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▣ Amigos :-) | Children's Portraits
A few months ago I got to spend the evening with some of my very favorite smiling faces :-) Jake and Sydney with their cousin Kate (goose) and her new baby brother Aaron ! We met up at grandma's house for the second year in a row. I've been photographing these smiles since BEFORE kindergarten.
Syd - currently all she wants for christmas is her two front teeth :-)
Big brother Jake - they are "pretending to like each other" for these photos. Because everyone knows it is tremendously uncool to be friends with your little sister when you are a five year old boy ;-) (Actually I think he might be six now... they grow up so fast !)
Kate :-) So grown up now and going into first grade this fall. What happened to the pre-school years?
And now the three amigos are four! Aaron is now walking and talking and running all over the yard. Kate's hair is soooo long - everyone is growing up fast.
Jake :-) Now a video game master!
More siblings "pretending to like each other" ;-) Even if they say they don't always like each other (Aaron sometimes takes it personally when Kate tries to help him do things - he likes to do things himself) there is lots of love there.
Little girl secrets :-)
Jake was convinced that tough guys don't smile. So these few shots took some real doing!
Aaron: curious, inquisitive. He ponders a lot :-)
He has a perfect little smirky giggle. He knows he's a charmer!
One of my favorite shots of the summer.
Dear Goose, I hope you are liking school !
1 Comment added to this post ▣ Open Season for Seniors
Just a few last minute seniors from June who actually waited until AFTER graduation to get their photos done! I've got more of these to show off, but I'm on my may out the door for Scot and Aimee's wedding today!
This is Cole and his dog, Bella :-)
I feel like Bella is always laughing a little in photos - she offsets Cole who is the strong silent type.
Then there was Grant, he perfected the "happy serious but not smiling" look.
He graduated this past June and will be entering the military later this year. Good wishes to you Grant for safe travels!
Just a reminder - it's open season on senior portraits! Schedule your appointment today for July through October!
Check out our calendar by clicking on the Availability tab at the top of this page!
Have a great weekend everybody :-) 2 Comments added to this post ▣ Anna & James | getting married!
I'm so excited to share this session with everyone! On this blog we talk a lot about Anna, my photo partner in crime, but you never get SEE her ! Lucky for me she is getting married this September and I got to do an engagement session for her and James. It's always interesting to take someone who spends all their time behind the camera and thrust them in front of it. (I know I don't particularly care for it when it happens to me ;-) But I do think it's a good experience and it really helps you work better with people in front of the camera when you've been out there yourself and understand how they feel.
Who knows? After I get married and wear the big white dress, I might be able to relate to brides on a whole new level ! (Ok, that could be scary.... ;-)
Also - as photographers we suffer from not taking enough personal pictures and not doing enough to document our own lives and love. Kind of a "the cobblers children have no shoes" kind of syndrome. I am on a mission to change that.
Having worked on so many photo sessions and being a wedding blog stalker (I'm also guilty there) - Anna knew exactly what she and James were going for and put a ton of thought into their session with great outfits and lots of cool props. I love it when couples bring props! We started the evening with sort of a vintage picnic scene.
They brought along some antique books, an old picnic basket, a quilt I borrowed from Sean's mom, and James' pipe.
If you knew Anna and James personally, you would get the extra humor in the bottom left photo here :-)
When we were done with our picnic, we switched outfits and headed to the nearest willow tree.
But this is what I was really waiting for. I love this field, I took Shaylyn and Sam here for their engagement photos last summer. A whole bunch of ideas kind of clashed together in my head, the fact that Anna used to live in Oklahoma, the gold waving grasses, the red dress she brought along that was James' favorite, and of course - Oklahoma! the musical which was my favorite in high school. There was some bad singing during this section of the session ;-)
They also get major bravery points for trekking so far out into this field with grass that was almost taller than Anna in some places. It was the golden equation at work again: time for photos + trust in your photographer = amazing images. I wore shorts because it was hot out and it was definitely worth the poison ivy I got to get these images.
Anna brought along some of her vintage camera collection, which I loved. The sky was just perfect for a summer sunset.
One of my favorites.
This might be my favorite out of the whole session.
They make such a great couple always laughing - I spied on Anna from a distance and caught her happy and relaxed.
As the light was fading, we were waiting around for just the right level of darkness so that I could try out a new idea I wanted to experiment with. Prepare yourselves - this will be just as cool or even cooler than The Water/Flower shot.
