Our newest additions

Last week was wonderful.. The Avett Brothers put out their June tour dates, which gave Mr. B and I 2 extra dates we are going (makes 4 shows planned- Philly, Pittsburgh, Akron, Columbus) and all those are with Jerry!!! and also various other members of our little Team Avett family. =) Reunion tour time! Tim is very excited to actually have concerts on the radar, as we weren't sure how long it would be before we were gonna get out and see the boys again.

Also, the weather has turned and it is gorgeous here, a little chilly yet for my liking, but sunny and wonderful!

Thirdly, and most importantly, we found a lady that had 2 Sphynx cats in need of a permanent home. She had gone to Texas to pick up some dogs that needed rescued when she saw the two little girls on a screen porch. She decided she would take them, because they were obviously not being taken good enough care of. She has had the babies since late Fall and had not yet placed them online to look for a home. I found out about them through a SphynxRescue YAHOO! group that I joined when I decided I wanted this kind of animal. I posted after I had missed out on a cat in Massachusetts, because I was in WV. It took about 3 hours for someone to mention the foster mom in need of a home for her rescues. I emailed her and within 2 days all the plans were pinned down. We were meeting her at a dog show (she is a breeder or Chinese Crested dogs) in Nashville on Friday to pick them up. All I had to go on were a few photos and her word, but things worked out seemlessly.

Tim, aka the best man I know, drove the whole time to go get them and bring them home. When I walked into the RV where they were, I could not stop smiling, and when I saw them I knew already they would be perfect, they are both so gorgeous and full of personality. They are Sphynx which means they have no hair, which makes them so soft and unique. We got them into the car and went to the hotel for the night, they were out and playing with Tim in about 10 seconds, Gerty (she is grey and overweight, but so so loving) was licking and rubbing all over his head while he laid on the bed. Paisley went straight for the food and exploring the room, she is black and speckled, but looks like a Boston Terrier in the face. She is so little and wants to be in your lap or under your coat if you let her.

We were going to walk Music Row but we were smitten and decided to go eat and then come home and be with the kitties. We ate at this place called Mafiaoza's in Nashville, it was sooooo stinkin' good. you have to try it if you are there. The atmosphere was loud and busy and the food was delicious.

the next day we drove them home, and they slept in the car almost the whole way, they are SO well behaved. they both use the litter box perfectly and dont mind it when we leave and put them in thier room (they have the laundry room as thier haven, fully equipped with cardboard boxes with pillows and fleece blankees.

they are laying (one in a box and one on floor, both in blankees) right now, and one is making the sweetest little whimper, kinda sounds like a snore, maybe she is sleeping and snoring! how cute!

here are some point & shoot photos until I get out my camera and get some better shots

Paisley Propecia Bennett

Gertrude "Gerty" Rogaine Bennett

Teresa and Dontay, cutest couple in Charleston

Sunday was beautiful! Daylight savings made the sun stay out longer and the weather was gorgeous! I was so pleased because I had the first engagement couple of 2009 to photograph.

Teresa contacted me because of all the bragging my husband does at MedExpress where he works. She is marrying Dontay on August 1st!! They are having their ceremony at the Capitol on the Senate side of the rotunda, which is where my conference was all weekend!

For engagement shots, Teresa made arrangements to get them taken at the beautiful Governor's Mansion in Charleston, where we had photographed a gala the night before! weird how it all worked out, actually.

These two met when Dontay was at University of Charleston and they have been together ever since she showed him around town. That a girl!

When Tim and I went over to the mansion, we just starting in one room and worked our way around, having Teresa and Dontay try out just about every seat in the place and stand in all the natural light there was pouring in the windows.. I wish I could photograph every couple here! The colors and all the great backgrounds make it a perfect place!

After we finished at the mansion, we went outside and it just so happened that Governor Manchin and First Lady Gayle were coming home from a trip and they came out and greeted Teresa and Dontay in the middle of our shoot!!! It was a totally fun moment and after they went back in, Teresa yelled "Allie, did you get that?!" haha and yes, I did.

We walked over to the Capitol and played on the stairs, as Teresa and Dontay relaxed and starting coming up with things they wanted to try, the shoot got better and better.. these two are extremely photogenic anyway, and totally cute together! I hope they are super pleased!! I was kind of nervous but after doing this shoot I am feeling great about doing more!

with the Governor and 1st Lady!

Capitol Convergence 2009, where you can have it your way... but don't get crazy!

I said I would update during the conference this weekend, and again, I lied. I was busy! and only had internet access at the Capitol where I was shooting!

In case you missed it, I was shooting a WVU Center for Civic Engagement Conference known as Capitol Convergence 2009. My dear friend Brett White is the event coordinator there and he asked me to document the experience. Tim and I both decided to do this together and we both agreed that it was a great experience! We spent Friday-Sunday at the Marriott, the Capitol Rotunda and in the Charleston community documenting these students learning about service and civic engagement and also doing community service work. Plus, there was a Gala at the Governor's Mansion that we got to shoot, which was the closest thing to a reception I could have asked for. The lighting was dim, but the ceiling was wonderful sheer white fabric, which made my flash work flawlessly! I was so excited after a weekend of trying to get good shots in the dimly lit, tall ceiling Capitol Rotunda! But I LOVE a challenge..

The WVU folks were so pleased to have me, because they are using photos from 2001 on their marketing materials! This is one of those things I see all the time and hope that I can help organizations with, affordable and professional quality photographs of all the good they do.

It was exhausting and I slept like a baby last night when we finally got home (but not until after a engagement session with Dontay and Teresa! which is a whole other post) I was very glad we went and did this event, it was a total learning experience. I had enough time during the conference to put together a slide show of some of the highlights from the weekend and that caused a few of the students to be interested in buying the CD of images, so that's great! Now I have a ton of editing left to do and CDs to make and ship.. let the daunting task begin...

On top of all that, I got to hang out with Brett and Gary!!! from my former life as a Student Council camp counselor and I met several fine folks from WVU.. Everytime I see those boys, or anyone else from camp, it is like we pick up right where we left off. It doesn't matter that we haven't seen each other in like 4 years and that is my favorite kind of friend..

Here are a few shots from the conference, enjoy!

the show is on the road...

Hello virtual friends and actual friends and people I do not know that read my blog..

I am just printing up all kinds of things for the conference I am shooting this weekend in Charleston "Capitol Convergence 2009" with the WVU Center for Civic Engagement. Pretty cool stuff I think. I am most excited because I will be shooting a gala at the Governor's Mansion and it gives me an excuse to re-wear a bridesmaids dress that I love! haha! I am really pumped to work out all the kinks with my new Speedlite and also to take a lot of group photographs.. hopefully I will sell a few CDs of the images and give out a ton of business cards! I am a total Photo Dork...

Mr. B is coming along to assist and learn, he ever so gracefully took a lesson from me last night when he got off work.. haha we were discussing best practices for concert photography and even though he was rediculously tired he got his camera out and learned how to change tons of settings.. what a trooper!

Tomorrow I am having lunch with some of the girls from Girl Scouts (my first ever real job) so that will be good. I like to hear stories about whats going on there since I left and those girls are really wonderful!

I was trying to watch American Idol and I can't even get past how distracting and cheesy the performances are.. ugh. I am listening to a Paleface and Mo interview/studio performance right now, which is so much better.. He is talking about Ramseur Records vs. the music business he experienced in NYC when he was signed to a larger label.. wonderful.

I am going to have a million photos to share this weekend, so check back. For now, a photo of my tired husband taking a photography lesson, with his finger in his nose.

Haven't you needed the freedom of losing your past?

