{Life's Captured Moments - Kara May Photography}

{New Blog!!}

2008-07-01T16:17:00.002-04:00

Some of you have already seen my new blog and have been automatically redirected via some funky code embedded into this blog. My new URL is www.karamayphotography.com/blog - if you have any links to my blogspot blog you may want to update them with this new URL. I've loved blogspot, but it was really time for me to upgrade and I'm so excited about my new one. Anyway, thanks so much for stopping by and I hope to hear from you on my new blog!

{Faith Works 4U - Designer Spotlight}

2008-06-25T08:32:00.010-04:00

Lemon print, grosgrain ribbon, and light cotton fabric - that's a small précis of just one of the designs that my daughter fell in love with when we were photographing Faith's great summer dresses. Faith Works 4U is a clothing and handmade goods line based in Florida by guess who... Faith! Her line has varying fabrics and she offers a variety of items - I'm loving her 1970's inspired plush owls.
I have to tell you, photographing these dresses was quite an event. I took my daughter, Brielle, out to this abandon school house to take the pictures. It was out in the middle of no-where , tucked back from the street. The session went great - Brielle kept doing her little ballet dance (she does that when she puts on something 'pretty'). Anyway, Tyler and my husband were with us too. We were wrapping things up and headed back to the car (about 15 steps away) got everyone buckled, comfy, and ready to head to Starbucks for a little treat. I turned the key in the ignition and ....nothing. I tried again... nothing. So we thought we'd call our friends Bobby & Mary Beth to see if they could come out and jump our battery. Not so easy....we both left our cell phones at home assuming the other had brought theirs. So we're out in the middle of no-where without cell phones....not smart, I know. Since not many people drive by this area and Jeff was having no luck getting anyone to stop, he decided he was going to walk to try to get help - Brielle hearing this and seeing daddy walk away yells 'Daddy, we love you....' Oh my...then I got panicked and started flagging down any car that I could see in the distance - of course Jeff turned around and saw me and freaked out saying ' what are you doing - you're a girl with 2 kids - you can't do that - you never know what someone will do to you and the kids.' As we're trying to figure out what to do, Jeff decided to push the car closer to the road pop the hood and waive jumper cables by passing cars. A few passed by without stopping and my heart began to sink. Then I notice the last car slowing and turning around in the road - he was heading back our way! I was so excited! Jeff was relieved too. The nice man was disabled and was so sweet to stop and help us. We had no money with us (just credit cards) so I couldn't even give him money. All I could do was thank him profusely for stopping to help us. Anyway, I got the pictures I needed and we got home safe so it was a happy ending and we are laughing about it now! Lesson: Always bring a cell phone with you when you venture into no-where land (and hopefully you'll still have a signal) :)

{Brielle made the Cover!}

2008-06-23T07:43:00.006-04:00

My little girl is on the cover of Tot Trends Magazine!! Just thought I'd make a quick post sharing what the cover looks like! And that cute little vintage dress...was made by Monkey & Me one of my featured designers! Thanks for looking!

{My boy...}

2008-06-19T10:40:00.015-04:00

So finally, I'm posting a few more pictures from my trip to Arizona a few months ago (I know, you forgot I went there didn't you? wink). I had a little mini session with my son while we were there and he was just a goof - giving me serious 'trying to be cool' looks and then wiping out one of his silly faces and making me laugh and then reverting right back into his so serious trying to be mature looks. The picture of him jumping was so fun and spontaneous - he was standing, again looking so serious ,then he suddenly leaps in the air, arms and legs spread at the top of the hill. I loved it and was so glad I caught it on camera (have to be quick with kids, especially when they are so used to my camera and last about 5 minutes).
The bottom set of images are with Grandma Doh Doh and Grandpa May. That's what they called them.... long story behind Grandma's name and my kids say it lovingly (I think Grandma likes it a lot too) ;-)
Sorry this post is short - tons of work to do and I'm so behind. Thanks for looking!!

{LPGA Superstar!}

2008-06-15T22:21:00.017-04:00

I love my job!!! This past Saturday I did a really fun project for the Country Club of South Carolina. I was asked to follow Paula Creamer around the course while she played golf. So who is Paula Creamer? She's the 3rd ranked player in the world on the LPGA Tour! She's 21 years old and already has eight wins — six on the LPGA Tour, two in Japan. She was in South Carolina playing in the Honda Palmetto Invitational, so she played her round with several Honda Executives (all of which were a hoot, light-hearted and clearly had a blast playing with Paula). Paula even gave one of the Executives a mini-lesson on how to chip out of a bunker! She's very sweet, relaxed and has a fabulous sense of humor (she was high-fiving her fellow players on the greens after some great putts).
Paula was super gracious with her fans too. Little girls with pink hats and cute pink golf outfits approached Paula on the practice greens and driving range for autographs. Paula is nicknamed the 'Pink Panther' for her love of the color pink. She sported a pink ribbon in her hair, pink grips on her clubs (pictured below), and even used balls with the pink panther on them. It was cool to see so much pink on the golf course!
Here are just a few images from the day ;-)

{Off to College...Fun Senior}

2008-06-13T08:58:00.008-04:00

I love photographing seniors - they are so excited for their sessions, makes for so many fun possibilities. Yes, I love, love, love photographing tots - always look forward to photographing little ones. But it's also fun doing sessions with teens, a completely different chapter of life with a completely different feel. I love it!

This week I photographed a recent graduate who's college bound in August. Elisabeth didn't at all mind the 102 degree heat we were shooting in. She didn't break a sweat the whole session, even after 4 clothing changes in her car!! Wow! The temperature suprisingly didn't bother me, but I really started feeling the heat when we were on the railroad tracks. Those tracks radiate some serious sizzle- but we worked quickly and moved onto the next location.

Here's a little peak at her session :)

{Oh So Sassy! - Designer Spotlight}

2008-06-09T21:04:00.017-04:00

Has it really been over a week since I've posted?! Oh, I don't like going more than a few days without posting - things have been crazy and I'm way behind on sneak-peeks. Sorry - I'll make it up to those of you who are waiting thanks for being so patient. I'm so excited about this designer spotlight - as I always am ;-) Michelle, designer of 'Oh So Sassy' clothing for children just emanates talent! Her clothing is hip, fun, fresh, full of variety and of course a little bit of 'sass'. She receives inspiration from her own little toddler and her 21 nieces and nephews, including a set of triplets and two sets of twins. WOW! That's a ton of inspiration and a lot of little ones to sew for.
I was fortunate to use two models for this showcase, my daughter Brielle and little Lilly. Remember Lilly, the cowgirl in the tutu? She was a great model for these adorable clothes. Thanks Lilly!
And of course I love all the details Michelle incorporates into her clothing line. So I couldn't' resist highlighting a few... I'm a detail freak, love and can't get enough of all the little details. ;-)

{PamelaTang ~ Designer Spotlight}

2008-06-01T23:34:00.012-04:00

Modern, clean and classic ~ such a perfect combination... that's PamelaTang’s designs. Pamela was relocating from Singapore to Australia when she sent me this gorgeous pinafore. I’m amazed she had the organization to ship items when she was in the midst of moving. Anyway, when I saw this dress in person I was amazed that the detail! It’s a really fine linen, with yellow sewn detailing down the front coupled with thin cream colored grosgrain ribbon. And the button on the back - I know this sounds strange but I loved it – such and hand sewn yet modern touch. I’m a detail girl so I was carefully looking at the great stitching, the lines, and the overall quality of this dress and obviously I can’t say enough. I love it. She makes her items in small quantities, each piece is individually handcrafted. She even makes adult sizes and sells gorgeous silk accents for the home.

{Tag! I'm it! X's 4}

2008-05-28T20:47:00.010-04:00

I really am a team player and I love this cyber game of blog tag. I hate that I haven't been able to play being so busy but now I'm finally able to sit at my computer and play. Woo hoo! The most recent taggers who've tagged me are Elizabeth and Rebecca Tyler.
The rules seem to vary from tagger to tagger so I'm going by these rules since each of my taggers may have slightly varied rules.

The Rules.
*Post the rules before you give the facts.
*Post eight random facts about yourself.
*At the end of your blog post, you need to tag 3 people and list their names

*Leave the people you tagged a comment on their blog, letting them know that they've been tagged.
I'll try not to tell anything that I told you all the last time I was tagged. ;-)
1) I'm kinda a germaphobe.... I admit it. But I really try to hide this quirk since I know it's irritating to a lot of people. I get soooo grossed out by dish towels - are they being used to dry your hands off? Or to dry dishes? Or are they used to wash the counters down? Whatever they are used for, I used them once and then they go in the wash. I'm addicted to the Clorox cleaning wipes (low-streak formula) for washing my counters and kitchen table. They ROCK! Oh on that same note - sponges are just a haven for bacteria and other nasty things - so after I use them, I rinse them off and put them in the microwave for 2 minutes - it kills 99.9% of the nastiness sponges collect. I know, I need help.... or just a big glass of wine.

2) I'm adopted. My parents were living in Idaho at the time and suffered the loss of a baby girl, Kristen, to SIDS. What's totally weird - is my parents were supposed to get another child but their OB went on vacation and the birth mom delivered early. Well the OB taking over gave the baby to his sister in California rather than to my parents. Of course my parents were completely heart broken. But 9 months later, they got me! Another crazy thing is that Kristen had a little stork bite above her eye and I had the same stork bite over my eye {goose-bumps...} . God had a plan for our family and I'm thankful we were brought together.

3) I had a freckle on the tip of my nose as a child and I always wanted it to go away. I even remember seeing a commercial on TV for Oxy Pads, you know the blemish fighting pads, and I got so excited thinking that the Oxy Pads could take away my freckles. I insisted that we go to the store and get some. Anyway, I fell one day and skinned the tip of my nose and other parts of my face, pretty site I'm sure, and what happened? It skinned my freckle right off! I remember being so happy that my freckle was finally gone! Never-mind the fact that I may scar from falling, thankfully I didn't.

4) I swear I was a fish in my prior life. I grew up in Southern California and we had a pool in our backyard. So from a young age, I learned to swim and immediately fell in love with the water. I was in that pool every day even in the rain. If I wasn't in the pool I would be resting right next to the pool with one hand in the water - usually falling asleep.

5) I broke my tibia in preschool {my daughter gets her 'accident prone' tendencies from me}. My sister and I collided going around a blind corner - I was running to get my cool red original 'big wheel' bike back from her when we crashed. I still remember my big wheel and how much I just loved it.... Anyway, I had a cast from my hip to my toes and I just remember being devastated that I couldn't go swimming. Instead I sat in the hot tub with a big black garbage bag wrapped around my leg and propped on the edge of the hot tub. So miserable for a little girl in love with the water.

6) I was voted class clown in junior high. Uh-hu, really proud of that one. Then I somehow I was elected to be the school president the following year. Hmmmm...

7) I love the piano, it just soothes me so I have a bunch of CD's of piano music - Jim Brickman is one of my favorites. Anyway, I played the piano when I was young and when we moved we found a new piano teacher. She happened to be my 'new best friend's' mom. But her mom, was the Hitler of piano teachers. If my wrists weren't raised properly while I was playing she would slap my knuckles with a ruler. And she would write the most hateful notes about my abilities (or lack thereof) in the margins of my music sheets. I quit after a couple of months. Her daughter and I remained best friends but her mother never seemed to take a liking to me... or any of her daughters friends :( .

8) Lastly, I have two wedding rings. I know what you're thinking...and to clarify, I've only been married one time. Jeff proposed to me with a ring that we were going to find a setting for. So we looked... and looked.... and decided that we wanted to design the ring (that looked a bit vintage) and my uncle's best friend was a ring maker. So he made our ring. About a week before our wedding we weren't sure if we were going to get our ring so we went shopping for another setting. We found one we really liked and decided to buy it. Well, the next day our ring came from my uncles best friend - it was beautiful! So we went back to the store we had purchased the ring from the day before (since they did have a return policy) and found that since my ring size was 3 1/4 it was considered a custom size and it couldn't be returned. :( ..... ;-) Luckily my husband (fiancé) was willing to let me have two rings.

Now I'm tagging my photog friends Brooke Drellos, Kelli France, Alicia Caine & Kara Elmore (sorry ladies.... Brooke, just getting you back ;-) )

And I don't want to leave you without a picture so here's little Miss Lilly....

{EarthGroovz Designs}

2008-05-23T23:00:00.010-04:00

Oh take a peek at my latest featured designer's work! Kerry, the creator of 'EarthGroovz Designs', makes funky, hip and earth-friendly clothes! I love these dresses and I even paired them with some pants for a fun look! My daughter was feeling a little spunky in them too, she was full of attitude when I put her in the dresses. She grabbed her hat, put it on her head and went on her way (in search of ladybugs, what else?). And cutie patootie Kendall, is modeling the 18 month old size. I've already used these during some of my photo sessions. Love them and the many fabrics Kerry offers with her designs. I just can't get enough of the big flower prints- they have such a fun 70's, retro, carefree feel. And Kerry is really wonderful to work with - contact her if you have any questions!

{Dirt, Tractors & Tutu's.... who knew?}

2008-05-21T21:10:00.005-04:00

What a combination! Even with the threat of thunderstorms looming in the dark grey sky, we managed to move quickly and have so much fun during this session. Lilly and Freeman - first off, how cute are those names?! Just as cute as the kids themselves - seriously. Freeman is almost 2 and has the most adorable pinchable cheeks and he loves playing with dirt (feeling it slip between his little fingers, digging in it and tracing his fingers in the mounds of dirt we came upon)! Truly 'all boy', we couldn't pry him away from the plowed field we were in. And Lilly.... oh Lilly...she was meant to be in front of the camera! She's adorable and magnetic, simply put.

Here's a little sneak peek from our session!

{Gallery Wrap Canvas Wall Display!}

2008-05-17T00:08:00.007-04:00

Oh my lonely, boring, creamy white walls are no longer bare. I've been working on this project since late March and a couple of weeks ago it was finally complete! I've had too much going on to post it sooner (not that I have time now... sorry to my clients who are waiting on their galleries to be posted, sneak peeks to be blogged and orders to be packaged - I just needed a tiny break and decided to quickly pop these up here on my blog - then back to work on all the important things you're waiting on.) ;-)

The walls in my entry way are two stories tall and about 18 feet wide and were just screaming for some visual attention and appeal. I couldn't decide on a black & white display or a color display since some images just scream for color and others beg to be a classic black and white. So I did both and mixed it up! I didn't want the images to be lined up perfectly - I wanted more of an abstract, non-linear display so I did some staggering (this will also allow me to add to the gallery if I decide to in the future without feeling restricted to one specific size). The sizes vary from 16x20's to 30x40's. Excuse the images - I'm used to photographing people and not the interiors of homes - the color looks a bit crazy on the images but in reality it's a bit more tame and tolerable {wink} ).

{Pretty Me...}

2008-05-15T09:31:00.004-04:00

Oh check out these adorable dresses by my next featured designer Angie of Pretty Me - sweet clothing for hip girlies! I've already had clients see them and say - 'oh, I have to have that dress'!! Can't blame them - they are just adorable!! Brielle of course loves them too and kept dancing in them (like a ballerina -'her' dance...) - she's a hoot when it comes to girlie girl clothes - she's all over them!! Angie's designs are inspired by sweet vintage styles with whimsical and creative details - she hit the nail on the head with that! I love them. Simply adorable clothing - I think I need to do some shopping!

{Tea Party, Baby Dolls & Tutu's!}

2008-05-14T11:00:00.012-04:00

It was so fun doing a session with 2 sisters! I love all my sessions, each one has it's own style, flare, personality and feel. And this session I was able to make everything so 'girly'! Kendall & Emily had a tea party, played in tutu's, rocked the baby in the baby cradle (not shown, oh I should've.... now I'm kicking myself) and the list goes on. Why didn't I have photo sessions like this when I was young? ;-) Anyway, Kendall, the oldest, was so good with her little sister Emily. She knew just what to do to make her sister comfortable. We found that Emily wasn't a huge 'nature girl' - I'm sure it will grow on her in time. She didn't like the feel of grass tickling her toes, shoes solved that and Kendall was right there, helping her sister. She also was a big help with all my props...even carrying my wrought iron tea table (wow, she's little but she's strong) - very helpful.

Here's a little peek!

I thought this session would look great with an old classic vintage conversion, so I've shown samples of that conversion along with some of the color or b&w images I'm posting. :)

{Woo Hoo! -- brings giggles & wiggles}

2008-05-12T23:44:00.009-04:00

This past weekend I had a photo session with 2 year old Sophie! What a cutie - and she's so fast. The wind was whipping during our session but that didn't stop this little munchkin from running around checking everything out. At first Sophie wasn't sure what to think of me-- then when she got a hold of her mom's cute shoes, the smiles and giggles came out. My sister-in-law was in town and was my assistant during this session (thank you Jen!). Anyway, Jen said 'woo hoo' and Sophie heard and couldn't stop repeating 'woo hoo' and giggling hysterically. Of course we couldn't help but laugh watching, what a doll! Here's a little sneak peek. Thought I'd make two 10x20 storyboards.

This first one - I couldn't resist... Sophie is 'all girl', she's already giddy over shoes {trying on momma's shoes}. The second is black and white with my touch of mocha conversion.

{Autumn Bookings & Happy Mother's Day}

2008-05-11T12:16:00.004-04:00

I'm currently booking for Autumn- summer sessions are full and fall sessions are quickly filling up. In order to allow plenty of time for holiday orders, my session cut-off is November 16th. After that date I'll be booking for January 2009! Thanks to those of you who have already booked your holiday/Autumn sessions! :)

This is one of my favorite videos... I saw it a few years ago and it still makes me giggle. Happy Mother's Day to you all! Oh and you'll have to press pause on the music player on my site to be able to hear the video. :)

{Little Miss Personality...}

2008-05-09T15:11:00.009-04:00

Oh my... on Sunday I ventured to Hartsville and photographed one of the most amazing 3 year olds - Elizabeth Grace! When she came walking up she took my breath away - seriously. She's stunning with with her long, curly, red hair; peaches n' cream skin; piercing blue eyes and perfect heart-shaped pouty pink lips. And she was so calm and a little nervous in the beginning, but about 15 minutes into the session she became a little entertainer. She was in awe over the petticoats and tutu's I brought - that's when the real entertainment started! She had me and her parents laughing at her cute little expressions, songs she was singing and dance moves she was proudly showing me. Anyway, I had so much fun photographing Elizabeth Grace!! Here's your sneak peek!

And I couldn't resist creating a quick storyboard!

This first one is a 10x8 and the next one is a 20x20 :)

{Kait Emerson Designs}

2008-05-07T21:23:00.007-04:00

Wow, you don't know how fun it is for me to do fashion photography and spotlight such talented designers. My daughter and son have started to really get into the sessions too and each day when I get Briella dresses she says, 'Are you going to take my picture in this mommy?'. Today when I told her we were just getting dressed for the day in response to her question, she said - 'but I want you to take my picture mommy'. I wish she was like that all the time - ha!
So check out these chic & bold designs Feanna Otta, of Kait Emerson Designs! She's has such an eye for tot fashions that have a fun and relaxed yet hip and classy look to them. Yeah, all of that packed into her designs. I love them! And she hand makes each item she offers; pants, tops, dresses and other clothing and accessories and is a very busy lady - with so many on-line stores featuring her clothing. She lives and creates her designs in Huntington Beach California but sells her items at the following online high-end boutiques: Kait Emerson Designs, Hip & Little, Haute for Tots, Jaela Fredrick, The Refined Cubbyhole, Modern Mommy and Starlooks Boutique. Wow, that's a lot and look at these boutiques!! Anyway, here's just a small sample of her clothing line.

{One, two, three....cutie-patooties}

2008-05-05T23:09:00.007-04:00

Okay so I'm behind on posting sneak peeks and featuring designers. I'm still playing catch-up from being gone an extra week with Brielle in the hospital. Thanks for hanging in there and being patient. Oh and for those who have e-mailed me about a session or other photogs who've e-mailed - I'm not ignoring you... I promise. I'm just swamped and have been working till past mid-night every night to get orders submitted & packaged, editing and trying to catch-up on e-mails. I will get back to you all soon ;-)

On Saturday my session was with 3 little cuties - 10 month old Harmon, 3 yr old Teige and a 5 yr old Emmeline. I love their names! So unique! And Emmeline is just as pretty as the name sounds. Harmon and Teige are all boy! Teige just couldn't get enough of pretend play, he has such a great imagination! I could tell he and his daddy play a lot of 'action' type of pretend play - again, very boy. :)

Here's a little sample of the images I captured :). (some of them called for a vintage wash with some light texture, others b&w with a touch of mocha and of course a few with my fun and funky color).

And their daddy is an airline pilot so check out this official pilots hat and the cool vintage plane Teige is playing with. He knew all the technical terms for each part of the plane and he knew the names of tricky cool moves the plane can do. They were all completely over my head (honestly, I hadn't even heard of over half of the terms he and his dad were using - but they sounded really cool) ;-)

(now with texture and a light wash....)

{Baby Sadie}

2008-05-04T11:42:00.006-04:00

Oh I got to photograph this little cutie - one day shy of 2 weeks this past Friday. She was so teeny-weeny. I barely remember my kids being this little at one time. When I held her she seemed so light, peaceful and so fragile. I had fun using my 'wraps' on her and she looked so snug and comfy that I hated to unwrap her from them. Anyway, Bobby and Mary Beth thanks for letting me photograph her - I now have a strong desire for a third....oh no. It will pass... no worries Jeff (my hubby...) ;-)

{Kennedy & Friends Co.}

2008-05-02T15:17:00.030-04:00

I'm sooooo excited about featuring this next designer - Kennedy & Friends Co.! I love tutus so I was giddy about doing this! My daughter was just as excited as I was and cried when it was time to take off the tutus. She kept showing me ballet moves (I have no idea where she learned them but she suddenly started showing me her two year old version of plié’s & pirouettes). Nathalie, the designer is such and sweet person and has amazing passion for making little girls feel so beautiful in her handmade designed tutus. She has so many varieties - she can even make custom tutus for dogs, cats, dolls, you name it! Oh, my old pug would've loved that (although my pug was a boy so maybe not) ;-) Her tutus are retailed alongside Kaiya Eve, Deux Par Deux, Bratt Decor, Juice Couture, Bugaboo, and other exclusive designers and are found at 'Jellybeans' in Springfield Missouri and other high-end boutiques across the country. {Note: Her tutus are only available at these boutiques or on-line through Etsy}.

{Arizona Series: Black & White of the beautiful 'sisters'}

2008-05-01T14:51:00.009-04:00

Couldn't resist showing just a few more pictures of the sisters from AZ! All B&W with a touch of Mocha - very classic.

More commercial photography to come... ;-)

{Arizona Series: Beautiful Sisters...}

2008-04-30T14:31:00.010-04:00

I'm finally home again!! And it's so good to be back with the rest of my family again! Brielle is feeling much better and went to the doctor first thing this morning, she still has signs of her illness lingering so we'll go back again each week for tests. Thank you again for your continued thoughts and prayers, e-mails and comments. :)

So I was finally able to down load and edit some pictures today from my trip - still tons more to look at and edit but here are a few images from my session with two fun and beautiful sisters, MacKenzie & Tatum. Can you believe they aren't even teens yet?! Kenzie is taller than me and I had to stand on my tippy-toes for most of the session ;-) and Tatum, who is 9 years old, is right behind her older sister (they must have been really good vegetable eaters when they were little). Anyway, we found a great location in the Scottsdale area of Arizona and shot in a garden of sorts. The girls were so fun even when passer-by's stop a moment to watch.

Anyway, here's a little sneak peek from our session.

{to my mom, on her birthday...}

2008-04-29T00:26:00.004-04:00

I'm horrible at writing poetry.... love to write but I'm awful when it comes to poetry and the rules that go along with it (I'm a rule-breaker I guess) :) But my mom is an amazing person who is so selfless and giving, I wanted to give her something special and from my heart for her birthday. She's endured a lot lately and again is so giving of herself during this time.

Mom, thank you for being such an amazing mom and role model. I wish I could be with you today.

Happy Birthday Mom!

--God Made--

God made an extraordinary mother,

A mother who never grows old;

He made her laugh at the fun times
and gave her great strength during the tough times;

He made her a heart that is loving and selfless;
and a soul that is magnetic and true.
God made an extraordinary mother,
And He gave that amazing mother to me.

(Image to be inserted when I get back home to SC) :)

{all of your thoughts and prayers are working...}

2008-04-25T23:18:00.004-04:00

First off, you are the best! You're kind words, thoughts and prayers are hard at work and I know they are making a difference. I'm in such awe over the overwhelming support I've received - your comments, e-mails, and some wonderful surprise gifts sent to our room have just brought me to tears. You all don't know how much your friendship and support means to me and my family- thank you sooooooo much!
The doctor's at Children have come to the following conclusion - her lab results show that she has contracted Shigella (similar to E-Coli - yuck!) coupled with nephritis and HSP (the disease mentioned below). That's the reasons for her high fevers, added stomach pains, and other not so fun symptoms. Then we got the exciting news that she could leave the hospital after getting a round of antibiotics to start treating the Shigella (her HSP just has to run it's course - there's no treatment except for monitoring her kidneys with weekly urine tests and then with monthly tests)!! Brielle is coming back to her little happy-go-lucky self; she's talkative and giggling, she's walking well (although she's wobbly on her legs and has fallen more than once scaring her a bit), and she's eating & drinking more. I'm so glad to have her out of the hospital (although I'm sooooooo thankful for the wonderful care she received). And I am selfishly so happy to see things outside of little B's hospital room. We sat outside tonight just soaking up the beautiful sunset here in Arizona, then bathed and now she's soundly sleeping.
Anyway, sorry for all the details, we are just so happy to be discharged and will be heading home back to South Carolina on Tuesday! It will give Briella time to be up to traveling and if she regresses, we are close to the doctors who treated her.
Thanks again so much you all!!!! You don't know how much your words, prayers and support have meant to me and my family. I wish I could give back to you - really... it's meant the world to me. I'll hopefully be back to posting soon. It kills me not to be posting more, but I will certainly be making up for it when I get back home! :) Thank you and XOXO's to you all.

{very sick little girl...}

2008-04-24T17:18:00.006-04:00

Life has a way of changing things up on you....I'm not home and won't be home for several days unfortunately. Briella has been pretty sick most of our trip and it got really bad the morning we were supposed to leave (she lost a lot of blood) and not to be gross but the morning we were supposed to leave she woke up with her diaper completely full of blood. We took her to the ER and Jeff and Tyler traveled back to South Carolina. She also has developed 50+ bright red lesions all over her body, her joints are swollen, and her gums, lips and mouth have been bleeding and she hasn't been able to walk (I think her joints just hurt too bad). They have diagnosed her with a disease called HSP ( Henoch-Schönlein Purpura). Kinda rare so I'm so glad that we're being treated at the Children's Hospital in Phoenix where they have specialized care. Seeing my little girl in this much discomfort is heart-breaking but I know that she will get over this rough time and that she's in good, caring hands. Anyway, we've been in the hospital for 3 days and it sounds like we won't be going to South Carolina till after the weekend. I just wanted to keep you all posted since I mentioned posting pictures and session sneak peeks soon. Thanks to those of you who have sent me e-mails and left sweet comments on my blog after hearing she was sick ;-) You're thoughts and prayers are appreciated.
I'll post more updates as soon as I can.

{In the land of Kokopelli's....far from home}

2008-04-21T18:07:00.004-04:00

Can you guess where I am? Hint: It's dry, hot and in a land where kokopelli's can be found. It's is in the United States.... so that will narrow it down quite a bit.
Just wanted to let my blogging friends and viewers know that I haven't been able to post since I'm far from home doing some shoots and vacationing for the past week. I'm freaking out that I haven't been able to post in so long...I miss it so. But when I get back I'll be back to posting - woo hoo. We fly back tomorrow night so not too much longer.
It's strange not to have my editing software with me.... feels so bizarre not to be doing that part of my job while I'm here. But I have enjoyed shooting in a completely different environment and being creative in a whole new, fun and challenging way.

{Nuxie Made}

2008-04-13T15:10:00.006-04:00

I admit, I have a hat fetish when it come to accessories for my children. I love them, I'm always on the lookout for different, fun, funky, colorful hats. So I was thrilled to photograph and feature these hats for Nux of 'Nuxie Made'!! They fit all the things I love - they're colorful, hand-made, and look absolutely darling on children (and pre-teens). My daughter even insisted on wearing one to bed (yep, that's my stubborn but oh so loving two year old). Aren't these hats adorable?!

{Snips & Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...}

2008-04-11T00:01:00.011-04:00

And 4 boys ages 3 and under! What a busy busy all boy session today was - I headed to Hartsville to photograph these adorable little blonde boys. They kept me on my toes being that they were all so young and at that age where they do what they want to do, it's just how it goes. But it was fun and entertaining. They were truely 'all boy' boys playing in the fountain - getting soaked and running around on the gravel barefoot (without it hurting their soft little feet). The youngest of these boys was 3 months old! He was so content during our session, happy as can be the entire time - amazing!! Here's some images from today! The first two pictures were begging to 'go vintage' so I listened... don't you love their outfits?! They were purchased at a cute little Hartsville children's boutique - Juice!

{sludge, muck & dreaded delays... sigh}

2008-04-07T21:57:00.002-04:00

Yes, the weather here in South Carolina has been wet! This past Saturday we had over 4 inches (at least that's what's being said and not from a reliable source - merely chatter heard at the local Piggly Wiggly). Sooo, that resulted in two more sessions being postponed. I really don't like postponing my client's sessions but I want them to get the best images possible and in these wet and soggy conditions it's the best choice.
On another note, I was recently featured in the Country Club of South Carolina's quarterly 'Club Journal'. The cover is my daughter (well her legs and feet anyway -ha! getting on her tricycle in her little white tutu). They did a spread on me and posted samples of my work inside. Pretty fun!

{Nissalisa - monster wear for your lil' monsters...}

2008-04-03T20:57:00.008-04:00

Monsters… monsters – what could be more cool on a t-shirt? My son went nuts when he tried this on for our photo shoot. These zany shirts are the creations of Nissalisa. And who is Nissalisa? It’s the sister-in-law duo Nissa & Lisa! Very fitting. J Anyway, I think these shirts are so fun for little boys – and big boys too! Their sizes run really small so I would contact Lisa or Nissa and ask them about sizing (between the two of them they have 8 children so they are pretty much experts in that area). My son is a 5T and he needed a size 8 – wowzah! Personally I love the long sleeve shirts – they are more form-fitting but not too clingy. My son really liked the short-sleeve – 1) it was green – his favorite color, along with orange and 2) he loves short sleeved shirts – he’s such a little furnace. Anyway, they have many different monsters to choose from (Tyler is shown sporting ‘ Blue Bernard’) as well as monster onesies, monster towels and adult size monster appliquéd t-shirts with ringer neck (gotta love the ringer necks)!

{Monkey & Me}

2008-03-30T20:51:00.010-04:00

Oh my…here’s another amazingly creative, hip, and fun featured designer, Beth creator of Monkey & Me unique children’s clothing. Little Briella was so giddy trying these clothes on and modeling for me. I’ve never seen her so excited for a photo session. We dressed her on-location so the clothes wouldn’t wrinkle too much and she kept saying ‘Oh this is gonna be fun! '{giggles emanating from her}. I was thrilled she was so into it. Anyway, getting the thumbs up from my daughter was a good sign and I instantly fell in love with the colors, and cute vintage designs. Monkey & Me designs a variety of styles from funky and hip to wild and spunky available in infant sizes all the way up to 6T. And since Beth is the designer/creator she knows all about sizing so if you’re unsure of what sizes you’re interested in just send her your child’s measurements and she’ll help you find the perfect fit! I just love this red and white polka-dot retro animals A-line dress! But I think Brielle felt sassy in all of them. If you like funky, retro, unique clothing you’ve gotta check out Monkey & Me.

{Oh... I just had to post a few more...}

2008-03-28T01:44:00.008-04:00

Since I have yet to put up Megan & Jessica's gallery (it's been a crazy week and spring break for the kidlets on top of that), I thought I'd add a second peek from their session. I love face shots so I couldn't resist posting more. Oh so many images to choose from, can't wait to show you more. Thanks for being patient!

{Fun, Fashion & Friends}

2008-03-22T14:47:00.006-04:00

Yesterday afternoon I photographed two close friends - Megan & Jessica. They just so happen to be awesome babysitters too - my kids adore these two girls! And they were bummed to see me leave with Megan and Jessica as we ventured on our photo shoot. I have to say photographing Megan & Jessica brought me right back to my senior year in High School - the laughter, teasing, embarrassment and enthusiasm - it all came flooding back and was so surreal. The two could be sisters, they were that close - you know the type of friendship where you share make-up, do each others hair, make fun of each other yet encourage and support each other. That's the type of friendship they had and it made this session one of my favorites. I could have photographed them all night but we lost light and had to end it at some point. Anyway here's a few images from our session. I varied my editing styles since I just couldn't resist and the possibilities were pretty wide with this age group. ;-)

More to come...

{Could it be Spring... finally?! Oh and April & May are booked}

2008-03-20T15:11:00.008-04:00

Is it here? Is Spring really here? As I tiptoed out of my bedroom this morning before the kids woke, I realized that today is the day I've been dying for. The first day of Spring was finally here! The sun is shimmering but wow it's so windy! My hair whipped me in the face as I got out of my car and headed into the gym this morning - it didn't feel like spring, but I'm sure it will in no time!

So yesterday afternoon I took Tyler on a little mini-photo session. He gave me about 10 minutes to run to 3 locations all within 100 yards of each other so it made it pretty painless. I think Tyler has mastered his 'serious look'. What a cutie, the moment the camera comes out it's either 'serious Tyler' or 'happy smiles Tyler'. So here's a few serious and one token smiling image of my little man. I did different processing on all of them. And I used some textures to add dimension to 2 or 3 of them (you'll know which ones when you see them). ;-)

Oh and on a side note: I currently have no more openings in April or May and June is starting to fill. I also have started booking sessions for Fall. I know that seems so far away, but some people are thinking ahead and booking now (very good idea). Just so you know, this year I have a holiday order cut-off - November 16th will be the deadline. This will allow my lab time to process all your orders before the Christmas. I can't believe I'm talking about Christmas and it's the first day of Spring!

{Robin's Egg Pink Boutique}

2008-03-17T22:43:00.008-04:00

The first featured designer is Lisa Samartino from ‘Robin’s Egg Pink Boutique’! And oh my gosh…I’ve become such a big fan of her clothing line. Lisa, from Beverly Hills, started her clothing line just last year and is already being featured in National magazines. I love the fabrics in Lisa’s designs – they are lightweight and soft, perfect comfort for children. Brielle liked the jacket too – after I put it on her she whispered to me ‘Oh, am I a princess mommy?’ I don’t know where she got that idea since this is a jacket and not a tutu – but I went along with it and assured her she was indeed a princess. Is that bad? ;-) Anyway, if you have kids check out her clothing line – you can find it at etsy.com and a growing number of high-end boutiques around the country.

{Designer Spotlight}

2008-03-17T22:06:00.005-04:00

Most of you know that I love being involved in styling my clients. It’s such a significant part of each session. So now I’ve become fascinated with children’s clothing and fashion trends for tots ;-) I’ve been lucky enough to photograph clothing from some talented designers that I’ll be featuring on my blog every now and then. Stay tuned... one's coming right up. ;-)

And I hate to make a post without a picture so here's another one of the little cutie patootie below, William.

{baby blue eyes - this little guy was blessed with them!}

2008-03-14T23:09:00.021-04:00

Today I photographed the cutest 10 month old baby boy! He had the most vivid bright baby blue eyes I've ever seen - coupled with long lush eyelashes that we women strive so hard to obtain. Why is that? Most little boys I photograph have the thickest, longest, beautiful eyelashes. Hmm...I guess that's why they market mascara to us ladies... :) Anyway, little William's eyes are absolutely gorgeous as is his smile. What a good sport too... it was windy but not cold thankfully and he was just chillin' wondering what the heck I was doing holding up a black box that wouldn't stop clicking (aka- my camera). This little man quickly lost interest in my camera and decided he would avoid looking at it and me all together (very smart boy) ;-) . But I still managed to get a bunch of cute images of him.

Here's a little sneak peek for William's parents! (so I'm seeing a theme in these pictures - can you guess what it is?) No worries, I got a lot of William without his hands or objects to his mouth - you'll find them in your gallery shortly ;-)

{Texture? Or No Texture? You tell me...}

2008-03-11T16:53:00.016-04:00

Alright, I love playing with textures and couldn't resist playing with some on these images that I took of my daughter this week. I can't decide which I prefer...they both have a completely different look and feel to them before the texture and after they were applied. I've become addicted to making my own textures too - some work well and other's not so easy to work with. I know textures are totally a personal preference so some of you may be looking at the textured ones thinking, 'Oh my, she just ruined that image' - it's way more artsy and I know not everyone is into that much funky change. Anyway, I thought I'd post these to see what you all thought - texture? Or no texture? Thanks for your help!

No Texture applied

Texture applied

No Texture applied

With texture applied

No Texture applied

With texture applied

{ Images of Hartsville...}

2008-03-09T22:42:00.007-04:00

Okay, so not really images 'of' Hartsville, more like images 'in' Hartsville... semantics... Anyway, I finally got some time to look through some more of the images from my day in H-Town and I know I mentioned that I got a shot of my little T-man- surprise - I got two!! He's in love with his Halloween t-shirt and insists on wearing it when he can and since he was not feeling well the day of our outing, he got to wear his favorite shirt. He's so into orange shirts lately - funny how they get to the age where they care about what they wear. I picked an outfit out for him for school the other day and he says to me 'I don't want to wear that, it's not cool enough'. Oh my... that wasn't what I expected him to say. He's only 5! Oh well, I better get used to it. Briella is very particular as well...and says to me 'Oh momma, I don't like it, no thank you' in a very affirming voice as she shakes her head in disapproval. My goodness - well my kids are very sure of how they feel and tell me. I guess that's good, right? {shrug}
Okay, so I'm determined to make frequent jaunts to Hartsville - right now all I want to do is photograph there. So this week, since some of my sessions are being post-poned due to crisp cool weather, I'm heading to Hartsville to soak in as much as I can.
Here are a few more images of my kids during this trip. Again, you can't see the actual town since I didn't have time to go off exploring; I wanted to do a quick photo session with the kids while they were willing ;-)
Thanks for checking out my blog! Oh and these were processed with a variety of techniques... some desaturating, color tweaking, etc. - kinda fun.

Love his little smile...

Briella jumping! Oh my so high!

{ I've fallen in love with a sleepy little Southern town...sigh...}

2008-03-06T23:01:00.005-05:00

I've lived in the South for about a year and a half and I finally ventured about 25 miles to Hartsville. OMG!! I fell in love! Hartsville is a quaint little town with fun little boutiques, eclectic restaurants, gorgeous tree lined streets, beautiful gardens (Kalmia Gardens), and beautiful Southern architecture. I have been meaning to go there forever and I finally popped the kids in the car and we went on a little adventure. The kids enjoyed it as much as I did - surprisingly. I couldn't resist bringing a prop or two and testing out a spot or two. Tyler wasn't feeling well, so he rested (but I did manage to get a shot of him that I'll share later). But Brielle was so in love with this 1930's vintage baby buggy I brought! Tears flowed when I told her it was time to go. She even walked further ahead of me hoping that I would just give in and she could push her baby more.

Here are just a few of the images captured from our quick jaunt to Hartsville.

I did some a slight cross processing on the image below - thought it gave it a little zig ;-)

Zig working?

A little antique coloring and texturizing to give this image a vintage feel.

Oh a different note - Aimee if you're reading this, your gallery is almost ready for me to publish. Thanks for holding tight :)

{Railroad ties, a couple of adorable kids, and a furry friend}

2008-03-02T00:24:00.012-05:00

This makes for a fun photo session! Today was gorgeous - the weather couldn't have been better for the first week of March (thankfully, since we had to post-pone this session once due to weather). These kids brought along one of their best friends - a cute dog named Riley. Riley is so special to this family and sadly suffers from severe epileptic seizures - so this was a very special photo session. I have a soft spot for dogs too so I was very excited about this opportunity. Hannah Grace was so good with the dog, hugging him and gently holding onto his leash, I couldn't resist sharing this photo of the two of them together.

And notice, we are on the railroad tracks. I know I mentioned in a previous post that I wasn't going to be shooting sessions on the track since I was warned by a police officer that it was 'illegal' to be on the tracks. Well, lucky for us, Hannah Grace & Ethan's father was there and he works for CSX and was even getting phone calls from the train yard warning us when a train would be coming. How cool is that?! While we were there 2 trains came by - I was in awe since I love trains and we were fairly close to them. And as one train passed us, I got an adorable shot of Ethan with a little prop I brought along. Can you guess what it is? No cheating by scrolling down.... ha, yep, vintage luggage - perfect with the little corduroy blazer he was strutting.

Watching the train go by...

Oh and what's says 'boy' more than paper airplanes? My son is so into making these right now I couldn't resist bringing one along today. And Ethan was in his own little world soaring it high and low, even making some killer sound effects.

Here's an image of Hannah Grace showing me some of her dance moves on the tracks. Too cute! I did an old film effect on this image...gives it a vintage, old time flair.

And I'll leave you with this close up of Hannah Grace - her eyes are such a beautiful contrast with her gorgeous long blonde hair. Luckly little girl...

{Is Starbucks a possible cure for the flu?}

2008-02-28T20:46:00.008-05:00

Hmmm...I thought I'd give it a try. I don't think it cured the nasty flu bug I have but my yummy soy, no water, no foam, sugar free vanilla (with an extra pump), 170 degree chai tea latte did warm my up my insides and soothe my throat. I've been missing my daily dose of this and going more than 3 days without it put me through withdraws. I've been trying to nurse myself back to good health before my sessions resume this weekend since returning from my nice little vacation. I was hoping to get out there and go crazy experimenting and having fun, but no such luck since this bug seems to drain any and all of my energy. From what I've heard, this was going around in the Bahamas - my first little foreign bug, a special souvenir - I should be so lucky! Ha!

Anyway, hope you all are healthy. From what I hear in this part of the state there are quite a few horrible flu strains going around - hope you all are spared. :)

{Couple More...}

2008-02-24T22:51:00.005-05:00

On a black and white kick and these were calling for classic black and white. I couldn't resist playing with some borders too. Again, my children in town at Puerto Vallarta. I'm still not fully clear headed or back into my groove - so I'm hoping to play this week before my sessions this weekend and next week. I so missed being creative on my vacation but I was trying to truly make it a vacation from my life, work, etc(photography included) - now I'm just hungering for some creative outlets, experimentation, play, you name it! Hopefully I can release that energy this week in between catching up on client e-mails, orders, etc.

So many ideas, so little time... ;-)

{I'm Back!}

2008-02-24T00:26:00.013-05:00

Yeah, I'm back! We had a blast on our vacation but it's so nice to be home again and sleeping in our own beds and no longer living out of our suitcases. What an adventure! This was one of the best vacations I've had. We got to play with the kids in Mexico and be with my mom and dad. Then we got to have alone time in the Bahamas. What a treat! I took very few pictures on our vacation since I didn't want to have to worry about my camera when we were at the pool, on excursions, and at the beach. Also I brought my old camera that's not full frame so that was really hard to go back to. Note to self: Just bring my good camera on trips - it's worth it. But I did take a few pictures on the first stint of our trip (in Mexico).

We built sand castles on the beach and chilled on the shore.

Some of the pools were dedicated to kids with jungle gyms in the water and wave pools.

Tyler getting ready to jump off the waterfall into the water (horrible shot, but a memory was captured).

We ventured into town to check out the area and buy some yummy Mexican Vanilla (something I never leave Mexico without purchasing - it's the best Pure Vanilla for baking!).

While we were in town, we visited a beautiful Catholic Church

Where Brielle kneeled and prayed (not liking the camera on her but I snuck this shot).

And we played around

Poor Briella, we were looking for bracelets for her and tried on a few at several stores. By the time we left the third shop after taking off the bracelets we tried on her - her patience had run out. She didn't understand why we were letting her put on bracelets and then making her take them off without buying them. She was heartbroken and frustrated which let to a big'ole 2 year old temper tantrum. We couldn't help but laugh at her drama (bad mom and dad...) - she plopped herself in the middle of the sidewalk on a busy street, folder her arms, stuck her lower lip out and began to cry. Here she is in the midst of it all. Daddy shopped quickly to find her a bracelet to fit and soon she was calm and content again. Oh my... is this a sign of things to come?

{On Vacation!}

2008-02-09T23:10:00.000-05:00

That's right! I'm leaving in 5 hours headed to the airport with my husband and kids! Woo hoo! We're spending a week in Mexico, Nuevo Vallarta, where we're meeting my parents. Tyler couldn't be more excited. He woke Jeff and I up this morning saying 'Let's chit-chat about Mexico' (he was there 2 years ago and remembers so he can't wait). And he packed his bag unbeknownst to me. I discovered it when I was starting to pack the kids' belongings. Too cute. After our time in Mexico Jeff and I are headed to the Bahamas for 5 days while the kids stay with their other grandparents in Arizona. We'll need a vacation after our vacation - don't you feel that way after traveling? Anyway, I just wanted to let you know so if you didn't see posts for a little bit or if I don't respond to your e-mails right away, this is why? I will be sure to get respond to any inquiries, or e-mails as soon as I return. :)

{Balloons, Giggles, Cupcakes & a Tea Party}

2008-02-03T10:56:00.000-05:00

What more could a girl want? It was little Kendall's first birthday and we wanted to capture this special milestone right! I can't believe how happy this little girl was. Kellie, you are blessed to have such a happy, loving, cuddly little girl! Kendall has two older sisters who I'm sure are just as sweet as this little one. Anyway, the weather was great, such a relief after all the cold and rain we had the day before and the weeks leading up to this session. And it wasn’t windy so I could bring balloons that actually stayed put!
I love doing one year birthdays because that means I get to bake!! I was up to my ears in cake batter and homemade frosting! My kids were thrilled since they knew this meant there would be extras for them. Anyway, I love baking so this was fun for me.
Here are just a few of the images captured at yesterday’s session.

{Bubbles, bubbles...}

2008-01-31T22:50:00.000-05:00

I wanted to play today with some indoor shots. My daughter had other things in mind and wasn't feeling very well, tummy ache - so this is all I got. Then I resorted to photographing some antique cameras I've collected. I love these old antique leather & metal cameras!! So many images captured on these cameras before they were considered unusable. Most of them still work - suprisingly. Anyway, it's crazy to think of what images could've been photographed using these classic old cameras. I'll never know...

{Timeless Black & White - Love them!}

2008-01-26T20:44:00.000-05:00

I'm on a black & white kick these days {couldn't resist changing my blog banner AGAIN, I know - I'm ridiculously indecisive :) }. Maybe it's the cold weather, mist, fog, bare trees, and all the stillness that comes with the winter season that's drawing me to B&W images... who knows. Anyway, since it was too cold to go outside today, I took a couple photographs of Brielle indoors {I casually asked Tyler if I could get a few of him, but he politely said 'Not today mom'. So I didn't ask again}. But he told me during dinner that I can photograph him tomorrow - woo hoo! And since I've had to post-pone all my recent sessions because it's been so cold, I'm thrilled to be able to experiment, play and photograph my own children. I'm also working on a canvas wall display in our foyer, so I'm hoping to have more images to choose from with these quick moments that my kids are allowing me to snap away with my camera. Anyway, I miss photographing my clients but I'm thankful for these quick snippets of being able to photograph my kids, their life and who they are at this very moment. I'm sure you all will grow tired of seeing my children but there will be more variety to come...I promise!
Thank you for viewing my blog :)

Oh and I wanted to say hi to some photographers and aspiring photographers who've contacted me recently from London {Lone}, Canada {Katrina}, Germany {Niki}, and Ireland {Anne}. Thank you for your great e-mails - I love them!

{My Little Girl...}

2008-01-24T23:42:00.001-05:00

I can't believe how grown up she looks (and she's only 2 and a 1/2)! Anyway, I finally have time to sift through the few pics I snapped of Brielle today and I a few more that caught my eye. She's not fond of this cold weather and you can tell by her seriousness. :) Anyway, I wanted to post these two before I went to bed!

{ Post-poned Sessions }

2008-01-24T10:30:00.000-05:00

Due to the cold cold weather in the past couple of weeks, I've had to post-pone some sessions :( I hate doing that, but thankfully my clients are very understanding. I was testing the temperature this morning with my daughter, and brrr....it was cold! I should've looked at weather.com before heading out since it's not supposed to get warmer till this weekend. I actually like this change of weather {shrug} - it makes me want to get in my comfy clothes, bake bread (or cookies) and make hot cocoa with marsh mellows. Oh yummy! I promised Tyler we'd go to the library today so maybe after that. Anyway.....stay warm! Thanks for visiting my blog!

{Cyclones & Pop Rocks...}

2008-01-20T12:03:00.000-05:00

What could be more fun on a Saturday night?! (Don’t answer that…) Since the kids & Jeff are under the weather we had to forgo our ‘game night ‘with friends and stay in. So we had ‘Science 101’ with the cyclone maker that Santa put in Tyler’s stocking. The kids were in complete awe over our crazy experiment – giggling, jumping up and down and focusing intently on what was going to happen next. We experimented with food coloring, bubbles and even Cheerios in the cyclone –we got crazy! Next we all tried the taboo ‘Pop Rocks’ – carbon dioxide packed candy. The kids were laughing at the popping sounds that crackled from their mouths. I remember eating Pop Rocks as a kid (after they were reintroduced to the market in the mid 1980’s after it was banned due to a false rumor). Remember that urban legend? Eating pop rocks and drinking soda would cause your stomach to explode – crazy! And remember the Mikey Kid from the Life cereal commercial? It was rumored that he was one of the victims - so not true.... last I heard he’s still alive and is shooting commercials (behind the camera) for Skippy Peanut Butter & Jell-0. Anyway, my kids didn’t have any adverse reactions to the Pop Rocks {plus they don’t drink soda, so no worries there}. Wow, how much more exciting can a Saturday night be?! Okay, so our Friday night dance parties {aka RAVES} with the kids come pretty darn close – I know. ;-) Anyway, the kids had a blast – here are some snapshots from our night.

{It's Raining, It's Pouring...}

2008-01-17T21:32:00.001-05:00

the kids are having fun exploring... And while they are having fun - they are running in the house every few minutes to warm up. Then it's back outside to stomp in the puddles until their little noses turn red, and their cheeks are flush. I couldn't bring my camera out in the rain (well, I could've- with an umbrella but didn't). Yes, it's cold, shivering, freezing out!! I enjoy this change but it also has forced me to push several sessions out to the Spring and other dates in hopes the weather warms. Soooo, that means that spring is going to be busy but fun! I have some exciting new things planned for 2008 so during these cold days I'll be working on getting those up and running.

{Goose Bumps}

2008-01-13T21:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's session was a cold one! It didn't look very cold outside, but there was a bitter chill in the air and it seemed to get colder by the minute.

The kids were good sports and little Jack (4 and a half) had me running around as he explored the area. I love this weather, it was a bit on the chilly side for the kiddos - but they hung in there.
Here are just a couple of the images captured during our session. :)

{Booked! January & February...}

2008-01-10T21:51:00.000-05:00

Yikes, I'm booked for January and February! I have some openings still available in March and April. I just wanted to let those of you who are interested in booking a session for the Spring, that available slots are beginning to fill. Those who've already booked for May through October - thank you for reserving your spot early. If you have any questions or are interested in booking a session, please let me know so I can reserve a date that works for you. Thank you so much for your interest and inquires!!

{Blog Header...constant change}

2008-01-09T23:05:00.000-05:00

My blog header is constantly changing! I can't commit when it comes to my header and my website. I love changing the look... hopefully you'll get used to that the more you visit my site & blog. I just like change things up and adding a different ‘style/look’. I'm the same way with my house... I just can't commit to paint colors, art, and even to prints and canvas prints of my children. My husband goes a little batty with my indecisiveness... thankfully he has a lot of patience {shrug}. Anyway, I just want to put it out there that I like to change things up pretty frequently so don't be surprised when these changes occur. Thanks for looking! ;-)

{Spin Cycle...}

2008-01-06T20:49:00.000-05:00

I have been dying to photograph my kids in a Laundromat. I know it sounds strange, odd, weird...I get it. But it's been something that I've been dying to do since I moved here. Laundromats have such atmosphere - so vintage, grunge & now. Anyway, I asked Tyler if he wanted to do anything special for this mini-photo session and he excitedly said, "I want spiky hair - and a Mohawk!”. I was actually all for it- but only since this is a photo session (not an everyday, go out in public type of request). He was due for a haircut so his hair was actually a great length for this particular look. And Brielle, my feisty little one, was miss independent there. She didn't listen to me as I motioned her my way {surprise, surprise} and she proudly pushed her laundry cart all over the room as if she owned the place. I truly dread her teen years {shrug} ;-) Anyway, this was something fun, something different and something that was screaming for a vintage cross-processed look. Thanks for checking my blog out!

Side Note: Don't be a stranger; feel free to let me know you were here by saying hi in a 'comment'. You don't have to have an account with Blogger even though that's what it looks like when you initially try to comment. I've had a lot of e-mails saying comments couldn't be written because the viewer didn't have an account... you don't need one... trust me. :) Thanks!

{ Indoor Studio Play... }

2008-01-05T14:33:00.000-05:00

Right now I'm in the midst of submitting and packaging orders which has kept me busy at the end of the holiday season. But I go crazy if I don't photograph for a couple of days...and since it's so cold outside and I didn't want to torture my children by taking them outside, I brought out my studio lighting. I prefer natural light, but alas I needed to use them today. Here are some pics I took of Brielle dressed up in her favorite red petti and angel wings - she was playing peek-a-boo and showing me all of her silly, cute, funny, goofy faces.

Tyler was playing Xbox, a real treat for him since he only plays it occasionally as a 'treat'. I've got some ideas in mind for a little session for him coming up this week.

(A bit of a vintage look...)

{Wishing for Spring...}

2007-12-31T14:13:00.000-05:00

Is it Spring yet? I know, Winter just began, but I'm ready for Spring. Today was so warm here - 70 degrees. So I had to go outside with the kids. Here's Miss B pretending I'm not nearby - refusing to look up. Tyler was so excited to be outside! He's been dying to play outside for the past few days, but rain kept us in.

Being the last day of the year, I had to post some shots even though they don't fit with the season. Happy New Year!!

(a little bit of faded vintage...)

{when mommy's on the phone...}

2007-12-28T22:23:00.000-05:00

I was on the phone today with a client and whenever 'mommy's on the phone', Brielle is nowhere to be found. As soon as I hung up the phone I went up to her bathroom looking for her (she's obsessed with brushing her teeth). She wasn't there. Then I ran down stairs to my bedroom (she loves to 'pretend' she's sleeping in mommy and daddy's bed). She wasn't there. Lastly I looked in my bathroom. There she was standing on my chair in front of the vanity putting on my make-up. I ran to get the camera and got this picture before she saw me (the colored image). When she heard the shutter she said in a guilty but enthusiastic voice, 'Briella put make-up on - sooo cute. So pretty? Look at my lips.' Then she looked in the mirror and smiled proudly at herself. She had gotten out my lip liner and put it on 'like mommy' she said. If I ever go out of the house with my lip liner going up my lip to my nose, someone please let me know ;-) {Notice how pretty she applied the lip liner to the area above her lip - oh so pretty Briella...}

As for my son... he was completely involved with his favorite thing right now. Miniature cars from the 'CARS' movie. He loves them! I got out my camera to take some 'product shots' but when my son saw what I was doing he asked if I could take pictures of his cars - he even lined some up for me. So I took a couple of pictures :) He was giddy as he arranged his cars for the 'shoot'.
So smooth and shiny...

A little bit of texture...

{Christmas Wishes}

2007-12-25T21:41:00.000-05:00

I wanted to wish all my blog viewers a Merry Christmas! What an amazing and special day it is, with many blessings. I hope this holiday season provides you with peace, comfort and love.
Thank you to my clients who have made my first few months in business in South Carolina a wonderful and enjoyable beginning. I can't wait for the exciting new things that 2008 will bring.

Oh my...I can't believe how behind I am on blogging...

2007-12-21T00:52:00.000-05:00

I always try to update my blog at least 3 times a week, but this past week has been completely nuts with packaging orders till the wee hours of the morning, wrapping Christmas gifts when my kids are soundly sleeping, baking-baking-baking, making goody bags for school and friends, going to holiday parties {couldn't miss those fun times}, having a little one with strep and another one with a sick bug, and trying to find time for sleep ;-)

Anyway, it's been a fun, challenging and busy month. I'm sure that's the same for most of you reading this.

Had to leave you with one vintage Christmas picture of my kiddos that we used in our Christmas card this year {although it wasn't vintage in the card since there were several other images that accompanied it}.

More...

2007-12-09T15:58:00.000-05:00

I have so many 'out takes' from the kids... Wanted to add a few more...

2007-12-08T23:14:00.000-05:00

I'm finally starting to think about my own Christmas Cards for this year, so I took my kids out for a little session on Friday. I ended up just laughing and shaking my head by the end of the session. To start, it was really chilly! So Tyler and Brielle's nose were bright red and my hands felt frozen to the cameras shutter. And they had an agenda of their own... of course. So I finally just gave in and went with it...

We'll see what we actually get for our cards this year ;-)

Anyway, here are some out takes and images that just didn't make the cut this year :)

Aw... can't you feel the love between the two? Well, maybe not today...

Psst... Brielle, a little more attitude please?!

Yep, that's my girl. Doing her own thing and full of tude... I really fear her teenage years...

Tyler, trying to get a reaction out of Brielle, it didn't work. He'll laugh at this someday. I think...

Cute Little Gnome?

2007-12-05T14:48:00.000-05:00

or something parents want to 'accidently misplace'?

I want to preface this by saying: Grandma & Grandpa May - we have a love-hate relationship with the newest little member you introduced to our family. Even I have fun playing with this little guy. But as you experienced, there's times when you'd like to just toss it out the window {wink}. Most of the loud toys the kids have, we cover the speakers with packaging tape (something we learned from our good friends Josh & Jamie before we had kids). But with this little, soft, cute guy, we just can't do that.

Grandma & Grandpa May brought Tyler this fun little gnome pictured below during their recent visit. It really is fun for the person playing with it, but drives others in close proximity a little crazy after a while. You record your voice (about 12 seconds worth) and then it plays back to you in a little elf-like voice. Really fun! But after hearing this all day, (Tyler is truly addicted to playing with this little creature) you start going a bit insane.

Brielle loves it too, but since it's Tyler's - he only allows her one whole, huge, long, minute to play with this then it's his again for the next several hours. Anyway, the gnome has had to take it's share of time-outs (rests) in it's house (on top of the refrigerator), so mommy can get her wits back. We finally went to http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/ (where grandma got the little guy) and got one for Brielle too. Are we asking for it? Afraid so, but it's fun for the kids. And the few moments they let daddy and mommy have there turn with it.

Games, Giggles and a Little Defiance....

2007-12-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

We did a little photo session with Grandma & Grandpa May when they were here. The kids had their own agenda though... who knew? And unbeknownst to me little Brielle had a horrible right ear infection. Normally she's pretty cooperative in front of the camera but on this day -- not so much. So we did what we could :) The kids really miss having their grandparents here and are incessantly asking when we are going to visit them as well as their other grandparents. It's strange not living near family but we're thankful for the visits that we have with them throughout the year. We miss everyone so much, especially as the holidays approach. Thank goodness for phones, internet and web cams...

Here's a few images taken last week.

Holiday Deadline

2007-12-01T13:21:00.000-05:00

Just a friendly reminder that all Holiday Orders need to be submitted to me by tomorrow - December 2nd, to get here in time for Christmas. Please e-mail me at kara@karamayphotography.com with any questions you may have :) Thank you!

On a side note, January is quickly filling up so if you are interested in booking a session for after the new year, I will soon be starting to book February dates. I will also be focusing some time in December and January on several commercial projects, but my primary focus remains on photographing children had continuing sessions during these projects. It's just going to be a little busy.

Lastly - below is an example of a new storyboard collection I've put together. :)

Chaos & Silliness...

2007-12-01T09:14:00.000-05:00

I was finishing up the dishes last night when I was informed that we needed to do a little impromptu, one last picture of us all with Grandma & Grandma May (since they were heading back to Arizona at the crack of dawn the next morning). Chaos and silliness is how I would describe the pictures we took. The kids were being silly and soon that spread to all of us. The kids giggled and squealed watching to see if mommy could quickly run into the picture after setting the timer on the camera that stood on on it's tripod (pretty sad tripod at that). And the best part for the kids was making silly faces - they thought that was the best! So here is what we ended up with - one final 2007 memory captured with Grandma & Grandpa May during their visit with us.

Tin Horse Round Up & Tea Time

2007-11-29T00:11:00.000-05:00

Another fun tea party! Of course I love it when the little girls I photograph want to have a tea party! Grace was ready with giggles & tea cookies (teddy grams). And little brother, Hunt, was rounding up his little horse (a beautiful family antique of theirs). Anyway, I had fun with these kids and they kept me on my toes running around everywhere.

