{march photo a day :: photo 366}

can you believe we've almost made it through our first month of the Photo 366 challenge?  i can't!  it's been so fun to see everyone's interpretations of the february prompts and we hope you're loving it as much as we are!  remember, if you are an "instagramer," at anytime you simply touch the #febphoto366 hashtag (or #marchphoto366 in the future) and you can see ALL the pictures that people have posted through instagram for our little photo challenge.

so without further ado... let me introduce you to MARCH! 

we would LOVE if you would blog, tweet (@photo_366) , facebook (facebook.com/photo366) and help us get the word out this month.  

we just posted a few of our favorites from february on our facebook page... are any of your pictures there?  feel free to check it out, "like us," and tag yourself in your photo.  kuddos to you little photographers...  you deserve it!  more favorites to come from the rest of the month!

i'm so proud of this little project and i love having all of you get passionate about your photography, even if it is just with your phone, and seeing the beauty in your every day!!

{happy.shooting}

aw

{photo::366 :: february photo a day challenge}

i did it!  completed a WHOLE month of a photo challenge in january 

TODAY me and erin @ bringingupburns and all of our friends are starting our own challenge

{photo::366}

come join the fun!  i dare ya!

{happy.shooting}

aw

{can you spare $1? :: the elders' african adoption}

meet my beautiful friend wynne elder.

i had the pleasure of meeting wynne in dallas, tx in 2010 at the love affair photography workshop.  wynne is one of the most fun, loving beautiful souls i've met.  she's a photographer, Jesus lover, loves all things camp, and she has a heart for africa and orphans that is SO inspiring!!  i would be lying if i said i wasn't jealous of the fact that she went to africa 3 TIMES last year. i digress...  ;)

when i think of people that leak Jesus to all those around her, wynne is definitely on that list.  joy simply flows from her being.

wynne and her husband have decided to adopt their first child from africa, who they've already named camp elder after their love of camp, and we have a chance to help!  

let's face it...  the reality is that the cost of adoption is very expensive and not everyone is called to it, but why not help out the ones who do feel called and are willing to say "yes"???
 
give1save1 is an organization that's set up simply to help with the cost of adoption.  it's easy.  every week they're sponsoring a family and you give a $1 ... YES JUST ONE (OR 10:) ...to bless their socks off and help with their adoption.  how easy is that?  it's life giving folks!

take look at the elder's story and please take the time to give $1 this week

it's our way to do what james 1:27 calls pure religion

{religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: 

to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, 

and to keep oneself unstained from the world. james 1:27}

{GIVE TODAY BY CLICKING HERE}

{aw}

{Photo 366 :: A Photo a day challenge}

so remember when i said i was LOVIN' me some instagram & the january photo a day challenge?  well imagine my excitement when my radtastic friend erin over at bringing up burns asked me if i wanted to join forces with her to come up with our own monthly photo challenges.  now erin is one of the sweet bloggers that inspires me daily.  her pizazz for living life to the full, loving her husband passionately, and her kiddos with the utmost attention and fun, i can only hope to one day live out that inspiration in my own life.  don't even know how that girl does it all, but i love it!

we were so inspired by the creator of the january photo-a-day challenge based out of austrailia that we wanted to create our own little US version.  we got to brainstorming and realized this was something so fun that we had to share with the rest of the bloggosphere, twitterworld, instagrammers, and pinaholics (yes.  you know you are) out there.

so here it is!  february is our start and we'll be posting one each month for the rest of this year. so jump on board and challenge your photography skills.  you CAN do this!  even if you don't have an iphone for instagram you can still use your photo apps and hashtag us #febphoto366 on twitter!  just think how awesome you'll feel once you get through the whole year.  i know i'm planning on making a blurb coffee table book at the end of this year to have it all to remember.

you can play along just for the month of February or for the rest of 2012! use our list as inspiration just for yourself, or to post each day on instagram, or blog your shots at the end of each week. whatever you choose, we hope our "prompts" inspire you to get creative with your picture taking. we will post a new list of prompts about a week before the next month begins. you can follow us on instagram or twitter to be sure and get a heads up when the new prompts are posted. (@aprilmwalker and @bringingupburns on both!)

a few things we are excited to include every month, and are eager to see your interpretations of: 
Each month will start with a color. February is RED. could it be your wearing red, seeing red, hearing red, tasting red, being red, reading red, watching red, feeling red? we're excited to see! 