Sorry to all my loyal readers (Jerry) for the lapse in posting this week.. i have no excuse other than Mr. B has been off for 2 days and we have been hanging out. He hates the computer, I don't even think he read this blog much, but he knows that I am a child of the AIM generation with my social networking and blogging and what nots.. I guess that is what I get for marrying an old man! (just kidding, if you are reading this, Tim)

This past weekend I went on down to Huntington town for a little rendezvous with some amazing friends of ours (Jerry, again, as well as Mark and Diana from Dayton and Hayley, my old journalism friend from Marshall) We were all gathered for a show at the V-club with none other than my new favorite band, Holy Ghost Tent Revival. A few posts back I talked about them playing in Columbus and completely "killing it" as they say.. well this was no exception.

Rewind, I drove down to Huntington on Saturday and got there about 5, had some amazing Hibachi dinner with Jerry and his lovely friends that were Avett fans also!, and Mark and Diana, our musical family parents! When we went over to the V-club about 9ish, the band was already there, and Jamie, their wonderful manager. I warned them the paparazzi was in the building and not to be alarmed, of course they are excellent sports and allowed me to stalk them all evening, even managing to get all 6 of them in a phone booth made for 1. Photos below!

The show was opened by The Wild Rumpus, a band that was wonderful as well, out of Fayetteville, WV. Click the link and give it a listen. I will have to edit those photos and get them to the band, they might appreciate that... that is a note to self.

By the time Holy Ghost went on, Mr B. had succesfully made it there from work, but Hayley had not, she came in during the set, found me and was absolutely floored by what she was hearing. Hayley is a former Radio DJ at Marshall University and totally nice person. She just landed a job in NYC in advertising, which I am very excited to live vicariously through her and also to go visit! I was glad she liked what she was hearing, because she was kind enough to oblige my request to use her floor as temporary housing for said creators of the music she was hearing..

They played for about 2 hours, and from the looks of it you'd think they had a packed house. Unfortunately, only a handful of people came out. Those who were not with our little crew were probably floored to have stumbled upon this band of up and coming songsters and I am convinced that in the coming few years, those who stayed home will be kicking themselves as Holy Ghost Tent Revival makes a name for themselves.

After the show, we made sure everyone was prepared to travel to their accomodations (read: Hayley's apartment floor) and we went home to sleep. I was so restless, as I am many night after a fun time out.. and the next morning my ears were still ringing. Mr. B was back out to work (TROOPER) and Jerry and I went to rally the troops for a proper send-off of Chili-Willis and hugs.

Can't wait til next time!

Breakin' in the new 40D!

This week has flown by.. tomorrow I have to do my monthly paper work for my day job so I will get paid and we are also doing more super top secret crime fighting tomorrow evening... dun dun dunnnn! More on that later... today I trained 17 more servers in responsible alcohol serving tactics... and as of right now, I am finished with those.. yay!

Yesterday, Timmy and I took our twin 40D's out for a shoot, of each other! The weather was beautiful and it was a lot of fun. He is doing a great job learning the settings on the upgraded camera! He took some really nice shots of me and now I just have to get him to edit them himself!! hah! yeah right.

We found some great spots on the river and I look forward to going to more locations.. all these shots were taken within 500 yards of one another.. so there's a lot more ground to cover downtown, I CANNOT WAIT until the weather gets better for the summer!

I am donating a portrait package to the PHS Crew Team for their annual auction! As an alumni of the team, I wanted to help them out, so on March 14th goto Stout Methodist on Broad at.. 6pm? maybe 7.. Ill let you know... and bid on the package and other great items! I am excited because I will likely meet someone completely new through this, that never heard of me before (okay, alot of people haven't heard of me, but I am working on that!)

In my previous blog, I told you I sat at the mall all day Monday for my day job, during which I worked on a few pieces of media and got in my mind what I want for my logo, I am going to have my good friend from way back when, Lauren, work one up for me from my idea.. she is a talented artist herself that happens to work freelance for people who need logos and design! If you need her, let me know and I will hook you up with her.

Some things to do before I die...

Alright, its Monday. The last one in February 09. BRRRRRR. I am so ready for some warmth! I am glad it has been snowy this winter but I am suffering from severe "its too cold to shoot outside and I don't have a studio!!!!" syndrome.. ugh

I spent all day at the stupid mall for work.. it was a really long day and since I do not feel great today, I was sooooo happy when 5pm came around and I got to come home.. ughh again.

