On roller derby girls, hot dog costumes, photo bloggers and macaws

Sometimes my job is serendipitously fun. Covering the second day of Norman Music Festival was such a day.

Honestly, I hate writing stories on large festivals like Norman Music Festival because the story relies totally on man-on-the-street interviews. These types of interviews are usually awful and boring, and only occasionally really spectacular — if you're lucky.

The makings of a perfect night at work.

February N-town

For the February N-town we did a fabulous Mardi Gras themed photo shoot. Getting the entire thing together was a nightmare, but the end results were beautiful and festive. Plus, my husband modeled and damn, is he hunky!

2013: Highlights

For me, 2013 was a year of many ups and downs. There were a few heartbreaks and also a handful of triumphs. Read on for a recap of my last twelve months.

January:
The year started off with a bang when I found out I was pregnant. I was shocked, thrilled and absolutely terrified.

February:
February started off without a hitch, and I felt incredibly lucky on Valentine's Day to be celebrating a new chapter in our lives — I even made a card themed around how big our baby was supposed to be that week: an olive. Unfortunately, a few days later, I was devastated when I was blindsided by the beginning of a miscarriage.

Jewelry photo shoot

My dear friend Caitlin and I modeled for a fashion jewelry shoot for Norman magazine recently...I promise you won't want to miss the finished product! Stay tuned!

Always,

Halloween photo shoot

When we were brainstorming ideas for the October N-town Halloween edition we realized we didn't have anything that touched on costumes. I didn't want to write another text-heavy story, and I got the crazy idea that maybe we could pull of a full on fashion shoot. I got busy contacting a local costume shop, to see if they'd be willing to furnish some costumes. From looking at their costumes, we thought about where we could find free locations to shoot that would match the costumes. We then contacted one of my favorite photographers, Benita with BRC Photography, as well as a hair and makeup team. I recruited some of my friends to act as the models, and a shoot was born!

It was wild coordinating all the different pieces to make the shoot happen but the day of was quite simply a blast. All the talent we had on board were creative, dynamic and excited to work together. We all brought our best to the board. The finished product was just outstanding!

My dear friend Caitlin dressed up as Marie Antoinette. We spoke with a local bakery, Crimson and Whipped Cream, about shooting in their space. They even let us purchase a few cupcakes to shoot with. Andrew Freeman Creative Studio provided the amazing hair and makeup. 

How this final spread turned out:

Photo Essay: May 20, 2013, Moore, Oklahoma, EF-5 Tornado

When I went into work May 19, 2013, to cover a local tornado I felt mildly inconvenienced. It's selfish but it's an emotion common to many journalists: We cover too many depressing topics to take things too personally. We become experts at compartmentalizing so we can get the job done and get the job done well. Still, with that said, I wasn't prepared for the next afternoon's EF-5 tornado in Moore, Okla. May 20, 2013, is a day that will live in my mind forever.

This is my photo essay on my day's experience:

Sirens go off around 2:30 p.m. in Norman. The entire building takes shelter in the basement. I grab my purse and notepad and continue transcribing notes while we wait for the all clear — it's not so much that my work needs to get done that urgently, but I need to distract myself from what the radio is saying. Tornadoes terrify me. We're told we can head back upstairs. We turn the TV on in the newsroom, and I feel sick to my stomach as I hear the meteorologist say over and over the word "deadly." We know this is going to be bad, but we're not sure how bad. I think about how my pre-assigned beat for tornadoes is the hospital beat. I try to brace myself for the worse: For an unimaginable amount of injuries and death. All I feel is numb. The meteorologist is tracking the storm, shouting out it's path through Moore. I turn to look at my editor, who lives in Moore, she is quietly sitting behind her desk wiping tears from her eyes. She calls her house to see if the line still works and we both pray that her home is still standing. We continue to watch footage for minute after horrifying minute until it appears it's coming to an end. We're given the all clear to head out to the scene and I load up with my coworker, Caitlin, to see what we can cover. She's the education reporter and we decide our first goal will be to find one of the schools that's been hit. 

