Courtney Reece Photography

NEW BLOG!!

2008-09-21T23:05:00.004-04:00

I'VE MOVED!!!!!!!

I'm now hosting my blog at www.courtneyreece.com/blog

I will no longer be posting on blogger, so please visit me and subscribe to the new blog above. Already a new post has been added!!

THANKS and SEE YOU THERE!

Photobook

2008-09-18T15:54:00.002-04:00

First things first- I'm no longer POWERLESS!! I previously mentioned that Hurricane Ike reared his ugly head all the way over here in Louisville KY on Sunday and it was disasterous. But as of today at 2:30 PM our power at home has been restored!! Johnathan sent me a text message while I was working and I was just elated. Excuse me while I do the Happy Dance! Seriously. I've NEVER been out electricity-free so long in my life!! We were out of power for over 96 hours and it was needless to say, a Nightmare. I don't think I've ever taken anything so much for granted as I did my cable/internet, electricity, etc. I will never do it again! LOL

Moving on, while I was sitting home in the dark Tuesday night, I got Laura and Cole's photobook! It looks great!! I was so impressed with the quality of the book and the colors that just popped off every page, so I took some shots to show everyone.

Pretty cool huh? If you're interested in a session and like this photobook, we can add it to your order. Just email me!

Still Powerless - Literally

2008-09-16T10:06:00.000-04:00

My home is still without power. I've showered by flashlight, ate pizza in the dark, and woken up without the help of my annoying (but shockingly missed) alarm clock. The radio this morning told me it could be weeks before everyone is restored. Um....no thank you. I'd like power now please.

I went to Kelly's to do laundry last night, and she was nice enough to make me dinner! While there I was able to watch TV and use the internet! That is when I decided to change up the blog header, and now its a random header every time you refresh the page....cool huh?! Go ahead, try it. I dare you! LOL Seriously though, I love the creative freedom of Blogger layouts but I'm considering a wordpress blog. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Storm Damage, Website Down

2008-09-15T10:36:00.002-04:00

Yesterday there was a major windstorm that literally tore through Louisville, apparently Hurricane Ike's doing. (Thanks a LOT, Ike!) The wind was like a roaring freight train, and every time it picked up I closed my eyes and said a small prayer that no trees fell on my house! And that's not an over-reaction either. After the wind calmed down (nearly 8 hours later) Merideth and I took a drive to survey the damage and it was bad. MANY down power lines, trees had snapped in two, split down the middle, or were straight out ripped from their roots and fallen on to houses, cars, middle of streets, etc. Debri was everywhere, parts of roofs, siding, and more were strewn about the city.

My neighbor two houses down had a fallen tree that blocked the entire street, but I've got great neighbors who were all out there immediately with their chainsaws helping clean up the mess so we were only blocked in for about an hour. I didn't even think to go out and take pictures of the damage, because on top of all the falling trees, we suffered a major power outage. I was so busy searching for flashlights, candles, and deciding what in my fridge needed to be saved, that I just forgot to pull out the camera.

And to top it all off, I still have no power. I'm at the day job this morning and I believe this is one of the only areas that was not heavily affected. But I showered this morning by flashlight and went to work with a wet head of hair...God Bless the women I work with who brought their hair straighteners with them! Turns out 300,000 people are still without power, and the city officials have already declared a state of emergency and said it could be days before power is restored to everyone! I can't go a week without power! NO WAY! I really hope I'm one of the lucky ones who gets their power back sooner rather than later.

With the news of the storm, I have to let everyone know that my website was somehow effected. I was FTPing some files to my host, and the next thing I know things are going haywire and its deleting all kinds of crazy things. I submited a support ticket to them and hopefully its back up and running soon!

Baby Bath Time

2008-09-13T23:53:00.003-04:00

Me and a friend went and saw The Women tonight. I'm a huge Meg Ryan fan, and she didn't disappoint here. I loved the movie! I highly recommend it :) Then I got home and took some lovely pictures. Ever since we've had house guests, I've been taking pictures galore because they have the most precious 9 week old baby girl. And its a win-win situation because I love taking them and they love having special moments captured on camera. And who doesn't love bath-time?! Especially when the baby loves it! Check out these adorable pictures.

So freakin' adorable, right? :)
Can't wait for next weekend when we do their family session as well as Chris and Mer's engagement session. Its going to be amazing, I can just feel it!

New Senior Folios!

2008-09-13T16:02:00.002-04:00

Today, Johnathan and I went to my mom's to pick up some left over wedding stuff, and when we got home Hollie's senior portrait prints were waiting for me in my mail box! :) I was so stoked because right before the wedding I got her leatherbound trifolds delivered and couldn't wait to get the prints and put them all together. So now Hollie can take her folios to school with her on Monday and show them off to her friends, and I think they really turned out great!
I had to take pictures of course, to show everyone so let me know what you think.

And coming up in a few days I'll have another peak at one of the products I'm now offering to customers....but its a surprise so be patient! :)

Wordle!

2008-09-12T08:47:00.005-04:00

So yesterday I saw that Matt Nicolosi (visit his website!) had posted a blog entry with a fun word game he found. It takes the most commonly used words on your blog and combines them into one giant wordle! I thought it looked very cool and thought about doing it myself. And THEN I saw this morning that one of my fave photogs out there Melissa Jill had done one too. Then I knew I had to do one. Yeah OK. Call me a copycat! :) So here's mine!

Guess what? I'm second shooting a Wedding on September 27th! Wooohooo!! And I have a session September 20, and October 11. I'm so looking forward to what is coming up for me and hope this only leads to bigger and better things. :)

Always Remember

2008-09-11T10:59:00.007-04:00

Today we remember the tragic attacks on America 7 years ago. Those innocent people that woke up that fateful day, the morning of September 11, 2001 going about their normal every day lives never knowing it would be the last time they would see their loved ones..whether that be husband, wife, mother, father, sister, brother, daughter or son, or even friend or lover. The Fireman, Police Officers and others that gave their lives in an incredibly brave effort to rescue anyone and everyone they possible could, who are now righfully looked upon as American Heroes. The American Soldiers overseas who have fallen fighting for our country and our right to freedom.

I will always remember the day that America came together, and even if only for a short time, everyone was able to see past all their differences and stand together as a country and proclaim unity and love. As a country we mourned the people that lost their lives at World Trade Centers 1 & 2, the Pentagon, and the four flights that crashed that day.

Everyone says they will forever remeber where they were when they first heard the news. Its true that I will never forget. I was 19 years old and worked full time at Walgreens but mostly 2nd shift. My sister Kelly and I lived together at the time and she was also working 2nd shift that day so a phone call from our dad that morning woke us up with the news. We immediately turned on the TV and I sat in silence as I watched. And then I cried. By the time I went to work that afternoon, every register had a small TV tuned to the news coverage and their wasn't much customer traffic but those that came in had a hard time not sticking around after checking out to hear anything new that may be announced. The whole day and experience went from early morning where I wondered if it was a tragic accident to later in the morning and on into the afternoon being proven that it was a heartless terrorist attack.

