birthday boy (part 2) :: baby photographer :: lexington, KY

Another over-due post!

Sunny & cold day. check.
Loving family. check.
Stylish parents. check.
Handsome birthday boy who melts my heart. check.
Fun session. check.
Meet my friend, ‘M’:

one year :: baby photographer :: lexington, ky

Overdue post! Can you tell we had lots of fun at her milestone session celebrating her first birthday!?!!

Merit Award :: Lexington photographer

Earlier this year, I finally mustered some courage (and made some time) to enter a photo in a contest that I learned about from a Chase Jarvis tweet.  It sounded fun: photos taken and processed on a mobile phone.  I use my phone ALL.THE.TIME. because my girls don’t complain as much about me capturing their everyday with it as opposed to my “work” camera. In a way, it forces me to stay in the moment, not worry about settings, and focus on composition and light, and just document what they are doing that given time.  It’s easy to snap a couple, and put the phone away and go back to playing.  But in the process, I have over 3000 snaps.  I plan to print out little 5×5 books for them – how fun would those be to look over a few years from now!  Before I digress, I got an email about a month ago saying one of my photos was a finalist.  I was shocked, because of the sheer volume of high quality entries.  And yesterday the winners were finally announced, and my photo received a merit award in the “people” category.  It definitely brough a huge grin to my face!

You can see all the winners here: http://thebestcamerachallenge.com/gallery/gallery_winners.html

And my winning entry…my girls in their glorious mis-matched clothes (taken with iPhone 4, processed with ShakeItPhoto app):

play. explore. grow :: preschool and kindergarten photographer :: lexington, KY

As my own children’s school year comes to end, it’s always a time for bitter sweet feelings.  Sweet is the growth I see, the milestones they reach, the challenges they concur.  Bitter is the fact that it has all gone by so very fast.  I try to cling on so many little things that within a couple of years will be just memories: the ever diminishing list of words they mispronounce, the snuggle times that THEY initiate, wanting to sit in my lap and hold my hand, and asking to be read to.

Childhood is nurtured at this school, and I am lucky that both my kids were able to take advantage of it.  That school and its wonderful teachers have made me a better parent, and for that I am forever grateful.

sisters :: children and tween photographer :: Midway, KY

After a couple of reschedules, and rained out dates, I finally got to hang out with these two lovely young ladies.  They are so much fun, and have a huge gorgeous horse farm for a backyard.  How lucky is that!?!!  They showed me all their special playing spots, and we got to enjoy a beautiful late spring day.

first birthdays are so special :: lifestyle photographer :: lexington, ky

First birthdays are so special, and it doesn’t get sweeter than this!  I loved everything about this milestone session, so I had to share more of it.  Isn’t she adorable!?!!

Bunny Ears :: children’s photographer :: lexington, ky

Happy Easter

sisters at grandparents house :: family photographer :: Wilmore, KY

The love in this family is so apparent, and it extends beyond the four immediate members.  We had a great time at their grandparents house in the gorgeous country side.  And you can tell, the girls felt right at home, which made the photos just naturally happy

walker and explorer :: toddler photography :: Lexington, KY

‘K’ was reserved at first, giving me bashful looks, and hiding behind mom and dad’s legs.  But it did not take him long to warm up, and took off  He wasn’t a fan of the grass, but walked confidently, and very speedily, everywhere else (I had to hold my breath a few times, as he took some uncertain steps, before regaining his stride).  My favorite part: his precious heart-felt laugh.  Too cute!

4 weeks old :: newborn photographer :: central ky

As I drove out of town to this session, I was tempted to stop every few minutes and take photos of the gorgeous scenery: rolling hills, barns, spring blooms, wild flowers, overcast stormy clouds.  It really couldn’t get any better – until I met baby ‘M’.  He was such a great baby, and despite the fact that he’s older than my usual-under-2-week-old newborns, he slept like a champ the entire session.  The storms kept me from doing the whole session in their beautiful backyard, but I snuck him out for a couple of shots (you can even see the few raindrops there), and I LOVE that image.  Not only because of the scenery, but because I know it’s probably where his feet will first touch the grass, and curl, where he’ll take his first steps and first falls, where he’ll be superman, a cowboy or a knight, where this yard will transform into his magical land.  It’s where he will spend his childhood and start building his memories.