On The Road Again | Chattanooga Bus Tour Day 1

It seems that my business and life has kept me traveling on a real consistent basis. Good thing I love to travel! Friday, February 27, 2015 my husband and I traveled on a Daniel's Tour Bus headed to Chattanooga for three days. We were accompanied by 22 of South Carolina's finest teachers.

 Good News Travels Traveling Agency has commissioned Josh, of  DreamShots Photography, to video a FAM Trip for several of the Upstate Educators to introduce them to the tour company as well as what educational activities there are for students between Chattanooga and South Carolina.

 Everyone on The Good News Travels staff  is extremely friendly and helpful. Excitement and anticipation can be felt throughout the bus as we leave Greenville, South Carolina and head to Knoxville, Tennessee. Our first stop will be Chick Fil A for lunch. I was so happy that this fast food place was chosen.  I LOVE Chick Fil A. Once we finished eating lunch we all got back on the bus and headed to a place I had never heard of.  A place hidden way underground called The Lost Sea.

At first, I was a bit nervous. We would be going into a cave underground. Those who know me, know that I am not a to fond of going underground.  I have an adventurous spirit and I love being outdoors. However, anxiety and fear can set in out of no where if I feel I have no way out or I am lost. Realizing that we would have a guide, some flashlights, and 22 others with us I became more relaxed and entered the cave fearlessly.

Cave Entrance

We all entered the long tunnel leading to the entrance of the cave. Once we reached the end of the tunnel, our tour guide gave us instructions on how to go through the cave safely, told us how long we would be in the cave and what we would see inside.  

We couldn't wait to go inside.  The wonders of the cave came with a great story which I will not ruin by telling at this time. 

Students young and old would benefit greatly from visiting this cave. Science and History are the two subjects I think would really enjoy this activity.  

Physical Education could also be spun into this educational field trip because there is a lot of walking. Especially breathtaking is the walk back the the beginning of the cave. The walk back is on an upward incline! Fortunately, there are three rest stops on the way back so that guests can catch there breathe.

This attraction is called The Lost Sea because there actually is a huge body of water down there.  The tour includes a glass bottom boat ride. Here they tell you a bit more about the water you are on and the fish that live in it.

Our day ended with an AMAZING dinner at Sticky Fingers!  

Here we met up with Shelda Rees, our tour guide and Chattanooga tour representative.  She was absolutely fabulous! Once done with our meal, we retreated to our hotel, The Holiday Inn at Hamilton Place.   Our second Day is packed with 11 plus activities. But for now, I will end this entry with this final thought... If our first day on this tour went so well, the rest of the weekend did not disappoint our expectations!!  

If you ever need to go somewhere with a large group, Good News Travels definitely is the place to start planning your trip.

Animal Rehab and Conditioning Center

Recently, I have had the opportunity to photograph several businesses for a magazine called Natural Awakenings. Through DreamShots Photography I have done many photo shoots with animals in the past and when this assignment came up I was so excited.  Those who are close to me know that I have a huge love for animals of all kinds. I have done doggie rescue, squirrel rescue, held a tiger and several monkeys on my lap and held snakes and alligators.  

While photographing at Dr. Kennedy's Animal Rehab & Conditioning Center I was able to love on three adorable and loving dogs. Her rehab center helps dogs with

 Strength ,

Endurance,

Agility and much much more!

Dr. Kennedy treats every animal that enters her center with love and compassion.

If you have a dog that is suffering, in pain, or just could use some sort of therapy to help with other ailments they may have, I believe Dr. Kennedy is the right person for the job.

Senior ~ Juan Manuel Crespo Class of 2015

Meet Juan Manuel Crespo,

He was born in Miami Beach, FL. and is considered his parent's miracle baby. You see, Juan Manuel was a preemie. He was so tiny that he fit in the palm of his father's hand.  Realistically he was not expected to live. He spent a great deal of time in the NICU and by the grace of God became healthy enough to go home.

He became a healthy and inquisitive child who loved to find out the why behind everything he encountered. I believe he and Google are great friends. LOL.

 Juan Manual is full of love and compassion for others. If he sees his friends or family looking sad or lonely  he always tries try to figure out ways to make them feel better. While we did his session he constantly had me laughing. I had so much fun with him.

