100 Days

I was exhausted by the time I headed out of the door. It had been a long day at work (my wednesdays usually go til 7:00 p.m.) yet it was far from over. At the exact moment I looked down at my cell to find a text message from Caroline asking me "What are you doing for dinner?" Her timing could not have been more perfect. I called her back to tell her that I had absolutely no plans.

When she asked me if I wanted to her dinner with her and Shelby I had to point out the obvious: "Are you sure? If we see each other tonight, that will be like...seven days in a row!"
To which Caro quickly replied "SO - we can go for a 100!"
That's the sweetness of dear friends. Who don't tremble at the thought of seeing you a 100 days in a row.

Shelbish and Caro

Usually these are the same friends who don't mind posing for photos in your backyard. These photos are from day #5.

So I don't know if we'll make it to 100 days, but its a lovely thought. :) I wouldn't mind spending 100 days with you either, Caro.

P.S. I'll see you tonight - a.k.a day #7. :)

I was super blessed to have a day off from work today (thank you Veterans who have served our country!) and I'm glad to say that it was not a wasted day.

I had a little extra time to prepare for small group tonight, so I got a little crafty. We are going to memorizing verses together - I thought this might be a good start to helping us out with that. It was a soothing afternoon. :)

A Little Getaway.

An afternoon at The Living Room, originally uploaded by Courtney Lynn.

I was dying for an afternoon like this today.

A mahogany table, open window with a gust of seabreeze...Just me and a couple good friends - ones that smile, talk, and drink coffee (like Kat) and friends that let me write between their covers as I spill my thoughts.

Chasing Cars {travel stories}

I settled in and made myself comfortable in the backseat, fully content to just stare out the window after a long day of work. It was a treat in itself to be taken out to dinner by two dear friends, and i was planning on unwinding during the short ride. A small smile stretched across my face as I started to take in the colors of dusk - my favorite time of day. I reached into my bag and laughed to myself as I realized I had the perfect position to rest my camera lens on a curve of the Civic . It was all I needed to steady my hand enough to capture the colors of the sky, the lights flashing by and the moving cars.

"Click, click, click"... Ted could hear me snapping away in the backseat. He asked Becky what I was doing and I can imagine that she described my scrunched down position with my eye locked to the view finder of the camera. Simply taking pictures of the scenary. In typical Ted fashion he asked me "Do you always do that?"

My mind started whirling through my travels and several photographs popped up.

Again I smiled to myself.

"Hmmm, yeah. I guess I do."

Kristin's Toyota Corolla {Irvine, CA }

Iva's little Ford that could {Czech Republic}

Driving to Cindy & Darren's wedding in my Jeep Grand Cherokee {Burbank, CA}

Akemi's convertable {San Francisco, CA}

Mazda 5 {Davis, CA}

Mazda 5 {Napa Valley, CA}

Mom and Pop's GMC Yukon {Pasadena, CA}

Libor's car {Ostrava-Poroba}

Travel Bus {Czech Republic to Vienna}

Travel Bus {Czech Republic to Vienna}

Tim's Highlander {Del Mar, CA}

Ford Explorer {Maui}

Ford Explorer {Maui}

And to that is one reason why I enjoy traveling...

and that is the time when i don't mind that life is passing me by. :)

Happy Times {a trip down memory lane.}

I admit that I've been spending a lot of time on flickR lately. Maybe too much. :P But as I have been going through stuff I realized that there are several images that I love but have had no home to post them in on my blog. So why not share them all together!

It's been such a compliment that people actually like the work that I do. But here's a little secret - I don't really view it as work. :) Of course it means a lot especially as some of my closest friends have been remarking on how much my work has improved in the past year. Thanks guys! I hope you enjoy the trip down memory lane.

Mel @ the HK Museum of Science {Hong Kong 2005.}

I think this was the first photograph that I took where I was surprised by my creativity. I had just bought a brand new SD300 (my that's an old camera now) and I was taking pictures of everything...

Julie, Papa Beards in Hacienda Heights {2006.}

Kristin at Villa Sienna in Irvine {2006}.

My dear college roommate and I used to go on photo adventures all the time. Most of the time they would involve water and/or climbing because Kristin would always be looking for fountains to jump in. I would just take pictures of her playing. and we;d laugh about it later. Taking pictures back then was merely so that we had a record of the crazy things we did in college.

Whitney, University and Campus Drive {October 2004}

After my China adventures where i went buck wild with taking pictures, Whitney had to humor me multiple times with different "photo adventures" in Irvine. She has ALWAYS photographed better than I, and that's a really good thing.

Kristen's high school graduation {June 2006} & Syd's first time to La Jolla {Spring 2007}

Two of my four sisters...Kristen, who has always inspired me (as I just wrote so I won't bore you again). When my younger sisters were born (Aimee, Brianna and Sydney), it was THEIR cuteness that got me hooked on taking pictures of kids. Nowadays, child portraits are some of my favorite things to shoot.