•  if you play along all year, we'll work through the alphabet. february we'll take shots of the Letters A and B. could it be Apple, Author, Anticipate, Appalling? Book, Begonia, Boiled, Between? what will you shoot?

•  on the 15th of every month, the prompt will always be "You on 15." can we each interpret this self portrait 11 different ways this year? i'm gonna try! ... and just remember to all those who are a little nervous about this one.. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!  God made you just the way you are and you're perfect!

• we will try to recognize holidays and events each month with abstract prompts. february we've included ones like "Romance and Makes You Blush" for Valentine's Day, "Favorite Movie" on the day of the Oscars, and "Leap!" on the 29th. so fun, right?!

come find us on facebook too!! 

{photo :: 366}

so...that's Photo366! if you decide to play along in the month of february, we'd love it if you'd blog about the challenge and link up below. that way we can come follow you and be sure to see all the pics you'll be posting.  you'll be able to find others who have committed to the challenge and see their interpretations of the prompts too! we'll post a new linky each month, so by linking up - you're only committing to one month at a time. the linky is open until Feb 29th, so whenever you post, be sure and come back and link up as erin and i are most excited about seeing your pictures. above of all, have fun with it!

February 2012 Photo A Day Challenge

{pinterest}

it's official.  i'm madly in love with pinterest.

i just wish that i was the one who thought of it first!

if you don't know what pinterest is, it's a WONDERFUL system of cataloguing all things beautiful, bright, & lovely... and much, much more.  for years i've been forwarding myself links to images, things i want to make, beautifully decorated homes, anything i find inspiring, and saving them in a folder in my email for "future reference."  i LOVE having them all there, but it is painful going through them all and then one day a few weeks ago i got pulled into the the pool... enter pinterest...

...and there it all is.  that's just a little preview of the things i've "pinned."  

just LOOK at all of that beautiful wonderfullness that i love all right there catalogued for me with the links from where they originated from.  oh lawdy i'm in heaven!  and don't even get me started on being inspired by everyone else's pinterest boards.

it's very obvious to me that i am a visual learner and experiencer.  yeah i made that word up, but whatevs.  i thrive and am totally inspired by beautiful things, beautiful design, and pinterest just lights up my day and puts a spring in my step.

need an invite?  

just let me know and i'll be MORE than happy to pull you into the pinterest pool too!

{happy.pinning}

aw

{summa.summa.summatime}

channeling will smith aka the fresh prince here. 
summatime has arrived in full force and it's off to a good start.

: pool : weddings : hydrangeas : sandals : lunch outside :

: music festivals : mountain drives : gifts & goodbyes :

: out of town guests : sunglasses : summer church series :

: bugs : morning coffee : workouts : flowers from my mama :

: summer storms : new bikes : HOT temps : homemade desserts :

 : walks on the greenway : creativity : nights out on the patio with friends :

{happy.summer.2011}
aw

{almond.leaf.studios}

how oh how have i failed to blog about this?  i'm seriously failing on the blog front, but i digress... i just can't do it all and that's ok.  it's really ok.  moving forward...

meet elizabeth marx.  isn't she just lovely? who is she exactly, you ask? 
well, let's rewind about a year (crazy talk that it's been that long)...



http://www.almondleafstudios.com/

there's no doubt in my mind that the Big Guy Upstairs, you know... the One who created the universe yet loves my little soul in such an unfathomable way.  yeah.  that One ;) ... well i know that He orchestrated quite a few events for my path to cross with elizabeth's and i am sooo glad He did.   through a "chance" meeting and later over lunch, elizabeth offered me an opportunity i just couldn't refuse.  elizabeth is the creator and mastermind behind her fine art photography business, almond leaf studios, that she has grown over the last 2 years.  she asked little old me if i'd come along side her as her official 2nd shooter for the next year of weddings.  ummmm... YES PLEASE!!