I have been watching some serious America's Next Top Model lately, for about 8 years I have known that one day I want to be a photographer on that show. Tyra.. call me. I am always inspired by the editorials they come up with and can see me shooting one of the crazy shoots with awesome bright makeup or one of the crazy shoots they with props or underwater.. etc.. I love it.... it's on my list of things to do before I die.

Another thing that is on my list is to adopt a rescue pet. Mr. B and I have decided on a Sphynx cat, yes, the hairless kind. We are putting in application and hoping that when we purchase our home we will be able to quickly adopt and take home our new baby! They are quite adorable and affectionate, I love cats that act like they need you, not the kind that you only see when they are feeling like it, so they are perfect.

While we are on the topic of things I want to do before I keel over, I might as well make a little list...
-be mommy to a rescued sphynx kitty and a pound mutt(perhaps not at the same time)
-be a photographer and judge on America's Next Top Model
-travel with a successful music group on tour and photograph the journey (The Avett Brothers, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, The Everybodyfields, Langhorne Slim, preferably!)
-publish a cookbook, publish a music coffee table photo book and publish a WV photo book
-get invited to compete in the pillsbury bake-off!

and now, photos of Mr. B & I's journey to Johnson City, Tennesee to see some wonderful live music in December at the Down Home..

the TN cabin!

Doc Watson at the Down Home

Sam Quinn of the Everybodyfields at Down Home

I love Food.

I'm catching up on Top Chef, my favorite show on TV right now... GOSH I just love it! Carla and Fabio are my favorite, they are both so cute, Fabio with his broken finger and broken english and Carla with her ex-model looks and fun personality. I just watched Carla win a Toyota! that's awesome.. DARN IT.. Fabio just got sent home :( I guess I know who to cheer for now.

Now it is time to watch Iron Chef America (my favorite thing to do with my husband is watch cooking shows, btw) Michael Symon is my favorite, and lucky me, he is on this episode!

Tim will be home shortly and we will begin our weekend together! we only get half of them together, because of his work schedule!, but this weekend is special because it is our anniversary! its a whole year on Sunday since we eloped at the courthouse in Charleston. Time has flown by but it definitely seems like we have been married longer, just because we lived together and shared everything long before we were married.. I am soooo lucky to be married to such a wonderful person and a hard working man. He amazes me all the time and not a day goes by that I don't thank God for him... I guess we are making it.. living the dream... now if we only had a dog we would be in great shape (kidding, hunny!) sort of.

We don't have any big plans for the weekend other than a few dinners and a movie or 2.. we are saving money and keeping long term plans on the front burner.. it's challenging sometimes to think long term, but i know it will pay off..

Rewind to this week, I have been teaching TIP trainings and trained almost 40 servers and bartenders about responsible alcohol service for my job at SOBER, these trainings can be tedious but all in all, they are fun. Most people who work in restaurants and bars are hilarious, so I have a good time. After a horrible experience at the library last week when I did my training, I have vowed to never teach there alone again! I'd tell you all about it, but don't really feel like reliving it, Mr. Tom Jamison laughed his butt off over it, and that made me feel better. So, after about a week of being irritated off and on, I am officially over it!

Fast forward again and I am looking forward to next weekend, when we will again see our friends from Holy Ghost Tent Revival (go back 3 posts to see thier pics!) in Huntington and I will be shooting thier photos.. hopefully be able to get some fun promo shots. I am also trying to get some clients lined up on a $30/hour you-name-it portrait shoots in Huntington. So if you are in Huntington, contact me for an appointment at the location of your choice!

Fast forward another weekend and Timmy and I will be double teaming the Capital Convergence 2009 WVU Center for Civic Engagement conference... we are shooting this for free and selling CDs of the images to the conference goers.. we shall see how that goes, but I know it will be fun because we are going to a Gala at the Governor's Mansion, meeting the first lady and Congresswoman Capito, and hanging out with plenty of wonderful people from my past life as a Student Council camp counselor! Plus, it is great practice on live models! score!

