Laze L Farm

A Weekend on the Farm

2017-01-29T16:18:00.001-08:00

This weekend has been a normal weekend. We have been pretty low key and it has been nice.

On Friday night we went out to eat with some friends at a local Italian restaurant and it was AMAZING. We always have lots of laughs and a good time.

Saturday morning we headed over to a neighbors house to look at a new addition to the farm. We brought home Albert and he is the cutest mini mule ever!!

I'm so excited about Albert because he is going to be a huge part of the new LLF Photography.

I took the dogs for a walk this afternoon and you can tell by Opys face he was ready by his Sunday afternoon nap.

After checking on Albert this afternoon and snapping a few shots it was back to the house for our Sunday afternoon nap, watching TV, ad eating supper with family.

Snow Day Weekend

2017-01-08T19:10:00.002-08:00

I just LOVE when it snows. It is so magical and just brings to life the beauty of our farm. I feel like a little kid when it snows and I just want to run and play it in all day long...or at least until I am frozen.

We got up early on Saturday morning and I looked out the window and it was still snowing We suited up and headed up to the barn to start feeding everyone. I had put the horses up so they would stay warm because for some reason they do not like to be up. They have a huge barn to get into but they refuse to use it. They will stand out in the rain and snow and never make their way to the barn.

Once we got everyone fed I turned the horses out to play in the snow. They bolted like a rocket and took off bucking across the pasture. They soon ventured back for some hay and I started snapping a few pictures.

We got the dogs jackets on before we headed out and they were waiting patiently on us before we headed out.

We have added some new cows to the herd since the last time I have blogged. One of my favorites is "Big Mamma" (she was named before we bought her) and she is a 3 year old Guernsey out of Virginia. She is three months pregnant and we can not wait to welcome another little one to the farm.

"Buffy" is my next favorite one. He is so cute and has the furriest ears ever. He is so friendly and is a Brown Swiss cross.

One of the new horses on the farm is "Jed". He came to us from Greenville, NC. He is a 10 year old registered Quarter Horse. When he first arrived his name was "Doug" but that wasn't going to work to well because my dad's name is Doug and that was just to weird.

He is the coolest horse ever. Everyone around here loves him because he is just as chill as the come.

Chris throwing hay out on Saturday morning.

After spending a few hours playing in the snow and feeding everyone we headed up to his mom and dad's house for a warm breakfast. Chris was relaxing reading the local paper.

I got a little bored so I headed outside with my camera and threw on a few layers and tried to capture a few pictures. Taking pictures of yourself is really hard but I had fun and got a few awkward shots.

On Sunday church was canceled so we hung out at the house just relaxing and having fun.

Sunday afternoon I finally ventured out to enjoy an afternoon with some friends. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at a local Mexican restaurant before heading back before the roads started freezing again.

Coming back home the sunset was beyond amazing so I had to snag a quick picture.

It was a perfect weekend being snowed in and enjoying time together.

If you would like to see all the pictures from our snow day please feel free to visit my photography page to view the images: http://lazelfarmphotography.com/blog/2017/1/snow-day-on-the-farm-1-7-17

Also if you want to follow me on social media:

Snap Chat: @mardia1

Instagram: @lazelfarm

Facebook: Laze L Farm Photography

Christmas Country Connection Reveal

2017-01-08T16:19:00.003-08:00

This is the third year that I have participated in this swap and it has been a lot of fun. I have met some awesome people through this swap. Thank you to the Guernsey Dairy Mamma and The Magic Farmhouse

I receive a package from Taylor Short in Missouri and I was really excited to see what she had sent. Taylor blogs over at The Aggie Hipster and has a cool take on agriculture and being a female farmer. She has a small family farm where they raise Angus cows and work on a cow/calf operation. That is similar to what me and my husband do but we are more on the dairy/beef crosses. We like the dairy flavor with the size of the beef steer.

Taylor was kind enough to write a sweet note and send a really cute Christmas card.

In the box she also included a butcher block in the shape of Missouri, a cute Christmas ornament and a really sweet children's book about Christmas in the woods.

I was honored to be able to participate in this swap again this year and can not wait again until next year!!

West bound and down

2016-07-02T09:02:00.001-07:00

Well I have been MIA for well over a month now. Once the weather started changing I have been wide open. Don't get me wrong it has been a blast but it definetely keeps you hopping.

Photography has been amazing. I have had some great places to shoot from rodeos, to beautiful weddings, to sweet families on our farm. I pour my heart and soul into each one. I feel like I become friends with people I do pictures with because I want to get to know new people!

Right now I am sitting in an airport in Charlotte, NC waiting to board a plane to Montana. This has been a dream of mine to be able to visit this part of the country. I can't wait to visit yellow stone and maybe see the Teton Mountains. It is going to be beautiful and a dream come true!!

If you would like to follow along on this crazy adventure follow me on Snapchat @mardia1 or on Instagram at @lazelfarms

I will post as often as I can but I'm not sure how good the wifi and cell service is out there!

Let me know of some good places to visit if you have any ideas!

-Sarah

3rd Anniversary Trip to Gatlinburg, TN

2016-05-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

We celebrated our 3rd anniversary on May 4. It's hard to believe I have been married to this guy for three whole years. Time really does start flying by once you get married.

We first arrived at our hotel in Gatlinburg. It is right on the river and the views are gorgeous.

We had to snap a few selfies on the balcony before heading out into down town Gatlinburg to walk around.

One of my favorite places to visit is Old Smokey Moonshine Brewery in downtown Gatlinburg. They have a live bluegrass band playing and you can sit in rocking chairs and listen to the bands play.

