i heart faces- self portrait

it's been a while since i have entered a photo into the i heart faces challenge, but i love this one too much to not participate! here is my self portrait from august of this year... this was the first time i had used my new wireless remote. such a fun accessory!

head on over to iheartfaces to check out some other great self-portraits!

something new and exciting

cause i am going to disneyworld!! (yes, again.) (yes, i know i was just there last december. i really like it.) (no, really, i do!)
i need that vacation. i might lose my mind before it ever gets here, but i only have 6 more sleeps to go and i will be here:

this time next week, my mom and i will be joining friends for dinner with mickey and friends!

a little too much honesty

i am feeling twitchy this morning. actually, i've been feeling twitchy this past month.
i dove right in to working long hours and weekends... at my regular job. i'm finding that i am starting to like it. after 18 months. this is all good, except for the extra long hours.

the not so good? i am a strong, confident woman. i know what i want out of life. but i chicken out. i am afraid to ask for what i want, for fear of being told "no." and that is a word that i don't hear very often. (perhaps because i don't do a lot of asking.) -so, what's the question? maybe it's asking for a raise. or time off because of all the extra time i have been putting in. asking for a date. maybe it's that i don't want to let people down. maybe it's because i have lived a relatively charmed existence. not that i haven't had struggles, because there have been plenty.

i'm sure i am not alone in these feelings. but how does one move forward? how does one muster up the courage to go after what they want, and not be afraid of rejection?

any advice?

need

where i would much rather be today... and everyday.

lucky.

i got super lucky and caught this outside the window at work today and was able to run and grab my camera to fire off a few shots.

more than i could imagine

if fabulous weekends could be scripted, with every player knowing their lines and performing them flawlessly, they wouldn't even come close to how amazingly perfect this past weekend was.
for the last few months, year, YEARS... i had been talking about turning 30. how i wasn't ready for it, how it seemed so scary, how there was still so much in my life that i thought i would have accomplished before IT happened. i gave myself 2 options for bringing in this momentous occasion. option 1~ taking the time off of work, closing the blinds, watching sad movies, and eating my weight in ice cream. (not really the healthiest option) and option 2~ gathering all of my friends and family together and celebrating. i mean, living life to the fullest, partying hard, people will talk about it for weeks kind of celebrating.
and then i got this text from my mom "now that the wedding (she was baking, i was shooting) is over, what do you want to do for your birthday?" my response? "a party." that's all i wanted. to be celebrated. to be loved.
we texted back and forth for a few minutes when she said, "i was thinking of a small, intimate gathering." i didn't respond. i was pouting. but she was just throwing me off. and guess what? it worked!
i got an invitation to a friend's holiday picnic for the 3rd (for which i arrive fashionably late. and by that i mean 45 minutes!)
i pulled up to karen's house, saw all the cars and thought she had an overwhelming response to her first party in her new house. and then i saw the luau sign on the window and thought that it was so fun that instead of a patriotic theme, she went with a luau theme. why would i even suspect a party? my birthday was still a good 12 days away.
and then i walked in the door.

every time i think about when it dawned on me that this was no ordinary holiday picnic; no, this was an EPIC surprise. pulled off by my fabulous mother and my equally fabulous friends, i get chills and i tear up. i have never felt more loved in my entire life.

 (photo courtesy of tanis)

i was handed a tiara right away. i was ushered around to greet close to fifty people. seriously? seriously, this is my life?
i could give you all the play by play (and i will post more pictures as i get them) of the rest of this fabulous day, but instead i will just say "thank you." this party was more than i could imagine. and if i had planned my own party, it would not have come anywhere near the ferocity of this day.

i am loved.

pets only- i heart faces

i have this photo of my friend's pug, archer that i wanted to share for this week's challenge. this is archer... he's probably my favorite pup, ever. and he makes me want a pug.

head on over to iheartfaces to fall in love with more puppy dog (and other animal) faces!

so excited!

