Monday Photo Dump: Week 14 | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

This week my hubby was out in the field (still) so I had a lot of down time.  This meant that I actually got out and did some stuff this weekend, and I think as a result got some fun pictures. 3-29-14: I spent my Saturday evening wandering Savannah and taking pictures of One Love's Paws for a Cause event.  They had dancers performing and, seeing that I minored in dance and have a strong interest in the subject, I really enjoyed photographing it. 3-30-14: Sunday I went with some friends and some dogs out to the beach at Hilton head.  This dog (sassy) had the time of her life chasing water droplets.  I'm pretty sure she can fly! 3-31-14: I got my exercise this week with some tennis. I attempted to use my phone's camera as an experiment to how well it works. Not very well, it turns out. If this had a proper exposure it wouldn't have been half bad though. Does any know any manual camera apps for android? 4-1-14: I've been really enjoying how differently I'm able to grocery shop with my hubby not around.  If I want salami and brie for dinner I can do it, and nobody is here to complain! 4-2-14: I got a remote shutter release for my camera and spent some time messing around with it. I was going for a model-like photo, but I guess I'm better off behind the camera, because I do NOT know how to pose myself.  I accidentally got this shot of myself and Jerry playing though. 4-3-14: Another cell phone pic! This is one of the Petsmart cats being all belly's up and cuddly, which, after my day at work, I really needed. 4-4-14: I bought a new 35mm lens and took it downtown to do some street photography. This was one of the first shots I took with it. I love this lens!

And that's it for this weeks photos.  Next week will kick off with Jerry at the beach and some sharkless shark fishing. Stay tuned!

Monday Photo Dump: Week 12 | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

This week has been a bit different than usual for me. It's been all about me time.  My hubby has been in the field since Wednesday which means that my week can be summed up in just a few words- dogs, cats, bubble baths, books, and wine.  And work, but I try to ignore that part. 3-22-14- I met these two cuties at the adoption event with One Love at Tailspin on Saturday.  I was soo close to taking them home.  If I was a single woman, I would have a house full. 3-23-14 Just some pretty flowers because spring has sprung. 3-24-14: Over the weekend I broke my phone (it was my first time ever breaking a phone). But I was able to use it as an excuse to upgrade back to an android.  It was kind of disappointing because I really like the idea of the windows 8 operating system, but it just didn't run well enough. 3-25-14: Saturday was my husband and my anniversary. We've been keeping this charm bracelet since we were dating and the idea was to add a charm every year.  We were a bit behind so he ordered some to catch up.  Each charm represents a year in our marriage except the first two which are for when we were dating, and our wedding. 3-26-14: This was the first day of the field for my hubby. I took  this as an opportunity for my kindle, a glass of wine, and a nice long bubble bath. 3-27-14: I'm excited because the plant that I thought I had killed just sprouted some new leaves. 3-28-14: Jerry and I have been getting a lot of quality time together with the hubster away.  I think he even listens when I have conversations with him (uh oh am I crazy?).  This is his interested face.

So that's it for this week's photos.  Next week will be jumping off with Sassy, the amazing flying dog.  Curious? Check back to find out what I'm talking about.

Monday Photo Dump: Week 12 | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

Here we are facing another Monday. I'm still sick. In fact today I am call in from work amounts of sick, so I've spent the whole morning on the couch reading Divergent, cuddling with my pets, and feeling all around crappy. But, I'm taking a break from all of that to share this week's photos.

3-15-14: We start off in the heart of Savannah's St. Patty's day celebrations. This holiday is kind of a big deal here, for some odd reason, so the party lasted all weekend long.  We went out on Saturday with some friends and I did some drinking and street photography. I wrote a quick post about it and shared some pictures here.

3-16-14: Sunday I revisited some old music that I used to love as a teenager and realized I've not developed an attachment to music in the same way since then. There is something about hiding out in the orange and yellow bedroom of my teenage years reading Ray Bradbury and listening to A Ghost is Born that in some ways, I'll never beat.

3-17-14: Monday was shopping day 'cause I was in desperate need of a new pair of running/work shoes. I made a first attempt at product photography, which, although it's a bit dark, I think I did pretty decent on (especially since I was working with natural light).

3-18-14: On Tuesday Sam took in this absolutely adorable foster puppy who we both got instantly attached to (for me, all it took were some puppy kisses).

3-19-14: Wednesday I decided to revisit my writing after coming to the realization that I never write anymore, so I busted out this old tattered journal.

