Oh what a day. It was gorgeous for the most part. I began my day listening to the warm Florida rains pour down like a raging waterfall. That type of rain is rare here. While taking in the sounds of quiet other than the rain, I cranked up Ray Lamontagne in the house and rocked out to his mellow tunes while listening to the rain outside my windows and while finishing some final edits on a few images. It was a blissful morning. Relaxing, peaceful, and slow going. Loved that. There is something to be said for warm Florida rains, having my laptop in my hands doing what I love (editing photography) and jammin out to good ol' Ray. I found myself saying "Thank you God for warm Florida rains, for my camera, and for Ray...of course." LOL!
The rain quit after about 30 minutes and then the sun came out full force. Typical Florida weather. When that happened, I grabbed "Big Pappa" and headed to the beach with Ray now jamming on my stereo in the car on the way. It was a stunning day at the shores edge. I went scouting out some new photography locations. Found some good ones too. A perfect day.
On another note...I visited a new cardiologist down here in Naples yesterday. I've been having some really strange episodes of palpitations in the middle of the night. They are three times as intense as my older ones and my blood pressure drops way down when it happens which sends my pulse racing - ultimately waking me up from a deep sleep each night. The cardiologist seems to think I might have a specific kind of palpitation that could ultimately result in needing surgery to be treated effectively. He says I am too young to be going thru this at my age. I agree. I am being sent to an electrophysiologist now. I don't see him for another three weeks which makes me nuts but apparently this doc specializes in only patients with severe palpitations. I'm nervous yet eager to hear what he thinks and what he has to say. Please pray for me, once again, regarding these heart matters. It was almost a year ago when I was diagnosed with the PFO issue to do with my heart. Now this. I'm trying to remain upbeat but it is scary at times. Scary at night a lot. I'm tired of being tired and tired of worrying. Just trying to have faith that God is in control and that hopefully this can be treated without a surgery - maybe with a different prescription or something. And lastly, I was skyping with my Dad the other night and he had a girl scout come to his door selling cookies. I told him that I hadn't seen any girl scouts here in Florida yet. I was craving my favorites...the thin mints. Low and behold...about 3 days later...look what showed up at my front door...
Wait for it...
Waaiitttt for it...
Yeap, not only did he get me some thin mints and shipped them to me but my StepMom made homemade chocolate chip cookies and homemade brownies for me too. Well...for the kids and I anyway. Ha ha! Guess it is good to share, right? LOL! Don't hate. You heard me...don't be a "hater." Do I need to get you guys some hater-ade? Hee hee! Yes, I am absolutely spoiled rotten. I have wonderful and amazing parents who definitely take good care of me. It was great to get a little taste of home. Thanks Dad and Cath...I love you guys so very much! Needless to say, the cookie and brownie stash was gone in two days. I had 1.5 brownies and one cookie out of it before the rest was depleted by little monsters. Gotta' love em'! They saved my hips for the week. Bwwwaahhhhhh!
Hope all of you are having a great week thus far. Enjoy hump day tomorrow. Hugs, Angie
One of the best things about living in Florida is basically having the beach at your back door. For example, whenever you have a free Friday or Saturday night (or any night of the week for that matter) and you want to pack everyone up & head to the sand & seashore to witness a gorgeous sunset and let the kids frolic in the sand, you can. Thankfully our home here is just down the street from the beach. The road our development sits off of leads right straight down into the gulf of Mexico. A 5 minute drive to the beach makes everything in life that much better.
There is nothing I love more than stepping down into that sand and feeling the grit of it all between my toes. The sugaring process...ya know? The sound of the waves lapping and the smell of the sea salt in the air is almost more than my heart can handle. There is also nothing I love more than seeing my kids enjoy the beach as much or more than I do. I managed to get Brennen to stand still a few times while there Friday evening. This is now one of my new favorite images...
There is something to be said for footprints in the sand. Not just because of the famous poem either. The rushing of the waves and their ability to wash away a footstep is a perfect word picture for how important life is. How short life is. One minute it is here. The next minute it's gone.
I just love photos of toes in the sand. Images of flip flops at the beach.
Brennen wasn't happy with me for posting this image of him below. He stuck his toes in the water and found that the gulf was freezing. However, I just had to share it. :) I focused my camera all on him this particular night. I just love this boy...
When I look at this shot below, it is hard to believe he is going to be 11 in just two more weeks. In some ways he looks so much older here - but in other ways he still resembles that little baby of mine who ran around with a chili bowl haircut for so long and who adored Blues Clues as a toddler. The years just fly by.
