The Brockmeyer Christmas Tree

I decided I wanted black and white photos that I put up every year that kind of seal a Christmas Tree in time. You can't take anything away from a Christmas tree except the presents from underneath of course. Anyway, I took a few shots that I absolutely love and can't wait to put up next year.

Fluttering Butterflies

I wanted to do something artsy today, something that would take away the studio and coarseness of my photography life right now. I love the studio don't get me wrong, but its the holidays and the reasons people are coming in are for rigid holiday photos that they do EVERY year! I want to capture their childrens true spirits and real interactions with each other. Currently, I am not getting to do that. I have wanted to go to the Butterfly House for awhile and finally I got a chance at 9 am this morning. That is truly the best time to go, you are not being stumbled over by small children and grandparents and its just you and the butterflies. You really get to experience the beauty and the peacefulness that 2000 different species of butterflies can provide. While I was there I caught some really great shots that I can't wait to put up in my new house as well as butterflies mating and sleeping and drinking. They were just each so unique and colorful, I want to paint my walls some of the colors but how to capture that is beyond me. I highly reccomend everyone go to the Butterfly house it is by far worth your 6 dollars just remember you don't need your coat inside its like 110 degrees!

7 Months and Growing Big!

Today, I did my little man's pictures! He has gotten so big and I love seeing him every Tuesday. He is very busy and quick he is constantly putting things in his mouth. He is the happiest baby in the world and has the biggest smiles as you can see! His mom didn't want studio pictures and it was a great learning experience for me to learn that I need a new camera!

The shots that started it all...

I just wanted to post the pictures that started it all, the ones that let me really love photography and made me fall in love with my own work. It's crazy to see life in still images but I think about everything as how it would look on camera. It's really strange! Enjoy!

St. Charles in September

About 2 weeks before the wedding, I tracked my happy self all the way up north to St. Charles. I went to look for good spots for engagement photos for a friend of mine in the spring. I had a very relaxing day, just me before all the chaos. I also got to have lunch with my Dad at Lewis and Clarks restaurant, it was a great day over all. None of the pictures I am posting are of any of the places that I decided I would take engagement shots but they are all ones that I really love. The picture of the door and the window is what really inspired my Windows on the World book. I love the two rose pictures, there is something interesting about a shot that has one part in focus and the rest blurry. I stumbled upon the feather on the brick it was so unique and alone. There is something clean about cobblestone and I love it. Keep checking back for more shots there will be alot more coming up in the next few weeks.

Photoshop.. I LOVE IT!!

Here are some photos that I didn't post but I have edited, I absolutely love being able to color accent the photos. The first one is of a construction worker at Ground Zero and he was so hallow. He looked like he had been working there since day 1 and was just fried emotionally, mentally and physically. Drew took the picture after a big cement truck had left ground zero and they were shutting the gates. The shoes picture I took at a corner somewhere past Times Square I love! The woman wearing the shoes was straight out of gossip girl, she looked so professional and her black shoes were just eye catching to me. I have no idea who she is and maybe that is what I like about this picture, she can be any woman and every woman all rolled into one. I used a color accent to keep the shoes shiny and make everything else gray scale. I love it. The 3rd picture is what I am calling Window's on the World, I would love to eventually do a book full of them but this one I adore. There is something magical about how alive the tree is and I feel like I am looking out the window instead of into it. The MM's rock my world too, there is something antique about the black and white and futuristic about the color. I like that the reflection of the candy is black and white. I don't know it may just be me but I dig it.

Great Falls National Park

There are no words to explain the beauty of this park so I am just going to post the pictures.

Arlington National Cemetery... enough said!

Arlington National Cemetery was really interesting much better than I thought it would be. We saw a lot of interesting people's graves and I learned that I am distantly related to General Richard Montgomery and he was the guy who decided Arlington would be our national cemetery. We visited the Kennedy graves and I guess it was just before our time because I didn't feel the same emotion that a lot of the elderly women felt as they stood there crying. We were also privy to the changing of the guard at first we thought we had missed it but the guard stopped us so the new guard could come out. It was really cool to see all of it from beginning to end. Drew took about 202 pictures of just the changing of the guard I won't bore you to have to see each step taken. Side note I just learned I can spell check on here, I will be doing that more often. 2nd side note, I also type like I speak and since I don't feel as though I am being graded that is what you are going to get. There were alot of great scenic views from Arlington Cemetery and rows and rows of military graves. We learned there are 350 from the Iraq/Afghanistan wars and 293,000 graves from other wars. Oh, I forgot to tell you how we got lost before getting to Arlington and accidently went to the current Fort Meyer , we pull up and the guard is like go to the right make a U-turn and exit out of here. We make the right and it pulls us up to check point where people are opening their trunks, their hoods and all the doors so their cars can be searched. It was so creepy! It makes me so sad that they have to do that.

....more....

A few more D.C. pictures before Arlington Cemetary commentary and pictures.

D.C. Monuments

This is for Jessica just more pictures less talk.

National Archives...everything I ever wanted to see!

National Archives was amazing (I feel like I am using this word alot)! We stood in the first line we had to stand in while in D.C. waiting to see the Freedom Papers. It took us about 25 minutes just to get in the door, then they make you put all your belongings on the conveyor belt and bark orders that you barely understand. I understand they have to but all the documents sit in airtight containers on top of elevators that at any minute can be plunged into the under Earth for their protection. Anyway, there were some really awesome pictures and information about archives and did you know the second largest archive location is in ST. LOUIS?!?!? I thought that was really cool. The line to get into the Rotunda was about 35 minutes long so I waited and Drew went and sat down. Meanwhile because I am a chatty cathy I started talking to another couple and they too were on their honeymoon and they got married on the 18th. Very small world, I think although they got married in Texas. Once we finally got into see the documents the room was very dark and the Declartion of Independence was so deteriorated it just looked like yellow paper. I shouldn't say thing like that but it did. I did not take pictures of the documents, a) I was scared that I would push the wrong button and a flash would go off and they would tackle me to the ground with guns and b) I knew that my little crappy camera wouldn't do them any justice. It kind of annoyed Drew that I didn't take any pictures so when we got to the gift shop we bought a kit that has all 3 and if and when we find a house you will see them displayed in our bar. We are very excited! We also saw the Magna Carta which was out on display for a few weeks. There are only 4 copies in the whole world.