3-20-14: More writing on Thursday, but this time in the form of poetry.  Inspiration hits at such random times for me (I wrote most of this in my head while counting jewelry at work), but it's such a great feeling when it happens.

3-21-14: Friday I did an impromptu photo shoot with Sam, her jeep, and the setting sun. I'm so excited with how this shot turned out!

That's it for this week.  Next week's photo dump will be kicked off with the cutest puppies in the world, so stay tuned!

SJ at Sunrise | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

Last Saturday I got up bright and early to meet up with SJ, a gorgeous local model, to do some portraits at sunrise. Let me just say that it pains me to get up early on the weekends.  I wake up at 3:30 five days a week, so I really appreciate my Saturday sleep ins.  Even if that's only until 7:00.

But waking up early to work with SJ was definitely worth it.  We found a field and a lake to shoot at with golden morning light and steam rolling off of the lake.  Beautiful.

SJ was a fabulous model, and we spent equal parts of our time laughing and shooting.  What I love most about SJ is her sense of adventure. Some models might think it's weird when I ask them to climb a tree, for instance, but not her.  She just wanted to know which tree.

This was a quick little shoot due to the limited time frame that the lighting allowed, but it was a lot of fun.  I can't wait to work with SJ again.

If you want to see the whole shoot you can find it at my website here.

Monday Photo Dump Week #10 | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time for another Weekly Photo Dump! This week was rainy and awful, but the weekend was gorgeous. I spent the weekend outside (yet didn't bring my camera, what was I thinking?) and then spent the rest of the week playing with dogs and eating (hey, my two favorite things.

So without further ado:

3-1-14: Okay so technically this was taken the night before, but since I had to work early Saturday morning, and this is what we were doing the night before, I think this gives you a good idea of how my Saturday felt- sleep deprived.

3-2-14: Sunday was also spent outside, somehow without my camera. Although I wasn't able to get any pictures of my adventures, my hubby did let me take this quick portrait of him and my dobe, Jerry.  I can't believe how big that dog has gotten!

3-3-14: My Monday consisted of work and then hours spent at the car dealership while they figured out that they needed to replace my transmission.  This is how I felt about things.

3-4-14: And then came the rain.  A five minute storm flooded my yard, and then we were stuck in the cold, wet, gross weather for the rest of the week.

3-5-14: I used to be totally scared of raw chicken. It freaked me out. But this chicken is about to be delicious!

3-6-14: Thursday I decided to embrace the rain and play with my friend Sam's dog Sassy.  She was not phased by the nasty weather. She just wanted to play!

3-7-14: I spent Friday playing with the dogs too.  Magnum was so kind as to pose for me.  He looks so dignified here!

After my missed photo opportunities this weekend I decided to take my camera with me more places, and I am much happier with this week's photos because of it.  Sticking to this idea, I already have some great photos for next week including a day at the shooting range.  I'm excited to bring some new life into this project and see where we can go with it.  Stay tuned!

Chad and Erika | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

Last week, some good friends of mine Chad and Erika invited me into their home to do a lifestyle photoshoot of them.  Erika is expecting, but not showing yet, so this will be some of their last photos as just the two of them (plus dogs).  We really focused on the two of them in their natural surroundings, and I love the way this shoot turned out.

These two were a blast to work with, but I already knew that.  Chad and Erika are always great to hang out with. But watching the interactions between these two was even better.

Chad is straight up goofy and constantly making faces or striking a Captain Morgan pose for the camera, despite Erika trying her hardest to get him to be serious.  We were starting to think he may not be capable.

We weren't sure what the photos would look like in the end, but as I look at the results all I can see is love between this little family.  Look at Chad's face in that ultrasound shot. He is absolutely beaming! And he has good reason. What a gorgeous family!

I'm so excited to come back and do this shoot again, but next time the family will be just a bit bigger.

We rounded out the shoot by letting Chad play with their gorgeous husky, Cyan.  She was very playful and wouldn't sit still, but I like the action shots anyway.  Look at those eyes!

I loved this photo shoot, and am excited to try more of these indoor lifestyle shoots. This just a little peak into the shoot, but you can find the rest on my website, here.

Monday Photo Dump: Week 9 | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

Phew! It's been a crazy week. I got stuck working two night shifts next week with not a whole lot of break between that and my day shift.  I may have worked less hours, but I am still recovering from the lack of sleep. I don't do well without sleep.

And then yesterday, when I was supposed to be posting last week's photos, I spent three and a half hours at the car dealership for them to tell me that I wouldn't have my car for a week while they replace the transmission.  At least it's warranty work.

