Photography is the story I fail to put into words.
-Destin Sparks
But in case you want to read my words too...
My oldest niece was married the last day of May this year. That actually really makes me feel old, but I'm sure when my own children start getting married, I'll even feel older! ;)
She asked me to take her bridals/first look a couple weeks before the wedding, and then make the wedding video. So, here are a few of my favorite images of her photo session, and then take a few minutes to watch what her special day was like! I really had fun making this video...but I'm not sure I could do it for a living! ;) 
In case you didn't know...I love films. Why do I love them? I love that it's basically photography, but in motion. And the music. Can we talk about how much emotion music can add? I feel it takes it to a whole new level!
This year for Father's Day, I decided to skip the tie/shirt/candy/useless junk that my husband will never use, and together with my boys, we made him a film. I did an interview with each boy, and then put clips that I had taken of my husband with them throughout the year. It's short, it's sweet and even though it was like pulling teeth to get my boys to cooperate, I just know this will be a treasure in our family for many years to come!
We have owned a camping trailer for the last 9 years. Yes, it was better than a tent because hello, bathroom and shower! Buuuuut, my hubby decided to buy it without me seeing it, because I figured he would do a good job picking one out. Alas, I was wrong about that and I never liked it from day one.
It was always pretty small, but worked with our four boys when they were younger. Now that our oldest is 14 and taller than me, and the twins are 10 we decided to upgrade to something a bit bigger and nicer! So last October, we (both hubby and I) went trailer shopping. And because we only used it on our fall break, we decided we needed to do a camping spring break trip this year. We stayed somewhat close to home, and explored some of the cool stuff in Arizona! (My previous post shares some pictures.) Well, I finally finished up our spring break film, and I figured I'd better share it now! We left the 50's behind and enjoyed the warm 70's, saw the desert in bloom and had fun making some awesome memories in our new trailer. We had fun breaking her in!  Monument Valley at sunrise I had a hard time deciding which way to go for my serenity project this month...I had a couple of choices. But since I shared macro last month, I figured I would do something a bit different this month! I grew up camping, and I loved every second of it! My favorite place to go was in the nearby mountains--I loved the fresh air, the way the stars glistened at night, cooking dinner over the campfire and eating s’mores for dessert. I loved playing night games with my siblings and playing in the creek. It was magical, and I was so glad I found a man who loved to go camping too! We are a little less rugged campers though, and own a trailer which has all the modern conveniences including a toilet and shower. So we spend many vacations in our trailer, enjoying the many sights of this beautiful world! We got our trailer out for the first time this year for our spring break trip. We spent 10 days exploring mostly northern Arizona, and it was amazing! My mom said I’ve been there before, but I don’t remember any of it, so basically it was my first time. ;) When my sister-in-law asked me where my favorite place was we visited, I didn't hesitate even a second and answered "Monument Valley!" My husband found out that the gate into Monument Valley is closed at night, so he secured a camping spot inside the park with a full view of the famous mittens, I got to watch sunset, and boy were there a ton of people there taking pictures. I woke up at 2 am to shoot the stars (which didn't turn out so hot, so I'm not posting that...) and then I woke up early to watch the sun rise at 7 am. I was exhausted from lack of sleep, but the only other person who was watching the sunrise was my husband and it was such a beautiful sight to behold. Serenity in it's fullest!   Such a beautiful desert experience!
The Serenity Project is done with some fellow photography friends. To see what brought them serenity this last month, continue through the circle by visiting my sweet friend, Lori McLellan, Alberta Photographer. I am so ready for winter to be done! Spring is just around the corner, I can feel it in my bones! But since it's not here yet, and there's a bunch of "lovely dead crap" around my yard, I decided to get my Lensbaby Velvet out and get my macro serenity on this month! There's something so beautiful and serene I feel as I connect with the small details in this world! These images are a bit more moody than my normal work, but I think they reflect my current mood about wanting winter to be over! ;)     As you can see, I did find a little bit of the beginning of spring! Let's hope next month I will be able to share more spring-time serenity!!!
The Serenity Project is done each month with a group of some of my photography friends. Please continue through the circle to feel some more serenity today! Next in the circle is Lori McLellan, Calgary Area photographer.
