I was so excited to learn that my nephew’s traveling baseball team was coming to city ( more like a 4 way stop… but I digress) near me!!!  He plays for a select baseball team that has God at the center of their efforts and hearts, which is such a refreshing thing to see in these amazing young boys. Check out their sponsor and coaches’ organization which is inspiring and uplifting: Baseball His Way.  My apologies in advance for the number of pics of my fabulous nephew :)  I just could not narrow them down AND I NEVER shoot sports photography so I was having fun playing with my rented 70-200L IS (note: RENTED!!!!  I wish I could owned this bad boy but more on that later…) so on to the show….

AND WE CAN NOT HAVE A POST WITH OUT ELLA!!!!

Now for those who would like my thoughts on the  70-200 f/2.8 IS II:

1) Dislike: It was way slower than I am use to, however I am usually closer the my subject so my 5D MkII finds focus fast.  This lens “searched” a little too long for me to get the actions shots I expected, and 200 is probably the minimum focal length needed for this type of shooting.  The focal length is not the lens fault, but  having never shot b-ball… I had no clue 200 would be so limiting on shots.  But it was my first rodeo with this lens so I would give it another go-round before once again claiming prime is the only real way to shoot ;)

2) LOVE the natural vignetting this lens produces. Gorgeous.

Hoping to rent the 100-400 next time around when the Mission come this way again :)

It was a tough decision, but I decided not to take my “big” camera on the cruise with me.  I knew there would be amazing scenery all around that would be picture perfect but I did not want to 1) Worry about something happening to it if I left it in the room   2) Lug around my camera w/ my multiple lenses 3) Worry about something happening to it if I took it off the boat … SO I went with my Canon G10 ( which is an amazing little camera! but I am sure they are on G15 now LOL) PLUS I have the underwater housing for it so it was a win/win choice.  I really did not take my camera around with me much because I wanted to just soak in the moment, relax,  and not worry about getting a great shot.  So here are a few snaps from my 7 days in the Bahamas…

I can’t believe this is the third time I have had the pleasure to take take pictures of these two sweet little boys.  We had a great roaming around and finding random items at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens. To end the day, we headed over to the old ( and no longer in use) Grapevine  trains…. and it could not have been better weather!!  So on to a little sneak preview…

I’ve said it before and I will say it again… this girl is just a natural in front of the camera.  I first got to meet her two years ago when she had just turned one, the again when she was two, and now she is three AND a big sister!!  I just could not have ask for a prettier morning in the garden or a happier child to photograph.

I must say the best part about being a children’s portrait photographer is not only do I get to meet some of the cutest children, but I also get to watch them grow.  I am truly blessed to have such awesome clients whom I can consider friends :)

It seem like it was just yesterday I was designing Sophia’s birth announcements!  Now she is a girl on the go, but still just as sweet and cute as can be ~

Sweet Lily….

One of my 2010 resolutions is to run 500 miles this year… and today I completed mile 6.  :)  Happy Tuesday!

SO… as most of yall know, I am from West Texas… a small town Abilene girl transplanted to the Metroplex to work as an accountant for Corporate America.  BUT when it comes to the holidays, I take it back to my roots and head out west to kick it with the fam.  This is a short trip that take about 2 1/2 hours (actually less but I’m saying when I drive only 10 mph over the speed limit).  I was SUPPOSE to work a 1/2 day Christmas Eve, and I was just going to drive down when I left at noon putting me home mid afternoon with enough time to shop for gifts.  Well, let’s just say my Christmas eve was not as planned… AT ALL!!!  So I find out about 8 am there is a serious snow storm brewing in Abilene, call my boss to see if I can go ahead and hit the road, get the go ahead, throw everything in my car and pray to God I can make it over Ranger Hill before the roads ice.  I hit the road, the snow was coming down hard in Weatherford but after that it wasn’t that bad.  I made it to Ranger Hill no problemo.  Below Ranger Hill, snow wasn’t even sticking….. I get to the top and OMG a winter wonderland, but the roads were fine… till Eastland.  That is where it started to get NASTY  i.e over turned FedEx truck with half the trailer on I-20 and the other half and truck in the ditch ( camera in back seat BOOOOO), driving 30 mph on I-20, making my peace with God, ya know the usual.  White knuckles clinched to the wheel, trying to breath and not go into another panic attack or cry… telling myself just 45 miles…  I tend to focus so intensely on the road in bad weather that I honestly have no clue where I am exactly.  Then it happened, I see brake lights and slow down to a stop.  Now I had just stopped before Ranger Hill, got almost a 1/2 a tank to make it to Abilene.  Now in the Metro, I am use to stopping in traffic and then you start moving again slowly… not so much this time and instead of the Metro I was in the middle of nowhere around Cisco TX.  5 hours I sat there and moved 1/2 mile.  My 2 hour 15 minute drive turned into 9 hours of Purgatory.  My car was SOOOO hot, but if I turned off the windshield defrost, it would freeze in less than a minute even with the windshield wipers going full blast.  … now on to the slideshow ( I’m a photographer so yes I took pics and even while driving on sheets of ice cause Mark (you know Mark II  my camera) is the only companionship I had on this trip)

I sat at this stop for 2 hours before getting to move a whole 1/2 mile…. but I think this was part of the original problem… YES that is a minivan on a truck, on a truck, on a truck, on a truck.  Yes a minivan and 3 trucks on the back of another truck WITH NO ONE ANYWHERE IN SITE…. UGH!!!!!  OH and after begin stopped for that long, 18 wheelers can’t move.  Not sure why but that was a HUGE cause of delays cause they are just stranded…..

Then this was my view for the next 3 hours as the blizzard hit… I was B O R E D  and cranky (thanks to all those who put up with my mood during these hours cause it was not pretty :)   )

Then this happened… after the storm, the car in front of me unleashed the CUTEST thing ever… it put the BIGGEST smile on my face… *sigh*  puppy, you melt my heart just as your tinkle melted the snow :)

It was really pretty had I not been driving…

Then the sun started to come out and we eventually got moving and saw what damage was done…

AND BEING ‘THAT GUY’ PASSING PEOPLE WHEN EVERYONE IS IN A SINGLE LINE DRIVING TRYING TO SURVIVE…..

IS ONLY OK IF YOU ROCK A VOLVO… No joke this guy was cruising no slower than 5o while we were all going 2 0mph… VOLVO… you go you ugly car you

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!

Truth be told… when I turned 29 I FREAKED OUT!!! T-365 to THAT HORRID DAY I WAS NO LONGER IN MY 20′s!!!!!!  I had a mini late 20′s crisis as if the day I turned 30, a scarlet “30″ would be stamped on my forehead and everyone 29 and younger would roll their eyes thinking ‘what does this old lady know’.  Then the time drew close…and I actually……………Got…………….EXCITED!!!!!  WHO WANTS  TO TURN 30  ??  BUT  I  DID. I must start new goals on Mondays, or the 1st day of the month, or if the stars align… the 1st is a Monday :)  So I look at it a new beginning, fresh slate.  It’s a new decade of life,   a time for renewal, a time to Carpe Diem.  So here is to life, and all it still has to offer :) And my next 30 years…   ;)

And to eating chocolate cake….

with chopsticks…