I’ve been so caught up in prepping for the upcoming lifestyle photography workshops (New Jersey, Texas, California, and Washington), I totally forgot I needed to blog some sneaks from this session! And that’s sad, too, because I LOVED this session and the magic and wonder of childhood it seemed to capture. We could not have asked for more beautiful light or temperatures that evening and it’s hard to believe we were able to work in the greenhouse without passing out ;-). I know that will all end soon, but I’m going to enjoy the slightly cooler than normal temps as much as I can right now. See my favorite butterfly image LARGE!

Earlier this month, I had the extreme pleasure of spending 4 days in the great city of New York with 17 other photographer friends – the 2nd official Pinkle Toes Photography workshop reunion! It. Was. Amazing. I can honestly say we finished that city, packing in everything we could possibly do in just those few days…so much so, that I needed about a week to recover.

We did it all!

Our first evening together was spent laughing until our faces hurt playing “Heads Up” in our amazing apartment we all rented out in the heart of the financial district. By the way, I want to send a huge thank you to Nicole for getting our housing arrangements all sorted out for us for the weekend, by the way. It was really hard to believe that most of the girls were meeting for the first time that night and it did not take long for old friendships to be rekindled and new friendships to form. And we had some delicious New York pizza delivered to us to much on that night…the look on the delivery guy’s face when he walked into an apartment full of women was priceless!

The next morning, we headed out to visit the beautiful fountains of the 9/11 Memorial . It was a humbling experience for sure…not a dry eye around as we each tried to comprehend the level of devastation and the majestic monuments that have been constructed. It was a difficult experience, actually…conflicted between the pain of the emotions tied to that horrible day and the beauty of what they have been able to create from that destruction.

Eventually, we left the memorial and started a LONG walk toward The High Line. It was long in distance, sure, but it was compounded exponentially by the fact that we were a group of PHOTOGRAPHERS who are compelled by their very nature to stop and take pictures of everything– especially each other taking pictures of each other (I am allowed to say that because I am probably the #1 offender ;-). But it’s okay. We understand this need. We forgive each other for it. Thank goodness we had our magnificent and capable “tour guide” Lena to expertly lead the way and patiently keep us on track.

The High Line was so much fun! Not only was the weather so kind to us that day, but I could not get over all of the beautiful tulips in bloom (we don’t really have much of that going on here in Texas) and I loved the whole idea behind the High Line (read about it if you don’t know what it is). Super cool place and we had a great time!

Dinner that evening was at The Park in Chelsea. Um. Wow. Now that was some delicious food and thank you so much to Kami for selecting this beautiful spot and coordinating our big group meals during the reunion!!!

After dinner, we hoofed it over to 30 Rock where our whole group got to go straight to the front of the line (GO ONLINE RESERVATIONS!!!) to make our way to the Top of the Rock. I think that may have been most everyone’s favorite part of the trip. We managed to get there at dusk so that we could see the entire city from up above during daylight and then we stayed until after a beautiful sunset to see the city come alive with lights. I don’t know if I’ve ever taken so many pictures of one thing in my life!!! It. Was. Magnificent!

Okay…now that was just the first day so here’s where things start to get fuzzy. I *think* we went to Times Square that night, but maybe it was the next day. I truly cannot remember which night that was, lol! Yes…it was that night because we didn’t stay very long at all…we were completely exhausted, lol!

Early the next morning, I went to do some location scouting for an upcoming session at the Brooklyn Bridge and I gotta tell ya, I was quite taken with the bridge. First of all, I couldn’t quite comprehend that we were actually able to walk to the bridge from our apartment and secondly, wow…it is spectacular at sunrise! The views are just so amazing and I feel so fortunate that we got to see it all lit up later that night on our cruise.

And then came the FOOD TOUR in Chelsea! This little tradition started back at the Chicago Pinkle Toes reunion a few years ago. It was the highlight of our trip back then and it was easily the highlight of this one!  Our tour guide, Cindy, was super and we had so many yummy, yummy treats and learned so much about Chelsea. I think I spent all of my allotted spending money at O&Co (the basil olive oil is just beyond all words). Again, thanks to Kami for putting this together for us…and also for sharing my LOVE of FDNY 😉 (We were pretty lucky to get a little surprise visit in the meat shop of all places ;-).

Okay, what next? Oh yes, The Harbor Lights Cruise by Circle Line. We were treated such a beautiful sunset just as we passed by the Statue of Liberty. Could not have been more perfect timing if we tried. But my favorite was the views of the bridges lit up at night.

Sadly, the next morning, it was time for people to say goodbye. I think we were all excited to get home and see our families (and rest our poor, tired bodies), but it was tough to see this trip come to an end. Some of us managed one last hurrah in Central Park and I’m so glad we made the trek. I honestly could have stayed in Central Park for hours and hours and hours…I just never realized how big it was and how much there was to see. The cherry blossoms were breathtaking and I couldn’t get over the juxtaposition of the beautiful gardens and the buildings jutting out like promontories.

And then it was all over. We all went back home via planes, trains, and automobiles (okay, I will admit I did get an extra bonus that night of that super fun photo session with Lena followed by a very tasty meal at Acqua with her family and Minnette and Chantal). I should also note that while we were still all trying to recover mentally and physically from that whirlwind trip, it was Kelly (who was instrumental in planning the activities for us on the trip) who was already asking about when we were doing the next one. She is hard core, people, lol!

All in all, this reunion far exceeded my expectations and I was completely blown away by the fact that #1 we all managed to survive it 😉 #2 no one got lost #3 the people of the city (minus a couple of cab drivers and a security guard who didn’t quite understand electricity) were SO INCREDIBLY KIND! Really, this experience in New York City was much more delightful than my first trip there years and years ago.

And I think I owe that to the group of ladies that were there with me. It’s pretty refreshing to be around so much talent and people who share the same interests and passions as you do. People who don’t find it odd that you drop to the ground to take a picture of a puddle. People who appreciate both the “touristy” things and the adventures that you find off the beaten path. People who love good food and are willing to try new things (even if that means paying to be yelled at in a restaurant, right gals?).  I was only able to post a few of the bazillion pictures that I took on this trip (be sure to search #pinkletoesnyc on Instagram for a bazillion other fun snaps) and I cannot WAIT to see what everyone else got. Absolutely fantastic time, ladies! Thank you, thank you, a million thank you’s! Can’t wait to see where we end up next!

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Make certain you check out my friend Kerri Davis with Images By Kerri to get her take on the trip and to see more pics: Durham Region Family Photographer. She’s got another link to another attendee’s pics on her post and so on. I am incredibly excited to get all the different perspectives from the trip!

And that hat suited her perfectly! Doesn’t she look like a little doll baby????

Oh my word! I mean we barely squeezed this session in…between a flight cancellation and upcoming wedding and a huge thunderstorm…let’s just say these kiddos were CHAMPS and pulled off their photo session flawlessly in spite of nature working against us. It would not have been possible without their complete cooperation and willingness to dive in (literally and figuratively) that afternoon to make it happen. Don’t miss this FAV HERE!

If you had told me 8 years ago that I would be in New York City photographing an amazing family, I would have told you no way possible. But a few weeks ago, I had just that experience and the whole time, I felt like someone needed to pinch me to wake me from this dream come true. Now, it wasn’t easy working in such a bustling place, but I am so grateful to one of my best friends Lena with Live, Love, Laugh Photos in Ridgewood, NJ for pushing me to stretch my creative limits and most importantly, for rekindling a love for a city I thought I had lost years ago.

I was planning to be in the area for the 2nd Annual Pinkle Toes Photography Workshop Reunion in the great city of New York (post on that AMAZING time coming soon), and Lena and I had this photo session planned for quite sometime. But of course, the day we were supposed to shoot, it poured…and I mean POURED down rain causing flooding in many areas. So, we nervously pushed the photo session toward the end of my stay in NYC and anxiously eyed the weather for the 4 days leading up to the shoot.

We juggled our schedules as much as we could to dodge the storms, but that caused a bit of a problem because we had to shoot on the Brooklyn Bridge (which was incredible) in FULL sun at one of the busiest times you could imagine. I think we were pretty lucky to get shots without too many “extras” in the scene and I feel fortunate to have survived taking my life into my own hands shooting while standing in the bike lane on the bridge. For those of you who aren’t familiar with traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge, just be warned that you *will* get run over if you stand in the bike lane ;-).

We were armed with plenty of umbrellas and rain boots in case of run, but wouldn’t you know it, when a random storm did blow in during the session, our little umbrellas could do nothing to save us from the crazy winds that came along with it. It was quite comical trying to manage the kids and the umbrellas and my not-waterproof camera equipment.

