pascale wowak photoblog

UNPLUG DAY

My friend Jodie over at Jodified sent me an invitation (challenge?) in early May to participate in an unplug day.  The premise is as follows (excerpt from invitation):

I am emailing you today b/c A. you are a fellow photographer B. you are creative and USE photos in your craft and C. you have a blog!

And the reason is b/c there is this idea to UNPLUG. For just one day.

No computer. No phone. No tv. Nothing. 

The idea is that it is OK to step away from the iPhone. Or Twitter. Or Google Reader. Or EMAIL for just one day. The plugged in world will be waiting when you get back the next day!

How many times have you told your kids to wait a second while you finished emailing someone? Or reading a blog? How many beautiful days have you missed while working on the computer?

Or is it just me?

Stacy Julian, Tami Proffitt Photograhy and Nickel City Studios are on board among a TON of others and I would love you to consider UNPLUGGING for just ONE day this month, May, and then blogging about it on June 1st!

I think spreading the message with words+photos that IT IS OK to take a day OFF and just LIVE is powerful. Spreading the idea of simplicity. 

Here is where I blogged about it if you want more info:  http://jodified.typepad.com/a_mom_and_her_camera/2009/05/the-big-simple-idea.html

And here is where Stacy Julian blogged about it:  http://stacysbigpicture.typepad.com/altogether_too_happy/2009/05/unplug.html

I really think, especially for creative people who run their own businesses, this idea of unplugging can be powerful. 

Thanks for your time!
jodie

  

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I know I spend entirely too much time at the computer whether it be returning emails, editing images or posting blog posts (which all take up a ridiculous amount of time).  And that doesn't even factor in all the time I spend in my home office doing my bookkeeping, office stuff, preparing my client's packages, dealing with various work related chores etc....  And THEN throw in some Facebook time and perusing of my favorite blogs and honestly, it can sometimes feel like I am "plugged in" 20 hrs a day.  And the kids... the kids....of course.

I also was starting to feel like I honestly could NOT go an entire day without checking my email.  With my beloved Iphone, I get notified anytime an email comes in and immediately check it.  I pride myself on getting back to my clients incredibly fast.   But, the flip side of that, is that my kids do not have my undivided attention even when I'm away from my home office and supposed to be attending to their every need and being totally engaged with them - NO distractions.

I knew this would be a good challenge for me.  I was supposed to do this any day in May and sorta kinda cheated by doing it on Mother's Day.  I really had no intention of doing any work related activities on Mother's Day so I figured it would be easy peasy for me to finally disconnect and unplug from everything.  

And while I had no problem unplugging from my office work, editing, voicemails, TV etc.... the giving up of the Iphone was a whole different ballgame.  I REALLY struggled.  You may laugh at me (go ahead! I can take it!) but that little puppy is attached to my hand practically 24/7.  It's an addiction.  I realize I need help.  I have yet to find a suitable support group. :)

I did wisely set myself up for success by going up to my mom's with the kids to avoid the lure of my home and home office and the many, many things I should have been doing.  No, sir-eee.  Mother's Day was going to be a REAL day off!

Or so I thought.  Everytime my Iphone gave out its sweet little "boop" sound of a new email I'd start nervously biting my nails to avoid looking at it. Then I'd have to SIT on my hands to avoid picking it up and looking at it.  Eventually I turned the darn phone off.  But that didn't stop the withdrawal symptoms....

Once at my mom's we hung out and had fun.  That helped.  We took the kids on a bike ride/walk (they rode their bikes while the adults walked) around Lake Chabot in Castro Valley.  I left the phone in the car but did bring the camera.  I didn't see any mention about "no cameras" so I figured that would be OK.  I tried to only take a few shots here and there though and not go into full "photoshoot mode."  I think I did a pretty good job.  I put it away when we got back.  It was a warm day and the kids stripped down to their undies and ran around my mom's gorgeous backyard.  I grabbed a few shots, most of which I will not post due to the scantily clad nature of my children, but fun for us to have.

However, by mid afternoon I was seriously wondering if I had missed an important email and couldn't shake a really bad feeling I had that I was dropping the ball on something important.  My husband, who knew about my unplug challenge and was not about to let me visibly look at my emails, was doing something and I quickly and stealthily snuck my Iphone into the bathroom with me.  Yes, yes I did.

Turned it on, quickly scanned my emails and found a very important email from a commercial client regarding a HUGE job I had the next day shooting close to 100 kids.  SO glad I checked my email.  I responded to her, ignored all the others and got rid of the evidence (surreptitiously put the phone back in my purse without anyone noticing!).  [note: Jodie mentioned in her post how with all the many hats we wear, and many obligations we have and stuff to do with our bustling businesses, it would be pretty much impossible to totally disconnect but that our goal should be to try to unplug as much as we can, as frequently as we can.]

I actually enjoyed the rest of the day.  Got home around 10pm and after getting kids in bed, promptly turned on my computer to catch up on the other emails and get everything ready for my big shoot the next day.  PHEW.

