.liam. senior shoot

I've known Liam and his wonderful family for about 10 years (give or take). I started "babysitting" Liam and his younger sister Riley when he was 10 years old, and from that point on I refused to babysit anyone else. They were my favorite, and I just didn't have time for other kids who didn't share our affinity for Harry Potter and mexican food. :)

Liam has been an artist from the beginning. One of my favorite memories of him was when he would lay on his parents bed and dictate short stories (that he had written) while I would type them out on the computer because he was too young to know how to type. Now, years later, he writes film reviews for our local newspaper. I like to think that I had a part in his early stages of authorship.

I feel so honored to have taken these senior photographs of my (not so) little Liam.

Here's what I saw while wandering around a local park with this cool kid:

Congratulations, Liam, on making it this far! I can't wait to see where life takes you in the coming years. Just be sure to remember your favorite babysitter when you become a big-time film maker and/or critic. :)

Have a wonderful Thursday, friends!

Carolyn

P.S. for other Senior Photographs check out my PEOPLE page, located in the top right corner of the screen.

.thanksgiving recap

Holidays are always a big deal in my family. 

We have a pretty big clan, and everyone is always invited. Growing up every birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Fourth of July.. (you name it!) we had at least 25+ people. There were many years that I remember my Mom renting plates so we would have enough. 

But this year was a little different. Life happened, and a good chunk of the family was unable to make it. We only had 12 people, which was sad, but it did have its perks. One of them being Mom could use her own china! Less people also meant Mom had to spend less time preparing food, and more time fellowshipping with the rest of us. I was grateful for that. 

My sister and I decorated the two tables (we usually have 4-5!), and I thought they were beautiful and totally picture worthy... if I do say so myself. :)

Here's what I saw:

Hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, no matter who you spent it with. 

Carolyn

.speakeasy: athens, ga

While in Athens, we wandered into Speakeasy for a pre-dinner cocktail. 

Pale blue walls, tea light candles, and street lights streaming through the window created the dreamy atmosphere inside this quaint upstairs bar.

I have a soft spot for low lighting, so I left my martini for a few minutes to snap some photos of my lovely friends enjoying good conversation and rest from a long day of exploring. 

Here's what I saw:

Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend! Can you believe Thanksgiving is this week??

-Carolyn

.an athens autumn

Last weekend some friends and I headed north for a long weekend in Athens, Georgia. It was a wonderful trip filled with cool weather, spontaneous adventures, fancy cuisine, and (a few) stiff drinks. 

Saturday afternoon we ventured over to the Georgia State Botanical Gardens, and I am convinced we couldn't have picked a better time of year to go if we tried. The color spectrum of the leaves were unlike any this Florida girl has ever seen- from lime green, to yellow, to bright orange, to deep red. 

Here's what I saw while wandering around beautiful Athens:

Happy Thursday, my friends!

-Carolyn

.new tricks

Hey y'all! So I'm taking a graphic design class this semester (you may have noticed I've up-ed the graphic elements of my blog posts) and we've been learning Photoshop for the past month or so.

Today I had to submit a project that was largely open ended. The only requirements were the size, and it had to include a variety of Photoshop tools. 

Most people in my class did movie posters, but that was just too boring for me. I chose to create a style piece that you may see in a magazine or a catalogue (cough cough J.CREW...cough cough).

Anyways, I thought I'd share it with y'all so you can see what I've been up to these days. Also, it's totally relevant to this blog because I took the picture! 

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, except I wish I hadn't cut off his feet. Oops. Oh well, I'm still a design rookie :)

P.S. Do you recognize the stylish and sauve model?? He's modeled for me a time or two before (remember THIS)

P.S.S. I learned how to do those cool product "pop-outs" from the blog Pugly Pixel. There are some great design tutorials over there. Check it out!

.food photography. pumpkin donuts!

Real talk: when I was little my first word was "candy."

I had a sweet tooth like none other. When it came time for my kindergarten medical shots, my mom bribed me with a bag of skittles. And by age 6, I acquired 6 cavities (that is a skill, my friends).

Over the years, this sweet tooth has lingered, and yesterday I found myself craving about 45 fun size Twix bars. So instead of driving to Publix and shamefully purchasing the Buy One Get One Free large bags of candy, I did the mature, sophisticated thing.

I made donuts.

And naturally, I took pictures. Here's what I saw:

(Donut recipe found HERE. I altered the glaze recipe because I couldn't find maple extract.)

Hope y'all had a sweet Halloween!
-Carolyn