I have been doing the YMCA wrong...

I know!

You are thinking really Brittney?! Honestly! How can you mess up the YMCA!?!

Oh but you can!!

So it all starts when I get a text from my friend asking if I would like to drive to Oklahoma (only about an hour and half away from us) to see KC and the Sunshine Band the next day to surprise her older brother (who just loves all those 70s and 80s hits).

Me, being up for any excuse to take a little road trip, goes of course!!

(I don't know much about 70s and 80s music, and couldn't quite honestly tell you any of KC and the Sunshine Band's songs...I'm much more of a country music girl)

Anyway, we tell him that we are going to dinner in Fort Worth and on our way to Fort Worth we make a little detour. :)  He was so excited, to say the least!!

It was on our way that my friend tells me that the Village People are the opening act!

In the intro of Destination Truth, the guy says "I've seen some unexplainable things and I've done some things I can't quite explain."

As we are dancing to Macho Man, this saying seemed all too fitting. (mostly the first part, than the second!) :)

So the last song the Village People sang was, of course, the YMCA.  At which point, they inform us that we have all been doing the YMCA wrong!

Apparently there is a wrong way to do the YMCA!!!  It is the M and the C when things start to fall apart.  If you would like see the right way to do the YMCA, go HERE

Katherine

This is my amazing friend Katherine!  I just love this girl!  So beautiful!!  We did a mini session today so she could have some head shots for her job.  We went to this awesome location in Addison, it is The Village on the Parkway.  Me and the awesome Michele came across it and we both instantly fell in love with it!  I hope I have an excuse to go back soon!!

This is big....no. BIG.

I have finally decided what I specialize in!!!!!

Yes, after months and months (if not years) of debating.  Agonizing.  Thinking about the pros and cons. And flip-floppin' like a fish out of water.  (I swear I have bounced back and forth between families, seniors, kids, and weddings like a crazy person.) But no more!

I have picked what kind of photography I am going to specialize in.

This is big people.  Like really BIG.

I could never figure out what I wanted to specialize in.

Nothing felt just right

Have you ever tried on that trendy shirt that everyone is wearing?

And you are all excited, but when you put it on....well it fits....but just doesn't quite look right.  And it is kind of scratchy and you could wear it, but it is just...eh.

Yeah, that is how I felt when I thought about picking a specialization.

Till I thought of this, that is!

And THIS idea hit me and baby it was love at first sight!  It was like finding that perfect little black dress! AND then looking at the tag and seeing that it is on sale!

If I were to guess, this is what the first person who put peanut butter and jelly together felt like.

Its just right.

After I thought this, I knew there was no turning back.

After really thinking about it, I realized that truly this has always been the kind of photography I have wanted to specialize in.

Even when I was 13 years old, I wanted to specialize in this.  I just didn't know at the time.

What?!?

You want to know what it is? What I'm so excited about?

Yeah, I can't tell you right now.  BUT I will soon!!

I'm completely changing my website to reflect my specialization.

And I don't want to rush this.

This needs to be just right.

So on May 17th, the day after I graduate college, I will let you in on my secret.

I can't wait to share this with you!!

Jake's Full Gallery Is Up!

Hey guys!

Jake's full gallery can be found at My Smugmug. Here are some of my favorites! There are so many I really like, it is hard to pick favorites!!

Some photographers don't like sun flair...I'm not one of them! :)

56 days...1344 hours...80640 minutes...

I'm very much a "future" kind of girl. A "what's next" kind of girl. A "dream bigger" kind of girl. A "well you just watch me!" kind of girl when someone tries to tell I can't do something.

I graduate college in 56 days...1344 hours....somewhere around 80640 minutes.

To say focusing is challenging for me would the understatement of the year.

My computer seems to automatically jump back and forth between my journalism assignments to my communication presentation due Thursday to Facebook to TED: Ideas Worth Spreading to Lightroom to edit my photos.

Just back and forth, back and forth.

I'm not one of those people worried or scared about graduating.

Ok, a little bit.

But mostly, I'm so excited.

It is a new beginning.

I wonder where I will be in a year, 2 years, 5 years.

I never would have guessed I would be where I am today 5 years ago.

I can only imagine where I will be in 2015.

I feel like anything is possible...I hope I always feel like that.

Destination Truth and The Creepiest Thing I've Ever Seen......Ever.

Thank you Destination Truth! I now won't be able to sleep ever.....again.

So if you don't know what Destination Truth is, it is this show where they take a team out to search for all those crazy myths and monsters you hear about growing up. Like leprechauns and big foot and anything else you can think of!!!

It really is an entertaining show!! And one of the guys on there, Josh, is hysterical!

But can I just say, there is not enough money in the world for me to work on that show!!!

They do some crazy stuff!

One of the creepiest episodes I've ever seen is the one with the Island of the Dolls (Warning!! Do not hit that link, unless you are brave or stupid! Either will work.), which is in Mexico.

This island is just wrong on sooo many levels! It is really the creepiest thing I've ever seen.

Jake

What can say? When you get a guy like this and find a cool location like this, it will pretty much make any photographer start dancing!! ....Possibly singing too. ;)

Outside Our Windows

"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today." -Dale Carnegie

Go take a walk with your friends. Smell those roses outside your window. It really is the quickest way to relax, so you can carry that world on your shoulders.

Is that spring knocking on my door?

I'm scared to get my hopes up that it might actually stay warm for awhile.

Nonetheless, I thought maybe if I did some spring cleaning that it might also help the weather get on the same page...it's worth a try!

Spring and fall are my favorite seasons, when it isn't too hot or cold. In Texas we usually get about a week of each season, 2 weeks if we are lucky!

With the weather warming up, I'm beginning to fill up. So please book your session early!

Snapshot

Hey there!

First off, welcome to my journal!

I'm a college senior. (woohoo!)

I love country music.

I've lived in Texas my whole life.

I love this big, blue open sky.

I love driving with the windows rolled down (even though my hair does not!).

I have been known to have the windows down when it is cold out and the heater turned on.

I don't like cold weather.

I love driving and not knowing where I am going.

I tend to play my music just a little bit loud.

My favorite movie is Chasing Liberty, its about this girl who ran off and had amazing adventures in Europe. Most people don't know that about me. I use to watch it in high school over and over again dreaming that maybe one day I would have the courage to be so adventurous.

I still dream about getting lost in Italy, but I now know I have the courage to do it.

I was home schooled.

I recently started riding roller coasters a couple of years ago.

I'm single, but I am a firm believer in true, real, ever lasting love. I know it is out there because I see it everyday in my parents who have been together since they were 15 years old.

I don't believe in luck, it is only opportunity meeting preparation. But I use the term luck a lot.

I like setting big goals for myself. Sometimes I meet them and sometimes I don't.

One of my goals now is to have my own house and studio in 5 years.

Even though if I added up all the money I have (including those coins under the cushion) I wouldn't have enough to even come close to a down payment.

But that's ok me. I'll get there.

Oh. And I love capturing memories and emotions.

I still have a long way to go.

But I'm getting there.