I absolutely fell in love with the Instagram app when I got my iPhone last January.  I received notes from people on Facebook saying I was instagraming too much and I was harassed for my volume of instagrams at family meals, but I didn’t care.  I loved it and I was obsessed with capturing life, real life, not perfect life.  I’ve always said that the best camera is the one you’ve got with you, and I put my iPhone with instagram to the test.  I instagramed my way through Vegas and I instagramed my entire summer.  If there’s one thing I tell my clients it’s ”Whatever you do, don’t just keep digital files of photos, print them out to enjoy!”  But instagram isn’t really set up for that so I couldn’t figure out how to display all of the photos I loved from our daily life.  And then I got an e-mail from Blurb – they could now make a book with all of your instagram photos with just a click of a button – SOLD!  At the end of the year I logged in, linked to my instagram account and had a book in about 10 minutes.  And I LOVE it.  The photos aren’t perfect or technically precise, but it is an awesome way to look back over a year and see all of the things we did together, all of the trips we took, and all of the awesome food we ate.  It’s also possible that I have about 50 photos of the pups in the book – they’re just so freakin’ cute!

If you aren’t already addicted to instagram I highly recommend it.  And if you want a great and easy way to capture your life in yearly chunks I highly recommend instagram books on Blurb.  Super easy and it’s officially my new favorite book.
]]> http://redkphotoblog.com/life-2011-instagram-book/feed/ 4 http://redkphotoblog.com/why-i-am-a-photographer/ http://redkphotoblog.com/why-i-am-a-photographer/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 06:04:55 +0000 Kelli http://redkphotoblog.com/?p=4895 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

Last summer, another photographer challenged me to write this blog post.  Their reasoning was that writing this down, saying it out loud and putting it out there for everyone to see makes it real.  It also means I have to go through the process of really thinking about it.  I understand the reasoning and I believe in the goal, but for the last 7 months I’ve fought this blog post with every ounce of my soul.  It’s not that I don’t want to write it, it’s that I didn’t think my “why” is a good enough reason.  What if I put it out there and everyone says “Well that’s a ridiculous reason to want to be a photographer!”  What if, what if, what if.  What if.  Two words, six letters.  But wow, it can stop you in your tracks.  So, here we are.  I’m writing the post.  Not because I think the content will be earth-shattering, but because I believe in my “why”, I’m certain about my “why” and I’m ready to share it with the world.

To be honest, my reason behind becoming a photographer is fairly simple – I can’t not do it.  I can’t imagine life without a camera in my right hand and one eye squinted into the view finder.  I can’t imagine attending a wedding and not capturing the details and smiles.  I can’t imagine attending my Godson’s Christmas play and not packing my 70-200mm lens to make sure I can get a close up shot of him picking his nose.  I can’t imagine walking with my Mother in her first Susan G. Komen walk and not capturing every single moment.  I just can’t imagine going through life without capturing it.

When we go on vacation I see moments and places in picture frames around our house.  The random photos are the ones we end up loving the most – the awesome dessert we ate (I wouldn’t let the hubs take a bite until after the photo op and I don’t care that the waiter thought I was crazy), the day we spent napping on the beach (I took a picture of my feet in the sand), the sunsets, the sunsets, the sunsets (and maybe a sunrise).

When I’m hired by a client to shoot their wedding, family or event, I approach it the same way – if this were MY moment, MY day, what would I want to capture?  (That’s normally why there are WAY too many food pics from events ).  I’d want to capture my 2 year old pitching a fit during the session because that’s his personality. I’d want to capture my father giving me away or my future husband seeing me walk down the aisle.  I’d want to capture the bouquet that I spent days discussing with the florist and my Mom zipping up my dress.  I’d want to capture my daughter with her American Girl doll because they are inseparable.  I’d want to capture my son’s toothless grin and the grass stains on his jeans.  Every detail tells the story, and I’d want to capture everything so that my grandchildren’s grandchildren could look at the photos and feel like they were there, in the moment, enjoying life.

So there you have it…simple, slightly obvious, and 100% me.  I have to be a photographer because I can’t imagine life as anything else.  And if you hire me to be YOUR photographer I will capture your moments as though they are my own.  Every detail.  Every expression.  Every piece of food on the table.  Because I can’t not do it.

