{Not today....still got some...}

I photographed this little cutie, Mary Carter, a few days ago - aren't her eyes amazing?! I had to be careful not to even touch them during my editing - they are soooo blue and sparkly.   My jaw dropped when I met her, she's such a little doll.  She was wearing a onesie was draped in too many necklaces to count - all girl for sure.   This little cutie was a doll and really wasn't feeling her best so we cut the session short.  I managed to get a few pictures but I'm meeting with her again tomorrow to continue our session.  Here's a tiny preview of the first part of our session. ;-)

{Lonely & Abandoned}

A couple of weeks ago when I was driving home from a session that was out of town I found something.  Something that compelled me to put my foot on the break  and make a U-Turn in the middle of the road to curiously go back.  I was on the phone with my mom (I know, bad to talk on the cell and drive - horrible habit)  and I quickly hung up as I pulled into the long dirt driveway.  My heart was beating in my throat as I got closer.  I don't know what it is about an abandoned house that gets me so emotional.  I feel so many things some I can't even describe - a bit of sadness (why wasn't there a family living in that house anymore?), curiosity (what made them leave?) and apprehension (the unknown).  But I can't resist stopping and even exploring.  I wondered what the house looked like when it was lived in, when it had a fresh coat of paint and shiny door knobs.  I'm sure each empty house was beautiful (I like to think that anyway).    This particular house took my breath away  (strange I know...) but there was something about the setting that was so beautiful.  The house was sitting on a large piece of land, a for sale sign that looked like it had been there for decades, and surrounded by withering golden corn fields.  So stunning yet very eerie.  I grabbed my cell phone, camera and keys and stepped out of my car, locking the door behind me.  I was out in the middle of nowhere but I'm OCD about locking my car doors.  Anyway, I tip-toed up the decrepit porch that looked like it could cave in if much weight was on it (not smart - I've already been scolded for that) and walked through the bright green front door.  I stood for a moment in each room studying the old fireplaces, the wood ceilings and the dusty floors looking for any evidence of who may have once lived there.  In the kitchen I saw an open window-paned cabinet  that still had plates, glasses and bowls in them - I couldn't resist reaching for my camera but knew not to touch a thing in the house.  I didn't want to leave but the sun was setting and I knew Jeff was waiting at home for me probably wondering where I was.   I hope to go back to that house and explore others that I've found - so  mysterious yet I have a fond respect for these old dismissed places. 

 

 

 

 

{Holiday Cards 2008}

Can you believe it's almost 'fall'?!  This is my favorite time of the year.  I love the crisp sunny days, the smell of pumpkins, the colors of the landscape, the excitement and anticipation and I could go on and on.  I also get such an urge to bake, bake, bake. My husband laughs at me (in a fun way...I think...) because I get so giddy and goofy for anything 'autumn'.  I come up with these ideas of what each day feels like to me and he can't help but burst out in laughter.  I'll join in and giggle too after realizing what I just said...for example I'll say 'Oh doesn't today just make you want to bake pumpkin pies, sip hot cocoa, and lay by a fire - all at a quaint Bavarian village'.  He wonders how I get these funny ideas in my head....I don't have an answer for him ;-)  Anyway, my kids and I have already purchased pumpkins for our front porch, and we've even painted 2 pumpkins for the side porch.  We do crafts every day after school so of course we're doing autumn crafts and Halloween crafts.  Tyler and Brielle get so into it {Brielle could do crafts until dinner and then some}  and want to talk about Halloween, going to the pumpkin patch, and anything Halloween/Autumn related.  I love it!!  And this year I'm determined to bake more things from scratch.  If anyone has a great recipe that includes pumpkin or pumpkin spice, please share.  I love anything pumpkin and really want to try out some new recipes. 

Okay, now onto something winter & holiday related.  I was hoping to get these up sooner since clients have been asking about my holiday cards.  Here are some samples {other varieties are available, this is just a little sample}.  These cards are 5x7 single sided - but there's plenty of room to write a personal message on the back.   Thanks for looking!!

{Pastel pink scooters, fluffy tutu's & bright green lizards...}

All of these things make for a fun and entertaining photo session.  I arrived to my client's house this past weekend greeted by an adorable red haired little girl dressed so pretty in her 'Snow White' dress up clothes.  I knew it was going to be a fun session when I saw how into dress up she was.  And she told me all about princesses as she danced and pranced around in the tutus and petti coats I brought along.  Her her older sister, Elizabeth, was very sweet and all-girl too....but she had a fascination with bugs, spiders and lizards.  Yes, really!  She so reminded me of how Briella might be when she's several years older since she has the same adoration.  Elizabeth told me about the spider was came across - big {make that GINORMOUS} spider actually.  I got weak in the knees just looking at it.   It was a 'barn' spider that it made its home in their backyard and Elizabeth loved it.  She told me all about them and how they live in groups, so if you see one, then you're bound to see another one close by.  And she proved to be right, a few feet away we saw one of the spiders buddies spinning a huge web.  So I'm sure you're wondering where the green lizard in the title comes in.... well  at the end of our session we spotted 2 bright green lizards climbing the outside wall of their home.  Elizabeth's mom told me that Elizabeth loves to catch lizards and sure enough, she caught the lizard and started excitedly telling me all about these lizards (she even knew the name of this particular species of lizard).  She carefully showed me his tail and said that when they lose their tail it grows back and when they are sensing danger a big red bubble forms under their chin.  I stayed longer just to hear more about her fascination and to see her put it in her temporary lizard home, giving it water, food, etc.  How often are you going to have a session like this!  It was so fun and the girls were so engaging.  Erin (the youngest) even hopped up from playing play-doh and doing crafts to stop me as I was leaving giving me a big hug.  I of course loved it!! 

Here's a little peek at our session :)

I can't forget the bright green lizard Elizabeth caught :)

{Tractors, 'Ouy Juice' & a Handsome Little 2 year old}

Last Tuesday I ventured a little out of town to my clients grandfather's farm - it was gorgeous and huge!  We got to follow the big'ole John Deere tractor in a golf cart to other parts of the farm.  The little man I photographed, Heyward, just turned two and he was amazing to photograph.  He seemed like an 'old soul' more mature for his age, more aware of his surroundings and who he is.   I felt like he wanted to say so much but his little 2 year old vocabulary wouldn't let him say it.  We walked to the pond on the farm which he referred to as 'ouy juice'.  Anything that's water, liquid, etc. is 'juice' so as an example the bathtub is 'bubble juice'.  Isn't that cute?!  Love how kids have their own way of referring to things.  I have to brag a little more about this little 2 year old... he has such a sweet demeanor, and when he says 'thank you', he says it in the sweetest little voice, looks you straight in the eyes and says it with such sincerity.  I was amazed!  I had a great time photographing him on the farm.

Here's  a little peek at our session!

I'm showing this in b&w too since my husband really likes the b&w one and I like the color one (okay, so I like them both but I'm gravitating toward the the color one).  :)

{early morning sun, faint mists of fog and pie?}

I had a session on an early foggy Saturday morning, but that fog quickly faded as the sun rays filtered through the trees.  It was a hot and humid morning - the bees were buzzing, the birds were chirping and the ants were marching (that would be 'red' ants) ;-).  As I unloaded the truck with all my props (I had a ton), early morning bike riders and walkers gave me inquisitive looks followed by friendly smiles.  I must've looked pretty silly lugging a suit case and what looked like the entire contents of a small apartment into the deep foggy forest.  One sweet elderly lady even pulled over and said with a smile, 'What in Tarnation?!' okay she didn't say those exact words, it was more like 'oh my, what are you doing with all of this'?  She chuckled after I told her and said 'looks like fun'.   Anyway, I was soon greeted by little Simmons, who's 2 years old and her parents.  What a doll Simmons is!  She's little, she's fast and she hung in there well with all the humidity.  During the session she asked a couple of times for her 'pie' - I thought 'hmm, pie - that's something I didn't bring to the session with me...' but it sounded yummy.  Then her mom told me that's what she calls her pacifier - so funny what each child calls it.  My kids called it their 'pah-nue'.... I know, how can pacifier be shortened to pah-nue?  {shrug}.  Anyway, I had fun photographing Simmons and my favorite part was when she wanted me to hold her toward the end of the session - melted me.    Here's a little peek at our morning.

{Tyler Made the Cover!}

Tyler made the cover of Kids Trends Weekly!  It's the 'Back to School' issue and the information in this issues covers 'back to school' products, style tidbits, tips and ideas for a smooth transition back to school, recipes and more.  Kids Trends is a great way for mom's to be 'in the know' with a wide array of topics and the newest trends & products for your children (topics cover ages 5-9 years old, for under age 5 Tot Trends is a good resource). 

