Friends and Peacocks

In Austin, there is a wonderful place where peacocks roam freely. This place is called Mayfield Nature Preserve. There is the main house and area where the peacocks are. The peacocks also have a habit of walking around the parking lot, so you need to be careful when pulling in. You might recognize some of the faces in these photos from previous shoots I've had. I asked some of my friends to go on an exploratory shoot with me. We hiked the paths that surround the preserve and explored it all. Personally, I really liked the trails that follow along the river. After our shoot, I am now a lover of peacocks.

Caitlin and Tyler Hockey Engagements

The girl in these photos might look familiar to you. I took photos of Caitlin a couple of years ago when I was really starting out Flying Lantern Photography (then I was called Erin Nicole Photography). Caitlin and her fiancé, Tyler, both play roller hockey. During my last week of winter break, I met up with them to do a hockey themed engagement shoot. I had never done a hockey themed shoot before so this was a brand new experience for me! Luckily, they play roller hockey, so I didn't have to try and shoot while keeping balance on skates. I will also be photographing Caitlin and Tyler in the spring for a full engagement shoot in the bluebonnets. 

Diana Farrar

I know Ms. Diana Farrar from my home church, Nor'kirk Presbyterian. She is currently working on a novel and she needed professional photos for the book and her upcoming website. While I was back home in Dallas for Thanksgiving break, we were able to do a quick shoot. I went to her home and we were able to get some gorgeous shots outside. Sadly, the sun was blocked by the roof of her house. However, I think we were able to get some nice shots for her to use!

Ryan, Michael, Fox, Anna, and Marcy

I am starting to try and do a large group shoot with friends every semester. Here are some of my wonderful friends.

This is Ryan

And this is Marcy 

This is Anna

This is Fox (Stephen)

This is Michael (he wanted to be James Bond)

For this shoot we went to the Austin Botanical Gardens. One of the good things about Austin is that they are huge on nature, physical activity, and being outside. So, it only cost us each $1 to get into the gardens. In Dallas, the botanical gardens cost about $20 to get in. They also did not have really strict rules against photography. The problem was the bugs. I didn't even consider how active the mosquitos would be. We all got a good amount of bites, but my friends were real troopers about it. I did learn my lesson about this and to consider bug activity during certain seasons.

I LOVE how this walk way started with "Walk of Friends" it worked perfectly with the shoot, and each brick was dedicated to someone.

These two are such great friends

I adore this mini koi pond at the front of the gardens

I'm Now On Twitter and Instagram!!!

So for a while I never used Twitter or Instagram. When I first heard of Twitter, I thought "Gee that's interesting, but I would never use it." I thought this mostly because Twitter is just like a bunch of posts (or status updates if you're Facebook savy) and who wants all of that? And I never used Instagram because when it first came out tons of people kept saying they were these awesome photographers cause they put a nice filter on a photo. There is so much more to photography than just changing the coloring, so I decided not to use Instagram.

This summer I interned at Vogel Alcove, a nonprofit in Dallas that is a childcare center for homeless children under 5 years old. I worked under the Marketing Director, Sammy Gonzalez on print advertisements and their social networks. This is what got me interested in Twitter. I had the company's account up and I would constantly take a few minutes to see if the company had mentions or what other people were posting. I learned and saw a lot of interesting things that major companies were posting.

So a few weeks before my internship ended, I got a Twitter and started following all my favorite authors, shows, organizations, and people. I've used it to keep in touch with the news (Zimmerman Trial Verdict, the Royal Baby, etc.) and to talk to celebrities. I've tweeted to a few favorite shows and members of the cast even liked or replied to my tweet. I couldn't help but get a little starstrucked at this.

And now I just got an Instagram. My internship taught me how to utilize social media for a company's benefit. Which is what I will do for Flying Lantern Photography. Sure I will also use it for personal reasons, but you'll see postings of my shoots and some of the ideas I have going on.

So follow me!

Twitter: @reasespieces92
Instagram: @reasespieces

Lauren Y

I knew Lauren from back when we were in elementary and middle school. Both of us were in girl scouts, but not the same troop. Both of our moms were troop leaders, thus they were friends. Troop leaders had to attend meetings and such. Lauren and I are also only a year apart, and our families lived in the same neighborhood. With these factors, it was simple math as to why our moms became friends. My troop's leader also knew Lauren's mother and thus our troops would do some activities together.

Lauren just graduated from University of Texas and she wanted some professional photos of herself. I went to her family's home in Prosper, TX where we did the shoot. Her parents own two horses, and Lauren is an avid horseback rider.

Lafayette, Louisiana

I went on a week long habitat humanity build in Lafayette, Louisiana this summer. It was definitely hard work, but at the end of the week it was such a great feeling to see how far we came. The house started off with being mostly built, but not siding or the stuff that covers between the roof and walls. That is basically what we did all week. I went with a group from Gateway, a church in Austin. A group of students from St. Paul in Philadelphia met us in Louisiana to work on the house also.

Our week wasn't all work and no play though. We worked from 9-3 each day, but after that we were free to do whatever we wished. So my group went and did some touristy stuff: go on a boat tour, go to a local bar (The Blue Moon Salon), and eat out (McGee's Landing and Artmosphere). Each place had it's own charm and definitely showed the best of Lafayette.