The only thing I can say this morning as I pay my tribute and give my respects to all the lives lost and the family and friends still dealing with putting their lives back together is God Bless You All. You are truly thought about and prayed for always and especially today on this Patriot Day.

Lastly, to all current and former members of America's armed forces, I say Thank You. Especially on this day whether you believe in war or don't, we must all stop and think of those serving our country because they do it for all of us and our rights. America is an amazing country. We are given the freedom of choice, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and endless opportunity that other countries only dream of. I am so proud to be American and its all solidified in each and every one of your efforts. A Million Thank Yous!

Riley - 8 weeks

2008-09-08T19:00:00.010-04:00

HI BLOG!!!! I've missed you soooo much! But here I am. I'll post some pictures as soon as I can, but for now I'm going to jump right back into my own photography things and show you some new pictures I just took yesterday of little Riley. She's already gotten so big since the last time I saw her! Her parents (and our friends) Chris and Merideth house-sat for us which worked out perfectly for everyone because they took care of our cats, and it gave them a place to stay for the week while they were waiting for their newly purchased home to be ready for the big move. They're still staying with us for a little bit longer, which is totally fine with me because I get to play with this little one all day!!!

Isn't she precious??! I'm taking family portrait sessions of Chris, Merideth and Riley in a few weeks, and they've set their wedding date for May and I feel so incredibly lucky to be asked to do their wedding as well, so needless to say I'm on cloud nine with everything these days! And then I have an engagement session in October, so things are moving right along!

Holly - Seniors Portraits

2008-08-24T11:21:00.004-04:00

Okay so I spent ALLLLLL day yesterday finishing up Holly's pictures and I had so much fun editing. They are very bright and the color just pops on most of them but hey, that's what the senior sessions are all about right? :) I'm having an incredibly hard time picking my favorites!!! I think this might be a big post but I'm going to try to narrow them down as much as possible...(good luck, me!)

Well, now I'm off to the church to meet with Carla, our wedding coordinator and then off to shop for some last minute items....Six more days, people! :)

Holly - Sneak Peak!!

2008-08-23T01:09:00.001-04:00

So tired. Can't type actual sentences. Must blog sneak! So good. Love them all! HARD TO CHOOSE. More tomorrow!! Hope you like :)

GOOD NIGHT!

Fun Stuff Coming Up

2008-08-21T21:30:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow is Holly's Senior Pictures re-shoot, Sunday is the Watts Family reshoot (hopefully the little guy Hayden is feeling better that day!) and today I was offered the opportunity to second shoot for a local photographer name Scotty with Think Photographics! How cool is that? That event is coming up next month and I'm so excited!!

On to something a little more personal, I'm not sure how many blog readers I have locally, but if anyone is near the Louisville Area and is interested in having a session (be it engagement, family, or just a fun couples session) please contact me regarding the below package. Its currently be offered where proceeds from the session will go to support The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Samantha, from the post below, is involved with Team In Training (as I have been in the past) and in October if she raises enough money for the Society she'll be traveling to Ireland to run a 26.2 mile marathon in honor of all those suffering or affected by these blood cancers. Its such a great cause, and Samantha has been personally affected by this diseas as her dad is a survivor of Lymphoma. I have also been personally affected in several ways and seriously couldn't think of a better way to use my business right now than to raise awareness and money for the cause.

I'm currently offering:

SPECIAL LLS PACKAGE- $250.00
Make some memories, Save some lives
Proceeds Benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
1-2 hour photo session on location with retouching provided on all images prior to printing
Up to 50 proofs online to select from
4x6 prints of all proofs
1 – 11x14 print of your choice
4 – 8x10 prints of your choice
6 – 5x7 prints of your choice
Prints available 1-2 weeks after session date
Payment due in full on day of session

Thank you to Samantha, who's truly aspiring to do something bigger than all of us! What an inspiration she is :)

Samantha - Portrait Session

2008-08-18T19:48:00.006-04:00

What a weekend!
I was supposed to take Holly's senior portraits yesterday. She's my senior rep this year, and is going to help me break into that side of business so I was really stoked to take get really creative with her shots! We spent a good 2 hours walking around the park and finding various locations to do her session, only for my cf card to flake out on me! The next thing I know all the files are corrupted and I lost them all! Luckily Holly was incredibly awesome about it and we scheduled a reshoot for this Friday, but man, we were soooo bummed when it happened. We had a great time, we got some great shots and we were seriously disappointed in the end. I'm guessing as a professional photographer that's probably one of the worst things that can happen but I honestly can't think of what I should have done differently to avoid that happening. :( Live and learn I guess? Well, anyway, now I'm really looking forward to doing the reshoot this week. So be sure to check back Saturday!
Moving on, Samantha is one of my best friends and she has dabbled a bit in modeling so its very fortunate for me that she is so comfortable in front of the camera because it gives me the perfect opportunity to practice and get better at photography.
This weekend we decided that Sam would play dress up and we'd have ourselves a little photoshoot :) I really love so many of the pictures that I think I'm going to post around 30...so be prepared to let them load! :)

I just really loved the sunlight coming from behind her that I decided to really emphasize the warmth in these pictures. Nice, right? :)

This one is ABSOLUTELY one of my favorites. Can you say GORGEOUS? :) Such pretty green eyes!

I've always wanted to do some 'fence' pictures, and when I saw this fence with a hole through it, I knew I couldn't pass it up. Don't ya love 'em??!

OMG, Seriously. So I lied, I think this one is my favorite! :)

God love her for going barefoot. All for the sake of art. LOL. This was an interesting part of town...who knows what she could have stepped on.... Such a trooper for me!

Okay, so I really think this one is my favorite too! Alright alright, I give up on picking. I truly like them all :)

Well, hope you all have a great week and hopefully I'll have more to post this week, or this weekend at the latest!

The Watts Family

2008-08-10T01:37:00.002-04:00

Tonight I spent a little time with Stacey and Todd and their kids Brian and Hayden. Little Hayden wasn't a very happy camper, because he unfortunately wasn't feeling to hot, but he still cracked a few smiles for us! I was also sure to get a few of just Stacey and Todd because their 7 year anniversary is coming up in a few days... Happy Anniversary!

Here are just a few of my favorites from the session:

Also, I have a senior portrait session next weekend, so look out for those pics coming soon. :)

P.S. 3 weeks and I am officially MRS. Reece :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-08-06T14:06:00.003-04:00

OMG...I just totally typed up this huge blog and it disappeared on me :( Now I have to start all over. I hate when that happens. Especially on my BIRTHDAY!!

That's right! Its my 26th birthday today! :) And that also means that it is Kelly's birthday as well. (Duh..we're twins!) HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kelly too!! Have you ever noticed now birthdays just get a little more boring as each year passes? Well, it kind of feels that way today because I'm working the day job instead of home or doing the photography thing but my future hubbypants is taking me out to dinner tonight and so I'm looking forward to that. :)

Now on to more business related topics....I don't think my blog is working on google reader or other blog feeds. I am not sure why but the web has been stressing me out in the last few days since I've launched the new website (pardon this brief interruption while I give a shameless plug)

WWW.COURTNEYREECE.COM

Anywhoooooo-When I launched the site, I forwarded my domain to the new host, and that screwed up my email for courtney@courtneyreece.com, so then I got with the email host and they fixed it but now I'm getting all the emails except the ones notifying me of blog comments, or the messages that people fill out on the contact page of the website. :/ I'm not really sure how to fix the issue, but its getting annoying! Any helpful hints?

