Listen Explore

Two weekends ago, Aleah and I had the privilege of meeting Nate & Amanda Howard and several other lovely creatives and photographers at Listen Explore. It was such a rich, encouraging time of sharing stories of our creative journeys, hiking, laughing, learning, eating really good food, and talking around a campfire. Overall, it was really encouraging to meet other photographers with similar goals, struggles, and dreams. And hearing the Howards share their story and thought process behind their work was just so inspiring. I'm so thankful I got to start off my summer with a sweet burst of inspiration. 

To my fellow Explorers: I'm so glad to have met you all! I can't wait to see where you all go with your crazy dreams and amazing talent. 

The Successful Failure

Sometimes things go as planned… and sometimes they don't.

If your field trip ever gets thwarted by a visit from the First Lady…


-Speculate about the mysterious people in business attire
-Question the police officer with the well-trained dog
-Give up and visit the State capitol
-Spend all your pocket change on overpriced parking
-Ride in historic elevators (but don't ring the bell more than once. It's right below the elevator operator!)
-Try to blend in with the elementary school kids on their field trip as you climb to the top of the dome
-Drive aimlessly around the city, taking pictures in the middle of the street
-Freak out when you see a merry-go-round and promptly park next to the "no parking" sign
-Let the excitement overtake you and fall off the merry-go-round before you can even get on
-Play cat-and-mouse. (make sure you have good climbing shoes so you don't fall a great many feet.)
-Chill on the ground for a bit
-Take lots of pictures

11:38 on a Tuesday

Today I was working on writing my final paper of the year when I stopped to photograph my mamma's garden and a few little details lying around. So here's a glimpse into the messy-beautiful of our home.

Lately & an Announcement

lately:

taking a rather lovely Insta-break (you should give it a try if you're as much of an Instagrammer as I am/was.)

thinking about everything (all. the. time. actually, I'm thankful because this way, I'm never bored. I was never allowed to be bored as a child and it has served me well.)

over-thinking everything (story of my life)

taking really long walks (the weather was friendly for a day or two)

going on bike rides with the Libster (and realizing that we're not in the best biking shape, but being fully able to laugh it off)

having really good conversations about deep and wonderful things (talking about God and all His goodness is always the thing to wake me up to the joy of life)

spending hours drinking cup after cup of chai, crocheting a mammoth blanket, and talking to my honorary big sister (the best times are the quiet and ordinary times filled with golden sunlight, life stories, life advice, and lots of laughter)

reading poetry + studying the lives of poets (Happy Birthday, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow!)

reading all kinds of books (when my head and the world will quiet down enough to let me)

being thankful for bad days because they make the good days seem ever lovelier (it's true)

launching my official photography website (!!!)

Check it out here if you want to see more of my "real" photography work!

just a quote that I didn't write

"I remember again, ironically, that today more of us in America than anywhere else in the world have the luxury of choice between simplicity and complication of life. And for the most part, we, who could choose simplicity, choose complication."-- Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea

City Snaps

We took a weekend trip to Lincoln, Nebraska for an "experimental theater production" that an old friend or ours wrote and put on. (It was fantastic.) I spent the first part of my childhood in this city, so it was a blast to spend time in it again, exploring and snapping pictures this time. First trip of 2014: check. Next stop: Tennessee. (yay!)

Where's your favorite place to travel?