PEZ

You know it's going to be a good day when a little package from Brooklyn arrives at your doorstep. We were just getting back from our nap-time drive when I saw THE BOX. I sprung up the stairs with passed out child in my arms, to run back down and tear THE BOX open. I love getting that box, never know what kind of treat will be inside, but yummie you can count on.
My sis in law is at it again, and this time sadly (though not so sad for us) the goodies were devoured before I remembered to take a pic. Yikes. That sounds bad. I mean it took us about two days to finish the amazing cranberry pumpkin bread, but somehow I kept forgetting to take a pic.
Really the purpose of this box was Halloween goodies for Luke - his first box of Halloween goodies, and I wanted to capture how happy he was opening them. So at least we have that, and since she can't be here to open it with us I thought documenting would be the next best thing. Thanks Bissy!

my superman

MAKING PIZZA

Out of Focus

I'm finally coming around and posting again, this summer I have been out of sorts a little - or you could say out of focus. Summer always makes me feel like I am on vacation, so it's okay to give in to my whimsical schedules and ideas since it's....summer. Anyone relate? I have tons of images to share, but I'll start with this one of little guy happily splashing (and note) with swimmies on arms. A month after I shot this he jumped into a pool without swimmies, and no I didn't have time to capture that one! I followed him right in, fully clothed of course. :) How many of you guys have experienced this? From talking with other moms, my conclusion is that boys are professional pool jumpers and mom scarers, and I'm not sure which one of those comes first. I hope you all had a happy summer!

Happy June

I must say I am thoroughly shocked that it is June 1st. I know that sounds strange, but what's up with Christmas being only 6 months away? Time to book holiday sessions, right?
Speaking of being away - we took a nice long (3 day each way) road-trip. I'm a little late on this one since the trip happened in April, but better late than never. The purpose of the trip was a vacation / photo workshop and I must say the experience was amazing. If anyone out there is thinking about going to Kevin Kubota digital photography boot camp - do it, and do it now! It was so inspiring to hang out with other creative peeps, not to mention photo mama's who are in similar situations of juggling (sometimes not so gracefully:) photography, children, passions and the likes. And it was a boot-camp indeed - learning, shooting, eating and sleeping photography 24/7 for 5 days! Awesome!







Future photographer?

It was awesome to do something different and to shoot a wedding couple! Maybe weddings are on the horizon? Just maybe.....

A Little Boy and His Dog

I have so much to catch you guys up on ; road-trip to Oregon, Kubota boot-camp (photo work-shop) fabulous new photog friends, but before I get to that I wanted to post a few fun images from my last shoot in April.

This is CJ and Bee-Dog.

Bee-Dog made a long treck from Colombia in the cockpit of a commercial airplane (that lucky dog) so he can be CJ's pet.

He is definitely CJ's new best friend, and THE cutest dog ever.

Just look at that face. We had so much fun together on this shoot. Hmmmm, maybe we should get a dog for Luke, ahem..

I'm sure my husband will go for that one.

how awesome is my sister in-law?

My sis in-law sent us this amaaaaazing organic banana tractor cake (she whipped up) oh about a month ago...but I am still dreaming about how yummo it was. It is why I'm posting about it many weeks later, because I think about this cake often. And I also thought it would make a good addition to Luke's real tractor photos. Happy March! Time to come out of winter hibernation and work off that cake!
                                           his cute little face says it all. awesome! thank you!
                                    He didn't eat the whole thing...just grabbed a handful

in a nutshell

                                                                     

                                   ALL BOY


It's raining and yuckie outside, and Luke happens to be also napping so I thought what a perfect time to update the blog! It's been long enough. I have shot so many pics, and kept thinking I was going to post them with stories etc, but days and weeks have come and gone and I will have to do a bit of a rewind. Probably a holiday rewind as well, so I can share a few holiday pics. So instead of getting overwhelmed and not posting anything I'll be doing my posts in reverse, with most recent activities and adventures with Mr. Luke. Hmmm, what have we been up to the past month? 

1. had east coast grandpa over for a visit
2. went to the long beach aquarium
3. had dinner at Benihana where Luke sat through a meal for the first time ever!
4. got diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease
5. watched Luke make his first peanut butter & jelly sandwich, awesome
6. visited west coast grandparents - Luke attempted to clean up horse poop
7. chased after tricycle riding toddler on boardwalk
8. chased after fast tricycle riding toddler on boardwalk 
9. fed lots of duckies at park 
10. thought about updating my blog
11. thought about opening my new best friend (gocco printer)
12. Luke got a haircut 
13. toured a pre school
14. had a play-date
15. got food poisoning 
16. visited west coast grandparents again - Luke drove a tractor with grandpa
17. had dinner with a friend (first time solo in two years :)
18. made a home for kid mattress on floor so toddler can jump, slide, and catch air
19. repeat last activity - at least 10 times per day

So that is it in a nutshell, I may be leaving a few things out and believe it or not I have pics to go along with all these lovely activities. This will help me be more organized with the post. Pics coming soon.

a new year

If you are one of the few lovely people who actually reads this blog, THANK YOU and I wish you all the best in 2009!

