A Very Merry Chenzhou Christmas!

My friend Megan who has gone to the same orphanage in China for 2 going on 3 years was able to send her sweet kids a very special Christmas! She gave all of us an opportunity to sponsor a child in the Chenzhou orphanage for Christmas! But these kids didn't want the newest game or the best toy or technology. All they wanted was clothes and blankets and scarves to stay warm with during the winter months in the orphanage. And we had the opportunity to spread that warmth to them! This project warmed my heart and reminded me of the Christmas spirit.

In the picture below, the little girl in the middle with the pink jacket is named Hope. She has downs sydrome and my friend and I had the wonderful opportunity to give her a special Christmas this year! It was truly a blessing and seeing these pictures makes my future trip so much more real.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I see the world through a camera.

~Anna

Just a little tidbit.

Here's a few photos that I have taken lately. A lot of lovely Christmas cards and fun times!

4 family members, 3 chicks, 2 chickens, 2 cats, a dog, a bird, and a pony. All in a living room.

Little Lamb!

Fog through the trees.

The Ware Wolf.

Senior Pictures.

The Hayes Family.

There's a real smile from Nicholas.

Julia.

The brother of mine.

Paul.

Dylan.

Savannah.

Ella.

Emma.

*I'm still working out details for China in 2013 but I'll keep everyone posted!

I see the world through a camera.

~Anna

Projects-Customed name plates!

Hey guys! Long time, no post!

So, as a fundraiser and just for fun, I am going to be making name plates like these. For the first one, I took a letter from each of the places our friends hung out around Franklin and wrote her name. The second one has the letters spelled out in old photography film and I then took a picture of each letter. I can write anything from team names, to hobbies, to names...so basically anything that involves letters or numbers. I am in the process of collecting different designs of all of the letters in the alphabet and numbers. So there will be many options to choose from. If anyone wants to order one, just contact me and we can discuss what you want it to say, where you want the letters from (a particular place, area, nature, etc.), and the size frame you would like. We can also discuss prices. So, just let me know!!

I see the world through a camera.

~Anna

Wedding.

Here are a few samples of Alan and Gracyn's wedding reception!

New deadline.

So, I've decided (after some careful thought) to postpone my mission trip to China until the summer of 2013. This seems to be the right choice because of the economy and I have an even longer time to fundraise and my friend is going to fundraise with me so we can go together and experience the work to be done. We have time to decide where we want to go, what we want to accomplish there, and to get all our passports and paper work filled out. This decision feels right for both of us so we are going to start thinking of fun ideas to raise our funds! I'm still going to be using all my photography money for this trip and selling prints from previous shoots and frames. I'll keep updating information as we think of fundraisers during the next year. I'm exciting to finally start working toward this with my friend and to see what we face along the way. This journey will be amazing.

On a different note, I'm taking pictures for Alan and Gracyn's wedding next Saturday! Congratulations to them and a big thank you for hiring me! My first wedding! I'm very excited and very nervous. I went to see the church today and it's beautiful. I am starting to envision some settings I hope they like!

Decision time.

Sorry it's been so long since a post!
So, I now have some choices to make about China: to go ahead and sign up for a trip one friend is going on, or wait and see if another friend can go and choose a trip with her. Choices, choices. I know this decision is not based on which friends can go or even if a friend goes with me, but in this case it would be nice to have a familiar face around while working in a foreign country. I have some time to decide but this is going to be on my mind for a while. Before I can even sign up, I need to go get my passport. That should be a fun experience. It's necessary though, obviously.
In my photography world, there's only about 2 and a half weeks until Alan and Gracyn's wedding! I got new equipment that I am dutifully working to master before their big day. I am so excited for them and honored to be their photographer. :)
I am also taking pictures for TN Parks and Greenways next weekend, thanks to the referral of a friend. That will be a fun experience that will hopefully amount in some more job opportunities.

Here's some photos I have taken recently with my Fisheye camera and 35mm film. :) Hope you like them!

Birdie, birdie.

the little boat that survived the storm with 2 passengers

little cabin in Michigan :)

every sunset is different. Especially at Glen Lake.

I really love successfully capturing sunlight.

Thanks for keeping up!
~Anna
"It can be a trap of the photographer to think that his or her best pictures were the ones that were hardest to get."

A look at Glen Lake.

My family has a little cabin on Glen Lake in Northern Michigan. I rather enjoy trying to capture the colors around me. I hope you enjoy it. :)

The shores of Lake Michigan.

Ducks with purple wings :)

Glen Lake is has the bluest water I have ever seen.

It's God. Can you see him?