs when I took this picture?

You don't have to answer....I know it's sad..

Emily sang along with the statue.

I was happy to just sit and listen.

On Saturday, we slept in. You might think that's lazy, but hey, we had a long, fun-filled day on Friday, we needed a rest. Anyway, we slept in, looked at an apartment Emily and Matt were thinking about renting, worked out, showered and such, went to the library and then headed for Bicentennial Park. I was very excited to see the Parthenon. I really wanted to compare it to the one in Rome. However, there was this hideous white tent set up in front of it and it was closed to the public for an event. I was pretty irritated. I know Emily thought I was overreacting a bit, and I probably was, but geez...stupid ugly tent in front of the building I was super excited to see. Look at it! Blah...I guess I'll have to go back another day. I had to be a bit creative to get some shots for my collage.

I think Emily thinks I'm obsessed with squirrels. I don't know where she got that idea. Maybe because every time I saw a squirrel I'd shout, "squirrel!" And then try to take a picture of it. But that's normal, right?

It's been a while since I've been on a college campus, I forgot how close college squirrels let you get to them before scurrying away. This one posed for me in the tree. (And yes, I know this wasn't on the college campus, but it's my best squirrel pic of the weekend.)

A train to nowhere.

This tree was pretty darn awesome.

Well, I think that's it. Saturday night we went shopping and then had Jet's pizza. Two thumbs up on the deep dish pizza. Well, one and a half thumbs up...there was a little too much garlic for my taste. And then I went home on Sunday. Oh wait, I did get Emily addicted to Pinterest. Mission Accomplished!

A taste of Nashville

2011-11-03T21:49:00.000-05:00

Today I drove 5 hours to visit one of my best buds in Nashville. This evening, Emily showed me around the Hills Center near her apartment. There were a bunch of cute shops. We got frozen yogurt at Sweet CeCe's. It was pretty tasty. The lady let us try a sample before filling our cups. The pumpkin was delicious but I thought it would be too much for a whole bowl-full. So I got the typical vanilla/chocolate swirl. I added some strawberries and bam...instant deliciousness! I didn't think to get a photo of my ice cream, but here is a photo of Emily and me at Sweet CeCe's.

Portraits in the Park

2011-10-24T20:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I took pictures of a wonderful family in Fenton Park. I haven't shot family portraits in a while, and I'm not very good at posing people... luckily, Karissa is a big Pinterest fan and already had a sense of the poses she wanted.

We couldn't have asked for a better day for a portrait session. It was sunny and cool. The fall foliage this year is so pretty. Last year, I think it went from summer straight to winter. I swear, the leaves changed color and fell in a day. I'm glad that this year the leaves are taking a bit longer to change color and float to the ground.

All right, enough about the leaves, let's take a look at the photos. Meet the Miller family:

Oooh look at that cool tree!

A family race.

Ewww, Mom & Dad are kissing, again!

About to jump?

Bonding with Grandma.

Baseball: this is our happily ever after

My poor dog, he's so patient with us...

2011-10-17T17:15:00.000-05:00

My sister saw that Y98 is having a pet costume photo contest. She thought it would be cute to dress up Jerry and her dog, Rocky, as the rally squirrel and Torty Craig. (If you don't know what this means, then you're obviously not a Cardinals fan). Anyway, my mom found the costumes at Target and Kate go little Cardinals hats from Ted Drews. We dressed the poor dogs up (I was surprised at how into it my dad was getting) and I took some photos. Now all of you who know Jerry know that in general, he is a pretty happy dog. But he hates dressing up! I think it embarrasses him... So it was hard to get him and Rocky together looking cute and happy. We had to settle for this photo:

I still have to enter it in that contest...

I had told Jerry that if he cooperated, I would buy him a new toy. So today I bought him a lizard looking thing that has a squeaker that is supposedly indestructible. I don't know if I believe that, but Jerry loves sqeaky toys and I figured he'd be able to squeak this toy with his nose. (Yes, my dog is 'quirky' and doesn't squeak toys in his mouth...he nudges them with his nose).

When I got home, he was very excited to see his new toy. In fact, he carried it around with him for a couple of hours and kept hiding from me so I wouldn't take it from him!

Here are some pictures of him behind the couch with his new toy. Btw, these next couple of photos were taken with my new ipad! Yes, I got an ipad 2 for my birthday yesterday:) I'm even blogging from said ipad right now.

the turtle is on the move

2011-09-18T17:47:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, I loved American flags. I remember looking out the car window and counting every American flag I spotted. It kept me occupied during the long car rides to and from St. Louis (I lived in Illinois at that time). I don't know what it was about the flags, but I got excited every time I saw one. I guess you could say I was a very patriotic child.

On Friday, I went to the Balloon Glow in Forest Park with my sister and friend, Kristin. On the way there, Kristin and I took a detour to Art Hill to see the American flags. Upon seeing all of the flags lined up in neat rows, the child in me was excited - there were so many flags! The adult in me felt shocked and a little sick - there were so many flags!

Each flag represented a life lost in 9/11.

Seeing a seas of flags can be a bit overwhelming...

Realizing that each flag represents a person's life is even more overwhelming.

Every flag pole had a name on it. Some of the poles had ribbons tied around them.

I saw these flowers at the base of one of these flag poles.

After we had our fill of American flags, Kristin and I headed for the balloon glow. Parking, as is often the case at Forest Park, was a bear. I lucked out and was able to pull behind someone without having to pull out my abysmal parallel parking skills. Kristin and I walked to the site - Central Field - and watched as the balloonists started to inflate the hot air balloons.

My sister, Kate, met us up there. Boy that was a fun phone conversation...trying to locate someone in a crowd that size takes skills. I believe the convo went something like this:

Kate: Where are you guys?

Kristin: By the animal balloon.

Kate: By the rat?

Kristin: What? No ...by the animal balloon. Ok, we're by the Fontbonne balloon.

Kate: How close are you to the balloon?

Kristin: Right under it.

Kristin and I look around. Kate is 10 feet from us.

Kristin and I: Kate!

Kate turns around and spots us.

(Note- the above conversation is probably not verbatim, but it's close enough)

Back to the photos!

Fire!

In a crowd like this, there are always going to be people who walk in front of you when you're taking a picture. It's unavoidable. I swear I'm invisible at times...

In this case though, I didn't mind this man in my shot...I think it adds to it.

Since I was taking photos, Kate and Kristin decided not to bring their cameras. I think they got a little bored as I was snapping away at each balloon. They told me they would follow me wherever I went. Every time I started walking through the crowds, they followed me - like bodyguards. They even devised code names. Since I was wearing my backpack camera bag, they decided my name would be "turtle." Real original guys...So whenever I moved, they would say: "The turtle is on the move!" and proceed to follow me. I quickly weaved my way through the crowd to see if they could keep up. They were able to keep me in sight, but if someone had decided to attack me, I don't think they would've been much help.

Here is the balloon that passed my house the other day!

When the horns blew, all the balloons would light up at the same time.

Popcorn anyone? The Wehrenberg people were giving out coupons. They didn't give me one. Kate says it was because I was taking pictures. I don't think so. The woman looked me in the eye and then walked away. Whatever. Who needs to go see a $10 movie anyway? I told Kristin she can't go to Wehrenberg - not because they didn't give me a coupon - that would be childish. No, I told her that (jokingly, sort of) because Wehrenberg just instated a new rule - no cell phones. They're going to kick people out of the theater if they use cell phones during the movie. I think it's a great rule. People messing with their phones in the theater is annoying. The rule doesn't really affect me. Heck, I rarely keep my cell on me and always put it on silent at the movies. But Kristin, I swear that phone is an extension of her hand.

I don't know why I got on this tangent. I don't typically go to Wehrenberg anyway. I go to the Great Escape near my house. Let's get back on track here...

I couldn't decide which of these photos I liked better. I like the one on the left because I like being able too see the mom holding her son to view the flames. I think I like the flames in the right photo better, though.

Here is a photo of Kristin and Kate. The lady in the background makes me laugh.