i have been submitting photos to the *i heart faces* challenges since february (even though i had been stalking it much longer than that...) this past challenge was all about teens, and i knew i had a great photo for this challenge. imagine my surprise when, 1) i log onto fb and see it featured on their fb page and 2) when i got up this morning and saw that my photo was an angie and amy favorite!
each week i am so inspired by all the other amazing photogs who enter this challenge to work a bit harder.

congrats to all the winners and thanks for pushing me onward!

celebrating teens--i heart faces

i am so super excited about this weeks iheartfaces challenge theme. it's celebrating teens this week and i have just the right shot for it!
a few weeks back, i got a call from my pastor's daughter on the day of her prom. she was wondering if i could meet her and her bf at the subway to snap a few shots before they took septa to their prom (because they're boss, that's why.)
i made it just in time to get some gorgeous photos of them, ride the subway down a stop, get back on going the other way, and still make it to my house by 7 (when someone was meeting me there...)

does it get any better than this?! they are ROCKSTARS!

head on over to iheartfaces to check out more boss teen pics!

~all about babies~

if you know anything about me, you know that i LOVE babies. love them. want a TON of them. but for now, i will be satisfied loving on my friends babies, like little miss L, whom i had the pleasure of photographing at less than 12 hours old and then again a week later.

head on over to http://www.iheartfaces.com/ to see hundreds of gorgeous baby pics!

i heart faces- play!

a silly moment during a recent shoot!

head on over to http://www.iheartfaces.com/ to check out some more play-full images!

i heart faces 'photowalk across america'

i know i have talked about how excited i was to attend the iheartfaces photo walk, and let me tell you: it met way exceeded my high expectations!
i love, love, LOVE meeting new people, and add into that people who love to do what I love? perfection.
i wanted to share a few of my front-runner faves from yesterday, but be warned- there may be more posts highlighting the pics... or just obsessive linking to my flickr page!

So far, my absolute fave!

did you attend a photowalk? did you blog about it? leave your blog link and i would LOVE to check it out!

back in april, i blogged about the excitedness of being able to attend the first i heart faces photo walk in philadelphia. i am stoked because today is finally the day. i think there are 35 of us that will come together in the chestnut hill section of the city to do what we all love to do... photograph everything! i have no expectations for today beings that i have never gone to one of these or know anyone that has, except for what i have read on-line!
i'm sure there will be TONS of pictures to share with you!

veggie goodness

i'm have this salad that i eat in the warm summer months that is so, so delicious. it's a mixture of peppers, tomatoes, avocado, vinaigrette, onion, and beans. i have some marinating in the fridge and it's taking everything in me to not eat it before it's had time to sit...
so, i'll share with you how to make it and some yummy pics, in the hopes that it will be ready by the time this post is!
ingredients:
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can chickpeas, rinsed,
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
3 peppers, diced (any color, but i prefer the red, yellow, and orange variety)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
balsamic vinagrette, any variety, at least 1/3 of a bottle... this is really suited to your taste
1 avocado, peeled and sliced

start by mixing the beans together in the bowl.

then, add the onions, peppers, and tomatoes; mix

carefully stir in the dressing and then add the avocado

give it a gentle mix and place it in the refrigerator. you could eat it right then and there, but it really needs time to marinate in all the vinaigrette-y goodness.

give it about an hour to chill and then DIG IN!

love.

you may or may not remember my dear friends heather and eric from random moments on my blog. first, here from their engagement shoot and then again, here from their maternity shoot. on friday, may 28th, at 10:10 pm, their little love bug, L, entered this world. i took a drive up to reading to meet their sweet little baby, and to get in a quick shoot ;)
this is one gorgeous baby, who has stolen my heart.

sigh.

holy 1993!

