Thursday, August 11, 2011

Time Out

Take time out to relax and do fun things and give yourself a break from worrying about your responsibilities. Everyone says it's good for you - even the internet, so it must be true. I try to take that advice, but anyone that knows me will tell you that I'm not a person that relaxes very well. I actually enjoy being busy, so I suppose my relaxation must come in a form that allows me to be busy without having anything to do with responsibility.

I love photography. I do a lot of photography for other people. A lot. 'Photography For Other People' comes with it's own set of pressures and responsibilities. I never saw that coming...because if you do what you love, everything else falls into place, right? Not always.

In an effort to bring back the love, the fun, and a little sanity in my otherwise chaotic life, I am going to reserve time to create images because I want to. I will broaden my horizons, stretch new creative muscles and immerse myself in creating images for the pure joy of it. I will take pictures of things that do not have eyes - an immense challenge for me, as portraiture is what comes most naturally to me.

With my new resolution in mind, I attended a Meetup with the Ann Arbor Shutterbugs at Matthaei Botanical Gardens. Had a great time working side by side with other amazing local photographers, no pressure, just fun. Check out a few of my favorite images below!

(Ok, so some of the subjects have eyes...I can't help it)













Monday, July 11, 2011

A Favorite Family

My annual visit with fellow photographer Judi Morrissey was a blast! A few family pics for Judi, and our kiddos were off swimming in no time. I love how they act like old buddies, even though we only get together once a year :) Kevin pulled up the boat for a ride after lunch, and the kids had a great time jumping off the boat in the middle of the lake (with their life jackets on). Even Robby got into it, though rather than jumping off he just clung to Kevin and got pulled around in the water LOL (thanks Kevin!) In years past I have taken more pics, but somehow neither Judi or I picked up our cameras much this year - a good thing I think, as it allowed us more time to enjoy each others company. Below is a pic of Judi and me that Kevin took (he did good, didn't he?), as well as a few shots I took of Judi's beautiful family. Thanks so much to all of the Morrissey's for a great time, can't wait to see you again!




Sunday, July 10, 2011

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Softball!

Well, since the softball season is almost over, I suppose I should share my proud mama moments before it's old news. Riley and my niece Grace are playing U10 for the Yellow team, and Allie is playing U8 on the Red team. This is Riley's first year in player pitch, and Allie's first year in "real" softball (as opposed to T-ball) :)
LOVE watching them have so much fun! Check it out...










Saturday, July 2, 2011

Happy birthday Katelyn and Josh!

Every June I have the honor of photographing Katelyn and Josh's birthday party. It has been such a pleasure to watch them grow - aren't they completely adorable?? This year I also took formal photos of each of the super cute attendees - images are posted on the web for viewing and ordering HERE - please contact the party host or me for the password.

Happy Birthday Katelyn and Josh!!






Sunday, June 12, 2011

Sweet Sophie

Not long ago, I had the pleasure of working with sweet Sophie. The Eddy Discovery Center was chosen for the shoot location, as Sophie has many happy memories on those trails.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched Sophie run...but rather than trying to explain the beauty (my words cannot do her justice), I will let the video speak for itself.

Enjoy...

Sunday, June 5, 2011

My Poor Neglected Blog

If you relied solely on my blog posts, you would have no idea of all the super cool things that have been going on in my life - personally and professionally. I really need to make a better effort to keep up here, to allow my clients a little glimpse of my life and also to share my proud mama moments with the world.

My new blog resolution? To stop stressing about the frequency of the posts, but to post what my heart tells me to and what I have time for.

So without further ado - my catchup blog post with the highlights of the last few months...I really have been busy in 2011, I swear!! I promise to try not to overload you with images, I will do my best to choose the best few from each special event. :)

2/20/11 "Masked" - a creative collaboration with a couple of very talented ladies; model Kiki Fagan who designed and created her wardrobe, and hair and makeup by Maria Kesto of MAKStyles. So much fun creating this dramatic, theatrical look. Funny, we walked outside right before shooting to some light snow, and after shooting for an hour realized that the "light snow" had turned into a BLIZZARD - poor Kiki drove home in like 2 feet of snow that had accumulated in just the time that we had been shooting. This on the heels of my 47 degree snow angel shoot - crazy Michigan weather :)




















3/18/11 Studio Fun - A fun shoot with the amazing Jen Alder of Jennifer Alder Photography and an all time favorite model of mine Lynn Kelsey. Hair and make up again by the incredibly talented Maria Kesto of MAKStyles. Some cheese and crackers, a little wine, creative collaboration and crazy talented friends - what more could a girl ask for?




























Spring Break - April 2011 - Disney Cruise!!
The BEST vacation EVER. Sailing on the Disney Magic, we stopped and explored Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Castaway Cay (Disney's private island). So many fun family memories, like Robby screaming every time the toilet flushed, to Dominic posing with Chip N Dale. A character breakfast, a sea turtle outing (Alex wanted to know why the sea turtles had price tags), the sting ray encounter, and swimming with dolphins (Riley's dream come true) are just a few of the incredible experiences that we had. I truly should make a blog post only about this vacation, but even if I were to post the hundreds of images taken I could not do justice to the crazy, wonderful, fun that we had on this trip.




































4/16/11 - Urban Drama Workshop by Jennifer Alder Photography - Jen's workshops are always outstanding, and this one was no exception. With An incredibly talented styling team and models, great location and concept, and the guidance and direction of Jen you are guaranteed to walk away with images to be proud of. I am still working on editing my images from this workshop (I know, I know - I'm behind, what can I say?) but below are a few of my favs so far.





















4/23/11 Alex Ice Skate - proud mama moment, my Allie learning how to ice skate. We signed her up for the Learn to Skate program at the Arctic Coliseum in Chelsea because she told us it was something she would like to try. She had a rough start, but she LOVED it. Every time she fell, she would get up smiling. Sooo much fun to watch her love what she is doing!



Easter 2011 - my mom came out and colored eggs with the kids this year, they were so excited to have Grandma there. We love this creative tradition, so much fun to design unique eggs with dye, markers, paint and stickers. The Easter Bunny hid them outside this year, so glad it was nice weather for the hunt.



4/30/11 Riley and Grace Soccer - my daughter Riley and my niece Grace play on the same Chelsea Soccer Club team, and that makes for twice the photo opportunities. More proud mama (and aunt!) moments.












5/7/11 Chelsea Prom - it's hard to believe that my Dominic is old enough to attend prom, but here he is in his tux with his prom date. Big thanks to Hannah's parents Skip and Mary for allowing me to follow Dom to their home to take pictures of the handsome couple. Aren't Dom and Hannah cute??



































5/14/11 Chelsea Children's Choir Spring Concert - Riley sings... Held at the Chelsea Farmers Market and the Chelsea Library, the kids sounded beautiful. Riley also had a small poetry reading during the concert (proud mama again) :)












5/21/11 Riley and Alex's Birthday Party - Since their birthdays are only two days apart (Riley turned 9 on May 11, Allie turned 6 on May 13), the girls shared a mass birthday party with friends and family on May 21. A Basketball-Butterfly-Picnic Birthday, perfect for my growing girls! Sack races, egg/spoon races, jump rope relays and just all around fun outdoor play made this birthday a hit. Happy Birthday Riley and Alex!!










Whew - so how is that for being behind on blogging? That's not even everything, but I think I've covered the highlights!! Still to edit - a super fun session with a very sweet Miss Sophie; Riley, Grace and Alex Softball pics; and a few snapshots of me with a make up artist friend. Also looking forward to Jen Alder's next workshop "The Water Series" next week 6/11/11 - stay tuned...

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