We walked around Gatlinbug for several hours and then we came back to the room, took a short nap, and then headed out to grab a bite to eat at the Alamo. They had some great steaks and we really enjoyed our time.

After eating we decided to take a drive up to Piegeon Forge and check out the night scenery. They have added a lot of stores since last year so we were excited for Saturday when we got to check all of this out.

As we were leaving Gatlinburg on Saturday morning I looked up and saw these guys repelling down the side of the mountain. They were doing a lot of road work so they were patching the moutain to keep the rocks from sliding.

Our first stop was French's Boot Store where Chris decided to get some new work boots.

Then we headed to Smoky Mountain Knife Works and walked around for an hour or so and looked at every type of knife you could imagine.

Our next stop was Cades Cove which is an old civilization in the Smokey Mountains of TN.

The drive between Gatlinburg and Cades Cove is beautiful. The Smokey Mountains are breath taking along as all the livestock we saw on the sides of the road.

Once into Cades Cove we were excited to see some more beautiful scenery.

They do guided trail rides and also hay rides so we had to stop and get a few pictures with the horses.

We got to the first cabin and decided to take a walk up into the woods. This black crow was just chilling on the post watching us. It was kind of freaky but beautiful at the same time.

I could have moved into this cabin yesterday. The views were amazing and it was in the perfect location. We snapped a few more selfies in front of the cabin.

I mean look at this view. Who could not wake up to this everyday?

We ran across this old church with a super old graveyard. It was beautiful to see the architecture inside and how the church pews are a lot different than today.

There was beautiful wild life everywhere!

So right after we saw this sign we saw...

A freaking blackbear cub in the middle of the road. It was the first time I have ever seen one in the wild.

This was right after the end of tour. When we made the turn out of the park, the cubs mom was going up the mountain trying to find it. So in one day we saw to wild bears in the bark. It was pretty amazing.

Sail Away With Me...

2016-05-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend I got to get away for a few days and go see my sister. It was also one of the last weekends that my friend Michaela will be in town before she goes to Montana for the summer.

We left on Friday night after we got off work and headed down towards my sisters house. We got there kind of late but were excited to get in bed and get ready to head to the beach the next day.

We decided to head to Emerald Isle, NC to hang out on the beach and do a little sight seeing.

This was the first time I had been to the beach since last year. It was a little chilly so we definitely didn't get in the water but did lay out on the beach for a few hoursl

The sky was overcast and cloudy but had this beautiful purple/pink hugh to it and made for some really pretty pictures.

I kept seeing this fishing boat coming up the horizen of the beach and new that I had to snap a picture.

Michaela was being a sea shell hoarder while we were there. She kept finding all types of them and stashing them on her towel. I don't know how many she ended up with but I'm sure it was enough to start a serious collection.

My sister and her boyfriend.

Again, I could not get over how beautiful the sky was and how amazing the views were.

After laying on the beach for a few hours we headed to the pear to see some more of Emerald Isle. This has to be one of the longest pears I have ever been on and it had an upper level deck.

The clouds were rolling in, the breeze was blowing, and the views were amazing from the second level of the pier.

After the pier we headed to grab a bite to eat at a place call the Crab Shack in Salter Path. All I can say is this is some of the freshest seafood I have ever eaten in my life.

Michaela and I decided to split their steam bowl. It was two parts of crab legs, clams, shrimp, 2 crabs, clam chowder, and coleslaw. Everything tasted so good! If you are ever in the area I definitely recommend giving this place a try.

Sunday we headed to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Then we hit up a local tack shop and spent a little bit of money!

It was a great weekend and I can't wait to see what other exciting weekends we have this summer!

A Weekend Update

2016-04-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a great weekend for the books. It was one of those weekends that I wish could have lasted a few more days.

Friday night we met up with my dad and step mom and grabbed a bite and then wandered around wal mart aimlesly for an hour or so and spent money that we didn't need to spend.

Saturday morning my cousin came over and we decided to take a short ride with the horses. My father in law decided to join us and we had a good afternoon laughing and goofing off while riding.

After we rode a couple of hours we took the horses out to a new pasture to enjoy some fresh new spring grass.

Also this weekend we finally got our farm logo on our horse trailer. I was super excited because it is something that we have wanted to do since we bought it.

After our ride on Saturday we decided to head to the local fire departments truck pull. I know this sounds red neck but don't knock it until you try it. It is a lot of fun and a fun evening to sit and hang out with everyone.

Sunday we headed off to church for a great service. After church my friend Casey, who is also a photographer, asked me if I would be interested in heading to a Motocross race right up the road from my house.

I was excited because I have never gotten to photograph motocross and I'm really always up for a new challenge.

What I didn't know is how much walking and red dirt we would get into. But getting dirty, hiking through the woods, and almost getting run over by a motorcycle was all worth it. I can not wait to do this again and get some awesome shots.

What are some fun things that you like to do on the weekend?

Photography Series | Cat Ekkelboom-White

2016-04-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

You are in for a treat this week. Cat is an amazing photographer as well as an awesome member of the FCA. So lay your camera down and enjoy getting to know another amazing photographer.

1. What is your Name?

Cat Ekkelboom-White (It's a bit of a mouthfull, but I wanted to keep my maiden name and take my husbands name to celebrate our different backgrounds (Dutch and English)).

2. What is the name of your blog and photography business?

I work under Ekkelboom-White Photography, but my wedding and travel photography is Wild Connections.

3. Where are you located?

I'm located in Innsbruck, Austria but I'm UK (Suffolk) born and bred. I've been living in Austria for almost 5 years and I love being surronded by the mountains.

