blah kind of day

I managed to cross five, six… no - seven things off my to-do list today. All this despite feeling like only 40 percent of my brain was working at any given time.

Do you remember the ping pong game on the old Apple 2Es? The further you got the faster the ball moved and the harder it was to position the little cursor to ricochet the ball back into the box. That’s exactly how my head feels today. Everything is moving so fast I can’t hang onto anything long enough to make sense of it. I’m trying desperately to keep something from escaping and being lost forever.

Today was an off-day. Not a bad day, just an off day. One of those skip breakfast - sharpen your pen – forget to grab you lunch that’s sitting on the counter - accidentally hit ‘reply all’ - refer to a gadget when you’re in a meeting about gizmos kind of off days.

Pause.

Aren’t I a bitter Bessie... Not today. Today I choose to retaliate; the rest of my day is going to be fabulous!

Game on.

Tracy Anne Photography

Gaining momentum

It has been sixteen days. Just over two weeks since I tossed out my first official post on this blog announcing my new adventure. I'm amazed at the response I've received. Family members, friends, aquaintenances - even strangers have wished me well. And so much has happened since this train started...
I've booked five family sessions plus another portrait session for a high school couple (hint - Adam will be making another appearance on my blog). And of course my brother and my friend Michelle who jumped on the Tracy Anne Photography bandwagon before it even had wheels. The train is starting to gain a little speed.
And I'm hoping it will be barreling down the tracks by this time next month. A newspaper in Ames is featuring Tracy Anne Photography in the business section of their October 15th issue! Being on the other side of an interview was an interesting experience for a change. A huge thank you to my friend Roxanne for sending my info to the editor.
There are a few more ideas in the works, many of them sparked by my discussion with Jill last week. Plus a great idea to donate a free senior session to the local Post Prom committee to be raffled off next spring. Thank you Ronda!
Needless to say I'm really glad I had last week off... although I'm not entirely sure where those five days went.

Foggy day for photos

Usually on my drive to work the sun drenches the ground with this awe inspiring golden hue. Of course the week of my 'staycation' (vacation at home) it's been foggy every morning. But last night I decided today was the day. Today would be my sunny morning for scouting some locations. I woke up this morning, threw back the curtains and found myself staring into a murky mess of low slung clouds. Arg. So much for my sun shiny day. No matter. I waited a couple hours for some of it to burn off and headed out.
I glanced in my rear view mirror and this amazing tree caught my attention. The fog had woven itself in among the branches and leaves. What little sun there was peering through the clouds glistened off the dew laden spider webs in the ditch.


I ventured onward stopping in Huxley. Considering it's only three miles from home, we visit Huxley pretty frequently. It may be to get a DQ peanut butter cup blizzard at 9 p.m. but that's okay. Today I realized that I've never really stopped to... look around.

Locations

No idea what this plant is but it's goregous!





I took a break from scouting long enough to meet fellow shutter bug Jill Fleming for lunch. We had such a great time talking and laughing.

Jill - thanks so much for answering all of the questions I flung at you. Looking forward to getting together with you again soon. Good luck at the Chris LeDoux event next month! Can't wait to hear all about it.

When I got back into town I took a quick location safari of Cambridge.

There's a museum in town that has the neatest stuff on display in the windows. One of these days maybe I'll get a chance to check it out.

More locations

Love the peanuts lunch box!


Apparently door knobs and stairs were the themes of the day...

Adam: Senior and family

I love going to places I've never been before. The excitement. The adventure. The thrill of getting lost. And to think I was going to Ryan's step-sister Tricia's house. Our busy life just hasn't intersected with the busy lives of two working parents and three boys. Gee, I wonder why.... It's not like careers, school, sports, jobs, friends, girlfriends and being a family takes much time. :-) But all that changed this weekend when I ventured south to take Adam's senior pictures.

North Park was fabulous! Every where you turned there was a great back drop for photos. We had a great time. Adam was a good sport; he did everything I asked without question - from climbing in flower beds to sitting on swings.

After wrapping up with Adam, we picked up the rest of the family for a few more photos. There were lots of laughs - especially when trying to get the dogs to cooperate. But we managed to get a few good shots.



Quincy, Tricia, Adam, Alex, and Zach (Missy and LuLu too) thanks for letting me play papparatzi for an afternoon. I had such a great time; you have no idea! Enjoy...

Senior and family moments continued

Welcome

I’ve dreamed about it. I’ve hoped for it. I’ve anticipated it. I’ve been absolutely terrified about it. But I’ve planned for it. And now Tracy Anne Photography is finally a reality. *Yeah* This is the official release party, and you’re invited.

At first it was a fleeting thought. I took pictures of family for fun. I already had a 9-5 job. So I shoved my photography on the shelf labeled “hobbies”. Other things on that shelf came and went – like under water basket weaving (just kidding), but photography was always there. I took my camera everywhere; a part of me is still a newspaper reporter at heart. I attended a seminar in Kansas City led by the two premier wedding photographers in the country. And that’s when the idea was born.

Over the summer I started applying for second jobs. The thought of working in retail over the holidays almost made me ill. Those news clips from the day after Thanksgiving ran on repeat in my head. You know the ones, a mob of terrorized shoppers beating down the door and sprinting inside. In my news clip, I was standing in the middle of it all about to get trampled.

At this point I seriously considered making my photography a business. But it meant taking a pretty big leap into a pool of water muddied by a lot of risk. So I sucked it up and applied at Target. If I have to work somewhere it was going to be somewhere I like to shop. After working my day job, I started my first night at 5 pm. Six and a half hours later, I was driving home. My entire night was gone. All I’d get was a measly $40. I was tired, crabby and bitter. And that's not me. In two days this second job had transformed me into someone even I didn’t like.

Apparently, my husband noticed. The next night two dozen miniature roses waited for me with a card that said “Do the photography thing. We’ll figure it out.” And that is why I married this man. Well, that and he changes the oil in my car.

So here I am. The morning after deciding to start my photography business, I got a Facebook message from a good friend asking me to photograph her wedding. Immediately I knew I’d made the right decision. Thanks Michelle!

After ironing out a few last minute details, Tracy Anne Photography is officially open for business. I’ve posted a few samples of my wedding, family, baby, children and senior photos below. Contact me at taschlater@hotmail.com for more information or to book a session.

Wedding moments

Wedding moments

Family moments

Baby moments

Children moments