The Mansoori Family
I had the great privilege of meeting and photographing this family a few weeks ago. They were so welcoming and their gorgeous family (and gorgeous home) made my job pretty easy! Lilly was an extremely helpful and loving big sister to her two-week old baby sister as I took these photos. The Mansooris were so easy to work with and up to try any photo ideas I had. I’m so glad it worked out for me to help capture the new addition to their family! I hope you enjoy these highlights from our session!
…and now there are 4!
You may recall my newest niece’s newborn photos from summer and her lovely family’s photos from last spring. Now I’m thrilled to bring you Betty’s six-month photos, as well as photos of the four kids together. One thing is for sure, my siblings make really beautiful children. I absolutely love that I live just fifteen minutes away from these little niblings (does it count as a word if it’s in urban dictionary but not on dictionary.com?) who never fail to make me laugh and give me lots of love every time I hang out with them. Alright, enough words, here are the little beauties!
Yes, that is mama’s arm in the background that I haven’t taken the time to remove from the photo yet. I think it’s nice to see that the baby is well-supported. 🙂
Baby Nathan
Hello there!
You may remember Addison from previous posts on this blog. Well, she’s a big sister now and I had the privilege of meeting newborn baby Nathan and enjoyed doing a bit of a lifestyle shoot of their family a couple weeks ago. Hope you enjoy these photos!
N is for Nathan
Winter Wonderlands
I’m sure most of you have had your fill of snow pictures over the last couple days, but I had to find something productive to do with my snow day home from teaching… so here’s my blog post of snow pictures! 🙂 Since Thanksgiving, I’ve had my share of snowy days in both Pennsylvania and Indiana. Yesterday was a one-of-a-kind day. Over 11 inches fell in one day here in Indianapolis before the arctic chill set in. I took a walk over near the White River to enjoy the tree-lined snowy roads and get some photos. It felt so strange to be all alone on these city streets. I couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful it all was. God made a lot of beauty in this world. I enjoyed the beauty yesterday and today I’m enjoying (and feeling very grateful for) the invention of electricity and heat to keep me warm inside in this -9 degree weather! In stark contrast to my last blog post, I give you the recent winter wonderlands I’ve experienced:
Thanksgiving weekend in Western Pennsylvania
Christmastime in Western Pennsylvania
A snowy day in Western PA
My parents’ backyard in PA in the new year.
Love the shimmery snow.
On my drive out of town on the road I grew up on.
Western Pennsylvania is such a beautiful place. 🙂
Back in Indianapolis- The infamous snow of January 5. Here is a view from my patio in the midst of it all.
View from my patio.
Walking toward the river.
A hill! Hard to come by here in Indy.
A tree canopy- going closer to the river.
One of my favorites from the day.
The White River- I have to say it wasn’t quite as picturesque as I’d imagined, but beautiful to see, nonetheless.
White River
The trek back to my place
I was drenched with snow by this point.
I obviously couldn’t get enough of these tree-lined roads. They’re one of my favorite things.
And one last shot with a pop of color.
Panama
When I went to visit my friend Ali in Costa Rica in October, we took a side trip to Panama, a country I hadn’t been to before. We walked across a rickety bridge and caught a taxi to another part of the coast to get a water taxi to Bocas del Toro. Bocas del Toro are islands northeast of Panama where Christopher Columbus visited in 1502. We stayed on the main island called Isla Colón and we were able to take some tours and water taxis around to other nearby islands. It was a great, relaxing adventure. Here are a few highlights from our fun time!
The first night on the island- we took advantage of the hammocks at our hotel and took in the sunset.
The view from our hotel’s pier.
There were kids playing under the hut next door.
I couldn’t get enough of this view!
We went to the other side of the island and walked to Starfish Beach. It was a gorgeous day!
Starfish Beach (Playa de las estrellas) delivered!
Not a bad way to spend the afternoon!
On the walk back.
The busito ride back to the main town.
On an uninhabited island enjoying Playa Zapatilla. It felt like Castaway!
Sad that visiting this island ended up being on a rainy day. It was still a great spot to visit!
This was how I spent the last afternoon there.
Taking a water taxi to the neighboring island for dinner.
Pulling up to the pier- the restaurant is on the right.
