Allison Keel Photography

Gailey | Lifestyle

2011-12-24T23:58:00.004-05:00

This has been one of the hardest things, I've ever had to do!!! I had to keep these photos under lock and key since early November!!! Since, Gailey wanted to keep her photo shoot a complete secret from her family and her boyfriend, I had to keep these beauties hidden. After the shoot was over, I promised her I wouldn't post these photos til after Christmas. Well, that glorious moment has past and now I'm allowed to post some photos of one of my favorite people (and her furry friend)!!!

The location is actually in a field in front of my sisters house and I don't think it could have been more perfect! It was a clear, cool fall day and I don't think we could have asked for anything more! I gotta give some props to my mom for letting borrow a few things for our shoot! The quilt also holds a special place in my heart, it's an old quilt that my great grandmother had made a long time ago! I gotta say it photographs well! Might be my favorite prop!

Well, without further adieu here is Miss Gailey and Mr. Duke Dog!

You are gorgeous Gailey!

The Mills' Family | Lifestyle

2011-12-24T22:55:00.003-05:00

There are certain people in your life that you will cherish their friendship for forever. This family is one of them. I met this loving family when I was hired as head coach of a brand new summer league swim team. In the two summers that I coached the team my friendship with the Mills' grew into something great. Now even though I don't live in Virginia anymore we still make it a point to keep in touch. Jamie and I are so very thankful for their friendship and when Chris asked me to do a photo shoot with them for their family Christmas card I was honored! Here are a few of my favorite photos from their shoot. I hope you enjoy!

They are truly a beautiful family inside and out!

Miss Parker!

Sam!!! Best dog EVER!!!!!

Pretty girl!

The Kapataidakis' | Lifestyle

2011-12-19T21:36:00.011-05:00

Or you can just call them The Kapa's or if you live in The Faires household you call them The Dapa's.

When their mom contacted me about taking some photos of Connor and Caden for their Christmas card I knew the photo shoot was going to be a lot of fun! These two boys have so much energy even for a photo shoot that started on a cold fall morning!! I met the Kapa family at the fire station where their dad works and then from there we went to Ashland, Va to watch some trains! Here are a few from their shoot and hopefully you're one of the lucky ones that receive these two cute little boys in your mailbox this holiday season!

Love this one...

Love these two images!

Recipe | French Onion Soup

2011-10-16T17:00:00.006-04:00

OK so if anyone knows me, they know I'm not one that cooks all the time. Well let's just say I can count the amount of times I've baked/cooked something on 1 hand! Yeah, I know it's bad!! I'm not gonna give you all my excuses for not cooking, but I will tell you that I'm gonna try and do it a least once a week now! Hopefully! That is if I don't kill anyone! :) Well, here it is our dinner tonight! This meal would also be really great for all you working people. Just cut up the onions and then throw everything in a crock pot and BAM! when you get home from work you have dinner ready!

So here's the recipe...
5 onions, sliced thinly
2 cans beef broth
2 cans beef consomme
1 envelope of Lipton onion soup mix

Throw it all in the crock pot and cook. I cooked mine on high for about 5 hours. Spoon into dish and put a slice of French bread on top. Then put Gruyere cheese on top and broil in the oven just until the cheese is melted.

It's as simple as that!!! Since photos make every post better here are some that I took while making dinner!! :)

Make sure you have dishes that are oven safe

Pull dishes out of the oven once the cheese has melted

Then enjoy!!

Oh and here's the sunset we had tonight!! :)

***Bonus... Since I cooked dinner tonight, Jamie cleaned all the dishes after dinner!! His momma must have raised him right!!! :)***

Lexa + Daniel | Charlotte Lifestlyle Photographer

2011-10-09T10:32:00.006-04:00

Here's to my first couples anytime shoot here in Charlotte! Woohoo!!! :)

Lexa was referred to me by one of my friends from High School (Thanks Beck!), and she wanted some non traditional photos of her, and Daniel so she could give photos to their family. She also wanted some photos of her and Daniel where they aren't self-portraits taken on a night on the town, or taken with a point and shoot. She wanted some nice quality photos of her and Daniel, relaxed and at the location of their choice. Come on ladies who wouldn't like nice quality photos of you and your boyfriend?! I know I've been thinking about it. No one ever said you had to be engaged or married in order to do a photo shoot.

Lexa and Daniel are the kind of couple that makes you smile just by being around them! Their love for one another is obvious! I couldn't help, but smile the whole time during our photo shoot. They're the type of couple that after you're done hanging out with them, they make you fall more in love with life.
Lexa and Daniel choose this location because this was where they met that lovely December night almost 3 years ago! I had so much fun at this location and shooting here means that they made this location their own.

Seriously how cute are they?!?!

Love this one!!!

Disney World | Family Vacation Part III

2011-09-11T21:58:00.004-04:00

Day 3 = Hollywood Studios!

This park is probably one of my favorites! It has so much character and personality crawling out of every nook and cranny! If I could take away all the tourist and have the park empty for a photo shoot, I'd be in HEAVEN!!!

***You may have noticed my new blog layout! What are your thoughts? Like it or not so much?***

Nikki + Jim | Maternity | Lake Norman Photographer

2011-08-14T20:14:00.003-04:00

Nikki and Jim probably have the sweetest love story I've ever heard! I remember when I first met Jim he told me about him and Nikki and they're love story, and I instantly fell in love with them! They were friends first for about 9 months, then became boyfriend and girlfriend in March of 2010, then after 4 months they got engaged on July 16th!!!! Nikki's mom has been seriously ill for some time now, and Nikki & Jim wanted to have her at their wedding so after 6 days (yes, 6 days) of being engaged they got married!! I mean you can't find a truer love story than that!! I just remember feeling so happy for Jim when I first met him, that he was able to find true love, and married his soul mate in such a short time perid. So to top of their love story, this April Nikki and Jim found out they were pregnant!!! They'll be having a baby boy this December around Christmas!

Nikki and Jim, thank you so much for allowing me to photograph the two of you!!! Ya'll are some of the greatest people we've met while down here and I couldn't be more grateful for it. The two of you are beautiful people inside and out! Thank you again for everything and I can't wait to play with baby JT!!!

Thank you again and thanks for being my first North Carolina clients!!!

Leather Craftsmen | Sample Album

2011-08-03T21:03:00.004-04:00

I did it! I finally made a sample album!! OK, so I had a LOT of help from Katelyn for pulling out my name from the FREE Leather Craftsmen Album drawling! It's a great thing I attended her Sugar Shoot workshop! I also need to give a HUGE thank you to David from Leather Craftsmen for helping me complete my album. Without him I couldn't have done it. He went above and beyond my expectations! I will forever use this company.

