Yes kittens, I’ve been MIA again.  I know, I know – it’s not exactly a surprise.  Despite all my good intentions and my frequent promises, it seems I am an inherently bad blogger.   I think I’ve had “Blog.  Just Blog, Dammit!” on my to-do list every day for the last several months…and if you look at my posting record you’ll know just how well that is going for me.

So where have I been?  Living in crazy-busy land – that’s where, and somehow this blog seems to be the first thing to slide.  It’s been go-go-go for months now, culminating in four weddings+one charity brunch+ a one year old session in downtown Phoenix in an eight day span last week. Whew. Who knew wedding photography was an endurance sport?!

I’m starting to realize that it’s not going to slow down any time soon.   I’m also admitting that I’m unlikely to get caught up in the foreseeable future (do you know I have weddings from last year that have not been blogged?  Last year, people!).   So, instead of waiting till I invent a time expansion machine that miraculously converts each day to 48 hours while simultaneously maintaining my sleep needs at a solid eight hours (how you like that run on sentence?)  I figured I’d better take the opportunity and splash up a few random images while I have the chance.

Here’s just a slice of my life over the last few months – weddings, weddings, weddings (both my own and second shooting for the amazing Justine Miller and Keri Doolittle at amazing Phoenix wedding venues like  Sassi, Firesky, Wigwam as well as Oasis Ranch in Tucson), miles upon miles of location scouting, gorgeous seniors, three beautiful girls under the age of three (with tutus! and ice cream!), glorious glowing mama’s-to-be,  edgy urban fashion shoots in downtown Phoenix, crazy-cool families, spunky-silly- up-for-(almost)-anything engaged couples, fiesty photographers/branding gurus, off camera flash on the roof of the Orpheum Penthouse and the most knock your socks off beautiful mother-daughter combo I’ve ever laid eyes on.  And of course, just enough downtown, urban, grungy, junkyard shots to keep me happy.

Some may call me biased, but there is no doubt in my mind about a few important things…

1. I have super cool clients
2. My super cool clients have awesome-cute-adorable-full-of-personality kiddos.
3. My super cool clients and their awesome-cute-adorable kids are seriously stylish folks.
4. My super cool seriously hip clients and their awesomely cute adorably stylish kids are head-over-heels, to the moon crazy in love with each another.
5. The whole entire downtown area makes for one crazy inspired phoenix family photographer.
6. I am one seriously lucky, super blessed, awesomely grateful photographer.

End of story. No argument.  That’s just the way it is.

Here’s a teaser of Saturday’s family photo session  at Heritage Square (a great spot for phoenix family photography).  Obviously – this picture doesn’t show you what the parents look like…but will you check out those crazy beautiful kids?!

As you can just imagine, Mom and Dad are also supermodel gorgeous.  What you can’t tell from the photo is that they are also beyond sweet and gracious, totally chill and talented artists to boot.  But don’t just take my word for it,  you’ll have to check back later to see for yourselves…

Sarah contacted me last fall from her home in Seattle.  She was planning a business trip/family vacation to Phoenix, and hoped to take advantage of our amazing fall weather to schedule a family photography session.

Pre-session planning and solid photographer-client communication are incredibly important to the outcome of a lifestyle photography session.  This time, an in-person consult was obviously out of the question, so we used technology to our best advantage.  Telephone, email and the iPhone camera made it easy to finalize all of the logistics and get ready for the session – even from hundreds of miles away.

Sarah was a fantastic client.  She was familiar with my work and my style, and knew it was exactly what she wanted.  She had a clear vision of what she hoped for in terms of location and image options, and was open to all my feedback and suggestions.  Best of all, she understood the impact that clothing choice would have on her finished photographic artwork.

She began by sending me snapshots of her kids and telling me a little about each girl, and about their family.  I love it when clients do this – it gives me a sense of who they are and helps me relate to them on the day of the shoot.  With children especially, this can make such a difference.

We talked in-depth about location options before settling on the beautiful Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza.  Not only is it a fantastic location with many possibilities for a variety of images, but it was convenient to their resort.   Perfect!

Finally, we discussed clothing.  Sarah took the time to lay out several options and send me quick snapshots on her iPhone to get my opinion.  After we settled on the fantastic dress she chose for her youngest daughter, it was easy to pull together options for the rest of the family – and she did an amazing job at selecting great looking, stylish, comfortable clothing for the entire family.

Are they not the most beautiful family?

Things I know for sure

1. I am the worst blogger ever. Period. End of story.
2. I would apologize and say I’m going to change.  But I might not probably won’t, and I’d hate to tell you a lie.
3. I’ve been so busy my head is spinning, but holiday order deadline is almost here so I’ll be coming up for air soon.
4. My family will be VERY glad to have me back.
5. I’ve got the coolest, most beautiful, utterly stylish,  totally inspirational, utterly incredible clients in the world.
6. They make it worth staring at the computer for hours upon hours at a time.
7. I’m a photographer. I get to pay my bills with my camera.  How cool is that? I still get giddy thinking about it.
8. Big changes ahead in 2010 – a new assistant, studio manager, new products, new partnerships, new direction.  Watch out Phoenix – ya’ll should stay tuned.  Seriously.
9. It’ll probably be June by the time I get around to blogging about it, unless you nag me.
10. Life is good.  Very good.

And since no blog post is complete without pictures, here’s just a bit of what has kept me busy over the past few months.  Check these out, and then re-read #5 above….see what I mean?

This family was amazing!  I was so in love with these girls!

Little girls in pink rain boots…. Who wouldn’t be utterly charmed?

Um…so I probably don’t have to tell you that I was totally giddy when I saw this one.  Did a little happy dance…for reals.

Happy Mama-baby shots always make me smile.

Ah, baby Max….I melt.

A beautiful bride in a vintage phone booth at an incredible location….What more could any photographer want?

These kids were a RIOT.  The first year of my annual summer Nova Scotia Photography Sessions (yes – I’m a Snow Bird….once the temp gets over 100 degrees…I am OUTTA here!)

Oh, sweet little Lucy – those lips…those eyes, and a rare quiet moment.

My wee nephew Hayden.  I miss him so much!

Tamara rocks her urban maternity photography session in downtown Glendale… so much fun!

I love kids.  The sillier and goofier the better.  Alex and I got along wonderfully

This wedding at the Anthem Country Club was so beautiful.  Thanks to Keri Doolittle for inviting me to second shoot!

I was near the middle of my first pregnancy – a naive young mama-to-be – unexpectedly off work due to some early pregnancy complications. We had only one car back then, and not much money.  Stuck at home alone all day, I was going out of my mind with boredom.  In desperation I searched for a local mothers group and called to ask if I could attend meetings before I was officially a mother.

I remember standing outside the meeting location, my still small belly hidden inside denim overall maternity shorts* and a baggy stripped t-shirt. I felt conspicuous, unencumbered by diaper bag and sippy cup and  stroller, vulnerable without the visible trappings of motherhood to connect me to the women around me.   I was nervous that they mothers would think that joining a moms group without a child was, at best, slightly suspect.

Sue was one of the first to talk to me.  I remember cooing over the cherubic blonde baby girl riding in the carrier on her back,   amazed that I would soon be entrusted with the care of one of those little beings.  She and the other ladies immediately made me feel welcome and became part of the fabric of my daily life over my first few years  of motherhood.

Fast forward almost a decade; through a few more children, cross town moves and the growing apart that occurs when life takes you in different directions…I saw and heard of Sue occasionally through mutual friends, but our paths didn’t often cross.

Then came Facebook.

I reconnected with Sue (and several of the other women I met that first fateful day at the mom’s club) and was so excited when she asked me to take her family photos.  When I was discussing my photographic style with Sue prior to the session, I talked about how this wouldn’t be like photo sessions they might have had in the past.  I wouldn’t pose them stiffly or ask anyone to say cheese.  I warned her we might get really, really silly, and that my aim was to capture them as they really are.  These won’t, I said, be traditional images.

And her reply?

“That’s why you got the job”

I knew right then that we were going to have a whole lot of fun.

We met up early one morning in downtown Phoenix, and it was so lovely to get reacquainted with her family.  Mary, that little blonde cherub, all grown up – oodles of sweet mixed with just the right dose of silly.  The 7 year old twins (whose birth when Mary was a year and a half old elevated Sue to heroic mother status in my eyes); Katie, with her super stylish (and self-inflicted) pixie haircut and brilliantly goofy energy,  and Bobby – a darling little man of shyness and intensity.   Sue and her husband Bob, who honestly, have not appeared to change a bit in the several years since I’d last seen them – chill, sarcastic and up for anything.

Heck yeah, we had fun!

*{ yes, I rocked those denim overall shorts, how could you ever think overwise}.

I love my job. Love it. Not only do I get to pay my bills with my camera (seriously, how cool is that? I still get giddy just thinking about it), but I also get to connect with the most amazing people.  Each of my clients touches me in some way, teaches me something new and leaves me with fresh insight into the art and craft of photography.

I get all sorts of clients.  Shy ones.  Goofy ones.  Quiet ones.  Loud ones.  Lots and lots of silly, giggly ones.  Every now and then I get to work with a family whose love is so sweet and tender that it flows through each and every interaction.  The Maston’s were one of those families.

Rich works for Lauren’s Institute for Education, and was the first one to contact me to take advantage of the matching print credit I offer for donations to their Rock The Budget campaign.  I met with Rich, his lovely wife Adria (isn’t that the most beautiful name?) and his two beautiful kiddos, Ryder and Maggie, at a local park.  We braved the heat, climbed some trees and explored the area to find some cool spots for pictures.  In the process I got the opportunity to observe the quiet, loving connection that Rich and Adria had with the kids, and with each other, and all I had to do was have my camera ready to capture it.

Did I mention that I love my job?

