Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you all and your families. May you all be spending time with loved ones during this holiday season.
I know I wasn't able to send my Christmas card out to everyone, so i placed it below. Enjoy :) (You may click on the pictures to make them bigger)

Holiday Extravaganza

Below is the booth that i had up at the Ethan Holiday Extravaganza. For their first year of putting on the event, i beleive it when over well. Expecailly considering that Mitchell had a lot of events going on the same weekend. I didn't sell a whole lot, but i did get to show my work. Which might be the best thing about



Photo off of the Ethan Quill Web site.

Finally, wrestling :)

All i can say is ... FINALLY! I was able to shoot wrestling. When i was younger, our school didn't have wrestling. After i graduated and was hired at the local Daily paper, i was able to attend my first wrestling match. And from there, i was hooked. Sure I still don't get all of the rules. Of course i know what a pin, tech fall, major dec. and a take down are ... but after that, i am kind of lost. But love the sport. It has been stated in our home that if we ever have boys they will be wrestlers (of course i played basketball, so who knows which one they will like).
But anyways, i headed to Sturgis last night for it's match against Rapid City Stevens. Below are a couple of photos that stuck out while working one them. Also, it may take a while for me to get the page up. I think i may have around 200 photos going up. (Just taking a break now).

Off Camera Shooting ... basketball

Ok, I think I have talked about this for volleyball. But now that basketball season is here, I would like to try my off camera shooting again.
On Friday I headed to the Newell vs. Hill City game. Though I was a little late for the girls' game, and then almost fell in front of the student section (real embarrassing! I do carry a lot of weight in the back pack). I didn't off camera shoot with the girls' game. In fact, I shot the girls' game like I always have. Flash on the camera. If you take a look below, you can see that I am still getting Red Eye in the photos. Which really just drives me up the wall.

So to fix this problem, I shot the boys game by using the off camera flash. Yes, it takes my more time to set everything up, and it runs through my $16 batteries like no other. But I love that there is NO red eye (take a look at the boys photos). A long with the time it takes to set up and the battery problem, I have thought of on other problem. I can't move the flash with me. SO, sometimes not everyone is in the flash. Or, sometimes the opponent will have his/her arms up and a big shadow will fall across someone else's face.
But overall, I like the off camera flashing better. And I will be trying it more in the next couple of months.

Found my HEART

That's right, i found my heart ... rock :)
When Adam and I climbed the mountain in Montana he found it. He told me to sit down, close my eyes and hold out my hand. Of course i was thinking he was giving me something else (which i got that week). But there it was, a prefect heart rock.
Now since the move a year and a half ago. I wasn't sure where i put it. And within that time, i had looked all over the apartment for it. Last week i found it while i was cleaning out a drawer. So what do you do with a heart rock? ... Take photos of it :)
Enjoy a couple of photos ...

Me, well sorta

Ok, so i have had a long morning. Which is a good thing. So in this moment of nothing going on. I started looking at a couple of different Blogs. And in one, i found a link to create, well, ME :)



Click HERE to do the same.

Cody, Melissa & Brecken

I was able to take Cody, Melissa and Brecken's family photos after Thanksgiving. And even though i had to wait a week to work on them, it was worth the wait. Cody and Melissa's daughter was born in October and she has the biggest dark eyes. *SO CUTE*
So here is your sneak peak at your photos ...

Callie

Here is a couple photos of Callie. While i was home i seen this, and well, it just reminded me of the Anne Geddes photos ... only with a cat. (Callie does have an extra toe, in case you keep looking at her paws)

Also, this is my 100th post on the blog :) I still need to catch up on some things around here, but i will be posting photos of a family session that i took after Thanksgiving.

Charlie

As my sister and her family came back for Thanksgiving, she had to bring someone new along. Well, she picked Charlie up as a giveaway puppy in Parkston the night before Thanksgiving.
She is 3/4 collie and 1/4 German Shepard and 100% a cutie :)

What are YOU thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

I love the holidays. I get to go home and see most of my family. I love that! So I'm hoping that you all get to do something you love during this holiday season.

This year I am thankful for ...
Family & Friends, everyone i know being healthy, my business (i have meet a lot of great people, and hope to meet many more), Gas prices going down (Ha! It's easier going home), my wonderful husband and many, many more things in live.