Well, that's it for the balloon glow. We decided to leave before the fireworks because we didn't want to sit in the traffic that would be inevitable after an event like that. Besides, earlier this year I saw fireworks over Niagara Falls - I don't think the St. Louis ones could compete with that. Kristin was tired and didn't mind leaving. She said that she's going to make it through 2011 without seeing fireworks (sad).

So instead of fireworks, we got ice cream. A fair compromise, I think. Kristin and Kate said absolutely no photos of them eating ice cream. (I don't think they'll be happy about the one photo of them I posted.) Since Kristin is wearing a sling, she couldn't eat with her right hand. Kate and I decided to eat left-handed as well to show some solidarity. I did have to switch to my right hand at the end though...to scrape the last bit of ice cream out...mmmm!

Get ready for balloons!!!

2011-09-14T21:18:00.000-05:00

On Sunday afternoon, my dad came running inside the house to tell us that there were hot air balloons flying in the neighborhood. Of course I had to run and get my camera before heading outside! I have been hot air ballooning once - about 7 years ago. It was an amazing experience, and if I ever get the opportunity to go again (meaning if I ever have the finances to go again) I will jump at the chance. Until then, I'll have to settle for taking pictures of the few that pass by...

I figure these balloonists were getting ready for the St. Louis Balloon Race this weekend. I plan to go to the balloon glow on Friday night, so be prepared for more pictures. The few here are just the teasers, kind of like the few balloons we saw in Fenton were a tease for the balloon race... Get excited!!

It's ok to be jealous, my socks are pretty awesome.

2011-09-10T16:36:00.000-05:00

today is a great day to wear argyle socks

2011-09-05T12:20:00.000-05:00

My Portfolio

2011-08-29T15:08:00.001-05:00

Christy Siebert portfolio

View more presentations from siebc09

Hooray for family gatherings

2011-08-21T21:24:00.001-05:00

My cousin from California is in St. Louis for the week. Yesterday, in honor of his visit, we had a family get together at my aunt Janet's house. My aunt bought this sprinkler thingy for all the grandkids (her grandkids, my cousins' kids, my second cousins?). Anyway, I agreed to snap some shots of the kids playing in the sprinkler.

Boys will be boys.

Uh-oh. They've spotted me!

Abby and Tessa are such great friends.

I remember when my cousin, Connie, and I used to be that close.

Tessa is being a good big sister and helping Melody approach the sprinkler.

So cute.

Here's Melody's twin brother, Patterson.

He likes wearing things on his head.

Melody with her dad. I like this pic better in black and white.

Here are the boys from California. My aunt Helen's friend made this quilt for Kieren.

Here's Kieren playing shy.

I think Patterson wants a chip...

Hmmm...that looks like a good chip.

Oh, you're taking my picture?

BUMP!

Apparently this is a game they play with their grandad (my uncle). They say bump and he lifts them to gently 'bump' their heads on the ceiling.

Well, that's it. That's all I've got.

Video of Niagara Falls

2011-08-10T21:03:00.002-05:00

At the end of July, my family and I took a vacation to Niagara Falls (the Canadian side). This is a video of some of the footage I shot on our journey. Don't judge my shoddy videography too harshly, I was using a Kodak minicam without a tripod...I don't think there's even a spot to connect to a tripod on it. Oh and the Maid of the Mist is a bumpy ride. There is a lot of water in this video, so if you have to use the bathroom, I suggest you do so before hitting the play button.

Click here to view it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoVjbgq4vqE

Niagara Falls Collage

2011-08-05T17:13:00.002-05:00

Here is the collage I made of my trip to Niagara Falls. Imagine it as a 24x36 inch poster (because that's what it's going to be when I get it printed). The format on this blog won't let me post it bigger without spilling over onto the archive part of the blog, so if you want to see this collage bigger, just click on it. Or once I print it, you can just come by and see it in person.

Next up will be the video of the Maid of the Mist and Journey behind the Falls. Give me a week or two to do that though. My eyes are bloodshot from staring at the computer screen too long (all day at work and then all night toning these pics). So I think I'm going to take the weekend off. No computer work for me!

How about those falls in Canada, eh?

2011-08-04T20:56:00.001-05:00

This July, my family did something we haven't done in 7 years. We went on vacation together. It all started when my mom got a brochure for a conference in Niagara Falls. To borrow one of my grandpa's favorite phrases, I'm no dummy, and I immediately invited myself along (even though she hadn't). I then invited my sister and brother. When my mom saw how excited we all were about the trip, she realized she would have to sign up for the conference.

We left early Thursday morning (July 28)to catch a plane to Chicago, where we met Joe (for those of you who don't know, he lives in Albuquerque). The flight to Buffalo, New York was relatively short. My brother, sister and I sat together on the plane and only got half way through the movie Tangled. We rented a car in Buffalo and drove across the border.

Here is a picture of Joe in the car. I think he has crazy eyes in the photo, but he was ok with that.

We paid a little extra for a room with a view. Totally worth it! We had a lovely patio with a table and chairs and a decent view of the falls.

We got there around 3:30, dropped our stuff off in our rooms and since none of us had eaten lunch, we decided to get a bite to eat. There was a TGI Fridays down the street. I know, I know, you don't go to Canada to eat at an American restaurant, but we were starving and it was there. And we were just going to get appetizers. So we got 3 appetizers and my mom, dad and sister got ice teas. I believe the bill was around $70. Yea, that was a rude awakening to the crazy expensiveness of Canada.

After our meal, we followed the signs for a scenic walk to the falls. It was a scenic, long, long walk. But you put a camera in my hands and I'm happy.

Family photo (minus me). Yea, Joe wouldn't stop talking whenever I took his photo so I have a lot of weird photos of him.

Did you know Canada has black squirrels? I didn't. A man was throwing bread to entice this squirrel to get closer for a picture and kept asking me if I got a good shot yet. The way he was talking to the squirrel, it seemed like this man visited the squirrel everyday. I kind of felt obligated to take a good picture.

Here's the Skylon Tower. Would you believe there is a really nice restaurant up there? I think the tower looks kinda dingy during the day. It looks a lot better at night. Don't believe me? You'll see.

I love taking pictures of signs. Especially Canadian signs. The images are fantastic.

By this point we had ditched the parentals and went down to the falls on our own. Here is a photo of Joe and Kate by the horseshoe falls (Canadian). Btw, when you get near the falls, it always feels like it's raining. It's the mist.

This is a photo of the American Falls.

Back to the Canadian Falls. They're just better. Horseshoe shape, more water, prettier...

Oh look, a way to get up the hill that doesn't involve retracing our steps! In case you're wondering, the walk from the hotel to the falls was about a half an hour... when you're walking a "Christy pace" which is faster than the average person's pace.

On our first full day in Niagara Falls, I got up early to eat breakfast with my parents while my siblings chose to sleep in. This became our ritual. Anyway, after breakfast my mom went to her conference and we chose to do activities she didn't want to do. (Her conference ended at noon everyday, so we saved the activities she wanted to do for the afternoon.)

The first stop on our trip was Sir Adam Beck Generating Station. I think Kate was the only one who wanted to go there and I'm not sure why she wanted to go. The tour was pretty lame and we didn't get to see much of anything. But we did learn that the falls are only flowing at 50% during the day and 25% at night (11 p.m. to 8 a.m.). Apparently Canada and America signed a treaty stating that the falls has to be at 50% for tourists. The water they detour with the dam is used for electricity. At night, while the tourists are sleeping, they are allowed to direct 75% of the water to fill their reservoir. Yea, that's pretty much the only thing I learned from the tour, and you might want to do your own research to make sure I got my facts straight...

