Lauren Tolbert Miller Photography

2012-01-03T09:25:00.001-08:00

Valentines is Just Around The Corner...

2012-01-02T08:48:00.000-08:00

A Few Randoms From My Sunday

2011-09-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome!

2011-09-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

Well here we are in September. I really am going to be posting here regularly now. It's time to dust off my camera and lenses and get to work! I had nine months of being a zombie not taking photos, not baking, not exercising. I'm getting everything going again so please so tuned! Here is my current "snowflake" series. I'm getting started on holiday ideas early.

2011-04-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Spring in Texas

2011-04-10T06:17:00.000-07:00

I dusted off the macro lens yesterday----I may have to do the same today!

I have 1 shot left on the SX-70...I think I may have to order some film! I wish it were easier to get polaroid film (and less expensive!)

It's Warm Enough-

2011-02-16T15:10:00.000-08:00

For some little wildflowers to pop up! I couldn't resist a few flowery shots today---

Mitzu the Valentines Pug

2011-02-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

I think someone has missed sitting outside in the warm weather!

She likes to let her ears flop in the wind.

New Ideas.

2011-02-12T16:13:00.000-08:00

I think I'm going to try something new. So I've been maintaining both this blog and my other "domestic adventures blog", but the fact of the matter is I haven't been "maintaining" or updating or anything. I need something a little new and something to get me thinking creative again. I've decided to combine my domestic adventures, my baking, my photography, and whatever wacky things I come up with right here.

In case you missed it on my other blog, this is why I've been so neglectful:

Meet Baby M! He/She will be here in July. We find out soon if Baby M is a he or a she so we will be sharing with you soon!

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Some things I've learned so far:

1) If you are tired....rest...or you will be extra tired for 3 days after that

2) Yea some heartburn happens but if it's bad enough you can't lie down you are probably eating/drinking something that isn't getting past your stomach! No more grape cranberry juice for me I guess (but boy do I feel better!)

3) How blessed we are to not have any nosey or pushy friends are family. Everyone has been really nice!

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I took a couple of photos today to celebrate Valentines (and one to submit to The Pioneer Woman's "Love" photo contest) Here they are---

And here are just a few shots from our crazy weather we had! We got so much ice and snow in Texas in the past couple of weeks it was crazy---

We sure were happy when it started melting (after being stuck in the house for a week----we don't drive on ice here!)

Stay tuned...I promise to be better about updating and posting. Tomorrow may be some cooking/baking photos!

some icyness and some flowers

2011-01-24T14:49:00.000-08:00

Holidays Early---

2010-10-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

I know I posted these up on my other blog but I'm diligently working on getting things set for the holidays so I don't have to scramble! I'd love to get some cards up on my Etsy soon soon soon!

I Found a Spider Web...

2010-10-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

A magical dew covered spider web.

2010-10-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

a tiny bit of fall

2010-10-10T14:43:00.000-07:00

2010-10-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

Bring on the holidays...

2010-10-06T10:40:00.000-07:00

Giveaway!

2010-09-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

I've got a giveaway happening right now on my other blog. Come check it out!

2010-09-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

I Really Need to Take My Film Cameras Out More...

2010-09-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

some Zen shots I took a couple of years ago-

2010-09-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

A Little Color Sunday

2010-09-05T08:07:00.000-07:00

The Edge of Fall...

2010-08-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

my Kay Adam's necklace---

2010-08-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

Kay makes the most beautiful necklaces! I'm hooked!!! My new one was just begging to be photographed-

a little bit of lately

2010-07-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

industrial ideas while listening to The XX

2010-06-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

2010-06-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

the baby mantids hatched yesterday-

2010-05-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

So about 2 months ago I found this weird thing under my rocking chair outside. It turns out this is a mantid egg case! So every other time I would take Mitzu outside I would check and check to see if anything came out of it...and nothing. Finally I gave up thinking it was a dud or maybe not even an egg case! Then...yesterday...I went outside mid-afternoon to see bugs all over my rocker. Well, they weren't just any bugs! They were baby, itty bitty mantids!!!!! I ran for my camera, took lots of photos and even some video!

This one was on my arm!!!

on top of the rocker!

upside down on a flower!

2010-05-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

a tiny winged creature

2010-05-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

a much neglected blog and camera-

2010-05-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

2010-04-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

making guy things a little fru fru

2010-04-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

flowery calm

2010-04-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

a beautiful day

2010-04-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

Saltmarsh Caterpillar Moth-

2010-04-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

baby bug

2010-04-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

a little Monday randomness

2010-04-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

A Zen Sort of Monday

2010-04-05T07:40:00.001-07:00

A Broad Headed Sharpshooter Leafhopper! Never Seen One of These Before!