This is my first time ever making an album, and I gotta say I love the final product! I'm not sure if I'm more excited to have a Leather Craftsmen album, or that I'm offering the album to all my future clients! I've been wanting a sample album to show to my prospective clients so they'll know what they're getting.

This album is a 10x10 Black Euro leather with 30 sides (15 pages). It also has the names of the couple and the "wedding date" on the front.

The inside cover

Front Page

The binding

Thank you again Katelyn and David for everything!!

*for more information about these albums, please contact me at allisonkeelphotography@gmail.com*

Disney World | Family Vacation Part II

2011-07-26T19:37:00.003-04:00

Day two of our vacation started off with a bang!! We ate breakfast with Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy! The boys were both so excited to be eating breakfast with Mickey and everyone else! It was really cute to see them excited to eating with Mickey. That's all they could talk about. Seeing their excitement makes me miss being a kid and getting as excited as they did for these things. Don't get me wrong, I was really excited, but in a different way. I was really excited to watch the boys and see how they reacted to everything Disney! In order for me to relive their excitement and for my family, I brought my camera EVERYWHERE!!! Well, enough with me talking, Day two was filled with breakfast with the characters, going to the Animal Kingdom, and then back to the Magic Kingdom for more rides. These aren't all the photos that I took, because I'm the crazy aunt and took over 600 photos during our vacation. So here are a few of my fav's from day two.

See I told you he was excited!

Nathan loved the characters! Luke, not so much! ha

Look who's shootin' me!

FAV!

The King of the Jungle

Cooling off

Disney World | Family Vacation

2011-07-19T20:09:00.005-04:00

Hiiii!!! Blog World!!! I know I've been absent for a long long loong time!! I deepest apologies to my blog readers! Life the past few months have been crazy and I haven't found the time to slow down and blog! Although all that ends TODAY!! I've realized that I miss blogging and I miss taking photos!! So what better way to get into the swing of things again, than to post photos from my recent family vacation to Disney World!!

Day 1...

Happiness!!

Just a cute little statue.

The Gang's here!!!

My favorite Disney couple!!! Prince Charming and Cinderella!!!

Mickey and Minnie!!

My sister and youngest nephew.

The Brother-N-Law having a good time on Dumbo!

Our amazing view!

Sugar Shoot | Katelyn James Workshop Part II

2011-06-06T20:00:00.006-04:00

Oh it only took me 2 months to post part 2 of The Sugar Shoot by Katelyn James. Everyone knows that Katelyn is detail oriented. Well, when she organizes a workshop she does NOT skip out on the details. I mean this girl knocked my socks off. I knew going into the workshop I was going to learn so much from her, but I really didn't know I was going to walk away with so much. 1) 'm walking away with is a whole new support group!! All the ladies that attended the workshop are amazing and they have already done so much since the workshop. I'm so proud of them! 2) I learned a lot on interacting with my clients. 3) I learned how to be a better business woman. 4) I got to work with amazing vendors. 5) Our couple we got to shoot were too cute and so sweet. Probably one of the nicest couples I've ever had the pleasure to work with. Their love is so true and pure! 6) and the last thing I walked away with was a Leather Craftsman album!!!!!!! Holla!!! I'm currently in the final stages of ordering and will hopefully be getting it in the next couple of weeks!!!! I can't wait to have a sample album to show potential clients. I'm so excited to actually own one of these albums!! I will totally have a blog post about that bad boy, once it gets here.

OK enough of me talking about how awesome Katelyn is and The Sugar Shoot. Now onto the photos...

All the ladies in action.

Katelyn doing her thing!

Favorite!

Ring Shot!! Just because of this shot I now want 100mm! Oh how my wish list keeps growing!

Again, I got to give a shout out to the amazing people that made all this workshop happen!

Katelyn and Michael!

Sweet Spot Candy Shop

Florist & Guest Speaker : Janie Medley, The Bride's Cafe

Cake : Shyndigz

Bride's Necklace

Catering : Mosaics Unique Events

Changes...

2011-05-15T16:55:00.004-04:00

I know a lot of people don't know this, because I still get text messages from friends asking to hang out in Richmond, but I've MOVED!!!! A little over a month ago I moved to Charlotte, NC!! It seriously happened way too fast. I got a call on a Wednesday saying that I got the position I interviewed for and then a week and half later I was in Charlotte. So I wasn't able to really give any warning. So I apologize to everyone that I wasn't able to say goodbye too! Well, ever since I've moved down here my life has been crazy filled with traveling back and forth to VA for all sorts of things. Like client meetings, weddings, family things, etc. Now, this weekend I feel like is the first time I've really been able to breath and relax!

Now in honor of me moving to Charlotte, I want to offer a couple of FREE portrait sessions!!! (holla!!) They are only available for people in the Charlotte, NC and surrounding areas. So if you or if you know someone in the area please let them know!! I would greatly appreciate it!! I'm currently working on building my business down here. So spread the word!! :)

and since every blog post is better with photos here are some I took today of a cute little duck family! :)

The path we take to get to the lake.

How adorable are they?!?

I love to sit here and read! Very quite and peaceful.

Bye-bye duckies!! :)

Suzy + Ken | Hanover Wedding Photographer

2011-04-27T22:26:00.008-04:00

The forecast for the day was a little crazy! They were calling for severe thunderstorms! Talk about panic mode for a photographer! Especially one that loves using natural light! I was a little scared about what the weather was gonna throw at us, but rest to sure you it ended up being a PERFECT day!! I don't think I could have asked for a more perfect rainy day! Every time we went to do portraits outside it stopped raining for us!! Post ceremony and post reception!! PERRFECT!!

Suzy and Ken had a small wedding. Their ceremony was held at the beautiful Immanuel Episcopal Church in Old Church, Va. I don't think I've ever seen a church with so much character. It was perfect for them. Then the reception was held at Hanover Tavern, in Hanover, Va. That also, had so much character! Both locations of their wedding day were perfect and matched them perfectly.

Even, thought they had rain on their wedding day, I don't think Suzy and Ken could have asked for a more perfect day!! Oh and did I mention that there was a rainbow too?!?! How lucky can you get?!?!

Loved her flowers!!! I wanted to take them home with me!

Mr. GQ!!! :)

How cute are they?!?!