And just because every post is better with a picture, here are 2 pics of me taken at the MJ2Day workshop last year by my friend Becca Wood.  I think these are also simple, slightly obvious and 100% me.
]]> http://redkphotoblog.com/why-i-am-a-photographer/feed/ 0 http://redkphotoblog.com/early-christmas-gift-scuba-diving-at-the-georgia-aquarium/ http://redkphotoblog.com/early-christmas-gift-scuba-diving-at-the-georgia-aquarium/#comments Fri, 09 Dec 2011 06:54:00 +0000 Kelli http://redkphotoblog.com/?p=4558 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

Since Chris got his diving certification he’s been talking about diving at the Georgia Aquarium.   It’s supposed to be one of the best dives out there, but it’s not something he’d ever buy for himself so I thought it would make an awesome Christmas gift this year.  One of our friends got certified earlier this year, so we thought it’d be fun to do a double gift so they could dive together.  I’m not sure we can ever top this gift, they loved it so much we’ve set the bar a bit high for ourselves next year.  Not sure my usual pair of khaki pants will live up to expectations in 2012.   And no joke, the Georgia Aquarium was AMAZING!  My favorite four year old is the son of Chris’ diving buddy so we got the aquarium a little early to explore all it has to offer.  This little man isn’t scare to try something new, and he didn’t hesitate a bit to pet a sting ray or an anemone.  And frankly, I could’ve listened to him say “anemone” all day. This little guy was so bright I just couldn’t stop taking photos.  I think he was a sea dragon, but I wouldn’t bet money on that, I’m not so great at reading the signs on displays.  But how cute is he?
And this is a whale shark.  This guy was HUGE!  There were 4 in the tank, so the program at the aquarium is called “Journey with the Gentle Giants”.  They were amazing to look at, and according to Chris & Steve, they were amazing to swim with.
Here are a couple of shots of Brayden enjoying all that the aquarium had to offer.  He had a BLAST!
This section was in the “tropical” portion of the aquarium.  I love all of the colorful fish, but what was actually addicting to watch were the waves.  You can’t see it really well in this photo, but every couple of minutes a huge wave of water would start overhead and filter down through the tank.  The fish clearly loved it, and it just felt larger than life.  The cool part was that we got a behind-the-scenes tour while the guys were suiting up for the dive, so we also got to see this tank from above.
Here’s what was causing the wave – pretty cool wave maker and faux sun!
Chris says this guy is very poisonous, but he was also very photogenic.
Jelly fish & the biggest crab I’ve ever seen!
And here’s Chris underwater with some fish!Swimming over the tunnel….
A shark with some scuba divers in the background ….

A local radio personality recommended this book last year and I decided to give it a shot.  I immediately fell in love and have since made it a yearly tradition.  I’ve never read a Noir novel before, but according to the reviews, this one hits the nail on the head.  To me, frankly, it’s just hilarious.  The snappy one-liners, the tie-ins to just about any other Christmas story you can think of, and the fun plot make this a great holiday read for anyone this month.  Not only is it a great book, it’s also written by a local NC author (Ken Harmon).  There’s something about reading local authors that just makes me smile.

If you’re looking for a quick holiday read for this month, check out The Fat Man, I promise you won’t be disappointed!

After a trip to Montreat earlier this year I came home and created a “stillness” area for myself.  It’s the perfect place for me to unwind after a long day or to go whenever I need some time by myself to just think things through.  A big comfy chair, a warm blanket and a candle to light the way.  I use the area regularly so I’m always on the lookout for a new candle – a special scent, a fun shape, just something unique.  Two weeks ago I stumbled across this candle vendor on Etsy, and I had to order these.  They are called Sweet Skep Candles and they’re made from Beeswax.  These natural candles are non-drip and they burn brighter and longer than regular candles.  There are also some amazing health benefits to using these – they actually clean the air while they burn!  How cool is that!  I’m already in love so I thought I’d spread the love a little and blog about it.  Enjoy!

Each year we go to a themed Halloween party complete with a themed trivia game and amazing food!  Last year was Lord of the Rings, and this year was Disney.  After the wig fiasco of 2010 I told Chris my only request was that he pick a Disney character that dates a red head.  There are surprisingly a lot of Disney red heads, so I felt like that was a very reasonable request.

Well he went with Jack Skellington from The Nightmare before Christmas so that made me Sally, his doe-eyed, quiet (but loving & well-meaning) stalker.  We were running late for the party so pics had to be taken with the iphone.  I think Jack totally rocked it – the bow tie was my contribution to his outfit and as usual, accessories totally make it.  So here we are, Jack Skellington with Red-Headed Stalker Sally!  Boo!

