When we left for Florida I had all intentions of blogging as much as possible, answering email and phone calls, basically making our vacation a WORKING vacation. I had four sessions booked which solidified my WORKACTION.
AND I WAS FINE WITH THAT.
Happy even. Because three of those sessions basically paid for our trip and that's RAD.
BUT.
God had other plans and THANK GOODNESS His plan won out b/c spending the week with very limited internet access and very limited cell service forced me to RELAX and SWIM and PLAY and just BE with my family and our closest friends.
AND THAT WAS AWESOME.
I had no idea how much I needed a break until about halfway through the week I stopped checking my iPhone for emails and when forcing myself to check it at least once a day for clients was a pain. I usually LIVE by my email so that was pretty huge. It also said a lot that I barely did any editing down there, even though I shot a ton.
But what said the MOST about seriously needing a break was the fact that I didn't even want to take photos.
I KNOW.
I seriously didn't.
It was awesome to meet and photograph clients down there, that was fun and kept me on my toes (Florida light is SO different!) but taking my camera out to capture my kids on vacation was a chore.
For the first time, ever, I needed a break from my camera. Probably because I had over 20 sessions in July alone. Probably b/c I was shooting nearly every single day all summer. Probably because my camera had become just a heavy extension of my own hand.
So anyway. I was unplugged. And it rocked my socks off. And it also has left me CRAZY behind in emails and blog reading and blog posting and editing. But whatever. I will work my tail off this week to catch up and will never regret my week of RELAXATION!
AND... if you are a person waiting on an email from me please be patient... I am catching up as fast as I can with Chris officially back at school and me with no childcare yet! (BTW... I'm looking for someone to babysit two or three times a week at my home all fall... if you know anyone interested PLEASE give them my email!!!)
OK!
Ready for just a FEW photos???
Bailey, Parker, Kate and Lauren... the MacBryde's beat us to Florida and so their kids had been to the beach already but this was my girl's first view of the ocean! If they hadn't of run so fast I would have LOVED to see their expressions!
My dad brought his kayak down and I love this shot of him sitting in it waiting for the next little girl... he gave all the girls rides on the lake that sat behind our house (we had the ocean in front and a lake behind! BEAUTIFUL!)
The Grandma's on the bridge over the lake watching the kayak rides... thank goodness I'm not the only crazy person with a camera all the time! HA! AND thank goodness everyone else took a million photos all week so that when I let my camera rest I know moments were still being captured!
Kevin took Kate out for a ride after PawPaw had taken all the kids out. Love this.
Bailey in the pool!
Mid-week we watched the most intense storm come up. Branches and sand and rafts were blowing on the beach and in the street... it was insane. But SO awesome to watch from our balconies! And it was the only afternoon we had rain... the weather was incredible!
There is not much I love more than a really cool storm.
One topic that never got old, at least for C and I, was how CHUNKY Kelsey is! That baby girl, who turned ONE while we were there, NEVER STOPS EATING! And she has the thighs to prove it! HA! So maybe I love a good chunky baby more than a cool storm!
This was the view from our balcony of some of the other beach houses on our street and I messed around with the settings so much to get this shot I thought I would share... b/c this was taken at 10pm but the moon was SO bright!
ISO 200 | f/3.5 | 1/1.0
So as you can see... my ISO was set as if it was mid-day with lots of sun so to get anything to show up I had to SLOW down my shutter speed in a major way. This was shot by laying my camera on the balcony railing and the slight blur that's there is simply from me pressing the button to take the photo. But without my tri-pod down there this was the best I could get and I still love it.
The moon was just awesome. Love that.
Tiny camera lesson over! HA!
So our vacation was amazing. Our friends and family are amazing. The clients I met there were amazing. Lyndsay Stradtner who I met there was amazing. And speaking of Lyndsay... she's a rock star and posted a sneak peek of the Grayman for us already so go HERE to check that out and leave her some love! I shot her family too and will have a sneak peek SOON! In fact, I will have FIVE sneak peeks soon from last week!
Lots more blogging comin your way!
OH... and a BIG HUGE THANK YOU to Fern, my blog BFF, for blogging for me while I was away! When I realized I was without internet all week I frantically asked her to fill in one day for me! And she was awesome and hilarious and honest and I just love her. Thanks for leaving her comments and hitting her blog b/c she is my most favorite blogger out there! THANKS JEN!!!
Laundry and the mess that is my house is waiting for me. Not to mention the emails and edits and WORK.
Enjoy today!
