Black and White Wednesday - "Bethlehem"

Today I am mixing it up and taking you on a little "tour" of one of my favorite neighboring towns.

I know this might seem a little odd and out of the ordinary, but I promise you it is not as boring as it sounds....there is an exciting end to this post, just bare with me:)


If you have ever heard of Bethlehem, PA you probably already know that it was a HUGE steel town back in the day!!!


There are a lot of vacant buildings or frames of buildings still standing in the old mill area.


Recently they built a BIG Casino and they are slowly but surely working to revitalize a lot of these old buildings that surround it.


In additon to being known as an old Steel Town, Bethlehem is also the home of Lehigh University and Moravian College! I absolutely love the area just around Moravian College........it is the historic section of town.....and it is GORGEOUS!!!!
{yes, those are cobwebs hanging from the street sign...too lazy to photoshop them out}

Let me show you some of my favorite things......


Just behind main street there are some old brick buildings.....I believe this was a flour mill at one time.


Just on the other side of the old flour mill is a very inviting and BEAUTIFUL garden!!! Some of you might rememeber this area......it was one of the locations where I took pictures of the kids for our Christmas Card this past year:)


You will see these pretty stars all over the downtown area.....they are called "Moravian Stars".....they are synonomous with Bethlehem. When I say they are everywhere, I am not kidding........


AHHH...THE Moravian Book Store.....HANDS DOWN.....my favorite store on the street!! And btw, if you are looking for a Moravian Star, you can find them right inside this store. It is a book store with so much more....I could get lost in there for hours and then go to the cute little cafe in the back of the store and eat a great meal!!


Just across the steet is a fantastic hotel......THE HOTEL BETHELEHEM. It is not your average hotel....it is filled with lots of old world charm and beauty.


Here is the actual entrance to the hotel and a view up main street!!

I love so many things about this neat little historic town......... but do you know want to know what I REALLY, REALLY LOVE ABOUT THIS PLACE????

***DRUM ROLL PLEASE***

This is going to be the place where I am going to hold my very first.....

VISIONS, A Lifestyle Photography Workshop!!!

Even better than that...... I already have 15 AMAZING LADIES that are signed up to come......and one incredible friend that is willing to jump on a plane to help me out with this many students{thanks Marla, you rock}!!!

These ladies are traveling from all across the US and one is coming from Canada to spend the weekend learning about camera settings, proper lighting, composition, and post processing.

I am beyond THRILLED that I am going to have the opportunity to meet each one of these wonderful ladies that I have been blogging with for the past few years, and also teach them how to take their photography skills to the next level!!!

In just six weeks, we will all be together in this cool little town to learn a lot and have some fun along the way........at this point I am not sure who is more excited, them or me........ I think me:)

My head is spinning, but in a VERY GOOD WAY!! I am already knee deep in workshop plans..... and if you know me, you know that I will not sleep until every detail is covered and everyone has an agenda that will guide them through the entire weekend.

Last Sunday morning I sent out an email to those that were on my distribution list for photo editing classes to see if there was any interest in this type of workshop. By Tuesday morning the workshop was filled.
If anyone is interested in future workshops, and you are not on my email list, please let me know. I am considering running maybe one more before we might have to make a "little trip of our own"

Have a great week!