Earlier this month, the Mr. and I took a weekend trip to Portland, Oregon for some food, fun and tasty beer. We love traveling to new places and Oregon definitely did not disappoint. What a beautiful state! We had such a great time and one of the many highlights {like that sunset on the coast – *sigh*} was going to de Garde Brewing’s 2nd anniversary party. They are my absolute favorite, so it was awesome getting to see where all of the magic happens and enjoying their beers in such a fun atmosphere. Their party is actually what prompted us to take this trip, so we thought… hey, why not make this a beer adventure and visit as many breweries/brewpubs as we can while we are there?! 😉 Oregon has lots to offer and what I love about the craft beer scene is that you can also expect to make some new friends! [Read more…]
SPRINGTIME | 365 Grateful Heart Project | March
Spring has officially arrived and I could not be happier! March may have started off with snow, but it didn’t last long and all of the rain and sunshine has brought on lots of greenery and beautiful blooms to Dallas. I’ve been enjoying every minute of it! So much so that I haven’t been great about posting daily images, but you can see some of my favorite moments from March below and more on IG @tressavent. It was a great month with time spent with friends, a trip to Austin, fun photo sessions, sunsets, enjoying the outdoors and learning new things {have you heard of cinemagraphs? you can see a couple that I created here & here}. I couldn’t ask for anything more and look forward to seeing what April has in store. [Read more…]
IT’S BEEN REAL | 365 Grateful Heart Project | February
Oh February, it’s been real, real fun. There were adventures, trying new things, crazy weather, turning a year older, lots of love and laughs, and visits from family and friends. I’m truly grateful for everything I got to experience these last 28 days. You can see some of my favorite moments below and more @tressavent.
Then be sure and visit Ute’s monthly wrap-up at Fotoart Photography and view Shaz’s project @mspurevanilla. We’ve also had a number of friends join us on Instagram that you don’t want to miss… @iheartkingston, @mikehowell_jr, @cosibella, @jbergerphoto, @krishnaneale and many, many more! Just check out the tag #365GratefulHeart to see all of the wonderful images & grateful moments. [Read more…]
THIS IS ME | 365 Grateful Heart Project | January
I can’t believe that January has come and gone already. Such an awesome month and a great start to 2015! As you may know, I’m doing a 365 Grateful Project along side some talented friends, where we post a photo-a-day on Instagram of what we are grateful for. It’s about celebrating the moments in your life that make you happy, reflection and gratitude. You can read more about it here.
This personal project has been a wonderful experience and is something that I’m proud of. I love that it’s helping me document more of my own life and focusing on the positive in each day. I took the above self portrait as part of the project and it’s far from perfect, but so am I. I’m just doing the best that I can and I feel really good about that. This is me and the things in my life that truly make me happy. You can see a few of my favorite moments from January below and more @tressavent. Then be sure and visit Ute’s monthly wrap-up at Fotoart Photography and view Shaz’s project @mspurevanilla. We’ve also had a number of friends join us on Instagram that you don’t want to miss… just check out the tag #365GratefulHeart. So many beautiful images!
And if you would like to join us {it’s never too late!} then we invite you to tag your images using#365GratefulHeart so we can follow along.
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365 GRATEFUL HEART PROJECT | tressavent photography
“Taking one photo every day of something I was grateful for really re-programmed my brain. Seeing and celebrating the good in my life affected not only the way I felt spiritually and physically but it improved my relationships with others too.” -Hailey Bartholomew
How great is that?! After reading about Hailey’s 365 Grateful Project, I knew right away it was something that I wanted to do. So what better way to kick off 2015 then with a new personal photo project! And the best part is, I’m getting to do it alongside some super talented friends, Ute & Shaz. YOU can join us too!!! We will be posting a photo-a-day on Instagram of what we are grateful for… it’s about reflection and gratitude. You can find us at @tressavent, @foto_ute & @mspurevanilla. I’m going to be using both my D750 & iPhone {whatever is handy that day} and maybe even mixing in a little bit of iPhone video using the 1 Second Everyday app. The possibilities are endless on how you want to participate! There are no rules, no daily word prompts or features… just celebrating the moments in your life that make you happy. You can learn more about the inspiration behind this project at www.365grateful.com. If you would like to join us {which I really hope you will!!!} and discover more about the power of gratitude in your own life, then we invite you to tag your images using #365GratefulHeart so we can follow along. Cheers to a happy 2015… I hope to see you on IG! [Read more…]
REAL EMOTION | dallas, tx lifestyle photographer
Watching little ones do Jiu-Jitsu has to be one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. They are so adorable in their uniforms and I love how proudly they wear their belts. My best friend’s little girl has taken up this wonderful sport and I’m such a proud auntie. I recently got to go watch her train at RCJ Machado and earn her *second* belt stripe. Way to go, Maddog!!! She’s one tough chick and doesn’t let anything stand in her way. I love that about her and loved watching her fill with excitement as she accepted her new stripe. Seeing her happy, makes me happy! Honestly, it melts me into mushy goodness. I’m emotional like that. Everyone who knows me, knows that I’m a sponge when it comes to emotions… whatever you’re feeling, I’m feeling. It makes moments like these even sweeter and anytime I can share in the joy of my loved ones it’s one worth documenting in my books. [Read more…]
BIG CITY. LITTLE DOG. | dallas, tx lifestyle pet photographer
Sydney, our little shih tzu, loves to go on adventures with us, so this time around I decided to bring my camera along too. With the recent cool front, it made for a perfect summer afternoon in Downtown Dallas. She was mesmerized by all of the traffic zooming past The Majestic and enjoyed getting to explore a new park. I didn’t go full-out paparazzi, but I did manage to get some really fun images. It was a nice balance of documenting, while not being behind a camera the whole time… something I’m constantly trying to manage.
