Bowling Night

One of the highlights of my Florida vacation was the time to catch up not only with family, but friends too. In an amazing coincidence one of my best friends, Phyllis, moved to Florida the same year as my parents AND they moved to the same town.  Now every time we come to Florida we not only look forward to warm weather and time with family, but we also look forward to a visit with Phyllis and her fiance Steve.

Our visits are always too short but jam packed with fun. On the agenda this time around?

Bowling!

I am one of the world’s worst bowlers. So in order to keep my sanity I brought my camera along. It helped distract me from my lack of skill. My favorite part of bowling? The shoes! I seriously could collect bowling shoes and wear them everyday. (I’d rather them be new though…old moldy bowling shoes are really kinda gross).

Somehow I managed to get a strike during the evening too. It was a glorious cause for celebration.

Phyllis and Steve also kept us all laughing the entire evening. They always manage to keep the mood light, fun, and a little bit silly.  Just the right mix for a vacation outing with friends. Our time together was too short, but I know I’ll see them both again soon. Love you guys. ♥

Gratitude Revisted

Yesterday’s Thanksgiving left me with much to be grateful for. Family. Friends. Warm Weather!  On Tuesday, The Calmer and I hopped a plane to Florida  to spend the week with my family.  With 5 of us crammed into a 2 bedroom vacation home its been a time to truly get on each others nerves enjoy each others company.

In all seriousness, it’s been awesome catching up with my sister who I haven’t seen in almost 4 months, taking early morning walks in the AM sun with my mom, and helping my dad show his brother the ropes of the computer and email (he has never used one before!).

Another great thing about the trip?

Having lots of subjects to practice my photography!

My family insisted I attempt new family photos.

Notice how my dad never opens his eyes in his pictures (we really need to work on that dad!)

Also, notice how in candid picture #2 The Calmer is pretending to be my dad with his eyes closed (nice one dude!)

The big feast this year was hosted by the West Palm Beach Hurwitch family. Marianna has an uncanny ability to cook an amazing meal. The menu this year?  Turkey, spiral ham, rice stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, green bean casserole, brussels sprouts, broccoli salad, stuffed mushrooms, manacotti, cranberry sauce, gravy. (and that’s just dinner!!)

Dessert was just as big of a spread.  Pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake bars, a pumpkin roll (I am sensing a theme), cherry pie, chocolate brownies, apple squares, and coffee (edit: and muffins and black and white cake). The Calmer LOVES his desserts. Here he is being calm, and then enjoying his favorite part of Thanksgiving day.

The Hurwitch’s animals enjoyed the evening as well.

It’s a good thing Marianna likes to cook all this food because she had plenty of people to eat it!  It was an amazing spread and a truly lovely evening spent with immediate and extended family and with new friends. Thank you so much for hosting, Hurwitch family. It’s always great to spend time with you all and we really appreciate your delicious cooking, Marianna!

The Wagner Family

I was so thrilled last week to get an email from fellow neighbor Lisa Wagner with a special request. She was seeking an on location photographer to come take holiday photos of her family including her newborn twin girls.  Because these little ones were premature they are on strict orders to remain at home until the flu season passes.  Amazingly our schedules aligned so I was able to do the photos while grandma, grandpa, and great grandma are in town for Thanksgiving which made this session even more special.

We spent a lovely morning at the Wagner household and I was very impressed with how after moving into the house only a month ago Lisa had already managed to locate her holiday decorations and get many of them set up for today!  It made for a very festive backdrop for our picture taking.

I want to thank the entire Wagner family for being so patient with me as I worked with them and their girls on my first newborn portrait session.  I was hoping for some sleepy baby pictures, but these girls were wide awake and alert the entire time! In the end I am glad they were, baby Rachel and Elizabeth were beautiful models and I ended up with some really nice shots of these wee ones. 

(Just don’t ask me which one is which. I am certainly glad their mom and dad can tell them apart!)

Wagner family, I hope you enjoy your session preview as much as I do. These girls are just precious and I had so much fun working with you all today. Thanks for all the ideas, help with wardrobe changes, posing, and props! I’ll be in touch after the holidays with the rest of your photos from our morning together. Happy Thanksgiving!

Beth, Randy, and Angel's Holiday Session

Yesterday, I headed to the Town of Leesburg to meet my coworker Beth, her husband Randy, and their adorable schnauzer Angel for a gorgeous day of picture taking.  Beth contacted me looking for some updated family photos and was totally open to suggestions of where to go. I have been wanting to shoot in Leesburg for awhile now and this was the perfect opportunity to suggest  it!   Leesburg is a quaint little town with LOTS of character. Between the multicolored brick buildings, tucked away gardens, and quirky shops, we had lots to work with for our morning together.

I had so much fun with these guys during our session too. We took about a 2 hour stroll up and down Market Street and the surrounding area, ending our day at nearby Georgetown Park.  Beth and Randy had a completely laid back approach to our session and they were open to any and all of my ideas.  I was so glad they asked if Angel could be there too. He is an amazingly well behaved and happy dog which made my job as photographer easy!