Last weekend I had a great time out at the USNWC leading a photo walk for the 4th Annual Worldwide Photo Walk Day!  This was my 2nd time participating in this event and my 1st time leading and I had a blast!  Most walks are held in and around city areas, but here in Charlotte we’re so lucky to have such an awesome facility like the USNWC I couldn’t resist hosting a walk there.  The weather was beautiful, and we had a great time capturing zip liners, rafters and kayakers for a couple of hours.

Lots of pink headed for the blog over the next 2 weeks!  This past weekend my family and I walked in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure in Greenville, SC to support and honor my Mother who just recently finished her last chemo treatment after being diagnosed in May of this year.  We’ve been supporting her and loving her as much as possible for the last 5 months so it was great to come together as a family and race for a cure!  It was an early morning (alarm clocks went off at 4:30 AM!!), so these pre-race faces are a bit sleepy-eyed, but you can tell they love their Grandmama. They didn’t give out an award for this but if they had Team Clarice would’ve totally taken home 1st place in best signage.
Coming down the home stretch Team Clarice was still going strong!
After the race was over they brought all of the survivors out onto the field for a photo.  It’s good to see Mother smiling this big surrounded by her “Under One Year” friends.  Lots of proud faces in this bunch!
Mother & Daddy under the pink balloon arch – I have no idea why Daddy is making this weird face!  :-D
Group photo under the pink balloons!  HUGE thanks to all of our friends and family that came out to support Mother and especially to my Sis-in-law for organizing Team Clarice.  Mother has a lot more surviving to do, so it’ll be fun to do this again next year!  Go Team Clarice!!

]]> http://redkphotoblog.com/susan-g-komen-race-upstate-south-carolina/feed/ 1 http://redkphotoblog.com/oops-i-etsyd-again/ http://redkphotoblog.com/oops-i-etsyd-again/#comments Tue, 27 Sep 2011 05:34:51 +0000 Kelli http://redkphotoblog.com/?p=3705 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

I’ve told y’all how much I love Etsy before, so I won’t belabor the fact again.  I LOVE ETSY!  Well, when my godson’s birthday came around this year I knew I wanted to get him something special, so where did I go?  You guessed it, ETSY!  Unique gifts, handmade, and just perfect for my favorite 4 year old.

What 4 year old boy doesn’t want to be a super hero?  How many towels have been capes for these mini-warriors?  Well it’s time for that to end!  Now all mini-super heros can have their own personalized cape thanks to this awesome shop on Etsy.  My little man is going to love this. These didn’t come from Etsy, but they were the perfect match to something that did.  Brayden LOVES cars.  I mean loves them.  He always has one in his hand, and when you go over to visit he’s playing with at least 6 on the coffee table and he immediately brings you one to join in on the fun.  We found these 3 at the beach last week and thought they were just perfect.  What kid doesn’t need a camper van, a golf cart and an ice cream truck?  Awesome!
And this is my favorite!  The little guy has so many cars I think he needs his own storage bin for them.  Again – from an awesome store on Etsy run by a middle school art teacher!  She personalized it and shipped it to me in about 2 weeks.  Just. Awesome.  I have a funny feeling that my friends and family are going to be seeing a lot of Etsy this Christmas.

]]> http://redkphotoblog.com/oops-i-etsyd-again/feed/ 0 http://redkphotoblog.com/world-wide-photo-walk-at-the-us-national-whitewater-center-sign-up/ http://redkphotoblog.com/world-wide-photo-walk-at-the-us-national-whitewater-center-sign-up/#comments Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:09:12 +0000 Kelli http://redkphotoblog.com/?p=3625 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

I’m SO EXCITED to participate in the World Wide Photo Walk again this year, and guess what???  I’m leading a walk!!  I absolutely LOVE the US National Whitewater Center, and so when I got the chance to lead a walk there I jumped on it!  At 4:30 on October 1st, we’ll be walking around the rafting area, checking out the zipliners and rock climbers, and if time permits we’ll also check out the canoes on the Catwaba River.

And here’s the awesome news – THIS EVENT IS FREE!!!!  And, you don’t have to be a professional photographer!  Bring your camera phone, your point and shoot or your DSLR, all photogs are welcome no matter what equipment or skill level!  We’re just there to have an awesome time and enjoy the USNWC.

So, SIGN UP today!  The walk is limited to the first 50 sign ups, and this is going to be a popular one so register today and be sure to let me know if you want to stay for dinner at River’s Edge Bar & Grill.  We’ll be eating fried pickles as we watch the sun set over the rafters so you don’t want to miss it.