Blackbird Photography

engagement session at the workshop

while at the mcnabb workshop we also shot a mock engagement session.  we had two great models, ian and nicole.  nicole owns this awesome company called studio wed.  as of right now there are two locations in asheville and one in atlanta, but she is opening more soon!  i just loved getting to know nicole and ian.  they are such a fun couple and were definite troopers in the rain for our shoot.  we had pretty nasty weather the whole time we were in asheville, but the rain managed to stay away long enough to get our shoots in so i can't complain!  here are some of my favorite images from our shoot.  

i just loved the way that ian was all nuzzled in nicole's hair.

nicole has "the look" down pat!

McWorkshop Photos

i'm home again.  i had such a great week this last week in asheville, north carolina attending corey mcnabb's "mcworkshop".  i have been really blessed this past month to attend such great workshops and learn from some really talented and brilliant people.  i have said so many times this past month that i just feel really blessed to be in this industry...an industry that is full of people who are fun, smart, and just love other people.  photography has so much to do with relationships and that's why i love it.  building relationships with fellow photographers has been something that i have been craving, and really needing, and i'm so glad i have been able to do that.  we got to shoot as some really great places while in asheville, one of which was the biltmore.  it rained every single day, including the day we were at the biltmore but we got so lucky and the rain only lasted for about 20 minutes or so and then we had beautiful skies.  it was kind of cool to be able to shoot in such different light from one hour to the next.  we also did a great engagement session and a night shoot as well and i will be posting some of those pictures tomorrow, until then, here are some of my favorite pictures from the biltmore....

this is probably one of my favorite images ever, the light, the clouds, the drama.  love it!

cheryl and andrew

this past saturday i shot cheryl and andrew's wedding.  i have just loved getting to know cheryl and andrew.  they are both so laid back and just fun to be around.  their wedding day went so smoothly.  it was one of those days that by the end i couldn't believe it was over, everything happened without a glitch.  it was abnormally hot for april and their ceremony was at 1 in the afternoon so picture takin' time was HOT.  but everyone did so great and was such great sports.  i had such a great time shooting your wedding cheryl and andrew!  i hope you have such a great time on your honeymoon!!

here some of my fav images from their wedding day....

Lisa Foster Design did their flowers and did such a great job as usual!!

back from bootcamp.....

hello friends, well, i'm back from kubota bootcamp and it was amazing!  i learned SOOO much and had such a great time.  it was definitely a lot of work and some long days on top of some major allergies but it was so worth it.  i have told so many of my friends and family it was one of those weeks that potentially change my life if i put it into practice.  we just learned so much about workflow, image processing, marketing, etc, that there is almost no way to put it all into play immediately, but over time, it will all come together.  i met some amazing people and just feel really blessed to have had the opportunity to have gone.  i shot a wedding on saturday and am in the process of working on some of those images, but wanted to share with you some of my favorites from oregon.  we had a couple model for us to practice some of our shooting techniques and they were awesome.  it really goes to show you what great images you can get when you've got a girl that can "work it"!  she was awesome!!  a complete natural in front of the camera.  we also got to use kevin's 64' mustang as a prop, which was a huge bonus!!  i have such a busy next couple months coming up and am soooo excited!  will be keeping you all tuned in!  enjoy some of these fun pics! 

the dirty guv's playin' bonnaroo!

so, i am in sisters, oregon attending kevin kubota's bootcamp having so so so much fun and learning so so so so so much. i plan on sharing some awesome images with you here in the next couple days, but for now i had a very special announcement to make........

the dirty guv'nahs are playing BONNAROO!!!

the past few months have been very exciting in the hoskins' household.  justin and i both feel so blessed to be able to take part in things that we love, but those things also require A LOT of hard work and it is so great to see some of that hard work pay off.  between the release of their new cd, playing to a HUGE crowd at the bijou, and now, getting invited to play at bonnaroo....my gosh.  i still can't believe it's true.  as most of you know, justin and i have attended bonnaroo 4 or 5 times i think. when justin and i went to bonnaroo together for the first time in 2003, i never in a million years thought that he would be playing...or that he would be my HUSBAND.  both things, awesome.  again, congratulations guys, I CAN'T WAIT!!

dirty guv's at the bijou

last friday the dirty guv'nahs had their cd release show at the bijou theater.  it was a big night.  justin and the boys have been workin on this show for months and it was so great to see it all come together.  they recorded their latest cd this winter in athens, ga with david barbee and had such a great time.  their new cd really is amazing and i am so very proud of them.  of course, i brought along my camera to take some photos of their big night.  

for some reason, i just love this image

way to go boys, it was awesome.

this month, we sign her up for kindergarten....

so, a few weeks ago my husband and i went to chuck e cheese with my best friend and her two daughters.  to say that i love these little girls is an understatement.  they are so full of life and energy you can't help but smile when they are around.  we had the best time playing games and winning tickets to get analyn some cotton candy!  that's all she wanted the whole time!  analyn is pretty smitten over justin and i'm pretty sure he would have paid a hundred dollars in tokens to win her enough tickets to get her cotton candy....let's just say, it was worth every penny.  analyn starts kindergarten and i still can't really think about it without tearing up...here are some of my favorite images and moments from our day at chuck e cheese...

analyn LOVED the rollercoaster ride, addy, not so much....

this picture pretty much sums up the day, analyn putting in the tokens, justin, taking over trying to win as many tickets as possible

oh my gosh, i love those little fingers

she loves him

bff's like for real.  =) 

mitch and sarah engagement session

so, last weekend i got to hang out with two of my favorite people.  mitch and sarah!  i hang out with these two friends most weekends, but this time was different because we were taking their engagement photos!!  mitch is one of my husband's best friends and is in the dirty guv's with him.  we both met mitch in college and to say he is one of the sweetest guys i know is an understatement.  sarah came into his life about a year ago and before we knew they were in love and now are getting married and i could not be happier!!!  i absolutely LOVE sarah for reasons that you will be able to see in these pictures.  she is beautiful, fun, sweet, thoughtful, and just perfect for mitch.  i absolutely cannot wait for their wedding on june 20th in augusta.  

also, don't forget to check out their slideshow at the bottom to see even more images from their shoot!

i love, love, love this!

i seriously could have put in like 100 photos of them goofing off and having fun together, but this was one of my favorites.

when i grow up, i want to look like sarah....

i just had to throw this image in here...work it mitch!!

and last but not least, my most favorite three images of all time, que the wind, awesome!

click here to view slideshow!! :)

beth and harrison engagement session

last weekend i got to spend the day with beth and harrison.  they are getting married on may 16 can't wait for their wedding!  they are both from knoxville, but didn't meet until college at samford.  we were laughing about how two people can grow up in the same city and never meet until life takes you to a different place...the same thing happened with me and my husband justin who went to bearden.  anyway, we had a great time hanging out downtown together.  we started out at calhoun's by the river where they had one of their first dates.  beth had told me about them hanging out there together feeding hot dog buns to the ducks, so i tried to recreate the moment a little.....

vote for the dirty guv's!! (reminder.....)

hello friends!  just wanted to send out a little reminder to vote for the dirty guvnah's in the Metro Pulse's Best of Knoxville!!!  Also, while you are at it, vote for Rebel Salon for best Salon

.my sis works there and gives the most kick but hair cuts and colors!  you should give her a call!  247.5537 ask for Whitney :)

here is the link...

 http://www.metropulse.com/best-of-knoxville/2009/ballot