Friday, June 27, 2014

Self-Portrait | June 2014

The end of June brings with it the six month mark since moving into our new house, which is so hard to believe!  I spent part of the month continuing to unpack and organize the garage.  I was finally able to get rid of some of the stuff that we had moved from Indiana thinking we would use it in a new house but it just didn't fit for one reason or another.  I still have a little more work to do before I'm completely finished, but it feels good to be making some real progress towards finally getting settled into our new home.

I have no idea why we waited until the start of the insane Phoenix summer to work outside, but Kevin and I also spent the entire month working on our backyard and our pool.  When we moved in, our yard was full of old tree stakes.  Since I'm a klutz and kept kicking and tripping over them we decided we needed to remove them. Of course they were super heavy duty and we were unable to pull them out, so we had to dig around them and cut them off several inches underground.  It was a huge job and took forever. Of course, once we thought we were done we found a few more.  Sigh.  But those can wait for another month.  Possibly a cooler one!  The few more we found actually don't stick up all that high and they are in a part of the yard we rarely walk though, so they aren't quite as big of a deal.

At one point our backyard and pool deck was lined with landscape lights, but the previous owners didn't keep them in good repair.  So when we moved in, the majority of them were either missing or broken, and we decided to take them all out and replace them.  Kevin and my dad replaced half of them a few months ago, and we finished the rest this month.  Given the number of lights we replaced it was another time consuming and exhausting job, but we are thrilled that they are all in and we can now light our yard at night!

Our yard has several large trees in it that provide us with a lot of amazing shade and gives our backyard a wonderful, tranquil, relaxing park-like feel.  It also means that our yard is constantly full of branches, leaves, flowers, mesquite nuts, pods, etc. - the majority of which seem to head straight for our pool!  It has been a constant battle trying to keep it debris free so we can actually use it.  We finally decided it was time to break down and buy an automatic vacuum to go along with the automatic skimmer we purchased a while ago.  So after much research we finally decided on one and purchased it.  After a bit of trial and error we finally figured out how to use it properly, and for the first time since we moved in we have a clean, debris-free, usable pool.  Woo Hoo!

So, here I am finally enjoying some relaxation time after so much hard work this month...


Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter


© 2014 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Monday, June 23, 2014

BBL 2013-2014 | Look Up the Meaning/History of My Name


#33 LOOK UP THE MEANING/HISTORY OF MY NAME

Why did I include this on my Bucket List?

I doubt I ever would have came up with this idea on my own, but I saw it on someone else's list and thought it was a really cool thing to do.

Was the experience what I had hoped it would be?

It was! It was fascinating to learn more about my name, and to read about all of the famous people who share it.

The details...

I basically just did a google search, looking for websites that talk about the origin and mean of names, and then visited a bunch of them. Of course my first name is Michele, but I often had to search the common spelling of Michelle to find more information. My middle name is Elizabeth, so I decided to search that, too.

I've included some of the information I found on some of the websites just for kicks:

According to www.behindthename.com:

Michele

According to the website, the name Michele is not ranked, but Michelle is ranked #168 in popularity in the United States.

Excerpt from website:

Italian form of MICHAEL

Excerpt from the website on the name Michael:

From the Hebrew name מִיכָאֵל (Mikha'el) meaning "who is like God?". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God. Michael is one of the seven archangels in Hebrew tradition and the only one identified as an archangel in the Bible. In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament he is portrayed as the leader of heaven's armies, and thus is considered the patron saint of soldiers.

The popularity of the saint led to the name being used by nine Byzantine emperors, including Michael VIII Palaeologus who restored the empire in the 13th century. It has been common in Western Europe since the Middle Ages, and in England since the 12th century. It has been borne (in various spellings) by rulers of Russia (spelled Михаил), Romania (Mihai), Poland (Michał), and Portugal (Miguel). Other bearers of this name include the British chemist/physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867), musician Michael Jackson (1958-2009), and basketball player Michael Jordan (1963-).

Excerpt from the website on the name Michelle:

French feminine form of MICHEL. It has been common in the English-speaking world since the middle of the 20th century.

Excerpt from the website on the name Michel:

French form of MICHAEL. Michel de Notredame, also known as Nostradamus, was the 16th-century French astrologer who made predictions about future world events. This is also the German diminutive form of MICHAEL.