Anyway, this is going somewhere, I promise. Basically I'm giving you all my excuses for why I'm a) a day late, and b) using cell phone pictures this week.

I had originally planned to do every picture for my 365 with my DLSR, but quite frankly that wasn't doable this week.  My week happened at work, and I can't exactly carry my DSLR around at Sam's and stop work to shoot some pictures. So, although the quality makes me cringe, I'm using some cell phone pictures.

Whew, I'm a bit long winded today, aren't I? Let's get to the pictures.

   1-22-14: Before all the craziness, I spent my Saturday afternoon at an adoption event at Tails Spin in Pooler hanging out with this cool guy and a few other sweet adoptables.  Fulton (the guy in the picture) is a complete lover, and he was posing for pictures left and right.  He also licked my lens at one point.  Nothing like a little dog slobber to make your pictures sharp, huh?

1-23-14: Sunday I went over to some friends' house to do a lifestyle photo shoot with them. I've wanted to do this silhouette shot for some time, I just hadn't found the right subjects and situation. I love the way this turned out.

1-24-14: Yes, it's supposed to be upside down.  My hubby convinced me to go for a jog with him Monday.  Let me just say, I don't jog. I was so sore/tired/defeated by the end of this jog that I pretty much collapsed on the floor afterwards. Once I recovered, I decided to do some yoga for my poor, poor muscles.  Jerry seemed to think it was a game and was running around all over the place, so I took this shot: my view from downward facing dog.

1-25-14: Que the night shift.  This was my "rockin' the night shift" selfie for instagram that I took on the first night when I was consuming way too much caffeine and driving a forklift around 'cause I was bored.

1-26-14: After work I thought I'd go home and crash.  I curled up on the couch and Jerry joined me.  I was exhausted! But I was so amped up on caffeine still that I couldn't sleep. And Jerry's nose was constantly in my face, so that didn't help much.  I ended up watching I Love Lucy all day instead.

1-27-14: My last nightshift was dragging on by the end.  I was still full of caffeine and spent most of the night jamming out to The Fratelli's, but as the last hour came I was losing steam.  I tried to entertain myself by doodling one a post-it note.

1-28-14: This was my recovery day, also spent on the couch watching I Love Lucy (I've decided I'm in love with Ricky Ricardo). This time Gizmo kept me company.

Like I said, it's was a crazy week. This one is off to a rough start, but I'm hoping for smooth sailing from here on out.  We will see. Until then I've got some serious house cleaning to do, so that's all for today!

Monday Photo Dump: Week 7 | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

I know I was a bit absent this weekend, but I wasn't able to do my shelter work this week (and may not for a while) so there was no weekly adoptable post to share.  I also spent Saturday celebrating my hubby's birthday which is Tuesday, so I decided to take the weekend off. That said, I'm a little behind on this whole blog thing.  Instead of my usual planning ahead, I have been rushing through in the past half hour or so to edit these weekly photos.

Anyway, let's get right to it, huh?

2-8-14: This was a Saturday workday, cranking out blog posts and working on business cards, among other things.  A photo of my keyboard seemed fitting, since I spent so much time with it.

2-9-14: I followed that up with a Sunday of rest, and a lot of playing with my goofy doberman. He's got crazy eyes!

2-10-14: Let me just warn you right now that this week was all about the food photography.  Judging by the pictures I must have spent this week just eating. Sounds like the perfect week!

2-11-14: As I pulled into the driveway from work, I did this.  Now I get to replace this $300 tire, because I was too lazy to move a jack that was in my way.  I'm a smart cookie! Needless to say, I was a bit angry for the rest of the evening.

2-12-14: Thank goodness I was able to turn that flat-tire attitude around with a day with Sam. She took me to the Asian market where I tried this Basil Seed Drink.  It looks creepy as hell, but it is seriously delicious.

2-13-14: Speaking of weird foods, what better choice is there than celery root?  This stuff looks evil, but it's tasty, I promise.

2-14-14: Ah Valentines day, the day of every year where my lovely hubby buys a little potted rose, and every year I kill it.  Plants and I don't get along. But this year he got it right with some already dead roses (and very pretty ones at that!) along with chocolates just in time to satiate an extreme chocolate craving, shopping, and some lunch at Bonefish Grill. Yup, he definitely got it right!

So there you have it, another week of photos.  I must say, this has been going much better than I originally thought when I planned this 365 project. I thought I'd really struggle, and while I do have some rough days where I have a hard time caring, I've for the most part been really enjoying this project (and all this oh-so-photographable food!)