This little boy was too cute!!!

Remember Maggie?!?!

Rainbow!!!!

Umm I don't think they could have been any happier!!

Suzy and Ken, thank you so much for letting be apart of your day! It meant so much to me and both of ya'll made me feel like family!! Thank you again, and I wish only the best for the two of you and your future together!

The Sugar Shoot | Katelyn James Photography Workshop | Part I

2011-04-07T19:46:00.005-04:00

DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS!! There were so many details! If you know Katelyn, you know she LOVES details! She always talks about details, and well, she didn't hold back at all for the Sugar Shoot!! The detail that went into the educational part of the workshop was amazing and the details for the shooting part of the workshop were spectacular! Ah I just can't get over it. It makes me want her to be my wedding designer! (Just saying)

Anyway, I gotta give a shout out to the amazing people that made all this workshop happen!

Katelyn and Michael!

Sweet Spot Candy Shop

Florist & Guest Speaker : Janie Medley, The Bride's Cafe

Cake : Shyndigz

Bride's Necklace

Catering : Mosaics Unique Events

I'll talk more in the next post about the amazing ladies I got to hang out with all day! More images to come for Part II!!!! Stay tuned!!!!

The Faires Family | Mechanicsville Family Photographer

2011-03-27T21:21:00.008-04:00

The past 2 weeks have been more than hectic. They've seriously been a blur! About 2 and half weeks ago I got the phone call that I've been waiting to get for the past 7 months! The employment fairy granted me with a job down in Charlotte, NC!! That's right, I'm no longer living in good ole' Mechanicsville, VA!! So to give you the shortened story... I got the phone call on a Wednesday the 9th, they want me to start Monday the 21st! So for that week and half I had to get organized to move, a small going away dinner, I had a workshop with the fabulous Katelyn James on the 19th (photos to come soon), and a photo shoot with my sisters family on the 20th! Oh and I moved on the 20th!! Yes, crazy and 100% worth it!!

The day I left I don't think I would have spent it any other way. I love my nephews more than anything in the world and being able to spend Sunday morning with was a joy! Anyone that knows me personally knows how much these to guys mean to me! They're the reason why moving away has been so hard. Yes, I miss my mom and my dad, and I guess my sister and my brother-n-law! (Just kidding I really do miss you two) I loved their session last November (click here to see), but I LOVE THESE EVEN MORE!!!!!!!! While editing these photos made me miss them even more, and make my heart melt all at the same time!!

OK enough about me missing my family. Now it's time for you to see how adorable my nephews are and what a happy family they really are!!

Luke rockin' out before the session started.

The one on the left makes me laugh!

Yep, I got them to kiss!! :)

Oh you know just sitting on a log and looking too cute!

Love these!

If you couldn't tell, we had a lot of fun!!

So sweet!! Love 'em

Umm how cute are they?!?! :)

Then to end the family session right, Jeb joined in on the fun!

This is why I ...

2011-03-16T13:47:00.003-04:00

LOVE being a "stay at home aunt!"

I've talked about this before (click here), but I thought I would share another reason or should I say photo why I love being a stay at home aunt! The joys of aunthood bring you little gifts like this! Yesterday, while I was working, Nathan came upstairs to hang out with me. He asked for some paper that he could have so he could write. Well, when your oldest nephew is in Kindergarten you don't really know what you'll get. It's amazing how much smarter they can get after a 6 months of being in school! To show off how smart and amazing my lil man is here's the story he wrote me yesterday!! I think we have the next Steven King right here in Mechanicsville!!!

Isn't it just the cutest?!?! It's a story about how he caught a catfish in a pond and took it home and ate it for dinner! I'll try to translate it...

Translation....

I like to go fish(ing) in the pond and I caught a big fish and we liked my fish and the fish was a catfish. And we ate my fish for dinner.
By: Nathan

It just melts my heart!!! :)

The Fab 4...

2011-03-15T15:06:00.003-04:00

I've never been one who enjoyed reading. Back in grade school I despised reading!! I know I've said this before, but I used to stare the pages and pretend to read the books my parents forced upon me. Then when I told them I was done after reading a book for 2 hours, they decided to ask questions about the book. Well, it turns out I don't have a photographic memory and I was sent back to my room to read my book! ha

I would say about the time I graduate college is when I started to enjoy reading for the first time. I thank Harry Potter for that, and then once I was done with that series I started Twilight (thanks to my sister). Those two series made me fall in love with reading! I thank them for the new goal that I just decided to set for myself. The goal is to read 1 book every month! So far I've done it!! Don't ask me how, because I've always considered myself a slow reader. For instance, I think it took me 2+ years to read the 1st Harry Potter! haha I would read 5 pages and then not touch the book for weeks! Yeah it took me a while at that pace.

So I thought I would share with you a few of the books I’ve read recently. The first book I read it took me a while to read it. I’m not gonna lie the only reason I read it was because Jasmine Star had read/ recommended it to the internet! So I went to Barnes and Noble and bought me a copy. The book is called The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I read it, but it was a very serious book and also depressing. Although, in the end, it all works out for her.

The next book I started to read was The Girl With The Dragon by Stieg Larsson. Yes, another suggestion from my lovely sister. Well more like she forced me buy it a Kroger! J LOVED this book! There were never a dull part, and it always kept my attention. The 3rd book I decided or should I say forced by my sister again to read was One Day by David Nicholls. Anyway, it’s a great love story, and I highly recommend it. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen is an absolutely brilliant book!!! I just finished reading it today! My boyfriend’s sister and I decided that we would both read this book and then try and go see the movie together when it comes out!

Any who I highly recommend any one of these four books and I hope I can stay at this pace, and read one book per month! Wish me luck, and I’ll keep ya’ll posted on how I’m doing!

My New Friends

2011-03-09T14:05:00.004-05:00

I could feel it coming. It was lurking in the shadows of my day to day life for the past couple of days. You couldn't see it, but you knew it was gonna hit you like a ton of bricks when you were least expecting it. It probably hides like this because no one like it! "It" is the common cold!!! It has no cure and you can always feel when it's coming! It is nasty and it got me good!!!

So since Monday, with "It" got me I've started to hang out with a new crew!! These are my new friends! Advil, Zyrtec, Nasonex, Water!, and a good book to read!!!

Oh and while in the middle of writing this blog post I got the most amazing news!!! But that will have to wait for another post!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!

Lake Norman...

