hi....it's Diane

We are all soooo lucky to know Ashley!
Thanks Ashley for putting this blog together!
I have always loved to take pictures! - When I was in the 3rd grade, our elementary school had a fundraiser....you know the ones where you go door to door and sale "stuff"? Well, the prize I wanted to earn was a camera!!! and I DID!
Over the years I have gone through rolls & rolls of film :) - I wish I could say all the pictures were good, but I can't :) they definitely were not!
What makes me saddest is to see how crummy the pics are in my first 3 kiddos baby books - With my last 2 - they are all digital and much better - but, still it is fun to see the progress I have made with my photography skills even over the last 3 years. Around 3 years ago I overheard my friends daughter tell her that they needed to set up an appointment to get her Sr. pics taken. I told her that I would love to take them(for free) and then if they didn't like them they could still hire someone else. So, that was the beginning for me. They LOVED them and the word spread like wild fire. We quickly dedided I better get a better camera, so I bought a Canon Rebel with the kit lenses and was in Heaven! After a year -I knew enough to upgrade and bought the Canon 5D and a 50mm 1.8. I have since upgraded my lens and so far have the 50mm 1.2 & the 70-200 2.8. Both lenses are AMAZING!
I live in a small town and have lived here my whole life - so, just word of mouth has kept me as busy as I want to be.....sometimes busier than I want/need to be. Not long after I took those pics for my friend, my neighbor told me about her niece who had put together a group called the "photo mommas" - this is my connection to Ashley. I owe ALL my photography knowledge to the photo mommas. They answered all my questions thru the blog, my emails, and even phone calls. Just this summer in July, I got to meet Ashley in person for the first time! Yay!
I still have a BILLION questions about photography(things like metering :), about my camera, about editing, about photo shop, about computers, about the business side of things, and even about parenting(this has been one of my biggest struggles is making sure that my kids/family stay my top priority!- another reason why I admire Ashley - she is putting her photog business on the back burner to focus on her family!- thanks for your example Ashley!)
So, I ask lots of questions....about EVERYTHING!
I am rambling now - so I will stop!
BUT, just one more thing...I have been trying to read all the posts - but, I might not seem too involved in the blog right away...I am 5 sessions behind in editing, I have corn in our garden that needs to go in the freezer, tomatoes that need canned into juice , salsa, and spaghetti sauce, and my friend just called and told me I can have all the peaches on her tree- so I need to get them canned. My oldest daughter is a JR. in HS and has volleyball games every Tues & Thurs that I will be going to as well as keeping up with my 4 other kiddos. So, when I get done with the garden in a month and we all adjust to being back in school - you will see more of me on here!
Thanks Ashley for all you do!
I can't wait to get to know the rest of you!
sorry for not posting any pics - but, I have facebook- add me as a friend - you will see a picture of all 5 of my kids that I just posted from the first day of school :)