Redfish Lake Snowshoe

Took a great hike to Redfish Lake today with my dad and his girlfriend, Betsy. So cool that this place is two hours away from my house; one hour of driving and one hour of pleasant snowshoeing. 

As we walked, we talked about how this adventure was ultimately free. Okay, we bought gear, food, and gas... but what we got to experience and feel was free. The peace, happiness, and accomplishment adventure brings us are the most rewarding feelings that convince ourselves to go out and do more of the things that make us happy. 

Life is short; I encourage you to do more of what makes you happy!

BACKPACK: Parkland || ZIP-UP HOODIE: QTee Shirts

xo, Hallie

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've been so sad that I hadn't photographed anything lately so with Friday off from school, I called Amy and Sara and we had some fun! A local boutique, Lifestyle Simple Living, let us borrow some cute clothes and accessories to photograph. We bought balloons and roses and found a white brick wall to photograph these cute pieces! So so lucky I have friends that are up for days like these and excited to create and play outside for me!

All can be found at Lifestyle Simple Living:

TAN TANK DRESS || MAUVE LACE LAYERING DRESS || HOLEY SWEATER || MAUVE FLOWY LONG SLEEVE || WHITE RIBBED LEGGINGS || PEARL/FLOWER NECKLACE || HANDMADE BRACELETS || SAND PONCHO || BEADED STATEMENT NECKLACE || WHITE LACE LAYERING DRESS

XOXO, Hallie

DIY Salted Watercolor Cards

Spreading happiness and supplying love for others are two things I like to think about and make sure I do everyday. Valentine's Day is no exception! 

After school lately all I've wanted to do is go home and listen to my favorite music and watercolor... Lets just say that senioritis is definitely kicking in. 

My friends and I have pretty much created a "Watercolor Club" and just meet to do art instead of run after school ;). After watercoloring a card with the same idea of wetting the paper and then adding color to get a nice abstract look, I wanted to play with a new concept. I don't know what made me think of salt, but I searched on Pinterest "salt watercoloring." It was a thing!! So I pinned some inspiration onto my Watercolor Board and grabbed some Elmer's Glue and Kosher Salt. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I started creating some cute cards that I will give to friends and family!

Here's a quick outline of how to make cute, Salted Watercolor Cards!

You will need:

Watercolor Paper

Scissors (to cut the paper if desired)

A Baking Sheet (or something that will contain the salt when you pour)

Elmer's Glue

Table Salt

Watercolors & Brushes (a simple Crayola palette is my favorite!)

Steps

1. Draw or write a design/message on your watercolor paper with the glue

2. Put your card in a baking sheet so salt doesn't end up all over your table and floor

3. Before the glue dries, pour salt over the glued area, and make sure it covers it all

4. Dip your brush in the water and smother your brush in a color

5. Let your brush paint over the salt and glue

6. Keep playing around with different colors until you get what you want

7. Let dry at least a few hours or overnight so the glue sets and the salt won't fall off!

^^ The water and paint in the XO ran a little bit because I waited too long to choose the colors before the paint dried. Have a rough idea of what colors you want and what look you're going for before you glue!!

XO, Hallie

Stuck Between Snow and ... ?!??

It is ridiculous and so unfortunate how creatively impaired I can become in the months between fall and winter and it's happening again as we start to slowly transition into spring. Almost always after senior portraits end and the snow starts to fall, something about the dead trees and the brown mountains get me... In the fall I'm always slammed busy with a new school year starting, senior portraits being due the month after we start, cross country running everyday after school, and all the hype about the leaves changing color and the school year starting. 

During the winter I have usually thought that I am not capable of being creative or shooting anything good because of the snow and dead and thought I would need a studio to create something amazing. So not true! This winter I have been focusing on photographing editorial portraits and playing around with new people and places. I have been having great success! This is part due to the incredible amount of snow we have received (shout out to El Niño!) but also due to the mindset of wanting to stay creative. 90% of anything is mental. 

Being on the other side of winter (almost!) I find myself wanting warmth and color more than ever. Seasonal depression is starting to kick in and I just want the snow to hurry up and melt! The past couple weeks it has been hard for me to find some creative spirit or therefore any inspiration to draw from to photograph.

Lately, I have been watercoloring very often, I think it is restorative! I will share photos and a blog post soon about that.

With the slow time I had until we got some snow, I went through my huge stack of magazines that were sitting in a pile on my bedroom floor. I rip out anything that inspires me and anything I think is just down right rad. If you are ever in a creative rut, this is my favorite thing to do because I always feel more creative after! If you don't have a ton of magazines at your disposal and you are feeling a bit more environmentally friendly, Pinterest and/or Tumblr are great, inspiring social medias. I really like Pinterest (links to mine attached below) because I can separate everything into different boards and it's easier to go back and find something you have pinned. Tumblr (also linked below) is very visually appealing when you customize it to make it all pretty but whenever I go on I reblog so much at once, I never scroll all the way to my very first posts. I love what you can find on Tumblr anyway... And then I usually pin them on one of my Pinterest boards ;)

I would love to hear how you get creative in these awkward, dead, times of year! Comment or message me your thoughts :)


Links:
pinterest.com/halliekathrynm
The Pinterest where I find inspiration for everything. From photography, food, places to go, clothes to wear, etc.

pinterest.com/halliekphoto
I created a separate Pinterest for HKP and one that I send the link to clients. Ben Sasso once said that if you notice that you like a photo, you need to dig deep into the photo and pick out what it is you love about that image. I started really thinking about this so boards on this Pinterest account have specific names for why I like the photo or what shoot it would be specifically shot at. Also, I have a wardrobe board that allows clients see what I like my subjects to wear or anything that attracts my eye. Another really useful board on here is my "cheat sheet." I have found quotes or articles pertaining to how to be "more photogenic" or more relaxed and natural at a shoot. It is all about the client's mood!

camerasrainphotos.tumblr.com

My Tumblr for inspiration and where I reblog things I love.

halliekathrynphotography.tumblr.com
A Tumblr for HKP that I post my own photos! (I need to get better at posting and being consistent... I think last time I posted was last May! Maybe I should go post right now ;)

xo, Hallie