Category Archives: Personal Stories

Part II of III

After absorbing Vania & Christine’s insightful presentation, {and of course asking questions freely}, we got our photography gear together and headed out to a private orchard to shoot a group session. Their location of choice is perfect. They have definitely inspired me to seek my own reliable “outdoor studio” here in Dayton.

The models, married couple Kristian & Skyler, were adorable! They were open to all suggestions and calmly posed in spite of having “18 shutters & 36 eyes all over them” as Vania explained in the recap of the workshop.

I love photographing just before sunset when so many gorgeous colors unapologetically flaunt their beauty:

Vania & Christine brought a mini trampoline and it was genius! Kristian was adventurous enough to do a few takes for us {in the amazing wedding gown} and this is probably one of my favorites from the day. She made flying look effortless:

I’m so glad they included a group session! I loved watching Simply Bloom work together and get a better understanding of how they direct their clients during a shoot. There is so much to learn by observing. At first I felt a little shy to “jump in,” but I find comfort holding my camera. It’s familiar. I forget that at this point it’s hard to put on shoes or bend over… There is an energy that compels me to capture everything that is playing so beautifully before my eyes. I have a hard time putting it down.

Thank you for sharing this experience with me as I revisit such a fantastic workshop! In the final part, I will share how they’ve impacted me personally at this “interesting” season in my life.

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Part I of III

I have been anticipating the moment when I could reflect and share the goodness from an experience that will most certainly shape the rest of my photography career. I am obviously referring to the absolutely amazing Simply Bloom Workshop I attended last week in Huntsville, Alabama.

If you aren’t familiar with Christine & Vania’s work, then you must check out their portfolio and blog! Every time they post new material I am impressed by their unique vision, talent, and most of all, consistency. They draw out the beautiful essence of each and every lucky person that is captured with their cameras. Their style is romantic and their artwork truly inspires me. I was thrilled when they announced that their workshop would be held during a time when I could attend.

Simply Bloom Photography is relatively new to the wedding photography industry, but it’s not an accident that their partnership is light years beyond their two year experience. As they shared their story, it’s very clear Christine & Vania are passionate and committed to their work. They both graduated as graphic designers and evolved into photographers {one of the reasons I love them so much}. Their evolution was not by chance, they’ve mastered their craft on purpose. They have put a lot of time and research into how to remarkably push the envelope in their business and their images. It’s usually difficult for two artists to work together so fluidly, but there is an absence of competition or pride. Watching them work and interact in perfect sync was enough to make us all wish that perhaps our best friends will be interested in forming a photography partnership someday…

I took some quick snapshots during our breaks, because the chapel was so adorable I couldn’t resist:

For some reason this pregnancy has me disliking cake {what once used to be one of my favorite desserts}. However, the peanut butter frosting from Gigi’s Cupcakes was pure addiction. I won’t lie, I’ve fantasized about having it again…

It was adorable how Christine used the trampoline for a little more height. Being 62 {and a half} inches myself, I can appreciate any and every little boost I can find!

Vania… she has one of the biggest smiles of anyone I’ve ever met!

The models were actually past wedding clients for Vania & Christine. They were fantastic & very patient with all of us scrambling to shoot them.

The workshop was a full day and intense. I don’t think I’ve scribbled so many notes since my Flash class {no kidding, seven large pages and I write terribly small}. Being eight months pregnant, I was a little nervous about the trip & whether I’d be able to keep up with everyone else. It was so incredible I almost forgot about my limitations until dinner. By the time our crème brûlée arrived, I could barely keep my eyes open. I can’t remember the last time a day has passed so quickly, but exhausted never felt so good!

Christine and Vania, thank you so much for all the work & preparation you put into such a lovely workshop. You made us all feel very welcome and shared so many valuable insights that I ponder over constantly. You deserve every honor and recognition that you have earned, you work so hard & produce amazing photographs. Thank you for inspiring me & teaching so much! ♥

{I will be posting my favorite shots from the styled session in the Part II Post from the Simply Bloom Workshop}.

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  • Mayra - April 26, 2010 - 5:17 pm

    Andrea! These are AMAZINGLY GORGEOUS! You described it PERFECTLY! THANK YOU for sharing our wonderful day with everyone! XX

  • Amy McClain - April 26, 2010 - 7:31 pm

    you are impressive as always dear <3

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    I LOVE YOUR PICTURES!!!!

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  • david - August 25, 2010 - 6:52 pm

    hi amazing blog and images
    I wonderd if you would share some of your processing techniques to get that loveley hazy summer look?

