Archive for 'Urban photo sessions'
Mar 26, 2012
That’s probably the first word that comes to mind when I think of this session. I wasn’t quite sure how we were going to top their last session, but I think we managed to pull of something so different and so incredible for them…
Tracy (an amazing photographer!) really, really, really wanted to go to a carnival, so planned the session date around that. Well, unfortunately, we got a little caught up in the flowers and didn’t quite get over to the carnival as early as we planned. It was pure AGONY standing in line to get in watching the sun steadily slip behind the horizon. We had to hoof it to get our images and the kids (bless their hearts) were so patient with us. In spite of the darkness, we found some really cool spots to work in and I love how they turned out! Tracy…I hope you do, too, and I can’t wait to see what display you create with these!
Mar 14, 2012
This is a long one. Grab a cup of coffee. Okay.
About 15 years ago, I was a young, naive college kid and had just landed a job at the Office of Student Activities at my university in Corpus Christi. It was there I met Tracey (gosh…did I really meet Tracey 15 years ago?). She was married, had a young daughter, and was kind of like my older, wiser big sister. I’m not sure Tracey will ever know what she did to guide me and show me the ropes as I was becoming a young adult. She listened, she led by example, taught me a great work ethic, gave great advice, reminded me to stay focused, and helped me through my boy troubles (I later married that boy ;-). A couple of times, she would bring in bags full of her old clothes for me. Tracey was (still is) so stylish and those bags of clothes were like treasure chests to me. I was going to college full time, almost 1,500 miles from the place I called home and I didn’t have family close by. I was working and on student loans just to pay tuition, rent, and to make ends meet. Those clothes meant the world to me. I’m getting choked up just remembering.
Tracey also gave me extra jobs here and there to help me get by. One that stands out the most to me was when I watched her then 5-year-old daughter and her new baby brother for a weekend. Well, I tried to make it through the weekend. I ended up getting really, really sick and at about 5 a.m. the first night/morning, I was curled up in their downstairs bathroom, my head in a toilet, trying desperately to keep the room from spinning and to figure out how in the world I was going to survive two more days of this AND care for two young children. And it was there Darrow found me. She was still in her nightgown, she had lovely blonde hair that framed two of the biggest blue eyes I had ever seen. She was (still is) so angelic. Darrow looked at me and then at the toilet and then she said, “Here. Take this,” handing me a trash can. “Mommy says when I get sick, I need to use this.” I still giggle thinking of how “helpful” she was to me that awful morning.
And then, fast forward a few more years (actually, almost 12 years ago to the day) when I moved to Austin and sweet Darrow was my flower girl when I married my college sweetheart from Corpus Christi…
[forgive the poor scan quality]
And then fast forward a few more years…like to 2011…and imagine how my heart soared and perhaps broke a little bit when Tracey told me Darrow was graduating high school and wondered if I could take her senior portraits. What an honor!! But what disbelief! I could not even believe this little girl was going to graduate high school. I could not believe her baby brother was a teenager. I could not believe that Tracey went on to have two more children…TWINS, in fact. I could not believe on how much life I had missed out on and was ashamed I had not done more to stay in touch.
Well, we had our session just a few weeks ago. It was positively magical and surreal all at the same time. It was a strange time warp for me…Tracey hadn’t changed a bit over the last decade+, but Darrow, Darrow was a young woman. Darrow…was me…my age when I started college and first met her mother. Un.Real.
Tracey and I could barely stop crying when we saw each other. I’m sure it had to have been strange for Darrow, LOL. But I can only hope that when Darrow decides where she’s going to college–and especially if she travels far away like I did–that she finds someone who can be a pseudo-mom to her, just like Tracey was for me.
Mar 04, 2012
I think it was 2-3 years ago when I first met these kiddos. We were doing a session to capture big sis before she started losing her baby teeth. At the time, my eldest hadn’t lost any of his teeth, and I remember her mom’s words really hit home with me–just how precious this time is when they are not babies, but they still have that one last thing that ties them to their baby/toddler days…the baby teeth. And now, just like we did back then, we had the opportunity to catch little bro before he starts to lose his teeth (which, ps…we’re lucky because he’s *very* rough and tumble and I’m quite surprised he hasn’t accidentally lost them, LOL).
I hadn’t been to this part of Austin in, gosh, 2 years? And eep…it was actually a little scary, I’m sad to say. I LOVE my city, but I’m not sure what happened here. Regardless of the horrible parking, the noise, the people, and the general disorder, they stuck with me and we got absolutely fantastic and super fun pics of their family. This is definitely going down as a fav session!
Mar 02, 2012
Well one thing is for certain: the mood of his one year photo session was *vastly* different than his newborn pictures ;0. Watching his mom and dad go from proud, emotional, somewhat nervous and unsure new parents to happy-go-lucky, joyful, exuberant, relaxed, fun-loving and experienced parents was quite the treat! LOVED the joy and love expressed by everyone at this session.
I’m sitting here listening to it POUR right now and it’s hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, Austin had emerged from this somewhat cold winter into full on springtime! We had the best time bathing in the sunshine and soaking in the mild, warm weather that evening. Love, love, loved the colors she chose for her family and how they totally fit in with the mood of the session and the city that evening. Now that I think about it, it’s also hard to believe that I first met them when mama was still pregnant with her baby girl–I tried to dig up all the old posts, but my brain just gave up ;-). And now to have documented the first few days and the first year of his life, too, truly means the world!
FYI – if you’ve been thinking about a session this year, a heads up on my calendar:
Feb – full
Mar – full
Apr – 4 openings
May – 1 opening
June – 2 openings
July – CLOSED
August – open –
Sep – filling up *very* quickly
Oct – filling up *very* quickly
Nov – too late for holiday sessions
Dec – too late for holiday sessions
Okay. Think I’ll turn off the computer and rest my eyes for a bit while snuggled up listening to the rain…
Feb 10, 2012
Things you should know about their photo session:
– It was cold. Really cold. They were brave. Especially their mama in that cute little dress.
– Her boys are used to being in front of the camera (mom’s a photog) and they made it much too easy for me.
– Her and her boys are beautiful beyond words.
Feb 01, 2012
But of course, then look at his parents! We were delayed a bit for one reason after another, but we finally got to celebrate his one year birthday at tad late. We definitely did it in style:
I always get emotional at newborn sessions, but recently, I’ve started getting choked up at the 1 year sessions. I guess it’s just the shock of greeting a family and all of a sudden, their little baby is walking (or in his case, running) all around. He’s not a baby…he’s a toddler…and then next thing you know, he’s going to be a teenager. Okay…a big leap, I know, but it just seems so in-my-face lately how kids (read: my kids) are going to keep growing up and I’m kind of stuck in this time vacuum. Does that make any sense? Probably not. But it sure does fill me with a strange mix of joy and longing. I mean…I photographed that beautiful couple when they hadn’t yet become parents…and then I saw them again during one of the most joyful and yet vulnerable times of their lives as parents of a newborn. And now I see them again and how gracefully they’ve embraced parenthood and how this little guy is thriving and it just overwhelms me.
I’m a mess. I’m a big ol’ mess tonight. But that’s good. It means that I don’t take this responsibility lightly. I’m honored. Truly.
Jan 15, 2012
For those of you who follow me on Facebook, you probably already saw that my attempt to take the kids to experience the Architects of Air luminarium at the Long Center yesterday was a bust (we ended up having fun on Soco, instead). But I really didn’t want to give up, so back we went today. For you workshop girls, you know that this is no short jaunt for us and I was really nervous the line would be too long again.
Well, it was too long, but we waited anyway. At least this time, I had my husband with me so we could hold our place in line and let the kids go run and play while we waited. But considering it was only a 1.5 hr wait, I think that’s pretty good in comparison to the the folks in line behind us because it got baaaaaaaaaaaad. Oi. At least the cash bar they set up (including goldfish snacks for the kids) made it a bit more bearable.
It was fun, though. I don’t think I would have wanted to wait any more than we did, however. Wish we could have done a weekday instead. (If you’re in Austin and want to see this, the 20th is your last day, I believe). If you’re taking pics, bring the widest lens you’ve got (I had to use my fisheye to get anything really) and be prepared for funky low light and lots of strange people in your shots, LOL. It was nice to spend this time with the fam.
Got some fun things coming up on here in the next few days, by the way:
1. Later tonight, I’ll be posting the gallery of our client selections for the 3rd Annual Pinkle’s Pic of the Year contest! I’m really glad to have relinquished control over the nominations to my clients…they have made some amazing selections and I am so excited to see who is going to come away as the 2011 Pinkle’s Pic of the Year.
2. Got some lovely ladies coming over in a bit to test out a fantasy make up idea for the .emme. boudoir sweetheart mini sessions coming up this weekend (I can still squeeze a couple of people in on Sunday if you can make it). Can’t wait to post a sneak of Katie’s creation.
3. And finally…a little peek at a project I’m working on for the workshop folks and for my clients. Interesting experiment looking at the print quality side-by-side from several different professional and general public printers. Wow! You can’t see/feel it here in a picture, but wait until you get up close.
Back in a bit…
Jan 09, 2012
Even before I met her, I could tell on paper that her senior portrait session was going to be vibrant, bright, and full of energy–just like her! She knows exactly who she is and makes no apologies for it. What a rare and invaluable thing to have as a high school senior. We had a blast!
[Attention graduating seniors in the Austin area: NOW is the time to book your senior portraits…do not wait until April or May…those spots fill up *very* quickly and I wouldn’t want you to miss out.]
Jan 01, 2012
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.]