Name:Christy Derr.

week: week one.

I am married and have 3 children.  

My oldest, Corey  is 20  ( I started 

much to early)   My only daughter, 

Alexis is 8 and then my baby, Jacob  

is 1.

State: Kansas (please no references 

to Dorothy and OZ)  I hear that always 

when I am out of state.

I spend waaaaayyy to much time  during 

senior sessions ( 4 hours) , then 

editing in Photoshop, then sitting with 

clients ordering. Basically everything. I would much rather be 

enjoying time with my family.

 I love interior design and started working with a photographer, 

designing sets, faux painting, etc.  I became interested in 

Photoshop and loved it, then decided I needed to be behind the 

camera to get the images that I wanted to be working on in 

Photoshop, I was not getting paid for my work with this person, 

so decided to start my own business.

I love almost any food, but I would have to say salmon is my fav.

I cannot live without my family, they mean the world to me.

Not very many people know that I take everything personally.  

I know I should be over that by now.

I like to listen to almost all music, except country, my ex 

husband loved it and forced  me to listen, so now I can't stand 

it.

I am a night owl, but need to be an early riser.

My guilty pleasure is pop.

Entertaining:  Hmmmm   Pretty much my life is entertaining.

Family first, after God , of course.

The most exciting thing to happen lately is, that I just recently

purchased an old building  in a small town, that I want to turn 

into my studio.

True: I am to critical of everything.

Meaningful:  My oldest son is in Alaska, right now in the 

AIRFORCE AND I MISS him  Terribly.

Powerful: I am a strong person, I have been through more in my 

life and have risen from building a stairway from the crap.

If I could have dinner with one person  it would be my father 

that passed away when I was 16, and pregnant.

I love Fall, Horses going to the movies alone.  And weekend 

getaways.

I do not like liars, clients that want everything for nothing 

and selfish people.

I go boating, travel and visit family.

I want to travel with my family, but I would love to live on a 

yacht and just travel from port to port.

I have a great sense of humor and love to laugh.  Everything in 

my life is funny, because if it wasn't funny it would be awful!  

So I just go with the flow and laugh about it.

I talk to much and tell to many personal things to soon.  I 

weigh more now than any other time in my life and I really want 

to change that. I need more time in the day so that I can have 

time to exercise, or at least quit making excuses.

My weakness in my business would be lighting, and business 

skills, I need to organize my business, make policies and a 

whole business plan.

My 5 strengths would be Design, loyalty, imagination, love 

people, and I like to think that I am good with Photoshop.

Your name:  Shannon Montez

Workshop:      week 1   

If you have a nickname, what is it? My husband calls me Shaniqua sometimes…

Are you single, married, have children? Married to Dave, 4 children.

If you have children: how many, what are their names, how old are they: 4 kids: Shelby 10; Matthew 8; Sophia 5; Franklin 3.

What state do you live in? California

What do you spend way too much of your time doing? Sitting around, reading or looking at the internet.

What do you wish you could spend more of your time doing? Sit around and read or look at the internet without feeling guilty about it. :)

How did photography find you? Through scrapbooking… I got heavily involved in scrapbooking, had more than a hundred pages published over the course of a couple years, did design work, etc... Good pages required good pictures, so I was always trying to improve my photography. Eventually, photography became my focus and scrapbooking faded into the background. The technical side of photography was always intimidating and scary for me, so it was great that I practiced and learned a lot for several years without even realizing I was doing it!

What is your favorite thing to take pictures of? People, specifically the connections between people or telling a story.


How long have you been doing photography? I’ve had a camera since 6th grade, but growing up in family where a cent was not to be wasted, film was used sparingly and it wasn’t until I got my first digital camera in 2002 that I really began to explore photography seriously.

Do you have a photography business?  If so, for how long? Yes, about 2 years.

What is your favorite food? Depends on the day. I’m a big fan of food. Love it. Eat it every single day. :) I especially love food that I didn’t shop for or cook or have to clean up!

What is something you can’t live without? Food, water, air? Besides that, I love sugar. I’m sad if I don’t get enough. Oh, and I love having a notebook handy at all times so that I can dump my brain into it when it gets too full, I kind of feel lost without my handy dandy notebook.

What is something no one knows about you? I don’t think I can share that, but most people don’t know and love to laugh at the fact that I was a clogger for, like, 10 years… most of my childhood.