So, all in all, I wouldn't call it a complete failure but I did cheat once and I did not make it the full 24 hrs.  Truth be told, unless I was away on a vacation and my clients had received notification that I was UNAVAILABLE for that period of time, I think I would legitimately have a really hard time NOT being so intimately connected to my computer/Iphone.  I am running a business here and I'm the lady with many hats, I cover all aspects of this business and I need to be connected to it.  Having said that, it is equally important for me to learn to DISCONNECT from it for periods of time.   

Since the challenge I have had a couple more days of mild to moderate "unplugging."  Memorial Day (see previous post) was one of those days.  I didn't turn the phone off but I wasn't glued to it either.  I was 100% engaged with my family and not thinking about all the stuff I had waiting for me back at home both work wise and house wise.  

I would so love one day to be able to afford a housecleaner!  That would be one huge time sucker that I would have NO problem delegating to someone else.  I know I am a total control freak and refuse to outsource anything that has to do with my photography business but the house cleaning is something I would GLADLY pass off to someone else!!!  A girl can always dream, can't she!? Sigh....

Ok, so here are just a few pictures from my Mother's Day/Unplug Day.  I should mention that my day started super early with a nice run with my best friend and set the tone for the rest of the day.  Thanks Christy for convincing me NOT to sleep in on Mother's Day (as planned) and I'm sorry for asking you if you had completely lost your mind when you suggested I get up at the crack of dawn on Mother's Day to go for a run with someone who runs 10 miles every day when I can barely do 4 or 5 on a good day.  I really meant it in the nicest way possible. :)

And they're off!

First of all, yes, Gavin is still using training wheels.  Yes, he turns 7 in a couple months.  Yes, we've tried everything.  Moving right along....

These two were totally the tortoise and the hare story.  Gavin would pedal as fast as possible to get a lead on Ellie and then totally pucker out and stop on the side of the road and Ellie would calmly just keep her same pace and before you knew it, while he was still catching his breath, she'd be going by him, slow and steady, waving at him as she went by.  He'd get all riled up, take off like a bat out of hell and then bam, the cycle would continue.  It had me laughing SO hard.  Ellie would just smirk as she went by him, wave condescendingly and turn back and wink at me as she plugged along at her steady pace.  So funny.

On the way back I grabbed a couple.  The guy in the back is my husband.  The lady with the green shirt is my mom and even though she was wearing a fanny pack I still walked alongside her and never once suggested that she was, like, you know, totally embarrassing me.  I guess I have grown up... :)

Then back at my mom's house.

Don't even ask, the kid is a complete nutball!

Up on the hill in her backyard, the kids found big sticks and had soooo much fun challenging each other to duels... Until someone got whacked and it wasn't fun anymore.  Kinda sorta like I predicted.  Kinda why I warned them to be careful.  Kinda why I figured it would be best for them to figure it out on their own rather than have me nagging them and taking the sticks away.  Lesson learned the hard way.  But more likely to be remembered perchance?....  But I digress.  First they challenged me.  With much glee and funny "mean" faces.

But then softened up for their beloved mommy (I will neither confirm nor deny whether promises of dessert were used in obtaining these next two photographs....)

Memorial Day

My husband and I are always on opposite schedules, when I'm working he's watching the kids and when he's working I'm watching the kids, so rare is the day that we BOTH have off.  Memorial Day was one of those days and we decided to make a nice full fun family day out of it.  I started the day with a quick run to start off with a nice little endorphin rush.  Then we drove up Highway 1 and went on a long hike in Davenport along a beautiful trail.  Then we drove up to Costanoa for a delicious brunch. Then we slowly made our back down Highway 1 and stopped at Swanton Farms to do some organic Strawberry picking.  It was the BEST day ever!!!  I cannot even tell you how nice it was to have a fun filled family day where I was totally removed from my home office and not worrying about everything on my to do list.

I did bring my camera but tried to limit my shooting.  I also brought a long fixed lens (my new 135mm f2 that was my treat from my book sales) to play around with.  I'm so used to my zoom lenses that it takes a great deal of concentration for me to adjust to prime lenses, especially such a "long" lens as the 135 when I am so used to being so "up close and personal" with my shooting style.  I do these little "training experiments" when I'm with the kids to play around with new techniques and equipment.  It provides me a with a "safe" and "stress free" venue to experiment and play around.  So, all of these were taken with the fixed 135mm.

First, the hike in Davenport.

I didn't bring the camera into Costanoa because I feel a little weird taking pictures with my big ole camera inside a nice restaurant.  Plus, I really wanted to just focus on EATING the incredibly delicious food there.  Yummmmmmmmm.

Next stop was the strawberry fields.  It was REALLY windy so Ellie got all Eskimo-like. :)

Ellie was hanging back with us and then decided to take off and catch up to her brother who was running ahead.  That girl is a future track star.  I remember her running the one mile loop with me at Henry Cowell when she was just 3 yrs old.  The whole mile, without stopping...  Gavin is so NOT athletic and after a few paces he will start huffing and puffing and when he does run it's so LABORIOUS (kinda like me when I'm running, an elephant running style) and even on the flat hike he kept complaining about his "legs being tired" blah blah blah.  The poor kid is just not into physical activity at all.  Ellie on the other hand is half gazelle.  She has the most beautiful stride and is wicked fast and can already outrun her brother who is two years older.  And she doesn't even breathe heavy!  It's just so EASY for her.  I'm totally jealous, I hate running and only do it to stay in shape, although I do love working out.  So, on this first shot she is taking off to catch up to Gavin who is running up ahead, on the next shot she has caught up to him in a matter of seconds.  I really hope she does something with this talent of hers because otherwise it's a total waste of a gazelle....