TA DA !! I give you: Secret Flame !
This is like blue steel and magnum... and believe it or not we didn't get burned or set anything on fire which surprised me. I was like, "guys - I have this idea but I don't know if you'll burn your hands. If it starts to hurt just drop everything on the ground and run." I love the way it turned out.
Mmmmmm......Secret Flame !
Thanks guys for a great session ! 6 Comments added to this post ▣ Julia | 2010 | thoughts about scenery
Sharing with you some senior pictures tonight. This was Julia's senior session in May along the river in Kittanning. Tonight was a beautiful evening. I had a really fun session with some of my favorite kids (the three amigos) plus their baby brother/cousin. Finished early and had an hour before dark - took a long drive home. It was a beautiful evening. I am always awed by the way the sun sets in the summer like everything has melted butter on it. I love my little town and the way the light falls on the cornfields and lines of oats and the backs of black and white cows moseying through their pastures. There were so many deer out tonight with velvet still on their antlers. I came home and popped the Ken Burns - Lewis and Clark documentary in the dvd player. Here's the introduction to the film - make sure you have your sound on. It's a breathtaking look at a pivotal moment in American history when everything was young and new and anything was possible.
Julia along the docks on the river.
I couldn't resist venturing into town for some shots with some 'tude .
Julia is such a beautiful girl, her smile makes people want to smile too.
I loved this little series in the grass - (I should point out that Julia had her older sister along with her whose senior pictures I did a few years back to help out, and I had my sister Ashley with me to hold my reflector and always provide comic relief.) These three shots in the grass kind of represent all sides of Julia.
Very Lewis and Clark along the Allegheny River on a late spring evening. Julia climbed out on the rocks in her bare feet and my sister stood on the dock downstream measuring and adjusting the light with the reflector. I stood in the shallows contemplating how much I am blessed to have the opportunity to combine great people with beautiful scenery and freeze little scenes in time.
Congratulations Julia on your graduation - your future is as bright as your smile !
1 Comment added to this post ▣ Emily & Brian - frisbee, smores, and getting married!
Catching up! Last week Anna and I went to meet Emily and Brian at the park. When I asked Emily how they had met, she said they met at the park playing frisbee and then talked for the rest of the night at a bonfire making smores.
So we decided for engagement pictures - that all sounded like fun. And we should just do that.
So we did :-)
I loved their fun bright orange outfits! They brought along a brightly colored beach blanket from Brian's mom and we hung out on the grass. They love to laugh and crack each other up constantly.
Taking a break from giggles we tried for a romantic moment - I thought they did well :-D Then promptly cracked up all over again. Anna and I were in stitches, thank goodness the park was mostly empty.
Emily and I decided the cute little sundress was beautiful, but cramping her style. I understood - I'm a jeans girl myself ;-) And then we hiked through the park and found a field of daisies. Definitely not skirt territory anyways.
Love the sunsets in June..
They brought along a frisbee that had their wedding logo painted on it, a heart made from two hands. I told them we could not possibly pose frisbee pictures and therefore we would have to have action shots! We also discovered that Anna's athletic talents are not frisbee oriented. (She did gymnastics as a kid ;-)
Emily even let Brian almost catch the frisbee once in a while!
Two hands, one heart.
Then it was a short drive to Brian's parents' house for SMORES.
HOW COOL IS THAT FOR A PHOTO SESSION. LIKE WHOA. Fire? check. Food? check. Fun activity? double check.
But we had to wait till it got dark.
I love this one - Anna was standing by with the stick "making sparks". Emily said they looked like a little LL Bean catalog.
I agree.
I can't believe we have to wait all the way till NEXT JUNE for the wedding !
Thanks for a great time :-D
2 Comments added to this post ▣ Kelley & Nathan - it was destiny
Sorry this post is late today! I was wedding dress shopping this morning and house shopping this afternoon. (My personal life To Do list dwarfs my work To Do list and that list as long as my leg.)
Meet Kelley and Nathan ! And guess what - they are getting ready for their honeymoon! They were married last saturday in Indiana, PA - but these photos were taken 2 weeks ago. It was so cool - they used these photos as table number cards for their reception! I'll show you more whenever I post the wedding.
I traveled to the IUP campus where it all began for some shots around the Oak Grove. I love the old buildings with their porches. If I had been a student there I would have definitely claimed one for studying. Kelley and Nathan are such a sweet couple and you can tell they have so much love for eachother. Definitely best friends :-)
After a quick outfit change to glamorous - we posed as modelquins on the steps of the old theatre.
