Love you both always,

Mom & Dad

For those who are following Madi's senior pic post here are some from that day!  Love this girl!

The last photo trip we took in Colorado we based ourselves in Silverton and hit everything in that surrounding area.  This year we will be based at the Taylor Reservoir area in Taylor Park.  I have researched and have a big circle around the area that I want to capture on camera…..so many new places to explore!

Praying that my Verizon internet connection works and that I can share trip reports and photos from this trip in the evenings when we come in from the day on this blog and my Facebook page.  We will be exploring old mines, ghost towns, old cemeteries not to mention the beautiful scenery around us……. might even throw a line in the water to catch a trout or two!   Right now I’m still in packing mode to get our home on wheels together for the trip!

It was a super fun filled wedding!  Joe and Katie are a blast to photograph.  Joe & Katie thank you for trusting me with your special day.  Love you both!

I love it when someone sees the potential of an old building and restores it back to its original glory….well almost.  They did take out a wing, but replaced it with beautiful gardens for outdoor weddings.

Okay so the story goes according to this source: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/oklahoma/77186-boys-home-guthrie.html

There was a very mean head mistress, which once was punishing a 6-year-old boy and beat him to death. She buried his body in the basement.

When she was questioned, she said that the boy had run off when threatened with punishment.

Three years went by and four more boys mysteriously vanished. Then plumbing in the orphanage went out. The head mistress knew that the basement would have to be disturbed to fix the plumbing problem. She began to move the bodies. A custodian got curious about her strange actions. He followed her down to the basement where he saw her digging up the remains of the boys.

It is also reported that an employee of the boy’s home hanged himself in the bell tower.

Haunted?

Kind of sounds like it from this source that I have read:   http://www.hauntedhouses.com/states/ok/mason_childrens_home.htm

Several eye witnesses have seen an entity of a little girl who appears and pleads for protection.

The apparition of a woman has been seen walking down the main hallway.

A dark shadow has been seen in the bell tower, and has been known to hover around people who had broken in the building when it was abandoned.

When the building was abandoned, people report seeing apparitions appearing and disappearing in the rooms as the people peeked in the windows of the building.

Sounds of crying and screaming children in emotional pain have been heard, perhaps an impression of the negative feelings felt so long ago.

Construction workers hired to renovate the building, reported hearing unexplained footsteps, the feeling of being watched and hearing strange noises and crying.

Not a very pleasant history huh?  Well there is nothing in Guthrie’s records to suppose this…..so I’m sure it’s just stories that have come up over the years of it being empty and well scary looking in its decay.

I love the fence going around this place and the front gate is gorgeous! 

It's a beautiful setting for a wedding.....to learn more about the "Dominion House" http://www.dominionhouseguthrie.com/

It was a nasty day off and on when we drove down this county rd 7 near Ridgeway, Colorado.  It was our last day in the area we were moving on to Arizona the next day.  I wanted the shot of the Sneffles Range and with the light I had;  it was just blah.  I took it anyways because I loved the stormy clouds above them, but you can tell by the pic below it was just a flat blah day.  This photo is straight out of the camera.

I've kept this shot hoping I could work a little hokey pokey Photoshop magic on it (yes I'm one of those photographers) to bring it to live.  Well I think I have finally got it the way I want it.  I think it's going to look real nice printed up on canvas on my wall!

To view: Stormy Sneffles Range you can find it in my "Out West Gallery" http://www.shutterbyme.com/p21595527 and my FineArtAmerica Gallery: http://lana-trussell.artistwebsites.com/featured/stormy-sneffles-range-lana-trussell.html

Closer to home not even 3 miles from the house is the Lazy E Ranch.  This place is gorgeous with its rolling fields and white fences.  It's a pretty famous place around here with its huge arena where they have rodeos and bull riding events all the time.  It just so happens that some of the residents where out grazing this evening that we just happen by.  I love the black horse with the blaze face.....he was curious and he is flat out gorgeous!  To read more about the "Lazy E Ranch" http://www.lazye.com/

Diving on down the road we come across some great old rustic barns and buildings with wind pumps and the beautiful sea of yellow!  We had no idea what it was that the farmers where growing until I looked it up and inquired from a few friends.  It's Canola.  Canola is very widely cultivated throughout the world for the production of animal feed, vegetable oil for human consumption, and biodiesel.

While we were driving we notice a crop duster hard at work dusting the fields for the farmers.  We pulled down a dirt road trying to get as close as we could.  I wanted a shot of him with the road for a challenge in a group that I belong to......and well I got it!

Love old rustic barns and farmland as much as I do?  You can check out more in my "Rural Scenes" gallery: http://www.shutterbyme.com/p652623100

Thank you to all of those who helped with the piano move so Ky'Lee could have it in her senior pics!  You guys were awesome!  Be sure and give Ky'Lee a comment and hit the Facebook like button for her!

Pretty cute and fun couple!  Thank Bethany & Ben for choosing me to be your photographer!  Please leave them a comment of a big like for Facebook!

Be sure and leave them a comment or give them a facebook Like!

They were having fun with this one!  Cute!

This is just part 1......be sure and come back for the rest of their photos from their session....still working on them.

and be sure and leave a comment or like the page for them!

