a BIG thank you to Toni Peterson // i LOVE my quilt!

Quilts are serious works of art, of which I have never owned.  That is, until now!  John's mother, Toni, makes quilts and oh my are the beautiful.  Everyone in the family gets one; her grandkids, her children, her parents and niece, the list goes on and on.  I am beginning to see it is tradition for her to make quilts for family members.  Well...guess who just got their very own quilt from thee Toni Peterson?  Me!  And I LOVE it!  LOVE.  Did I express that well enough? :) 

  Little did I know, Toni was planning on gifting this to me for my birthday.  Having seen her work through the process of making a quilt, I am even more appreciative of my very own.  I can't thank her enough and will have it forever!  On New Years Eve, John and I snuggled up to watch a movie on the couch.  And to keep ourselves warm?  Well, we of course had the new quilt draped over us.  

Thank you so very much, Toni!

xoxo

Megan Kathleen

Dream BIG in 2013

I have noticed many artists out there sharing their 2013 goals, the really important tasks they'd like to check off their "to do" list. As I read through everyone else's goals, I can't help but come up with a list of my very own. I have even gotten ideas for myself from reading their list of dreams to come true! So, why not? Why not share my goals, my biggest dreams for 2013?

Megan's Goals for 2013

***find a mentor***
* one for business
* one for photography

- attend two photography workshops
* one on shooting skills
* one on Lightroom workflow/editing

- second or third shoot a wedding with an artist I admire!

- work as an assistant for a wedding photographer to gain an understanding of workflow

- BLOG my travels!!!

- book a senior session

- enter a photo contest

- get a desk and ORGANIZE it :) teehehe!

- give away a family session to a family in need with an amazing story to tell

- outsource web design for an online portfolio that flows with my name and logo aka branding which I am VERY new to this concept!

- create a business name and logo (which I have already started but have not finished!)

- enter another race - I'm long overdue! Maybe the CHELAN MAN?

- order PRINTS of my favorite moments of 2012!!! (because I LOVED 2012!!!)

- create a canvas collage of multiple prints on my empty living room wall! (see above)


There they are! My goals for 2013. Today is day one! I have 364 more days to accomplish this list and I am so excited to do so!


I encourage you to chase your dreams. Don't hold back. Anything. What do you love? What have you always wanted to do but found every excuse under the sun not to? Go do it! You'll love yourself for conquering a challenge and be oh so happy when you get to check it off your "to do" list!


Happy New Year and CHEERS!

Megan Kathleen

Pet Portraits // Yes I said PET portraits!!!

You don't see many pet photographers out there these days, at least I haven't.  Probably because pets don't get married, they don't have anniversary parties or birthdays.  Animals don't have their family photos taken every year either.  Pets can be apart of the family but easily forgotten.  Many people might think it's silly to have pictures of their pet professionally done.  My dogs are sort of like my children, tehehe.  While other people are taking pictures of their babies first Chrismtas I'm taking pictures of Lola and Bo wrestling on their dog pillow.  I know, sounds cheesy.  And...I'll be the first to admit that we have a canvas picture of Bocephus on our wall.  Yes, you read that right!  Why?  Well, because I love them!  I don't think I'm the only one out there either ;-)

What is interesting is the process of taking pictures of animals.  They can't talk back to you.  If they're trained well, you can tell them what to do, sort of.  Good luck with, "smile...make this face...nuzzle your wife."  It's more like, "sit. stay." Then I make a loud noise and wait for their awkward look like, "huh?"  If they aren't well trained, then it's up to you to figure out how in the world you're going to make them look good!  

I set out Christmas Eve in our winter wonderland to take photos of my pups.  And here is what I captured!  It involved a whole lot'a throwing fake objects, kicking snow on them, chucking snowballs behind me so they'd run toward me, and of course making those awkward noises that a baby photographer makes at the newborn.  I have to admit, it was fun and I LOVE the photos I captured!  Whether it remains a hobby or I pursue animals in photography is undecided, but I know that I loved every minute of it!

Below, is quite possibly my favorite photo ever of Lola!

Proof, that dogs CAN smile!

Cheers!

Megan Kathleen

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Day Trip to Bavaria Town, aka Leavenworth, WA

A sunday well spent with family in Leavenworth, WA.  Even though I live in eastern Washington, it is always fun to play tourist and meander around downtown Leavenworth.  Some of the shops we visited included: The Sophisticated Hippie, The Bag Shop, The Hat Shop, The Purple Door, Simply Found, The Cheesemonger, Kris Kringle, Jubilee Global Gifts (non profit & fair trade) and of course SOUTH for some yummy latin food!

Happy Holidays!

xoxo
megan kathleen

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Miss Megan Justice . Part 1 . Wenatchee, WA

Here is part one of Megan's Thanksgiving morning session.  This morning light looks stunning on her skin tone, doesn't it!?  Being that it is winter time, the days are so short.  The sun is setting at 4:15 PM.  Yes, I typed that correctly.  And it is rising at 7:22 AM.  That gives us a whopping nine hours of daylight.  That calls for early morning shoots, and it was totally worth getting up early for this light not to mention this was the first day of bright sunshine in a long time!

Here comes the sun, (doo do doo doo) here comes the sun...

A favorite of mine

I love this shot below.  Model status!

There are three parts to this session, one of which is filled with numerous attempts at blowing bubbles!  Ooooh....there are some really great photos coming up and I am so excited to share them.

xoxo
megan kathleen