Heather Heights
I had some really lovely walks out in Amish country during my recent visit at home-home in Western Pennsylvania. I finally had the chance to take my big camera with me to chase some light on a recent beautiful night out on Heather Heights. Here are some photos from that chase. I sure do love me some evening light! 🙂
Phipps Holiday Magic!
I lucked out this season and got to see beautiful Christmas lights at Newfields in Indy and then at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh. Phipps Holiday Magic Flower Show and Light Garden were a beautiful way to close out the holiday season with my mom on New Year’s Day. 🙂
The conservatory rooms were so fun to explore, from Palm Court to the Sunken Garden, Victoria Room, Desert Room, Orchid Room, the Garden Railroad, and many more. The outdoor garden had a fun, whimsical light display to explore.
Here are some of my favorite photos from my visit to Phipps!
Here is evidence that Mom and I were there together. 🙂
Happy New Year, friends! I hope 2020 brings you much joy!
Winterlights
I’m interrupting my current series of fall family photo blog posts for a quick kick-off to the Christmas season. I had a lovely time with great friends on Friday night when we visited the Winterlights display at Newfields here in Indianapolis. These photos aren’t perfect (I chose to be a bit more present and wasn’t going to deal with a tripod for optimal photos), but the beauty of the evening was worth documenting. I hope you enjoy and I wish you a very merry Christmas season!
Home-home in the Summertime
Hello!
For those of you who are missing summertime, here is a glimpse back on my time in my hometown in July. I love Western PA in the summertime. I also love watching my nieces and nephews explore the creek (honestly, we say crick) that I grew up visiting on the family land outside of town, finding salamanders and crayfish among the rocks. 🙂
Here’s an added bonus to this post. A couple of my dad’s magnolia trees are thriving here in the north and had many beautiful blossoms this year! I’m not sure if I’ve shared the background story of his magnolias on the blog before, so here it is:
Magnolias hold a very special place in my heart (Southern Magnolias to be specific, but one can’t be too picky up here in the north).
For the last twenty years or so, my dad tried to grow Southern Magnolia trees at their home in Pennsylvania. I don’t even know how many he planted over the years. Many bit the dust quickly, some lasted a few seasons, and every once in a while there would be a blossom or two. Back in the summer of 2014, I was laughing at (with?) him as he watered his magnolia trees, reminding him that they really aren’t meant to live in the northern climate. He chuckled and said, “Well, we’re sort of delaying the inevitable here.” He knew they wouldn’t grow into huge, flourishing trees, yet he faithfully filled those buckets and continued to water them and enjoy them while they grew in the yard.
Magnolias have become a reminder of Dad for me. They remind me to live in the moment, “water the trees,” appreciate the little things, and enjoy life itself, because in the end everything is temporary. This makes me super thankful for biblical promises like the one in 2 Corinthians 4:18 “For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal,” but this is already too long to add a sermon into the mix.
All that to say, this is why magnolias make me smile, remind me to appreciate each moment, and encourage me to trust God with the unknown and not-promised future.
Aren’t these blossoms beautiful?
Whales, Puffins, and Murres!
I recently spent some time on the island of Newfoundland. I definitely had to google the Newfoundland and Labrador province before my friend and I planned this trip just to know where it was located!
We had a great time exploring a small part of this very large island. There was so much to learn about Newfoundland’s history and wildlife. O’Brien’s Whale and Boat Tours was a great place to start on a foggy morning!
We were able to see tons of puffins, murres (which totally look like penguins from a distance), and humpback whales on our boat tour. I hope you enjoy some of my photos from our adventure in Bay Bulls!
Here is a video (don’t worry, no plans to become a videographer anytime soon!) showing our slightly overdone excitement about having whales near our boat. 🙂
Additionally, here are some photos from my phone to show another perspective from our tour.
Europe in 2018
Hello, all!
Winter weather is assisting me in getting caught up on photos and this blog. I just wanted to give a heads up to those of you who follow this blog for travel photos: Great things are coming your way! I went to Europe three (what is my life!?) times in 2018 and have some beautiful photos to share from the five countries I visited. This post is a sampling for you!
I am going to be posting quite a few of my 2018 portrait sessions after this (so my clients know that I’m still doing this side gig.) After that, I will have more travel posts. Get excited!!!
Happy 2019, friends!
My first time in Malta! March, 2018
The Rosario Mining Company in San Juancito, Honduras
As I mentioned in my previous post, there’s this really unique village outside Tegucigalpa, Honduras where an American mining company once set up shop. It is now a bit of a rundown area up the mountain from San Juancito, at the entrance of La Tigra National Park and has become one of my favorite places to visit. This post documents my visit there in June 2017.
