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She is…
Urban goddess
Downtown diva
Fierce and feminine
Dark chocolate
Half-moon eyes
And open heart
Strength you can lean on
And a soft place to fall.
She is Leigh…and va-va-va-voom – does she know how to work the camera!
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.
I was in the bookstore at the mall, crouching down to get a book off the bottom shelf. When I stood up I saw another mama next to me, wearing her toddler son in a brown hotsling pouch. I just happened to be rocking my own pink and green Pucci print hotsling at the time, six month old Julie along for the ride. In the manner of mothers recognizing common ground (it doesn’t take much when you are a stay at home mama eager for connection) we began to talk.
We chatted for a bit and exchanged names. She paused for a second, smiled and said “Oh, I think I read your blog”.
I tell you, people, it was my first (and only) glimpse into of the rush of celebrity. Someone recognized my name, knew who I was. Holy-freaking-cow, I was actually cool enough to have readers! Went straight to my head, it did.
Then I came crashing back down to earth and remembered all the things I had written about recently. All the personal things. All the goofy things. All the not-so-pretty things.
I had been chronicling my life online for so long (since before there were even blogs, let alone facebook or twitter. true story.) that I tended to forget that real people could be reading. Not just my mother, or nameless, faceless, far away people, but actual, local, run into them in the bookstore kind of people.
Totally freaked me out.
Luckily, I got over it, and a true friendship was born. And even though I never seem to have time to write anymore, I’m pretty sure she still reads my blog.
And that still makes me feel pretty dang cool.
I normally head to downtown Phoenix for my urban photography sessions, but Tamara lives on the west side of town, so we went with downtown Glendale this time – and I was not disapointed!
We happened upon this spot toward the end of the session and I was in LOVE! The perfect backdrop for the perfect mama to be.
Things I know for sure
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!
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!
