Archive for the ‘Connected’ Category

{almost warm}

April 23, 2010

Memphis has two seasons: warm, and cold. This past cold one seemed to last forever. Then one day, I looked up and said “wow. hey, the trees are green now!” I almost missed it. As I was driving down the road with the kids a couple weeks ago, we passed a church that had an orchard of cherry trees, all in bloom. I cursed myself for not having my camera with me. Wait! I did have my camera with me! I misguidedly left it in the car after my last shoot. Perhaps not misguided after all.

screeeeeech! Turning the car (well, van. yes, I’m that mom. sigh.) around, I pulled into the church lot and grabbed my camera. After reassuring Morgan that she was gorgeous as usual, and yes, that green shirt you’re wearing will be perfect, I was able to snap a few photos of the child who complains the most that I don’t have enough photos of her:

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One of my personal favorites. She’s a natural in front of the camera. Lots of practice.

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Alex wanted in on the action too:

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And my absolute favorite, may be the best photo I’ve ever taken, ever. Swoon:

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Warm, I welcome you. Cold, I don’t miss you a bit. Here’s to warm! Cheers!

{4 wheelers are cool}

December 1, 2009

Thanksgiving has been held at my house for the past 2 years, so I didn’t argue that hard when my mom offered to have it at her house this year. Actually, I didn’t argue at all. I think it was my idea. Both Ed’s parents and my parents live in our old hometown, as well as our brothers and their families. We ate and ate and then ate some more, and visited with family. I’m always in charge of the cheesecake and the rolls, and get death threats if I show up without either one.

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My brother’s son, Dylan, and Alex are good buds and love it when they get to play together. Occasionally I can even catch them sharing some cousin-ly love.

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Ed’s brother stopped by for a bit, which was nice since we don’t see him very often. They swear they’re related, but they don’t look anything alike to me (Ed is on the right). Funny how they wore nearly identical jackets for an impromptu photo!

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My brother is a collector of all things with wheels. His latest acquisition is a mini gas-powered 4-wheeler. Originally intended for the younger boys, it turns out that the girls had just as much fun on them! Morgan rode the bigger ones that belong to Ed and my brother. I managed to shoot this from the back of Ed’s, just holding up the camera and shooting blind!

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Dylan doesn’t have to be asked twice to ride with daddy. One of his signature sayings is “ridin in the mud.” I wish you could hear HIM say it! This is one of my favorite shots of the day.

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Alex is such a good sport, and the only one who would be still long enough for me to play with backlighting!

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Although I did get Ed and Morgan to play along too.

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Helen, beautiful thing that she is, hates to have the camera pointed at her (at least mine!), but I made her take time out for this one, another fave from the day!

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My men :)

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I have to explain this next one. I had so much going on in my brain when I was packing that I forgot to pack Alex’s jacket. Yes, I’m a terrible mother. Luckily, my mom gets the “granma” of the year award and also doesn’t throw anything away. Like, ever. She pulled out this jacket, and it fit Alex perfectly. Turns out it was mine in the 1st grade. I bet it’s the only one still in existence from that year!

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Jessie has a bit of a crooked grin in this one because she had a fat lip. The aforementioned “granma” told her not to worry about it, cuz she looks like “that sexy big-lipped actress.” Julia or Angelina? I didn’t ask.

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This is Pebbles, who belongs to my brother. She is very cute. And very pregnant.

tgiving11Yay! I caught another one of Helen!

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This was Morgan’s idea, although I will be glad to take full credit for it.

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Granma, Krampa, and all 5 grandkids (and yes, 4/5 of them are mine)!

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Alex again. Seriously, the girls were riding ALL DAY.

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I convinced my mom and dad to take a few before the light was gone. I know. I look like my dad, right? I inherited that Armenian nose. Lucky for me, he’s a good looking guy.

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It was such a fun holiday! Next up: Christmas at my house.

Here’s to the holidays! Cheers!

