Mrs. M's Grandkids

my girls have been taking violin lessons now for a few years, and not only are they learning to play a beautiful instrument, but are learning to play by an incredibly talented, warm, caring teacher, mrs. m. it is such a great treat to listen to her play her music. we have actually worked together a few times at weddings! my girls absolutely adore her, (as do wes & i!) and we feel very lucky to have her as our teacher. she recently asked me to photograph her grandchildren. now, i know how important photo sessions with children are since they grow so fast, and can change so much in a short amount of time. but this one was especially important because some of her grandchildren live quite a ways away, and they would be in town visiting. an opportunity like this doesn't come very often for her, and i was happy to oblige. i can't even begin to describe how happy i was when i received the phone call from her telling me that she absolutely loved the photos, and she felt i captured their little personalities perfectly. i am thrilled that i finally had the chance to share my talent with her in return for the priceless lessons she has been giving my children for years now.

a little bath in the kitchen sink pre- photo session. there aren't even words to describe how cute this photo is!

its hard to pick a favorite because there were so many great photos, but this one is up there on the list!

look at these two, they are soooo adorable....and yes, they are twins!

another favorite.....

here are the twins standing in front of an apple tree that was planted when they were born...

and this little guy, he is so cute and really one of the best babies! i'll admit it, after spending some time with him and holding him for a few minutes, i got me some baby fever.....

these might just be some of the most gorgeous baby blues i have ever seen....i think he's an angel!

one word for these: precious!

thanks mrs. m for inviting me over to spend some time with your loved ones...it really was a great day! xoxoxo

the boys

you all know i adore photographing kids, but i am always very excited when i am photographing the child of one of my previous wedding couples. i love being taken along on the journey of watching a little family grow....and to be the one chosen over and over to capture these little but very important moments in time, is an honor. somewhere along the line these wonderful people stop being "clients" and feel like friends. and this here is one of them. i photographed this little tykes mom's and dad's wedding some years back and have had the privilege of photographing their little (or not so little anymore!) bundle of joy quite a few times. as you will see, he has a smile that'll melt your heart!

one of my favorites from the session....

he is just always smiling!

and oh, the curls. i just love the curls.

these two are cousins, and there may be quite a few years between them, but you can tell they absolutely adore each other!

another one of my faves....

it doesn't get sweeter than this.

i just love these journeys.

favorites

dustin' off the blog with a post about some of my randomly favorite things......

Starting with......1. kids!!!! my kids....your kids.....happy kids, crying kids, sleeping kids.....i loves me some kids!

2. when someone else does my yard work. doesn't matter who.....if it aint me, then i'm happy! whenever someone tells me they like gardening, that its relaxing.....i think they must be a bit nuts. i hate it. it's a dirty job, lots of bugs. don't get me wrong, its not very often that someone will just come over and take this awful job from me, but when it happens.....woo hoo! you can't tell by looking at these photos, but i am totally doing a happy jig behind the lens!

3. its obvious that my job MUST be on this list....i never liked any of my jobs till i became a photographer. i have been an injury claims rep, customer service rep, mary kay rep, and more....although previous jobs may have been interesting, they were never "me" the way photography is. it is by far my favorite job! and this one is a two-fer, because I have to give photo credit for the following photo of me at work to seth jacobson, who is one of my favorite photographers to work with!

4. four town farm! it's right around the corner from my house, and they have so many wonderful things! strawberry picking, flower picking....the best corn on the cobb ever! and so much more! taking the kids there is one of our favorite things to do!

5. summer is definitely my favorite! do i even need to explain why?

and lastly: Buddy the elf said it best, "I just like to smile. Smiling's my favorite!"

it's all about color!

it's no big secret....i'm a geek at heart. i'll be on the computer for hours and my kids or husband will ask what I am doing, and I am just looking at other photographer's photos or perusing their blogs. i find it gives me inspiration, energizes me. most of the blogs i "stalk" on a regular basis aren't even from around here. wes (the hubby) will come over and see me browsing thru photos and he'll ask me how I have even came across these blogs from photographers across the country and honestly, i don't even know. so while wes will go on-line and watch music videos or you-tube some ridiculously funny video, i'm being my dorky self and pouring over endless wedding photos, or baby photos or photos of any kind really. I wonder who the kids will think is the cool parent. it's ok, i'm learning to embrace my geeky side.

i have noticed that the blogs i go to, i am usually drawn to something in particular. lately, it has been photos that have a bit of a color cast to them, just subtle enough to notice. the only way to really explain it best is to just show you....

before:
after:

there's just something about the second photo that I love. well, more than just something. First, it's Liz's gorgeous smile. (Liz is amazing. She owns Soiree Salon in riverside and she is truly talented. There is a blog on the way about her and the salon too...so keep your eyes peeled for the soiree girls and their hotness!) But the other thing I love about the photo is the earthy color.

here are more:

before:

after:
gosh how I love my girls!

before:
after:

before:

after:
now I know what your thinking. the before photos are already pretty nice. yes, I am awesome like that. and little Gian in the above photos is a natural at being my model. That all being said, I really love the tones of the after shots. what do y'all think?

Who are you?

I've been blogging now for a few months, and I think I am liking it. I hope you all have been too. I love sharing my photos, and I love that blogging lets me share a bit of a story along with them. I think I have shared lots of stuff, ranging from tidbits about my clients to my own personal stories. So for this blog, i am asking you to share with me.....Who Are You? Take this poll, it'll only take a moment...