Sometimes plan B works out just fine.

Since Thursday & Friday were my Fall Break, my dad wanted to spend some time with me. 

I found out about Brown County park adding ziplines and with lots of effort, talked him into doing them with me yesterday. 

However, their website sucked and is a liar & one page said the lines were available all day & then when I went to actually book it, it said they were only open at 9 & 11 a.m.. I wasn't able to do either of those, so we just couldn't do it. 

I was really sad.

But, much to my surprise, my dad had plan B when I told him we couldn't do the ziplines ... he wanted to go horseback riding. 

'

So, we headed out to Brown County yesterday & afternoon & rode horses. 

We had about a 35 minute wait so I brought out my camera and took some pictures. I'm so glad I always have my camera with me, some of these turned out just beautiful! 

I didn't know this, but my dad worked out at this very horse barn when he was a boy, so he has lots of fond memories from that. He really liked telling me all about how he used to spend the night up in the top of the barn and how one Memorial Day (in 1963) they counted 4,000 horses because people brought their own.

I'm really thankful for the times we've been sharing together lately & I know I'll be even more thankful for them down the road.

Don't leave home without it.

... you know, your camera.

You just never know when the perfect opportunity may strike & you'll wish you had it. I'm tellin' ya.

My friend, Megan, & I went on a walk today with her new baby Davian so of course I brought my camera because I knew the opportunity would definitely strike & I was not disappointed.

Taking the plunge

I know I've been talking photography, photography, photography over here & I promise to lighten up soon (like tomorrow) but first I need to tell you guys some exciting news!! 

You may or may not know, being a college student also means being poor. 

It means all of the sudden realizing paying for things like laundry detergent & hand soap really sucks & you can't use all your money on pedicures & shopping anymore.

It's a harsh reality.

That being said, I'll pretty much do anything to assure that I can still eat & get pedicures & shop because I have priorities here.

(no, I'm not going to scrub your toilets or wash your baseboards ... I have boundaries)

Since I've been doing some photography lately, people have been asking me to do jobs & asking people who already have my pictures who did them. 

I decided it's time for a name for my little business so I can get my name out there & acquire funds for the finer things.

I'm gettin real serious, I know.

So ... without further adieu, I'd like to present:

I don't have a logo yet & I certainly don't have a website but I do have a Facebook page so if you'd like to check out some of my work, book a shoot with me or even just "Like" the page to boost my ego, have at it!

I'm so excited to see where this takes me! 

Kiss me!

I'm Irish!

Really, I am! My nana, a McDonell, was Irish & therefore I am & deserved to be kissed. Ha!

I love St. Patrick's Day! It's a super fun holiday that you don't have to buy anyone gifts or make a big meal for! As much as I love buying gifts and big meals, it's nice to have a holiday that isn't centered around it. 

This holiday is all about drinkin' and dancin' and having fun & I am in love with that fact.

My mom has a little sister for Big Brothers & Big Sisters (well, she used to be my little sister but when I went to college, momma adopted her), & we like to take her to things she's never been to before. A parade is one of those things. So we celebrated by going downtown Indianapolis to the St. Patrick's Day Parade & this isn't just any old parade anyway, it's a really big one. 

Drew also walked in the parade with his football team, so it was super fun to see him.

After the parade, we went to Champs to watch Butler beat Old Dominion!!!!, shopped a little & went home.

Such a fun day was had by all!

I tried to cut down on the pictures, I really did, but they're just all so great! 

 Of course Drew's the only one handing out candy to the kids. Love that boy.

 Seriously, look at him!! Sweetest boy ever.

 Little sister doesn't like to smile so I was trying to get her to when the lady snapped the picture. I think it turned out pretty cute anyway.

 He was my favorite.

 I asked the mom if I could photograph these guys. I've never wanted to steal babies more.

Hope your day was just as fun as ours!

Matchbook Creative Contest

Ok guys, I need your opinions.

Yesterday, I got a message on Facebook from a friend of mine who works at a local advertising agency, Matchbook Creative.

Matchbook is hosting their first ever, "Fall into Creativity", a creativity contest. One can enter a photograph, drawing, painting, card collection - anything.

The entry fee? is just one non-perishable food item to be donated to a local food bank, Gleaners.

How easy is that??

So anyway, before I got the message last night, I had gone on a walk to take pictures and begin looking for things for next week's scavenger hunt.

Except, next week's items are a lot more challenging than they have been in the past, so I didn't find a lot of them, but I found myself just snapping pictures of everything that caught my eye.

Consequently, when I got the message, although the contest isn't until November 5th, I had lots of options to choose from already.

& although it's not really a super serious contest - more of a charity thing, I thought I would ask your opinion on this picture & then what you thought of the different touch-up techniques so here we go:

I could use just the plain one:

or I could use the "1960" one:

or I could use the cinema scoped one:

or I could use the boosted one:

or, I could always wait & find another one.

What do you think?

Which one should I use, or should I just find another one?

also, if you'd like more information about the Matchbook Creative, "Fall in to Creativity" contest, check here.

What better way to support a food bank than through a fun, creative outlet?

& Lastly, I'd like to apologize to Megan over at Life's a Dance for not recognizing the fact that last Saturday? SHE GAVE ME MY FIRST BLOG AWARD!! Megan is an absolutely fabulous girl - sweet & adorable & her blog follows suit.

Thank you Megan, it's quite the honor to get an award from you ... I may or may not pass this on, but if I was the one giving away the award at first, I would've totally given one to you too.

Keep rockin' girl!

Excuses.

I have been slacking on blogging & I have an excuse - my camera is broken. Like seriously, when I can't use my camera to inspire blog posts, I have zero inspiration at all.

It's not really my camera that's broken - its the memory card. My mac told me a hundred times not to eject my camera without pushing the eject button on the computer & of course I didn't so now I have a Sony Cybershot that keeps saying, "reinsert memory card." Even though it's in there right. Frustrating.

Also, on the budget of a college student I can't afford to just run out and buy a new memory card right away. & Deb (aka: mom) for some reason, says that after paying tuition she just doesn't want to contribute to the "Ali needs extras" fund. I know, weird.

Anyway, I just want to apologize for not being my normal, picture crazy - creative blogger with a promise that I will put out at least one good & creative post this week & I'm going to try to get a memory card next week.

XOXO lovies.

Ps. If anyone has any ideas about how to fix the camera by all means, let me know!

My first Scavenger Hunt!

I saw that Nicolasa over at {My} Perspective was participating in this Scavenger Hunt & it's really fun!

Since I'm home sick (& even though I'm 18, my mom won't let me leave the house) I thought this would be fun to do!

1.) Miniature

2.) Water Droplet

3.) Bed Head

4.) Colorful

5.) Eyes

I had a lot of fun taking these pictures today & I even learned a little bit about when to use a flash, when not to use a flash, what objects work best where & where to place the camera to get the best shot.

You can still link up & Join with this weeks subjects until Tuesday, after that ... you can start preparing with next weeks subjects!

Do it though - it's a great creative outlet & way to learn how to use your camera more effectively!

Happy Sunday!