I've had a little time today to go back through our shoots from summer to the end of 2008. There are SO many that I've never posted! I'm going to try to do some mega-posts in the next couple of days so stay tuned! Here are two cuties that always find their way to the blog...their slideshow here.

the harbours

I have been thinking a lot about life these days. Not really in a philosophical kind of way but more in a how does it go so fast and how do we learn to really be present in it. I get so much joy from being around families and stepping into the way that they love one another. When I sent this slideshow to the mom of this family, she wrote me back to tell me that she loved them and that they were "exactly what she wanted." I guess that is kind of always the thing about taking pictures for people. You know that really (deep down or otherwise) people have some idea of what their family looks like, of what it will be like to actually see themselves through the lens of a camera. My job is to show that to them, to bring to life what they somehow knew was true but did not have tangible evidence to know it for sure. Enjoy the Harbour family!



Sweet Lauren was just not into taking pictures with her brother unless they were in motion. If there is anything I have learned, you've got to just go with the flow. You cannot manufacture a posed sibling shot when it's just not happening!

sweet girl...and fall update....

Well, things have certainly been crazy around here. And it's barely September! August is actually one of the slower months for our business. I freaked out last August when things slowed down but this year we were kind of looking forward to a few weeks of a slightly slower pace. Because of that, we decided to spend a week at the beach bookended by time with our families and friends. We ended losing almost half of our trip to the rain of tropical storm Fay but it was still nice to have a few days away.
It's clear that going to the beach will never be the same now that we have a baby but as with every part of this journey so far, the joy far outweighs any semblance of sacrifice.

But we're back now and gearing up for fall! We are so excited about all of our upcoming weddings and I can't wait to begin the mania of fall and Christmas shoots. We hope you'll see some exciting changes in the coming weeks and months. One of those will definitely be blog posting on a more consistent basis!

Also, look for the launch of the 2008 Christmas card line soon! Also, if you are interested in booking a session for Christmas cards or just want fall pictures, things are booking fast. If you need a Saturday, please email or call as soon as possible. There are a very limited number of days (as in one each month this fall) that I will be shooting on Saturdays so please let me know if you'd like a session!

Here is a shoot of a precious little princess, Ellison. She is such a sweet girl and I loved spending a session hearing all about Ariel, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. I know she brings an incredible amount of joy to her mama and daddy!

farewell to summer...

I always look forward to sessions with older siblings. It seems to open the door to some creative opportunities that can be harder when you're chasing little ones around. I absolutely loved this session with the Adams' kiddos. We shot these pictures on the afternoon before school started. I'm not sure it was their ideal way to end their summer vacation but I can tell you that I for one had a total blast. And they were promised ten bucks each by their grandmother if they cooperated so all in all, I think everyone won.


I love these pictures of McKenzie and Ethan. They are very close in age and clearly have the love/hate thing going on. I did not prompt any of this sequence at all other than asking him to stand by his sister. Ethan is one photogenic kiddo. I love his serious face. Such a doll. And I don't even have to tell you how sweet she is...doesn't her smile just say it all?

One day they will all love each other and enjoy being close to one another. This day has not yet arrived. I think the ten dollars was necessary for these next couple. :)

Doesn't she look like a little surfer model? It's amazing how much people will pay for these kind of highlights...I love the way they all three have the same sparkle in those brown eyes. You can really see it in these next three.



I mean, seriously, could they GET any cuter than this? I think this would look awesome as a big canvas. I love their serious expressions...I can't believe I managed to get any without McKenzie smiling!
Thanks for a super fun shoot, guys!

grayson

Grayson is another sweet kiddo that I have been privileged to photograph since he was just days old. Not a baby any longer, we took these pictures the other day in a race to beat a quickly arriving thunderstorm. I'm not sure if it was the thunderstorm or his 18-month-old energy that was the real cause of the race but I can tell you that we all spent the whole session running! As always, my hope is that these pictures would capture this time in life and in doing so, somehow celebrate the gift Grayson is to all those who love him.

Also, I should mention that this was the first time I have used this particular spot for pictures! I kind of happened upon it but thought that it was a great spot. Let me know if you're interested in this kind of location!

life...

So...from time to time, my mom likes to send me packages in the mail. It's really awesome. Apparently she saved all of the pictures we drew, crafts we made, and notes my brother and I wrote when we were little. For the past couple of years, she will include one of these creations in with a package that she sends to me. The one that I got yesterday made Corey and I both laugh out loud. From the print, I am guessing I was about 6 or 7 at the time of composure. All that it said was this (in all caps and purple crayon):

"No one cares about me. Just my dumb brother."