Welp, back to packing ...



Just a side note: I will be staying a week back home. I have a show next Saturday, where i will be showing my photos. Then i will be hitching a ride back on Sunday.
All orders will be put in after i get back.

Ms. Maddie

This past week/weekend Adam and I spent four days back in Gregory. The nice thing about going back to Gregory this time ... Maddie. I love puppies! Within four days, i had her sitting and shaking.
Here are a couple photos of Ms. Maddie ...

Holiday Extravaganza

Ethan will be hosting a Holiday Extravaganza (sponsored By The Ethan Pride & Betterment) December 6th from 10:00A.M. to 3:00P.M. at the Ethan Legion Hall.

Luckily, i will have a booth set up at the event. Not sure if i will be running the booth, but i will have a booth up. (my mom will run it for me, if I'm not able to get back).

Beings it will take place in Ethan. Most of my items for sale will be Ethan stuff. I will have Ethan volleyball and football 4x6's from this past season and Seahawk and Rustler posters. The poster sizes are 11x14 and 10x20. The posters in this case will have an art board mounting on them. I will only 'show' the four of them. If anyone would like to purchase the posters afterward, this is possible. As, i will be able to take orders that day too.

At the moment, i am still trying to think of something i can put up in the background to show some more photos. (Any ideas, please contact me) My thought of two old doors would work, but i don't have any. I guess I'll have to do some digging back home :)

Here is a sneak peak at the Ethan posters ...

My favorite Photographers ...

I would like to go over my top photographers. Most from South Dakota, and one out of state. I also follow all of their blogs.

Erin Vey, Pet Photographer
Web site: http://www.erinvey.com/
What can i say about Erin. I admire her completely. I love her work and am a little jealous that she gets to work with dogs. Every time she adds something to her blog, i can't wait to look. She has a Great Dane named Gracie. For someone who has wanted a Great Dane for as long as i can remember, i can watch her dog grow.
At the beginning of this month, she picked a winner for a dog shoot. Everyone wrote a short about their dog and she picked one winner out. She will now travel North Carolina for a free shot with Aida. I truly cannot say enough about her.

Dave, Firesteel Creek Photography
Web site: http://www.firesteelcreekphotography.com/
Dave is one of the most down to earth guy i know. He use to work at the same newspaper i did, well, before i started. After leaving the paper, he has build up a wonderful photography business. The best thing, he volunteers. Every year, while i was back home, i would see him out at the rodeo grounds in Mitchell. He has truly put a lot of sweat into that place ... along with others. And it shows.

Christan, Prairiestorm Productions
Web site: http://mit.midco.net/prairiestorm/Prairiestorm.html
Blog: http://cbegeman.blogspot.com/
Christian is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet! He does pretty much what i am doing. But has a lot more other things he does besides what i do. He pretty much shoots Mitchell and DWU events. He also takes video of these events. He shoot the video for my wedding and it turned out wonderful!
Christian also takes landscape photos, check his blog out and looking at his September and August posts, he is great.

Shalista
Web site: http://www.shalista.com/kids/
Blog: www.shalista.com/photoblog
Shalista maybe one of the best photographers in South Dakota, of course this is my opinion. She can capture anything and anyone and make it look amazing. I only wish i could job shadow her for a day. She also does fundraisers with the humane society.

Laura, Shutterscapes
Web site: http://www.shutterscapes.net/
Laura is a great photographer. I know first hand. She took my wedding photos. After looking at her blog, she has improved greatly! She has more of a photo journalist style of shooting, which helps save some of those little moments you miss on your wedding day.

Thresha
Blog: http://threshabenson.com/
Thresha, what can i say about her. She helped my with my first wedding. So easy to get a long with, and i hope her the best in the future. I have checked out her photos from the wedding, and they look amazing. She has a lot of talent. Just a little jealous that she lives on a farm when I'm looking at her photos :) Check them out. She has a post called 'Sunset on the Farm'. The third photos down is just amazing. And her kittens, which I'm sure are not kittens anymore, are sooo cute (great photos).

That is my list of favorite photographers so far :) May they all have the best of luck in the future. And thank you to all that are reading for taking a look at their sites. I'm sure they would appreciate it too.