The last two months we have been busy baking, wrapping, shipping, shooting, downloading, editing and all that good stuff. And jumping around.....a lot although my job is to do the catching most of the time, as Luke jumps off of something probably too high and dangerous. Oh yeah, and Luke turned 2! I really can't believe how fast these little creatures grow. I have to tell you that although I have weekly pics documenting his growth, changes, messy faces, etc. I really wish I would have been more disciplined to write with the pics, more personal blogging to remember all the little quirky funny things he says now on a daily basis. I am happy that I documented with photos like crazy.  I will go back and post a ton of catch up pics (especially for family) if I don't let my perfectionism get in the way. Just kidding, sort of...:)

Here is my little dude being curious about mommy's ancient medium format camera. Even though this pic is a little grainy I really do love it because it is something I stumbled upon, Luke sitting in our living room quiet and concentrating, which does not happen very often. Notice the one shoe, and the oh-so-clean toes.


                                                more pumpkin muffins please!

I finished the Core studio promos, and now we are ready to go with private sessions, kids head shots and drum roll....PHOTO PARTIES! I had quite a few phone calls asking if or when I will be offering group sessions again and I decided to do something a little different this year. I will announce details as soon as I have everything together. I will probably only do 1 or 2 per month, so please let me know asap if you are interested.

I am also working on a few creative projects, and will be opening an ETSY store soon.

I have to share an inspiring quote that I read in my current favorite book "The Creative Family" by Amanda Blake Soule, 
I highly recommend this book to anyone with children, especially for creative moms. Something to think about for 2009.

If we did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. 

-Thomas Edison

little monkey

This one is for the grandparents. :) So once again we dressed up our little monkey as....a little monkey. Same costume as last year, but hey the size is 12-24 months, and the pants were only a wee bit short. That's sort of creative right? At least he was warm and cozy in it. We took Luke to a local Halloween stroll, full of bouncy houses and adorable toddlers in costumes. There were plenty of hugs, kisses and high fives going around. As soon as we pulled up I spotted this cute mural in a parking lot, and I just had to use it as a backdrop.

beautiful family

This gorgeous family of four is a recent fave session. Pssst, don't tell anyone! You can't help but notice the love & bond between them, it makes me happy that I played a tiny role in documenting a part of their lives.

look at this handsome little dude...


and his stunning big sis.

a few favorites

Just a few current favorite images I am working on. What do you guys think of the textures in the background? Would love some feedback. Happy Sunday!

wow, new post!

Ok, so I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. :) I have been blessed with many photo sessions since March, and I am doing my best juggling taking care of a toddler (who is sick right now) :( running a photo business, shooting, orders, printing, shipping, and all the glorious things that come with doing what you love! Oh yeah, and I'm also going to be setting up camp (studio) at the core which I am super excited about! Luke was in bed by 9 pm tonight, (10 ish is his usual) so I had just a few extra minutes to update with a favorite pic from this past Saturday. This little girl was such a ham, very sweet and animated. :) This was a fun image to work with. More images to come.

happy mama's day!

I just love lilacs, and I couldn't resist sharing them with you guys.
Take some time out for yourself today.

Color vs BW

Decisions, decisions. This is one of my fave images from the PV Hills shoots, and I wanted to post in color and b/w to show off the difference. It is amazing how the same image can differ so much, based on color choices in the photo. I just love playing around with color, but I also love a classic b/w. If you are trying to figure out which images to order and display, definitely think about the many options you have when it comes to choosing your priceless pics. :)

another fave image from the core shoots

How adorable and sweet is this little girl? I just love this image.

core studio sessions

So these are the first sneak peeks from our core studio sessions. Thanks everyone for participating and for letting me run with my imagination. We really got some truly fun images, I can't wait to hear the feedback. I have been playing around with storyboards lately, and will soon be offering this option to clients. Keep checking back for info on that. I will also be launching the new website soon, I will keep you posted. It's really up to Luke how much I get to work on it. :)
This little girl is a mini comedian, she is so full of personality!

Happy Spring!

Just a reminder to live, laugh and love.

beach time, fun time, nap time

The title sums it all up! We are hanging out at the beach quite often these days - so happy spring is here!
My little guy is 15 months old today, and he has recently discovered smoothies!

spending time with his lady friends...


This little boy has to run around quite a bit to work off his energy, so....doing laps in the sand has been great for him.
And this is the result.

Brand new WEBSITE and studio details coming soon....and Core shoots coming up which I am so excited about!