    I would love to attend the courses but unforrtunatey i dont have the money not to mention im in the wrong country 🙂

    I look foreward to your reply , I would be ever so greatful if you take the time to explain the process a little?

    thanks again

    Dave

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  • Larissa - December 19, 2010 - 12:05 pm

    These images are so gorgeous! I was going to sign up for their course but unfortunately they have always been too far away for me as well =( I am with David on the hazy summer look. Would you be able to email me on the processing technique & explain the process a little to get this look? I would really appreciate it!!

    All the best!

    Larissa

I know it’s very late to say so, but I do hope you’ve all had wonderful Easter holidays! The weather here was amazing and we were able to spend a lot of time with my family. Black is one of my favorite colors to decorate with, so I find myself using it in just about all of my holiday decor too. This year I dressed up some wooden eggs with lace and buttons for my living room {on cake stands of course}.

I am just about to take off for Alabama for a photography workshop & to see some very good friends that are stationed near there. I’ve been looking forward to this week very much and there’s been a lot to do to prepare for it, so please excuse my lack of posts recently! I have had a chance to work with some beautiful families, if you’d like a sneak peak of some upcoming posts see my Facebook page.

I can’t wait to meet the ladies behind Simply Bloom Photography and learn all I can from them. They are two of the most talented photographers that I know of, and I am ecstatic that they are hosting a workshop that’s on our side of the country. I am officially 29 weeks along today, so I will be taking my time getting there and back!

Have a great week, regular posting will resume when I return. ♥

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Last month brought some amazing discoveries, as well as some difficult news. We found out {finally} that my son Kevin will be having a little brother! I have so many curiosities about this lovely little baby. Will he be a clone of Rocky the way Kevin is? Will he be shy or more outgoing? It’s been almost four years since Kevin was born, I can’t wait to have a tiny baby in my arms again. The anticipation of meeting him is often on my mind.

We also learned that my husband {probably, for sure} won’t be here when this little man makes his appearance in the world. He’ll miss it by about half a month. We’ve known this could be a possibility, but it was still hard to digest the actual announcement. I took some time to ponder this news and not so eloquently fall apart.
I wish I had the emotional capabilities of other military wives I’ve met & read about. Women who don’t flinch at the prospect of much more difficult scenarios, women who build empires as busy single moms, women who keep it all together & even thrive during deployments. I am envious of their strength.

I am {slowly} accepting the changes & preparing myself for what is ahead. The most valuable picture in my studio is from an ultrasound that I framed. At twelve weeks, this lovely baby held up his hand and showed us the tiniest five fingers I’ve ever seen before. I’ve been looking at his “high five” and feeling revived that he’s already melting my heart & inspiring courage. New life always brings joy.

I’ve begun a running list of everything that is going for me & what I can be thankful for:

  • I live close to family & close friends. I will have support during my labor & assistance after Kevin’s brother gets here. This is huge & I realize it’s clearly an exception in the military world. I’m thankful.
  • I have six months to lose this baby weight… I’m {almost} guaranteed to be smaller when he gets back.
  • We can talk on Skype often. I still like sending some handwritten letters, but nothing beats seeing him on the screen {besides seeing him for real…}.
  • As much as I hate the idea of Rocky missing summer, it’s easier to stay busy when we can leave the house and enjoy the weather.
  • After I take some maternity leave, I have some gorgeous weddings lined up. I can look forward to capturing them & doing what I love.
  • When I’m not working, I will be busy taking thousands and thousands of pictures of the boys. Rock will be thoroughly updated on our daily adventures.
  • Rock will be at a stable location.
  • Kevin will be a great big brother. He’s competent at following directions & helping me. When he chooses not to, bribing with peanut M&M’s works wonders.
  • Rocky should be home sometime before Christmas. It will be amazing.
  • Unnamed baby boy {who is really starting to need a name!} will be ready to roll, crawl, & start teething when he meets his Daddy. Rock can watch & applaud all the biggest milestones in person.
  • When he returns, Rock will be on desert time for a while until he adjusts to our time zone. He’ll be up all night & want to go to bed early. He’ll have no problem hanging out with a teething baby while I blissfully catch up on some sleep.
  • I’ll have plenty of time to rent all the chick flicks he doesn’t care for. {I must give the man credit, he did endure New Moon in its entirety at the theater}.
  • Just like last time, we will learn a temporary normal. I’m thankful for the adjective “temporary.”
  • Every lonely minute will be forgotten when we see him walk through the terminal. It will be pure euphoria when he meets his son, reunites with Kevin, and kisses me like it’s the first time. ♥

{The adorable brown envelope & its yummy contents is curtesy of Alli from Hooray Design…Â can’t wait until she restocks her Etsy shop!}

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  • Amy Hahn - March 10, 2010 - 12:59 pm

