My new friends...

One of the things I've been longing to do since moving to Kentucky is visit a horse farm so that I can photograph the horses! I was able to see that dream realized a couple of weeks ago when Click-ish Photographers (the local photo group I belong to) visited Bachelors Barter Farm in Harrodsburg, KY, home of April's Andalusians. Here's a sampling of what I was able to capture...

Jadira DD

Jadira & her half-sister Indira

Katie gets a good shot of the sisters kissing each other.

Tia was a sweetie!

Abby saying hello to Dia & Nobleza

My husband & daughter meet Tia.

Well, hello there!

Katie's son was a natural. 

Getting a bit of a shave... how embarrassing for this girl! :)

This is their stallion Campero. He wasn't allowed to come out and say hi, but we enjoyed him from a distance.

The Click-ish girls getting up-close shots of the new blooming daffodils. The grounds were absolutely beautiful!

Campero strutting his stuff near the barn.

Inside the house... was built in the late 1700's, by a friend of Daniel Boone's!

The huge fireplace in the original kitchen, which was in the basement.

My studly husband enjoying the pasture view.

I love all these beautiful old stone walls that are littered throughout Kentucky's horse country.

Katie's son felt a little adventurous, and wandered into the pasture. Thankfully, the owners were quick at jumping fences. :)

Thank you to all who made this fun day possible!!

Atop the Bluffs

Hello, Sleeping Bear Dunes. I miss you.

Tobacco

Ever since we moved to Kentucky, I've had a dream—a dream of getting out into the tobacco fields just before they're harvested for some pictures, while they're bright yellow. It hasn't happened yet. I'm really hoping for that this year, though!

But, I did make it out (inadvertently) to a local farm last Fall, and stumbled onto an old tobacco barn on the property. And the tobacco was still hanging! Jackpot! It was definitely cool.

The leaves were so crisp, and made the neatest rustling noise when the breeze hit them. It was eerily quiet when you walked deep into the barn. The hanging tobacco just sucked up all the sound.

So, now that I've captured dead tobacco with my camera, maybe this year I'll be able to capture it while it's still alive . . . and gorgeously bright yellow, under the perfect lighting conditions. :)

Construction

I realize this is more of an industrial photograph than a nature photograph, but it symbolizes about four or five months of our lives. These pieces of wood and nails are no longer laying in our yard (thank goodness), but they were for quite a while.

We bought our first home in August 2010, and began an extensive kitchen remodel shortly after. The house is fifty-five years old, and nothing had been done to the kitchen in a LONG time. I also found out I was pregnant with our second child, just after we began the remodel. We didn't do the construction work ourselves—oh no. We hired a friend's company do that. But, we lived through weeks of loud noises, walls being torn down, all-day sickness from being pregnant, drywall dust, old molding and studs laying in the yard, and trying to corral a very active toddler.

When I look back, it really didn't take very long! But, while we were in it, it seemed to take forever. So, the picture above symbolizes how far we've come, in my mind. We're no longer under construction. We still have work to do, but we're almost there—we're so close! But, there aren't any pieces from construction laying around the yard anymore, and that feels awesome.

The curl above her ear

My little one has this adorable curl above her ear. It's always there. No matter what we do to her hair—wash it, pull it up in a ponytail, comb it—that curl is always there. Don't get me wrong, we're definitely not trying to get rid of it!! Oh never! It's just this precious little feature, that I love. Sometimes it's a ringlet, and other times it's just a curl. I know that one day, it will be gone, because her hair will be longer, or shorter, and she'll either loose the curl altogether, or whatever, but it's there now. This picture wasn't taken today, but today it's much more of a ringlet, just hanging over her ear. I really treasure that little curl, because it's on one of the most precious little heads in the whole world. I'm truly blessed!

Plump & Red

Remember the tomato farm I told you about? Here's another picture from that fun day. I'm not a fan of tomatoes (weird, I know!), but these make me want to just sink my teeth in. Don't they look good? I could have snapped pics in this greenhouse for hours! It had the perfect lighting, perfect light diffusion, and the canopy created this beautiful color.

I recently finished listening to Tomato Girl in audiobook. It's definitely not an uplifting read—very tragic and sad. I still can't decide if I enjoyed it or not. I know they'll make a movie, if one isn't already in the works. It's well-written in that you really can imagine everything the author writes about, but it's just a sad story.

Photography Equipment Review, coming soon

I'm being given the opportunity to once again review some photography equipment from CSN Stores—an online shopping source for just about anything. They have seriously ANYthing you can imagine: swing set, home decor, lighting, home improvement items, hardwood flooring, linens, and so much more.

CSN Stores are offering me a credit toward any of their photography equipment/accessories in exchange for my unbiased, honest review. I was very pleased with my first experience and L-O-V-E the camera bag I purchased! It's really amazing!

So, I'll be sure to keep you posted on this new experience with their stores, and let you know how the equipment stacks up.

Americana

This picture seems so "American" to me. Does it strike you that way? I was standing on a good ol' American farm, looking around over the rolling hills, and something just make me take this picture. The sky was so blue that day, and there was a wonderful breeze. We were in the middle of Fall. I wasn't thinking "America" when I took the shot, but now that I see it, it just strikes me that way. It transports me back to that beautiful day, and I can almost feel the breeze again.

Tomatoes

I have a friend who is an extremely talented portrait photography, and a while back she let me tag along on an engagement photo shoot. She knows I love nature photography, and the couple wanted their photos taken on a farm, so I was all in. It was a gorgeous Fall day, with mild temperatures, and a wonderful breeze. The fun, unexpected surprise was that the groom's family has a hydroponic tomato business! So, we got the tour. The canopy over the greenhouse created the most gorgeous morning light on these little, plump beauties, so I had a blast just snapping away while my friend photographed the couple. I got plenty of fun shots of this adorable couple, too, but I was really loving the tomato plants. What can I say, I'm a nature photographer!

Now, I can't remember . . . are tomatoes a vegetable or a fruit?

Breathtaking

I love Pyramid Point—a spectacular vista in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It's one of my favorite views along the Lake Michigan coast. The last time I was there was this past Fall (2010), and I tried to "drink it in" (as Anne would say) while I was there. The day was beautiful, and the temperatures were mild—a perfect day for nature photography. :)