Archive for September, 2011
Sep 28, 2011
As much as it breaks my heart to see her growing up so fast, I have to appreciate how much she can do and wants to do for herself. I love seeing the joy of accomplishment on that adorable little face.
Sep 27, 2011
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!]
Sep 23, 2011
What they are giving their children is priceless: a home full of happiness and unwavering love. It has been a tremendous privilege of mine to photograph their family connections since their daughter was just a baby in mama’s tummy. (You may recognize them here).
Four years since I first met them, they now have three children, and Maria still mothers her family with pure love, grace, and beauty. She sets the mark for me as a mother myself. When we walked out to their garden that night, I didn’t quite comprehend what I was about to witness until I saw the the pictures. Maria pulled out her face painting supplies (she mentioned that was one of the things they loved to do together) and set to work on creating artwork on each of her children. It was such a beautiful scene–and at the risk of sounding like an artsy goob, I teared up when I got a chance to flip through the images from that night. But really, I have to wonder if she has *any* idea the kind of memories she’s creating for her children every time she does things like this for them. She exudes devotion as a mother and as a wife. She is my shining example of everything a mommy should be. I am honored to know her and proud to call her a friend.
Sep 20, 2011
Okay, well once I got over the fact that the little guy greeted me with, “Are you coming to clean the house today?” *then* I had fun. But my gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed and played so much in one session!!! Of course, part of the deal was that I had to let the kids snap a few pics:
Not bad work, huh?
See, I told you we had FUN!!!
Sep 20, 2011
We seriously could not have more going on the day we did this newborn session. Walls freshly painted, furniture on order, repairmen to fix a broken window, etc., etc. Every time we’d get big sis geared up to play and baby sis comfy and cozy, someone new would ring the doorbell. At one point, the repairmen were stepping ever so gingerly with their big ol’ steel toed boots around a little bundle of sleeping newborn in the doorway. So we just went with it and it turned out just fine. These girls are so beautiful and I just know they are going to be such good friends as they grow older!
Sep 20, 2011
Celebrated his birthday recently. It was nice to take a few minutes away from his siblings to just hang with him. He’s so danged funny!!! And truly enjoys being on both sides of the camera. He has a tendency to fade into the background of this loud family at times, but when he’s in the moment, he shines.
I love this kid.
Sep 19, 2011
A few years ago, I decided to try my hand at something completely new.
I picked out a small plot of land and made a little clearing.
In that clearing, I carefully planted a few little seeds.
After a few weeks of constant vigilance, life started to grow in my garden.
It was small, but it was beautiful.
It made me excited.
It made me happy.
As with most gardens, a few weeds sprouted here and there.
At first, I was diligent in removing the weeds.
However, after a short time of neglect, they became bolder, more plentiful.
I couldn’t keep up, so I decided that a few weeds were okay.
I told myself that they were natural.
I said the weeds were pretty.
I even photographed in them ;-).
I even photographed in them ;-).
Eventually, I could no longer see my garden.
I had actually forgotten what I had planted there.
The weeds had taken over.
There were too many.
The weeds became the garden.
I didn’t want to go to my garden anymore.
So I started to visit other gardens.
Their gardens were so well-maintained.
They had the prettiest blooms.
They had the best-smelling flowers.
Even the bees liked other gardens more than mine.
I didn’t want to visit other gardens anymore.
I’m a terrible gardener.
Gardening sucks.
**********************
But I still like flowers.
I miss my flowers.
I wish I could dig up all of those old weeds and see those flowers again.
Maybe I should.
Ugh, but there’s too many.
I can’t even face it.
What if I just pull one?
Just one.
Hmph.
That wasn’t too bad.
Didn’t make much progress though.
Tomorrow, I’ll pull another one. Maybe two. I can do three–no, four.
If I can keep this up every day for just a week, I might find what I loved again.
Maybe.
Weeds aren’t that pretty after all.
Sep 18, 2011
One of the things that I find most fascinating is having the opportunity to photograph siblings of past newborn clients. I followed his older sister from newborn to one year and from the second I walked in for his newborn session, I could see the resemblance. It’s AMAZING!!! I can’t wait to see if he ends up with his big sis’s beautiful locks, too.
Sep 13, 2011
I love fall as much as the next person and I’ve done my fair share of complaining about this horrible heat all summer long, but when we had that short cold snap last week, I went through a sort of depression. I’m not ready for summer to be over.
This has been one of the most amazing summers for our family as we fulfilled a silly, but long running goal – a pool in our yard. This is something I only dreamed about having as a little girl (and as an adult). I spent my summers hanging out in the horse trough with my little sister. Yes, *that* was our pool, and, sad to say, we were THRILLED about it.
We are very blessed now to live out in the country with our kiddos, but that means no community pools nearby. A trip to a public swimming pool is at least 30 minutes (one way) and usually involves forgetting something important (like a swimsuit or snacks). Needless to say, we didn’t go swimming very often, but I felt like the kids were really missing out on summer life. Plus, we’re in TEXAS…it’s hot!!!
So after much hemming and hawing, we finally bit the bullet and I’m SO glad we did. I’m very proud of our (maybe a little redneck) above ground pool, but gosh, those have come a LONG way. Doesn’t hurt that my hubby is quite handy and built an amazing deck around it, complete with an awesome outdoor cabana bathroom/shower. We spent more time outside this summer than I probably have in my entire life.
But it’s soon going to be too cold to swim and I’m a little pouty about it. I’m going to miss those adorable “Coppertone” baby tan lines. I’m going to miss wrapping them up in towels warmed in the sunshine. I’m going to miss the sounds of splashes and giggles and “Mom….look what I can do! Mom…did you see it? Mom???!!!” I’m going to miss the smell of chlorine and sunscreen on their little heads at night. I’m going to miss those deep summer sleeps they get from pure joy and exhaustion–oh, I’m *really* going to miss that.
So, I may not be quite as excited as I used to be about Starbucks bringing out their pumpkin spice lattes and holiday cups, but I’ll get there. Eventually. As soon as my tan fades…