BBL 2011-2012 | Plant a Palm Tree

#1 PLANT A PALM TREE

Why did I include this on my Bucket List?

I added this to my birthday bucket list because I have always been fascinated with palm trees. Previously, I had "live some place where there are palm trees" on my list.  Once I relocated to Phoenix, I was able to mark that item off the list, and I decided I should honor the accomplishment by planting a palm tree in my environment.

Was the experience what I had hoped it would be?

What's not to love about planting a palm tree?  The only thing I would have changed about it was to be planting it in the yard of my own home, but since we are still renting that wasn't possible.  So, instead I purchased a small palm tree and a large pot to plant it in until we do buy a house and I can transfer it.

The details...

I decided on a Phoenix Roebelenii Palm because it was described as a smaller, slow growing palm.  I thought that would fit my needs of wanting to plant it in a pot and then transfer it at a later date.  I also like how they have multiple trunks and selected one with three for my palm.

Here is a series of photos that Kevin took of me planting my new palm tree...

My little helpers...

Ta-Da!...

I totally snuck this one in right under the wire, as TODAY is my birthday and my next Birthday Bucket List is all compiled and ready to hit the blog in a few days. So stay tuned for what the next year will have in store for me.

Do you want to see my entire 2011-2012 Bucket List? You can find it here.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Kelly's Sneak Peek

I am excited to introduce the gorgeous Kelly, and share her photos with you. I am so lucky that I get to photograph such sweet, beautiful and amazing clients.

I met Kelly at her apartment before her session where she let me raid her closet and help pick out her outfits for her photos. I love it when I get to do that. It is so much fun to see all of the cute accessories that other women have. Kelly had the best belt collection ever! As soon as I saw the purple belt she has on here, I KNEW we had to design an outfit around it.

This first photo is definitely one of my favs.  Kelly has the most stunning eyes, and they really pop in this picture...

How cute is this outfit!?...

I love the bright bold colors in Kelly's photos, so I actually prefer most of them in the color version. (Yes, I know. Very rare for me!) But I thought this one of Kelly looked great in black and white...

Hello, gorgeous light!...

I'm such a sucker for a vine covered wall...

We took all of Kelly's photos within a few blocks of her apartment, so we were able to head back for a quick outfit change and then sneak in a few more photos before we lost all of our light.

Love the intense look she's got going on in this one...

Sassy!...

And right back to where we started with those gorgeous eyes...

Kelly, thank you so much for allowing me to take your photos!  It was a blast spending my Saturday evening chatting with you.  Good luck with your second year of law school.  I know you are going to do awesome.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Zoe Turns 5 Years Old!

Zoe turned 5 years old on September 11th. In some ways it is hard to believe that it's been almost 5 years since I adopted her. In other ways, it's hard to think back to my life before adopting my dogs and it kinda feels like I've always had them.

Zoe and Lexi always get birthday and Christmas presents and they LOVE tearing open the bags and discovering what is inside. Here they are patiently waiting for Kevin to give them Zoe's gift...

Zoe's expression in this one cracks me up!...

Here Lexi is helping Zoe out, making sure she didn't miss anything in the bag...

Oh wait! There's still something in there...

I just love this photo of Lexi!...

New stuff to chew on. Yay!...

And, the aftermath...

I get such a kick out of watching them open their presents, and tear up the wrappings.  Lexi's birthday isn't until early December, but I'm sure it will be upon us before we know what hit us!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Self-Portrait | September 2012

Usually I wait until the middle or the end of the month to take my self-portrait so I can create a photo that will capture what was going on in my life that month.  Only this month, I already knew what was in store for me so I took the photos on September first, and I've spent the time since then trying to work up the nerve to actually post them.

So, what is September's defining event?

I joined Weight Watchers at the beginning of the month, and I've made a commitment to lose the extra weight I've been carting around for the past two years.

My story is probably similar to most of the females out there who have struggled with their weight:

When Kevin and I started dating about 4 years ago, I weighed 25 lbs less than I do now.  I had gained a little weight while we were dating, but buckled down when we got engaged and managed to lose the majority of it by the time we got married.  But then our wedding day rolled around, and we had the most amazing wedding cake I have ever tasted!  After a year of constant dieting to fit into my dress, I took one bite and gave up every ounce of resolve I had been holding onto.  It sent me spiraling head first into an eating binge that I didn't put a stop to until now.

Oh, I have reasons (or should we say excuses?). I was busy. I was stressed. You've heard it all before.

But enough is enough.

When I weighed less I was healthier and happier.  Period.  (Not to mention that I had a much larger wardrobe.) 

So, for September's self-portrait I decided to take some "Before" photos of myself. I am more bothered by the appearance of the extra weight in my face and neck than in the rest of my body.  I considered only posting one close up photo of my face, but then that sort of felt like cheating for a before weight loss photo, so I included a few full body shots as well.

I've always known that I carry more extra weight on my left thigh than my right one, since sometimes I will try on clothing that is too tight on my left but fits on the right. However, I didn't realize just how pronounced the difference is over my entire body until comparing these photos side by side. From now on, I'm going to make sure my right side is the one facing the camera at all times!

Stay tuned for some "After" photos in the future. My unofficial goal is to early 2013, but I don't have an exact amount of weight I want to lose or a time frame to do it in. My plan is to lose weight until I feel content and can fit into my clothes again and then call that my end point. Please, wish me luck!

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 at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Puppy Cuteness + Purple Goodness

A month or so ago I was looking for props for a session and stumbled upon these purple scarves. As soon as I saw them I knew I HAD to have them for Zoe and Lexi!  I've been dying to get behind the camera and take their photos wearing them, but I've been so busy moving that I didn't have time until now.

