Was Hiding...Decided to Return

For those of you who know a little about me, you know that my life has been in the fast lane for a while.  For example, two weeks ago, I raised $1000 for the Alzheimer's Association and participated in the Memory Walk as a team captain, I closed the musical production of The Pajama Game, Mom came to visit, I prepped for my Images of a Cure photo session marathon to raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, I interviewed for a new job and applied for another, I learned from my advertising agency that I will be the face of a brand new car dealership in Vermont, and I shot about 20 commercials in Atlanta for this and other potential new dealerships/clients.  All in the span of one week.  Whew.

But then something strange...atypical...surprising happened: I went on vacation.  No, not one of those vacations where you are so busy that when you come home, you need a vacation from vacationing.  (I have been on plenty of those.)  Jason and I had planned a vacation in the Northern Georgia mountains for a few months, and while I loved everything I was doing that kept me busy and active in my community, I desperately longed for some uninterrupted time with my family, 4-legged children included.  During all the craziness of the past few months, I held close the thought that the mountains were waiting for me at the finish line.

And so, we went.  And. I. Loved. Every. Minute.  The cabin we rented was INCREDIBLE.  Sitting high on the mountain, we had breath-taking views from the main balcony and the private balcony from our room.  We enjoyed the hot tub several times a day, every day.  Every night was warmed with a fire in either the indoor or outdoor fireplace.  We watched movies, listened to jazz music, took long walks with the 4-legged children, and explored the fall-colored mountain terrain through the lenses of our cameras.  We ate entirely too much homemade soups/chowders/stews and bread and drank entirely too much wine.  We took naps on the reclining couch.  And it was PERFECT.

After a week, we reluctantly returned home, even though home is pretty darn good.  And I've just put in a 5-hour day photographing some amazing families on Jekyll Island for my Images for a Cure photo session event.  But I vow for the next however long I can manage it to take it slow and enjoy the little things in life.  Thank you, mountains, for reminding me of some simple pleasures.

I'll get around to editing my vacation pics one of these days.  In the meantime, I'll leave you with these: images from our final morning in the mountains.  Spectacular.

 

Oh, mountains...how I love you.

The Elusive Egret

One incredibly beautiful morning on my drive to work - you know, the kind of morning where the sun softly bleeds through the trees, producing a thousand tiny rays of enchanting golden light and you feel as if something magical is taking place - something caught my eye on the passenger's side of the road.  It was an egret standing in a still pond of water, the color of his plumage starkly contrasting the dark hue of his surroundings and a delicate decaying tree served as his backdrop.  In short, my photographer's eye immediately decided it was a perfect sight to photograph.  This was also a morning - of course - that I chose to leave my camera at home.  Don't you just hate that?!

For 6 months, I have carried with me a mental photograph of that egret, and for 6 months, the egret has stubbornly refused to recreate my mental photograph...until this morning.  This particular morning was incredibly hazy, and while I had half given up on the egret's return, I halfheartedly looked over at the pond and decaying tree, expecting to be disappointed yet again.  And there he was!  While he wasn't standing in the pond, he was handsomely perched in the tree.  I didn't complain.  I took several images of him with his reflection, but the pond was rippling in the gentle breeze, so I opted to crop out the reflection.  Isn't he beautiful?  This is just a quick edit - I'm definitely not through with him.

Thank you, Mr. Egret, for some peace of mind.  Now to capture you again, but in that beautiful morning light...

Little Miss G - Black & White

 FIRST PLACE, BABY!  Woohoo!

This week's photo challenge on the paper mama blog is black and white, featuring a child.  Since I only have four-legged "children," I had to reach into my archives and pull out some of my favorite human child shots.  Meet Little Miss G - a little bundle of energy with pigtails.  This is one of my favorite shots of her - I love the background lighting catching her wisps of hair dancing in the breeze and THOSE EYES!  If you can believe it, I didn't edit her eyes at all.  If it weren't for the conversion to black and white and a added little texture around the edges, this would be SOOC (straight out of the camera, for those folks who aren't familiar with photog lingo).

MacKenzie Turns 4!

Any holiday is big in our house...and doggie birthdays are no exception!

MacKenzie turned 4 yesterday!  Her first year I bought her a doggie cake from a local barkery (yeah, I said barkery).  That was a little extreme, as I had never pictured myself spending $15 on a bone-shaped cake for my dog before.  For her 2nd and 3rd birthdays, I baked her favorite treat - peanut butter banana oat bars with honey.  This year, we were a little short on time, so Jason bought cupcakes...human-style.  This went over very well with the MacKenzie and Dash!

And what comes after cake?  Presents, naturally.  Each dog gets a new toy and they both get treats on a doggie birthday.  (By the way, as I'm proof reading this, I realize I sound a little ridiculous.)  Then its play time!

The smiley birthday girl

Devouring cupcakes

Clean-up patrol

MacKenzie giving her present the smell test

What did I get?!

Dash loving his new floppy elephant toy

 Checking to see if maybe there was anything else in the bag

Right after the birthday celebration, we continued the holiday festivities by carving our pumpkins!  Stay tuned for images of that process...

Happy 4th Birthday, MacKenzie!  You're Mama's favorite girl.

A View From Above

As simple as this image is, I love it.  This is the inside of a silo.  That was pretty cool on it's own, and the acoustics were amazing for a singer like me.  What else was cool?  The couple that held their wedding reception in the attached barn used this silo as the location for their bar.  Best. Wedding. Ever.