i was feeling antsy and a little down tonight. which is weird, considering i had a pretty great day at work... had a good talk with a coworker, who was so encouraging and received a compliment that lifted my spirits. but, i didn't know how to make that feeling last. the feeling that all is right with my world. i crashed pretty hard due to a copious amount of coffee and a poor night's sleep. it was starting to get ugly. so, on the recommendation of a friend, i put on some music and i set out to read a book. the book made it worse... it was too- mushy, sentimental. i threw the book across my bed and decided to clean out my closets.
i ended up finding some pretty junky stuff that moved with me from the house i grew up in, to college, to the house my parent's live in, to being shoved in the closet of where i live now. trinkets from my childhood, items from my trip to Europe in high school, cards and letters from college. hello, memory lane!
one such item that i found was my journal from 1993... oh, 13. i must admit, i was pretty embarrassed for my 13 year old self. and my 14 year old self. talking about crushes on boys. oh, the crushes on boys. And each one was "the one." for example: okay, forget that... too embarrassing. maybe, if you're lucky, i will throw some excerpts on here... maybe.

another i heart faces challenge-week 20 "faces and flowers"

i am in love with this picture, as well as the little girl featured in it! my good friend, t's little girl is a great subject! she and i are kindred disney princess spirits.in fact, both our families are going to disney this fall, at the same time, and will be meeting up for dinner (at least one night!)

anyhow, this week's theme is faces and flowers. enjoy!

don't forget to head over to iheartfaces to check out some other great pics!

I heart Faces Week 19- Celebrating Mom

a sweet moment caught between mother and son.

head on over to iheartfaces to see more breathtaking photos that truly celebrate mother's

fun with editing

i've been playing around a ton with editing. it's great to see an awesome image and then, give it that little boost to make it spectacular!
this morning, i was editing... me! i wanted to see how just bumping up one bit of an image can change the mood.
what do you think?

in ten years

becca tagged me in her post about where she'll be in ten years and now i'm supposed to make my own post about where i'll be in ten years. bear with me... if i thought turning 30 is hard, in ten years, that three will look strangely like a four. when i think about where i will be in 2020 (whoa!), it makes me think of where i was in 2000. i had just finished up at community college and hadn't quite embarked on my crazy "real college experience." i lived in the home that i grew up in. i was fat (this is important... it shaped who i am). i was insecure and very loud. now i'm just very loud with a few insecurities.
based on the fact that i am not even close to where i thought i would be at the cusp of 30 (have i mentioned that i'm turning 30, yet?) i find it hard to guess what i will be doing on the edge of 40. but i can at least have fun thinking about it...

1. be married... and head over heels in love (with the same person!)
2. full time photographer who can pick and choose the jobs i want and still have a blast doing them
3. not be working at a 9-5 job (see above)
4. have babies... my own and through adoption. and because of number 2, i would be able to be with them during the day
5. traveled extensively. all over the world... places i would like to see? australia, japan, china, africa, south america, fiji, the caribbean, thailand, spain, greece. basically, the whole world...
6. i want my travels (above) to have a purpose  other than sight seeing. i want to absorb the culture, love the people, and come away changed.
7. i want to be completely debt free... except the house thing and even that would be nice to have all paid for.
8. i hope to finally be organized in my life... i'm not really sure what that looks like, but not what it is now...
9. learned to embrace my 30's for the fabulous time that everyone tells me they are and be perfectly content with entering my 40's (shudder, i'm so not ready for that)
10. confidence. i am pretty confident but there are areas that i would like to see that grow in

there you have it. a list that i probably won't hold to but had lots of fun creating and thinking about. i am going to tag kellie, jessie, and  brooke. write away!

