A contest is coming! A contest is coming!

Get ready, because I'm going to be sharing some love with one lucky KSP fan this Valentine's day. Details to come this week!

Tuesday's Top 5

Welcome to the KSP Blog-the Happiest Place on Earth! Wait, that's not right. Let's try that again:

Hi, I'm Katie, this is my blog, and I'm going to the Happiest Place on Earth!!!

That's more like it. This week's Top 5 is inspired by something I did tonight: I booked my Walt Disney World vacation!!!! (I'm a touch excited. Can you tell?) The little guy is turning three in February and I am so excited to be taking him to Disney for the first time to celebrate. I'm even working on a letter to Max from Mickey inviting him to come visit Mickey's house. This is going to be so much fun ! (For Max, too.)

Now occasionally, someone will ask me, "Since you grew up in Florida do you just hate Disney?" This is usually the point where that person and I cease to be friends. I keed. I keed. But I love Disney (love love love). And the fact that I could see the Magic Kingdom's fireworks from my backyard as a kid only enhanced that love. (Did I ever tell you about the time my sister and I got free parking at the Magic Kingdom because we could name all seven dwarfs in under ten seconds? Yeah, we did. Be jealous) Anyhow, it's fair to say that when I clicked the "confirm reservation" button tonight there was a fairly substantial happy dance going on.

So in honor of my happiest place on earth dance, I give you:

MY TOP 5 FAVORITE MAGIC KINGDOM RIDES

5. The Tea Cups. I recognize that the Tea Cups are not everyone's cup of tea. In fact, that is the problem with the Tea Cups. No one will ever go on them with me. Apparently, they make some people uncomfortable. Weaklings. Tea Cups Rule!

4. The Haunted Mansion. I love the Haunted Mansion for how totally not scary it is. It is funny and amusing, not scary. Not scary EXCEPT for that tiny glowing witch lady who is floating above you at the very end. Do not, I repeat DO NOT look that creepy lady in the eye. Not unless you want to have nightmares about her for the rest of your life. I warned you.

3. Pirates of the Caribbean. Here's the thing about this ride. It is totally basic. Not high-tech, not fast-flying, not super scary. None of that stuff. But it is awesome and classic. I was very proud of the folks at Disney that even when they added all the Jack Sparrow stuff, they didn't mess around with the spirit of this ride. Kind of wish they would have taken that hairy foot guy off the bridge, though. Oh well. Yo! Ho! Yo! Ho! A pirate's life for me!

2. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Hold on to your hats! 'Cause this here's the wildest ride in the wilderness! One of the things I love about Disney is that when they do something, they do it right. Thunder Mountain is a great example of that. The roller coaster itself is not especially thrilling, but from the time you get in line to the time you leave the ride, you are in the wild west through and through. Other theme parks just don't do that quite right. Disney, I love you, and I love Thunder Mountain.

1. Space Mountain. I love LOVE love Space Mountain. It is so fast and totally violent. I've even been known to close my eyes and put my hands up in the air, even though I think you probably shouldn't (you've heard that urban legend about the girl who stood up, right?) I could ride this one again and again. Apparently everyone else could, too, because it tends to have a long line. But if the line is long, you can always look for the giant chocolate chip cookies flying through the air!

While we're in Florida, we're going to have a pirate-themed birthday party for Max. (Yo! Ho! Yo! Ho!) Take a look at this great collection of pirate party items I found on etsy. (Husband, if you read this, don't worry, I'm not buying them all. Just browsing.) I really REALLY want to do a pirate-yourself photo booth, though.

(All items from Etsy.com. From top left: Cupcake Toppers by TheBirthdayHouse; Pirate Photo Booth by LittleRetreats; Vinyl Wall Decal by FreckledHound; Pirate Bunting by BlueMoonStudios; Custom Invitations by MaryHadALittleParty; Pirate Shirt by Lakenandilla; Crayon Holder by BarefootTams; Toddler Necktie by BabyByStevie)

Joy to the World!!

Still catching up and wanted to share some of the pictures from our family's Christmas card this year. I need to give thanks to my sister who helped with the "group" shots and my mom who played comedian in the background!

Have You Voted Yet?

Time to vote on the Best Face Photo of 2010 over at I Heart Faces.

Head on over and look for number 58 (that's me!). You can vote for up to five entries total and voting ends Friday, so don't delay!

VOTE HERE

Tuesday's Top 5

Getting back into the swing of things here...

