Welcome

I'm Jessica, wife, mom and photographer. This is my personal blog where I'll talk about my life, my children, photography, and my upcoming journey of being a surrogate mother. I'm a little scatterbrained when it comes to writing so hopefully I wont confuse everyone who's reading!

*Images in blog header by Alicja Burnette Photography*

Want to see what I've been up to with my photography business? Click here to see: www.CadenaPhotography.com

Favorite Photo of the Week

Favorite Photo of the Week
Grandpa Paul's sweet tea. No one makes it quite like he does. One of the many reasons I look forward to Sunday dinners at my grandparents house<3
Showing posts with label Photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Photography. Show all posts

Monday, April 11, 2011

My Superhero


One of the precious joys of being a mom is letting your little ones be who they want to be. Even if it means sleeping in their last years Halloween costume!

Monday, April 4, 2011

4 years on the making! Family Photos!

We've needed to do this for a LONG time! I have no idea why we took so long, but I'm so happy with the results! Big thanks to Alicja Burnette Photography for putting up with us!









Wednesday, March 16, 2011

I don't think I've laughed and cried so hard at the same time....ever!

Sometimes, when it's really quiet and I get the chance to read without interruptions, I like to read other blogs. Mostly about photography, surrogacy, cooking. Sometimes a mix of all the above!

I followed a link to one that I haven't seen before. But the name of who it belonged to automatically called me in. Gary Fong. If you've never heard the name, he's a very successful photographer, writer and photography accessory creator. I have one of his diffusers for my camera around here somewhere...


Anyhow, the blog I was reading tonight was the story and updates of Melissa and Gary's journey through infertility. It's moving. They both have amazing personalities and it shines through, but what I watched tonight.... ugh.... I had to share. My heart is overjoyed with happiness for them (and I don't even know them! Haha!). I don't know any of the heartaches and disappointments that come with struggling with infertility. I can only imagine what it is like. It's something that I wish deserving families didn't have to struggle with everyday. 

It's when those struggles turn into something absolutely amazing afterwards. In the end, it's worth all the bad times, the good, the tears, the joys, the doctor visits, the failed attempts of pregnancy. Everything. This confirms it :) Click on the link below and watch the video on their blog:


P.S. He's very expressive with his emotions, you may want to turn your volume down ;)

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

I understand what you're saying, but your attitude SUCKS!

     It goes without question that my passion and love in life is photography. I love learning all there is to know, I love the sound of the click of the shutter, adjusting the exposure, fine tuning the ISO and all the many settings. It all makes my mind go crazy and my heart beat faster! I'm obviously not the only person who gets this kind of rush from capturing a photo. You're probably well aware of the deep saturation of photographers all around you!

     There's just one thing that gets to me. Everyone loves holding on to memories. One of the easiest ways to do so is to take a picture or a video. So naturally people own a camera. I can't think of a single person who doesn't have some sort of camera! A big complaint I see from several of the photographers I talk with is, "They asked 'Your pictures are so great, what kind of camera do you own?!' Haha!". These photographers get upset because they feel the person suspects that the camera is doing all the work and not the person behind it. A common response I see is "They don't ask the baker what kind of oven she uses when they taste her amazing goodies! They want to know the recipe!" Well no, but why can't we be honest with people? Not everyone is a Pro. Not everyone knows that a camera can be adjusted to do exactly what you tell it too. Not everyone knows that it take a lot of work and learning to get to the point of taking fantastic photographs.

     So really? Why can't we just be honest? Instead of being so cocky and expecting everyone to praise you, instead of your awesome camera (lets face it, if it wasn't awesome, you wouldn't be in the position of taking those fantastic photos!), just be honest. Did you know a kind nudge with a little knowledge is SO much more powerful than a slap across the face and a cold shoulder?!

     I don't know where I would be without the many wonderful people who helped guide me in the right direction. Who inspired me to find my style and fall more in love with photography. Each and every person who took the time to educate me instead of turning away from me, made a HUGE impact in where I am today. I wish I could sit down and thank each and everyone of them for all that they've done for me. We all start somewhere, and that somewhere I'm sure we all took less than awesome photographs. Ugh, I can't believe my eyes when I look through some of the things I took a WEEK ago!

     That's pretty much all I wanted to say. It's so discouraging to see so many very talented photographers with with noses turned up. It's a shame that their attitudes hinder their talents. Stop to take a look around people, be thankful for where you are, and pull your head out of your butts. It's not as if the person is out to offend you by asking. They ask because they want to capture amazing photos as well! Maybe a little bit of guidance from you could help them in finding a camera that would work for them. Possibly moving in the same direction as you (who knows! maybe they idolize your work!) or possibly saving them $100's when they learn that they don't want to learn the technique!