He is such a little stud-man now. Girls calling and texting. Females in his class leaving "I love you" verbage on his Valentines, etc. How quickly they grow up. It is nights spent watching the sunsets at the beach that make me so thankful for the time I do have with him. One day he'll be wanting to bring his "best girl" to the shoreline instead of his Mama. No fear...I'll be hiding out in the sea oats with my 70-300mm telephoto lens. Poor girl...she'll have no idea that his Mom mimics the Paparazzi until its too late. Ha ha! Poor Brennen...his life is forever doomed. LOL!
Hope you are all having a spectacular weekend. Even if you don't have a beach near by, go sugar your toes in the snow with your kiddo's. It will melt soon. Again, life is soooo short. Much love, Angie
PS...Thank you to all of you who've signed up for the Angie Seaman Photography class that begins this Monday. The class has once again sold out. There is now a wait list going for the next class being offered in May. I'll announce details on that one soon. For those still interested in the workshop I'm doing here in Naples in September, there are seats available. Click HERE for details. It is going to be an amazing weekend!
Meet Dotty. Dotty is Kenidi's assigned horse each week at therapy. To say that Kenidi loves Dotty would be an extreme understatement. Everyday she asks me about "oohs" which means horse in her language. We think she got horses and cows mixed up somewhere along the way and refers to horses as "oohs" because of the noise that cows make..."mooooo." It is nothing for her to come in with her cowboy boots and her riding helmet asking for the "oohs." I have to count down sleeps with her (days/nights) and remind her that she has 4 more "sleeps" for example before she sees the "oohs" again. These talks have to be the sweetest thing you've ever heard.
The shot above was just my way of capturing the beautiful light that was filtering in thru the barn the other night. It's great to be able to have the weather where she can do this outside year round. Back home in Indy, we had to do it indoors. I was standing right on the edge of the fence and the light was hitting the corner. There is so much to be said about natural light. It really is gorgeous. Thus why I can't stand to use a flash on my camera. EVER!
She looks upset in this shot below but this is Kenidi's shy face. I was snapping photos of her and she noticed me there. She swung that shy look at me and turned away from the camera...
The mundane orange cone below - again just a shot showing the natural light hitting it in just the right way. There is such beauty in the mundane if we are willing to look for it. I love being a photographer because the camera teaches you to look for things you never saw before. To look for beauty in even the ugliest of places...
Those who know me well...know that I love angles. I love architecture. I love lines. Leading lines. I looked up in the barn and saw these lights strategically hanging in a row. Loved it.
And this hook below. Nothing. No significance whatsoever other than the gorgeous natural light that is hitting it again.
I saw this sign on one of the barns. Thought it was very profound. This entire horse facility is run off volunteers. We pay only $10 a week for Kenidi to ride there. The day to day runnings of the facility are done via the help of all volunteers. Even the side walkers you see walking beside Kenidi when she is on the horse are volunteers. This is a HUGE difference compared to the facility that we went to in Indy for her. We loved it there but it was $180 a session compared to the $10 we pay now. Thankfully our insurance paid for most of those sessions back home. The unfortunate part is that many families never get the opportunity to send their child there because it is so costly and they don't have the means to cover it. Very sad!Volunteers ROCK!
These side walkers are there with Kenidi to make sure that should the horse ever act up, they are there to help her. In all the time we've been doing this though, we've never had a horse get out of line. They are what they call "Bomb trained." Meaning even if a bomb were to go off near them, they remain controlled and don't go crazy - especially with a rider on their back. Kenidi tells the horse when to go and when to stop. She is to pull on his reigns when stopping and shake his reigns and tell him to "walk on" when she wants him to go. It is really amazing to see how calm she is when in therapy with these horses.
Now look at these images and notice how all of the locals are wearing coats, muffins around their heads, etc. Kenidi of course just has on a sweatshirt. It was 66 degrees on this particular day - with sunshine. However, according to how the locals were dressed, you would have thought that it was below zero outside. LOL! Of course us Hoosiers are good with a simple hoodie. Ha ha!
It still seems so odd to me to see palm trees with barns and horses. I don't know why. The barns and the animals just remind me of the Midwest. However, they roam where the palm trees grow too...
Now this is what I call one big ol' ceiling fan...
We are so very thankful for all of the therapists, doctors, volunteers, etc. which have now come into our life since moving to Florida. God placed some great ones in our path and we couldn't be more at peace with the individuals we entrust Kenidi with. It is such a scary thing to have to find and recruit all new people to handle the medical issues and the day to day routines (i.e. school) and so forth when it comes to your child. Because Kenidi can't speak to us and tell us her feelings or how her day went, we rely on trustworthy people to make us feel at ease when it comes to her. It is so very tough but when you have relationships with stellar individuals such as these, it makes each day a little easier. Thanks again to everyone who is helping to make us feel so at home here in Florida.
This shot above is the rec center where Brennen plays on his basketball league. It's a gorgeous park - as all the parks here in Southwest Florida are. The parks here in Florida put our parks in Indiana to shame. It's really embarrassing when you compare the two. The Indiana parks and rec peeps could really take some advice from Florida's head honcho's. That is fo' sho'! This shot just happened to be of the entrance into the rec center. It's just a small snippet of the beauty to behold at this particular location. Either way, thought I'd do a quick blog about his game Saturday...
Yeap, here is the stud-man himself exuding frustration at one point in the game - those long eyelashes and all...
Here is the gym inside the rec center. They also have a massive fitness center inside this same building with a phenomenal day care that looks like a school. It's amazing. Awesome facility to say the least.
Just a simple shot of the basket I kept seeing while down on the floor. Yeap, I'm that Mom who sits at the end of the court and takes pictures the whole game - sprawling out across the floor when necessary...
Like for this shoe shot below. Look how dusty and dirty that floor is though. GAG! Can you guess which tennies are Brennen's?
If you guessed the third set of tennies from the left, then you are correct. He is sitting next to the kid with the white tennis shoes on - with his hands together.
This next shot was just of a little girl sitting on the folded up bleachers. I saw her feet dangling with the flip flops on and thought it was a cute shot...
Here was a fun succession of shots I took during one of the baskets made for Brennen's team...
SWOOSHHHHH...nothin' but net...!
Here is another one of those moments when I got down on the floor - that dirty filthy basketball shoe wearin' floor - in front of all the other parents watching me make a fool of myself - and captured this shot of all the boys running. They have two girls on their team (it's a co-ed rec league here) and I loved the pink converse that were proudly displayed in this shot along with all of the other "boyish" tennis shoes.
Here is their team with their coach. You can see Brennen dead center - peeking thru...
And for those of you wondering if they won or not...here was the final score.
We were the HOME team! YAY!
It was a great game that stayed neck and neck - about 1 point apart - the whole game. (until the end when our team landed a few extras) We love his coach - he's a great guy. Brennen starts football this week as well. It's a spring league. His basketball and football will overlap with one another for the next couple of weeks. He's going to be a tired boy I'm sure. On Mondays for the next few weeks he'll have basketball and football practice - on the same night. It was a fluke thing due to being in two different leagues. However, we are going to play it by ear and see how he can handle it. In the meantime, I am just as anxious to get back out on the football sidelines as he is. LOL!
I'm off to go enjoy the sunny and blissful 76 degree weather here in Naples, Florida today. It has been in the sixties all week so yesterday and today were a great change. Looking forward to a weeks worth of warm temps now that the cold front is gone again. "There is something about the sunshine baby..." (that is a Disney song for those who don't know. It's playing on the movie Starstruck as I type. Catchy little tune if you ask me) Enjoy your week everyone. xoxo, Angie
As I sit in my office and edit each day or when I'm returning emails, paying bills, etc., this is what I look out over my desk and see. This is part of my view. It's the spa over flowing into our pool. Back home in Indiana we would call these hot tubs. However, in Florida, they aren't hot tubs...they are "spas." Guess that is just another small reason why Naples, Florida was just ranked the 11th happiest and healthiest city to reside in nationwide by USA Today. (out of 162 cities across the country) Even their containers of water sound better. HA!
Either way, something about this small little overflow of water makes my days even better. When I look out into that turquoise mass of water and that stream from the fountain is running, it is calming to me. I eyed it up for weeks before finally deciding that it was camera worthy. I kept saying to myself..."Self, you need to get out there with the camera (a.k.a Big Papa) and take some pictures of that running fountain of peace." So...I eventually did. And these are the shots that came from that moment.
