Seeds of Passion: Kelle Hampton.

It usually starts with a knot in my throat. The tears start to flood my eyes. Every time I have this happen, I wish I was not so caring so I would not have to go through these feelings. However, it is who I am. Bryan says I go through these series of emotions because I have too big of a heart: the pain, happiness, gratitude and sadness. They contradict one another but compliment one another so well at the same time it's almost bittersweet.

It hit me Monday afternoon like a hurricane hits the Florida seashore: fast, unexpected and with a large impact that kind of shook my entire world. In a good way. The kind of way that made me look at everything in my life different. There I was at work taking a moment's break to read a new blog I stumbled across. Enjoying the Small Things by Kelle Hampton. She is a mama to two beautiful little girls, has a loving hubby and is enjoying her passion of photography. Her photographs make my heart swoon with joy. Seriously. They are so real, full of life and living each moment to the fullest. At the top of her blog was a "If you are new to this site, a good place to start is here." So, naturally I clicked on here. Little did I know the click to here would rock my world and make me look at life just a little different. That this story defines who she is as a mother, wife, friend, daughter, sister and photographer.

I went on to read the birth story of the newest addition to her happy, little family: Nella. Kelle went on sharing how excited her hubby and her were to have the birth of their newest addition happen. They were full of joy, love and happiness. Champagne waited to be opened with friends and family, favor boxes were ready to hand out to visitors and their little girl was dressed and ready to be a big sister! As I read about her baby girl being born, I thought to myself, there is a twist to this story. Sure enough, I was right. It was time for her to head to the delivery room to deliver her pride and joy, and as she was born and handed to Kelle something happened that shook Kelle's entire world. Her new baby girl, Nella, was born with Down syndrome. The rest of the story had me crying silent tears for this family I had never met nor will meet in the future probably. However, the power of her words moved me. The way this woman lives her life and lives it to the fullest way possible with her girls and husband is ever so inspiring.

I encourage everyone to read her words. They will move you. Make you appreciate all of life's blessings. After all, life is a blessing and the things we are given within our lives come in all forms of gifts and surprises. Some may rock our world while others will make us dance for joy, but every blessing in every form is worth celebrating!

To Kelle Hampton, I may never meet you, but I want to thank you for making me understand life is full of surprises and with every surprise life gives you, it is worth "enjoying the small things."

(The pictures below are two of my favorites from her blog about the birth story of her daughter, Nella, taken by Heidi and Laura.)

Seeds of Passion: Kelly Manno.

I remember looking at pictures of one of my friend's engagement. All it took was one glance to fall in love with her photographs. Her talent. Shortly after, I asked my friend who had done her engagement pictures. Why Kelly Manno. It took Bryan and I about five minutes to realize we wanted her to capture all the memories of our wedding day! After meeting her, we both felt certain we made an excellent choice. I remember how fun and outgoing she was, and her talent, oh her talent just melted me on the spot.

However, this story goes a bit deeper. It seems her story is similar to mine as well. Photography found her. About six years ago, she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy only to find out some complications occurred. It was at that moment, she realized she was going to have to quit her job and be at home with him. However, being newlyweds, she wanted to still find a way to help her new hubby financially. After a lot of brainstorming, she came to photography. Never having taken a class or studied photography, she dove right in. She stayed up late at night teaching herself everything from editing programs to shooting in manual. She spent days in frustration and had failed and succeeded. Six years later, three kids later, a booming business later, Kelly Manno is pretty much someone I would call Super Mama!

Upon meeting her, I was so inspired. She was actually one of the people who gave me some great advice and showed me through her dedication and talent, you can really live out your passion. I owe much gratitude to Kelly for being an excellent role-model in this industry! I only hope someday when I have kids and a career, I can juggle it all with as much grace, love and happiness as she does!

Here's a picture of Kelly with their newest addition to the family, Libby Lu (LOVE the name)!

(Picture taken by: Clary Pfeiffer Photography)

Seeds of Passion: My Dad.