Here's a little peek at our session...

Little Beauty...

2007-11-20T23:06:00.000-05:00

I had so much fun tonight during my session with little Elyse! She is so sweet, all girl and just breath-takingly beautiful. We had fun doing all the girly-girl things - she danced for me, showed me her many silly faces and gave me beautiful smiles. She was such a good sport through the many wardrobe changes I put her through so as a little reward I let her take a couple of pictures with my camera (shh... I didn't say that, really). ;-)

She was a lot of fun - making this session really great! Here's a peek at just a few of the images from this evening. :)

Two Little Cuties!

2007-11-18T23:18:00.000-05:00

I did it!! I posted this sneak peek before mid-night! I just couldn't decide which pictures to post. And I couldn't resist 'going vintage' on one of them... (hint: there's a truck in this particular image). :) These two kids were so great! Vance, who is 5 years old, showed me his cool dirt bike (or was it a motorcycle?). I'm going to have to post a picture of him on it in the next day or so. But before he showed me his cool bike and his two soccer balls, he was very willing to let me photograph him. He did so great and even helped his sister during her portion of the session. Little Olivia is Vance's younger sister and she is all girl! We dressed in petticoats, had a tea party and went on a nature walk. I feel so lucky to have this job. I get to play and photograph children and turn into a kid again while doing it! Here are a few images from tonight's session.

Oh my... look at those eyes...

2007-11-17T21:10:00.000-05:00

They are the bluest eyes I've ever seen. I photographed 8 month old Daniel today, and the whole time I just couldn't stop looking at his big blue eyes! They are absolutely beautiful! Daniel was a trooper - the weather changed a bit to overcast and a little chilly and he was so mellow during our session and during outfit changes. It was great! He wasn't sure about my camera, smart little guy. I'm sure he was wondering who this stranger was with this big lens in his face ;-). He did great! Here are a few images from our session.

Preserving the memories...

2007-11-15T19:28:00.000-05:00

Grandma & Grandpa flew from Seattle to be here for Tyler's 5th birthday! What a treat! Tyler was thrilled! We decided to have a little photo session since I rarely get the opportunity to capture the kids with them. G&G played ring around the rosy with Tyler and Brielle, they threw rocks into the pond, ran and explored with me behind the lens trying to soak it all in. The kids miss them already... in fact right after we dropped them off at the airport, Tyler said, 'It's really too bad that they had to leave.' It was very sweet. Later that night Tyler kindly informed me that it was boring without Grandma & Grandpa at the house. Thankfully, the kids get to see their other grandparents on Saturday when they come to visit for a couple of weeks.

Curls & Dimples...

2007-11-12T22:15:00.000-05:00

The kids I photographed last night had the cutest dimples coupled with beautiful locks of curly hair! I had a lot of fun during this session - the kids were a hoot. I learned what a Nintendo DS was (is that what's it's called Grant & Haley?).... some cool handheld gaming system. Haley had a powder pink one and Grant had a shiny black one. I walk away from sessions learning something new from the kids I photograph, it's great!
Grant, had 2 missing front teeth so it made for adorable pictures. And Haley, wow....she was great in front of the camera. I didn't have to do anything... she was fabulous!
Here's a little peek at some of the images from our session.

Totally Silly or Completely Serious?

2007-11-09T22:40:00.001-05:00

That's all I captured of my little lady before going to dinner for Ty's birthday... Of course my focus was on Tyler but I couldn't resist getting few of the silly and serious sides of Brielle. Yeah, I know - I need to be working, but I had to take a little 'me' break and that involves looking at images of my children. :) Had to share some examples of the two extremes of silly B from yesterday.

Had to add another...

2007-11-09T09:03:00.000-05:00

of the birthday boy from yesterday! What a good sport putting up with my camera on his birthday.

5 Years Ago Today...

2007-11-08T22:00:00.000-05:00

Tyler Bain was born...I can't believe it's been 5 years! Today was a very special and fun day for the whole family! Tyler woke up cheerful as ever and the first thing he did was stretch his arms out giving me (and grandma) the biggest hug. Then he looked at me, nose to nose and whispered "I'm 5 years old today". Grandma & Grandpa from Seattle flew in to celebrate his day - an added bonus to his birthday. I made cupcakes and brought them to his class, we sang happy birthday and then as a family this evening - we had a party for him.

He was even willing to let me take a few pictures of him!

Happy Birthday Tyler - we love you!

I should be working....

2007-11-05T22:37:00.000-05:00

I should be working -I should be working - I should be working... but I got side tracked when I was looking for a photo to use on some new sample collages I created. Anyway, I found a drawing that I scanned last May that my son did. I love his drawings- they all tell a story and I just get lost in it's simplicity. Why isn't life always rainbows, sunshine and puffy white clouds (well, blue in this case)? Anyway, I had to share :)

Oh and here are some sample collages I put together tonight... more to come!

Fairy Wings, Tutu's & Tea Parties

2007-11-04T23:11:00.000-05:00

Blowing bubbles, having a tea party, and jumping on furniture - what more could a little girl want!? Carly did it all! I brought my big'ole green antique chair so Carly could do whatever she wanted on it. She sat, she stood and she jumped (my favorite part). And with each jump she giggled with excitement ready to do it again. What a trooper... we had a tea party, she wore tutu's and petticoats, and we blew bubbles (well I didn't blow bubbles, but Carly did) . :) Here's a little sneak peak of some images captured during our session.

Giggles & Games

2007-11-03T22:29:00.000-04:00

Tonight I had another fun session with a 3 year old boy and his 4 year old sister. We played a lot, played more and then played even more. Phillip put on a little 'Magic Show' for me and Izzy showed me her beautiful baby doll, Madison. She even let me hold it (her - whatever). Anyway, I wanted to post this before the end of the night. :)

Those Eyes...

2007-11-02T17:05:00.000-04:00

These siblings have the most beautiful eyes. The girl has deep brown eyes and her brother has light blue eyes. This little boy, Will, goes to school with my son and has become one of Tyler's really good friends. I had fun seeing Will and his sister outside of play dates ;-) and interacting with them one on one. Here's a little peek at our session from yesterday...

Website UPDATED...to view it properly you may need to....

2007-11-01T22:56:00.001-04:00

...clear your cache. If you have been to my website before and your computer is storing temporary internet files then you won't see the effects of my website design change and it may look like it always has but with some blue/grey on the sides - ugg. To view it you just have to do the following to CLEAR YOUR CACHE (which is good for everyone to do anyway). :)

For Safari (MAC) Users: Simply click on the safari button at the top of your screen and click on "Empty Cache" - there is unfortunately no setting in Safari that will do this for you automatically.
For Internet Explorer (PC) Users: Open up explorer, click on the "tools" button at the top of your screen then click on "internet options". In the second row down on the general tab you will first delete cookies and delete files - this will get rid of any previously stored pages. You will then click on Settings on that same row of buttons and you will select "every visit to the page" and click OK . This will ensure that all the edits you make on the site are instantly visible.
Thank you!! :)

Oh my Briella...

2007-10-31T14:40:00.000-04:00

Couldn't resist sharing this... My daughter, who is 26 months old still loves to nap, thankfully. Anyway I went upstairs yesterday to get her up from her nap. As I got closer to her door I heard giggling and loud thuds from insider her room. I peeked my head inside and saw Brielle standing up in her crib with ALL of her clothes off doing acrobats. She was jumping, spinning, jumping some more, giggling, throwing herself down making herself laugh. I ran and got my camera hoping to capture this (she had white noise of a fan in her room so she didn't hear me or the camera). Then she caught me and said excitedly 'Hi Momma, I'm jumping - weee wee {giggle giggle}' as she showed me. What a goof ball...Anyway, she's working on potty training so thankfully her bed was dry.

Going Vintage...

2007-10-30T17:47:00.000-04:00

I've had a lot of clients ask about my vintage processing. I've shown some on my blog and I usually select one maybe two and antique them for each clients gallery (some of you I haven't 'gone vintage' at all in your galleries - sorry). I don't do more in each of your galleries since it's very time consuming. But if you have more that you want to be 'antiqued' I can certainly do that for you. Just please let me know and I'd be more than happy. At this time, there is no added cost for this additional processing (that is subject to change however). Thanks for asking about it, hope this posting helps.

More client examples below...

I've been 'Tagged' Again!

2007-10-29T19:45:00.000-04:00

For those who've not heard of this blogging game, it's a fun game going around (and around) the internet world of photographers called "Tag". If you are tagged, then you tell 8 things about yourself that not many people know about. My friend, Brooke, from Georgia tagged me yesterday--- or the day before, I can't remember. Anyway, here are 8 more things that you may not know about me (and probably don't care to know either). ;-)

1) I love Starbucks! My order needs to be made into a t-shirt (according to my husband and to help the baristas who put up with my long order). I always get a Venti, Tazo Chai Tea Latte, soy milk, no water, no foam, 6 pumps of sugar-free vanilla, 6 pumps of chai, extra hot to 170 degrees. The barista's at Starbucks hate me, I'm sure... I would...

2) I was in track in high school - pathetic with my asthma. But I actually placed in the long jump (shocker since I'm 5 feet 3 and 3/4 inches tall).

3) Singing? I love singing! But my daughter reminds me how horrid my voice is by yelling 'Mommy, don't sing - be quiet'. When I look at her in shock, she follows quickly with a 'Pleeeease'. Then Tyler pipes in saying ‘Keep singing, I love your voice, go on’ (knowing full well, it’s not my voice he likes, rather he knows that B just requested I stop so he’s going to encourage the opposite).

4) The only time my daughter likes me to sing is when she asks me to sing her favorite songs, ‘Twinkle, Twinkle’, ‘You are my Sunshine’, the ‘Alphabet Song’ and ‘Oh Suzannah’. All of which we sing numerous times before she goes to bed each night.

4) I was voted class clown in the 3rd and 6th grade. I got detention a few times for my silly charades too.

