Highlights from some recent sessions ...

August, September, and October were pretty busy months.  I was hopping!  Between photo sessions, being a wife and mom and all that those titles entail, raising a boatload of Monarch butterflies, volunteering at my church, being PTO Treasurer (still), etc. etc., I didn't take much time to blog.  So now I thought I would share an image or two from the sessions that were keeping me up late into the night editing until my eyeballs bled.  (Not really, but sometimes it felt like it.)  :)

(I shared some peeks back in September if you want to check them out also.  This post includes the ones that happened after those.) 

There was Zac ...

And Evan ...

And Paige ...

My lovely sister-in-law and my nieces ...

The whole B family ...

which even included a couple dogs ...

A baby bump ...

And an adorable big sister ...

My friend, Jen, and her two kids ... 

A 35th wedding anniversary celebration ...

And last, but not least, a family that I have had the pleasure of photographing a couple times before ...

Things are slowing down now that the colder weather is upon us.  Though I am hoping to do some snow sessions again this year.  They were a blast last year!

As this year winds down I can't help but feel truly blessed by all of the great folks who entrusted me to capture their memories for them.  Some were friends or family but many were people I didn't know who were referred to me, which is really a great compliment.  

I plan to spend my "slow" season doing some DSLR teaching, editing my personal pictures, and learning more about Lightroom and Photoshop.  And just spending time with my family who has been so (mostly) patient with me during this time of growth.  Oh, and finally updating this ol' blog.


In case you are interested, here are a couple other places you can find me:
My website:  Kimberly Vensel Photography
My Facebook page:  Kimberly Vensel Photography

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This and That

My days have been filled with shooting, editing, and butterfly rearing lately.  God has really blessed me in those areas which has left little time for blogging.  But I thought I'd pop in for a moment to share a few pics.  Okay, maybe more than a few.  :)

August consisted of:

A lot of this ...

And this ...

And this ...

And lots of this ...

And let's not forget my lovely assistant on several occasions ...

But August wasn't ALL work.  We did squeeze some family fun in too.

We spent a day at Idlewild.  Nick is missing from this pic because he refuses to ride the Loggin' Toboggin.  :)

We visited our local farm show and the kids rode some more.

The kids and I visited a new-to-us state park.  We hiked and swam and explored.  It was a great day!

Keira and I finally donated our hair.  We each got 10 inches chopped off!

The kids went back to school on August 27.  I will share their back-to-school photos another time.  You're welcome.  :)

Then September came.  Which brought with it this beautiful baby girl ...



And these lovely teens ...


And most recently, this polite young man ...


I have four more sessions scheduled this month.  On top of planning a 16th birthday party, helping with children's ministries, and PTO.  And let's not forget homework with the kids, the never-ending piles of laundry, keeping the house somewhat presentable, trying to spend at least 5 minutes here and there with my sweet husband, and making dinner most nights.  Why is it my kids think they need to eat supper every. single. day?!  

I think maybe I'll sleep next year.  :)

Despite all that, we are trying to squeeze in at least a little fun this month.

Alex was excited to be old enough for the Young Eagles plane rides this year.  He looks so small in that plane!


The kids have next Friday off of school, so we are hoping for nice weather so we can do some more hiking/exploring at a nearby park.

We also had more of this ...

Let me know if you see her (or any of the others I have tagged - TLA 175 - 183 so far).


My last caterpillar got into its J form yesterday ...

And went into chrysalis today - shortly after this handsome male emerged from his chrysalis.


I'm sad to see this year end, but it has been a remarkable year!  If the last four make it to adulthood, I will have raised 156 Monarchs this year!  WOW!  156 miracles happened right here in my office over the past 3 months!  Praise God!  Planning for an even better year next year, God willing!

Lastly, Keira is taking a photography/graphics art class this year as an elective (which makes this mama very happy) and needed to create a collage.  She chose to do a butterfly collage.


Isn't it spectacular?!  All of the photos are mine except for the white dots around the edges.  Apparently I don't have any photos of white butterflies.  :)  The only requirement for the project was that she included at least one photo of herself.

The template was cut out using the Silhouette machine - each wing section is about 10 inches.  She cut each photo out and placed it all on a black foam board.  Once it was all stuck down, she cut around it with an exacto knife.  Needless to say her teacher was impressed.  :)

Well, I need to get back to editing.  I hope to blog more about each session and my Monarch journey this summer soon.  Hope you are having a great day!

Linking with Kim today ...

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Josh & Hanna ~ Prom 2014

In the fall I had the pleasure of photographing Josh's senior photos.  I'm not sure if I ever shared them, so here are a couple ...

Josh's mom was referred to me by a friend and she has since become a big fan of mine.  Mainly because Josh was dreading getting his pictures done after a bad experience with the school's photographer.  She said that I made him so relaxed and that he really had a fun time with me.  He said so after we were done.  That makes me happy because that is one of my goals - to make my clients feel more comfortable in front of the camera.

Fast forward to May ... I had a mini session giveaway on my Facebook page to celebrate a milestone of fans.  Josh was the winner.  He chose to have a prom mini session and thankfully I was available to make that happen.  Once again we had a great time despite the rain that tried to ruin our fun.


I met them at Josh's grandparents' house where they have this gorgeous crab apple tree.  As soon as I saw it, I fell in love.  :)


He and his girlfriend, Hanna, are so fun together.  I guess they've known each other forever and are a bit competitive with each other.


Josh wanted a shot with the neighbor's barn in the background.

    
We concluded their session with a little basketball in the rain with Josh's youngest brother.  This is where I got to see the competitiveness come out.  :)  I love the fact that Hanna wasn't afraid to get in there too, especially with heels and a gown on.

I loved the time I got to spend with Josh and his girlfriend.  And Josh's family.  They are all so nice.  I hope to have another opportunity to photograph Josh.  Like maybe his wedding?  Not for a while though.  He's just a baby.  :)

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