2011-02-24T14:21:00.004-05:00

Sunsets... They are amazing. They are breathtaking. They are my favorite!! I think my favorite part about them is that they are never the same!! Yes, there are not so great ones and then their are some that have some of the most magnificent colors you've ever seen!! I especially love Lake Norman sunsets. I think I could sit out on Jamie's deck all day and everyday if I had to!!

The most recent sunset that I saw down there wasn't the brightest one, but I gotta say it's probably one of the most peaceful, relaxing ones I've ever seen. I can't wait til I get to see more of these on a regular basis!!

I'm Forcing Myself....

2011-02-17T09:51:00.003-05:00

.... to start using my camera on a daily basis! I need to start using/learning/practicing more with camera, instead of letting it collect dust! So this past weekend I went over to my sister's house and I went on a little nature walk with my camera! I can't tell you how relaxing it is to be with just nature and my camera. It was like I was living my past. I felt like I was a kid again, just exploring and being carefree.

During my nature walk I stumbled upon an old truck!! It's pretty cool! It's the kinda truck that needs a crank in order for it to start! Yeah, that old!! I hope the next time I/we go back there we can figure out what brand of truck it is. Until then I'll be examining my photos and trying to find something that will help me figure it out!

After I was done exploring the abandoned truck. I decided to explore the woods and see if there was anything thing else I could fine. I gotta say I found some pretty cool things. Like I found the location for a family shoot that my sister wants to do. I found an old wagon, and I found a location that reminds me of Twilight! ha I know I'm a DORK!!!

In the bottom photo, is where the old Studly Rd. used to be. Pretty cool.

Yes that is a tree coming out of the door!

This is the photo that reminds me of Twilight! I can just see all the Werewolves and Vampires coming here and battling it out!!!

I also found a few natural bridges. Natural bridges are probably one of my favorite things! EVER!!!

p.s. I noticed I used a lot of "!" in this post. Please excuse my excitement! :)

Luke | Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T15:32:00.002-05:00

When you are in pre-school everything is new and exciting!! Especially holidays! At that age you starting to finally understand why we celebrate what we celebrate. Well, today, granted it's not Valentine's Day, but today is when Luke's pre-school class celebrated it. The look on the kids faces when they walk into their classroom and see that's it's changed while they were outside playing or in music class, is priceless! Today, they walked into a room with a HUGE balloon bouquet full of heart shaped ballons, a mini-lunch filled with treats, and CANDY!!! A two year old favorite and a parents worst nightmare!! Candy that is not the free lunch! ha :) Any who, here's a few photos that I took while at Luke's Valentine's Day Party...

This is so sweet!!

Who can resist that smile?!?!

I Love Organization...

2011-02-09T15:27:00.002-05:00

It's true. I love to be organized!! It's astonishing how much better you feel when you're organized vs. being unorganized! Going back to school shopping was one of my favorite things to do when I was a kid. I loved getting a new backpack, new binders, paper, pencils, pens, notebooks, folders, erasers, white out, tape, etc. I loved it!! Part of the reasoning for being so excited about B2SS was because I got to organize for the upcoming school year!! I loved putting the paper in my binders and separating them with the dividers.

Today, we went out to lunch and then we went to OfficeMax to get a few things that we needed. I gotta say it brought back some memories!!! While we were there I got some new pens and some hanging folders to store my files in!!! I gotta say I love my new filing system/ unit!!! It makes me feel so accomplished! ha

Oh, how I wish I could still go back to school shopping!!! Well, until then I'll just have to get enjoyment out of buying things for my business!!!! :)

Aunthood

2011-02-02T17:41:00.009-05:00

As my sister likes to say I'm a "stay at home aunt." I'm down with that because everyday I get to stay at home and play with my two favorite boys!! They bring so much joy and laughter into my and they keep me young!!! Oh and they are great models for me, so I don't lose my touch with my camera!!!

The other day we took advantage of the spring like weather, and went outside to play!! It felt good to be outside again and to let the boys run wild. I for one can't wait for Spring and Summer to come!!!

His horns came out in this photo!! :)

On these two shots you can actually see the bullets that they are shooting at me!!

Ahhdorable!!!

The Hunter...

and the hunted!! haha

Clearly Luke was not down for this photo!

What a cutie?!?!

My Not so Lil' Man Anymore

2011-02-02T17:33:00.007-05:00

It's crazy how time flies. I remember the day my sister had Nathan. I was a Sophomore at school. Swimming, we had a swim meet that day vs. ODU! It was snowing!! My parents rushed home and I had to wait a week to see the little booger!!!

Now, he's 6!! The past 6 years have flown by!! My lil' man isn't so little anymore!!! (tear) Although, he's growing up to be quite the little looker. He already his a heart-breaker with all his kindergarten girlfriends. Yes, I said ALL he has multiple!! :)

Well enough of me rambling on about how time flies and how cute he is, here are a few photos from his Monster Truck birthday party.

The walkway into the party. Nathan would stop people from coming in the backdoor and tell them to go around to the front to come into the house.

The MONSTER TRUCK cake that my sister made!!

100% devil right here. He so badly wants to eat that cake!! :)

Waiting to blow out the candles while we sing him Happy Birthday.

Thinking of his wish...

blowing out his candles...

Oops. Didn't blow them all out. Going for a 2nd try.

and their out!

The Birthday Boy!!!

3 out of the 4 cousins!

A New Favorite Place

2011-02-01T10:03:00.003-05:00

I don't think I've had a more relaxing weekend in my life than I did a couple of weekends ago!! My best friend and I wanted to get away, so we packed out bags and went east!! We slept in, read our books, took long walks on the beach, watched movies, and ate the most amazing food (thanks to her momma!!)!! It was a perfect weekend. Honestly, I wish I could do that every weekend!! I can't wait to go back to this wonderful piece of heaven again!!!

"Waiting for summer"

"Painted by God's Hands"

Nashville, Tennesse | The Home of Country Music

2011-01-24T10:05:00.013-05:00

Oh Nashville, How I love you so!! I even miss you more!!

A couple of weeks ago, my boyfriend and I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Nashville together. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun we had. If you don't know me, then you don't know that I'm a HUGE fan of country music!!! So going to Nashville was an enormous treat! While we were there we visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, saw a concert at The Ryman Auditorium (Which will be on GAC Jan. 27th at 10pm! So look for yours truly in the nose bleed section!!!), listen to some live music downtown, and we explored the city! Oh and we had some pretty remarkable BBQ when we were there too!!

