The first photo of my 365 Day Photography Project was a little baby bump named Blueberry. Yesterday I finally got to meet Blueberry, who is now 3-month-old Leah. She was such a great model for family portraits with Mommy & Daddy! She already has 18 pairs of shoes, which is at least 3 times as many as Daddy.
For the second year in a row, I took photos of the American Cancer Society Bachelor Auction committee. I love taking photos of these ladies, because they’re so great at posing themselves!
Despite the stormy, hot weather, it was a good weekend. On Saturday morning Jerod, Callie, and I went to Camp Courage, a camp for adults with special needs, to help with a booth for their carnival. And on Sunday we celebrated my grandma’s 87th birthday by taking her lunch and cake and watching the Royals. (By the way, the cake in the photo is cake #2. Cake #1 went in the trash can when I didn’t hear the timer go off and burnt it to a crisp. I took the ‘DO NOT OVERCOOK’ warning label on the angel food cake package to heart.) I think both of these photos illustrate that sometimes the simplest things in life make us the happiest.
Yesterday I got together with a couple of friends at ingredient for lunch. $5 pizzas – can’t beat that! (Although I had my fair share of pizza in Italy so I got a salad this time.)
My aunt Jill passed away from pancreatic cancer last July. So when my family heard about the first pancreatic cancer PurpleStride 5k in Kansas City, we jumped on board. We ran, walked, raised money, and volunteered at the event. It was a huge success, drawing 1100 participants and raising over $97,000! This photo is what it’s all about – the survivors. Out of 1100 people, there were only eight survivors. Eight. There have been almost no advancements in pancreatic cancer in the last 40 years, and the five-year survival rate is only 4%. Hopefully with passionate people like those we celebrated with Saturday morning, those numbers will start to change.
Canon 60d
1/400 sec., f/4.0, ISO 200
18-200 mm lens (28 mm), natural light
My friend Tekia has an incredible catering opportunity coming up. It’s called Breaking Bread: A Soul Food Communion, which is part of The Dining Room Project: Art, Food, & The Ritual of Eating. Breaking Bread will be a buffet style meal based on family recipes. The event will also feature works of art by John C. Sutton III and Beth Nybeck. Below is a photo of Tekia with her newly acquired piece of art depicting the soul food experience, by the very talented Sutton. I’m very excited to experience this event in a couple of weeks!
Canon 60d
1/500 sec., f/8.0, ISO 100
18-200 mm lens (40 mm)
Yesterday was a first for me – I shot body paint portraits. I don’t want to reveal her identity and ruin the surprise, so here’s just one sneak peek.
Canon 60d
1/25 sec, f/5.0, ISO 1000
18-200 mm lens (60 mm), ambient light
… to Grandmother’s house we go! Yesterday we spent a couple hours with Grandma, bringing her one of her favorite foods (Chicken McNuggets from McDonald’s), watching basketball, and looking through photo albums. She’s lonely without Grandpa around, but she’s a devout KU basketball fan. I hope they stay in the tournament awhile longer since watching them play brings her so much joy!
Canon 60d
1/50 sec., f/4.5, ISO 400
18-200 mm lens (18 mm), natural light
My cousin Shawn and his wife Angela had their baby boy yesterday, Feb. 10. Ironically his twin cousins have the same birthday! I waited until the end of the day to post this, because I wanted to make sure Angela had the first opportunity to post a photo of him. I have to admit, I’ve been dying to show him off. Welcome to the world, Blake!
My grandpa, who just returned from the hospital yesterday with another bout of pneumonia, has always been a fighter. He was once a brave, handsome young man who fought in the war. He could build anything or fix anything. He taught me to fish, use a circular saw, ride a go-cart, shoot a gun, work hard. He proved that he could do anything, survive anything. He is still fighting and surviving, but this is one battle we heartbreakingly know he will eventually lose. For now, I’m trying to appreciate every minute I have with him, even if he may not remember me anymore. Because I’ll always remember you, Grandpa.
1/30 sec., F4.0, ISO 800
18-55mm lens (18 mm), no flash
Photographic Rhodes 