Time for an anecdote? I think so. We left our hotel at 8:30 a.m., heading for the generating station. We deemed my sister as the navigator. I feel like I should inform you all that my siblings and I are hopeless when it comes to directions. They may try to deny this, but it's true and I for one will openly admit that I am directionally challenged. So we get to the car and realize we don't have an address for the place. My sister found one on her iphone (seriously, what did we do before iphones?) and typed it into the GPS. Off we went. We enjoyed the scenic view of the water on one side and houses on the other. Forty-five minutes later, my dad realized we weren't anywhere near where we needed to be. We turned around and eventually figured out how to get there. On the way, we saw the floral clock. Before leaving the U.S., I told them I wanted to see the floral clock(the Missouri Botanical Gardens had a floral clock in 2009 and I thought it was pretty neat). They made fun of me and said we weren't going to see some dumb clock made out of flowers. Well, we did go to the floral clock and I have to admit that the design this year wasn't that great, but around back they had pictures of past designs that were pretty cool. The clock took about 5 minutes. Then we went on to the generating station. We got there at 5 minutes to 10, to realize that it opened at 10. So we left the hotel at 8:30 to drive an hour out of our way and made it to the place just in time for it to open. Great planning!

Here are some photos at the clock. Don't they look thrilled to be there?

That afternoon, we went to the Niagara Fury and Behind the Falls. The Niagara Fury is a 4 dimensional movie about how the falls were made. It was better than I thought it'd be. Let's just say that I was glad I was wearing a poncho.

Here is a photo of my family. I didn't bring my good camera with me for the afternoon excursions because I didn't want to risk getting it wet. This photo was taken with my little Kodak mini camcorder. It takes decent video and crappy photos.

Behind the Falls, you basically walk down 2 tunnels and can see the falls from behind at certain spots. When the tunnels open to the falls, all you can see is white and all you can hear is the roar of the water. There is also a balcony where you can see the falls close up from the side. I used my Canon Elph (point and shoot) for the following photos.

I think if I lived near the falls, rainbows would lose their excitement for me. We saw rainbows multiple times every day.

If you look closely, you can kind of see the rainbow arching over the boat.

Ok, back to the hotel to freshen up a bit and then on to Skylon Tower for dinner! Skylon Tower has a revolving restaurant at the top. The food was amazing and the views were even better. It takes about an hour to revolve all the way around. Here is a photo of me with my siblings.

Amazing the view. I didn't want to put down my camera to eat.

But then my lamb came. This was the first time I've had lamb. It was pretty darn good.

My mom ordered a drink that came in a glass that was the shape of a tower. Here is my dad pretending to be sad that he didn't get a drink. I think he just looks goofy.

After dinner, we took the elevator up to the viewing deck. I took a ton of pictures of the scenery, but don't want to lose your attention, so I'll just share a few of the photos with you.

I do have photos without the fence showing, but I like the ones with the fence for some reason.

Well, it's a Friday night. I think it's time to head down to the falls to watch the fireworks.

Those lights across the street are used to illuminate the falls every night.

I told you Skylon tower looks cooler at night.

Fireworks!

Saturday morning, my dad, siblings and I went to the White Water Walk. We had no clue how long it would take. Remember that tram thing I showed you earlier? Well that didn't open till 9 a.m. Apparently nothing opens before 9 a.m. there and our tour started at 9:30 a.m. So we walked down to the falls and started towards our destination. A little after 9 we were able to get on the People Mover (a bus) that we had passes for. It turns out the White Water Walk was only 1/3 of a mile. We walked more miles to get there than that. But we got pretty close to class six rapids. I like white water rafting, but I wouldn't try crossing that river! There were posters filled with people throughout history who have died attempting to swim across the river.

Awesome spider.

The White Water Walk didn't take nearly as long as we thought it would, so we hopped on the People Mover and headed for the Botanical Gardens. I love the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and I don't think these gardens compared to ours in Missouri. A lot of the flowers just looked sad. Apparently they're having an unusually hot summer.

I think the birds could take the snake.

What do you think?

Afternoon adventures: Whirlpool Aero Car and Maid of the Mist.

Now for the Whirlpool Aero Car and Maid of the Mist, I left my good camera at the hotel. (When I say good camera, I mean my SLR camera - Canon 50D) Here is the Whirlpool Aero Car. Yes, we rode that across the river and back.

Nice view.

I would not want to fall in that.

Here is the view from the Maid of the Mist (back to using the Kodak mini). I took more video than photos. I plan to put together a video and will post that later. I just wanted to show you the rainbows.

After breakfast on Sunday, my dad and I went up to the 20th floor of the hotel to see if that view was better than ours. You could see more of the street near the falls. I don't think these photos show it as well. You'll just have to take my word for it because I don't like the photos that show it as much. I like the sky in this first photo:

When my dad asked the concierge what time the zoo opened and she said, "We have a zoo?," we knew this would be an adventure. In fact, we almost went to Marine Land, but then realized that was a very expensive amusement park, so the zoo it was.

I guess we're going this way.

Zoo/Sculpture park, apparently...

This owl would turn his head around whenever I pointed the camera at him. Ha! I got you, owl!

This parrot said "hello" to us. Then Kate started talking to him in a mock parrot voice. I think he took offense to that because he stopped talking.

hot and tired...

In case you didn't know this, a giraffe's tongue is black.

Here's my dad being eaten by a hippo.

That afternoon we went to the historic town, Niagara on the Lake. It was hot and I was the only person who really wanted to go there, so of course we didn't stay very long. We did get gelato though, so that was good. We also drove down to the waterfront and my dad let me hop out of the car to snap a few shots.

Monday was our last morning in Niagara Falls. The bums decided to spend the last few hours sleeping, but my dad and I decided to go down to the falls one last time and check it out at only 25%. This means we had to get down there before 8 a.m. This also meant that unless we wanted to stay down there until 9, we had to walk down there and walk back. So we started out at a brisk pace at 7:20 a.m. I snapped some shots of the falls and then we ate the cereal that I thoughtfully brought. People make fun of my "mom bag" but it comes in handy.

I think this is the only time I saw this sign without kids crawling all over it.

There's our hotel! The Marriott on the left, not the Marriott on the right. It's crazy that there were two Marriotts on the same street.

I snapped this picture as we drove passed it on our way out of town.

Goodbye, Canada.

Hello, America.

And thus ends the trip. Oh,in case you were wondering, we finished watching Tangled on the plane ride back to Chicago. In Chicago, we said goodbye to Joe and boarded the plane for St. Louis. Jerry was so happy to see us.

Here is a photo I took of him with my phone.

Well, that's it. Check back next week to see the collage and possibly the video I plan to make of the trip.

Crazy Fun Road Trip!

2011-07-01T17:49:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all!! Ready for a road trip to Dallas?

Last weekend, my friend Sharisse got married in Dallas. I had been looking forward to this trip for about a year -- well, actually I've been looking forward to it since the moment Sharisse called to tell me she and Preston got engaged. So anyway, I brought my friend, Kristin, along for the ride. Here we are at 7 o'clock Friday morning, ready to start our journey.

Kristin's dad planned some fun roadside attractions for us along the way. First up, a gigantic paper cup in Springfield, Missouri! Now I have to admit, I was a little disappointed by the cup. First of all, it's not paper - so me being my literal self - I think the name was misleading. Secondly, there was no where to park, so I had to just pull to the side of the road. Right when we got out of the car for pictures, it started to rain! If it hadn't been raining, I probably would have made my way up closer to the cup...it is apparently the entrance to the building.

Next up,(still in Springfield) the world's largest fork!

Notice how I'm following the rules, but still leaning against the fork and having fun? Yeah, that's talent right there.

A McDonalds over the highway.

Some Native American statue...apparently it was on the list, but I just snapped a shot as we drove by it.

Muskogee, Oklahoma!

Home of the first girl scout? Personally, I thought the statue was a bit creepy looking - something about her eyes...

Train in the middle of nowhere.

Hey, let's get a pic of the two of us!

Yea, maybe we should've made sure the camera was zoomed out first.

That's better.

Ok, time for the world's largest peanut! I think this was in Durant, Oklahoma. So we were taking pictures by the peanut, which by the way didn't seem like much of an attraction, and some creepy guys in a car drove up and took a picture of us...so weird. Needless to say, we didn't stay long at the peanut.

This sign would've said, Welcome to Texas, if I had been able to get a good picture of it. I was getting pretty frustrated with my point and shoot camera at this point. The delay time is just too long. If I had had my SLR, I would've gotten a great pic, I just know it.

This was on the other side of the road right after the Texas sign...

Finally made it to the hotel!

On Saturday, Kristin introduced me to this amazing store called Ikea. Now, I've heard of this store before, but I've never been in one. New. Favorite. Store. I got a lazy susan, because seriously, who wouldn't want a lazy susan? I also got a wooden salad bowl and this antique looking clock. Oh and a light. I really wanted to get this canvas painting, but Kristin talked me out of it. I wish I would've gotten it. My cousin told me there is an Ikea close to his house in Illinois...I might have to plan a trip to Chicago this summer!

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90167590

This was taken before we entered the store. Did you know you can eat breakfast there? Crazy...

After Ikea, we went to the galleria and the coach outlet store. Then back to the hotel to rest before the wedding.

The Bella Donna Wedding Chapel that Sharisse chose was the cutest little chapel. It sat about 150 people and was gorgeous. When/if I get married some day, I'd like to get married in a chapel like that. (My dad already told me I can't get married in a castle in Ireland). This photo was taken after the ceremony. (I didn't get any photos of the inside, you'll just have to take my word on it's beauty.) I really liked this sign and how it's set in front of the chapel, but I wasn't thrilled with the water tower thingy, so I had Kristin stand in front of it. I didn't feel like photoshopping it out...

I tried to wait for people to leave and get out of my shot, but realized that wasn't going to happen, so I just took the shot and we left.

I don't think this really requires a caption...it was very windy and very sunny...

The name of this tower is eluding me at the moment.

So I didn't get any photos at the reception (sorry Emily!). But it was great, like I knew it would be. Sharisse sat us at a table with some really cool people. They reminded me of a mix between my high school and college friends. Anyway, they actually got me to dance, and what's more incredible, they got me to have fun dancing. Anybody who knows me knows that I am extremely self-concious about my lack of rhythm and moves on the dance floor. They taught me some moves and ignored my timing issues. We hung out for a little while after the wedding, and I had a good time (don't think Kristin did though).

Sunday was rough. With only 3-4 hours of sleep and feeling slightly hung over (don't judge me, I only had 2 glasses of wine, I'm just that much of a light weight), a 10 hour car ride did not sound appealing. Kristin was really cool about it though and drove a good portion of the way. I felt bad because she didn't get a lot of sleep either. I'll have to make it up to her somehow...

I had to get a picture of the highway sign. We had a lot of good times on highway 69...haha

Kristin had never heard of this gas station before! She was a little afraid of what the bathrooms would look like...

I love random signs.

Some people play the license plate game, Kristin and I identified roadkill. It started out as a joke on the way to Texas. You see, my sister has this odd habbit of noticing roadkill and telling us what it was. So Kristin and I were texting her what we saw...and finally decided just to keep a running tally. We also counted Baptist churches.

Stacy's Wedding

2011-06-30T18:44:00.001-05:00

Ok, this post is mostly for my friend, Emily. Emily, I took most of these photos for you to help give you ideas for your wedding next year.

This is a picture of me, just because.

(not a good photo day for me)

I stayed at Carlie's for the weekend, so I brought her as my 'date.'

I didn't get any pictures of the ceremony. I really didn't want to be one of those people who thinks they're going to get a great shot with their dinky point and shoot camera when in reality they just get in the way of the real photographer. Wow, that sounded harsh...let me revise that statement. I wanted to sit and enjoy the wedding. This was the first wedding in a long time that I was a guest and not a photographer.

Carlie and I were at a table with some really fun people. The food was amazing!! Take note Emily because you know it's not very often that I rave about food. The hors d'oeuvres were my favorite part. BBQ Meatballs, goat cheese & dill puffs, and assorted quiche. My only problem was there wasn't enough of them! The salad was good. The dinner was good but a lot, I had the chicken and steak...um yeah..too much for me, so I ate the chicken. I didn't have room for the cake that night, but the waiter gave me a take-home box, so I ate it the next day...it was decent. I ate the ice cream, though I wasn't hungry, but you know me...can't pass up ice cream. I saved the menu for you, Emily. Since it was in Illinois, I doubt you can find the same caterers, but might give you some good ideas.

I also saved the table stuff for you. Ok, picture time.

I thought this ice sculpture was pretty.

The cake topper was adorable.

I'm pretty sure the table numbers were on love birds...I'll have to confirm that with Stacy though.

Here's a photo of what the tables looked like.

gotta get a little artsy with it

Here's a photo of me and Stacy. Look at her, not me. She looked amazing that day! Me on the other hand...for some reason my camera did not like me that day.

Well, that's it for Stacy's wedding. Sorry, I was too busy dancing (Carlie had to drag me onto the dance floor) to take a lot of pictures...

Work, work, work

2011-06-30T17:59:00.006-05:00

It's recently been brought to my attention that people (cough-cough-Matt Cafferata), have been complaining about my lack of postings lately. I'm sorry, this summer is flying by and I've been so busy I didn't even realize it's been a couple months since I've last posted! I haven't been out shooting for fun lately - just lots of photos and video for work. In a little bit, I'm going to post about the two weddings I went to in June. They were both out of town, and I didn't feel like bringing the nice camera, so the images you'll see will be from the point and shoot. I know, I know...I need to plan a trip to the zoo or Botanical Gardens ASAP. So I'll get to those, but right now I want to share with you some videos I made for work.

The first is a video of Jeremy Simonds. It's really a combination of photos, audio and music. It's a day in the life video, like the ones of Sue and Sharon. Jeremy is a maintenance man at St. Anthony's, and I gotta tell ya, if I ever need anything fixed, he's the guy I'd call (well, if my dad wasn't available). But seriously, Jeremy is a really nice guy and I think the project turned out well. It's on St. Anthony's website now, but I'm pretty sure it's moving to the front page tomorrow, so that's exciting. I'm posting the video to the blog, but it's small, so here's the link to the video on our YouTube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/SAMCstl#p/u/1/X_9OgJp7o_Y

The next video I want to share is about the Fern & Ruessell F. de Greeff Hospice House. It's a little on the long side, about 6 1/2 minutes, but I think the interviews are really compelling. (If you watch it, keep in mind that I shot it using a flipcam, so the sound isn't as good as I'd like.) Listening to these people who had a loved one stay at this place during their last days made me wish that we would've had a place to go for that kind of support when my grandpa was on hospice last year.

http://www.youtube.com/SAMCstl#p/u/0/33NSFwvH20U

SAMC videos

2011-04-05T19:17:00.000-05:00

As many of you may know… or should know if you read me blog semi-regularly or talk to me ever… I have a freelance gig at St. Anthony’s Medical Center. I’ve spent the past couple of months working on this big project called “A Day in the Life.” First I suppose I should explain the project.

“A Day in the Life” is going to be a series of stories about the ‘unseens’ of St. Anthony’s told through photos and video. There is a “Get it Done” gallery on the first floor of the hospital (across from the ATMs) that is a series of 3 frames that are each 36x24 inches. The plan is to do the stories on the ‘unseens’ (lab workers, pastoral care, building engineering, housekeeping, etc.) and update the gallery with photos. Ideally the photos in the gallery will be switched out every few months. In addition to the gallery, I’m doing video to post to St. Anthony’s website.

When I first started this project, I sent e-mails to several departments and the first to respond was the laboratory. I soon got in contact with two amazing women who work in the lab on the second shift (3-11p.m.). While they may work on the same shift, they’re jobs are completely different. I think they were both excited about my project because as they mentioned, they’re not well known because they don’t interact one on one with patients. People don’t realize how important their jobs are. The laboratory is a fast paced environment full of medical/scientific jargon that often went over my head. They receive specimens from the hospital, doctors’ offices, urgent cares and the ER. With that many people relying on them, there is no time for delays.