Celebrating Ali’s birthday with a fun dinner out. I loved that we took a boat to get there! 🙂
The water taxi ride back to the mainland.
Costa Rica- October 2013
It’s Christmas break from teaching, which means I get to catch up on my blog posts! I had the fantastic opportunity to go to Costa Rica over my fall break in October and visit my friend Ali, who lives just outside of San Jose. Here are some photos from my time there. It was so fun to see some of the sights of the area and to see Ali’s life in action. We finished the trip with a fun trip to Panama, which I’ll post about soon.
The fantastic view of San Jose from Ali’s place.
On the drive up the mountain to the Poas Volcano.
The walk up to the volcano which was sadly covered by clouds the whole time we were up there. 🙂
Love the details on this leaf!
What the leaf looks like when it’s not spread out.
At the La Paz Waterfall Gardens
A toucan at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens
Hummingbirds at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Those creatures are not easy to capture in photos!
La Paz Waterfall Gardens
The park by the national theater in San Jose.
The National Theater in San Jose.
Inside the national theater in San Jose.
Puerto Viejo- checking out a Costa Rican beach before we headed into Panama.
The Franklins
I met the Franklins through a mutual friend (Thanks for the recommendation, Candice!). I really enjoyed seeing these hard-working parents and adorable children in action. We had a lovely setting at the Traders Point Creamery for these photos. Enjoy!
Lexie is a Senior!
It was so fun to try my hand at taking senior photos once again with Lexie at the end of September. It was a fun change up from photographing little kids- she’s really good at following directions. 🙂 I’ve worked with Lexie’s mom for the last seven years or so and have enjoyed hearing about Lexie throughout the years. I’ve especially enjoyed hearing about some great experiences she’s had traveling to Nicaragua with her church (I’m a big fan of Central America) and I’m excited to see how God uses her in the future to share His love and grace in the world. 🙂 Here are some of my favorites from our time taking photos at Northview Church in Carmel.
The Hosselton Family
Thanksgiving break is giving me a chance to catch up on belated blog posts. My friends Jenny and Kevin were kind enough to book me in my early photography days for Laney’s four-month photos. Well, Laney is a big sister now and I had the chance to capture Jenny’s extended family in photos back in September. The Hosseltons were all together for the grandparents’ move and took some time out for family photos at Southeastway Park in Indianapolis. I had a great time capturing their families and seeing the cousins interacting and enjoying time together. It was good practice for the next time I get to attempt a group photo of my huge family with a bunch of little kids. 🙂 Here is a sampling of some of the group photos of the Hosselton clan.
Addison is Two!
Addison’s mom took a chance on me, the newbie photographer, a ways back for Addison’s six-month photos. I’m so glad she did! It’s been fun to watch Addison grow up! I had so much fun capturing her in action back in September for some two-year photos. Here are some highlights!
Saying hi to Zeus, the cat.
Little Betty
Here’s another outdated post! Remember this beautiful family? Well, they’ve added another adorable child and they’ve given me another niece to love! I’m no newborn photography expert, but when my brother and his wife had a new baby, I had to try my hand at capturing her beauty. Here are some photos of newborn Betty taken back in August. She’s grown a bit since these photos. Enjoy!
One Year Old!
This blog post is only four months late. 🙂 I thought you all would appreciate a glimpse back at the wonder of summertime. I had a great time photographing my friends Chrissy and Kevin and their little guy Levi before his first birthday last summer. Hope you enjoy these photos!
Sneak Peek- More to come soon!
Hi everyone! As happens each new school year, I’ve had to put some blog posts on the back burner since August.
Here are some sneak peeks of what is coming in the next few weeks. I’m going to leave you with these and go enjoy my fall break for a bit now! 🙂 Be back soon!
Some great friends with their one-year-old.
My newest niece back in August, not too long after she was born.
Addison is two!
It was such fun taking family photos of the Hossleton crew in September!
Lexie is a senior. There are a lot more beautiful photos of her coming your way!
Three Years Later
The last time I saw this family (of a great friend of mine from high school) was when I took their photos three years ago. It was fun to once again see how these kids have grown when I was home in PA in July. She commented that her wall was covered with my photos of the five kids three years ago and was worried that pretty soon #6 may be offended that she wasn’t included. I was happy to help provide some updated photos of this beautiful family! Enjoy! (Side note: I’m trying to figure out how to improve the clarity of my blog photos to reflect the originals, but decided not to make you all wait the months it will take for me to figure that out, so please just imagine them a bit crisper than they appear here!)
