let the adventures begin...

S U M M E R T I M E  is here! It's my favorite time of year...the time of year that allows for lots of exploring and wandering and being outside. Nothing feeds my soul like getting outside and doing things like this. I love watching my kids discovering things and enjoying themselves in places where we are totally unplugged and just in the moment oblivious to the clock or any schedule. There is nothing better if you ask me....

I am rejoining my old "10 on 10" group from 2013 this month. Yeah, I know this is not a "10 on 10" as I have posted about 100 images but be sure to follow the circle and see what the other girls are up to....next up is Melissa Weicker (who I adore).

watching the sunset....

Back in 2013, I was part of a "10 on 10" group with a group of pretty cool and talented ladies and we are back this month with a blog circle...10 images posted on the 1oth of the month...so go check out our circle starting with Ginger Unzueta

You may recognize a few of these images from a collaboration I did with Storybox Art for the 5 minute project  that you can find here...but I had to post the others I got that I liked as well. :)

kaleidoscope..march edition

Kaleidoscope  is derived from the Ancient Greek (kalos), “beautiful, beauty” (eidos), “that which is seen: form, shape” and (skopeo), “to look to, to examine.”  Hence “observation of beautiful forms.”

We are a group of friends, moms, visual artists and photographers from around the world who are passionate about capturing images of the real, the messy and the magical-the wonder of the everyday.  Like a kaleidoscope, our photographs are playful and experimental, ever-changing and infused with light and colour.  Once a month, we assemble a single mosaic comprised of our collective pictorial tiles, one submitted by each of us, that reflect the shared meaning and beauty in our lives.

Summer Murdock Photography| SLC, UT Area Photographer

Summer Murdock Photography| SLC, UT Area Photographer

Summer Murdock Photography| SLC, UT Area Photographer

Summer Murdock Photography| SLC, UT Area Photographer

Summer Murdock Photography| SLC, UT Area Photographer

I'm beyond honored to be a part of this project with an amazingly talented and creative group of mothers and photographers.  Be sure to check out the Kaleidoscope website this month so see all my talented friends view of their part of the world…you won't be disappointed…PROMISE!

a few personal favorites from 2013

My fabulously talented and cool "10 on 10" group from last year is sticking together for another year…BUT we have something different in the works starting next month. Stay tuned because it is going to be awesome. For this months post we decided to post some of our favorites from 2013. Not an easy task I tell you. I am a horrible decision maker when it comes to picking the best of my own work…I get too attached to them all for different reasons so I decided to post only favorites from my personal work and not include any client work. I'm sure I left out lots of images that should have been included and included images that should have not been but OH WELL! Now be sure to head over to Melissa Weicker's blog (whose work I love and adore) to see what eye candy she has for us this month...

"10 on 10" December edition...

Here we go with the final 1o on 1o this year…and once again I can't stick to 10 images. These images were actually shot in October and I have yet to find time to share them. Why not now? Nothing like parking your car at a park in the dark, turning on some music and letting the kids go wild. Headlights of a car make for a pretty cool light source.  Dancing in the dark makes for some carefree kids and lots and lots of laughing which is my idea of a good time!

Have I mentioned that this group of photographers that are in this 10 0n 10 blog circle are pretty amazing? They really are and you should defineltly check out Ashely Meiners who is up next in the circle if you want to see some awesomeness.

10 on 10…november edition

I have to admit that I usually spend the fall season mourning the passing of summer. Summer is by FAR my favorite season. Every year when good ol' fall arrives my heart feels a bit heavy BUT looking at these images sure makes me appreciate it a little more. It is quite pretty…even if it is the precursor to the dreaded winter hibernation. Every season has it's benefits and I am going to try to appreciate and be thankful for each one and stop being so single minded when it comes to summertime. So with that I give you my "10 on 10 falling for fall" edition….really it's 14 on 10 but who's  counting? Now head on over to my very, very talented friend Ginger Unzueta and see what she has in store…promise you won't be disappointed by her beautiful images…she really never disappoints!

