The Unshops

A week and a half ago, I had the opportunity to go to Mount Vernon, OH to meet some great photographers, discuss the ups and downs of business and just take a break from the expectations of society. Of course, all of that included eating mac and cheese while watching The Office by a campfire, playing some hardcore Mario Kart Wii & Super Mario Bros Wii, and beating my bowling average of 80 by 21 points (yeah!!!).

I came back confident in my business and where I'm headed in life. God will always throw curveballs. We just need to learn how to play along.

Thanks to Jeremy and Ashley Kester for hosting such a wonderful event!

Here are some highlights of what went down!

In between playing Mario Kart Wii, Jeremy would show us how to find good light in an indoor space.


Morning campfire talks

 

Learning how to use off camera flash in a bowling alley.

And of course bowling!

Then we went out and took some photos of each other. Love the friendships I've made. 

And last but not least, learning how to shoot with sunflare! 

And so the blog lives...

I have a mint plant. And no matter how many times I've left its soil to dry out, sucking the life out of its roots and stems, letting the leaves fall crisp and brown, it always comes back to life.

I'm sorry I've neglected my blog for so long. But once again, I have resurrected its barren page. I may be two weeks out from reviving my New Year's resolution to blog more, but it's never too late.

maddie and ariana

a little something i made last night for my dear friends, alan and emily. so blessed to have friends less than 4 hours away. :)

Maddie and Ariana from Yen Minns on Vimeo.

pay it forward.

this morning, i had some much needed time to myself. so what do i do? i blog stalked. i quickly scanned my google reader trying to get my fill of photos and stories, but one blog stuck with me the whole day: jasmine star.

jasmine was fortunate enough to be offered a free website when she first started out, so she is giving away a free website to someone who is willing to pay it forward as well. i was beyond thrilled when i saw this post! i thought that i could have a chance to win a free website. one of my goals was to get a website up and running before the new year begins. but due to unexpected monetary setbacks, it most certainly does not look like that will be happening.

the conditions of the contest are simply to post how you would pay it forward should you receive the website. sounds simple right? not so much.

for the rest of the day, all i could think about was what i had to offer to others. i bought my camera fall of 2009, started learning about photography through 2010, and only started getting paid for some of my work here and there since the fall of 2010. reading through the comments left on jasmine's blog, i found a number of motivated readers. many aspire to mentor people of all ages the art of photography, while others offer free sessions and prints to those less fortunate.

just starting out in the business,  i feel as though i don't have much to offer. i have little experience and knowledge of photography. and on top of that, an empty wallet. who am i? what can i give? how can i help others? forget about the free website! i need these answers to help me move forward with life. how can i go on with life not trying to give back to others?

oh, but i have so much to give. and half the time, i don't even realize it.

i have an open heart. i have fears. desires. passion. i have a past full of regret, growth, and love. i have a shoulder to cry on and arms that will give hugs like nobody's business. i've been through a lot of darkness and am learning to see the light. i understand failure and embarrassment. i know love. i know God.

there are so many people out there searching for a passion. and i just want to say that i get it. i get life. and if you are struggling, i am here for you. i will listen and be there for you. i will give all of my heart to make sure you feel loved. because, quite simply, you are.

and that is what i have to give. my heart.


[taken february 2010]

a new perspective.

so i've been waiting to post this since last wednesday! (i'm so sorry for the week long wait, jessie!) but....

i got a new lens!!!!

confession: i did NOT come up with the title... all props goes to the best hubby in the world. uhh... that'd be MY husband. ;)

anyways, i'm really excited to share this with you. christopher and i decided to make the sacrifice with some monthly payments and starving ourselves silly, but i got my big girl lens! this lens only weighs about 3.5lb, but geez, i am so weak! i can't hold the lens steady for the life of me. practice does make perfect, i suppose.

so without further ado, here it is!!



i took it out for a test run when christopher took the dogs out at 8:45 in the evening, so i didn't have much light to work with, so i couldn't use fast shutter speeds, but i ramped up my ISO and this is what i got. it's not much since my left hand was shaking like crazy.





just an fyi for anyone that's interested/knows about camera settings, these next two pictures were taken at 1600 ISO. not bad for such a high ISO!



and last but not least, the newest member of our family.



he's grown so big! he's bigger than macy, but we all know that macy is the dominant one. :)

the past month.

i am so lame. i know. i don't update. it's not like people read this blog anyway... so why bother right? i don't get comments, so i'm pretty sure no one cares. :P

so in the past month, much has happened!

