My Children

I absolutely love my children! I have to say, they are the best children anyone could ask for. Except for maybe when they insist on scratching, jumping up on everything, and refusing to get on the trailer. Even so, I love every furry, four-legged, and multicolored one of them! I insist on rescuing every unfortunate animal I see despite my family's concerns of my growing population of children. These are the ones that made the cut:

Fresno 'Perfect Combination' Butler-Wheeler

He is my first born. He technically wasn't rescued. More like, he rescued me. Every year for my birthday and Christmas since I could say the word 'horse', I asked for one. Finally, just before my 19th birthday as a last effort, I created a powerpoint to convince my parents to let me have a horse. Somehow it worked! I literally cried when they told me, and I told them that they better not be joking and they couldn't take their decision back. So my searched started. Many horses and one crazy lady later, I found Fresno. Originally I didn't want to even try him. I didn't want a paint, and he was over my budget. Luckily, they convinced me to try him, and I immediately fell in love with him. And then, my first child was 'born'. He couldn't have come at a better time. I was ending my first year at Kennesaw, which I hated, and at the time I thought I would spend another semester there. So, I buried myself in riding him. Despite his lameness issues, I love him and couldn't ask for a better horse. His personality keeps me on my toes. Getting compliments on how beautiful he is at shows is nice too! :)


Snufflelupagus "Gus" Russel Butler-Wheeler

Gus, aka Gussie, Gus-a-Rus, Russie, is my second child. He was found on the side of the road close to my old barn, Foxberry Farm. Some of the girls caught all of the kittens and brought them to the barn. That day I spent an hour and a half trying to catch Fresno in the pasture. I was so annoyed, so I decided to play with the kittens. As I always do when I see cute furry things that need homes, I called my mom. When she said it was OK for me to keep one (under the condition he lived with me at school), I was completely shocked. So little Gussie moved to school with me (only for a year then he returned home, sorry Mom). He acts exactly like Fresno. They are definitely brothers. They love you unconditionally even though sometimes they act like they're too cool for you. He is also a GIANT. Not fat. Just huge!



Toulouse Peter Butler-Wheeler

Little Toulouse, aka Lucy, Lucy Poocey, Lucifer (newly acquired), is the baby of the family. He was found with two of his brothers inside the kiln at the pottery room at Berry College. Being the only one who was involved with rescuing the kittens to live off campus, I adopted the three week and a half old kittens. I fed them every 3-4 hours (including in the middle of the night) during my last semester of my senior year at Berry College. They came everywhere with either me, my roommate Rachel, or our friend Danielle. That includes class, barn, home on the weekends....everywhere. I was supposed to find homes for all of them. To my mom's 'surprise' no one wanted little Lucy. Except for me. So finally, mom caved in and let him stay. Will's condition in allowing Lucy to stay was that Gus had to like him. After a month Gus came around so it was official. Toulouse was the newest member of the Butler-Wheeler family. He's either such a sweetheart or the meanest thing in the world. He also has a hamburger shaped bow tie and is getting very fat.

Stella

Stella is just Stella. Well sometimes Stella Bella. But, as of right now, Stella is a foster child. As much as I love her and want to keep her, she needs a mom and dad with lots of property for her roam around on. Stella has the saddest story of all the kids. Kelli, who owns the barn where Fresno is, found her on the side of the road. She was so skinny and obviously beaten. I took her home and am currently trying to find her a permanent home. It's so much fun to see her grow while living with me. She started off as a lethargic shy dog and has turned into an energetic loving puppy. She gets so excited when she gets to come inside in the evening after I get home that she has to run around and howl for a couple of minutes. She's starting to fill out and not be afraid of every new person she meets. If you are interested in adopting this sweet foxhound please let me know! You won't be disappointed! She is so kind.

Here are more pictures for you to enjoy of my sweet babies:

For those of you wondering "What about Foozer??" I do have another daughter, Foozer aka Foozie. She is Will's dog that I got him for Christmas when we were seniors in high school. Not that I don't consider her as my child, she just doesn't live with me, and she doesn't like cameras so I don't have any good pictures of her. If you're wondering, Foozer is crazy. Supposedly it's only when I'm there, but it's the only side of her that I see. I do love little Foozie. She's a sweet mutt who was also rescued. She was scheduled to be put down the day after we went to the pound. We begged them to hold off until we could get Will's cats' shots updated so we could adopt her. Thankfully they did. It will be an interesting day when Gus and Toulouse move in with their sister. They are able to tolerate Stella because she doesn't want anything to do with them. Foozer however, is so excited to meet the boys that she gets in their face when she comes to visit resulting in the claws coming out!

Kristen+Wilco+Kinley

I absolutely love taking pictures of people and their horses. After my roommate, her friend, and I took pictures with our horses last summer, I realized that is what I wanted to focus on. Of course I love taking pictures of anything and everything, but my love for horses makes sessions like this one my favorite. Yesterday I was able to have a shoot with Kristen, her horse Wilco, and her dog Kinley. We went to the beautiful barn in Alpharetta where Wilco is in training. He had to get used to the camera at first, but once he realized it wasn't going to eat him, we were able to get started. Here are just a few of the pictures from the shoot. More will be posted on my facebook page (Erin Michelle Photography) once I finish all of them.

Into the Woods

I have always loved the woods. I'm not quite sure why, but I've always been captivated by them. Possibly because there were, more than there is now, woods in my neighborhood, and we would always ride our three wheeler (yes three, not four) on a trail in our neighborhood. I would constantly be on the lookout for any animals I could see including wild horses even though I never saw any. I guess I've always believed in the enchanted forest. Right before I moved my horse, Fresno from Berry, I went on a trail ride with some of my friends in the woods. This one trail was my favorite. It's just so beautiful and thick and green. There is also a creepy old building to the side of the trail, which makes it even better! This one particular day, it had just rained so it was even more gorgeous. Everything was so green and had a glow to it. The day after we went on the trail, I took my camera out there and took pictures to hopefully capture its beauty. Since it was still wet from the rain, our hoof prints from the day before were still on the trail, which makes my pictures even better.

The Butler Family

Will and I got to go to the beach in June with my brother and his family. We don't get to see them much, so even though we only had a couple of days together, we made every second count. While we were there, I had the opportunity to take pictures of them. They are such a beautiful family, and I am so thankful I had the chance. I hope we can have more trips like this. Maybe next time, my sister's family can join us!

erin michelle photography

I finally created my logo! I actually drew this design minus the color and the word 'photography' last year in accounting class. My constant doodling could be part of the reason I almost failed the class. When I drew the logo, I didn't know what it would be for, but I knew that whenever I created my business, whatever it was, I would want to name it erin michelle. My first and middle name of course. Growing up, I always hated my middle name. Well, I take that back. In my Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen fan club days I loved it because their character on Full House was Michelle, but other than that I hated it for no particular reason. It wasn't until college that I realized that my parents' last minute decision to name me Michelle instead of the other last minute option, Ruby for the Ruby Falls sign out the window, was brilliant. It worked so well with my first name. Erin Michelle. Perfect for a business! So, thanks Mom and Dad for providing me with the perfect name for my photography business. I take back all the years that I didn't like it.

Hannah's Photos

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures. These are from December when my grandfather, the one who had the National Geographics, passed away. It was a really hard time for everyone in my family because my Pa really did have a special relationship with all of us. For me it was a special nickname, Hannah. We all had something that uniquely tied us to him. While I was there, my brother and I got in the golf cart and rode around the property at my grandparents' house so I could take pictures. I wasn't really sure when the next time I would get to go (they live in Mississippi) or if there would be a next time. Luckily, there is a next time! I'll be going in a couple of weeks. These are all from the property where my grandmother lives. My great-aunt and uncle live next door.

This is my Pa's truck, "Hoot Nanny" as he called it.

This is out at my great-uncle's pond behind his house. We used to ride the paddle boat and fish on it. My grandparent's pond is too small for the paddle boat.

1935 A Perkins Road

Before we went home, my parents and I had to drop my brother off at the Baton Rouge airport, which is not on the way home in case you're wondering. After we left the airport, I saw signs for New Orleans. So, we went! I hadn't been since middle school, and I couldn't wait to take pictures.

Street performer and his dog.

St. Louis Cathedral

Beautiful colors in the square!

New Blogger

I have never blogged or had a desire to blog before now. My decision to start has many reasons. I want to expand my abilities as a potential employee (if I get one of the many jobs I've applied for as a social media manager-manager meaning I'm under qualified), to see what blogging is all about, and to share my photography. I've always enjoyed taking pictures partly because my dad is a photographer, and I've grown up around it. I also enjoy it because you can capture so many beautiful things whether it is a small part of a landscape or just your friends having fun. I've always thought that I wouldn't want to be a photographer when I was younger, but I have noticed that I create the same response out of people, especially from my boyfriend, that I used to give my dad, "Daaaad, stop taking my picture!". In Will's case, "Eriiiiin, stop taking my picture!" I guess I should've seen it coming. I've always loved thinking of new poses while sitting in my dad's studio when I was too young to stay home alone, creating new "scenes" on his backgrounds, and looking at the photos in my Pa's old National Geographics. It is a talent, or lack there of, and a passion that I gladly accept from my father. I hope you enjoy my pictures. I can't say how much I'll actually update it and will probably start with pictures at least a year old, but I hope to add new ones frequently. Enjoy! :)