When we were exploring the city, I realized that I wanted to do a photo shoot down there!! There is so much character and personality there and some many cool locations in a short walking distance from each other! So if, there is anyone out there that wants to do a shoot there please, please, please contact me and I would be more than happy to do a photo shoot there with you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Okay, so on to a few photos from our lovely little vacation to Nashville!!!! Enjoy! :)

Country Music Hall of Fame

The Ryman Auditorium

The District in Downtown Nashville

The Hermitage Hotel

Live music at the Second Fiddle

Justin Maurer at Tootsies

Grand Ole Opry at The Ryman Auditorium!!!!!

Luke Bryan

Hosting the show

Eric Church

the JaneDear girls

Randy Houser

Steel Magnolia

Easton Corbin

and my favorite of the night, The Band Perry!!!

Out of the office...

2011-01-12T09:43:00.004-05:00

Nashville here I come!!! (No, I will not be pursuing a singing career!)

I'll be out of the office til mid next week and I'll limited computer access. Just wanted to give you warning on why there'll be an email delay. I hope everyone is staying warm in this frosty weather! Take care.

The Parker Sisters | Christmas Shoot

2010-12-27T10:28:00.004-05:00

I've been waiting patiently to post this session. Like a week and half almost two weeks patient!! It's been killing me not to post a sneak peek or anything, because I didn't want to ruin the surprise element of their gift. I met with Maggie and her sisters, Hannah and Liza a couple weeks ago to do a photo shoot. They wanted to give their parents and grandparents updated photos of them for Christmas! I mean seriously, what a great idea!! I don't think Maggie could have contacted me at a more perfect time for a shoot. It had just snowed and well the setting was perfect for the shoot.

We first started the shoot on Monument Ave. in Richmond then we made our way down to the VCU area of Richmond. They decided to wear black and colored scarfs and with a snowy backdrop that just made them POP!!!! Maggie, Hannah, and Liza were perfect models, they braved the wintery cold day!! To tell the truth I felt bad that I was all bundled up and they were freezing their extremities off!

Ladies thank you so much for hanging out with me for the afternoon! I had a ton of fun with all of you and I hope ya'll enjoy the photos as much as I do! With much love, Allison.

These are my people... Part II

2010-12-21T13:03:00.011-05:00

I started this blog post/ series to acknowledge everyone that makes me, me and that's important in my life. The truth is I don't have enough time (or the pictures of everyone) to sit here and tell you everything great about the people in my life. There a lot of people to acknowledge! Those people know who they are though! I love my family and I love my friends! They are my life! So Thank you everyone of all your support in my journey to become a professional photographer!!

So to change things up a bit. I decided to make a slideshow of all my clients! Because without them there would be no Allison Keel Photography! For them I am grateful! They are the reason for this blog, for me pursuing my dream to become a professional photographer! So thank you my awesome clients!!! I love you!!!

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures for this blog post, but I do have a pretty awesome slideshow! Enjoy!!! :)

Please click HERE to view the slideshow!! :)

These are my people... Part I

2010-12-08T14:24:00.003-05:00

I'm thankful for a lot of people in my life.

During the holidays I always think about how grateful I am for the family and friends that I have in my life. I know I am very blessed and I thank God everyday for them. Without them I would be lost. They have shaped me into the person that I am today.

So this post is to recognized them. Give them a small shout out. Today, I'll start with three special girls. Gailey, Meghan, and Christine! The three of us all swam together at James Madison. They made swimming at school soooo much better and easier. There were times where we fought, esp. who would go first in the lane (cough cough Christine!), but I wouldn't change one things about our friendship. They were my teammates and now they are my sisters!!

These three ladies are a HUGE part of my life and are the best girlfriends a girl could ask for!!

Meghan and I in front White House

Loves this one of you Megs!

My old roomie, Gailey :) miss youss

Our failed attempt to get the Washington Monument in the picture...

Me, Christine, and Gailey at the Washington Monument

Love them!

This is why I love them! So much personality!!

These photos are from a girls weekend that we had in DC a few weekends ago!!! I had the greatest time with them and THANK YOU AGAIN Meghan for hosting us that weekend!!!

Tara | Lifestyle

2010-11-09T14:36:00.003-05:00

Best Friends + Perfect Weather = A fun photo shoot!!!

I've known Tara since I was 5yrs old!!! Crazy that we've been able to maintain a friendship for 20 years!!! I swear swimming had brought so many great people in my life! Who knew that at the age of 5 at summer league swim practice that I would meet a girl that would be one of my best friends for so long!!

Any who, when Tara asked if we could do a photo shoot I was ecstatic!!! One reason being I got to have another photo shoot with a best friend. Two because of the beautiful colors and weather!! Fall is seriously the best time for photo shoots!!! The colors are brilliant, the lighting is magical, and the weather (this year) has been aaahmazing!!!

Tara, thank you again for always being there for me and supporting me!! I don't think you know how much I value our friendship. xoxox

**Also, be sure to check out the slideshow at the end of post!!**

Love

Rawr

Get it!

I loved this wall!!

I had a lot of fun playing with the water reflections!

I loooove the lighting in this one!!!

To see more photos from Tara's Lifestyle session, CLICK HERE for a slideshow!

Tiffany + Matthew | Engaged

2010-11-03T18:40:00.007-04:00

I don't think I could have asked for a more perfect day! The temperature was 70*, the colors were AMAZING, and I had an awesome couple to shoot (with my camera of course)!!! Tiffany and Matthew were perfect! They even let me take photos of them on a semi busy road. I gotta say I was a little nervous about that, but I've always wanted to do that and they let me! Talk about trust!

Tiffany and Matthew, I can't tell you how much it meant for me to shoot your engagement photos. I had so much fun with you two, it will probably go down as my favorite Halloween ever!! :)

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T11:00:00.003-04:00

*This photo is from yesterday's Carytown Zombie Walk*

Investment

2010-10-25T14:29:00.012-04:00

Lifestyle Sessions: $150
*This includes families, couples, engagements, maternity, child and newborn sessions.
*All sessions will be at least an 1 hour at the location of your choice.
*Includes a online viewing gallery

Wedding Day Coverage starts at $1,000
*All wedding packages are 100% customized. This way you will have exactly what you want for your big day. It would be my greatest pleasure to help you customize your wedding package!! I'd love for you to tell your plans, your story, colors, location, any and everything about your special day! I look forward to hearing from you.