Having said that, Gavin can sit and draw for hours on end and Ellie has zero interest in artistic endeavors so each child has their own individual gifts.

Examining the loot.

It was hilarious watching them select their berries, it was kinda like they were picking grapes to be used in the finest wine!

Oliver

I first met this family when I did their maternity shoot two years ago.  And here is the little ball of energy that was in mom's belly at that time.  Oliver is a very bright, active and incredibly charming little guy.  He did not stop moving.  Like, at all.  He was so full of life and exuberance that he just kept running up to me and throwing his arms around me in a tight hug and screeching with delight. Quite possibly the sweetest thing ever.  Oh, and picking flowers for me too.  My heart was all mush.  They just don't come more lively and animated than Oliver.  Thing is, I'm kinda sorta pretty high energy too so we got along swimmingly :)

We started off at the tractors which might have been a mistake since it was hard to get him away from the tractors (ha!) but we managed somehow and went exploring all over the place.  Oliver's mommy speaks to him only in Swedish and to hear his sweet little voice speaking fluently in Swedish and English was beyond adorable. I'm really sad I didn't seize the opportunity to speak only french to my kids when they were tiny (I have a ton of excuses but won't dwell on them here).  I am trying my very best now to get the kids some serious exposure to my native tongue.  

All in all, I'm pretty sure I got a legitimate workout chasing Oliver all over and working every angle to get him to focus on me.  I'm truly impressed by moms' stamina keeping up with this little guy 24/7!  

Patricia and Leonardo, I hope you LOVE these images!!  ENJOY!

Did I mention he has the MOST luscious curls EVER!?

This next one is one of my favorites because of the expression on mom and dad's face as they watch their son run around.  PURE LOVE.

Oliver does this hilarious thing when he runs where his left arm shoots straight up into the air.  I had to capture this for all eternity!

How beautiful are these two?

This next one cracks me up.  It was taken a nanosecond after this last one but you can see how much ground he has covered in that split second!  Oliver does not like being contained for more than a millisecond and I actually think this next one is just so much more representative of him, as fast as a bolt of lightning!

Love.

This next one is my favorite of the day.

I need to mention that mom did the most amazing job ever with the outfit coordination.  I was beyond happy.  She took Oliver's shirt as the decider and then took the two main colors off his shirt to decide her shirt and her husband's shirt (and matched them perfectly) and then took the accent color on Oliver;s shirt to add her sweater.  A photographer's dream.  I should add that Patricia is an artist as well.  

This next one is my second favorite of the day.

Happiness is a mommy who will spin you around and around and around... :)

We finished off by going to say goodbye to the horses. 

The invisible me

My friend Jodie over at JODIFIED inspired me with THIS post a few weeks ago.  In it she talks about how she has virtually NO pictures of herself with her kids.  I think this is something all mommy photogs suffer from.  And it's a real problem.  My dear friend Liz and I exchange photo shoots once a year so that we can get at least *some* pictures of ourselves with our kids, at least once every 365 days, but the rest of the year: NADA.  Zip.  ZILCH.  I have absolutely nothing to show for the rest of the year other than the gizillion shots I take of my kids.  Shots I am not included in.  It's great that I am able to document so much of their lives but by leaving myself out of the picture (pun intended) I'm taking away an important element.  I want my kids to also remember OUR relationship and my involvement in their lives and how we connected.  I want to document that for MY OWN family too!  And, like Jodie, I hate self timers.  They're not for me.  My camera is too heavy to hold with one hand for any extended period of time as well.  So, I decided to try a little experiment.  I decided that for 3 nights this week, on nights when I didn't have any shoots, I would do a series of "self portraits" with the kids on Ellie's bed and then make a collage from my favorite out takes.  I took them with my dingy point and shoot so no, we're definitely not talking FINE ART here.  The fact is these are just merely snapshots.  Nothing more, nothing less.  And yet they mean SO much to me.  It captures us having fun together.  I took the pictures every night at 6:30pm on Ellie's bed as we were getting ready to tackle the bedtime routine in our house.  Her room gets great light during that time of day (while Gavin's is bright in the morning when he is at school, of course).  We just goofed off, made silly faces, cuddled, talked and LAUGHED.  Hard.  I did a "session" just with Ellie and then one with both Gavin and Ellie.  I haven't been able to do one with just Gavin yet but that's next.  As soon as Ellie stops freaking out when I try to do one with just him on her bed!  She's the jealous type....  :)  I turned off the flash feature on the P&S and just kept snapping away until my arm was so tired of holding up the camera that it was shaking uncontrollably.  Totally worth it.  

