Palm Desert Lifestyle Photographer~ And Then We Snapped- 365 Blog Circle- 2015 Week 6

Another week has passed by super quickly! 

Tuesdays always seem to sneak up on me!

Actually it is late Monday evening here on the West Coast, 

but most people will be reading this on Tuesday 

when it becomes part of this week's blog circle

And Then We Snapped...

Just a lovely bunch of amazing women 

who share my passion for capturing ordinary everyday moments

in a beautiful and meaningful way.

One of the most horrible things about getting older is how our perception of time changes.

We realize exactly how fleeting it is.

Whole weeks fleeting by in the same way Tuesdays keep sneaking up on me!

A perfect argument for mindfulness.

Being thoughtful in as many moments as you can. 

The only way to slow down the relentless future is to truly be present in the moment.

Photography helps me to do that.

So I present to you another seven images documenting moments

from the week I have just lived.

February 1st thru February 7th, 2015

"Shrug"

Suck it up, shrug it off, and laugh about it. Life isn't about pleasing other people.

 It's about making yourself better.

 Unknown quotes  

This has been a trying sort of week. Dealing with personal health issues isn't easy and running into brick walls and eight week waiting periods for an appointment don't help. 

In the meantime, I am choosing to be proactive and try to address the problem at it's root-nutrition.

 It took a few days, but I am already feeling better.  I still need to see a doctor though. 

Feeling better makes waiting a whole lot easier though.

"Breakfast"

"I went to a restaurant that serves 'breakfast at any time'. 

So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance."

Steven Wright

Though I am making big dietary changes in my own life, 

I am not making everyone in the family follow along. 

That being said, I am trying to sneak in good stuff for them where I can. 

"Slick and splat, girl and cat" 

Stains on the driveway make puddles especially interesting and ominous. 

They are very slippery though.

"Into the Light" 

"Education is the movement from darkness to light."

Allan Bloom

Always moving into the light and away from the darkness, 

though without the reality and presence of darkness, 

the light would blind us just as the darkness does.

Education is very important to me. Though not the kind that is spoon fed to you.

I believe in an education you must carve out and take for yourself.

Self directed learning is far more meaningful and much less likely to be forgotten.

"Ripple"

The impact of a conscious artist is necessary, and it ripples through the world.

Common

She wasn't quite as cooperative as I had hoped i

n trying to get a full body sharp reflection in the puddle.

 Making ripples was a far more pressing priority.

"Morning News"

"I wake up every morning at nine and grab for the morning paper. 

Then I look at the obituary page. If my name is not on it, I get up."

Benjamin Franklin

I was at my desk working on the grocery list and looked over to see this.

"Daydreamer" 

“A daydream is a meal at which images are eaten. Some of us are gourmets, some gourmands, and a good many take their images precooked out of a can and swallow them down whole, 

absent-mindedly and with little relish.” 

― W.H. Auden

I would love to know what she is thinking about in these moments. But I can pretty much guarantee those image meals are comparable with escargot and caviar. 

That's it for my week. 

I have just started a class 

with Lucy Baber over at In Beauty and Chaos, called Creative Insight 

so next week's images 

may a look a little different than you are used to from me.

I am so excited to take it too!

It's my first photography workshop ever! 

If you've made it this far, then surely you know you 

just have to head on over to see the brilliant work of 

Charissa Gilliland Photography 

Love and Blessings,

Julie

Palm Desert Lifestyle Photographer~ And Then We Snapped- 365 Blog Circle- Week 17

So this is what happened when you have to take a couple of weeks off 

from publishing on time with your awesome circle of amazing photographers, 

but don't stop shooting everyday-

 you end up with a total overload of images 

that you JUST HAVE TO share.

And so here they are, my offering to you 

in a full blaze of 21, no 22 gun glorious salute! 

Images taken between the dates of November 2nd and November 22nd. 

If you make it all the way to the end, be sure to keep going over to see the 

beautiful work of my friend Lori Dozier.

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"heights"

With ideas it is like with dizzy heights you climb: At first they cause you discomfort and you are anxious to get down, distrustful of your own powers; but soon the remoteness of the turmoil of life and the inspiring influence of the altitude calm your blood; your step gets firm and sure and you begin to look - for dizzier heights.

Nikola Tesla

Forever in pursuit of the ultimate swing shot. 

Getting closer, though had to borrow someone else's kid to get it.

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"static"

The only thing I fear more than change is no change. The business of being static makes me nuts.

Twyla Tharp

The face you get when you try to decline being the motor for the whirly thing at the park.

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"goal"

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

Henry David Thoreau

Not on any teams yet, but practice never hurts. 

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"arc"

I am strongly of the opinion that chronology is very important. The great arc of time is what children are wired for.

Simon Schama

One day she'll go high enough to get the shot I am after.

This wasn't the day, though considering she is this cute, it really doesn't matter.

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"toss"

Have an anchor so that life doesn't toss you around.

Debby Ryan

Playing ball with Dad who is all prepped for Winter in the So. Cal desert. 

(*see socks and sandals)

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"inquiry"

A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value.

Isaac Asimov

In other words, you can be looking for one thing in the fridge 

and end up finding something equally as yummy! 

Yes I put the jelly beans in the fridge to get her to stay there long enough to get the shot.

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"flight"

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” 

― Leonardo da Vinci

She is always very willing to get jumping on the bed shots.



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"dance"

“Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.” 
― Voltaire

Or dancing on the bed shots for that matter.