Please contact me for a full pricing list.
e-mail : allisonkeelphotography@gmail.com

Serving the VA, DC, & NC areas | Available for travel worldwide

**Any image may be used by me as samples on my website, in advertising, or displays.**

Gailey + Duke : Lifestyle

2010-10-12T11:21:00.005-04:00

The day couldn't have been more perfect. The weather was gorgeous, the location was perfect, and I had two of the greatest models to work with!!! Gailey and Duke are quite the pair! Their relationship is very unique and the love for another is true as true can be!! Anybody who knows them would agree. Gailey loves Duke more than life it's self and Duke loves Gailey just as much if not more!

Gailey I can't thank you enough for allowing me to take so many lovely photos of you and Duke. You are my best friend, sister, and someone I can always come to. Thank you for everything, you are so beautiful inside and OUT!!! Love you!!

For more images click here to watch their slideshow!

Krissy : Lifestyle

2010-09-20T15:44:00.015-04:00

The day could not have been better. I was greeted at the door by two fun, loving, adorable dogs. The summer sun was still shinning it's golden rays, and the temperature was perfect. We had the a perfect location with fabulous lighting. Oh and I had a model who just got it, seriously 100% had the model face down and she could SMIZE!!!! Krissy is a natural in front of the camera and she really made my job easy!

I had a great job hanging out with Krissy and her mom!! I owe Kristi and her mom a thousand thanks for hiring me to shoot Krissy's photos. I can't express how much I appreciate ya'lls kindness.

I couldn't decided which one I liked better so I posted both! :)

WPPI Road Show DC

2010-09-15T11:25:00.004-04:00

A couple of days ago I was in the Washington D.C. metro area for the WPPI Road Show. It's was a mini conference of the big boy WPPI conference held in Vegas! Which I hope to be able to go to this year! On Sunday night I went out to dinner with 13 other photographers and myself. I gotta say it was probably one of the best dinners that I've been to in a long time. The food was OK, but the company was AMAZING!!! I met so many talented photographers that night. The ones I sat beside were all so willing to help me out and give me advice. I was blown away by their generosity! Then Monday rolled around and I got to listen to Jared Bauman, Greg Gibson, Clay Blackmore, Lindsay Adler, and the oh so FABULOUS Jasmine Star (her blog) speak about various topics!!!!!!! This experience was probably the best thing I could do for myself and for my new business that I'm trying to grow. I got out of my comfort zone and I'm so glad I did! I met so many photographers and other wonderful people that I know I'll keep in touch with. It was amazing.

I love how in the top two photos it looks like she has a halo!

Oh and did I mention I got to meet Jasmine?!?!?!?!?!? Well, I did and I introduced myself as the girl that asked her if her belt matched her boots on the CreativeLive procast! ha Anyway it made my day meet Jasmine and she's just as inspiring in person as she is on her blog!

Luke's 1st Day of Preschool

2010-09-14T14:24:00.003-04:00

Today marks another milestone in my nephew's life. Today, Luke started preschool!!

This morning when Luke climbed in my bed and started jumping on me to wake me up he told me two things. The first was that he went to Nathan's bus stop and the second is that he gets to see Mrs. Kaschak's today!! Needless to say Luke was excited about starting to school today! Just like we did we Nathan we had a mini photo shoot before school. Here a few of my favorite photos that I took this morning.

Heart breaker!!!!

He thinks I'm funny!!

Mr. Kindergartner

2010-09-08T13:33:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was filled with excitement, nerves, and a few tears. Yesterday Nathan started his academic career as a Kindergartner! My mom and I arrived over at my sister's house a little before 6:30. When we walked in the door, Nathan and Luke were eating breakfast and both were extremely wounded up! When breakfast was over and everyone was done getting ready, we started the 1st Day of School photo shoot! I gotta say he did a fantastic job at being my little model. Once we were done taking photos at the house we went to the bus stop and waited for the bus to come. At one point while waiting/ taking pictures we were a little worried that we had missed the bus! Not to worry the bus came and my sister no longer felt like a failure. :) It was so cute to watch Nathan walk up to the bus. Yes, Amy your first born is growing up fast!

The BIG Kindergartner!!!!

Mr. Cool

Brotherly Love...aww :)

Excited!!!

My Little Stud!

My FAVE!! Love the light

His cool new backpack!

Here comes the bus!!!!!

He's so tiny!!!

Off he goes...

Suggestions

2010-08-31T13:29:00.006-04:00

I was never the reader growing up. I hated it. Whenever my parents made me read I would pretend. Yeah, I thought I was out smarting them, ha NOT. I would hold the book up to my face and just stare at the pages and occasionally flip to the next page. Then when I was finished reading and would go to them and tell them they would ask what the book was about. When I couldn't answer their question, I would get some lecture about reading, and I would be sent to my room, where I had to read the book. Pathetic I know, but hey I would have rather been playing outside, then reading inside.

Now that I enjoy reading, it's probably because I'm not forced to read anymore. The books that got me back into reading were the Harry Potter series, then it was the Twilight Saga (Team Edward all the way!!!!), and now I'm entering adulthood with reading 'grown up books'.

Last night I finished The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult and I was begging for more! It was the first time I've ever read one of her books, and now I'm hooked! I would recommend this book to all my best friends. Now, I'm not gonna go into the details about the book, I don't want to spoil it for anyone. I will say this; she does a terrific job at adding a twist to the story that you weren't expecting.

Well, since I finished my book last night I ask people today for suggestions for my next read. I was blown away by all the suggestions. Since, I can't read all the books at once, I made a list of books that people suggested to me, so I can eventually read them all. The books that I did get were The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls and My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Well, at that said I'm gonna get off the computer and start reading!

Keel'n Time On The River

2010-08-26T12:39:00.005-04:00

It is extremely rare that we get to spend time with just our cousins. Yes, we see each other during holidays and family events, but we never get to hang out with just us. Since my cousins were in town for our Granny's birthday, my sister and Ann Rae thought it would a brilliant idea for all of us to go out on the boat. After the birthday dinner on Friday night, we headed to Amy and Jason's house to enjoy a game or two of cornhole, and Nathan taught the girls some new tricks on his bike. Then Saturday we spent a considerable part of the afternoon on the Mattaponi River. First we hung out at a sand bar, where we could barely stand. Once, we had enough of the sand bar we decided to get the party started. Most of tried wakeboarding, the boys went tubing, and Jason kneeboarded. I had a fantastic time, and I think everyone else did, especially the boys.

Jason doing a 360*

Mad ups!

New Beginings.