Bottom line: we had fun.  And I have "proof" of it.  And my kids have "proof" that I wasn't just the lady behind the camera all the time.  I just may value these silly little snapshots more than the "quality" shots I take of the kids.  The best part is I'm wearing absolutely no make-up, in totally grubby clothes, hair up in a ponytail or crazy and uncombed and yet, I could absolutely care less, because this is how the kids see me every day and they still love me anyways!  This is real life captured. Just the way I like it.

Thank you, Jodie.

 

That bottom middle one with Ellie cracks me up.  We were both winking at the camera but I'm the doofus who can only wink with my left eye and I was holding the camera with my right hand and well, I just look like a total dork, but I swear I'm winking!!

Guest Blogging at MCP Actions

I'm guest blogging a post all about Maternity Photography over at Jodi's place ie: MCP Actions.

Go check out the article here:  MCP ACTIONS.

And if you ended up here because you are one of Jodi's readers: Welcome! :)

FreePoverty.com

This is such a great site.  A tad bit addicting too.  A free and fun site that tests your geography.  I did fairly well the first time.  But, never one to leave well enough alone, I kept wanting to get a higher score.  Ultimately, my first score proved to be my best.  But the truly BEST part of this site is that when you play the game, you help donate water to those in need.  Go check it out.  Totally worth your time.  My first round score was 147.  But every time you play thereafter it keeps adding to your "tally" so every round is more water for those who need it.

I created a badge after my first round not knowing if I would better my score.  Glad I did that.  My second round I got a measly score of 89!  EEEK.  Turns out my geographical knowledge of Europe is much better than that of South America....

Hint: you gotta click really fast as you only get 2 seconds to choose your spot. Otherwise it moves on to the next "location" and you get zero points for that one!

p.s. Edited to add: I scored a 173 right after posting this! Sweeeeeeet.
 

IT DOESN'T COST A  THING TO "DONATE"  Just playing the game is donating.  The advertisers pay for it. :)

Ava & Bella

This is another one of my LONG time clients.  I have been able to photograph so many momentous occasions (pregnancy, newborn, siblings...).  It warms my heart to be able to continue to chronicle them over the years.  Ava is very much like Ellie.  Full of life and has a BIG personality.  If there's one thing I can handle it's 4 yr old girls with BIG personalities.... especially when they aren't my own... hahahahaha!  Ava asked to ride in the car with me when we switched locations and seeing as I had carseats in there and everything we went on a little ride together!  She cracks me up.  At the end she asked if she could come home with me.  That's just the best.  I know I just glow when kids ask if they can come home with me.  Doesn't get much better than that.  

Mom had brought along colorful balloons and I was practically squealing when she mentioned it.  How had I never thought of that?!  Brilliant.  We didn't get the shot I had envisioned but we got even better ones.  Always works out that way.

Every shot from this shoot was "post-worthy" so I really struggled in narrowing it down... ergo the long post.  And I still had to cut it down three times!

ENJOY!!

Here's Ava.

My favorite shot of the day is this next one. 

And here's Bella.

Yeah, these girls are gorgeous.  And their smiles could not be any bigger.  They have the same smile.  Love that!

I almost deleted this next one because her hand was cut off and I DESPISE the cutting off of limbs in photography.  But I couldn't bring myself to hit the delete button and eventually it grew on me more and more.

I have a tendency to really shoot "tight"  and I'm trying to remember to step outside of that habit.  As I was zoomed in on this shot I heard a little voice say: "pull back! pull back!"  and I'm so glad I listened to it.

trying to keep up with big sis.

Still crazy busy....

Eeeek!  Still incredibly busy with a bunch of huge shoots that I can't post. I shot close to 100 children in the span of 8 hrs without a single pee/drink/eat break on Monday and ended up with over 3,000 images to sift through.  I worked nonstop on them for four days straight so it's been pretty intense.  I'm so sorry I've been neglectful over here!!  I've gotten soooo little sleep this week.  But I do have a "postable" (is that a word?) shoot this coming weekend (two adorable sisters) so I should be back on track for sure by Monday!

I've had two very sweet client/friends bail me out this week; one brought my family a delicious homemade gourmet meal and the other watched my very high strung and, oh, shall we say "precocious" little Ellie for me for a few hours so I could work hard and productively.   I'm usually TERRIBLE about accepting help but I was having a borderline "I just can't do this anymore" moment and finally broke down and decided that if someone is going to be sweet enough to offer to help me out, they are doing it sincerely and I would be a fool to say no.   I still felt guilty about needing the help (what do you mean I can't handle it all?) but was very grateful for it.  Thank you Eisha and Pamela.  You rock. 

In the meantime a couple quick links to satisfy my loyal readers!

The first link is to a super cute and FREE downloadable paper doll activity that I did with my daughter and which kept her entertained for a solid 30 mn.  That may not seem like much but in this house every uninterrupted minute that I can get work done is a minute worth its weight in gold.  

CLICK HERE for that link.

The second link is for a super cute lunch tote that is on sale right now for just $3.50 and is a great alternative to wasting paper bags.  It is just the right size for a kids' lunch bag or snack bag for a trip to the park.

CLICK HERE for that link.

