Back in December I went on a photographer bonding trip to Austin with some other local female wedding photographers. It was awesome. Just so much fun.

I’d had the idea to form a trip like this one for a while now, but I’m really not the type of girl who plans trips. You know those types of girls who are just so gifted at throwing parties, planning activities and putting together trip itineraries? I don’t fall into that category naturally, and that’s okay. It’s just not my forte. But when my photographer friend Allison told me she’d be moving to Oregon in January, I knew it was now or never.

I sent out an e-mail to eight awesomely talented photographers I knew — some I knew well (I’m talking shot-her-wedding/shot-my-wedding well), some I had met a single time, and one I had only ever corresponded with over e-mail. The e-mail I sent them could basically be summed up as:

Hey, I think y’all are awesome. I think we should all be friends. Let’s go on a trip.

And so we did. And we have this cute girl (pictured below) and Orgeon to thank for forcing me to finally press “send.”

The main goal of the trip was to bond, but if we happened to take some photos along the way with the refreshing purpose of shooting for ourselves, so be it.

I actually shot Emily Davis’ wedding a couple years back — so fun! Since then this girl has just found her niche in the wedding photography world and I’m so proud of her.

Somebody caught some crumbies in her scarf . . .

Stephanie Rose actually photographed my wedding three and a half years ago, before I became a wedding photographer myself. Stephy is a free spirit if I’ve ever known one, and she’s awesome.

Allison Harp — she is who she is and never runs out of interesting things to talk about, which works well because I’m a listener. She’s brave. And I like to think that when I’m around her a little bit of that bravery rubs off on me too — like that one time I invited a bunch of girls who didn’t know each other to go on a trip together.

Elisabeth Carol (to use her photographer name) is sweeter than sweet and thoughtful to boot.

Adorable Amanda Jameson — I kept complimenting her on how good she is at asking genuine get-to-know-you questions because she’s so incredibly personable, which is something I really admire about her.

 Lovely Lauren Apel — what she says she means. I like that. It’s such a strong quality to have.

 Y’all, Stephanie Smith’s random little quips and one-liners into conversations always killed me. This girl is her own kind of funny. ALSO SHE’S GOING TO BE A REAL LIVE MOM SO SOON.

Jessica Shae is a real, live mom RIGHT NOW, if you can’t tell. I think it says something about her that she brought her three-month old on this adventure with us — that she’s the type of mom who is going to instill adventure deep into her little Judah boy.

The photos of me below were taken by Allison, one of the few people in this world who can manage to make me not look like a complete ignoramous when a camera is pointed at me.

It was so incredibly refreshing to spend two and a half days with such lovely souls. More than just being photographers I admire, they’re all people I admire as well.

I can’t wait for the next one.