for the fourth of july, christopher and i took the pups to go camping up in oscoda, mi. not only did the pups get to gnaw on pinecones and sticks all day, but they went on a 3 hour canoe trip down the au sable river with us. and yes, they did get a lot of swim time. sadly, i was enjoying myself so much during the weekend, i didn't get a single picture! but i did learn how to grill ribs, chicken skewers, and corn on the cob! yum. it was a very relaxing weekend well spent.

we received a lot of camping gear as wedding presents, and we were finally able to put them all to use! so thank you all that gave us camping gear! since we had never used any of it before, we had to test everything before we went out, so you know what that means... a tent in our living room!



i've met three amazing photographers in the past month!

i posted in a photography forum offering myself up as a second photographer at weddings. i doubted there'd be someone in my area that would want my inexperienced services, but calynn of calynn berry photography emailed me and asked me to join her. how amazing? and that, she was! her personality makes everyone in the room feel welcomed and right at home. i've joined her on two weddings now, and the type of clients she brings in says so much about her. at both weddings, her clients were so full of life and joy! needless to say that calynn and her clients had amazing interaction.

now, enter steph koshay and nicole haley. i emailed each of them when i first moved to northville. steph and i met up at rebecca's family restaurant and ice cream parlor in downtown northville. she was so kind to meet up with me, being pregnant and moving into their first house! and don't get me started on how hectic nicole's life must be juggling a full time job while running a fantastic photography business on the side, but she was able to meet up with me for some coffee and tea. (i just want to make it clear that i cannot drink tea. trust me. i've tried many of times.) from the moment i met each of them, we just hit it off.

i am so excited to get to know each of these ladies!

in even more exciting news, my friend steve moved back home to michigan! the last time steve and i hung out on a regular basis was freshman and sophomore year at k-state when we lived on the same dorm floor. o the good ol' times... :)

first date.

i have failed myself. my goal for this year was to blog at least once a week. and i have failed. it's been over three weeks since my last blog!

since then, much has happened. christopher has been through several interviews, i have crafted many projects, and we drove all the way to wichita to witness our friends become one under God. and let me tell you, it was beautiful.

jeff and christine were so in love! nothing else mattered. that, my friends, is the sole beauty of a wedding. it's not the flowers. or the food. or even the gorgeous dress. it's the love that shines in the couples' eyes! and of course, it always helps when the couple is blessed with so many friends and family that love them both as well. :) sadly, i don't have any pictures from their wedding, but i will have more pictures of what christopher and i have been up to later!

i cherish every financially failing day christopher and i have together before one of us finds a job. we have it pretty easy even though we haven't found a job yet. we have each other. who else gets to spend every morning, day and night with his/her new spouse for three months? if we had jobs right after moving up here, we wouldn't get to spend this quality time together. how's that for blessed? thank you, Lord.

for now, i'll share our trip to the chicago auto show way back in february. ... i know. slacking. but happy!







and into the city!




we had reserved for two twins for the cheaper rate, but when we got there, they said they had some "queen lakeview" rooms available. upgrade! i was so famished, i made a peanut butter, nutella and double decker banana sandwich. yes. we ate it all.



after a 10 second guilt trip for downing that whole sandwich, we decided to go for a walk and save the auto show for the next day. that meant hitting some shops downtown! it was so nice being able to appreciate the city without freezing too much.






and yes ladies, this sexy is mine. look all you want, but he's most definitely taken. ;)



my wonderful hubby knew that we were saving pennies, but he took me out to eat sushi!!! and he doesn't even like seafood. how amazing?!?! yes. he is.



if there is something you must know about me, is that i hate tofu. but my good friend, brian, took me out for sushi once. and he ordered miso soup. and i ate it. and i LOVED it. then he told me it had tofu in it. what?! apparently christopher thought it was ok...




christopher opted for the chicken teriyaki and a cooked chicken sushi roll. i of course had my usual spider roll. surprisingly, christopher's food tasted better! but i still LOVED my sushi. mmm.





christopher had never seen the bean, so even though it was dark out, we had to go! i know these aren't the best pictures, but at least we have something!




it was a little chill, so we ducked into a caribou coffee to warm up. i had such a fun date with the hubs. isn't he just dreamy?! drool.



i, on the other hand, am unrefined. i must slurp up the whipped cream, chocolate shavings and tiny marshmallows before drinking my campfire mocha. mmm...



we did make it to the auto show the next day. i didn't really take many pictures... but here are two for him!




and yes, we did get a couple of pictures together. after all, it was our first date as husband and wife. :)