If you are looking for affordable, eco friendly, home based business cards and arts and crafts for your kids for summer activities, look no further than Stubby Pencil Studio.  I have been buying their kids recycled "color in" cards for ages and it really makes having the kids write thank you cards SO easy, but now they've added more non toxic products to their line.  The toys and gifts section has a wonderful selection of reasonably priced gifts that are all environmentally friendly. Definitely worth a look see.

STUBBY PENCIL STUDIO

Ok, I need to get back to work!  Hope this tides you all over a couple more days!!

One Potato

EEEK!  OMG so busy.  It's weird going five days straight with only 4 hrs sleep each night.  I feel like I am back in the newborn days.  Sigh.  Ok, so NO TIME for a long post.  I'm sorry.   Hopefully this link will tide you over another day or two.

I'm always scouring the library for good "kid" books.  The reading of bedtime stories is a very important ritual in our household and I hit the library once a week with the kids to get our weekly stash.  But it's getting harder to find the really good ones that we haven't already read.

In comes ONE POTATO.  A blog, written by a dad, that highlights the best of the best, both new and old.  I checked it out last week and wrote down TWO entire pages of books I am going to look up in the library's search system for us.  Perfect to keep us busy this summer.  

Go check it out.  It's quite cool-io.

And with that I bid you a cheer-io.

little update

This weather is entirely TOO hot for my tastes... ugh.  I'm thinking Portland sounds really nice right about now....  Luckily for me I will be up there in August teaching one of my workshops so if you are in the Portland area and want to attend my Photography Workshop, it is being held on Monday August 2nd in Portland.  Send me an email and I'll get you all set up!  Class size is limited so don't delay.

Also, the blog is going to be a bit slow this week.  I've got three sessions this week that are not getting posted due to privacy reasons so although I am going to be extremely busy, I won't have much to show for it here on the ole blog.   I will try to find some fun things to share though.  I've actually got a few things I wanted to blog about so if I can get to them I will! :)

I'm also guest blogging on MCP actions next week so stay tuned for that, I'll share the link when it's up.

All in all, a very very very busy week. My husband is finally back from his 6 week training session so I am hoping life gets a bit easier, although you know how it is with them sometimes....they can generate as much work as the kids.... :)

This weekend has been insanely hectic and the coming weeks are not slowing down.  Plus, the kids have all the end of school events... Man, I am just totally swamped these days, as I imagine many of you are right now!

Hang in there everyone, summer is almost here!  

(and then what the &%$#%* are we going to do?!?!  eeeeek.)

ZozoBugBaby & Rosalind Grace Designs

Ellie had this ADORABLE ZozoBugBaby dress to model for me and wouldn't you know it, the day of the shoot we received this gorgeous vintagey headband for Ellie from newly launched Rosalind Grace Designs in Australia.   Her new flapper haircut and this super cute dress worked beautifully with the headband.  I was in love.  I think I told Ellie a gizillion times how cute she looked.  She just kept rolling her eyes at me, but she was smiling too, so I know she knew it was true! :)

Ellie hiked a mile up a steeeeeep hill to get to the overlook area I was wanting to use for the backdrop of this shoot.  Of course, I took pictures on the way up and on the way down too, which is a good thing because she did NOT like the high bench at the overlook.  She said it was "WAY too scary" and only lasted about 3 minutes there before she was ready to hike back down.  Fortunately, between all the shots on the way up, way down and bench location, I was set.

I'm lucky she is such a trooper about these shoots.  It's become our "time" together with me being so busy lately.  I'm glad I'm getting all this time with her before she starts Kindergarten next year.  

I should also mention that this new Yoke style dress from Julie at ZozoBugBaby is very, very comfortable.  Ellie says it's her FAVORITE dress from Julie.  She calls it her "little tulip dress."  Yes, she names ALL her dresses.  Yes, she changes outfits at least twice a day.  Yes, I do ALOT of laundry.

To see more of Julie's gorgeous dresses go visit ZOZOBUGBABY.  To see more of Rosalind's incredible handmade accessories go visit ROSALIND GRACE DESIGNS.

There are times when I look at her and just get LOST in her features, enraptured, almost paralyzed by the breath taking magic of it all, wondering how I possibly made something so impossibly cute.  Then she'll whine or something and the moment is gone as quickly as it came! ha! :)

Those of you who know Ellie know she is NOT sad here, just "posing", her version of working the camera....

I used a "flare/fade" action on the next shot and although I'm not normally a huge fan of using it, I feel like it works with this one.

I can't put my finger on it but the next shot is one of my favorites.

I used a borrowed prime 50mm f1.2L lens for this entire shoot because I've been saving up my book profits for a new lens and that's the lens I *thought* I was going to get.  I still wanted to try it out first before plunking down that much cash.  I was utterly dismayed at how SLOW it was to focus and how many out of focus shots I got with it, even shooting stopped down to f4 or f5.6.   I was NOT happy with it.   It's possible I had a bad "copy" but still, not reassuring.  SO, now I am on the fence about this lens....  This next shot is one that was out of focus and could have been so good had it been in focus but I loved it so much I am posting it anyways, even though it's out of focus....  I added a vintage toning to it as well.