Portrait Couture by BRC Photography

One of the perks of my job is getting to do fun stuff. Usually it's a trip to the opera for free or some other free admissions to an event or show — recently I was able to do something even more special. I wrote a story on my dear friend Benita, a fabulous Oklahoma glamour photographer. She's launched a new photography line she calls "Portrait Couture," a mix between boudoir and glamour photography. Benita wanted me to have the "full photo experience" before I wrote my story. I spent an entire day with Benita as she did my hair, my makeup and took some rather fabulous photographs, if I do say so myself.

After the shoot, I walked away feeling beautiful and uplifted. I can definitely say since then I have been walking with my head a little taller. Thanks, Benita, for the big self-esteem boost! You helped me remember my inner and outer beauty — truly, you have a wonderful gift from God!

If you live in the Oklahoma City area, check Benita out. She wants to make every woman feel beautiful!

See more of her photos of me and read her blog post about our shoot here. Read my story on Benita here. 

Always,

N-town Has Arrived

N-town has arrived! Check out what I've been working on here or here.

Always,

2012: Highlights

Honestly, 2012 has largely been a blur for me. Let's recap it, shall we, before I lose track of 2013, too.

January:

I wrote story after story and enjoyed a visit from two sets of friends! I got my first real taste of Oklahoma weather, and was deeply touched by a group of local students and their teacher.

February:

We headed to Lubbock to celebrate my only nephew's first birthday, watched my brother jam out with his band, and laughed at the weird books I get in the mail at work. I got a double-dose of Disney, both at work and in Orlando.

Monterey 2012

For Christmas we headed to California to enjoy the holiday with my family. After all the gifts were opened we — my parents, two brothers Tyler and Austin, and me and Nathaniel — loaded up the car and headed to Monterey. The day after Christmas my cousin Kourtney, and her husband, Alden, met up with us and we headed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The aquarium was awe-inspiring — despite the crowds!

Tis the Season

San Francisco Christmas 2009

Always,

Candid Wedding Photos

I'm totally obsessed with the blog Moment Junkie. Photographers submit wedding day photography that is candid and journalistic. They are always beautiful, and vary between hilarious and touching. So the other day I was going through my own wedding day photos, trying to find my own "junkies." This is what I found:

There are a million photos of my dad visiting with one person or another at my wedding. If only you knew how much this is a reflection of his personality. Here he is visiting with my grandmother-in-law. I'm sure the conversation was pretty funny...Abuela's English is broken, and my father has the worst phoentic awareness/skills.

This photo cracks me up. That's Marisa on the right.  She's Nathaniel's cousin, and is a total ball of sunshine. In the center in yellow, is Nathaniel's sister, and the other two are more cousins. If you've ever waited outside an LDS temple waiting for a couple to come out after they've been married...you know this photo describes it perfectly: excitement, anxiousness, and a large dose of boredom.

Simple Memories

Sometimes life's moments can't be properly described with words. And I love words, so that's saying a lot. Today's sentimentality called for a trip down memory lane -- in a way that only photographs can properly describe.

My love, the first summer we started dating.

Won't you be my neighbor?

My friend Spencer asked me to take some engagement photos of him and his future bride, Samantha. They're getting married today (hooray!) in the Lubbock LDS temple. And the funny thing is, there last name is Rogers, and they will (kind of) be our neighbors...get it? Do you get it? I'll also be taking photos of their reception -- so look out for those!


Check out their fun personalities:

Artsy Kind of Day

Last year I was the photo editor for one of my college's magazine. The designers recently finished the design for the most recent edition and my photo was on the cover. I saw it today and felt quite proud.

Check out the magazine online here.

With graduation coming up, I thought I'd design my own graduation announcement (which took forever, by the way). The plan is to get them printed on postcards and send them out to friends and family...

Creative Juices

Growing up, my grandmother had some cloth dolls around her house she had made -- only one or two that I could play with, but I was always asking for her to get them down for me.

When I was around the age 11, my grandma decided to make every one of her grandchildren a quilt. I knew my turn was coming up, so naturally, I asked for a doll.

Baby Ethan

I just love this little guy. What can I say? ♥

Becky's Baby Bump

I took a few snapshots of my sister-in-law Rebecca before her baby, Ethan, comes! They're certainly not professional, but I took a few I think turned out really nicely.


Here she is!

Food

Do you like food?

Quidditch? Part three.

And...for the much anticipated story about quidditch. Click on the photo to read on.

*story written by Jessica Tippee, photos by yours truly.

Always,