And you may have noticed that I’ve been putting together more and more animated images lately. I’m obsessed with them… but in a good way! 😉 I think it’s so awesome to be able to bring a little bit of life into my photographs as an additional way of storytelling. This is by no means a new concept in the photography world, but I’ve been enjoying putting them together as a special little bonus from my sessions. I hope you guys aren’t growing tired of them because it’s not likely that I’ll be stopping anytime soon. In fact, I’m excited to be exploring other techniques and hopefully expanding on this as an official offering for all of my sessions. Be sure and stay tuned, but in the meantime I hope you will enjoy the images from our latest outing. [Read more…]
REAL ADVENTURE | dallas, tx lifestyle photographer
There are few things I enjoy more in life than an adventure… especially when it’s with my hubby and good company. Our latest one involved a trip to Austin to visit our dear friends who planned a weekend of non-stop activities for us. As always, we had such a wonderful time with them and really enjoyed getting to explore some new spots. Here are a some highlights…
- The beer tour at Jester King was, hands down, the coolest brewery we’ve been to so far! It’s such a neat location and their beer is SO delicious. I had no idea I liked sours so much. They are definitely worth checking out if you like trying different kinds of craft beers and being in a fun, outdoor environment.
- Can you believe we’ve never had Salt Lick BBQ until this trip?! It’s pretty much the thing to do if you ever go to Austin and it did not disappoint. Their ribs, so YUM!
- We scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! One word… Lick. That is all.
- There just so happened to be a full moon that weekend – on Friday the 13th. Sooooo we had to make a stop at Barton Springs to howl at the moon. Keepin’ Austin weird y’all! 😉
- We had the Nobel Pig at Nobel Sandwiches… spicy ham, pulled pork, provolone and BACON.
- And on our last night, our friends cooked us the most amazing meal served up fresh from their recent fishing trip and local farmers market {delish!} and then took us for dessert at Gourdough’s for big. fat. donuts.
As much as we loved all the food and drinks, the best thing about this adventure was getting to catch up with our friends and make some new memories. Never a dull moment with these guys! [Read more…]
REAL MESS | dallas, tx lifestyle photography
I’m so excited to be participating in a Blog Circle with a very talented group of photographer friends called Keepin’ It Real. Every month we have a different theme where we document, post pictures and then link to one another at the end of each blog. You’ll get to see glimpses of some of my personal life and also see how other photographers are interpreting each prompt. How fun is that?! This is my first round, but I’m looking forward to making this an ongoing series and pushing myself to document and share more of my own life with you guys. 😉 Thanks for following along and don’t forget to follow the blog circle to see everyone’s work. Just click on the link at the end of my post and enjoy! This month’s theme is Real Mess…
Meet Sydney. Also known as Syd Vicious, Syd Bear or sometimes just Syd. She is the sweetest, most lovable shih tzu and she is all ours. My hubby and I got her eight years ago when we got engaged and oh how we love her so. Although completely adorable, she can also be quite the hot mess with her fluffy hair and the fact that she can’t drink water without putting her whole face in the water bowl. So bath time it was… where she remained clean for all of 30 minutes… maybe. [Read more…]
NEW YORK CITY | dallas, tx lifestyle photographer
Earlier this month I got to go on the most amazing trip to New York City with the most amazing group of photographers for the Pinkle Toes Workshop Reunion. It was a whirlwind of non-stop fun around the big city that was full of laughing, walking, eating, more walking and most of all lots and lots of picture taking. But my favorite part of it all was all of the new friendships made… what a wonderful group of talented ladies with big, kind hearts. I will always treasure the memories we made that weekend and look forward to keeping in touch with everyone. Be sure and scroll all the way to the end of this post and follow the blog circle to see how everyone else saw the city through their lens. And if you’re on Instagram, you can see some of my iPhone images here and search #pinkletoesnyc to see more snaps from our adventures. [Read more…]