2014 is looking pretty solid

Yeah, it's been a few weeks. But if you know me, then you know I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. So - let's go over 2014 thus far.

Went to the great old PA Farm Show... and got the flipping viral plague. Thought I was going to die. Thank God for z-packs. Like seriously. BUT Farm Show was pretty fun. It was wonderful seeing all my old friends and spending time with my family.

Then came Denver. National Western, once again, did not disappoint. From start to finish, I enjoyed it so much. Being back on the backdrop (and in the ring) for ShowChampions makes my heart so happy.
But there is one part of Denver I really just have to brag about... or be giddy about... or whatever.

I am SO INCREDIBLY PROUD and HAPPY and EXCITED for team #BlinnWin!!! Not only did they win the carload contest, but they also were the champion team in the normal contest (that sounds so weird), AND our dear little Cody Doubet was high individual. So so so excited for every single one of these amazing bucs. BUT! Special shout-out to Tagg Taylor for A)being Blinn's low drop in the carload contest - and placing 8th - and B)not peeing himself during the awards banquet. I almost decked him. For those of you who were at our table - you know why. But, no seriously, so happy for this dude! Brice and Joe should be extremely jazzed for their team!! 

Anyway- I know this great group is going to continue kicking butt and taking names at the rest of the contests this spring! Love my #BlinnWin babes :) They deserve all the success in the world. 

So now that I am back from NWSS, I have about a week to "chill"... which includes picturing/videoing calves for the 2014 Texas Reload Sale (website coming soon), finishing editing, doing a bridal session, and two AMAZING senior sessions ;) Sneak peeks will DEFINITELY be coming soon!!!

Oh - and for all my wonderful show babies headed to Fort Worth - GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!! I will see y'all down the road in San Antonio!!!!

***

I'm going to try to post more on this... but, then again, I say that literally each time I blog.

We'll see ;)

But for now, I leave you with a cow yelling at you. Enjoy .....

Another #MCM

I can't even remember the last time I did a #MCM... and seeing as the coach once again proved to be the most amazing husband in the entire world over turkey break, he deserves a My Coach's Moment post.

This one - however - is not of his ... uh ... picking. It's one from my archives. Turkey break marks three years since the coach asked me to come to Bastrop to "picture his cattle" .... or, in all honesty, to meet his family (which scared the poop out of me, considering we had only been talking for about a month... and only publicly dating for about a week and a half.). I guess he really did want me to take pictures, too - but y'all get my point. Anyway, at the time I had owned a DSLR for only about three or four months. And I had only been taking livestock photos "professionally" (for ShowChamps) for about two months. So I was pretty terrible. Well, I thought I was awesome... but looking back, I was terrible.

Which brings me to this version of #MCM. The coach and I bonded - years before we started dating - over our mutual love of cattle. So when he asked if I would come to Bastrop and take pasture shots at his family's ranch, I jumped at the opportunity. He loved the shots and used them as Christmas presents for his parents that year. He still has some of those 'original' pictures hanging in his office. It drives me nuts, because I think they suck. So every time I stop by while he's working, my skin crawls.

Well, anyway, this past turkey break we had a bit of an emergency involving our dear Jessie. She's fine. Crisis over. She'll heal in no time. But back to the point of my story. I planned on taking pictures of the cattle this year like I did three years ago... Well, that wasn't exactly possible. So, after picking Jessie up from the vet on Friday, we went to the pasture about an hour before the sun went down.... Not exactly enough time to see all the babies AND shoot more than two or three groups. But I still got a few... check out one of the shots from three years ago compared to a very similar pose taken this year. No, the 2013 picture isn't my favorite from that night, but I think it's cool from a comparative standpoint. PS- the recent image has not been run through photoshop, lightroom or even bridge. I shoot on jpeg, not raw... because honestly, I'm too lazy to do any kind of editing. I don't remember editing the image from 2010, but I really can't remember.

Thanksgiving 2010 shot

Thanksgiving 2013 shot

Things certainly have changed over the past three years. I mean, we honestly knew back then that we would be married at this point... but I'm not sure we could have guessed that we would be almost exactly where we always hoped we would be, professionally speaking. Don't get me wrong, I still have an insane amount to learn. But, I look at the image taken in 2010 and just have to smile. So much has changed, and I really think I'm headed in the right direction. But, I don't think that would have been possible without the coach.

This holiday season I'm most thankful for having such a wonderful, handsome and supportive cattleman/husband that pushes me to be a better person on a daily basis and is behind me 100%, no matter what I do. He loves my career as much as I do... and I love his as much as he does. That's really something wonderful.

Thanksgiving 2013 shot

It's a beautiful life. Take the time to notice how breathtakingly unique your every day truly is.

Shout out and mild rant

A few weeks ago, my bff/the coach's bff/jessie's bff/our roommate/general entertainer, Cody Wellmann asked what it would take to get a "shout out" on this here little bloggy-poo.... Well, here ya go, Wetty. You got your shout out.

But that kind of gave me an idea for a blog. I'm dedicating this post to a "shout out" of sorts, but then tying that into my usual rants about what a photographer should/should not do/ what a client can expect from ME when I come to video/picture their cattle/other livestock. This way, you know exactly what to expect when you hire me.... or something like that.

Okay, so first off (the shout out part) I'm going to tell you the stock photogs I admire/ look up/ think of as BAs.

1.) the one and only - Christy Collins. Need I explain? She is without question the most talented cattle photographer of the era... and the person I strive to be like on a daily basis.

2.) Anyone I worked with at ShowChampions / are now employed by the company. Because their work is clean, high quality, professional and amazing. When it comes to show photography, no company is better. End of story.

3.) Kyla Copeland/ the Focus Marketing group. Kyla is rocking it. No two ways about it. I love her work.

4.) whoever's logo is 'KM' .. kudos to you! Always producing legit shots of some legit cattle.

When I see the logos of these 4 companies/individuals, I know the shot is going to be a great one.

Now, as far as portrait work, I respect just about everyone. For one thing - I dislike portrait work. This is because I'm not a designer and I rely heavily on my ability to shoot high quality images without having to drag them into photoshop. When it comes to people pictures, this action is standard. I'm not saying I won't do it, I certainly will... but only if I a) know the person I'm taking pics of ... and b) feel comfortable enough around that person that I can be completely myself. Typically, I only agree to picture my livestock friends... since most of them will understand when I start jumping around like a monkey. Anyway, I love love love looking at other peeps work... two of those in particular are/is Morgan Meisenheimer and Taylor Walker. These two young ladies do an AMAZING job. And are SO fantastic to be around. I look up to both of them for sure. 

Here's why I say all of this... the response from my recent rants about "photographers" was overwhelming - in a good way. I'm not trying to "dis" anyone. That's not my job/place/how I was raised. All I'm saying is if what you are selling/providing to people as "professional photography" can be done on an iphone app.... you might want to reevaluate your style. Jusssssayin'. Plus, if you have worked in photoshop, you can tell when a picture has been messed with. However, most cattlemen aren't blind, either. So when you put a steer on a new background or take something out of the background, we can see it. My father-in-law can even see it. Google how to photoshop cleaner. If you have five of the same branches in a row because you had to take out a hand.... WE WILL NOTICE THE FIVE EXACT SAME BRANCHES LINED UP. If you think it looks weird, guess what? Everyone else is going to think it looks like shhhhhhhhh-crap. And don't get me started on tilting.... wow. Gah. 

And for the love of God, do NOT come at me AGAIN with all your nonsense saying you have how ever many facebook followers, blah, blah, blah because you assume I'm talking about you. The good photogs know they're good, don't have to copy others, and don't have to do stupid design techniques to their images. Because they are Just. That. Good. If you don't like what I'm saying, don't read my blog and STOP ASKING MY TO 'LIKE' YOUR PAGE.

I digress. 

Okay, so with all of this...now onto what you can expect from me....

*I will be on time (98.99999% of the time)

*I will be prepared

*I will prepare (get directions/exact numbers on what is being filmed or pictured/etc) at least a week before I get to your place. I don't do surprises. Solely because I go from zero to anxiety attack in t-minus 2 seconds. 

*I'm directionally retarded. But my GPS is not. 

*I am a guy's girl. Ask the coach's friends. I just get along with males more quickly than females. With that said.... 

*I'm not girly. Do not think that for a second

*Not much scares me. Literally. 

*Unless something other than me touches my still camera

*Or I see a snake. Soooo... warn me if your place is prone to the pythons. 

*I prefer picturing stuff off the halter. I can control the shot so much more. Plus, the animal will look much more natural and higher quality. 

*But I will picture on halter if you would like me to. 

*But I will take it off in photoshop. Halters and crap - the literal kind - are the only two things I will photoshop without you asking me to. 

*I'm not afraid of a bluffer. I can smell one from a mile away

*Don't assume I'm afraid of your bull. I'm not

*However, I am TERRIFIED of your pony.

*Don't ask why

*I will be entertaining. 

*I will make you laugh

*But will do so while doing a kick a## job

*I don't slack

*Even though I'm a girl and I'm witty, do not assume I have no idea what I'm doing/looking at/how an animal is supposed to look. Please.

*I will not do something that someone else has done. That meaning, I don't copy others work. 

*Please don't ask me to

*I will use our shoot as an opportunity to tan my face and shoulders, so...

*If I start to look burnt, don't worry... my skin is fabulous and the burn won't last more than a day

*I will have your images ready/"done" the same day or the following day after your shoot.

*Because I don't need to edit.

*That is if you get ears

*Always be prepared to get ears

*I don't need a team of more than 3 (not including me) for the video pen and 2 (including me) for photos. 

*However, I do enjoy it when there are people working in the back, getting cattle ready/having the next lot ready to go/etc. 

*Your videos will be edited 5-7 business days after I come home from your place. 

*I don't need a lunch break

*Because I pack snacks

*I will eat those snacks while working

*Don't judge me

*Please let me know if the fence I'm standing beside is "turned on" or has electric running through it. I will scream. 

*I was raised in a barn. I've had my butt kicked by a rouge bull before. So I know how to move/handle/act around your rouge bull. I'm 100% comfortable around said bull. However.....

*I will geek out if the mosquitos around your place are bigger than said bull. 

*If your cowboys arrive to the shoot hungover, I will make their lives a living hell. And you will be 100% entertained. 

*I'm not rude

*If I have nowhere else to go after your shoot, I will be glad to help you put cows back/move stuff around/lend a hand.

*I will take my time with a picture

*Don't rush me through taking a picture

*If I'm satisfied with a shot, you will be too... I promise

*Do not bring up PSU or JoePa.... unless you are prepared to have me go cray cray yankee

*You won't hear me say anything negative .... unless it's below 50 degrees.... I hate cold. 

*I will provide a professional, high quality product. 

*And an endless supply of wit and smiles

This is how I roll... I love what I do, and I love the people I work with/for. I enjoy every second I'm on the job and the time I spend in between shoots. I hope this post has given you more of a perspective of what I do/my thought process. I'm not using this post to brag about myself or to talk "smack" on anyone. I'm just giving you as a reader a better look into the life of this coach's wife.

Sorry, I'm not sorry.

If I get yelled at for this post, I'm blaming it on you, Wetty.

Photo "Friday" / Home Sweet Home....Pennsylvania?

This one is going to be like my typical photo Friday... except on crack. If you follow my blog, you know the coach and I were in Pennsylvania last Sunday until yesterday. It's was a really great, busy week. I miss seeing my family and friends, so getting to catch up with everyone (including my brood ewes) was nothing short of wonderful.

So with that you are about to witness some of my favorite shots from the week. Most were taken at my county fair - where I got to wear three different hats ... official photographer, judges wife and (most crazy of them all) judge. I know, I know... I said I would never judge a show again for as long as I lived. But it wasn't bad. I survived. My champions were straight studs. Plus, I didn't even make a kid cry this time (yes, I actually have done that) so I'll count the experience as a win.

Anyway, let's begin with my babies.

Now, need I remind all you snoops that I DO NOT edit my livestock images. Aside from slapping a logo in one corner and occasionally taking off a halter or some crap - the literal kind - I do not, will not and think it's tacky and retarded to alter my livestock images. So critique away and call yourself a "photographer" because you put corny, cheesy and just plain ugly color techniques and "design" manipulations on your pictures... oh and while you're at it... get the H off this page. Go stalk someone else.

This is my parents' new buck, Spook..... I dig him. Thankfully, the coach is getting pretty good at helping me picture sheep ;)

My baby, Iris. 7 years old and still lookin' like a stud. This shot kind of sucks...but regardless... I love her... please ignore the POS in front of her. 

Meet Maddison, my AMAZING niece. I love her. So precious. Too cute for words.

I ventured into the horse picturing world last week, too. This shot didn't make the cut of final images selected (something about her nostrils not being as flared as they were in some of the other shots or something), but I still thought it was cool. Looks like I'm not too shabby at Arabian photography... kind of exciting... that is if I wasn't TERRIFIED of equine. Makes no sense. None. 

Welcome to the Lancaster County 4-H Fair ;)

One of my faves from the sheep show... it was one of the coach's first breeding sheep judging experiences. He did a nice little job, if you ask me. 

LOVE THIS!!!! He's so great with youth. I love him.

One of my favorite families of all time.... Ben Welk with his champion market hog. I kind of fell in love with this hog. But, I mean.... look at her. She's a stud. 

'Sup homie?

It does not get ANY CUTER than this little lady! She made our week/weekend!!!! And yes, we show dairy steers in Lanco... we call them "baby beef" or "dairy beef". Their purpose is to prepare 4-Hers for "big" steers..... so typically, the cute, adorbs little showmen flock to this club.... and I love it. 

You remember the picture I posted Monday? Well, this is the corn field across from my parents' place.... yeah.... the crop is lookin' pretty solid this year. 

I finish with the loves of my life. Iris is on the far left with two of her daughters by her side. I love this shot. I don't care how much crap I catch for raising sheep, I wouldn't change it for the world. I am 100% a cattle girl at heart (yes, it's true) and I will be for the rest of my life... but I would not trade my momma Iris for anything. I miss my babies already. 

Hope you enjoyed a few of my fave shots from PA. More posts will be coming soon, I promise.

Oh, and it's good to be back in Texas :)

Photo Friday : another Saturday edition

.....because I got lazy last night. Sorry. I think I'll have to do two separate blogs today just to catch y'all up on what's been going on... It's hard to keep up with us. We need our own reality show or something just so we can look back and remember everything that happens in a day's time. It would be like the show Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Except with substance. And cows. And no babies named after the coordinates on a map. Not clever, Kim K, not at all.

Anyway... Photo Friday strikes again! And, like I promised, it's not one of my own! Only prob is I really don't know who took the pic....

But, holy hereford, how could I NOT use this pic?!?!? Yesterday - instead of blogging - the coach and I were at the Belt Buckle Bonanza in Waco... which got my blood pumping for the Spring's Major Show Season (YES that deserved capital letters). So, I got inspired for this edition of photo friday. The internet is amazing. You can search just about anything and get the neatest pics and stories. This gem came from googling "champion slap". It is from Houston, circa :: ?? Late 1950's-ish probably. How killer is this, though? I mean, A) winning the Houston steer show is definitely cause for a giddy-girl jump. and B) LOOK AT THAT FROGGIN' HEREFORD! I love old timey steer/cattle pics. Watching our industry change via snapshots always amazes me. The 50s and 60s are easily my fave. They look like adorable little puffs of fluff. The above champ is no exception... complete with the straightest hock I've ever seen. This little midget was #fluffycows before #fluffycows were #fluffycows. And those jeans..... I mean COME ON! Hashtag :: awesome. The best part is - this might be a dude showing. And for those days he was a rad stud for rocking those painted one pants. Oh, this is way too much greatness for one frame. Can't take it.

So perfect. So hilarious. So awesome. The butt shot of all butt shots.

Uhhh. I still die. If you say this picture doesn't entertain you than you don't have a pulse.

End of story.

How am I ever going to top this?

My Coach's Moment

In light of those silly little social media hashtags given for each day of the froggin' (ribbit, ribbit) week, I have decided to take a spin on #mcm, or Man Crush Monday. Each Monday, the coach will choose the topic of my blog. I mean, I may give him a little bit of grief on this here blog, but I love the man and value his opinions more than anyone else's... and he really is my forever #mcm. So why not dedicate #mcm to more than just an Instagram pic?

So here it is. The first #mcm - and in this case I mean #My Coach's Moment. Joe chose the title. I wish I could take credit, but I can't. He's such a smarty pants.

#MCM : Cute little girls with bows and cute little boys with fohawks.

Now, now... don't worry. We are NOT with child. And this is NOT some creeper type post. What the coach is referring to is cute little girls with bows showing cattle... same with little guys and fohawks. When I told him about #mcm for my blog, he immediately thought about back to this past weekend at the Golden Spread. If there is one thing that will make the coach smile bigger than Texas, it's when a cute little girl comes into the ring with a huge bow in her hair, dragging behind her a kick ace steer or heifer. It's like an instantaneous reaction that he wants to put them first. Same holds true with the fohawk. I may be partly to blame for this. The first show he went to go judge without me tagging along, I told him not to just use the 'cute little girl with the big bow in her hair' for showmanship. It was definitely a joke. The coach is absolutely wonderful with kids, especially younger ones. They make him literally light up. It's precious to watch... however, I worry that he will use one of those cuties, just because they are cute. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that... sort of. If they deserve it, then by all means give them the blue ribbon. Anyway, now whenever he does use the cutie with the bow, he goes on the mic and tells the story of me saying don't just use them. It can be embarrassing... I sometimes can feel the angry eyes of nearby mothers who think I have no soul. I do... I really do.... it was a joke.... he is even joking on the mic, I swear!! And this past weekend showed that.

There was plenty of adorbs little ones dragging some stellar prospects into the ring... but a few really honestly made MY heart melt. Sometimes, the coach will look up into the stands at me - partly to see if I am paying attention or just reading, and partly to see what my reaction is to a certain calf... or in this case a certain exhibitor. There were two that come to mind. The first was the MOST PRECIOUS little guy I have ever seen with a super cool looking lightweight Maine steer. He couldn't have been more than 7. And he was rocking to fohawk. And he was shorter than his steer. And it was SO CUTE! I looked at Joe with eyes that said, if you don't put him first, you are walking home. He got the hint... that and the steer honestly was awesome. It made him smile. Who wouldn't smile? The second 'awe' moment came with a little lady that I am quite used to seeing in the ring. She is easily the most incredible little thing that ever hit the show steer world. If I ever have a daughter (please, God, just don't) I want her to be just like this little wonder. Holy fluffy cow is she not just adorable? She hauled in the coolest little simmi steer.... and again, I looked at Joe.... and again, he listened to my unspoken words. I still think that steer was one of my favorite from the whole show. I really belief it's partly because of how precious she is. No, she wasn't wearing a bow - but how could ANY judge miss her? I mean seriously?!?!

When the coach gave me the topic I kind of laughed, but he proves a really big point : cute kids sell. A calf looks twice as quality when it is being stuck by a young, innocent looking showman. You can't not love them. Most of the time, a steer will work better for them, too. They pose less of a threat and really become (pardon the cheese) their friend. Call me a show mom-in-training, but this is the biggest thing I am looking forward to when we do have children. I mean, who honestly can resist this sight???

Yet another reason I refuse to judge shows.

Photo Friday... Saturday edition

A day late and a dollar short, but here's the second edition of photo Friday! I apologize for the delay. The coach and I are in Lubbock -well, Levelland actually. Coach is judging the Golden Spread with my fave bday buddy, Brady Ragland. I must say, it's been quite an impressive two days. Now if only there wasn't 150 steers left to show today... Or if only I had pages left in my book ... Or had remembered to bring my kindle... Then I might be a little more chipper. I find reading while the coach judges the best way to not be 'that' coach's wife who yells at her husband from the stands. I mean, he has to hear what he did wrong (in my most expert opinion) on the car ride home, so I might as well save him the public embarrassment. Anyway.... 

This week I felt the most appropriate photo would be one of our very own 'fluffy cows'.  Yup, I used it. Buzz phrase of the summer. Sorry I'm not sorry. It is what I'm gonna use as my muse this week... That and this pic is one of the only images I have saved on my phone (being on the road at random shows means making sacrifices - liking blogging via iPhone ). 

Sooo here we go- 

This is JoJo (don't you dare laugh- I did NOT name her) and her bull calf. It was taken about a month ago at the river place in bastrop. Back story- JoJo hates me. She is the only animal that has ever pinned me more than once. Unlike everyone else, I'm not the least bit scared of her and she hhhhaaates it. She's a b word. That being said, I laid on my belly in the grass for about 30 minutes just praying she'd move slower than I could... It wasn't my ribs I feared for- but if JoJo would have touched my camera her behind would have been on a trailer headed straight to the slaughter house... And then coach would have done the unthinkable... Been upset with me for the first time... Anyway, I love this shot, not just because this little guy is oh-so precious but because I rarely have time to actually shoot OUR cattle. Typically I'm running all over the southern US picturing/videoing - and when I do get the chance to be home there is always something to get done, leaving no time to just lay in the pasture with my camera, capturing our cows just being cows. But here I was lucky enough to get JoJo (coach's first heifer purchase since 'we' started) with her first calf. The flowers give a little extra pop of innocence, especially how they blur just perfectly and beautifully against my little man - even if he is sporting a nasty brown fluff. Fluffy cow or not, the shot means something to us, making it even more gorgeous.

There is nothing more fantastic than picturing cattle- especially like this. Coach may enjoy evaluating and raising cattle - as do I - but there is nothing I love more than to picture them. I sound corny- but if you really know me, you know this is true... And you know I'm unable to hide my corniness. Don't like it? My sweat! Just close this tab out on your browser and never come back (again said into wicked witch of the east coast voice.)

Well... I hoped this blog would take me a few more breeds to finish... Unfortunately, it did not. That's what you get for marrying a Rathmann... I fear our kids will inherit his long-winded-ish-ness (your mind in blown by that lame creation of a word, don't lie)... Like my dear friend T. Shack joked yesterday "your kids are going to give a set of reasons and the judge is going to ask them how long they thought they talked. He then is going to say to whatever response they give him 'well I watched half an episode of Friends sooo you might have gone a little toooo long'." I freaking love T Shack.

And that's all folks. Ps... I love the fact that #coachswife is trending on social media. I guess that means I should probably start blogging about something - anything - with some sort of substance, instead of just rambling... Eh, we'll see.