On top of the world...

This past Saturday, my very brave and very hyper husband went rock climbing with his friend, Jerrold. I am terrified of heights, and dreadfully out of shape, so I went shopping instead. But Kelly took along my trust little Canon Elph, and Jerrold was kind enough to take some shots as Kelly took the challenge and climbed to the top of that mountain!


Here is the view from the top, where they secured their lines.


Here's my daring husband, about half way up...



And he made it! He was filled with a sense of accomplishment, and a serious adrenaline rush, but said he felt every one of his 40 years!


Better him than me. Even when I was in great shape, I still didn't have enough upper body strength to pull myself up the side of a mountain!

A little vent this morning...

OK, I know I am not the greatest photographer in the world. I have many photographers whose work I admire, and I strive to learn from. I respect them. I have never been jealous of another photographer's work. I only try to figure out how to achieve similar results in my own work.

So I get really ticked off when a newbie asks for advice, and then tells me I'm rude, disrespectful, and jealous when I give her the advice she asked for! If all you want is Attaboys, then don't ask for anything else. Don't ask for advice or constructive criticism. Because you know what? People might actually give it to you!

OK, vent over. Time to go shopping!

A day at the Zoo...

Or should I say Stroller Hell! I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to go to the zoo with my friend Sarah, two of her boys, and a friend of her 6 year old. Really, it was 80 degrees and everyone in 4 counties was on Spring Break. Had I lost my mind?


I arrived at the zoo at 10:20. Zoo Drive is about a mile, mile and a half long street from Nolensville Road leading to the zoo parking lot and entrance. This was one long snaking chain of mini vans moving at 15 miles per hour. The entire parking lot was full, as were two of the grass fields adjacent to the parking lot. Mini van after mini van unloading strollers and small children. Yes, I had lost my ever-lovin' mind.

Once Sarah and her brood had arrived, we waited in line to get in. This wait wasn't too bad, since Sarah has a family membership, and was her guest. Inside, the trails were so crowded with strollers--one of which was Sarah's--that we could barely move. Later, when we decided to eat lunch, we waited in line for food for at least half an hour. After we ate, and I drank a large bottle of water, I really had to pee. Big mistake. The line to the bathrooms was so long, three little kids peed in their pants while waiting in line near me. It took 30 minutes to get to the bathroom. Seriously, little kids don't have that much bladder control to wait in line for 30 minutes! What where they thinking building so few facilities at a Zoo, for crying out loud?

Anyway, it was so crowded that I couldn't get very many photos, but here are some that I did get.

Well, I have joined a few more photographers' forums. Over at ILP (I Love Photography), I have joined a group that reads each other's blogs. So that means I actually have to update mine more than 3 times a year! OF course, that means I have to find something to blog about...

OK, plans are moving forward on my new business venture. My friend and colleague, Rebekah and I are joining up to form a new company called Pope & Schwartz Photography. We specialize in contemporary school portraits for day cares, mother's day out programs, pre-schools, home school groups, and small private schools. Not your typical school photo, though! Here are a few examples...If you are interested in having us photograph your school group, you can contact us through www.barbieschwartz.com or rebekahpope.com.

Happy New Year!

Well, another year on the calendar has flown by. They aren't kidding when they say the older you get, the faster time flies! I think I just blinked and 2006 was done and gone.


We had a very nice Christmas this year. Parrish was home from Hawaii, and we drove over to Memphis to spend Christmas Day with at my brother's house, with my parents. My mom actually cried when she opened the little scrapbook I made for her. And she was thrilled with the laptop computer my dad bought for her. Dad ended up with two Panini grills--one from us, and one from mom. He exchanged ours for a DVD player and joined Netflix. Kelly has had fun playing with his new router and router table, too. And I really love the purse & wallet Kelly bought for me! I photographed this with my new Sharpics D-Flector, a really cool tabletop studio!



Parrish stayed in Memphis for a few days with her father, then went to Atlanta with Kate and her family for a big New Years Eve bash. Meanwhile, Kelly and I went to dinner at Stoney River one night, and the movies another night with our new friends Tony and Antoinette. Tony is also Kelly's boss. And true to Schwartz form, we were one of the last to leave Stoney River, and also one of the last to leave the Bistro after the movie. And The Good Shepherd is great! But who doesn't like Matt Damon?


What a busy year we have ahead of us! Parrish returns to the University of Hawaii this weekend, and her classes for the spring semester start on Monday. She's trying to cram in doctor appointments and seeing all her friends by the end of the week. Beginning next week, Kelly will be traveling a lot. At least all of his destinations are port cities, and not in the middle of nowhere.


