This last weekend was so much fun.  But I think I still have some sleep deprivation!  Matt and I traveled to Holmesville, OH to meet up with about 30 other photographers from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Indiana.  I love these meet-ups because not only do I get to spend time with other people who share my passion…but I get to learn from others who know far more than I.

This year, Matt and I even got to teach a pet photography class.  It was so much fun.  And while I was fearing that no one would care…I had several people tell me they got a lot out of it.  So that made me feel good…knowing that I have helped other photographers to become better and learn more about their craft.

And being that it was a photography conference…I have a TON of images to share with you.  We’ll start with what 30 photographers thirsty for knowledge look like…

Here are a few shots that I took during our pet photography class.  Thanks again to Martha Stutzman, owner of All Occasion Photography in Holmesville for letting us use your studio to teach our class.

This is my new favorite prop…

And this is quite possibly my favorite shot from the entire weekend…

I also want to thank Kara Poates, owner of Daystar Photographyin Millersburg, OH for letting me photograph your sweet doggies Daisy and Barkley!

Next, we move on to some fun bridal portraits.  This is Siri, owner of Unforgetable Images in Traverse City, MI.  She was gracious enough to model for us…but she also wanted a few shots of herself with her camera.  So we obliged.

This is my favorite of her…

And here’s what Siri looks like as a walrus…

And here’s one random shot of Christian.  He’s the son of Shan & Steph Smith who own 831 Photography in Akron, OH.

I was so excited when my parents brought my sister and my nephew along for a visit this past weekend.  It was nice to have some “new” guests in our house.  Plus…Hunter is really cute!!!  So it was only natural that we took Hunter’s official 1-year pics in studio.

Could this be a Carhardt ad or what?

Go Cubs Go!

And what 1 year pics are complete without demolishing a cake!

It’s been a fairly uneventful January…which is just how we like it.  We are taking some time to do some housekeeping and get ready for the launch of our brand new pet photography business (which I’ll tell you more about later.)  So don’t be surprised if you don’t see a lot of blog posts from me for a short time.

But I did want to share some pictures from this afternoon’s adventure.  Addison and Ivy  LOVE snow!  So we decided to treat them today with a trip to the dog park.  They had a blast.  And who doesn’t love snow pics?

This is what they did for a large majority of the time!

This is what Addi does best!

Ivy doesn’t do it quite as well…but she tries!

Then we met BJ, a bearded collie.

This is what is refered to in the animal world as “Meet & Greet” time!

Matt and I love getting to visit our former foster dogs.  It’s like visiting an old friend.  Plus, we love seeing how much they’ve grown in their new home.  So when we got to visit with Frankie today, it was a real treat.  We also took Addi along for a lil play date.  I don’t think she had nearly as much fun as we did.  Frankie was a lil more excitable than she really felt like dealing with.  But she deserved every second of it.  She was a very annoying puppy!

Anyway…I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to get some shots of this sweet pittie.

Here’s what Frankie looked like the day he was adopted.

And here’s what Frankie looks like today.

If you can’t tell from the photos…Frankie went from a lanky black pittie…so a thick brown pittie.  I couldn’t believe how much he had changed.  He’s got one black stipe down his back left of his black coat.  Otherwise, he’s chocolate!

Here are he and Addi playing…sort of.

Here’s his sweet lil face!

And here’s Addi…filthy and tired from her play date…but just as cute as ever.

Thank you Ryan and Sienna for letting us come over and play.