It’s that time of year again! Twice a year, these amazing ladies and I head out on a trip together for a few days of talking, laughing, sipping, eating, shooting, exploring, and just hanging out together. This trip started in 2010 as a way to network with other photographers we kind of knew… it has evolved into a reunion of true friends who just really like to hang out together. This time around, our trip will take us to Joshua Tree for some desert adventures.

You can follow all the fun on our Tumblr site here as we update it constantly: http://www.atravelingheart.com

We have so many great memories of our past trips together and I can’t wait for more of that in the next few days!

Being a photographer, I have lots of really talented photographer friends who are taking amazing, inspirational, interesting and sometimes just fun images on their phones. Instagram allows them to post them and for me to enjoy them pretty much instantaneously… it’s a fun way to stay in touch with friends who share a passion for imagery like I do, but to also see what people are seeing and sharing from their daily lives.

The biggest reason why I love the app is that it allows, and even encourages, me to continuously be looking for interesting photos in my daily life. It’s a way I can stay inspired even when I don’t have my big camera in tow. It gets me to use the camera on my iPhone more often and in more interesting ways than ever before. I strongly feel that one has to continually practice being creative to keep that part of your mind sharp, and Instagram has encouraged me to do that in such a convenient way. Plus, I get to document my life in a really interesting way by snapping away at random things I see throughout the day.

Now, when I go out, even with just the camera on my phone, I feel confident that I can continue to practice my craft while documenting my life one square photo at a time.

I’m just beginning to tap into the power of the iPhone camera by checking out photo apps that are out there. I’ve already been having some fun with iDarkroom and Diptic along with a few others. If you have a favorite photo app for the iPhone I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Here are some shots from my recent Instagram feed. You can follow me on Instagram if you have an account- my username is heatherkincaid.

I can’t wait to see how my collection of images looks by the end of the year!

If you’re a photographer, or just like taking photos, I really encourage you to check out the app and get shooting more! It’s so fun and it’s a great way to keep shooting often.

Brian snapped these shots of me quickly the other night- my first maternity shots and I love them. Looking forward to setting up an official maternity session for us in the next couple of months!

There is so much to learn about and think about being an expectant mother, so if you’re a mom and have any blog or book recommendations, or have any advice to offer, I’d love to hear it! I’ve been perusing the Web for great blogs on the subject and would love to have more to read!

In other news, I have so many things I want to start blogging, but I’m working on a brand new blog and Web site design so I’m saving a lot of it for that big launch in about a month. Until then, new content on the blog might be a little on the light side, but it will pick up soon.

Hope 2012 is starting out well for you all! xo

First and foremost, this year has been an incredible year for me personally having fallen in love with and married the love of my life. One day, I was totally happy being single- working and focusing on my businesses and what I wanted from life. Quite literally, the next day I had met this amazing person who changed my idea of happiness and from then on I knew that I didn’t ever want to experience anything without him by my side. I know I have yet to do a full post about our wedding, but I hope to do that early in the new year. It was definitely one of the best days of my life and I’m looking forward to sharing more about it.

Professionally, this has been the best year yet. I exceeded many of the goals I had for my company and even started a secondary company with one of my best friends (I will be posting more about that in 2012). I shot so many amazing weddings this year for clients who understand and appreciate my vision and approach to photographing weddings, which makes my work even more creatively fulfilling. I also photographed some great commercial and studio sessions- accomplishing another goal of mine to build up the commercial side of my business, which I hope to continue to do next year. Finally, I am almost ready to launch a brand new Web site and blog- something I’ve been wanting to do all year and finally made time for in the past month or so. This new design is so much more me and I can’t wait to unveil the whole new look hopefully by the end of January!

Looking back on this year truly makes me smile, but I smile even bigger when thinking about 2012 and all I know it has in store for me, and everything I have yet to find out. At this time last year, I could never have guessed what 2011 would bring to my life, and I know 2012 has just as much potential to surprise me in amazing ways.

I have never posted a full “Best of” post before because I always found it so overwhelming to go back through all of my photos and select my favorites. So, this year I did something a little different. The below images are images that for some reason I remember the most. They all are images that made an impression on my mind and lingered in my memories… and they are all images that flash in my head when I think about the images that creatively define my 2011. They are in completely random order- and some of the sessions featured haven’t even made it to the blog yet. So many images from this year linger in my head, so I created this collage rather than posting them all individually. Seeing them all together like this makes me smile and I hope you enjoy viewing them, too.

Here’s to reflecting back on a great year full of lessons, love & laughter- and here’s to hoping that 2012 brings the same! Happy New Year, everyone!! xoxo

I now know how it feels to be on the other end of the camera on a wedding day, and I have to say it was a little weird, but so amazing and fun. I’ll be doing a full blog post about our special day soon and my experience as a bride, but since it’s now been one full week since the big day, I thought I’d post this little preview with some photos Meg sent me. Oh, and one quick shout out to Michele of Fiore Beauty for my hair and makeup and to Luna of Arrangements Design for my amazing flowers! You are simply the best in what you do and I’m so lucky to know you all.

Can’t wait to share more soon!

Traveling Hearts Society

Here are some of my favorite images I took of paradise, and two of my dear friends there.

Mary. So camera shy.

I don’t know this guy, but he was happy and didn’t mind me photographing him. Then again, who living on Kauai wouldn’t be happy?

Laurel.

If you go to Hawaii, you must try a Puka Dog. I had the veggie dog with mango relish… amazing.

Our last day of exploring, Mary and I rented a Jeep and took off to explore the East and South shores of the island… so happy we did!

This one makes me especially happy…

Oh, Kauai. You stole my heart. I can’t wait to go back.

Austin has long been on my list of “must-visit” places… That list seems to grow weekly, but I’m so happy that I was able to check off this city. It was an experience I will always appreciate and truly never forget. Experiencing the energy and vibrance of a city taken over by such a large mass of creative, interesting people was like nothing I could have imagined… and I plan to go back next year and for many years to come.

I’m not sure I can describe in words the inspiration I got from this whole trip, so I’m hoping my photos offer a glimpse into that. Here are the people and things I saw during those four fantastic days.

One of the things I loved most was hearing live music on every single corner… music of all kinds. This was a band called Lovett… and I loved them.

Mary.

For some reason, this shot was instantly one of my favorites from the trip.

Thank you, Austin. <3

I’ve never been one for landscape photography- people have always been my favorite subject because they inspire and interest me the most. But, recently I’ve been taking more and more landscape photos and I’ve really been loving it. It will never be better than portrait photography to me, but it’s so fun to get out and explore and try to capture the beauty of such amazing places.

Once I passed the snowy loveliness (including an awesome snow storm which had me gripping 10 and 2 for about 45 minutes), I came to a series of small towns with warmer weather and bluer skies. One was home to this mule farm and there was something about it that made me pull over. Right when I did, this one came right up to the fence and was super curious about every move I made.

This drive made me even more appreciative to live in the amazing state of California. I drove through a snow storm and got a little driver’s tan on my left arm all in the same drive… I was in awe of everything I saw and would have made so many more stops if I had the time.

Now, here’s a sneak peek of the Tahoe wedding that provided me the opportunity to see all the beauty above. Many more photos from  this wedding coming soon.

Love.