Day 334 - Colorful Lanterns

What's Up Wednesday!

If you are like me, you stumble across inspiring photog bloggers from time to time by chance through other bloggers, linkups, comments, etc. Well, I thought I would try to make it easier for you by grouping everyone in one place. Instead of opening this linkup to all bloggers, I am only asking for blogs that are geared toward photography to link up below. Just link up your blog's url below and start sending a "What's Up" shout out to your neighbors! That's it!  Linky will be open on Wednesdays only so get your blog linked up.  Be sure to come back to meet new photogs!

It's not required but feel free to grab my button for others to find their way to the linkup as well.

*I will now be leaving the linky open through Thursday night to give everyone a chance to link up.






Happy Birthday to Me - A Month of Giveaways! - Part 8


My final giveaway for my birthday month is sponsored by Leora from Shutter Buddies! Man, I really wish I could win this one for myself.

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A little bit about Leora...

I'm a stay at home mom to three amazing kids. I enjoy making my Etsy products to keep me busy while my husband serves in the Army.  I enjoy making products that can be used by photographers to make their pictures perfect. I also enjoy making products for their subjects so they can look perfect in the pictures.

Leora is giving away one of her shutter buddies picture below known as Oscar Octopus!

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Please leave one comment PER entry to increase your chances of winning! 
(Be sure to leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win.)

 Mandatory Entry: Visit Leora's shop and tell me which of her shutterbuddies you like the best.

Additional Entries :  

- Follow me on Facebook
- Follow Shutter Buddies on Facebook
- Follow me on Twitter
- Tweet about this giveaway using this text: @Misty_Dawn09 is celebrating her birthday with a month full of giveaways! Be sure to enter for some fab prizes! http://tinyurl.com/3uvkl6f

You have through Saturday to enter. Winners will be randomly selected via Random.org and the winner will be contacted via e-mail.  

Thank you once again to all my wonderful sponsors and to you who participated in my month long birthday giveaways! Look for more giveaways in December from yours truly. 

Day 333 - Family

Yep, I am totally cheating. This is from my photo shoot with my brother and his family the other day. I haven't really picked up the camera the last couple of days. I seem to be so busy lately. I finished editing these pictures today so I thought I would share one.

I am sadly lacking in followers for my business blog. Come check it out and see more photos from my latest sessions.

Day 332 - Candid



Have I mentioned how much I love candid shots? And would you check out my gorgeous new logo compliments of my sweet creative friend, Sofia! She's in the process of working on her website but boy oh boy, look out world! This girl is a creative genius!

Day 331 - Scavenger Hunt Sunday / Siblings

I feel like I am always the last one to link up to Scavenger Hunt Sunday. You would think I would try to make it a priority to get these prompts done by Saturday but I honestly forget about it till Sunday and it kind of has become my Sunday afternoon ritual.

{Candid} - Picture of the Day
I told my niece and nephew to look at each other attempting to get a cute shot. Instead they did exactly the opposite which made for a perfect candid shot. Gotta love when kids are just kids.

{Waiting}
When I read this prompt this verse immediately came to mind. I am waiting for the day when the Lord will call us Home!

{Knife, Fork or Spoon}
Wasn't sure how to get creative with silverware so I decided to get up close and personal with a fork. 

{Foliage}
As we were driving to the house today I was keeping my eyes out for fall trees close by so I could run out and get some pictures after dinner. Out in my Sunday afternoon jammies I ran to grab a pretty leaf. I'm sure I looked pretty silly in capri jammie pants, an oversized t-shirt and dress shoes. Sooo glad you don't see what is on the other side of the camera. lol

{Rule of Thirds}
I'm a pretty strict rule of thirds photographer so I just had to choose a subject. I'm still not sick of fall colors.

Linking up this last photo with:

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Sunday: Focus on the Savior (with Lisa Walters)



I am so stoked to introduce you to another incredible friend I met through my other blogging site on Xanga. It's just amazing to me that even though we have never met in person we formed an immediate friendship because we serve the same Savior.  Meet Lisa...

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Lisa is an Army Chaplain's wife and a doula who home schools her kids, eats a lot of dark chocolate, loves winter, and enjoys sitting with a book and a cup of coffee. She thoroughly enjoys this blogging world and has made some really good friends in the past year. She is very grateful for grace, a patient husband, children old enough to do chores, and Twitter pals.  Lisa blogs over at The Army Chap's Wife.

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It is truly hard to believe, but my husband has been without a full-time job since June 2010. That's a year and a half. Eighteen months of learning what it means to trust. Eighteen months of being surprised and sustained by God's provision and grace.
The biggest surprise for me, personally, is how content I am with the "living in-between" that we've found ourselves in for so long. God has called my husband and I to wait on Him. To be content to just "BE" instead of frantically searching for "WHAT'S NEXT?" It is not an easy thing to do! Don't get me wrong, my husband has done his mighty fair share of job hunting, but the way he's gone about it has been totally different from times in the past. And my contentment level? It has nothing to do with my strength or spirituality--it's all God's doing!
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We have been learning the importance of the words in Psalm 46:10-11:
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."
Sometimes "being still" is the hardest thing to do. Human tendency is to want to "do" and make our own way.

