texas here I come | las vegas lifestyle photographer

35 days. Just 35 more days left in Vegas! I know you’re the lone star state but hopefully there is room for another star to move on in. Today I was talking to a friend about all the fun things there is to do in Texas, things that Vegas definitely lacks. I was going on about fishing for catfish late at night, and going out on the lake by day. Then there is the awesome four wheeler riding and I do have to say that I have a thing for big trucks. You can explore the rolling hills or knotty pines and I am ready to do it all! I want to lay in a field of bluebonnets and stare up at the big wide open sky. I want to drink musky dine wine and go for long runs on dirt roads under trees. I just want to read a book by a willow tree. I want to feel the grass under my feet again. I don’t think I realized how ready I was before, but now I know. I’m ready.

So what does this mean for Silhouette clients in Las Vegas? First off I will always come back to Vegas as those neon lights will call me back from time to time. As of November fourth though, I will no longer be here. Most clients have filled me up for the month of October but I still might have time for two or three more shoots. Better book me while you can!  

Texas here I come. 

le assistant | las vegas lifestyle photographer

Speaking of my familiarity with babies, I would have to say that I have had slim to zilch contact with them throughout my life. It is not that I have had an aversion to them by any means but I never babysat growing up, was the youngest and more of the baseball type than the baby doll type growing up. I have held about three babies in my whole life for a total of possibly 15 minutes and I have to admit that I have never changed a diaper. 

Now, all of this did not detour me from wanting children with the most wonderful man on the planet, my husband Caleb. Ever since I met him I had the desire to imagine what our children would look like one day. I remember even being that creepy girl on the second date who actually had a little word vomit and pondered out loud, "Wow, I bet our kids are going to have really long legs because you have super long legs." Yup. I said that out loud and he did not run away. Ladies, that is how you know that they are a keeper.

So the point of this sweet, but not so short post is that things change. They change dramatically when you become pregnant, or at least they did for me. I run around baking cupcakes and searching endlessly online for little outfits and the most natural pacifiers. Oh boy, and there is more. I rub my belly tenderly and speak to Levi welcoming him one day closer into this world everyday. I have actually become quite fond of this bump and I am proud to wear a shirt or dress that hugs my curves. 

Then there was the moment when I realized I was really 'nesting' if you will. (Caleb loves when I use that term, he thinks it is adorable, but I warn him because he is really going to know what nesting means when we move to Texas in about a month.) So, I decided to take on a little project. I bought this solid onesie featured below and cut out the shape of a camera. Then I sewed in the white fabric and camera pieces beneath the cutout. I proceeded to embroider around the camera and freehand embroider the word 'assistant' on the onesie. 

I figure every good photographer needs a reliable assistant and I am just going to get my little one started early. Happy Tuesday!

jean marie and zachary | las vegas wedding photographer

The best thing about Vegas weddings is seeing families from all of the country and world travel miles over and come together to celebrate a union. It speaks volumes really. 

Jean Marie and Zach were blessed by the gathering of their closest friends and family to support them as they exchanged their vows on a beautiful overlook of the Las Vegas Valley at Bear's Best Country Club. The sunshine sparkled and danced around the emotions of the day and I was blessed enough to capture it all!

Jean Marie and Zach, you two are some of the most genuinely nice people I have ever met and I cannot thank you enough for this great chance to capture your day. The only thing that I would say was difficult about this shoot was trying to narrow all the great photos down to just a few for the blog. Jean, you are stunning! 

 Best of luck, grace, blessings and happiness to you both!

rewards and loyalty points!!! | las vegas lifestyle photographer

For all of you, or more appropriately the handful of you that follow my blog, I just want to say thank you! You are amazing and you are the reason that I get to do what I love to do... so keep on following!

To reward you for your hard earned work of spending countless clicks to my blog on a daily basis (a girl can only hope) I have set up a loyalty program where you can earn cool stuff just for keeping me bookmarked, stopping by from time to time and say "Hey" on my facebook page. 

