Blake and Jae

A few more photos of Blake and Jae...because they're such a cute couple and I had a grand time doing their engagement session and "discovering beauty"!

What can I say.  I love being a wedding photographer.  It's so much fun to work with all these happy couples!  :)

- Kelsey Schweickert


Discovering beauty...

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A pre-sunrise photo

I never really considered it before, but I kinda think dawn is a pretty cool time for car photos...especially with city lights in the background.  :)

Took Heidi to the airport at an unearthly hour this morning, and on the way back I couldn't help making a quick detour into the Oakland hills for a quick photo.  :)  I mean, what could I say?  Blue Hour was calling!

(The car's dark green, BTW...it's just hard to see the true color here because of the dramatic pre-dawn light...)

Hoping your day is awesome!

- Kelsey Schweickert


Discovering beauty...

Visit my website  |  Contact me  |  Follow me on Twitter

Donner Lake

Just happened on this image Donner Lake, near Tahoe, while browsing photos tonight...and thought I'd share it with you all.  After all, that's what this blog is about, right?  "Discovering beauty"!  So it makes sense that when you visit here, you can be sure of finding some, eh?  :)

I love the mistiness.  The way you can't see it all.  Oh yes, it's pretty here without fog—I've driven by on clear days, and it's a very pretty lake—but there's something enchanting about this particular view.  It speaks to me.  Does it say anything to you?

I'll tell you one thing it says to me: trust.  Sometimes my life has foggy scenes in it.  Scenes that are shrouded in mist...where I can't see the whole picture...where it's a mystery to everyone but my Heavenly Father.  But there is no fog to Him.  His view is perfect and unclouded.

I don't have to fear the fog.  I can't always see clearly, but I don't need to, if Someone Else can.  Someone strong and kind.  Someone very interested in my welfare, who has the power to do something about it.  Someone who is willing to do what's best for me, even though it cost him his very life.  Someone who wasn't afraid of going through tremendous pain on my behalf.  Someone who longs to be with me every minute of the day.  Why should I be afraid, with someone like this as my God?

Earlier this week I asked Him for a verse, and He gave me this one, from the book of Jude:

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling,

to the only wise God our Savior,

be glory and majesty,

dominion and power,

both now and ever. Amen."

May your heart trust fearlessly in His keeping...the one who sees your life with perfect clarity, and loves you.
- Kelsey Schweickert

Discovering beauty...

Visit my website |  Contact me  |  Follow me on Twitter

Blake & Jae engagement session

Blake and Jae are getting married in June, and we met this month for an engagement session.  It was a cloudy afternoon with rain approaching, but it held off till after we finished -- yay!

Blake and Jae are so relaxed and natural with each other...obviously meant to be together!  It was wonderful to spend a couple hours with them and get to know them better.  They both love the outdoors, so we hit it off right away.  And they were willing to do whatever it took to get some great photos.  Which we did!  We went to a park outside Livermore and found all sorts of things that made this photog very happy...rocks, paths, green grass, a bridge with cool lines, and near the end of our time together, a beautifully green, ferny, secluded little nook.  It was a magical spot for sure!

For more photos, visit Blake and Jae's gallery here.  For a slideshow, click here.

- Kelsey Schweickert

Discovering beauty...

Visit my website  |  Contact me  |  Follow me on Twitter

Thoughts on beauty

Last Saturday when I went to Yosemite, I wasn't just looking for some pretty pictures. I was discouraged about a few things, and my heart needed to experience some beauty. It needed to receive the messages beauty brings.

When I'm confronted with God's lavish, generous, wild beauty, it ministers to my heart like nothing else. It speaks of a God who IS beauty. Things like waterfalls, stately forests, massive granite peaks, snow-clad slopes...these are all expressions of who he is. He is perfectly beautiful, and perfectly good. He put us on an earth that is overflowing with beauty.

I love the way John Eldredge puts it: "Is this not God’s prescription for us? Just take a look around. The sights and sounds, the aromas and sensations—the world is overflowing with beauty. God seems to be rather enamored with it. Gloriously wasteful. Apparently, he feels that there ought to be plenty of it in our lives."

"Our hearts need to feed on beauty to sustain them. We need times of solitude and silence. We need times of refreshment and laughter and rest. We need to listen to the voice of God in our hearts as He tells us what we need."

"We need what Beauty speaks. What it says is hard to put into words. But part of its message is, all is well. All will be well."

Isn't that so true? Whether my emotions are up or down, beauty gives me confidence in what He's doing in my life...all will be well. I need something outside myself to give me that confidence. When I'm unsure of His goodness, I have only to look around and see what amazingly beautiful creations came out of His head.