Totally stylish - and Kelley has fantastic taste in shoes. Rawr!
On the steps of the library.
Ok - the story of destiny: Kelley and Nathan met at IUP university inside the building in the top left photo. They met in class together, but I wanted to be very corny and have a little mock 'reenactment' of their first meeting in the doorway of the building where it all began.
More of those cool porches.
Did I mention the giant porches are furnished with old wooden rockers? While we were taking this shot I was telling them about how I think it would be a really special wedding present for a husband to get his wife a set of rocking chairs. As if to say - 'grow old with me. I want you to sit with me on the porch and spend time with me. Just sitting with you makes me happy.' (Hopeless sentimental alert!)
Ok - sorry I got mushy there..
We had a great time at the Oak Grove and got all excited for the wedding and then last weekend they were married! Happy one week anniversary!! I can't wait to post the wedding photos!
1 Comment added to this post ▣ Derek & Kaley - engaged :-)
Continuing the week long engagement session extravaganza - are Derek and Kaley whose engagement photos we shot last month at Twin Lakes Park. They got major bonus points for bringing props!! They had a whole bag with them including 3 outfits, bubbles, sparklers, and wooden letters that we used to spell out their names on the boardwalk. And of course - some fabulous bling worthy of being shown off :-)
We started off in their most dressy outfit because that's usually the most challenging (I have a habit of asking folks to "sit on the ground, stand in the lake, ok now climb this tree!"). All things which can be challenging in a skirt and heels. In the shot on the right, Anna is completely hidden behind the big tree providing a little extra fill light :-)
Possibly my favorite of the day if I didn't have so many other favorites. They are such a beautiful couple - I wish their wedding was sooner!
After a quick outfit and location change, we busted out the bubbles and they got silly. I love it when couples loosen up, relax, and hang out - after all photos are fun! (Seriously. I know there are a lot of you out there reading this thinking "my guy does not like photos. I do not like how I look in photos. I will not enjoy this experience." Not true! Just trust me - we will have a good time and at the end of it you'll leave with a smile and possibly a craving for ice cream.)
Derek and Kaley were psyched from the get go and we had so much fun!
If you haven't figured it out by now from the photos, these guys laugh a lot - and it's one of my favorites things about them.
And now! The bling - ** WARNING you made need protective eyewear to view the following photo **
*gasp!* I know. 8-O
And now for some FIRE ! They brought some small sparklers along and we needed a dark place to light them for some shots. Since it was still daylight out, we went into a thick grove of pine trees where it was very dim and fired up the sparks! We got 8 shots in before they burned out and then did the mexican hat dance all over the forest floor which was covered in dry dead leaves! ** disclaimer - no park was injured in the making of these photos.
And now that you see how much fun they are - you have to wait all the way till October of NEXT YEAR to see them again! They will be married in Holiday Park and party at Alcoma Country Club. Have a great year of planning!
3 Comments added to this post ▣ Kari & Andy - engaged !
I've decided that everyday from now until the weekend I'm going to post a different engagement session !
I've got so many good ones that I've been keeping under wraps and now it's time to show them off ! Wedding season is in full swing and all of these couples are looking forward to their happy day!
Without further yammering - meet Kari & Andy :-) I went to high school with Kari's older sister, Laurel, and we had a ton of great times together. There were bonfires and barn parties, talks about boys, the summer I had a crush on her cousin from Florida, one trip to Toronto, and a trip to New York City. There's still a photo of us somewhere waiting for the Ellis island ferry smiling into the camera with the World Trade Center in the background. And now her "baby sis" is all growed up and getting married. I can't believe it's been so long.
Kari & Andy make a great couple - we met at Kari's parent's home last fall for their engagement photos at the barn and in the field behind the house.
Fun story - we took this photo actually a few feet from Kari's first deer stand.
Love this one in the field.
We dug through the house and found some sidewalk chalk to get this shot for their save-the-dates on the little backroad in front of the house. Stole the pumpkins off the porch, and the sunset made a great sky.
I can't wait to see everyone this fall and be there when you guys tie the knot ! Only 3 more months! 1 Comment added to this post ▣ Khyrsten
This post has two parts put together in one -the first is Khyrsten's senior pictures which we shot late last summer near Harrison City. We met her along with her mom and grandma at the park and then traveled around town for some variety!
She has the most unbelievable eyes!
Khyrsten really put a lot of time into planning her session and choosing her outfits. She had several wardrobe changes and even brought along her pet bunny, her CD collection, and her Dad's El Camino! It was great having her mom and grandma right there to help out too!
Cool car!!
We finished out the evening with her guitar collection at an abandoned set of tracks in Export. I did a little grunge vintage post processing work here.
************* Fast forward - BLOOP BLOOP BLOOP ******************* to last friday when I met up with Khyrsten again just before her senior prom!
You may notice something different about her dress - it is made entirely out of pop tabs! That's right, she designed it herself and it is constructed out of (i think this was the number) over seven thousand pop tabs!!
Some dress details :-) She also made her own jewelry.
What an achievement! I hope it was comfortable to dance in... hope you and your date had a great time at prom!
2 Comments added to this post ▣ Snow ball fight !
Who says snow days can't be fun? This was a fun session from last month during the big snowmageddon. You might recognize Bethany and Chad - they were married in October 2008 and we were there too !!! Recently they moved into a new house and wanted to take some pictures to commemorate.
We started out inside where it was warm :-)
Gavin showed me his new room with his plane and his telescope and his fish !
Then we bundled up and headed out into the yard to play in the snow. Gavin has a very cool snowball maker...
A very COLD family portrait with Danny the dog. It was super sunny that day and the glare off the ice was blinding!
Danny the dog guarding the bench.
Everyone worked together to make a snow man.
When fingers and toes were frozen, it was time to go back inside for hot chocolate. Thanks for letting me spend the afternoon with you guys, it was great!!
2 Comments added to this post ▣ Late Summer Seniors
I thought maybe you would like to see some flowers and greenery before we go back to winter. A nice visual break :-)
Just a few more seniors from late summer before the leaves started to change.
Megan - Burrell High School- we wandered around the park for her session.
Celia - Kiski Area- toured the historic district for her photos and even played in the river!
Lindsey - Kittaning High School - hung out at the park playground for a totally silly fun session :-)
Graduation is just around the corner - start planning and order announcements early!
1 Comment added to this post ▣ Fun at the farm - Lingrow Portrait Day 2009At long last - I know these pictures were literally ages ago - all the way back in June. (That's how far behind this blog is - I really will catch up though!) The Lingrow Portrait Day was a big big success and as usual I had a blast spending the afternoon out in the sunshine with some familiar faces, and some new friends. Although no one brought a fishing pole, and I never found the inflatable orange couch I wanted - it was still a great day for photos.
Meet the Kingera's :-) They were married last fall at Lingrow Farm and unfortunately I was already booked for their date and wasn't able to be there with them. How lucky am I though that they decided to come back for a visit and some "belly shots" as they await the arrival of their first little one :-)
Of course I asked if they were waiting for a boy or a girl - Julie said she thought it was a girl, but her husband is convinced that it was a boy. He "saw the sonogram photo - and trust him - that was no girl " ;-) Either way they are waiting until the delivery date to find out - SO EXCITING! Actually - since these photos were in early June - they might already know! And if they don't yet - they'll definitely be finding out soon. Julie - if you read the blog - How are you guys???
Familiar faces back again were the Emili's :-) This post will just be loaded with little emoticon smileys of every variety so just smile along with them. Everytime we get together we have fun and get to catch up on the latest - they are expecting another grandchild for next year!
Do not. Do not ever. Play cards with these girls.
More familiar faces and friends as the day went on. If any of you were reading last year - you'll remember the three amigos Kate, Syd, & Jake. Well they were back this year and brought along Kate's brand new brother and the latest addition to the family, Aaron. Kate is a whole new persona as a big sister and takes her job very seriously.
Very very seriously. I love this picture.
Still getting used to having such a tiny person around - I asked her and she said he still can't play soccer yet and he screams a lot - Kate is sometimes wary of him when he's fussy. But here I asked her to tell him a story to make him feel better. She was telling him how much she loved carrots and he would too.
And then the cousins arrived and the amigos were a quartet! It was so good to see Syd & Jake feeling happy and healthy and playing in the grass. It hasn't been an easy year so far for them, but they're doing great. Jake was very proud of his missing tooth - apparently the tooth fairy was very generous ;-)
Aaron has no idea yet how his life will take shape surrounded by these three. A big sister and two cousins to be both a family and a friend. Always there to beat up bullies and yell for mom over spilled bubbles and skinned knees.
Being a kid should last at least the first 50 years of life.
