Regular readers of this blog who are social media whizzes might not find this post terribly helpful. But if you're like me -- somewhat new to social media -- keep reading :) 

One of my goals for this year is to learn how to better market myself. Part of that involves better utilizing social media to reach clients and people in my community. A lot of photographers rely heavily Facebook for this, but I've actually had more luck with Twitter. I love Twitter!

For months now, I've been using Hootsuite to manage my Twitter account. I love the platform's user-friendly interface and am especially fond of the function that allows users to pre-schedule tweets. But there's been one problem: for the longest time, I was unable to schedule tweets with photos attached. Don't get me wrong--the function was there, but it wasn't working. I'm a photographer. That's a pretty significant problem, but one I haven't had time to look into until just recently.

I mentioned this to a few friends who are social media experts, and they suggested Tweetdeck. So, I decided to check it out. Late last week, I scheduled my first tweet with a photo using the new-to-me platform. (For the record, this is Snorri, the Icelandic goat!)

I must say: I'm not that impressed. Maybe it's because I'm relatively new to the program, but I don't find it as user-friendly as Hootsuite. There's a lot of up-and-down scrolling just to schedule a tweet, and the scheduled-tweet column doesn't populate immediately. This makes it take about three times as long to schedule a tweet in Tweetdeck than in Hootsuite. Given that I do most of the work for my photography business in the morning before heading to my day job, my time is limited. 

There's no reason why I can't use both platforms, but for sanity's sake, I realize I need to choose one. Over the last few weeks I've done some testing of my own and Hootsuite is on a roll -- I haven't had any problems scheduling tweets with photos. So, Hootsuite it is! 

Those who don't following me on Twitter, now's a great time to do so! My feed is going to be, shall we say, picture perfect? (HAR!) Those who are already followers, be on the look out for great visual content!

(Keep reading for additional details about Tweetdeck and Hootsuite, including my own list of pros and cons!

Okay, so, normally I wouldn't blog about something like this, but I'm just so excited I can't help myself!

People who read my blog regularly know that I'm originally from Nebraska. Not only am I from Nebraska, but I LOVE Nebraska. I talk about it all the time (as do most people who are from the state). There's just a special pride that comes from living in the heartland.

I left Nebraska in 2008 to pursue career opportunities and it is here, (the Washington, D.C. area) that I was introduced to amazing things like public transportation. Not long after I moved here, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced it would be getting new cars for its metro system, and those cars were to be made in a plant in Nebraska. 

*cue excited freak out*

At the time, this was the most exciting news to come out of Nebraska in like for-EVER. Well, it was for me, anyway. Ask my co-workers. I'm sure they can tell you more stories about me talking about Nebraska than they can count stars in the sky.

Fast forward to today -- June 12, 2015. After great anticipation, I finally, finally got to ride one of the new Nebraska-made metro cars. Of course I had to take pictures. Of course people on the train looked at me kinda funny. When I explained myself, the woman sitting next to me piped up.

"Oh, I did the same thing," she said. 

Wait. What? 

You guessed it. My fellow metro rider is also from Nebraska!

But wait. It gets even better! Not only is she from Nebraska, she's from Aurora, a town of 5,000 people where I worked as a newspaper reporter.

I feel like the universe is smiling down on me today. How totally awesomely insane is it that on my first ride on Nebraska-made metro cars (which I've been anticipating for almost five years) I end up sitting next to a woman from the very town where I held my first post-college job??!!

Aren't Alison and Drew just the cutest couple? They met two years ago and have decided to make Silver Spring their home. To celebrate -- and help add a little coziness and love to their new place -- they asked for portraits together. I couldn't have been happier to oblige!

On a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon, we walked around Sligo Creek Parkway -- a favorite location of mine -- talking life, love, photography, and yes, even sports. Fun fact: Alison, Drew and I are all huge college football fans! GBR! Roll Tide! Eh, no one really cares about the Sooners ;) (Sorry, Drew.)

In all seriousness, I'm so happy for these two and am truly honored they chose me to mark the start of something so special and so fun. Here's to a future full of peace, love, happiness, and some totally rad hail marys. 

One of the questions I frequently get asked is how I got my start in photography. I get asked so often that I thought I'd just write a blog post about it!

The truth is, I got my start in the art almost by accident. It started back in college. I majored in journalism and wrote for my college's student newspaper. I served many roles, including editor of the front and opinion pages, columnist, and co-editor-in-chief. At the time, photography was the farthest thing from my mind. I took my reporting and writing seriously, and was laser-focused on honing those skills.

During my freshman and sophomore years, our newspaper staff was lucky to have two amazing photographers. They were rockstars at what they did and made sure the paper had great visuals. As college kids so often do, one of them graduated, taking our photography staff from two down to one. The remaining photographer (who I'll call Kristen) was involved in all kinds of campus activities. In addition to serving on the student paper, she was in a sorority, numerous clubs, acted as a campus tour guide, and participated a plethora of other really cool things.

When you're in college, over-scheduling yourself is easy to do, and that's exactly what happened to Kristen. On the verge of an exhaustive breakdown, she realized something had to go, and that something was her involvement with the newspaper. Overnight, our paper went from having one incredibly talented photographer to having none. Frantic, our adviser ran into the news room, scanned the area, zoned in on me, and said, "You! Go take pictures!"

I had no idea what I was doing, but I accepted the challenge. My first assignment was to take photographs of a student play. Somehow, they turned out well, and I continued my role as the paper's make-shift photographer. I won a few awards for my work -- which I chalk up completely to beginner's luck -- and in 2009, purchased my first DSLR, a canon Rebel. I worked on my skills, got a few additional lenses, and upgraded my equipment. But it was all for fun. In my mind, photography was just a hobby -- or so I thought.

That changed in 2013 when friend of a friend contacted me. She needed a second shooter for fashion line she was launching, and asked if I'd be interested. I thought she was crazy! I didn't consider myself a professional by any stretch of the imagination, but took a chance. I figured I didn't have anything to lose. The shoot went incredibly well and the next thing I knew, I had a website, business cards, and clients. The rest, as they say, is history!

I even got to meet President Obama when he was still a senator!

At the start of this year, I set a number of personal goals for myself that included taking more weekend get-aways, visiting an amusement park, and being mindful of the things I'm thankful for. This last week, I accomplished all three of those goals!

I know taking mini vacations and visiting amusement parks don't sound challenging -- and they really aren't -- but challenges aren't what these goals are about. They're about bringing more love, fun, laughter, and adventure into my life, and they wouldn't have been possible without Cliff, who is always so supportive of anything I wish to do.

Initially, I had hoped to visit an amusement park on a day that I played hooky (talk about fun!), but it didn't quite work out that way. You see, this week is my transition between jobs. I'm going back to a field I understand well and feel incredibly passionate about, and am stoked for the new opportunity. But I also know that no play and all work makes Jack a dull boy (or in my case, Jill a dull girl), so I gave myself a week off between jobs. And you know what? I learned a lot!

I've never taken time off between jobs before, nor have I ever understood why people would use paid time off for a "staycation." I get it now. Having a week devoted fully to myself without anywhere I had to be was pretty awesome. 

Cliff and I kept things low-key at the beginning of the week, but on Wednesday we ventured to Kings Dominion. It's been years since either of us have been on a roller coaster and had an absolute blast riding everything from The Grizzy to The Intimidator. I know the new-fangled rides are what all the cool kids are into these days, but our trip only reaffirmed by affinity for wooden roller coasters. They're just the best! (Sorry, no photos from the amusement park. I might be crazy, but I'm not stupid ;) )

We spent Thursday and Friday in the mountains of Shenandoah National Park, where we camped at Loft Mountain. On that trip, I did take my camera and you can see photos below. This was the first time Cliff and I went camping together -- and it was also my first time in a national park. I still get goosebumps thinking about the insanely incredible things we saw. Highlights included a leisurely four-hour drive on Skyline Drive, viewing thunderheads from a distance (I'll never forget the sound of thunder echoing in the mountains!), hiking to a waterfall, and watching the sun set from a secluded spot on the Appalachian Trail. I now understand what John Muir meant when he said, "The mountains are calling and I must go."