oh nostalgia - del oro winter guard

my friends and i have been getting a bit nostalgic about high school lately, not even going to lie. i've had it pointed out to me that this summer will have been five years since i graduated high school, which leads to halfway to my ten year reunion. never mind that, but this is also the year that my sister started her first year of high school. oy! i can remember the days she was eating goldfish crackers at my 7th&8th grade basketball games, and sitting out in the stands wearing her "guard groupie" jacket at all our marching band & color guard performances. now, its her turn. she's joined the winter guard team, and has been (and will be) competing every weekend this month! i haven't made it to any of their competition performances due to my school project, but the parent's show i made it to, they did AWESOME! and yes, there was a reminder of how much i missed it as i watched them take the floor. of course, it also put me on the wild goose hunt to find this lovely gem of a photo from MY freshman year winter guard (taken by my dad, roger carroll).good luck on the remainder of your season, ladies and gents! you rocked it out at your parent's show, and i can't wait to see you come full circle at championships. keep up the good work :)

Friday Feet - March 11, 2011

amy - "I should be cleaning in preparation of my parents coming to visit, but i'm being lazy and watching royal pains that finally posted online. "

emily - "crazy saturday with my 'to do' list sandwiched in between my photo shoots. this would be post younger sibling sr. portrait shoot out in penryn as we headed back to the car. after the mosquitos swarmed, the rain began, and a train came our way... AGAIN. oh! and you get to see my kelly clark bag that i just love so very much! insert uber excitement here :)"
jenny - "witnessing buddy the rabbit take on charlie the cat at betsy's house. i thought it was funny that her animals are even crazier than mine."

kasey - "Went out for a walk on a windy Thursday. Sat at one of the benches and snapped this shot. Monster Papa is waiting slightly patiently for me to get up so he can attempt to chase after the elderly man who walked by while on his cell phone."

Friday Feet - March 4, 2011

amy - "My feet are very excited for my Wii date with Kasey this Friday! They can't wait!! This week has gone by super fast, and I hardly know where it went!"
emily - "these would be my feet, begging me not to put them in shoes again. i really wish right now was an appropriate time to wear flip flops, or even run around barefoot. i love the rain, don't get me wrong. but my feet are killing me!"
jenny - "nothing calms me like fresh cut flowers. these were a gift from my bf's wonderful family that i spent saturday with"
kasey - "had a date with amy to hop on skype and do some wii fitness together. here are my excited feet"

"let's do 52" - wk8

well, it's the end of the week, which means its finally time for the vegas recap! dad and i left friday about 7am for the great voyage down CA-99 through to I-15. yep, we drove the way. we arrive in vegas just after 5 or so, scoped out where to park, and then headed to our hotel to check in. friday was the opening of WPPI-U, which unfolded in to an amazing 2 day session full of information, suggestions, and images. sunday came with classes about posing, lighting, packaging, senior portraiture & topped off with the end of [b]ecker's presentation about where he has come from, and the[b]school. topped off with some panda express, and a runway show... over all a busy and productive sunday!

with doug gordon, nigel barker & jasmine star

monday's 8am came pretty rough. morning class on documentary photography (pretty much my favorite college photo course i've taken) and then it was trade show time! from 10am when the show started to about 3pm, i lapped those rooms. collecting information and samples for labs, albums, and everything in between! i was really trying to put off buying anything until day 2 of the trade show, but after going back to the kelly moore booth three times, and texting my cousin for style validation... well, i came home with a fabulous new camera bag. made sure i saw the lions for amy's benefit, and then it was time for the ever glamorous jasmine star. really, she's a true inspiration. and committed to be my t-ball wedding photographer, but that's another story ;) j* was followed by the photo newbie group dinner, and boy was the food delicious! although, i chowed down on far too many chips before hand, half of my dinner came back to the hotel with me.
before i knew it tuesday was here, and started off with an EXCELLENT presentation by jerry ghionis. all about evoking true emotions while still posing to get the shot, and about 10 more at the same time. more trade show, followed by wandering the strip down to the m&m's store (and being photographed by [b]ecker... making me wish i had cared what shirt i wore today when getting dressed) and then one last stop to say hello again to the lions (who were sleeping). last class about wedding preparation (honestly, i probably could have done without) and then it was time to head home. we left vegas about 6pm, stopped for food & gas barlow, and then finally made it home just around 3am wednesday morning.
overall, i had a blast! i wish i had put myself out there more to meet other photographers, but i was lucky enough to run in to a few familiar faces over the 5 day span. my brain is full of information, ideas, and inspiration that i cannot wait to put in to action!