Elizabeth

According to the website, the name Elizabeth is ranked #10 in popularity in the United States.

Excerpt from website:

From Ελισαβετ (Elisabet), the Greek form of the Hebrew name אֱלִישֶׁבַע ('Elisheva') meaning "my God is an oath" or perhaps "my God is abundance". The Hebrew form appears in the Old Testament where Elisheba is the wife of Aaron, while the Greek form appears in the New Testament where Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist.

Among Christians, this name was originally more common in Eastern Europe. It was borne in the 12th century by Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a daughter of King Andrew II who used her wealth to help the poor. In medieval England it was occasionally used in honour of the saint, though the form Isabel (from Occitan and Spanish) was more common. It has been very popular in England since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century. Famous modern bearers include the British queen Elizabeth II (1926-) and actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011).


According to www.meaning-of-names.com:

Michele

The gender is male or female, it means 'like the lord' and its origin is France.

Or

The gender is male or female, it means 'Gift from God' and its origin is Hebrew

Or

The gender is male, it means 'God like' and its origin is Italian, and it is a form of Michael

Elizabeth

The gender is female, it means 'my God is bountiful; God of plenty' and its origin is English

Or

The gender is female, it means 'my God is my oath' and its origin is Hebrew

Or

The gender is female, it means 'consecrated to god' and its origin is biblical


According to wikipedia:

Michele

Excerpt from the website:

Michele, pronounced ‘mi-shell’, is an English female given name that comes from the French Michèle. It is a variant spelling of the more common (and identically pronounced) name Michelle.

Michele, pronounced ‘mee-KEH-leh’, is also an Italian male given name, akin to the English male name Michael.

Both names derive from the Latin Michael referring to archangel Michael, and originally derive from the biblical Hebrew name מיכאל (pronounced mi-kha-el) meaning "Who is like God?".

Elizabeth

Excerpt from the website:

Elizabeth is a feminine given name derived from the Greek Elisávet (Greek: Ελισάβετ), which is a form of the Hebrew name Elisheva (אֱלִישֶׁבַע), meaning "My God is an oath" or "My God is abundance." "Elizabeth" appears in the Old Testament as the name of Aaron's wife ("Elisheva"), and in the New Testament as the name of the wife of the priest Zechariah and mother of John the Baptist. It has also been the name of several saints and queens.

The name has many variants in use across the world and has been in consistent use worldwide. Elizabeth was the tenth most popular name given to baby girls in the United States in 2007 and has been among the 25 most popular names given to girls in the United States for the past 100 years. It is the only name remained in the top ten US girl's names list from 1925 to 1972.

It has been among the top 50 names given to girls born in England and Wales as well as in Canada and in Australia in the past 10 years and has been in the top 100 most popular names given to baby girls born in Scotland and Ireland in the past 10 years. Elizaveta (Eлизaвeтa), a Russian form of the name, has been in the top 10 names given to baby girls born in Moscow, Russia in the past 10 years. The name is also popular in Ukraine and in Belarus. One of the most popular variants is Isabel or Isabella. In French there is the variant Isabelle.


Do you want to see my entire 2013-2014 Birthday Bucket List?  You can find it here. Did you miss my 2012-2013 List? You can find it here.  Or my 2011-2012 List? You can find it here.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter


© 2014 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Griselda + Phil's Sneak Peek {Maternity Sesssion}

Griselda and Phil took another spin in front of my camera last week in honor of their new arrival due August 2014.  There are not words to describe just how much I love how their maternity session turned out!  These two are so cute together, and Griselda is so full of sass and so much fun to photograph. I simply adore both of them and I'm excited for them as they prepare for the new addition to their family.

They asked to have their session at the park with the LOVE statue, which is a gorgeous place for photos. We got lucky and their session fell on one of the nicer days we've had this month.  So, while it wasn't exactly cool, it wasn't quite fry an egg on the sidewalk hot, either - at least not for me or Phil.  Poor Griselda might have a different opinion of the situation.  We did their photos on a weeknight evening, so we didn't even have to wait too long for our turn in front of the statue, which was an added bonus.