Bri
Many of you may remember this session with Bri from last year. Well, I got to hang out with her again last month while we were both in Pennsylvania and had a great time. Bri is three now and she can’t wait to be a big sister in a few months (and I can’t wait to see how beautiful that baby will be!). We had a fun time getting some shots one morning in PA and I loved reconnecting with my friend (her mom) once again. Enjoy these photos!
Aussie word differences
Hello there!
The return to teaching has put photo posting on hold for a bit, but I did want to check in and say hello. While I was in Australia last month, I kept a list of words and phrases that I noticed as being different from the way we talk in the U.S. I’ve already forgotten what a few of them mean. I thought it might be fun to share the list here. Feel free to correct any mistakes or add to the list in the comments section!
- Running writing- cursive
- Excursion – Field trip
- Maths- Math
- Lego- Legos
- Overtake- Pass
- That’s ok- You’re welcome
- Wally- Waldo
- Baddies, meanies, goodies- Bad guys, good guys
- Wind screen- Windshield
- Jumper- Sweater/sweatshirt
- Dummy- Pacifier
- Cot- Crib
- Pram- Stroller
- Nappies- Diapers
- Duna- Comforter
- Dobbing- Tattling
- Whinge- Whine
- Slice- Cookie bars
- Tick- Check mark
- Made redundant- Layed-off
- Postie- Postal worker
- Sook- ?
- Packing up- Putting away
- Drink driving- Drunk driving
- Needles- Vaccines
- Capsules- Infant Carseats
- Good on you- Good job
- Windy- Gassy
- Arvo- Afternoon
- Brekky- Breakfast
- Cuppa- Cup of tea
- Bin- Trash can
- Textas- Markers
- Yabbies- ?
- Love heart- Heart
- Macca’s- McDonald’s
- Capsicum- Peppers
- Vegemite- really strong flavored yeast spread
- Pavlova- Delicious meringue dessert
- Prawn- shrimp
- Chuck a sickie- Take a sick day
- Sunnies- Sunglasses
- Caravan park- Trailer park
- Suss- ?
- Shouted- ?
- Bush-walking- Hiking
- Sultanas- Raisins
- Fringe- Bangs
- Scrum- Rugby huddle
- Try- Rugby touchdown
- Piggy in the middle- Monkey in the middle
- PowerPoint- Electrical outlet
- How you going?- How are you?
- Physio- Physical Therapist
- Torch- Flashlight
- Salvos- Salvation Army
- A lead- Leash
- Health cover- Health insurance
- Barrack- Cheer for
- Fairy floss- Cotton candy
- Hundreds and thousands- Sprinkles
- Fairy bread- bread, butter, & sprinkles
- Uni- University
- Infants- Primary grades
- Supper- Tea
- Footpaths- Sidewalks
- H (pronounced hache)- H (pronounced a-ch)
- Pokies- Gambling game
- Cruzy- ?
- Plaits- braids
- Zed- Z
- Serviettes- Napkins
- Kindie- Kindergarten
- Singlet- Undershirt
- Petrol- Gas
- Toilet- Bathroom
- Lounge room- Living room
- Coriander- Cilantro
- Hire- Rent
- Caught out- ?
- Boot- Trunk
- Tip- Tag
- Indicator/ blinker- Turn signal
- Pegs- ?
- Telly- TV
- Ta- Thank you
- G’day- Hi
And here are some words they use more often than we do:
- Swap
- Heaps
- Nearly
- Keen
- Whilst
- Sorted
- Muck it up
- As
- Gorgeous
- Cheeky
UPDATE:
After posting this the first time, my sister filled in some of the holes I left.
And because no post is complete without a photo- here’s a throw-back photo that I rediscovered from my trip to Australia three years ago. It was taken at a park in Toowoomba.
I have lots of amazing photos to post in the next few weeks. Stop by again soon!