Cabaña Mirador El Rosario owned by Jorg and Monika is the perfect cabin on a mountain and the dinner and breakfast served at the main house is dreamy. Here are some sights from the cabin and their home:
And here are some photos from the former El Rosario Mining Company buildings near the entrance of La Tigra National Park, the bright pupleria, as well as some photos from hiking near the park…
My top three favorite photos from the getaway:
I’m always fascinated by the plants I see there…
Here are some additional photos from my phone to get you a feel for the place…
Lastly, we saw a quetzal on our way back down to San Juancito!
The Gringo Cemetery of the Rosario Mining Company, Honduras
Nothing like a snow day home to have me thinking back on past trips and adventures.
In June I returned to my beloved second country, Honduras. I was able to have a quick getaway to one of my favorite places, Cabaña Mirador in El Rosario. While there, my friend Michelle and I took a little hike around the village and on the edge of La Tigra National Park. Just up the mountain from the village of San Juancito sits an old mining town that was operated by a US mining company in the early 1900’s.
This post is focusing on the photos I took at what Michelle and I call the “gringo cemetery” where the mining company buried workers who passed away while they were living there.
Some may find cemeteries creepy, but I tend to find them peaceful. This one is fascinating. I hope you enjoy some of the details of this unique place.
A Walk around London at Dusk
Just before the new year, I was able to take a walk around London as the sun set. I enjoyed a different angle for photos of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament than my last visit or my trip in the fall of 2015. This time I took a few (haha) photos as I explored. Hope you enjoy them!
The view I’d been hoping for!
Windsor at Christmastime
On Wednesday, Mom, my sister, and I had the opportunity to tour Windsor Castle and have afternoon tea nearby before catching the train back home.
Since my trip here has proven that my super teacher immunity is no match for British germs and I’ve had a day in, I put together this blog post to give you a taste of our time there.
My mom and I took my nephews to Windsor Castle last time I was here in October 2015 (you can see photos from that visit here, here, and here), but I found this trip to be equally fun with the addition of Christmas decor and tea with my mom and sister. I hope you enjoy these!
Christmastime in London at Night
I’ve been pretty pumped about this blog post, not because there’s anything special about these photos (they’re not the best quality, what with me not having a tripod with me, nor time to fix my settings for every shot), but because London is so beautiful at Christmastime!
These photos are from a couple evenings last week when I went to a show with a friend and the following day Mom and I explored Oxford and Regent Streets after we went to a pantomime at the Palladium. I hope you enjoy this trip through part of London at Christmastime. Apologies for any incorrect information I give about the locations of where these photos were taken…
More to come soon. Happy New Year, everyone!
Along the Thames
Shocking though it may be, here’s an up-to-date blog post for you as I visit London for Christmas this year.
With a few more posts on the way, here are some photos from my visit along the Thames on Monday with my friend, Mel. Hope you enjoy!
Coming up next… London Christmas lights. You’re going to love it!
A Home of Henry VIII: Hampton Court Palace
I’m trying a new format on this post, since I had so many photos to share. One of my last days in London last October, my mom and I took four of my nephews to visit Hampton Court Palace.
It was such an intriguing place to visit. To think about Henry VIII walking the same hallways we walked was a bit surreal. The palace is an interesting mixture of Tudor style (from Henry VIII’s time there in the 1500’s) and Baroque style from King William III’s rebuild of a large part of the palace in the 1600’s. Throw in a giant maze, capes for the kids, and lots of nooks to explore, and we had ourselves a fun adventure! Some of my favorite sights include tapestries from the 1500’s, an emblem in the wood that should have been removed after the beheading of Anne Boleyn, being in Henry VIII’s kitchen and banquet hall, making it to the middle of the maze, and much more.
Here are some highlights from our visit posted below. Since this is my last post recapping my London trip, I included a few photos at the end of the whole reason I took the trip. It was such a blessing to have two weeks there with my mom, sister, brother-in-law, and their seven children (especially meeting their newest addition!). I hope you’ve enjoyed these posts! Get excited for some upcoming posts of recent photo shoots I’ve had and, of course, some more travel photos!
London: The Obligatory Photos
Hello again!
I’m trying to knock out these London posts so I can post more up-to-date photos soon. Most of these photos need little description since they’re the shots everyone gets when in London, so here you go!
Adventures in London, continued…
Good evening, all!
Some of you may have noticed I took a bit of a hiatus from blogging recently. 2015 was a rough year for me and I cut down on a few things, like blogging, to cope. My hope is to get back on track in the next few months so I can share more of my fun travels and recent photo sessions here. I hope you enjoy!
I didn’t quite finish blogging the photos from my trip to London in October of 2015, so the next few posts will be devoted to the fun that I had in England with my mom, sister, and her family.
Here are a few more photos from Windsor Castle and then some bonus photos from around my sister’s home. Stay tuned for Big Ben and Hampton Court Palace soon!
Doors of Windsor
Hello, my long lost friends! In an effort to be a better teacher and good friend, I’ve cut back on blog posts recently. I do hope to wrap up sharing about my October trip and have quite a few fall family photo sessions to share with you one of these days.
