Natural Beauty: The Hungry Caterpillars

The end of the summer brought all kinds of different critters to the garden. The caterpillars came in full force. A different kind attacked the tomato plants. But this caterpillar, the Black Swallowtail, LOVED parsley. These are what they looked like when they first arrived. They were all over the parsley and as they grew, the parsley disappeared. I'm sad that all of my delicious parsley is gone, but I loved watching these caterpillars grow over the 10 days they were here!

 A couple of days later

 5 days later

Hunter ~ 6 Months

Can you say cutie? Hunter and his family just recently joined our squadron and I was so excited when I was called to take his 6 month pictures! We had a beautiful fall day full of smiles and adorableness! Every time I see this sweet smile of his I can't but help smiling too! 

Sandy Puc's Hand's on Photography Workshop

What an AMAZING opportunity! I first saw Sandy Puc' on CreativeLive in February and spent the weekend soaking up all of the information I could from her 3-day live workshop. Then I heard she was coming to the area. I started checking on tickets, but our schedule has been so crazy lately I was afraid to commit. I got an email a few days before the show to try for a free ticket.... and I ended up getting it!!! My day was spent learning about lighting and posing with some very talented and successful photographers and Sandy Puc'. Here are some of my favorites!

 

Summer Fun

Summer is such a beautiful time of year and has always been my favorite! I love the long days, the thunderstorms, eating popsicles and spending as much time outside as possible. The photo challenge this month at www.iheartfaces.com was Summer Fun. I can't imagine a better way to spend a summer day than a trip to the park!

LtCol Nelson's Change of Command

           The Nelsons are another fantastic family that I have been blessed with meeting since I married my military man! LtCol Nelson was the Director of Operations of our squadron.  After his Change of Command ceremony he is now the Commander of the Operations Support Squadron. 

               This was my first Change of Command ceremony and I wasn't sure what to expect. I don't like breaking rules and I wasn't sure of the proper Change of Command etiquette, so I was nervous to get up and move around to take pictures during the ceremony. Everyone was seated so nicely and in those moments the camera sounds so loud! I'm glad there were some Air Force camera pros right up in the action taking pictures and hope those turned out awesome! Here are some of my favorites of this wonderful family and the ceremony.             

              Congratulations Nelson Family!!! I was honored to be asked to take family pictures for you on this special day. What an exciting new adventure! 

Natural Beauty: Critters in the Gardens

I just love my garden! It brings me so much joy and there is always something new to see. I went to pick whatever tomatoes I had before the big storm rolled in and found this little surprise on a leaf! Below is a picture to show you just how itty bitty he was! He was a perfect little frog model. He wasn't scared at all with my big camera and lens right in his face. Once I saw spotted him, I started noticing all kinds of fun critters in the veggie garden and our flower garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This guy just cracks me up! Look at his eyes!!! 

Flowers are the reason I fell in love with photography. Zinnias are one of my favorites and these were a part of a Hummingbird Mix we scattered in the garden.  The hummingbirds and butterflies love them!