Project 52: 2019 Inspire Yourself 1/52

I’ve decided to try and do a Project 52 this year (and stick with it). I am to take my camera out at least one day a week for 52 weeks. It’s just something to help me stay inspired throughout the year and to hone my craft.

I’ve decided to use our property behind the house for my project. It’s easily accessible, I don’t have to drive anywhere, and there is so much going on that I shouldn’t have a problem finding something to shoot. I’ll just use a different photography/editing technique each week.

This morning was so quiet I could hear the water drops falling from the branches. It’s very brown this time of year, but I did find signs of new growth everywhere.

This is from one of the red maple trees we planted a little while ago. It’s already grown so much!! This morning I was needing something simple. I used my SweetBaby 35 to give it that dreamy quality.

Well, here’s to the new year and a new project.

the barn. inspired by life. august 2018

We have a barn. It’s not your typical barn, there are no horses, pigs, or chickens. There is no tack hanging on the walls, no hay in a loft, nor are there any cats chasing small mice. But it is a barn where a large amount of sweat, blood, and tears are shed and prayers are said.

One day I’ll have to tell you the story of how our barn was built, but that’s not for today. I want to show you the work that is being done every day. This is where my husband, Brad, works. Day in and day out, mostly 7 days a week. He will take a break when I force him to or when his brain does. Besides my dad, my husband is the hardest working man I know.

Unbeknownst to us, God had plans for our family that we never would have dreamed possible. He has been guiding and providing for us in a way that only God can.

Brad makes crosses. Yes, he makes crosses for a living. I love to see people’s reactions to this. They never believe it. But that is one thing that I have learned over the last several years. Have faith and believe. It is truly amazing what God can do for you if you just have a little faith.

One afternoon, I asked Brad if I could bring my camera in to watch him while he worked.  I just started shooting away. It’s been a couple of weeks since I took these, but I didn’t feel it was the right time to post them. This is the week, the 33rd week of the year. Yes this was exactly the right time.

I hope you enjoy this small tour with Brad. And if you would like to see what his crosses look like, please check out http://www.divinecrosses.com or the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/divinecrosses.llc/ It’s such beautiful artistry.

I’ll take my camera in to the barn any day. I’m sure this will not be the only time. The light in here during the fall is so beautiful. I’ll have to show you 🙂

♥ Brandi

This blog is part of Inspired by Life Blog circle. It is filled with wonderfully talented photographers from different parts of the world. Please follow the circle and see what has Inspired our artists this month. Next up is my friend Channon. Please check out her blog here. See ya’ll next month!

one of those days. inspired by life april 2018

I told Joshua we could go spend a couple of hours at the beach. We are fortunate to live in a place where an hours drive will take you the most beautiful beaches in America. It’s still a little chilly for me to be hanging out in a bathing suit, but Joshua was all for it!

And then he surprised me. He asked me if he could bring his paints and a canvas and paint a landscape while we were at the beach. Well of course I said yes!! Now just so you know, this was his first attempt to paint on site. And he didn’t take in to account how glaringly bright our beach is with the white sand. So for a while he had his towel over his head painting. It was so fun to watch. While he got his art on, I took my camera and got mine on.

It was one of those days….

we had to find the perfect spot. so we sat down sightly behind this dune so he “could have some interesting views.”

in his element.

“mom I don’t have enough paints.”

bathroom break.

after finishing his painting, joshua wanted to go explore fort pickens. we used to bring the boys quite frequently but since they are older we haven’t been as much. i think he has missed it.

brought my new lens baby so, of course, I had to experiment a little with this new lens.

it gets dark in the tunnels.

the landscape is so different around the fort.

the wildflowers were everywhere.

i’m thinking he had a great day.

I think we all need one of those days. Find yours. You’ll create memories for a lifetime.

❤️ Brandi

This blog is part of Inspired by Life Blog circle. It is filled with wonderfully talented photographers from different parts of the world. Please follow the circle and see what has Inspired our artists this month. Next up is my friend Melissa. Please check out her blog here. See ya’ll next month!