4. How did you get interested in photography/how long have you been

shooting?

I've always been one of those people who always too a camera away with me, but it was usually a little point and shoot (or a disposable film camera back in the day). When my grandfather passed away we found his old SLR cameras. My husband was interested in photography, so he inherited the cameras. I bought him a DSLR that worked with the old lenses, and he got really in to photography. I was always impressed with his pictures and it sparked my interest a bit. The real passion started when we were looking for a photographer for our wedding. I fell in love with how the images of people I'd never met could move me to tears, and I realised how powerful photography is, and despite the fact that I didn't yet own my own camera, I knew I wanted to be a wedding photographer. So after the wedding, I went out and bought myself a DSLR.

5. What do you shoot with (Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc)

I shoot mainly with Canon (digital and quite recently film too), but I also have an old Olympus film camera and a Lytro light field camera.

6. What is your favorite lens?

It has to be my 24mm Tilt Shift lens and it's an absolute dream. You can be so creative with it, and being manual focus, you really have to take the time and focus on the shot.

7. How do you edit your photos?

I use Lightroom and only if necessary, Photoshop, as I don't really like to retouch images.

8. What is your favorite type of photography to shoot?

I absolutely love weddings, and my favourites are ones that take place in beautiful remote locations. But for myself, I also love taking my camera on a little hike and capturing some beautiful landscapes.

9. How did you find out about the FCA?

The FCA first came on to my radar during the European Wedding Congress in the Netherlands. I read a bit about it and signed up for the free facebook group. Everyone was so helpful and supportive. At first I didn't think that I had the funds to join shining lights, but after a couple of workshops that left me a little bit frustrated, I realised I'd be better investing my money on something that was going to really help grow my business.

10. What does the FCA mean to you and how has it helped you grow your business?

The facebook mastermind group has been an absolute godsend. There are so many wonderfully supportive women involved, and whether they are seasoned professionals or just starting out, everyone supports everyone else. There is no ego or bitchyness that you get in some groups. It's all about supporting each other, celebrating success, and helping us work through our problems. It's lead me to be so much more confident and assertive in my business, and it's given me direction when I felt like I was going round in circles with too much to do and not knowing where to start.

11. What are some good tips for upcoming photographers that are trying

to get started in the business?

Invest your money in to a mentor or mentorship program like Shining Lights which is gives you a program to work to and a network of support. Forget taking workshops, or limit yourself to only doing one workshop a year, as sometimes I think it's too easy to just do lots of workshops because you tell yourself you need to learn, but really it's just procrastination, and you need to be out there and shooting for REAL. I realized after 2 workshops (which cost me over €1000 in total) that I could probably learn just as much by shooting a wedding for free, and I would be less out of pocket for it! So offer to shoot a few weddings for free and don't be ashamed of it. You'll learn so much more from that than you ever would at a workshop.

12. Be creative and let your juices flow. Is there anything fun about

the type of photography that you do/what drives you to do

photography.

I absolutely love what I do. Put me in a room with a camera and I'll keep myself amused for hours. I put my heart and soul in to my photography, and I still cry at weddings! I love trying to find new ways to see things. I walk the same route to work every day, and each time I challenge myself to look for something I haven't seen before. It's the same at weddings. I like trying to find new ways to photograph things, so that every wedding album is different. Playing around with tilt shift lenses and double exposures are my uttermost favourite things to do, especially as I don't get to do that very much on a wedding day. I'm also learning to shoot film which is such a great experience, but it's quite an expensive hobby!

I'm also a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Our free weekends are usually spent skiing, snowboard, hiking or climbing via ferrata routes. I love wild landscapes and I'm always trying to translate the excitement that I feel in to my photographs. I'll pretty much do anything to get a great shot.

13. Facebook: www.facebook.com/wildconnectionsphoto

Instagram: @ekkelboomwhitephoto

Website: www.wildconnectionsphotography.com

Blog: www.wildconnectionsphotography.com/blog

If you would like to be featured in the Photography Series please contact me at sarahjteague@gmail.com

Photography Series | Ilaria Petrucci

2016-04-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to welcome Ilaria Petrucci to the Photography Series this month. Ilaria is a free soul and captures photographs that make you feel what is going on in the moment. She is truly an inspiration and I have enjoyed getting to know her. Please enjoy this amazing photographer!

What is your Name? Ilaria Petrucci (Italian, in case you are wondering )

What is the name of your blog and photography business? Ilaria Petrucci Photography

Where are you located? I am based near London but always happy to travel and explore new places. I love exploring! On my top list of places I would love to shoot a wedding at are Santorini, Tuscany and Venice!

4. How did you get interested in photography/how long have you been
shooting? I always have been the "paparazzi" of the group but never thought I could do this professionally. Until I worked at my first wedding ever as a third shooter and fell in love with capturing weddings straight away.
It was almost like finding my “belong to” place and since then it has been the most amazing journey!

5. What do you shoot with (Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc) I am a canon girl.

6. What is your favorite lens? I love prime lenses, just LOVE them. I shoot weddings with my 35mm 1.4, 50mm 1.2 and 85mm 1.8. At the moment I am just so in love with my 35mm!

7. How do you edit your photos? I learn from very earlier on to get it right in camera rather than relying on editing. That's where my strength is, in shooting, not in photoshop. My editing is very minimal as I like to keep my images as real and natural as possible. I am not a fun of filters and special post production effect, I just use light when shooting to give me everything I need.
Post production I do most of the editing in Lightroom and final adjustments in Photoshop if needed.

8. What is your favorite type of photography to shoot? I want to photograph love and connections, intimacy and in the moment-moments. I love to photograph people, people and more people!

