Landscapes and Non-People Photos

I really like taking photos of people, more than landscapes or architecture... BUT here are some photos that I've taken here and there. I hope ya like em!

This is gorgeous California. I'm not sure exactly where it is. We took these on our drive from Northern California to Kansas, and we drove ALL the way down through California.

My California Hills 

Ok, I spent more time looking up into the sun to take this photo than I should have. It just took a long time for me to figure out the settings so I could actually see the clouds in the picture instead of them being washed out. I think momentary blindness was worth it. haha

I tkink this was on a drive from California to Utah.  I love the reflection.

I really like this photo, or at least what it represents to me. This is Right outside of our apartment complex in OKC. There is a path with a little "bridge" in the middle. On the left side is a barren wasteland where a little lake should be. On the right side is a lush gorgeous lake. It reminds me of life and the choices and consequences that are before us at all times.

Another CA road trip photo.

I call this: Lamp Post! Reminds me a little bit of Narnia. Oh how I long to be there.

You're right. I'm just trying to be cool, throwing in a picture of a basketball hoop. Haha

Ok, I took this when I had the photo shoot of Pregnant Barbara, and I just saw these cute ducks almost as if they were posing for me! (With a little baby in the middle!!!) Oh  how precious!

That's right world. I am in Oklahoma.

Oh man the moon was AMAZING the other night and this is a cool shot I managed to get of it. When I stepped outside my jaw literally dropped and my eyes bulged out of my head. This photo does not do the night justice, but it's pretty cool all the same.

Family Pics!

This is (part of) my Beautiful family!!!

Poor Grandma, I made her stand up for some of the pictures.

She's a trooper though!

I think it was worth it.

Oh I love this one! My husband was pushing Grandma, and I just looove this snap of their shaddows.

Glamorous Susanne

This was a spontaneous photo shoot of Susanne. Autumn did her hair and I did her makeup. It just seemed natural to follow with a photo shoot!

(Okay, these two are the same picture, but I love them both!!!)

Gorgeous Pregnant Barbara

This is my beeeeaaaaaautiful sister Barbara a few days before she gave birth. These were taken at Lake Elizabeth in Fremont, CA. Thanks for letting me taking these Barb!! I love you.

Healthy Cooking Tips #1

My food is like photography: all experimental! I LOVE food and beaing healthy, so it's been fun trying new things. Plus, I love Iron Chef, and every time I watch it I'm so inspired, I go to my refrigerator and say to myself, "What can I make that is INCREDIBLE with only what I have in my fridge and cupbords right now?" And that's what I do.

Tip #1:  I have two favorite kitchen tools (besides the spatuals and stuff). #1 is a Vita Mix. Oh how glorious it is! I seriously use it every day. If you don't have a Vita Mix (Or Blendtech, I hear they're fabulous too) that's ok, but I highly reccomend a blender of some kind.

Tip # 2: This little food processor is my next favorite tool. I LOVE not having to chop up everything by hand, and it's nice that this one is smaller, because I can chop small amounts of things like one or two cloves of garlic just fine. I do larger quantities too, and that just takes three or four batches, but I'm cool with that. 

Tip # 3: If you do have these tools, rinse them out as SOON as you're done blending or chopping. It makes life so much easier.

 Movin on to the Food: Have you ever gone to the grocery store and bought a bunch of produce thinking, "This is good for me. I should eat this."And then a week or two later you look in your fridge and reaize it's all gone bad and you have to just throw it away? Yeah, me too. For the past few months I have really been trying to eat more fruits and vegetables. This has forced me to go out of my comfort zone a bit since I didn't grow up eating a ton of it. Now, I feel very comfortable with produce! I eat it all the time. Ya know how I do it?

Tip # 4: When you go to make a meal (whether it's a nice dinner or a quick lunch) look at your food and say to yourself, "I need to eat these fruits and vegetables or they're gonna go bad." Take whatever you have a make a meal BASED AROUND the produce or whatever food that needs to be eaten before it goes bad. DO NOT use the excuse that you don't know what to make with it or don't have a recipe for that thing. (Allrecipies is a Fantastic site where you can search for recipes based on the food you have) Even if you don't know what you're going to make with it, Decide you're going to create something magical!

Example: The other day I had some ground beef that I had already cooked and used part of for something else. I needed to use it, plus the other produce I had. I took the meat, an onion, tomato, and zuccini out. I chopped the veggies, and put it all in a pan with some water so it could cook for a few minutes (with sat & pepper & chilli powder). When the water was almost gone (but not quite) I took it off and put it in warmed tortillas. My husband doesn't like zuccini so I didn't put it in his portion. He had mayo on his burrito, but I didn't.

(This is the meat with these three veggies in it)

They were fantastic!

They were easy, we used what we had, and deeelicious!

I hope this will help you to look in your refrigerator and think "What can I made that's healthy and delicious?"And then

DO IT.

Collage, of Me!

So basically I'm new at photography and photoshop and all that good stuff, so everything is an experiment. Every photo shoot, every time I go to edit photos.... And this was yet another experament! I took all the photos myself, hehehe. It was so much fun, I hope you like it!

Rachel & Jeff

Just before the winter semester ended my Relief Society had a service auction and I volunteered to do a photo shoot for someone! Rachel wanted these pictures because her engamements weren't great (too formal) and she just wanted some nice, fun photos of her and her husband. Enjoy!

Here are a few photos to start with

So I've been learning how to use photoshop recently and here are a few pictures that I've played with. This is my brother in law, who Loved his motorcycle! It was so much fun doing this photo shoot with him. (Oh and thanks to my husband, who without him, the last photo would have been impossible)

My First Hello

Hey everyone! So I decided to start my own blog to show everyone my photography (other than just on facebook..).  And possibly other fun things I enjoy, like food or whatever other projects I'm currently interested in. I am in Oklahoma City right now, but I'll be back in Provo at the end of August. If anyone wants pictures taken of themselves, I'm game if you are. Stay tuned!!