Having to do with no fast forwarding or rewinding.. I love food. In the past couple years, I have learned to cook a lot of things and recently have started making my own recipes with my new oven!!! Having a nice oven makes cooking so much more fun! haha! I am submitting a recipe to the Pillsbury Bake-Off 2010.. I can't tell you what it is, but I will tell you that my ingredients off the "must use" list are Smuckers Concord Grape Jelly and Pillbury Cinnamon Rolls.... umm it is soooo good! Cross your fingers and I will win $1 million dollars to spend on paying off my and tim's cars and buying a house/studio! haha YES!

photos... photos.... what photos to share with this incredible random post...
I know, a new self portrait in my bathroom... a kitty jumping in mid air and my sister and her hub dancing at their Las Vegas wedding!

so, I married an artist..

As I promised, my latest blog is about my artist husband.. Mr. B, who has a day job as an x-ray tech at MedExpress in Charleston.

in 2006, I believe, we were dating and vacationing at the infamous Myrtle Beach when Mr. B purchased a painting from a local selling at Starbucks. This is only one in a series of paintings that Mr. B purchased during his time working as an x-ray tech in PA, WA, CT, etc. He has always been an art collector and finally he was sick of spending so much on things that "he could do himself." So we went to the Myrtle Beach Michael's Craft store and I purchased canvas, paint and brushes, etc to get him started. I was in art school at the time, and knew that he needed the creative outlet. In the first few months he took off with it. I am sitting in our living room now with 22 paintings he has done in the last 3 years.

One of the main things that Mr. B has taken to in his painting is listening to music, picking out a line that strikes him and turns it into pop art. He then takes the paintings to concerts and attempts to get them signed by the artists that inspired it. It has worked out fantastically so far and he and I are thinking about doing a joint show of my photos and his paintings somewhere down the line..

anyway, here are a few of his images..

I am a breathing time machine.. i'll take you all for a ride

Well, we made it through Monday and into the second week of February! I can't believe how fast time flies when you are having fun! I just got home from my old high school where I had a meeting with the Key Club that I used to be a large part of.. It was for my Grant job and we are going to be starting up a SADD (Student Against Destructive Decision) chapter there, hopefully! It was fun to see those kids, not much younger than me and I see myself in them.

Anywho, I went to Borders and found a nice wedding photography book to pull some inspiration from.. I am living and breathing this business right now. I think constantly about it, even when I should be doing something else! opps! hah i went out yesterday while it was a little warmer and got some location shots and pinned down some portfolio spots.. I was pleasantly suprised with all the little nooks and crannies this town has to offer a photographer.. and now I look forward to Spring even more, when I will be doing a few engagement shoots and hopefully several seniors!

What else... Mr. B is working almost every day this week, he is off tomorrow but is shooting down to Clarksburg to see his Daddy and Uncle before having a training in Morgantown on Thursday.. He is a hard hard worker everyday!

He has been uber supportive of this Photography venture of mine. He has known for a few years that this is the path I eventually wanted to be on and was the person to push me to get the first Canon 40D and now he is telling me I need to go ahead and get some new flashes and such (I hate spending money, so I need prodding sometimes!).. It is really nice that he understands and supports me in this.

He is an artist too, you know.. I will have to blog next time about his art.. I will show you some, and if you ever come out to the house to get shots done (I have a stellar idea for a cute laundry line backdrop!!, most details on that later) you will step into our studio.. uhm... living room. I can see 22 paintings from where I sit and I have 3 photographs from college in my office. We have about 15 posters that need frames and a home.. we are just in need of a bigger house so we have wall space for our art... its a problem! HAH!

Photo time... yay!

Locations for portrait and engagement sessions in Parkersburg! Just imagine them on a slightly sunshiney-er day and with greener grass... more Spring like!

and for Blair, the bride to be! if you are reading this, email and tell me which ones you liked best, I think the last one would be great, if we can get Barry to let us on the rooftop!