I've come to the conclusion that the reason why I love this simple fountain coming out of the spa and into the pool so much is because the spa fountain is a good analogy or educational word picture for me. It is a daily reminder that life is full of recycled events. Full of running outpours that eventually fade into the great big sea of a deep pool we call life. Streams of events that conglomerate to form one big mass of history. No matter what debris flows from that stream or what beauty sparkles from its grip...in the end, it all ends up in one grand place. In the grand scheme of life - serenaded along side other sparkling moments and other pieces of debris that ultimately get skimmed up and pulled away from the pretty. Away from the sparkling. Even though gone, the debris made the sparkling look even better. Even shinier. Even more refined. The debris and its process helped make the sparkling - the bling of life - all that it is. I heard a quote the other day from within a song called "Broken." (which is broken on my playlist below right now for some odd reason) The quote reads..."Hitting walls and getting scars only makes you who you are. No matter how much your heart is aching, there is beauty in the breaking." How unbelievably profound, eh? I have a dear friend - one of my best friends from high school - who is beginning a new chapter in her life this week. I am beyond upset that I'm not there in Indiana to ring her doorbell donning a big ol' fat pizza in my hand, a bottle of red wine for her - not me - because she loves a "good red" - all while wearing my pj's - ready for a long night of laughs, cries, and oh so important life altering girlfriend moments. I've said it before but I'll say it again...this is the time - in the era of our thirties - when we realize that our girlfriends are needed now more than ever. This is the age when our parents come down with life threatening illnesses, when marriages are battered and left for dead, when marriages end and those involved must begin new chapters, when dear friends die tragically, when we loose jobs and need to find another, when our children are growing up-putting us thru worry at times and we need to vent to another, and so forth. This list goes on and on. This is the era when girlfriends *must* step up to the plate. You know who you are. If you are the girlfriend that says..."Call me if you need me" instead of showing up and ringing their doorbell before they ever even realize that the other needs you, then you should re-evaluate how you treat and treasure your friendships. We don't get to own the title of "gur-fren" for nothing. Friendships are just like marriages. They are hard work - work that is required by two people - giving and taking when necessary. Depleting and replenishing in a fair way. A balancing act of two souls keenly in tune with one another no matter what the geographical distance.
So when your old chapters in life end and a new chapter begins - when your spa fountain runneth' over into that grand pool of life carrying debris, baggage, or better yet...bling...know that it will all recycle and begin anew no matter how ugly or how pretty. In turn, it will leave you more refined and more polished for the next cup that spills over. We will all have life events or certain individuals that are strong enough to bring us down. Make a valid effort to surround yourself with people, friends, family, etc. that are there to help you prove your strong enough to get back up. And if your on the other side of the spa fountain observing the moments of recycling for others, be sure to be the friend that "acts" rather than just "says" I'm here if you need me. I know from my own personal experiences that the ones hurting never have the energy to ask for help. They are on the floor - barely breathing - when the trenches call. It is up to us to act before they even realize they need us. If you aren't there for your *friends* when they are going thru the depths of hell...when DO you plan to be there for them?
You all know how I feel about friendships. True friends are like rare jewels. Hard to find. Hard to hold onto. Treat them as such.
And to my gur-fren back home who is beginning a new chapter of her life today...remember..."crazy is yo' friend." I love ya girl!
Just wanted to pop on and remind everyone that the next Angie Seaman online beginner photography class starts March 1st. I just finished up a class with some impressive and wonderful students this week and I'm once again blessed beyond belief for the opportunity to have worked with each of them and am now blessed by their friendships. Teaching these classes has been an amazing experience for me and one that I love more and more with every class that starts and finishes. Not only am I teaching them but they are teaching me as well. With each session, I learn more and more about photography because I have incredibly passionate beginners who challenge me to increase my knowledge on the subject. I can't thank them enough for that. Here are what a few of the students from this most recent class had to say about their experience in the "Angie Seaman Photography course... "I came into this class a true beginner. I never read the manual for my Camera because I was so excited to start taking pictures of my newborn. I really only knew how to shoot in basic auto mode and I was pretty content with my pictures, but wanted them to be better and wanted myself to be better. I truly believe I was meant to take this class because I randomly stumbled across Angie's blog and saw the class info and thought I better sign up immediately! I have learned a ton in this class! Angie is such an amazing teacher and I love being taught by someone who is passionate about the subject they are teaching. You can tell Angie is so passionate about photography and it was really great to learn from her. She was there to answer any and all questions throughout the day and night (for us west coasters). I would take a class from Angie again in a heartbeat and feel so blessed that I was able to learn from her. If you are looking for someone who genuinely cares about your success in learning more about your camera and photography, this class is for you! Thank you so much Angie for everything and I look forward to taking another class from you again soon! Sorry if this is really long, I could have even said more! Ha ha! Thanks for everything!" ~Ashley from San Marcos, California