**EDIT: I found out that my feeds were from www.courtneyreece.com and now that that address doesn't direct you to a blog, it won't read any feeds...so anyone who's subscribed will need to update their feed subscription to courtneyreecephoto.blogspot.com . Phew! glad I got that cleared up!
Now If only I could figure out how to fix the emails.

Laura and Cole .... continued

2008-08-05T23:32:00.003-04:00

So, here are more favorites from Laura and Cole's session this past Sunday. It was good to see Laura, who actually contacted me after she saw some pictures I took for Shelly (see this post). Laura and I went to the same high school, but didn't cross paths very often because we had different circles of friends. Thank God for myspace right? She now has this adorable 5 year old son, Cole, who though seemed a little quiet at first wasn't too shy for the camera. :)

I mentioned in the first post of Laura and Cole that it was sweltering outside. After less than an hour he was more than ready to jump into the sprinklers near by. I had to take some shots of that!

I have another session Saturday so as always, come back to check me out soon!

The Parkers...continued

2008-08-05T23:27:00.002-04:00

I am so worn out today! But I'm looking forward to tomorrow because its my BIRTHDAY!! The big 2-6. You know what I want for my birthday???? Some comments to let me know that people are actually stopping by the blog. :) Its free and easy, people. The best give you can give. ;)

Anyway, I am putting up a few more of my favorites from Saturday's photo session with the Parker Boys, Zech, Levi, and baby Caleb. I had so much fun with all of them and really hope I get the opportunity to hang out with the whole family again in the future. I've gotten to see these boys grow and be born even over the last 5 years or so because I've been a co-worker and friend to their mom for that long. They grow up so fast. :)

Next up.... more from the session I had Sunday with Laura and Cole. :)

Laura and Cole

2008-08-03T22:47:00.004-04:00

Geez, talk about a busy weekend for me! Not only did I have two sessions this weekend, but I had a lot of wedding related stuff to get done. But I got my shoes today and they are PERFECT! Can't wait for everyone to get to see them and all their pretty-ness. :) I also had my wedding dress bussled so now its at the bridal shop preparing to be steamed for the big day in only 3 weeks and 6 days!! AAAH its so close and I'm so excited!

But I'm just as excited to show you guys another sneak peak of the second session I had, just today. It was for Laura and her little boy, Cole. It was a quick shoot but that was a good thing because we all had to withstand the sweltering weather. By the end of the 50 minute session, Cole took a nice little run through the sprinklers that were going nearby the downtown location we hung out at and I was actually a little jealous that I didn't get to jump right in! But I'm so in love with some of the sunlight I captured on these pictures, and couldn't wait to share these few.

Check back in a little while for the full posts on Laura and the Parker's shoots. :)
Have a great week!

The Parkers

2008-08-03T11:07:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I got to hang out with three of the coolest little kids ever. :) Zech, Levi, and Caleb Parker. Their mom and dad met me at Bernheim Forest, a park near their home, so I could get some shots of these guys. I'm not quite done going through all of them yet but here are 2 of my favorites so far! And I'll be back to post more soon :)

Ariana and Antonio - continued

2008-07-26T23:28:00.006-04:00

Okay, as promised, here are my favorites from the session I had with Tiffanie and her beautiful kids on Friday. And keep checking back because I have a session on Tuesday and a session on Saturday so the blog will be hoppin' soon :)

Seriously, are these kids not the cutest things since ...I don't know...a box full of kittens/puppies? I had so much fun just watching them play and they were so good at direction and making each other laugh...but their mom Tiffanie is absolutely hilarious so its no surprise :)
Also, I've got something awesome in store for Courtney Reece Photography so stay tuned for that!

Antonio and Ariana...portrait session

2008-07-26T00:24:00.004-04:00

I had the priviledge of shooting the oh so adorable Antonio and Ariana tonight, and as I've gone through them, I've decided they're way to great not to give a sneak peak!! :)

I mean seriously, have you ever seen more adorable children? Didn't think so. :) I can't wait to go through the rest! More to come tomorrow!

Riley - 3 days old!

2008-07-20T18:24:00.005-04:00

I went to see Riley again on Friday night, and since its was her daddy's birthday I decided to print an 8x10 of one of the pictures I took of her at the hospital and give it to him as a present. Both Chris and Merideth loved it! :)

And of course while I was there I took a few more shots.

Yesterday Johnathan and I went to see The Dark Knight and it so lived up to the expectations. Heath Ledger was absolutely awesome and I honestly couldn't have imagined anyone else to play the joker now that I've seen his portrayal. Simply Amazing, and such a shame that he is not here to see the rave reviews he's getting. Hopefully he's looking down with a smile on that beautiful face! :)

Well, I hope you've all had a great weekend and have a good Monday (ugh...back to the dreaded day job) and I'll be posting again soon. :)

Baby Riley

2008-07-17T08:17:00.006-04:00

Last night Johnathan and I went to visit our friends who are the proud new parents of this adorable little one. Her name is Riley, and she's absolutely a beautiful new baby! I of course brought my camera to take some pictures of her on her first full day on earth, and she's already an incredibly photogenic baby :) Look at these snapshots!

I think we're going to visit her again at home on Saturday so you'll be seeing more pictures of her soon I'm sure!

Fourth of July

2008-07-05T22:11:00.006-04:00

I went to my sister Erin's house for the 4th of July where she had a barbeque and did a little bit of swimming before it started pouring down rain, and then we got really lucky because it stopped raining and dried up just a little right before dark, so we were able to watch the neighbors set off some fireworks and even set of some of our own.

This is my sister Erin and her husband, Matt

This is a picture of Erin's fence...and I only took it because I recently noticed that they freakishly have a dog's face imprinted on the fence...Tell me you DON'T see it!

Matt and Austin had some fun swimming

But it didn't take long at all for the day to turn to this...

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!!

More from Alexis's shoot

2008-07-04T15:00:00.005-04:00

Happy Fourth of July everyone! I'm going to be going to my sister Erin's house for a barbeque and a fireworks show but I wanted to post a couple more images from Alexis's shoot. I went back to my regular editing style for these and I actually think I like these better...so I'll probably stick to this style in the future...unless I'm feeling especially creative :)

Coming up soon, I've got a session scheduled Tuesday and another 3 sessions I've been asked to do, but haven't yet been able to schedule an exact day. I believe I'll get to them all before the end of the month though. :) So as always, stay tuned!

Oh yeah, and by the way...same colors but a new layout have been put up on the blog. I think I mentioned in the past, sometimes I get bored and rearrange things...its almost an OCD or something...but hopefully this one stay up for a while! :) Hope you like it.