 While he enjoys making people feel good and happy he also has a serious side that enjoys having meaningful discussions and debates about politics, history, religion, and literature with anyone who cared to engage him in conversation.

 Juan Manuel enjoys writing and reading books.  So much so, that he had a bag full with him the day of our shoot.

I am so excited that despite his scary beginnings Juan Manuel has excelled so much in his life and will be graduating this year from high school and moving on to college.

I wish him the best in all his future endeavors!!

Our Trip to New York City day 2 of 7 | Personal

The second day we were in New York we decided to go sight seeing.  We did not take our camera because we had been told horrible stories about how the people of New York were and that they would rob us if we looked like tourists.  Unfortunately, we succumbed to those rumors and missed out on a whole day of amazing captures. However, the memories are amazing and unforgettable.

     We woke up and walked to the subway.  Everything around us was loud and busy.  Living in the country we were in a bit of culture shock, but nothing could prepare my little one for the extreme loudness of the actual subway.  As we descended underground, we could feel the wind from the train hit us.  We had missed out passage to downtown.  It was ok because the trains run about every five minutes.  Leighla was shell shocked.  She hung on to my arm and tremble with fear. I tried  assure her that all was fine and she had nothing to worry about.  All of a sudden she turns and looks at a poster and her face lights up like a child meeting Mickey Mouse for the first time.  She yells "Mommy we have this picture in our world too!" The picture was a movie poster for X-men.  I laughed so hard.  She thought we were in another world and that the train was a time tunnel.  We didn't correct her because in essence New York is definitely a whole new world to us.  

     We arrived downtown near battery park.  Upon surfacing from the subway we instantly see a food cart.  Yep, a New York food cart was on our list of things we had to eat while in the city.  Then, we saw from afar The Statue of Liberty.  Leighla thought she was amazing!  We had to buy her a little figurine.  Then, we walked to South St. Seaport because it was on Josh's list.  Unfortunately, he was disappointed. The seaport had been shut down and is being scheduled for demolition.

      We hopped on a bus to Chinatown. The smells in Chinatown were strong and pungent at times. Many of the vendors had fresh fish on ice and aquariums overfull with fish.  Some of them had octopus, toads, krill and many other foods we don't think of eating.  We got hungry and decided to eat in Chinatown.  The restaurant had nine tables and a wall length mirror.  The people were friendly and very attentive. Unfortunately, we were the only people there and they stared at us the whole time we were there.  I went to wash my hands and had to stand outside the bathroom because the bathroom was so small.  I'm a big girl but even Brooke had a hard time in that place.  The rice was good but the rest of the food was very different from what we are used to in South Carolina.  Brooke had a hard time eating but knowing she was being watched, she ate as much as she could so the owners would not feel offended.

     It was May 12th 2014.  Josh and I were also celebrating our eighth wedding anniversary. So, we chose to celebrate with my aunt and her children.  We had a great first day but were exhausted!!   We had to rest because the next day we were headed to Brooklyn New York to visit and tour Bethel.  The headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses.

The kids had a cook off.  They both win!

Lory Ament DreamShots Photography Blog: A Trip to New York day 1 of 7 | Personal and Photography

Lory Ament DreamShots Photography Blog: A Trip to New York day 1 of 7 | Personal and Photography

A Trip to New York day 1 of 7 | Personal and Photography

Saturday, May 10th 2014 was a really emotional day.  We were getting ready to leave the next day to New York for a week.  I spent the first eleven years of my life in the city and was concerned about how my family would fare in a place so big and populated.  I have lived in the beautiful state of South Carolina for almost twenty years and have grown accustom to our much slower pace and lifestyle.  Two of my girls were at a friends house and had not packed all their belongings yet for the trip.  As I am beginning to fret about not being ready, my husband tells me we should leave that night and that way we could miss all of the traffic and the children can sleep through the night!

We went to pick up our girls who were at the local park with the friends they had spent the night.  Holy Smokes!  My girls and their friends had managed to put together a surprise Anniversary Party for me and my husband.  On the 12th we would be married 8 years.  So many friends and family were there.  We even had family travel from Oregon and Tennessee! Keep in mind these girls are only sixteen and eleven years old.  I was so happy to see everyone.