The Blue Mountains, Australia
On Wednesday the whole crew (my sister and brother-in-law, their kids, my brother and sister-in-law, and I) went to the Blue Mountains, located west of Sydney. It was a gorgeous day and the kids did great! We had a morning tea picnic before hiking down for a view of Wentworth Falls. Then we had a delicious lunch, play in a park in Leura, and we made it to Echo Point just in time to see the sunset on The Three Sisters formation. Enjoy the photos!
Wentworth Falls
Wentworth Falls
Wentworth Falls
The quaint little town of Leura where we stopped for lunch.
The Three Sisters at Echo Point
The Three Sisters at Echo Point- proof that we weren’t the only ones there.
Echo Point
Not sure what kind of bird those are…
Echo Point
Loved seeing The Three Sisters at sunset!
Three Sisters with the Three Sisters! 🙂
Three siblings with the Three Sisters
And finally, the whole crew at Echo Point
Iconic Sydney
On Monday, my brother, sister-in-law and I took three of our nephews down to Circular Quay to explore the Sydney Harbour Bridge/Opera House/Botanic Gardens area. We dealt with the bright midday sun for photos of these iconic sights, but I thought I’d share them anyway. The highlight of the day for my nephews happened during our picnic lunch. The six of us were sitting eating our food on a hillside when all of a sudden a kookaburra swooped down right beside us and landed in front of us with a piece of ham in its mouth. My seven-year-old nephew, John, called out, “Ouch!” and held his sandwich up to us. The kookaburra had taken the piece of ham out of his sandwich that John was holding up beside him between bites! It was unbelievable! Thankfully John wasn’t hurt badly and now he has a good story to tell. 🙂
In the afternoon, my brother Lee and I did the Bridge Climb on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was a once-in-a-lifetime memorable experience. The only bad part was that I couldn’t take a camera with me, but at the same time I was forced to just take it all in and not worry about camera settings. 🙂 We had perfect weather for the trek- the sun lit up the opera house and city skyline perfectly. It’s hard to describe how beautiful it was up there with a 360 degree view. They gave us lots of time to drink it all in. It was great to see the bridge construction from so many angles by climbing through it and above it. At one point we were climbing a ladder with cars driving past on both sides of us. The view was honestly breathtaking- the harbor out to the coast, the opera house, the city buildings and suburbs sprawling all the way out to the blue mountains.
Here are some photo highlights from the day.
Sydney Harbour Bridge
A close-up of the opera house roof tiles.
View from the Botanic Gardens
With my nephews by the opera house
My brother and sister-in-law with our nephews.
The kookaburra that stole John’s ham in the tree.
My brother Lee and I on our bridge climb.
Walking back to the train after the climb- this was a great walkway off of Cumberland St.
View from Circular Quay
Sydney at night
Just in case you haven’t seen enough pics of the opera house, here’s one more. 🙂
Aussie Animals
G’day!
I’m finding it challenging to post much in the midst of these busy days here, but I did want to check in here on the blog. I got my Australian animal fix last week when I went to the Koala Park with my friend Jen and her family. Here are a few of my favorites from the day.
There was a koala escaping from its home… I, of course, turned into paparazzi when I saw it coming our way.
Ready to make a break for it.
The American’s turn to pat the koala.
Kangaroo time!
My turn to feed the kangaroo.
An emu
And a couple wildlife shots- A Rainbow Lorikeet at my nephews’ school.
This is why I can’t be a wildlife photographer- getting moving animals in focus is a challenge! Here’s one of many cockatoos that have visited the backyard.
Photography Club
As you may remember, I received a Lilly Endowment Teacher Creativity Grant last year to study photography and go to Cambodia to capture a story through photos. I had a wonderful experience in Cambodia, capturing pieces of its history and projects of hope for its future (scroll through these posts to see more)! As a result of my experience there, where I had my own chance to view the world from a different perspective, I wanted to start a photography club at the school where I teach. With the help of a fellow teacher and friend, Mrs. Tsu, we worked with a group of ten fifth and sixth grade ESL students to help them view the world differently through photography.
We were really thankful to all the people who contributed cameras, batteries, and memory cards to help supply our crew. We had a great time getting to know these kids from the U.S., Burma, Mexico, and Iran. We challenged them to look around their school and home for things that represented beautiful, ugly, shapes, shadows, reflections, candids, and portraits. It was really fun that I was able to use some of my photos and stories from my experience in Cambodia to guide their photography. At the end-of-the-school-year program, Mrs. Tsu put together a great slideshow of pictures the students took, as well as some of them in action as photographers. The students also chose their favorite photo to have framed and displayed at the program. Below are some highlights from our club and display.