I adore the last three here.

Manzanita's are one of my most favorite trees!

Nathan

About 9 months ago I went down to Carmel to photograph this little angel who was just a few days old.  We had a wonderful time and I was excited to be able to chronicle him as he grew up.  Sadly, his daddy (who is in the military) was soon thereafter sent to Virginia and I figured I wouldn't be able to see them all again in person.  I was sad.

Then, Jean called me several months ago and told me she was coming back to the Bay Area on Mother's Day weekend to visit her mom and could we schedule a shoot?  OF COURSE!!!!

I was so excited to see Nathan and his mommy.  Not only is this the absolute BEST age to photograph, he is just CUTE as a button.  His mama is downright gorgeous too.  They make my job EASY PEASY.

We did a morning shoot and I was able to find some pockets of incredible light.  Nathan was being Mr. Serious and Jean and I were laughing so hard at his stoic demeanor you'd think he'd laugh just watching us fall apart.  He was totally controlling himself too because the minute he'd start to laugh he'd abruptly stop, reign it in and look at us like: "Oh you almost got me there!"  But, we managed to eventually break him down!  Sure, we were acting like fools but hey, you do what you got to do, right? :)

Jean, it was so wonderful seeing you both again.  Nathan is still the same angelic little boy he was when I first met him.  You two have that impermeable, sweet, exclusive bond that little first born boys have with their mamas.  I would know.  I have the same gig going with my boy. :)

ENJOY YOUR IMAGES!  I hope to see you all again really soon.  Sending my thoughts and prayers your way for Jeff as he heads out to Iraq.

Nathan was a bit apprehensive at first... (and yet still so stinkin' cute!!)

OMG could you just gobble him up???

The back story here is that just before this shot he had picked up a small rock and was about to put it in his mouth when I gently took it away from him.  Then he picked up a second small pebble (in his left hand) and immediately looked at his mom like: "you gonna let her take away my choking hazard again????"  So funny!

OK, so could these two possibly be any more gorgeous???!!!

Friend or Foe?

Wanna know what I got for Mother's Day???

This.

Before you start laughing, this is what I ASKED for!  This is what I WANTED!  This is what I coveted.... until I actually tried to use it.  

Here's the thing.  I've been wanting to know how to sew for a long time.  I knit during the winter months (whenever I can find the time...) and really enjoy it.  I love to create/make things.  I'm not particularly crafty but I am a person who enjoys crafty projects, regardless of whether they turn out like masterpieces or not.  They rarely do.  But that's besides the point.  We do lots of arts and crafts in our home.  Before I was working full time we used to spend much of the day doing that but it's gone a bit by the wayside the past year or two.  I have made a commitment to myself to set aside a portion of every week this summer doing arts & crafts activities with the kids since it's something we all enjoy.

But, back to this medieval torture device, er, I mean sewing machine....

I got it for an amazing deal at Costco during a special coupon week they were having and bought it for $100.  It's a snazzy machine.  A good machine.  And I spent all weekend trying to MAKE something.  I have NOTHING to show for it other than a whole lot of collated fabric that serves no purpose.  Sigh.

I knew it would be hard but this is ridiculous.  First of all, sewing straight is HARDER than you would think.  My friends Julie, Courtney and Junneen are probably all laughing their butts off at me right about now.  This is much harder than figuring out how to take a photograph, let me tell you!!

Sigh.

I'm not quite ready to give up.  Certainly not without a fight!  But I have quite a bit of work I need to get caught up on now after my Mother's Day weekend off so I will attend to that and revisit this little "interest" of mine when I have some free time again.   Until then, it sits there in the kitchen mocking me.  Taunting me.  Reminding me that it is smaller than me but much, much smarter than me.

Any one have any really super simple pattern they'd like to send my way that I can work on to practice my yet-to-be-achieved sewing skills?  Preferably something small that won't waste a ton of fabric when I screw it up!?

I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL Mother's Day!!  I off-handedly mentioned that Mother's Day should be a week-long event but that was quickly squashed. Whatever.

Lastly, on Mother's Day I participated in a Photographer Challenged that my friend Jodie sent me and asked me to be a part of.  It was, well, let's just say it was interesting.  I will blog all about it on June 1st.

I will have a new session to post tomorrow night hopefully so stay tuned! :)

Taj & Levi

I first met this family a couple years ago when Taj was just a newborn so it was with great delight that I got to see them all again and meet the latest addition to the family, little Levi.  It was like deja vu for me because Levi looks EXACTLY like Taj did and I think I must have mentioned that to them about a hundred times.  :)

I love this family.  They are fun, easy going and totally willing to roll with the punches.  Even though we hadn't seen each other in a while there was a total ease and comfort throughout the entire shoot.  

I've been cramming to get these images edited for Adrienne in time for Mother's Day, I really wanted to surprise her with them in time and I'm so glad I managed to pull it off.  I can't think of a better Mother's Day gift! Well, actually, other than cleaning fairies coming every week (ha!).....  If my husband read my blog I'd add a "hint, hint" to the end of this but since he doesn't, I won't waste my breath.... :)

Adrienne & Dan, I had the most delightful time hanging out with your family.  I think these images really capture the essence of all the love and laughter that is surely evident to anyone who spends any amount of time with you all.  

