Kara Leigh Jazz Combo — Free at 6

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I'm thrilled to announce that my friend Kara Leigh is playing with her jazz ensemble at the Lied Center this Tuesday! She's a very gifted musician who has worked hard and come a long way.

Check out her FREE concert Tuesday starting at 6pm at the Lied Center! And don't forget to pick-up her new CD called "Black Coffee." I had the honor of doing the photo shoot and the cover art!

Anything and Everything Red

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Several weeks (or was it months?) ago my husband and I were at an antique shop looking for inspiration (for photo shoots, of course). I was hoping to find a charming old chair. We were about to leave the place (A Street Antiques... thanks again Kevin!) when a woman who had overheard us on the prowl for a cute chair pointed out this one.

The clincher? I had been planning to paint whatever we found red... and this one just so happened to already be that color. The bonus? It's already sporting the worn and weathered look. :)

Lil' Helpers

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Since Emir and I don't have kids yet, we tend to treat our 2 cats as if they were in fact, our children. Other people tell cute stories about the funny and incredible things their kids do... and we tell pathetically nerdy stories about the ridiculous things our cats do... (Sheesch!)

Here's Merki in her usual position (on top of my desk) doing her best impression of a paper weight. I love that out of all her toes (which look like fun-fruits to me, remember those?), this is the only pink one.


Here's Merki and Emka looking out the window to protect the fort.

Merki chillin' at the top of the steps.

Emka... she's our golden girl.

I've Been Tagged!

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In the playful web world of photographers... there's a fun little game of blog tag that has been going around... and Tania Lezak recently tagged me! The rules are that I have to share 8 little known facts about moi... and then tag 5 other people... wow. Here goes!

1. You Meet 'em Wherever You Go!
Believe it or not, in my younger days, I was a dancer. Between high school and college, I spent a year on tour dancing with Up With People. I lived out of a suitcase with 150 other young people from 24 different countries. Words cannot describe the value and impact this experience has had on my life. It was phenomenal to say the least.

We put on a 2-hour professional musical production in 4 languages and 5 countries. Check out my knee-pads... soooo Janet Jackson. And my hair was crazy short!

This is my friend Patrick and I burning up the dance floor. The lifts in this dance were soooooo fun! (Patrick is a fellow photog... though he works mainly with motion picture cameras. He can be found in Texas working on various feature films. You can even find him listed in the IMDB. Crazy!)

This is a scene from our cast talent show. I don't know what made me think I could sing. To make matters worse, I chose "Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin as my song of choice. What was I thinking?

What you don't see in this picture, is my friend Charles Garland kindly providing guitar instrumentals for what was surely a painful performance. (He was such a good sport.... Poor thing!) Charles is currently enjoying a solo music career and playing in the band with Blue Man Group in Las Vegas... he's a serious rock star and an all around nice guy. But... even he couldn't save me from myself that day. :)

When the whole thing was said and done, the feedback I got from the rest of the cast was, "Well.... (insert long pause here) you looked good." I decided to stick to dancing. :)

2. Stupid Human Tricks
Some people can roll their tongue, others are double jointed... Me? My thumb bends backwards. It's called a Hitch Hiker Thumb... and it's a genetic trait just like having detatched earlobes, or freckles... etc... Weird, huh? (That is my actual thumb!)

3. Speed Racer
You remember the movie "Speed?" Sandra Bullock's character had to take the bus because her license was suspended for speeding. That was me a few years ago. I got 4 tickets in one year... and they don't kid around with that whole point system thing! I'm proud to say that I haven't had one since and now consider myself a reformed driver. :)

*Footnote*
While driving on a special work permit during my suspension... I was actually pulled over for driving "suspiciously slow." How's that for ironic?

4. Seafood? No Way!
I don't know if it's because I grew up in Nebraska, or... if it's another case of genetics... but I don't eat seafood. None. At all. Unless you count tuna salad... which I'm only OK with as long as it involves the words "salad," has plenty of mayo to hide the fact that it's part fish, and is accompanied by crackers or bread. :)

This makes me an outcast among my relatives in Spain who own and operate a successful pescaderia (fish shop). Emir and I visited them this summer. Look how beautiful this place is!