Sue is a team lead in the Core Lab (yes, there are different labs within the lab). She is a generalist, which means she knows how to operate and fix all of the analyzers. She basically knows how to do everyone's job and gives them breaks for lunches. It’s obvious that Sue loves her job. She says she learns something new everyday. There are a lot of analyzers in the Core Lab. After weeks of following Sue around, I’m still not sure what they’re all called let alone what they do. In the video I made, Sue explains the analyzers. It’s kind of comical…when I first showed her the video, she thought the close-up of the analyzer working was ‘cute.’ Some of the analyzers are used for parathyroid testing, hematology, and urinology. Sue also did flu testing while I was there. Watch the video. (I'll post a link at the end of this post)

Sharon works in the Microbiology Lab. She works with almost every body fluid imaginable. While I was there one day, she was testing feces…let’s just say I was glad my nose was stuffy that day and even then I held my breath a lot… I think Sharon’s job is fascinating. Sure half the time…who am I kidding, most of them time, I didn’t understand exactly what she was doing, but it’s interesting. I saw her work with the afore mentioned feces, tissue, bone, lung fluid, etc. She mainly does setups and positive blood samples. I enjoyed watching the setups… I think because there was a rhythm to it and I knew if I missed my shot another would come again soon. She explained to me that her job is to look for infections, determine what the infection is, and then decide the best way to fight the infection. So in the setups (I think that’s this part) she adds stuff to help the infection (if there is an infection) grow and uses a rod thingy (not the technical term) to spread out the specimen so the colonies (of the infection) will grow. Then the dishes (again, not the technical term) are placed in an environment similar to the human body to grow. She explains this better in the video; I really recommend watching the video.

If you have 8 minutes to spare, go to this link: http://www.stanthonysmedcenter.com/news/video.asp and watch A Day in the lab with Sue Munton and A Day in the lab with Sharon Duessel. That's right, there are 2 videos about 4 minutes each. While 8 minutes may seem like a long time, I promise you, they're interesting (at least to me and probably those in the medical field) and you'll learn a lot... especially to appreciate the lab workers!

A special thanks to Sue and Sharon, they were great subjects for my first major photo/video endeavor at St. Anthony's.

Opening Day / Buying a Car

2011-04-03T10:05:00.002-05:00

Opening Day this year was on Thursday, March 31. One of my co-workers had extra tickets she was trying to get rid of, so I asked my sister and Kristin if they wanted to go. This was my first Opening Day, so I was very excited. We didn't get to see all the pre-game festivities, which was kind of a bummer, but we got to see the first pitch. We were winning for most of the game...until the 9th inning when we gave up a home-run which tied the game and then made errors and couldn't hit to save our lives in the following innings. Even though we lost 5 to 3, it was still a fun game and I'm glad I went. Here is a photo of Kristin and I towards the beginning of the game. (not the greatest angle, but we only took 2 photos and in the other one, only half of my face was in the frame...)

Saturday, April 2 was a monumental day in my life. I bought my first car! As many of you know, I've been driving the Toyota Corolla since I could drive. It's a good car and served it's purpose well, but at 11 years old and over 100,000 miles, it has been showing it's age...burning up more oil, literally falling apart in places, and I think there is something wrong with the transmission... Anyways, I've been thinking about buying a new car for quite some time. It's something I wanted to do before I moved out of my parents house.

Back in 2009, I drove a Ford Focus (with Justin) to Washington D.C. I really liked that car and especially liked the cruise control. So that was one of the cars I had in mind when we went test driving. My dad suggested Enterprise because they sell good pre-owned cars for reasonable prices. While I would have liked a brand new car, I decided a pre-owned car was more affordable at this time in my life.

So yesterday we went to Enterprise to see what they had on their lot. I test drove a Ford Focus (they only had a silver one with beige interior on their lot). I liked the features and how it drove, but wasn't in love with the color (or the sticky steering wheel). Then I test drove a Chevy Cobalt. I really liked the feel of that car, but it didn't have cruise control -- which is something I really want since I have several road trips planned this year. Then I test drove another car, which I liked, but the price was a little more than I wanted to pay.

I told the salesman, Jim, that I really liked the Ford Focus, but didn't like it in the silver. We went into his office and he looked to see if another lot had the blue my heart desired. I was in luck! The south city location had a blue '09 Ford Focus on it's lot. We drove down there and picked it up and I test drove it back to the lot on Lindbergh. Jim then let me test drive it to my house to pick up my mom (and the checkbook). It's kind of ironic that I first discovered the Ford Focus in 2009 and then ended up buying a 2009 Ford Focus SES.

I love it! Sure there are a few scratches (but if you've seen my Corolla, you know that scratches don't bother me that much). It has everything I wanted in a car...it runs, has powered locks and windows, cruise control, cup holders, nice size trunk, and the driver's seat can be adjusted higher so I can actually see over the whole steering wheel! And it has some features I didn't need, but think they're pretty darn cool --the radio controls are on the steering wheel and it has a media sync... I can connect my phone to the car with bluetooth and if anyone calls me while I'm driving, I can just hit a button on the steering wheel and it's like talking on speaker phone. I don't know how often I'll use this feature, but it's neat.

Here is a picture of me posing by my new car at the dealership!!!

So there you go...now I'm broke, but extremely happy with my new car :)

Gangsta

2011-03-14T22:35:00.001-05:00

So my brother came in town this past weekend for a wedding. He has lost a lot of weight and his suit doesn't fit anymore so he wore a long sleeve shirt with a vest and an awesome hat that reminds me of the 1920s. (My dad called it a 'stupid' hat, but I think that's just because it was passed his bed time and he was mad we had to wait an hour at the airport because Joe's flight was delayed, a fact which Joe neglected to mention.)

Anyway, my mom wanted me to get a picture of Joe all dressed up. Here is the picture I printed for my Grandma's mantle.

And here is the photo I touched up for kicks. (I think this pose makes him look like a wannabe gangsta)

Botanical Garden in the winter

2011-02-12T20:05:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I went to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. I've been meaning to go for a while to get snow pis. So here they are:

This is my typical Ottoman Garden shot, but this time in the snow:

I call this one "Robin in Tree"

The Climatron

Iris Garden: this sign is about the only interesting thing in the garden during the winter

English Woodland Garden

Icicles above waterfall

Japanese Garden - yes, that is a pond under that snow

That is an island in the middle of the pond-- the name of the island escapes me at the moment-- it's only open to the public once a year during the Japanese festival.

Here you can tell it's a pond! Some of the ice has melted.

The ducks enjoy the ice

I have a picture of this fountain at this angle last spring.

Duck prints? Maybe geese?

When I got home, the sky by my house was pretty amazing. The blueness, the clouds, perfect.

Ice Day!

2011-02-01T16:33:00.000-06:00

It's pretty icy and snowy out there today. I decided to go take a few pictures of the ice in my front and backyard. First up is a picture of my house in the snow. You can see ice building up on the mailbox (it was frozen shut! I guess no mail for us today!). Oh and I also took the address off the mailbox...can't take any chances.

Here is some grass stuff (no that's not the actual name of it). This one was actually in my neighbor's yard, but it's pretty close to my front yard.

Apparently there is a berry tree/bush? in our backyard... who knew? But the berries frozen in ice were pretty neat.

Even the tree branches are frozen.

The tiki torches on the back patio collected icicles.

Jerry's paw print...so adorable!

I went inside and a couple hours later (after my workout and shower) birds started landing on the trees outside. I was a little upset because my hair was wet and I didn't want to go back outside(the birds probably would have scattered at my presence anyway). So I opened the blinds in the office and snapped a few shots.

My New Job!!!

2011-01-11T20:36:00.000-06:00

For those of you who don't know, I started a new job this week. I'm not exactly sure what my title is. I'm basically a paid intern in the Marketing Department of St. Anthony's Medical Center. I'll be doing a variety of tasks, but they really want me for my photography. I just hope I don't disappoint them.

I've "worked" there for two days now. I say "worked" because I was physically in the building, but haven't really done anything yet. So far, I've gotten a tour of the hospital (I liked the lady who gave me the tour, but honestly, I'm not going to remember how to get around that hospital...it's a maze, thank goodness for maps and people sympathizing with my confused/lost look, I'm guessing that will come in handy a lot in the next couple months). I've also read through my department's spotlight newsletters from the past 2 years and spent hours familiarizing myself with the website...yea...I've also spent some time with various people on my team to learn what they do. Everyone seems really nice. I think once I actually start working, I'll enjoy it here.