    

Smiles- I Heart Faces Week 17

this week's theme over at i heart faces is smiles. once i saw this picture, i knew it was the best smile i have ever captured. the pure joy on t's face when he got to hold baby c all by himself is priceless.

head on over to i heart faces to check out more inspiring, joy-full smiles! (but first, make sure to leave a comment!)

a photo walk? how fun!

a few months ago, i was reading about these this thing called a "photo walk" that i had never heard of. basically, it's a group of photographer's who meet up and walk through a town taking pictures, and building their portfolios. a few weeks ago, i got an email that my favorite photog website was going to be hosting a nation wide photo walk...
long story short, i just signed up for my first ever photo walk with iheartfaces on june 5 in chestnut hill and i am stoked. there are still tickets remaining and the cost is very low (like 5 or 6 bucks). consider joining me and many other photo enthusiasts that day!

head to iheartfaces.blogspot.com for more details!

all about collages- i heart faces week 16

it's been a few weeks since i have entered an i heart faces challenge... i had only worked with diptych's before and not full collages in photoshop, so this one took a little figuring out but i am super happy with the results!
last spring, i photographed these adorable best friend's for their birthday's and we had a BLAST! 3 giggling girls and their brother's being chased around by a photographer and 3 sets of parent's.... what a fun day!

these sweet girls love anything princess-y (as do i!)

head on over to iheartfaces to check out more amazing collage pictures!

Exciting Times Ahead

~ i am happy and proud to announce the launch of my new website! feel free to head on over to www.susiekphotography.com and check it out. feel free to leave comments or website love.

~ i may have my first official wedding booking coming up. details to follow!

~ i got a phone call from a friend today asking if she could give my name and number to one of her client's (she does hair) who is getting married. my answer? heck YEAH!

~just because i feel like telling you all this and since it's my blog, i want you to check out my friend becca over at www.rgsphoto.net. she is in the buffalo area, so if you need a photographer in upstate NY (except you, Carly... you have to call me!) give her a call!

~ this one is random, so bear with me. i bought a new bookshelf at ikea on saturday. i LOVE that place! it's part of my goal to get organized (what with a full time job, starting a photography business, AND launching my arbonne... it's probably important!) and this bookshelf is just one of the ways i will work towards that. that being said, if any of you have tips on getting organized, leave them in the comment section... it could turn into a future blog post!

time to get to work!

Heather and Eric- A Preview

I am so excited to show these pictures (and to share some new info with you...)! Yesterday with my fun, fab friend Heather and her hubby Eric? Fantastic. Gorgeous day, beautiful setting, and a glowing mom-to-be...

HA! I love the playfulness of this one!

And the news I have to share? Sometime this week, I will be unveiling my new photography blog to go along with my new photography BUSINESS! That's right, I am taking the plunge into photography as a profession. As I will just be getting off the ground, I would love to help YOU out. Once I debut my business blog and website, I will be offering a limited time special, that will run through the summer. So, make sure you are checking back to see the reveal at susiekphotography.blogspot.com and for a great deal!

on you marks, get set,

goals.
i wrote on facebook last night that i wanted to put my goals for this year on paper. i was a bit of a slacker though, because my totally rad cousin texted me to hang out. so, i skipped out of my own assignment and went to panera, but it was completely worth it.

back to my goals.
i wouldn't necessarily Note to self: never walk away from the computer in the middle of a sentence. but if you are going to walk away, make it for a while so that when you come back, you can look at it with new eyes.

digression over.

i have been working very hard on my photography recently as i was encouraged by my friend becca to step it up a notch. i learned how to use all the manual settings on the nikon and i have been teaching myself photoshop. i am determined to be the best photographer that i am capable of being. i have been reading books about exposure and aperture and iso.

i have been working on these things to work towards my big goal for 2010. over the next few weeks, i will be coming up with a business name (any suggestions would be kindly appreciated), creating a photography blog (separate from this one with the intention of posting to both), and hopefully building a website.

i am really excited to have something that i am passionate about and, according to those around me, more than half-way decent to be working on. i know that it won't be easy. i know that there will be bumps in the road. but i am ready to take a step. to work towards something.

and i hope that you will join me for the ride.

Quick Post

I just wanted to post a few shots from my fantastically fun weekend.I dogsat one of my favorite pups, Archer the pug...

And this one I got while laying on the concrete, in my Easter outfit, outside of church. And I really kind of love it!

Have a great Monday!