9. How did you find out about the FCA? A beautiful fellow photographer and friend of mine recommended it to me and she talked about it with so much excitement she totally enrolled me into looking into it and when I did, I loved it and still do.

10. What does the FCA mean to you and how has it helped you grow your business? I am still one of the newest members and only at Module 3 but so far it has given me huge insights into what type of business I really want to create and pushed me to have the courage to pursue it. Everyone in the Facebook group is so lovely and really always happy to help and share, which is refreshing!

11. What are some good tips for upcoming photographers that are trying
to get started in the business? My tip would be to forget about what everyone else is doing and do YOU. There is no right or wrong, if there was, what would be the point? Create a business that is an extension of you and who you are. It is so easy to lose yourself into looking through endless “inspiration” online. I found that nothing would kill my real inspiration more than looking for it in someone else’s work. When I first started I would turn up to a shoot with a lot of images in my mind only to go completely blank as soon I started shooting. Now, I turn up with myself and with my words in my mind and this allow me to be fully self-expressed and create work that comes from me rather than being a copy of other peoples work.

12. Be creative and let your juices flow. Is there anything fun about
the type of photography that you do/what drives you to do
photography. To me, photographing people is my way to spread beauty in the world. To show people how beautiful they really are and to create images that will make you fall in love with everything about you and your life over and over again. That make you recall memories and emotions, a moment that you couldn’t recall otherwise.
This is the gift I was to be and give to my couples.

13. Facebook: www.facebook.com/ilariapetrucciphotography
Instagram: @ilaria_petrucciphoto
Twitter: @ilariaphoto_
Website: www.ilariapetrucci.co.uk
Blog: www.ilariapetrucci.co.uk

If you would like to be featured in the Photography Series please contact me at sarahjteague@gmail.com

Big South Fork, TN

2016-04-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend we decided to head to Big South Fork, TN to ride horses for the weekend.

I have never been here so I was excited to check out the trails. All I can say is I wish we had been able to stay for an entire week to see much more of the beautiful trails.

Friday was spent all day driving, cooking supper, and setting up camps.

Saturday morning we got up early and fixed a HUGE breakfast. Then we hit the trails.

First stop was the over look. I can' even explain how beautiful this overlook was. It felt like you were standing on the edge of the world.

The cliffs judding out over the gorge below was one of the most beautiful views I had ever seen.

Then we climbed back on and headed down into the gorge. We followed one of the creeks until it came into a huge river.

Once into the river we decided we were going to walk across until my horse decided to walk on a huge rock that flipped and we almost went under.

Luckily he got his footing back and we just decided to stay on our side of the river.

By this time the horses were getting tired so we decided to head back to camp.

On the way back Lindsay decided to let her horse stop in one of the creeks to get a sip. As she stepped into the creek her horse marred up in the sand. She went belly deep but she got out and both of them were good to go.

After a long day of riding, we hosed the horses off and turned them out into the small pastures to play and chill for a bit.

I couldn't have asked for a better trip. These ladies definetely made it a lot of fun. I can't wait to go back next year.

Thank you to Saddle Valley Campground in Jamestown, TN for being such a great host and letting us spend three wonderful days there.

Do you really want to know?

2016-03-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

So I haven't done an update on our lives in a few weeks so my friend Cassie over at Always a Blogsmaid did 21 questions to get to know her better. I thought that it would be fun and something different that I haven't done before.

Plus being home sick with the stomach bug, it gives my brain something to do besides get into a tv coma.

1. Are you named after someone? I am named after one of my great ++++ grandparents and my middle name is after my mom and grandmother.

2. When was the last time you cried? Joey Feek of the group Joey and Rory recently passed away and I have read the latest blog post the other day and cried. They are such a beautiful couple and I hated to see someone so special leave this earth so early.

3. Do you have kids? No but we will have a small Loudermilk walking around sometime in the future. I have many great cousins that fill the gap for now and are a constant reminder how much work kids are.

4. If you were another person, would you be friends with yourself? It depends on what day of the month you ask me this. Most days I would be like sure!! but there are a few days I may have to pass lol

5. Do you use sarcasm a lot? I don't think I can speak one sentence with out using one word of sarcasm!

6. Will you ever bugee jump? Probably not in this life time. Riding a huge 200ft roller coaster is close enough for me.

7. What is your favorite cereal? Crispix with a cup of sugar on top

8. What is the first thing you notice about people? I look at people's shoes. I know this is weird and random but for some reason I always look at peoples shoes first.

9. What is your eye color? brown or hazel

10. Scary movie or happy endings? I love scary movies and happy movies. So I am game with which ever.

11. Favorite smells? Fresh shavings in the barn and cut hay in the spring

12. Summer or winter? Winter. You can put on enough clothes to stay warm but can only take off so many clothes when it is hot in the summer.

13. Computer or television? I like both. I am bad to work on the computer and watch tv at the same time.

14. What is the furtherist you have ever been from home? The furthest west I have been is Iowa to visit family.

15. Do you have any special talents? Riding horses if that counts.

16. Where were you born? Good ole Hickville, NC

17. What are your hobbies? Photography, horseback riding, hiking and cooking.

18. Do you have any pets? 14 cows, 3 horses, 2 dogs, and 1 cat.

19. Favorite movie? Eurotrip, 8 seconds, and Pure Country

20. Do you have any siblings? Yes one sister, Kate

21. What do you want to be when you grow up? I'm still trying to figure this one out. I would love to do photography full time and travel the world doing this. But still working on it.