But in spite of all of the factors working against us that day, there’s one thing that people and traffic and wind gusts couldn’t take away: my friend Lena’s ear-to-ear grin. Let me tell you, she looked so happy. She was completely ecstatic to get to have her family photos taken in places where years and years ago, she and her then fiancée would dream of one day having a family. Their relationship is pure, unabandoned romance that time has only enriched with each year and each adventure they take on together and their twin daughters are incredibly blessed to have such fine examples of what moms and dads can be.

And those girls…oh those little giggle boxes! They embrace their lives with the same joy as their parents and they are so well traveled and well-adjusted to both the suburban and metropolitan lifestyles.

The icing on this cake is that in just a couple of weeks, I get to hang with them AGAIN as Lena is hosting the next Pinkle Toes Photography workshop in her town of Ridgewood, NJ! We actually have one opening that has cropped up recently, so if you want more info on the workshop, send me a note via THIS PAGE. Lena…I feel so fortunate that I get to hang with you and your family again, my dear, and thank you for this unfathomable opportunity to work with you in New York City!

I think it’s a miracle we were able to make this session happen. I just happened to have a reschedule for the month of April and put out a call that I had some openings. I got an urgent message from this gentleman explaining that we was preparing to ask his girlfriend to marry him and wanted to surprise her with a Pinkle Toes engagement photo session as well. I absolutely loved what he wrote about their relationship and his plans for the weekend and I just knew that it would be an amazing session. He knew she’d be excited as well…he jokingly mentioned that she *might* be more excited about the photo session than the actual engagement, lol. Alissa is a newborn photographer herself and I knew she had an appreciation for photography. It was going to be incredible.

But wouldn’t you know it, the morning I was supposed to do their session, I got THE phone call (at about 4 a.m.) that my sister would be having her babies in just a few hours. I so did not want to reschedule their engagement shoot, but they were incredibly kind and understanding and allowed me to spend the entire day with my sister and my new nieces. I am so very thankful for that.

And so finally, the day came when we could actually get together and it did NOT disappoint. It is such a joy to get to see two people who are so in love and in tune with one another. It’s especially amazing when it happens to be two very creative and talented people. I can’t wait to see what they do for their wedding! (Notice that ring box? Well, he actually had it specially made from an old Nikon lens case! Isn’t that awesome???). We had a fantastic evening together and I felt very privileged to get a glimpse into their life they are building together. And maybe one day in a few years, I’ll get to revisit them + 1 ;-).

Congrats again you, two! You are beautiful people, inside and out!

[Oh, and you don’t want to miss this picture HERE.]

I did have a bit of deja vu coming back to do baby brother’s newborn photo session. Even though we were in a different house, the resemblance to his older brother as a newborn baby was just uncanny! The timing was pretty cool as I happened to show up during a visit from out of town grandparents. Love those side-by-side shots of dad+baby and grandad+baby. Again…those resemblances are uncanny! Baby brother was pretty much unfazed by anything we did that afternoon, lol. Love this shot of his little folded/tucked hand, too. I hope his mommy had a wonderful Mother’s Day snuggling with her two adorable sons!

I cannot believe these beauties are already ONE YEAR old! We celebrated their first birthday in such style and I have to admit it was fun for me to get a glimpse into the future of my twin nieces next year ;-). The girls were so patient as we plopped them down in place after place, surrounded by those adorable pink fluffy tutus. And aren’t those cakes so beautiful???? It has been such a fun journey to watch these girls grow from baby bump to brand new babies to six months all the way to one year! [See this one larger of the pink belles surrounded by bluebonnets.]

I have the utmost respect and admiration of military families. I think it takes an unfathomable level of faith and personal strength to be apart for months at a time and still find ways to maintain that sense of family. These three were beautiful together and oh, that baby boy! He is just about as precious as he can be!!! The bugs pretty much swarmed us the entire session, but he was so very patient. He kinda nailed his photo session ;-)…especially the part with the helicopter…just like one his daddy flies. Well…not just like, but you know what I mean. (Another sweet image HERE).

It’s difficult for me to recall the time before I first worked with them. I have watched their family grow from a bump to now a family of four. And over the years, their love and adoration for one another hasn’t diminished or changed one bit. In fact, I think it has grown. Exponentially. They warm my heart and I feel so very honored to get to be a part of their lives. See this family shot and then check out one of my favorite images (just in time for Mother’s Day).

P.S. Just found out that the world has realized mom is FAMOUS! Loved the article, Melonie, and congrats on this amazing venture!