Feeders are up for the birds and they are starting to come in, but my favorite thing to watch so far are the pair of Red-bellied woodpeckers that are making their nest in the old dead tree behind our house in the greenbelt.  I’m hoping that they will have young ones and that we will be able to watch them become parents from a safe distance.  Both male and female are working extra hard to get their little home all cozy and ready!  I will keep everyone updated as thing progress with them.

With a white sheet some flowers, old vintage pearls, tulle and a apothecary jar you have instant Shabby Chic right in front of your eyes.  I love how it turned out.  They are going to look great is some really shabby frames!

Vintage Rose

Twilight texture from  Florabella Collection III was used on every photo except for the one directly below 

The artsy side came out on me on this one.  This photo was taken a couple of years ago and it’s been sitting in my archives waiting on me to do my thing.  This is the old Santa Fe train depot in Shawnee, Oklahoma.  I think it’s one of the coolest buildings I have ever seen and certainly different from any train depot that I have seen. I couldn’t help but play with this one.   I like my composition, loved the subject but on that day there wasn’t a cloud in the sky which meant for a very boring photo…..well at least in my way of thinking.  Hitting this place in the evening light wasn’t a good idea either…..it’s a morning shot.  I plan on going back in the morning light to shoot it, but it’s just been too busy lately for me to do so.

I’ve been very blessed with a great year with my photography.  Visited one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and captured it well.  I spent many hours with the best clients capturing their portraits.  What’s that saying?  Life is good!  Thank you all for making this year so wonderful!

I love old things…antiques…shabby chic stuff and yes I love the lodge look too.  I have a hodgepodge of everything in my little house on wheels.  I think old things make your home warm and inviting and most of it is just darn cute to decorate with!

I will be in the Tulsa area shooting portraits during the week of Oct 15th thru Oct 23rd. I have room and time for 3 more sessions for this week. If you are wanting fall, Halloween, fall senior, etc….this is the week to book. I will not be back in Tulsa until after Thanksgiving…which pretty much shoots November down for any portrait sessions.  I now only have 2 spots open for that week.

Yesterday Flora Bella Collection’s came out with a new action set: Classic Workflow + Hazy Skies.  I love her actions and needless to say I was first in line to get mine.  As soon as I got them uploaded into Photoshop well I couldn’t help playing with them to see the endless possibilities I would have with my portraits.  I pulled up an image of Baylee that I did last spring.  You have seen her before on my fan page on facebook…..she is a cutie!

Thanks to Rae Heath and Teresa Jackson for the help.....I couldn't have done it without you!

We pulled into Uncertain in the late evening hours.  We decided that we would try to find lodging close to the lake so we could really check it out.   We quickly found out that this was the swamp and 5 star hotels…..well you’re not going to get that here.  What you have in Uncertain is little cabins, bed and breakfast or rooms and some looking better than others.  Everything looks shut down for the night, but we found a number on the Uncertain Inn and found us all a room….just barely for a place that looked dead.  We quickly find out from the very nice lady who runs the Uncertain Inn that everyone in this town has a piece of the action after we asked her what’s to eat around this place.  She politely told us she could whup us up something to eat or we could go to “River Bend” to eat dinner.  You have one place in this town that serves breakfast, one that serves lunch and one that does dinner! Everyone gets a piece of the action that way…..what they do compete with is the lake tours.  The River Bend restaurant was a nice surprise……..we ate out over the lake in their screened in porch and the food was great!

Cypress Grove

After a good night’s rest we decided to check out the lake and to see if there were any RV parks in the area.  The locals call it the invisible lake and we quickly found out why.  You simply just cannot see the lake without being in a boat with all the swamp around you.  There are all kinds of tours you can take at this lake from an old Steamboat to a little john boat.  We decided on the tour with a pontoon boat with Captain Byron.  We set that up for 6 p.m. in the evening…..I wanted the better light and it was hot and humid and unless you have your own boat you’re not going to get an early tour….that will come when we come back with our own boats.

Spent the day with a cute couple who are waiting on the arrival of their baby boy Maddox.....who will be here in the middle of July.  Here are some pics from their session.

The Rock of Ages farm also has an old gas station on it that was built back in the early 1920's.  You can catch it just right off 66 on the right side of the highway going from Luther to Arcadia.  Not only does this little gas station make a great place to take portraits at it also has a little bit of history that goes along with it.

Pop's Soda Bottle

One of the new things on Route 66 is “Pops”. You can’t pass through Arcadia without stopping to check out their bumper crop of pop! You can’t miss it with the big huge soda bottle and straw that soars 66 ft. into the sky in front of the building. Remember all the pop you use to drink as a kid? They have it……and much, much more! It’s the happening place on this section of the old historic road. If you don’t mind waiting they have a restaurant also that apparently is pretty good……we have yet to want to wait in line to check it out.

Pop's Bottles

The first thing you see as you walk into the building is the windows with a rainbow of sodas. Glass shelves showcase thousands of bottles, floor-to-ceiling. It’s awesome looking!

If you have the time be sure and hang around until after the sun goes down. Each night as the sun sets on the little town of Arcadia, LED lights transforms the big bottle into a dazzling light show! An infinite array of colors and patterns salute the world’s greatest variety of soda pop inside!

Pop's

Just a little heads up on photographing the bottle. If you are looking to do it without people in your pics…..well it’s not going to happen. When the bottle lights up that is when everyone wants their pic in front of it…… You might be able to do it on a week night when it’s not quite so busy.