Photography Series | Heike Moellers

2016-03-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to welcome another lovely lady to the Photography Blog Series. If you are just joining us please check out Week 1 and Week 2 because so far we have had some amazing ladies. Heike is such a lovely soul, down to earth, and plum brilliant behind the lens. I can't wait for you to get to know her better!!

1. What is your Name?

Heike Moellers

2. What is the name of your blog and photography business? HEIKE MOELLERS PHOTOGRAPHY

3. Where are you located? Ibiza, Spain & Duesseldorf, Germany

4. How did you get interested in photography/how long have you been

shooting? I am shooting all my life actually. But as a freelance photographer I am working for almost 13 years now. I just started as a self-employed photographer after my time as a trainee.

5. What do you shoot with (Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc) NIKON!!

6. What is your favorite lens? 85mm with 1.4

7. How do you edit your photos? I edit my photos with Capture One and Lightroom.

8. What is your favorite type of photography to shoot? I love to attend weddings. And I love to do editorial shootings wedding related.

9. How did you find out about the FCA? I am a member for one year now. My first time I’ve read something from Charlie was a post about attendance on a wedding fair. And then I followed her work….

10. What does the FCA mean to you and how has it helped you grow your business? It is such a support to have this group and the mentoring from Charlie. It took my business on a whole new level. It made me realize that I just need do work on my dreams and to get out of my comfort zone!

11. What are some good tips for upcoming photographers that are trying

to get started in the business? Find your own voice. Make your self countable.

You can never fail, it is just the circle of learn and grow!

12. Be creative and let your juices flow. The whole job is fun. I think as a self-employed photographer you need to live photographer, breath photography and dream about photography. I cannot imagine one single day; I haven’t done a photo over the last 12 years. And there are so many ideas in my head. Spinning around making me crazy. It is hard work to build a business, so you really need to be passionate about it over everything else. Otherwise you will not stand the pressure.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/verliebt.verlobt.fotografiert

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/theheikemoellers

Website: http://www.heikemoellers.com

Blog: http://www.heikemoellers.com/#!blog/c1rpo

If you liked this one we have another talented photographer scheduled for next week!

If you would like to be featured in the Photography Series on this blog please email me sarahjteague@gmail.com and I will get you the list of questions.

Photography Series | Sarah Wayte

2016-03-11T04:00:00.000-08:00

This week I would love to welcome Sarah Wayte to the blog. She is also a member of the Female Creatives Association. I'm a little partial to this one because we share the same first name. Sarah is quirky and sticks to her guns to pave her own path with her style. She has some great advice for upcoming photographers and also photographers already in the business.

My name is Sarah, Big Chief Photographer at Sarah Wayte Photography! I'm a Wedding and Portrait Photographer based in Essex, UK but I have passport and will travel! I would describe myself as kind of quirky, not very traditional and a big believer in doing things your own way. I love books and films and words and images are some of my favourite things. I also swear like a sailor and still wear my hair in bunches because why the hell not!? I'm married to Stuart and I am Cat-Mum to two balls of fluff, Lewie and Lola. :-)

1. What is your Name? My name is Sarah too! You know what? When I was growing up I absolutely hated my name. It annoyed me that, unlike most of my friends, I had a name that you couldn't really shorten or make into something else (like Elizabeth becoming Liz or Beth or Lizzie or Ellie, you know?!). The only variation I ever got for my name was "Sar" (rhymes with stare) and that drove me nuts. But now I quite like the fact that you can't shorten it. Hah!

2. What is the name of your blog and photography business? My business is Sarah Wayte Photography - certainly not the most imaginative name on the block and now made complicated by the fact I have since got married and my surname is now Woolley. Although I like the fact that I get an excuse to use my maiden name frequently (because I really don't like my married name! LOL. No slight on the hubby, of course. Just... Woolley, seriously?!).

3. Where are you located? I am based in a small village just outside of Chelmsford, in Essex, UK but I do happily travel for work as I love visiting new places!

4. How did you get interested in photography/how long have you been shooting? Like most things in my life, photography is something I kind of just fell into. I've had an interest for as long as I can remember, winning a teeny tiny little point-and-shoot when I was around 7 years old (I used my first entire film on photos of graves in a graveyard!). I've always been creative, spending most of my teen years writing creatively and then, in my early 20's I went through a spate of doing nothing creative at all because life and jobs and bills got in the way! And I hated it! I decided to change that one day by learning to paint so I went out and bought paints and brushes and canvasses and an easel, got it all home, opened it up to start and the moment I touched the brush to the canvas I realised I didn't have a flippin' clue what I was doing! I knew I had images in my head that I wanted to convey, but wasn't really sure how to do it. I went back to my point-and-shoot (an early digital one by then) and started taking photographs which I found I was really enjoying and people were giving me lovely comments on my photographs. I realised this was my medium and it went from there. I've been shooting properly now for about 10 years. I set up business 4 years ago.

5. What do you shoot with (Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc)? I'm a Canon girl through and through. I have two 5D3's and my three favourite primes (35, 50 and 85). On my days off I use an Olympus Pen. And I occasionally dabble in film with my 1970's SX-70 Polaroid. I'd love to shoot more film though.

6. What is your favourite lens? Without a shadow of a doubt it has to be my 35mm f/1.4. I just love the look the 35 gives you, very documentary. And I love that it challenges me to get in close when shooting candids at weddings!

