The Long Run

Just wanted to post a bit of an update on how things are going.

 To quickly summarize, I joined The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's local chapter of Team in Training last month. I chose an endurance event (The Shamrock Marathon here in Virginia Beach in March, 2012) and over the next few months I will attempt to train and raise money for the organization and run in honor of my late cousin, his family, and all of those who have been affected by this disease. And as extra incentive for support, I am offering to take portrait photographs in exchange for donations.

For those of you that know me, running has become a staple part of my life and it may seem not such a great feat to run another 26.2 miles when I have already managed to cross the finish line before. Perhaps it might seem to be "just another race" for me. I have a few people in my life who think running crazy long distances is just that... crazy.

Perhaps they are right... but I do have a little background story for those who are interested in how I became "crazy."

Just a few short years ago I was the very definition of the anti-runner. Besides having a history of hating running since my early days in high school (I even cried once during a one mile run and was ridiculed for my emotional breakdown), I was the typical run-down middle-aged person trying to juggle a demanding job, marriage, motherhood, and domestic needs... leaving very little time for anything else, especially exercise (or so I thought). Besides, who would want to do something that makes your body ache and brings you to tears? No way. Not for me.

But two things happened in 2008: my cousin became ill with leukemia and I realized I was unhealthy in my own way, and I had a choice while he didn't. I made the "crazy" and out-of-character decision to start training for a half marathon... not just a 5K or 8K to get my feet wet. I signed up for the Virginia Beach Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon with my sister, and we collectively raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It was my way of coping with the circumstances.

Training was so hard. I struggled to breathe, it was hot outside, my legs ached and I never, ever felt a "runner's high"... but I made a commitment so I just did what I could. I started to see little bits of progress. I confess I never felt great. Running was still a struggle, but I started to see that I was starting to gain more endurance than I had in my teenage years. Who would have thought that possible? If that isn't motivation in of itself I don't know what is. 

But the biggest realization I made was that running was a fight for me. It symbolized a battle, and I refused to lose. I hated it, but I didn't want it to win. I thought of those who have REAL battles in their lives and they stay strong and refuse to give in to defeat and weakness. They get knocked down, but then they just get back up and fight on.

So I ran that half marathon. I sure didn't break any records, but I finished and the feeling of overcoming   that enormous belief that I was never capable of such a feat could not be put into words. 

And then I was hooked. I was ready to keep on fighting. Other things happened along the way... I became healthier in mind, body and spirit. My immunity improved, my fatigue became less and less, and I was just in a better mood. I started to realize that this journey has put me on a better path. I started raising the bar for myself, believing that even though I am getting older, I still can get better. It's never too late to fight for wellness and strength, however you can achieve it.

When my cousin lost his battle to leukemia earlier this year, running has never meant more to me. He was one of the biggest reasons that I started this journey, and I often think of him and his AMAZING attitude during the height of his illness. When I am at a low point during my run and my body feels weak, his face appears in my mind and I remind myself that there is strength within if you refuse to give in to the voice that tells you to quit. 

So...

Last weekend I was in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, running my second full marathon.

Here we are, approaching the Wright's Memorial with the rising sun in the background...

 And being that I considered this "just a training run" for my performance at the Shamrock, I was so proud to wear that Team in Training shirt for the first time.

Because, Shamrock will be different, and not "just another race." This time I will officially wear the jersey and make this the strongest performance I can possibly do. I'm going to give it all I can.

Any donations towards the fight against blood cancers is sincerely appreciated. Some of us run, but running isn't for everybody and we all have our own ways of "not giving up." There's a cure... an answer out there somewhere that can end this disease and secure a brighter future for those fighting it.

Thanks for reading this and if you're inclined to support my efforts, then come and visit my fundraising page.

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!

Soul Sisters and an Update

Been gone a while, but I'm back with a recent project. I sure do appreciate friends coming forward and asking me to take pictures. They have to know how much I love doing it, and my hope is that they'll have at least one or two photographs they'll end up liking.

So here are a few shots from my most recent session... a couple of lovely sisters. We decided against an "on location" shoot since the youngest has a cast on her arm! That's okay... I love the up-close and personal facial shots anyway. Lighting was pretty good this weekend.

So here we are with the basic "together" shots:

 And clearly my symmetry was off with this one, which makes me SOOOO mad because I really like the shot! Yeah, I could crop, but the printing dimensions will be off....  :(

 I love seeing all of the baby teeth in this one.

 Just experimenting a little bit...

And here we go with the solo portraits. Here's the oldest...

And now the youngest...

And finally a quick shot with their very pretty mom. Could have done better with this. Wish I had taken more time to set this up better.

What lovely ladies! That was a fun session.

So...

Time to get myself a little more organized with my purpose and my goal. I finally received contact from Team in Training and they are having an informational meeting later this month (one that I cannot attend because I have a staff meeting at the same exact time that I cannot miss). Apparently, this session is for those who want to train for the Shamrock Marathon. The Nation's Triathlon is not listed.

I've been doing some thinking.

I would love to do another triathlon at some point, but I am worried about the expense of the equipment. I would need a new bike, probably some attachments, and a new wetsuit. I don't know if I can justify the expense of these things while we will be facing a pretty expensive year with our middle daughter in travel volleyball. My races this year sure added up too.

It is probably significantly wiser for me to sign up for the marathon. I will be mostly trained... just need to keep my distances up over the winter, if my body will allow it. I won't need any additional equipment (except maybe a new pair of four leafed clover shaped sunglasses).

Hmmmm. Need to come to a final decision very soon.

Sweet Cheeks

Have been busy the past couple of weeks... ran a 200 mile relay with friends in the wilds of Maryland and Washington, D.C. and celebrated my niece's first birthday. My camera has definitely been in use, but more for the "candid" side of life. That's okay... great memories are being created!

But this past weekend I needed to fulfill a promise I'd been keeping for a while. My good friend and colleague gave birth to her second lil' one a couple of months ago and I was long overdue for a visit to see her sweet new bundle of joy. I wanted to take portrait-style pictures of both of her beautiful girls as a gift. 

We were not blessed with great lighting this weekend, and truth be told, I was a little less than pleased with some of the shots. The girls did fabulously... I was the one with the problem. I will most likely ask for a "do-over" with this session, but here are some of what I came up with.

Look at the sweet cheeks on this little cutie-pie!!

And here's mama with her little newbie.

 She reminds me of a sweet little elf.

 And this is always a "money shot"... Daddy and baby. Wish we didn't have a quilt in the background. Anyone want to teach me how to use Photoshop?

Fall is really here! My favorite time of year for photos...

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.