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This session took some time to come to fruition.  I met Laura last year and she had mentioned an interest in coming out of her shell, so to speak, and getting some pictures taken.  We had planned out a time frame and the ideas were plentiful.  However, as it sometimes happens, life got in the way.  One thing to know about Laura is that family is extremely important to her and will always come first, even over her own personal health.

We met up again a couple of weeks ago and she was ready to give it another go.  Broken limbs and sick children were all healed and taken care of…until the day of the shoot (a whole other story).  We agreed to meet up at the stables to get started.

Laura, as most are, was very nervous to be in front of the camera.  One of the hardest parts of this session is to not feel like you are being vane.  This is to give you a chance to be spoiled and have the attention on you so that you realize just how special you are because if anything can show your true self it’s the camera.  To combat this I started with her in a comfortable outfit that she could relax in and just laugh and have fun.  We had to fight the gale force winds but it was worth it and we used the winds to our advantage.  I’m not sure that Jenn would agree since she had to hold my huge 47” reflector without getting blown away.

The area where they keep the hay bales was pretty low but as we walked I found this great stack of hay by the horses’ stalls that was perfect!

This is why I always try to begin in the outfit that makes you feel like you.

Mother Nature helped out with the hair on this one.

I recently received this great blanket from one of the many vendors I follow and am so glad that I brought it along.  It fit her perfectly and combine it with the red wall and the sun…great light and colors.

Gorgeousness!

As we were arrived back at my car to get the changing tent set up I looked back from and saw a great background.  So I had her sit in the middle of the parking area for a shot.  Again, thanks for the trust.

The wind can be your friend.  It was definitely hers that day.

This is what it’s all about!

Next up was an outfit to honor her mum and her southern roots.  She got into her Derby hat and outfit and we were off to find a cooperative horse.  Well, they had just been fed and were way more interested in their food than in what we were doing.

Love Love Love

The best is always saved to for the very end.  One of the images that she sent me was a bride in her wedding dress with a flannel shirt on.  Yeah, that wasn’t going to work and it is soooo not Laura.  She made it work with a gorgeous ball gown and a plain denim jacket.  I was also very lucky to have yet another model put her trust in me.  She was up for anything I threw at her.  It’s a good thing since as soon as I saw her dressed I led her to the middle of the arena.  I placed her directly in front of the sun, sat on my little step stool, and then told her to do her thing.

I normally don’t double up on my FB page and the blogalicious but I absolutely LOVE this image.

She is in the zone.

Wow!

Walk, skip, just have fun.  That is the direction she received from me on this one.

As we were walking out of the arena a couple of other areas caught my eye and off we went to shoot away.  I’m sure the mules that were corralled there were not too thrilled with us but they behaved and stayed out of the way.

What a beautiful smile.

We were finally done, covered in dirt and hay from the crazy winds, and headed back to our vehicles when Laura mentioned the big red barn.

This gives you an idea of the help I received from Jenn.

  Who am I to say no to another great location?!  Luckily, the barn sort of  blocked the wind.  Well, it blocked the big gusts of wind.  We finished the session at the barn with some great shots and called it a day.

Another successful day out and about on Fort Irwin.  Thanks to the 11 ACR Horse Detachment for use of their area.  I always have so much fun finding new locations at the stables.  A huge thanks to Jenn McFarland for helping me out.  She put up with quite a bit from Mother Nature and did it all with determination and a smile.  See you all soon with a new blogalicious!

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  • Katie Howton - Love all of these photos! Can’t wait to book my own shoot with you at the stables in the future!ReplyCancel

  • Cherie - Gorgeous!ReplyCancel

  • Lois Walsh - Laura is a friend of mine. She’s a beautiful lady, inside and out. You’ve captured her so perfectly, it’s hard to choose a favorite. Great job, glad she had fun.ReplyCancel

The best days for me are the ones where I am completely at ease and doing what I love.  That day was Friday.

Earlier in the week a fellow photographer and friend asked me if I wanted to go on a photo walk…duh, always.  Luckily our schedules worked out and we were able to schedule it for Friday morning after the kids were all in learning mode at school.  We had not worked out the fine details but that would come later.

Thursday evening came around and as were “talking” on Facebook I had one of my ideas.  Why not get someone willing to model for us and go to the stables.  I had some locations that I had been dying to use as a backdrop and knew that the morning light would be perfect.  Alice was up for the adventure and I quickly called on the perfect person for this particular shoot…Mariel.

It was a chilly, yet beautiful morning and we took full advantage of Mother Nature’s generosity.  The main area I wanted to shoot at was where they store the hay for the farm animals that are used on rotations here at Fort Irwin.  I can’t believe how lucky we were to see that the hay was stacked perfectly.  I had Mariel climb on up and we started shooting.