7. How do you edit your photos? Lightroom! LR has been my saving grace. I used to painstakingly edit each image in PS and it would take me weeks to edit an entire wedding! With LR, it now takes me around 1-2 weeks. It's also taught me to try and do as much in camera as possible so that I do very minimal editing afterwards. I use VSCO Film Presets because I love the look they give me and I tweak exposure, noise and white balance when necessary. Other than that, that's about it! I do occasionally run an image through Alien Skin Exposure if I feel it needs a little something extra like some Tilt/Shift bokeh (now there's a lens I want!) or a light leak, but that's pretty much it. Nice and simple, much like me ;-)

8. What is your favourite type of photography to shoot? People. Or, more specifically, lifestyle portraits and weddings. You know, up until 4 years ago, I had never even photographed a person but since the first wedding I got forced into photographing (seriously, they wouldn't take no for an answer!), I found I absolutely love capturing people with my camera.

9. How did you find out about the FCA? In all honesty, I really can't remember. I suspect I probably saw a link or something on Facebook one day but couldn't tell you for sure. I signed up to the FCA when I was at a really low point in my life. I was suffering with depression following the near-death of my Mum, I was struggling to maintain my business because of my full-time commitments with my day job and I just was so unhappy. I was in a very dark place. Kind of ironic then that I should find myself signing up to a program called Shining Lights, huh?

10. What does the FCA mean to you and how has it helped you grow your business? I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a total cynic and, when I first started delving into the FCA and all it had to offer, my initial thoughts were, "Well Sarah, what the hell have you signed up to now? What is this hippy shit?!" But I got talking about it with a friend of mine who I consider to be a bit of a "business guru" and when I told him about some of the things I had read (manifesting being one of those things) he totally started nodding along and saying, "Yes, that stuff really works!" It made me sit up and pay a bit more attention. I decided to give it a proper try. Again, I have no shame in admitting I am not the best student. I've never done particularly well with online courses and I do dip into Charlie's modules pretty sporadically but I can honestly say I have learned so much. The wealth of information is spot on, the support from the Shining Lights group is invaluable and being a part of the FCA has given me the confidence to get out there and be me, which seems to be having a knock on effect on growing my business. Who knew?!

11. What are some good tips for upcoming photographers that are trying to get started in the business? Getting started is such a conflict. On the one hand, I advise upcoming photographers that they should get out there and shoot, practise, practise, practise and show off your work online, get critiqued, look at what others are doing, get inspired and learn from them. And yet, on the other hand, I want to advise them to put on their blinkers, ignore what everyone else is doing, don't be disheartened by some of the cruel comments people will like give you and your photographs, don't succumb to the curse of comparison. It's a really tough business to get into, particularly if you're a sensitive soul because there are some real snobs and nasty people out there who want nothing more than to put you off your stride. It's only because they fear the competition, usually because they can see how talented you are and don't you to come along and steal their thunder (sorry, full of cliches today!). I guess the best advice then really is to develop a thick skin, work out who the haters are and who the genuine ones are giving you great advice and critique and helping you to develop your talent and business. Phew, talk about going round the houses to get to that point!

12. Be creative and let your juices flow. Is there anything fun about the type of photography that you do/what drives you to do photography. In this section just let loose and write about whatever you feel like. We want to get to know you as a photographer so share that here. Also if you have any other questions that you want to throw in please feel free! This is very informal but I want to share what you guys do! Photography is so much more than pointing a camera and clicking the shutter. Sure, it's about the technical things, getting the exposure right, composing an image to make it aesthetically pleasing etc. But actually, that isn't the be-all and end-all. For me, what truly makes a photograph is what's going on behind the image. I want an image to convey relationships between people, emotions they are feeling at the very moment the shutter clicks as well as the memory of what's happening right then. I want a bride to look at a photograph 15, 20, even 30 years down the line and immediately be transported back to the moment it was taken, remembering the flutter in her chest the moment she was about to walk down the aisle or vaguely picking up the scent of her beautiful bouquet. Also, photography has also become incredibly important to me since nearly losing my Mum 2 years ago. It made me realise that we have to grasp each moment with our loved ones and commit each of those moments to memory, with a photograph. Couples nearly always come back to me years down the line and tell me how important the photographs of a certain loved one have become since they died. And yet, in our every day lives we don't think to take photographs of normal, every day occurrences. The things that we tend to remember about our loved ones are the ones we have to dig around in our memories for because it's not the sort of thing we would have a photograph of. That's also why I've become more interested in lifestyle portrait sessions, rather than studio sessions. I would much rather have an image of my Mum cooking the Sunday dinner than one of her dressed to the nines with a full face of make-up on in a white-walled studio smiling inanely for the camera. One of my favourite images is of her sitting on our sofa and reading a book. I know that, in years to come, when she is no longer here, that that is how I would like to remember her. So I have a photograph of that moment to remind me. So yeah, I guess that's ultimately what drives me and my photography. I guess what I'm all about, really, is photography with heart. :-)

13. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SarahWaytePhotography
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sarahwaytephotography
Twitter: http://twitter.com/SarahWaytePhoto
Website: http://www.sarahwaytephotography.co.uk
Blog: http://swaytephotography.wordpress.com

Michelle + Mrinal's Engagement session in Rotherhithe

Hannah's Glasnevin Cemetery Session

Baby Jake Home Comforts session

Confetti shot from Beth + Matt's Valentine's Day Wedding

Thank you so much Sarah for such great advice and letting us into your world of photography!

Stay tuned next week! We have some more great photographers coming up.

If you would like to be featured in the Photography Series on this blog please email me sarahjteague@gmail.com and I will get you the list of questions.

My Biggest Downfall

2016-03-08T04:00:00.000-08:00

No body is perfect and I do not claim to be anywhere near perfect.

One of my biggest downfalls is telling people how I feel.

I can talk to a brick wall all day if it talks back about any thing under the sun. When it comes to me telling someone how I feel about them I struggle.

