There are 34 entries in the running to become the 2013 Pinkle’s Pic of the Year. These images were selected by the clients themselves for your consideration to become finalists. Here’s how it works:

ROUND ONE – NOW thru midnight central on Feb 5th

• This year, you will have THREE chances to vote!
  1. The poll below
  2. “Liking” your favorites on this official Pinkle Toes Instagram page (to view all of the entries, search the hashtag #pinkletoesPOY13Round1).
  3. “Liking” your favorites on this official Pinkle Toes Facebook gallery
• You can vote for more than one image AND you can vote in ALL of these three places, but you can only vote one time.

On Feb 6th, 10 finalists will be announced here and on Facebook, selected as follows:

1. The top TWO images from this online poll.
2. The top TWO images from the official Pinkle Toes Facebook gallery (if already selected in the online poll, we’ll move on to the next image)
3. The top TWO images from the official Pinkle Toes Instagram page (if already selected in the online poll or Facebook, we’ll move on to the next image)
4. TWO images selected by a panel of professional photographer judges
5. TWO images selected by me. I may even throw in a few surprise images just for fun.

At long last! I think I’m finally ready to put it out there and announce the planned workshop dates and locations for 2014!

• Ridgewood, NJ – June 11-13, 2014 (date changed)
• Austin, TX – July 7-9, 2014 
• Austin, TX – July 11-13, 2014
• Carlsbad, CA – July 25-27, 2014
• Mendocino, CA – August 1-3, 2014
• Olympia, WA – August 7-9, 2014 (date changed)
• Olympia, WA – August 11-13, 2014 (date changed)
• Newcastle, NSW, Australia – October 27-29, 2014 *dates are tentative for now
• Perth, WA, Australia – November 1-3, 2014 *dates are tentative for now

We had everything planned out and ready to go last fall, but then, I found out about the wonderful news about my baby sister…soooooo…it was back to the drawing board. But that’s okay. I’m cool with this plan. We don’t have ALL of the details finalized just yet, but you can read more HERE anyway and most importantly, fill out the contact form so that you can get the full details when registration opens.

I worked with her brother when he was just a wee babe 6 years ago and it was such a blessing to get to work with her now! Is there anything better than seeing the bond between a big bro and his baby sister? Reminded me so much of how my oldest was when his baby sister was born. Another fav of mom and daughter HERE.

Okay, okay, okay. So I know Breaking Bad probably isn’t the most appropriate topic to bring up when discussing a loving, colorful, bright, beautiful family photo session, BUT, as huge fans of the show, we were just a little excited to spot “him” while exploring downtown Austin:

You may already know Amanda with Pumpkin Pie Photography for her amazing newborn photography. I got to know Amanda a little bit better when I met her at my lifestyle photography workshop in Austin a YEAR ago (which, I am just now realizing, I don’t think I blogged that workshop yet. Sigh…). She. Cracks. Me. Up. Seriously. Best sense of humor in the world and let’s just say I got a wonderful You Tube comedic education from her one very late night.

I was totally honored she asked me to photograph her family and we had just the most incredible experience that morning. Her boys are sooooo charming and such a joy to work with. (Check out this love muffin.) Thanks so much, Amanda! I loved it, my friend!

[Did you see him? Okay, I’m going to let you in on a little secret, too, and please don’t judge: I *might* have a little crush on Bryan Cranston as Heisenberg. You’re judging me, aren’t you? Stop. Stop it!]

Not me, not me. But gosh, I can imagine how I would feel if I were picking up my family and moving to a new city in a new state and leaving behind this amazing city we call home. We managed to squeeze this session in literally days before their big move and I loved how they wanted to capture the funky Austin vibe with their family photo session. I hope they’re staying bundled up all the way up north (even though we *are* in the middle of an Ice Apocalypse here in Austin right now, LOL. Hey…did you see my song?) and I hope I get to see them when they *must* come back down to visit family someday 😉

These two were perfect together. And the best way to tell that the weather was quite brisk that day was to notice how frisky her horse was being that cool evening ;-). I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate the milestone of your senior year in high school than to document the things you love to do in a customized photo shoot like this. Everything we imagined we would do that night we were able to bring to fruition. Here’s another image that I just LOVED, too. Congrats, L, on your upcoming graduation!!!!!

Another one of my family lifestyle photo sessions (in Austin) last year. I felt like I could relate so much to the mommy of this family: super busy, two energetic boys, a sweet baby girl to complete the picture, and just plain, all-around quirky family fun (see what I mean?). I love that you can see mom’s joy with her amazing life in every one of these images!

I know I will want to update you on the past few weeks and I have a LOT of blogging to catch up on, huh? But like my daughter says when I ask her how to eat an elephant, “…just one bite at a time.”

So, let me begin with this family…my last family photo session of 2013, as a matter of fact. These boys couldn’t have been any sweeter or more fun to hang with

I will be posting many more images from the last part of 2013 over the next few days, so stay tuned to the blog.  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break and that your 2014 is off to a great start.