Here's a picture of the cover.  Tyler being my funny boy.  When I told him about the cover this morning, he looked at me shyly with a little grin, then he quickly changed the subject.  So funny...

{dancing, digging and running from buzzing lil' bugs}

It was a hot & humid Southern evening when I photographed these cute little blonde haired, blue eyed siblings. The gnats and maquitos tagged along throughout the session, but thankfully the kids were troopers and weren't bothered too much by all the little buzzing bugs.  One little gnat flew right into little Jacqueline's eye and she patiently held still while I carefully got it out, then she was right back to playing and dancing like a ballerina.   Yes, Jacqueline is very girly (I just love that) and once she got on the fluffy tutus and petticoats I brought, she was off dancing and prancing around showing me her cute and very graceful ballet moves.  Below is one of the several photos of her entranced in dance.  I love this age, when a child just gets wrapped up in a world of imagination and their feelings are released through play and acting out those feelings - Jacqueline's reflected dance.  And her brother James, he just in awe by the trucks and tractors that were around.  He was on the move and determined to explore all things 'boy'.  It was fun seeing what he wanted to search for next.  Here's a little peak at our session. :)

{they're growing up...}

Such a happy time and yet a part of me feels sad that my babies are growing up.  Today was their first day of school - Brielle in preschool and Tyler in Kindergarten.  They went to bed giddy and eager for the sun to rise all in anticipation of their first day of school at the same school - just two classrooms away from one another.  Tyler helped tuck Brielle in, gave her a kiss and a hug and then put his hand on her forehead, his face inches away from hers and quietly assured her that every morning he was going to walk her to her class room.  Oh my...so sweet and so grown up hearing him volunteer to accompany her class each day.  Part of me ached for a third baby seeing how they were hitting this milestone before I was emotionally ready. I was looking forward to waking them in the morning knowing how excited they were.  I remember my  'first day of school' - the butterflies in my tummy, not wanting to eat because I was too excited to head off to school - I felt so grown up as each year passed.  I also remember what I wore on my first day of school {kindergarten}; a white ribbed tank top with a white knit sweater and a blue & green Scottish mini skirt, patent leather shoes and white cable-knit knee high socks.  I was so into my white knee highs and patent leather shoes - I even wore them riding my bike.  Anyway, Brielle confidently reached for her ballerina dress up clothes, her flower wings and her princess crown and before I knew it, she had them all on over her pajamas and proudly said 'I'm going to be so beeutiful for my first day of school' while she spun in circles and began to prance around the kitchen.  I was so close to just letting her go to school in her dress-up clothes.  But I managed to talk her into wearing another 'beautiful' dress explaining that her ballerina dress needed to be washed and would be waiting for her when she returned home later that day.   She was content.  Waving good-bye to the kids made me think of waving good-bye to them as they leave for college.  It's a long ways off, I know, but they really do grow up too fast.  Anyway, thanks for hanging in there and reading this post if you made it this far.  I'm sure many of you can relate - such a bitter sweet chapter of life.  Here's just one of the pictures I took of them this morning- Tyler kissing Brielle on the cheek before leaving for school together...

{Urban Attitude... hip, fun family}

Urban twist for a gorgeous hip family - sooo fun!  I had a blast photographing this session!  This age group is so refreshing, they get so into being in front of the camera, which I love.   Oh, I love the little tots too and I always will, teens just add a different element to the session since they typically want to be there, they rarely have meltdowns or need diaper changes, and I normally don't have to chase very far after them {wink}.  Anyway, this was another Seattle session but the only urban session I photographed during my time in the NW.  Next  time I'm going to try to do a few more with an Urban flair.  Isn't this family just beautiful!  They were so comfortable in front of the camera and were up for anything.   We even found a random bowling ball {yes, an abandon, orange, dying to be held, bowling ball} and I had to incorporate it into part of the session although we found it toward the end of our time together.  Anyway, Shanna is the amazing mother of these four beautiful children.  Wow, she's a busy lady - I have trouble keeping up with just two.  Anyway, I loved every minute of this session!

Here's a little peek inside....with varying post-processing techniques.

Ahhh... the bowling ball....

This last one I processed two ways...Kara's bright color in the first and Kara's yesterday fade.