Emily | An Artists Lifestyle Session

Lifestyle photography has been an interest of mine for years. But when I found my niche with seniors I ran with it and shifted my focus away from lifestyle sessions. Back in April I took a circular weaving class taught by my dear friend(and amazing artist) Emily. I started the first few months of the year feeling dry and uninspired so I was beyond ready for a creative break, and I was hoping this class would really help. 
Well not only did I learn a fantastic new craft, but during the workshop I started brewing some ideas of my own. I was so relaxed and so happy to be a part of the passion that Emily pours herself into everyday, and I couldn't help but long to document that. 

life·style

ˈlīfˌstīl/

noun

the way in which a person or group lives.

There are a lot of different opinions on what lifestyle photography is. But to me it is capturing people, places and things right where they currently are. Lifestyle photography is telling the story of the here and now, and the passionate reasons why. 

I asked Emily if I could come over sometime to photograph her while she works. 

Emily "Yeah! We would be two people doing what we love together!"

And I certainly loved it. 


Emily, thanks for hanging out with me, being a fast friend and for inspiring me and so many others to pursue their passions. You're a rock and roll lady.

Thanks for reading friends!

Go check out Emilys website here! And don't forget to follow her on Instagram!

For more info of lifestyle + family sessions head to the contact page and shoot me a message!

The Pierce Home Project: The Messy Middle Stuff

It's been too long since I've updated you all on the #PierceHomeProject. I sat down last week and wrote out a long and detailed blog about how busy and crazy February has been. And of course I forgot to save the draft and it's all gone(score 1 for Mr. Messy).

I'll spare you the details(mainly because I don't fully understand what went down myself), but Thomas and I found out that we only had until February 12th to get all the repairs down required by HUD(Housing and Urban Development). 

There was some miscommunication about what needed to be done and to what timeframe we'd been given. We were under the impression that we had until April 12th to have these repairs done, while the government was under the impression that our house would be livable by February 12th... Oops! (Score 2 for Mr. Messy)

The good news is that we got an extension for our deadline which is now April 12th!
The bad news is that we still have loads to do and that might require some band-aid methods.

Viewpoint from the kitchen looking into our living room which wasn't always visible. We knocked down the wall that divided the two rooms to make an open floor plan and added a beam. 

The band-aid method is pretty simple. It's quick fixes to meet the standards of HUDs requirements long enough for them to inspect and approve, that later we will rip off and repair how we'd like them to be long term. 

And while putting "band-aids" on problems is far from ideal, our deadline is approaching very quickly and a lot of these fixes will require some TLC if expected to last long term. Which we simply wont be able to get to do for every repair on our list.

Gutted kitchen and makeshift work tables.

We've also run into several problems that we wouldn't have noticed if we hadn't decided to take the plaster off the walls. 

There was a crack in the bathroom ceiling that we decided would be easier to fix by replacing the entire ceiling(which was already poorly installed) rather than patching. 

Lucky for us(sort of being sarcastic here) we found out that the pipes were completely out of whack. The material had been recalled back in the 80's and was never replaced. So it's a good thing we found it, but these are the problems that push us back even more. 

So for now we are doing all that we can to fix things properly with in reason to our timeframe.
We've been ripping out damaged hardwoods, repairing the subfloors and laying new ones, fixing electrical problems and hopefully getting to insulate and hang dry wall soon! 

Dining room area, gutted and being rewired. Old, damaged floors about to be ripped up.

Mr. Messy is doing his best to get in the way but that's not stopping us. 

As nerve racking as it is we are SO excited to move onto the next phase-putting the house back together!

Prayers and good vibes are appreciated! 
 

I just love dogs. I love them so much. I think I ask my husband for a dog about every other day. I love animals in general but there is a reason that dogs are a common pet. Dogs are so loyal and loving.

It's been two years since we unexpectedly put our pup Lily down and to this day I still find myself tearing up because of my loss of a sweet friend. She loved me so unconditionally, and so often enough that it seemed to outweigh the love from the humans in my life at times.

Lil taught me to love on others for two reasons: 1) People desperately need it. I think why I still cry over my sweet dog these days is because I am no longer greeted at the door when I come home from work with a positive, everlasting and excited love.

2) You don't know when the last time you'll see someone will be. She was lethargic when I got home that night, the last night we had with her. She didn't run up to me with that exciting love because she couldn't move. She could barely breathe. The next morning we took her to the vet, not knowing what would happen but not expecting positive results in the least. They were not positive results, but heavy, confusing and morbid results.

I'm not telling you this to make you sad, but if you are it probably means that dogs are important to you in some way. Dogs are certainly special and they are gifted with the ability to love. It makes me cringe to constantly see "missing dog" posts all the time in fear that one might not reunite with their beloved friend again. And there are plenty of other unfortunate ways of departing with your pup. It's just the sad truth.

I share this with you because while I picked up photography towards the last years of Lil's life I cherish my photos of her more than a great deal of the rest of my work, even up to this point. I seriously could not live with myself if I hadn't captured those photos. It's easy to focus on the sadness of how she went. But it's when I look at my photos of her that I'm reminded of her spunk, her silliness, the way she jiggled when she ran because she was a chubby little nugget, and how soft those long copper ears were. They bring back all the memories and all the happiness.

I've had the opportunity to capture dogs for friends and families on different occasions and and I have fallen in love with it. I want to make it a point to capture more dogs this year. I can't imagine not having these photos of Lily(even if I do cringe at how I used to edit when I first started out :P).

Go snuggle your pet and give them a cupcake. Yes a real life cupcake cause they deserve such an unhealthy treat today. 

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