“What’s up with this?”

I deliver 100+ pictures on every shoot these days? That, while it states right here on my website to expect around 65…”What’s up with this?” wonders my husband out loud.

The answer is all around.  Have you seen Idaho lately? I mean, have you? It is BEAUFITUL ! It looks like England-minus-the-stone-walls: pretty and greeeeen (my favorite!)…There are long, wavy grasses and colorful flowers everywhere;  playful, puffy clouds too… In fact this place looks quite UN-Idaho-like right now. And I’m loving it!

With nature so beautiful and bursting at the seams, I can’t stop taking pictures. I find myself merrily clicking away in every direction. Problem is, all these pictures still has to be edited which has led to too many late nights in front of the computer. I need some time away from the little screen to  get out there! I’m gonna have to trim the picture count back to normal…SOON.

So if you receive the normal 65 instead of 100 pictures, don’t feel bad…it’s not you, it’s me. And if you received hundreds- consider yourself spoiled! 

LOVED seeing you all again this year, Matt’s- family-of-6 ! I enjoyed our little adventure of a photo shoot. It was 90 minutes of discovering-nature-through-kids-eyes. Great choice on the outfits too !

       

Promises made are Promises kept

About a month ago I wrote a blog about how I needed to take more pictures of my own kids; I kind of made a promise to myself that I’ll do a shoot with them once a month.

Just as well I took those pictures last month because since then -- in fact the day after the shoot!--- my youngest laid into her own hair with a pair of scissors. She gave herself a nice mullet which we then modified into a brush cut. Now she’s my little boy-girl; pretty darn proud of it too.

Promises made are promises kept. It was photo time again!  So, I rounded the two of them up and carted them off into the foothills---under loud protest  from my oldest off course, what’s new? I love how my kids don’t mind fences, wires, thorns, sticks, brush, bush, molehills, clingy seeds, holes or critters-in –holes. They got right into that field like there were no obstacles at all. (I’d like to believe it is because they are so tough. But more likely it was the promise of ice cream at the end… )

So far so good: delivering on my promise to myself! And it was easier than the first time.  Hopefully there will be no ‘makeovers’ after this shoot!

            

Trading Mother Nature

I have my own style of photography- as does most photographers. I like natural, non pretentious pictures. I like innocence in photography. And I like to use Mother Nature as a backdrop.

Unfortunately having a certain ‘style’ has its downside: it can easily become predictable. And even, heaven forbid…boring.

So I was all for it when Andi suggested going urban for our shoot. I was ready to trade Mother Nature in for an Alley Way. Hey, even better: How about shooting in front of a dumpster? Yes! Family pictures in front of a green dumpster! And while I’m at it, why not add a trash can and the ugliest orange sofa in human memory to the scene? Now we’re talking….

So if you’re thinking of booking a shoot with me…BEWARE! I may have a wild impulse and as a result you may find yourself, an ugly orange sofa and a green dumpster in the same frame…

THANK YOU Andi! Getting inspired by your was a joy from AtoZ.

        

Family Get-Togethers

As far as  Family Get-Togethers go, the members of this family are experts. They need very little excuse, if any, to plan one. And with Family Get-Togethers I mean 40 plus people. Everyone comes! These days some even fly in from France after someone went and got herself married to a handsome Frenchman (-:      Sometimes I get invited too…Well, my cameras get invited and I go along for the ride.

So, when a new baby girl is born in the family you can bet your bottom dollar there will be…-yep, you guessed it-- a Family Get-Together! With lots of trimmings like gifts and advice and cooing and picture taking (that’s me!) added to it.

Thanks everyone, for having me at your gatherings from time to time. I’m working really hard at remembering all the names…

       

Bundu Bash

I like to choose a new setting for almost every shoot - keeps things interesting. Photo shoots add up pretty fast so I’m constantly scouting. While I’m on my run, I’m scouting. While I’m driving, I’m scouting (so watch out when you see me come, I’ve probably only got one eye on the road!) I find myself trespassing on private property quite a bit, checking things out. If I like it, I ask if I can use it. For the most part owners are quite taken by the idea, and very accommodating.

This was also the case with the sweet 85 year old lady that allowed us to use her farm for baby Mia’s family pictures. Nobody lives on the grounds anymore and the property has been untended for years which off course, made it all the more ‘scenic’ to me. Nature and wildlife basically has the run of the place and we had some interesting distractions during our shoot. There was a small critter (unidentified to date) hissing at me from the insides of an irrigation pipe in one spot and two Ospreys circling us, wildly protesting our intrusion underneath their nest, in another. This farmyard is a-little-bubble-from-the-past surviving amidst enclosing development. I hope it will never be discovered.

My young family had to bundu bash (Google it!) a bit, but they were good sports about it. And now they have a disc full of pictures to take with them when they move to Montana soon. Good luck guys! And thank you…