Tomahawk + Laurabird

Birds of a feather flock together.

Sometimes living in the mountains has its perks like living close to the perfect apple orchard. In between yummy apple cider donuts, apple picking and apple slushies, I just had to take advantage of photographing these little love birds. They let me use them as models while I tried my new camera (yay!) before my big wedding gig. Thank you Laura + Tommy for being the most naturally photogenic couple! You both are so beautiful inside and out.

More apple orchard pictures to come!

JOSEPH + KATIE

The mountains - the beautiful backdrop for a beautiful kind of love.

Joseph and Katie met and fell in love with these mountains as their backdrop. It was only appropriate to take some photographs of them in celebration of their engagement. One sunny morning they dressed up, slipped their Chacos on and we took off to Pretty Place and Lake Sudie of Camp Greenville. Aren't they a beautiful couple?

The mountains are a beautiful place and it is wonderful watching love grow from them. Here's to Joseph and Katie, my wonderful camp friends. I love that even with their fancy button ups, dresses, dressy shirts and one heck of an engagement ring, they are still rockin' the Chacos. Yeah, definitely camp folk :)

I'm sorry I've been...

My apologies friends.
This past week has taken a toll on my routine and the blog just had to be last on the list. I will return shortly with more posts, updates, letters, photos and inspiration. Just know that I'll be out of the hiatus shortly! Things has been busy in my little corner of the world but for the most part good. I have to remind myself of my favorite quote, "The only constant is change" and accepting that change and working from it. I hope things are going well for all of you and just hold on tight for posts :)

Ps. This photo was taken with my first roll of Holga film around seven months ago. Some friends and I took a little walk/photo shoot off the Blue Ridge Parkway and it led us here. I need to go back to that breathtaking place!

J&H's Save the Date Revealed!

At last, at last!
My friends Joe & Hannah are finally letting me release their Save the Date on my blog :) (they wanted to wait until their Save the Dates were mailed out for obvious reasons) If you haven't already seen from my blog, they are the cutest couple...well, ever.

They gave me the honor of shooting their engagement photos (check out sessions one and two), shooting Hannah's bridal portraits in the upcoming months AND designing their save the date! What a perk for being one of their best friends/in their bridal party :) Their save the date was inspired by an engagement shoot we saw floating around the internet, but I can't seem to find it!

I may or may not be more excited for the wedding than they are.

The save the date photo is from the second session we had. Check out more photos here.

Here's a couple more photos from the shoot we didn't share because they wanted the date to be a surprise, so here's a treat! Two more photos from the shoot :)

Cutest couple, right?

ALSO! If you haven't entered this AWESOME giveaway from Elgie Designs, you should check it out. Win a pair of crochet earrings and a crochet necklace? You lucky, lucky dog! Giveaway ends tomorrow at midnight!

Contact Sheets || B&W Film

I miss you.
I have spent nearly all my afternoons and evening with you two years ago.
It was hard not to fall in love with you.
You inspired me.
You made me feel passion.
You made look at things through a new perspective.
You made me feel like a true artist.
I made mistakes with you, but they were beautiful mistakes.
There was no such words like perfection in your vocabulary.
You helped me understand what it truly felt to take a photo.
Not a snapshot, but a photograph.

You made me believe that photography is truly painting the world with light.

Thank you for being my light.
I miss you.
I miss you, film.

From an earlier post, you may not have noticed that I took a black and white photography class two years ago and it truly was the best experience I ever had. These are a few of the contact sheets I have from class. What are contact sheets? After you develop the film (and let them dry), you cut them into slips of five and insert them into a page protector. You then transfer it to photo paper in the dark room like you would for any photo. This way you can see all your pictures on that roll of film at once and decide which photos you want to develop individually. This also helps see which shots were overexposed or underexposed. I think these contact sheets are a work of art in itself. Tells somewhat of a story doesn't it?

I hope to continue to use film more. As far as developing goes, I have no access to a dark room, but maybe one day, yes, one day, I will have one of my own. I guess I should add that to my bucket list, huh?

Neri Wedding

Do you remember when I mentioned I got the opportunity to shoot a wedding for the first time? Well, I finally am revealing the photos to my blog readers! One of my best friend's brother and [now] sister-in-law got married November 19, 2011 and they asked me to be their photographer for the reception portion of their beautiful day. I felt so honored, but I was extremely nervous. Their wedding was absolutely stunning and her dress was b-e-a-u-tiful!

Thank you Aimee and Ansell for extending this lifetime of an opportunity for me. It makes me (relieved) and happy that you enjoyed your pictures! I also had an opportunity to work with the lovely ladies Stephanie and Jamie who are the face of Viva L'Event. They were the geniuses behind this fabulously planned wedding. Be sure to check out their Facebook page and stay up to date with all they do.

All photos are (c) Melissa Vega

Homemade lasagna + game night

Sorry I haven't been posting as often. On Friday I had my wisdom teeth removed so I've been filled with oxycodone, moxicillin and Friday Night Lights! So far my recovery has been going pretty well with the exception of going in and out, being lethargic and swollen. I currently look like a chipmunk!

Here are some photos of Thursday night where a bunch of friends and we cooked homemade Butternut Squash Lasagna with this recipe. It was a successful! All of our friends enjoyed it. I definitely recommend everyone to check out the recipe. It was easy to follow and a hit at our little get together.

