Quick Update

As you can see, I have been a busy bee updating my blog. I chose a new simple black design, I fixed all the missing links in old blog posts, I added social media links on the right, and I’ve been categorizing a lot of my blog posts.

Check out the Categories panel on the right. If you click a category, such as “night photography” for example, it will take you to all of my night photos. Not every photo has been categorized, but it’s certainly a lot more organized than before. Unfortunately I didn’t realize that every time I added a category to a photo, that particular blog post re-posted. So I sincerely apologize to my readers who just received about 50+ emails from me.

And the biggest update is yet to come – I’ll finally be adding a portfolio section! That empty “My Work” tab at the top will finally be filled. Thanks for your patience!

Here’s a quick photo from a few days ago to tide you over until my next blog post…

Happy First Day of Summer!

Project 52 Week 24: Eighty-eight and Going Strong

My grandma may have blown out her 16 birthday candles one-by-one (one candle for each 5.5 years of life), but at least she had the breath to blow them out. I love that she still loves getting attention on her birthday.

Grandma celebrates her 88th birthday by blowing out her candles. She’s my last grandparent, which makes her birthdays even more special to me.

Rock Chalk Baby

We got to welcome a new baby into the family this week! My cousin Holly, and her husband Adam, were blessed with beautiful baby Samantha on Monday, June 11. You can tell she’s going to be a huge MU fan, right? 😉

Mommy carefully strokes baby Samantha.
We actually remembered to get a photo of both parents with their newborn baby – something we usually forget.
Baby Jayhawk feet.
Baby Samantha looks so tiny in Daddy’s arms.
Just let me sleep, please!

Project 52 Week 23: A Lesson In Life

Friday afternoon I had the privilege of attending Shave to Save – an American Cancer Society Hope Lodge fundraiser. People are asked to raise $5,000 for the Hope Lodge. Their reward? Their heads are shaved. De De, the lady pictured below, is one of the most upbeat women I’ve ever seen … and her daughter has cancer. She and her daughter have spent many months staying for free at the Hope Lodge while her daughter undergoes cancer treatment. Despite going through such hardship, both of them were full of positive energy – constantly smiling and laughing. What an inspiration!

 

Learn more about Hope Lodge.

Support the American Cancer Society by buying one of my photographic prints.

De De laughs as her head is shaved for the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge’s Shave to Save fundraiser, while her daughter Gypsy, who has cancer, laughs right behind her. Gypsy’s shirt says, “I HATE CANCER.”

Project 52 Week 22: A Dabble in Street Photography

Here are a couple of shots from the streets of the Kansas City Crossroads Arts District during First Fridays. I’ve decided it’s the best place in the city for street photography, so if I’m brave enough I’ll go back for the sole purpose of practicing this fascinating genre of photography.

A local Kansas City banjo player at First Fridays.
A young man watches the crowd of people, lost in thought.

Purchase photographic prints for Relay For Life here.

Project 52 Week 21: On the Road Again …

This past week, my husband and I took a road trip with another couple to North Carolina & South Carolina. We had an amazing trip! We just got back last night, so I obviously haven’t sorted through all my photos yet, but here are just a few of my favorites. As you can see, we had quite the mixture of activities throughout our trip.

During a hike to Grotto Falls in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, we saw a guy with a pack of lamas transporting supplies to a hike-in resort. We couldn’t have arrived at a more perfect time to capture this moment.
Grotto Falls, Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
A beautiful butterfly captured our attention at a lookout point in Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
A lookout point at Great Smoky National Park during one of the few sunny moments.
A picturesque facade of a historic home in Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is the 2nd most preserved city in the world, behind Rome.
We experienced the perfect sunrise on the Sullivan’s Island beach in South Carolina.
A quiet, romantic morning on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina.

Project 52 Week 20: Remembering Italy

In an effort to populate my etsy site with Kansas City photographic prints, I took some photos of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception this week. It’s not quite like the cathedrals I saw a year ago in Italy, but it’s still a beautiful structure.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Kansas City.

If you would like to purchase Kansas City wall art with 100% proceeds going to Relay For Life, check out my etsy site.

Project 52 Week 19: From Graduation … to Jail?

We almost got arrested for this shot. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but we did get yelled at very sternly by a cop with a megaphone. The scolding was well worth the photo, because this is my husband right after graduating with his Master of Education degree from Rockhurst University on Saturday. I couldn’t be more proud! We had a fantastic day with family and lots of friends at a surprise graduation party afterward. A good friend of ours made the amazing cupcakes below – aren’t they perfect?

Jerod standing outside the Kansas City Convention Center just after graduation.
Graduation cupcakes, made by Julie!

GIVEAWAY: Kansas City Wall Art!

If you looked at my photo of the week yesterday, you may have seen that I just opened up an Etsy site to sell prints of my work. Because I’m as passionate about fighting cancer as I am about photography, I’m selling these prints as a fundraiser for Relay For Life. To kick off the grand opening of my Etsy store, I’m offering a GIVEAWAY! The first five customers who order one print or more will receive a second print of equal size for free! See the details below.

 

Check out my Etsy Shop.

 

* Giveaway ends May 14.
* When placing the order, indicate which print you’d like in the Notes to Seller section.
* Must pay shipping on the first print; second print will be shipped with the first print free of charge.
* If you order a 5×7, you will receive a 5×7 free. If you order an 8×10, you will receive an 8×10 unless you request a 5×7.
* Once the 5 customers have placed their orders, I will post an update on this page indicating the giveaway is over.
* Must have a U.S. address.
* 100% of proceeds will be donated to my 2012 Relay For Life team.

Project 52 Week 18: A Picture Perfect Evening

I spent some time this past week taking photos around the city. I’m adding to my portfolio so I can sell prints on etsy.com. I’m not in the business to make a profit. I am donating 100% of proceeds from these prints to the 2012 American Cancer Society Relay For Life. My goal this year is to raise $500. So if you’d like a photographic print of Kansas City, or if you’d like to help raise money for this awesome fundraiser, please check out my Etsy page. I plan to add more photos over the next several weeks.

This is one of my favorites from the week:

Looking over Union Station and downtown Kansas City, Missouri from on a hazy night.

   Buy this print on etsy and support my Relay For Life fundraiser!

   Visit my Relay For Life page for more information and to donate!