jenni mansell photography

Latest

The Canal- Indianapolis

With apologies for my long absence from this blog (teaching has been sucking the life out of me recently!), I am happy to share some recent photos with you! We’ve finally had some springtime weather here in Indy and I was able to take advantage of the sunshine a couple Sundays ago. My friend Steve was passing through Indy and I got to show him some of the sights, including the central canal. Steve is an amazing photographer (see here and here for proof) and he gave me some fun tips on capturing the fountain water in action. Enjoy these shots of springtime in Indiana!

Posted by jennimansellphotography | May 5, 2013 | Categories: Personal, Travel | Tags: canal walk, central canal, fountain photography, fountains, Indianapolis, indy, Indy canal, outdoors, White River State Park | 3 Comments

byTavi: Center for Global Impact, Cambodia

When I was in Cambodia this past summer, I was able to visit the workshop of byTavi outside Phnom Penh. It was really fun for me to be there and to meet Tavi, since I had attended a trunk show of byTavi products and have since worn an ID card holder made by one of these women everyday at work. Rather than putting it in my own words, I’ll share the Center for Global Impact‘s description of this successful project:

A faith-based micro-enterprise initiative of Center for Global Impact (CGI), byTavi teaches at-risk, impoverished women how to sew handbags and other accessories. Employed by CGI, the women receive fair wages while their products are marketed internationally.
Through this program these women have grown in confidence and joy as they provide for their families in a healthy way. In addition to learning marketable skills, these women are also surrounded by the love of Christ through CGI’s trusted Cambodian Management Team and other international partners.
Founded in 2009 by CGI’s president Chris Alexander and a meek woman by the name of Tavi, this program provides a unique opportunity to empower the poor and prevent human trafficking.

Please click over to the above links to learn more about what Center for Global Impact is doing in Cambodia to help women succeed. Here are some photos from the byTavi workshop. Enjoy!

Here are the elephant purses in the works.

This is Tavi (for whom the project is named) working in the workshop.

Bags ready to go to the U.S.

A bonus of being onsite was that I got to give a custom order! This is my rice bag in the making by Nary.

Posted by jennimansellphotography | March 14, 2013 | Categories: Southeast Asia Adventure, Travel | Tags: byTavi, Cambodia, center for global impact, daughter's project, fair trade, Phnom Penh | 3 Comments

A Snowy Day in Eagle Creek Park

I awoke this past Wednesday to a winter wonderland outside my window. I was almost late to school due to 1.) clearing the snow off my car (it always takes longer than I anticipate) and 2.) taking pictures of the snow covered trees in my apartment parking lot. After work, my sister-in-law called me after driving through the local Eagle Creek Park to let me know that it was breathtaking. I was so glad that I had brought my camera along that day! I headed over her way and we jumped in the car to explore. I think the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy!

And a bonus pic of me, compliments of my sister-in-law’s wonderful composition skills. 🙂

Job 37:5-7 (ESV)

⁵God thunders wondrously with his voice;
he does great things that we cannot comprehend.
⁶For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’
likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour.
⁷He seals up the hand of every man,
that all men whom he made may know it.

Posted by jennimansellphotography | March 9, 2013 | Categories: Personal, Travel | Tags: deer in the snow, Eagle Creek Park, Eagle Creek snow, Indianapolis, Indianapolis snow, nature, outdoors, snow day, snow in March, snow on pine trees, snowy trees, winter | 1 Comment

32 Reasons I Love February

Every year since I turned 28, in an attempt to curb the winter blues and celebrate the years of life God has given me, I have fun documenting highlights from my birthday month. This year I thought I’d post it on my blog in addition to facebook. I had the task of narrowing it down to 32 things (in honor of my 32 years) that I loved about the month of February. I didn’t have photos of all the fun times, but here are 32 of them.

#1- An Almond Kringle from Wisconsin found in the local Target. Delicious does not begin to describe it.

#2- Brunch catching up with my wonderfully encouraging friend, Jen

#3- Buying yarn and having the teacher I share a classroom with whip up scarves for me!

#4- Free parking and Bru Burger after the Ash Wednesday service at church.

#5- Valentine’s Day treats from my students
Yes, that’s a bear playing “Baby Love” with lit up red cheeks on the right. 🙂

#6- Going out to dinner and a movie with friends from my community group on Valentine’s Day

#7- Napolese pizza and a fun time with my friend Rachael

#8- Just hanging out with my brother’s family and capturing this gem of a photo of my niece on a Sunday afternoon

#9- Someone to wave goodbye to and something to put on the fridge after I returned from my brother’s family’s house

#10- President’s Day brunch at Cafe Patachou with my friends Shanda and Janae

#11- Singing hymns with my community group on Sunday nights

#12- The annual bake-off at school. My kitchen and homemade Snickers bars on top and my friend Meyer's chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch contribution (bottom right)... they were both really good, but the Snickers took the prize. :)

#12- The annual bake-off at school. My kitchen and homemade Snickers bars on top and my friend’s chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch contribution (bottom right)… they were both really good, but my Snickers took the prize. 🙂

#13- My friend Kim bringing me her leftovers for my lunch at school- she knows I’m not great at cooking for myself all the time. 🙂

#14- Speaking with Burmese parents about our school’s ESL program and assessments at a parent meeting.
(Yes, I was slightly stalker-like when I got this photo, but pictures help solidify memories, so I stalked a little.)

