Recent Photography

This semester is the first opportunity I have had to take a photography class in college so far, so I figured I would share some of my work! Photography would kind of be my procrastination before, but now it's actually homework! Best feeling ever. It's so nice to be in my final stretch of college and finally have a different type of homework to mix it up. I'm so used to all of these math and computer classes that art classes are an awesome change of pace. Anyways, here are a few of the photos I took for Self Portraits & Portraits. (Thanks to Landon for playing with smoke until I got enough photos). Enjoy!

- Erin

This semester is the first opportunity I have had to take a photography class in college so far, so I figured I would share some of my work! Photography would kind of be my procrastination before, but now it's actually homework! Best feeling ever. It's so nice to be in my final stretch of college and finally have a different type of homework to mix it up. I'm so used to all of these math and computer classes that art classes are an awesome change of pace. Anyways, here are a few of the photos I took for Self Portraits & Portraits. (Thanks to Landon for playing with smoke until I got enough photos). Enjoy!

- Erin

Home for the Holidays: Part Two

I made it safely back to Kansas via a redeye flight yesterday. It's nice to come back home ... from home. Here are some more snapshots from my trip with my family. We stayed in a beach house in Manzanita, Oregon for a couple nights. It was a beautiful area! The first day we were there we hiked to the very top of Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain which had an absolutely breathtaking view of the ocean! After taking a couple wrong turns and almost missing the path to the summit we eventually made it. Manzanita is in a gorgeous part of the coast. I'd never really been up to the north part of the Oregon coast, and it was just as beautiful as the rest! One of the beaches we stopped at required you to walk through a bit of old growth forest before you reached the sand.

I had a wonderful time at home and it was so good to see my friends, family, and Oregon again. It had been an entire year since I'd been back! Hopefully next time it won't be quite as long. Now I'm back in Kansas though, and can't get too settled in... I'm leaving for a choir tour to Germany this Friday!

It's a busy time of year, hope everyone is surviving!

- Erin

I made it safely back to Kansas via a redeye flight yesterday. It's nice to come back home ... from home. Here are some more snapshots from my trip with my family. We stayed in a beach house in Manzanita, Oregon for a couple nights. It was a beautiful area! The first day we were there we hiked to the very top of Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain which had an absolutely breathtaking view of the ocean! After taking a couple wrong turns and almost missing the path to the summit we eventually made it. Manzanita is in a gorgeous part of the coast. I'd never really been up to the north part of the Oregon coast, and it was just as beautiful as the rest! One of the beaches we stopped at required you to walk through a bit of old growth forest before you reached the sand.

I had a wonderful time at home and it was so good to see my friends, family, and Oregon again. It had been an entire year since I'd been back! Hopefully next time it won't be quite as long. Now I'm back in Kansas though, and can't get too settled in... I'm leaving for a choir tour to Germany this Friday!

It's a busy time of year, hope everyone is surviving!

- Erin

Home for the Holidays

“It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what’s changed is you.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald

It's always nice to come back home to Salem. As soon as I walk out of the airport in Portland I can tell I'm home. The air just smells different.

Being home is a weird sudden break from the busy-ness of my life usually. I get to sleep in, but end up waking up early anyways because of the time change. I get to eat the wonderful food my mom cooks. My addiction to Oregon's awesome Goodwill's is fulfilled. I get to warm up by the wood stove. I get to be with my family and friends whom I haven't seen in a year. I have time to see them, and also time to spend alone and not feel guilty about not having enough time. Introvert's paradise.

This morning the fog on the river was so incredibly beautiful that I couldn't resist heading over to the walking bridge and getting some of these shots. Totally worth it. Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays and getting to spend time with the ones they love!

-Erin

“It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what’s changed is you.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald

It's always nice to come back home to Salem. As soon as I walk out of the airport in Portland I can tell I'm home. The air just smells different.

