Funny Christmas

All these years, I've been the one to set the tripod, hit the shutter delay and run get into position. Actually, I think Joe has secretly also wanted this task, but I have overcome. And as always, it takes a few tries to get it "right." This year, well, this shot is my absolute FAV...
(This is our annual "Birthday Party for Jesus" - I think HE was enjoying it, too!)

Time to Share

I love, love, love to take photos.


of everything.

Especially my kids.

But there are sooo many random pics I've hidden from you, my readership, my followers who I know are there but choose to remain comment-free, hidden. That's ok, really. I'm not in big need of affirmation.

I'm currently in the catch up phase with all the Fall 2010 orders for Senior photobooks, so I thought I'd keep you entertained with a few posts of pics taken, but left unseen by anyone but me and MAC.

So check back here for some more image uploads...


baby eyelashes

my dog(s)

a pier

sunsets
great accomplishments


ice crystals on a branch in the dead of winter...


So it's time to share-
a few faces


some familiar



some not.



Enjoy.

Goals are Good

Yes, I make New Year's resolutions. But, this year I'm calling them goals. My flute professor from MSU, the amazing Dr. Prather, firmly believed in goal setting for life. She sat us down during one rehearsal one day and taught us this planning method. We had to write down our goals for the current week, semester, year, 5 years, and 10 years. I'm sorry to say that I have not always done this. I don't think I got much past my goal of "get an A in conducting." Which I did, by the way.

As of late, I have been recalling her words and finally putting pen to actual paper. NO. I will NOT post them here... I'm not an idiot. Several years ago, I announced that I was starting training for a marathon and got severely laughed at! Truth is, that person knew me to a "T." I always have big ideas, and even great ones, at that. It's the follow through that I have trouble with. There is ONE goal that I will share with you here, well, 2 actually... I will BLOG ONCE A WEEK for 2011.

Alert the media, I know. And I'm not one of those "photo a day" people. Really, I just can't commit to such a lofty endeavor. Not yet, that is. The other goal: I will ENTER a PHOTO CONTEST ONCE A MONTH, complete with specific assignments. This months theme is "Self Portrait." Aw geez. I guess it's time to get creative with that.

So thank you, Dr. Prather, for your inspiration many years ago (obviously!) I definitely learned more than Handel's Sonatas from you.

Viebrock!

Here's a little sneak preview of a family session with some old/new friends! That makes the second highschool friend reconnection for me this year... and they are my neighbors! I had to drive to Bartlesville for the first reconnection! And by the way, OLD FRIENDSHIPS made my gratefulness list this year. There's nothing like laughing about ridiculous stuff you did when you were 13.
Back to the photos - due to the really chili morning, we pushed back this session until about 10am. That's a little late for getting that nice glowy soft morning light, so we headed for the trees. It is so hard to find a spot where it's solid shade, but I think we did pretty well, regardless. They were such troopers and even hiked across the field to get to the other side of the pond. Let me just say, it was well worth the weeds in your shoes.:)
This is such a great family, and I can't wait to get to know them even better. Thanks for letting me take your family pics this year!!

Dipper Family Picture Time!

I just love this family! The cutest kids, the most incredible parents! The more I get to know them, the more I enjoy and admire them. Here are a couple of my favorite shots of the whole family-

Hopefully, I'm gonna try to post some shots of the kids next!

Enjoy!!

Willow

Ok, I know I've said this before, but I think I've found my new favorite thing! NEWBORN baby sessions! Let me just gush for awhile... this little jewel is Willow. A beautiful name for a beautiful little girl! She was exactly 2 weeks old when I shot these images, good and sleepy, a full tummy, all nice and warm. Willow, that is. Not me. There was the issue of that delicate little broken collar bone, and staying wide awake for awhile, but you would never know it by looking at these images. Congratulations to James and Tiffany! You are immensely blessed.

As for the technicalities of the session - read on...

I shot this session with my 50mm lens, 1.4 wide open in the natural light of her own baby room. I lugged in an enormous bean bag, soft black fleece, a reflector, and the sheepskin rug. Seriously, though, the bean bag hardly fits in my little red car! The one thing I love about the newborn session, is that you have to plan, and wait, and be patient, and know how to handle a little one with confidence and care. Also, I took very few frames compared to a family session. I wait, pose, adjust, pat her bottom a little to calm her, and finally snap the picture. MMmmmm. My kind of fun.

Trevor!

"Livin the John Deere Dream..."
That's what his mom said when we shot this image! :)

And by the way, I have the world's BEST neighbor's! Not only do I get to use their pretty fields, pond, and barn for this photo shoot, but when I casually mentioned wanting a shot by the John Deere, he simply smiled and asked, "well, where would you like it?" He hopped on that tractor, drove it out to the middle of one of his fields, parked it, and watched with pride as I finished out this senior photo session.
Seeing this tractor and remembering his eagerness to help leads me to something totally non-photo related. You see, this is the same tractor - actually, it's beloved owner, Ray - that recently helped Greg out by lifting a massive cow to her feet after a tough delivery. (The cow gave us a fine little bull, but she never recovered) Our neighbor, Ray, has helped us with fences, mowing, emergency plumbing issues, and even picked up my daughter from school one time when I just couldn't get there! He has hiked with us, fished with my son, and his wife, Jo, makes the worlds BEST cherry pie. The world needs more people like our neighbors. We are privileged to live down the lane...

So, the tractor, an old truck, and the barn just made this photo session. The style was so fitting for Trevor and made him feel totally at ease! For time sake I'll just show ya one of my favorite shots...

It's been hard to blog lately. The leaves are starting to fall to the ground now, and these beautiful colors are sadly leaving us. But, it's made for some wonderful photos and I can't wait to share a few more of them here.
More to come!! Keep checking back!

Best Post EVER

I can't tell you when the last time I had a session with my own kids! I always think that because I don't have to make an appointment with myself, then I can just do it anytime. Wrong. I finally had to "make an appointment" with myself and stick to it. That's not easy with kids' schedules these days!
AND... my own family was harder to do than any client I've had so far! They didn't exactly take it so seriously in the getting ready part, in the urgency to work with the light, in the don't make stupid faces at the photographer - Oh! That is soooo going to be my next post!!
Well, I do love these shots - I love the light, the color, the casual, the glimmer, the wind...I love everything about em! My kids. My JOY.

Change is Good

It's Fall and the leaves are about to change, and so are a few other things...

It's time to go BIG. Big, meaning the best of quality, service, and unique products to offer. If you have pictures online in my Proofing Gallery, you have UNTIL THE END OF THIS MONTH to view and order straight from that gallery. This is a great service that I have provided, and I have been happy with that gallery host, but in order to streamline the ordering process and my desire to offer the best product on the market, I have decided to switch to a different gallery host. I can now offer package deals, gallery wraps, proof books, albums, and "press books," all with countless options.


This basically means that anything I do that's new will be accessed through a different link. I will not put that link on my website until NOV 1st. If you are needing to view brand new pics, I will email the link to you. OR Facebook, or whatever...

IF you have images through my "old" gallery, they will be available until Oct. 31st. If your event or photo session was within the last 3 months, I will should be able to move those images to my new gallery for a time period.

Here is the link to my new online proofing gallery:

www.SeeMyPrints.com



My personal thoughts about this - the new gallery is not as "flashy," just to warn you. I cannot attach music to it at this time. Bummer, I know. I also cannot make the images look better with neat backgrounds for each page. You think that means nothing, I know. But it does affect the presentation. I have been weighing what to do for some time, and have decided that if I have to sacrifice the flashy site for a better product that gets in your hands and hangs on your walls, then I'm doing it. There.

Growth means change sometimes. This is a hard step for me to take because I really liked all those bells and whistles. I just know it'll be worth it, though! And by the way, THERE WILL BE NO PRICE INCREASE UNTIL JANUARY 1, 2011. I don't think I have to raise the print prices much at all, but consider yourself warned! :) Just know that I am committed to creating the best possible images and the best possible price, and I will work until you are satisfied. That part won't be changing - it's just who I am.

Keep watching this blog for sneak previews of my photo sessions!

Innocent Bystander

Ok, I literally took 5 images of this guy, and here is what came out! We were in the middle of a photo session of my own kids, and there just happened to be a couple of friends heckling from the sidelines. My own 3 kids (pics to come) got sick of it, as usual, but I was crazy about this beautiful light and the sky and the water that I just wasn't done snapping. I told him to pose as if he was in a JC Penney catalog - and he did! Ha. THANKS TANNER!

Mercy!

Have you ever been to Bartlesville, Oklahoma? Well, now I can say that I have. And although it's stuck out there in Oklahoma, and most people whiz on past it on I44 like I always have... I discovered that this is a really cool place! It has an incredible downtown area, perfectly poised for a nice urban revitalization, yummy eating places (I judge a place based on good eats... that's just great), an amazing baseball stadium, very cool lofts, and from what I'm told, approx. 6,000 people come out for Friday night football games!!! Hey, a movie is currently being made there (which could possibly be a secret so I better not say who is in it), and one of only 2 Frank Lloyd Wright skyscrapers is built there. Like I said, it's very cool.
But far better was the fact that I got to reunite with an old friend to do her son's Senior pictures! Although time (alot of it) has passed, and we have lived in completely separate towns, I am amazed at how much we still have in common. Juli - how great it was to just catch up with you! What a wonderful family, what an even better story... Thank you so much for letting me take your sons pictures - I hope you love these images of your incredible guy!

Matt!

If you know me at all, you know that music is my first and foremost passion, probably not even taking a second to photography. I've noticed, though, that a lot of photographers are also musicians! I could name off several immediately as I write this...
So when this handsome senior pulled out his guitar, I perked up and jumped on the chance to grab some images that highlight one of his favorite things. He handled that instrument much like I handle my cameras (or my flute), not just with caution, but with a genuine knowledge of its valuable place in his life. Not trying to sound all philosophical and deep, but us musicians, we know what I mean.
I so enjoyed taking these senior pics! It was a beautiful evening, and we went to an incredible location. (Thanks Suzanne!) There are so many, many neat places here around Rogersville. The more I peek around corners and drive down these country roads, the more cool places I find.
And Matt, thanks for letting me take your pictures! I hope you love them!

Just Another Day at the Office

Oh, the mundane, everyday, stuff of life. It's all just work, work, work. So here I go again, another photo shoot...

It's a tough job, being a photographer. Especially when it entails running down to the lake on the day after Labor Day when everyone else is back to laboring and all. I believe it was 4MPH winds that day, about 82 degrees, and perfectly overcast (that's actually a very good thing for photo shoots). This incredible skier is Phyllis, and she also makes a pretty good turkey and mustard sandwich. Her husband, Wade, was the master boat driver, and all I had to do was hang out and take pictures. Hey, I even got to jump in and go for a spin around the cove a bit. I just need to use 2 skiis, and I don't exactly get that pretty wall of water. Yeah, I think I like my job. It may be tough on days like these, but I'll hang in there.

50 YEARS... and counting!

I sure can't say enough how this couple amazes me! Every time I am with them, I take with me a little something I can apply in my own life, to somehow improve my marriage, or fine tune my parenting. You see, they have raised 3 kids - a girl, a boy, and a girl. We are also raising 3 kids, in that very same order. The boy in the middle thing has turned out pretty good for them, so I am hopeful. But the kicker is this, they have raised some pretty godly kids, and the grandkids are now following in this legacy. So if you think I'm being all serious in this blog post, you might just pick up on how honored I feel to have taken their pictures for their 50th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! I am thrilled to consider Jim and Nancy, along with their family, lifelong friends.
Favorite recent Nancy quote:
"I am not married to my best friend, I am married to my husband. There is a difference."