Winter. It's not my favorite season, but I don't hate it, I think there are some benefits! The magic of a snow fall, cozying up by the fire with some hot chocolate and a good book, and of course baking! Oh the baking! We do a lot of it in our home. So this year when we were hit with a snowstorm just before Valentine's Day, we used that time to make and decorate valentine sugar cookies to eat and deliver to friends and neighbors. Here's a glimpse into an afternoon & evening of cookie making.
What do you love to do when it snows?
I pretty much stumbled upon my first birth story film. This was not planned ahead of time, but just sort of worked out that I was there! And I was so happy I was!
I knew my little sister was going to have her baby any day, and my plan was to get to the hospital within the first 48 hours before they all went home, to do a Fresh 48 session. As things always work out contrary to what you think may happen, and a field trip for my kids the next day which would have made it harder to drive the 80 minutes away, I ended up at the hospital before baby OakLee made his appearance! This was the first time I've attended a birth of a baby other than my own children, and it was quite the experience! What an awesome experience to witness my little sister bring her second child into the world!  Most people don't equate speeding down a mountain on two little sticks as serenity, but I do! I have lived in Utah for a majority of my life. I grew up at the base of some amazing mountains, attended college in another mountain valley, and now live in yet another one. The 16 months I was not living in Utah, I missed our mountains, desperately! When I was younger, I always saw my parent's skis tucked away nicely in our garage. I begged and pleaded with them to take us skiing, because I had friends who went every winter weekend. But alas, they always gave me excuses as to why we couldn't go. My mom grew up in Denver, and spent every weekend skiing the amazing resorts with her parents. As an only child, this was much easier for her family, much different than our family of 6 kids. I was always a bit jealous of her ski life growing up, and couldn't believe she wouldn't pass that on to me! ;)  The first time I went skiing was when I was in college. Some of my friends were going for the evening, and invited me along. I showed up in jeans and a flimsy coat with a semi-decent pair of gloves. I was freezing cold and wet from the many falls one experiences the first time navigating the slopes on two skinny pieces of fiberglass...but I had so much fun! I couldn't wait to go again! When I met my husband a few years later, I found out that he had grown up skiing, and man, he was soooo good at it! I couldn't believe that he could go down black diamond runs in only a few minutes time. He took me skiing a few times while we dated, and after we were married we would go hit the slopes together at least once a year. Then we had kids and I didn't join him on his ski adventures for a few years, but that all changed as soon as our twins were 6. It was that year we bought our first season passes to a nearby resort.  At that time, I was still pretty shaky on skis. I much preferred the easiest runs to the more complex ones, and skiing for a couple of hours wore me out. It was fun, but I didn't love it as much as my husband did. Good thing the kids weren't that great either, it was a good excuse to stick to the bunny hills! We starting skiing at least two times a month with our passes, and little by little the kids and I all started getting more adventurous and daring on the harder runs. Going so frequently calmed my fears, and helped me feel more confident in my skiing abilities! We've bought family season ski passes every year for the last 3 years, all at different resorts so we could try new places...and now I can enthusiastically say, I LOVE SKIING! I can go most of the day without getting tired, I love trying harder runs and black diamonds don't scare me anymore. Not only does the thrill of speeding down a hill fill me with joy, the crisp, clean air and the gorgeous scenery filled with fresh, glistening snow calms my soul! I can hardly wait until our next ski day. And now I can honestly say that skiing is my little slice of winter serenity!  The Serenity Project is done each month with a group of some of my photography friends. Please continue through the circle to feel some more serenity today! Next up is Eileen Critchley, Ohio Photographer.
In 2018, I embarked on making videos/family films. My 2018 project was called "Hanging Out With the Hamson's", and I thought it was pretty fun. My family loved watching the videos and seeing all the fun things they did throughout each month. Well, it was a lot of work, because every time we did something fun, I was there watching it all through my screen. So this year, I decided I wanted to enjoy more every day moments and do a different project for 2019. Each month, I'll focus on doing smaller, specific films, and not just a generic monthly overview. It will be fun, and different, though my boys were disappointed when I told them my plan. ;)
For January, I decided to film one day, and make a "Day in the Life of the Hamson Family" video. Whereas the Hanging Out films were more of the fun things we did, this one showcases a normal, boring day in our home. It's not as fun, I'll admit it, but I'm sure in 10 years, I'll look back at it and smile at what life was like with a 14, 12 and two 9 year olds in our home!
I'm almost completely done with my 2018 family film project! November 2018 is finished, hooray! Here's a quick little look of some of the fun stuff we did.
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