A Day in Fort Worth

Wow! This is the first post of 2019! At least this January blew by pretty quickly because last year, January took FOREVER to end! Last week I ended up in Colorado for an unexpected work trip and I must say, Colorado is a beautiful place! My coworker and I flew out last Monday and arrived in Denver pretty late in the evening. After arriving in Denver, we had to drive an hour south to Colorado Springs and as soon as we got to the hotel, it started snowing. And I mean heavy snow and high winds! It was the first time I had been in any snow since I moved to Texas over two years ago. Texas has me pretty spoiled so I was not feeling too excited about the snow or the super cold weather! I will say that I would love to take another trip to Colorado but I would need it to be Spring or Summer before I go. I feel like they would have some amazing hiking spots there. So if you live in Colorado and/or have been there before, let me know of all the hot spots to hike!

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Another day, another donut. 📸: @wanderbabexo

A post shared by Londen Wheeler (@londensbridge) on Jan 28, 2019 at 10:42am PST

Well, enough of that! Back to my life in the “Great State of Texas!” My good friend Letty (@Fashionablylateboymom) and I planned to spend a day in Fort Worth to attend the Snap151 Pop Up Shop. Kayleigh (@wanderbabexo), Letty’s best friend tagged along with us for the day and helped to bring more fun to the party. Our day of just planning to go to Snap151 ended up turning into going to eat at this awesome restaurant called BarTaco and then over to the Lumen Room for their open house. Letty and I took a few photos there but it was PACKED with people wanting to create as much as they could with the beautiful space that was available. I was even able to create a beautiful shot of a model that was there.

If anybody has been wondering why I haven’t been posting much to Instagram, it’s because I’ve been crazy busy and really not feeling very creative lately. Spending the day in Fort Worth this past weekend was refreshing. I felt energized and charged up after being around creatives, meeting new people, networking and creating beautiful images. I’m ready to start the new year off right with more traveling through the country and it’s definitely one of my resolutions to shoot more. Last year was a super slow year for me even though I had some really nice opportunities come my way. Time to focus more energy into going out to shoot and not being afraid to ask people to work with me. It’s even been hard asking people to shoot with me because we would schedule a day to shoot and then they would cancel on me day of. So that’s frustrating. I’m hoping that I can start meeting people who would actually want to do a shoot and would feel the enjoyment that I feel when I’m in front of or behind a camera. Pray for me on that, guys!

On a positive note! Let’s kick butt this year, y’all!

Fashionablylateboymom

I’ve been wanting to create a post and introduce you all to a pretty awesome person.  She is the founder of the incredible FashionablyLateBoyMom blog.  I first met Letty back in August when she reached out to me to do a photo shoot for her fall look blog post.  We recently just took photos for her winter styles, so be on the lookout for her post with those new looks!  Also, for some reason I’ve noticed that whenever we shoot, it’s either 110 degrees or in the low 40s.  Both were certainly not great times to be outside shooting but we did and we rocked it!

Over the past couple of months, Letty and I have been connecting on events, running ideas past each other on future plans, and she’s even become an amazing friend.  I can hit up Letty anytime and I can always count on her to be there and to give her honest opinion!  Two weeks ago, I reached out to her and asked if she’d be willing to help give my wardrobe a boost.  Without hesitation, she said, “yes!”  So, we scheduled a day to head over to the Northpark Mall in Dallas, where you spend over 20 minutes trying to find parking and another 20 minutes running from one side of the mall to the other.  

We met up at H&M and started looking around to see what we could find.  After about two hours in there and trying on several different outfits, we finally agreed that the wardrobe was officially boosted.  My family came along too because they didn’t have anything to do.  Everyone collectively made fun of me because I’m so skinny and even the small clothes didn’t quite fit right.  Don’t worry y’all, I eat literally everything in sight!  It’s just that my metabolism is working overtime.

I don’t think I’ve said thank you enough to Letty for taking time out of her schedule to help me out. So, Letty, if you’re reading this, THANK YOU!!!

Oh! One last thing, y’all! I received a text from Letty today and it was a pleasant surprise! It was a link to an article with Voyage Dallas. They did a feature on Letty and her fashion blog. Letty even plugged my photos in there so that was super awesome to have some photos in one of Dallas’ most popular magazines. Check out the article here.

Be sure to follow her on Instagram (@fashionablylateboymom), read her blog, and show her some love! YOU WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED WITH HER CONTENT!!!  It has been such an honor getting to know and work with her and even to see her growth as a fashion blogger/influencer.  I am very excited to see where she goes next as I know that God has a ton in store for her!

Also, I have some big things coming along with my Instagram and a big trip planned! I’ll keep you guys posted with what goes on!

NCAA DI Softball Regionals at Baylor University

People still can't spell my name right, guys! 

It's funny how I ended up in Waco for four days, especially because I never really expected to be shooting any sports any time soon.  This past Monday, I got into work pretty early, like 5:30 am early, and my coworker who sits behind me asked if I had any photography gigs this weekend.  There weren't any Instameets going on and I didn't have any portrait sessions so it was an unusual, "no."  Literally an hour later, I get a text from my former internship supervisor asking if I had any plans this weekend.  I told her no and that I was just going to chill and probably hang with some friends.  Which then sprung up her next question...  "How far do you live from Waco?"  My response was roughly two hours depending on traffic because anyone who lives in Texas knows that if you take I35, be prepared to plan your day accordingly.  She then asked if I was interested in shooting the NCAA Division I Softball Regionals at Baylor University.  Being that I was upset that I would miss another Regional with JMU, and after finding out that they weren't hosting this year, I sprung up and said, "when, where, and how long do I need to be there?!"  She told me the weekend game plan and I told her that I was in after talking with my manager and getting approval to go.  Before you know it, I was heading down to Waco with a car full of camera gear, bumping my Spanish worship playlist on Spotify and catching minor cases of road rage.

Caught texting on ESPN in between innings! - Photo courtesy of Scott Eyre

Once I got there, I was feeling pretty nostalgic to be traveling with a JMU sports team again and seeing all of the familiar and friendly faces from Harrisonburg, Va.  I also got to meet the extremely talented Director of Video, Clayton.  It was awesome to watch him work and create the videos that he does for the athletics department.  I also got to see my friend, Curt Dudley, the voice of JMU athletics and I met Ty, one of the team administrators.  We had some great conversations and got to know each other in the little bit of time that we had in Waco.

So, I'm just going to share some of my photos from the games, which is the whole reason behind this post.  Also, check out this photo that my friend, Scott took of me on ESPN!

Thursday - Practice at Baylor University

The ambitious Dukes take the field at Getterman Stadium to get some practice in.  The weather from Dallas to Waco is very different.  The humidity in Waco was enough to take your breath away and before I knew it, I was sweating profusely and feeling dehydrated.  Other than that, it was nice to get back on the field to get some shots after not shooting any real sports since January when JMU's football team won the national championship in Frisco.

Friday - JMU vs. Oregon State University

Ok, so nobody ask me how I was able to get Coach Dean to give me a thumbs up but I sat there for a good five minutes waiting for him to do something.  As a result, this is what he did.  Can't complain because the shot was totally worth it and if you know Coach Dean, I'm sure it is meme worthy because someone like him has to have a ton of funny phrases that would be perfect for memes.  The Dukes had a great first game against OSU and it was tough at first to get my eyes back into seeing action again.  Everything was moving way faster than what I had practiced for earlier last week (See my Neighborhood Basketball post).

Saturday - jMU vs. Baylor University - Game 1

The Dukes went into this game ready to go and I was confident that we were going to get this dub and go home for the night.  We were up 2-1 going into the sixth inning, but Baylor had a heckuva hit and ended up with a three-run home run.  That homer gave Baylor a 4-2 lead over JMU.  Upset?  Yes, but the ladies responded in the next game against Kent State.  The rest of the tournament was on the line going into that game and in order to move on, we would have to beat Kent State.

Saturday - jmu vs. Kent State - Game 2

This was it.  The moment we were all waiting for.  If we won this game, we would move on and play Baylor again on Sunday.  This one wasn't a nail biter thankfully.  The ladies marched right by Kent State to go home for the night with a 4-0 win.  The media guys didn't leave the field until a little after 10 pm so we were pretty tired.  We went back to the hotel room, I plugged up my camera batteries to charge, took a shower, and knocked out before I could count 3 sheep.  It was a long day, especially in that Waco humidity having your energy and every ounce of water drained from your body.

Sunday - jmu vs. Baylor University (Again)

So, here we are.  The game that would decide if we go home or play Baylor for a third time to take him the Regional Championship two years in a row and advance to Super Regionals.  The day started off pretty chilly and I think that I was more nervous than the ladies were.  I was pacing and walking all over the stadium because I just wanted the game to start so we could get to this second game and decide the winner of the regional.  After the game started, things were going as they should.  Both teams were giving it their all and only time would tell when the winner would be decided.  While trying to intentionally walk the batter who hit the three-run homer on Saturday, JMU's pitcher threw a pitch that went left and Baylor's runner on third bass took the opportunity to slide into home plate and score a run.

Outside of that one point that was scored, neither team was able to get points from hits.  There were a lot of great plays being made in the outfield by both teams.  But just when we thought there was light at the end of the tunnel, a senior batter from JMU smacked a ball to center field!  I mean, it looked sooooo nice.  I thought to myself that this was going to be it, the home run that could get us out of the hole.  The ball fell just a few feet short of going over the back wall and was caught by Baylor's center fielder who wasn't letting a single ball touch the green the entire game.  Defeated?  For now, yes.  But there's no doubt in my mind that these ladies will be just as great next year.  I see them being twice as successful as they have been the past few years.  I'm ready to see this team make it to the Women's College World Series!  It's only a matter of time now, ladies.  Let's do this!

I want to send a super huge shoutout to JMU athletics for allowing me to photograph this tournament.  It is always an honor to be apart of this amazing program, surrounded by amazing players, coaches, and staff.  You all made the experience a million times better and I am truly grateful for all that you have done for me.  Can't wait to see you all again!

Click here to vist JMU's web site!

To see more content from this weekend and to follow JMU athletics, visit their web site.  Click the link under the photo.