I’ll start small with this little post from our visit to Windsor Castle. I’m a big fan of doors, windows, and entryways. So much so that I took enough pictures at Windsor Castle to warrant a blog post.
Here are some highlights from the largest occupied castle in the world!
Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gardens, and More…
What’s that you say? You’d like to see more phone photography from me? Well, if you insist…
While I usually prefer to only post the best of my best on this blog, I’m sort of using this as my trip log and in turn I am exposing my sometimes poor quality phone photography to you all. I’m assuming you’re not as picky as I am about such things and hopefully appreciate the glimpse of London these pics provide. After this post, I will have legit fancy camera photos to share… get excited! 🙂
More of London (from my phone)
Here’s another slightly lazy post much like the last one (from a photography perspective) as I had a few more days where I didn’t have my fancy camera along, but couldn’t resist taking photos anyway. Please excuse the less than stellar phone pic quality. I hope you can see past that to the great sights and experiences I’ve had this week. Here are a couple more days worth of photos and do stay tuned to some better quality posts coming soon!
A Sunday in London (from an iPhone)
Hi there!
I’m behind on blog posts (story of my life), but wanted to check in from my visit in the UK. Woohoo for Fall Break and a sister who lives in London! I’ve been out a few times without my fancy camera and haven’t had much editing time, so this post won’t have the highest quality of photos, but I figured you all won’t care about that as much as I do.
So here you have my first day in London, as seen from my iPhone. Fancy pics will be coming soon!
After church, we explored a bit before catching the tube back home.
Sneak Peek: Lots to Come!
Hi there! It’s been a busy few months here. I’ve just returned from a cross-country road trip from Indiana to Los Angeles and have lots to share from that adventure! Here are some sneak peeks of sessions and travel posts I will be sharing soon. Stay tuned!
Throwback Thursday: Malacca at Night
In continuing some of my recent posts, I’m still going through old photos from my Southeast Asia adventure in the summer of 2012. During my quick solo trip to Malacca (aka Melaka) City, in Malaysia I had a great time walking around photographing to my heart’s content. It was great eating at a delicious Indian restaurant (where I’m sure I looked quite foolish, not knowing for sure how to properly eat what I ordered) and taking in the sight of the canal from the back patio of the hotel where I stayed. Here are a few of my favorite shots from that time.
Throwback Tuesday (Is that a thing?): Walking Around Malacca City
As mentioned in my previous post, some photos from my Southeast Asia adventure in July 2012 got lost in the shuffle of life and I’m finally getting back to editing them. Here are some photos from my quick trip to Malacca City (aka Melaka) in the Malaysian state of Malacca, northwest of Singapore. I concentrated my exploration in the touristy areas of Little India and Chinatown. I feel like this post contains a bit of sensory overload, but then I remember that’s kind of what my first day was like there. I don’t have my travel journal or travel book with me right now, so I apologize for not having more details about what these sights are, but I do hope you enjoy these photo highlights!
Flashback Friday: St. Peter’s Church in Malacca, Malaysia
Hi there! Welcome to my very random Friday blog post. I’m currently on spring break from teaching and I’ve had a chance to revisit some photos that I never got around to editing a while back. I just can’t bear the thought of having gone on such a fun adventure and not sharing the photos, so thanks for indulging me by checking out this throwback post…
Here’s some background: In June and July 2012, I had the awesome opportunity to travel to Southeast Asia as a recipient of a Lily Endowment Teacher Creativity Grant. You can learn more about the photography club I started and the great things I saw happening in Cambodia on the blog with much gratitude for the experiences the grant allowed me to have. One bonus of my trip was the time to travel to Singapore, visiting my cousin and her family. While there, I took a quick side trip to Malaysia, visiting the city of Malacca (also known as Melaka). When I returned from my southeast Asia adventure, my life got a little crazy, as did my photography business. I continued to teach, travel, and photograph, and found that time got away from me and I didn’t get to edit and share photos from my many adventures. So I’ve decided to revisit those photos and share some over the next few months. I hope you enjoy these somewhat outdated photos!
When I got off the bus in Malacca, I started to explore and was immediately drawn to this church, St. Peter’s. I think that after spending a couple weeks in Cambodia where Christian churches are uncommon, I found this church to be a novelty and enjoyed checking it out. While the date is somewhat in question, most believe that St. Peter’s was erected in 1710. I loved capturing the light pouring into the sanctuary and appreciated the more modern installation in front of the church remembering Jesus walking on water. I hope you enjoy these photos. More Malaysia photos will be coming soon!
Honduran Countryside
In my last post, I showed you some sites from the city of Tegucigalpa from my trip in November. I had the chance to leave the city a couple times to visit a school and coffee plantation in a cloud forest, as well as going to my friends’ wedding at a beautiful place called Casa Blanca in the village of Santa Lucia. I’ve also included a few personal photos at the end since the focus of my trip was more on people than places and I wanted to share a little bit of the great time I had with some of my favorite people who happen to live in Honduras. 🙂