Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Black and White (and Sepia) Photo Series/Project

I am working on starting a new project/series using only black and white photography. I am excited to get this series started and see where my photography grows from here! I will also be putting up some of my previous black and white photographs to show progression from when I first started. I wonder where this project will take me!


^This is a self portrait during my first pregnancy July, 2011.


^These are photos of my daughter when she was about a month and a half old, December 2011.

All photos using my Canon Rebel XSI DSLR. Newer photos will be taken with my Canon 60D. I cannot wait to get this project started and sharing it with everyone! Also, if anyone has any advice and/or tips working with black and white/sepia photography, please comment!

As I get further into the project, I will be sharing my own experiences with working with black and white photography. I will also be sharing any advice that I found helped me out the most!


Thursday, October 3, 2013

Half my Heart's in Heaven

Day by day it gets slightly easier, but harder at the same time. The cramping is gone, and now i'm almost at a point where i'm thinking it was all a dream, even though I know it wasn't.


Monday, September 30, 2013

More Waiting

So I went to the doctor again today to get my HCG levels checked to see where they are at. After waiting from 10:30am, I got a phone call at 5:30pm, levels are down to 1. So I have to wait another week to get another blood test to make sure they go down to 0 and if not I may have to have a D&C because of the risk of infection.
I've come to realize that in any situation, waiting is the hardest part. Waiting a year for my husband to get home from deployment, after a month and a half of him being home I started feeling like I was pregnant and I had to wait two weeks to take the test and for it to come up positive. Then I was (as patiently as I could) waiting for my first OB appointment, which was supposed to be today. Instead of setting up another appointment and waiting a little while to hear my baby's heartbeat, I am now waiting for all of the tissue to leave my body so I can get back to a regular cycle. Then start the process over again. Then my husband will deploy again next year, and there will be more waiting.
But while I continue waiting, our daughter's second birthday is coming up. So I will be immersing myself in getting ready for a fun little party for her.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

A tiny Angel went to Heaven

On September 11, 2013, two little pink lines on a pregnancy test brought great joy to my heart. I couldn't stop shaking for a few minutes because it just did not seem real. We are having another baby! The next day I went to the doctor to confirm what I already knew, and set up my 6 week appointment. Our baby would be due May 25, 2014!!
It seemed so crazy that it happened so soon, as my husband came home from deployment only 2 months prior; I felt like our growing family was falling into place.

But then that past week, my happiness quickly turned into fear and dread- I started to bleed. The instant I saw it I began to shake and cry. I kept telling myself to relax, maybe it was just a fluke and it would stop. But it didn't. I called my husband and we went straight to the ER. I was only about 5 and a half weeks pregnant, they said they wouldn't be able to see anything on an ultrasound. My HCG levels came back at 20, I knew in my heart what was happening. The doctor told me to get them checked again on Friday and we would go from there.
The next day everything got worse. The cramping/contracting was horrible, I could feel my body pushing out everything it could; my heart was telling my body to stop. But it didn't.
Every time I went to the washroom I cried.
That night it felt like all of my pregnancy symptoms vanished into thin air. And I cried some more.
Friday came around and first thing in the morning I was getting my blood drawn again. I waited for 2 painfully long hours for the doctors to confirm what I wished wasn't happening. The results came back and my levels were down to 5 and they need me to get them checked again next week to make sure they continue to go down. I sat there frozen as the doctor told me that my baby was gone- I had a miscarriage.
Everything he said after that seemed like a foreign language.
I walked out of the clinic doors into the OB/GYN waiting room filled with women in their later months of pregnancy waiting for their appointments. I started to cry, despite trying so hard to hold it in until I got into my car.
When I got to the car, I saw I had a voicemail on my phone, it was from my husband. Our daughter was on the phone and he told her to "say hi to mommy". After a few babbles, she said "Mommy, I love you!" My heart melted. I got home and gave her the biggest hug I could.
No one even knew we were expecting another child. It's a weird feeling to have. I just needed to share my story here and let it out of my head. On September 25, our tiny Angel went to Heaven. I just wish I knew why. Then I saw this photo and I feel like it's helped, even the tiniest bit ( I do not own any rights to this image, here is the link to the source- --
**I will always remember you, my little Peppercorn <3 ** Taken way too early, but maybe God needed a Tiny Angel in Heaven.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Exposed


Exposed
Originally uploaded by butterflyashes

Friday, April 12, 2013

Photos are my stress relief, part 1


Photos are my stress relief, part 1
Originally uploaded by butterflyashes

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Trip the Darkness 9/52


Trip the Darkness 9/52
Originally uploaded by butterflyashes