They made a homemade sign.

                                                                                  My eleven year old got me a Nikon Lens cup :) 

  My parents.

 

                                                                                    All friends who helped them make it happen. 

Josh's grandparents and sisters. 

                                                                               Josh's Grandma,Sister, Aunt, Father and another Aunt. 

A small part of our blended family.   

Once the party was over we rushed home finished packing and loaded the car up.  Yep, I drove from 9 pm to 5 am. I was so tired that I had to turn over the driving to Josh.  He got us the rest of the way.  The girls slept a good part of the way.  When we all woke up we could immediately tell we were "not in Kansas anymore" so to speak.  The highway was lines with trash bags.  It was so odd.  It wasn't like the bags had fallen off a truck.  Many were just huddled together while others looked thrown and discarded. Traffic was no longer friendly.  People zig zagged and cut others off.  I was so glad I was no longer driving.  Our first stop was Jersey City.  We were to meet up with my aunt and cousins. They were attending the one day assembly at The Stanley Theater. The place was beautiful. We couldn't help taking pictures.

 The pictures don't do it justice.

  After eating lunch with the family, we got my aunt's keys and drove to their home which would be our home for the next seven days. We slept... Woke up to spend more time with the family and then slept... Until Monday morning.  The day that TRULY started our NEW YORK ADVENTURE!! 

Come back next week for part 2 of 7 of  "A Trip to New York."

SECOND SHOOTING AT A WEDDING | Photography

Second Shooting At A Wedding

     I have been photographing weddings since the year 2000. At that point in my life, I was an assistant / second shooter for a photographer in Pendleton. He took me along to weddings and I was to make sure that everything was aligned properly, the dress was fluffed and that there were no photo bombers in the background. While I did this for a few years and enjoyed it I really wanted to do more shooting.  He realized this and sold me his D70. I was so excited to have my very first digital camera. I sported that thing like it was the best thing since slice bread.  I was so proud of it; I kept that camera around until last year that I handed it over to an aspiring photographer in my family.  It still works and take beautiful pictures.  Anyway, having the ability to takes digital photos I was allowed to shoot weddings by myself!!  I loved the challenge of shooting by myself a full wedding. Weddings are usually a blur to the bride and groom. They are constantly being pulled by there guests to talk, hug, take a photo, or dance.  Photographers get to capture all of the wonderful details, emotions, food, cake and chaos that happens throughout the day, allowing the couple to look at their wedding story through pictures when they come back from their honeymoon.

   In 2008, I stopped working for a while and dedicated my time to raising my newborn daughter and spending time with my other two daughters at home.

I had three beautiful girls to shoot, but, I missed the joy of photographing others.  So in 2011, my husband encouraged me to pursue my dreams of owning my photography business. DreamShots Photography was born in my mind in high school and became a reality January 2011.  Sometimes we put our dreams off but that doesn't mean they can't come true. I began networking with vendors and other photographers to get back on the wedding scene.  The photographers in South Carolina welcomed me back with open arms and helped me join groups and classes that would further my knowledge and skills.  Throughout all this my husband, Josh Ament, has been a rock by my side, an encouragement to continue with what I love and a true blessing.   Recently, my husband has joined me in my photography business as a second shooter. He is an amazing second shooter and has a great eye for details.

     On occasion I have the honor of second shooting for other photographers in our area and I love it.  I say honor because at that point they are trusting me with their brides and their reputation and style. 

While initially this makes me nervous, I tend to get at ease once we start the day. Second shooting is not as stressful as being the primary shooter.  As a second, I am able to get different angle of a shot the primary has set up. 

I am also able to concentrate on more of the details and candid shots throughout the night.  Many times I have heard a bride say " Oh my god! I didn't even see that person at our wedding!" and they are grateful that they have a photo of them being there.  Second shooting is fun and I think anyone who is interested in photographing weddings should find a mentor and second shoot for them before taking on a wedding by themselves.  I know this has helped me a great deal and I am thankful to all the photogs who have been there for me in the past and will be there for me in the future.