Here is a sneak peak from our session together. Remember you can click on any of the pictures to open a larger view.  I had a really tough time picking my favorites this time around, these are just a few! I hope you like the initial preview I and promise the rest will be on the way after Thanksgiving.

Only 35 shopping days left until Christmas…

This week I’ve been buried in a pile of photos to edit. It’s a whole lot of  inspriation, learning, stress,  and excitement all rolled into one and I’m loving it. Your comments keep me going, keep me encouraged, and really make me think I can achieve my big dream one day.  Between the two sessions this past weekend, and the two I have coming up this weekend I haven’t had much time to reflect here and share my own thoughts.  But it’s been amazing and encouraging for me to share session photos here and get positive feedback.  I am humbled and awestruck by the fact people are choosing me to record their family memories.

Anyway, I  have lots of ideas for my next few installments of holiday gift inspiration. Today’s gift was not one of the originals. It actually struck me in a moment of sheer panic yesterday.

But it’s fabulous.

And it’s practical.

If you don’t have an external hard drive you should really get one!

Like now.

Don’t wait, or you could end up like me last night.

I was enjoying a relaxing evening. On the couch with the cats and The Calmer nearby. Editing pictures. Then I got this friendly reminder rude interruption:

CRITICAL ERROR. C:/DRIVE CRITICALLY LOW ON DISK SPACE.

Meh, no big deal I said, I’ll take care of it in a few days. Then I tried to continue editing. And I got this even friendlier reminder ruder interruption:

CANNOT PERFORM ACTION. LOW RAM. DISK SPACE CRITICAL.

(these were not the exact messages but you get the idea).

I needed more space on my computer.

ASAP.

I couldn’t do anything on the computer. programs wouldn’t run and they wouldn’t open. I was completely stuck. And worried if I waited any longer it was only a matter of time before the blue screen of death reared its ugly head on my screen. And then I’d lose all my precious photos. And I wasn’t having that!

So off to Costco we went. And I picked up this HP Terrabyte hard drive for $99. For that amount of storage the price is a steal! (it’s the equivalent of more than 30 ipods that hold 32 GB!!)

The backup went smoothly and seamlessly.  All 7,843 of my photos are safe and sound. And I am a happy camper.

Go make someone in your family and happy camper and get them a hard drive for the holidays!

You might just save someone’s precious photos too.

The George Family

As I mentioned yesterday I had not one but two lovely photo sessions on Sunday. It’s made for a busy but worthwhile start to the week with all the processing I have been doing. I think The Calmer is getting worried that it may be months before I get up from my laptop! But once I get going, the process of turning photos from good to fabulous can be addicting and I just can’t pull myself away from the screen.

In any event, my photo session on Sunday afternoon with the George family almost didn’t happen! I got a call from them early on Saturday and it seems the flu has been making its rounds in their house. Dad was the newest victim this weekend and after chatting briefly we were planned for a re-schedule next week.  Amazingly, on Sunday morning I got news that dad felt better (or at least good enough to play model for photos on a Sunday afternoon). And I am so glad we were able to get out and get their photos done, the weather was just BEAUTIFUL!

We spent the late afternoon on a nature hike at the Red Rock Park in Leesburg, VA. Until last week I had never been there and I was so happy with the suggestion from the family. The place is amazing. The historic farm ruins and hiking trails that lead to a fantastic view Potomac river were the perfect setting for family photos.

I also must say that the 3 kids in the George family were all good sports! I know at their age spending the afternoon with a stranger and being forced in front of the camera for 90 minutes with mom and dad is the farthest thing from fun.  But they were all perfect subjects for their portraits and I just love love love their gorgeous blue eyes.

In my defense, I didn’t make them post the whole time. They also got a chance to run around, play ball, enjoy the weather, the sites, and even climb some of the massive trees around the park. I just love the picture of them below in the tree after hearing stories of a similar picture in their home taken when they were much younger.

Spending time with this family was a great way to wind down the weekend. I hope they had a great time too and enjoy this preview of their photos from the day.  To see a larger version of any of the collages above just click on the picture to enlarge it. Enjoy!

Rachel and Austin's Anniversary Session

Whew it was a busy weekend! I had not one but two very fun and successful photo sessions on Sunday and I can’t wait to share both sets of previews with you all. It was an absolutely lovely (and seasonally warm) November day. The perfect day to hang with friends and get behind the lens to capture some fun memories.

Sunday morning I met up with long time friend Rachel (we’ve known each other since the 6th grade!) and her boyfriend Austin for some belated anniversary pictures. The two starting dating in September of 2008 and have been inseparable ever since.  The best part about their budding relationship is that Austin and my Calmer get along swimmingly, so we are often able to hang out an have a great time!

Rachel and Austin were the perfect subjects. We took a morning stroll around their neighborhood capturing pictures around the scenic paths, fields, and even at the playground!  Rachel came prepared with wardrobe changes appropriate for the setting and I was so happy that they were willing to put up with my camera experimentation and variety of poses.

One my favorite parts of the shoot was getting them showing off their favorite pastime of watching Sunday football. These guys have a regimented ritual every Sunday and nothing better come between them and their television from 11am – 11pm during football time! It’s amazing to me that a die hard Redskins fan and a die hard Cowboys fan can be together but somehow they make it work!

Thanks guys for hanging out with my on your Sunday morining. I hope we got all the pictures out of the way before the big games and I really hope you like your preview.  The rest of the photos from our day will be on the way soon!

Share Your Gratitude *The Winners!*

Thank you again to everyone who entered the Share Your Gratitude contest sponsored by memolio. November is the perfect month to reflect on those people in our life we are most grateful for.

Today I am simply grateful to be me!

unique. creative. type a. me.

But you aren’t reading today to learn more about me…

Let’s get onto the winners!

You all had so many great ideas and reasons to give a memolio brag books and I wish I could give away a free book to each and every one of you. Unfortunately I only have 5 to giveaway so below are the lucky winners (randomly chosen) and their answer to the contest question: Who you would make a memolio album for with your winnings and why? If you are one of the winners be sure to check your email later this weekend for directions on how to redeem your memolio certificate.

And the winners are…

belle: My good friend Cole has a super adorable little house with great lighting and she always lets me whip out my camera and wander around whenever I visit. So, I’d love to make her a little book that contains all of the photos I’ve taken of her and her living space.

sharon: I would make memolio albums for my family full of pictures of our little Danny.  I think that it would make a great gift – especially for my FIL. He lives out of his pockets, and this would be a nice sturdy thing for him to keep in his pockets for when the time comes for bragging.

kelly: I would love to win a litte brag book like this to share with my best friend. She celebrated her 40th birthday this past summer and her mom bought me a ticket to fly there to surprise her. After that, we all spent a week in Canada making new memories. My brag book would include memories from that trip, of course!!!

teachercarrie: I think I would definitely make a Memolio for either my mom to have as a brag book or for my husband to keep at work. He is always talking about me and our cats with his coworkers and he needs some new photographs to put on his desk…they’re a bit outdated I’d say.

N.Z.G. With my winnings, I would like to make a memolio album for my “mixed” family. Though things are not, for lack of a better word, “cool” with us, I love each and everyone of them some kind of fiercely. I don’t have pictures of my biological dad & I, my biological mom & I, my little sister & I, and my little step Bothers & I. As a matter of fact, my families know little to nothing of each other. And I want to remedy that. They don’t have to like to each other but I want them to understand that their love for me ties them all together. So I want to create a memlio album that has pictures of me and with each one of them. I want them to see each other but most importantly, I them to see me happy with them and the “others” in my life.

Thanks again to memolio for sponsoring this contest and I hope all of the winners will come back to this blog soon and share the link to their digital memolio once it’s complete!

Dreaming Big

First of all I have to say thank you to those readers that entered the “Share Your GratitudeMemolio giveaway. The contest is now closed and tomorrow is the big day where I will be randomly picking and announcing the winners right here so stay tuned!

In today’s news…

I am taking a big step in my photography journey and I am so excited to tell you about it.  This is a step that makes me overflow with excited butterflies and makes me want to puke all at the same time. It’s the next step in me growing a real professional level photography business and I couldn’t be more terrified thrilled at the prospect.

Right now I am dreaming big.

I seriously might just be going crazy. Utterly mad. The Calmer thinks so. But he still supports me.  Let me give you the details. Then you can tell me what you think.  And you can let me know that I am completely insane brilliant!

I blog hop a lot now. Mostly photography blogs, but really a mish mash of everything from photography, to daily musings, to gluten free living, to creative inspiration.  Back in October, somewhere along my blog hopping journey I found this. The LAUNCH Workshop. Led by Tampa based professional photographers Stacy Larsen and Kristie Serra. It’s geared toward beginner level natural light photographers wanting to take their amateur photography to the next level.

JACKPOT!

Read the “Is This For Me” section. I read it and I went,

“Woah that’s totally me!”

Then I looked at the “Registration” page and went,

“Woah, that’s a lot of money!”

I tried to forget about the site. Put in on the back burner. But, during the past month I have not been able to get LAUNCH out of my head. I want to be there. I need to be there.  I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching. Asking myself  the important questions. Is this what I really want? Do I want to make this investment? Is photography really a passion for me? Is my photography up to par? Can I build a real business? Will I find customers? Will they actually pay?

Then, yesterday, in my blog hopping endeavors I read this blog by Danielle LaPorte. And the level of clarity I felt after reading it was so strong. I have to do this. I can’t let fear take hold. I have to try. I NEED to be at LAUNCH.

So I registered. I will be at the LAUNCH 2 day weekend February 20-21!!

( I am still pondering adding in the limited enrollment 3rd day and still trying to convince The Calmer we have the money to part with so I can be there for it all…)

Don’t worry I’m not quitting my day job. yet. But I do know that this is a great opportunity. To learn. To grow. To network. To vacation. To launch this side business working my passion. With the big dream of turning it into a full time career one day. Will I get there? I don’t know. But I have hope. And I do know I have to take this leap of faith and try.

I will not let the fear of failure keep me from trying.

So ready or not LAUNCH, here I come!