We couldn't believe our ears. "I'm sorry, I don't think I got that. Who's coming to Abilene? To Abilene...Abilene, Texas?" 

It was true. We bought our tickets back in the summer, and finally, last week, it really happened: Iron and Wine came to town. 

Okay, yes, you can probably sit down with me and impress me for hours with all the cool bands you've seen all over America, and that semester abroad. But Iron and Wine came to Abilene! Things like this don't happen here. Ever. And it was so good! Loved getting to hear him live. I desperately tried to heed the "No Professional Photography" sign that I *may or may not have seen* but my camera happened to be in my bag. Besides, all I had on it was the 50mm 1.4 and, I mean, it's not an L series, so it's not technically professional...right? I stayed in my seat. I didn't get in anyone's way. I even waited til the very end. I only took a total of 6 shots. All I wanted was a crispity, clear, pretty one. I was totally satisfied with this one. Simple. Emotional. Good enough for me. :)

This was shot 1/25 of a sec, 200 ISO, at f/3 (much higher than normal for desired all-over sharpness). 

I got home from the concert around 11, and immediately fell into bed, after setting my alarm for 3:30AM (!!!). I was to wake up and head to Plano for a workshop put on by Stacy Reeves at 8AM sharp. My forbearing friend Jennifer, came as well, and, angel that she is, drove the whole way. Thanks Jennifer! :) Let me just say that, while the whole sleep deprivation thing was not fun (it felt like freshman year all over again), the workshop was worth every bit of it. If you ever have a chance to hang out with/learn from Stacy, PLEASE DO! She's a brilliant credit to the profession of photography, and I'm so honored to have learned from her. Thank you Stacy! Another friend of mine, Taylor, met us at the workshop. While Taylor and I had been "photography friends" for a while, we had never actually met until that morning...I was so happy to actually get to hang out with her! On top of that, Amanda and Robin, two of my dear Love Affair '09 friends, were there as well! What a sweet surprise!

To all of you wonderful readers who might be pursuing photography, or thinking about it, please, please, please go immediately and print out Stacy's guide to pricing. It will revolutionize your world. Also, and perhaps as a preface to reading Stacy's pricing guide, you should really read this article on the underpricing of photography. It's a little bit of tough love, but it's simply a must read, and a must share for photographers. Make sure you let me know when you check out both of these resources. I'd love to hear what you thought of them!