we have now shot 6 weddings together, become great friends, and i absolute love her!!  she has such a beautiful heart, a passion to see justice in this world, and a heart for God and His creation that i connect with on many levels.  plus we have F-U-N folks.  lots of it!  for 2 single gals shooting weddings, we have to keep our wits about us in some way.

i've been blessed in so many ways by elizabeth.  she has been a confidant, an encourager for my heart, a teacher of this craft i'm learning, and most importantly, a really great friend.  we're off to SC this weekend for our 4th wedding of this year and i'm excited for our little road trip!  here are a few of my favorite images that i've taken this year so far.

make sure you show elizabeth some loving because she's one rad chic!
:twitter:
:facebook:
:blog:
{aw}

{the sunshine through the rain}

::the world has its ways : to quiet us down

the world has its ways : to quiet us down comes the rain

down comes our spirits again : but down comes the strength

to lift us up and then...::

{jack johnson}

i'm not sure if the rain down here in the south is magnifying my mood or just matching it, but i've been in a total funk this last week.  the realities of life sometimes are just a little bit more overwhelming than i expect.  this is one of those bad funks where you don't want to be around anyone, talk to anyone, do anything.  i've been in search of some inspiration to draw me out of this mess and sometimes it just takes a few beautiful pictures...

{thank.you.pinterest}

the mood is lifting.

starting to see the sunshine after the rain...

{aw}

"voice of beauty" :: by david johnson

i'm excited to tell you all about a beautiful gift that gives back & just in time for Christmas! 

this week Mocha Club has it 50% off for just $10. 

click HERE to purchase directly from mocha club

David Johnson, who happens to be my neighbor, and runs Silent Images (the organization I'll be working with to document my Jan 2010 Africa trip with SOI) created this beautiful book from his photography of women in developing countries.  100% of the profits from sales of this book provide micro loans for women and education for girls in Africa.

here's a little bit about the book taken from www.silentimages.org

"David’s next book, Voice of Beauty, unveils the prevailing, yet rarely celebrated, beauty and strength of women and girls in developing countries. When women and girls respond to their environment, endure social oppression, withstand abuse, fight for the rights of their child, the essence of their beauty is exposed. However, this beauty is rarely shown on the cover of glamour magazines; instead, her beauty often silently escapes with the moment, without applause, without recognition. The photographs in Voices of Beauty offers a glimpse at the unique beauty of women and girls in developing countries, a beauty that is rarely documented or applauded. Her beauty exists with or without the camera, but when captured, the power of her beauty needs to be shown, not to exploit, but to bring awareness to her story. Whether a camera captures it or not, the beauty, strength, dignity and resilience of a woman is to be celebrated."

{happy.monday.and.happy.giving}

aw

{breathtaking}

"the heavens declare the glory of God;

   the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

-psalm 19:1

i'm so thankful He never gets tired of creating

and that sunsets and sunrises never cease 

to amaze me and take my breath away!

grabbed this shot yesterday while driving down the road.

i think it's one of my favorites.

{happy.tuesday}

aw

{Love Affair 2010 - Model Shoot - Jamie & Eric}

i had the wonderful priviledge of shooting the gorgeous jamie & her charming husband eric during our group model shoot at love affair.  our group had a great time chatting and scurrying around downtown dallas trying to find some spots to shoot with these two.  based off of jamie & eric's styled look we decided to go for country meets city and i think we succeeded.  it was also a great learning experience for me with taking what you have to work with and being creative on the fly!  here are my favorite shots from the day!

 --------------------------

can we say gorg-a-rama couple??!?



seriously how cute are they?

{love}

and now onto the parking deck adventure.  this was eric's first time modeling, but i think he could pull it off, don't you?  they were both fantastic!

a little dancin'

annnnddd a DIP!

 and there you have it.  country meets city.  jamie was working it!

...and maybe i went a little out of my norm and went for something a little more different on this next shot.  sexy, moody, mysterious...  this was the shot i submitted for our critique.  it was good for me to get out of my comfort zone though and do something i wouldn't normally do.  looking at it now, those pillows in the back are driving me cuh-razy.  next time i'll make sure i straighten out.  nitpicky?  yes!

hey, hey pretty lady!

thanks to jamie & eric for modeling for us!!  it was a great first model experience for me!!

{happy.thursday}

aw