Seriously, could they be any cuter!!...



Phil and Griselda decided not to find out if they are having a boy or a girl, either way one lucky kid is on the way!  He or she is going to have some pretty awesome, loving parents.



This is one of my favorites...


So sweet!...



I just love how happy they both are in this one!...


Another favorite...


Griselda, you are STUNNING!...


Another fav...


Phil told me that during their last session their fur kid, Cudi, stole his posing mojo because he was too worried about how Cudi was behaving to concentrate, but he was prepared to rock the posing this time around. I think he succeed!  These two definitely make posing for photos look easy...


Too adorable for words!...





More sweetness...



And, finally, with the statue...



Griselda + Phil, As always, it was awesome seeing both of you and spending the evening hanging out with you guys!  Thank you for the opportunity to take these photos for you.  It's an honor capturing these special moments and memories for you two.  Congrats on the new addition to your family!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter


© 2014 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Five Generations of Gorgeousness!

If you've been a blog visitor for a while you probably know that I relocated to Arizona 3 years ago from Indiana.  Ironically, two of my closest Indiana friends spent a portion of their childhoods living here in Arizona, and Heather is one of them.  Recently Heather, her mom, and her daughter came back to Arizona to visit her grandma and great-grandma who both still live in the valley.

Heather contacted me to take photos of the five of them during their visit.  They wanted to recreate the five generation photos the family had done back when Heather's daughter, Hannah, was just a year old. So, we took the photos at the same location outside of their church.  I have to say that they were troopers!!  We braved the 100+ degree temperatures and the hot Arizona sun to capture these photos on Sunday afternoon, trying to beat the heat before we all melted.  But you certainly can't tell in their photos; they all look gorgeous and cool as cucumbers.

It was an honor taking photos for these gorgeous women, and it was wonderful getting to visit with Heather for a short while (but I have to admit it made me a bit nostalgic for Indiana and all of my old friends there that I haven't seen in a few years).



Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter


© 2014 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

BBL 2013-2014 | Photograph a Trash the Dress Session


#39 PHOTOGRAPH A TRASH THE DRESS SESSION

Why did I include this on my Bucket List?

'Trash the Dress' and 'Rock the Dress' sessions have become huge the past few years, and I really wanted to try my hand at doing one myself. These types of sessions just seemed like the perfect arena to really let my imagination and creativity soar and do something fun and different.

Was the experience what I had hoped it would be?

There are not words for how amazing this experience was for me, and the resulting images are some of my favorite portraits ever!

The details...

When I decided I wanted to do a trash the dress session, I put a request on my Facebook page asking for people interested in posing and I was fortunate enough that two amazing women volunteered.

The first session I did was with Amanda, and I've included a collage below of some of my favorites from her session. You can also click here to visit the blog post to read the details about her session and see all of her images...


The second session I did was with Trisha, and again I've included a collage below of some of my favorites. You can also click here to visit the blog post to see all of her images and to read about her session...


Do you want to see my entire 2013-2014 Birthday Bucket List?  You can find it here. Did you miss my 2012-2013 List? You can find it here.  Or my 2011-2012 List? You can find it here.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter


© 2014 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Monday, June 9, 2014

Trisha's Trash the Dress Session

I feel like sneak peek posts just don't do justice to trash the dress sessions, so I decided to share most of Trisha's photos on the blog.  She sent me a photo of her dress and told me she wanted to wear a tiara with it.  I knew that Trisha was going to look like a gorgeous fairy princess come to life, and I wanted to try to capture that fun, dreamy, childlike feel in her photos.  I think we succeeded and I simply adore how these images turned out.  Not to mention, photographing Trisha is pretty much a photographer's dream come true.  She is a natural in front of the camera and a dream to work with!  Anytime I need a model for a shoot, Trisha is always one of the first individuals that comes to mind.

(P.S. If Trisha looks familiar to you (and you don't know her IRL), it might be from her awesome cigar shot photos that we did last year.)

I think these images do a perfect job of telling the story of our session without any commentary, so I'm going to let their awesomeness speak for themselves:




























































































Trisha, thank you again for allowing me to take these photos of you!  I had so much fun photographing you again.  You really are a dream to work with!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter


© 2014 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC