amanda vanvels photography

little things

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:56:00 +0000

this past monday i had to take down my senior thesis show. it feels so weird that i put a year’s worth of work into a show that was only up for a week. it went way too fast! my thesis work was titled “little things” and was about exactly that…the little things in life that make it worth living. i’ve experienced so much recently that made me realize that we need to hold on to and appreciate the littlest things in life that make us happy. i spent this past year documenting my life and trying to find those things and then i mounted them and put them up on a wall. it was very stressful, exciting, and fun! now, i’m graduated and i’m ready to move on to bigger and better things!

p.s. look at my cute lil’ family in that last picture. i wouldn’t be where i am today without them. and a huge thanks to my dad for helping me build 60+ frames! best dad in the world!

rebecca + scott

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:32:16 +0000

i can’t tell you how in love with these two i am. from the moment i met them, i knew they were going to be good ones. rebecca and scott are incredibly funny, creative, and wonderful people. we spent two hours shooting at a park in ann arbor and as the time went on, i just kept falling more and more in love with them. i’m so excited to shoot their wedding in detroit next month! it’s going to be a good one!

looking for an intern!

admin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:43:11 +0000

well, it’s that time again! wedding season is starting and things are getting busy really quick. i’m looking for an intern to help me out for the 2012 wedding season. if you’re interested, please download my internship information to learn more. thanks!

p.s. the information .pdf says it’s unpaid, but it IS paid!

kathy + derek

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:10:12 +0000

it’s 11pm and i’m blogging. this is the first chance i’ve had to blog in a long time. and i feel really bad about that! and honestly, i haven’t picked up my camera since california. that’s nuts! that’s insane! unheard of! but….all of this being busy has been good! i have two weeks left until i graduate from college. i have a week left until i have to hang up my senior thesis exhibition show. i have been working nonstop on this show and i’m so extremely happy with how it’s coming along! i’ll be sure to blog about it once it’s finally finished and up on the wall. i can’t wait to show you all! but i thought i’d explain a little bit about why i’ve been absent from my blog. it’s all for a good cause, i swear!

but i have been dying to put a few of these photos up from my first wedding of 2012 back in february! it was such a cold day, but kathy and derek were so amazing and willing to stand out in the cold. as i was getting ready to upload these, i was thinking about how much i really DON’T miss the snow. thank goodness it’s spring! anyway, check out these two!

california

admin — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 06:31:46 +0000

this past week i was in los angeles, california for spring break and let me tell you…i can’t help but be extremely sad to be home. the whole week was absolutely perfect. california has such life to it, something i’ve been missing it in my life for the past 4 months. i can’t help but be a winter hater…there’s no life in it! but california was exactly what i needed. the week was spent driving through laguna beach looking for famous people, eating lots of in n out, hiking up a mountain to an abandoned zoo, a beach bonfire, a day spent hanging out in disney, longboarding in hollywood, lots of laughs and lots of puppies! if you want to check out the rest of the photos from the trip, feel free to check them out on facebook.

chris + laura

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:39:10 +0000

i love these two so much. i had asked them to model for me for a school project, but the lighting happened to be so good that night and they’re the cutest people i’ve ever seen, so it just turned into a little love fest. chris is an amazing artist, who did this digital painting of me, and laura has a super cute blog! i’m so honored to know these two…love em.

a few from vegas

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 01:49:46 +0000

i’ve got cute friends

admin — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:34:15 +0000

for the third book i’m making for my independent study, i decided to challenge myself and shoot only vertical portraits…something i hardly do and actually find it awkward. as uncomfortable as it was to force myself to only shoot vertical, i’m extremely happy with how most of them turned out! these are just a few of my favorites, but i have about 30-40 photos in the book overall.

p.s. my friends are all really good looking….just sayin’.

abbey moore

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:21:43 +0000

a few weeks ago, i got to hang out with my wonderful and talented friend, abbey. we spent the afternoon running around on the beach taking photos of each other. it was cold and windy, but definitely worth it! check out the photos she took of me! i love this girl…we share a love for harry potter and adventures and boy meets world and embarrassing tweets. i’m sad i don’t get to see her as much as i’d like to.

i like people, places, and things.

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:26:07 +0000

a recent post from one of my favorite blogs inspired me to do this post. it’s so easy to get sucked into big, stressful things and let those things ruin your mood. i think it’s really important to try to slow down and notice the small, really good, amazing things that happen throughout the day. these are just a few things that make my days a little bit better.

i like driving in the car. and also riding in the car. i love when huge groups of people are singing the same song. i like running and that proud feeling i have once i’m done. i like rend collective. i really, really like rend collective. i like bonfires and looking at the stars. i like going to the beach in the winter. i like mountains, although i rarely see them. i like fields and shadows on the walls. i like sitting in the living room and giggling with my family. i like making ugly faces at my sister because i know it makes her laugh. i like avocados. i like going to church and leaving with that feeling of love and joy. i like playing scrabble. i like chipotle. except when they run out of guacamole. i like hearing disney songs i haven’t heard since my childhood. i like camping. oh, how i miss camping. i like jumping into huge bodies of water. i like adventure and walking through the woods. i, shamelessly, like gossip girl. i like black and white stripes. i like wearing leggings as pants (oops). and i like following my cat around my house.

it’s really refreshing making a list like this. what do you like?