Carmen & Kane - Christmas Portraits!

Starting last weekend, the weather here in Oklahoma decided it was time to turn into winter and freeze all of us to death! When you can stay inside snuggled by the fire with hot chocolate and a new book, this can be a wonderful thing. However, when you're trying to do an outdoor portrait session...it’s quite the opposite.

Allow me to introduce you to some of my new friends Carmen & Kane. They both went to school with Ryan (who recently married my friend Chelsea and I did an engagement session for last July). So, Chelsea and Ryan introduced them to Dwyatt and I and we have all rapidly become friends. I was honored when they asked me to take some Christmas card photos for them!

Well, the world of engineering is certainly a small world because, believe it or not, Carmen and Kane are both petroleum engineers as well. So guess what that means… yep, more pictures with pumping units! I promise not all my photos will feature oil field equipment, but with engineers, it just seems natural. :) 

They are celebrating their first year together in Oklahoma City, and the purchase of their first home! Carmen is so full of life, and you can tell how deeply Kane loves her just by watching them together. They share a deep sense of respect for one another, and they lovingly refer to each other as “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” on a regular basis. They are happy…pure and simple.

Carmen & Kane, I wish you both a very Merry Christmas and I hope that your love continues to grow as you start your lives together here in OKC.

The World of Marketing

Starting a photography business, I knew I was bound for the world of marketing. I know that marketing is changing in our rapidly expanding cyber world. I love Facebook; I know I should sign up for Twitter… but what else?

I have been honored to take photos for my family and friends, and I hope I always have the opportunity to continue doing that. However, I feel like I am rapidly reaching a point where I need to go find clients… clients that reside in Oklahoma. Don’t get me wrong, I love to travel, and plan to always be willing to travel the globe for my clients, but I need to start getting my name out to my local market. This is where I seem to be getting stuck.

Maybe I’m just scared… but I keep wondering, do I tell my coworkers I have this business? I would love to take some holiday photos for them, but is that un-professional to bring up my “other career” at my current job? Do I just leave a bunch of business cards at a local coffee shop? Give some to my hairdresser and ask her to spread the word? Honestly I think the answer is: Yes, all of the above. I think these are all things I should be doing and it just feels weird to take this first step. Surreal in a way…

Ultimately once I start to get my name out there I hope that people will begin to recommend me and spread the word to their friends and families. This is the ultimate complement for any photographer. If people are willing to recommend you, you know you are making them happy and meeting expectations! This is also, the ultimate marketing tool. I believe that a reputation spread by word-of-mouth is priceless in this industry. Now, I just have to go out there and be worthy of that honor!

Wish me luck!

Christmas on the Plains

Having lived in Colorado my whole life (up until about 15 months ago), I have always clung to the picture of a Rocky Mountain Christmas in my mind. I just couldn’t imagine the Christmas season without snow. I loved the feeling of waking up to a world dusted in glistening powder, the sun making each flake sparkle like diamonds under a bright blue sky. It seemed to me like the feeling of Christmas just couldn’t possibly be the same without the picturesque snow covered pines that created the perfect white Christmas.

This year, however, things are different. Oklahoma is a long way from the snow covered slopes of the Rocky’s, but it is filled with its own unique beauty. The last of the leaves are falling, and everything is starting to look quite dormant. The fields have all been harvested, the grasses are brown, and all around me nature is prepared for winter. It has a quiet and peaceful mood to it, especially on days when I wake up to a slight frost covering the ground, and fog that has settled into the trees and valleys. The hushed beauty of the plains is just as breath-taking as the mountains, if only we stop and take the time to notice it.

On Saturday Dwyatt and I went out to snap a few pictures for our Christmas card, in hopes of capturing some of the beauty of Oklahoma. We ventured out into a corn field about 2 miles away from our house. We parked the car next to a giant pumping unit (for an oil well…) and trekked all over the field with my camera, tripod, picnic blanket, two glasses, and a bottle of wine. We waited until right before sunset and the light was gorgeous! It was quite the adventure trying to direct and capture our photos all on our own. Thank goodness for my wireless remote!


After about 40 minutes of running through the field, sitting in the grass, laughing, snuggling, and tolerating the Oklahoma wind, we finally achieved our goal! We then turned the photo shoot into our own little date by sitting on our blanket and enjoying a glass of wine while the sun slipped over the horizon. It was a memorable experience, and we decided this is going to be one of our annual traditions.