We had grand ideas of what kind of job my husband would have, what part of the country we would live in, what our family would be like, and again He surprised us by not going by our ideas. Imagine that!! (Kidding!) What He HAS done is given us a love for where we are now, and plenty of ministry opportunities that we did not expect--all the while faithfully providing for our every need. We have been given some amazing chances to encourage others who are struggling to trust that God will take care of them.
The time has definitely not been easy. We have struggled along the way--emotionally and relationally--but we are learning along the way as well. God does have a way of using times like these to grow us up, refine our character, and teach us to trust.
For each member of our family, that trust has meant something different. My youngest has learned that God will provide enough money for us to make our house payment. My oldest has learned that she can continue to make friends even if she doesn't know how much longer she'll live here. I have learned that God can give me a desire to enjoy where I am at the moment, instead of thinking "I'll be happy when..." And my husband has learned that obeying God, even when it doesn't seem to make logical sense, can reap tremendous rewards.
We still don't know what's next. But, somehow that doesn't matter as much now as it used to. We have learned that God's surprises are good.

Day 330 - The "A" Family

I had the delight of capturing this adorable family today. Mr. "A" said that he wanted to be my photo today so here you are, Mr. "A", you are my photo of the day. :)

SHOOT. EDIT. SUBMIT. People's Choice

Time to vote for your favorite photo from this month's SHOOT. EDIT. SUBMIT. Winners! These listed below were chosen as the #1 winning photo the last 4 weeks and now it is time to choose a winner.

The winner's photo will get a free month long feature on the right side bar of mine and Kim's blog which gives them more exposure thus driving more traffic to their blog. We all love lots of traffic, right? Well, blog traffic that is. :)

Not only will the winner win a free month long feature but we also have some wonderful people sponsoring prizes for our winners each month. You may recognize this month's sponsor. She is none other than my former co-host, the amazing Ashley from After Nine to Five!

 
She is giving away one of her charming camera necklaces to this month's winner. So, sound the alarm and go gather all your friends, fans and families to come vote for you! These are two amazing prizes that you most certainly will want to claim as your own.



Voting closes at midnight on Wednesday. Winner will be announced on Thursday.








Happy Birthday to Me - A Month of Giveaways! - Part 7



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Our next sponsor this month is Katie from Love is Everywhere.

I have a very strong love for life. I'm addicted to living, plain and simple. I was born to love and to find love in everything around us day to day.  My goal is to start a Love Movement. Actually, I believe it's already out there we just need to help each other to spread the word and see more of the beauty in the world.  

As you will notice from my blog I take an enormous amount of photos. Photography is a huge part of my life as it's a different way to express myself, the rest I do here. I'm a very open & honest person, adventurous and welcome new friends. 


My Etsy Shop Love is Photography includes a variety of my favorite photos I’ve taken over the years. They are all downloads which are sent via e-mail after they are purchased. This gives you the opportunity to print unlimited times and keep for yourself and/or give as a gift to someone you love.
 



The giveaway includes any 2 photos from my shop. Seen below is a collage of some of the photos available in my shop.



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Please leave one comment PER entry to increase your chances of winning! 
(Be sure to leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win.)

 Mandatory Entry: Visit Katie's shop and tell me which of her photos you like the best.

Additional Entries :  
- Follow my blog
- Follow Katie's blog
- Follow me on Facebook
- Follow Katie on Facebook
- Follow me on Twitter
- Follow Katie on Twitter
- Tweet about this giveaway using this text: @Misty_Dawn09 is celebrating her birthday with a month full of giveaways! Be sure to enter for some fab prizes! http://tinyurl.com/3uvkl6f

You have through Tuesday to enter. Winners will be randomly selected via Random.org and the winner will be contacted via e-mail.  Check back next week for a brand new giveaway!

Day 329 - Standing Out

Love how this red stands out amidst all the yellow. I wish fall would stick around a while longer.

P.S. Blogger didn't post the SHOOT. EDIT. SUBMIT. contest on time again today. I hate that I have to stay up till midnight to make sure something posts on time. Anyway, be sure to get your submissions in. I always notice a big drop in participation whenever it doesn't post at midnight.

SHOOT. EDIT. SUBMIT.


Welcome to another week of SHOOT. EDIT. SUBMIT!  We hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving with your friends and families and I look forward to seeing if there are some photos submitted this week commemorating Thanksgiving. After going back and forth with e-mails and trying to pick who got to choose the winning photo as their own (Kim and I are freakishly alike...for real...it's crazy) we narrowed it down to these:

Gorgeous landscape. Gorgeous colors. Gorgeous reflection. The clouds are stunning and really drew me deep into the picture. {Misty}

I love the soft tones and the shallow depth of field.  You can almost feel the crepe-like texture of the flower petals.  Well done! {Kim}

I instantly fell in love with this shot. Gorgeous lighting and such incredible details. What a cute little guy! {Misty}

This photo looks like a piece of art.  The textures and saturation make it something I would want on my wall.  Not traditional, but who says photography has to be traditional? I love this! {Kim}

Congratulations, winners! Grab your button!





