what's going on ...

So it's been crazy busy here ... plus there was that whole vacation thing going on! Right now i am in the midst of playing catch up with shoots, plus all my photos from provence & a bunch of other things i want to get done this week. But it's wonderful knowing i have a week off work & i'm staying in town so expect a few blogs, & lots of new photos ... maybe some other interesting posts along the way. Here's a little something from a wedding i shot before my vacation. I was super nervous about this, as it was my first "all day" thing but fingers crossed the couple will be happy with the outcome. 

My vacation was fabulous (go figure) ... & in some ways i feel like i've come back a new person. Or maybe i just got some new insight into who i am & i love it. Sometimes all it takes is some time away to open your eyes & the realization that my 30s are going to be awesome. Of course it helps having a wonderful husband, a great family & some wonderful friends alongside me. 

But whilst i was gone you all got to read some blogs on "inspiration" posted by the very people who inspire me ... friends, artists, mothers, daughters, wives & all the rest. These individuals opened themselves up to discuss the things that make their world tick & i love that i got to share this with you. So if you haven't skip back over the past week on my blog & check out what these amazing ladies have to say. 

& now i'm going to leave you with a vacation photo ... me & the 2 exceptionally lovely ladies i spent the past week with ... there was food & laughter & exploration & talking & so much more. So thank you to miss Hannah banana, you're my sister, my confident, my friend & oh my god (yes i used the lords name in vain ... sorry) am i going to miss you. & miss Cassie, you are simple a rock star & having the chance to get to know you was an eye opening experience ... my new styalist, i just hope i can live up to your expectations! 

saying goodbye ...

There are many many things i hate about the military, but it's the life i chose & i accept that. My husband is in the AF & will be so for a while longer so I live with those things. But there will always be one thing i hate more than the others, the thing that i will never get used to & sucks every single time ... saying goodbye.

I sometimes feel like all i ever do is say goodbye ... goodbye to a country, goodbye to my husband as he goes TDY or deploys & goodbye to my military family. Those people who help me through everything, the friends who have been there & get those random tiny & frustrating things that can ruin a perfectly good day.

These are the military wives ... the girls i turn to at a moment's notice ... the women who hug me when i cry & cry with laughter alongside me. They've been there, seen it, done it & got the t-shirt.

& then down the line they're gone. Not gone forever, not gone from your life but gone from your everyday. The military up & moves them somewhere new & here you are left behind waving goodbye to the people you love ... & then the circle starts over again.

Well in my short time as a military wife i've gotten used to many things but this is not one of them. I have people i love now living literally all over the world ... & whilst you hope that you will see each other one day the world is a really big place, & whilst the military can be a small world at times more often than not, when you want it to be it isn't!

So PCS season has come around & this time i get to say goodbye to some of my favourite people. A family i have grown to love & to put into words how much i will miss them isn't possible. They're part of my military family & i love them.

I think Hannah knows more about me than anyone ... she's been there for me no strings attached, she's listened, she pulled me through some tough times & i know no matter what she's not going anywhere. The bond between military wives is something else. & then there are her girls ... the girls i want to have myself who can always put a smile on my face.

To list some of my favourite memories would take forever ... but running round the flight line in the middle of winter as a wind that feels like it could be gale force pushes you backwards with every step has to be one. It might sound weird but i think that's my best run ever because it hurt, because it sucked & because we didn't stop.

& Hannah is the kind of person who will keep you going through it all ... she's tough ... & smart (way smarter than me in every sense) ... & strong ... & well you just have to see the kids she's raised to know what a great person she is. She's that person who listens to what you don't say as much as what you do.

& she's going to hate that said all that because well that's the kind of person she is but anyone who knows her can tell you it's true.

& her girls make me laugh & smile & when am sad they'll wipe the tears & make me giggle & for at least a moment none of it matters because that's what family does.

Minot will be their new home ... 4487.7 miles, 7222.2 km & 3899.7 nautical miles from me. That's a really long way. No more dinners or early morning runs. We'll have to share books & dvds through the mail & eatting dessert on your own really isn't as much fun as sharing.

& yes i know we have telephones but i don't like telephones & i know we have email but well it really isn't the same but i plan to make the most of snail mail. Old fashioned letters. I right a mean letter ... my hand writing kinda sucks & my spelling & grammar is pretty bad at times but it's personal. You can tell what someone's feeling as they write that letter, & there's something special about waking up to one.

& so i will write ... i will tell her about the goings on over here, how the weather hasn't changed & the cats are as cute as ever. I will find pretty paper on etsy, & search through stationary stores & start a whole new collection to drive my husband nuts. & when i read a wonderful book, or found some chocolate i think she has to have i will put it in the post & whilst it's not the same it's something because i will miss my friend.

So on Monday we had lunch & then we walked up the hills behind my house to take these photos. Photos i've been wanting to take for so long (& there will be more to come) & i'm sorry there are so many but i couldn't choose because there is no favourite. & then we iced cupcakes & laughed at Madagascar 2 & then they went home & i sat & looked at these photos & it made me happy & sad all in one.

& i'm making the most of the time we have left to laugh & smile & take as many photos as possible of these wonderful people because all too soon it will be over.

Karen & Dan

Portrait photography is not something i have a whole lot of experience in, & i'm not going to lie when i say the whole canned studio images you see aren't something i'm a big fan of but some people have been asking me if i would doing some pictures for them so figured i could give it a go, what am i going to loose right?

So wednesday afternoon i went out with the Hockenberry's, 2 of my closest friends (who will be leaving us soon for the beaches of Florida ... jealous ... noooooooo), & the dogs to have a go at taking their photos. It was an interesting experience, hard work, awkward at times but i got some good shots & it's only the beginning so i have somewhere to go from here, & next time i should have a better idea of what's going on.

July 4th 2009

So yesterday was July 4th, a huge celebration where i live, but being as i'm British much of it is lost on me. I mean rumor has it the American's kicked our butts but since we never studied it in school it really can't be that important. So whilst it's not an "official" holiday for me, i understand what it's about & i the whole patriotic side isn't lost on me. I mean i hear someone singing "Land Of Hope & Glory" & all the hairs on my arms stand on end, so of course the exscuse to watch fireworks & have a day off work isn't one i pass up. Also it was the first day of my leave so i planned of making good use of the time & weather & taking as many photos as possible. 

So the day started early ... we're talking stupid o'clock early as a me & a few of my close friends headed off to a local flea market where i managed to only buy 4 cameras to add to my collection, photos of which i promise to post at a later date. After a post flea market nap i decided to head into "K-Town" & check out the Japanese Gardens. They are incredible pretty & peaceful, especially considering you're in the middle of a rather ugly industrial city. So here are a few photos from my trip there. 

After this is was heading to my friends for a bbq, which is always fun. Lots of food, some of my favourite people & i didn't have to clean up after. My friend's house is in this little German village, & the first time i visited i noticed the shutters on his neighbors windows. They are vintage, pealing wood, faded in colour & you can image how much i longed to photograph them, with yesterday being the perfect day.  I have to admit there is nothing about these shutters that i don't love, & having previously told another friend about them these shutters were what helped them find the house where we were going to be bbq'ing. 

& finally of course my night ended with a trip to base to see the fireworks. The show was awesome but firework photos aren't something that has ever appealed to me, so after a while i decided to get a little creative. The bold colours against the black sky, became way more interesting (to me) when i unfocused the camera, they just became circles of colour. So here's a more tradition photo & my abstract variation.

& i couldn't pass up the oportunity of getting a photo of my close friend & her youngest watching the fireworks together, this to me sums up what the celebration was about. 

I hope everyone else had a great day.