Pictures Last Longer // My Three Favorite Photos of All Times

| Favorite picture.  This picture was taken on Mackinac Island when I was in seventh grade, and it's my favorite to this day.  I love how happy we all look, the relaxed smiles and bare feet and laughter - it's almost completely unposed, I promise, and almost completely perfect. 

| Selfie.  Sorry for the poor quality, #webcamprobs.  It's no makeup, no hair style in honor of the Don't Try So Hard linkup going on today.  I'm not linking up because this post doesn't totally follow the rules, but you should go check it out anyway! (That no hair style thing isn't completely true . . . I've got a little ponytail bump going on, so I guess it's not completely natural. )  The point of the link up is to show off our natural beauty and notice others', all day!  I've been kind of rocking the Don't Try So Hard look off and on for about six months, or since I decided that I was trying too hard at too many other things to bother with hair and make up.  In other words, this is pretty much what I look all the time, so I've gotten used to natural face.

 | Picture I took.  A couple summers ago, my friend came over and we had an impromptu, self-conducted photo shoot at a park near my house.  Surprisingly, our amateur selves did a pretty good job! This is one of my favorites.  I love how the colors in her dress and hair play off the surroundings - we couldn't have planned that better! 

As long as we're talking pictures, do you think I could show you a few more?  I had a really hard time picking a favorite one that I'd taken. (wow, conceited much?) No, but seriously.  There will never be competition for my favorite picture, and I don't selfie that much, so that's why.   Here are some of the runners up in the "Pictures I Took" category. 

 

| Day at the park with my little sister! She was all about that dog hat (named Jessica) at the time, and the binoculars are just too cute.

 | This one's from Mackinac Island (do I see a pattern here?) where emergency vehicles are the only motorized transportation.  Everyone else gets around by horse, bike, or on foot, which would maybe explain why this horse was so friendly.

 | The Color Run in Lansing last year.  This particular part is the color party held at the end of the race, which includes music, free stuff, and lots of sweaty post-run bodies packed close together.  It was such a blast! 

Writing this and looking through old pictures, besides making me all nostalgic and emotional, is making me really miss having an actual camera around.  Don't tell my iPhone.  Since getting my first camera at age nine-ish, I've been such a mom when it comes to pictures. "Go stand by that statue/restaurant/tree stump/stranger!  Okay, smile!"  Then, I would promptly hook my camera up to the computer, upload the pictures, print them off, and scrapbook them, many times on the same day as the event I was scrapbooking.  A tad obsessed? At least I have great documentation of that time of my life!

I guess I'm just trying to say that I really, really love pictures.  And that if anyone has a nice camera that they don't want, they can send it my way.

Photo swapping with Juliette, Allie, and Faith today for that Blog Everyday in July challenge!

Love,
Allie