"Beauty is in and of itself a great and glorious good, something we need in large and daily doses (for our God has seen fit to arrange for this). Nature at the height of its glory shouts, 'Beauty is essential!' revealing that Beauty is the essence of God. The whole world is full of his glory. "

"Beauty is transcendent. It is our most immediate experience of the eternal. Think of what it’s like to behold a gorgeous sunset or the ocean at dawn. Remember the ending of a great story. We yearn to linger, to experience it all our days. Sometimes the beauty is so deep it pierces us with longing. For what? For life as it was meant to be. Beauty reminds us of an Eden we have never known, but somehow know our hearts were created for. Beauty speaks of heaven to come, when all shall be beautiful. It haunts us with eternity. Beauty says, There is a glory calling to you. And if there is a glory, there is a source of glory. What great goodness could have possibly created this? Beauty draws us to God.

"Beauty is powerful. It may be the most powerful thing on earth. It is dangerous. Because it matters. Let us try to explain why.

"First, beauty speaks. Oxford bishop Richard Harries wrote, 'It is the beauty of the created order which gives an answer to our questionings about God.' And we do have questions, don’t we? Questions born out of our disappointments, our sufferings, our fears. ...

"And what does beauty say to us? Think of what it’s like to be caught in traffic for more than an hour. Horns blaring, people shouting obscenities. Exhaust pouring in your windows, suffocating you. Then remember what it’s like to come into a beautiful place, a garden or a meadow or a quiet beach. There is room for your soul. It expands. You can breathe again. You can rest. It is good. All is well. I sit outside on a summer evening and just listen and behold and drink it all in, and my heart begins to quiet and peace begins to come into my soul. My heart tells me that 'all will be well,' as Julian of Norwich concluded. 'And all manner of things will be well.'

"That is what beauty says: All shall be well."

All will be well in my life too. The God who began a good work in me (Phil. 1:6) will finish what He started. In His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16).  Not just a little joy, or enough to get by -- but fullness. I let His beauty sink in last Saturday...and it brought His comfort and peace.

- Kelsey Schweickert

Discovering beauty...

http://www.photographybykelsey.net/  |  kelsey@photographybykelsey.net  |  www.twitter.com/partyinmycamera

Pretty Things

Sometimes when I pick up my camera, and I'm feeling random, all I want to do is just go find a pretty thing and take a pretty photo of it.  So last Sunday, that's what I did.  It was raining and in my mom's garden there was a beautiful pink tulip calling to me.  Here's what came of it...I hope these Pretty Things brighten your day.  Enjoy!  :)

Snowdrops

Blueberry flowers...they'll be yummy blueberries later on :)

Raindrops on the tulip leaves

Pansy

Pot marigold, a.k.a. Calendula

Mallow (yes, it's a relative of marshmallow!)

This delicate little flower has been cursed with the name "Elephant's Ears"...hehe...I guess because of its large leaves.

Mandarin oranges

This one cracks me up.  Mom has lots of iris.  But they don't stay in the same place while they grow; they're tubers and they grow longer and longer, sometimes away from the tags she's put by them.  Looks like this one has been growing away, and she isn't quite sure what it is..."purple/white?"  ;)

A solitary little snowdrop...

And the tulip that started this happy little shooting spree.  :)

If you just looked out the window, you wouldn't see a whole lot out there...but there is a lot of beauty to be discovered even in a tired, sleepy winter garden.  That's what I look for when I pick up my camera.  Beauty.  It's usually there to be found, you just have to do a little searching...and that's what I love to do!

That's all for now folks!  Enjoy the "pretty things" and have a lovely Thursday!

- Kelsey Schweickert

Discovering beauty...

http://www.photographybykelsey.net/  |  kelsey@photographybykelsey.net  |  www.twitter.com/partyinmycamera

Jared and Samantha

The day after 2010 began, Jared and Samantha started their new life together!  It was freezing cold outside but the party inside was a happy one...as you can see.  :D

I was second-shooting for Britton Felber...the creator of Something Amazing!  :)

Samantha, the beautiful bride

Oh yes...this was a fun group of bridesmaids!

Love these cute toenails!

Cutting the cake

Decorating the getaway car...talk about a COLD job.  But these guys braved it out and the couple drove off in style!  ;)

Congratulations, Jared and Samantha!  All God's best to you in your new life together!

Tahoe photos next...I think...we'll see.  So many photos to share, so little time!  ;)

- Kelsey

http://www.photographybykelsey.net/  |  kelsey@photographybykelsey.net  |  www.twitter.com/partyinmycamera