I am really looking forward to Stacy Julian's Library of Memories class at www.BigPictureScrapbooking.com which starts tomorrow. I am also considering 28 Days, and The Art of Choosing Joy, both of which begin in February. I am also working my way through several of the classes I enrolled in last year, but never finished, like My Word (a journaling class) and Finders Keepers and Random Me A-Z. I just never seemed to have the time do do the projects and lessons at the time... I really want to complete these classes now that I am in the slowest time of year for my business.


I do have two bridal shows to work this weekend, after dropping Parrish off at the airport. And Kelly will probably spend the weekend working on the kitchen remodel. I'll post photos of that progress later...

A Summer to Catch Up...

Gosh, it's been a while since I updated my blog, and I have so much to share! Our summer has been so busy this year, it has just flown by. I can't believe it's already the second week in September.

Well, to update everyone, I have to go back to July! Parrish went on her annual vacation with her father, and this year, they went to Costa Rica. During the two weeks she spent there, she went whitewater rafting, surfing, and scuba diving. And saw lava pouring out of a volcano. I didn't even realize there were active volcanos in Costa Rica. She had a great time, but was ready to come home by the end of two weeks.

While Parrish was in Costa Rica, Kelly was in the Dominican Republic, building houses with Habitat for Humanity. He was there for 10 days, and had a great time, other than when he fell off the roof and dislocated and fractured his shoulder, that is. He didn't realize it was fractured until several weeks after he returned home, because he didn't seek medical care while there (can't say I blame him for that!). Fortunately, the orthopedist says no permanent damage was done, and it will finish healing on it's own just fine. One of the highlights of his trip was visiting the Viviana Cigar Factory, and watching Viviana roll cigars. He brought a whole box of them home.

Not too long after everyone recovered from these adventures, we were off on another--taking Parrish off to college in Honolulu. Oh my gosh, what a long flight! My feet were swollen for two weeks. And there were screaming kids on every flight. Really people--can't you leave your kids at home, or drive? No one wants to be stuck in an airplane for 15 hours listening to your kid scream like he's being tortured in an Iraqi prison. Seriously. It's not fair to the rest of us who pay a lot of money for these flights.

Anyway, the island of Oahu was a huge disappointment. There wasn't a whole lot to do, and you had to fight traffic like Atlanta or LA to do it. Honolulu is not a place I want to spend much time in the future! But Parrish seems to be all settled at U of H, and started classes a few weeks ago. She has already made quite a few friends. She is so excited about the cultural diversity on campus. Her friends are from Japan, Germany, South Africa, Hawaii, Vegas, Washington, Georgia, and Philadelphia. One of them has lived in 4 different countries and speaks 7 languages! Try finding that at MTSU! There are only 3 kids on the entire campus from Tennessee. She has a view of Diamond Head Crater from her dorm--how cool is that? She and her roommate, Jenny, seem to be getting along just fine.

While we were there, the three of us went scuba diving in Shark’s Cove, on the North Shore. This location is ranked number two in the world by Sport Diver magazine. It’s beautiful! Lots of caverns, and a wide variety of sea life. We saw sea turtles, too. We didn’t get to see the white-tipped shark that lives there, or any octopi, which would have been cool, but it was still a great dive. Scuba Drew, our guide, was wonderful, and has promised to show Parrish some of the other great places around the island. She has all her own gear, except for a wetsuit and tank, so it will be fairly easy for her to go whenever she wants. Several of her new friends want to learn to dive, too. And a few of them want her to teach them to surf. She doesn’t have a board yet, but plans to get one sometime this semester. Of course, they can be rented all over the island.

So Kelly and I have been adjusting to this thing called an Empty Nest. Two weeks ago, we went diving in Cerulean, KY. It was so cold that day! But we still had fun.

Last weekend, we went whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River. What a blast! We made two runs down the river with Jerrold and his dad, Carlis. I still need to develop the pictures from the little waterproof disposable camera.

Now Rebekah and I getting ready for our annual job of photographing all the kids at Forest Hills Baptist church Mother's Day Out program. Those kids are so cute! And Kelly is tearing out the tile on the kitchen floor and getting ready to lay the hardwood. So we continue to be very busy.

So that should update everyone fairly well. I hope it won't be so long before I update this thing again!

Sara

Last Thursday, I spent several hours downtown with photographers David Wright and Dave Pavol, and model Sara Wiedenhoeft (who looks a little bit like Misha Barton). The goal was to practice using available light, and try some new poses--things you don't have time for on a wedding day. Sara was able to get some great shots for her portfolio in the process. We specifically sought out some very dramatic lighting that wouldn't go over well with your average bridal portrait client, but has a very high-fashion feel.

It was nearly 100 degrees downtown at 5:00 PM, and we were dripping sweat. We were working outside of Merchants, and they manager invited us to use the empty dining room on the 3rd floor--with air conditioning! Thanks, Merchants!

Here are some of my favorite shots from the day: