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Well, I'm so excited to share with you two quick little accolades that In Bloom Photography has received over the last few days!! I happen to live in the town of Sweetwater, Texas and a few weeks ago, our local newspaper asked me for an interview! The Sweetwater Reporter featured a full page article, complete with a 10 image sampling of my work on the front page of the Focus section. I was quite proud to share my work with all of Sweetwater and the response has been wonderful so far! Could it get even more exciting?? Yes it can!! Every month I'll be choosing a session to highlight and will have that same front page again!! I'll be submitting an assortment of images from that session and a little back ground info and I get to share my work with Sweetwater once a month! What an opportunity!! :) The article wasn't available online, but I've had so many requests from non-locals to read it so I've decided to post the text at the bottom of this post! :)Before you read the article though... I have one more fun thing to share! About 2 weeks ago I did an impromptu shoot for my wonderful church, Emmanual Fellowship. Actually, our Youth Pastor, Loran, requested the session. He (and a bunch of helpers) has recently redone our youth room and given the whole youth ministry a make-over... calling it The Salvage Yard. Well, instead of bringing a bunch of junk into the youth room... Loran's idea was to bring some of the youth into the junk yard and take pictures!! He got permission from a local scrap metal salvage yard for us to come in and pose it up for a session... and MAN did the kids to a rockin' job! This first image below was chosen by ColorInc Professional Photo Lab as their Photo Pick of the Day today!! They have it posted on their Facebook page, Printlife Blog(you'll see it later today), and will be using the image in a new promotion for a new print product coming soon! How stinkin' exciting is that!!?! I must admit, it felt great to have an industry leader recognize my work and say "Hey- good job!" :)Anyway, that's all for now! I'm up to my ears in wedding photo editing so I'll end this post so I can get back to work! :) As always, thanks for stopping in!! Enjoy the article below!
ColorInc Professional Photo Lab's Photo Pick of the Day- August 31, 2010 And here are a few more of my favs from that session.... :) 
Aren't they just so tough!!?! 
This image is blown up nice and big in the youth room, along with 3 others! They look fab! Really polished off the look of the room! What an awesome idea Loran! 
Loran, our fearless leader!! I should mention too that my husband and I serve in the youth ministry... and that made this session even more fun because I know and love all these kids!! And now on to the article... thankfully the paper had emailed me a draft before the article ran so I could just copy and paste it here!! From a Different Angle...I
t's all about seeing more than meets the eye.
Six years ago, Karyn Carbone, realized just how much could be expressed through a photograph.
While expecting her first child, Carbone was gifted a pregnancy portrait session. After seeing the photos, she was amazed by the emotion and sentiment behind them. She knew that she had found a new calling.
"I was overwhelmed at the beauty of the outcome," Carbone said. "It was the sentiment, the mood behind the picture."
Before this portrait session, she had been pursuing her dream as a pastry chef. Almost immediately after, she knew that she had found what she was meant to be doing. After mentioning the idea to her friend, she decided to begin her photography venture.
" I knew that other women would want this feeling, that I had from my photos," Carbone said. "After mentioning it to my friend, I asked if she minded me doing it and she gave me her blessing. From there, I just started booking appointments."
She started out taking maternity portraits, then added kids, families, seniors and weddings. About two years ago, she photographed her first wedding.
"I took a photography class in college, but it wasn't anything I was serious about," Carbone said. "It just seems now that I've found my artsy side, in the photographs."
Two years ago, Carbone brought her artistic side to Sweetwater. After her husband decided to enroll in the wind energy program at Texas State Technical College, the family moved from Florida to Sweetwater. Even after the move, she kept her clients in Florida and picked up a new client base in the Sweetwater area.
"After about a year of starting, it became a serious source of income," Carbone said. "The good thing about it is that I can be as busy or not busy as I want to be."
Taking photographs, has not only allowed her to be part of the happy times in people's lives; it has provided her with many opportunities to give back. She recently signed up for Operation Love Reunited. It is a program that allows photographers to set up sessions for soldiers and their families, free of charge.
"God has always provided what I need," Carbone said. "Giving back just makes it more enjoyable."
On top of giving back, she is also taking part in a photography phenomenon, that is currently sweeping the country. Most brides to be like to have their bridal photos taken, but there is always that uneasiness of not messing up the dress. During the bridal shoots, extreme care has to be taken when picking locations. However, after the wedding is over; there is no reason that the bride can't slip on the dress one more time for a photo-shoot.
"Basically, we can go places that you normally wouldn't go," Carbone said. "All the wedding day stress is gone and brides are just able to go out, to places that may not be as neat and clean, and get some amazing shots."
Trash the Dress photo sessions don't always end up trashing the dress, but sometimes it just happens. The main point is to capture those moments and scenes that just wouldn't normally be caught. Rusted iron, peeling paint, and some tall grass can make for a damage dress, but a beautiful photo.
"Great photography happens when you can find that creative perspective in any given situation or location," Carbone said. "This was something new and fresh for this area, and it is exciting to be a part of it."
Through the years, she has gained many lasting relationships. Capturing the perfect moment is one side of the story, but helping others be able to capture those moments is the other.
"I also enjoy sharing what I know," Carbone said. "I love to teach, share my learning experience."
She divides the teaching into two sections; learning the basics and then photoshoping. She has even compiled a photography book that helps explain what she is teaching. She makes sure that the person knows how to use the camera, goes over aperture, shutter speed and then has them take photos.