Alexis, Session Two

2008-06-29T17:56:00.006-04:00

Three Months ago I took pictures of Alexis to help her chronicle her weight loss journey. To date she's lost 40 pounds! :) I'm very proud of her so I was very excited to give her a fun session. It was totally short notice so we randomly ended up at some rundown warehouse by her house right before sunset and the lighting was pretty interesting to work with.

I got more creative with my editing then I usually do but I just really think these sum up Alexis and her fun personality. But I'd really like some feedback on what I've done here, because I played around with colors and textures that I haven't really done before.

I will be giving Alexis her third session hopefully by the fall or early winter which is when she expects to be at her next short term goal. :) Just check out these before and after shots, and at 40 pounds lost, I think there is already such a difference :) Way To Go, Lex!

More Tara and Ashlee

2008-06-27T23:54:00.005-04:00

Just a couple more favorites, a little more artsy on the editing, but thought I would share. :)

Tara and Ashlee - Downtown

2008-06-24T22:18:00.006-04:00

Tonight I got to hang out with Tara and her daughter Ashlee while we did some shooting downtown. And it was SUPER fun :) I had the hardest time deciding which ones I wanted to post first! I think I narrowed it down to about 10-12 pictures...And I'm sure I'll come across more I want to share later, that is how great and fun this session was!
I want to give a HUGE thank you to Tara and Ashlee for meeting up with me and letting me get these amazing shots. I hope I get to see you both again very soon :)

This is one of the first shots of the day...after looking at this one I knew the rest were going to be GREAT!

And here's a shot of Ashlee showing me her 'Kung Fu Panda' moves! Now I have to see the movie :)

I will end this with my favorite picture of the day...it was the most fun :) I told Ashlee to say Cheese and this is what I got! :) So cute!

More from Shelly's session

2008-06-19T20:56:00.003-04:00

Okay so after editing the rest of my favorite shots, I had WAY too many favorites to blog! I'm going to try my hardest to pick only a few but bare with me if this post is image heavy! :) And here they are in no particular order.

I can't wait for my next session. My new camera is really making me giddy :)

Shelly, Riley, Tina & Cody

2008-06-17T23:13:00.004-04:00

I got to see one of my oldest friends today to take pictures of her and her daughter Riley, who's 4! It has been a long time since I've seen her but we keep in touch and have made plans in the past to do a session but as some of you out there probably remember, that session was canceled because the day of (only a few short hours before actually) I was in a pretty yucky car accident.
Anywhoooo- months later, here we are and its finally been done! And not only did I get a chance to take pictures of Riley and Shelly but also Tina and Cody (Tina's nephew)! One big happy family :) Sneak peaks are below. But I will be posting more later when I'm not so tired, because they turned out GREAT! :) So stay tuned.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Shelly,Tina,Riley and Cody for letting me get these amazing shots! :)

Creation Museum

2008-06-15T13:57:00.003-04:00

Saturday morning I woke up early to meet up with Kayla and her mom, Irma. They are Johnathan's family (Irma being his Aunt and Kayla, his cousin) and their church, which I've been attending frequently lately, was having a church retreat to Petersburg KY for a visit to the Creation Museum. Its located about an hour and a half outside Louisville and it had the most beautiful grounds and interior. It was actually designed by a former Universal Studios exhibit director and the museum itself is an amazingly literal interpretation of the creation of earth and all living things the way the bible states it. It was definitely interesting to see the displays and how life-like so much of it was and I went absolutely picture CRAZY so prepare yourself for MUCH scrolling :)

As I mentioned the grounds of this place was gorgeous. A photographer's dream. I even wondered if nearby wedding photographers had every been given permission to bring couples over for sessions because I could truly envision some gorgeous poses on the many bridges, gazebos, and waterfalls they had. Here are a few of the outside shots:

It was also Flag Day and as we were driving in and walking around, everywhere you turned there were Flags! So of course the patriotic side of me took a few shots!

This is me and Irma inside the museum, photo courtesy of Kayla :)

This is Alexis, Kayla's adorable niece and Irma's granddaughter

When a few of us had made it through the museum we still had about hour to kill before meeting up with the rest of the group so of course more pictures were taken.

So after I got home from the museum, I had to immediately meet up with my sister, Kelly to go to our friend Julie's birthday party...where we had so much fun playing pool, talking, eating (of course) and competing with each other at XBox360's Guitar Hero/Rock Band, and American Idol...and just for kicks, here is a picture of Kelly and Julie. :)

Baby Caleb

2008-06-13T18:56:00.004-04:00

Today while I was at work, a co-worker and friend of mine brought in her new baby boy...only 2 and a half weeks old! His name is Caleb and he's absolutely precious. Now, I wasn't expecting them to come but I always have my new camera with me pretty much everywhere I go now! So as soon as I saw him I jumped at the chance to snap some pictures :)

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all have a great weekend :)

New Layout

2008-06-12T22:19:00.002-04:00

Surprise! I've updated the blog layout! :) I've decided to change the colors which I think are a little more suited to me. The brownish gray is very simple and natural like me, but the blue is bright and vibrant which is also a little bit like me :) Well, at least that's what I've heard ;)

With the new layout comes a new blog frame which shows off my favorite flower, the Daisy. I love love love the daisy, and its so friendly don't you think?

Here are some random images I took when Johnathan and I took a mini drive to Taylorsville Lake just for kicks. And to keep you informed, I have a session on Tuesday that will be posted asap, so stay tuned!

Funny Picture

2008-06-11T10:59:00.000-04:00

So I was taking my morning dose of 'Google Reader' (if you don't use Google Reader, I seriously suggest starting! Its AWESOME) and I came across this picture at one of my blog subscriptions, The B School Blog

LOL, I loved it! It was something he actually found on Post Secret and he posted it for all his B Schoolers to see, and hoped it wasn't one of his 'students' that did it. :)

Well, I can proudly say I DIDN'T do it, but I have definitely had a camera (a Nikon no less) that confused the heck out of me when I first got it. But would you like my opinion on remedying the situation? STUDY STUDY STUDY! That's what I have been and I am still doing! First, I bought an extended users guide for my camera and read it cover to cover. Then, I googled basically all I could about beginner's photography, read blog after blog, and got many great suggestions on some really great books (many which are now sitting on my book shelf at home with each bind broken and all pages turned!) I definitely have a lot to learn but am so pleased with how far I've come. I know what ISO is. I know what F stops are. I understand how light comes in my camera to create an exposure. And finally. I am now a proud Canon user like all my biggest inspirations!

I LOVE photography :)

Lazy Summer Days

2008-06-08T17:34:00.000-04:00

This weekend has been so great and relaxing for me! I spent most of my day yesterday hanging out at my favorite place in existence, Barnes & Noble. I sat with my laptop, a couple magazines and one of their great chocolate chunk brownies, and the next thing I know I've passed about 4 hours of time! And I picked up a new book :) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.
Since I've been going to Barnes & Noble, I've found myself on a first name basis with a couple of the employees and one is a great girl named Jonlyn. The first time I chatted with her was several years ago at a Harry Potter release party. My best friend Alexis, my sister Kelly and I are all die hard Harry Potter fans and attended the last two book release parties together at Barnes & Noble. Jonlyn was one of the many employees dressed as a character from the book, so for about a year and a half I knew her only as Pansy Parkinson ;) But I digress, lol. Yesterday I found out her staff pick for the month is Twilight. Apparently if you're a Harry Potter fan, you'd also be a fan of Twilight. And they're even making a major motion picture of it to be released later this year. So I went ahead and bought it and so far I definitely think its something I'll like.