 

phoneography. february 2018. inspired by life

Hey Ya’ll!! I have started and deleted this blog post about a dozen times. I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to try and express what I want to say. I wanted to talk about phone photography. I’ve been told countless times that equipment does not make a photographer. And, I should add, neither does a computer. When I look at something interesting, I’m always looking to see the best angle for a photo. And just because I didn’t bring my DSLR or my computer with me, doesn’t mean that I won’t get a great photo. I practice every day with a camera…whether it’s my phone or my Nikon. I’m always snapping away. That being said,

there is an extremely large online photography contest currently happening and it’s the first time I’ve ever entered. Last year I voted a couple of times, but I didn’t have anything invested in it so I didn’t really stick to it. However, since I submitted 50 photos this year, I figured I should at least vote in the thing! It’s become somewhat of an addiction,

trying to see if you spot your photos among the 100’s of thousands of images that were submitted. And it’s a total high when you do spot one of your own. Not only do you get to vote for it, you can see your photo in a grid of four and see how they look with the other contestants. I can see what I need to work on. I can even see where I have improved over the years. The funniest thing I’ve learned about myself…

the phone photography category has become my favorite. It’s so interesting! It could be documentary, landscape,

food photography, lifestyle, action, or portraiture. I love it all!!

All the photos in my blog today are from my phone. Basically, a-day-in-the-life-type photos.  I’ve decided that I’m going to embrace my phone camera. I won’t just take a selfie, I’ll take a selfie with my embarrassed teenaged son photobombed by my husband.

I’m going to take photos of my grandparents and my parents when they aren’t looking.

I’m going to practice my phoneography. It’s ok to document your life. And it’s ok to jump into the photo, too.  There’s one more thing you should do,

PRINT YOUR PHOTOS!!!!!! There are so many companies out there that will print your photos for free, so there really is no excuse.

I just printed these photos (I only paid shipping), and let me tell you, it was like Christmas morning when I received my package in the mail. So much fun to look through “family pictures”. Print them! I promise you will not regret it.

♥ Brandi

 This blog is part of Inspired by Life Blog circle. It is filled with wonderfully talented photographers from different parts of the world. Please follow the circle and see what has Inspired our artists this month. Next up is Sarah’s blog, click here to see her incredible images!!

understanding: artist inspired blog circle May 2017 – purple

Enjoy the spring. There are colors everywhere. Today I found purple.

 

 

 

The Artists Inspired Blog Circle is made up of an exceptionally talented group of photographers from all walks of life, from all over the world. They are wives, mothers, friends, daughters and visual storytellers who draw from their own experiences to create art that is inspiring, unique, beautiful and thought-provoking.

This blog is part of that circle. It is meant to share other artists. Please follow our circle by clicking here to see how Sharleen interpreted purple. You won’t be disappointed!!

grey blooms: artist inspired blog circle january 2017 – grey

have you ever stopped what you were doing to watch the moon bloom? it happens so fast that you could miss it while you are eating dinner. next month, if you can remember, stop and watch. you could see a miraculous sunset to the west and a magical rise of the moon to the east.

my husband and i stopped working for just a little while and this is what we saw.

just because the sky is grey doesn’t mean you can’t find the color. you have to pay attention and look up.

The Artists Inspired Blog Circle is made up of an exceptionally talented group of photographers from all walks of life, from all over the world. They are wives, mothers, friends, daughters and visual storytellers who draw from their own experiences to create art that is inspiring, unique, beautiful and thought-provoking.

This blog is part of that circle. It is meant to share other artists. Please follow our circle by clicking here to see Kathy’s interpretation of grey.

 

 

hey there

Why start a blog? Honestly, I don’t truly have an answer for you…yet. There are so many blogs out there in cyperland that I’m sure no one is really going to read mine. Will it be interesting? Possibly. The only person it should be interesting for is me. Since these will be my own words and photos, I should be interested. If you become interested along the way, that would be fantastic!

This won’t be a how-to blog, a cooking blog, an educational blog, or a hey look at me blog. I will be writing down some thoughts, possibly some short stories, showing a little bit of my photography, and generally just shooting the breeze when I feel like it. For all of my grammar nazi friends, feel free to let me know when I’ve royally screwed up my grammar. If it helps you have fun…nazi away! (PS I’m not getting rid of the ellipsis, get over it).

You will find that I am a true Gemini. You never know what mood I’ll be in for the day. Sometimes bright and sometimes a little moody. I can have a “smart mouth” as my mother would say, and I can be a little sarcastic. I try not to be too blunt. You’ll find some days I am extremely conversational in my writing, and other days waxing poetic.

Anyways, just trying this thing out tonight. It’ late and I’m not really putting my best foot forward. So I’m working on my “real” first blog post. So, cheers!!! Let’s hope I did this thing right. Night 🙂