This is my very own cubicle! It's very spacious. It was pretty organized when I started, but I tidied it a bit more. When I get bored at work, I clean and organize.

This is me pretending to work. *cough, cough,* I mean, reviewing the website...

Oh hey there, yea, this is me in my cubicle. I know, I know, I'm awesome. (So yea, apparently if I'm bored enough I take pictures of myself in my office.)

And in my car waiting for it to get dark...

Why was I waiting for darkness? Well, my first assignment is take a picture for the cover of Spotlight Magazine. This magazine is for employees and volunteers for St. Anthony's. Right now it comes out about once every other month and contains a lot of profile stories.

Kevin, the graphic designer, is going to go with me for the shoot. We were supposed to do it today, but he decided tomorrow would be better. I decided I may as well stay and take a few test shots to see when it gets dark and yea whatever, I wanted to feel like I was actually doing something. The thing is...it's freakin cold outside! I was outside for maybe 10 minutes taking 4 images of the same shot and that was all I could take. By the time I got back to my car, my fingers were numb. I had a hard time getting my keys out of my bag. Then I just sat in my car feeling the heat prickle and eventually thaw my fingers.

Hey, I know what you're thinking, I'm not a wimp! I generally like the cold better than the heat, but geez. I plan to dress warmer tomorrow...thank you cuddle-duds, double socks, and warmer gloves? well, maybe the 10 hour hand warmer I got in my stocking will help. Maybe I shouldn't thank these things yet, I'll get back to you.

Anyway, here is the one shot I took today. I like it, but not for the magazine cover. I guess the cold froze my brain because I completely forgot the magazine cover needs to be vertical. Ah well, better luck tomorrow!

It's That Time Of Year..

2011-01-05T15:53:00.001-06:00

Well, it's January 2011, so I should probably update you all on my holidays.

First came Christmas: I could take this time to talk about seeing family and friends and going to Christmas Eve mass instead of midnight mass (because I'm getting old and frankly didn't feel like staying up that late), but I'm not going to.

Instead, I'm going to tell you about the prank we pulled on my sister. You know the movie, A Christmas Story? Well, this year, the most awesome product came out in stores: the leg lamp. Now, it's not quite as great as the lamp in the movie, because it's only 20 inches tall, but it's still pretty dang cool.

I saw it in the ads a few weeks before Christmas and immediately thought it'd be the perfect prank for my sister. On Christmas day, my dad, brother, and I snuck over to my sister's house. It was quite easy because she was feeling sick and stayed at our house with Mom when we went over to Grandma's for lunch. We turned off her tree (which was located in front of the window) and put the lamp on the window ledge. In the picture below, you can see her lovely new house with the lamp in the window.

Now the prank didn't go exactly as planned. We were supposed to go over to Kate's house for dinner that night, and would have seen her reaction. Unfortunately, time got away from everyone and we ended up eating at my house. So she went home that night (without us) and then texted me: "thanks, but it's not my style." The next day, she told me that she almost drove by the house, not recognizing it as hers.

So the prank didn't go as planned, but hey, I got a holiday leg lamp out of it :)

(Forgive me, but all of the photos in this blog were taken with my point and shoot. The point and shoot fits better in my purse and I didn't want to bring my good camera to Chicago for New Year's.)

Isn't it great? It's in my room right now and I plan to put it up every year for the holidays.

Ok, time for New Year's Eve. Quitting my job allowed me to go to Chicago for New Year's :) (Don't worry, I start my new job on Monday). On Wednesday, December 29, Emily, Matt and I took the Megabus to Chicago. Emily and Matt stayed the first two nights with a friend of Emily's and I stayed with Carlie. On New Year's Eve, we all met up and got dolled up and went out to dinner. Then we went back to Carlie's apartment and partied like only we know how...a little wine, cartwheels in the hallway, a little dance party, roof-top party poppers, oh and don't forget the drunken pre-maid of honor wedding speech Carlie gave to Emily and Matt. I caught it on video, but unfortunately it was on Carlie's video camera so I doubt any of us will ever see it.

Anyway, here is a picture of the four of us before we went out.

The past two years now, we've gone to this coffee shop in Lincoln Park on New Year's Day. I believe it's called the Noble Tree. Both years it was incredibly cold outside and the walk to the coffee place which in good weather would seem like nothing, felt incredibly long. It was worth it though. The cozy three-level coffee shop has amazing coffee and comfy couches and sitting areas.

Here is my caramel laté. It was delicious.

Then we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo to see their lights. It was nice, but very very cold. We kept ducking into the buildings to get warm. Here we are greeting some penguins:

I don't know what I'm doing with my face in this picture...I think I'm trying to look smug? Or maybe I'm about to laugh...

And here is a picture of Matt and Emily kissing in what looks like a Cinderella carriage of sorts. I did a style thing in Photoshop, poster edges. I think it looks neat.

Matt, Emily, and I came back to St. Louis on the Megabus on the 2nd. Another good start to the new year. I am definitely looking forward to 2011.

Christmas Puppies!!!

2010-12-28T18:12:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I'm posting this a little late, but I really did make it before Christmas...

For those of you who don't know, the one dressed as Santa is my sister's dog, Rocky. And the cute one with the elf hat on is my dog, Jerry.

Matt & Emily Are Engaged!!!

2010-11-12T20:14:00.000-06:00

Just a few hours ago, my friend Matt proposed to my friend Emily. I was thrilled to be a part of the special occasion. What was my roll? you ask... Well, Matt wanted the proposal to be a surprise, so he planned to sneak in town and have me get Emily to the place he wanted to propose. So I had the difficult task of getting Emily to Laumeier Sculpture Park at a certain time on a certain date - not an easy thing to do. We had to be flexible because Emily kept changing our plans! But it all worked out. Emily thought she and I were going to go to dinner and then the Billikens game tonight. I picked her up at 4 (which she thought was too early for dinner, but I insisted that by the time we got downtown and seated we'd be hungry). It wasn't until I was making a left into the park that she asked where we were going. I told her that I had to give a cd of images to a client. She thought this was kind of shady, but I told her this is where I had the photo session (which was true, and they did get their cd today, just not at the park). Emily thought about staying in the car, but I told her to come with me.

As we were walking to the spot Matt and I had decided upon, she told me that she and Matt used to come to this park a lot. We were talking as we approached Matt, and when she realized it was him, she looked at me with a look of astonishment. She had no clue!! She was frozen to the spot and Matt had to come over and bring her to the location he wanted to propose. I was shaking a little; I was so excited for them. I stayed in the background and took some pictures, trying not to intrude on their private moment. After the proposal, we walked around and took pictures, utilizing the last remaining daylight.

I am so excited for them! Not only are they two of my best friends, but they're also an amazing couple. I know they will be happy together. Oh yes, and Emily also found out today that she got the job at the Vanderbilt hospital. Now she will be moving to Nashville and she and Matt will live in the same town for the first time in 5 years.

Ok, since this is a Photo Blog, here are the pictures:

This is Matt's actual proposal:

This is the reenactment for photo purposes..

This is Matt celebrating his ability to surprise her.

I just love these pictures.

Especially this one!!!

Here is the cat sculpture they used to visit. Matt considered proposing here...

I had to keep reminding Emily to show off her ring!

This picture was Emily's idea. I like how it turned out.

Does it sparkle enough for you?

Matt bought chocolate covered strawberries for Emily. Here they are feeding each other. I just wish the picture of Emily accidentally biting Matt's finger had been in focus!

Congratulations Matt & Emily. I love you guys!

Albuquerque!!

2010-10-12T18:54:00.000-05:00

I went to Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit my brother the first weekend of October. Main reasons for going:

1)visit Joe

2)I had a birthday holiday from work (day off with pay, I'll take it!)

3)the Balloon Fiesta!

I met 3 interesting people on my way to Albuquerque, but didn't exchange names with any of them. I met the first man on my flight to Dallas. He had an Australian accent (I think) and I couldn't always understand him because he talked softly and well, I'm going deaf. But we had a good time making fun of items in the Sky Magazine. Seriously, who wants grass for a dog to pee inside the house? or a creepy baby doll?