#15- A former student coming back to visit the evening of the parent meeting and drawing me a picture

#16- Doing a lesson with my students about Helen Keller by having them blindfolded and trying to write words in each others hands.
Yes, I that’s a steelers scarf used as a blindfold.

#17- Birthday love from work friends

#18- Birthday love from students: A gun safety drawing, pop-up birthday card, and neon eye shadow (that I had the chance to use a week later for my 80’s outfit!)

#19- Birthday evening with my brother, sister-in-law, nieces, and nephew: Five Guys burger and the futuristic pop machine hit the spot! 🙂

#20- Birthday recitations from my nieces and nephew (poor quality photos due to videoing at the same time- sorry!)
Those who know me well may recognize the towel pillow being held by my niece. 🙂

#21- Birthday cake! (and being sung to by my Indy and South Carolina brothers’ families, thanks to a well-timed call from the south!)

#22- An unheard of 2-hour delay: A day-after-my-birthday present from IPS!

#23- An ice storm and a car without ice on it (thanks to my brother’s garage overnight)

#24- Flowers. I love them. That is all.

#25- Out for Turkish food with Kendra

#26- A four hour brunch with college friends Kellie and Kendra

#27- Sunny Saturday fun: foot massages, the IMA, and signs of spring

#28- February birthday celebration fun with my community group

#29- An updated photo of my loves in Australia

#30- My super expensive dream lens gift from my parents… or not. Ok, so it’s just a coffee mug, but it still makes me happy. I’ll get that lens someday. 🙂

#31- Packing up 435 English language assessments from our school and taking them downtown (and being done with testing… for about a week).

#32- Going out for Mexican with friends from work and using my conversation starters present to talk about things other than school.

Thanks for taking a look at some of the many reasons I’m thankful for my life through my February fun. Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow!

Posted by jennimansellphotography | March 5, 2013 | Categories: Personal | Tags: 32 things | 3 Comments

Maddie is a Senior!

My niece Maddie is a senior this year, so we had a great time taking some senior photos for her while we were all in Pennsylvania for Christmas. The snow cooperated quite nicely as a backdrop. We’re all so proud of the beautiful young woman Maddie has become. God is (and will continue) using her in great ways to share His love and grace with so many. Without further ado, here is beautiful Maddie!

And here we have one of my all time favorite photos that I’ve taken. 🙂 She’s so beautiful.

And now for a few behind the scenes photos:

Had to get a shot of me with the senior.

The obligatory Mansell family funny face photo

This is what was going on behind us as we did our photo shoot. We felt a little guilty for not helping, but they obviously had it covered. 🙂

Many thanks to my sister-in-law for her help with getting these fun shots!

Posted by jennimansellphotography | February 17, 2013 | Categories: Personal, Seniors | Tags: pennsylvania photography, Senior photography, senior photos, snow | 4 Comments

The Battambang Bamboo Train- Cambodia, June 2012

While I was visiting Battambang and the Green Mango Cafe & Bakery, I had the chance to go on the infamous “bamboo train” outside the city. Alan and many of the Green Mango girls went along with me (Katy decided to sit that one out with her baby in utero in mind). The bamboo train uses old railroad tracks that were used for trains during the time of the Khmer Rouge on tracks left by the French. According to my Lonely Planet book, the rail line may be upgraded in the future and the bamboo train may lose it’s usefulness. However, for the time being, many 3 meter long wooden frames covered with bamboo and resting on two barbell-like bogies make the trip up and down the rickety tracks daily. One bogie is connected by fan belts to a gasoline engine. You can fit about 10 people on the bamboo frame and take a 15 km/h ride down the tracks (though I’m sure they’ve managed to fit many more). The best part is that it’s so easy to take apart, so when you run into a group coming the other way, one group can just get up and take the car off the tracks to allow the others to pass. You can thank Lonely Planet for that detailed explanation of the train. 🙂 It felt like a very rustic amusement park ride to me.

We had quite an adventure on our ride down and back up the tracks. I enjoyed the gorgeous Cambodian countryside until we saw a group stopping up ahead. We slowed down to find a few “cars” disembarking on a bridge. It turns out it was a wedding party that stopped on the bridge for a photo shoot among the rice fields. It seemed they were a bit surprised to see a group of Cambodian girls in green shirts and two Americans on a car come barreling through, but they were quick to step out of our way to allow us to continue our journey. We broke up our trip with a stop at a roadside rest stop where we could buy treats and scarves and check out a brick-making kiln. We then headed back to where we came from, with a stop on a bridge to get some photos of the breath-taking view of the green rice-field expanse. I haven’t figured out how to post the video I took of the ride, but I hope you enjoy the photos!