So obviously Saturday was a good day, but Sunday was just as great. I got to spend the afternoon at Erin's (my other sister) and we spent most of our time in the pool where I got to take the following adorable pictures of my nephew, Austin.

This is 'Pre-Pool time while he was waiting to get sunscreened up!

And into the pool, or as he calls it - the 'Splish-Splash!'

This is my brother-in-law, Matt making waves in the pool with Austin and his raft. He loved it!

And sometimes, when there are others in the pool, he's allowed to swim without his lifejacket, because he's now tall enough to touch the bottom of the pool with his tip-toes! Look how happy he is to swim without it!

Tomorrow will be another sunny and HOT day, a steamy 96 degrees. I think when I get off work the day will call for another swim! Ah....summer days :)

About me

2008-06-07T03:45:00.003-04:00

My name is Courtney Reece. I married my best friend Johnathan on August 30, 2008. And first and foremost, I must give a HUGE thank you to Johnathan who's been amazingly supportive and encouraging when I told him I wanted to be a photographer and start my own photography business. He is honest and tells me what he thinks of my work and always lets me know he's proud of me for what I've done. I love him so much and feel so lucky to get to spend the rest of my life with him.

When it comes to me, I am a simple girl so it doesn't take much to make me happy. But I'll tell you, having a camera in my hands makes me absolutely elated! I'm family oriented and I try to spend as much time with them as possible. My twin sister Kelly and our older sister Erin are my best friends and we have some hilarious times when we're together. :) Erin is the mother to Austin, my 8 year old nephew, who's been diagnosed with a form of Autism. She's an amazing mother and definitely an inspiration. I am constantly amazed by her patience and understanding with him and only hope I'm half the mom she is when I have a baby. Being so close to her and Austin, I try to be a big supporter of any and all autism related causes.

I grew up in Louisville, KY and still live in this wonderful city, where Johnathan and I bought our first house about 3 years ago. Its a work in progress and I think it always will be, but its Home. We are the parents to two adorable cats, Suki and Mr. Wilson (children are a still only a twinkle in my eye and probably will be for at least 4-5 more years!)

My free time is usually very laid back so you can normally find me at the movie theater with family or friends, where honestly they should be paying me to watch the movies because I'm there so often. I also will never miss an episode of the Grey's Anatomy or How I Met Your Mother, and can watch my Gilmore Girls or Friends DVDs on repeat because those are my two favorite TV shows of all time. :)

I am and always have been a very big fan of the arts and throughout my life I have always participated in different forms. When I was six my dad discovered I had a knack for drawing so he always encouraged me and by the time I was nine he'd enrolled me in weekend art classes to help me hone my skill. By the time I was 12 and my mom bought our first family computer, I found myself addicted to learning all I could about web design and graphics and when I was 15 I had created several websites for fans of various TV shows as well as a personal site to share with friends just for fun. I also loved writing whether it was short stories, attempts at poetry and even plays. I had several pen pals from all over the country throughout my childhood years, one of which has become one of my best friends over the last 13 years. We now get together at least once and sometimes more times a year to go shopping, watch movies, girl talk while we eat junk food and pretty much do everything girls are supposed to do when getting together!

Singing and acting has also been of huge interest to me, and throughout my school years I participated in chorus, a few plays, and several talent shows. Singing was the most fun and people seemed to enjoy it! By the time Kelly and I graduated high school, we were named 'Most Talented' of our senior class. :)I credit my love of music and theater to my mom who was constantly introducing us to different old musicals starring the likes of Judy Garland, Doris Day, or Betty Grable. In fact, two of my favorite movies on earth are Meet Me In St. Louis and The Dolly Sisters. How many 25 year olds do you know who can say that ;)

It was around my high school years that Photography had sparked my interest as well but money was tight and classes required students purchasing their own equipment so I just put it in the back of my head and focused on other things. But it was only a matter of time until I realized I had to scratch the itch so to speak, and the rest is history! :)

Drumroll PLEASE!!

2008-06-04T21:07:00.000-04:00

So its official.
I'm the proud owner of a brand new Canon 40D along with 4 lenses and a bunch of extra gear! :) My favorite of which is a 50mm f/1.8. I'm going to save for a a f/1.2 because that one is the shiz. :) But for now this one I have will more than suffice!

Now its not the 5D or anything but I'm a starving artist ;) but no worries, its my next goal. So I will now share with you the picture that christened the camera and the lens. A beautiful magnolia that was growing on the magnolia tree in my front yard. Pretty, huh?

And just for kicks, here's a picture of 'moi' with my new baby. :)

Don't you just totally dig it?! I have several sessions coming up in the next few weeks that I'm really looking forward to so stay tuned for those. :)

Janet and John : Reception

2008-06-01T20:32:00.000-04:00

My mom called me Friday and asked me if I'd be willing to snap a few pictures at her friend Janet's wedding reception Saturday. I was excited to have the opportunity to do some shooting again since its been so long, but I was also bummed that I didn't have my new camera (as originally thought I would). To make a long story short, my camera was attempted to be delivered on Friday afternoon but I wasn't home, so I called UPS to hold it for me and they said they would so I drove the 20 miles to pick it up at their customer center and guess what? They lost my package! No kidding. I stood there for 20 minutes while they looked for it, and finally some guy said he unloaded the truck my package was on and put it back into sorting. Therefore they can't find it and I have to wait for it to be redelivered on Monday. I was really upset because I knew I wouldn't be home to receive it then either, so I asked if they would ship it to my work instead. They said they could so hopefully its safe in my arms tomorrow! :)
Anyway, back to the reception. I agreed I'd use my old camera to take the pictures because it was better than not doing it at all, and this is some of what turned out, in no particular order.

A little background on this reception. Janet and John got married a few weeks back in a very small, private ceremony but had a reception for family and friends over this past weekend. They are serious dancers so many of their guests were from various dance classes and such that they are involved in. There was so much more dancing at this reception than any other wedding reception I've been to :) It was definitely fun to watch since I have no rhythm and only wish to be so skilled! :)

The bride and groom with the maid of honor (my mom) and best man (my mom's boyfriend, Rick)

What did I tell you? Dancing Fools! :)

And this little girl was dying to be a part of it! :)

Now, be kind, because this is the first wedding reception I've ever done on my own and I don't have near enough lighting equipment to really make the pictures as crisp as I'd like. My old camera seems to create very noisy pictures in low light. :/
I PROMISE, the next images I post will be using my new camera. (still a suprise what I've bought until I get it and can truly show it off!) Have a great day, everyone! :)

Long Time, No Blog!

2008-05-20T21:08:00.000-04:00

Yes I got my camera back but I haven't had much opportunity to get out and use it! I know, right? What kind of boloney is that? So yeah, I went out and took a couple Spring-timey pictures just to have something to blog :)

Happy Spring!