I also had the joy of taking their daughter's family pics at the park this past week - Amy, you'll get to see them before the rest of the world, I promise. :)

Tiny Dancer

Where there's an empty dance floor, there has to be one brave soul who will try to get things started. The music was so pretty, she just couldn't resist. The hands folded across her chest pose... she was actually dancing in her chair with beautiful arm twirls and hand rolls. Oh, to be 2 and completely uninhibited.

ERIC M.!

As promised, here is a sneak peek from a Senior Session I did while in Oklahoma this past weekend... Eric is my cousin Jana's handsome son. (Sorry if that embarrasses you, Eric, but we moms must gush a bit) As all us midwesterners are aware of, the heat is blistering hot, especially in OK City! I know we hit over 100 that day, so we were really sweating it out. That's nothing for this guy, though, doing 2 a days in football practice makes him tough. Our little session in the evening cool of the day made me melt. It was so much fun, though, in spite of the heat, & I think we got some pretty cool shots. :) Jana - your kids are both amazing, and I am honored to take Eric's Senior Pics for you! THANK YOU and I hope you love these as well as the many others to come... (I saved my favorite just for you!)

Watercolor Twirl

I walk through old hallways, through creaky doorways of the centuries old church, I listen to the ceremonial toasting of the bride and groom, the joy absolute on peoples faces. Trying to be inconspicuous, with multiple cameras dangling around my neck, I find that incredibly hard to accomplish. In one of those surreal moments, though, I hear the sound of children laughing, playing, and girlish giggles. Creeping in the room as quietly as possible, I crouch low, adjust my camera settings, and do my best to capture one of my all time favorite moments. Sometimes the memory of it all is better than what a lens and camera can do. They are simply tools in the hands of an artist. My eyes, my heart, will remember the beauty of this moment better. Hopefully this rendition, void of actual color or clarity, will simply jog my memory in the future, and bring me back to the darkened room filled with little girls dancing in the shadows, much more interested in the size of the twirl in their dresses than the wedding reception going on nearby.

{By the way, this is my sweet niece, Grace, taken at her brother's wedding in London.}

Shannon

Can you say windy?! I think the gusts were like 40mph on this nice sunny evening. Now a little breeze is kinda nice, it adds movement and emotion to a shot. But gusty, knock you off the ledge kind of wind is not so desirable in a photo shoot. We worked with it pretty well, though. Fortunately, we had chosen to be in downtown Springfield, where there are lots of alleys and buildings to hide between. Shannon did great and was so flexible with my ideas. The light was yummy,too. So all in all, she made my job easy and now I have the impossible job of narrowing it down to only about 40 images to showcase. You, my faithful, curious blogger friends, get to see my first 3 barely edited images from this session.

Shannon- you are beautiful, inside and out! I had a great time and I hope these images convey a glimpse of who you are. Thanks for letting me be the one to take your senior pictures - and Congratulations!!!

Guess Where I've Been...

It's CANCUN, MEXICO! The Northern side of Isla Mujeres, to be exact!


I thought about making this a contest, but since most of you have probably seen it on Facebook, via Helter Shelter or one of our kids, I think it wouldn't be a grand idea.

I have some great new images, but I was on vacation, so there were many days when my camera never made it out of the bag!
I may post another one, if I feel like it. Then again, I might not. :)

It's good to be busy...

Editing, editing, editing. That's what I've been up to every spare moment. Last night those "spare moments" didn't happen until 11pm through 2am. Last week was my busiest week so far in photography, and now I get to sift through the hundreds of images I shot for multiple people. It's good to be busy! I love it! I can't tell you how rewarding it is to create those "WOW" images, and when you get it right - that sigh is amazing.

So, in hopes of getting it right... Here's a few I shot last week.
More to come!