"10 on 10" september edition...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

This is what you get when your daughter gives you 10 minutes to shoot some images at a location that you are checking out for a client shoot. We literally set the timer on my phone. I'm pretty happy with what we got in 10 minutes. This post could and should be called "10 on 10 in 10".

And yeah, if you saw the family session I posted yesterday this place may look a bit familiar but hey..it's all good right? AND if you've been following my LR learning curve, I edited these  100% in Lightroom...still trying to figure out my groove in that program but I'm getting closer....

Now you must go see what Maria Manco's "10 on 10" looks like...she's pretty awesome if I say so myself!

"10 on 10" july edition...

In my quest to let go and capture things as they are in front of me, I give you my "10 on 10" this month (which may or may not be 10 images but who is counting?)

Now please go visit Rowe Timson who is super talented and who lives in BALI! Hello? You won't want to miss her 10...she's always on some kind of adventure!

"10 on 10"...june edition

I'm trying to turn over a new leaf with my personal work. I have perfectionist tendencies. If I don't feel everyone in the frame looks perfect, I often overlook images. I'm determined to get over this. I have four kids all of which have the camera put in their faces on a regular basis. They get sick of it and could care less about when I ask them to do something for the camera. My tricks are getting old.  It is WAY easier to photograph other peoples kids I tell ya. I NEED more images with EVERYONE in the frame. It's hard to get four kids and one husband all in the frame in a perfect yet not cheesy posed way. SO I'm going to let go....if I don't I will look back one day and regret not having many images of everyone together. It's my new challenge for myself....and in that spirit I give you my "10 on 10" for the month...in a cool little spot I found on a walk the other morning! Love discovering new hidden gems...

Now go visit Nicole Dyk of Nicole Dina Photography to see what her "10 on 10" is all about!

"10 on 10" april edition

Well the time has come for another "10 on 1o" and we are officially potty training so of course that's a perfect subject to capture. I should say she is officially potty training herself. I pretty much haven't pushed her at all. I kinda like her diapers. She looks pretty darn cute in them and a diaper is her favorite outfit. I think I am trying to hold on to her babyness (yes, I know that's not a word) since she marks the end of my baby making days. It's funny how I want everything to last a little longer with her. I appreciate all the stages that I was rushing my oldest through. Anyways, she's ready I guess since she does this all on her own without any prompting or reminders from me. :) I guess I have to let her grow up... darn it!

Now go visit Ali Deck and see what her "10 0n 10" looks like...

"10 on 10" february edition

Here we go for another "10 on 10" and here we go for more snow....and it's not going away anytime soon I'm afraid. I'm not going to lie, I'm over it. I'm even a little bored by seeing it in pictures at this point BUT it does make for pretty ones. :) Maybe for my March 10 0n 10 we will be able to see the grass (fingers crossed)! I'm calling this months edition "10 on 10 at 10am" because it's not the glimpse into our whole day the "10 on 10" typically is but it is a glimpse into a good 30 minute chunk of it. That'll have to do this month!  Enjoy and be sure to follow the circle to see some eye candy!

Now you must go visit my friend Rebecca Leimbach whose work is unmistakable and inspiring...she's got talent, beauty, wit and is an amazingly good person as well...yup all that wrapped up in one cute little package. :)

AND in case you missed last month's circle you can start that here!

"10 on 10" january edition

I'm joining yet another SUPER talented group of photographers for a "10 on 10" project. Every month on the 10th we post 10 images of our day approximately one every hour. I'm not going to lie, this was a stretch for me. I'm breaking the rules already and posting more than 10 and I'm not apologizing for it HA! So have a look at my day and then be sure to follow the circle and click in the link at the end of my post...so here we go! we woke up...

we ate breakfast and some of us licked our plates clean...

we played with a balloon...

we bathed....

we hugged (and played the ipad at the same time)

we went outside in the freezing cold snow (for two seconds) and of course ate some...

we went inside and tried to get warm...

we sucked our thumb (and by "we" I mean she)

we played dollies...

we watched Tangled and fell asleep soon after...

Hope you enjoyed the peek into our day...now you  MUST go visit the talented Rebecca Leimbach and she what she's been up to...I certainly can't wait to see...