Tomorrow Johnathan and I are getting our engagement pictures taken!! I'm so excited about it, and I'm definitely going to post some for everyone to see as soon as they're available. Our photographer is the WONDERFUL Josh Perkins of RedTree Photography and you can check out his blog here!

By the way, I've purchased my new camera! Yep! Its very exciting, and I should have in about 2 weeks or less. I'm SO excited to test it out and I'll share it with you as soon as I receive it. But for now, its still a surprise as to what I've picked out. :)

Drum Roll PLEASE!

2008-05-15T13:35:00.000-04:00

My camera is READY TO BE PICKED UP!! Wooohooo!!! :) They called me today and I'm going to rush over there after work to pick it up before they close. I'm super excited! I'm also super excited because there is a person who wants to buy it from me at a very generous price considering what its been through lately (and yes, they are fully aware) and it gives me the perfect opportunity to upgrade to something new. I'm not telling you what I'm getting yet, though. It will be a surprise ;)

In celebration of my camera's return, here are some old pictures to close out the 'old picture' posts. :) Begining the next post, I will only post newer pictures for your viewing pleasure!!
By the way, the horse pictures below look a little speckled but that's because it was snowing! Its not the camera its the weather, I swear! :)

Totally Random

2008-05-12T13:26:00.000-04:00

Here is a random picture I took back in February that I'd like to share with you all as I'm still awaiting my camera return. Its been 3 weeks to the day since I've dropped it off at the repair shop and they told me it would take 3-4 weeks. I am thinking of calling to get an update. Is that going to make me sound needy? Should I even care if I sound needy?? What would you do if you were me? LOL, Advice is welcome! :)

I just love this guy! :) He was all about trying to figure out what the heck I was doing with my camera and GINORMOUS lens in his face! (did I spell that right? probably not!) Don't you just love it?

Gone for the weekend!

2008-05-09T16:35:00.000-04:00

TGIF, right?!

Well, I am going to be out of town tonight and most of tomorrow to visit a friend who's from Minnesota but is traveling to a nearby town in Kentucky to visit family, so I'm making the hour and a half long drive to visit her while she's close by. :) I will be bringing my laptop but I'm not sure if I'll have an internet connection so I probably won't post until at least Sunday or Monday.

I actually meant to upload some of the random shots I mentioned earlier, but I forgot so I guess inquiring minds will have to wait until later to see them :) Monday I call the camera shop to find out if they can give me a new lead time on my camera. I PRAY its sooner rather than later.

To all the MOM's out there, I hope you have a FABULOUS Mother's Day and feel the love of all the special people around you. :) I will be spending Saturday night and Sunday morning at my mom's for our own slumber party of sorts, which should be fun because I rarely see her since she's moved a few towns away!

I'll leave you with the one image I was able to find and upload while I'm here at work!
PEACE

Alexis

2008-05-08T19:37:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited for the upcoming opportunities that are presenting themselves to me ever since I started the blog and developed a myspace! I have people at my work who really seem to think I have talent (yay!) and even some other photographers close to my city that I've contacted who are keeping me in mind for second shooting at weddings and such, which would be awesome for me because I could really use the practice! Right now I have 3 family sessions lined up, and 2 personal sessions as well. This is so exciting! :)

But now onto the photo part of the post. :) So I think this is the last batch of photos I actually think is even remotely good enough to show from my beginner's sessions. I think I'm only about 1 week away from getting my camera back. (I HOPE!)So here are some shots of one of my greatest friends, Alexis that I took back in March. She's on a quest to lose weight, and she's asked me to document her weight loss. This is session one, and we'll be doing session 2 when the camera comes back! She's already lost 25 pounds I'm so proud of her. And hopefully we'll be doing sessions 3 and 4 in a few months time, and she'll be at her goal weight :)

And since this is the last true session I have available to post, I'll be posting some random images that I've taken that I've yet to share. Hopefully you'll all still come back and check these photos out and comment on them, because I promise I'll be back and better than ever in a few weeks! :)

In case I don't post tomorrow, I hope you all have a great weekend! :)

Hunter

2008-05-05T11:05:00.000-04:00

Happy Cinco De Mayo, everyone! As I am still without my camera for at least 1-2 more weeks, I thought I'd post a few more older shots that I did shortly after I got my camera. These were taken February 2008, about 4 months after I got my camera. I was still learning (I AM still learning!) and I was using a brand new lens I had just gotten, the 50mm 1.8. I love the sharpness of this lens but it was my first time getting the chance to really use it, and the subject was very squirmy. :)

This is my friend Adrianne's adorable son, Hunter, right before his 1st birthday. Look at those teeth! :) He's precious, and hopefully when I get my camera back, I'll get the opportunity to take shots of the whole family, which includes mom, dad, baby and maybe even dog! They have a big german shepard called Jager and he's the sweetest dog ever. :)

Sad Derby Day

2008-05-03T18:50:00.000-04:00

Well, it was the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby about 20 minutes ago, and as most of you know I'm a Louisville local and have been since the day I was born. The race has always been a big part of my life because I grew up in a family of big race fans. My dad, my grandpa, they both know so much about it and have shared a lot of great stories with me. Getting back to the race, Big Brown (a favorite to win the race and the beautiful horse in the picture above, courtesy of Yahoo Images) pulled out a big win. However, it was a very sad day for the second place winner, Eight Belles. She was the only Filly in the race and she was absolutely gorgeous. I say 'was' because very unfortunately, right after the race, she fell and broke both her front ankles, and the injuries were so severe they had to euthanize her before they ever even removed her from the track. I actually cried. What a horrible way to end a great race. She was a very strong horse and such a great competitor and I'm just really sad about how bittersweet this particular Derby race has turned out to be.

Rest In Peace, Eight Belles

Photo courtesy of Yahoo Images

Three More Weeks!

2008-04-29T16:57:00.000-04:00

I got a call about my camera today! The lady there said it should only be about 3 more weeks until I can pick it up. ONLY 3 more weeks? Does she know what its like for a photographer to be 'without camera'? I'm dreading the next 3 weeks. So much so that I have even been looking into just upgrading to a better camera now. But I know I should not consider that yet since I'm still paying out the wahzoo for my wedding. (4 months from tomorrow, people!!!) But I really really want one! What to do...what to do.....?

Well to keep you updated on my non-photographer happenings, my mom's best friend told me she'd like to throw me a bridal shower in June. AW! :) I forgot about some of the other fun stuff that comes along with getting married! And the best part is I don't have to plan it! :) I'm so glad that its something wedding related that I won't be pulling my hair out to put together. Speaking of my wedding though, Johnathan and I are getting our pictures taken next Thursday. Its our engagement session....and I can't wait! We have been together 6 years (for those of you who don't know us) and we've never had pictures professionally taken. CRAZY, right? One time we attempted and went to a really cheap photographer and our pictures were horrible! I didn't even bother ordering any. Johnathan's eyes were closed in several of them and they did no retouching and just looked so dull and boring. I'll never make that mistake again! That's all part of the reason I want to be a pro photographer one day- to make sure people have a photographer they can trust and one who will always do their best to flatter someone from all angles. :) Hey..look at that. I said I was going to talk non-photographer happenings and I got right back to photography! I'm telling you, I 'breathe' photography these days.

