who is willing to help?

Today I had my sister take a few pictures of me... I'm always behind the camera instead of in front of it, so as a result I don't have many pictures of me. I've been in the process of revamping my blogs (in case you haven't noticed) and wanted some pictures for my photoblog header. Nikki did a really great job, but I cannot lie, it was a bit awkward at first. It's so different being in front of the camera, and I had a feel for how my subjects must feel. 

This leads me to ask... is there anyone out there that would be willing to let me take pictures of them? I want people to feel comfortable in front of my camera and with my direction. So I think I need to practice. I'm calling on couples, families, women that are pregnant, babies of all ages, engaged and married couples.. PLEASE LET ME TAKE YOUR PICTURES. I'll do it for free! I'm shooting a wedding in November and want to be completely ready and comfortable giving directions to people while I'm photographing them. Please let me know if you're interested.

Here are a few pictures that my sister took... I touched them up in photoshop a bit and think that they look great! I even pulled off a serious face once or twice. 

      

BFA Updates

I only have ONE picture left to take before I can start printing and framing my BFA photos. I'm pretty excited! I had a really hard time finally deciding what my project would be. I've been bouncing back and forth between my original project which is about my family (and the one I eventually went with) and my Avedon Portrait's of Working America. I think I'll continue to work on my Avedon Portraits on my own for fun. Here are a few recent pictures that will be hanging with my gallery show. Let me know what you think!

Oh, and Miles hit 200 sales today and is coming home TOMORROW. I can't wait.. I literally broke down this afternoon because I am so lonely. It's somewhat pathetic but I'd like to think of it as sweet? I had absolutely no face-to-face social interaction since about 7:00 Friday night. Pathetic. Now I need to focus on cleaning the house since I don't have a whole lot of time before Miles gets back. Somehow Nixon really just dirties my house with all his toys and the mischief he gets into. I'm a bad puppy mom.

Post Numero Sessanta

That means Post Number Sixty in Italian. Miles looked at our blog the other day so that is a tribute to him... and the fact that he looked at our blog without my prompting. Big steps. Anyway, I just updated my photoblog just now, and that's pretty impressive for me because I never get around to doing it. I'm really excited about the engagement pictures I posted too. It makes me feel really good when people love their final product. I'm also doing this couples wedding in November... I'm really excited about it! I love weddings, I love engagements, I just really love love. But I especially enjoy capturing that love in people's eyes through photography. That look and that light cannot be mimicked, it can't be edited in. People genuinely have to love each other to get that sparkle. I love it! And every time I take a couple's pictures it reminds me of Miles. I just can't help it.

Well speaking of Miles, he's been gone for over a week and a half now. It's pretty sucky, however, we have managed to find a positive out of this... we have fallen in love all over again. And not that we weren't in love before, but being so far apart has helped us realize just how much we care about and depend on one another. I got back from Sacramento and instantly regretted ever leaving him. But the surprise went well! I have it on video, I'll post it with the 3 pictures we took the entire weekend. That's pretty unusual for me, but I was just soaking up ever single second I had with him.

Also, the first day of school has come and gone. It's my FINAL semester and I couldn't be happier to graduate! Miles has taken the semester off, which will be nice when he finally gets home... someone can take care of Nixon while I'm at school! My heart breaks every time I put him in his crate or lock him up in the bathroom for the few hours I have classes. I hate to hear his little whine and cry. My sister, Nikki, is here which is really nice. She keeps me company and we got to have a first day of school photoshoot like we did when we were kids and my mom would sit us down on the stairs and make us take pictures.

Yay for SURPRISES

So, Miles left me on Sunday to head back to California to finish up the summer selling. I've been busy with school and my sister, Nikki, comes over pretty much every day, so it's been manageable. But a few weeks ago when I was booking Miles flight to go to California, I also booked myself a flight! I booked it on the bank account that my paycheck's went to, the one he never looks at, and today I'm flying in to Sacramento to SURPRISE him! I'm pretty excited. I can't wait to see his face when I walk into his apartment. It's going to be awesome.

I might be obsessed...

Okay, so when people have babies their blogs tend to be saturated with pictures of their babies and the couple seems to disappear... I never understood that. However, I must be a proud parent because all I take are pictures of my baby Nixon. So, while I will continue to blog about Miles and my adventures together, there will probably be a smathering of pictures of my puppy. I can't help it, he's so gosh dang cute and I just love him. I've been working on a picture frame collage for one of the walls in our new little home and we really wanted to put a picture of Nixon in one of the frames. So I've been trying to take some cute little portraits of him. Here are some pictures:

Meet my Pups.

 
Meet Mandy: Mandy was my childhood dog. She was a golden retriever and I loved her! She was around for a long time. One time one of my nannies left me home alone and I went and climbed into the hammock with Mandy and cried, and then I took her up to my neighbor Jackie Dunster's house and wouldn't leave until my mom picked me up. That nanny was fired. She was a jerk. When Mandy died my parents bought us hermit crabs. I wanted a dog. So I asked for one pretty much every year until my 16th birthday...

Meet Mogley: Mogley is a pure breed Australian Shepard. He flew all the way from Washington state to Connecticut to be a part of our family. Mogley was born on my 16th birthday. My parents showed me a picture of him and my heart grew 10x bigger. I love that doggy so much! He's the first thing I run to when I get to come home from school for holidays and summers. Mogley is a snuggly doggy and I miss him. 

Now meet Nixon: Nixon is the newest Heidorn. He's a 7 week old puppy and my little baby. He is probably the laid back and chill dog you will ever meet. He doesn't run around in circles and bug the heck out of you, he doesn't bark, he doesn't shed, and he's so content just snuggling up in your lap and taking a nap. Miles was knocking in Stockton and knocked into an LDS woman who had a litter of shitsu/border collie mix puppies. He sent me a picture and I instantly had to have him. We thought about it a lot for a few weeks, weighed the pros and cons and considered the commitment and the time and money it takes to raise a puppy right. We decided Nixon had to be a part of our family. So Monday morning we picked him up! We went straight to Petco and got him a crate, some toys, a collar, a leash, food, and treats! He's done such a good job potty training so far. Only 1 accident in the house and that was just a few minutes ago when I was cutting Miles hair and wasn't paying attention to his potty signs. He slept with me in our bed last night and slept through the whole night with no accidents and didn't wake us up at all. He'll be sleeping in his crate but I couldn't resist cuddling with him last night. I'm going to teach him to sit on the front of my longboard and ride with me. Today I went back to Petco to get a check up and give him his first round of shots. I couldn't even stay in the room and started crying when I heard him yelp in pain. It was so sad. I love my little baby, I'm one proud momma!