2010-08-24T17:34:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, as I was sitting here at our kitchen table playing on working on my resume, tweeting, and watching Jasmine Stars Creativelive Course with Chase Jarvis, I start to think about my life and what I genuinely want to do with it. As I'm currently in the middle of making a HUGE life change. I find myself consistently thinking about what I'm doing with my life. I know I want to be a photographer. I know I want to have a career where I can live the lifestyle that I want to live. I'm just caught in a stand still. A big thing that I got out of while watching Creativelive is I want to starting doing more with my photography business. I need to stop being scared and start putting myself out there more. I'll admit I do not always know what I'm doing 100% of the time, but I can guarantee that I'll give you the best. Okay so here it is Internet, as my witness, I'm going to start shooting more in manual, attend a workshop, go to a conference/seminar, learn more about techniques and the business side of photography, network with photographers more, blog more often, & last but not least take more risk!

Side note...

Yesterday, when I was watching Creativelive, I noticed that Jasmine's belt matched her boots. So I decided to take a risk (small, but I did it). I asked "@jasminestar does your belt match your boots?!?! #cjlive" All I have to say is she stopped Chase in the middle of their conversation and said hold on can I answer this question. Then she goes "Allison Keel (yes Jasmine Star said my name) (I'm a geek and screamed when she did this too) YES, my belt does match my boots!" I totally freaked out! That right there made my day!

Granny's 76th Birthday Dinner

2010-08-24T13:25:00.008-04:00

My cousins came down from Maryland this past weekend to help celebrate our Granny's 76th birthday. Friday night my mom prepared a lovely dinner. She put her nice china on the tables. She decorated the tables with flowers. She cooked enough food to feed an army. No lie, she baked a LOT of food. We had ham, steak, macaroni and cheese, green beans, black eyed peas, sweet potato casserole, potato salad, & rolls. Oh I forgot about dessert. She made carrot cake (my favorite), orange cake, dirt, and pecan pie! All in all it was probably one of the best dinners she has ever made! Now, all I want to do is learn how to bake like her! Wish me luck! :)

Richmond Country Club Wedding : Tori + Thomas

2010-08-10T09:13:00.008-04:00

Okay, I know this is EXTREMELY OVER DUE, but here are a few photos that I took at my very first wedding back in April! I was able to shadow Bridget Hazel of Bridget Hazel Photography. I can't think her enough for allowing me to follow her around and to learn the ins and outs of wedding photography.

Tori and Thomas had a lovely ceremony at St. Edwards Church in Richmond, Va and then a beautiful reception at Richmond Country Club, where they danced the night away. I had so much fun at their wedding capturing every special moment I could!

Tori and Thomas, I hope only the best for you too and many many many years of love and happiness!

Apples, Cows, & a Waterfall

2010-07-27T12:42:00.003-04:00

Lately, I've been so busy with life, that I haven't been able to shoot my camera. It seriously had dust on it. It's been that long. Well, I gotta say it felt so good to hold my camera in my hands again. I missed looking through my view finder to find the perfect picture and then to push the button with my right index finger to capture that moment in time.

This past weekend, my mom, my sisters family and myself went to visit my Grandma and Grandpa. As I get older the more I appreciate the small things in life. Like the random visits to my grandparents house. Each time I take a memory away with me, but now that I have my camera I can freeze those memories and cherish them for ever.

Well, here are some images from this past visit at my grandparent's house.

The first thing we did that day was pick up all the apples that had fallen off the tree to feed the cows...

My cute Grandpa :)

My goofball :P

Did I mention my Grandpa grows his own grapes too?

Mooooove over.... haha I'm sorry I just had to ;)

There is also, a LOT of tobacco where my grandparent live.

When I was younger I always couldn't wait for this part of the drive so I could see this beautiful waterfall.

I gotta give a thanks to my mom for stopping the car and allowing me to take the photo's and the waterfall. It's a good thing, because we got a homegrown cantaloupe! Which was delicious! :)

So THANK YOU MOM!!

Keepin It Together

2010-05-28T21:36:00.003-04:00

Today, my oldest nephew, Nathan graduated from pre-school!! During the ceremony I had a hard time keeping it together. All of the memories from taking him to and from school, going on field trips, or all the class holiday parties that I went to played back in my head. I just can't believe that he's gonna be going to kindergarten and riding the bus to school a.k.a The BIG Cheese everyday!! Although, he tells us that he's not gonna go to kindergarten next year unless all his friends can go too. Nathan surprises me everyday with all the knowledge that he's learned over the past 3 years from going to pre-school. I gotta say a lot of it is to the credit of his AMAZING teachers. Nathan has fallen in love with both of those ladies and they too fell in love with him.

So in honor of Nathan graduating today, I though I would post a few photos that I took during the ceremony.

Girls will be girls :)

This is his little friend Gunner, isn't he a cutie!?!?

Saving the best for last!! Nathan Charles Faires!!! Woooooo

The happy Faires family.

James River Winery Wedding : Danielle + Bryon

2010-05-27T10:15:00.010-04:00

Almost three years ago is when I met Danielle for the first time. I was swimming at a meet, being an old fart, because I was swimming against high schoolers and I was 21. Yeah, I felt like a loser. It's alright, I'm 100% cool with being a loser. Well, at that certain meet, there were college coaches watching potential swimmers and my old college coach was there. I ran up the stairs to go say "Hi" to him and to do a little small talk. When I went up there, he wasn't alone. He had brought his assistant coach with him. He introduced her to me and BOOM I met Danielle! :) What's crazy is if you had told me that I was gonna be shooting her wedding, I would have looked at you like you had just escaped from a mental hospital. At that point in time, I didn't even own my camera.

To prove the point that this world is really a small world, I met Bryon this fall, when he started part time coaching with the the team I coach for. He had told me that his fiance was the assistant coach at Awesome University and I was like "Wow I've actually met your fiance before, but she probably wouldn't remember me."
because I'm a loser and yeah I'm not cool (again, I'm OK with this ;) ). Well, over the months of coaching with him, Bryon and I formed a friendship. In March, when Bryon asked if I would be interested in shooting their wedding, I was beyond thrilled. I was so excited because secretly, ever since I found out that he was engaged, I wanted him to ask me to do engagement photos and to shoot their wedding!!! It seems as if Bryon could read my mind! So March 2010 is when Allison Keel Photography booked it's first wedding!!!!

