Whiteout

This is our first winter in St. Louis, and we have quickly discovered that 1. It's bitterly cold, and 2. It seems to snow a lot.  I can't say that the weather out here is my favorite.  This summer, the heat index got up to 118 degrees.  It's like someone put Maine and Florida together to create a super weather state.  By super, I mean mega, imposing, not super nice.  Last week we got 11 inches of snow and piled on another 1 or 2 yesterday.  Little R and I hate that we can't go out for walks, but we recently discovered that the mall is a great way to get out of the house and exercise.  Unfortunately, the mall is also a great place to spend money.  Snow, please melt!

I am very much looking forward to thawing out and welcoming Spring.  I have this amazing camera that is not getting its full use because we're stuck inside.  I need to start rounding up some subjects other than little R and Scotty.  I can't wait!

Speaking of getting out of the house, some of our dear friends volunteered to play with our son for a few hours and allowed us to go to the movies.  What a nice feeling to relax and not worry about anything but having fun for a bit.  We are so grateful to be surrounded by such awesome friends.

My first camera

Photography has been my passion for a while now.  I always loved to capture candid moments, but it wasn't until I realized that I was able to capture some really beautiful moments that I started developing my skills. 

The first camera I ever remember using was an old Kodak Instamatic camera that my parents had.  I'm not sure where it came from or just how old it was, but I took it on a trip to see my great-grandmother in Tennessee, and I remember the thrill of going to the store to pick up the prints when they were ready.  It was such a neat feeling to know that something I thought was important had been captured forever.  

From the Instamatic, I moved on to Disposable Cameras.  In college, spending money on a camera wasn't something I was interested in doing, being poor and all.  But for Christmas one year, my then boyfriend, now husband, got me a Sony Cybershot.  I used the hell out of that thing.  It's still getting use from my best friend.  Once I retired that camera, I purchased a refurbished Kodak Easy Share.  It was the closest thing I had ever gotten to a professional camera.  It had so many cool features, not to mention that thing could zoom like crazy.  I self-shot my maternity photos, and when my son was born in October, I was able to take a lot of great pictures of him. 

Not too long ago, I confided in my husband that photography had become my passion.  I told him that one day, I'd like to start my own business.  How could there be any better way to make a living than by capturing the best moments in people's lives.  He must have had a sense that those were my intentions.  For my birthday, I received my second camera from him, but my very first DSLR camera.  It was a Canon Eos Rebel T2i.  He had been doing research since close to my birthday last year.  My husband knows me so well. 

I am beyond excited to start this new endeavor and start adding even better pictures to my portfolio.  While making photography a living is a ways off, I so look forward to everything that lies ahead.