What is on your iPod or Playlist: I love music I can sing to. If I can’t understand what they’re saying, it’s hard for me to enjoy. Other than that requirement, I love most music from country to opera… I also love rare moments of silence…

Are you a night owl or early riser? Night owl. I have a hard time winding down, and a hard time winding up. :)

What is your favorite guilty pleasure? Eating garbage after the kids go to bed. Well, not actual garbage, but yummy treats I don’t want to share with The Mouths. Coke and sunflower seeds, or Oreos, or ice cream, whatever it is I’m craving. It’s my reward for making it through another day.

If you could have dinner with anyone in the world…dead or alive, who would it be? My husband, my girlfriends or my family are my favorite people to eat with, but it would also be interesting to talk to Oprah and the virgin Mary and heck, why not, God. I like to think big, and I have a few questions. :)

What are some things that you like?
People that are genuine. Music that makes me feel. Food that is yummy. Fresh laundry. A clean house (too rare an occurance!). The smell of my childrens’ and my husbands’ neck. Bad weather (also too rare an occurance here in the Bay Area!). Cozy socks. A hot shower. A good pen to write with.  Some sugary treat. A good nap. A great picture that makes me stare at it for a while. Hugs from little people. Movie theater popcorn, at the movie theater. Lazy Saturdays. I think I could go on for quite a while here…

What are some things you don’t like?
Selfish people, people without a good sense of personal space, being hungry, being cold, the smell of garbage and motor oil, being sick, too much noise for too long, standing in line, crowds.

When you can do anything, what do you do? Take a vacation, or eat out with friends or family, or sit and read for a bit, take a nap. I guess it depends…

What do you have to do before you die? Go to Europe. Or somewhere “over there.”

Tell us something more about you:

Funny  I pooped my pants in third grade. Maybe that’s not funny… is there a category for too much information about me? :)

Serious I pooped my pants in third grade. And not a little bit, either. That’s serious business. So serious, I didn’t dare to call my mom pick me up, and ended up spending the time between lunch and the end of school in the bathroom. My teacher must’ve known, but didn’t come fetch me from the bathroom. And when people would come into the bathroom, I’d raise me feet so they couldn’t recognize my shoes. And on the bus-ride home (poor fellow passengers…) I pretended like nothing was wrong, acting surprised when someone commented that I had something brown on the back of my pants. How this didn’t forever brand me as “the girl who pooped her pants in third grade” is beyond me… It’s seriously lucky that I escaped any major playground taunting because of it. They must’ve known how seriously big my muscles are. I mean, were. Back then.

Entertaining I pooped my pants in third grade. Entertained? No? Oh. Sorry. Also, I’m a former clogger. While this fact may be entertaining, no one will be entertained by a performance again. Grown women should not clog. Too much “stuff” starts bouncing and it’s just not pretty. Believe me. And there will not be demonstrations. Ever.

Philosophical I believe you get what you really really want, so you have to be aware of what it is that you want…



Exciting I won a scholarship to the greatest workshop in the world!

True I feel blessed that I’ve found “my thing.” When I talk with other women who don’t have a “thing” there seems to be a sense of something missing. I’m glad to have something I feel passionate about a driven by. Ok… think nice things there, I guess that can sound bad if you’ve got your mind in the gutter, but I don’t know how else to say it!

Meaningful My family means the world to me. While they drive me crazy occasionally, they fill my life and keep it interesting.


Name 2 of your weaknesses: I can be scatterbrained and flaky and disorganized. I am easily distracted.

Name 5 of your strengths: I am creative, I am genuine, I’m an optimist, I am smart, I’m fun.

Your name:  Beverly Tyler

Workshop:     week 1   

If you have a nickname, what is it?

Are you single, married, have children?
I am not single or married. I am in that other area, the committed, attached, in love with someone space. I have 3 children, all of which live out on their own, and 2 grandchildren.


If you have children: how many, what are their names, how old are they:
Children, Yes – Seth 27, Ashley 26, Zack 21 yrs old.
Grandchildren, Yes Korbin 7 and Maggie 6 yrs old. So if I had a nickname for the above question it would be Nina as that is what they call me.


What state do you live in? North Carolina


What do you spend way too much of your time doing?
At this time I am spending most of my time trying to get organized to make this year successful. Restarting the photography business and working my job at the hospital. I used film before with photography and now I am struggling (serious word) with making this happen in the digital format. From programs, developing the web site to using this MacPro, all are adding up to a learning curve I am sliding off of at times.