That night we also played a game called "Bang." Lots and lots of fun :]

Exploring downtown Raleigh with Lena

I absolutely love weekends.

Especially when they are filled with exploration, friends, celebration, frozen yogurt, thrifting and a camera to capture it all. Among other great things that have happened this weekend, I'll share with you a little photo blog about my adventures with my friend Lena! I met her via Her Campus and since she was visiting her grandparents in Raleigh and I finally got to go home for a weekend, we just had to hang out together :]


Photos of our adventure in the local antique shop Father & Son:

Here are some Her Campus articles you need to check out!

+ Stress Relieving Tips for the GRE (written by yours truly!)
+ The Lowdown on Guy's Style at ASU (collaborative article with all HC Writers)
+ Keepin' it Classy on Campus (written by Lena!)
+ 5 Steps to Starting Over After a Breakup
+ Ways to Feel Productive in 30 Minutes or Less!

it's the little things v.3

It's that time of the week for the little things post hosted by Lindsay at From Aisle to Aloha!
This week may have taken a lot out of me, but fabulous things still happened, with a side of anxiety and stress to the point of going delirious. Of course, the good things always conquer the bad not so good so it has been a good week :]





Here are the little things that have made my week wonderful!

+ HER CAMPUS LAUNCH/PARTY
I think you've read in a few past posts that I am part of Her Campus Appalachian State, which is an online magazine dedicated to the women on campus with articles on style, health, career, love, life and many other subjects that make up a woman :) I am a staff writer and of course as soon as my articles go live, I will share! For now check out their website! We've got some great articles up so far about thrifting, food and Boone. Can't beat it!
(I've put a link on the bar up top and I've just recently made a button!)

Our launch was Sept. 27 so naturally we celebrated!
Thanks to Grace, Emily from (In the life of Emily) and the rest of the PR team we had a wonderful turnout/event. Here's to the other Her Campus bloggers! Laura (Left to Write) and Katie (Hello Sunshine).

+ New pants!
This isn't the greatest picture of them, but they are the most comfortable things in the world! I initially went to Old Navy to look for a present (which I did) but I also found these...on sale. Here's what they look like online. I'm going back tomorrow for the black ones!

+ Rearranging my room!
My goal for September from my monthly goals list was to frame my photography and hang it up in my room...so I did! I got a little carried away with decorating and rearranging :) Here are some before and after shots. I am super excited about my heavenly little corner now!

Before:

 (The painting is something I did a couple of years ago. I'll either put it somewhere else in my room or try to sell it. What do you think?)

After:

I added the frames, tree decal, birdcage and shelf.

Other wonderful things have also happened this week such as the first Small World Project letter exchange, getting to know who is our Package Pal (Mine is Laura Jane!), semi-good grade on exams, and SURVIVING the GRE. Now it's a weekend full of traveling (Hey again Atlanta!), writing articles and fitting in school work.

Have a blessed weekend!

J&H Part II

For those who don't know, my best friend/roommate is getting married next summer! I had the honor of taking her engagement shots and most recently her save the date photos! We can't show you the actual save the date photo, so that those who get it in the mail can "ooooh" and "ahhhhh," but I'll share with you the other photos of the cutest couple in the world.

Click here for their engagement shots!

(c) Melissa Vega

Sorry we can't show you the actual save the date! :]
Eventually I will because it's really really cute!


Here's to my best friends <3
You two belong together and I feel so honored that you asked me to take your photos.

Love love and then more love!

Oh and PS. The H is for Hawksworth! (the groom's last name)

Fridays

 

This is my first | it's the little things | post hosted by Lindsey over at From Aisle to Aloha. She is one of my favorite bloggers so I decided to jump on the wagon and share the little things that have made my week :]

+ List making

First off, in order for me to somewhat function throughout the day, I make lists. It gives me goals and then I always feel a sense of accomplishment once I cross them off. Lists keep me focused and organized, so if anyone is feeling overwhelmed...make a list! It can look impossible in the beginning, but once you cross those to-do's off, it's a wholllllle other feeling.

+ Craft nightOne thing that I never have enough in my week are arts and crafts, so to prepare for my roommate's part II of her engagement pictures I'm taking, we made some props for the event! We're planning on shooting them next week, but here's a little sneak peak ;)

 

+Welcoming the Fall with open arms

Here in Boone, Fall starts a little early and ends even earlier, so it's always best to take FULL advantage of the scarf, cardigan and tights wearing weather before it gets to the 5 inch coats and obnoxious boots kind of weather. I finally get to wear my favorite ankle boots that were a hand-me-down!

 

and a little bow to top it off.

outfit details

top: traded with roommate, originally Forever 21

shorts: Philippines ($10!)

bow: Philippines ($2!)

shoes: hand-me-down from Dad's girlfriend

Other exciting things this week:

+ First Her Campus meeting! [I got a position as a Staff Writer. We're an online magazine for woman on our campus! First issues comes out in 11 days.]

+ Re-activated my Netflix account! My travel channel shows are now on there (Yes!)

+ Revamped the blog! New banner, About section and links on the side. Gave it a nice little makeover :)

What were the little things that made your week?

Happy Friday!

Enjoy the weekend.