On 2011 {& favorite photos from 2010}

**Warning: There are a LOT of photos in this post.**

Happy New Year!

I cannot believe that it's 2011...

It seems impossible. I feel like 2010 just started, but now it's over.

There are some things that I wish I could change.
I can't go back in 2010 and do it over, but I can change 2011.
When it's 2012, I want to look back and honestly be able to say that I have "no regrets" and that I "did hard things" in 2011.

I honestly can't believe that I'll be graduating from high school in 5 months...I thought it would take forever to get through 4 years in high school, but here I am. 3 and 1/2 years done. I'm down to the final stretch, and I can finally see the light at the end of the long tunnel! I'm a college student (at our local community college), and I start classes in a little over a week. I'm looking at an AA (Associate of Arts) in visual arts, but I don't know for sure. I'm just trying to follow God wherever He leads me. :)

I have some big dreams/goals this year. These are just some of them, in random order.

Shoot (or second shoot) a wedding,
do some interning/second shooting with other photographers,
learn more about post-processing,
buy the 50mm 1.4 lens for my camera,
learn more about posing people,
get Lightroom up and running,
buy a car,
lose 10 more pounds,
get a summer job.

I realize that there are a lot of big things on that list, but I'm dreaming big. Why? Because God is bigger than all those things! :)

Oh, you are all probably getting tired of my ramblings. On to the real reason for this post. I saw Carlotta's "Favorite photos" post, and I thought it would be lovely to do one of my own. So here we go... :)

(December 2009)
I'm starting with some pictures I took in December because they are some of the first photos I took with my D-SLR, and I want to post them. :)




(January, 2010)


(February, 2010)




(March, 2010)






(April, 2010)



(From my first photoshoot...Karlee's senior session).


(May, 2010)




(June, 2010)








(July, 2010)






(August, 2010)












(September, 2010)




(October, 2010)














(November, 2010)














(December, 2010)






Shout out to everyone who encouraged me last year (2010) in my photography:
To my Mom for driving me to the photography class in April
To those who comment on/like my photos when I post them on Facebook
To those who offer tips and tricks for shooting on their blogs (J*, Katelyn James, etc)
To the special lady who allowed me to "tag along" on an engagement session :)
To another special lady who let me play with Lightroom for like 2 hours at camp :)
To yet another special lady whose generosity I will never forget
To the guy who made my day with his encouraging phone call last June
To everyone who trusted me enough to schedule a session even though I was clueless
To my siblings/cousins/friends who put up with me always taking photos
To God for providing the equipment necessary for this dream (Macbook, D-SLR, etc)
To anyone I might've forgotten...

THANK YOU!
I appreciate your encouragement a lot. Probably more than you will ever know. :)
I wish you all the best.

Please follow along with me as I grow and try to follow God in 2011.

There are some major changes coming for me this year.

And I have a feeling that it's going to be one wild ride.

I hope you're ready for it...Nah, I hope I'm ready for it. :D

Much Love,

Valerie