Emmett endured his first photo session today…handled it like a pro! #LadyKiller
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Big Sister, Little Sister
Amanda and I go way back. Seems she’s always been involved in the Big Sister program. Love that about her! When I asked for unique ‘twosomes’ to volunteer for a project I was working on she jumped at the chance to schedule a session for she and her ‘little’. This is ‘Joy’…she loves to read so I met them at the Minneapolis Central Library…..she’d never been. So fun!
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…oh, baby!
With the double ear infection behind her and mood lifted, we gathered to re-shoot. This is Olivia at 9+ months…a much happier baby girl!
Betsy
The other day, I tossed my 50mm 1.2 lens on and had some fun with my girl. She never sits for too long so the razor thin depth of field makes getting a crisp shot of her more of a game for the both of us. I like playing…and sincerely believe that she does too! Recently, I’ve been making some changes and updates to my WhiskerDo site. I love animals, particularly pets, so back in 2011 I launched this site in hopes that I could surround myself with all sorts of critters and capture them for their humans to enjoy! With the mobile age that’s upon us, it was time to make the site more mobile friendly! You can reach me through that site if you have any questions or simply wish to have your furkid captured! (click image to enlarge for detail)
Saying Goodbye…
Today I will gather with my siblings to bid a final farewell to Charles Butter. A family friend, that spanned nearly 5 decades, will be laid to rest later today. I loved this gentle giant and while I’m not a fan of beards I would NEVER pass up the opportunity to get a big ‘ol hairy kiss from this man!
I love his wife, Anne, (whom my sister was named after) and most recently reconnected with one of their sons, Dan, on a creative, photography level. I even had the honor of photographing Dan’s wedding to Celeste, 2 years ago, which is when this photograph was taken.
These two could often be spotted as “Santa & Mrs. Claus” during the holiday season. They made a special visit to see my mom out at the Hospice home, in costume, over Christmas in 2009.
I love them for that!
I thank God for putting this family in my life.
They’ve made it richer!
Give my mom & dad a big squeeze! 🙂
Kathryn::Children’s Portraiture
Hmmmm…what I love most about photographing kids? Good question. What I love most about photographing children is the opportunity to get together with them year after year on or around their birthday to see and capture their growth both physically and to see who they are becoming as a person. I have had the pleasure of capturing Kathryn for 10 years now and she never ceases to amaze me. She’s 11 now….. WOW! What a joy she is. So grown up, full of both confidence and humility.
We try to do something different each year to mark her birthday milestone and this year I asked a friend (Jenny Phillips of The Country Camera) if I could borrow her property out in Medina and we set the date. While Kathryn actually turned 11 back in May, we went ahead and let summer happen then grabbed a great autumn day and let Kathryn…be Kathryn….
Then we added her cavachon, Sam….
gemma~21
My niece, Gemma, turned 21 on Monday. Rather than mixing it up and gifting her with a bottle of wine or fun flavored vodka for this momentous occasion, I opted to stick with my time honored tradition of a lively portrait session….no hangovers here! I think this makes 8 years running now. Gemma works at Taglio (pronounced Tah’ lee oh) in Excelsior so I sort of got bumped out of the hair portion of the gift but they really have fun with her hair so we just spend more time shooting! This year, I called upon a friend and fellow photographer, Jenny Phillips out at The Country Camera in Medina, MN. She hosted a TCPPA summer picnic on her property last year and I walked around in awe. A lovely farm on 200 acres..close enough yet far enough out to give you that “wide open spaces” feel. Gemma said, “Well, I’m not really a country girl.” And when we wrapped..she was impressed! I love you, Gemma. Here are a few of my faves….
Being Amanda.
The youngest of 3 means, quite clearly, you rarely get to do things first in the family. It’s either been done, being done or no one gets to do it. But don’t tell that to Amanda, she’s a trail blazer and doesn’t normally let things stand in her way. You see, being 3rd also means that the bar has been lowered by each previous child making things, sometimes, more attainable. Now, I’m no parent but I occasionally get the opportunity to “fill in” and my style, well…let’s just say…it’s pretty loose. I even get the “green light” from time to time with some of my nieces and nephews because…well, people trust me…and by people, I mean…my siblings. They trust that I will use my better judgment and not get carried away, make a scene or lose my mind. Yesterday was no exception. It was Amanda’s turn to redeem her (October 22nd) birthday gift from aunt Sue….a new “do” and a photo session.
I’m pretty certain that most 10 year old girls (outside of “toddlers and tiaras”!) don’t get to have highlights put in there hair and then toss on a little mascara and head out to a location and have their own private photo shoot compete with props. Yippee for Amanda cuz that’s just what we did yesterday. Due to the fact that Amanda has 2 older (girl) cousins and an older sister that have received this gift in the past she has a tendency to want to emulate their sessions and often likes to get a little serious. But we have fun too, don’t get me wrong.
We got a late start yesterday and with daylight savings time ending I’d forgotten to plan on the sun setting earlier but we got it done! Being 10 also means that high on her list was getting to a family function on time for cake that afternoon and it set the pace for the shoot! Amanda wanted to hit the same location that her cousin, Jess, hit on Saturday for her shoot so once the hair was perfect we hopped in the car and headed back out to the University of Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
I love her. Here’s a few of my faves from the day….can’t believe she’s 10 already!