Click here to see the rest of my Cambodia posts in succession.

Taking apart the cars so we could pass.

Surprising the bride and groom. Somewhere in a Cambodian wedding album is a photo of our bamboo train full of Green Mango girls and two Americans waving as we passed the happy couple!

A brick kiln

Scarves for sale at the rest stop along the tracks.

Our car along the side of the tracks.

A man demonstrating how it worked.

Close-up for my engineer friends.

Children playing by the “rest stop.”

Images just don’t capture how beautiful this place is.

The girls who work at the Green Mango had a fun time accompanying us on the trip.

Green Mango girls

God did a good job here. 🙂

Had to prove that I was there!

Posted by jennimansellphotography | February 11, 2013 | Categories: Southeast Asia Adventure, Travel | Tags: bamboo train, Battambang, battambang bamboo, Cambodia, Cambodia wedding, rice fields, train, transportation | Leave a comment

¡Bienvenido al mundo, Andrés!

El mes pasado, tuve un tiempo muy especial cuando conocí este bebe tan adorable de tan solo diez días de edad. Andrés es el nuevo miembro de mi familia favorita nicaragüense, que viven aquí en Indianápolis. Sus hijos asistieron a la escuela donde yo enseño. Es siempre divertido compartir con ellos y poder ponernos al día cuando ellos vienen a eventos de la escuela y tengo la oportunidad de hablar mi español centroamericano con ellos. Andrés tiene tres adorables hermanos mayores y dos padres trabajadores a quien admirar y seguir mientras crece. ¡Espero disfruten estas fotos!

I had such a wonderful time meeting this adorable little guy when he was about ten days old last month. Andres is the newest member of my favorite Nicaraguan family who happen to live here in Indianapolis. Their children have attended the school where I teach. It’s always fun to catch up with them when they come to events at the school and to get a chance to speak my Central American Spanish with them. 🙂 Andres has three wonderful older siblings and two hard-working parents to look up to as he grows up! I hope you enjoy these photos!

Posted by jennimansellphotography | February 6, 2013 | Categories: Babies | Tags: baby photography, fotos, Indianapolis photography, newborn photography | Leave a comment

Katy, Alan, and Jonah: Visiting from Cambodia

You may remember these friends as the great people who helped show me around the beautiful country of Cambodia this past summer, from Angkor Wat to Battambang to Phnom Penh and Kep (photos of that are still to come). Well, their family has since grown from this back in June:

to this:

They came home to the U.S. for Christmas and I had a great time catching up with them on a chilly Indianapolis day. The weather didn’t cooperate much for an outdoor photoshoot, but we had fun nonetheless. 🙂

Here are a few more fun shots from our time at the beginning of this month. Enjoy!

This was what he was like when I first met him. We didn’t let it last long. 🙂

Mass Ave Toys was a great place to warm up and check out some fun toys. This little guy was very intent in checking out the world, with his fingers getting pretty close to pointing to the place where he was born… it’s like he knew. 🙂

Such a contemplative look.

Posted by jennimansellphotography | February 2, 2013 | Categories: Babies, Families, Southeast Asia Adventure | Tags: Cambodia, family photography, Indianapolis Family Photography, Indianapolis photography, mass ave photography | 1 Comment

Indiana Fog

Monday was a dreary, foggy day here in Indianapolis. When I got home Monday night, I was struck by the way the street and parking lot lights were reflecting on the trees and in the fog and had to take some pictures.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Posted by jennimansellphotography | January 31, 2013 | Categories: Personal, Travel | Tags: fog, fog photography, foggy day, indiana fog, Indianapolis fog, Indianapolis photography, nature, parking lot, street lights, weather | Leave a comment

The Market in Battambang, Cambodia- June 2012

The day after I went up the mountain to the Killing Caves outside Battambang, I was able to visit the Battambang market with a kind woman from the Green Mango Cafe & Bakery on her daily market run. She has a very efficient system to her market run, which includes visiting regular vendors who she knows and having the Tuk Tuk driver appropriately parked and ready to come assist in retrieving the good when they’re ready. She has friends with whom she leaves some of her buys to pick up on the way out, so she doesn’t have to carry everything around with her. I appreciated her willingness to slow down a bit so I could capture some of the many sights of the market with my camera. Please note that if you don’t enjoy the sight of raw meat, you may not want to proceed to some of the final photos… don’t say I didn’t warn you! 🙂

First, a photo of the lovely, kind woman who took me to the mountain and allowed me to tag along with her at the market the next day: