In case you’ve missed previous 10 on 10 posts… 10 on 10 is a monthly project. 10 photographers create a blog circle featuring 10 photos on the 10th of the month. It’s a fun peek into our lives outside the studio.

This month my 10 on 10 is perfectly suited. My oldest son, Gabriel turned 10 and this month my images are from his birthday party!

This is Gabriel Alexander… the first born of the Knowles boys.

For dinner we had what every 10 year old boy would want on his birthday. PIZZA! We love our Hungry Howies Pizza! We have them on speed dial

This was our first trip to Cobra adventure park on Panama City Beach. If you are visiting the area, you NEED to plan for a trip to the park. If you live here and you haven’t been there yet, GO! We had SO much fun! Go Karts, Golf and thrill rides.All of the kids loved it…and the adults did too! The staff was friendly and helpful with our large party. We will definitely be back!

A few of the big kids in our party tried out the vertical accelorator…slingshot… whatever they call that nowdays Should’ve heard them scream. lol

The kids got a kick out of watching them!

Gabriel is VERY much into Mario Brothers… oh the memories that brings back! He plays the games, draws the characters, builds them out of Legos and watches the videos. I’m telling you Mario is hot in our house right now! So for his cake, Gabriel requested “a regular cake with little Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Goomba, Bowzer etc etc etc”. So that’s exactly what he got

He got the candles out in one blow… with some help from the wind that was blowing that night.

Then it was time for preeeeeeesents! He got lots of Mario stuff and his last gift was a Mario wallet with a little spending money in it!

After food, cake & presents we played a round of mini-golf. During which all the kids seemed to whip all the adults. How exactly does that happen?!? After golf we drove go carts and THAT was a blast!!! Sadly, I don’t have any pictures of that. Why? Because I was pedal to the medal on that track with the rest of them.

Thanks for reading this month’s 10 on 10. To see the other 9 photographers in my 10 on 10 circle, check out the next in line, Milwaukee Photographer Melissa Schuett Photography

I love that our clients love us so much they send their friends to us! <3  Brittaney is friends with one of our 2011 brides, Jennifer. We photographed her Cabana Blue wedding last October… and then their family Christmas portraits in the studio later last year.

Ryan & Brittaney were married on the Bay at Cabana Blue. Love this venue! The scenery is stunning and the in-house coordination is just wonderful! It’s always a joy working with the folks at Cabana Blue.It wasn’t until we arrived at the wedding that I discovered Brittaney & I went to school together! Small world!

The ceremony was held bayside…

As the sun went down the lighting over the back porch reception just sparkled…

The gorgeous vintage inspired cake was made by the chef at Cabana Blue!

The flowers looked like they could have come right off of a wedding gown. Just gorgeous!

Bouquet tossing time!

…and she scores!

Ryan & Brittaney had the best favors for their gifts. Adorable little Mason jars filled with chocolate…along with gender specific totes filled with great things!

At the end of the night, we were able to sneak back out to the boardwalk for a reflection shot.

Thank you to Ryan & Brittaney for letting me be a part of your day! Thanks to Jennifer for referring them! Thanks to Tiffany for second shooting with me!

We kicked off wedding season in February this year! Bill & Jennifer were married on February 11, right before Valentine’s day!

Their ceremony was held at St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church in Panama City Beach.

The reception was held at the Majestic Beach Resort on Front Beach Road on Panama City Beach. Before heading into the reception, we ran out to the beach to get a few shots. The wind was intense and we got a little sandblasted… but we got the shots!

Bill & Jennifer crossed the street to the reception in style. Her daddy’s truck!

It’s always the kids that start the festivities. This little dude was not afraid to strut his stuff on the dance floor. hehe

First dance…

Twirling with Daddy.

Man, videographers are getting younger and younger these days!

Thanks to Bill & Jennifer for letting me capture your big day! Thanks to Tiffany for second shooting and being such a huge help to me!!!

It always amazes me how small this area really is.  When Charissa called me I immediately recognized her last name. I didn’t know Charissa but as it turns out, I grew up in church with her great-grandmother and great-grandfather! I can still see her great-grandfather, a fisherman with a raspy voice, broken tenderly as he testified. What a great man he was!

For Charissa’s family session, we met at Eden Gardens State Park just West of Panama City Beach. I love the colors they chose! Perfect for a Spring session!

If you have recently emailed us through our website and you have not received a response PLEASE email again to info@rebeccaknowles.com or give us a call at 850-624-9421.

We’ve just been alerted that emails sent from our beach portrait website have not been coming through to us. As our clients know, we strongly believe in quick responses and staying in contact. Most emails are answered the same day or at least within 24 hours. So please, if you have emailed and not heard from us, let us know! We want to talk with you!

I just love this little guy! Can’t wait to get his whole family in front of the camera this Summer!

Once again, it’s time for 10 on 10! 10 images, from 10 photographers on the 10th of the month. I stay so busy that I’ve never been good with keeping up with these type of projects. I’m amazed I’ve made it to the second month. LOL

Disclaimer on the images this month. Several of these were iPhone pics so no judging quality

This month I will take you on a journey. At the end of February, I traveled to Texas to an amazing photography conference… workshop… Let’s just say an educational experience like no other! Every year Dave Junion and the AfterDark crew host these awesome experiences in different parts of the country. The last one I attended was in New Orleans.  This time the setting was the Bella Harbor in Rockwall, TX. Just outside of Dallas.

Before I take you aboard the plane to Texas though, I’ll share a bit of what happened the day before.

February 25 was my –th birthday. Oops did I leave the numbers out? Yeah, that was on purpose. We will just say I celebrated the first anniversary of my 29th birthday. My amazing husband planned a spectacular birthday for me with amazing food, a DJ and about 40 of my closest friends and family. We had a blast dancing the night away and celebrating. Unfortunately, I only have one image from the night and it’s an iPhone photo of my boys & I before all the fun started. Though I’m pretty sure my friends & family were okay with that. None of them wanted to be immortalized doing the chicken wing or the running man on the dance floor. hehe

Now onto the trip…

I’m not a big fan of traveling alone. I don’t mind flying alone as long as someone I know will be waiting when I exit the terminal. I always opt for a window seat and somehow I always end up on the wing.

One reason I love flying Southwest. It’s always fun! You know it’s going to be a good flight when you board the plane to see the flight attendant waving at you while laying IN the overhead baggage compartment.   Here is an iPhone image just before leaving the Panama City airport.

This time it was my dear friend and fellow photographer, Mindy Harmon who was waiting for me. We’ve been friends for several years and try to meet up at least once a year. So instead of flying into Dallas, I flew into Houston and we drove to Dallas together. Road trips are always a lot of fun until the cops get involved.  Someone with a lead foot… not gonna say who (it wasn’t me)… managed to get a speeding ticket along the way. Whoops! Sorry no pics of that. haha

Here is an image of the hotel from our balcony. Just a gorgeous view!

I have a client and friend who’s family I have been photographing since this sweet little man was in the womb. Just before Ryan’s 1st birthday they moved to Texas. So everytime I’m in the Lonestar state we make a point to meet up and get some yearly portraits of Ryan. I’ll be posting a full blog post of Mr. Ryan but here is a fun image. After the session, which we shot at the Hilton Bella Harbor, we decided to sit down for lunch. Ryan, just like most little boys, loves ketchup. I decided to show him how to eat his macaroni & cheese dipped in ketchup. He thought it better to take off the macaroni and just eat the ketchup… with a spoon… He thought it was delicious! From what I hear he’s been asking for ketchup and a spoon ever since. hehe So sorry Keri! It’s okay though, everyone knows ketchup is a vegetable.

Now… the reason I love After Dark so much is the hands on teaching and learning. You are forced to think outside the box and do things that are not what you normally do in your studio. Here are a few of my images with the models during my AfterDark experience…

…and meet Benny the Bus! You can keep up with his travels at www.bennythebus.com.

…and out front of the Bella Harbor Hilton..

Now… that is only 9 images. Since I don’t have a 10th I’m going to post one of me, but you aren’t allowed to laugh! Here I am, pretending to be a model for my roommates, Mindy & Margaret, while we played with lighting around the hotel. Aww, go ahead, you can laugh. LOL

That is my 10 on 10 for the month of February. Don’t forget to check out the other 9 photographers in our circle…

Amanda Joy Photography, Columbia SC Photographer         

Pink Floyd says, “We don’t need no education”.

In the photography world that couldn’t be further from the truth. As I’ve heard it said, ‘Photography is a journey, not a destination’. So we will be continuing our education and journeying to Texas! We are very excited to be a part of the After Dark Education conference/workshop again this year. This time in Dallas, Texas.

The studio will be closed from Sunday Jan 26-Friday march 2 as we learn and experience new and exciting things in the photography world. Things that we can bring back to our wonderful clients. Emails and phone calls will be returned as quickly as possible during this time. Orders placed during this time will process as usual.

We will see you all in a week!

I don’t post a whole lot of personal things on the blog but I do like to let my clients and readers know a bit about who I am. You let me into your lives everyday or at least on those special occasions and I’d like to let you into mine as well.

I joined a year long project called 10 on 10. On the 10th of every month, 10 photographers post 10 personal images they have taken that month. I am so guilty of not pulling out one of my cameras when it’s just me and my kids. Documenting everyday life.  So I’m trying to so better and I think this project will help me do just that. It reminds me again how important real images for my kids to look back on and their kids to look back on one day (a long, long, LONG time from now lol). So each month on the 10th, look for another 10 on 10 post from myself and the other 9 amazing photographers in our group! To follow the 10 on 10 circle, check out my friend Kelly at Creatively Yours Photography- Spokane Washington Photographer.

…And because I’m a rule breaker I have a few more than 10.

The day I chose to photograph was January 25… yes I wrote the wrong date in the sand! *blushing*  I didn’t realize it until later but figured it was the 26th somewhere in the world, right?

Another confession ( guess this will be 10 confessions of a photographer too lol). Even though we live just a few miles from the beach. We rarely go! It just feels like a lot of work going to the beach. Terrible, right? People travel thousands of miles to come to our beaches and it’s too much work for me to take a few hours and let my boys enjoy one of God’s amazing masterpieces. Not anymore… I’ve decided to change that this year.

Taking three boys to the beach in January and telling them not to get wet is like… well… taking boys to the beach and telling them not to get wet! It’s not gonna happen The water was still chilly and it was somewhat windy that day so I was being mom…and I didn’t want to hear them fuss about being cold all the way home. So they started out slow, playing in the sand and at the edge of the water.

Then it turned into a race. Gabriel was pretty intense with wanting to be the champion. lol

While the boys went wild, my mom and I relaxed on the sand and enjoyed the warm sunshine. Self portrait anyone?

Gabriel’s sculpting skills gives new meaning to the term ‘sand shark’

Yes, my toes are blue

One last selfie… can you see me???

Little Ms. Audrey made it in last week for her sitting session. She is just a ball of preciousness, like her big sister! We enjoyed playing dress up in all the girly attire. With all these boys in my household, I have to get my girly fix somehow

“What??? You think I’m cute?!?”

“You bet I’m cute!”