Friday Feet - Feb 25th, 2011

now usually, jenny and i are the ones to be in the same state as each other, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. but once i crossed that border friday afternoon, i promptly texted amy and said "hey, i'm in the same state as you!" this week, our feet took us places some of us hadn't been before, while others hung out around familiar areas. places like "sin city" and video game supervising, as well as shoveling snow and just plain driving around in the car. overall, an eventful week for sure!
amy - "Shoveling my driveway after the snowfall of about 4 or 5 inches. An hour later I went out and shoveled another inch! Silly snow. Then I got ready for the Journey concert!!"
emily - "i was super tired, and had low hopes. sunday i almost gave up and didn't even stay for the sony fashion show. but i did. and i felt like i learned a lot (and got to see great images) from nigel barker. so here are my feet, as we sit in the garden arena at the mgm grand in las vegas, watching nigel photograph some audience members on stage."
jenny - "driving feet this week. these feet have been driving all over auburn and sacramento. they're tuckered out"
kasey - "These are my "LittleMissMatched" feets (thanks Emelee) as I relax and watch Donnie play Little Big Planet. He practicing for when the sequel arrives."

Friday Feet - Feb 18th, 2011

amy - "Just taking a break from hiking in the mountains of Nevada. More like really big hills. But still super fun. This was the view from my resting spot, before we found the canyon and the cliffs and caves. We had loads of fun! Can't wait to go back! "
emily - "packing... can you tell i'm terrible at it? last minute. as always. and i'm sure it will be filled with more than i need too"
jenny - "It finally rained (technically, for like an hour) so I could wear the rain boots betsy got me for my birthday (in may)! As for the picture i was bored in mendocino and looking down the stairwell on the fifth floor where my secret couch is."
kasey - "Had a bad day. My feet are hiding with me in the guest room while I play with my jewelry. Lifes got to get better eventually"

Friday Feet - Feb 11, 2011

apparently this week we all decided to spend some time outdoors. well, with the exception of amy, who had a little friend come in to her feet picture that SHOULD have stayed outside. gah. i need to stop looking at it now. it gives me the CREEPS! happy friday, everybody :)
amy - "There I was, just mining my own business, when suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw that I was being ATTACKED by a GIANT spider! Just kidding. He was scooting around in the school building where I do all my "waiting for class to start" waiting, and he stopped right in the middle of the floor. So I took a picture of us hanging out together. I did not squish him, but I did move to a different spot. I saw him later that day again, alive and well. I named him Will, in honor of the building he lives in."

emily - "big feet, little feet. shoe-d feet, painted feet. her last morning before she turned three was spent with me, buzz lightyear, mushu, and princess movies. oh, and her crying little brother that was probably in my left arm at this point. overall, a pretty good morning, and a kick off to a very busy saturday."jenny -"this week we have railroad feet. because really what better way to spend a beautiful sunny week?"

kasey - "During our yard work, I discovered a happy little Lady Bug chillin' on a leaf, so I took a break to snap a shot. Papa came over to see what was stealing my attention, so I have a rare shot of his feet with mine. :3 Happy Friday."

Friday Feet - Feb 4, 2011

wow, its february already? oh, and forewarning, you'll probably hear that the next 10 months at least... it amazes me how time flies sometimes! anyways, we're back to our footsie antics, and have quite the variety this week! with three of us back in school, we're trying to shake off the weekly "here i am at school... melting my brains away" feet... because really, that can be the feeling sometimes. so here is what we came up with this week!
amy - "Procrastinating before I have to leave to take Luke some non-skunky clothes. Turbo is procrastinating with me! She wasn't too sure about having feet so close to her princess face though. I got quite the glare before she gave me this look of 'Pet me?'"
emily - "these are my running around town, making myself official before a meeting with a client in the evening. that's right, everyone. i have officially filed for my business license, and my fictitious name statement was sent out in the mail the day after!"
jenny - "the feet played lava monster this week for the first time in ten years"
kasey - "Went to pick up the Spousal unit from work and thought 'Well Crap, its Feetsie Day.' So here are my rather happy feet in the car. Its a messy floor, thank the snow."

Lorelai & Kent - Sneak Peek

i know you've all been anxiously awaiting for something more than "friday feet" and "let's do 52" posts on this blog of mine. don't worry, i feel that the flood gates are soon to be opened in the coming weeks :)

Friday Feet - Jan 28, 2011

well, i've survived the first week back to school, and so have my comrades! we're back again with the feet of the week. wow, it's already our last january post!
amy - "Wearing the socks my mother got me because it's cold this morning! Just getting ready to clean the house some more in preparation of my family visiting! Can't wait!"

emily - "well, its back to school time. and the LAST back to school time for me! (that still sounds crazy to me) jenny and i were able to figure out some time that we could meet and hang out during our uncoordinated school week on our favorite carpet mountain spot for one last semester."
jenny - "Disney Scene It Show Down at Emily's followed by Valentine's Day and sparkly appley beverages. mmmm. my idea of a great night!"

kasey -

What's Happening? - Jan 2011

well, for one, school is back in session... but the plus side? i'm graduating in less than four months!
its back to the grind, and time to let you all in on some new excitement that will be hitting the blog in the next month or so! well, to start us off, lets get back to a reminder of the current contest going on here at the blog.