"I came into this class probably knowing a bit more than the average beginner which made me a bit skeptical to sign up at first. Thankfully I did though! Despite me having owned my DSLR for about 2 years prior, I still simply didn't have the knowledge or the confidence needed to use it to its full potential. I was pleasantly surprised as I started reading into the week's lessons and realized I had been clueless about so many things; things that make all the difference in a great photo. I gained such amazing insight through Angie's class and no longer 'fear' all those letters on my camera's dial! With her class under my belt so to speak I am ready to pull forward and keep learning. (Hint: hoping you'll offer a 'next level up' class soon!)" ~Deanna from Annandale, Minnesota
"I met Angie at a photography workshop and fell in love with her personality and her photography skills, she definitely knows what she is doing! I was thrilled to receive this class as a Christmas present as I have wanted to learn from Angie ever since I met her. Her class answered so many of the questions that I have had about my camera! I was scared to shoot in anything other than automatic (auto mode). I've had my camera for 3 years and I've paid a lot of money for workshops that were way over my head claiming that they were for "beginners". Angie's class was just what I needed. I feel so much more confident in using my "whole" camera instead of just a few buttons. This class was a bargain!! Angie's knowledge is priceless!!! She is a great teacher! I would recommend this class to everyone I know! I'm sad to see the class end!" ~Leslie from Pinckney, Michigan
If you are ready for a basic, beginner, photography class...go HERE to sign up. Should you have any questions, please feel free to email me at Angie@AngieSeamanPhotography.com. All of the classes in the past have sold out. Don't wait...seats are filling up daily. We'd love to have you join us for this March 1st session. (Session runs for 4 weeks)
Blessings, Angie
PS...For those of you interested in the weekend photography workshop I'm offering for beginners this September, feel free to go HERE for more details. I've decided to offer a payment option for those interested in signing up now. I had many requests for split payments so I decided to set that up for those who wish to use that option. If you are one of those individuals, please contact me at the email address above for details. We'll be teaching by the beach here in Naples, Florida and learning photography under the palms. It's the first ever "We shoot people" tour hosted by Angie Seaman Photography. Along with a weekend get-a-way of fun and photography in the sun, you'll also be given a fun swag bag to boot. I've called in the troops and contacted some awesome sponsors for the event who will be providing some of the incredibly fun and all things photography goodies inside those swag bags. Good times~good times!
Remember how we discussed "zoom" lenses yesterday? And remember how I said that I'm not really a "zoom" lens girl because I don't like the image quality you have to give up when using one over prime lenses? And then I followed that with they sure are "fun to play with at times though?" Well, this was another one of those instances. I shot these last week when Mom and I were at the Beach. (obviously)
Keep in mind, this gentleman is at least a football fields length away from me. And because of that, he has no idea that I'm shooting this images. Shame on you Angie! ;)
This gentleman walked by us at one point and kept walking way down the beach. We noticed him suddenly stop next to the girlie pink beach bag you see in the sand. He suddenly began doing exercises like a mad man. Tons of them. He put my lazy butt to shame. We couldn't quite figure out why he was exercising like a crazy person in the middle of the sand. No towel. No nothing. Then...insert pretty girl in white bathing suit...
Yeap, you guessed it. The pink beach bag belongs to the pretty unsuspecting girl in the white bathing suit. It finally dawned on us that this gentleman was definitely trying to get this woman's attention. But she never looked at him. Instead...she just kept talking to her wonderful elderly woman friends...
And talking...
All the while...this exercising kept going on and on and on for I have no idea how long. Keep in mind, it's like 81-82 degrees here that day - sun beating down - sand is hot - dude is surely sweating like a mad man by this point - but yet he keeps going. And going. Like the energizer bunny. Never stopping. It was the funniest thing I've ever watched. He had exercise moves like Mom and I had never seen before. Again though, I need some of *HIS* energy. I felt like a beached whale watching him workout like that on the beach in front of everyone. Fo' real! The end result to the story....the pretty woman in the white bathing suit never even noticed his existence. He eventually quit working out and mosey'd on back down the beach where he had originated from. Men! Speaking of men...and zoom lenses...these 5 men were out on this boat in the ocean - far enough away that we couldn't make out their faces. Insert zoom lens. Now we can see them. LOL! They all looked so cute out there - like they should be in the movie "On Golden Pond" together or something. Hysterical! I hope that when I'm old I can still get out with my girlfriends and do fun stuff like these guys were together. Hats and all! :)
I love to people watch when I'm sitting on the beach so having the zoom lens really comes in handy - basically acting as binoculars when necessary. hee hee! Fun stuff. The lesson here is...be careful. Don't ever pick your nose or pick the wedgie out of your heiney when out and about. I could be lurking in the bushes somewhere with a telephoto lens and then end up sharing it here on the blog for all the world to see. LOL! JOKING!