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'hope"

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.

Desmond Tutu

Up to my old tricks in Photoshop.  Gotta love textures!

Proof that the way an image is processed can entirely change everything about an image.

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"autumn"

There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Gah, the light! 

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''brother"

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero. ~Marc Brown

This was the first day she was willing to try the seated pulley at the museum.

Thankfully big brother was around to help her out.

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"streaming" 

We get sucked into the Internet and streaming information, and it's time to just unplug and look within.

Jonathan Cain

Make time to enjoy the other kinds of streaming.
Our leaves may not turn gorgeous orange and red, but they do diffuse light in a fairly awesome way.



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"leaf"

Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.

Rabindranath Tagore

Who doesn't love a leaf as big your head?

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"trimming"

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Abraham Lincoln

This tree has since been trimmed. We are very sad. 

_____________

"books"

Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light.

–Vera Nazarian

Visits to the library are amazing things.



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"library"

“I don't believe in colleges and universities. I believe in libraries because most students don't have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression and we had no money. I couldn't go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years.”

― Ray Bradbury

Especially when your library looks like this.

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"cape"

"I mean, first of all, let me say whichever superhero first came up with the idea of wearing a cape, 

he wasn't really onto anything good. 

The number of times I'm treading on that damn thing

 or I throw a punch and it ends up covering my whole head. It's really not practical."

Christian Bale

Borrowed batman costume for big brother's drama class means

 Momma WILL be taking your picture in it, in pretty light no less.




__________________

"twirl"

“Laugh, even when you feel too sick or too worn out or tired. 
Smile, even when you're trying not to cry and the tears are blurring your vision. 
Sing, even when people stare at you and tell you your voice is crappy. 
Trust, even when your heart begs you not to. 
Twirl, even when your mind makes no sense of what you see. 
Frolick, even when you are made fun of. Kiss, even when others are watching. Sleep, even when you're afraid of what the dreams might bring. 
Run, even when it feels like you can't run any more.
And, always, remember, even when the memories pinch your heart. Because the pain of all your experience is what makes you the person you are now. And without your experience---you are an empty page, a blank notebook, a missing lyric. What makes you brave is your willingness to live through your terrible life and hold your head up high the next day. So don't live life in fear. Because you are stronger now, after all the crap has happened, than you ever were back before it started.” 
― Alysha Speer

Have skirt? Got twirl.

I have lots of plans for this skirt.

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"Unfurl" 
“But for us the road unfurls itself, we don't stop walking, we know there is far to go”
Denise Levertov

Ember unfurled.


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"shiny"

When hope is not pinned wriggling onto a shiny image or expectation, it sometimes floats forth and opens.

Anne Lamott

Not the shot I wanted because of store displays blocking the space, but I'll settle for this.

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"Vast" 

There is something bigger than fact: the underlying spirit, all it stands for, the mood, the vastness, the wildness.

Emily Carr

Her first hike in the desert. It will not be her last. 

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If you made it this far you deserve chocolate. 

Since this is the internet, 

I cannot in fact give you chocolate, 

BUT I can direct you to even more fabulous eye candy at 

the blog of Lori Dozier.

Until next week, love and many blessings to you! 

Julie

Project 365~Day 90/365 "Training" La Quinta Lifestyle Photographer

 Just a regular ol' trip to the grocery store. Trader Joe's is her favorite.

They have the little kid size carts.

Most of the time that size is perfect too as I don't get the bulk of our groceries at just one store. 

It makes her so happy. It tends to make me nervous. 

Her cart driving skills are fledgling at best. 

I am thinking these things should have been equipped 

with back up warning beepers-that don't just go off when they back up, but whenever they move. 

Ems is proving to be very feminine, despite idolizing her big brothers. 

Most days she would rather play with legos than dolls, 

but if they are flowers nearby she has to smell them. 

She also loves jewelry, though she's not much for dress-up.

Just a little girl full of contradictions, in training for womanhood. 

Grandparents and Cousins Too!~ La Quinta Family Photographer

When I was first queried about doing this shoot, I was so excited.

The family shoot was for the kids and their grandparents. 

Even though I would have loved to get the moms and dads in the photos too,

I was really excited to produce professional quality images for them because 

I have none of myself and my grandparents.

I have nothing but amazing things to say about this family!

The shoot started out a bit rocky, when I discovered I had left my camera's battery on the charger at home and did not have a spare! They graciously waited over 30 minutes

 for my husband to bring it to me. It was a blessing in disguise. 

That 30 minute wait yield some pretty awesome light.

We entertained ourselves by telling knock knock jokes while we waited.

Sarah at La Quinta Resort~ La Quinta Senior Photographer

It was a such a special pleasure to get to photograph Sarah for her senior portraits.

This business is often about who you know, and I've been fortunate enough to know Sarah's family for quite some time through our mutual homeschooling endeavors.

Sarah has a heart for God and very big plans for her future.

 Sarah chose the La Quinta Resort for her photo shoot.

She was hoping to see the desert mountains and beautiful florals in her images.

To further showcase this as well as her gorgeous hair and complexion, I processed these images using more saturated colors than I usually do.

On the grounds of the La Quinta Resort you will find an array of wonderful little stores known as 

The Shoppes. On of these shoppes is an old fashioned candy store and proved to be the perfect backdrop for this sweet senior!

On top of being a great student, Sarah is a student of dance. Though she had left her ballerina gear home on this day, I did still manage to get one jump out of her!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Class of 2014!