Terezín, Czech Republic - Day 3 | Still Image Photography
While we were in Czech Republic, we also visted Terezín. We took a tour of the Terezín Memorial. The camp served as a prison almost from the very beginning and became notorious as a Gestapo prison, Jewish Ghetto and concentration camp in World War II. In the years 1941 - 1945, Terezín became the largest concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Over 140,000 Jewish men, women and children were brought there from around the country, as well as from Germany, Austria, Holland, Denmark, Slovakia and Hungary. The majority of those who survived the forced labor, malnutrition and terrible living conditions were later transported to the extermination camps further east. Terezín was turned into a memorial in 1947.
It was really sad to see this place, where people were tortured and killed. We have been to the Holocaust museum in Washtington, D.C. and saw many photos and videos of some the concentration camps, but to actually be at one of the camps was unreal and a little scary. I am still glad that we had the chance to be able to see this place.
Hope you enjoy the photos!
xoxo - Michelle
As we were waiting for our tour to begin, I had my husband snap a few photos of me. :)
The photo below was the start of the tour. We had just arrived in Terezín and about to go inside of a museum before heading the actual camp.
This tunnel was an estimated 10 min. walk and scary. I almost didn't go through it since I don't like dark enclosed places, but my husband talked me into it. I might have made the estimated 10min walk into a 5min walk. ha!
After leaving Terezín, we went back to Prague. We went out for a nice dinner and to see more night life in Prague. We decided to try a Czech restaurant and I am so glad we did because the food was delicious! After dinner, we grabbed more of the delicious famous czech bread and walked around the city. So much fun! Can't wait to share more photos with you soon. :)
Prague, Czech Republic - Day 1&2 | Still Image Photography
We had so much fun visiting Prague, Vienna & London.
Below are some of the photos I took on my phone, camera and Go Pro from our awesome trip! Let me start off by saying Prague is absolutely beautiful. We really enjoyed sightseeing and eating wonderful food. Some of my favorite food was muesli, famous czech bread and their famous dumplings. Oh! and of course their macarons! Yum!
If you ever visit Prague, I recommend staying at the Boscolo Hotel. Not only was it a nice hotel, but they had such great customer service. Actually I can say there was great customer service everywhere we went in Prague. I hope you enjoy my photos.
xoxo
-Michelle
Arriving at our hotel. We had just had a long travel day, but the night was still early and we were ready to get our stuff put away so we could go out for the night. We were so excited.
St. Vitus Catherdral was absolutely beautiful! It is located within the Prague Castle and it contains the tombs of many Bohemian Kings and Holy Royal Emperors .
Prague Castle.
Charles Bridge
Walking on the Charles Bridge.
Touring the city of Prague. :)
Prague Astronomical Clock - has been one of the greatest treasures of Prague for 600 years. It still amazes people with its procession of Apostles, moving statues and visualization of time like no other instrument in the world. This clock was absolutely amazing. I did record the Apostles, but I am not sure how to download video in my blog. :/
This was so much FUN! We took a segway night tour of the city. I would definitely do another segway tour. After riding one, I want one at home, too! :) BTW....Prague looks just as beautiful at night as it does during the day.
Inside Prague Castle.
After Segway tour, we went back to out hotel and went to the spa to relax a bit. We then got ready and decided to take a walk through the city so I could take more night time photos. :)
Ric standing in front of the Prague astronomical clock. :)
Famous Czech bread. Ric and I loved loved loved this bread. We would buy three of them - eat one a piece and then share another while drinking a nice hot cup of coffee and walking around the city at night. It was perfect!!! :)
After our walk around the city, we decided to sit and relax at our hotel restaurant. We decided to try the famous absinthe. At this point, we had already done so much on our first 2 days in Prague and loved every minute of it. Can't wait to share more photos from our trip to the concentration camp, Vienna, Kutna Hora and London!
Happy Monday - Michelle
Honolulu, Hawaii - Day 4 | Polynesian Cultural Center | Still Image Photography
I know it's been a while since I have updated my blog. Plus, never finished sharing photos from our trip to Hawaii this summer. I have been so busy, but I am finally getting back to the swing of things. I am going to finish sharing more photos from our trip and many other things here and there. I would love to post something everyday, but with my schedule, that's just not possible. I will however try to keep up with my blog as much as I can! :)
I LOVED the fact that Hawaii had natural food stores/restaurants in just about every corner. This particular one (Ruffage Natural Foods) was just across the street from our hotel and I loved it! They had so many delicious choices, plus gluten free, sugar free, dairy free, soy free and nut free options! Which I ABSOLUTELY LOVED!! It was such a good place for a quick breakfast or lunch! I miss Hawaii so much!
We made a quick stop at this site so that I could take a quick photo.
We learned that the girls from Tahiti wore the grass skirts and did a hip dance not the Hawaiin girls. Hula girls wore nice dresses and used their arms a lot to motion certain things from the music. So when you see a movie and see a girl in a grass skirt dancing, it's not Hawaiian.
We also enjoyed trying to build a fire, spear throwing, fishing, canoe riding, dancing, and an awesome luau.
Hawai'i(The Big Island) - Day 3 | Still Image Photography | New Mexico Photographer
On Day 3 we flew to the Big Island. Which btw, was absolutely Awesome!
We had a 21 hour day and it was so worth it!
The first thing we did when we arrived in the Big Island was the safari helicopter ride over the island and the volcanoes. It was AMAZING! We were super lucky that we all got to see flowing lava. Our tour guy said it was the most lava they have seen in the last six years.
We also visited a black sand beach that we had to leave as soon as we found it due to the fact that some men swimming there were nude and I didn't want the kids seeing that. One thing I was disappointed in was that I didn't get any photos of the beach. Once we left there, we headed over to Volcano National Park where we got to walk on hardened lava and feel the heat from the steam vents. It was so much fun and it was absolutely beautiful there. I took a ton of photos and have posted some below of everything we enjoyed during our time there. I hope you enjoy them. :)
We then took a tour of the macadamia nut farm. We got to sample lots of yummy chocolate covered macadamia nuts in different flavors. My favorite was the toffee flavor. My husband and kids were a little surprised that I even tried one. Since becoming paleo, this is not something I would normally eat, but I couldn't leave Hawaii without trying one. It was one of the things I wanted to make sure to try. The chocolate macadamia nuts are very popular in Hawaii! The kids LOVED it, but then again who doesn't love chocolate!
We also did a little hiking at Rainbow Falls. It was a little scary and with kids that don't realize the danger and like to run, it was even scarier. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL though and well worth our little adventure. We then headed back the airport to fly back to Oahu(Honolulu). There we were able to relax and listen to a great band with hula dancers and I even danced a song with them, which was so much fun even though I had no idea what I was doing. :P
I hope you enjoy my photos!
xoxo
-Michelle
Honolulu, Hawaii - Day 2 | Still Image Photography | New Mexico Photographer
Pearl Harbor
Diamond Head Volcano
Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon
We had the best time at all of these places. The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial was exactly as I thought it would be. Such a beautiful memorial and I am so glad we were able to see it. We also were able to get on a submarine and the U.S.S. Missouri battleship. My husband loved it here, especially when we were looking at all the submarine stuff. It reminded him of his submarine days. He really enjoys telling us things about it all.
I hope you enjoy the photos.
:)
I love love love this photo below! <3
Below are a few photos from our hike up Diamond Head Volcano. The girls and I didn't have the best shoes on for a hike, but we did it anyway and we were all so glad we did! It was absolutely worth it! Plus, my oldest daughter was in a dress and almost didn't come with us, but she toughened up and did it and she was happy that she did it. It turned out to be a fun challenge. :)
We ended the day at Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon! Where we rented a kayak and a waterbee. It was so much fun and good way to relax after such a long day! ;)
The pics below were taken from the top of our hotel.
Hope you enjoyed my photos!
xoxo
Michelle
Honolulu, Hawaii - Day 1 | Still Image Photography | New Mexico Photographer
I decided to blog about our trip to Hawaii. Mainly because I took so many photos and would like to post them somewhere and I think my blog is the best place to do that. :) Since I took so many photos with my camera and my phone, I am going to break up the post so that I don't overload one post with too many photos. I hope you enjoy them!
Hawaii is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! The pictures don't do it justice, but they are still nice to look at. Plus, I love memories, especially family memories. I do a Franco family yearbook every year of all our memories that I capture throughout the year.
The photos below are of our first day and it was awesome! From flying in - to spending time at the beach - to drinking my first natural fruit smoothie in a pineapple.
I hope you enjoy my photos!
xoxo
-Michelle
The view from our hotel room...
I told my husband that the first thing I wanted to do was try a fruit smoothie in a pineapple. We didn't have to look far, they sold them everywhere. This was just across the street from our hotel. :) He took me down for one before heading to the beach.
It was delicious!
One of many things I loved about Hawaii was that a lot of the food sold there (especially the fruit) was all organic. Most places(restaurants/grocery stores/hole in wall places) sold organic fruit, natural foods, 100% grass fed meats...all from local farmers. They even had gluten free choices. How awesome is that! I loved it!!! especially since I'm paleo. Ric and the kids didn't love it as much. They kept their eyes out for a Mcdonalds or bought pizza rolls at the grocery store. I decided to fill up the fridge with fruit....lots of it! :)
We had to go check out the beach immediately! This is Waikiki beach. It was nice, but there were too many people and not enough sand. It was still lots of fun!
That is my oldest daughter Liz in the pink/white strip shirt and blue shorts.
I thought this tree was pretty neat. Ended up seeing a lot more of them throughout Hawaii.
A quick group selfie at the hotel before heading out to go sightseeing and grab dinner. :)
We drove out to Diamond Head Volcano. We didn't hike up to the top this day since it was already to late, but we did end up hiking up the volcano and it was amazing! The view up there was beautiful.
That's it for now! Will share more soon.
Happy Thursday!
South Padre Island 2014 | Still Image Photography |
Sharing a ton of photos from our trip to South Padre Island. Lots of great memories! The kids had so much fun at the beach. They still talk about how much fun it was and how they had fun playing with their cousins. :) It was so nice to see family and I'm so glad that we made time to take photos. They all came out amazing! Enjoy!
xoxo
-Michelle
Most of the photos below were taken with my phone. :) Enjoy!!
Deveena Raymond | Still Image Photography | New Mexico HS Senior Photographer
Meet the BEAUTIFUL Ms. Deevena! She is a 2014 HS Senior. I had the best time taking her senior portraits. She is a sweetheart. A very sweet and humble young lady and also absolutely GORGEOUS!! I wish her the best in everything she does and I have a feeling she will do great things!! Thanks again Deevena for letting me take your pictures.
I know I haven't posted in a while, but I have been very busy. I am finally getting some time to catch up on lots of things including my blog. I hope to post all the past sessions I have not yet blogged and many other things here and there. The next few months is going to be busy and I can't wait to share lots more sessions with you as well as anything else I may blog about!
Enjoy!
xoxo - Michelle
MUAH: Betti Griego
Photographer: Michelle Franco - Still Image Photography
Selena Almanza | Still Image Photography | New Mexico HS Senior Photographer
Meet the STUNNING Selena Almanza! She is a 2014 HS Senior. When I saw the outfits she brought to her session, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and it came out great(the 1st photo below)! :) We started her session downtown and then went to two other locations to take her photos. Selena did awesome during her session and looks absolutely beautiful in all her photos. :)
xoxo
-Michelle
MUAH: Betti Griego
Photographer: Michelle Franco
Karina Munoz | Still Image Photography | New Mexico HS Senior Photographer
Meet the BEAUTIFUL Karina Munoz! She is a 2014 HS Senior. She is such a gorgeous girl and I had the best time photographing her. We started at courthouse park and then headed to one other location to take her photos. I think they all came out wonderful.
xoxo
-Michelle
MUAH: Betti Griego
Photographer: Michelle Franco
Marco Esquivel & Shannon Rodriguez | Still Image Photography | New Mexico Maternity Photorapher
This was such a wonderful session! Shannon is glowing and is absolutely gorgeous. I am so happy and excited for them. They are expecting their little girl anytime now. I decided on taking their photos out at Spring Canyon and I think they all came out great. Below are just some of my favorites from their session. Enjoy!
xoxo
-Michelle
Sirena Alvarez | Still Image Photography | New Mexico HS Senior Photographer
Meet the BEAUTIFUL Ms. Sirena! She is a 2014 Deming High School Senior. She is such a sweet sweet girl. I really enjoyed taking her photos. I also absolutely LOVED the red dress. She looked gorgeous in all her photos and below are a few from her session! Enjoy.
xoxo
-Michelle
Clarissa Jimenez | Still Image Photography | New Mexico HS Senior Photographer
Meet the BEAUTIFUL Ms. Clarissa! She is a 2014 Deming HS Senior. She is such a sweet girl and I had a great time photographing her! As soon as I saw her outfits, I knew exactly where I wanted to go shoot. I think she came out so beautiful in all her photos. Below are just a few from her session! Thanks again Clarissa and good luck to you!
xoxo
-Michelle
MUAH: Betti Griego
Photographer: Michelle Franco - Still Image Photography
Keri Hays | Still Image Photography | New Mexico HS Senior Photographer
Meet the BEAUTIFUL Ms. Keri! She is a 2014 Deming High School Senior! We all had a great time at her session plus she had some cute outfit choices that I couldn't wait to shoot! She is an absolutely beautiful girl inside and out I am so excited for her! Keri will be going to Texas Tech after she graduations. I wish her the best in everything she does.
xoxo
-Michelle
MUAH: Betti Griego
Photographer: Michelle Franco - Still Image Photography
David Padron | Still Image Photography | New Mexico HS Senior Photographer
Meet David Padron! He is a 2014 Deming HS Senior! It was such a pleasure taking his photos. He could go from a smile to a more serious photo in seconds. Plus, he was great at taking my directions with posing. I told him that I had a certain photo in mind(the first photo on this blog) and that I thought it would be a great photo if it came out the way I wanted. Which it did....it came out perfect!! It is also the first photo that received 346 likes on my personal facebook page!! Wow! Below are just some of my favorites from his session.
xoxo
-Michelle
I also did this photo in color! Love it, too!
<3<3<3
Patricia Aguirre | Still Image Photography | New Mexico HS Senior Photographer
Meet the LOVELY Ms. Patricia! She is a 2014 Deming HS Senior!! I took Patricia's photos when she was 15 for her quinceanera portraits. I can't believe she is now graduating from high school!! Time sure does go quick! She is an absolutely beautiful girl and I had a great time taking her photos. Good luck to you Ms. Patricia!! :)
xoxo
-Michelle
MUAH: Betti Griego
Photographer: Michelle Franco - Still Image Photography
Aryn Gandara | Still Image Photography | New Mexico HS Senior Photographer
Meet the BEAUTIFUL Ms. Aryn! She is a 2014 LHS Senior! Aryn is such a sweet sweet girl. She was so shy and nervous about being in front of my camera, but I am so glad she trusted me in taking her photos. I think she did AWESOME and she looks absolutely gorgeous in all her photos. Below are just some from her session! :)
xoxo
-Michelle
MUAH: Betti Griego
Photographer: Michelle Franco - Still Image Photography
Warm breeze. Gorgeous willow tree. Beautiful family. | Still Image Photography | New Mexico Family Photographer
Love that the trees are finally turning green again. Especially the beautiful willow trees. First day of spring is just around the corner!!
This beautiful family was great and they did wonderful in front of the camera! Their son was a cutie and at first didn't want to take photos(he had just woken up from a nap), but ended up doing great after he was told he could play a football video game after the photos. ha! Small bribes for a smile. :) I usually have to bribe my kids to take a photo of them as well. In the end, all their photos came out wonderful!! <3
xoxo
-Michelle
Rebekah Hogan | Still Image Photography | New Mexico HS Senior Photographer
Meet the BEAUTIFUL Ms. Rebekah! She is a 2014 Deming HS Senior. Rebekah is such a sweet girl and at first was a little nervous about the makeup, hair and photos, but she rocked it! She looked absolutely gorgeous in all her photos. Below are just a few photos from her session....
xoxo
-Michelle
MUAH: Betti Griego
Photographer: Michelle Franco - Still Image Photography