5) Up until recently I was a freak about sugar with my kids. Yeah, I was one of those annoying moms that looked (and still do really) at the sugar and sodium content of everything and didn't introduce Tyler to lollipops, ice cream, candy, - anything that was full of sugar. I just knew they would be introduced to it someday so I held off as long as I could. In fact, for Tyler's first birthday I made a sugarless cake. It was awful - hard as a rock, so I threw it away and went wild on a normal, yummy, frosting covered, birthday cake. He wasn't all that into it thankfully. I've loosened up a bit though, really I have {wink}

6) I spent one summer staying in my small college town of Pullman, Washington cleaning college appartments (preparing for move in day) and took an andvanced calculus class during my lunch break. I felt bad for my classmates because I would come to class everyday reaking of bleach - even I was dying. Anyway, I learned a lot that summer about the way college students live - oh my...the things I saw were pretty gross to put it tamely. On the upside, I ended up getting an unprecedented 100% on the final! {nerd, nerd, nerd, nerd}

7) I used to be a neat freak when it came to my car. Now my husband won't even drive it (at least not until it's cleaned up to his standards - which he's lowered quite a bit for me). Once I became a mom, my car was something we somewhat live out of. If we need a diaper, I've got one - or 5, if we need a blanket - there's a variety of colors to choose from, if we need a snack - I've got some stale Cheerios. I just call it being prepared while my husband calls it embarrassing.

8) Okay, and finally....remember the song 'Wikki, wikki, wikki,' by Jam On It Productions? That song haunts me.... In Junior High; Michelle, Anne and I won the regional breakdancing contest to that song. True story. I was one of those girls who brought the only pair of parachute pants I had - and put them on during break (or was it recess at that age, I don't remember), and had my cardboard and did dance offs with my classmates until the bell rang. We were the only girl team that made it to regional. Wearing the most heinous (but oh-so- cool then) outfits we went on stage and won the 'break off' to the fake record scratching sounds of 'wikki, wikki,wikki'. Yeah, sad but true...

There you go, more useless info you didn't need to or care to know about me. Now I'm tagging (prob retagging) Kelly, Jessica, Elaine, Danielle, Kristen, and Jodi.

And what is a post without a picture?

Here's an image from one of my recent sessions...

Pumpkin, Spooky Trees, Giggles and Random Pictures

2007-10-28T10:01:00.000-04:00

Wow, busy weekend... with the holiday's coming the festivities are filling the air and our schedule. It's always fun this time of the year - I love fall, it's may favorite season! This weekend we dedicated Friday night to our family pumpkin carving/pumpkin party night (the kids like to turn everything into a party even if it's just the 4 of us). Anyway, we turned on Halloween music, got out all the pumpkin carving tools and began to transform our pumpkin. Brielle really wanted to get in on the action, which made me nervous around the tools. So I got out Halloween crafts - a biggy in our house so Tyler & Brielle started doing their happy dance around the kitchen. They love crafts, thankfully, since I love them too. Anyway, the night was filled with giggles, glue and glitter a few moments of complaining (i.e. Tyler saying ' Mom, Brielle, wants to take all my spooky trees away' or Brielle saying 'No Tyler, time out - you go to time out' then she would giggle mischievously). Brielle had to get down of her chair at one point and go into our 'dance party' room and dance to the beat of one of the songs she heard. Then when the song ended, she walked back to her seat and continued with her craft... she's a hoot.

Anyway, the rest of the weekend was full of fun festive activities and of course some work (administrative stuff, order processing, editing, etc.) But I did take some time to look at some pics that I took about a week ago of my little ones. Thought I'd share...

A Couple More...

2007-10-25T10:13:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted to the blog in a couple of days since right now I'm playing catch-up on my editing and publishing of images. I finished Kellen's session last night and here are two images I thought I'd share.

More to come soon....

Happy Birthday To Julia, Happy Birthday To You...

2007-10-22T21:57:00.000-04:00

It's Julia's first birthday this week, so I wanted to bring a little something sweet and fun to our session this morning.

This little girl was so adorable and gave me (well her grandpa actually) some cute smiles. I love her 'open mouth - I'm so happy - smiles'! She was a little mover too so I was running around following her as she checked everything out. And at the end of the session, the cupcake was hers to do what she wanted. At first she wasn't sure what to think but quickly discovered that it was a sweet treat! :)

Brothers...

2007-10-22T19:02:00.000-04:00

Last night I had an adventurous session with two brothers, Pat and Ben. We went all over town from the golf course at the CCSC to the railroad tracks and caboose in town, before it got too dark to photograph. I was out of breath by the end! And I learned something new... a friendly police officer (really, he was friendly - promise) explained that it was illegal to be on the railroad tracks. I had no idea...he understood that we weren't being reckless or doing anything mischievous so he was nice about it. Anyway, I think this is the last time I will be photographing near the railroad tracks unless I find some that are no longer in active use. If anyone knows where some are please let me know :).

Anyway, here is a little peek at some of the images captured last night.

Baby Kori

2007-10-21T08:29:00.000-04:00

Oh...I miss the baby stage... taking pictures of newborns makes me want to have a third. I love the little sounds they make, their tiny little hands and feet and the feel of their soft newborn skin. Luckily I get my baby fix when I photograph newborns. Here are some pictures I got to take on Friday of little Kori :)

Serious Little Fireman...

2007-10-19T16:59:00.000-04:00

Last nights session was a lot of fun with Kellen who's 2 years old. He took his role very seriously as a firefighter once I showed him the firetruck he'd get to play with. He didn't have time for me and my camera with all the exploring he had to do with the fire truck (but I did sneak in some cute shots of him). Later we headed back to his house and he was excited showed me his cool little push fire truck. Here are a few pictures taken from our session.

Once again, I couldn't resist playing with some of the pictures giving them different vintage looks (one with a dark 'old' tone and one with a cooler tone.

Is this my little boy?

2007-10-18T11:07:00.000-04:00

Oh my gosh he looks so grown up! Tyler has been watching me work on pictures from sessions I've photographed and the other day he said to me, 'why don't you take any pictures of me?'. Well as a mom, that made my heart ache and as a photographer I was jumping up in down inside hoping he wanted me to photograph him (he's been so anti-camera, anti-lens in his face for months). I asked if he would do a mini-session with me and his face lit up. So we made plans the next night to have a session. He was so cute and cooperative I couldn't believe how willing he was. Of course, he had tons of ideas and jumped from one to the next before I had time to complete the first idea. Anyway, here he is looking more and more like a young man...and more and more like his daddy.

So Tiny....

2007-10-15T19:20:00.001-04:00

This morning I photographed this beautiful itty-bitty teeny newborn (3 weeks old). She has the littlest hands and feet - it's so easy to forget how small they are when they are this young. She is a tiny 7 pounds too, it felt like she wasn't even in my arms after being used to holding to my 2 year old daughter. I just love newborns! Here are a few pictures from our session.

This picture was screaming 'experiment' so I had to go vintage with it too :)

Freckles & Fun

2007-10-15T15:24:00.000-04:00

Last night I photographed two kids who were so full of fun, energy and conversation. Sullivan, who is 6, was so sweet and chatty. I loved it! I enjoy chatting it up with kids and learning more about each one of them. I learned that she and her brother share the same favorite color, that she's learning about the animal kingdom at school and that she loves getting dressed up in the froo-froo tutu's and petticoats I brought (thank goodness!). Sullivan and her brother Jay have the most beautiful red hair coupled with fun giggly personalities. They were great to photograph and the camera seemed to love them too :)

What's the Dealeo with Sneak Peeks?

2007-10-14T19:40:00.000-04:00

I've been asked by a few clients why they didn't see a 'sneak peek' of their session on my blog. I love doing sneak peeks but if I get your on-line gallery up within 36 hours (or so) of the session, then I tend not to do a sneak peek of your session since all your images are available for viewing in your gallery. I'm glad I'm getting feedback about the SP's - it's always good to know what clients think. Hope that helps explain the reasoning a bit... :)

Adorable Brother & Sister...

2007-10-14T13:57:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited about this session - there were so many opportunities for great pictures but and not enough time or light to do everything. These two adorable children, Haley 6 and Thomas 3, were so fun to photograph. They are absolutely beautiful and aside from that they were willing to do all of the crazy things I asked them to do. The backdrop was a dream; cotton fields, a beautiful old white barn, open fields, and more. I've only had a short time to look through the pictures, and after seeing the first few I already have some favorites! Here are just some of the pictures taken yesterday.

Hey Hey Hayden! Look who's pictures I see...

2007-10-08T00:13:00.000-04:00

Here's your sneak peek of our session from Saturday night!

What a ham! Hayden is 5 years old and he was very willing to show me so many cool things during our session. Like... how fast he could run (down that long tunnel of trees that you can see behind him in some of these pics), how high he could jump (the boy can jump, really!), and how he can balance on one foot. He was dripping sweat by the end of the session, as was I. Here's a couple of my favorites from this session so far.

Custom Christmas Cards are here....

2007-10-02T11:19:00.000-04:00

Most of my clients have asked about Holiday Cards. I have MANY! They are all custom cards and vary in style. I'm currently designing some that will be displayed on my website soon. You can see the ones currently available in my gallery under 'Custom Cards'.

Here's a peek at a few I just designed today.
Please let me know if you have any specific requests for styles, colors, designs, etc. Thanks!

Sunday Photo Fun!

2007-09-30T12:40:00.001-04:00

While the boys were out working in the yard, I decided to have a little photo session with Brielle before I started processing orders and getting information packets ready for mailing. I found this really cool black distressed 'cottage chair' at a local antique shop and had to see how it would be for pics (although from the pics I posted below, you can't really see the chair). Anyway, I was in too much of a hurry to take B to an outdoor location for a shoot so we just did a few in the house.

I let her choose what tutu she wanted to wear, and she choose the red petticoat. She sat very sweetly in the chair but then suddenly decided that she wanted to strip off everything and put on her Dora underwear - which she readily found in her armoire (how does she know where I've put them?). Now it looks like we're potty training today since she won't put on a diaper. So far so good... but we'll see what the day holds :)

Anyway, I was playing around with one of the images and vintagized it (like that word?).

Okay, now I've got to get back to my very long to-do list. :)

Teamwork! Yard Transformation...

2007-09-30T12:09:00.001-04:00

Our yard needed some serious lushness (I know, that's not a real word)! It we have a lot of yard and not a lot of bushes, trees, etc. So we're adding a lot of greenery and some architectural details...two arbors and white picket fencing. Jeff has been working from dawn till dusk on the weekends on the yard and Tyler has been his little helper. Here's a couple pics of Tyler finding worms, and these ugly white bugs - he's collecting them in a bucket ;-)

And there's one of Jeff being goofy - jumping on the shovel at the end of the day.