EUROPE // Part 3

Now that it's around 2 years since I got back from Europe, I'm going to finish my last post about Europe. 

This is the post where I throw in a few more "real camera" pictures, but after that I will share the pictures that show more of the moments and the people I hope to never forget. They aren't the best quality, but they captured the realness rawness of our trip to Europe.


So hang with me for a bit longer while I share these last few pictures.

We did get to tour the inside of Neuschwanstien. Let me tell you, that castle was a DREAM!
I would tell you all the crazy details and all of that, but then you might not want to go yourselves, so I will refrain from spilling the juicy details, so that you want to go yourself.

"Little townnnn, it's a quiet villaaaage."

That's what these two pictures remind me of... Beauty and the Beast.  There is something about the narrow cobbled streets, the vines climbing up the Hotel Reichskuchenmesiter - it just seeps disney princess town. 

The End.

Not actually though!

Now I'll let you all see the behind the scenes phone pictures! Some of these ended up being my favorites, just because of all the memories.

^^ This is us singing in Holland. 

That was a day with many lasts in it. The last concert in Europe. The last time the program would ever be sung. The last "goodbye's", "I love you's, and "I will miss you" to new friends. One last "see you someday," because who knows.... Maybe I will get to see more of these people again on earth. I have already gotten to see one sweet lady who came to visit the United States, and that was such a sweet reunion. 

These scene below is one that happened over and over. These are just a few of the people who welcomed us with open arms, took care of us, and loved us, and then sent us on our way with many prayers. I know the likelihood of me ever seeing them again is so low, but I still exchange emails with many of them!

<3

These girls.

Thankfully, speaking the same language isn't required to be friends. Sometimes, friendship comes from tickling, laughter, being around the same hight, and laughing at trying to speak each other's language and failing... But that's okay! Through many different words and actions, they managed to tell me that they would miss me, and the feeling is extremely mutual.

I still email back and forth with them and when a friend recently went to Germany, they sent back a card for me. I keep it in my Bible, and every time I see it, I pray for them.

My trip to Europe was incredible. And now that I've actually finished posting about it, I will have to start working on a post about my trip to Africa. 

But that trip is still too close to my heart and describing just how much Africa changed me is impossible, so it will have to wait. 

xoxo,

Anna Rose

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Fresh Snow + A Slight Hike

In the small town I grew up in, we happen to be blessed with an enormous amount of fabulous scenery. This fact could not make the local photographers any happier. 

Plus, when there's a fresh layer of snow on the ground and the makings of a gorgeous sunset, it's hard to not want to take some pictures. 

So it was that after a stop at the local coffee shop, I found myself and my go-to adventure buddy, Dakota, once again chasing the sunlight before the sun slipped over the edge of the mountains, leaving us with only the light of the moon + stars.

We ended up driving almost to the top of one of the mountains.... 

Unfortunately, we didn't realize that the road was accessible ALL the way to the top and so there was no need for us to hike the last section...like we had just done.  

I'm positive one of us made a sarcastic comment about how we always manage to do things the harder way, usually on accident. There was one time that we got her Prius stuck in the snow.... but that's a different story for a different time

The climb to the top was well worth it. We got there just as the sun was beginning it's disappearing act, and had plenty of time to grab some pictures + enjoy the view.

Now, if I'm remembered correctly, there's some Blueberry Coffee Cake downstairs that is calling my name!

xoxo, Anna Rose

Jacob { Class of 2017}

“You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!” 
― Dr. Suess

     

When did this crazy cousin get this tall, this handsome, 

and since when is he allowed to graduate?!

Just kidding. I'm proud of you, kid!

xoxo

-Anna Rose

IT'S DECEMBER {PERSONAL}

 "It's beginning to lot like Christmas!"

..... in some state other than Iowa.

Thankfully tho, I did just make a short trip to Minnesota, where they had snow in abundance!

The next things on my to-do list are:

- Survive Finals Week

- Graduate from college

- Don't die

xoxo,
Anna Rose

David + Emily { engagement }

David and Emily are one of super special couples that a photographer just LOVES to work with! 

I met Emily several years ago. We were both taking a module at college, and I quickly learned that she is one of the absolute sweetest people I would probably have the honor of meeting. 

That's why, when I saw on Facebook that she had started dating this guy named David, I knew he was probably a pretty cool dude - because Em wouldn't date just anyone. 

Fast forward to freshman year when I learned who was on a team that my college sent out to summer camps. There were 3 guys and 3 girls, including me. And David was the team leader. 

Then I found out, that Emily would also be working at the same camp where the 6 of us would be for the summer. 

That summer was amazing! My team became my best friends, and my family, and Emily came a very good, close friend. Their engagement, and their wedding (okay, so I'm a little behind on blogging) were so beautiful, as is their marriage!

Okay, enough gushing. Check out this super cute couple for yourself!!

See what I mean? :)

-Anna Rose

Europe || Preview

Now, since I've told you a little about what will be hitting my little blog, I'm going to leave this picture here, and give you a little taste of what Europe looked like. 

This is along the Rhine River in Germany.

Pretty incredible, huh? 

Stay tuned for more. :)

-Anna Rose

Catching Up on Life || Part 1

It's crazy how quickly this little blog of mine can get left in the dust when it comes to living life, traveling the world, and being a college student.

And wowsers! So much has gone on.... Let's see.... What's been going on?
Ahh yes. So far this year, I've finished out a spring semester of school, shot 2 weddings, gone to Europe for 22 days with my school's chorale, flown home to Washington for 3 days, lived in Minnesota for the parts of the summer I wasn't traveling and now I'm back at school, knocking this last semester out of the water and finishing college like a boss (hopefully)

That took basically no time to write, but lets me honest, this year has been packed and my life has changed so much especially because of my Europe trip. So now, I'm going to do my best to catch up on life and let you all know what this entire year has looked like!