Since I haven’t included a picture in the last few posts, here is one of my favorites from the day:

Full of Thanks...and Turkey...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  This year was the first time I have spent Thanksgiving with friends instead of family.  Although I missed my family dearly, I really enjoyed an afternoon with friends whom I treasure.  We were all so proud that we could actually pull off a full Thanksgiving meal, complete with all our family favorites, without the presence of a parent...  Wow, I guess we really are grown up :)

I find myself thinking about what I am most thankful for this year, and really it all just boils down to being blessed.  I feel blessed in so many areas of my life: my family, my friends, my home, my job, and most importantly my husband.  Each one is a blessing that I am so very thankful for, and I know that they are all gifts from an awesome God. 

Tomorrow kicks off the beginning of the Christmas season, and I couldn't be more excited!!  We are hopefully going to do some online Black Friday shopping, and begin decorating :)  I will be sure to take some pictures... 

Chasing a Dream

I’m writing again… 2 days in a row! What an accomplishment :) For those of you who read yesterday’s entry, I told you all I have some exciting news about a new opportunity. That’s what I want to announce today!

I have recently been asked to photograph my very first wedding!! The dream of Caitlyn.Marie.Photography becoming a wedding photography business is taking shape! A huge hug and many thanks go out to my trusting friend Krista and her fiancé Jason. So how exactly did this happen? Let me tell you the story…

One day during my daily ritual of checking facebook, I realized I had a new message. I love messages, by the way, because they mean someone wanted to tell me something either too important or perhaps just too long to fit in one wall post. So, with a feeling of excitement I opened my mail box and found a message from Krista. We had not talked in awhile (other than a few random wall posts congratulating her on her engagement…), so I was thrilled to have a message from her. Imagine my shock when I opened the message and read:

 “I have shown Jason some of the pictures you have on here [Facebook]. We both agreed that your photos are really good, and really cool! I guess we were just wondering what the possibility would be of you wanting to travel to Lincoln to photograph our wedding?”

My jaw dropped, literally, and my heart was racing a million miles a minute. I sat there just staring at the screen for quite awhile with all sorts of thoughts and emotions flowing through me: 

* Oh my gosh!!! Is this really happening?
* This is a dream come true!
* Me? Really me? Are you sure you didn’t mix me up with someone else?
* Of course, absolutely, can you get married tomorrow? I can’t wait!
* Umm… am I really capable of doing this?
* I need to buy some more equipment! 

Once I finally pulled myself together, and was able to think it through, I replied to Krista a few days later. With several emails back and forth we have decided that I am indeed going to photograph their wedding! I am still nervous, but I am so very thankful for the opportunity. 

Krista and Jason, just let me say that it is friends like you who will have the largest impact on my success in this business. I appreciate you trusting such an important job to me so early on in my career. I will forever be thankful to both of you for believing in me. I can not wait for your wedding. It will be a beautiful day, filled with laughter and joy, but most importantly it will be the day that you are joined together by God. I can’t wait to be there and help you make those special moments turn into the memories of a lifetime.

A New Leaf

Why is this so hard?

Perhaps it’s because I have so much to say, and don’t know where to start. My head is filled with dreams, visions, and plans for the future. I want to share them with you. I want to let go of all my fears, open up, and finally let everyone know the real me. I want to stop worrying about what others think of me or of my dreams and just go for it, no matter what!

This blog is going to become my avenue to do just that. I have been writing in this blog for a year now, and although I have made some fun entries, I still feel like I have been holding back. I don’t know what I’m afraid of exactly, but I just need to let go and be myself. This is not to say that I haven’t “been myself” over the last 12 months, I just think I need to write on a deeper level.

First off, that means I need to write more often. So far I have had spurts where I do ok for a week or two and then don’t write for two months… this needs to change. Secondly, I need to realize that writing a blog doesn’t mean I have to have a remarkable subject for each entry. I really just need to write about whatever I’m thinking and feeling. Beware! Strange stories about trips to the grocery store and running around my neighborhood may appear soon!

I want this blog to be somewhat of a digital diary. I want to be able to look back and read these entries in five years and see how far I’ve come. I want to use this blog to share all my hopes, dreams, fears, challenges, mishaps, successes, and adventures that life throws at me! So far it seems I have only shared events and successes… that’s not the whole story.

