Sept Wedding

Photographed a beautiful backyard wedding last night, the décor was over the top amazing!!

My last planned wedding for the year, so happy they let me be a part of their evening. I wish these 2 the very best, they are perfect for each other.

Ideas are a brewin' - Redding CA Photographer

I got my sensor cleaned at Crown Camera this last week. I can see the difference in the clarity of the images so I kinda got a little carried away sitting on my front porch the other morning on an overcast day. Click on the picture & you'll see the same surprise I did. Kinda scared me a little since I was concentrating on the bee & didn't notice it until I edited the pics. That bee was almost a meal.

The photo above is a bee critter that scares me more than the sneaky spider in 1st image.

Without getting all technical on you (that's honestly not likely to ever going to happen, lol) it has a trunk like thing, that got inserted into the pollen areas of the flower. It's body reminded me of a mosquito or mean fly but the trunk could be more like an elephants trunk, I just didn't see it flex. I kinda figured it was a bee though, as long as it's pollenating my beautiful blooms, that's all I care about.

The photo above has the teeniest bee I've ever seen & this next specimen below, I call, the Elvis bee, his tooshie was stripped like old time prison clothes & shakin' all over the place, it made me think of his song, "Jail House Rock".

Thankya, Thankya very much!

The super colorful flowers above are the Arizona Sun Blanket Flower. so happy, colorful & full of pollen, no wonder the bees like it. I didn't even notice how many variaties of bees we had in our front yard, until I started taking pictures of them. These photos show about 8 different kinds.

That's not a bee in the photo above, (Duh, I know you know), that's just a jumping spider checking me out. I think he was upset cause I was invading his personal space but I wasn't scared. I can take him. (Sometimes I wonder if anybody ever really reads blogs anymore, haha. If you actually read these, I'm so sorry, lol).

I planted this bleeding heart from a bulb not long ago & I can't believe I got to see it bloom this year, I was sure I'd planted it too late in the Spring. Well, I love little surprises & this was just a day full of them. It really makes me realize how glad I am to not be a small bug enjoying a flower right about now. Hope everybody has a great day.

I've got some creative portrait ideas sparking, it's time to see them come through. I just need the right people, like you, to help me.

Anna & Chris - Gaia Hotel Dinner Wedding

 Anna & Chris shared an intimate ceremony, followed by a dinner party at the Gaia Hotel in Anderson. Such a cute couple & what a stunning bride, Anna just beamed with happiness.

Right after the ceremony, Anna asks outloud, "Where's my husband..... (followed with a little happy scream to her friends & family, for saying husband for the first time after 6 years)." You could hear every bit of joy in her voice.

Sometimes ceremonies are more intimate than others, it doesn't mean they're "small" in any way cause they can be sure big on love.

CONGRATULATIONS ANNA & CHRIS!!!!!

Cheers to many years ahead!

Our Private Park Part 2 - Kimberly Kester Photography

Sometimes I see something beautiful that just can't be passed up & I'm super lucky I have my camera handy. Here are some of those somethings. I posted these on my Kimberly Kester Photography facebook page as well http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.248884498536832.58451.113161385442478&type=1&l=97a67395d2, stop by if you haven't already & check out my page. For those who are not a member of fb or can't access it, here are the same photos, so you don't miss out on our pretty private park. The day started with the moon rising early the other morning in the front yard, followed by some chilly sweet icing & ended with a sunset displaying her pretty pinkness. What a fantastic day!

As soon as the truck was hit by the quickly rising sun, the ice was melting, I had to work fast. These first 2 photos are of my truck, it rained the day before & was super cold, my truck is silver so the photos are super light & the ice formed almost flat with a sparkly crystal pattern. You can see how the strong winds shaped it beautifully, almost like velvet or feathers.

The photo above & the rest of these ice crystal photos are from Jons truck, it's dark green & the sun was hitting it differently than mine so they formed a lot cooler, I was secretly a little jealous when he pointed it out. This next ice pattern almost looks like choppy ocean waves. Remember to click on the image to make them larger.

