More pretty blue stuff.

You know that blue teapot photo I posted a few days ago? Well, it has a cousin on the patio: a blue-glazed terra cotta pot. And it's full of—you guessed it—PANSIES!

If you know my mom, you know she has a thing for pansies. I kinda do too. Who wouldn't love a flower that comes in every color of the rainbow, and looks like a bunch of smiling little faces looking up at you?

And here's a pretty green thing for you too.  :)  This is the vase she keeps hanging by the front door...always filled with something from the garden.  Today it's elegant calla lilies.

Tomorrow's post is something I've been mulling since God popped it into my head a week ago.  Short but very sweet.  And I think you'll agree it pretty much guarantees happiness in whatever situation you find yourself.
 
Till tomorrow, friends...
 
- Kelsey Schweickert
 
 
Discovering beauty...


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Well, I was thinking about what to post tonight, but then I decided not to. 'Cause I'm still enjoying last night's post. It was such a great time with those crazy Novotnys!

So.  That's all for now.  Scroll down, and enjoy!  ;)

- Kelsey

Heavenly. And it was.

A couple weeks ago my brother Chris and I went to Heaven...........ly.  The Novotny clan was out for the week, and we joined them for two days of whizzing around on the snow.  What a blast!

Heavenly and the Sierras were beautiful as usual...

Awww :)

Don't join these two unless you want to go some crazy places at crazy speeds.  Double trouble.

(You'll notice Chris is wearing a helmet, and Ben isn't. You can form your own conclusions.)

Yaaaah, it wasn't as bad as these warning signs might make you think.  Big moguls, but they were nice and slushy by early afternoon, and we had a ball.

If you have a laptop, you too can join this aprés-ski crowd.  ;)  All I had was a fisheye lens but they let me in anyways.

And then there was an uproarious game of Skittles.

Stiff competition here!

Meanwhile, the boots peacefully dried before the fireplace...

I think Mandy is one amazing individual.  :)  It was a treat to hang out with her.

She's getting married next month -- so exciting!!  Can't wait!

It really was a heavenly couple of days. Thanks for including us, Novotny clan!

(A side note...most of these are cell phone pics...sorry for the occasional fuzziness!)  ;)

- Kelsey Schweickert


Discovering beauty...

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poppy portrait

Very red.  Very, very red.  And very pretty.

Heavenly photos tomorrow!  ;)

- Kelsey Schweickert


Discovering beauty...

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Now for some "other" photos.

Yesterday I posted photos from a portrait session last week in Chicago's Millennium Park.  But of course if you know me you know I can't pass up a pretty flower...or a sun star...or funny things.  :)  So here are some of the "other" photos that I took alongside the portraits.

The Bean...one of those much-photographed icons that we still keep photographing anyways...

I love tulips!  And they're blooming all over Millennium Park right now -- I was in heaven!

 

Oh yeah, gotta do a self-portrait too!

Hey, even better -- I found a mirror!

Can't get enough of these...

I never pass up the opportunity for a sun star.  ;)

And now it's time for this sleepy photog-girl to head to bed.  I'm working on a photo book project and my eyes and brain are pretty well fried.  Have a great night everybody!

- Kelsey Schweickert


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Miles and Katie

Last week before a wedding, I got to meet and help photograph Miles and Katie.  We went to Millennium Park in Chicago and had a grand time doing their portraits.  They are expecting their first child, and Katie has the cutest little baby bump...isn't she adorable?

I was second-shooting this weekend for my friend Britton Felber.  As you can see, he'll do anything for a great image!

I love Millennium Park.  There are so many cool shooting locations.  It's the perfect blend of urban and pretty.  :)

There were some lovely tulips blooming nearby, and I had a little fun with them afterwards using my 50mm lens...some of those coming tomorrow.  Meanwhile this tired photog needs some sleep.  Later!

- Kelsey Schweickert


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More about that "new best friend"!

I have a few more Yushu photos to put here, but I'm still in love with that 50mm lens, and some recent photos are begging to be posted!  :)  I went jogging one late afternoon this week, and the light was so pretty, I just had to come back for my camera.

In case you wanted to know, the above image was taken at f/1.4.

Here's a photo from the same spot with a different aperture, f/5.6.

It's easy to see the difference in depth of field:

This last one wasn't taken with the 50...but it's too pretty not to share.  :)  I love these little violets.

(FYI, there was a foot photo that almost made this post, but I thought better of it...haha...aren't you a little sick of seeing my silly feet??)  :D

More photos later -- Yushu, portrait session, a wedding, skiing, and some photos of the unbelievably gorgeous things happening in my mom's garden right now.  The weather has cooperated unusually well this spring and everything is just bursting with beauty!

Later...

- Kelsey Schweickert


Discovering beauty...

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A little person in Yushu

Just like little flower girls, I have a weakness for little persons all over the place...and this little person in Yushu was no exception.  We were at a shrine with thousands of mani stones (more on that in tomorrow's post!) and it had started to rain.  She was trudging around the shrine, her little umbrella up, turning the prayer wheels just like all the big people.

What a precious little person.  Jesus loves her.  And you too.

