Nashville Walls: 3 Brothers Coffee

 ^^Downtown Nashville is seriously so cool and colorful! 

^^i love downtown nashville cause it's such a big mix of old and new and southern and modern and it just has really cool vibes

^^Also can we just talk about this street art? ahh i loved it!

A few weekends ago me and emma were invited to one of our friend's house in TN and it just so happened that we had that day off school, she had just gotten her license, and there were a bunch of cool walls on the way. So we headed off a little bit early feeling awfully cool and free driving down to Nashville by ourselves haha.

We talked and jammed out and couldn't wait to get there. The only thing we didn't quite figure into our meticulously made plan (seriously we had it mapped with time between each destination and everything) was that it was St. Patrick's Day and it turns out that that isn't the best time to be in downtown Nashville....lol. It was super crowded with everyone wearing tons and tons of green. So decided to drive around a little and eventually decided to ditch a few walls and come back another time. It was a very...um excited? interesting? environment haha.

We definitely weren't phased though...we were too caught up in the rush (even if we were just experiencing it from our car haha) and the cool signs and the excitement of being in Nashville by ourselves. So off to the next wall we went!

The wall at Three Brothers Coffee was seriously at the top of my bucket list and it wayyy lived up to the hype of all the pictures i saw online. The light was amazing and it was just so cool.

In between short little rainstorms we ran into the coffee shop (Three Brothers Coffee) right next to it and it was filled with amazing art and a little shop beside it and seemed like a super cool place in general. Then at the end this drunk guy came up and started to talking to us and the the little shop was right there so we ran in it real quick- that coffee shop definitely wins haha.

After that we realized it was time to go so we drove back jamming and laughing and ended up changing in a tractor supply parking lot. adventures, right?

We only ended up hitting that wall but i'm definitely hoping this can be a series- we have a major bucket list of walls to visit:)

this wall can be found right beside 3 Brothers Coffee in Downtown Nashville
all credit for pics of me goes to emma

{#VantagePoint} my photography story: finding beautiful here

About a year ago I fell into a major photography rut.

I dreamed of traveling so badly and as a result spent a good amount of time on pinterest looking at dreamy destinations and watching amazing videos from people who had been all over this beautiful world.

And sometime in the process I had fallen into the mentality that I couldn't really get amazing pictures unless I traveled. And I didn't travel that much. Whenever we went on weekend trips I seemed to get some pretty cool pics- but then we would get home again and I’d feel uninspired and disadvantaged because "i couldn't ever reach my photography goals unless i traveled"

At one point during this rut, I started working on a project to cover part of the wall in my room with pictures. As a photographer, I have a ton of pictures, so the process of picking my favorites, printing them out, and hanging them up took awhile. But one summer day, after a few hours of sifting and hanging, I stepped back and looked at the wall. And I realized I have a pretty great life. It’s filled with goodness and happiness and memories that make me smile.

And all of the sudden my mindset as a professional photographer and someone who just wants to create totally shifted.

I can take beautiful photographs where I am right now.

I don't have to be on a once in a lifetime journey across the world, it doesn't have to be someone’s wedding, a huge party, or the most beautiful location I’ve ever seen. 

Beauty can be found anywhere you look for it. 

The pictures taken at places right around my house are my favorite places to look back on. So many of my best memories are here.

From shoots with my sisters:

To the craft camp me and a friend put on to raise money for an HEFY expedition:

To just taking pictures of flowers and sunsets when I couldn't get models:

And eventually starting to take pictures for other people to get more practice:

Every now and then, driving a few minutes down the road:

This is where I really learned that you can get great pictures just by walking a few steps outside your back door!  

This is where I first picked up my mom’s camera- a canon powershot-and fell in love with photography. Awhile later it became my camera, and even though I couldn't change lenses and most of the setting were preset, I thought it was the best thing ever. 

After carrying that camera everywhere, annoying my family to death with all the pictures I took, and using up a lot of memory cards; this is where I finally got my first “real” camera and lenses. 

This is where my love for photography grew. 

This is where I discovered my passion.

** I was inspired to write this post by Light’s #VantagePoint project. Light is a compact camera with new technology. It isn't sponsored - just me sharing my story.

jam out april 2017

hola party people!

here today with some new songs to add to your jamming playlist. it’s finally starting to look and feel like spring and it’s got me majorly excited! that and the fact that this week is spring break and i'm pretty pumped.  hope you all are having a rad week!

Different Kind of Love (Kid Runner)
Something Just Like This (Chainsmokers and Coldplay)
Magic (Coldplay)
Rules (Nat and Alex Wolff)
Cool (Charlie Brennan)
Barcelona (Ed Sheeran)
Million Reasons (Lady Gaga)
High and Low (Empire of the Sun)
Keep Me Crazy (Sheppard)
How Would You Feel (Ed Sheeran)
By Your Side (Jonas Blue, Raye)
So Close (Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness)
Play That Song (Train)
I Choose You (Sara Bareilles)
Please Don’t Go (Joel Adams)
Ships In The Night (Mat Kearny)
Drive (Oh Wonder)
Shooting Stars (Bag Raiders)


And that’s a wrap! All of these songs +122 or so other awesome songs can be found on my sophomore year playlist on Spotify which you can find here. Feel free to give ya girl a follow cause i’m always looking for new tunes. Comment your favs below!

have a rad week!

-shelby