life lately | personal

what i am

smelling: audrey's bali sunrise candle in our dorm room.

wishing: that traveling wasn't so expensive, that fall afternoons lasted longer.

reading: various blogs, the Bible, my PR handbook, thesaurus.com.

listening to: steven curtis chapman's brand new album. it's so good—give it a spin!

eating: the rest of the dark chocolate from my girls' night this weekend. mmmm, tasty.

watching: episodes of the dick van dyke show & old audrey hepburn films—i'm in a b&w period.

thinking: that instead of perfection, i'm going to reach for & embrace authenticity. whether it be in how i interact with others, the way i write my papers, respond to my professors, or create photos, i desire to be genuine —and not so hung up on the little trivial points that don't ultimately matter.

Ariana | 2014 Senior Portraits | Waverly, IA Senior Photographer

Ariana is absolutely stunning.  She has the most magnificent curls, a laugh that sounds like glitter, and talent that any girl would be jealous of!  Not only does she play the violin, but she's BA at tennis aaaaand she's kinder than a baby kitten. ;)  Ari, thank you for letting me take your seniors & for showing me all the sweet spots in your hometown! I had so much fun.  Have a fabulous senior year!

let's enjoy fall....together!

fall is here.

somehow, she snuck in through the open window while summer danced out the door on a warm breeze. and autumn is already seizing her opportunities to decorate the browning, crunchy grass with even crunchier leaves and the skies with silhouettes of birds flying southward each evening.

autumn is full of both sugar and spice, exemplified in every pumpkin spice latte bought while wearing your warmest cardigan. she brings hours of family fun and bonding—regardless if you spend it raking leaves, picking apples for homemade cider, or cheering on your latest rookie football star on friday nights.

this beautiful season manifests herself in every nook & cranny of your life, but she doesn't stay for near as long as you think she will. 

that's why I'm helping you enjoy the gorgeous fall weather, your family & your favorite sweater with fall family mini-sessions! they're the perfect way to spend some time together and get a head start on a family photo for that christmas card. (you know they always sneak up on you!) 

details are below—please shoot me an email or a phone call if you are interested in grabbing a spot! let's take some time, spending it outside in the glorious beauty of fall, with the ones you love the most, while this season lasts:)

Erin Rose | Mentor & Portrait Session

If there was such a person as Asian Pocahontas, this girl would be it.  She has a spirit that is creative, unbridled, and imaginative—with deep liquid brown eyes that rival the glimmer of early morning light on a mountainside lake.

Erin assists me with weddings and the occasional senior session, so when I had the itch to dress up for some photos of myself, Erin was the first person I turned to. Luckily, she's up for waking before dawn to tramp around in morning dew and exploring small towns! 

Our morning adventure quickly turned into a mentor session—something I'd never given thought to before. Are you interested in something of the sort? Shoot me an email...if a few people are interested in such a thing, I might just set something up! ;) And since someone has been bugging me to show off a bit of what we came up with that morning, here are a few of the photos that I captured of Erin!

xoxo,
Amelia Renee:)

Ellen | 2014 Senior Portraits| Cedar Falls, IA Senior Portraits

let us read, and let us dance,

these two amusements will never

do any harm to the world.

|| Voltaire

Ellen is a stunning woman—everything about her is elegant, from the smallest movement of an eyelash to her lovely laugh. When she came to me with some ideas of more natural photos in the woods & a creek, I was all about that. We had a blast making our own path to find the perfect spot...something I know she'll do in the world once she graduates high school & enters college! Continue to shine brightly always, Ellen!

xoxo,
Amelia:)

University Life 101 | Personal

I've been posting mainly personal posts lately—and that is a strange feeling for me. It makes me squirm, the kind of uncomfortable squirming when you're called on in class to talk. Except for since this is my blog, it's probably more like I'm actually the professor. Which is just confusing. 'Cause I'm no prof. ;)

What is the reason behind all these personal posts? Thanks for asking! It's not that I don't have sessions to share—I have those by the bucketload. And it isn't that I don't want to share those, because I so do. My seniors are pretty awesome...not gonna lie! But when you go from living-at-home-on-summer-time to oh-my-gosh-how-do-I-pack-my-life-into-a-car-for-college-time...there isn't as much of those needed moments for editing/resizing/ordering/uploading/writing/blogging.

In short, I'm back in school and learning how to adjust to a 4-year university & living permanently  away from home for the first time ever. And so studies are taking more of a front seat than photos for the first time in, well, years.

So, today, I have a few more personal photos to share of my new life. College life is so very different than living at home...even when you've been at a [community college] for the past three years. It's crazy and full of people, activities, community showers, learning a new kind of time management, someone living in your room, 18 noisy neighbors, bathroom keys, bus systems, lots of learning, and wouldn't you know it, lots of fun!

Thank you all for sticking with me through this transition. (Especially you friends from home who have called/texted/messaged/snapchatted me as I've moved to Iowa State & started classes—you all are the best!) I'm so excited to get involved in this community and to learn from both professors & people here to help me be become better at both photography & living life with all of you.

my bedroom...probably the cleanest it has been in years.

learning how to put together a futon...a story for another time;) before & after!

exploring my new classrooms with my twin/friend. together we're amelia^2. 

it's fun to have a best friend with the same name!

(left) first ever session on ISU campus! (right) starting to decorate my desk with photos, of course!

my DIS (Destination Iowa State) group on our photo scavenger hunt. 

one of the athletic centers here. SOOO PRETTY!

made dinner with new and old friends. I love living in community with people! 

first Larch-Wolf house meeting! (our dens are used as rooms, so we met between the elevators.)

(left) last but not least, my cheesy first-day-of-class selfie. (right) my roommate, Audrey, is great. she came into our room last night after her run & read 1 Peter out loud to me 'cause she loves it so much. LOVE.

Love always & always,

Amelia:)

summer nights | personal

the best summer nights are the ones spend in community—eating good food, talking about real life, and doing meaningful activities. and by meaningful, I mean laughing until your face hurts at the dogs chasing a stray cat, fathers who say they "don't house flip—I cat flip!" and dancing in the yard with mega-sparklers.

that's my favorite way to do life.

what are some of your favorite memories of this summer? leave a comment (anon is ok...but I'd love it if you share your name!) & tell me all about it:)