Couldn't resist a heart shaped on Jons frozen passenger window (Marissa thinks I could do better, lol. gosh I love that girl, she's right) & I couldn't resist the last photo of the pretty sunset. It's not the best I've seen but I'm happy I had my camera available & ready for at least this one. The night before & the night after, didn't look this nice, so I'm not complaining.

We love our yard. As soon as the tulips, redbud blooms & so many more of our little things spread their Spring happiness, I'll be sharing those as well.

Getting back to why I started photography in the first place (for sharing little treasures like these) is so good for my soul. Photographing people is a completely different catagory when it comes to photography & I love it in it's own way, but I don't want to forget the beauty that I get to enjoy each day, right down to a fresh sprouted mushroom (like I photographed a few years back). I think it's why I'm an emotional photographer. I see the simple things that others might take for granted & I try to show the beauty that they're screaming out for me to capture.

I hope everybody stops & enjoys every moment, just stop, you won't regret those sometimes rare moments like the moon rising in the morning through the trees, Spring flowers bursting with bright colors that quickly fade, the cool ice sculptures that only come on those very chilly mornings during a strong wind or a cloudy sunset that just makes you thankful you got to see it. It's simply a quick moment when you look at the bigger picture of how fast time flies. Enjoy them!

Looking forward to August

I know it's only January but I'm so looking forward to August for the wedding of my niece Mary & John. I'm going to Oregon to shoot it, can't wait to see her wonderful smile & my other niece Amanda (Marys sister) is going to help photograph it with me. I'm one happy Aunt right now. Here is one of my favorite photos of Mary & John together from a couple of years ago, I don't get to see them enough to get updated photos but I'm ok with that, it makes me value each visit that much more & during my visit for their wedding, she is letting me do whatever I want, she's game for all my ideas & as a photographer, I couldn't ask for more. Maybe except for making it to another nieces wedding in Sept. Yep, I love family weddings.

"What would you do if you could never fail?" - Matson Vineyards

I wish I'd heard that question when I first got my camera 3 years ago. I could never imagine where my life would be today without it. There was a time when it was always by my side, wouldn't leave home without it, I might miss that Once-in-a-lifetime shot & that wasn't going to happen to me. Now, I don't take it out of the house if it's raining unless I'm headed to an appointment & rarely when I know I'll be strickly donating my time during my 2nd graders classroom visits. Back then I took only a few photos of people but I mainly searched out nature shots, I wasn't considering myself a people photographer. Added to that, I'm completely self taught, only the internet (just got high speed about a yr ago), listening to just about every professional photograph that would give any advice through their websites or blogs & tried to cram a lot of data, into a little amount of time. Even getting a little local photography store portrait courses. thinking I would become a professional in no time (which I would highly recommend to others wanting classroom interaction. I barely knew there were so many rules to photography, little lone I was allowed to ignore them after I learned them. Yep, I was a little overwhelmed... Come on...I bet somebody out there relates to what I'm saying, I can't be the only one....right? Recently, I turned to a professional photographer that I have followed since before we got high speed internet, Amanda Pair (based in Birmingham, Alabama http://www.amandapair.com/) & emailed her asking for some advice I was seeking. Saying that I was amazed she got back to me the same night I emailed her is a complete understatement, not to mention the fact that I contacted her in the first place (only 2nd time I've reached out to a pro to ask for their opinion). If you knew me, you'd know why. For the others that don't know....I have security issues, it's as simle as that. I'm not necessarily proud of it, it's simply who I am. Amanda actually responded to my email (that resembled a novel to her I'm sure), with the best advice. To make a short story long, I applied her ideas into what I was comfortable with & just went for it. The future outcome is still to be determined & it's something I'm learning to move past & just let God handle it. I'm almost there....I hope :) Anyways, the point I'm trying to make (like I said, short story long), I wanted to include a post that gives you a few of my favorite blogs, websites & inspirational photographers & sites of all shapes & sizes. These helped me continue my love for photography, they seemed to be there when I needed them the most,...at times I would read a blog post or article, I could totally relate to what they were saying, it seemed that God put that little something in front of me when I truly needed it the most, to just keep going in what I love. He has a way of doing that you know. Sometimes you notice it when it's happening, sometimes it takes a little longer. He has this way of touching our lives... For whatever reason, you just found this site (or a follower) & you might think something I have to say is interesting, you might follow a link I added, then discover yourself & what truly makes you happy. Isn't it time to make ourselves happy from time to time, I'm still learning to take my own advice on that part. So for those of you interested in photography, here's a list of places you can visit that inspired me or just simply taught me something new (online anyways)....I would also recommend adding Showit to your fb page, I love how giving & inspiring they are. David Jay is awesome & btw, he was also Jasmine Stars wedding photographer & the reason she started her wedding photography career in the first place. See, didn't I tell you, God has a way of touching our lives when we need him the most. Ahem, I know, I know....back to the list....

