New York, New York

As a photographer one would imagine my home is littered with prints and framed photos. Sometimes I  imagine it that way too however... it isn't. It's not to say that I don't take a lot of photos. I do - often daily.  I have images that I love but they live trapped in 1s and 0s, the bits and bytes of my hard drives.

I don't make New Year's resolutions, but if I did, printing my personal photographs would be one of them.  I work so hard at capturing images for others and making sure that they have tangible photos to love, that I forget that I love them too.

A few weeks ago as my birthday gift, my husband and I went on a trip to New York City with my brother in law and his girlfriend. I'd been before but never with enough time to "do all the things."  This time we did everything. Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, Manhattan, Wall Street, Chinatown, Broadway, 5th Avenue. . .the list goes on. I took some photos I really love and am promising myself to have them printed and framed in our house.

These are a few of my favorites from the trip. There's something so freeing yet challenging for me in photographing personal projects. Particularly in creating images without human subjects. I love portraiture but it was fun to do something different. I hope you enjoy them as well.

{to challenging yourself}

-jbw-

The true beauty of New York; these images were taken within a half block of one another!

I think the Brooklyn Bridge is one of my new favorite places.

Chi Omega's true, She will stand by you

More than just girls hanging out. More than staying up late talking about life and love. More than t-shirts with letters on them or cheers and chants.  More than fun times out or slumber parties in. More than colors, symbols or secrets.

Chi Omega means so much more to me than that. Chi Omega is so much more than that. In Chi Omega, I could be myself. More importantly though, Chi Omega taught me to be the BEST self that I could.

The ideals I learned to cherish, the life skills I walked away with, the sisters who started as friends and now feel like blood. These are what makes Chi Omega so much more.

Happy Founder's Day, Sisters!

{love in the Bond}

-jbw-

Jazmyn + Jasmine

The past two weeks have just been full of encouragement.  It is as if it has poured from the skies and I've been drenched in positivity.  

Life has seen a few changes over the last months and I am excited to now have the opportunity to pour my heart into this endeavor and adventure of owning my own business and being a photographer. 

It has been awesome.  It has been terrifying.  Some days I wake up, jump out of bed, do some jumping jacks*, grab my camera, look myself in the mirror and say "I CAN do this!" Then there are some days, when I need the Sunshine Man (you know him, the round, bright, positive fellow from the Jimmy Dean commercials) to come pay my little cloud a visit.  I think it's a struggle we all have when we are pursuing something passionately. Often times it only takes a whisper of fear to derail our day. If you're not careful, that whisper of fear easily becomes a chanting shout - derailing your dreams. 

*not really

Last week in church, Pastor Daniel said something that resonated within me.  Not because it was the first time I had heard it, but because it was what seemed like the millionth time I'd heard God say this to me in just a few weeks. 

"I will not let the whisper of fear be louder than the voice of God and His plan for my life."

***

Last week I had an absolutely amazing opportunity to participate in an event called TheFIX, hosted by Jasmine Star.  Just like her name suggests, she is a star - to us photographers, she defines celebrity. She is beautiful, abundantly successful, and widely known for her contributions and giving back to the photography community.  The latter is what truly gives her star quality.  

TheFIX was a gathering of 250 photographers from the DC/Maryland/Virginia areas, and while there were many fancy cameras present, the core of Jasmine's presentation wasn't about exposure, shutter speeds, focal length or any of the other technical details photographers love to gather and discuss.  

Jasmine's presentation was about encouragement.  About coming together as a community of artists to make each other better.  About seeing the fear of failure and struggle for what it is; an opportunity for change, growth and success, if you'll allow it. It was about being YOURSELF. With a sea of fantastic photographers out there - and new, talented artists entering the market daily - Jasmine challenged us to believe that we, ourselves individually, are treasures within our businesses.  That this Jazmyn, is unique from everyone else and my talents bring something to the table to be valued by those clients who find me and book me for ME. 

Struggle is the catalyst for change.  Sacrifice is a prerequisite for success. I can define my own success. The fight isn't in finishing; the fight is finishing what you intended to do. 

I walked away with new friends. I walked away pumped. I walked away with greater ability to stick my fingers in my ears and "la la la la la" when fear of failure attempts to sneak in a whisper or two. 

{in the name of positivity}

-jbw-

Proof! Jazmyn + Jasmine! (photo courtesy of http://jasminestarfix.com/#/photos/)

Hodgepodge

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind! I can't believe we are racing toward the end of February already! I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's day, filled with love from those closest to you.

This post is a little bit of hodgepodge if you will. I wanted to share with you an exciting new product that I am offering to clients (both portraits and weddings); custom designed DVDs and DVD cases.  They are a beautiful way to store and protect your high resolution images.  Take a look! 

No more plain clear cases, no more boring silver DVDs! 

On a personal note, I wanted to share some photos from my family Christmas shoot in December.  My family lives about 600 miles away, so anytime we are together the camera is out to capture the memories.  This year we decided to do a mini-session on Christmas eve and the photos turned out great! When we are together we love to share funny stories, crack jokes, and just have a good time.  Essentially, when the Brawner family is together our hearts overflow with joy and it's expressed in laughter.  As you can see, I think I captured that in these photos! 

Had to take the opportunity to capture the handsome-ness that is my nephew! 

{for the love of family}

-jbw-

happy birthday to me

I LOVE birthdays. Particularly my own.  I also love photographing. So, because my husband and friends are the best. . .for my birthday, they allowed me to do just what it is I love to do on the day of all days I love most specifically.  

My birthday this year was so good. Despite some outside circumstances, I truly had a wonderful day. Full of love and laughs and exploring a few new places with the people I love so dearly. The best gift however, was realizing that I am surrounded with folks who care enough about me to make such a fun day happen. 

-thanks, y'all-

{jbw}

one of my favorites.

made for each other