While waiting for my connecting flight, I met an 82 year old man with Alzheimer's. He was friendly and fun to talk to, even if he kept forgetting where we were and where we were going. He was going to visit his 64 year old daughter in Albuquerque. He's really going to miss his dog and his wife. He says the great thing about being old is he got to marry a woman 20 years younger than him. I just smiled and nodded and realized his daughter is probably older than his wife. He told me about his WWII war training experiences (he didn't have to go to active war but his training experiences were bad enough).

On the connecting flight, I sat next to a teacher who teaches 4 through 6 grades in one classroom in a small town outside of Dallas. She says she likes this because she really gets to know her students. She was visiting a friend whose husband died over labor day weekend. I told her about my grandpa, and she told me that her father-in-law died of a prolonged illness a couple years ago, and as time passes, it becomes easier to remember them the way they were before the illness. I found this reassuring.

I got there on Thursday night, had a couple bites of sushi, tried out Joe's ab rocket, and then drove around trying to find a place to buy a wrist brace (my wrist was hurting due to strain due to sitting at a computer all day with my hand practically glued to the mouse). So after 20+ hours of being awake, I finally went to bed, on an air mattress.

On Friday, I woke up and went out on the balcony to see the view and enjoy my bowl of Special K cereal and Starbucks double shot that my thoughtful brother bought for me. Then, Joe and I went to the zoo, aquarium, and botanical garden. The aquarium was lame (and when I say lame, I mean it was so small it took less than 20 minutes to see everything) but the zoo and botanical garden were cool. We were pretty tired at the end and had a nice chicken and rice dinner at his place.

Saturday we woke up extremely early, well normal time for me, actually an hour later due to the time difference. We had to catch the shuttle bus for the Balloon Fiesta at 4:30 a.m. Our bus driver was crazy and didn't know how to get there. We were wondering what she was on... The dawn patrol was canceled, which kind of sucked because we were standing around in the dark waiting for balloons to ascend for a while. But once the action started, it was amazing! The mass ascension is really a site worth seeing. I took hundreds of photos. You can see some of them in the collage below.

Side note: the weather in Albuquerque is superb. It was hot, but there really is a difference between a dry heat and the stupid Missouri humidity. The skies were blue and the two storms there were were up in the mountains and didn't come to us... Also, the view from my brother's balcony is fantastic.. in the collage to follow, look at the picture on the left with the blue sky on one side and white clouds on the other; it was storming in the mountains while the sun was setting in the west. Oh another thing, I can tell direction in Albuquerque!!! The mountains are always to the East! How easy is that? Hmm the mountains are behind me, I must be facing West. Why doesn't St. Louis have a natural landmark like that?

Joe and I also went up to the mountains on Saturday. It was pretty cool, but I decided I really don't like tourists. We hiked around the mountain looking for rocks to bring back to my friend from work. Don't ask me why she wanted a rock, but she did. We left the mountain just in time. When we got back to Joe's apartment, a storm started in the mountains. I got some amazing pictures, but I'm glad I wasn't stuck in the storm!

On Sunday, we went to Old Town for a little shopping. I got a small decorative pot to remind me of the trip, a shot glass, balloon t-shirt, and of course, balloon salt and pepper shakers for my mom. Joe also got a decorative pot and a glass lizard thing. Then he took me to the airport. I sat next to a cute guy on the plane, but he slept the whole time, it was annoying. I like to talk to the people next to me. Oh well, I enjoyed the view to Phoenix. My connecting flight was delayed. On the 2nd flight, I sat next to an older couple who weren't really into talking either. Odd coincidence, my neighbor was on that flight! I hitched a ride home with him so my parents didn't have to come fetch me from the airport at midnight.

Well, that was my weekend in Albuquerque. Now here's what you've all been waiting for: My Albuquerque Collage!

St. Louis Balloon Glow

2010-09-22T20:52:00.000-05:00

On Friday, September 17, I went to the St. Louis Balloon Glow with some friends. It was pretty awesome. Here are a few of the pictures I took.

Old Collages

2010-08-28T20:19:00.000-05:00

I haven't taken a picture in so long, my poor camera is probably covered in dust! Ok, I may have exaggerated a little bit, but it feels like I haven't taken a picture for myself in ages. I've been so busy lately, I've forgotten to make time for my photography. The problem with taking pictures is then I have to tone them...I have pictures on my computer that I took in June and haven't even looked at!

Here is a collage I made of St. Louis. I didn't post it when I made it because it was a gift for my brother. I didn't want to take the chance of him seeing it before I gave it to him (I shouldn't have worried, he never looks at my blog). I tried to get pictures of the high lights of St. Louis, and yes, that is a metal tree in Forest Park. Can you tell I love the arch? I think the center image really makes this collage. It is actually graffiti downtown by the Fox. I wish I could claim it as my own, but alas, I am not that creative. I did, however, realize it's awesomeness and took a picture of it....in the collage I gave to my brother, I made the heart red because he is a "manly man" and doesn't like pink. I shall visit him in October so expect to see a New Mexico collage sometime this year!

I was going through pictures on my computer today and I came across this collage. My aunt gave me this really cool camera key chain. I took the pictures with the photobooth on my laptop. I meant to post this a while ago, but I guess I forgot.

My Trip To Dallas

2010-07-19T20:44:00.000-05:00

So y'all know that I went to Dallas July 9-11. I've finally finished toning the pictures for your enjoyment (sorry I didn't post this last week like I promised, but working 10 hour days got the best of me).

If you know me, you know that I love making collages, so of course I made a collage of the major highlights of my trip. The top one is obviously the collage in normal color and the 2nd one is over-saturated because I think it looks cooler like that.

I went to my first ever horse race that Saturday. I was hoping I'd have beginners luck, but alas, that was not the case. This is me with my first ever bet ticket thing...

In horse race talk, that's $5 on horse 2 to show. (He didn't show)

They started on the other side, so no pictures of that. But here they come! My horse is that one in the middle...

Yup, there he is in the straggling behind the first group of horses. If I remember correctly, he came in 5th.

I think this is the horse that won the 2nd race.

And here is the horse that I bet on. He was the favorite to win, but the jockey fell off at the gates!

After that, I decided to just soak in the atmosphere.I pet this horse...

Ready for another race? I didn't have anything riding on this race, but it was still fun to watch, more so because I didn't have to worry about where my horse was in the line up. I think my friend lost money on this race...

And they're off!

#4 won that race, he was in the lead the whole race

We left after this race and drove around Dallas. (you can see those pictures in the collage)Then we went to Medieval Times for dinner. I hadn't been to a Medieval Times since Junior High, so it was fun to experience it at a different age. The wench (our waitress) kept telling us the food being served was dragon parts..sure lady..whatever. I was dumbfounded when I learned our only choice of beverage (should we choose not to buy a cocktail) was pepsi or iced tea. I didn't particularly like either choice because I don't drink soda and don't like tea. Water would have been delightful. Ah well. The show was entertaining and we had fun, that's all that matters.

There was this one horse and rider that danced along to some arabian music. It was amazing to watch. As I sat there taking in the dance, a strange thought occurred to me. You know those animal movies like Madagascar and Over the Hedge? Well, I was thinking that if this horse was in that kind of movie, it'd be such a diva. It was a gorgeous white horse with bows in it's tail, and it danced so well and in a way that made me think it must have an attitude. I think the yellow and red knight won that night. My friends and I were wondering if they change it up every night and let other knights win, or if it's always the same outcome. I think they much switch it up, otherwise, why would people go again? But I think the green knight is always the evil knight, and thus must always lose. I really think the actor liked playing the 'bad' guy. He smiled whenever the crowd booed him and would blow kisses at people. I found it quite funny.

So on Sunday, Sharisse and I went to the Dallas zoo. It was soooo hot! It was a nice zoo, but I still maintain that the St. Louis Zoo is better. Here I am at the entrance of the zoo (while I was still fresh and looking decent).

Here I am all sweaty and gross, and shaking the hand of the chimpanzee statue.

This sign was too funny.

I'd say the best part of the zoo was the big cat area. The leopards and lions were laying right next to the glass, so we got a good look at them.