    Since I haven't been on this in a good long time, it's time to share some photos. This is why I love photography. My bug loves to cook. Anytime I ask him if he wants to help in the kitchen, he jumps at the opportunity. The food doesn't always turn out right, but I couldn't care less. The fact that I get to hold on to these moments and cherish his passion for cooking, makes it perfect it it's own way. I couldn't ask for a better kitchen helper!


     If we don't take the time to remember where we come from, we get lost in where we're going...

Saturday, February 5, 2011

the Joy of LOVE | Day 4

{the Joy of LOVE | Day 4: What they wear.

I thought over and over about what I wanted to do with today's challenge, and nothing really worked out right. So, I told the kids it was DRESS UP DAY! "Go to your rooms and pick out what you want to wear today and I'll help you get dressed." My exact words... Bradley ran out with jean, a camo button up, and his Batman cape. He wanted to be Army Batman today! What else would Abigail want to be? No one would ever guess she would want to be a Princess... not that girl. She couldn't reach her dress, but she had a specific one picked out. She hadn't worn it yet. Mostly because we haven't had anywhere to wear it, and it's off white! I have the messiest girl ever. Looking at that dress I could think of 1001 ways she could get it dirty. But, I said what I said, and I had to stick to it. 

Kids dressed and out the door, we had a little adventure photo shoot today. Went to a downtown park and had a little fun!

These are my two (although I'm sure it's only suppose to be one!) photos for day 4.



I have a busy weekend ahead of me, but I'll add some from the rest from today soon<3

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Self Portrait

     Oh my goodness... Today I took on the task of taking a "funny or different" self portrait to be entered in a contest for a photography class on Natural light. I would REALLY love to win, but aside from that, I learned a LOT today!

     1. Self portraits, are super difficult. I don't know why I thought it would be easy, and that my little to no light in my house would work. Maybe I'm more naive than I thought I was!

     2. I am a very creative person.... until it comes to photography. I can crochet, sew, and pretend I know how to paint. Setting up a creative photo? Not so much! It's like I go brain dead when it comes to being different in front of the camera. I'm going to have to work on that ;)

Anyhow, here is what I came up with. Thank you David for helping me set everything up<3

Photo entered into contest

And then some "normal" self portraits:


Here's to hoping I got a shot at this! 

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Doing something different

     I just redid and updated this entire blog, whew! That was a chore! But now that that's done, I decided that I want to do something fun and different. I'm always out taking photos of my clients, and very rarely taking pictures of my own family and children. Which is, the reason why I fell in love with photography in the first place. So I could capture the sweet moments of our family through all the years, watching as we all develop and get older.

     So I'm setting a goal. It's a small one for now, but I want to get myself out 'there' and make an attempt to capture something that shows who we are at least once a week. Sometimes I get so busy and caught up that I forget that I need to do something out of our normal routine. I'm probably going to fail sometimes, but I'll be the one to kick myself in the butt for that!

     I have a "Favorite Photo of the Week" up there ^^^. Right now it's of my date night with my husband! LOVE it! We never take pictures of ourselves anymore. We had SO much fun too. Gran Gran watched the kids for us, and we went to a comedy show to see Jeff Dunham. We were both laughing so hard we could barely eat at dinner! It was really nice to be able to hold a conversation without our children interrupting with all the things they like to talk about; transformers, "no want it eat", tantrums, etc.

     My goal now, is to get a self portrait! I'm always BEHIND the camera, but very rarely in front of it! Clickin' Moms, my ever so loved photography forum, is having a contest. Winner gets a seat in one of their amazing classes. You have to post a new, and interesting or funny self portrait. By tomorrow night! EEE! Fingers crossed, and kids willing, I'll get this done. Here's to hoping I get it done and win!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Craving Cupcakes

I have been craving cupcakes like a mad lady! Strawberry with french vanilla whipped topping to be exact. I'm no betty crocker, so I just chalked it up to a craving I wouldn't get to indulge in. 

It got the best of me tonight! I have no idea how to make french vanilla whipped topping stuff, but I know how to open a box an follow directions :) Then I decided to do something I've never done, and I photographed it all. Haha! That was fun, goofy, but fun. 

And it was tasty!


Friday, November 5, 2010

Enter to win an Epiphanie Camera bag at Pamela Topping Photography!

Here's a great contest for all of you photography loving ladies! Epiphanie bags are AMAZING! If you've never seen one, go check them out on their site: www.EpiphanieBags.com

They give a lot of style to the camera bag world. Who wants to carry around a dud of a bag when you've got such a great camera inside?! 

Here's your chance to win an Epiphanie Bag of your choice through Pamela Topping Photography & Actions.
Today is your last day to enter the contest, Click HERE to enter! 

Good luck♥