So why have I been holding back? Well, it’s probably because I’m actually a big chicken. I find it hard to open up sometimes, because I’m scared of what other people will think. Silly, huh?? I know I need to learn to get over that fear and believe me, I’m getting there! Writing this blog entry and “turning over the leaf” so to speak is part of my new commitment to just be myself… my confident & fabulous self!


As most of you know, one of my dreams is to become a professional photographer. Ready for the big dream?? Here it goes:

I told you I dream big… so now the question lies how do I get there from here? Well, that’s what this blog is going to be about. Tracking progress and experiences.

I want to be an internationally renowned wedding and portrait photographer. I want to capture love stories for couples stretching from Oklahoma to Singapore and beyond! I want to capture personalities and moments that turn into treasured memories. I want to be able to hold my own with the best in the industry and give back through hosting workshops all over the world! When people book me as their photographer I not only want to deliver incredible photos, but also an experience they’ll never forget. I want each client to become family by the end of the shoot, and I want those relationships to last. I want to do all of this while staying true to myself and always giving thanks to the Lord for my many blessings.

Honestly, right now I don’t have enough photo shoots to post to make this a full time photographer blog, so you all are just going to be getting lots of stories from my personal life and getting to know me :)  I am in the “portfolio building” stage, and so I will be spending a lot of time sharing my thoughts and experiences on building my baby business.


I am so excited to start this adventure, and now that I’ve spilled my heart out to you all I have a ton more to write about! I do have some exciting news for Caitlyn.Marie.Photography to share with you all… but that’s for another post. Stay tuned, and please share this blog with anyone you think might be interested in also joining along for the journey. I would love to hear all your comments along the way!

Friday on Thursday...

I love when Fridays come on Thursday!  Lucky for me this happens every two weeks.  I work what they call a 9/80 schedule which basically means I get to have every other Friday off.  So, I only have 50 minutes of work left for the week!

I am so excited that Blogger has recently made some updates to it's system and I can now post larger pictures without first routing them through Flickr.  Why is this so amazing you might ask?  Well, because Flickr is blocked at work and so I can never see any of my own pictures, or post any new ones while I'm here!!  So, since I'm super excited about this new feature, I have been looking for pictures I have on my work computer that I can post for you all.  Work pictures is basically all I've got.

Let me tell you about my job...  I am a project engineer for a new gas processing plant.  We are developing the Cana field (about 50 miles west of Oklahoma City) and we are now installing compressor stations, pipelines, and the processing plant to handle all of the gas.  I was actually in the field today bidding out some well connects to get our new wells connected to market! 

This picture is how the Cana plant site started out... wheat.  Lots of wheat.  We literally started from "grass roots".  Although I was initially disappointed in how much wheat we were cutting down for this plant, all my sadness quickly subsided when I realized just how much wheat we have here in Oklahoma!  It's crazy...

This next picture is of me on one of the giant CAT 3616 compressors that is being installed at our 1st compressor station.  I have a feeling we will be installing a lot of these in the near future...

Finally,  this is my latest picture of the Cana plant.  I was in charge of building the office, warehouse, and fence.  Not very hard core engineering I know, but I was still very  happy with how it turned out none-the-less.  I definitely learned a lot about being a project manager... 

Well, I hoped you enjoyed this little insight into my life as an engineer.  I hope to get some more pictures on here really soon! 

I have also been doing a lot of deep thinking lately and have some plans for this blog that I will write about in another entry.  Look forward to that... I'll try and get it done this weekend. 

Take care everyone!

Coree Javernick- Portraits with a shopping cart??

Hi Everyone!

I am SO excited to finally post my next photo shoot! Last week was Chelsea & Ryan's wedding and all of our friends were in town for the weekend. It was a great time and I loved seeing everyone even though I was absolutely exhausted by Sunday.

Anyway, Coree was able to fly out a few days early and on Thursday we ran around downtown Oklahoma City and did a portrait shoot. We ended up getting rained on several times and we were freezing most of the time but it was still a blast! Coree was absolutely hilarious and so natural in front of the camera. The highlight of the shoot was when we found an abandoned shopping cart and Coree was zooming up and down an alley on it. I laughed so hard I almost forgot I was suppose to be snapping the shutter!

I am really excited with how these turned out and I would love to hear your thoughts and comments.

