We're moving to Texas!

So I'm officially letting the cat out of the bag! haha I've always hated that saying by the way, but in this instance it totally fits, because we're actually transporting our cats in these bag like carriers. So, when Ryan and I get there, we will literally be letting the cats out of the bag.

Anyways, the point of this blog post is to inform everyone that Bailey Nicole Photography is relocating. I will be moving from Seattle, WA to Carrollton, TX within the next month. Am I excited about this? Heck yeah! Will I miss Seattle and all the wonderful people I've met here? Of course! You all know who you are.

The biggest reason for the move is that the husband got an awesome job down there that was too good to pass up. It has been a long tough decision, but in the end, it's a fabulous new opportunity for change and growth for the both of us. I cant wait to see what this journey will hold.

But before I go, I just want to write about how much I've learned in these past 3 years and what I will miss.

What I've learned:

• I am not as good as I thought I'd be at snowboarding
• That I can't live without good Indian food
• That a Washington summer is about as good as it gets as far as nature is concerned. I don't think I've ever seen as beautiful of sights as I have in July, camping by the riverside.
• That it's never too late to re-invent yourself. I know this sounds cliche, but I came to Seattle as a Game Developer who dabbled in Photography and am leaving here as a Photographer who dabbles in Game Development. This was probably the roughest transition I've ever made, and I couldn't be happier I made it.
  
• How to grow and harvest tomato's, basil, rosemary, and (to some degree) broccoli and brussel sprouts.
• That when I get put in an uncomfortable situation, to treat it as an opportunity to learn more about myself and those around me. 
  

What I will miss:

• Having my husbands family close by. I'm really lucky to have married a guy who's family I truly adore. I've already shed a few tears over this one.
  
• All the awesome friends I've made. Again, you know who you are. There are several of you. I will miss you dearly.
  
• All the awesome friends I already had that ended up moving here and now I'm leaving you again. I swear, I'm not trying to run away from you. haha. 
  
•  The view
• Trader Joes and their amazing goats milk brie.
  

What I won't miss

• The roads. I'm sorry but getting into the city sucks when you're on the Eastside. There is like 2 ways in, or you can go around the top or bottom. Either way, its jam packed. Also, you dont have access roads.
  
• The lack of sun in the winter. I've never been okay with this. I need my sun. It's my lifeblood. haha
  
• Gorgeous bodies of water that I want to swim in, but can because it's too cold. It's like a "look but can't touch" scenario for me. 
• Other stuff I won't mention because this is supposed to be a happy post and I realize i've already spilled too many beans. Moving on.

I want to write so many more of these bullet points, but unfortunately time is of the essence, so I'm going to finish it off with a few photos that I've pulled up that pertain to this post. I decided to go through the archives and pick some from some of my favorite moments during my time in Washington. I sincerely hope you enjoy these and thanks for the great time Washington.

Vendor - Colleen Peterson

I just wanted to make a shout out blog to a designer by the name of Colleen Peterson. She runs Lilyput Paper Co. She is also the woman who designed the wedding invite for the up and coming Brittany and Steve Wedding Extravaganza! I just wanted to post some photos I took of this invite. It's so hottt with a triple t.
 

I can definitely tell you, that she did SUCH a great job capturing what this couple is all about. They both work in game development and she managed to put all kinds of fun stuff inside that depicts this idea. I love all the little touches. Everything from the comics, the text, the boldness of the font choices, even details such as the stamp were totally expressive of what this wedding and couple is all about. So really, Kudos Colleen, you did an awesome job and I'll see you at the wedding!

My dont forget to blog, blog

Truth be told, I'm not the best at this blogging thing. I never feel like I have anything important enough to say, when that's probably not the case at all. There's tons of stuff going on, but by the end of the day I think I just always tell myself "nobody wants to read about that!" Then I see someone elses blog that says virtually the same thing I thought about posting and low and behold, I'm kickin myself in the ass. So for now I'll just update and make plans to make sure and blog the next time I think about it.

I have two big events that I'm preparing for, for the rest of this month. I have a newborn shoot at a date TBD and a wedding on the 23rd. Am I excited about these shoots? Hell yes! It will be my first wedding since I've started this business and although I've worked with babies before, a newborn session is totally new territory. You have to prepare with the types of tools you normally wouldn't use on any other shoot. Anyways, I feel like that's a pretty big step. I've learned a ton and I think it shows each time I evaluate my progress and look at my photographs and sessions I've had from March until today. That's essentially when I started this whole shebang anyways.

So there you have it. October update. Stay tuned for more! and for now, please enjoy these photos of my husband and his dad trying on his letter jacket from high school. I have on his moms.

What the heck is Airsoft?

So, from time to time I go out and get completely unladylike and play Airsoft with my guy friends. "What is airsoft?! "you say? Well, Airsoft is basically just military style gunfight games using souped up BB guns. I know what you're thinking, "how did she get involved in this? It's so opposite of what I'm seeing on this blog!" This is very true, but seeing as video game development was once my primary career, these kind of things just tend to fall into place. For me, this is second nature. Really the only reason I'm putting it on here is because I happened to take some great photographs of our recent game. So for me, its relevant I think.

This most recent event was a blast considering that I really wanted to get some in game action shots. Normally, I just take before and afters, then go to play and forget all about my camera. This time was different. This time I wanted to get the best vantage point I could; right in the middle of the action.  I flagged myself with tons of orange tape, donned my 200mm prime, and went out into the battlefield.