MY TOP 5 FIRM(ish) PHOTOGRAPHY GOALS FOR 2011

First of all, these are NOT resolutions. New Year's Resolutions are sooo passe! These are firm(ish) goals, which are clearly something different (not the least of which is that they don't involve me losing weight, which everyone knows is an historical requirement of all New Year's Resolutions). So what am I planning to do with myself this year? Let's see...

5. KathrynShoresPhotography.Com. This is definitely a must-do during these long, cold winter months. I've even already made a little progress (i.e. I've bought the domain name), so it's only a matter of time until my (hereto undiscovered) web-site development skills start to surface and, through me, create the perfect online home for KSP. Yep, only a matter of time.

4. Take a Studio Lighting Class. This one only requires me to find (or, more accurately, put aside) the time. Up until now I have worked primarily only with natural light, occasionally busting out the flash gun to get a group shot or boost light in a dark room. But I am so intrigued by photographers, newborn photographers, in particular, who are able to use studio lighting so effectively that you would never know it is not window light; thereby enabling them to shoot year-round at any time of the day or night. What a concept! I really do want to put aside the time to get to a studio-lighting class this year. So who's going to nag me about that one come mid-year?

3. Maternity. Maternity. Maternity. This is an area where I would love to strengthen my skills and my portfolio. Last new year, I made the goal of building up my newborn portfolio, and I think that worked out pretty well. Sooooo, if you or someone you know is expecting, keep your eyes peeled for a KSP casting call here or on Facebook in the next few months! (By the way, are you a fan on Facebook?)

2. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. I do not shoot enough. It might have something to do with my full-time job, two-year old son, thirty-something year old husband, twenty-pound cat, yada yada yada, but I have just got to make the time to get out there and shoot. Just before Christmas, I drove past this Christmas tree stand on my way to my son's soccer class. It had just snowed and the snow on the trees was so perfect, as well as the string of lights charmingly strung above the rows of trees. I wanted so badly to stop and capture that shot, but I didn't have my camera with me (and soccer awaited). I told myself I'd go back that afternoon and shoot it. I didn't. I said I'd go back the next morning. I didn't. I said I'd go back after the next snowstorm. Nope. And now the trees are gone, along with my shot. If only I had made myself get out there and shoot! Next time, right?

1. Step Outside the Box. This is big. Big, big, big. So often I get into a typical portrait-session flow and forget to step back and look at the session from a new, creative perspective. Today, I saw blog post by another photographer who had shot an entire nine-month old session in a public library, complete with silly parent puppet shows and snuggly story-time. A library!?!? It was wonderful! It was not traditional portrait and it was simply wonderful. Am I going to be venturing into the library for my next shoot? Maybe not, but my goal has to be to take some time for each session and step (run? leap?) outside the box. Who's with me?

Speaking of what you can do in a year, here's a small sampling of my 2010:

Best Face of 2010 ~ I Heart Faces

This week at I Heart Faces they want to see the Best Face of 2010. And I can only pick one!

Although I've seen a lot of great faces this year, how ironic is it that the face I'm loving the most is the last one I snapped in 2010? Coincidentally, this little girl is also responsible for my first maternity session, first newborn session, and she's the owner of that cute little baby tushie with the pink tutu which you may have seen on my facebook page. Now she also gets the honor of Best Face of 2010! I just love that quirky peek she's giving me here. It is so almost-two!

Miss Nora was, let's say, luke warm to me when we first started out. I pull a mirror out of my pocket, however, and she's all "oh the diva has arrived!" Honestly, this shouldn't have surprised me. When I asked mom what Nora's favorite song is, she responded, "Well, it's not what you'd think. She likes Beyonce's Single Ladies and a lot of Lady Gaga."

Check out more of this sweet face on my facebook page and more great faces on I Heart Faces. Oh and did I mention that the winner of this challenge will be voted on by I Heart Faces readers? What say you to checking back in later this week and giving a little voting love?

Hellooooo 2011!!!

Somehow, between finishing up client orders, packing for vacation, wrapping gifts, hosting parties, celebrating, traveling, and eating a lot of junk food, I missed wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. How rude of me.

Now that you've forgiven me, let me show you where I've been. At a photo shoot, of course:

We had the most wonderful Christmas with our family in Florida. We spent ten great days visiting, laughing, lounging, and even roller skating. But now it's back to the real world and I am ready to plunge head first into 2011. I'm going to be working on a new website in the next few months, so keep your eyes and ears open. Speaking of the interweb, are you a fan of Kathryn Shores Photography on Facebook? If not, clicky clicky!

Best of luck to all returning to work tomorrow. I know I'll need it come 5:45 tomorrow morning!