I promise to write again soon :)

It's been awhile...

Wow, I can't believe almost 3 months have past since I blogged last! Life has been so busy I guess time just got away from me! The sad thing is I really should have been better at keeping this up because so much has happened over the last 3 months! I guess I will give you a short re-cap and then try to be better from here on out...

Well, in August Dwyatt and I flew back to Colorado for our friends wedding. Ryan & Stephanie Meany got married on August 10th at a beautiful golf course at the base of the Rockies. We had such a great time seeing all of our friends from college! We probably had too much fun actually :)

Then in the last weekend of August we went to Lake Tenkiller in eastern Oklahoma to celebrate our 1 year Anniversary! I can't believe it has already been a whole year, time really does fly by. Marriage is such a blessing and I love having such a wonderful life partner. I am looking forward to many more anniversaries!

In September my cousin Emily was married to Shamus Pahl. They also were married in Denver and their wedding was beautiful! It was kind of rainy all morning and I was so worried since the wedding was outside, but just in time for the ceremony the sun broke through the clouds and it was perfect! It definitely felt like God was looking down on them and blessing their marriage. Emily was such a gorgeous bride & I am so happy for them. Welcome to the family Shamus!!

After Emily's wedding we finally were able to stay home for awhile and stop traveling. After our crazy summer of flying all over the place it feels nice to just be at home and chill. I have recently been decorating for fall, refinishing a table (ugh, way more work that I thought!), baking, reading, and running!

Also, my gorgeous hubby turned 25 a couple weeks ago and I actually pulled off a big surprise for him!! I have never been able to surprise him before so I was so excited. I bought him a Big Green Egg (a ceramic grill/smoker for those of you who don't know...) and it is amazing! He loves to grill anyway and this thing makes amazing food! Everything is so full of flavor and stays really moist. I bought it, had it delivered, and set it up on the back porch all without him knowing. Then, on his birthday I wrapped a package of pork ribs and told him that was his present. He was so confused when he opened it. Then I told him to go outside and make sure he had all the stuff he needed to smoke them... when I finally got him to go outside he was so excited! Needless to say, we had an amazing meal and I think it was a darn good birthday!

So, now our next big adventure is going to be Chelsea & Ryan's wedding! They are getting married next Saturday, the 24th, and we are hosting a bunch of people at our house for the weekend. I am so excited and can't wait to see them all, but it's going to be crazy!! I just hope no one spills beer on my carpet...

Well, I hope this was a sufficient update... I promise to be better and write more often! Also, be on the lookout for some more photo shoot updates soon!

Chelsea & Ryan - Engagement Photos!

Last weekend I had the opportunity to take my first set of engagement pictures! My friend, and sorority sister, Chelsea is getting married in October. She is marrying Ryan Rickett, who is actually one of Dwyatt’s fraternity brothers J Needless to say we are quite good friends. She was one of my bridesmaids last year and I can’t wait to return the favor this fall. I was so excited when she agreed to let me take some engagement pictures for them. I don’t think Ryan was too excited (this is their second set of photos…) but Chelsea and I had a great time!

I wanted to give them something different than what they already had and, since they are both Petroleum Engineers, I thought what better location than a large pumping unit! So after doing some shots in downtown Edmond, we trekked out to a well site in the middle of a corn field. The sunlight was absolutely golden and I love the way they all turned out. Then we went down to Lake Hefner for some shots on the pier with the sunset before we headed off to grab some dinner. Dwyatt played the roll of my oh-so-helpful assistant; he carried all my camera stuff and the reflector around with us. I love him, he is so cute J

We had a great time together and Chels & Ryan are such a fun, and laid back couple. I am so excited for their wedding!! Here are a few of my favorite shots from their session. I think they turned out well, and I know I am learning new things each and every time I have the opportunity to do a photo shoot. I hope I have many more opportunities in the near future…

Have a blessed day everyone!

Home to Colorado!

Last weekend I went home to visit my parents in Colorado. I was in awe of how green and beautiful it is, they have had so much rain! I definitely miss living there... I guess you don't realize how amazing it is until you move away...

It was a great weekend full of love, laughter, and lots of family time! My Dad and I went on a photo adventure to the botanical gardens, then we rode the horses, and went hiking! I also got to see my grandparents which is always so nice. I love them so much and truly cherish all the time I get with them.

