BBL 2013-2014 | Buy a House

#28 BUY A HOUSE

Why did I include this on my Bucket List?

I have to say that this wasn't originally on my 2013-2014 Birthday Bucket list, even though it has been on my global bucket list since the day I sold my house in Indiana.  We were originally planning on waiting to purchase a new house until Kevin started working, but we (meaning mostly me) had reached our tolerance of living in a cramped rental house with no control over anything.  I guess I'm just a nester by nature, and not being able to make our living space into my own permanent home was having a profound affect on my mental state and my ability to adjust to living in Arizona.  Even after living here for 2 ½ years, I've been really struggling to feel at home. I knew the only solution was to start putting in some real roots by buying a house and settling into it, so we decided it was time.

The original #28 on my list was to plan a trip post gradation and bar exam with Kevin, but buying a house meant all our savings would be used up for a while, so I decide to swap the items on my list.

Was the experience what I had hoped it would be?

Moving into the house wasn't quite as smooth sailing as I had hoped, which I mentioned in last month's self-portrait post, but overall I'm beyond thrilled to be in our own house. I love the layout of the house and our backyard is too amazing for words.  We've already made tons of changes to personalize the house, thanks to the help of my incredible dad who is a fix-it genius!  We have a mile long list of more updates he is going to help us with this spring.

The best part of the experience is that after 5 ½ years Kevin and I are finally living in a home that we picked out together, and soon we will be filling our home with furniture that we both got to choose.  I can't tell you how huge this is for us!  All this time we have been using things that I owned when Kevin and I met and being able to fill our new home with things that we picked out together feels like we are finally creating the life we dreamed of when we first started dating.

The details...

We started looking for a house back in late October, found one we liked in late November, and moved in in late December.

I took this photo a few weeks ago when I was practicing ring shots with my new lens.  It is our rings hanging on a gate in our new backyard.  I'm sure I will eventually post house photos, but for now I felt like this image was the more fitting.  After all, home is where you hang your heart, right?

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

BBL 2013-2014 | Photograph a Wedding

#40 PHOTOGRAPH A WEDDING

Why did I include this on my Bucket List?

After a childhood spent shying away from life because of a fear of failure and/or looking stupid, I have turned into an adult who refuses to allow fear to rule my world or dictate my decisions.  Yet, that was exactly what I was doing when it came to photographing weddings.

At first, I refused to photograph weddings because I knew that I simply didn't own the equipment required to do so.  I don't care what anyone says, equipment does matter, and there was no way I was going to commit to capturing someone's wedding day knowing that my equipment wasn't up for the job, so it was easy to say no without feeling bad about it.

However, once I upgraded my camera body and purchased some lighting equipment, I could no longer use that as an excuse.  I had to admit to myself that the real reason I've been turing down weddings was pure unadulterated terror.  Just the thought of photographing someone's wedding was enough to make me break out in a cold sweat.  I just couldn't imagine myself being responsible for photographing someone's wedding (A WEDDING! OMG!) No way.  No how.  Not. gonna. do. it.

But as requests to photograph weddings have been increasing, it's been getting harder and harder to ignore the fact that I've been letting fear control my decisions. Quite frankly, ENOUGH. IS. ENOUGH. I've been being ridiculous.  I absolutely adore photographing engagements, so there is a huge possibility that I might actually (gasp!) like photographing weddings. But I'm never going to know if I don't get out there and photograph a few, so it was time to bite the bullet and add it to the bucket list.  The good and bad of my life is that I am very easily ruled by lists. So once on the list I knew that photographing a wedding was going to happen, and here we are.

Was the experience what I had hoped it would be?

I'm not going to lie, the experience was terrifying and horrible.  But it was equally thrilling and magnificent. (And that pretty much sums up all of life's truly amazing events, doesn't it?)

For three weeks leading up to the wedding I could feel the fear lodged in the pit of my stomach where it had taken root and would not let go.  Every waking moment for those three weeks was spent worrying about what might go wrong, and what I could possibly do to prevent it.  I read and watched more photography tutorials in those three weeks than I did in the past three years combined.  I practiced shooting like an insane woman.  And I learned more than I ever could have thought possible and expanded my photography skills beyond measure in those three short weeks.

As soon as the wedding was over, I came home and backed up the photos just like I always do after shooting.  But I couldn't actually bring myself to look at them. What if they sucked? What if I missed something huge?  The next day, I knew I couldn't put it off any longer and reluctantly started sorting through the images.  After I'd gotten through about a third of them, I was stunned.  The images were actually (dare I say it)... good.

{Insert happy dance}  OMG!  I did it!  I did it!  I did it!

Seriously.  I am on top of the world.  I can't really describe how amazing it feels to have concurred this fear and come out so much better for having done so.

The details...

I was really hoping to photograph my first wedding last fall as a second shooter, where the responsibility wasn't quite so huge, but by the time I started inquiring about second shooting for the few wedding photographers I know, their schedules were already full.

Instead, I took Kourtney and Eric's engagement photos back in November, and then they asked me if I would photograph their wedding.  I knew that their wedding was going to be an intimate affair at a small local wedding venue, and I felt like it would be the ideal setting for my first venture into wedding photography.  I was so excited that they asked, and I'm thrilled to say that the wedding (and the photos) went off without a hitch!

I've included a collage below of some of my favorite photos from their day. You can also click here to visit their blog post to view more photos from the wedding.