Do you ever wonder where you get certain talents and skills from? Often, I get asked where my love for photography came from? My answer would be my dad. My dad is an incredible photographer. Just incredible. Not one of my childhood memories or big moments in life is complete without my dad there with his camera to capture it all. He has this profound love for the camera: the way he takes pictures, the way he makes others laugh and smile and the way he loves to teach photography to others including myself. When I told my dad that I wanted to take up photography as a hobby and see where it goes, he was 100% on board. He gave me love, support and encouragement. He, also, taught me everything he knows, and what he has learned so far in his photography journey. Using a flash was very foreign to me in the beginning, and if it were not for him, I would have never understood how to make it work as an advantage in my pictures! Some days I wonder if I would have fallen into this fun and exciting hobby of mine if it were not for my dad. In tribute of my dad's birthday last weekend, I thought it was only fitting that I choose him for my "Seeds of Passion" segment today! Dad, if it were not for you, I would not challenge and better myself not only as a photographer, but as a person! You're one of the reasons why I am following my heart and doing everything I have dreamt of and love! I love you.

This is a picture we took a few years ago, but I absolutely love it! Happy Tuesday!

Seeds of Passion: Jasmine Star.

Have you ever read words so powerful that it moved you? You know, it made you tear up a bit, make your heart smile really big or want to make yourself a better person. The first time I came across Jasmine Star's blog, it did all three of the above. I did not just read one entry, but I sat there for a few hours reading about her journey as a photographer, daughter, wife and so much more. You see, she happened to stumble across photography the same way I did; it kind of found her. Her story is inspiring. I'm not talking, I'm inspired to try this out and see what happens. I'm talking, I am doing this without thinking twice about it. She was a law student at a prestige university in good ol' Cali when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. I think at that moment, her life changed. She took a year off from law school to be with her mother, and she married the love of her life, JD in hopes that her mother would get to see her a married woman. It was through her wedding photographer, David Jay, she discovered wedding photography was what she wanted. Her mother battled the cancer and survived. The night before she was going back to law school, she started to cry at dinner. She told her husband, JD, she didn't want to go back. He asked her what she wanted to do, and she replied, I want to be a wedding photographer. It was then that JD said two sentences that made Jasmine follow her heart and dream big; she has never looked back since then. He said, I never married you to be miserable. I would rather see you fail at something you love than to see you succeed at something you hate.

If you ever get the chance to read her words, I have a feeling they will impact you in the same way. Her words inspire me to be a better photographer. Really push the limits. Besides inspiring other photographers like myself, her writing of her love for her husband, JD, reminds me where my priorities lie in life. To love as hard as possible and really live. Her love for JD reminds me a lot of my love for Bryan. If it were not for Bryan and his constant love and support, I probably would not be where I am today-happy and living life to the fullest. It was through Jasmine's blog and advice to other photographers that I learned to write and represent who I am today!

Happy Tuesday!

Seeds of Passion: Kara Layne.

Welcome to my last, new segment for the blog (for now)...SEEDS OF PASSION. You might be wondering on the segment's name, and I do not blame you. I must ask first. Have you ever met someone in your life through an article, book or in person that inspired you to be the best version of yourself possible? This is what Seeds of Passion is about. These people, through their passion, plant seeds of inspiration into my heart that grows and blooms into new ideas. It's these same people who my heart desires to meet one day or another. They could live on the other side of the world, they could be people I will never meet (I do hope that I do though) and they could be people I know personally in my life. However, the person I talk about each week has somehow impacted my life and inspires me to be the best version of myself and gives me the inspiration to be the best photographer I can be in some form or another!

My first "Seeds of Passion" debut will be Kara Layne, a wedding and lifestyle photographer in Arizona. I came across her website and blog a few weeks ago, and I was absolutely floored by her love for life and photography. Her biography is so fun and real, and I love that her website and blog are beautiful in the simplest of form. She has the cutest kids and husband who you can just tell are her world. Her love for everything and everyone in life is infectious. She is an inspiration by making me realize when you work hard towards a dream, it is worth every moment. Go to her website and read her biography. It will make you smile. I promise. To say her talent of capturing memories for people and her writing are both gorgeous is an understatement. Kara Layne, you make me never want to stop shooting for what I dream about! Thank you.