I finally got the chance to take photos of my bestest friend, Jill, and her gorgeous boys. Jill is the most amazing single mom, and she lives for her sons. I don’t know how she does it. She really is supermom. When I grow up, I want to be her.

Isn’t she beautiful?

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They make such a gorgeous family!

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I love this series. These boys were so well behaved and cooperative, and made my job super easy. Of course, they know me, and know that I’ll get ‘em if they don’t!

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Jill may not like this one, but it’s one of my favorites of the day. Such easy joy! So them!

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Her oldest and my oldest are the same age, and good friends. This shot is so “teenager” to me!

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There was a flock of geese heading toward the water, and I caught everyone looking.

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Austin was surprisingly willing to have his photo taken, for a teenage boy! And he’s a natural.

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Chase has modeling in his near future. I can tell. Just look at this gorgeous thing! He was totally strutting it.

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Sam was amazingly still and willing for a 3 year old! He has his mama’s eyes.
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the kids always love this part! Austin wouldn’t do it. Hmph.

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Sam was terrified of falling off this bridge, but he smiled anyway.

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LOVE this shot.

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And this one. Sam has had it. He’s done!

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Thank you so much, Jill, for sharing your boys with me for an afternoon! They are such a joy to be around. Love you guys!

Cheers!

{the lebel family: connected}

November 18, 2009

I recently had the great pleasure of photographing a friend of a friend and her beautiful family. She introduced me to a new hidden spot that I had not know about, and it was gorgeous! Although it was a good 30 minute drive from my house (you knew I had to mention that, Amy!), it was a beautiful fall drive and the park was pretty enough for an hour long drive.

Amy brought along her two beautiful dogs, and they were quite happy to be outdoors running free! I did get one of them to stop and pose for me:

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Amy, Chris, and Ashton are such a beautiful family and made my job easy peasy!

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Ashton was a good sport and had no problem playing around a bit for me:

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The happy couple:

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Fall color, beautiful light, water. Seriously. What else could a photographer ask for?

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There’s no special bond like a mother and son!

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And dads are great for a ride on the shoulders! And tickeling, and laughing, and wrestling…

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One of my favorites from the day. We almost passed this bridge by. It was a little hidden gem!

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A couple of mom & dad. Chris never smiles. Seriously. Never. Amy was jumping up and down behind me and threatened to take her shirt off. Still not a crack.

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My absolute favorite shot from the whole day was actually a whim while driving home. We passed this cotton field with a magnificent red barn and had to stop!

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Oh, I have to throw in this little story: the park where we were shooting was huge, and we roamed over quite a bit of it. We jumped in the car to head over to the other side of the lake where the light was better. When we pulled into the parking lot, there was a flock of geese standing near the edge. Chris says, “Ashton, watch this,” and goes to let the dogs out of the back seat. I jump out first so I could catch the whole thing. It was so funny to watch those dogs chase the geese right into the water before convincing them to fly off!

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All in all, I had a blast! I love my job! Thank you Amy, Chris, and Ashton for letting me spend the afternoon with you!

Cheers!

{valarie & keith: connected}

November 3, 2009

Valarie is my uber-talented hairdresser. She’s also a dear friend, a great mom, and one of the funniest people I know. I had the chance last weekend to photograph her and her son, Keith. They are awesomely photogenic and put up with my many different suggestions and poses.

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect and the fall color outside made for some beautiful photos! Don’t even get me started on that gorgeous golden autumn light. Here, just take a look:

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It was super easy to make them smile or laugh.

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Look at that mother’s love!

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We actually had to bribe Keith for this photo!

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The sun was very cooperative. The light was fantastic!

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Valarie said she found a leaf in her shirt hours after taking this photo. Well worth it!

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Perfect spot for a solo shot (hey, that rhymes!).

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Goofing off in the grass. So much fun! And check out that bling!

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I love, love this family shot! This is so them!

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A few of Keith by himself. He is one good looking kiddo!

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He gets it from his gorgeous mom!

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Thank you Valarie and Keith for spending the day with me! The Olive Garden was delicious, and the company was perfect. I had a blast!