iphone-o-graphs of the day

So I know I have not posted an iphone-o-graph entry for quite some time now, but I am finally ready to post again. I took a long time deciding if I wanted to even continue this project, and after thinking long and hard about it, I decided I did want to continue this project. I knew I needed to change the design of it because I was very unhappy with my last design but I felt like I didn't know how to approach a new design without it being too similar to the first design. So without drawing things out even further the good news is that I have created a new layout and I am really happy with it.

I went back to doing more of a collage arrangement because that is how I really want it to be showcased. I don't want each image to be as separated as they were in my last posts. I felt that 7 images collaged together was just very flat and uninteresting. I really wanted the whole collage of images to speak as one crazy piece. Then when it was looked at more closely you would see all the individual images had there own story to tell.

Life can be very chaotic, and a lot of time it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. So I wanted to lay my images out in a way that would reflect that. There are certain moments in your life that stick out more than others and a bunch of little things that happen and no one really sees or maybe they see and don't  understand. All of those things even the little things are what make us who we are and what represents our lives. I find myself at the age of 24 still discovering who I am. I think this is why this project is so important to me, because it's not necessarily to show you who I am, it's to show me who I am. And to remind myself years from now who I was at a certain point in time, and see what has changed and what has remained the same. Once I embraced that this project was for me and no one else, I knew I had to keep this project going. I no longer cared if my design wasn't going to make sense to other people because this project is for me, and I am the only person I need to please. This is truly a new way of thinking for me, and it is extremely refreshing.

All that being said I do want to share my project with anyone who has an interest in discovering more about me, and my life. This particular collage represents the last three months of my life. Some days are represented with more than one picture, while some only have one picture to represent that day. I feel that is appropriate for me because sometimes I couldn't settle on just one image for that day because each image was equally important to me. So here is my new design and cheers to a new outlook on life!

happy birthday duncan!

So anyone who knows me knows that I have a weimaraner and that I love him with all my heart! I think Dustin even gets jealous sometimes haha. We got him a few weeks before we got married last year and it is so hard to believe that he is officially a year old today! I remember asking the breeder about weimaraners, because I wasn't too familiar with the breed. And his exact words were  "I call them my velcro dogs" At the time I thought awesome thats exactly what I want! I want a dog that wants to be with me as much as I want to be with him. I really had no idea what that really meant until Duncan became part of the family. He follows me everywhere, and I mean everywhere. And honestly I do love it! I will admit that at times it would be nice to be able to go to the bathroom by myself though... haha! I am so used to having him by my side that I am not sure I would be able to function without him now though. He is really the best dog, and I am so happy that he is a part of our lives. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUNCAN!!! We love you!

Update

Hello all! So obviously I have not been blogging lately. I will be posting things soon though and updating my iphone-o-graphs layout. I haven't been happy with them so I have been working on a layout and since I wasn't completely happy with them I am waiting to post any until I am finished with the new layout. I have still been taking my photographs every day though! :) Here is one of my baby Duncan who is gonna be 1 year old next week!! I can't believe it! Oh and can you tell he hates it when I am on the computer? haha

Quote of the day: "Don't LOSE your REAL SELF in search for ACCEPTANCE by OTHERS." I am not sure of the original origin of this quote, it was sent to me by my mother-in-law today and  loved it!

iphone-o-graphs of the day: January 28 - February 9

Still making every day count! :) I am Happy I am sticking to this personal project and documenting this time in my life. I am reading a photography business book and also contemplating getting a tattoo. For those of you who know me, this should be a big surprise since I have always said I didn't think I would ever get a tattoo. So I am drawing on myself to see if I get sick of it. HA! I also changed the layout slightly. I am still thinking I might still do something different but for now this is how it will be presented.

my first bridal show

This past Sunday I attended my first bridal show as a vendor at the Marion Bridal Extravaganza! I was really excited about doing the bridal show and I am really glad I did. I meet so many wonderful brides to be accompanied by their friends and family and even a few grooms came along as well. I thought it was super sweet when I actually meet sisters or mothers and sisters doing the leg work for the bride because of their busy schedule. How sweet is that! I love to see families pulling together and making the wedding planning go even smoother. I also meet a lot of other local vendors which I enjoyed very much. I wish I would have walked around and talked to more local vendors but the time flew right by and before I knew it the show was over! So for all of the other vendors I did not get a chance to meet I hope you had a grab day and I hope to meet you soon. This was truly an experience I will never forget and I hope to repeat again and again.

