Questions ... I Answer.

I saw this Q+A on another blog, and I haven't done one in awhile, so here goes! I love looking back on old Q+A's I've done on here, so here's another one to add to the stock pile! ;-)

It's from a photography blog, so that's why many of the questions are related to photography ... but obviously it fits in my case.

1) Tell us one sentence to describe your photography:

I strive to create fresh, clean, and modern images that show personality and relationships.

2) What's one thing that everyone should know about you?

I try to work really hard so I can create a nice life for myself + future family.

3) If you were told you could only eat one food for an entire week...what would you pick?

Hmm... burritos!

4) If you could own one exotic animal as a pet what would it be?

I wouldn't neccessarily ever WANT an exotic animal as pet, but I guess if I HAD and MUST pick one, it would be a super cool tropical fish.

5) What is your greatest post processing tip that you are willing to share?:

Keep it simple! I try to limit the actions I use ... I love that "clean" and "sharp" look to my images.

6) If you were given $500 today what would be the first thing you would do?:

Wow, there are so many things I'd like to do. But, I really want to see Alanna and Zayden, so I'd put that $500 towards a plane ticket to go visit them. I stole the pic from Alanna's Facebook!

7) What have you found to be the best resources and/or method of advertising?:

I don't advertise and I never had. I do the Facebook thing for my business, but I'm honestly not sure how far that's getting me yet - I don't get a lot of comments. Word of mouth has been the very best so far, and of course, Google. I think a lot of people find me randomly from through my website.

8) What type of sessions are your favorite (children e-sessions weddings newborns....) and why?:

Engagement Sessions just because they are quick compared to an entire wedding day and they are so easy going and laid back. However, my absolute favorite thing to shoot is the Bride + Groom portraits at weddings.

9) What equipment do you use and if you had only one lens to use...what would it be?:

I use a Canon MarkII 5D and various professional Canon lenses. If I could only pick ONE lens to use for all time, I'd purchase the Canon 50mm 1.2L ... right now I use the 50mm 1.4, and while it's great and all I feel I need right now, I'd splurge on an upgrade if I could only use ONE LENS for the rest of time.

10) What moment in your life makes you smile every single time you think about it?:

Dancing with Chris at our wedding. Not our first dance, but the time we were dancing to Kenny Chesney's "Me + You" and Chantel Kreviazuk's "Feels Like Home." Loved. Cherish. Those. Moments!

11) What is at the top of your wish list right now?:

I feel like I should be saying something related to our new home, but we've spend so many thousands of dollars this month - so I think I'm going to be selfish and just think about me right now, lol. See above question. I really, really, REALLY want the 50 mm 1.2L!

12) What is the first photographer that comes to your mind and why?

Jasmine Star. I love her images and personality.

13) What's the best meal you cook?

I like to cook, but I don't consider myself a great cook. My fajitas are pretty good.

14) If you had an entire Saturday to do whatever you wanted...what would you do?

Ahhhhh ... a free Saturday is such a treat to me. Usually I am busy shooting a wedding from 11-11 or so. Here's my idea of a perfect day: Wake up at about 7:30 and get ready to go. Grab a great coffee from the coffeehouse, then drive to a bigger city and spend the day shopping at unique stores or a fresh market. Then have a quick cafe style lunch. Shop a little more or take a walk along a shoreline. Have a great dinner with a yummy drink. Then catch a movie. I WISH!

15) If we surprised you at your house today what would be the first thing we would notice?

The mess. Everywhere. I try (and want) to be tidy, but I have so many things always going on at once - personal life stuff, photography business, summer school prep, moving boxes. Hopefully once we move into our new house, I'll have dedicated spot for everything as opposed to our cramped apartment. Here's my messy place .... always stuff laying around!

16) What is your favorite word?

Well, it's a phrase, actually: "Love Bucket." My affectionate name for both my husband and cat. LOL.

17) What is your least favorite word?

Ain't, even though it's not REALLY a word. And NO, don't try to tell me it is because it's in the dictionary. IT'S NOT A WORD! Ugh, I hate that word!

18) What turns you on creatively spiritually or emotionally?

Vivid colors, textures, unique. This is actually what was under the wall paper in one bedroom. I love it and I want to get a canvas made of it:

19) What turns you off creatively spiritually or emotionally?

Busy backgrounds + clothing, woodsy areas (for portraits).

20) What sound or noise do you love?

The ocean.

21)What sound or noise do you hate?

Motorcycles.

22) What is your favorite thing to say when you get mad?