And this week's #1 winner is:
Kim and I battled it out for this photo (only kidding) but she let me have it since I wanted it as the #1 winner for this week. We both just love everything about this shot. I'm so impressed with the contrasting colors, the incredible details and gorgeous depth of field. Well done! {Misty}

Congratulations on being chosen as this week's #1 photo. Grab your button! You will be in the running to win a fabulous prize at the end of the month.






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Well, it's time for you to submit your entries! Be sure to grab the button below to include on your post.


1. Photo must be taken this week.(Sat - Fri)
2. Only one entry per person.
3. "Shoot. Edit. Submit." button or a link back to this contest must be on your post in order for it to qualify.
4. Link only to your blog post not your main blog url.

 (If you submit a photo you are granting us permission to copy and paste it onto our blogs if you win.)





Day 328 - I'm Thankful For...

...my two year old! Considering we didn't have to be at mom's house till this afternoon, I took my baby girl to do her 2 year pictures. I didn't realize that today is a big day for people to be out hiking, so we had a lot of distractions to deal with but she did awesome! I have hundreds (yep, hundreds) of pictures to go through, but I thought I would post these two. I tend to overshoot especially when shooting kids because you never know what they are going to do. Isn't she just perfect!

Day 327 - Shades of Autumn (White)

I really wanted to do a nifty collage for the Shades of Autumn challenge again, but I didn't have the time to gather a bunch of white pictures together so I leave you with one. Gotta say, I will miss this challenge. It's fun having prompts to follow.


Shades of Autumn Photo Challenge

Day 326 - Short Timer's Attitude

You know when you are getting ready to go on vacation from work or you are counting down the last few days since you've given your two week notice and it's all you can do to even pretend like you are working? They call that "short timer's attitude" I'm afraid I have that with this 365 project. It's all I can do to even post a picture most days let alone to have actually taken it that same day. I love how much I have learned and how far I have come during this 365 project, but I am looking forward to taking a break from the pressure of it. Some days it is more work than play, but I wouldn't trade all the things I have learned from it. I'm looking forward to still keeping this is a photography blog next year but hopefully take it in a different direction. Just not quite sure what that direction is yet...

Be sure to enter for the current giveaway going on right now on my blog!

Day 325 - Pretty Weeds


We traded family portrait sessions the other day with Karen from Pixel Creek Photography. I just finished the editing on them today and wanted to share a couple of shots.



Happy Birthday to Me - A Month of Giveaways! - Part 6


 I posted this on Saturday and then again today but it doesn't seem to be showing up so I am re-doing the post. The html code was all wonky so let's try this again.

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Our next sponsor this month is Bonnie and Briana from Two Bees Creations .



Our giveaways includes one blue swirl keychain wallet, and one notebook.


*Only open to residents of the United States, Mexico and Canada.
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Please leave one comment PER entry to increase your chances of winning! 
(Be sure to leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win.)

 Mandatory Entry: Visit Bonnie and Briana's shop and tell me which of their items you like the best.

Additional Entries :  
- Follow my blog (how else are you going to know if you win?)
- Follow Two Bees Creations' blog
- Follow me on Facebook
- Follow Two Bees Creations on Facebook
- Tweet about this giveaway using this text: @Misty_Dawn09 is celebrating her birthday with a month full of giveaways! Be sure to enter for some fab prizes! http://tinyurl.com/3uvkl6f

You have through Thursday to enter. Winners will be randomly selected via Random.org and the winner will be contacted via e-mail.  Check back on Wednesday for a brand new giveaway!

A WINNER HAS BEEN CHOSEN FOR THIS GIVEAWAY. ENTRIES HAVE BEEN CLOSED. CLICK ON THE LINK AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE TO SEE THE CURRENT GIVEAWAY. 

Day 324 - Scavenger Hunt Sunday / Water Droplets/My Birthday Girl

I'm so hit and miss with participating in Scavenger Hunt Sunday but when I do it's a total blast. I was s tired today that my interpretations weren't as great as I would have liked them to be, but at least I participated, right?!
{Around the House}
My mom has had this lamp for as long as I can remember. It's definitely become a sentimental piece in her house.

{Writing}
I wrote out the list of prompts for today's scavenger hunt.

{Reflection}
My necklace reflected in my husband's sunglasses.

{Water} - Picture of the Day
Still a little bit of bright colors around. I cheated and sprinkled water on the flower since it hadn't started raining yet. It sure is coming down now though.

{Mainly one color}
I was wrapping up the scavenger hunt at this point and eager to get started on my nap so I glanced around for something of solid color and found my mom's sponge. :)



Today we dedicated our baby girl back to the Lord. She has always belonged to Him, but today with our church family we prayed over our little girl and dedicated her life to Him. As a mom, it was very emotional for me. My heart's utmost desire is that my little girl would serve the Lord all her days. 

Can't close out this post without wishing my little 2 year old a Happy Birthday! You are the sunshine that fills my life each and every day. I love you, baby girl!