Being home is a weird sudden break from the busy-ness of my life usually. I get to sleep in, but end up waking up early anyways because of the time change. I get to eat the wonderful food my mom cooks. My addiction to Oregon's awesome Goodwill's is fulfilled. I get to warm up by the wood stove. I get to be with my family and friends whom I haven't seen in a year. I have time to see them, and also time to spend alone and not feel guilty about not having enough time. Introvert's paradise.

This morning the fog on the river was so incredibly beautiful that I couldn't resist heading over to the walking bridge and getting some of these shots. Totally worth it. Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays and getting to spend time with the ones they love!

-Erin

DIY polaroid coasters

When we saw this adorable polaroid coaster DIY over on The Granny Girls we knew we had to make some of our own! And when we figured out how cheap they would be? That was when we knew we had to share. Being a crafty girl on a budget can really be difficult sometimes! We bought six tiles at The Home Depot for only about 80 cents, we were pretty shocked when we went through the checkout line. Paying for a craft with my pocket change felt pretty darn good. We also made it a little cheaper by just gluing felt on to the bottom rather than buying adhesive felt circles. The rest of the materials we just had lying around the house! Didn't they just turn out adorable! What a fun way to display your photos and keep your coffee table safe from those darn rings. Make sure to head on over to The Granny Girls blog for the full DIY! Thanks for sharing Amber and Amanda! -a clover & a bee

When we saw this adorable polaroid coaster DIY over on The Granny Girls we knew we had to make some of our own! And when we figured out how cheap they would be? That was when we knew we had to share. Being a crafty girl on a budget can really be difficult sometimes! We bought six tiles at The Home Depot for only about 80 cents, we were pretty shocked when we went through the checkout line. Paying for a craft with my pocket change felt pretty darn good. We also made it a little cheaper by just gluing felt on to the bottom rather than buying adhesive felt circles. The rest of the materials we just had lying around the house! Didn't they just turn out adorable! What a fun way to display your photos and keep your coffee table safe from those darn rings. Make sure to head on over to The Granny Girls blog for the full DIY! Thanks for sharing Amber and Amanda! -a clover & a bee

kaari + cam (a.k.a. my first wedding photography experience)

Over the weekend I had the amazing opportunity to photograph my first wedding. Kaari, a friend from high school, called me up earlier in the year and asked if I would take pictures for her wedding in North Carolina. Of course I said yes! I spent the last few weeks leading up to it freaking out a little bit, naturally. A wedding is a huge deal and I'd never done anything like it before.. ever.

It helped that I had such beautiful people to photograph, but I am pretty happy with how they turned out! I thought I would share some of my favorites. I also want to thank Kaari a million times over for thinking of me for the job. They had a beautiful wedding outside in the North Carolina heat, barely dodging a tropical storm that was amusingly named after the bride's mother.






















It was definitely a learning experience, but so much fun. Bonus, it was first time being in North Carolina. Sweet tea? Yes please.

Any more experienced wedding photographers out there with advice for a beginner?

- e (plus l)

p.s. don't forget to enter our giveaway to win one of Leah's handmade tea bowls!

Over the weekend I had the amazing opportunity to photograph my first wedding. Kaari, a friend from high school, called me up earlier in the year and asked if I would take pictures for her wedding in North Carolina. Of course I said yes! I spent the last few weeks leading up to it freaking out a little bit, naturally. A wedding is a huge deal and I'd never done anything like it before.. ever.

It helped that I had such beautiful people to photograph, but I am pretty happy with how they turned out! I thought I would share some of my favorites. I also want to thank Kaari a million times over for thinking of me for the job. They had a beautiful wedding outside in the North Carolina heat, barely dodging a tropical storm that was amusingly named after the bride's mother.






















It was definitely a learning experience, but so much fun. Bonus, it was first time being in North Carolina. Sweet tea? Yes please.

Any more experienced wedding photographers out there with advice for a beginner?

- e (plus l)

p.s. don't forget to enter our giveaway to win one of Leah's handmade tea bowls!