I have several close friends and I struggle with telling each of them how much they mean to me. I go day in and day out and see them and try and touch base with them, but I still struggle to let them know how much my friends means with them.

I know each one of us has our own ways of showing someone how we feel. With my husband it is cooking him supper every evening, keeping the house clean, and helping him on the farm. I always tell him that I love him but my true way of showing someone how much I care is by doing something for them.

(via)

I wish I could be more vocal when it comes to my feelings. I almost feel weird like they will look at me like what are you doing. I don't want to take this life for granted and my friends not know how much they mean to me.

I want to step out of my comfort zone and tell my friends truly how much they mean to me in my life and how much they make me want to be a better person and friend.

So if you are one of my friends and you are reading this, just know that you mean the world to me and I cherish our friendship. I cherish the times we have together and the secrets we share.

This life is short and we are not promised tomorrow or even our next breath. I want to step out and tell people how I feel. It will be something that I work on challenge myself with everyday.

Does anyone else have trouble stepping out and letting a friend know how they feel?

Photographer Series | Lauren Caris

2016-03-04T04:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited for the first photgrapher in this series. She is a member of The Peony Project and a super great photographer. Her pictures will make you want to run into the kitchen and fix you some pancakes. So with out further adieu please meet Lauren.

I started Lauren Caris Cooks in January of 2015. I have always had a passion for food and cooking and I think I always knew that one day I wanted to work in the food industry, I just wasn't sure in exactly what capacity. Through blogging I have discovered a huge passion for photography, which I never would have otherwise, and now the more I learn about photography, the more excited I get about developing my work further!

1. What is your Name? Lauren Caris (Lauren Caris Short in real life!)

2. What is the name of your blog and photography business? Lauren Caris Cooks.

3. Where are you located? Currently in Zurich, Switzerland. I'm from London, England originally.

4. How did you get interested in photography/how long have you been shooting? I started to take photography seriously and really develop my work when I started my blog in 2015.

5. What do you shoot with (Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc) I'm currently shooting with a Nikon D5200.

6. What is your favorite lens? I switch between a Sigma 35mm f/1.4 lens and a Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens. They are both very different and serve different purposes, but if I HAD to choose, I would choose the Tamron.

7. How do you edit your photos? I use a combination of Lightroom and Photoshop.

8. What is your favorite type of photography to shoot? Currently food photography, as it's what I'm the most experienced in, but I'm looking forward to some opportunities to shoot more portrait photography this year as well!

9. What are some good tips for upcoming photographers that are trying to get started in the business? If you're a beginner, getting a handle on manual mode on your camera is a must. Fill yourself with as much technical knowledge you can find. The more you understand about the technical side of shooting, the more you will be able to achieve the looks you want. I saw a real turning point in my photography when my skills started to develop to the point I could turn the vision I had for a photo in my head, into a reality on the screen. Never stop learning. There is always more to learn, more to practise. It's part of the beauty of photography, there's always more to capture!

10. What drives you as a photography? For me, the combination of food and photography brings together the two things I am most passionate about. I love making delicious food, and I love making it LOOK amazing! It's so fun to play around with props and composition, dressing the food up in different ways to really get the best out of it. I am a huge believer in self development and never settling, so photography for me is an outlet that I can constantly improve myself and my skills. The learning will never be "done" and I love that. Plus... I get to eat my subject matter at the end, so there's always a treat waiting at the end of a shoot!

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Stay tuned for next week and another amazing photographer!

If you would like to be featured in this photography series please feel free to email me and I will shoot you over an email. sarahjteague@gmail.com

Photography Series

2016-02-19T04:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to introduce a new series for the blog.

I love getting to know other photographers in the business and what drives them.

This series will be getting to know photographers from around the world.

Starting the first Friday in March you will get to meet the first amazing photographer.

If you are a photographer and would like to be featured please shoot me an email at sarahjteague@gmail.com and I will be glad to add you to the list of photographers.

Sitting Still

2016-02-18T04:00:00.000-08:00

Sitting still is something that I am not good at. I do not have the patience for it and I start getting ancy.

I feel like God is making me sit and be still and I'm not happy. I have tried to change my current state but he keeps telling me no. I know he is pruining and waiting for something great but this in between time sucks.

Lets just get real here. I'm a Christian and I am stubborn. I don't want to do it God's way at times I want to do it my way. I know there are times that we have to be patient and wait. I'm trying to wait but it is so hard.

This is something that I have struggled with for a time. I want to be more open and hearing what God wants me to do during this time. I'm trying and digging into scripture to see where he leads me. Each day he is giving me hope that change is coming.

I know he wants to do amazing things in my life and take me places that I have never been. I know that he has big plans but this waiting time stinks.

Are you in a waiting period? Do you have any good books or scripture that will help fill this time of pruining?

Johson City, TN

2016-02-12T04:00:00.000-08:00

I love those days spent in the car driving and not really having a plan.

Well a few weeks ago on a sunday.

It started out with a trip to Cracker Barrel of course. No road trip or vacation can start with out a trip to this good place for some country eating.

Chris enjoying some coffee while waiting on our food!

Then it was on to Asheville, NC to make a new lens purchase (I was a little giddy about this moment because I got the lens I've been longing for fow a long time).

Once we got the lens and business out of the way it was time for the road trip.

We took a cruize through downtown Asheville and looked at all of the tiny shops.

The map was showing kind of our road map but not exactly. We just were trying to get a good feel of the area (because we really didn't know where we were going).

Once we made it into Johnson City, TN we were driving around looking for a place to eat and we came upon Cootie Browns. Now if that is not a name for a restaurant I don't know what it is.