I will be honest I was definitely nervous for my first bridal show, but I think that overall the show went great. I couldn't of made it without the help of my AMAZING Grandma who helped me brainstorm and pick out fabric and shop for what seemed like an endless list of supplies and she also made all of my pillows and runners and covered my desk chair. The set of two chairs are even my Grandmas which she let me borrow! Honestly she is the best Grandma ever and I will never be able to thank her enough for all of her help not only with this show but my whole life. Sending a big hug, kiss and thank you your way Grandma!!! I want to thank my wonderful husband who also listened to all of my ideas through out this process and helped me get ready for it, set up on the day of, and he helped me at the entire show! Thank you so much baby! Also I can not forget to thank my best friend Kristen Cliff for designing my new logo, business cards, leave behind, mailing list/sign in sheet, and my door prize papers. I would have been lost without her as well! Now I finally have an identity that represents me and my business! YAY! Love Ya Kristen! I also want to thank Amy at C Studios for allowing me to use my images from the weddings I had the pleasure of assisting you on! You are the best! I also want to thank AMANDA JULCA for allowing me to use the images I shot at the wedding I had the lovely opportunity to assist her on. And last but certainly not least thank you to all of my clients for choosing me to be your photographer and allowing me to use your images in my booth! Without you none of this would of been possible and YOU are the reason I love to do what I do. Love You all!!

I also want to wish all the brides and grooms to be a very happy wedding and life together! I hope to see you again, and would LOVE to document your wedding day! Happy planning!

Since I loved the bridal show experience so much I am actually doing it again this weekend at the Mid Ohio Bridal Spectacular in Mansfield! Come visit my booth if you are in the area! I can't wait to meet even more bride and grooms to be!

Well I think that about covers it! Here are pictures of my booth set up at the Marion Bridal Extravaganza. I am really happy with the way it turned out I feel it represents my business really well, and it is completely me! They were taken with my phone super quickly so please forgive some of the blurry ones.

new logo

Hey everyone! As you can see I have a new logo, and I am super excited about it! I owe it all to my best friend Kristen Cliff. She is an amazing designer. She designed my logo and is also designing other new pretties for me as well. I don't want to spill all the beans though, those are surprises for my awesome clients! Anyway, if you are looking for a graphic designer for your business or just want to see Kristen's awesome design skills {click here}. I promise it will be worth it! 

Another great change for Ashley Leslie Photography is that I now have a mobile website! YAY! Now you can access my website on the go! I know I keep saying I am really excited about things so I won't say it. Instead, you can fill in the blank yourself. I am ____________ about my mobile site!!! Have I ever mentioned I love mad libs? Hmm maybe that will be a future project. Anyway I am rambling. I hope everyone enjoys Ashley Leslie Photography's new and improved look. 

If you comment, leave an answer for my fill in the blank. It might even be a little fun!

new year + changes + new project

Happy New Year Everyone! I must say that 2011 was a great year, but I hope to make 2012 a thousand times better. So with the new year in mind I have new goals for 2012. I am not going to bore you all with the list of my goals, but you will see some changes on my blog that I hope is a good decision.

With all the changes in my life last year, I found it very hard to put my energy into my blog. I am and always will be an imperfect perfectionist, and sometimes I am afraid to blog because I feel like people won't want to read about it. Without dwelling a lot on that, I am just gonna say "that's goal one!" I am going to blog more and not be afraid that people may not want to read it. It's my blog and a place where people can get to know me better. So I am going to start blogging more personal things as well as work of my amazing clients! Oh yeah and obviously from the looks of my blog this past year I just need to blog more period! :) 

Some exciting changes are going to happen to Ashley Leslie Photography in the near future. I am currently working on new packaging and other goodies for my clients. We are getting a professional logo, that my very best friend Kristen Cliff is designing. She is an amazing artist/designer and I can not wait to see the end result! I am also doing my first bridal show at the end of the month! YAY! I am super excited for that, and also a little nervous, but it's going to be a great experience and I can't wait to meet all the happy brides and grooms if they come too!

I am also so very blessed and excited to be C Studios assistant photographer this year! Amy has already given me the cd of images from 2011weddings so I plan to do a post from some of my favorites. It was an awesome wedding season and every wedding was gorgeous and the couples were so AMAZING!

Now to start off the new year I decided to start a new project for myself. My inspiration came from an article my friend Amy posted online a while back. It was about Mr. Livingston, a photographer who took a polaroid every day of his life for 18 years. He successfully took six thousand polaroids until he died of cancer at the age 41. This story just astounds me! A polaroid a day for 18 years! The body of work he created by the end of his life is enormous. When he looked back at his work it must have been overwhelming to see his life laid out into polaroids. Just imagining that makes me speechless. I am not a good writer so I will not be able to describe the article properly. So if you would like to read it, which I suggest you do because it is amazing! {click here}

It's pretty obvious already that I decided to start my own version of this project. I am not going to do actual polaroids because of cost, and I have my iPhone with me every day so I thought it made sense to use it for this project. I decided I wanted to take an "iPhone-o-graph" a day and then collage them together in a set of 16 images. The first entry is going to be a little different then the entries to follow, because it is not actually from the last 16 days of my life. It is from the last 2 months of my life. So I will not be counting this entry in my actual collection of "ipone-o-graphs of the day," but it is my first test and I liked it so I am gonna show it. I hope you enjoy and I can't wait to look back on this project and have each images take me back to the memories of that moment and day of my life!