I had the hardest time picking my favorites for the blog.  As I was copying and pasting my "blog favorites" into a separate folder I had to start over when the folder had 45 images in it after my initial selection process.  My blog already takes too long to load up as it is, I really can't show more than 30 per post.  So I had some seriously hard eliminating to do....  Fortunately, they're ALL on the CD!

ENJOY your images!!!

I love watching the transformation in the kids I shoot, most of them start out really apprehensive about the process and by the end they are laughing and playing and having fun.  This picture pretty much sums up how most kids start out, not really sure what to make of me and my big camera.

What I love about this next one is it's almost like I wasn't there.

I would normally never include the next image but OMG it is sooooooo funny and I know Dan & Adrienne will appreciate it for what it is.  Hilarious.  Probably one of  my favorite sibling shots. :)

LOVE this next one!

I really wanted to play off the shadows.

Our second attempt at the sibling shots...

But how sweet and tender is Taj? 

I love how this captures a fun little game that Taj plays with his mommy, such sweet memories for them!

This last series of images are amongst my favorite ever taken with a baby this age and were done as a last minute "let's grab a couple more shots" after I had put all my equipment away in the car, except my camera of course.... ADORE these.

Ellie's new 'do debuted in Courtney Courtney style

So last year, right around this time, Gavin and Ellie chopped off each other's hair. Ellie's hair was nice and long (with perfect bangs) one minute and the next minute the bangs were completely gone (as in up to the scalp) and half of her hair on one side was cut up to the top of her ear.  Yeah.  I freaked. 

Then I brought her to our hair gal at Super Cuts and she saved the day by giving Ellie a super adorable "amelie" style hairdo.  It looked GREAT!  We had an easy summer with her super short 'do and then come the start of the school year Ellie asked to grow it out.  It had just gotten nice and long again this month and what do I do?  I make an appointment for her to get it all chopped off.  Hey, it's time for swim lessons again and Ellie is a big wuss when it comes to combing out her hair.  Plus, her hair has decided, out of the blue, to take after mine and has some serious massive curling action going on.  I was under the mistaken belief that my curly locks were one genetic curse I was NOT going to pas onto my kids but apparently not.  

Anyway, we get the haircut yesterday and it's super cute.  Sweet.  We leave.  Then her hair starts to dry... and CURL.  Needless to say, she now has a curly out of control mop on her head and it's pretty hilarious.  The new hairdo is not nearly as cute as it was last year due to the change in her hair structure.  So, we'll live with it for the summer months and then let it grow out again come September.

Today, I took Ellie to do a Courtney Courtney shoot wearing her snazzy new "E" dress that she is deliriously in love with.  Seriously, she wouldn't take it off tonight until I promised I would wash it right away so she could wear it again tomorrow....

When we started the shoot it was really overcast, which is a light I'm not crazy about working with.  Yes, it's a big soft diffused light but it's very directional from above which means, to avoid ugly shadows and "dim" eyes, you have to shoot from above.   This limited my range and perspective.  That said, the location allowed for Ellie to have a blast and all I had to do was run around and shoot from every which angle until I found a direction that worked (high side, facing west and from above).   She was happy as a clam (my friend's house with old fashioned tree swing is heaven on earth for her) and I got to practice my focusing skills!  With both she and I in motion at the same time and a wide open aperture, it was pretty tricky.  Plus my shutter speed had to be 1/640 to stop the motion of her swinging so fast!  

All in all, a fun shoot and we got some great shots.  Half way through the shoot the sun peaked out which caused all kinds of splotchiness in my swing area (me no likey) so we changed locations and used the more covered front lawn area.  I got some close ups of Ellie and her new 'do for my mom to see. :)

As a side note, Courtney has quite a few new styles in her shop including an adorable dragonfly pattern and these incredible "flutter sleeve" dresses that Ellie just loves.  Ellie is VERY picky about what she will wear (understatement of the year....) so if she will wear something it HAS to be comfy.  She'll scream bloody murder if the seams in her socks are askew or the tag in her shirt has not been removed.  

Mornings are so much fun around our house..... sigh.

OK, enough chitchat, here are the pictures!

this next one was screaming B&W to me....

I then noticed a little caterpillar was on her dress.  So we spent a little time watching him and then put him in a safer, less vortex-speedy location.

here's that whirly thing several of you asked me about.  it's not an in camera trick, although it can be done that way, but rather a super fast and easy PHOTOSHOP filter called Radial Blur.  

this is when the sun came out, see the yucky splotchies?! Blergh.

and this is how I knew it was time to move on anyways....

okie dokie there kid, moving right along....

and this is what I like to call her "nothing to see here, folks" look.  It's my "cue".

I can take a hint....

