The New One

The new blog is here... michellemonkphoto.blogspot.com

I would love for all of my followers to follow me on over there! Ha! That term ~ follower ~ sorta cracks me up. I feel like a cult or something! Don't drink the Kool-Aid y'all!

Trust me, it's nothing fancy, but it's functional for now. And in all honestly, it will eventually become the only blog I have. That would mean the demise of The Monk's Wife. That makes me a little sad at the moment, so we're not gonna talk about that anymore. Ahem.

Anyway, from here on out there will be NO MORE POSTING HERE! Did y'all get that last part?

There will be NO MORE POSTING HERE!

See ya there!

Shucks

Well. I was going to direct you all to my new ~ Michelle Monk Photography ~ blog, but as usual... Blogger was being my arch enemy tonight.

Blogger, why of WHY do you vex me so?!?!?!?

Starting to think that maybe I oughta ditch the whole Blogger thing and switch over to Wordpress. I really hate to jump ship, but it really gets annoying with Blogger's forever glitch of never seeming to be able to recognize separate paragraphs!! Ay, yi, yi people! It's a PARAGRAPH ~ not rocket science!!

Does anybody have any suggestions? Ideas? Funny jokes?

Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?

Classic

Does this fall under Liturgical Dance?

She's an Angel

When I look at this face .... all I see is an angel.

Change Is Good. Right?

Okay.

So I've decided to change the name of my photography business. Not that I don't love Beautiful You Photography, I do. I just need something easier for more practical purposes. While it will still be a while before I have all the changes in place, would y'all like to see my new photography name?

Yes?

Wait for it....

...wait for it...

~ Michelle Monk Photography~

TA-DA!!! Pretty original, don't ya think??

Honestly, I debated and debated before I chose an official name, over whether I should just do, you know, my actual name. I chose otherwise and have regretted it almost from day one. I hate it when I second guess myself.

Anyway, this means a new blog, new business cards, etc, etc... SO. I'll let y'all know when the time comes. Okay?

Good.

p.s. I'm really hatin' on blogger right now. This is SO not how I had this post laid out. My creative, perfectionist tendencies are screaming out in objection, but to no avail. :(

My First Boy...the One I Missed. ~Eli~

Remember Shannon? The client who was having a BOY and I missed the birth because I was on the Vacation of Neverending Sickness. Well, it just so happens that I was able to take his newborn pictures the other day.

But first ..... a funny story.

I was SO excited to be doing these pictures of little Eli that I was beside myself. I totally LOVE doing birth pictures, but the newborn pics? Well...let's just say they are the BEST THING EVER!! Oh my word, there's nothing better than a soft squishy newborn! I just love'em! The newborn pictures are like dessert for me ~ the reward after the birth!

Anyway.

I load up all my props, load up Charlotte, secure the other children with my mother-in-law and head on my way. I called Shannon to let her know I was on my way and proceeded to drive the 25 - 30 minutes to her house. I get out of the Suburban, still bebopping along with giddiness, open the back of the Suburban and guess what I realize?

I forgot my camera. Yes. I. Did.

I walk up to her front door, wanting to cry and die of embarrassment all at the same time, and ring the doorbell. She opens the door with this look of excited anticipation on her face and I just want to crumble. I confess to her what I've done and that if she is willing to wait another hour I can run home and grab my camera and be back. She was so awesome and understanding and said it was totally fine with her. Whew.

I get back in the truck, text my friend Keri to tell her I'm the biggest idiot on the planet and then I call Monk. My awesome hubby offers to grab my camera and meet me half way! It is so great that he works out of the house! Long story short: He meets me half way and I am back to their house within 40 minutes.

But really? What kind of photographer forgets their CAMERA for crying out loud! Oy.

Despite my moronic tendencies, Eli's first photo shoot went splendidly! Oh, he was SO adorable! I could have just kissed his chubby cheeks all day long!



Look at this pucker!! SO cute!


And my personal favorite... the quintessential squishy baby pose...



Congratulations Jay and Shannon, you have an absolutely beautiful son!

Long Time Coming...the Post, Not the Baby. The Birth of Kenlee.

This birth wasn't even supposed to be mine. Boy, was I shocked to get a call from Ann at 4 o'clock in the morning asking me to come to the birth center. My friend and fellow birth photographer, Keri, had come down with a horrific stomach virus and was at home ... well ... being sick.

In my groggy haze I advise Ann, the midwife with 20 years of experience, to "check her" (the mom) when she got to the birth center and then call me back to let me know how long before I should come. Um...no. Ann let's me know that the time is NOW and I need to get moving. I'm also fairly certain if she could have, she might have put her hand through the phone to give me a good smack, as well! Ha!

So, I roll out of bed, throw on some clothes, grab the baby and my camera and head out the door into a whopper of a thunderstorm. Nothing like a surprise birth AND a vicious storm to wake you up while driving down the freeway! HA!

After I arrived and began taking pictures, all that kept crossing my mind was, "I've never met this woman before and how strange is it that I'm here taking her birth pictures?". But it was all good! Amanda was an amazing woman during her fast labor and boy was I ever shocked to learn, after the birth, that she was a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section). I would have never known it! She did terrific! And for not knowing them before that morning, I was ever SO happy to be a part of their special moment. She and her husband, Chad were just wonderful people!

Here's a little smattering of the birth of sweet baby Kenlee (isn't that name adorable?!?)...







This baby girl was already crying before she was completely out! So cute!



I just love those first special moments..







Welcome to the world sweet baby Kenlee! It was nice to meet you.

Frustrated

I love photography. I hate photography. I am a bipolar photographer apparently.

I shouldn't say that I hate it as much as it frustrates me. On a daily basis. I'm not the most patient person in the world and learning photography is a process. A long, tedious process. You can't learn everything in a day, or a week or even a year. I've been fairly serious about this for only 6 months and yet I want it all. Now.

I look back at the pictures I've taken over the last few months and while I was fairly satisfied with them at the time, they now frustrate me. The learning process, while exciting, is just SO. DANG. FRUSTRATING.

Maybe that's part of the process. Never being satisfied. Always striving to do better. Certainly that can't be all true. Please tell me that at some point I will become happy with what I'm putting out there and that my craft will not always seem to be this thorn in my flesh.

I still have birth pictures that I haven't posted here and some cute newborn ones as well. I've just been in such a frustrated funk that I haven't felt much like posting anything. I'll end up picking it a part and telling myself I stink. And that's not productive in the least I know, but apparently self-deprecation is all apart of my personal learning experience! ha!

I did buy a new, more professional camera though! That was 3 weeks ago! That ought to tell you the kind of funk I'm in. I bought a Canon 40D. Yes, I have forsaken the Nikon brand, but still love my little D60 though it betrayed me so by not auto focusing my 50mm lens! I'll still keep it as a backup though. For what I'm not sure, but that sounds like photographer lingo so I'm sticking with it.

I think part of my Fotographic Frustration (I'm now going to coin this as a some sort of photography disease, I think.) is that I've become stuck. I need to learn more and haven't quite known how to go about the process.

And then guess what?

I found out there is a professional photographer that goes to my church!! Totally cool or what?!?! Her name is Ginger Ivey and I just LOVE her style! And as providence would have it, she's having a workshop at her studio in July! Um ... heck yea I signed up! It's for beginners and will probably cover several things I already know, but I don't care. I know I'll come away with more understanding than I have now. And perhaps my funk will be over and I can muster up some new business. That would be totally cool. And not frustrating.

Which quite honestly.... is even cooler!

And here's a picture just because I attempt to call myself a photographer.

Almost

Sorry I've been so tardy in posting anything here lately. With being busy getting ready for our trip and the "actual" trip, there just hasn't been any time!

My friend Vanessa referred Shannon to me and I was SO happy she did! Not only are Shannon and her hubby kind and laid back people to work with, they have the cutest little girl ever!! The other reason I was SO excited was because Shannon was having a BOY!!

Do you realize the last eight (8!) births I've attended have been GIRLS! Five of those were my own...but STILL! A boy! At last!

This was also the photo shoot where we encountered a giant BLACK SNAKE!! It did not make me happy and frankly, kinda threw me off the rest of time there. I know. Bad on my part, but y'all ... I absolutely HATE snakes!!

Here were some of the best pictures that day.







See! I told you that had the cutest little girl ever!

But guess what?

Shannon gave birth to her little boy while I was on vacation!! AH! So not fair! I almost got to do a little boy birth. Oh well. But all is not lost and you wanna know why?

Tomorrow I'm going to go shoot his newborn photos!! Woo-hoo! I am SO excited! I absolutely LOVE doing newborn photos! So y'all be expecting pictures of little Eli! I can't wait to get a hold of him!

I Feel So Grown Up!

Look what came in the mail for me last week...

Is it just some ordinary black box?? I think NOT!!



It's official, y'all!! I have business cards!



Aren't they the cutest?

My friend Keri told me about MOO.com and I moseyed on over there and just LOVED what they had to offer! Yes, I realize I could have gotten them somewhere else cheaper, but let me tell y'all something .... these are some high quality business cards! And the fact that I could add my own photography ~ as much as I wanted at no extra charge ~ was definitely and added bonus!



I guess it's official now. I'm all growed up.

Lovely Little Liza

I just loved photographing sweet Liza. She was such a peaceful little thing and Oh. So. Cute.!!!

This one, by far, is my absolute favorite!



And you can see her sweet little dimpled chin in this one!



And this one was for Liza's great grandmother...



I have to say while I absolutely LOVE shooting the births ~ I totally love doing the newborn shots as well!! I could take pictures of sweet, squishy babies all day long!

Thanks little Liza for being so sweet and squishy.

In the Thick of It

J & M were the couple I posted about here. They are one of the sweetest, kindest, most adorable couples I have ever met. Ever. They have a heart for the Lord and I was really looking forward to photographing the birth of their first child.

First ones are the best. Or at least that's what I'm told. It was my first time to photograph first timers. Rather ironic, don't ya think?

Anyway, I was called to come to the Birth Center around 9:30 pm on a Wednesday night. Monk was at Care Group with the children and I was home with Charlotte trying to get caught up on a few things. At the time, we only had one car. He had it.

When I called to tell him he needed to get a move on and get home so I could get to the birth, he took me literally. We got the $75 ticket in the mail the other day with photographic proof that he really DID run that red light. I don't suppose the judge would believe us if we told him why he ran that red light. Oh well.

J was progressing nicely when I arrived around 10:30pm. Problem was, she stalled shortly after that. It turned into a long night for her. Bless her heart.




As long and as hard as the night was....she carried on...



...and on.



But what a beautiful end to a hard night!



Baby Liza sure was worth it!



Her newborn shots are coming soon....what a cutie!

First Newborn Shots

Oh how fun and exciting it was to take my first newborn shots just over a week ago! And once I got over feeling like I was gonna throw up AGAIN, I really enjoyed myself! Sweet baby Ryann, who was my first birth to shoot, was ever SO squishy and beautiful!



I'm wondering though ~ my basket is a little small for those 9 pounders ~ maybe I need to bump it up a size!



And I REALLY liked this one of her and her momma!



And these two? This picture was just totally on the fly! What a lucky shot of a totally adorable daddy and daughter (who is Ryann's big sister!)



It has been an awesome last few weeks y'all! The ride is tiring, but oh-so-exciting and I can't wait to share it with you!!

Baby Ryann ~ My First

B.'s labor was amazingly short.



He was her rock.



Finally. The prize.



First introduction as a big sister.



Momma Gazing in the herbal bath.



Grandmama's first turn.



All around beautiful birth. ::sigh::

Sweet

Though they looked barely old enough to drive, M & J were the sweetest couple ever. J was due ... um ... yesterday. Bummer. And M? Well he has college finals this week and then graduation from Seminary. Timing is everything, right? I would say that there's another instance of God's timing not being our timing.




And one of my personal favorites...



Pregnant bellies are the sweetest, aren't they?

Firsts

This is Mae. She is a good friend who was kind enough to let me shoot her beautiful baby belly. She was one of my very first maternity shots. This is my favorite.



This was taken in the family room of my house. We call it my Ghetto Studio. Hey, whatever works, right?

Hello's

This is my first post here. My opportunity to say hello and welcome you to my new photography blog. This blog is intended to be the continuing story of my photography journey. A journey, that I might add, was rather stumbled upon quite unexpectedly.

You see, it was only a year ago that pictures were no big deal to me. I mean, I liked them and looked at them and I could appreciate really pretty ones, but I honestly didn't see them.

Looking and seeing are two very different things. Looking involves nothing more than gazing upon a nice image. Seeing involves a story. When you see an image and it tells a tangible story, involving an emotion or speaking to you in some fashion or another, then I believe, you have truly seen that image.

That's where I am. I'm seeing life through new eyes (and lenses!) and it's so exciting for me to learn all that I can about photography and be able to share it here. Like my tag line says: it's all about capturing life's unforgettable moments.

Most of what this blog will hold is maternity, bith and newborn photography. Those are things that I'm passionate about. I think if you photograph what you're passionate about, then that passion will show through in your photography, creating a lasting, unforgettable image that will speak to you and others who see it.

So, welcome. I hope you enjoy this crazy journey with me. I'm not perfect, don't claim to be and I'm certainly not there yet, when it comes to photography. It's all a learning process for me and hopefully, I can teach you a thing or two along the way. Or maybe you can teach me. Either way, hang on, I think it's gonna be a pretty wild ride!