BLOG
[Since my other friend… Laurel Wade is pretty special too {she’s from Texas} this post is dedicated to her.. She’s a photographer as well, check out her blog {linked to her name} and her facebook fan page!] Frost patterns on the shop door when you’re going out to the barn to milk, makes life a lot better. [gorgeous]
Read More{I wasn’t going to post these thoughts, mainly because I felt like the were just that, a bunch of jumbled thoughts flying around inside my brain. But since I wasn’t sure what else I would write about, and it’s been something that’s on my mind lately, they’re here. So go ahead and read them… and if you’d like, leave me some of *your* thoughts.} Is it bad to be addicted to change? I like change, a lot in fact. Actually maybe more than a lot. Unlike a lot of people I know, I welcome change. Yeah, I like some favorite things that I can always come back to, that I know I like, but for the most part I like variety. But sometimes I wonder if that’s wrong, because I have a hard time being content where I am. Right now, at this stage of my life, I’m fine being content, because there *are* a lot of things that are changing, and I *do* get to do a variety of things. But there are times in my life, when for a few years I go through the same old routine, do the same old things, etc. and I get so bored with my life. So what do I do about this part of me? Do I embrace it? Is…
Read MoreAfter this quick shoot the other day in the snow… I decided that I really like winter portraits… and that I’m going to start doing some more. Soooo if you want some portraits in this gorgeous snow shoot me an email! kelleyjo@kelleyjoimaging.com . I’d love to take your [or you and your family] pictures! {I really like this one =) All of them have such “them” smiles on.} {Kaylie couldn’t resist the fluffy snow… I get a kick out of the fact that shes got quite the innocent look on her face. haha!} {The aftermath}
Read MoreI think I fell in love with this dress. I’m definitely putting something like this on my wish list [ahhhhhh] It’s so cute, and pair it with a low pair of black heels and a cute little white sweater, it’d be perfect. Or put some thick straps on it and wear it with flip-flops, and it’d work for *anything*. Hmmm, can you tell I’m a big fan of this? I found it here while searching for some images on google [totally different images I may add. lol. you’ll probably see them in an upcoming post]
Read MoreSince my friend Ruth Ann Logan is so special [well… maybe more ’cause she lives in Flordia ;) and has never experienced *winter*] this blog series is dedicated to {her}! The things we do every winter… and the things that I enjoy the most of it. Right now… I’m really loving winter. Can’t say as much when it get’s to be about April 1st… [or even March 1st] but right now… I’m liking it! First off: Pond Hockey! This year the kids put a bunch of work into clearing off the pond right by our house… it has lots of swap grass, but they were really dedicated and worked really hard. The hand cut the reeds, and warmed up the lawnmower and cut them shorter [before it got stuck on after freezing] and then applied layer and layer of water [which involves warming up the hoses, pulling them down, putting on a layer, draining the hoses, bringing them in… and repeating] So it’s not quite finished… it’s still got a couple of spots that need another layer.. but it’s getting there, and it’s better than driving the twenty minutes into town. =) Here are a few pictures from our first night on the ice…. {Mark checks Amy into the snow bank…. and then she has to recover while he leaves ;) }…
Read MoreI was going through pictures today….and I couldn’t resist posting one more “wrap-up” of my trip pictures. It was just a *really* good trip. I found I was having hard time picking out pictures.. so it’s another long post. Hopefully y’all don’t mind. Sunday was probably the worst day – we had to bring my siblings to the airport. They had to go home early because of school… which meant I was the only Kossan left in the Bahamas. Pretty depressing, I know. We stopped a few places on the way to the airport. {A really cool chair made of shells at the caves that we stopped at} {These little chairs needed photos…} Later while the sun was starting to go down us girls went on a “photo walk” down to the shore. Fun pictures along the way…. {If I had a lot of money I would buy this house} {Or this one…. this house was seriously from a fairytale or something… I wanted to see inside! But it wasn’t directly on the ocean [lol] and it was kinda pink…. } {gorgeous light} {More gorgeous light and a boat, and some palm trees. mmmmmhhhm} {Tayah} {Our personal photog } The next day we went to Aquaventure at Atlantis… fun times! Rapids, Lifeguards ;), *amazing* slides that went straight down into…
Read MoreI shot my first girls basketball game in a while. I covered wrestling last year, and did a few boys games, but not many girls, so it was different being there again. This year I’m doing the photos for all the winters sports that the paper covers, and only writing for wrestling [I have to say, it’s a lot more fun to be at an event that you don’t have to worry about remember the game to write about later] So I’ve decided that I need a little more excitement at these games, so I’m going to do what I did for a baseball game earlier this year. I’m going to start shooting stories, instead of paper shots. =) I like those, there’s always lots of different stories at sporting events…. so look for some on the blog coming up. Boys basketball this week… wrestling next week….
Read MoreA friend of mine shared this on facebook, and it really hit home. I think as a culture [especially with all the media that is involved in our life] we have become so bombarded with messages, and stories that we have become immune to them. As Gregory Spencer puts it in his book, “Awakening the Quieter Virtues”, we’ve become “viewers who brag they can watch anything and not be adversely influenced.” But we have been influenced, and in a very detrimental way. We think there might be consequences to watching sex and drugs on the internet, but hey, we’ll learn to not let it affect us. So instead we’ve learned to not care about other’s stories. Everyday we watch the news on TV, we read the newspaper, we watch horror films, we read forwards, and we’ve slowly learned to just “not worry about it”. We as Christians haven’t even *begun* to break through that indifference. We’ve become self-focused, thinking that *someone* else will take care of the poor, the needy, the starving, the unsaved. We ignore the stories of others, because we’ve heard and seen them all a million times, and have *chosen* again and again to pass them by, like the men in the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. Spencer shared a story about a…
Read MoreThis was probably one of the best days down there [and this is also the last Bahamas post, hope you’re not sick of it :) ] Saturday we did so much stuff but it was also a really relaxing day. After getting back from Rose Island, and then going shopping at the Straw Market and to youth group at the Davis’ church we got some *good* sleep in a BED and were ready for a full day. We started at Fort Fincastle, a fort from the “Pirate Days”, used to defend Nassau. We got a super amazing tour guide that we couldn’t understand. hehe =) { Kara *attempting* to push the cannon} We then went to the Queens Staircase, which was built for the queen to escape to the sea if she had to. It took 16 years to build, chiseled out by hand, and had 65 steps. It was pretty amazing. The picture just don’t really show how huge it is. { Our pretty cool brothers} {Susan on the Queens Staircase} {Susan took this cool shot} {Thanks to Derek’s amazing photography skills we have this picture} {The perfect tourist – minus the big belly} These next pictures of the fort and the staircase are from Susan….. {Don’t you just love this one?} {Susan is amazing. If you’re planning on getting…
Read More
Hi, I'm Kelley, a MN portrait and wedding photographer located in the greater Brainerd Lakes Area. Welcome to my photography blog!