What do you wish you could spend more of your time doing?
Doing it all RIGHT on the first try. That would free a lot of time up for relaxing.
Also could use some travel about now.


How did photography find you?
I found it during my first pregnancy, 28 years ago. I wanted a good camera and started looking. I found it in a camera store in downtown Wilmington, but it cost too much money. When I was leaving the store one of the salesmen followed me outside and told me the same camera was for sale in Charlotte, NC (3 hour drive) for half of the price. Well off we went to Charlotte, which sounds easy except I spent all day, every day, sick during the pregnancy. This meant the 3 hour trip took many more hours to accomplish. But I got it and headed back. The first picture was a landscape coming home. It was a manual Nikon and I loved it, right up until the sad day 23 years later when I dropped it and heard it crack.

What is your favorite thing to take pictures of?
Newborns in the first minutes or hours of their life. They are different then, still somewhere between quite and alone and loud and with us.


How long have you been doing photography?
I have been using a camera for 26 years.
 
Do you have a photography business?  If so, for how long?
I had a photography business for about 3 years that I closed at my husband death 3 years ago. I am now in the process of restarting that business.




What is your favorite food?
Pizza, cheese, lobster, and shrimp - the list could go on.


What is something you can’t live without?
Love mixed with peace.





What is something no one knows about you?


What is on your iPod or Playlist:
Alison Krauss, Gwen Stefani, Akon, Josh Groban, a mix of everything


Are you a night owl or early riser?
I can be both, but seems the older I get the worse I feel lying in bed until late. If I know I am getting up early I would rather just get to bed early. Regular noise in the room like the TV going or someone moving around does not bother me. If I am sleepy I will sleep.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
Dark Chocolate, really good chocolate.


If you could have dinner with anyone in the world…dead or alive, who would it be?
Probably my late husband with my children and grandchildren also with us. Just to find out where he is and so they could see him a minute.



What are some things that you like?
People, roses, seeing new places, a few minutes of calmness.



What are some things you don’t like?
Judgment, cold wind mixed with wet clothes.

When you can do anything, what do you do?
Work on photos for family and friends, get on the computer and surf around, read, relax and spend time with people I love.

What do you have to do before you die?
That list will not fit here. This I know; I could die without getting one more thing done.
If I could pick one thing it would be to see a great grandchild born.

Tell us something more about you:

Funny
I am still trying to grow up at this age.




Serious
My life is fragile, even though others see me as strong.




Entertaining
I can have fun doing just about anything.



Philosophical
I try to not judge, I find understanding for those others do not.


Exciting
I am finding a new life and having a great time doing it.




True
I can do anything I want to do in life, I can make it happen.


Meaningful
I am loved.



Name 2 of your weaknesses:
I struggle to be organized and never seem to find an end to the list of things to do.
I have some fear.


Name 5 of your strengths:
I am kind, generous, patient, pretty easy to talk too, and truthful.

Your name: Kellie Finch
Workshop:       week 1   

If you have a nickname, what is it? No nicknames..but in every school or work situation, people have called me by my last name..Hicks or Finch

Are you single, married, have children? I am married to my high school sweetheart J
Travis..We have been married for 3 years. No kids yet.

If you have children: how many, what are their names, how old are they:

What state do you live in? Texas

What do you spend way too much of your time doing? looking at blogs. This has taken over my life. I am not sure what to do about it..but it seems to be a good thing as well; otherwise I wouldn’t know about Love Affair..right?

What do you wish you could spend more of your time doing? travel for sure!


How did photography find you?  I have always loved photography. But, about 4 years ago, my friend Traci and I began taking classes together just for fun. And here we are 4 years later.

What is your favorite thing to take pictures of? Definitely people..it always has been.

How long have you been doing photography? 4 years

Do you have a photography business?  If so, for how long? Yep, 2.5 years. I have a business with one of my best friends, Traci Dennis..She will be at Love Affair also.  

What is your favorite food? Definitely French fries. Nothing else even comes to mind .


What is something you can’t live without? Internet


What is something no one knows about you?? I LOVE math. Love it.