These photos were taken in the backyard of our new rental house, and as you can plainly see we have a yard with grass again.  Sort of, anyway.  The previous tenants didn't really keep it up, so it's very patchy and full of weeds, but the green is a nice background change for their photos, especially for Lexi.  Her coloring tended to blend into the landscape of the backyard at our previous house so I never loved the photos of her there.

When I take photos of my dogs, I often struggle to get them to sit next to each other long enough to get the exact photo I want to capture. But I rarely struggle to get their attention focused on me and the camera for the time they do stay sitting. During these photos, I couldn't get Zoe to look at me no matter what I did, as these photos clearly show...

Well, come to find out, the poor baby had a fly on her nose the whole time, only I didn't see it until I was looking at the photos on my computer!...

I finally managed to catch this one of both of them, though, so all wasn't lost!...

I had to include this last photo because this is classic Zoe!  She sits like this all the time.  She's such a lazy girl that she doesn't even like to sit up without propping herself against a wall.  She definitely has the Bulldog disposition, while Lexi is Beagle through and through!

As always, thanks for stopping by!  I hope you'll come back to visit again soon.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

31 Gamechangers for Photographers Workshop

Earlier this month I had the a-mah-zing opportunity to attend a two day photography workshop lead by Trevor Dayley of Trevor Dayley Photography.

I have to confess that prior to attending his workshop, I had never heard of Trevor.  I'm relatively new to Phoenix and I don't photograph weddings so I had somehow managed to miss out on the awesomeness that is Trevor Dayley prior to a few weeks ago.  Now I'd have to say that I've been converted into one of his biggest fans!

I heard about his workshop when a fellow local photographer, Ryan Nicole Photography (who is also amazing btw), suggested I attend.  After checking out the workshop itinerary, I decided that it sounded right up my alley and signed up.

Words really cannot describe how wonderful the experience was to learn from Trevor.  For two straight days he poured himself into sharing every detail of his business philosophy and his shooting and editing strategies.  He answered all of our questions with the patience of a saint, and somehow managed to do it all without losing an ounce of his energy or enthusiasm.

The amount of material that Trevor shared with us (and continues to share) seems never ending, and here I am weeks later barely scratching the surface of the notes I took during the workshop.  I feel like I learned more in those 2 days with Trevor than in the past 2 years from all other sources combined.

All of that would be pretty freaking awesome all by itself, but the most incredible thing about the experience was that spending 16+ hours with Trevor Dayley quite literally has restored my faith in humanity.

I. am. so. not. kidding.

Trevor is an incredible photographer, but he is an even more incredible person.  He is one of those rare people who would go out of his way to help anyone in need. Kindness and compassion emanate from him, and it is impossible to be in his presence and not be impacted by it.  Not only did his workshop make me a better photographer, it has made me a better person.  Watching Trevor give so much of himself to us during the workshop, and continue to do so weeks later, has inspired me to try to do the same in my interactions with those around me.

OK.  I'll stop gushing now and share a few photos that I took of the models that posed for us during the workshop.

The stunning Kimberly....

And the gorgeous Tarah...

I am absolutely in love with how the flash shows off the fabulous colors in Tarah's hair...

I wish I had a photo of Trevor and the other wonderful people I met at the workshop, but sadly, I don't. Eight photographers, and not a single one of us thought to take a photo of the group!

If you are a photographer and ever have the chance to learn from Trevor, grab onto the opportunity with both hands and don't let go. Seriously, you absolutely will not regret it.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Self-Portrait | August 2012

While the trip down memory lane for June and July was fun, this month I was anxious to return to my goal of attempting to capture more emotion with my 2012 self-portraits.  I feel like I've gotten away from that the past few months and wanted to refocus my attention with my portrait for August.

In order to explain my motivation for this month’s image I have to share a bit of a confession…. I have never outgrown my obsession with teenage girly movies, and I have quite a collection of them. Not too long ago I was watching 17 Again, and there is a scene in it where they are cleaning up after a party. One of the characters is vacuuming off a rug, and when he finishes he says something like “All done,” and then as the camera moves out, he says, “with the rug,” and you see the entire rest of the apartment is completely trashed.  That’s the look I was going for with August’s self-portrait.

Kevin and I have spent the past several weeks searching for a new rental house, and packing up all of our stuff to move across The Valley.  Instead of renting a huge moving truck and moving everything all at once, we decided to move as many of our personal belongings as possible in our cars and save the furniture for a smaller moving truck.  Unfortunately our schedules are pure insanity and the belongings made it a few weeks before the furniture so we have been living out of boxes and sleeping on a (very small) futon mattress tossed on the floor.

Things are totally insane for us because along with this move, Kevin has been taking summer classes and studying to take one of the huge tests he has to pass before he is able to practice law.  As for me, I am starting work at a new office for my day job and also made the crazy decision to attend a 2 day photography workshop in the middle of moving (more on that soon!).  Needless to say, things feel a bit out of control at the moment and I really don't deal with that feeling very well!  So, here I am in the little oasis that I have managed to create for myself amongst the mass chaos that is my world right now.

As a side note, I totally love how dirty the bottoms of my feet are in this image.  It absolutely wasn't planned for the image, but I cannot tell you how black my feet are by the end of the day while cleaning and moving into this new rental house.  It's rather disgusting the state they are in, but such a HUGE memory of this move for me!

I have to admit that my exhaustion in this photo is real, since I set everything up for the photo and then realized that my remote battery was dead and I hadn't moved the spares from the old house yet.  So, I was literally pressing the timer on my camera and hurling myself over all that junk to get to the chair before the shutter went off.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

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 at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.