on the farm.

A few weeks ago the boy and I headed to his parents’ farm for a quick little visit. I have blogged about the farm before (here, here, and here, to name a few), but this place has started to take hold of a little piece of my heart. It can be rather desolate and empty at times; the only noises you hear are cows, birds, and the occasional farm equipment running, and the dirt roads around the farm seem to go on forever. Evenings and mornings there can be absolutely stunning, and even though I have photographed a decent amount there I feel like I have barely scratched the surface. On top of that, it changes so much depending on the season that there is always something fresh the photograph. Late spring and early summer are probably my favorite times to be there (which also tends to be true of most locations for me), and since this has been a mostly cool and fairly wet spring/summer so far, things were extra beautiful (aka very green and lush). Earlier this spring however, the weather was not so ideal. The higher temps and lack of rain left the wheat (my favorite part of the farm) very short and not as great as normal for photographs.

The day that we got there was cool and rather perfect early in the evening, so we sat out on the deck for a while before the sun dipped low and things got too chilly. Scott practiced guitar, and I wandered the farm taking pictures in the beautiful light. It was lovely.

5769and5764web 5775and5765web 5784web 5793web 5799web 5813web 5816web 5818web 5819web 5821web

 

Vibrant Spring

This post will be a bit old news now, but the end of the semester as both a student AND an instructor is madness. So, as is the trend it seems, I have a bit of a backlog of images to share. First up though a few images of spring.

Spring is probably my favorite time of the year. I am a bit obsessed with bright green landscapes, and the fresh, new green of spring never ceases to amaze me. Plus the flowers every where is an added bonus. Since I was so busy this spring I didn’t have a chance to shoot much, but here are the few I did manage to grab before the new green faded and the spring blossoms fell.

4513web 4520web 4524web 4530web 4912web 4935web

Have a happy weekend everyone (and be on the lookout for more posts)!

Disruption

It had been almost a full year since I last shot a self-portrait, despite the fact that I have had the itch to create one for months. Last Friday evening I finally had some time to kill, and someone to assist, so we went out into the woods and took advantage of the perfect light.

I’ve been going back and forth on the editing of this one, so I may potentially post the original in the near future, as well as some others from the shoot that turned out, and maybe even some behind the scenes images.

4281doubleweb

 

The Farm

Shortly after Thanksgiving Scott and I went to visit his parents’ beautiful farm. We were only there for a night, but the light that evening was stunning; richly golden with a low haze in the distance.

1153web FarmPanorama1web horse(1171)web horse(1174)web horse(1183)web wire(1162)web farm(1190)web

1145web

Also, to any Arabian horse fans out there, these beauties are for sale. Feel free to contact me for details.

Time in the pasture.

About a month ago Scott and I went to his parents’ farm for dove hunting season. We went out in the evening and sat in their pasture watching for birds. I, however, was very distracted by how beautiful it was out there.

We sat on buckets, low to the ground and surrounded by tall grass fronds catching the rich evening light as they swayed in the breeze. Not far away was a group of wild sunflowers in full bloom. A small pond was in front of us, and it was mesmerizing to watch the giant dragonflies swoop down to catch bugs in the low, golden sun. The only noises we heard were bugs buzzing, birds chirping, and the sound of the wind in the grass. It was almost dream like.

658web 695web 711web 725web 752web 763web

167web 170web 208web 210web 215web 240web

The Thought Process

It had been ages since I shot a self-portrait before this one. I had some vague ideas that I was wanting to shoot but never seemed to have the time, energy, or motivation. This summer has been a bit of a slump for me artistically, but I’m hoping I can turn that around once the craziness of this month settles down.

Anyways, about a month ago I went home with Scott (the boyfriend) to his parents’ farm. They have some big wheat fields, which, as previously posted, are one of my favorite things. I had the itch for a self-portrait, though I didn’t really know what it should be. Before we left for their house (which is close to a two-hour drive) I had thrown in a bunch of tulle and other fabric thinking I could do something with movement and wind (since Kansas is ALWAYS windy). That evening, around sunset I decided to just go out and see what would happen. It was all very spontaneous and unplanned, which is often the best for me. When we were walking to the spot that I wanted to shoot at there were some hazy clouds covering the sun and light wasn’t very exciting. I was sort of bummed out and even debated not shooting that night. But, I decided to go for it anyways, and it paid off. The haze ended up lifting while I was shooting, making for some wonderful golden light in most of the images.

I have sat on these images for a while, unsure of how I wanted to edit them, and share them. Finally, as I am sitting in a hotel in Lexington, KY about to shoot a wedding I decided I was sick of having them sit on my hard drive. I will make another post with a few more, but this one was my favorite, and when the title popped into my head this morning I thought it deserved its own post.

1379webHappy weekend everyone!

57/365 – Drip Drop

I was going to do a self-portrait tonight, but got a little bit lazy in terms of my picture. I am leaving for Minnesota in the morning, and I have been running around like crazy trying to get everything packed and get the house ready for me to be gone for over 3 weeks.

Also, I have some exciting news! I entered a contest through Photographer’s Forum Magazine a bit ago. There were over 14,000 photographs submitted, and the top 11% were selected as finalists. Well, I got a letter in the mail today informing me that I am a finalist! That means that my photograph will be published in their hardcover book Best of Photography 2011. I also make it to the final round of judging as a finalist, and I will find out August 15th if I place or get honorable mention. Such an exciting bit of news before I go home!

And, please remember to go vote for my portfolio and tell everyone that you know! You can vote once a day. I so appreciate each and every vote I can get, thank you for the support!