My two favorite seasons are Fall and Spring. Keep the temperatures moderate, the weather unpredictable and watch mother nature begin the transitions.

I’ve felt the change of Spring this year. It’s been exciting for me to watch the flowers bloom and the grasses begin to grow again. My attitudes have changed with the season and I’m feeling refreshed. In that light, much cleaning and organization has been going on at the house. What was once my hardwood-floor office is now a carpeted bedroom. My office has expanded into the former bedroom. The windows are open. The vacuum bags are full. I’ve got way too much stuff.

Oh, and I’ve been shooting, too. Mike arranged a shoot with Monika, a local model. We all met at Knox Farm in East Aurora. I *love* finding places like this in the area. I can’t wait to go back and take pictures there again. The light was great, beautiful landscapes dotted with trees, fences and fields.

What I really enjoyed about Saturday was that there were no expectations. My last few shoots have been hired work and while I love shooting for others, it is a change in mindset. My attention focuses on what the client wants, and not always what captures my attention. This is both an advantage and disadvantage suitable to be explored in another post. Let’s just say that I admire those that can maintain a healthy balance of their own personal creative fulfillment and the happiness of their clients. All in all, it’s really important to continue to shoot for me. It’s why I fell in love with photography, and it’s the thing that will keep me coming back to it.

We were at the farm to have fun and help build Monika’s portfolio. We shared some modeling tips with her (trying to get this girl not to smile is difficult!) and had some laughs. I have a propensity for dragging models out into the middle of muddy fields in high-heels… sorry Monika. Mike and I worked on some location lighting, but I ended up shooting natural light for a solid portion of the day. Here are some of my favorites (you can see more here):