Brooke Turner Photography Blog

gotta love TARGET!!

confession: I am addicted to Target's 75% off rack.   Up until about 2 months ago, when browsing the clothes at Target I would see the clearance racks back in the maternity section.  I never understood why only pregnant chicks got all the deals until my friend Heather clued me in that there weren't only maternity clothes back there on the sale racks.  Life hasn't been the same since :)

all these for less than $40..  look at all those red tags! what a fun day!

SELAH

Selah: pause and reflect; understand; meditate on the weight and glory of the Lord

The blog has been quiet, I know, I know.  I cherished last week off; to disconnect, to unplug.  A new year has come, and instead of letting it quickly pass me by as I've done in the past, I decided to spend some time in quiet reflection.  This past Saturday I had the house to myself as my husband went on one of his crazy 4 hour bike rides.  My old journals from the past year, an open bible, my 'fake' fireplace roaring and a Yankee Candle burning...all the perfect elements needed for some sweet time with my Lord.  As I looked back over my journals, full of scribbled desperate prayers, celebrations, dreams, and struggles; I realized just how important it is to pause and reflect.   Just to "be still and know that HE is God" and examine His faithfulness in my life over the prior year.  His hand is so evident, but so often I can get caught up in my day to day circumstances that I miss it!  

2009 is going to be a big year for me! Already booked 18 weddings, we're helping to launch a new church, my best friend is having a baby, among some pretty big ideas I've got bouncing around in my head.  I cannot wait to see what the Lord does through all of these to draw me closer to Himself.   

Grace and Peace to you all in 09!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

Every year, one of my favorite times of the Christmas season is carefully unpacking each of my precious ornaments collected through the years and strategically hanging them on the tree.  You see, Christmas ornaments for us aren't just something to decorate the tree with.  Each one represents a memory or a time in our lives.   Our ornaments don't match, there's no rhyme, reason, or 'theme' to our tree.  Our tree is just US.  I love it.  I've been so fortunate to have had opportunities to travel the world, and my souvenir to myself is always an ornament!   

Justin and I have a new tradition this year, which I am so excited about! I absolutely LOVE traditions!!  We're going to start getting a photo ornament made each year with a picture of our family, reflecting how our family grows and changes (and we age!) from year to year.   This year I had to play 'catch up ' and get ornaments made for 05, 06, 07, and 08.   The ornaments came in today!  I got all sentimental putting them on the tree...just thinking of the future and our children one day with their little fingers handling these ornaments from when their parents were young and newlyweds.  I know that we will treasure these ornaments for years to come.  That makes me smile :)

Here are a few ornaments from my travels, and the bottom row are the 4 new ones I got tonight!

Here are the memories represented above..just a sampling from our tree-

top row:  

*Bern, Switzerland (when I was living in Austria my family visited, and we spent Thanksgiving 2003 in Switzerland)  

*New York City (my sister sang at Carnegie Hall around Christmas in 2000...we took pictures in front of the World Trade Center...little did we know the tragedy that would strike less than 10 months later)

*Martha's Vineyard (2002 went on a road trip w/ my mom, aunt, and grandmother)

*Bethlehem (2008 - trip with mom and grandmother)

middle row:

*Key West (in college some friends and I spring breaked there)

*Japan (gift from my grandmother who traveled there in 2005)

*San Francisco  (Justin and I traveled there in 2006, one of our favorite vacations!)

*Nantucket (from 2002 trip w/ mom, grandmother, and aunt)

and finally bottom row: our new 'family picture' ornaments 

2005 - our wedding day :)

2006 - my sister's wedding day

2007 - camping the weekend to celebrate quitting my corporate job and going full time into photography

2008 - in Italy

Blessings to you all!!

What if things were different?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! In our household especially! We've got the tree up, decorated, outside decorations up. All of this holiday cheer has got me pondering something: why does it seem like the "Holiday Season" is driven more and more each year on American consumerism, and less and less on the celebration of Jesus Christ? I mean how can it get any worse than the man getting killed in Wal Mart by crazy 'black Friday' shoppers?? My perspectives are being stretched and challenged this year especially. How can I give of myself more: be more generous with my time and finances, be more loving in my relationships? The Lord is changing the way I think about Christmas and what it means to celebrate and worship more fully, instead of simply accumulating more and more material things (that I really don't need anyway!) Love!!

So Thankful!!

I had the most relaxing and restful Thanksgiving weekend.  Here are just a few of the simple pleasures I enjoyed:   

cooking with my mom, aunt, grandmother, and sister in the kitchen.new aprons from my mom.my sister's famous coffee cake.macy's parade.three adorable doggies.actually going to a movie! (4 Christmases). two delicious meals.mrs.dot's famous biscuits.just doing NOTHING and being a hermit all weekend.celebrating all the ways that our sweet Lord has blessed me!!

I'm so thankful!!

My Love

I stink at updating my blog when I'm busy.  Here's a little something so you know I'm still here!   Full story and longer post to come!!

Photographs of us taken by the amazing talented Brantley at All Dressed Up Photography

Surrender

I'm in a reflective mood today. I'm not really sure why, but I get like this from time to time. Probably too much for my own good (and Justin's good too).   Justin loves to keep things light but sometimes its nourishment for my soul to step back and take a good look at my life and where the Lord has brought me, often times in spite of myself.  

This reflection started last night, when I went to update my facebook profile..I hadn't updated since I signed on over a year ago and much of what I wrote about who I was a year ago is no longer who I am today.  The "About Me" section loomed.  How can I possibly describe myself in a few sentences?  Everything this soul and flesh is, and has been shaped and molded to be over 28 years?  Impossible.  After a little thought, the first thing I came up with is how different my life is now than I ever invisioned it.

Growing up my sister and I were so fortunate to do a TON of traveling.   My parents were the type to, instead of getting a new car or new furniture, chose to travel and experience the world...and fortunately chose to take us kids along once we could 'appreciate it'.  Our summer trips weren't to the beach for a week, but exotic places like Hawaii, Vancouver, Mexico, Europe.   

No matter where we were, in airports all around the country or the world, in every single one I would see the vision I had for myself.  I'm sure you've seen her.  The airport business woman.  I would seriously sit there at the gate and watch her type on her laptop, talk on her cell phone, so confident and dressed always in a nice suit with perfect hair and jewlery.  That was going to be me, I just knew it.  

Fastforward to age 22 - graduated from Clemson and worked with GE in corporate finance...perfectly fitting into my plans.  Finally in 2003 I got to BE that airport business woman.  I helped integrate an Austrian company GE acquired and therefore had a 6 month assignment in Europe.   I traveled a ton while over there, consulting the 10 European  subsidiaries of this company...and I got to travel back home to Atlanta once a month.  So there I was, the airport business woman - with the nice Ann Taylor suits and typing on the laptop at the gate, so busy, so important.     Even better in 2004 I had the opportunity to join the audit staff which meant 100% travel for 3 years and guaranteed at least one 3 month assigment overseas every year, and a paycheck that would make your jaw drop. cool, huh?

I didn't pursue the opportunity.  Instead I found myself turning in my resignation letter, packing up my car and leaving Atlanta eastward to Columbia, back where this story started.  And now, the fact that I'm not even in the corporate world..that I take pictures at weddings and people's kids.  I don't even own a suit anymore. What's even crazier is that I LOVE it!!

To fully appreciate how crazy this is you really had to know me before, and how driven I was to climb the ladder to worldly success.  And even more so you have to be inside of my skin - no one knows how weird it is for me every day and do this.  But really it is amazing and I feel a big part of this whole story has taught me about surrender.  Surrendering and letting go to the Lord. He's teaching me more and more about this every day as I have to die to my dreams and plans for my life.   This continues. I mean, don't we always have plans for ourselves?  Ways we picture our lives to turn out?  I still do - even though they are completely different than 10 years ago.  Although my plans no longer include living in a cool condo in a big city - my plans now look totally different.  But there are still some things I want out of life...things I want so badly it hurts. Surrender beloved, that is what my Lord is speaking.   Surrender completely.

I am more at peace and love my life now more than I ever did when I was jet setting around the world.  God really does have a plan for our lives, friends, and He really does know best.  Such a simple concept, and really Christianity 101 but how would things be different if I really believed this in my heart and not just with my lips?  Surrender isn't a one time thing but really I must surrender daily and for my lifetime. I want to open my hand to Him today and forever.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

Eph 3:20-21

(*Another picture post coming soon! Some images from a session with sweet Molly I shot this week*  )

Great Monday

Woke up extra early yesterday to start the week off right, a big cup of coffee, some time with the Lord, a walk around the neighborhood in the sunshine instead of the gym, a TON of sessions editied and to-do's checked off..and actually cooked dinner for a change.  Best of all, a walk down to our neighborhood ice-cream shop with Justin and Izzy after my homecooked dinner.   I am blessed.

Some Changes to Report

This is just a friendly post to inform all of y'all  of some changes here at Brooke Turner Photography.   Both of these changes have been made after much soul searching and prayer about the direction my business and life is going. 

I've been needing to set some boundaries for a while in order to keep my work/life balance in check.  The most important thing in my life is my faith in God so I must allow plenty of time to build my relationship with Him and share it with others, then comes my family.  These two things have unfortunately sometimes taken a back burner to the business.  I'm finding it so hard to cut it off sometimes - partly because I DO love what I do so much!  All of my wonderful clients make this job so much fun so please don't think I'm complaining!  I just think this beast of a thing called Brooke Turner Photography could just grow and grow until it consumed  me!  :)  LOL - I just got a hillarious image in my mind after writing that! 

SO - all that to say - here are a few decisions I've made...

1) No more Sunday sessions or weddings....for a couple reasons.  First of all to recognize a true weekly Sabbath to rest, recharge my batteries, and to remember the focus of my life and dreams.  So often times I lose focus on the important things in life and for me I need a day dedicated to getting things back in check :)  Also many times this is the only weekend day I get to hang with my hubby!  The second more practical reason is because after shooting a wedding on Saturday I'm just too darn tired to shoot again on Sunday!  On Sundays after a wedding I literally wake up sore! Have y'all SEEN my lenses?  :)

(note to add - there are a few sessions that have been scheduled on Sunday prior to this decision - those will not be changed, don't worry...this is just on a go-forward basis)

2)  In 2009 I will be shooting significantly fewer weddings than I shot in 2007 and will shoot in 2008.  I've got a target number of weddings I'd like to book for 2009 and once I hit that number that's it!  SOOOO-make sure to spread the word to get in on the Brooke Turner Photography action quick, before my dates are sold out! (I've already got 6 confirmed and 2 pending contracts for 2009).   This will allow me to better serve my clients, and also pursue other areas of my business that I've put on the back burner.

That's it for now!  Sorry for the no-fun post without pictures :)  Lots more picture blogging to come soon! Thank you all for being so wonderful and understanding.  I absolutely love every single one of my clients and it is such a blessing to be your photographer and friend!  I love you all!!! 

PS - I've been loving the comment love I've been getting recently! keep it coming! To leave a comment for me just click on the "comments" link below.

My Sister, the graduate

Last Thursday, my sister Elizabeth graduated from the prestigious International MBA program at USC. I am so proud of her! She is one of these people who is always raising the bar for herself and her accomplishments. When she applied to this selective program, I think she really doubted that she would even get accepted. Afterall, she'd never even had a business class in her life - coming out of the Engineering program at Clemson. Well not only did she get accepted, she got a huge scholorship!! That was the first WOW for me. The second one came when I heard yesterday her say (so nonchalantly) that she graduated with a 3.95 GPA. Oh my word!! This is the girl that two years ago didn't even know what a debit/credit was, or an investment derivative. I just know she's a genious!!! Anyway, as you can tell I'm just a little bit proud :) I think everyone at the graduation could tell, too. I had my very obnoxious looking 70-200 lens with me that brought about a lot of odd looks. I got some good shots though! :)

Here's Elizabeth when she saw me for the first time (thinking - how embarrassing - my photographer sister!)

Right after getting hooded..

So what is next for my superstar sister? She has an awesome job at GE in Greenville! (Ironic because that is where I started my corporate finance career 6 years ago)