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!

Theme Song

Baby C- A preview

This past Sunday, I had the honor of shooting the Christening of baby C. Baby C is my good friend's brand-new niece and my, oh my is she adorable! I'm sure her mama is anxious to see some photo's, so here they are!

 

Can't wait to finish these edits and get the preview to the family!

i heart faces- dramatic b&w

i know, i know... my recent blog posts are all i heart faces challenges. i am addicted to them, i can't help myself. i love the challenge of getting a pic worthy of the top 10 (maybe one day, it will happen!)
this week's theme is dramatic black and white. anything that is dramatic, sensational, and/or moody. here is a moment i captured of my cousin's pop-pop. very serious and stoic.

head on over to iheartfaces to see more dramatic black & white's.

Focusing on Angles- I Heart Faces Week 12

It's that time of the week again... that's right, it's i heart faces challenge time! I'm so excited about this challenge because I LOVE shooting on angles. I had the joy to spend this past weekend with my lovely friend, Kara and her fab baby, J! We went to the playground and I just got to snap away to my hearts content. Usually J makes what her family calls her "outside face," where she scrunches up her nose and squints her eyes. After I had been shooting for awhile, she started to ignore me and I got some great angle shots!

Head on over to iheartfaces to check out more great angle shots!

i heart faces- bundled up

this weeks i{heart}faces challenge was a bit of a, well, challenge. i'm not much of a cold weather person and rarely go outside when the mercury dips below 75 (i kid... sort of). i have a handful of cold bundled up photos from when i taught at preschool, but i'm not super comfortable posting those full face kid pics without parent permission. so, after much internal debate, here is a photo i snapped of myself one night when it was snowing. so, while i don't have a bundled up winner, i have inspiration for next winter... (if i decide to go outside, that is!)

head on over to i heart faces to check out some amazing bundled up pics!