02/21/15 | Haunting Enchantment

~Dance in the coolness of the day,in the shelter of the trees,and don't forget to dream.~

02/16/15 | The Grogan Motel

The most photographed spot in Madison,N.C. The Grogan Motel.

02/14/15 | Happy Valentine's Day

Happy love day to each and every one of you lovely people. 

Thanks for being amazing!

~Emily

02/13/15 | Love is not abuse.

I have debated back and forth for a few weeks now about sharing this on here,but I strongly believe that everyone has a voice. No matter how big or small the influence may be,I believe that I need to speak out.

I am sure that if you watch the news at all,you have heard about the movie 50 Shades of Grey. The movie is set to release tomorrow,and although I have never read the book,nor plan to watch the film I have a very big problem with it.

I have always been taught and strongly believed that an abusive and disrespectful relationship is unhealthy,sad,destructive,and dangerous. Being the victim of physical,mental,or emotional abuse has never been something that I consider to be amusing,exciting,or romantic. Unfortunately,this is the rep that the movie/book 50 Shades of Grey is getting. Contrary to the way the media has spun the upcoming release,there has been a lot of controversy over the film and it's content. The fighters of domestic violence have launched a proposal to donate $50 dollars to a domestic violence shelter INSTEAD of going to see 50 Shades of Grey. There are a number of Christian and secular websites that are protesting this film. Even the feminist website Jezebel slammed the movie,calling it,"50 Shades of Abuse."

The scary thing to me about this movie is the fact that Hollywood is glamorizing a dysfunctional and sexually abusive relationship. They are taking porn and spinning it as romance. I have read several articles boycotting this movie,and from what I have read,the movie should just be labeled as pornography. If you think that is over reacting,consider the fact that the director of the film himself admitted that out of the whole 90 minute film 20 solid minutes of it is sexual scenes.

Despite the critics,I am sure that this movie will bring in mega bucks at the theatre. It has already been released in some areas and the news showed tons of women coming out of the movie saying it was great. One woman even claimed,"I want more!" I'm sorry,but we definitely do NOT need more of this junk!

Think about it. How is a movie about a young,vulnerable woman and a sex-crazed,abusive man in a sexually abusive relationship a good thing to go watch? How is that a healthy thing for the minds of our young men and women? How is this film Christ honoring or praiseworthy? It's not.

I wish I could convince every girl of her great value. It doesn't matter where you come from,or what your past may be,you. are. valuable! The world is glorifying this image of a weak woman,who is trapped in a relationship where she is tortured by a man who cares nothing about her as a person.
When I think of love,I think of respect and honor. I think of being treasured by someone. When I think about love,I don't see it as being any of the things that Hollywood is portraying. If someone loves you,they are going to love you as a person. They are going to care about you and your wants and needs. They are going to put you before themselves.

So before you go buy a movie ticket,think about what this movie is supporting. I think that it is a film worth MISSING.

02/12/15 | The Shop

I re-opened my Etsy shop today,and I am selling three of my prints! These are framed photographs of some of my vintage film cameras. Go check out all three prints @BluebirdStudiosShop!

02/05/15 | A Ring Story

Last year Brendan gave me the most beautiful ring for my birthday. (Pictured below) It was a beautiful Opal stone heart shaped beauty. I have kind of a bad history with rings. I have lost one,dropped one down a drain,and broke one in half. I know. I'm awful. I wish I could tell you that I am secretly a spy who jumps over cars and sky dives out of planes,but the truth is I just have a jinx on me when it comes to rings. When he gave me this ring,I was determined to take excellent care of it. I cleaned it,put in a box at night. I didn't wear it to clean or do anything where I might lose or damage it.

A couple of months ago,I was going out to feed the horse(in the dark) and I had my ring on. Well in case you didn't know hands shrink in the winter time,so my ring was a tad loser than usual. I went back inside to finish cleaning up and I noticed my ring wasn't on my finger. "Stay calm." I kept saying,"You probably just dropped it one the floor." So I began to frantically calmly search the floor. When I didn't find it anywhere in my room,I started freaking out BIG TIME. My brother was the only one home at the time,and he got to witness me go maniac-nut case for about an hour,tearing everything apart. I ran outside with a flash light and started digging through the horses hay and food. The poor dear. We were both riled up by the time I went back inside. As you can probably figure,I never found my little ring. I called Bren and told him in tears. He was trying to tell me that it was OK and not to cry,that it was just a ring. He was a perfect sweetheart about it but I was so broken hearted. 

I felt so horrible about losing it and I missed it so much. I wanted to cry every time I looked down at my hand. 

Saturday,Brendan gave me another…..and I think that it is the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. 

I can't believe how sweet he is. Don't worry. I am taking every precaution with this ring. I will NOT lose this one!

~Emily

02/03/15 | Freelensing

Have you heard of freelensing? 

I saw the technique online and decided to try this exciting,terrifying new trend. 

It sounds really crazy,but I love the affect it gives the photograph. I shot with my 50mm f 1/.8 lens. I set my lens to manual focus.(Auto won't work with your lens off the camera.) I detached my lens,but still held it closely to my cameras body. NOTE:Taking your lens off your camera opens it up to dust. It is something to think about before trying this. I kept my lens pretty close to my camera's body,so I didn't expose it too much. I moved the lens around while I was shooting,adjusting the focus here and there. With the lens off,more light gets into the photo. I had to lower my ISO when shooting freelens. This was only my first attempt and I am nooo expert! If you want to try this for yourself,check out this tutorial. They are really helpful! Below is some photographs from my first try. I have some before and afters to show you how dreamy this style makes the photo look!

(Below:Before freelensing)

(After freelensing)

(Below:Before freelensing)

(After freelensing)

(Below:Before Freelensing)

(After freelensing)

Isn't the affect incredible!? It gives this hazy,filmy look that I just adore. I will definitely be trying this again soon,hopefully with a model. So what do you think? Is this something you would try?

~Emily

02/02/15 | Layers

“She wasn't a coward. If she were she would have retreated back into her shell years before and pulled back entirely from life. She was a fighter. Life knocked her down, and she coped by getting up and moving on.” 

~Dee Henderson-Danger in the Shadows

(Unrelated captions)

01/31/15 | Black & White

A day in black and white. Featuring the inside critters of our habitat. 

~Emily