Why not put a little more love in the air this Valentine’s Day?  I have decided to give away a free photo session with a package of photos (one 11×14, one 8×10, two 5×7’s) to a couple in love! This is a $250 value.  Winner announced on Valentine’s Day.  To join in the fun, please do the following three things:

1. Facebook or Tweet this announcement with a link to this post.

2. Become my fan http://facebook.com/johnnabrynnphotography

3. Leave a comment on this blog post telling me what kind of dreamy love photo session you wish to have. Be creative and give details, this is how the winner will be chosen!

Give-Away Fine Print:
OPEN TO KCMO, (parts of) FLORIDA, (parts of) GEORGIA and LAS VEGAS residents with no travel fee! (I will be in Vegas in March and FL/GA in April.)
All travel and accommodation fees are extra, if out of the KC metro area or other areas stated above.
Deadline midnight CST Feb. 13, 2010.
Winner announced by midnight CST Feb. 14, 2010.
Winner chosen by Johnna. Decision is final.
Session must be completed within three months.
Winner must sign a JBP model release agreement form.
Cannot be redeemed for cash.

I am very excited to be working with videographer, Andrew Michael, as he magically is putting together a promo video of me and my work. This week I had the pleasure of photographing model and actress, Sharon Wright, while Andrew shot us both at work!  We started in a studio at the Windows Lofts, hosted by Mario Antoine, and continued on as we made a visit to the roof top overlooking my beautiful home city of Kansas City… yes, where all the crazy little women are.  See?  -I AM home.  Thanks again Andrew, Sharon and Mario for making this all possible!

I had the privilege of photographing Jon and Esther’s special day. Jon has been a friend of mine for several years and I am thrilled to watch God’s plan for his life unfold, as he has been blessed with Esther. Enjoy a few of my favorite images…

I know I know, this is not a food blog… but I can’t help it. I made something incredible and I’m proud of it. I’m currently on an “all-raw-cleanse” and by eating this raw chocolate pudding, I feel like I’m sinning, it’s so delicious. If you want to try it yourself… I put a handful of raw almonds in a high-powered blender, blended ’til powder. Then, into the blender I added the following ingredients: three heaping table spoons of carob powder, about a cup of fresh coconut meat, a hefty squirt of agave nectar, a quick tiny squirt of maple syrup, a strong splash of water… and blended it all together, and wala!  It was a bit runny so I added another chunk of coconut meat and that gave it the perfect pudding texture. Then, sprinkled with dried coconut shavings… enjoy the photos below… and if you are real into health stuff, then you can’t miss my mom’s blog http://kellyparr.org… as she is on a 40-day juice cleanse, and you will definitely learn a lot from her!

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I’ve been interviewed by 12-1 Photography in Florida! Check it… HERE.

Alrighty, Folks!  How was the first week of the new decade for ya?  Mine was rushing with excitement and anticipation for the wonderful Twenty-Ten that lies ahead!  I believe I am going to be surprised right out of my booties. …ok, i don’t wear booties, but it sounds cute. I think God only has incredible opportunities for me to experience this year, and I’m gearin’ up!

Enjoy part three of beautiful model, Dulguun… Yes, I believe this will be the last bunch. Enjoy!  And thanks again, Dulguun!  You’re great!

Part Two of amazing model, Dulguun… and still more to come!  Happy New Year to all… may each of you discover a new door of hope in your lives in the coming year of 2010. My dad said he is “cashin’ in on 2010!” Let’s get what God has for us!

*Check out that fox head on her fur… it kinda scared me at first, but SO beautiful! Uh-oh, I’m vegetarian, am I allowed to say that? HA.

Oh what a joyous day it was with Dulguun from Mongolia!  I had the honor to photograph a local Kansas City model, Dulguun Tseveenravdan otherwise known as “Bubles.” Dulguun and I attempted one other time to complete a shoot, but KC experienced a mega-blizzard of up to 13 inches of snow!  Once the snow settled, Dulguun and I braved the blistery coldness and set out for a shoot on the Plaza. I quickly came to adore Dulguun and her sweet spirit. She is a 21yr. old ambitious business student with a love for fashion. She saw my work on facebook, and contacted me to update her portfolio; and I am so glad she did! Dulguun is the first professional model I’ve photographed, and she has now made me want to be a fashion photographer!  Thank you, Dulguun! With over 500 shots taken in our day… I have excruciatingly narrowed it down to 51 of my favorites. Below are the first small batch of my favorites, and I hope to post more tomorrow… as it’s now 2:11am and I’m just not thinking straight. I will also post more on my facebook fanpage tomorrow, which can be viewed HERE. Enjoy! *The last shot is probably the winner of the day!  Hello, Vogue, you have a job opening for me?  HA!

I had the honor of photographing Sherri and her two girls, Sterling and Brooke, from Texas, as they flew into Kansas City briefly a few weekends ago.  Sherri is a sister of mine, as her father became my father early on in my childhood. I so respect Sherri for who she is and what I see she has become. She carries herself with such grace. I enjoy watching Sherri mother her two girls so well. The girls love and respect her like not very many teenagers do. It’s a beautiful thing to have healthy relationships between a mother and daughter.

These photos were a Christmas gift for their dad, so I’m just now posting, as not to have spoiled his surprise!  And I hear… that he said “are you trying to make me cry?” when he opened his surprise.  I love that!

Enjoy a few of my favorites from our chilly Missouri day (as many of you know, Missouri is now experiencing a mega-blizzard with up to 13 inches of snow! ahh)…

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Hasn’t Christmas snuck up on us?  I know it has me. For weeks I’ve been saying “I’m just not into Christmas this year,” which is very strange for me because I love holiday time with family. Even more so, I should be “into” it this year, because my parents have just moved back to Kansas City for the first time in almost two decades (they were overseas missionaries). -and that should be exciting, right?  Well, yes it is, but I can’t help but notice this lack of energy or desire to go spend loads of money just to spend, when we really don’t “need” anything. It’s almost like my “energy to give” is clogged. So, I’ve been prayerfully considering what is really important in this holiday season… and Jesus most definitely is the reason for the season. But what does this really mean? For me, I’m simply reflecting on the man Jesus and my relationship with Him… or lack thereof. Sometimes just when we think we know someone, we realize we really don’t. I believe there is so much to the man Jesus, that we can forever be discovering more about Him during our stay on earth. 

These thoughts led to a freedom, that I pursued. A freedom to not have to be in the box of what Christmas should look like, but to allow ourselves to be “unclogged!”  To unclog my “energy to give” today, I went and randomly gave to three different people.  As I stood in line behind three different people at three different stores, and when I heard their total bill announced, I simply asked them “Excuse me, may I pay for your bill?”  Completely dumbfounded each time, the person’s face was a blank as they just stared at me. I had taken a blow at cracking them. Cracking that hard external layer of fear, worry and solitude. After a few moments, and once my debit card was swiped, that hard external layer fell to the ground… and a smile was cracked!  Out came a joy that was buried inside… or received from the outside.

The three people I played “angel” to today, were an older woman at Whole Foods, a teenage boy at Dollar General and an African American grandma at another Dollar General. The grandma stated she had many grandchildren. She had tons of toys, wrapping paper, gift bags and candy for her items. When I saw her little coin purse come out, she seemed to have budgeted for this expense today. Once she realized that all the items on her list were just paid for, she put her coin purse back in her bag, turned around and gave me a big hug and said “I’ll never forget this for the rest of my life.”  

It doesn’t take much to crack the joy out. In these hard economical times, go do the unexpected.  Go find someone to crack the joy out of! 

Oddly enough, once I gave to these three people today, it literally “unclogged” my energy to give (or maybe cracked a little more joy outta ME!)… and I had a newly found energy to go find a few small items for my family members. Most of all, my love for others was activated and increased. Thanks, Jesus, for being my inspiration and sole source of this love.

*thank you for reading my blog post without pictures!

One October evening while walking to my car in a mall parking lot, I checked my facebook messages on my iPhone and found a long message from someone that had read an article about me and Star Shooter.  I was thrilled to see someone’s excitement in what I was doing with children, as well as in my career.  I replied thanking Katelyn Ruth Hansel for her encouragement… and this was just the beginning!  Katie and I since have discovered other photographical common interests to discuss as well as networked with other photographers around the country, such as Holt Webb with his one-of-a-kind project Vanishing America and Danny Goldfield in his amazing project, NYChildren, that I am especially fond of and hope to collaborate with in the future. Katie and I have had a blast learning about each other and our dreams for photography and thought it’d be cool to someday meet each other.

Then, I was offered a photo shoot in Myrtle Beach this past weekend, and when I discovered  that Katie and I were going to only be 6hrs. away from each other, we both planned to jump in cars and drive 3hrs. each to Columbia, SC.  So, yesterday, my “virtual friend” became a real live friend in the flesh!  ;)  We both had fun shooting each other and had a super special treat of visiting the Columbia Museum of Art with the famous photographer, Ansel Adam’s “Masterworks Collection!” Much more images of our day of shooting will be posted in a facebook album, so feel free to check ‘em out! HERE (but not now! check out a few of my faves below first!)

I think the Powell’s knew me before I knew them, and I know they loved me before I loved them. I was probably just all of 6yrs. old when their family became friends with my family. I say they loved me first, because today they have so much love to give, I am certain they had just as much to give back in the 80s when I was just a wee little thang. My first memories of Mr. and Mrs. (Mario and Brenda) were during a “children’s crusade” at our church. Brenda was dressed up as some character along with my grandma Connie, as “grandma raisin muffin” and my grandpa as “trapper Pete”.  Mario did some silly act with someone else pretending to be his legs and arms (that person was behind a black sheet). I’m not quite sure how I learned the love of Jesus through all those silly acts, but I am certain that I know the love of Jesus today through the lives of the Powell’s. They obviously have allowed Jesus to take first place in their home and in their lives. Even though it was a very frigid day in Moberly, Missouri, the joy that radiated from the Powell’s warmed my heart.  It is my honor to present to you, the Powell’s.