Right next to the hay were some huge rocks that I can only assume were placed there for photos.  Isn’t everything?  The backdrop of the animals and Tiefort Mountain was beyond perfect.

Being the crazy animal lover that I am I had to get Mariel over next to the donkeys and goats.  That made for some interesting and fun photos.  Especially when the donkey (our photo bomber) thought Mariel’s hair was hay.


He is checking was sniffing her hair and she started to worry that he was going to eat it.  Nonsense.

So, I was wrong.  He went for the hair and she got away with none missing.

It looks like the donkey gave up on the hair.

If you are wondering as to whether or not I had all of this planned in my head ahead of time the answer is no.  Many of these ideas came to me while we were there and, luckily,  Mariel understands me and my odd directions.  She kind of figured me out during Kelly’s sessions.

As we were walking away I saw this nifty lifter thing just waiting to be used so I had her climb on in.  We weren’t sure if we would get in trouble for this one so she was trying to be covert.

I just love the white fence that is next to the stables and am always looking for something new and different to try.  Mariel was ready and willing to give it a shot.

I had her do a few twirls for me on our way to the fence.

I had to get a couple of close ups.

Again, this was all spur of the moment but I asked Alice for some help with this one.  Instead of glitter or confetti I thought, let’s throw hay.  Well, good intentions equaled poor execution by all of us.  We tried and luckily a couple of the shots actually came out.  However, my favorites are the ones with Alice trying to throw the hay just right.

I love the look on her face.  It’s all about the fun.

The intent was good but the execution…

After a lot of thrown hay we got the shot!

We thought we were done after all of this until I remembered seeing what looked like a wagon in the barn by the white fence.  We still had some time so we went on in to explore.  We were trying to be inconspicuous and I had Mariel whipping her head like crazy as she posed straddling the wagon when a door marked Classroom opened and out came the 11th ACR Horse Detachment soldiers, so much for being sneaky and quiet.  They were awesome and just kept about their business as if we weren’t even there.

As I was lying on the ground to get the shots of Mariel one of the guys asked me if we needed anything or if I wanted a tarp to lie on.  I told him no thanks since I had already been all over the hay and this was probably the cleanest area yet.  He casually mentioned that they had recently used the leaf blower to clean up this particular area.  Cool.  A huge thanks goes out to the 11th ACR Horse Detachment for allowing us to run free.

As you can see, we had a very productive hour and a half with a lot of fun involved.  You never know where you are going to find inspiration.  I only hope that I always have someone around to humor me as I drag them to all of these places with a camera in their face.

A special thanks to Alice for getting me out of the house and doing what I love and to Mariel for patiently modeling for us on such a chilly day.  I can’t wait to do it again.  I can guarantee her that it will be fun and somewhat adventurous with a lot of laughter.

P.S.  Don’t forget to leave a comment…

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  • Aunt Freegie - I love these pictures, not only because they are of my beautiful niece, god-child and namesake, but because they are really good!!! I’m glad ya’ll had some fun and Mariel has some once-in-a-lifetime pictures!ReplyCancel

  • Anita - Great Job Melinda, Alice and of course our pretty subject Mariel. Well done!!ReplyCancel

  • Patti Allen - Beautiful!!! No other words needed!!ReplyCancel

  • Jeni - I absolutely love your post! So fun and so true. The shots look amazing and I am thankful for your open heart to share in the moment!ReplyCancel

  • Andrea Boyette - Mariel couldn’t be anymore beautiful, and I love her casual look, and as always, I’m jealous of her hair!! I don’t blame the donkey, and you captured the quid essential “I don’t think so” look when the donkey was snacking!! Lol!!!ReplyCancel

  • MGP - Thank you all for the wonderful comments. We all had a great time and I’m glad that it comes through in the images of Mariel.ReplyCancel

I was checking out Facebook yesterday and came across a contest by Horsefeathers Gifts and decided to go for it.  I was to choose a word for 2013 that will inspire, motivate, and /or simply remind me of what I hope to accomplish this year.  I have never thought of doing this and am now going to make it a yearly occurrence.  I am using it as a form of the typical New Year’s Resolutions.

I started out with a few words and what they meant to me but none of them really stuck.   I then decided to go to my good buddy Google and looked up inspirational words.  There were so many to choose from but my mind kept going back to STRENGTH.

As I stared at the word its meaning began to take shape and I realized that I had found my word for 2013.  This contest made me look into myself and what I need to do this year.

I was chosen as one of the winners with this post…

“Strength is my word this year. I need strength to balance family and photography; strength to market myself without hesitation; strength to not give up when I feel defeated; strength to persevere; strength to maintain my health and wellness.”

Break it down!

Strength to balance family and photography

This is definitely not one of my strong points.  I used to teach a class on time management so you would think that I would be great at keeping it all moving smoothly.  Not so much.  I tend to go to the computer to edit images or peruse FB to see what other photographers are up to on any given day.  The kids are in the same room but my back is usually to them.  I tend to get a bit obsessive with projects and can’t stop once the ideas start taking over.    This year I will find the strength to stop and spend time with Paul and the kids.

Strength to market myself without hesitation

I can market anyone out there like there is no tomorrow.  I will get your name out there and everyone will know who you are and what you do.  For some reason I can’t do this for myself.  I just always feel that by doing so I am somehow full of myself and telling everyone that I am the better choice.  It just always seemed so egotistical.  I need the strength to get past my preconceived notions and market my business and my love of what I do.

Strength to not give up when I feel defeated

I don’t know about you but I know that when I feel defeated I just want to curl up in a ball and hide away.  Everyone’s idea of being defeated is different so I will give you a couple of examples of my idea of defeat.  I feel defeated when my intentions are not perceived as they were meant.  I am pretty straight forward but I am quite often misunderstood.  I will find the strength to just let go of those who continually undermine me and spread untruths.  I will not let them defeat me anymore.  My biggest feeling of being defeated lately is by my own body.  I have been diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) and the pain has gotten the better of me emotionally and physically recently.  I will not let this defeat me.

Strength to persevere

This is where this all starts to intertwine.  I have started trying to strengthen my core to combat the DDD.  There are many times that I just want to stop and hope for the best.  I cannot allow that to happen!  I have to keep it up, not only for myself but for my family and business.  I also must strengthen my resolve to persevere when I feel like everyone is doing their best to silence me.  I will continue to persevere.

Strength to maintain my health and wellness

I have always been horrible at staying healthy.  For starters I am a finicky eater and the good stuff is not on my list of foods.  Except for the occasional migraine I have managed to stay relatively healthy this year.  My back pain really intensified once we arrived here at Fort Irwin.  I’m not sure if the dry air has anything to do with it since we have lived in humid areas for the past few years but something has got to give.  My mind, body, and spirit will get me through the tough times we all have to face at one time or another.

I will find my strength!

 

Posted in personal,photography
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  • M. Gallegos - Late at night, when the house is still with my loved ones all in bed and the pets all snoring (loud little critters! LOL), always seems to be the time when I am awake on the iPad trying to make my eyeballs tired so I too can go to sleep. This seems to be the time when my mind wonders the most with the heaviest heart.
    I have added this to my desktop so I can keep reflecting on my own strengths.
    Thank you for sharing and being such an inspiration!
    MelReplyCancel

  • Janis M. Guenther - Congratulations on being a winner also. This is a beautiful way to start your year. Strength: is something all of us can use in our own way, for we all have weaknesses and/or areas that we need to improve. This has inspired me to look at a word to inspire me through 2013 also. I do like the word strength but will need to consider others before mine is choosen. Thank you for your inspiration!ReplyCancel

  • TLC - Great word! I think finding balance between work and family is a difficult one especially here at Fort Irwin. I feel when hubby is home as extra eyes for little man I should be trying to accomplish the million thngs I cannot while I’m in “single mom” mode. I find myself with the same struggle. Good luck with your 2013 goals! xoxoReplyCancel

I met Joe and Deanna at the end of April, soon after they were married (beginning of April).  Our husbands worked together at Fort Hood and we were at a unit Marriage Retreat.  They were the two lovebirds in the corner.

I love the way he looks at her.

As we were preparing to leave Fort Hood Paul mentioned to me that, at some point in the near future, they would be moving to Fort Irwin.  I had been looking forward to their arrival and hoping that they would be a part of the Tarantula Team with us.  They did not end up on the same Team, but they are still on the same post.

Kelly and I were out eating lunch one day and as we were leaving we walked right past a couple that looked very familiar.  I left Kelly at the door and went up to them and quickly realized that I was right and it was Deanna & Joe.  They quickly let me know that she was pregnant and you could see the joy in their faces.

Fast forward to this past weekend and her Facebook posts about how excited she was for her appointment to find out what they are having and a quick gender reveal session was born.  We made contact and Clara (a wonderful assistant) and I were ready and waiting for the phone call from Deanna that they were ready for their close up.

I received the call and we were off to the playground.  Deanna had props with her and then she let me run with it…

 Always laughing.

They are such an adorable and easy going couple that getting great images was not at all difficult.  They were up for anything and made it look effortless.

The playground was perfect for these two.

She was all over the playground in those heels.

I look forward to watching her pregnancy progress and her growing belly.  She is beautiful inside and out and I am glad that they are a part of our Military family.

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S

I can’t wait to meet you Adaline Grace.

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