    First off, I love your new blog! Looks amazing. Second, I am sorry he won’t be here. As you know, I’m 5 months into our 2nd yearlong+ deployment in 2 years, so I know all too well what you’re going through right now. I too envy the strength of other women, but I have to remind myself that I am strong, too, no matter how many times a week (or day) I fall apart. It’s not an easy life we live, and one many people will never understand, but you’re strong in your own way and you’ll make it through! Looks like we’ll both have a great Christmas this year!……..Unless, of course, the Army decides to extend my husband =P

  • Kerry - March 11, 2010 - 5:37 pm

    Andrea,
    I love this post! You’ve got a rough road ahead of you, but I am so happy to see you note all of the things for which you are thankful. It’s good to not focus on just the negative in these types of situations. I too have met and read about some military wives with emotional capabilities I myself will never possess. I know it’s their (the hubbies’) job, and I know they’re fighting for our country, and I know that’s why we love them, but sometimes I would just want a pity party. I mean no married woman should have to be a single parent…for any amount of time! You’ll get through this…and come out stronger for having survived!!
    p.s. I LOVE the ultrasound pic — how cute are those little fingers?!

  • Mandy Anderson - March 11, 2010 - 8:51 pm

    Andrea, your new page looks amazing. I have said it before and will say it again, you are fantastic at what you do. Absolutley beautiful. 🙂

  • Andrea - March 19, 2010 - 10:54 am

    Thanks Mandy, so happy for you with your engagement!
    Amy & Kerry, just wanted to thank you so much for your encouraging words! We are really blessed that we’ve had an idea of what to expect and that we have a lot of support. The more time I have to plan, the easier it is on me. I’ll be wrapping up some Fall weddings then he’ll be here soon after. Christmas is definitely going to be a very good time this year!

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When my husband was deployed in 2008, I took my younger brother & sister to Chicago for the day. I love being in big cities, but I’m not so great with driving through them. Part of me just wanted to be able to say I was a big girl and drive there by myself. We roamed the streets for a little while enjoying all the usual sights, Millennium Park, the amazing Cloud Gate {large Jellybean sculpture}, & all the shops. Then something green & black caught my eye. I thought it was some kind of Halloween decoration, since it was October.
I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but I liked it:

As the days grew colder and lonelier, I found that taking 2 1/2 year old Kevin to Barnes & Noble was an excellent idea. He would play with the wooden Thomas the Train tracks while I would indulge in a book. One evening, something green & black caught my eye. A huge table displayed the same artwork I saw in Chicago. Although it wasn’t a Halloween decoration.
It was Wicked.

I eagerly bought the book and was deliciously surprised by Gregory Maguire’s imagination. I fell in love with the real Elphaba & her unfortunate circumstances that lead others to misunderstand her. I was amazed at the intricacies in his fable, the motifs he carried into Son of A Witch so fluidly. I told Rock about my new obsession and he bought me the third book, A Lion Among Men, for Christmas when he came home. This year, he surprised me with tickets to see Wicked the Musical at the Schuster Center here in Dayton. I was swooning with enthusiasm by the time we sat down {in the third row!} Sunday evening. I was enchanted with the huge map curtain & the ticking dragon overhead. I felt as if someone took one of my favorite things and made it tangible.

Then the curtain rose & the music began…

There were some slight, then severe differences from the book.

I knew there would be, but I almost felt like it wasn’t even the same Animal {if you will}.

Once I stopped trying to figure out why they changed it and appreciate it as if I never read the book, I liked it for what it was. The whole point of the book is that the legend of Oz is different than what is portrayed in other books & movies. They still carried that theme rather well. I will also say that the ending was kinder to the characters than it had been in the book {that we know of}. Who doesn’t mind a nice happily ever after?

It’s like ordering cake & getting cheesecake. If you expect & enjoy cake, it could potentially be disappointing. However, if you are craving something sweet & you try cheesecake… even though it’s different you could definitely appreciate it for being a decadent dessert.
You just wouldn’t even bother to compare them as the exact same thing.

I know a lot of you have had the chance to see it, what do you think? The book or the musical? Both?

Our little man enjoyed it. We were seated near the orchestra pit and he danced throughout the entire musical. Rock was able to feel him moving and I won’t forget how his face lit up after one especially hard kick. As the next deployment draws nearer, I find myself wanting every beautiful moment to last forever.

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  • Courtney - March 5, 2010 - 1:00 pm

    Now I need to read the book!! 🙂 Curious. We loved the play, just saw it in SF.

  • Ashley W. - March 24, 2010 - 5:49 pm

    Once again, it is the whole book over movie debate. I was quite surprised as well at the differences. But I did enjoy the play.

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