"For the first part, I take photos side by side with them," Carbone said. "Then I like to have them take certain photos and we come back and learn photoshop."
Sometimes the perfect photo can be enhanced even more, with a little bit of tweaking from photoshop.
"Through this business, you get to be a part of families," Carbone said. " You get to share the happy times and watch families grow."
If you would like to find out more about In Bloom Photography visit www.inbloomimagages.com. A complete list of pricing, her blog, and a photo gallery can be found there. Appointments for weekends are scheduled about a month in advance, due to the high demand on weekends.
For appointments call 325-338-2453.
My family had a very big event happen last weekend!! My wonderful husband graduated from TSTC with his Wind Energy Technology degree... the whole reason our family relocated to Sweetwater about a year and a half ago! I can't express how proud I am of Matthew... all his hard work over the last year, starting over to get into this great career field to take care of his family!! The Lord gave Matt the scripture out of 1 Thessalonians 4:11 ".... and make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands..." After much prayer and a drive-it-straight-through trip to Sweetwater from South Florida... we decided to take the leap of faith and come... and now another new chapter begins! Matt started working in his field a few months ago and is loving every day he goes to work!I love this photo... my heart just about bursts when I look Trystan & Matt, my two amazing men and their beautiful blue eyes and warm smiles.... my cup overflows! God is so faithful....
I'm having a GREAT weekend, I must say! It started with Friday morning dropping my sweet kiddos off at preschool and driving to Abilene to meet my two "besties" at Starbucks for the first ever morning coffee date with them! Then, my handsome husband and I were invited to crash in on our friend's Sarah & Brian's date night... making it a double-date to eat what turned out to be a verrry yummy steak dinner at Texas Roadhouse and my favorite (decaf) coffee drink at Tuscany's!! Yumm!This morning, I met up with Christy, Ernesto & their sweet boys for their first every family photo session!! What a treat (Christy's one of the "besties")!! We started out in the country in a green grassy field, made out way to Kirby Lake, and then onto downtown Abilene for some very fun photos!! Here is just a VERY quick glimpse of what we were up to!!Ps. My new plan is for this crazzzzy holiday season I'm about to go into is to download, sort, and do my first run editing, as well as a quick sneak peak for each session THE DAY I shoot the images (ok, so maybe not for th 21 sessions within 10 days in Florida next month?!!! We'll see how that goes... but this has been a great first attempt! :)
Adorable Asher.... this was a total candid grab... he was just waiting patiently for everyone else to get it together! LOVE these moments! :) 
Big Bro... Ernesto.... who wasn't all that into the session today, but I got him anyway!! :) 
And we can't forget some shots of Mommy & Daddy together.... it's not JUST about the kiddos!! :) 
This might be a favorite so far! Tonight, my hubby is letting me sneak out with Christy (the lovely Wife/Mommy on this post) and about 5 of her closest girlfriends to celebrate her birthday!! Woo-hoo... girls night! What a great weekend! :) Happy Birthday Christy, hope you enjoy this little sneaky peak!! See you tonight!
Ok, who can find me in this shot?!!! Lol! 
Bridget's necklace... a gift from her groom! 
Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue! 
Bridget's beautiful hair accent... 
There was a little time to kill after getting hair and make-up done... so the bride relaxed and girl talked with her sister and MOH, and us!! How nice! 
Her dress had been monogrammed with their initials!! 
Enter the adorable nephews, aka the ring bearers!! 
Couldn't resist a few close ups of the cutie-pies!! 
Amazing eyes!! 
Who wouldn't want to get married here?!!! I loved these two lighting perspectives.. one showed the beatiful blue skies we had, and the other showed the warm sunlight through the canopy!
I love her expression here.... :) 
I mean seriously people, how often do you see this????!!! Loved it!
Little boys: "have sand, will play!!" :) 
I thought this was such a fun shot.. I was just trying to grab an artsy shot of them, but got some of the guests watching in the back ground!! A happy accident! 
One of my favs... 
It was a beautiful evening.... If you come to my blog often, you'll likely recognize these two faces. Bridgett is the sister of my first mommy friend in Sweetwater, Jennifer, who ever so graciously referred me!! I had a wonderful engagement session with them so we could get to know one another (and got some gorgeous shots too), and then had the opportunity to travel down to South Padre Island to document their wedding day! It turned out to be one of most windy days I've EVER seen on the beach... I'm talking gale force (ok, not really, but it FELT like it!!?!), but despite almost being blown away... the wedding was absolutely lovely! Bridget was so great about incorporating her bright and beautiful wedding colors into all the little details... from the brilliant pink chiffon that lined the wedding canopy, to the hot pink and electric orange sand that the ring bearers spilled out onto the beach where Bridget walked (instead of the traditional rose petals, how clever!), the colors really looked lovely and just tied everything together so nicely! My favorite part of the whole wedding was when Wesley got down on his knees during his vows to Bridget and her reaction and sweet expressions. Apparently Wesley didn't get down on one knee for the proposal and wanted to be sure he did for his vows . What a hunny!! We opted not to do the family formals at the beach just due to the wind and sand blowing so hard, but I convinced the happy couple to let me take a few of just them down by the water. They were so adorable to watch as the smooched and loved on each other... like I wasn't even there (Love that!!)!!Bridget & Wesley, thanks again so much for having us... Leah & I wish you a blessed marriage and happy life together!
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