The best part is that you dont even have to leave my blog. Just click on the Rewards ribbon and you automatically get 100 points just for saying "Hey" or visiting my blog. Then you can get another 100 points by "liking" my facebook page (this is all on the blog too) and then another 100 points by just leaving me a comment (literally saying Hey!) on my facebook page. 

This is easy guys, so here is the good part. You can earn points and redeem them for a mini photo shoot with yours truly,  or how about a 16x20 photo canvas of an existing photo that you already have or a photo that I take of you! And if you are far away then maybe you want some cute vintage jewelry? 

I love my bloggers, my followers, my fans, my tweeters, my clients, you are all my friends.... so I thought I might just give you the hook up!

i heart faces contest | las vegas lifestyle photographer

This week’s challenge over at i Heart Faces  is “a touch of sun”. Such a fun, and inspiring theme that is right up my alley. If you have ever shot a session with me I have the tendency to always get excited over light. Even if the session is finished I often pull over to capture the great "light". The photo below was no exception. This was shot on a whim on the side of the road in the middle of the desert. Love it!

Wish me luck for the big winnings!

 

 

valley of fire | las vegas lifestyle photographer

 

This past weekend the girls and I took a little night trip out to Lake Mead and the Valley of Fire. We spent the night under the cool thundering skies and watched the lightening crack and snap across the valley. 

The next morning I woke up bright and early to catch the sunrise over the mountains. The desert may be a mostly barren land with lack of color, but the skies here in Las Vegas make up for that. The sunrise lasted only about 30 minutes and a new shade of warm gold appeared every inch as the sun came up.

After we ate our cereal and stretched a little we headed out to The Valley of Fire. You might think, hmm... why is this place called The Valley of Fire? As you can see from the images below the mountains are terracotta and hues of red. It is amazing. Even when hiking the sand is reddish and the green foliage pops out vibrantly against the intense earth. 

From the sun to the sky,  from the crevices of earth to the cacti rooted in the land this is a part of Las Vegas that makes me a true believer in the subtle beauties of the desert.

happiness is... | las vegas lifestyle photographer

Happiness is....  all the things I love splattered all over my fridge. I wanna look at the things I love while grabbing for my nightly craving of Haagen-Dazs frozen yogurt. Double love.

Last week I went on a little bit of a crafting binge. See there is this great site, Pinterest. It fills my head with all of these great ideas that I have to try and then an idea turns into an idea, into an idea. It's fantastic. So here I am with a bunch of photos that I just love and cherish and I thought what a better place than your fridge to display them. I put these miniature photos in Polaroid snapshot frames. You all ( or I mean "y'all", Im allowed to say that since I am moving to Texas in 2 months!!) know how I love snapshots. Then I adhered the small snapshots to magnets and put a layer of "laquer" a.k.a tape, over them. In the center of all the bustle and mess of moments and people that I love is a tiny ultrasound. 

I never appreciated other people's ultrasounds when I looked at them. I can tell you that a lot of my perspectives have changed since I have become pregnant and those thoughts just keep on evolving. The ultrasound of my son is one of my most cherished photos ever. The first photos of his life. The dark image in the center of the bunch is just so precious and shows him sucking his thumb. I am excited and proud that he is sucking his thumb so I can tell you that I am totally going to be one of those parents that Ooo and Ahhh over their child's every move. Yup we already have a baby genius and a professional swimmer moving around in there.

So what makes you happy? Haagen -Dazs, an ultrasound, a magnet....

matt and erinn | las vegas wedding photographer

Distance makes the heart grow fonder.... and in this case the old adage is very true. Erinn and Matt have traveled across the miles throughout their relationship and although I have only known them for a short period of time, they are a couple that is clearly in love. 

I photographed the couple through downtown Las Vegas this past spring, for their engagement shoot and getting to know them was a blast. I have to say that it was even better being able to spend their whole entire wedding with them! Erinn you are stunning and your Alfred Angelo dress was equally  as beautiful. 

Matt and Erinn, cheers to all the wonderful years that you totally deserve together and thank you for allowing me to be apart of your day.