What is on your iPod or Playlist: Rita Springer, Shane & Shane, Jeff Johnson, Chris Tomlin and Texas Country stars like.. Max Stalling, Walt Wilkins, Hayes Carll

Are you a night owl or early riser? Without a doubt ..night owl!! My ideal sleeping arrangements would be heading to bed at 1 AM and waking up about 10:30.
I absolutely love to sleep in. But, working from home I am trying to be disciplined and I am up by 8ish every morning! My friends and family would be so proud because that is totally out of character for me!

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?  Anthropolgie..although I don’t get there very much.

If you could have dinner with anyone in the world…dead or alive, who would it be? My dad. He died my senior year of college.

What are some things that you like? I really like people. I like to talk about high school which is weird. I like my family. I like to watch the Price is Right, actually LOVE the price is right.
I like board games. I like kids. I like Anthropologie but I can not afford it.  I like to wear costumes but my husband isn’t a big fan, so I don’t do it much.  I like the amazing race and Lost. I like my dogs Sophie and Jack.


What are some things you don’t like?  I don’t like snoring; it’s the absolute most annoying thing to me & The Opera

When you can do anything, what do you do? shop



What do you have to do before you die? I would love to be on a game show. It is my dream.



Tell us something more about you:

Funny I cry watching game shows like The Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune..etc
I am so happy for them when they win!!

Serious Just like Melissa said, I am terrified of death. When my mom or sister call, I panic before I answer the phone. Always..

Entertaining I get out of the shower completely wet. It is hard to explain. I do use a towel but mostly it's just for looks. I wrap it around my body but I actually just air dry. It takes quite a while.
(Once my college roommates actually made a video about it).

Philosophical

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. – CS Lewis

Exciting  I have finally finished filling out this questionnaire. Today is November 12..I am the last one L

True My brother is old enough to be my dad. We have 22 years between us. He is 50. I have a sister who is 48 and another who is 40. Then, I am the baby at 28.

Meaningful I just recently quit my teaching job. When I say recently, I am talking 2 weeks before school started ! It was one of the hardest decisions that I have ever had to make in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love photography and am excited to pursue my career full time…but there is something about teaching that tugs at my heart. Teaching those little ones to read, watching the progress they make, and seeing them grow as little people is one of the most amazing experiences that I have ever had and probably ever will!!

Powerful
By grace you have been saved.


Name 2 of your weaknesses:
I am the biggest procrastinator you will ever meet. I always get it done, but it may take an all-nighter.
I am messy. (some have gone as far as calling me a slob)

Name 5 of your strengths:
Fun
Spontaneous
Laid back
Can we just name three?

Your name:
Traci Dennis

Workshop:*   week 1

If you have a nickname, what is it? no nicknames

Are you single, married, have children? married with a baby girl

(8 weeks old)

If you have children: how many, what are their names, how old 

are they:  sweet baby girl named Caroline. Oh, and two chocolate

labs who have been our kids for the last 5 years.

What state do you live in? Texas

What do you wish you could spend more of your time doing? just 

about anything else ;) probablylaying by the pool or on the 

beach. spending more time with my baby...oh,and sleeping! 

How did photography find you? my great friend Kellie (who is also

my photography partner) and I decided to take a few photography 

classes together about four years ago and it all just exploded 

from there.

What is your favorite thing to take pictures of? children. There 

is something about their simplicity and humility. They are 

totally themselves,all the time and I love that. I always say my 

house will be plastered withpictures of my kids picking their 

noses and playing in the mud.

How long have you been doing photography*? 4 years

Do you have a photography business?  If so, for how long? yes, 

two and a half years...with one of  my best friends Kellie who 

will also be at LoveAfffair

What is your favorite food? cuisine...mexican. What can I say, I 

grew uphalf an hour from the border of Texas and Mexico. But, 

just singlefood...french fries

What is something you can't live without? My relationship with 

Christ, family, face moisturizer...my skin is crazy dry!


What are some things that you like?* The time in bed just before 

I fall asleep, when I am so comphy and know I have a whole 

night's sleep ahead of me (i wrote this before i had a baby...ha). vacations. long weekends when Idon't have a wedding


Tell us something more about you:


Serious: my dogs lives have changed so much since caroline 

arribed...it makes me sad.


Philosophical: life is not about me.


Meaningful: I have been entrusted with this little tiny person to raiseup in this world...wow.

Powerful: God's grace is sufficient


Name 2 of your weaknesses: Math, giving up control



Name 5 of your strengths: passionate, dedicated, friendly, 

goal-oriented,
supportive