2010-04-04T19:09:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T07:57:00.001-07:00

I just realized that I didn't really shoot any Easter-y shots this year! So here is my favorite from last year. Have a good one y'all-

2010-03-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

a few through the viewfinder shots

2010-03-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

my lomo and my self-built pinhole are both begging to be used!

2010-03-27T06:51:00.000-07:00

its that time of year again...

2010-03-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

You know...the one where we start finding interesting insect eggs in the yard! (I don't know what the first two are but I think the bottom one is a Praying Mantis egg case!)

a few of my favorites :)

2010-03-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

springy goodness from the yard

2010-03-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

a couple new shots for the artist series-

2010-03-23T15:13:00.000-07:00

wished for sun and it came out!

2010-03-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

***please don't miss the contest on my facebook fan page. the winner will get 1 8x10 of their choice of my photos. see the previous blog post for a link!

Facebook-

2010-03-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

For those of you interested and on facebook, I did make a page for my photography. Click Here Today is the first day of a new "guess the photo" contest. The rules are on the photo and if there are multiple right answers then all of those names will go into a hat for a drawing! Thanks for joining and playing!

2010-03-14T17:50:00.000-07:00

2010-03-09T14:02:00.000-08:00

a busy week ahead

2010-03-07T13:35:00.001-08:00

The beginnings of my artist series-

scale perspective

2010-03-04T15:47:00.000-08:00

Some of my little flowery photos are really little! (well and my other macros too-) If I'm outside with the dog I may sit in the grass and look for the tiniest of flowers or bugs. Sometimes since my photos are so close up to the subject its hard to envision what size they are in real life. So today I shot a few macros but then took my point and shoot camera and took a couple of photos so that you could see how tiny they are.

chilly day with spring around the corner

2010-02-23T11:06:00.000-08:00

Adventures at the Indian Market

2010-02-21T10:05:00.000-08:00

We stopped at an Indian market in Richardson yesterday. While there I found some interesting things for macros. I got this bag of stuff and the label says "Doghar Phool" (Stone Flower) . I have no idea what this is. From its texture it seems to be some type of mushroom or fungus. Josh thought maybe a type of tea. Does anyone know?

Happy Snowy Wintery Cold Valentines!

2010-02-14T09:39:00.000-08:00

stay tuned for more spice and baking photography, then on to an artists macro set-

2010-02-06T06:31:00.000-08:00

some things at moms

2010-02-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

a contest-

2010-01-22T08:21:00.000-08:00

The first person to guess what this is a photograph of wins an 8x10 of their choice from my photos! Good luck!!!

***Update*** We have a winner!!!!!! Lindsey guessed a potato and she was right!!!!!! Stay tuned for contests in the future!

winter is fighting to be spring here

2010-01-17T16:36:00.000-08:00

hearts hearts hearts

2010-01-12T09:39:00.000-08:00

love

2010-01-07T19:09:00.000-08:00

valentines for puglets

2010-01-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

Please jump over to my other blog to read the details

retro zen

2010-01-04T15:23:00.001-08:00

cookbooks.

2010-01-04T07:50:00.000-08:00

fru fru girly things

2010-01-03T08:30:00.001-08:00

winter sparkles

2009-12-30T14:29:00.000-08:00

2009-12-28T09:37:00.001-08:00

yep. North Texas got lots of snow today!

2009-12-24T18:38:00.001-08:00

just needed to be outside-

2009-12-21T11:38:00.001-08:00

think pink

2009-12-18T18:04:00.000-08:00

through the viewfinder of a kodak duaflex

2009-12-16T08:24:00.000-08:00

just a few places I've been

2009-12-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

an old ore bin on the drive from Southern California to Death Valley

San Fran! (one of my most favorite places on this planet!)

Crystal Cove State Park, Newport Coast California

on the Delaware River while visiting Philly

Kilauea Lighthouse Kauai, Hawaii

Eiffel Tower, Paris France

Château de Versailles

Kelso Dunes Mojave Desert

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo Texas

Meteor Crater, Arizona

Las Vegas

a little obsession with water droplets

2009-12-08T11:31:00.001-08:00

a droplet kind of sunday

2009-12-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

itsy bitsy orchid

2009-12-03T11:42:00.001-08:00

the time is drawing closer and closer

2009-12-02T13:45:00.001-08:00

I have the best puglet ever !

2009-12-01T14:29:00.000-08:00

love this time of year!

2009-11-29T17:31:00.000-08:00

spring is hidden away until another day...

2009-11-28T10:51:00.001-08:00

Have a Beautiful Holiday-

2009-11-25T11:35:00.000-08:00

holding on to the glorious fall season

2009-11-19T14:14:00.000-08:00

dreams.

2009-11-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

break me to small parts.

2009-11-14T14:31:00.000-08:00

mmmmm the holidays

2009-11-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, its that time of year again. The holidays are just around the corner and shopping time is now! If anyone is interested in a print (framed or unframed) or a pack of notecards for a gift or stocking stuffer this year please email me lauren@boxofzen.com or leave a comment here on the blog with your contact information.

I Was Sorta Thinking About Holiday Decorating-

2009-11-03T11:55:00.000-08:00

I think I will do a little cooking tomorrow

2009-10-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

2009-10-28T16:19:00.001-07:00

some of my break a bulb series

2009-10-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

there is just something really cool about living in the country

2009-10-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

dried paint

2009-10-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

give hope

2009-10-16T09:19:00.001-07:00

Whitaker Cemetery, Gunter, Texas

2009-10-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

lomo lc-a

2009-10-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

Holidays. Photos. Notecards...

2009-10-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hi all!!! I just wanted to go ahead and update on here that if anyone is interested in prints or notecards for the holidays please let me know sooner than later! Its going to be a busy holiday season (already is!) and it is going to fly by quickly. So please don't put off orders until the last minute. Thank you all--- lauren@boxofzen.com

fall wishes :)

2009-10-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

pumpkins pumpkins pumpkins!

2009-10-04T11:41:00.000-07:00

here is a little photographic mix...its kinda how my mind has been.

2009-10-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Lately, thinking about holidays rushing towards us, chores I need to get done, and a house that continues to need cleaning, I've been less than photographically inspired. It may be the slight seasonal change, it may be just thinking about all that needs to get done. Its just been really busy. I think I need to rearrange my priorities! Photo inspiration should be top of the list!

This was one of my favorites that came out of the week. As blooms begin to fall off the hibiscus, sometimes I will save them long enough for them to dry out so much they change color. Personally, I prefer them dead and dried (at least for photos that is!).

While thinking about my photographic discontent this week, I decided to pull out my polaroid sx-70. I find when you need to get inspired its best to mix it up from your norm. Because polaroid film is no longer in production and because I can't justify paying what it costs a lot of times on ebay I am hoarding my film. When I say hoarding I rarely ever, ever use it. I'm happy I did this week though. I got a couple of nice photos out of it.

I have to say, this was my favorite polaroid from the week! If you didn't read on flickr, she actually listened to me directing her where to sit with the pumpkin. If you are thinking about getting a dog, I highly, and I mean HIGHLY recommend a rescue.

We had a cold front that blew in from the North just a couple of days ago. With it came a little bit of rain and really awesome cloud formations. I was concerned about the storm right before it hit. It seemed there was a lot of lightning associated with it and I actually got to see some cloud rotation right from my porch. When it hit though, we got maybe 10 minutes of hard rain and then it blew away. The sun came out and the lighting was amazing! After the sunset, to the South of us, there was actually a good lightning show in the clouds. Above our house was clear but just right to the South were these puffy clouds with a symphony of lightning. It was interesting though, when I came in the house and checked the radar, nothing showed up.

The insects are still really active in the evenings. I went out to the mound of wildflowers that have taken over the backyard (I really need to mow!). I got a few shots of this damselfly. Most importantly though I wanted to share her beautiful texture and color. I really would have liked to have gotten more photos that night, but I got chased into the home by the mother of all mosquitoes. She was like a 10 pounder. So I decided to call it quits that night. Don't want to catch West Nile, even if it means getting the shot!

Please, if you have any photo questions for me don't hesitate to comment here or email me lauren@boxofzen.com . I'm more than happy to share with you how I got some of my photos and what kind of equipment I use. I also sell packs of photo cards for most of my photos. In addition to that, I do offer prints (framed and unframed, but all with a mat and signed). Unfortunately, because of a lightning strike to my home a few months ago, my beautiful, large printer died. So prints are on an individual basis right now, so if you are interested just email me. Thank you for visiting my photo blog!

the only way to get over the fear of something is to confront that fear

2009-09-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Location: My back porch, Gunter, Texas, Grayson County
When: Last night
Believe it or not we barely got any of the rain from this storm. It stayed mostly to the South of us. I feel blessed that it stayed away!

I'm a total beach bum...just in case you didn't know-

2009-09-18T16:05:00.000-07:00