I have decided to come back to my blog and start posting about the awesome things I learn how to do. The purpose of this is NOT to brag about how multi-talented or awesome I am - rather, it is to share a very thorough synopsis of other projects I delve into that took hours of research looking at multiple blogs/threads/articles/scientific journals/etc because many people do not like to post about their projects in fine detail... you get the picture.

Here's to hoping one of my blog posts will help someone out there who is like me; someone who needs step-by-step, painfully-detailed descriptions of how to do things.

The next few posts will cover how to paint lace texture on furniture, how to get sparkling clean dishes out of your dishwasher even if it is a terrible dishwasher, incredible recipes, and how to set up the perfect 20 gallon planted fish aquarium (although this may take several posts, because we will be covering what fish get along with each other, beauty vs utility, how to cure your tank of things like dreaded cyanobacteria, and what I have ultimately set up as an incredible ecosystem).

And maybe, just maybe, I will also learn how to write very well and create cute posts like other people do.

Cheers!

Where is it more beautiful in the fall than up in the Canyon?

Remember how addicting photography is?

Remember how wonderful it is to have great friends?

Two months ago, I was lucky enough to have both on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I cannot claim credit for all of these pictures, but I did want to share them. We did some pretty good work that day. :-)

Life is great.

Have I ever mentioned that I love where I'm from?

One of my favorite traditions to do when I go home is go sailing with my Dad. I was very lucky to go home this last time with one of my best friends, Holly. The three of us went on a pretty incredible sailing trip. I'm sure glad I had my camera with me!

Here is my Dad's boat. Pretty cool!

Yup, and here's Holly. She's pretty much amazing. 

Check him out. He sure knows what he's doing!

This is why I love where I am from.

Mmm... water. It brings happiness, joy, and peace to the soul.

You can't deny that.

Finally!!

You know how you have those certain role models in your life where everything they do is so amazing and you wish you could be just a fraction as cool as them? One of those people for me is my Dad. He has a lot of incredible hobbies, one of them being photography. All my life I've wanted to get into photography and follow in his footsteps. Last summer, my dream came true! Dad gifted me an "old" camera of his, a Canon Rebel XTI. I immediately signed up for a photography class and have since fallen deeply in love with anything photography. Here has been my life in photography since that amazing day that I received my very first camera:

At first I would take random pictures wherever I went. Churches became one of my favorite things to photograph.

My philosophy was to take a snapshot of what already existed. I wasn't very big into creating my own shots. Rather, I'd try to make what was already there look amazing.

I was lucky enough that one of my best friends, Jeffrey Holt, was getting into photography about the same time (well, technically a little earlier than I started to get into it, but that's getting too technical for such a simple blog). His skills and mentoring has really helped me develop my talent in this field.

Together, we went on a lot of photography adventures in search of some really interesting subjects. One of our favorite places we went was Eureka, a small ghost town about an hour south-ish of Provo.

I knew I would have to get over my "fear" of shooting people. For Christmas, the kids decided to update the pictures in our hallway of photos at home. It was so fun going out with all my siblings and being able to shoot a neat picture of each of them.

I've had a blast learning about and using different lenses. One of my favorite lenses I've borrowed was the lensbaby, formerly owned by Jeffrey.

I now have a couple lenses of my own. It's been a lot of fun to become familiar with them and the things I am able to do with them. My 50mm 1.4 has been marvelous for portraiture work, and my 10-22 has been a blast for other sorts of projects. 

Everywhere I go, my travels have been even more enjoyable with my camera as an added companion. She's been with me everywhere, from the purest of God's creations like the Grand Canyon to the wondrous manmade feats like the city of Portland.

I've helped out with a lot of Jeffrey's photoshoots (family pictures, bridals, engagements, etc) and have been grateful for those opportunities and experiences. Back in February, I was invited by Chelsea Fitch to be the no-stress, third photographer at a wedding. It was my first wedding experience, and it was a blast!

Since then, I had the opportunity to do the bridals for a dear friend and former roommate of mine.

I've even branched out and shot some concert photography. This particular image is of a group called Brumby. They're going to be big one day, so I'm excited that I have one of the "first" pictures of them!

I've truly loved my photography experiences. I'm so grateful that my Dad was kind and generous enough to help me get started. I'm grateful for my life, my friends, my school, and my Church, and I'm excited to now have this way of sharing my life's experiences and my efforts in photography with the people that I love who may or may not be geographically very close to me right now. 

Love you all! And congrats if you made it through this whole first post. I promise my next posts will not be so wordy :)

~$hana Brown