Nicaragua 2010 Visit

So I'm back and I have to say I really miss waking up in Nicaragua!! My trip this past week was so fantastic and fun (despite getting a million mosquito bites and some sunburn.)

Every day we had something to do and I wish I could've stayed longer to do more. One week is simply not enough.

Here I'm sharing some of my favorite photos from the trip and to see some more great shots please visit my fanpage on Facebook ( I hiked up an active volacano! ). I took a lot of photos! Editing them was great because I was reminded of the fun I had and while editing I was grinning ear to ear with silly joy.

God I miss Nicaragua. The food was great, the time was great, and seeing my family was the best part. I love my family and I miss them more than anything. Nothing like riding on the back of a truck having a laugh with family. Hopefully I'll go again soon and I won't let another two years go by.

Now I gotta come back to reality and work...but at least I have the memories of a wonderful trip to keep me smiling.

My First Photo Adventure

Tomorrow I'll be on a plane to Nicaragua to visit family and take a much needed vacation. I'm so excited because I'll be seeing and spending time with family I have not seen in two years. I'm so excited to be going to beaches and having lots of laughs. Nothing like riding on the back of a pick up truck and looking at all the beautiful scenery that just whips past you. Nicaragua is an experience. I'm extra excited because I'll be sharing that experience with my boyfriend. We are gonna have a great time.

Besides all the family fun, relaxing at the beach, or eating lots of food, I think I'm more excited about taking photographs while I'm there. I LOVE TO TAKE PICTURES! I love to capture all that my eyes see (and yes I know how corny I'm sounding!) Taking pictures is what you do to remember all the great moments you had and all the beauty you saw. I'll be posting some of my favorite photos I take when I come back from vacation.

Here I am sharing the first photos I took when I went to Nicaragua back in 2003 (last time I went was when I was four) I took these photos before I went to school to learn photography, but I think you can see that I had an "eye" for it. The passion I had to learn photography and become a professional photographer was very strong then. I thank my lucky stars I'm a professional photographer now.

The top photo was taken in the city of Granada. I photographed my cousins watching the cars drive by before we went into a restaurant for lunch.

The middle photo is my cousin running with his skim board at the beach at Montelemar. Back when I was at The Hallmark Institute of Photography, we had a class where we reviewed and critiqued photographs we had done in the past, and I had brought this one. It was a bit nervous having my worked critiqued because we had fame photographer Kevin Bubriski discussing our photos. He had nothing but kind things to say about the photograph, which gave me a big boost of pride in my work.

Last photograph is of a plant in some building that was in the city of Granada. I dont know what caught my eye about it, but I remember I had to STOP and take the photo. Now understanding "lighting" after learning it at Hallmark, I can appreciate the lighting more whenever I look back at the photo. The light falls so beautifully on the plant. One of my favorite photographs I did way back when.

So off I go to day dream about about the fun and joy I'm gonna have while on vacation. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my vacation pictures.

Cooking from the Heart

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love my family. I love my aunt Mamita so much, not just for her great cooking and yummy food, but for her big heart and sweet personality. She is so sweet, she makes sugar taste like salt! Every time she comes to visit from Nicaragua, there is always good times to be had with the family and lots of full stomachs. Sometimes we don't even talk at the table because we are too busy eating all the delicious food.

Here she is making her famous nacatamales. It takes her about the entire day to prepare and cook. She makes about 75 to give out to family. Family can't get enough and they save it over time for whenever the crave a taste of Nicaraguan food.

You'll also notice my dog, Jude, hoping that Mamita will drop something on the floor. Maybe next time Jude will luck out and get a taste...instead she'll just have to enjoy the wonderful aroma of good cooking!