Images from the Pier

I recently took a walk through Pier Village on Saint Simons Island.  I love taking a stroll on the pier because you just never know what you are going to find - often, it's a photographer's heaven.  Here are the views the pier had to offer this time around, interpreted through the creative mind of my lens.

 

Jason {Textured}

Wednesday night in our home is spent watching the latest DVR'd episode of one of our favorite TV shows - Sons of Anarchy.  (Check it out...not for the faint of heart.)  So when I was uploading pics after watching an episode and saw these two images of my handsome hubby-to-be, I thought I would combine the two - Jason meets SOA.  I used some textures in Photoshop, manipulated the colors and voila - one badass fiance.  :)

Click on any image to enlarge...

I am a lucky girl.  :)

Falling in Love with Fall

Oh, how I LOVE this time of year.  Growing up in northeast Ohio meant trips to the pumpkin patch and apple orchard, fresh apple cider and fritters, walking down the street with the fallen leaves crunching beneath my feet, and trees stretching their arms wide with changing colors.

Since we moved to southeast Georgia almost 3 years go, my idea of Fall has had to change.  While I still long for pumpkins that don't come from a parking lot, I am thankful for 75° weather during the whole season, enjoy crisp mornings on the beach with my family, and laugh at the memories of Trick-or-Treating in my winter coat while walking from house to house in the snow.  (And seriously...how was anyone supposed to know what I was dressed as if I had to wear my damn coat?!  Oh, the troubles of a 3rd grader...)

Although Fall is different here in the South, I still love it and all that the season brings.  This is the beginning of my favorite time of year - October through New Year's - and I am so glad to have it return once again.

To celebrate, here are a few pictures of Mother Nature's way of telling me Fall has arrived in the South.  Be sure that this will be the first of many images, so stay tuned the blog!

 

 Wherever you are, I hope you enjoy all that there is to love about this season.  Big hugs!

Me and Mama

The Paper Mama's photo challenge theme for this week is super sweet..."Me and Mama."  Anyone who really knows me knows I have two children, who I absolutely adore...and so what if they have 4 legs?

This photo was snapped up by my fiance, Jason, of me and my first fur baby, MacKenzie, a rescued pit bull / Rottweiler mix.  From the moment of our first meeting through present day, it is clear that MacKenzie is a kisser.  Sometimes she kisses us so much, it feels more like a quick bath.  That's exactly what is happening in this photo - a quick forehead bathing.  While the photo was taken by Jason, I provided the editing.  We make a good team like that.  :)

Circular

The Franklins are hosting another photo challenge this week!  (I was ecstatic to find out I won last week's Solar Flare challenge!)

This week's theme is "Circular," and I had a hard time picking which image I wanted to submit...until I remembered this recent vintage-inspired shoot I did with my very best friend, Nicole.  There were circles everywhere, and very fashionable ones at that!

 Two of my other "circular" favs...

Vintage is love.

Babies in Pink

Sometimes there is an image that you love so much, you want to use it for a few photo challenges...

Last week was "Babies" week at Trendy Treehouse's Shutter Love Tuesday!  What's not to love about babies?  I have so many baby pics I'd love to submit, but this one could very well be my favorite.  The cheeks make it, don't ya think?  :)  I was so honored when this image was chosen for third place!  Thanks Tara and Trendy Treehouse!

It's also "Pink" week at I Heart Faces on Oct 25th in honor of Breast Cancer Month.  Little Miss A serves as one adorable pink entry!  (She'd make a good entry for anything - talk about irresistible!)

 

I am also doing something really cool in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness - I am one of about 300 photographers worldwide participating in the Images for a Cure campaign!  I am hosting an all day session-a-thon on November 20th - 8 session in 8 hours and 100% of the session fees go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation!  I can't think of a better way to give back to my community than to use my two passions for photography and volunteerism.  I know plenty of breast cancer survivors, and these are some amazing women!  I am so very proud to be helping to make a difference.

If you live in the Brunswick, GA area and would like your portraits taken, please contact me at jenniferleighphotos@yahoo.com to set up an appointment.  Wear pink to your session and receive a free 5x7 print!

Images For A Cure

I am so proud to announce (finally!) a very special photo session event!  I am one of about 300 photographers worldwide participating in the 2010 Images For A Cure campaign & 100% of the session fees from my event will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation!  Wear pink to your session and receive a free 5x7 print!  Space is very limited, so contact me for more details and to make your reservation.

Jessica {Portraits}

I had an amazing time with Jessica during her photo shoot today!  We traveled all around downtown Darien on foot, scouring for some unique places to shoot her portraits...and we were not disappointed with what we found!  I think it's my new favorite place for photography.

I've always been a fan of deteriorating or textured surfaces as backdrops for portraits.  Something about taking the old and worn and turning it into something beautiful makes me happy.  I think it satisfies the artsy side of my personality.  You've got the past and the present in one image.  How cool is that?  I guess you could say that this is one aspect of my style.

Jessica was game to pose in front of all kinds of backdrops, and she was the perfect model!  I can't wait for her to see her images - I love every one.

To view more images from this session, visit Jennifer Leigh Photography on Facebook.

Sneak Peek

So...I've been excited for a while now about a photography project in which I'm involved this fall.  I have been bursting at the seams, anxiously awaiting for a certain website to go live today so I could finally disclose the details...but it seems they have been delayed for a little while longer.  AHH!!

So...you get a hint as to what the announcement is about... 

Stay tuned for the full details...coming soon!