Whit, at PV Camp {September 2005}

Leslie and the fab 5 visit {May 2007}

When the fab five came to visit, it was another creative milestone for me. Combine the fun, laughter, good conversations and memories with Lightroom and it was the start of finding my visual niche. Warm, happy with lots of light.

Lillian at Renaissance {Summer 2007}

It was Lil and her small group that gave me the first opportunity to start working on my shooting skills, not long after I purchased my Rebel XT. This was the funnest afternoon in La Jolla. Lil, we should do it again!

Joyce @ Le'Anna's birthday scavenger hunt {November 2005}

Along with Kristin, Whit, Joyce and Lyndsey are two other people who have survived my many "photo adventures" from my college days. Its like I should make them a girl scout badge for doing so.

Kathy, Singles Retreat {January 2008}

I've shared this photo before but this is still one of my favorites. She's so pretty. :)

Joyce, Singles Retreat {January 2008}

I can almost hear Joyce's laughter. Hi Joyce! {Who is probably reading my blog right now. ;)}

Mabel and Brenda, Camping in San Clemente {May 2008}

There was never an afternoon with such perfect light. This was the weekend I tried to used more bokeh (a.k.a. a super blurred background.) I'm hooked!

Sarah, English Camp {August 2008}

This is one of my favorite portraits of alllllllll time.

--------------------------

*Even though I delayed it by quite a few days, Mrs. Christie Gilmore is the winner of my little giveaway. She was the first person to email me at courtlynn.photography@gmail.com with what inspires her: similar to my story, Christie has always been inspired by her grandfather and dad who always captured their family memories. She's pretty use to being in front of the camera (I have to admit that she and I definitely hit up photomakers and those other asian photobooth places more than once in our middle school years) but now instead of just being in front of the camera (she is also married to a wedding photographer :]) she's starting to get behind it. Her work is quite pretty and I look forward to getting together. Congrats Chris!

All in the Family

One of the biggest artistic influences and inspirations in my life is actually my sister. If you compliment me on an outfit I either borrowed it from her ever expanding closet or was inspired by something I saw her try. Though I have always been the one obsessed with cameras and film, the minute my sister starting creating and posting on Flickr, I was blown away by the way she sees things and how she is able to convey that to the rest of the world. That is exactly why I had her by my side the first time I shot a wedding.

I would not hesitate to say that she may be the artistic innovative one between the two of us. Its a blessing to see this talent and know that it runs in our blood - our grandfather, the photographer, was constantly capturing lovely portraits of our family. I used to spend hours gazing upon the wall with tiny and large frames alike, each with a different moment in the lives of our family not just because they were familiar faces, but because they were beautiful photographs. From baby pictures to wedding portraits, it was all there, thanks to Grandpa. Who also passed on the gene to my cousin Eric, who is a wedding photographer in Iowa. :)

My sister also caught the streak of creativity in fashion from our grandmother. She takes things that she sees and makes them her own. She's not afraid to take risks.

And the girl knows how to work the camera. These are "test shots" from Alex & Stephanie's wedding. They say so little and so much about my dear sister.

In recognition of the inspiration that my sister gives me daily, i'm having a little giveaway. I want to put these creative juices to good use (as well as find out who EXACTLY is reading my blog) I am giving away a 1 hour family portrait package to the first person who emails me at courtlynn.photography@gmail.com and shares briefly about what inspires them to do what they do...whether its art, soccer, engineering, cooking i want to know what fuels your passion!

I will announce the winner and their response on my blog at the end of the week.
The stipulations for prize winners are as follows:
- Package includes an 8x10 print and a copy of high-res negatives
- Session must take place by December 31, 2008
- Session can take place anywhere in Southern California
- Family Portrait session includes newly-wed couples (you are your own family now) and does not have to be used by the winner...it can be conveniently given as a gift upon approval by photographer. (That's me!)


So since I'm fairly positive that there are about 4 people reading my blog, this could be a VERY easy giveaway. Hopefully I won't have to make something up! :P I look forward to hearing from you!

Michelle & Kev's Wedding // Napa, California

Even though I was a guest to the wedding of a beloved childhood friend and a dear girlfriend, I had the best of both worlds by getting to take the engagement photos of Michelle and Kev (you can see their session here!)

It was my first time in Napa and I was traveling alone for the most part. Running late to the worked in my favor...I just happened to be in the right place, at the right time as the beautiful bride and her bridesmaids were heading up to the stairwell that they would walk down at the start of the ceremony. I love the color contrast of the navy blue dresses and pink bouquet! Congratulations to Kevin and Michelle. I love you guys!