Where, in your life, do you find your home away from home? Today, I pray you find peace and quiet away from the craziness… even, if only for a moment.

Some people have the gift of learning by hearing instructions, or even by looking at a step by step manual. I, unfortunately, don’t really have either of those gifts… I learn by doing. A lot people ask me how I started with photography, wondering if I went to college to get a degree in it. The answer to that is… I almost did. For a long time, I bought into the normal societal assumption that to be anybody, to make a decent living, you NEED a degree. So naturally, when deciding I wanted to be a wedding photographer, I assumed that I had to go to school and graduate with a degree. Well, after a lot of conversations with numerous people, through lots of prayer and deep thinking, I decided against going to school… and instead, go and do photography. I watched tutorials, I went to photographer shootouts, I read books and manuals. I did take a few college courses on business and photoshop, but all my knowledge and experience in photography comes from doing as much of it as I possibly can.

So, at WPPI, that conference I talked about in my last post, my friends and I decided to further what we were learning and actually put our learning to the test. For these photos, since I didn’t bring my own camera (Nikon), I used Alexandra’s camera (Canon) to shoot. Now, before you Nikon lovers shun and banish me to the edge of town, just know I’m even more in love with my Nikon than I was before.  But for the record, it really truly is what you do with the camera that matters…. not what brand you use.

Here are some of my favorites from the evening of shooting for fun….

(Photo Credit: Betsy Lackey)

These three images were taken with one table light to her left….

These were taken with the desk lamp on to her left, and a floor lamp held up to her face to her right…. kinda looks like studio lighting, no? Loved these photos!

Alexandra holding the lamp for the above shots…

Then I shot a few of Alexandra with just the desk light on her left… Love the soft and seductive feel of this one!

Then they both stole the cameras back and shot me, but they made me laugh too much…

So then we got dressed to attend a photographer social function and ended up being REALLY late because we were doing this….

All in all, it was rejuvenating and SO MUCH FUN to shoot just for the fun of it. I highly encourage you to have fun, experiment, and put your book learning to action…. however that looks in your own life.

I love it.

Anyhoo…. the beauty of this conference is that it’s soooo packed with information, people to meet, things to see, and ideas to consider, that the growth happening during those few days is like forced osmosis. At the end of each day, it feels like your brain is exploding…. in a good way.

But I think my favorite part of this conference is what happens in between all of the learning, seeing, and people meeting. My favorite is the conversations and the time spent with those who sharpen me. Iron sharpens Iron, and I crave relationships like that. Although business and technical improvement are really important, they can’t be everything we talk about. And while I AM a photographer, I’m also a person who craves deep relationship, and I can’t live a healthy and balanced life by just nurturing one part of me. So in between the business and photographic learning at WPPI, I get to spend my time delving deep into issues regarding real life, purpose, and love with people whom I have the privilege of calling friends. We get to pray together, study His word together, cry together, and laugh until our insides fall out. The holistic growth the happens when friends, who happen to share the same passions as you, come together to build each other up…. it’s vital to my growth… as both a photographer and a person.

Here’s a few shots Betsy took of me while a few of us were in a fit of hysterical laughter…. love them!

“The years go by like stones under rushing water. We only know, we only know when it’s gone.” -Needtobreathe

]]> http://katenoelleblog.com/dallas/feed/ 1 http://katenoelleblog.com/creating-traditions/ http://katenoelleblog.com/creating-traditions/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:21:41 +0000 knoelle http://katenoelleblog.com/?p=4446 Last week, I photographed Century High School’s Holiday choir concert. I’ve been present at most concerts with my camera ready for the past 3 years or so…. to help document the evolution of Century’s choir program and to show support for my dad. It’s really cool watching the students grow up and gain confidence with their voices as they move through the program.

This past year, my dad had the opportunity to write the Alma Mater for the high school…. and it’s been exciting for him to hear it sung at football games and pep rallies. How cool is that?! He wrote the song that will tie all alumni to each other throughout their lives…. the song that promotes unity and pride for a school. What an amazing tradition to be a part of…

I thought these few shots were really amazing from the concert… shots of my dad leading the choirs and the audience in the alma mater…. and students actually getting into the spirit of it…. I’m proud of you, Dad!

Today has been a “cave” day, and I’m so grateful for it. I’m thoroughly enjoying editing, culling images, uploading, emailing, and FINISHING things. This year has been so crazy and I find myself wondering where the balance is between getting things done and living joyfully through the “real life” stuff that happens. I suppose the answer would be grace– grace given to me for taking a little longer to deliver things, giving grace to those who don’t understand, and giving myself some grace when I realize I can’t be perfect. I’m learning more and more that control is a fallacy, and I’m deluding myself thinking that somehow I can control the way life goes. Things happen, uncontrollable things, and the only thing I CAN control is how I react to it. Sometimes the hardest part of moving past the bad “real life” stuff  is wrapping your mind around the “I CAN do this” and letting that carry you through.

]]> http://katenoelleblog.com/october/feed/ 0 http://katenoelleblog.com/keep-your-eyes-open/ http://katenoelleblog.com/keep-your-eyes-open/#comments Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:02:16 +0000 knoelle http://katenoelleblog.com/?p=3894 If you could soldier on headstrong into the storm,
I’ll be here waiting on the other side.
Don’t look back, The road is long. The first days of the war are gone.
Take back your former throne and turn the tide.
Cause if you never leave home, never let go,
you’ll never make it to the great unknown till you keep your eyes open, my love.
So tell me you’re strong, tell me you see. I need to hear it, will you promise me to keep your eyes open, my love.
Just past the circumstance, the first light… a second chance.
No child could ever dance the way you do.
Oh, tear down the prison walls, don’t start the curtain call.
Your chains will never fall until you do.
Cause if you never leave home, never let go,
you’ll never make it to the great unknown till you keep your eyes open, my love.
So show me your fire, show me your heart
…you know I’ll never let you fall apart, if you keep your eyes open, my love.
Open up your eyes, the weight is unbroken.
Open up your eyes, keep your eyes open.
Don’t let the night become the day, don’t take the darkness to the grave.
I know pain is just a place the will has been broken.
Don’t let the fear become the hate.
Don’t take the sadness to the grave.
I know the fight is on the way when the sides have been chosen.
Cause if you never leave home, never let go,
you’ll never make it to the great unknown.
Open up your eyes!
Keep your eyes open!
So tell me you’re strong, tell me you see!
I need to hear it, will you promise me to keep your eyes open, my love.
So show me your fire, show me your heart.
You know I’ll never let you fall apart, if you keep your eyes open, my love

- Needtobreathe

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

-Mark Twain