We were kind of sceptical about the place but OMG once we got our food it was AMAZING. There was nothing left on our plates because we inhaled all of it. So if you are in the area I would highly suggest this place.

After our delicious lunch we decided to take a ride down to Roan Mountain, TN state park. After awhile our GPS was lost. We just kind of started guessing where we needed to go.

Once into the park we decided to take a pit stop at Roan Mountain State park to walk around and see some of the scenery. It was a bit cold but so beautiful.

Once leaving the park we hit a two lane highway that took us up across the mountain and back down into North Carolina. It was such a beautiful drive and we enjoyed every bit of it.

I can't wait for our next road trip adventure!

Snow Day Weekend

2016-01-28T04:00:00.000-08:00

Thursday night we got pommeled with the first snow shower. Midway through Friday we got an ice storm followed by another 5 inches of snow. This meant a three day weekend at home with no plans and no where to go.

On Friday we went to bring the horses in to feed them and the snow just started to fall. It just kept coming and snowed on into the night and into Saturday.

Not having any grass we had to keep plenty of hay and feed out for the cows and horses.

Then we took a short walk out into the pasture to see all of the snow.

Our cows our like dogs and will follow you everywhere. The larger steers and heffers will follow but the 10 smaller ones are still figuring it out. They will get it eventually.

Saturday morning we got up and had breakfest with the inlaws and then headed out to catch the steers and horses again.

I had to pull the camera out and snap a few shots.

It was a great weekend of lots of bowls of chili and potato soup. Warm food for breakfast followed by cups of hot chocolate. These are the weekends that make my heart happy.

The world stops when it snows and allows you time to recharge your soul.

Snow Day 2016

2016-01-23T19:28:00.001-08:00

We don't get much snow around here but when we do we usually stay out in it most of the day.

We were going to catch the horses to feed them because they like to be stubborn and not come in. I of course had to grab my camera and catch some moment in the snow.

Monday Morning Rambles

2016-01-13T04:00:00.000-08:00

On Friday night we grabbed a pizza and headed over to a friend's house to hang out and catch up. She is also a massage therapist so she worked on me for a little bit.

On Saturday we worked on the fence all day long trying to get the hayfield fenced in.

Saturday night we headed to the Dailey and Vincnet with my grandmother and father in law. I snapped about 500 pictures but I have a bad habit of doing that lol

Sunday we got up and went to church. After church we grabbed a bit to eat with one of his best friends and his fiance. Then we were planning on riding but it was so cold and windy that we set up another obstacle course.

When I got home from church on Sunday Opy decided that he was going to eat the left over crums in the pizza box. He knew he was in trouble when I got home.

Christmas in the Country

2016-01-11T19:21:00.003-08:00

This was the second year that I got the chance to participate in the Christmas in the Country gift exchange.

I got partnered with Darcy Sexson from Success Is Reason Enough. I got to read her blog, stalk her on social media, and try and get to know her as much as I could. Unfortunately the gift that I sent her got sent back and when I received it, the package was broken. So I am in the process of getting her a new box of goodies. She also just welcomed her first new little one into the world!

The person that sent me a gift was Robyn Goddard from The Ranch Wife Chronicles. She definitely hit the nai lon the head will all the cute gifts. The first gift she got us were some cute ornaments to hang on our first Christmas tree.

Next she got some cute milk jugs along with some of my favorite candy. There might be a few pieces left.

Of course the horse had to come in and she got me an embroidered cloth for the kitchen.

She also loves photography and sent some of her stationary that she made. I've used a few of them as thank you cards for Christmas!

It was great getting to know some new gals and findind some new blogs to follow. If you get a chance watch out for next year for this swap. It was a blast!

2016-01-07T04:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend was one for the books. It was a lot wrapped into just a few days.

On Thursday evening (New Years Eve) I headed to a friends house at Love Valley to enjoy an evening of just talking and hanging out. Several of us sat around and talked about horse, life, and everything in between. At midnight we turned the TV on and watched the ball drop and headed out on the front porch to listen to everyone shoot off their shot guns.

Friday was a nice lazy day around the house while the guys went hunting. I did a little cleaning and then it was off to shoot a newborn session. Little Callie was so cute and so easy to work with. She had the sweetest eyes of dark blue.

On Saturday I grabbed Cole and headed over to Love Valley for a nice afternoon ride. We spent a few hours in the saddle and then me and Chris headed off to Dodge City Steakhouse in Wilkesboro to enjoy a nice supper. The steak was awesome and I can't wait to go back.

Sunday we headed to church and after church I headed to the valley again for a fun afternoon on an obstacle course. We decided to set up some logs to walk across, a tarp to walk over, plastic bags blowing in the wind, a bubble machine, an umberella, and an oversized ball.

The horses did great and didn't spook at much. Cole did everything great until Janet brought out her mini pony Reesie and Cole did not know what to think of her.

On the way home I saw the most gorgeous sky and had to stop at the stop sign and take a quick picture. These kind of weekends are ones that you don't forget spent with friends and family and horses.

The Biltmore House

2016-01-06T04:00:00.000-08:00

My sister and I decided for Christmas we would visit the Biltmore House.

Neither one of us had been since we were about 12 years old. This place is beautiful and decorated to the brim for Christmas. I can just imaging life back in the late 1800s and what life was like back then.

One of the coolest parts of the gardens was the waterfall which is located on the back of the Bass Pond.

I ran off and forgot my camera and had to just use the cell phone. I was literally dieing as we called through the grounds but next time I will remember.

The view from in front of the house.

The view off the back porch of the house.

One of the pergolas in the garden.

Inside the green house.