The Wind Blown Look

Haven't had any "official" portrait sessions in the past week or two, but my camera's been getting a workout nonetheless. We attempted our annual campout this past weekend on the shore of North Landing River with friends and neighbors, and the weather was a little more than we bargained for. Cold wind gusts of up to 40 mph can really put a damper on things... but we put on our best faces and went into survival mode.

This spot is always so pretty. Without the overcast cloud cover, we usually see a magnificent sunset from the shore. Not this time.

And despite the wind kicking up sparks and embers that had us occasionally running for cover, the fire provided some much needed heat!

Thank goodness for delicious warmed, spiced wine for the adults and hot chocolate for the kiddos.

Hot chocolate makes everything mo' bettah.

Just some "here and there" shots of some of the kiddos. I wanted this picture of my son to demonstrate his lack of ability to drink a beverage cleanly. You should see him with Kool Aid. Almost a teenager and the table manners of a toddler... anyone have a napkin?

A friend from school, who came along for the first time this year. Wonder if he will show up next fall?

And a shot of my neighbor with his son on the shore. Yeah we missed the gorgeous orange sunset this year, but little rays of light poked down through the clouds and gave this image a pretty cool effect.

So... I attended my first Team in Training social/"meet and greet" last week. Seems like a great group of people. I have my training schedule all worked out, and once Thanksgiving is over, it's time to kick things into high gear. Updates on my progress to follow (for those who are interested).

Again, I want to thank those who have been so generous and donated to my fundraising effort. I am already a little over 50% towards my goal, and I am just so honored. This truly means the world to me. If you are interested in donating to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of my young cousin's battle please visit my fundraising page. And if I can take some portraits for you in exchange for your donation, please contact me and I will be happy to set a time up.

And thanks so those who have asked me to take family portraits for their holiday cards! More images to share soon...

Bedazzled for Homecoming

Wooohoooo! Just took my second set of school dance pictures last weekend! Same couple... but you know what that means... they liked my last photos enough to ask me to do it again! I consider that a victory and an honor!

I know I'm guilty of almost ALWAYS going black and white... but in my defense, her dress was black and his shirt was white... I didn't want green leaves and other color distractions to take away from their details.

She stole his oh-so-cool aviator sunglasses and did her best Fonz impression. Wait a minute... does she even know who the Fonz is??? Waaaaay before her time...

 Okay, I HATE that the car is in the background, but these are in fact candids and they were in a hurry to get to their dinner reservation, so I couldn't mess around with backgrounds. Note how lovely her running legs are! I'm so proud of her budding running career!!!

 They did this spontaneously right before they were off, and I told them to reenact it for the photo. How cute.

You know you're feeling good if one of your photos becomes someone's profile picture on Facebook!

I also took some pictures of daughter with mama. But I worry that mama might disown me as a friend if I post those pics on here... but I think they're awesome!

So, just a quick update about my Team in Training progress:

Thank you so much to those who have given me such a great start in fundraising. I was contacted by the local TNT coordinator, and he praised the progress we've made so far. If you've donated to the fund already, I cannot thank you enough and tell you how much it means to me. If you're interested in donating, please visit my fundraising page. I really, really appreciate your interest and support in this cause.

And of course if you're local and you'd like some photos taken, by all means contact me!

I have been assigned a coach and a mentor for training, and our kickoff for the training season starts next week!

I am so excited to be a part of a team, and cannot wait to see us pull together and bring out our best selves for the sake of those who need us.

Having a Ball

Last weekend was perfect fall weather... cool, crisp temperatures, bright sunshine, glimmers of dew on the brilliant green grass...

Makes me think of... soccer.

"Tis the season for a lot of us mamas with mini-vans to be carting around short people to their various sporting events. Weekends (aka "rest days", ha ha ha) are fully scheduled with game after game after game. Yes, it's tiring. But these are the glory days... watching our sprouting little ones use that bundle of energy God gave them. It's really something to cheer about, sports fans!

I was so honored when a friend of mine (who happens to be my youngest's soccer coach) asked if I could take some pictures of her daughter in action on the field. I imagine she doesn't get a lot of opportunities to take snapshots of her little one while she's on the sideline coaching the girls.

I admit I don't have a lot of experience taking action pictures. I've taken shots of my son on the soccer field, but it's a challenge... you just have to keep snapping away, hoping that the referee will not be standing in the way right when you press that shutter release.

But we were blessed with fabulous brilliant sunshine... a key ingredient to getting crisper shots of girls running and kicking. And who would have a problem getting a good angle on this little cutie pie??

But don't let her fool you with that sweet smile. She's a terror on the field!! This girl means BUSINESS! I love it!

It was a lot of fun, and I hope her mama liked some of the shots we came up with.

So..... my official Team in Training Fundraising Page is up and running!!! If you're reading this and you have made a donation I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart. This cause and this project mean so very much to me.

If you're interested in arranging a portrait session... just shoot me a message via email or Facebook and we'll settle on a time, place, theme, etc. I'll edit the shots and send you a link to review them. From the site you can order prints or just share the link with family and friends. I'm more than happy to help with printing here locally as well.

"Fees" for the portraits are a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through my TNT page. The amount of your donation is whatever you feel comfortable doing. The photos are my way of saying thank you for donating to such a worthy cause.

Hope everyone is having a "ball" this season!

From Tween to Teen

This will most likely be a recurrent theme on these blog posts: children growing up. In front of my eyes. Under my nose. 

It happens so fast it seems. One moment you are watching your neighbor's cuter-than-a-button daughter zooming around in our cul-de-sac in her bright pink Barbie jeep.

The next moment she's selling you lemonade and cookies with that bright angelic smile of hers.

Then the next moment... she's a teenager.

So our sweet neighbor turned thirteen last weekend. One year left before she roams the halls of high school, and a whole other chapter in the book of her life phases will begin.

Her mama asked if I could take some portraits of her for her birthday.

What I love about taking pictures of girls turning thirteen is you can actually see both the child and the emerging woman in the same moment. It's not an easy thing to live through, mind you, but capturing that transition photographically is pretty special.

"I Hope You Dance..."

Truth be told I haven't looked back at my prom pictures in years and years. I shudder at the the thought of me in that oh-so-stylish mermaid style frock in the appealing shade of Pepto Bismol, with my hair poofed up to a maximum height and secured soundly with Aqua Net. Not one of my better moments. It almost seems fitting that the only pictures I have to remember that vision of "beauty" I was were some fuzzy low quality shots from a cheap disc camera (remember those?). We all stood like ridiculous statues in front of a rented limo in our 80's style. I cringe just thinking about it.

But now that I'm a mom and watching the children that I've known since babyhood grow up and come of age, I look at these moments from a different perspective. For a teenager, a school dance is monumental. When my neighbor's oldest daughter got invited to her high school's ring dance and her mom asked me to take pictures for her, I became as giddy as if I were going myself. And looking with a photographer's eye now, I thought about some of the moments that are special but typically not captured by the camera... such as the preparation process:

I love the fact that the style of  the dresses nowadays are pretty timeless. I can't see this beautiful young lady looking back at this image and think "Oh-mi-God, I look so 2011!!!"

 Her date might look back and giggle a bit at his hairstyle, though. Just sayin'... actually, my son's hair is way shaggier than this.

The corsage was beautiful and just popped against the backdrop of her lovely blue gown.

This was a ring dance after all, so we needed what I like to call the "Wonder Twin" shot. Actually this image has even more meaning since he's wearing his class ring, and the ring she's wearing was a gift from him.

Perhaps one of my favorite shots (because I'm a parent now) is dad giving the happy couple the "talk" before they get in the car...

And the fun shot as they drive off into the sunset...

I hope she looks back at these shots years from now and smiles. No shuddering or cringing allowed.

Owl Always Love Her...

We had a nice visit with my sister, her husband, and my beautiful 11 month old niece the past few days. My sister has taken up a new obsessive hobby of crocheting, and my youngest child has just reaped the benefits of her new passion.

My littlest has always loved owls. Her bedroom is entirely filled with the big-eyed creatures, and her love for the birds hasn't dwindled as she's getting older. So my sister created (in a span of two days, mind you) a sweet little owl-faced hat. When she put it on, I had the automatic response of pulling out the camera.

It made me think of how touching adding a simple prop such as a handmade item like a hat or a dress can be; it makes an image so special and memorable. One day she might outgrow this hat, but she can glimpse back at herself and think about how special it was that a beloved aunt made something so unique for her.

A Different Kind of Senior Portrait

Earlier this summer my neighbor asked if I would be willing to take senior portraits of her friend's daughter. I just stared back at her with wide eyes. Are you kidding me? The idea alone scared me to death. The portraits I had taken up to that point had all been of people I knew, and there was always a sense of ease about it... no pressure. But this was altogether different. A huge, important moment in this girl's life and it had to be done right.

I had to convince myself to step up to the plate and give it a go. As long as mama knew my background, then let's go for it and see what we come up with. So I asked her what type of setting she thought her daughter would want to be in. This isn't studio photography, so I wanted the background to be what this girl likes. Her mom said she loves the forest and the trees. Simple enough. We chose to meet at a local park on a sunny (but ridiculously hot) morning. I brought my talented sister for back up.

Wow, was I stunned when this young lady stepped out of her car. She was adorable! I realized right away that it would be quite difficult NOT to take a good picture of her.

So here a few of my favorite shots. Loved the simple white dress she chose, which contrasted beautifully with her long, dark hair.

To view the entire collection, click here.

Good Bye, Hurricane Irene!

We survived the fury of Hurricane Irene! We lost power early yesterday, and lost cell phone service a little later in the day, but this morning we are back on line. Whew! We dodged a bullet! The storm spared us... we have no damage, no flooding. We are counting our blessings.

I'd really like to thank those that have responded to my project idea on Facebook. I feel very motivated to get this show on the road. I'll continue to brainstorm about details and specifics, and post them as they get worked out.

In the meantime I will continue to feature some portraits I've done in the past couple of years. I confess most of these will be of youngsters... a personal favorite subject. Children are beautiful creatures, and photographs of them are precious because they seem to change almost daily. One day you might see the sweet little freckles on their noses disappear. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly they change, right before your very eyes. Photographing them allows me to make time stop... if only for a moment.

By the way, if I happen to post a photograph of your child on this blog or the Picture A Cure Facebook page I will not attach a name or tags for your child's security. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's images.

So again, thanks for supporting the project, and if you think you might like to get involved, shoot me a message with your idea(s) and we'll come up with a plan!

Have a great day!