This confirms two things for me, both strangely comforting. One, I love my brother. There is nothing like the connection, friendship, and laughter we share. Two, I tend to be a bit on the dramatic side. I guess that I always have been. I like to make extreme statements; sometimes this is because I really believe them. At times--okay, a lot of the time--this makes me feel like a crazy person. My emotions tend to take over the rational part of me and it's often hard to reel that back in. Sometimes though, I feel like it helps me to just really experience life. To soak it in and feel it really deeply.

There seems to be a lot of emotion to feel these days. Our life feels really full right now. Really joyful and new. Laughter feels deeper and connections to other people feel more authentic than before. I also feel stretched in new ways and some of those make me feel really tired and also very scared. It also feels like there are a lot of really hard things happening around us right now, too. A lot of things that don't seem to make any sense, that seem to be in direct contradiction to what seems so true in our own lives right now. I have been able to photograph some families lately who have been vulnerable with me in ways that have made me connect anew to what I want to do and be as a photographer. For these things, I am very grateful.

My shoot with the Edwards family was one of my favorites that I've shot in awhile. I was able to just let them be themselves and then work to capture that. For many families that I photograph, I think that this is harder than showing up for what they consider to be a typical photo shoot geared up to smile and pose. And yet it is truly my heart as a photographer. I long for families to see the beauty in their children, in their families, in their story together.

Also on that note, we had the chance to watch Steven Curtis Chapman and his family on CNN tonight talking about the dark days their family has walked through this summer. There are really no words but I can promise you that it is worth watching.

changes...

I know that it seems like I always have a lot to say. That can be kind of annoying--even or especially for me--since my job is to tell stories without using words. I hope that these pictures of the Menk family will do that. I met them over a year ago to take pictures of their son, David Scott and I have known for awhile that they were on a long and heart-wrenching journey toward bringing their daughter home. I was so thrilled when they asked me to take these pictures during Zoie's first weeks home. It was such a privilege to get to meet her.

brothers...

I had so much fun with these boys. They were the perfect mix of super polite, easy to work with, and the energy and goofiness that only little boys share. I loved seeing their different personalities and yet the way that they love and care for one another. I think the top picture is a good representation of the way I classically see birth order play out in pictures! It makes me laugh every time I look at it! Also, you have to watch the slideshow to see their beautiful mama...it is no surprise where these boys get their good looks.

You couldn't get Will to stop smiling if you tried!

A little sprinkler fun on a hot day...



So serious...but SO cute. I love this one.

rosie's

My Huntsville friends are a creative bunch. When Michelle told me that she wanted to take the girls' pictures at their favorite restaurant, I was so excited but also a little bit nervous since I had no idea where it was or what it looked like. I love taking pictures at new places so I was ready for the challenge. Turns out it was one of my favorite places that I've ever shot and the girls--as usual--could not have been cuter. We had a great time and I love the way the pictures turned out. Enjoy their slideshow!

shout out (way overdue)

So, I'm not what you would call an ambitious girl. Not big on the risk-taking, one of those who dreams big but acts pretty small. One who can convince herself she's content when she secretly wonders if there might be more. The truth is that I didn't really know what I wanted to be when I grew up. Who really does? There were things I knew that I loved--kids and their families, art and creativity, being outside; I sure had no idea how all of those things could ever come together in an actual career. I mean, really, surely that would be a little too much to ask for, right? I spent my first few years in Birmingham teaching preschool and kindergarten and I found many of those loves nurtured by my job. Yet I always knew that it wasn't really my PASSION.

Meet my friends, Melissa and Rishay. For the first couple of years that I knew them, they were simply mothers of daughters who were in my class. As it happened, their girls moved up with me through preschool, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten. Our friendship began through chats at school parties and field trips and just simply grew over the years. I have always been in awe of the way they selflessly love their families. As I had dinner with them and their families tonight, I was struck once again by how faithful and encouraging these two women have been to me along this journey. Other than my family, they were the first two people who let me/asked me to photograph their girls. I have no idea why they believed in me or why they gave me a chance at all. All I know is that because they did, I had the courage to actually do something that I'd always dreamed of doing. For that, they deserve way more than a blog shout-out and I wish that I had so much more to give. Thank you, sweet friends, for everything.