Today I photographed a wedding...

....but a very non-traditional one, as you can see. My daughter and her friend spent a couple of hours today setting up this very special wedding between the kitty and puppy. Or rather, I should say, the cat and the dog if they are old enough to get married! Lots of thought went into the preparations, including a ring bearer, a flower girl, an officiant and matching rings.

The ceremony is underway as the puppy ring bearer delivers the rings.

A bird's eye view of the wedding.

The flower girl horse, making her way down the aisle, as she tosses Rainbow Loom rubber bands, representing beautiful flowers.

They did it! (note the matching wedding bands).

Wishing the furry couple years and years of happiness!

Take pictures. Lots of them.

I love taking pictures.  I should, since that's what I've chosen to do for a living and I'm truly passionate about it.  But, when I say take pictures, I don't necessarily mean professional ones (though doing that from time to time is definitely good too!  But that's a different post for another time).  I mean take pictures of the every day.  Capture life as it's happening. It doesn't matter if you have a point and shoot or a big fancy camera or if you just use your iphone.  Whatever it is, capture those moments - those things that make up your life, big or small. Gather the moments, digitally or on film, that make up your life.  Someday, your loved ones will look back at those images to get a picture of your life and relive all of those moments with a smile. Even if your house is messy - take the pictures!

While I normally try to post my best shots these days (because of what I do), I have a ton of normal, every day photos in my iphoto library and in print in my closet.  As I was going through some of these to post for this blog entry, they made me smile. I'm not looking at them for composition or lighting or color or anything like that. It's just the moments I want to see. And in some cases, I want to see the people who are no longer here with us on Earth.

Today, I attended a beautiful memorial service for a woman who touched many, many lives. I didn't know her very well but for the times I was in her presence, her spirit was strong and positive and very welcoming. I truly wished I had known her better.  During the service, there were 3 different slide shows set to moving and emotional songs. As I watched it, I kept thinking, "Wow. She really lived. What a beautiful life." The photo montages were filled with silly moments, travel, family gatherings, touching moments - life as it  happened. And I loved every second.  It was a good reminder to just snap away during the every day because everything is fleeting. It was also a good reminder to really live - share your life, hug, snuggle, tell the people you love just how you feel.  You won't regret having the photos but you may very well regret having never taken the picture.

Whether you print them out and organize them into beautiful books or just keep them on your computer (but please oh please oh please make sure they are backed up!) take the pictures!  So, sometime in the next couple of days, grab a camera and capture some moments that show who you are, who your family is, what life looks like right now.  AND - make sure you hand the camera to other people so you can be in a few shots, as well, with proof that YOU really did exist in your family.  (a challenge for all moms - professional photographer or not).

So go.  Take a few pictures. Today. And next week. And so on. You'll be happy you did!

Senior Session - Miss L!

I love photographing Seniors.  They are such fun sessions!  This one was extra special because this beautiful girl is the daughter of two of my high school classmates. I have absolutely no idea how that much time could have possibly gone by where our class has Seniors of its own.  It's wild to look back and think, "If someone had told me I would be photographing this mom's daughter this many years after we graduated (the number shall remain a mystery), I would have thought they were crazy!" But, here we are.  She's on the brink of the next chapter of her life and I'm getting what I love to do.  Life is good!

Best of luck this year and beyond!

Flashes of Hope!

Well, I'm rather excited to find out that I CAN share some images from my day at the Peds in the Weeds Picnic where I volunteered for Flashes of Hope at the beginning of last month!  For those of you who may not have seen the posts, Flashes of Hope is an organization where photographers volunteer their time and take photos of children and their families who are chronically or, possibly, terminally ill. A professional lab also donates the prints that each family receives. My first time with FOH was as an assistant for a friend of mine who is also a photographer.  She did her first shoot in a hospital with a backdrop and lights, which I don't generally use.  Neither one of us was sure what to expect but it turned out to be an incredibly positive experience with lots of laughter and smiles and snuggles between the kids and their parents.

As I do most of my shooting outside, I was happy to find out that there were also several opportunities to take images outside during the summer camps that the current and former patients are invited to, along with their families.  So I volunteered for what turned out to be the last camp of the summer and had an absolutely amazing time.  There were former patients, current patients and families there who had lost someone they loved. Truly an incredible, emotional day and I'm so very thankful to be able to give back in this manner. Here is a sample of some of the happiness, love and laughter we captured.

 

Looking forward to next summer to do it all again! Please check out and like the Flashes of Hope Facebook page at: http://on.fb.me/1a6H3QK