Ten Random Facts Game

TAG: Here's how you play. Once you've been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random things, facts, or habits about yourself. At the end, you choose 10 people to be tagged. You can't tag the person who tagged you. Since you can't tag me back, let me know when you've posted your blog so I can see your answers.

1: I love the smell of track weather. And if you don't know, there is a such thing as track weather smell.

2: I don't hate living in Sturgis. I love being in a place that Adam and I can go exploring. But i miss my family to much to really enjoy the place.

3: One of my favorite shows this year is Gossip Girl. Yes, my husband makes fun of me because its about high school kids. But I still like it.

4: Most everyone knows this, but I still have not had a drink of alcohol. After our anniversary, i dipped my finger into wine and tried it. YUCK!! That was enough for me. It has also been over 10 years without pop.

5: I really don't like the smell of sugar. It reminds me of cotton candy. We use to have a cotton candy machine growing up. Got to much of it :S

6: When i was little and learning out to ride my bike. I headed off the gravel driveway and into the grass. Of course, the grass is really hard to ride in. Well, I crashed into my brothers newly painted Chevelle. Thankfully he had some extra paint to retouch it with. And thankfully we had a bathroom with a lock on it. I was sure he was going to strangle me. I got the silent treatment from he for a while.


7: I considered Skipper the best friend i ever had. After a bad day i would go and sit with her or even after i got off of work at midnight. Skipper was a Border Collie/German Shepard we had growing up. She just passed away this past May.

8: When I was little and even when i was in school, I hated, hated to read. But that has all changed. After i received a birthday present from my sister-in-law ... it was my first Nicholas Sparks book. Let just say, I am hooked.
I also love all South Dakota photo books. I would love to make one someday.


9: When I was little everyone thought my sister and I were twins. We are a year and two weeks apart. I still sometimes have people call me Amy.

10: My first real job was offered to me. Never had to fill out a resume. My boss always laughed because i told him that i couldn't start until after we got the yearbook done. I had just graduated high school.
10 1/2: I also had a teacher that said i would never make it in the newspaper business. Which makes me smile. I never wanted to be in the newspaper business, but sure enough i spent 6 years there. ha!



(I'm also not going to 'tag' anyone. Anyone can do this if you want)

Birds of a Feather

Birds of a Feather Stick Together

The photo was take through a window in our apartment today.

Favorite Volleyball Photo

Here is my favorite photo from this volleyball season. It was taken last night at the Newell/Belle Fourche game.

My photos from the last couple events have had a different look to them. I am shooting the volleyball matches using an off camera flash. As you can see, the shadows are in weird places, but i have not had one red eye since trying this out :)

Trading Cards, Update

Just wondering if anyone would be interested in trading cards? The would have the following written on them: name, school and school year (senior, junior, etc.). I do not offer them yet, but would like to know if anyone is interested. Maybe i can add them to my pricing list.



What else is going on ...

I just wanted to let everyone know that i will be deleted more pages off of my Web site Nov. 12. By doing this, i am able to keep putting up new pages. The following pages will be deleted on the 12th.

1124: Amy Pregnant Photos
1106: Ethan grade school (girls') basketball vs. Mitchell Christian
1105: Ethan grade school basketball vs. Mount Vernon (both boys and girls)
1018: Gregory vs. Plankinton-White Lake, football
1018: Emery-Ethan vs. Hanson, football
1009: Newell vs. Harding County, volleyball
1004: Newell vs. Hot Springs, Volleyball
0928: Emery-Ethan vs. Freeman, football
0928: Gregory vs. Parker, football
0927: Ethan vs. Freeman, volleyball


On Dec. 6, 2008 I plan on setting up a booth at the Holiday Extravaganza in Ethan. I plan on having some Ethan volleyball and Emery-Ethan football prints and posters made up for this event.

Bear Country USA

Every year the guy that owns Bear Country drives across the state to pick up a 'Big' load of pumpkins from my parents. So while he was there last year, he handed out some free passes to Bear Country.
Now, this pass has been hanging up in our apartment for two years about ready to expire. So Adam and I headed there last weekend.
Here are the photos that Adam and I ended up with ...