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

Kourtney + Eric {Wedding}

It was such an honor and a privilege to photograph Kourtney and Eric's wedding, and I couldn't be more thrilled to share some of their special moments with you. But before we get started, I really need to take a minute and send out a huge thank you to this special couple for allowing me to be a part of their wedding day.   It takes a lot of faith to turn over the responsibility of preserving the memories of one of the most important days of your life to someone you barely know, and Kourtney and Eric trusted me to capture theirs knowing that it would be the first "official" wedding that I'd ever photographed. I can only hope that they love their photos as much as I do.

Speaking of loving their photos, I had such a hard time narrowing down photos for this post.  I really wanted to include so many more, but I know Kourtney and Eric, and their families, are anxious to see these.  So I had to rein myself in in order to get a peek of their images up ASAP.

So, without further ado, I give you Kourtney and Eric's AMAZING wedding:

Kourtney and Eric had their wedding at the sweetest little wedding venue in Gilbert.  It was the perfect setting for a cozy, intimate wedding and the owner was just as nice as could be!

Kourtney's dress was so beautiful...

Their gorgeous rings.  Eric's ring is one of the most awesome groom's rings I've ever seen.  I instantly fell in love with the design of it...

Kourtney's step-father, Mike, walked her down the aisle...

Simply stunning...

Mike gave an amazing reading during the ceremony that probably would have reduced me to tears if I hadn't been so focused on my camera...

In place of exchanging vows, the couple decided to wash each other's feet as a sign of their love and respect for one another.  It truly was one of the most amazing and touching things I have ever witnessed during a wedding ceremony...

This just made my heart melt the way Eric helped his bride rise afterward...

You may now kiss the bride!...

The new Mr. & Mrs...

Making it official...

Eric and Kourtney are huge Doctor Who fans, so they decided to make it the theme of their wedding cake...

First dance...

A little sparkler fun to end the night....

Kourtney + Eric,  Thank you again for allowing me to a part of your day and for trusting me to capture your memories for you.  It was amazing getting to know you both while working with you.  I wish you nothing but the best for your future, may your life be filled with love, laughter, and happily ever after.

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

BBL 2013-2014 | Have New Professional Photos Taken With the Hubby

#30 HAVE NEW PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS TAKEN WITH THE HUBBY

Why did I include this on my Bucket List?

Kevin and I started dating on August 17th, and got married on August 17th two years later.  When we celebrate our anniversary we celebrate the length of time we have been together not how long we've specifically been married.  So, this year marked our 5th anniversary as a couple and we wanted to honor the milestone with new photos since the last ones we had taken were at our wedding.

Was the experience what I had hoped it would be?

Our photos were taken by Trevor Dayley, who I've mentioned a time or two on my blog before.  While I would have preferred to be the one behind the camera instead of in front of it, Trevor is a really laid back, easy going guy and he made the process a breeze.

The details...

August in Phoenix is pretty toasty, so we decided to wait until things cooled off a bit to have our photos taken. We were originally planning on doing them back in November, but then things got really crazy with purchasing our house and Kevin wrapping up law school so we bumped them to earlier this month.  We had our photos taken at one of my favorite downtown locations to shoot, and it was really awesome getting to see Trevor's vision of this area come through in the photos he took of us.

Here is a collage of just a few of my favorites...

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

Self-Portrait | January 2014

I swear I just sat down and wrote my December self-portrait post like 3 days ago! Seriously, WHERE HAS JANUARY GONE?

It's been an interesting month, to say the least.  The first part of January was filled with a ton of frustrations while attempting to settle into our new house.  It kind of felt like something was going wrong at every turn, and there was a point where I was ready to run screaming down the street and never look back.

Let's just say that I'm trying to find the good in the fact that 90% of our faucets are leaking by focusing on the fact that we've decided to fix the problem by remodeling two of our bathrooms, and I'm looking on the positive side of a dying dishwater motor by focusing on the fact that I will very soon have one that I got to pick out.  And as an added bonus, I am seeing the huge blessing in the fact that my over the top OCD required me to clean every inch of our house, and then some, upon moving in, meaning that the mold growing in our heating/cooling duct system was detected in the early stages instead of years from now after it had invaded the entire house and affect our health.

But I bet you're wondering what any of that could possible have to do with the photo you see below.  So, let's move on to the second half of my month.  A few days ago, I photographed my very. first. wedding.  Eeeek!  I swore I would never photograph weddings because I didn't want the pressure of capturing someone's big day on my shoulders, yet I some how found myself agreeing to photograph a few special ones this year.  So, I spent the past few weeks feverishly reading and watching everything I could possibly get my hands on to help me prepare for the big day.

One of the things that the bride and groom requested was photographs using sparklers.  I did learn how to do sparkler photos during a workshop I attend last spring, but practicing them wasn't a priority and they were relegated to the bottom of my list of things to experiment with someday.  You can bet they got bumped up to the number one spot as soon as the couple asked for them!

So, I rounded up some sparklers and literally made myself dizzy practicing these photo a few nights ago.  (And I do mean literally dizzy.  After spinning in circles for one of the longer shots, I tried to walk toward my camera to set it up for the next shot and I couldn't walk in a straight line.  I had to sit down for a minute and recover.)

So, for January's photo I decided to share one of the photos I captured of myself while running in circles with sparklers.  (If you want to see the resulting photo from the wedding, you can head on over and see it on my Facebook page.)

And I'm just now realizing that I have on the exact. same. thing. as I had on in last month's portrait.  I swear I do own more clothes than this outfit.  Apparently this is my go to comfy outfit lately.  So much so that I didn't even realize I had it on in both photos until just this very second.  Too funny!

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