So I debated sharing this, but I thought what I learned from it could help others too. About two weeks ago, my external hard drive with all of my photos on it, DIED. I had been meaning to back up everything onto another one and even online, but I didn't do it. I was too busy. It made me cry crocodile tears and it felt like someone important to me had died. All of my work, as well as my memories, were gone.

Lately I have been feeling like I have 5 arms that are getting stretched to the max. I love details and giving 100% to what I am doing but at the same time I feel like I am getting no where. I think I spend about 50% of my days at home worrying about getting everything done and feeling accomplished. My brain is one big fuzz pile. If a brain could be fuzzy that is.

My parents. Two people who met at the age of 16 and have been together ever since. I always admired their story but never really felt like it could be my own since, well, I still thought I was too young to be married at the age of 20 as when they were. If you need an example of two people who stick by each other no matter what, these are they. I know that I have a personality that leans toward loyalty and dedication, but I think I got some of that from my parents.

Growing up I always had an aversion to being fake. Anything and everything that smelled of it made me run. So when it came time for posing people in front of the camera, I used to panic. My mind would freeze and I would find myself saying "ummm" "uhhhh" and looking rather unprofessional. I tried to stick to just candid stuff like events, but something deep inside was telling me that I needed to get over this.

Moving here to Philadelphia wasn't the easiest thing. Yes, it was an adventure to move away from family and step into the unknown as a couple. The reality of it all just sunk in when we realized that we hardly knew anyone and that we didn't have a close church family to see each week. But God is awesome. He found us a church where we could make many new friends. One friendship that because really dear to me and will always work hard to maintain, is with Emily.

Perspective is everything. Especially for artists. You can influence a lot of people just by how you see things. But what is it like for the artist? How are we influenced? What makes us see what we want others to see? Here on this blog, I will occasionally share thoughts that are rather contemplative.

I could not wait to do this session, you guys. After seeing my nephew for the first time in CO this past February, I wanted to go back to be with family again. Not only did I want to capture my brother and sis-in-law again with this little squishy boy that I love to the moon and back, I wanted them to have good pictures that they could keep. We headed into the mountains of Boulder and were able to capture some really beautiful images during golden hour.

As a creative person, I face inspirational ruts quite a lot. I get down on myself for not having a well of ideas springing forth. Maybe you don't feel like a super creative person, but you still need to get inspired or motivated to work, thrive, exercise, or to just do something relaxing. Maybe you just want to get excited again about something. I thought I would share a few ideas that might get your inspired juices flowing.

It is so fun to be able to photograph families more than once. The Rutt family I had the opportunity to photograph before their littlest was born. Now she is here! Such a beautiful family. We roamed around this wonderful park in Wyomissing, PA with a creek and a few fields.

A few Fridays ago I traveled down to Cape May in New Jersey to photograph an intimate wedding of a friend. Both Christa Deana and Zichari are some of the sweetest people you will ever meet and it wasn't hard to capture so many smiles from them on their day. 

Travel is a big part of our lives and it is something that I enjoy. The only thing is that travel can be tiring and if we forget something, it doesn't make things any easier. As a photographer, I like to bring my gear with me when I am either on vacation or doing work. I like to travel light and with just what I need. I thought I would share with you today a few things that I bring with me.

Right now I am in a transition with my photography career. I am no longer sitting in the unknown wondering how in the world I am going to make this dream real, but I am also not on the other side of things calling it my full-time job. At this point, things are just becoming real and I can still taste the unknown with excitement. I was thinking that it would be a good time to write down a few ways that got me to this point so that I might encourage some of you to take on your dreams and make them happen.