- Kelsey Schweickert


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More Yushu photos

I had so much fun going thru Yushu photos last night, I think I'll post a few more!  :)

It took a 600-mile, 15-hour ride on a sleeper bus to get to Yushu (and that was on the newly *improved* road!). We went over a 16,670-foot pass on the way...but I don't remember it because I was asleep.  Sort of.  As much as one can sleep when one is trying to stay warm while huddled under a mildewy comforter, on a little bunk five feet off the bus floor, breathing air thick with cigarette smoke!  Not to mention the bumpy, curvy road...

It was totally worth it though.  The people and the scenery are beautiful.

Don't you just love her smile?

This little guy stole my heart.

They can cram amazing amounts of people on their motorcycles here.  The whole family just piles on and off they go down the road!  I think the most I ever saw was five on one bike, maybe six.

Many nomads live in tents in the high country with their flocks of sheep, goats and yaks.

Please keep praying for the people in this remote area of China...disasters like the recent earthquake are much worse in a third-world country.  Even everyday life is not easy for these folks.  They need Jesus' love and protection more than ever right now.

- Kelsey Schweickert


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Yushu

I was going to post about the photo sessions this weekend in Chicago...but recently my thoughts have been far away from there, thousands of miles away, in a town called Yushu.  I was there a couple years ago with several other photographer friends.  It's in the Qinghai province of China, where the population is 97% Tibetan.

Last week there was an earthquake in Yushu.  Hundreds of people have been killed.  It's been difficult to provide aid, because it's a remote, rural area.  In addition, many of the rescue workers aren't used to the high altitude there (much of the area is over 13,000 feet), and the weather is making things difficult.



Please pray for the many thousands of people there whose lives have been drastically changed.  Many have lost friends and family members, homes, and most of their possessions.  Life is hard when you're living under a tarp near the remains of your home, and the temperature drops below freezing every night (they've had some snow there too).  These are people God cares about -- let's keep them in our prayers!

- Kelsey Schweickert


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A cutie

I have a weakness for little flower girls and ring bearers at weddings.  They're so much fun to goof off with.  And they always steal the show.  :)  Just look at this sweet little face!

More photos later.  I have to go to sleep directly or I shall turn into a pumpkin.  Busy busy busy weekend...and I am wiped.  It was great though.  Lots of good photos and good times!

- Kelsey Schweickert


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Coming soon!

So, I've had a really busy weekend, and this poor little blog has been sorely neglected!  Oh well, I've been shooting away, and have lots of photos to share.  Currently they're "in process".  Can't wait to show you!  :)  Coming soon!

- Kelsey Schweickert

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Bokeh heaven

I'm still in bokeh heaven...the beautiful shallow depth of field that this 50mm lens creates is such a treat to work with.  Makes it easy to "discover beauty", for sure!

- Kelsey Schweickert

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My new best friend ;)

Once again, other photos will have to wait -- because my new lens arrived and today I had (!!) to play with it!  It's a Canon 50mm 1.4, and it's making me happier than ice cream sundaes right now.  :)  I could only squeeze in a few minutes to shoot (rats!), but here's one of my favorites, taken at f/1.4:

Isn't that shallow depth of field beautiful?  I can't wait to use this lens for portraits!

- Kelsey Schweickert


Discovering beauty...

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Rainbow

Well, I was going to post about the grand times we had last Thursday and Friday, shredding the snowy slopes at Heavenly with the tremendous Novotny family. But I think we'll delay that one a bit, because...

It rained all day yesterday.  Around 6pm the sun came out, and I looked out the window and saw an enormous rainbow shining in the sky.  Talk about gorgeous!  But I couldn't photograph it here at home -- too many trees in the way.  By the time I grabbed my camera stuff and headed for my car, the sun had disappeared and the rainbow was gone.  I hopped in anyway and zoomed off, praying that the Lord would bring back the rainbow.  Sure enough, by the time I got to the spot where I could shoot, there it was!  So...here are a few rainbows for you...and an assortment of other pretty things.  :)

God keeps His promises!

 

Of course, to get this ^ sometimes you have to endure some of this:

 

And your shoes and pants end up soaked, like this:

 

...because you have to go wading through waist-deep grass and mustards and thistles, all thoroughly rain-drenched.  And then the sun goes away and the rain comes back and you get dumped on.  But that's okay.  I found lots of pretty things!  :)  And the sun came out again...

There were some pretty purple mustards on the hillside, and well, you know me, had to photograph those too!

And some sort of yellow bush.

I love dogwoods!

And a funny little thistle. I didn't enjoy wading through a bunch of these guys on my way to find just the right
spot to photograph the rainbow, but once I was there I figured I might as well photograph the little thistly guys too. They are pretty.

Another rainbow shot...

If you look closely, you can see a red-winged blackbird having the time of his life up there in the sky, just goofing off as only a little bird can.  I'm sure he was enjoying the beautiful rainbow too, in his birdy little way.

And gradually the clouds cleared and the rainbow faded away...

And Kelsey trod the muddy little path back to her car and went home with a full CF card and a happy heart.  ;)

God bless you all!  May you rest securely in Him -- knowing that His promises never fail.

- Kelsey Schweickert


Discovering beauty...

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