Now, welcome to Season 1 Episode 1 of Catching Up on Life with Anna!

I'll jump right into the middle of the semester, because lets be honest, you all don't really want to hear about all the homework and tests and late nights from college. So let's start in March!

Instead of taking spring break, my chorale traveled to Colorado, stopping at churches and singing the whole way. This is the second year that I've traveled with them around the country for spring break, and it was definitely incredible!
While we were in Colorado, we got to sing in the United States Air Force Academy Chapel, which sounded amazing.

The sunsets were so stunning, and slightly surpassed the ones that I've seen in Iowa. But only slightly. :)

We got to visit the Garden of the Gods for part of a day and that was pretty much a dream afternoon for a photographer. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing a few of the little details of my life. Stay tuned for more and I'll do my best to keep going with the updates!

-Anna Rose

{ TWENTY- FIFTEEN } one year in pictures

 It's that time of the year again.... year end reviews are surfacing which the bloggers and photographers scramble to get all their favorite pictures chosen and organized. 

Even though the end of the year has come and gone, I still hadn't gotten any pictures chosen or organizes...or even thought through. But a few days ago something completely extraordinary and completely unexpected happened:

I got every. single. thing. on my "to do while at home" list of 1092947 things done. Granted, I procrastinated and waited till 2 weeks before I left to go back to school, but hey, it's all done, and that's what counts! Because of this, I suddenly had time on my hands....time which I didn't actually HAVE to do something with, and so, I started scheming and planning, and now I have a brand new list of things I want to do before I leave! 

It's a completely realistic list to.... if I was staying for another week....which I'm not. 

I happen to be leaving tomorrow. 

that's beside the point though, back to the post at hand.

Welcome to my 2015!

It was a year of a lot of change,  a lot of growth, a lot of comfort zone expanding, a lot of fun, and a lot more. 

The year started out with The 4th Annual Christmas Session of Hannah and Anna.

As you may have picked up, we do this every year after Christmas while we are both still on break.

After that, I flew back to school and proceeded to be very productive and make time for every single thing I wanted to do in my schedule, along with work, and homework.

not.

I did have time to do some photography though.

Kenny & Chrissy's engagement pictures were such an adventure out in the freezing 

February weather!

Then.

Then it was time for a much-planned event!

My cousin was going to get engaged and He asked me to photograph it. Since then, proposals have become one of my favorite things to shoot!

Who doesn't love rose-gold rings anyways? :)

There were also one or two adventures to the nearest city to experiment and relax while taking pictures.

Spring Break was spent touring with my school's chorale! We went all over the midwest and got to spend a day walking around St. Louis. It was my second time at the arch, and it was so much fun!

After finals were over and after I worked at my school for a few weeks, I made a little jaunt to a nearby state to spend time with some very dear people of mine, my sister and her little family. 

By the way, if you every plan on flying, try to remember to bring your identification.... 

it's kind of a hassle when you don't have it. 

Not that I would know that from personal experience or anything.

My summer continued on with going to a camp to work.

This is my team. Even though we look relatively normal, believe me, these people are anything but normal. They're extraordinary  and I love them so much! After spending 8 months with them, they really did become my family and are faithful to point me to Christ. 

yeah, they aren't normal.

I had always wanted to try photographing the Milky Way. Unfortunately, in Washington, the weather, stars and location, never worked together to give me very good circumstances.

But in Iowa, by the edge of the lake, at around eleven at night, I shot this picture.

Bucket List Item : CHECK!

You've already read about the camping trip in my former posts about summer, but it's such a highlight, that I had to include some more pictures of it.

Spelunking and climbing around the hills and rocks were both huge highlights of this trip.

I may have forgotten my shoes on the camping trip, but hey, who needs shoes anyway?

At the end of the summer, I shot my cousin's wedding, and what a beautiful wedding it was! 

Olivia was the cutest bride and she was so excited to get to see Ronnie!

Mid way through the semester, I got to shoot another proposal, another cousins. As not only my cousin, but one of my best friends and adopted sisters, it was especially wonderful to get to be there and observe Elizabeth and her Avery.

Thanksgiving Break held another engagement session! This one was another cousin's and he's marrying a very good friend of mine from college!

How great is that?!

And yes, I have a lot of cousins.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention that Caleb designed this ring for Megan HIMSELF! Talk about creativity! It's simply stunning!

After Thanksgiving break was two hectic weeks of classes and finals and then I got to fly HOME!

HOME!!*

After almost a year of being away, being home for entire month was simply glorious!

*I wasn't excited AT ALL. 

During break, we did very little other than sleep in, and explore, and lounge around the house, and watch movies and eat food, and I am quite certain that I have never enjoyed doing any of those things as much as I did this month.

There were also several coffee dates thrown into the mix, as usual. And you just might recognize these cute lil' gals, Dakota and Hannah. We've been through just about everything in the last 6 years. And we've done pretty much all of it together. Now, ones married, another is engaged and the other is attending college and adventuring the globe. 

And I'll give you the hint. I'm not the married one or the engaged one. 

You'll hear more about traveling the globe later.

MUCH later.

The year ended just fabulously with these two! Engagement sessions are another favorite of mine!

(Remember the engaged one? Yeah, that's Hannah)

As you can see, this year went just smashingly! 

I'll leave you with these few little glimpses into what my life looks like as a photographer.

Photo Credit for these two shots goes to Joshua Huang from Reflecting His Image Photography

And this one goes to Hannah at Farmgirl in Flipflops.

Have a great 2016 Ya'll!

-Anna Rose