Lately

Lately things have slowed down. It was a conscious choice and decision I made throughout the whirlwind of October and November, that come December, I would take a break from photography. This business took flight before I was ready for it to and there I was at the end of November feeling frazzled, because there was no time left for, well, me. With a full-time gig and photography on the side, I was half-assing a lot of things in my life and it started to show on all fronts. It most certainly started to show in my photography.

I'm proud of all of my "firsts" this year and eternally grateful for those who had faith enough in me and my work to deliver their vision, but in the end, I wasn't happy with what I produced, all around. It was me over committing, as always, and not slowing down for long enough to ask myself if what I was capturing was the best it could possibly be. And it wasn't. I am the first to admit that I pretty much picked up my camera and started snapping away, before I gave myself time to learn the technical side of things. I tend to do this with most things in my life, so I'm not surprised by this action. Act now, think later. Not always the best or brightest approach.

So, here we are, two weeks into December and I have not picked up my camera or edited a single image and I'm . . . calm. I'm happy. I'm focused on Christmas and all the delight that this month holds. I have been working with this gem, Chelsea Fullerton on a complete overhaul and branding of my blog and website. I was lucky enough to stumble upon her after reading Ana's blog,  Grown-up Shoes. Ana hired Chelsea for her redesign and raved about her talent, professionalism, and badass vision. In short, Chelsea does not disappoint. The final files will be delivered today, yippie! AND my amazingly generous sister-in-law, Kim has offered to help me in my migration over to Wordpress. I'm giddy with excitement over the redesign and experience working with Chelsea. She has made my vision a reality and I couldn't be more grateful for her.

With every new year, I get like this. I reflect, I ponder, I obsess over how I can become a better version of myself, but I remain very hopeful and excited about starting anew. Lord only knows what 2012 will bring, but that's what makes it so interesting. It is what we make of it and I'm going to make it a good one. ;)

More to come . . . and in the meantime, here's a few snaps of our holiday decor that I actually had time to work on this week.

love,
kelley

Longing for . . .

a road trip with the windows down and the music turned up.

With this as my view . . .

as well as these, along the way . . .

 

with lots of these . . .

Happy weekend, dear friends. :)

Until then,
Kelley

He reminds me . . .

I took this during SXSW at Auditorium Shores in March of 2010. I have no idea what drew me to this man in the crowd, but I knew I had to take a picture of him and capture how I saw him that drizzly, cold day. This is a prime example of how one can feel alone, even amongst a sea of people.

He reminds me . . . of the rain.

He reminds me to be thankful for the rain we're experiencing today.

He reminds me to count my blessings every single day.

He reminds me to be kind to others, because I have no idea what inner battles they may be struggling with.

He reminds me to be content and live for today.

He reminds me to make happy happen in my life.

He reminds me to go after my dreams.

He reminds me that I am not alone.

He reminds me to be grateful for that.

He reminds me . . . 

Sherwood Forest Faire | 2011| Austin Photographer

Kris, Ethan and Kris' friend Andy decided to camp out this year at The Sherwood Forest Faire in McDade, Texas. I, on the other hand was happy to meet up with the boys and Kris' family on Saturday and managed to have a really good time. For those of you who aren't aware, this is a much smaller, cleaner and more wholesome version of the Texas Renaissance Festival in Montgomery, Texas. I'm glad to say that I didn't have to look at any chain-link thongs at this faire . . . thank goodness. Kris wrote about the Sherwood Forest Faire last year, if you would like to check it out here.

This chick kept freaking us out by the way she was creeping around us. 

 Circa Paleo performed and they were amazing - my favorite is the "Last of the Mohicans" cover that they perform.

The Fox scared me a little, but he reminded me of Lucy, so I had to take a few of him.  

 My niece, Abigail Ruth - cutest pirate we saw that day.

 Kim, James, Kris and Ethan

 Happy little pirate family. :)

 Deby and Charlie - best in-laws in the world.

 The grandparents with their grandchildren.

 Cousins - Ethan and Abbey

 Andy and Kris

 It was a good day. :) 

Love,

Kelley Denby

Spring Forward?

Lately it's felt more like Spring than Winter, if you don't factor in the random snow days that occurred a couple of weeks ago. My co-worker and I were joking about how bi-polar the weather is in Texas, but when we have evenings like the one yesterday, all is definitely forgiven for its indecisiveness. 

Spring is my absolute favorite time of year and not just because my birthday falls smack dab in the middle of it either . . . well, maybe that has a little something to do with it. Because it's on its way, it made me think of last Spring and how the field (aka: drainage ditch) in front of our home is basically a dog park for us and our neighborhood. Last year was our first Spring in our home and before we knew it the entire field was full of Bluebonnets. It's not much to look at right now, but it didn't stop our teenage neighbors from skateboarding in the cul-de-sac late this afternoon and before we knew it there were neighbors all around us, talking and having an impromptu great time. It's the kind of neighborhood that we didn't expect to find in South Austin. For one thing, we have three sets of neighbors surrounding us who are around our same age - all dog owners and all are who I would now consider our friends. Lucky doesn't even cut it. 

The photos below are of last Spring on one of those random evenings we were in the field. I don't know about you, but our pre-teen and teenage neighbors, who are brothers are some of the coolest, most friendly boys we know (besides Ethan of course). Caleb, the youngest is always popping over to talk to Kris or I, asking if he can help us with anything and honestly just likes to talk . . . a lot. His older brother, who Caleb refers to as "Brother" (we still don't know his name, I think it's Brandon?) doesn't talk that much at all, but from what we've seen, he's a really sweet older brother to Caleb, most of the time at least. It's just nice to see them outside as opposed to playing Call of Duty Black Ops all weekend/night long, which they did say that's how they prefer to spend most of their time (as does Ethan). Some people think that kids aren't what they used to be, that they're all pasty, unadventurous, video obsessed, phone carrying punks, but these guys prove that theory wrong all the time and I'm so glad for it.

Here is one of those impromptu evenings that reminds me of just how fortunate I am for our home and for our neighbors, including Caleb and Brother. 

Spring forward? Yes, please.

  

Best wishes,
kelley denby photography