Have I mentioned I MISS my camera?????

Tanya's Senior Pictures

2008-04-27T18:30:00.001-04:00

Continuing my updates pre-camera repair, These pictures were taken in October 2007.
Tanya, an Oldham County High School senior, and I had some fun taking her pictures in various locations. We started out in downtown Louisville, and ended up at a beautiful park at the Papa Johns Headquarters on the east side of town. Here are some of my favorites.

Stephanie, Trista & Angelina

2008-04-26T01:54:00.000-04:00

If you happened to read the Blog Game I played a couple posts down, you'll see something on my To Do List was to make my images bigger. I've created bigger images and a new logo on the proofs border. I also re-added the pictures I took of Samantha and even added a couple new pictures, so be sure to check it out!

The following pictures are from another one of my first sessions taken last fall. A good friend of mine got me in touch with his sister Stephanie who has the most adorable daughters, Trista and Angelina. Trista is a couple years older than Angelina and they have the most piercing blue eyes you've ever seen on children! :)

Samantha

2008-04-24T13:40:00.000-04:00

I took these pictures back in November 2007. It was a few months from when I got my camera and I just had to test it out. Not only is she one of my best friends and one of my bridesmaids for my wedding in August, but she's the perfect model! She's so beautiful and has the greatest eyes. :) So thanks to Samantha for letting me 'shoot' her!

See what we were going for here? ;)

Aren't here eyes just amazing?

We were really shooting for a Mary Tyler Moore-ish pose here. :) I think we pulled it off (kind of!)

Blog Tags

2008-04-24T13:39:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I didn't actually get tagged by Kymberli Q over at her blog (Life Via Pixels) but the game still looked fun. :)

The rules are:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answer the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. If anyone wants to play, feel free to copy and then let me read all about YOU!

What I was doing 10 years ago: 1998....I was getting ready to finish my sophomore year in high school! At this exact moment I would have been leaving my first period World Civ class. (Don't ask why I can remember that!) :-P

Five things on my To Do List today:

1. Fill up my gas tank {soooo not looking forward to paying 3.70 a gallon :( }
2. Find a postage stamp to mail a bill I've had in my car for a couple days now. oooops.
3. Mow the grass.
4. Go home and re-size my blog images....Make them BIGGER! (I read an article posted on Jasmine Star's blog that said your images should be large because you're trying to advertise your work. It totally makes sense...so I'm going to change it up a little.)
5. Catch up on all my blog supscriptions! :)

Snacks I enjoy: anything sweet! Chocolate, cupcakes, cookies!

Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Oh wow, this could be a very long list! First thing's first, take care of my family! Pay off my house, fix it up and sell it so I can move closer to my the neighborhood I grew up in. (Its my favorite area of town). Take a vacation with just me and Johnathan (the fiance!) to Europe (Italy specifically), Come home, attend some killer photog workshops and open my own photography studio with state of the art equipment. Die Happy. The end!

Three of my bad habits: Biting my nails, eating out too often, and surfing the internet too much while at work... (I'm doing it now, actually. Ssshhh!). :/

Five places I have lived: Louisville, KY all my life. But several places in the city. So I'll name the streets! Sue Helen Drive, Fir Trail, Landside Drive, Overview Pointe Drive, and currently Vogue Avenue :)

Five jobs I’ve had (in order): I've not had 5 jobs...everywhere I've worked I've stayed for a long time! Walgreens Clerk was my first job and I kept it for almost 4 years, then I moved on to being a benefits counselor at a Healthcare Company, and I currently work as an accounts manager at a Security System Manufacturer. All boring. Job # 4 and the last job I intend to have is PHOTOGRAPHER! :)

So yeah, thats more to know about me! :) I won't tag anyone because as far as I know, I'm the only that reads my own blog. :)
But if you read this and have a blog and choose to post this, leave a comment and let me know so I can check it out and learn some more about you!

Now, since my camera is broken and still in the repair shop I can't post any new images. :( But I do have some old images that I haven't posted back from last fall. It was right after I got my first camera and some of my friends and were nice enough to either pose for me or get me in contact with some people that would help me out! :) So coming soon, images of Samantha's portrait session and of Stephanie and her beautiful daughters Trista and Angelina. YAY- New picture posts! Stay Tuned Please. :)

Camera Status

2008-04-22T13:38:00.000-04:00

So I got a phone call from the camera repair shop yesterday giving me an estimate on the camera repair. Its a little high but I told them to go ahead and repair it because hopefully the insurance from the car accident will cover the expenses. Just a heads-up to all my readers (all ...3 of you? LOL) that I will have my camera back in a month hopefully. Please please be patient with me! Believe ME, I can't wait to get my camera back. The weather here has been gorgeous lately and I'm missing out on some really great opportunities to take some amazing pictures. :(

Stay tuned.

I miss my camera

2008-04-18T13:37:00.000-04:00

My camera is still being evaluated for repair. They told me it would take a week to hear from them on the estimated repair charges....but yesterday marked 1 week and I still hadn't heard from them. So I called today and they told me they can give me an estimate on Monday. I'm very annoyed. I want my camera back. I have many people who want their pictures taken and all because of that horrific car accident that broke my camera, I'm losing the opportunity to do what I love and get my name out there. :( After I hear from the repair shop about my estimate, it will take up to 8 weeks to get the camera repaired.... I really don't want to wait until July to get my camera back. Its such a shame.

But to hold you over, here are some more pictures of the adorable Abbie (who's doing really well after our accident 2 weeks ago)

Going Through Withdrawal

2008-04-11T13:37:00.000-04:00

Its not even been a week since the car accident and the reason for my camera being broken....and I'm already going through withdrawal. I took my camera to the repair shop yesterday and it will take a week for them to tell me what's wrong with it and how much it will cost for repairs, and then I have to give that information to the insurance company and wait for them give me the money to repair it. And once that is done it could take up to 6 weeks for my camera to be ready for pick up. That is 2 months without a single session, and that is 2 months of losing prospective business. I believe I will ask the insurance company to reimburse me the money I lost on the 4 sessions I've had scheduled (The two that I didn't get to do the same weekend as the accident) and the two I had scheduled in the next few weeks. I'm extremely 'perturbed'!

I guess I should just continue being glad that the camera is the only thing that came out of the accident with serious injuries! Pam, Abbie, and myself have all made pretty good recoveries. Hopefully it will all resolve itself soon and I can get back to normal. Don't ignore my blog, people! I will be back. :)

The Adorable Abbie

2008-04-08T13:31:00.000-04:00

Here are some of the shots I've promised of Abbie. This was prior to the scary accident that we ended up in that same afternoon.

Bad Weekend

2008-04-08T13:29:00.000-04:00

So, I know I promised pictures of the 3 sessions I had scheduled over the weekend but I only had the opportunity to take 1 set of pictures (of 7 yr old Abbie) because on our way back from that session, myself, Abbie and Pam (Abbie's grandmother and my co-worker) were in a pretty nasty accident. Pam was driving her SUV on one of the interstates after the session downtown and some 17 year old kid behind us who wasn't paying attention, swerved off the road, tried to correct himself but ended up overcorrecting and clipping the back end of Pam's car. We spun out of control before tipping over and rolling about 3 times and coming to a stop on the passenger side of the car. It was the scariest thing I've ever been through in my life so far. And let me tell you this, I'm 110% sure that the seat belt I was wearing saved my life. It saved Abbie's life and Pam's life too, and there is no doubt in my mind that without them, the outcome of the entire incident could have been horrible or even fatal. Thankfully by the grace of God, we are all doing well besides the stiffness, soreness, and a few bumps and bruises.

Later this evening I will post some of Abbie's pictures, but unfortunately can't show you any from the other sessions because after all this, the rest of them of course had to be canceled.

With that said, please ALWAYS ALWAYS wear your seatbelt. Its WILL save your life. ♥

Picture of the Day

2008-04-04T13:28:00.000-04:00

Since I'm a newbie to the photography world, I still work a full time job that has nothing to do with photography (a moment of silence to reflect the sadness of this, please) and I don't have constant appointments with new or existing clients yet. But blogging is fun and it seems to be a great networking tool so far and I don't want to go a day with posting something to show everyone my work. With that being said, here's another picture of Valerie (see this post for more).

We had a BUNCH of rain last night and once again we had flooding. I'm nervous about the damage it might have caused in the areas that I like to take my outdoor shots, because I have 2 sessions tomorrow and 1 on Sunday. Say a prayer that it all works out so I can keep these appointments! And hopefully I'll have some previews of my sessions tomorrow night. :)

Looking Forward to Saturday

2008-04-03T13:26:00.000-04:00

Only 2 more days until I have 2 scheduled portrait sessions. On Saturday, morning, I'm going to be taking pictures of Abbie, an adorable little girl who's grandmother is a friend of mine from work. She is a big fan of Hannah Montana (Abbie, not her grandmother! LOL) and I think she's looking forward to feeling like a 'rockstar' getting her pictures taken. Then Saturday evening, I get to take some Engagement portraits of a close friend of mine, and I think her 4 year old daughter will be there so I'm looking forward to getting in some 'family shots' also. So check back next week for some sneak peaks on those sessions!

Now, out of totally randomness, back in February(ish) I took these pictures because I was incredibly bored and I had just gotten a new zoom lens. I swear, when I get new equipment, its like when I was a kid getting a new toy (except I take WAY better care of my toys these days!) I had to use it regardless of how pointless they seemed at the time. I think they turned out pretty cool.

Louisville Is Love

2008-04-01T12:26:00.000-04:00

Here are the pictures I promised of my city at night. I adore the Lousiville skyline, and this was my first attempt at capturing it with my Nikon camera. Let me know what you think of these!

So, there you have them. :)

Valerie and Kelly

2008-04-01T12:25:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, we had one day without rain! I had been watching the weather all week previously to find out when I could do some outdoor portraits of my cousin Valerie and Saturday seemed like the perfect day. The weatherman said it would be Sunny and 60 degrees so I was stoked. I got all my stuff packed up and ready Friday night, and come Saturday morning the sun shining in my bedroom window was totally deceiving. As soon as I stepped outside it felt around 40 degrees. And I thought, well, it's still early, maybe it will warm up. I think we didn't quite reach 50 degrees that day. :( But Valerie....what a trooper. She and my sister Kelly decided to let me take their pictures even in the chilly temperatures so we went downtown to one of my favorite spots where I snapped a few of each of them. Then we called it quits to get dinner and watch the Louisville Cardinals play in the Elite Eight that night. (You'll begin to realize I'm a huge Cards fan if you continue to read my blog!)

Here are a couple of my favorite shots of Valerie

And here are a few of Kelly's shots that I really liked

Also, I recently drove across the river to Jeffersonville Indiana to get some shot of the Louisville skyline, and many of them turned out really well. So look forward to seeing a few of those soon, and let me know what you think. :)

Honest To Blog?

2008-04-01T01:37:00.000-04:00

Hi, everyone! I'm Courtney Ritter (soon to be Reece this August) and yes- its true! I have decided to jump on the 'blog bandwagon' as every other amatuer and pro photographer has done. Currently most of my inspiration comes from Melissa Jill, a photographer in Arizona. I happened to stumble across her blog while spending long hours (mostly at my current day job....sssshh) trying to learn as much about photography as possible. She's an incredible photographer and she doesn't seem to mind one bit when amatuers like myself have questions out the wazooo. I've only been reading her blog for a couple weeks now but have already learned so much from her, even at 2000 miles away! So yes, click the link to check her out and leave her lots of love.

Just to let you know more about me, I am extremely passionate about photography and its something I've wanted to do since high school. No, I never took any classes in high school or during the time I spent in college, but it didn't take me too long to realize I needed to make a change in my life. It hit me like a ton of bricks that I would never be truly happy until I spent my free time with a great camera in hand channeling all the creativity I can muster. And from the moment I got my Nikon D50 ( a perfect learner's camera in my opinion) I have spent hours and hours at my own personal haven, Barnes and Noble, sipping coffee in their cafe and reading all the books I could gather on the wonderful world that is Photography. Now I feel like I have dove in head first and I don't intend on looking back. One day I'd like to make a full time career out of this amazing hobby, but for now I don't mind doing it as a side business. :) And with that said I have to continuously thank my family and close friends who've been my 'models' at a charge of next to nothing, to help me learn.

And now here I am. With a blog. The best way I can think of to spread the word and let everyone watch my work as I grow as a photographer. Check back soon because I fully intend to post often, whether is random images I've captured or portrait sessions I've taken. And if you like what you see and would like me to photograph anything or anyone special in your life, please feel free to contact me!

And just to give you a feel for my work, here is a picture I took several weeks ago that I just adore. What a precious animal!

Pricing

2008-03-31T17:56:00.006-04:00

SENIOR PORTRAIT/PERSONAL SESSIONS	ENGAGEMENTS & FAMILY PORTRAIT SESSION
Package A - $350 1-2 hours on-location session 4-6 clothing changes Retouching on all images High Resolution images on CD with printing rights	$250 (Up to 5 people - each additional person is an extra $25) 1-2 hours on-location session Retouching on all images High Resolution images on CD with printing rights
Package B - $300 1-2 hours on-location session 1-3 clothing changes Retouching on all images High Resolution images on CD with printing rights

Contact me if you'd like to discuss customized packages at courtney@courtneyreece.com

Blogs I Read

2008-03-31T11:15:00.003-04:00

I was inspired to create my photography blog by many other amazing photographers who have blogs that show off their great work. So here I'm going to link you to some of my favorites!

Melissa Jill
Scarlett Lillian
Bobbi and Mike
Lauren Clark
Jamie Delaine
Jasmine Star
Jessica Claire
Shannon Sewell
Rebecca Peters
Millie Holloman

Slideshows

2008-03-30T21:27:00.000-04:00

Coming Soon, so check back!