There's one month left of summer - don't miss it.
2 Comments added to this post ▣ Announcing!
Greetings! We are very happy to announce for the second year in a row - Family Portrait Day at Lingrow Farm! Here are the details and a few images from last year!
THE FINE PRINT * This event is hosted by Photography by Amanda Wilson and we are grateful that Lingrow Farm is allowing us to use their fantastic facility - HOWEVER if you have questions, need directions, or want to book a session please contact ME :-) There are a lot of friendly, hard working, talented folks out at Lingrow who are happy to share the grounds with us but are very busy making sure every wedding and event scheduled there is perfect, so please contact ME with all of your portrait day inquiries ! * This event is WEATHER PERMITTING - if it's raining we'll have to cancel and reschedule for later in the fall. * What to wear/bring? Almost anything! Wear whatever you like - earth tones and jewel tones look the best outside - just keep in mind that we will be outside so dress for the weather and keep in mind that while we're out we are very likely to sit on the ground, play in the grass, etc. As far as props - I want to see some creativity! (No ice sculptures though...) Fun ideas - picnic blanket, football, flowers, matching accessories, sunglasses, hats, fishing poles (no hooks please). I am currently on the hunt for a small sofa or armchair that is a really bright color to borrow and use for outside portraits. * Rules and Regulations - I LOVE KIDS and CRAZY FUN but I want everyone to be safe. The grounds are extensive and there is a lake so please please keep a close watch on your munchkins.
If you're interested, call for an appointment TODAY!
1 Comment added to this post ▣ Westmoreland Museum
Meet the staff of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art! They are proud to be celebrating their 50th anniversary this year and had me come out to visit and take a group photo for their annual publication. They were a great bunch tolerating all of my bad jokes.
I'll have the privilege to spend the evening with them for their annual gala event on May 30th! (Where I will probably subject people to more of my bad jokes). Yikes! 0 Comments added to this post ▣ Donna & Mike's E-session
With wedding season just around the corner, it's a great time to shoot engagement sessions! Last month I met Donna & Mike at the log cabin in Boyce Park for some fun photos. They will be married this October at Lingrow Farm and I can't wait to see their fall themed wedding! Aside from just having great photos of yourselves as a couple, an engagement session is the perfect opportunity to get used to the idea of being photographed before the wedding day. With all the new creative ideas to incorporate photos into your guestbook, your favors, table cards, thank you notes, stamps, etc., an E-session might be just the thing to spark your DIY inspiration!
Donna is going to be SUCH a gorgeous bride :-)
They're so cute together and you can tell they genuinely enjoy each other's company. 0 Comments added to this post ▣ New Arrivals
Last month I had the privilege of spending an afternoon with the Wright family at their home as they awaited the arrival of their first baby! Ironically, it was superbowl sunday to be exact so there was much steeler talk around the TV. The Wright's had received a gift certificate at their baby shower for some pre-arrival belly photos as well as baby's first photos once he arrives :-) It's a great gift idea to commemorate a life changing event for the amazing and beautiful experience that it is when love creates a life.
I know there are not many women who are loving their bodies at 9 months pregnant, but bellies are beautiful!
They are a fun fantastic couple and I know they will make great parents!
Gina had some great ideas for photos. She especially loved black and white. She has a beautiful sillhouette standing by the window in the nursery.
I loved this red wall in their dining room.
I am pleased to announce that the Wright's welcomed their first child, a healthy baby boy barely a week after we shot these photos! Talk about cutting it close :-D I can't wait to meet him in the next few months! Congratulations! 1 Comment added to this post ▣ Jess & Ed Engaged!
Jessica and Ed are getting married this May ! We met the week before christmas at the overlook at Mt. Washington at the place where Ed had proposed to do some engagement pictures. An engagement session is a great idea for two reasons:
They told me the story of his proposal. Ed brought her up the incline to see the city lights, then they walked up the sidewalk to the nearest overlook. Ed had enlisted the help of Jess's girlfriends who decorated the platform with a ring of candles and flower petals. (Then they hid in the bushes across the street with their cameras!) Ed brought her to the middle of the glowing circle of lights, got down on one knee, and asked her to marry him. And she said yes!
Eventhough we were just reenacting it for a photo - we had several onlookers pointing and smiling and getting out their own cameras. Even a few tourists who didn't speak english hung around just to see what would happen next. Love is contagious, everybody wants to be a part of it :-)
They are so cute together!
Stay tuned for photos from their wedding coming in May!
1 Comment added to this post ▣ Family Photos
I was lucky enough to photograph the C family and this little munchkin for the third year in a row! Although for four years old she's becoming quite a grown up young lady. This year was our best so far! For any families out there feeling despair over trying to get nice pictures of your 2 or 3 year old - it will be Ok. My friend the munchkin here was less then thrilled to have her photo taken when she was two and three and at times we wondered if it would ever be possible. But there's hope! Four years old is a magical age :-) Kids go back to being happy to have their photo taken (like they were when they were 1 and loved cameras). She was fantastic this year and had the best smile!
If you have a two or three year old who won't hold still - just be patient! The light at the end of the tunnel is just around the corner! Just remember that kids will be kids and they're only little like this for a while. Years from now their squirmy giggly antics which frustrated you now will be a treasured memory.
0 Comments added to this post ▣ Pros and Cons of Photos in the Snow
This winter I've been getting a lot of calls and emails from folks who are interested in photos in the snow. They've been inspired by our particularly beautiful winter season of deeper snows and longer icicles this year. I agree - the morning of a fresh snow or an afternoon of dancing snowflakes is gorgeous - especially from my window with my giant mug of hot tea. There are some serious challenges that come with shooting photos in the snow. CONS
(By the way - this is Sam. We did her senior photos just before christmas. We met at a lake near Sarver and froze our butts off! She was already sick and I felt awful for making her stand and smile in a sweater while I had on my heavy coat and 2 pairs of pants.) PROS
Keep the Pros and Cons in mind when you schedule your session - if snow is your thing we'll be right there with you! Just make sure you dress warm and prepare to play in the snow for a short session!
1 Comment added to this post ▣ Andryka Kids
Every christmas for the past three years I've had the privilege to take the annual photo for the Andryka family christmas card. In the past we've set up a christmas themed background, we've done it in front of the christmas tree in the living room - and this year we decided to think outside the box. Actually, outside the house! We visited the local park where there was just a dusting of snow on the ground and found ourselves in a full scale white out in the first 15 minutes!
It was freezing cold along the river with the wind driving the snow at us. I'm sure we were quite a spectacle hiding in the van warming up and then sending one kid out at time and getting them all in position for the picture and then yanking their coat away and telling them "don't look cold!" snapping three pictures and sending them racing back to the van with their coats to tag their sibling for their turn.
If you look at the background you can get an idea of how hard it was snowing - we couldn't even see the river anymore! Instead of being upset we were thrilled - this was like special effects!
These kids get taller and smarter and cuter every year I see them! We had so much fun that day in the snow! We might not have taken the standard "perfect" studio portrait - but I think the photos this year tell a better story of how perfect it is to be a kid at christmas time.
Thanks for playing outside! 0 Comments added to this post ▣ Beacom Family
Meet the Beacom family! We spent the evening at their house just before christmas getting some shots for their christmas card with their new baby. They were the lucky recipients of a gift certificate for photos at their baby shower!
1 Comment added to this post ▣ Best Friends, Sisters, and Senior Year
I always encourage seniors to bring along props to their session. And by props I mean anything from your trombone to your dog to your 5 best friends. Some of my favorite props ever seen at a session were #1 a kayak, #2 a garage band, and #3 a giant golden retriever! Last fall I met with Sabrina and Maria (best friends) at Sabrina's house for senior photos individually and together! Sabrina's sister also came along to hang out and get some fun shots.
Sabrina with her sister.
We had great color with the leaves just past their peak!
Best friends together!
Ths is Maria
We crawled through the barb wire fence to get into the overgrown field across the street from Sabrina's house.
0 Comments added to this post ▣ Marcoz Family
Meet the Marcoz family! Sean and I were lucky enough to have met them at Renee and Mufutau's wedding last May and then they invited us to visit them this past fall to take some photos for their christmas card. We hung out at the park and played in the leaves all afternoon.
They were great! 0 Comments added to this post ▣ Holiday NEWS!
Important holiday deadline information! If you're ordering photos from your session online, the deadline for christmas delivery is Monday December 15th at 6pm. You must place your order by then and have your payment in the mail. Since the postal service is moving a little slower than normal with all the christmas cards and letters to santa in circulation, please choose Fed Ex delivery to guarantee you'll have it on time. We will be out of the office from December 18th to the 26th, shooting the Mason-Bridges wedding on the 27th and then back to business as usual on the 29th.