Something along the lines of "Effin *Bleeeeep*!" Note that I don't really say effin or bleep. LOL.

23) What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Of course, my goal is to have my own classroom teaching, but I supposed that doesn't really count because that's kind of what I do already in addition to photography ... I guess if I was neither a teacher or photographer, I'd like to be a writer. Of children's picture books. Here I am shooting a recent wedding:

24) What profession would you not like to do?

Dentist.

That's all, folks!

Remember, LIFE IS:

A Whole Slew Of Some More Recent Photos...

Are you sick of my house progress yet!?

My plants ... yes, I take pride in my plants! I've been waiting a long time to be able to have my own flowers at my OWN house (hehe) ... the blue flowers are doing great, but the geraniums just won't bloom! Hopefully soon ...

The bedroom "befores" and "durings." They are quite ugly right now!

Ahhhh, my finished sitting room + dining room ... well, obviously not furnished or decorated, but remodel wise -- all done! Same with the living room (not pictured here really).... excuse the dust. We have a lot of it going on right now!

Downstairs bathroom .... in this pic we finally had a floor, walls, ceiling, new window ... the necessities! LOL.

The same space as of last night! Woo hooo, almost done. The window frame in, walls painted, base put in, etc, etc! Now we're working on the final details .... actually attaching the vanity + plumbing + facuet .... installing the toilet .... mirror .... lighting .... fan .... wiring ..... etc, etc, etc! Stay tuned!

Long Time, No Blog

We are now onto bigger projects!

Bathroom:

I wanted to just change out the vanity for a new one, paint, and get new flooring.

Weeeellll, that has quicky evolved into a $3,000+ project! And we are not done yet.

To say the least, the bathroom has been stressful. After pulling out the vanity, and taking down some of the wall paper, we discovered mold. Everywhere. Behind the vanity. Behind the wall paper. Up in the ceiling. Then we discovered the floor was rotted out.

SO ... the entire bathroom (minus the shower + tub) had to be ripped down to the studs. This photo was even BEFORE other things were removed. At one point, there was no floor, no supports, nothing - just the basement when you looked down!

I'm happy to report that the floor has been re-structured, the walls are rebuilt, we got a new window installed, all new electrical, the fan installed PROPERLY (the whole reason for the mold mess to begin with...), and now the drywall is up and has been mudded. All that is left to do is put the texture on the walls, paint, install the flooring, and put everything back in order: toilet, vanity, plumbing hookup, and my favorite part ... DECORATING.

And then we have the other full bath to remodel ... SOMEDAY. ;-)

Moving on....

Kitchen:

I feel like the house has been a constant disaster zone for 1.5 months now. The dust from cutting all the wood.... the dust from leveling the floors and sanding, and just junk everywhere! I hate messes!

This photo of the kitchen is actually HARDLY a mess compared to what it has/had turned into! This was just from wall paper removal, when life was easy and my bank account was full, LOL!

Since the above photo, we have de-wallpapered, painted, gotten new floors, appliances, and new base. You can see the before and "almost" after photo at the bottom of this post ... it's much further along now even than in the "almost" after photo ... I need to take some new ones this week!

Dining/Living Room/Combo:

Again, messes. Everywhere. At. All. Times.

And again, this photo is OLD. See more of an update at the bottom of this post for the "almost" after.

Since "almost" after photo was taken, we've gotten the baseboard in, and also got a new leather chair + ottoman and a cute side table.

Front Entryway:

We were going to put new flooring in the front entry way of our home too (this room is not pictured anywhere). Well, little did we know, the entire structure was rotted wood. The wood was SO BAD that you could pick it up and crumble it like dried out leaves in autumn ... SERIOUSLY - how did we not fall through that!? So, I'm sure it sounds like an easy project ... just re-structuring the entryway ... well not so much folks!

The entry way was not part of the original structure. When it was built, there was no vapor barrier installed at all and no insulation. SO, being that it was pretty much exposed to all the elements, the entire structure was rotting. Under the flooring, the structure went down about 5 feet or so ... so all of that down in there had to be gutted and fixed so it was built properly. That project alone probably cost us $1,000.

Now, the floor is solid (as it very well should be, haha) and I got the walls painted yesterday. Just the floor has to be installed on Monday, and then we can add the base in there. Then that will be done!

Monday will be a very good day!

THEN, it's working on the upstairs ... which has become it's own disaster zone.

More to come on that later! :-)

The "Almost" Afters:

Can't wait to post the NEWER versions of these rooms!

And, hopefully by MONDAY, the bathroom will also be COMPLETE!

Stay Tuned!