Danielle and Bryon; had a intimate wedding at James River Winery in Glen Allen, Va. The ceremony was beautiful, Danielle was absolutely stunning, Bryon was very handsome, and the reception was A LOT of fun and a little windy! Danielle and Bryon thank you so much for allowing me (& Jamie) to shoot your wedding! I am so lucky to have formed a friendship with both of you and I can't wait for more fun in the future. I wish you two the world and all the happiness that it holds. Both of you are wonderful people with huge hearts. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I do.

Again Danielle and Bryon THANK YOU so much for letting Jamie and myself be apart of your day. Words can not express how grateful I am of your kindness. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I Love Showit Slideshows!

2010-05-14T22:07:00.004-04:00

OK, so now that I made my first slideshow all I want to do now is make 5,000 more slideshows!!!! I feel as if they add so much more character to the photos. It gives them more emotion. It fabulous.

A few weeks ago, I had my shoot with Jess and Meg. Two of the greatest girls in the WORLD! I love both of them to death! So in honor of them finally graduating from the best university in the world, James Madison University, here's a slideshow in their honor.

Jess and Meg, I hope ya'll enjoy it as much as I do!

Click here... Jess & Meg Anytime Shoot.

Slideshow

2010-05-13T09:24:00.004-04:00

I can't tell you how long I've been wanting to post a slideshow that goes with my photos. I just haven't had the right kind of material for it. Well, now I do!!!! Here's a slideshow that I made for Julie and Nick to go with their engagement photos!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!! :)

Click here...Julie & Nick Slideshow

Julie + Nick: Engaged!

2010-05-01T08:55:00.004-04:00

A few weekends ago, I went up to New Jersey to Julie and Nick engagement shoot. The whole week prior to the shoot we stalked the weather to try to figure out what day would work the best. Well, that day got moved around A LOT!!! It went from Saturday evening, to Sunday morning, to Saturday morning, back to Sunday morning... get the picture? Well, despite the weather forecast we went ahead and did it Saturday afternoon and let me tell you the lighting was AMAZING!! There was a little window of time where they weren't calling for rain, so we went for it. It was the perfect first shoot engagement shoot for me, I had great models to work with, I rent a 50mm 1.2, and the overcast was perfect! The only downside to it all was that the temperature was FREEZZZING!!! I gotta say that Julie and Nick handled it well and you can see it for yourself in the photos below...

Now these are only a few of the photos from their engagement shoot. If you would like to see more please visit my Facebook Fan Page. Become a fan if you want to commit! :)

Happy Earth Day

2010-04-22T11:47:00.003-04:00

As today’s Earth Day celebration, we all need to participate in saving our planet Earth against further devastation by talking “green”. Global warming and climate change has been hunting us ever since we become agents of pollution in our environment causing extreme weather conditions.

However, it is not too late for us to act now to save our planet Earth. We need to conserve water, energy, and take good care of our environment for the benefit of all human beings not only in our generation but also for other succeeding generations ahead of us.

Jessica + Meghan : Lifestyle

2010-04-19T11:47:00.006-04:00

Beautiful weather, beautiful people, + a beautiful location = A fabulous shoot!

James Madison is probably the pretties campus I have ever seen and I'm not just being biased! The bluestone buildings, Wilson Hall, the flowers, the people, just the whole atmosphere of the place is beautiful and one of a kind. So when Jessica and Meghan talked to me about doing a shoot I couldn't turn them down. I love going back and visiting and seeing all the new buildings that are popping up like crazy. It's a completely different college, than when I was there three years ago. It's beautiful and I miss the place I called home for four great years. I owe JMU a lot, the college gave me so many memories that I will never forget and friends that turned into sisters! So Thank You James Madison University!!

Jessica and Meghan are some of my closest friends. I love them both dearly and they always brighten my life whenever I am in their presence. Thank you for your support in my dream and allowing me to take beautiful pictures of you. I love you both.

Here are a few of my favorites from their shoot a couple of weekends ago...

Teasers!!

2010-04-18T22:50:00.005-04:00

I know, I know, I haven't blogged in a really, really, really long time, but I'm back! I have so much to blog about and I can't wait to share it with ya'll. Last, weekend I had an anytime shoot with two of my best friends. They wanted to have a photo shoot around JMU's campus! It was so much fun and it was great being back at my old stomping grounds. I also, had my first ever engagement shoot this weekend with an amazing couple! They were so much fun and made my job easy!

Here are some teaser photos of 2 of my most recent shoots...

What an attractive couple!?!?!?!

Random Thanks....

2010-04-08T16:40:00.005-04:00

Umm I just wanted to do a random post.

Today, one of my friends, Amanda taught me a few things on photoshop and I'm extremely grateful for this. Well, when Amanda got home from class she showed me a few editing tricks and how to put two photos side by side. Yes, I know it seems really simple, but I had no idea where to start. Everything I've learned on photoshop has been self taught, so my private lesson with Amanda was very educational. I love her for taking time out of her busy college student life to give me a few pointers. So THANK YOU AMANDA! You are uber fabulous!

So here what I did today with my lesson...

****side note... I think I have the cutest nephew ever.***

Here's Luke with his bike.

Invigorating Run

2010-04-06T14:25:00.005-04:00

Invigorating... having renewing effect on the state of the body or mind.

Yep, that's what that run was, no doubt about it. I can't help, but feel renewed after a run. No it's not the thin layer of pollen that is now laying on my sweltering skin, it's how I feel during my runs. That's what makes me feel renewed and ready to take on the world. While running I'm usually sweating a lot, my legs are gliding or dragging across the sidewalk or pavement, and my arms are following the pace that my legs have set for them to do. It's invigorating, after runs I feel refreshed. It clears my mind and it gets ready for what I'm about to face. It's also, a little bit of a confidence booster. It just lifts me right up!

One of my favorite things about running is the smells that I encounter during my runs. Yes, that does sounds weird, and I do encounter bad smells, but not this time. Today, as I was running through Birkdale Village, in Huntersville, NC. I smelt some of the most intoxicating smells that I have ever experienced on a run. In the beginning of my run the smell of the bushes were amazing. The flowers, of course smell great. The people, sounds weird, but whatever they are wearing whether it be their clean clothes or perfume, it just smells nice. Oh and how can I forget the food!! The smell of different types of food were probably the best part of the run! It was like a scenery overloaded, but I LOVED IT!

In a few hours, Jamie is gonna be attending the Allison Keel Photography Workshop. Hopefully, it goes well, we will see how great of a photography teacher I really am. He will be shooting his favorite model, no not Marisa Miller, but yours truly! :) Hopefully, I won't get camera shy or break the camera! Wish me luck!!!