I sat down to post the annual Year in Review slideshow, but instead, I'm finding my mind is still swirling from what happened yesterday. I need to explain to you just how grateful my heart is on this first day of 2012. As some of you may have seen on my Facebook page, I spent the very last day of 2011 worried sick over my baby sister in the hospital. She had been complaining of a pain in her leg since her trip to New York earlier in Dec. and she called me early yesterday morning saying she had just blacked out in her hallway. My first thought was a blood clot...and then immediately, the fear of a pulmonary embolism. [I want to pause right here and thank someone very special--she will know who she is--for unknowingly giving me a key bit of knowledge about this very dangerous condition and possibly helping to save my sister's life. Thank you and my heart was very much with you during this holiday season.] 

My first words were, "We're going to the hospital..NOW!"

As she was going through the barrage of tests with so many unanswered questions and the very real fear that my sister could die, all I could think was how desperately I wanted the gift of another year with my sister. Just the day before, she and I watched this and marveled over his courage and peaceful outlook on life and death. While we were waiting in the hospital, we read this and this, pleased with how many of those we had done and vowing to check off the rest this year. 

Turns out, she did indeed have a blood clot in her leg, but thank goodness her lungs were clear!!! She has started treatment, but now we have to figure out why the clot formed so we can keep it from happening again. She is so young and a very healthy, non-smoking young woman...this kind of thing just doesn't make sense for her. As I'm writing this, I am actually glad to share this story with you in the hopes that should you or someone you know experience symptoms of DVT or a pulmonary embolism, you'll know to get immediate medical attention.

2011 was one of the busiest years I can recall in a long time and I know that busy=blessed. I had the privilege of meeting and/or working with hundreds families and photographers from all over the world. (It's funny how small my world has become thanks to Facebook ;-). However, to be honest right now, when I think back over the year as a whole, it's pretty much a blur to me--the only thing I can really remember is yesterday.

But I feel it's important to always acknowledge and thank the people who allow me into their lives and trust me photograph their most important family moments. I want to remind them how beautiful they are...how special their connections are...what a gift their families are. So, like I've done every year since 2007, I pulled just one image from each session to create the 2011 Year in Review... 

(Google Reader users: you'll need to click THIS LINK to see). 

My sister, my mom, and I all had separate plans for New Year's Eve yesterday, but all of our families ended up at my house last night. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful evening...cooking up an impromptu batch of homemade chili, all of us watching the 360º of fireworks in the horizon at midnight, listening to "Auld Lang Syne" on the iPod, toasting in paper cups, ringing in 2012 together. Grateful.

[p.s. Clients: I sent out the details on the 2011 Pinkle's Pic of the Year contest to you all. If you had a session with me in 2011 of any kind and did not get this info, let me know ASAP so I can get you up to speed.]

Sigh. This seems like forever ago. In a way, it kinda was. It was the this summer before she began her senior year in high school. I remember it was sooooooo hot that day and we were so relieved to have the chance to get into the water at the end of the session. She laid down in that grass for me and I can tell you, it wasn't comfortable in the slightest. She was a lovely girl and I feel so lucky to have gotten to capture this time for her. 

What does one do when you're in the middle of a severe drought, but you want to capture the vibe of a season? Why, you play in the leaves of the dead tress of course! This is one of my most favorite locations to use for sessions, but I was heartbroken when I pulled up and saw the damage the drought had done :-(. The only greenery in the whole place was a small patch next to the water of the very low creek.

But it's okay. We managed to have fun laughing at ourselves playing in the dead tree leaves. She has the most unique look, doesn't she? A beautiful, confident young lady and I was thrilled to finally get to work with her myself--she was actually a model for one of my photography workshops this past year and I was so pleased with the images the attendees captured of her then. Her baby sister even got to join us for a few shots (LOVE their feathers, too!).

I am taking bookings NOW for graduating seniors in Austin, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Marble Falls, Westlake, Round Rock, and surrounding areas. This is definitely the time to schedule your session--I know lots of people wait until the spring, but I promise you, those openings fill up very quickly. December is actually a GREAT time to get your senior pictures taken while you're on break and then, you can check one more thing off your To Do list ;-). You're welcome.

I first met her several years ago when I photographed her and her family. She was still a little shy at that time, but even then, I just LOVED her look! So much so, that you may have seen her face all over Facebook as a model for a few of my photographer workshops. She'd probably kill me if I pulled one of those pics from that first session, so I used the above image I snagged at the workshop to show you why I literally GASPED out loud when she showed up for her senior portrait session this summer:

Her HAIR!!! All of that beautiful red hair...GONE!!! But you know what? I totally loved the cut and she really pulls this style off, doesn't she? The asymmetry is super cool and it makes her look oh-so-artsy.

We had an amazing time at her session expressing her creative side. My fav was the paint brush bouquet ;-). Or maybe it was the broken glass that kept catching my eye on the street. I finally had to find some way to photograph her with it...just pulled out my trusty dusty blanket and voila...broken glass bokeh (safely).  Here's another snap I took of the glass while she was getting ready:

I'm such a sucker for anything sparkly ;-)

It was a pleasure to get to work with her again and I very much look forward to seeing her show up in one of my Anthropologie catalogs someday! (If you think it, it will happen).

[Attention graduating seniors in Austin, Round Rock, Westlake, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Lake Travis and the surrounding areas: NOW is the time to book your senior portraits! Do NOT wait until the spring...those openings fill up very quickly. I'd love to talk to you more about your vision for your senior portraits. Feel free to drop a line!]

For her senior portraits, she said she LOVED cityscapes and we were fortunate enough that evening to be blessed with the most wonderful sunset glow on the city of Austin. As far as I know, she's heading up to New York City (a slightly bigger cityscape) to pursue a career in fashion. Very excited to see those dreams come true for her!