This is baby James - we met him last week and did some christmas photos with him and his family for his very first christmas. He makes a pretty cute santa :-)
0 Comments added to this post ▣ the family that plays together
Two weeks ago we had an outdoor session with an awesome family (too many lastnames to list them all!) at Lingrow Farm in Leechburg, PA. Three generations came together to play football and hang out in the big backyard behind the barn. If you recognize familiar faces - that's Laura & Matt the newlyweds on the far left with their new puppy Sonic!
Baby Quentin with his aunt Rachel. Image by Sean.
This family is serious about Steeler pride - reenacting the flag raising of Iwo Jima.
Just goofing around :-)
After some fun with the football and a quick outfit change, we headed down to the lake.
Debbie and Greg - proud ring leaders of this bunch!
Ok - I can't take any credit for coming up with this idea, it was all their own and I LOVED it! They brought all of their own props and outfits and we set it all up in the field. Since they are celebrating Laura & Matt's marriage and baby Quentin as a new addition to the family tree, we said their christmas cards should read: "our family is a work in progress" or "under construction".
What a cool group and a great afternoon!! Extra points for thinking outside the box!!
1 Comment added to this post ▣ better together
A few weeks back we traveled to Sewickley to see our friends Tim & Ashley. Since grown-up working life doesn't allow for much fun time - we hadn't really hung out since this wild camping trip a few years back. (In which we got lost, arrived at the campground well after dark, and went hunting for an open site with a flashlight. Even though there were 400+ sites in the campground there were only 3 left and about 5 other cars circling around with their flashlights trying to see them all, pick one out, and then race back to the main office and get their name stamped on one.) Good times, good times. That was the same trip the park ranger yelled at Sean and I for swimming in the lake beyond the safety buoy, and we got hit with a monsoon rainstorm. Sometimes a little catastrophe is necessary to the spirit of the trip. No one ever remembers the trips that went smoothly. Ashley's family hosted a luau at their home in Sewickley to celebrate their engagement and it was a great chance for both families and the wedding party to hang out and have fun! We snuck away to the edge of the yard for some fun pictures.
Ashley & Tim with Tim's grandma
Congratulations! This is only the beginning of more happiness to come!
0 Comments added to this post ▣ small miracles
ATTENTION - YOU CAN HELP.
Meet Sydney, Jake, and Kate. Sydney and Jake are brother and sister and Kate is their cousin (best friend too). Last week I met these kids at their grandparents' house for a relaxed photo session in the grass. Please read this entire post and share it with your friends. These are amazing kids who could use your help. Please read on...
Jake is 5 years old, he is currently battling leukemia. Leukemia is a form of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. His weekly treatments involve painful spinal taps and many pill-form medications. He's exhausted nearly every day and can't enjoy playing outside the way most kids his age do on a daily basis. He will continue his weekly treatments for a whole year and then maintainence treatments for 2 years after that. The survival rate for his age group is 80%.
Sydney is 3 years old. She was born with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). People who suffer from PCD do not have functioning cilia in their lungs. (Anatomy lesson for those who don't remember from high school - your cilia are wavy microscopic hair-like little organs in your lungs that help keep dust, dirt and germs out of your respiratory system.) Most often cilia are damaged or killed by heavy smoking in adults. However, Sydney was born without functioning cilia to begin with. She suffers from frequent infections in her lungs, ears, throat, and sinuses. These constant infections can cause scarring, damage to her ears and sinuses, or even block her airway. Although there is a large spectrum of severity in PCD cases, aggressive treatment and lung transplants in the future will help her live a long and productive life.
This is Jake and Sydney's cousin and best friend, Kate. She is blessed with good health. You might remember her from Renee and Mufutau's wedding. She was one of their flower girls. I can't wait to watch these three kids grow up together :-)
What can you do to help these three amigos?
Sponsored by: Kiddies Korner Nursery School Where? Roaring Run River Trail, Apollo When? Saturday, August 16, 2008 Registration starts at 9:00 AM Walk begins at 10:00 AM Chinese Auction at 12:00 Noon Live Music, Refreshments, Kids’ Activities Event held rain or shine! Why? All tax-deductible donations will ease the financial burden for a family with a 5 year old son battling leukemia and 3 year old daughter diagnosed with a rare lung disease. . Who to Contact? Melissa Whitlinger at 478-4437 or sjwalkathon@yahoo.com For more info (including list of auction items), go to www.roaringrun.org, click their "events" link.
All participants are asked to bring their collected donations in the registration envelope on walk day. These envelopes are available at Kiddies' Korner and all Sprankle's Markets, or one can be mailed to you. Registration starts at 9:00 AM, and the walk begins at 10:00 AM. Participants will enjoy a beautiful walk on the trail, live music, refreshments, and plenty of activities for the kids. The Chinese auction has wonderful prizes, including Steeler tickets, Pirate tickets, and so much more. Auction winners will be announced at 12:00.
For more information, please call Melissa Whitlinger at 478-4437, email sjwalkathon@yahoo.com, or visit www.roaringrun.org and click on their "events" link.
How will donations be spent? Jake & Sydney's family faces a long and difficult road. Your donations will ease some of their burden. Funds will be used to pay for their frequent trips to the hospital, to help recover income lost due to missed days at work. Also to make home improvements such as converting their home to all hard surfaces, and installing special filters on their heating and air systems.
YOU CAN HELP RIGHT NOW! We can't make it to the Walk-a-thon next weekend because we'll be with Leah and Josh shooting their wedding, so we've devised another way to help. For every person who comments on this post between now and midnight August 16th we will make a donation to the family on behalf of each one of you. If you do attend the Walk-a-thon there is a chinese auction where you can bid to win a free photo session and a free 8x10 from us! If you are like us and are unable to attend the walk, you can make a difference right now by commenting on this post and sending it to all of your friends and asking them to comment as well. Just click on the green "comments" link at the bottom left of this post, fill in your email and leave a few words of support for Jake and Sydney and their family. It's that easy.
"One hundred years from now, - Unknown
50 Comments added to this post ▣ grasyn isabel
I love to photograph babies. Grasyn Isabel is just a few months old and already she has her own personality. Imagine what all of this looks like to her? Everyday she is discovering new colors and shadows and sounds. She thinks about each of them very intently, and seems to decide that as long as Mom and Dad are around, that everything is OK. Babies show you the world from a whole different perspective. They can make small spaces seem enormous. I wonder what she will think when she sees snow for the very first time this winter. There are so many big moments ahead of her!
This one made me laugh out loud when I found it in my editing. We've finally got all the kids looking in one direction and we're singing the Dora the Explorer song and don't-blink-smile-but-not-too-much-think-happy-thoughts !! -- And then there's Grasyn completely unimpressed by all of our antics who just yawns.
I told you she thinks intently.
Finally a smile at the very end of the night!!
1 Comment added to this post ▣ lingrow farm family portrait day
We traveled to Lingrow Farm for portraits this past Sunday and were pleased to be joined by the Dilick's, the Vigna's and the Meighan's! Lingrow Farm is an amazing spot for a wedding reception, reunion, or any event. The main feature is the 1800s barn that was completely restored to be an elegant air conditioned venue with a touch of country class. Since there was a graduation party at the barn that day, we decided to explore the grounds which have unlimited and awesome photo opportunities from the fields, to the lake, the farm house steps, there's tons to see! The Meighan's were the last family of the day just before the sun set and are always fun to hang out with! - (I realize I'm posting these in reverse order, but I haven't quite got the hang of this blog interface yet, so bear with me).
This was the last shot of the day - and I LOVE it!! He gave me a big 1-2-3 ta da!
He has the best personality too - full of energy and spunk!
Meet the Vigna's! They were real troopers - in a massive display of unprofessionalism I was kind of squatting with one foot in the lake trying to get a good angle on the shot I was taking and my foot got stuck in the mud. Not just kind of stuck - STUCK. In fact, I was unable to get myself unstuck. I had to hand the camera off and they were able to pull me out but when the mud let go of my foot it kind of slurped free and my shoe flung mud all over the place and my foot was somewhere in the middle of it. I was SO EMBARASSED!! They were great though and told me not to worry.
The girls were on the move!
This was such a great moment between brother and sister - she was running around all over the place but was so gentle with her baby brother.
Meet the Dilick family! They were the first brave group of the day wiling to be out in the hot sun at 4pm with tons of humidity. These brothers had a great time throwing pebbles in the lake and watching for the frogs.
I love this shot - we gave the boys a 5 minute break to play in the grass after all of the patient sitting still they had been doing.
Thank so much to all the families who came out and let me into your lives and into your family for the afternoon. I can't think of a better way to spend the day ! I hope to see you all again soon!
1 Comment added to this post |
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