Snowboarding

Snowboarding, a photo by MarLeah Joy on Flickr. Click on the image to view in high resolution!

I'm a little too pre-occupied over here to think of anything beyond what I am currently doing. I'm trying out the pomodoro technique with my homework, and it is going surprisingly great. I just got done reading the longest article ever about "The Battle to Patent Your Genes". So my mind is not really thinking about anything else right now, haha, even though I'm on my 4 min. break.

But I won't leave you in the dark about this picture... This is my cousin, Clifdon. I rode up to Wisconsin with his family and some others.
This was my second time to ski and his first time to snowboard. They say snowboarding is more challenging to pick up at the beginning, but I have to say that his snowboarding skills beat my skiing skills by a long shot!
Crazy kid!

-MarLeahJoy

City Lights: Bokeh Wednesday

City Lights with the Lensbaby, a photo by MarLeah Joy on Flickr. Click on the image to view in high resolution!

This was one of those moments when you finally get to create YOUR OWN similar picture to ones you've seen from other photographers.
So no, it's nothing new in the world of Lensbaby lens owners, but I still like the thought that I took my own "selective-focus-city-lights" picture ;)

-MarLeahJoy

Snowboarder GIF and Ski Album

The last time I made GIFs it was such a huge hit... so I made just one out of a set of images from our ski trip earlier this month.

You can view all of the other pictures from the trip on my Facebook album (it's public).

facebook.com/marleah.cole/ski-trip

This guy was just a random boarder who kept doing jumps by me while I was stationed to take pictures of my cousins and friends.

-MarLeahJoy

Betsy the Cow

Betsy the Cow, a photo by MarLeah Joy on Flickr. Click on the image to view in high resolution!

I've been writing down a lot of time-specific goals for my life and for photography lately. I have to admit that I can get quite caught up in thinking about long-term investing and saving for a new lenses and saving up for travels, etc. But in all of these goals I've had to leave out the specific DATE of accomplishment and just use a time frame that begins the day I get a job.
After having a lot of these plans and goals swimming around in my mind the last few days, this morning I thought: "Yes, a job would really solve all my problems."
Untrue!
I mean, seriously! What if I never get a job outside of photography? I think I have been avoiding my fears about how I might struggle financially if I was only a photographer at the beginning. In my mind I keep finding comfort in the fact that "if I don't do so hot in photography at least I can rely on another job". And honestly, I think that is really hindering me right now to really grow in photography and get out of my shell. Because when I think about marketing I like to think that it is something off in the future that I don't have to worry about right now.
Also untrue!
I'm being too soft on myself and doubting my ability.
I can't say that my desire to get another job has left now that I've realized this, but I think it will/should help me to not procrastinate about getting more clients.

I've never really shared too many of my thoughts about my future in photography because that sounds "scary" to be vulnerable to other people and how they might judge me if it doesn't work out.
Well now I'm telling those thoughts to "GO AWAY!" Haha. I don't want to let my fears get in my way.

-MarLeahJoy

Colorado Mountain Gradient

Colorado Mountain Gradient, a photo by MarLeah Joy on Flickr. Click on the image to view in high resolution!

Another flashback to Colorado :)

-MarLeahJoy

Color of Reading

Color of Reading, a photo by MarLeah Joy on Flickr. Click on the image to view in high resolution!

Humph! On our trip up to Wisconsin everyone started to list off books that they had read, and they were telling about the ones that were really good. Finally, I almost just couldn't listen because it's been at least 9 months since I've read a good book. :( I mean, since I've read at all. How sad is that. So I am determined to start a good book sometime really soon.

Any suggestions?
Comment below!

-MarLeahJoy

I've Caught the Valentine Bug

I've been making valentines today for some little children from our church that I will be babysitting tomorrow while their parents are at a valentine's party. 

And boy! do I feel like a little kid myself! I get so happy and hyper and beside myself when I start creating things...

Here's what I created... Feel free to download it and use it! I don't care :)

About a month ago I saw a pin for these creative little valentines and so I took my own little spin on them!

I thought they were so perfect for me because when I think of my friendships (and especially the little kids) I think of laughter! :)

So I began by drawing those words, just in my own handwriting.

Then I took pictures of the papers and opened them in Photoshop.

So I actually wrote in green pen :) But that doesn't matter....

Because you can use the color swap tool and change the color :)

Close to being done...

Then I got a picture of a funny little guy laughing :D

I had to extend the background to make it fit the size of the valentine.

And there you have it! :)

-MarLeahJoy

Sunrise with the Dog and the Bug

Sunrise with the Dog and the Bug, a photo by MarLeah Joy on Flickr. Click on the image to view in high resolution!

It's been quite the crazy week!
I came home from our little trip sore and exhausted with a long list of homework to complete by Thursday night. After using Wednesday as essentially a "recovery" day... that left me with one day to complete all of my Accounting, Business Law, and Management homework. And of course this week they gave us two chapters of work to complete in all of those classes. Why??? :P

Now it's time to relax. Make valentines for my "favorite" little kids at church. Edit pictures from the ski trip. Play the piano. Listen to a few of my pastor's messages of a series that I missed out on due to my constant travels.

Ah! Unwinding! ;)

-MarLeahJoy

Texture of the Slopes

Texture of the Slopes, a photo by MarLeah Joy on Flickr. Click on the image to view in high resolution!

I'm just now starting to feel a little more recovered from that ski trip (after sleeping for 12 hours after I got home). Ha! I don't think I mentioned yet that I actually took a jump on my skis. It was totally unintentional. I was going down the terrain part and I would cut back and forth so that I approached the top of the jumps slowly. Then I would just tip over the edge and begin cutting again so that I wasn't going too fast for the next jump. Well, it all went great the first time I did it. :D I got up to some exhilarating speeds and went over several jumps without actually taking any air. The second time I went down the terrain park, however... Hahaha! ...I was approaching the second jump a little too fast and my skis caught and I did the "pizza" as I went over the hill. So I ended up catching a little bit of air... a lot of air. I didn't land it, of course, so my skis flew off, and I had to climb back up the hill to retrieve the skis and poles. I came out of it with only a bruise, so I'm happy that I got to "have some fun" and venture out without killing myself. ;)

-MarLeahJoy