It’s no secret that I love maternity photography – and this session was no exception. After all, who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to capture a knockout gorgeous redhead and her adorable family during such an important time of their lives? As if that’s not luck enough, I’m waiting to get the call that Marie has gone into labor (any day now!) so that I can go be with them and photograph the arrival of their second son.

We headed to yet another fantastic downtown Phoenix location and the family played and hung out while I snapped photos, then Marie and I snuck away for a few fashion-esque solo shots.  Isn’t she a knock out?!

In addition to being a beautiful mama, Marie is also a knitter extraordinaire (check out the fabulous diaper cover in this post) and I’ll be posting images some of her wonderful creations in several upcoming posts. If you are a photographer looking for fabulous diaper covers, hats, cocoons and wraps, stay tuned for more details!

Just digging through my archives again from my blogging hiatus and thought I’d post this fun family shoot. Tamra and her sons had recently undergone some pretty big life changes, and she really wanted to capture some fun shots with the most precious people in her life, her handsome boys.

When I arrived at their home, the boys weren’t completely sold on giving up their play time to take pictures so I did what any sensible photographer would do – we morphed photo session into play time and headed out for ice cream! Phoenix landmark Mary Coyle’s provided the perfect backdrop for fun family pictures – and who can resist boys with chocolate ice cream faces!

This week I was incredibly honored to have the opportunity to photograph local photography rock star Kimberly Bee. Together with the awesome Maggie MacDonald and Kim’s handsome husband Mike, we headed out to an amazing spot and shot for several hours, even breaking out the off camera flash setup when we ran out of light.

Kim is a phenomenal photographer and I am blessed to call her my friend. I feel lucky that our paths crossed a few years ago, and even luckier that I get to work with her every once in a while. I know it’s not easy for a photographer to relinquish control and step out in front of the camera, but Kim made it look effortless.

We had a blast, Kim and Mike are clearly such a gorgeous and fun couple that it made the shoot easy. Over the course of the afternoon and evening we climbed on ladders, laid down on the ground, got covered in orange paint, played on dumpsters…by the time we were done we were all exhausted and a total mess. There’s one shot somewhere that shows just how dirty I got – note to self: don’t wear light jeans and a white shirt next time!

It’s been a busy week filled with sick kids and general craziness, and tomorrow I’m shooting a wedding for this lovely couple featured on Kimberly’s blog a few weeks ago, but I promise to get to the rest of the photos from this session as soon as I can!

Thanks to Maggie, for being so dang fun to work with, and a special thanks Kim and Mike, for trusting us to capture your relationship.

I took a blogging hiatus for many months, so I have a backlog of old sessions that never got posted. I’ve been meaning to wade through them and share with you all, and when a window of time presented itself to me today I decided to get going! So, let’s take a trip back in time, shall we?

Wee Penelope Rose was born in late August, and was one of my favorite sessions ever. She lives in an adorable house filled with family history and memories of travels around the globe, has an incredibly beautiful mama and is utterly and completely surrounded by love. It’s normal, of course, for new families to take a bit of time to adjust. Theres a bit of awkwardness and a learning curve that comes with the territory (goodness knows I had many moments like that with both my girls). But some mothers are just so natural, grounded, and connected that you would swear they’ve been mothering for years already, and not just for a matter of days. That was Monique.

I adore being invited to peek into the lives of new families when they are still in the process of falling head over heels in love with one another. There’s something in the air in a household with a new baby that is so palpable that you can feel the love in the room, see it in their touch, hear it in their voices. After I leave a newborn session I usually ride on a baby-love-high all day long!

I’ve been having fun going back through my photo archives lately (more on that in a later post) and I decided to take a look back at this session, so these are mostly photos that Monique hasn’t even seen yet. Surprise Mama – I hope you like them!

Before the holidays this year I got the opportunity to take photos of Tamara and her beautiful family.  We headed to a local park only to find out that we had apparently chosen the most popular family photography date of the year – we had to share the best spots with about eight other photographers!  Despite waiting in line on occasion, we managed to capture some of my favorite kind of shots – beautiful, spontaneous interaction and a whole lot of love!

Welcome to my brand new blog! It’s been a long time coming, and I’m excited to play catch up and share pictures from sessions from this fall. I hope you enjoy the new digs, and I love your comments, so please take a second and say hello!

Last week I had the privilege of photographing wee Denna and her proud new parents. I love newborn sessions. Yes, they take several hours. Yes, I often end up with laundry to do when I get home. Yes, the babies don’t always go along with my plans… But to have the opportunity to greet a new baby in the first weeks of life, to take a peek into the growth of a new family, to witness the love and the miracle of it all…lets just say I consider myself a very lucky woman.

Denna is the perfect little peanut, with her mother’s features, her father’s expressions and the bluest of blue eyes. Other than putting her father through several wardrobe changes, she was an utter angel, and so very loved by her parents.

Sarah and Scott, I hope you enjoy the sneak peek of your precious wee girlie, I cannot wait for you to see the rest of the photos.

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