Life of Late | February 2015

It's so hard to believe we're nearing the end of February already. So far this year has been an odd mix of flying by and slow moving all at the same time! Winter is "off-season" for me, so having a slower business pace after my insane fall has been a nice change, and just what I needed to gear up for weddings and sessions I'm booking for the year!

Tidbits from life at the moment:

• I'm majorly in love with this skirt from BHLDN. It's like a beautiful dream in skirt form. I wish I was rich.

• Very early planning stages, but... European travel just might be in the near future!!! (Nope, not excited about that at all.)

• My current favorite chocolate indulgence is the Raspberries in Dark Chocolate from Chocolove (that link is to Amazon where you can buy a pack of 12. Because why would you not??). I love the real raspberry chunks in it! And there's a love poem inside the wrapper which is always hilarious. :-)

• I started this devotional this year and I have been so encouraged by it. Years - even centuries - divide us from the women who wrote the words, but what they have to say is so applicable to us today!

• Cats: 1. Our cat manages to get herself into the funniest positions while sleeping, and it's adorable (if you follow me on Instagram you'll have seen some examples of this recently :-), and 2. My friend Emily just picked up the darlingest tiny ragdoll kitten for her grandma and I just might steal it!!

• Though winter is slow work-wise, I have a few here and there, and last weekend was a unique and very fun one involving lots of period clothing and a fabulous 18th century house! I'll be posting some more from that soon!

What's in My Bag | For Photographers

I'm often asked what equipment I shoot with, so I thought it was about time I just did a blog post with the contents of my camera bag! There really isn't all that much - I keep it simple! These are only my main lenses that I shoot with on a normal basis and that I actually own. If anyone is interested sometime I can do another post with everything (actual camera gear and otherwise) that I take with me to a wedding. For now, here's my bare-bones setup which is what I own and what I use for portrait sessions:

Canon 50mm 1.2L. This is my go-to lens that stays on the camera about 85% of the time. It's a fabulous portrait lens and all around useful focal length for candid, or very nearly any, shots. I used to have the 1.8, and just this past year upgraded to the 1.2 and it's dreamy. :-)

And in case you're wondering, I do put protective UV filters on my lenses. I don't want to risk scratching my expensive glass!

My other lens is the 100mm 2.8L macro. Also the stuff dreams are made of. :-) I love my 50mm so much that this one doesn't come out as often for portrait sessions, but it is a beautiful portrait lens, as well as being completely amazing when it comes to ring shots or any kind of detail shots at a wedding or an engagement session.

As you know from a few posts ago, I just upgraded to the 5D Mark III! This is my main camera (obviously) and I looove it!

I do still have my 60D which I have as backup, and my second shooters use it occasionally.

My camera bag is a Kelly Moore B-Hobo bag. (It's actually not technically mine, it was originally my mom's, and I sort of adopted it. Shhh!). I like the slim profile and that it fits everything I need for a portrait session.

On a wedding day, I have more to lug and I have to lug it for a longer length of time. So I will usually pack all my stuff in a rolling suitcase, and then I have a Shootsac that holds just the lenses I'm using and essentials (water, phone, schedule, etc.). I like to use this whenever I can, because it's so light and barely there. It's only downside is that the camera doesn't go in there (but then that's the only way it's so slim!).

I hope you enjoyed this peek inside my bag (a thrill a minute, I'm sure! ;-). Thanks for stopping by!

Foyle's War Party | Personal

Whew! It's been quiet around here! My apologies for that. It's a combination of being off-season, so not having much work to post, and also getting violently ill, recovering, second shooting a wedding, and attending a literary ball. These things take time, folks. :-)

But! I have a just-for-fun post for you today. Last month I hosted a Foyle's War party. This has been something I have thought would be fun for a long time, and so I decided this fall that it would be my winter project and it was going to happen! And happen it did and it was loads of fun. :-) Those of you who aren't Foyle's War fans probably won't "get" most of the stuff in this post, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. ;-)

We decorated with WWII posters and handmade bunting (Lily and I spent about a day and a half making all the bunting - so much work but so worth it!). We served Foyle's War related food - coq au vin, lemon curd sandwiches, Uncle Aubrey's green gage wine, and ration cake (no frosting!). The main event of the evening was a murder mystery, in which everyone was a suspect and had to deduce who was the murderer. It made for a very lively dinner time discussion. :-) After dinner and after we'd wrapped up the mystery, we played some Foyle's War games and trivia, and then had a hilarious time posing for the photo booth.

It was a smashing evening and I'm so thankful for all the friends who came out and made it a success!

Without Lily, this party would not have happened! She cooked, cleaned, sewed, and generally made a slave of herself. She's the best.

Uncle Aubrey's green gage wine (aka sparkling juice with green food coloring), and scotch (aka tea). 

The onion was one of the prizes, and also turned into the most popular photo booth prop :-)

I loved my ration books!! These were the covers for the suspect guides for the mystery, and also held the Foyle's War trivia. 

Gabe (from The Period Tailor) made a Sam cap for the photo booth!

Some new favorite pictures of us. Soooo typical. :-P

Me, goofing off

Lily: Um, no...

More hilarious photo booth posing! (Grace and Laura were the maids in the mystery, hence the cleaning implements ;-)