I know this is a short blog post, but I just wanted to share some photos of last weekend and tell you all to look for my next post! I did my first engagement photo shoot yesterday, and I can't wait to share them with you all!! They are coming soon :)

My 1st Photo Shoot - Rachel & Jody

I am so excited to write about my very first photo shoot! I have taken plenty of pictures in the past, but this was my first time to take people out and about solely for the purpose of taking pictures! I couldn't have asked for better Guinea Pig subjects :)

A couple weeks ago my friend Rachel asked if I would do some photos of her and her Mom. Her Mom was in town visiting from Australia, so you can imagine, they don't get to see each other as often as they would like. It was so special to watch them interact and be asked to capture those moments. It was easy to see the genuine love and respect they have for each other.

I took them to downtown Oklahoma City and we walked all over the place. We explored different locations and snapped pictures anytime we found a unique wall, bench, or bridge... basically anything that inspired us! It was incredibly hot outside so we had to keep ducking into the shade. Rachel & Jody were so fun and willing to try whatever I suggested. They even sat on some railroad tracks in their skirts! I was so impressed...

I am humbly aware of the many amazing photographers out there, and I am by no means claiming to be a professional. I am just starting out, I have a lot to learn and experience. However, I must say, a new passion has ignited! Now, more than ever, it is my dream that one day I could make a career out of photography and be one of those very lucky people who truly loves their work. The only way I can build toward that dream is to keep working with generous people like Rachel & Jody. Thank you both so much for your time, I enjoyed every minute of it!!

Below are some of my favorites from the shoot. Please feel free to leave comments... I love hearing your thoughts and opinions!

Thank you all :)

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th everyone! I want to thank all of the men and women who have fought and died to protect the freedoms we have today. I know there have been countless people across all generations who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that I can enjoy the life I have right now. I won't forget you... thank you...

For this holiday we have decided to stay home. We have been traveling so much that all we wanted to do this weekend is relax and explore our own city. So, yesterday we went to the Oklahoma City Zoo!! It was 102 degrees at one point, but we toughed it out and had a great time! We both love seeing the animals and had fun walking around and taking lots of pictures. I wanted to share some of my favorites with you. Dwyatt actually took 2 of my favorites, the one of the Cardinal and of the Prairie Dog. I hope you enjoy them. :)

Today we are just going to hang out with our neighbors, eat hot dogs, and shoot off fireworks! I'm so excited :) We apparently live 1 mile outside city limits so we can shoot fireworks in our front yard!! Dwyatt is beyond excited about this... I'll keep you posted on how it goes, and perhaps try my hand at fireworks photos...

Also, keep tuned because I did my first photo shoot the other day and I will be blogging about that in a couple days! So excited...

Now on to the photos! I'd love to hear your thoughts & comments...

Down by the Bay...

Last weekend I made my first trip to San Francisco! I went out there to visit my best friend and Coree. We were roommates for all 4 years of college and now we live 1600 miles apart! It was so nice to have some girl time to ourselves to catch up and explore the city. On Friday we went and saw Wicked, which was amazing! So many sights and sounds it's hard to take it all in. It's almost overwhelming, and that's what I love about it! Unfortunately the don't let you take pictures...ugh...so frustrating...

On Saturday we spent the day walking around the city. We started off at the local farmers market where the air was saturated with the smell of fresh flowers and produce. We found a little pastry shop and indulged in several of them :) Next was a wine bar! I love wine, and drinking it at noon with your best friend is definitely the way to go...

Then we walked down to Pier 39 where we saw Sea Lions and a whole fleet of sailboats. Along the way we found wine bar #2... don't judge... this time we drank Sangria! About that time we saw this amazing thing called the "Rocket Boat" that basically takes you out on the bay and whirls you around at 45 mph. We thought it looked like a good idea... so much for our hair the rest of the day!! We were freezing from the wind and water after our boat ride so we found a restaurant with an outside patio and fireplace!

After some time well spent sitting around the fire, we decided to drive around the city some so I could see some of the buildings and architecture. We even drove down "the most crooked street in America". It was nuts! I can't believe people actually live on this street! After that, we headed back to Walnut creek where we went out for the evening with one of Coree's new California friends...

It was an awesome trip, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Now it's Coree's turn to come to Oklahoma!!

I finally figured out how to post larger photos!! Pretty cool, huh??