5. Flying High
When I was five, I won my first trophy in the grand sport known as...(drum roll).... Kite Flying. Yes, my trusty Snoopy kite helped me win the category of "highest altitude." It was the first time in my life I can actually remember crying from happiness. I guess winning a kite flying contest is pretty important when you're only five... :)

6. Chocolate Kisses?
What better way to spend your last semester of college than on a cross-country road trip!? Our vehicle of choice? The Hershey's Kissmobile. I actually earned college credit (and all the chocolate I could eat!) while having a nationwide blast with my friend, Carrie. It was just the two of us for 4 months of Kissmobile Kraziness! The cool thing was, while we were having a total blast, we were also working hard to raise donations and awareness for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

Here's a couple pics (from the old days of FILM!!!!)



7. Sunbeam Pixie Dust
Fascinated with light from an early age, I remember lazy afternoons spent at Grama's house when the sun would pour in the windows and make it possible to see what I thought was "magical sunbeam dust." Of course, I was bummed when I eventually realized it was just plain ol' household dust (not much magic there!).

Here's a picture of Julia (an incredible pianist with jazz vocalist Kara Leigh) where you can see a hint of the "magic sunbeam dust" I loved so much as a kid.


8. What IS That Thing?
I drove an old '91 Chevy Blazer for the past 10 years. Although the Blazer didn't have working air-conditioning, the gas tank leaked (as did the windows), and the steering column was loose... I loved that thing. In fact, I loved it so much, that when the Blazer was hit head-on by a woman who ran a stop light, I begged the insurance guy not to total it out.

Clearly, it wasn't worth taking the Blazer to a body shop, so I was thrilled when my dad surprised me by welding an entirely new bumper from an old metal table. Very creative. Eventually, I came to my senses and bought something newer... BUT- the Blazer will always have a special place in my heart!

Now the fun part! I get to tag 5 other photographers to keep the ball rolling.
1) Erin Cox
Erin is a photographer based in Colorado. Though she grew-up in Lincoln, I have never actually had the pleasure of meeting her. While out on a shoot a few weeks ago, a client told me she got my name from Erin who somehow came across my work and referred the client to me. It's a small world out there! Thanks for thinking of me Erin... I hope to cross paths with you one day! Let me know the next time you're in town... we can do coffee and talk shop! :)

2) Steph Carson
I stumbled upon Steph's website somewhat recently and had to drop her a note to let her know how much I enjoyed reading her blog. She is hilarious. Plus, her work is awesome. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her either, but she tells me she may be taking a road trip in the next few months. Based in Kentucky, she plans on heading west. You're welcome anytime Steph!

3) Min-Wei Ting
While vising a friend in NYC several years ago, I was introduced to Min-Wei. He always struck me as an interesting and artistic person. A couple of weeks ago, my NYC friend was passing through town and told me about Min-Wei's photographic endeavors. He is quite the self-directed photojournalist. Check out his fascinating photo essay on Burmese refugees living in Thailand or some of his powerful images from Haiti.

4) Stephie Dee
Though she claims she is not a professional photographer, this girl is pretty darn incredible with a camera! Not only is she talented and her images fresh and interesting, but she is hilarious as well, and filled with life. You can browse her incredible collection of work on Flickr.

5) Erin Hession-Wooton
Erin and I began chatting via email quite some time ago and laughed at how many things we had in common (including husbands who are both computer guys!). She put me in touch with the previous editor at Studio Photography magazine where I ended up having an article published. Based in Indiana, Erin has been a fun contact to share ideas (and long, late night emails!) with. Don't be a stranger Erin! :)

Flip Side

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Emir and I recently had the opportunity to spend some time together outside of our office... so naturally, we grabbed the camera and headed downtown. :)

This time, I was in front of the lens! Ha ha! It's good to keep in touch with what my clients go through on the other side! :) Plus, Emir got to have fun with my new camera... he did a great job!

Yummmmmmmm... We stopped at Scooter's for some coffee, chocolate, and a muffin.
I couldn't let Emir have ALL the fun... Here he is looking all serious (and handsome) on the phone... ha ha!

Back to the silliness....


The funniest thing was... we overheard some people who saw us as they walked by and exclaimed, "Awh..... Senior pictures!" Ha ha ha! Later that night at dinner, I ordered a margarita... and didn't even get carded. I went from 17 to 'too old to care' in a matter of hours!

Nice work love!

Go Team!

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To celebrate our one year anniversary, after a fantastic dinner, Emir and I came home and defrosted our wedding cake that had been in my mom's freezer since we walked down the aisle. Would you believe it tasted every bit as good as it did 365 days earlier??? Who would've guessed!

This is a pic of us at home in our kitchen (it would also make a swell ad for the Southbeach Cookbook... don't you think? Ha ha!). I was aiming for the ol' Norman Rockwell look. I love his paintings!


Special thanks to Michelle for snapping this pic and playing assistant art director :)