Monday Photo Dump: Week #6 | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

Today we are launching the Monday photo dump since Fridays are now my afternoon at the animal shelter and I will no longer have time to edit and post my photos that day. You can find out all about that here. I know I've made a lot of changes all of a sudden, but the format for this post is still the same and the pictures are still from the same part of the week, we are just switching up the days.  With that said, here's last week's photos, the first set for the month of February.

2-1-14: Can I just say that I love food photography.  We see a lot of people posting pictures of their lunch on Instagram and it's kind of a running joke that gives food photography a bad name, but food that is prepared by hand can be gorgeous and really great to take pictures of, like this colorful pork stir fry that I made for a lazy night dinner.

2-2-14: More food! My husband had the random idea to make handmade pretzels for our Superbowl party.  It was actually pretty easy and very successful (I couldn't stop eating them).  A recipe is coming soon.

2-3-14: Just some Jerry toes.  I sure do love Jerry toes.

2-4-14: It's a pretty self explanatory shot of the penny jar.  I just like the colors of the pennies,

2-5-14: What used to be a nice view of a wooded area out of my computer room window is now construction.  They cleared the trees quite a while ago (which I was pretty upset about) and then just recently they started construction.  My work is now accompanied by the sounds of hammers and construction equipment.  This is my new view. I can't wait until they are done building.

2-6-14: X marks the spot, I guess.

2-7-14: This is one of my shots from my day at the animal shelter.  I didn't use this as something to post to get this dog adopted (for obvious reasons), but I do like the moment that was captured.  This dog is anything but vicious, I swear, but caught mid bark he does look kind of mean, doesn't he?

So there you have it, last week's photos.  I didn't do a theme, which left me with kind of a hodgepodge of photos, but I think they captured my week pretty well. As always, if you have any theme suggestions leave them in the comments below.  Otherwise, I'll see you next time!

Promises and Pistols | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

On Sept 29th, my brother in law and his fiance got married and they chose me as their photographer.  When they first asked, I said no.  I didn't think I was ready for an event as big as a wedding, and looking back at the pictures I took on the day they asked, I was right.  I still wouldn't agree to anyone else's wedding just yet, but they are family and they insisted, so of course I said I'd do it.

Just because I said I'd do it doesn't mean I was confident though. For the days leading up to the ceremony I was pretty stressed- probably more so than my own wedding! I spent way too much time worrying about what I was going to do and how I was going to do it, but when it came down to it, everything seemed to fall into place and I think I pulled it off.

The ceremony was small and beautiful.  I helped the bride, Mallory get ready and took a few pictures and then rode in with her dad to the park where the ceremony took place.  The boys set up the arch and decorated the dock with bows, and (thank god for my husband) did a wonderful job putting everything in the best possible location in terms of lighting.   The ceremony was conducted by Robert, the groom's brother who is also my husband. A group of close family and friends gathered on the dock to watch Matt and Mallory looking so happy together (Look at Matt's face when first seeing his bride!)

After the ceremony we made our way around the park for portraits.  We had a slight setback when Mallory (who is pregnant) got sick after I suggested Matt pick her up and spin her around (my bad), but it turned out all she needed was a cheeseburger.  After that we were good to go.  At this point the stress had melted away and we were all relaxed enough to just really have fun with the pictures.  We even got some photos of Matt and Mallory with some kick-ass guns on the railroad tracks.  We were told to leave halfway through, but it doesn't matter.  I got the shot.

Afterwards we went to the reception at a friend's house for a delicious low-country boil followed by champagne and cake.  I think the highlight of the whole thing was during the cake cutting when Mallory forgot to put the knife down before smearing cake in Matt's face, and accidentally stabbed him.  What a great start to a marriage!  This wedding was unique, quirky, and so much fun, just like the bride and groom.

It really meant a lot to me that Matt and Mallory trusted me to capture this life-changing event of theirs, even when I didn't fully trust myself to do so.  It'll be so great to see this photos in big print on their walls and I hope that it will help them to savor this wonderful moment in their lives.

As for me, the experience has made me realize how much I would love to do weddings as a job in the future.  I know I'm not ready yet, but it's something to work towards and that is a very exciting prospect.

Anyway, congratulations to Matt and Mallory!  I'm excited to be a part of this new life that you two are starting together and I wish you only the best.  You two deserve it.

New Camera

This blog is looking a little wordy, don't you think?  Well lucky for us I got my first SLR camera yesterday.  I've got a lot of photography in my future!  Now I'm new to the whole photography thing so bear with me, but they can only get better right?  Here's a few favorites from my first few (hundred) shots with my new camera.