10,000 reasons...

Ok, aside from that being one of my favorite songs that we sing in church, I couldn't resist using it as a post title!  It has been just a tad over ONE year since I got my dslr camera and I know you're going to find it hard to believe but I've taken over...10,000 photos!

I know, right?  I told you it would be hard to believe...I'm still in shock over it myself!  And I probably wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't set the counter on my camera myself when I got it.  I remember visiting my parents on Christmas day and at that point, I had taken 100 pictures just messing around with it!

A lot sure has happened during that time and I've seen great improvement in my photos!  Woo-hoo!  At the beginning, I was fearing that I'd never get the hang of aperture, shutter speed and ISO - I'm sure terms that are as foreign to many of you as they were to me back then.  I studied and I read constantly.  In fact, I'm still studying and reading and learning...I guess you can teach an old...oh never mind!

The point is if I can do it, anyone can!  One of the biggest compliments that I recently received regarding my photography is...

"The pictures you took are just beautiful.  You are so talented. I think you can do anything you set your mind to."

I saved that email and look back at it occasionally, remembering where I began and where I've come in such a {relatively}short period of time.  Comments like that fuel my desire to continue to provide people with photos that they'll be thrilled to receive.

This year starts a new year of making a it part-time business because of all the interest.  I'm not quite ready to do indoor photos yet but hope to be ready very soon.  I received my sales tax number last week via e-mail and have a couple of other items to tick off my checklist before I make it official!

Since this post started off by talking about the milestone I've reached with the number of photos taken, I thought I'd show you the little gal that had the honor of being in front of the lens as the number hit 10,000 and then rolled back to 1!

Meet Devan...she is SO cute and has the most beautiful blue eyes!

I also thought this was a great time to show off my new watermark.

Yep, I came up with it all by my lonesome.  I know it's not fancy and has no frills but I like it...AND it was super cheap {can't beat free}!

It's nice and simple.

And makes me smile.