Valentine's Engagement Session Contest

don't forget! if you've recently snatched up the soon to be mr. or mrs. right, have i got an exciting offer for you! Totally free, and all you have to do is answer some simple and fun questions. the pool of entries isn't large at all, so your chances of winning the big prize of a free engagement session are pretty good! head on over to the original post, shoot me an email (photogbyem@gmail.com) with the answers filled out, and BAM! you're in!

March of Dimes 2011 Contest
Last year's March of Dimes Contest was, i think, a pretty good turn out for a first contest. I photographed 2 families as a result from the contest, and this year i'm in the works of making it bigger and more awesome! i've been talking with vendors, trying to get a rally of super prizes that everyone will love. as soon as i've got the details locked down, i'll annouce everything, and the games will begin! besides, who doesn't love trying to save the world one baby donation at a time?

WPPI 2011
WOO HOO! next month i will be headed out to WPPI 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. My dad and i will be driving out friday and heading back home after 5 days of photo goodness on tuesday. There are SO many things i wish i could do while i was there -neon museum- but i think i have overpacked myself with all the excitement of WPPI-U, master classes, and platform classes. Rumor has it, noted fashion photographer Nigel Barker (did i sound tyra banks enough for you there?) will be there as well. Is this not like disneyland where you get pictures and autographs from the famous people? ok... apparently not, but a girl can dream! i can't wait to get the ball rolling after this amazing experience, and hopefully throw some new ideas out there!
New Look

Really, i'm trying... one day. hopefully this year, i will have a new website. my current one is so sad... it sometimes makes me sad. but it still works! Hopefully, during the trade show at WPPI, some amazing vendors (which i know they do!) will wow me over, and save my website soul. so hang tight, try and ignore the dust, and i'll let you know when something is closer to being in the works!
PLUS! i've got a few shoots coming up for sure. you'll see lorelai & kent again very soon, as well as a wedding reception the saturday before i leave for Vegas. so don't worry. some brand new images will be on their way :)

Friday Feet - Jan 21, 2011

amy - "I'm sitting in the Raggio building at UNR waiting for my Small Group Communications class to start. I'm sitting under some really pretty inside trees. Here are some leaves that have escaped. I am also feeling human once again. My throat cold of last week is gone, and my head cold of this week is on its way out. Finally! "
emily - "last saturday i went to the band crab feed before hand so my parents could finish setting up. in the meantime, i booked a wedding reception for next month! but of course, this brought the grand realization that i had NO worthy black pants to wear. so it was off to arden fair mall this past thursday to find some pants. and guess what? i totally did"
jenny - "showing off our cat and mouse slippers during a sleepover. you've never too old for a sleepover when you've known someone for 16 years"
kasey - "Weather is sunny. Went through my day lazing in the rare thing that is the sun. Hubby lay down with me and we watched movies. ♥ Great day."

Friday Feet - Jan 14, 2010

amy - "This is lightning, our rat. He loves rolling around the house in his ball while i clean!"
emily - "some late night skyping with kasey over in germany :) although, makes me really wish my toes were painted some pretty color. hah"
jenny - "The feet aren't doing too many exciting things today. Filling out their grad school application and facebooking while dressed up in their exciting professional wear. (for the evening job)"
kasey - "What do you do during the weeks when its raining, you have no car, and friends are in low supply? Read! I've been reading Naamah's Kiss all week. the 7th book of my favourite line, and its every bit as good as the rest."

Friday Feet - Jan 7, 2011

we made it through the new year, and welcome you to our first 2011 feet posting! some of us were able to go on adventures again this week, but it seems the majority of us hid from the cold world with our houses and blankets. happy friday everyone :)
amy - "This may look like a pile of blankets, but really it's my feet, enjoying the warmness and the end of their second to last week of break. "
emily - "this is what happens when the blog leader forgets to take feet pictures. you get post-work dinner on the couch while watching 'icarly' feet"
jenny - "My feet went ice skating in tahoe this week with their very favorite feet."
kasey - "Been working on some commissions and writing my stories. So i'm at the computer a lot. My friday feet are resting on the legs of my chair."

back to reality

and i'm back from the happiest place on earth :)
be prepared for what i hope to be a whole ton of excitement for 2011!
i'm sorta ready to hit the ground running.
who is with me?!