13 *sigh*

It. Is. Not. Possible.

My baby is thirteen... ?!

She had a fun little get together with a few Besties from school... complete with photo session, of course. When you're 13, it's pretty cool that your mom is a "real" photographer. It's when they're older, not so much. :)

Milo!

peace.

blessing.

joy.





{I look forward to watching this little guy grow up! And although he came a bit early, Mom & Dad say he is doing great! Sorry, but he has no choice but to be as handsome and wonderful as his parents!}

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!)

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.

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.

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. :)