Yay!!! New Blog!

Well I've finally got the new blog up a running. For the most part that is. So this will be my last post here. Hope you stop by and see what our family and the business is up to!!!
www.AmandaGaylePhotography.blogspot.com
See you there!
And you know I have a hard time posting without putting up an image so here's one of one of my favorite little men. His name is Riley. There is a picture of him below when he was still in the hospital and even further below there are pictures of the shower some of us threw his mother. She and I have been together since junior high- we met on the bus! Yes, we rode the bus ;)

3 Posts in One Day?!?

So we just went outside to play around a bit and I can't believe I got these two shots. My babies! Of course Georgia was being camera shy and didn't want to open her eyes initially. But they were too cute not to post! Enjoy!

Amanda

Changes Changes Changes…

I know, things are changing around here and it's only the beginning. Please bear with me as I try and work out what my true style really is. It may be that I end up on another server like Wordpress before it's all said and done but if that happens I'll let you know b/c I sure don't want you missing any pictures!

I hope everything is going well for everyone.

But what is a blog post without a picture so here ya go-

Our first indoor tent!!!

Amanda

A Visit to the Pumkin Patch

When Bryan and I visited the pumkin patch this year, we were pleasantly suprised when we found there to also be a petting zoo! Not only that, but Bryan took his first hayride on the way back to the petting zoo. Below are just a few of the pics that my camera-happy self snapped during the trip.

My little poser, gotta love him!

And I know you're digging the Spiderman underwear. ;)

But while you're digging the cool underoos, I'm crying b/c my little baby is now a little man. Check out the long legs!!!! I could cry all over again right now-

He took right to the animals which is a little different for him. It usually takes him a little while to warm up to things-

Have a great week, and remember to drop me some comments! :)

Amanda

First Teen Shoot

OK, so it's been a while, I know I know. But the good side is... I 've been busy working on my first teen shoot. And yes, I said "teen" because this young lady is only in the 8th grade. I can only imagine how beautiful she's going to be when she's a "senior" because the camera already loves her.

Thanks again L & M for letting me work with her, she is such a beautiful young woman, inside and out. I was very fortunate to be able to work with someone like K for my first shoot!

So don't just look, look and look, let me know what you think! Click on the comments tab just below this post and let us know what you think. Hope everyone has a great week!

Amanda

Meet Riley!

Meet Riley! He's finally here. Brian and Susan Musselwhite's new little peanut arrived home this past Sunday. I can't wait to go see them again and snap some more pics. He is such a good baby. Honestly. This little miracle didn't cry one peep when I went to visit in the hospital. The following picture is just a little sneak peak of him for now. It was just too cute not to post on the blog.

Congratulations again Mom and Dad!

A little humor to start the week off!

Sometimes we get caught up in photoshop, paintshop, etc. as were trying to capture the true essence of the photograph when sometimes we need to take a step back, breathe, and enjoy a good ol' photograph.
A good ol' photo with great optical illusions that is. Take a look at some of the shots on the link below. I really need to try doing something like this just for the fun of it. I'm attempting to broaden my horizons with CSS and HTML and the guy that I'm using for my tutorials posted this:
http://blog.jimmyr.com/Who_needs_Photoshop_20_2008.php

Enjoy!
Photos coming soon, I promise!
Amanda

Getting ready for Riley

Some college friends of mine and I threw a baby shower for another one of our friends this weekend. Some of you will recognize her, Susan Platts, now Susan Musselwhite.

She and Brian are expecting their first child in October, Riley Asher Musselwhite.

Here are a few sneak peaks of her shower this past Saturday. This little peanut has been a miracle in waiting and we can't wait for his arrival!

Santa came this evening

Well,...Santa came earlier this evening when Daddy got home. At least he sent a helmet along! :)

"Slip N Slide"

We've had a great time this afternoon. Here are a few of our faves before we head out the door for a hair cut. Can't wait to finish these.

I'm not into musicals, Mom.

OK, so I had to post this b/c it was so funny. (At least I thought it was!) Kenny will probably want to shoot me when he sees this post. But earlier today we were in Target returning some clothes I had bought B and on the way out, I saw the aniversary edition DVD of "Annie". That's right, a girlie movie, but it was my favorite as a little girl. I can remember my mom and I going to see it in the theatre and my aunt getting it for me on VHS. So of course I decided to buy it.

Well, when we arrived home and I was unloading things, B takes the movie out of the bag and gets all excited (he didn't see me pick it up at Target). He asks me what movie it was and then sits down in the chair and takes a closer look at the box it came in...then he says in a wierd voice..."Mommy, you gonna wat dis movie by you self" LOL! I thought it was so funny!

I told him that was fine and he went off to play with his monster trucks in his playroom.

Well, I decide to put it in and listen to it while I got things arranged and when I finally did and went to sent down for a minute, B was already back in the living room in front of the TV. :)

I couldn't resist grabbing the closest camera and snapping. He took right to it. And even funnier, as I sat downloading the images as quickly as I could, I looked over and he was covering his eyes b/c the laundry man was trying to kiss Mrs. Hannagan! HA!

I know these pics aren't great, there's no editing here, I grabbed my point and shoot and it was awfully dark in here. But I just couldn't resist.

Aunt Pauline and Aunt Lee's B-Day Bash

OK, I know you all are thinking I'm getting a little carried away with 3 posts in the last hour but Knothead is asleep and I'm really RUSHING to get some posts up. LOL!

Below are some photos I shot a couple weeks ago at Aunt Lee and Aunt Pauline's suprise B-day Party at Stonebridge in Mineral Springs. It was a lot like a family reunion b/c there were a lot of Kenny's relatives there that I've only seen once or twice.

Unfortunately, I don't have any shots after the sun went down b/c I haven't started learning the flash aspect yet on the new camera. Going from a point and shoot to a nice SLR has a little bit of a learning curve attached. I also tried working with some frames and borders in one or two of these shots so I hope you like.

And I always welcome any comments you may have at the bottom of each post.

Take care and I hope you like the photos.

Meet Mr. Uncle Cool

And the cousins have arrived....

Doesn't every child have to do this once????

Subscribing to the blog???

In an earlier post, I mentioned I would post a some "directions", if you will, about subscribing to the blog. Mainly b/c I myself didn't know what I was doing when I first started blogging and reading blogs of others.

WHY WOULD YOU SUBSCRIBE TO A BLOG???
There are two main reasons I've found in my own blogging experience. They are to save time and to keep updated.
For instance, I love reading Millie Holloman's blog at http://www.millieholloman.com/ (which you shoudl most definately check out if you're at all interested in photography) but to keep me from signing on each day, I subscribed to her blog via email. (This is the sort of subscription I offer-you can also subscribe to blogs via RSS feeds-discussed in a moment) So rather than check her blog each and every day like I was previously doing, I get an email each time she posts a new blog and BAM, it all done. You can either read/see the new post in your email of click the link in the email and go to the blog itself.
You can also subscribe to blogs via an RSS feed which a lot of bloggers offer. I do not. And it's only b/c I personally like subscribing via email for myself. To subsc. with an RSS feed, you also need an RSS reader, which isn't hard but it just seems like a couple extra steps that I really don't have time for.

So, if you want to subscribe and be emailed each time a new post comes on, just click on the subscribe link over to the right. It'll ask for you to enter your email and rewrite the distorted letters and you're done.

Love you all,

Amanda

Papa Billy

Wow, it's been a while since I've been able to sit down and post, but I was determined to get some done this week. So all my posts may be short and sweet b/c I have quite a few pics I want to get posted.

Bryan and I spent some time with my father a couple weeks ago and I was able to catch a couple good shots of Bryan and his papa Billy.

This is actually one of the best shots I have of the two of them.

Couldn't Resist

Just an update, I have all Sunday's shots edited and ready to post, but it's taking a while to upload them all. I'm hoping to have them complete on Friday night.

But today, since it was cloudy and overcast, Bryan and I went around Waxhaw just taking pictures. Well there was one I've been wanting to get for a while and some of you may know where it's at. It's the Saddle maker place right there by the fire station in town that has the 'ol rustic paint on it. Well I got Bryan to stand by it this afternoon and I got one great shot out of it. He's got his "baseball stance" going on, he's been doing that a lot here lately b/c we've been trying to show him how to stand when he got his ball glove on. But anyway, I got quite a few good shots today but this one HAD to go up today. And yes, it's edited. Have a great weekend!

A Day at Papa Jacks

On Sunday we visited my Grandfather in Mt. Gileod which we don't get to do that often. He just loves Bryan and Bryan just loves his Papa Jack! For some reason, Papa has nicknamed him "Hard Rock". I don't remember him ever nicknaming any of us grandkids. But he sure has Bryan spoiled!

I snapped some pics of all of us around his house when we went up. I've always been trigger happy when it comes to the camera but I haven't always approach taking pictures as I have here recently. To some, pictures are just pictures, and to others, pictures are memories. There are certain things around he and grandmas home that are just staples to me. When I'm a grandparent looking back, I'll always remember a few things always looking the same, like they never changed. These are my memories of my grandparents house that will never go away. Like the tree where we used to have a tire swing hanging or the peach trees or the grape vine. And that 'ol mailbox that seems like it's been rusted for years. Recently, I've been taking shots of things around here so Bryan always has it to look back on after we moved on.

I snapped a shot of the street sign in the corner of our yard the other day and I think Kenny thought I was a little crazy for doing that- LOL! But I know there are those of you out there that can remember certain things about fond memories of your past and I not only have a memory but I also have the image. Forever. The camera can be a contagious thing!

I hope you enjoy some of the shots-

Bryan and his Papa Jack

I think Mimi must've thought if she helped him fill up the water gun, that he wouldn't try to shoot her- Ha!

Bryan and Daddy getting ready to race around the house.

On your mark...get set...

Papa Jack's peach tree

Sharing a peach with Papa"Wite"

I don't think I can remember a time when Papa didn't have some of his yard tools under this big tree.

Lastly, the big shade tree...

And the only thing missing: Mama Hazel's green and white metal swing. (Or green and rust depending on when your memory captured that image-LOL!)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!