• Amanda Pair http://www.amandapair.com/
• Jasmine Star http://www.jasminestarblog.com/
• Crash Taylor http://www.crashtaylorblog.com/
• Digital Photography School www.digtal-photography-school.com/tips
• Me Ra Koh http://www.merakoh.com/
• Melissa Koehler http://www.melissakoehlerblog.com/
• Melissa Jill www.melissajill.com/blog.cfm
• The Pioneer Woman http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/
• The Sartorialist http://www.thesartorialist.com/ (so addicting, don't know why)
• Shutter Sisters http://www.shuttersisters.com/
• B&H camera store http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
• Showit fb page http://www.facebook.com/#!/Showit

Well, there you are, just a few cents I wanted to give. It was hard narrowing down my huge list this far but I hope this helps somebody out there. Btw, these photos are sooc (straight out of camera, I didn't even take the time to resize them), I really love them just the way they are.

They were taken at Matson Vineyard during their Crush on Sunday, October 2nd. I hope to go back to the next event for more photos. I'm really enjoying this creative Marketing avenue it gives me. If you haven't saved Matson Vineyard on your facebook page or stopped by for a visit and you love wine (or just interested in it), you should & go by their tasting room too.

This last pic is my favorite photo from the day & for my niece Amanda...I used my 50mm 1.4 lens, the camera settings were Manual mode with the aperture @ f/3.2, Shutter speed 1/640, ISO 200 on overcast morning with the sun peeking through here & there. I got down a little lower than the grape bunch & shot a little upwards & tried to get the leaves in the foreground for that nice blur. I use my back focus button for a sharper image, used the center focal point, focused on the grape pod then reframed the camera for a nicer shot with the grapes off center. Yep, I'm pretty happy with it if I say so myself! I hope to be posting more pics in a future post soon.

And if you're asking now how I would answer the question in the title at this stage of photography, I would say....you're looking at it, you can't fail, especially at art, it's all subjective & how I "see" things, so there's no reason to give up on my dreams so soon.

I thank "Showit" for asking the question in the first place, LOVE that site!!!

Wedding of Stacia & Mitch @ TBS Ranch

Mitch & Stacia tied the knot Saturday, here are just a few of their photos, what an absolutely beautiful wedding at the TBS Ranch, what an incredibly gorgeous couple.

Soon after their entrance, Stacia changed into her 2nd incredibly beautiful dress to finish out the reception in style (again).

The photo below cracks me up, can't help but laugh everytime I see it.

Did I mention it was 105 degrees, talk about melting but Stacia kept her spirits up all day. The only time I cried was during a little speech Stacia gave after the toasts, thanking her mom for all her hard work & how it wouldn't have been possible without her. It really was a wonderful day & I'm so happy for Stacia & Mitch.