Here are some of my fav's from the day. These shots may look intense, but I can assure you these guys are some of the nicest and most polite you'll ever meet. This kind of thing falls in the realm of grown ups playing with toys. Really, really fun toys.

 The hardest part about shooting in game shots is that you have a few things you gotta look out for. I mean, it IS a gun battle and you rarely want to get in between a pellet flying 300-500 FPS (feet per second) and its target. For the most part, I think I figured out the best way to eliminate my chances of getting shot as well as get a good angle without informing the other team where the opposing force is. The key is, being as aware as you possibly can of  the key players locations. You have to know where every one is for the most part, by walkin' the ground at the beginning of the game and waiting for the ambush to start. As soon as the firing has begun it's a lot easier to not worry about giving away anybodys location, because chances are, they had a pretty good idea where the shooting just came from. Then at this point, really the only difficulty is trying to go around them, while taking cover and trying to get the best vantage point. You also have to make sure your lens is covered and held tightly while trekking through the bush.

 

 Be veeeewy quiet. 

In the end, sometimes accidents do happen, but they usually yield a good story to go with the battle scar. Airsoft games are fun, intense, and great! They make a weekend feel like a weekend. I'm always happy to play and of course, always happy to hang with good people. Thanks for keeping me on the list guys. :)

Houdini would be proud

The more I photograph people, the more I realize that the subjects need to be excited about being photographed to truly capture that certain magic inherent in a good picture. The best part of my job is when the people I'm photographing are stoked to get some quality pictures for themselves. THAT is when the magic happens and when the magic happens, its golden and end up feeling like the Houdini of photography.

TADA! (That's what I feel like saying when I present awesome shots like the ones I got in this session)

Rene is an old friend of mine from my game development career. I am fortunate enough to live near a place that holds a large convention for gamers every year called PAX. She and her husband Randy came into town for said convention. I think its really awesome that they travel together. She had recently found out that I'm doing photography now and got in touch to schedule a session with me. I was so super pumped, because I knew she'd deliver and we'de get some amazing stuff. She just has that awesome personality where you know it's gonna be good. She's in control, laid back, and I gotta say, the girl knows how to strike a pose. Then there's Randy. This was the first time I'd met him. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pretty sure it was going to be one of those instances where the chick is so cool that chances are, by default, the guy is equally as awesome. I was absolutely right. Duh! He was fun and lovable and these two compliment each other so perfectly, it's unreal.

So, here's a sneak peek of some shots from the session.

TADA!!

This one cracks me up because I told Randy to stay hidden behind the door and jump out. He jumped out at the best time ever. haha!

♥ I love moments like this. ♥

To Rene and Randy, I had so much fun. Thanks for the great time!

Good weather = good light = good photography and I ♥ the sun

I have a shoot this evening and lets just say, I'm feelin' good. I like sun A LOT and today, there looks to be a healthy abundance. The Sun is not only great for lighting purposes and photography, but its also good for cheering people up. Let's get this party started! I can't wait to see what this shoot will bring.

Truth be told, I miss it (the sun) a lot since moving from Texas. I came to the worst possible place for a sun lover. But, I'm here now, and I may as well make the best of it. This reminds me of a quote:

"Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't." - legally blonde

Except I like to swap the word "Sun" for the word "exercise" and "Vitamin D" for the word "Endorphins"

Baileyfied version:
"The Sun gives you Vitamin D. Vitamin D makes you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't." - Bailey

I guess that about sums it up. haha!

-Bailey

"Always look on the bright side of life." - Monty Python

The only thing I regret is my business card

So, I just got back from the WPPI Road Trip and am pretty pumped about all the knowledge and inspiration I  witnessed.

For some time now, I'd been looking for a photographic association to join and I knew my friend Ketti, who is also an awesome photographer, was a member. This specific group is primarily devoted to wedding photography, which is a subject I've become a LOT more interested in as I grow my business. Periodically, Ketti will give me her extra Rangefinder magazines; the publication WPPI gives you a subscription to when you join their secret club. haha. I had researched other associations previously, like PPA, ASMP, PSA, and other abbreviated 3-4 letter combos that have P somewhere in them, but they weren't as exciting as what I was seeing in the WPPI community (plus PSA uses comic sans on their website, so they get omitted just for that). Anyways, after some thought and a lil' dough, I decided to join up and see what this shindig was all about. All in all, I found that my money had been well spent and I met some really cool people along the way.

Now, looking back, the only thing I regret is my business card. So, for anyone who was unfortunate enough to receive it, and is reading this, I promise that this is terrible representation of what I stand for, but sometimes ya gotta do what you gotta do. So again, if you're reading this, here's my explanation and apology. :)

Basically, the story is short and sweet, in that, I was pretty unprepared for the Road Trip because I decided 3 days before that I'd actually be attending. So, seeing as I haven't gotten around to sending my business card off to my lab yet, this was my last minute attempt to salvage my procrastination. I performed the cardinal sin of buying some "business card" paper, nabbing a template offline, and printing them myself. The final product came out super thin and my cutting job was, well, lets just say, shotty at best. I cut those yesterday morning before I left with a dull pair of scissors and razor sharp determination. haha! I thought it was better than nothing. Even though I'm just a soul who's intentions were good, Oh lawd, please don't let me be misunderstood. Basically, if you took the time to read this, thank you, and I'm sorry. haha Next time we see each other at an event, I promise I'll give you a much better example.

Btw, I really liked all of you wonderful people I met. If you're local or ever in the area, lets do lunch!