It was really fun to share some of my photos from my trip to Cambodia with the students to help guide their photo-taking.
It was great to share some of my Cambodia photos with the students!
Here is part of the display of students’ (plus a couple from my trip) photos at the school program.
Here is part of the display of students’ (plus a couple from my trip) photos at the school program.
Some of our photography club students enjoying the slideshow of their photos.
They had a great time showing their photos to family and friends after the program!
Hello from the Land Down Under!
Hello all! Greetings from chilly, rainy Sydney! I arrived safely on Friday after a relatively uneventful trip… 36 hours door to door (and an extra 24 hours for my suitcase), save the two extra hours it took to take off from LAX due to an incident that removed two people from our flight. The delayed arrival in Auckland allowed me the chance to watch the sunrise in New Zealand before I headed to Sydney.
I was greeted at the airport by my brother-in-law and a running hug from my two-year-old nephew that lasted until we arrived at the car. Since then, I’ve been busy catching up with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed meeting and subsequently snuggling with my newest nieces who are almost three months old now. I would forget that I’m in Australia if it wasn’t for the Opera House sighting on the drive from the airport and the kookaburras who’ve enjoyed laughing outside my window in the morning (they sound like monkeys, so I wake up thinking I’m in the jungle). I’ve also had some great treats including lots and lots of tea, sticky fig pudding, and the chance to chat with my sister’s friends, allowing me the fun of noticing differences in pronunciation and word usage. I’m keeping busy holding babies and playing with nephews, which is just what I’ve been wanting to do as I anticipated this trip. I’m sure there are many more adventures to come, but I did want to check in and share a few pics from my time so far in the southern hemisphere. Plus I have no idea when I’ll have time again to post some photos, though I’ll do my best. 🙂
The sunrise over Auckland, New Zealand
My adorable nephews and nieces… all six of them!
A present left outside my door from my nephews.
First attempt (and probably the last) at a pic of the girls and me.
How I spend much of my day… it’s pretty great. 🙂
Something to prove I’m in Australia- kookaburras hanging out by the house.
The Mansell Family
Now that school is out for summer, I have a second to sit down and post these pictures from last month. These photos are of my great brother and sister-in-law and their really adorable and fun children. We had a beautiful evening walking around a park the night of their wedding anniversary. Can’t wait to meet #4 in July!
He wanted a closer look.
I think they’re representing themselves pretty accurately here. 🙂
He’s just too much sometimes.
Sisters… there’s nothing else like it.
Sneak Peek- I get to call these adorable children my nieces and nephew!
You may recognize these kiddos from some previous posts of mine (look here and here). I can’t resist posting this sneak peek of a family session I did last weekend with my brother’s family. There are more to come soon!
Daughters Project- Center for Global Impact, Cambodia
As mentioned in previous posts about my time in Cambodia last year, I had the chance to see some really great projects in action. One such project is Daughters, a project for young women located just outside of Phnom Penh and run by the Center for Global Impact. They are doing some great things in providing training and opportunity for work and personal growth for women who may not otherwise have the opportunity. Here is what the CGI website has to say about the project:
CGIDaughters is a division of Center For Global Impact, a U.S. faith-based relief and development organization. It is a two-year residential program. We offer life-skills training, education, health care, money management and professional seamstress training all through the lens of Jesus Christ. Our product line is handmade with fair-trade principles.
I had a great time visiting the project on a few different days. My friends are involved in it on many levels, so I was able to experience the project in a variety of ways. From running errands for fabric and picking up labels for purses to playing a role in English classes and seeing my friend, Katy, lead them in Bible study. I also saw them meet their goal of making 100 clutch purses to receive a reward of Dairy Queen ice cream. It was great motivation for them! CGI is doing some great things to help women succeed in Cambodia!
The daughters’ workshop
The women at work
One of the many purses made during my time there.
Katy leading English class
They reached their goal!
Katy and I with some of the Daughters after English class.
I also had the chance to visit the home where the Daughters live on another side of the city.
jenni mansell photography 