One Year Favorites

I like to celebrate anniversaries of all kinds. With cupcakes.

Which means it's time to break them out up here on the blog, because, oh my gosh, it has been one year since my crazy wonderful photography adventure began!

I set some goals at the beginning of last year for myself:

+ Start a blog.
+ Find another photographer and ask to second shoot a wedding.
+ Begin building a network by meeting other photographers just because.
+ Book a wedding on my own.
+ Attend a photography conference in the spring and in the fall.
+ Get professional equipment - new lenses, a flash, a new computer, photoshop

...and amazingly, every single one of those things happened. And then some.

Now, I'm the type of person who looked at that list at the beginning of last year and thought it all needed to be done in a month. So I could make a new list of goals for the rest of the year. It freaked me out. There were some really big steps and risks that needed to be taken to accomplish some of the things on that list. But Rome wasn't built in a day, as the saying goes, and nor would it have been possible for me to do all of those things at once, logistically or financially. Sometimes I have to remind myself to slow down. I was hoping 2011 would be the year that made me more patient, and try as it might, there was no success on that front.

But 2011 was the year that made me a better photographer. And I am proud of that. Where I began the year artistically feels so far away from where it ended.

So here's a meander down memory lane (I do love me some alliteration...haha). And to everyone who has supported this journey, from positive comments to booking a shoot to checking the blog every day for a new post (Mom), your love and support keeps this adventure going. You all deserve a million hugs.

And because I have no patience, I am not a fan of saving the best for last. So first up is my favorite shoot of the year...Brenna + Dane's engagement session (that I took with Doxa Photography). I just love the yellow and the balloon and how in sweet this couple was.

So fun story...growing up, my sister and my best friend and I used to dream about getting married at the same time and having a triple wedding. Well, the boys nixed the triple wedding idea, but all three of us are getting married (or already got married) in 2012. Sounds like a full year of partying to me!

Back in May, I got some adorable pictures of my sister and her then-fiance. These two were too cute.

And then in September, while visiting San Diego, my best friend let me take some engagment photos for her. Alysia + Michael are two of the most fun people I have ever met and that totally showed through in their pictures.

Julie from Originations Photography was kind enough to let me come along to capture Amy + Steve's special day back in April...it was my first wedding of the year, and although it was a very rainy day, Amy and Steve just rolled with it. Nothing could ruin their happy day!

And Krista Jones invited me to come along with her in October for Amy + Grant's gorgeous Navy wedding.

This was my favorite wedding photo of the whole year.

And to wrap up weddings for my first year of photography, my sister got married! Even though her wedding took place in the middle of winter, the day was beautiful. And so was she.

In addition to the weddings I was hired to photograph, there were a few others that I attended and captured some sweet moments.

But aside from all of these romantic stories, I also got to photograph the love a family...parents and children. Lots of children. And I love them all. Especially the Grubb family, who is practically my own. These boys are handsome, yes?

Izzy was the cutest little one. We had such a good time playing in the cornfields behind her house!

Serena will always hold a special place in my heart...she was the first child I got to photograph with my real camera, and I love her pictures to death. She was so much fun and willing to do anything...including playing in the mud.

Zabelle was simply gorgeous. She is so full of life and ready to take on the world when she graduates this spring! I loved the pictures we got during her senior session (again with Doxa Photography).

This past September, Ben and I took an amazing trip to San Diego. I loved the landscape there...it is so different from the East Coast.

And yet, Annapolis is charming. I will always have a special place in my heart for my hometown.

Fall in Annapolis was gorgeous too. The leaves seemed extra colorful this year.

Okay, so maybe I did save a little bit of the best for last. Animals might be my favorite.

In case you missed it, Aslan became famous when he was featured on Desire to Inspire's Pets on Furniture weekly post a few weeks ago. Ben told me to shield him from the paparazzi. I told Ben I'm the only paparazzi stalking our awesome toy lion.

Of course, there were other pictures that I hold near and dear to my heart, but this is just a sampling from my first year as a photographer. Happy birthday to my sweet little blog! And hoping for so much more fun to come in the next year!