There's a bug on your nose...

Right after the zoo, Sharisse took me to the airport (it was pretty close to the zoo). I was sweaty and gross, but changed my shirt at the airport and the people on the plane didn't seem to mind. Maybe they were just being polite... anyway, we carried on a conversation the whole flight, which made it go by pretty quickly. I also took the pictures in the previous post (scroll down a bit) from the window of the plane.

All in all, I had a pretty fantastic weekend. It was way too short, but I managed to fit a lot in (shopping, more shopping, horse races, medieval times, zoo, and sight seeing). And best of all, I got to see my friend Sharisse.

Up In The Air

2010-07-12T19:38:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, I went to Dallas to visit my friend, Sharisse. I took these pictures during the flight back home because I couldn't pass up the pretty sky. Don't worry though, I looked it up in the Sky Magazine, and cameras are ok to use above 10,000 feet, I think. I'll post the other pictures from this trip later this week. It was an amazing weekend crammed with a lot of activities, so you should probably start looking forward to the pictures now.

Wedding #4

2010-07-05T14:06:00.000-05:00

Here are a few shots from the wedding I shot a couple weekends ago. I don't feel like resizing a lot of pictures or writing about the experience, so I'm just going to post a couple of my favorites and let you make of them what you will.

My Latest Creation

2010-06-17T19:50:00.000-05:00

It's funny how inspiration comes to one at the most mundane times. I got the idea for this project while driving to work the other day. It was around 4:30 in the morning and since I hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep, I was tired and driving on autopilot. I was in a pretty bad mood and even wearing my grumpy day shirt hadn't lifted my spirits any (for those of you who don't know what this means, my grumpy day shirt is a blue t-shirt with the grumpy old man from UP on it...the idea is that looking at it will make me smile and thus be happy). I really wasn't looking forward to sitting at a computer toning pictures for 8 hours that day (and then another 6 when I got home). My mind was wandering as I drove. I thought of my fight with my family from the night before and then thought of all the pictures I still had to tone from this wedding. I then asked God to help me make it through the day.

I thought about the times I am most happy, and I realized that I'm most happy when I have a creative project to work on. I love making collages of the places I visit. I wondered if I could do something creative with the photos from this wedding. My mind focused on a picture I had shot of Mark and Sarah by the arch. I had already saturated the color of the picture to make it look cool, but could I do something else with it? All of a sudden it came to me; I could make that the center and main photo, and then make the other photos black and white and create a border around the arch photo.

I immediately became excited and started figuring out sizes in my head. The whole thing is 16x20 inches. I figured they could make it an 8x10 if they thought 16x20 was too big. The photos on either side are 2x2 and the photos on the top and bottom rows are 1.5x1.5. As soon as I got to work, I drew a little sketch of it on a post-it so I wouldn't forget. I wouldn't be able to work on it until much much later.

I ended up starting it that night, laying out the main photos and placing a few other photos. That was around 10 p.m. and as I had to wake up at 3:30 the next day, I figured bed was where I needed to be. I finished it yesterday night and decided to share it on my blog (I sized it down for the blog, this is an 8x10 with a resolution of 72...basically crap quality, so don't get any ideas about stealing it).

I don't think I am going to post all of the pictures from this wedding. There are so many and I have to shoot another wedding Saturday. This is a collage of the events of the day and has a fair amount of the pictures in it. I tried to keep it to pictures of just the bride and groom since it was their day. I plan to give it to Mark and Sarah, and I really hope they like it. My siblings think it looks like a movie poster and could use a title scripted across the picture. Any thoughts?

The Long Awaited Wedding Photos

2010-05-22T12:11:00.000-05:00

Here are the rest of the wedding photos from May 2. I chose to make them black and white for my blog simply because I felt some of the photos look better in black and white. I don't feel like writing a lot right now and I have to go shoot another wedding soon, so enjoy...

Wedding #2

2010-05-04T19:56:00.000-05:00

I shot my second wedding on Sunday. I have decided that I really enjoy shooting weddings. Yeah, it's a lot of pressure, but they're so much fun to shoot. That being said, I'm glad I wasn't the solo shooter for this wedding. I had some focusing issues in the group shots. I've gone through all of the pictures I took, but have yet to tone them all. As some of you know, I started a new job on Monday. It's a toning job, so when I get home I'm not exactly excited to tone more pictures. Actually, that's not true, I like toning my pictures, I'm just not used to getting up early for work yet. I toned some yesterday, but really don't feel like toning tonight. (Plus I have to watch Biggest Loser with the family). I know this is a photo blog though, and I'm not sure how many people will actually read this...so here are a few pictures I took:

The ceremony was at the Jewel Box, so we took pictures before hand in Forest Park.

As soon as I saw this gate, I knew I had to take this picture

This was my idea as well...I really wish that pole wasn't there. I suppose I could Photoshop it out, but it'd be difficult (not like the cars in the background).

One of the bridesmaids put her bouquet on the ground...she got in trouble for it, but I thought the stones made a nice background.

At the reception, they had a wall of these diamond shaped mirrors by the dance floor. I thought it'd be cool to shoot the reflection of them dancing. I turned my on-camera flash towards the dancers (the groom and his mother) and then pointed my camera towards the mirror. The flash was a little hot on the groom's face, but I was able to tone it down a bit in Photoshop. I wish I had seen this shot earlier so I could've worked with it more. It would have been nice to have the bride and groom in this shot.

St. Louis Zoo!!!

2010-04-22T22:31:00.000-05:00

First stop: Penguin Coast!

10:00 a.m. : It's feeding time!

Looks like someone doesn't want to wait....

On to the bears...I like this bear, he usually paces a lot, but today he was just sitting.

Fragile Forest = Chimpanzees

Their feet look cool

Red Rocks:

I like how it looks like the kangaroo is dancing

(at least in my head that's what it looks like)

gazelles

Baby Takin!!!

What's that?

A lioness in a tree

And the lion on the rocks

Tiger!!

Lions and Tigers and Leopards, Oh my!

This was/is the closest I ever want to be to a big cat...we were just a few feet away...

Good thing there was a fence between us.

He was gorgeous though...

Spring is here

2010-04-15T21:29:00.000-05:00

Today I went to the Missouri Botanical Garden. I don't think I've ever been to the garden in the spring. Most everything is blooming, which is great for pictures and bad for my allergies. I went with a friend around noon, so I didn't get too many pictures...but here are some that I shot:

This is in the Japanese Garden. I liked the flowers floating in the fountain, swirling around the rippling water. An older man watched me shooting this and when I moved out of the way for him to view, he started taking the same shot. His wife told me that imitation is the highest form of flattery.

For some reason, today was a close-up day for me. Most of the images I shot today were close-ups.

A St. Patrick's Day Treat

2010-03-17T18:58:00.001-05:00

I decided to make green parfaits for a St. Patrick's Day treat.

Vanilla yogurt (dyed green)

raspberries

blackberries

strawberries

granola

Now I'm just waiting for people to come home to enjoy them with...

A Walk In The Park

2010-03-16T19:54:00.000-05:00

Today was a nice day....the first nice day we've had in a while (that I could actually go out and enjoy), so I decided to take Jerry to the park.

I thought it'd be cute to take pictures of him on the playground, but he wouldn't have it. He wanted to go for a walk.

Here he is saying...Why are we stopping? Let's go!

He's ignoring me...no pictures, just walk

Oh wait, here is another dog, we should stop and sniff each other...

Ok, back to the walk.

gorgeous day

Jerry is intent on walking. He's in the zone.

taking a break to people watch

I tried to get a picture of the two of us, but Jerry wasn't having it...(and I had left my tripod in the car)

Can we go back to walking?

Why are we stopping for pictures?

because, Jerry, I'm a photographer, that's what I do...

whew, good work out

but I'm happy

Momentous Occasion

2010-03-16T17:34:00.000-05:00

On my way to work yesterday, my car reached the 100,000 miles mark. Luckily I was approaching a stop light and was able to snap a shot to document this awesome occasion. Hopefully my little Toyota Corolla will last another 100,000 miles!!!