4 year business anniversary

This week, specifically May 8th, marks the four year anniversary of my official business launch.  That was the day of my first REAL, paid, "stranger" shoot.  I was sooooooooooooooo nervous!  I think I muddled through it somehow but I know it was a really nerve wracking shoot for me.   Up to that point I had spent about 6 months doing free shoots for friends and family (so easy to do with people you have a bond, connection and easy rapport with) and slowly building my portfolio/website.  I didn't have a blog or a logo or even a business card yet.  No equipment insurance as I only had one camera body (the oldest digital Canon rebel) and a crappy kit lens and absolutely NO other equipment.  All I really had going for me, in all honesty, was a "make it happen" attitude and a "what have a I got to lose?" approach to it all.  I've always been the type to jump in without hesitation when it comes to trying new things.  I have never feared failure.  It's totally OK with me if something doesn't work out. But I've never understood NOT trying something out of fear.   If there's something I strongly believe it's that you'll never know unless you try.  I certainly didn't expect anything to come out of this endeavor of mine, other than perhaps I would get to go take pictures for people once or twice a month... at best.  :)

When I look at how far I've grown in the past four years; as a person, as a mother, as a business owner and as a photographer, I am absolutely blown away.  Just WOW.  This month in particular has been so exciting with my book being on Blurb's best seller list for a couple weeks and one of my images being published (full page) in a feature article for Mothering Magazine's May-June edition.

It is both humbling and incredibly rewarding to look back on the transformation, to remember (and reflect upon) the struggles, the mind boggling sleep deprivation from having a toddler and newborn while launching your own business, the ups and downs, the occasional (but heart wrenching) bad shoot, the silly mistakes (and there have been plenty!), the knock-your-socks-off amazing shoots that make me float on cloud 9 for days on end, the incredible friendships I've developed with so many of my clients... all of it just comes at me so fast it makes my head spin.

My clients have been so good about referring me to their friends and family that I have not had to place a single ad or do any marketing whatsoever in the past three years.  That, in and of itself, is just amazing.  I am so incredibly grateful!

Here I am now with a successful, bustling business. I teach photography workshops for parents wanting to know how to use their cameras.  Being able to inspire others to take better images and get into photography is so incredibly rewarding. I do commercial shoots for some really awesome women-run businesses.  Incredibly, as of today, I have only 2 (two!) dates left/available for the remainder of 2009.  I've developed my own little sub-specialties (pregnancy and newborn) that I totally ROCK at.  I have a snazzy website, a fun blog with a loyal following, a logo, business cards, tons of great equipment, incredible workshops I've attended under my belt, and four years worth of 2-4 shoots a week experience to rely on.  I belong to several awe-inspiring charity organizations that allow me to volunteer my skills to help others, something I would never have had the ability or confidence to do four years ago.

I still struggle with the massive sleep deprivation from working so late at night and having my kids underfoot throughout the day, but all working moms juggle with that ever elusive "balance" of trying to do it all.   Slowly though, I am finding more time in the day to "get it done" and even squeeze in some me time for working out on a regular basis.  I have learned (the hard way) that when I can get a workout in every morning I can accomplish THAT much more and I'm a much happier person (and better mommy).  When Ellie starts Kindergarten this September, things are really going to change for the better and get even easier, FINALLY!

I don't want to jinx it but I am just in a really good place right now.  I am fully enjoying what I do, I am not feeling burned out, my creative juices are flowing, I am able to help support my family financially, I am able to have time with my kids but also have them see mom going off to work doing something she loves to do, I am able to indulge in my creative/artistic side which fills my soul and mostly, I am able to give my clients the kind of quality images I set out to provide when I first launched my business but didn't have the expertise or know-how yet to make it happen.  I feel like I am living mindfully and am very present/grounded in my life rather than just going through the motions.  Sure, things are a crazy hectic chaotic mess some weeks but it all balances out in the end.

The greatest reward of all comes from watching my clients/friends' little ones grow and change and seeing how the family dynamic is ever evolving as time goes by. Hearing my clients' reactions when they see their images makes all the sleep deprivation worthwhile.  Having their little ones remember me and get excited about playing with me again warms my heart.  Seeing the magical transformation in my client's lives from blushing bride to glowing pregnant lady to deeply transformed new mom is just incredible in every possible way.

Being asked to document all these stages means so very much to me.  These defining "moments" in ones' life are hands down the most magical of all and to be asked to capture them for all eternity is truly an honor.  Yes, I give my clients the wonderful gift of freezing their memories/moments on film, but they gift me with their complete and absolute trust.

It's a very intimate relationship to photograph someone, and even moreso when in the throes of a real, raw and highly emotional time (wedding, pregnancy, right after giving birth...)   This is particularly accurate in my case since my focus is on taking REAL images of REAL life.  I therefore require that my clients be their authentic selves with me at all times.  It definitely takes monumental trust in order for them to "JUST BE" themselves while I do my thing.  Their willingness to be raw, open, vulnerable and real for me is the biggest factor in why I am able to get the images I get.  It's all based on trust.  I don't just take pictures, I create them with them help of my clients.  It's a symbiotic relationship.  Which is why all these lasting client relationships mean so much to me.  It's just going to keep getting better as the years go by... :)

I'm getting all scheklempt (spelling?) now so I will finish this with:  Thank you for four years of fun, artistry, creativity, hard work and laughter.  I can't wait to see what else is in store just around the corner....