Georgia Jeepers Benefit for the Boyd Family

Area 7 was a muddy mess but oh the fun!

What an amazing event hosted by Georgia Jeepers at their property Area 7 in Oxford, Georgia! A fundraiser for the Boyd family to help their little girl that was involved in a golf cart accident. There were 40+ jeeps and tons of people in attendance. It was an amazing event! Jeep Family is the Best Family!

You never know the meaning of family until you own a Jeep! They are the most caring, helpful and fun individuals you will ever meet. They don't mind getting dirty, finding a new adventure, or just enjoying fellowship.

Southern Belle Photography/Southern Off Road raised a total of $150.00 as of Feb 4, 2015 for the Boyd Family just from digital downloads, prints and products!

Area 7 is full of action. You start with a little flex action on the rocks, continue to the stanky hole and wind back in the trails cut by volunteers ending at camp. Camp has the lake, Yolnada's Revenge and V-Ditch. Let me tell you, once you see the photos from this event you will add Area 7 to your list of Must-Ride Trails.

Thank you to everyone that came out to support this family and Georgia Jeepers for all you do for the community! You are appreciated so much by so many!

Happy Jeeping!

Friends & Family Day with the 185th in Winder!

“In this house, we do DOGTAGS, we do REAL, we do LAST MINUTE, we do DEPLOYMENTS, we do MISTAKES, we do HUGS, we do SKYPE, we do REALLY LOUD, we do PATRIOTIC, we do LOVE”

— Unknown

Whew! Today was full of smiles, laughs and good times! Stories shared between friends and family members of the 185th Assault Helicopter Battalion in Winder, Georgia! The soldiers opened up the hangers and had a Blackhawk Helicopter, bouncy house and a few other vehicles available for the kids and adults to enjoy and learn about what they do in their chosen field of expertise as well as food for everyone.

The kiddos enjoyed learning about the helicopters, night vision, and so much more! Sitting in the pilots seat or in the rear of the helicopter was a treat as well as sitting in the front seat of a military vehicle. The unit is unique and has soldiers that have been deployed numerous times, tons of wonderful stories and lots of experience and knowledge to share with friends and family members. It is always fun to hear stories of camel spiders, jokes and fun times shared while over seas or here at home. This unit is a family and they take care of one another and their families!

Thank you for all that you do, have done and will do. I know I appreciate the sacrifice you all have made and look forward to visiting with you all again!

To find out more about this unit please visit their page on Facebook by clicking here!

To order prints, products or digital downloads of this event or to just take a look-see, please click on this link:

Friends & Family of the 185th Gallery

Chestatee Wildlife Preserve & Zoo

You know it is going to be a great day when you hear the word ZOO!

What better way to kick off the 4th of July holiday than with a trip to the ZOO?!?! Our pick was the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve & Zoo in Dahlonega, Georgia. This is quite the little place to take your family and friends. You get to see animals that have been rescued and taken care of in their new homes. They have lions, turtles, elk, alligators, bears, wolves, zebras, exotic birds, and so much more! Live animals encounters are available as well as group rates for schools and other organizations. This is a must see if you are in Northeast Georgia!

Take a look at all the fun our group had during our experience!

You can also make donations on our website to help out this organization!

Arty Party Time at Clear Lake Arts Center

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”

— Picasso

The paiting we were going to paint tonight!

The question, "have you ever painted before" is commonly answered, "No", "Not since elementary school". or "HA! I can't paint, my wife/sister/friend made me do this". If you are in the Mason City and Clear Lake areas and are looking for things to do you can start with Arty Party at the Clear Lake Arts Center. This sounded fun and hey, it was an open bar with beer and wine while you paint, so even if you couldn't paint you were destined to have a little fun trying! I signed Dr. Winchester and I up for the class! We were both excited because this was a first time for both of us.

Once we arrived, we both noticed the landscape we were going to be painting was displayed at the front of the room and immediately became nervous and a little intimidated. There was no way either of were going to be able to pull this off, then we remembered we could drink beer. So, on the way to the bar we went!

Our teacher gave us a few pointers about painting on canvas and the rule of thirds for art, which as a photographer that made sense to me. As we started putting paint on the canvas both of us were still at this point really nervous but really excited. We had already decided that our paintings were going to be nothing short of horrid.

Arty Party has an open bar with both beer and wine to enjoy while you paint your masterpiece!

We were taught to start at the top and work our way down for the background and the tree in the painting was last. So we began to put down our sky! Blending was the technique used here. We used blue and white to make our sky/clouds.

Up next, the treeline in the background. Whoa, I was not good at this but Dr. Winchester was very good at this. I wanted to blend with long strokes but quickly learned that was not correct and doc showed me how to use shorter and more rough brush strokes. At this point, he was just slapping paint on the canvas. Grass wasn't as complex as the treeline. So that went fast and well, minus doc's "John Deere Green" lawn. The group as a whole at this point were laughing and having a great time as the pressure seems to be easing.

Rocks! This was the hardest portion of the painting. Rocks shouldn't be this complex but geeze louise, they were tough. Everyone had painted various forms of rocks and we also were taught how to create the color brown. We were taught how to create shadows and highlights on the rocks by using black, white and lighter shades of the rock colors. We also had to create the shadow in the water from the rock bed.

Half way finished - Doc's on the left, mine on the right.

Lastly, we added our tree! The tree in the painting had a grassy patch around the bottom as you can see from the original painting. I attempted the grass and completely ruined it so I decided my tree just cast a shadow! My tree branches were not great at all so I kept adding leaves to the tree to help cover up some of the disaster. Dr. Winchester's tree was fantastic! Little did I know that he used to doodle trees in school when he was bored!

With both of our paintings complete according to the art teacher, we decided to add our own special touches. Dr. Winchester added snow geese and I added a tire swing. Each of our painting were totally unique and both of us were highly impressed with ourselves and each other. This was so much fun and we will be back to do more!

To sign up for an Arty Party class, visit their website and check the calendar for events. Come out with us next time we go and have fun! You are not allowed to know what the painting is prior to the class but it is really fun to bring out your inner Picasso and Maynard Reece!

Clear Lake Arts Center
17 South 4th Street
Clear Lake, Iowa
641-357-1998

A day in the life ...

Spending time with the Humane Society of North Iowa in Mason City was such a rewarding experience.

Dr. Winchester and I spend about 4 hours at the North Iowa Humane Society in Mason City photographing the pets that are up for adoption. We got to spend one on one time with the animals while trying our best to capture the personality of each animal.

When we arrived, both Ryan and I were really excited about meeting the animals. Sybil, Executive Director, met with us and her staff showed us around and provided us with a list of animals that needed their photos taken. The list was huge but we got it done!

I will admit that when we got the first few dogs, I was a little nervous because the animals were loud, uneasy and nervous as we walked past. However, once we got the animals out and into the room/outside to be photographed they were all very friendly and sweet.

To find out more about the animals up for adoption please visit their website by clicking here.
Volunteers are always appreciated and they do host a few events during the year to help find these loving animals the perfect place to call home.

Humane Society of North Iowa
2700 South Birch Drive
Mason City, IA 50401
(641) 423-6241

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