Hand over the camera!

My friends have often heard me say, "There is little to no evidence that I actually exist in my own family."  That's because - 1) I am the mom and in most families, moms tend to be in charge of any and all picture taking.  2) I am a photographer.  So, naturally, I take most of the photos.  Combine those 2 things and I'm pretty much never in pictures.

HOWEVER, we've reached a new milestone!  My kids not only want to take their owen photos but they can now handle my camera.  I'll be teaching them a little bit at a time...for now, I just set the settings for them and they make sure the focus is correct before they push the button. So yay!  Looks like I'll have more of a role in the documentation of our family now.  That makes me happy.

Moms/women out there tend to strongly dislike having their photos taken, right?  But, take a moment to think about how much you love seeing photos of your own parents/grandparents when they were younger. What if, every time someone wanted to take their picture, they said no for any number of reasons (their weight, their hair, their clothes or just any excuse in general to avoid the camera). I'm also going to guess that, when looking at those old family photos, not once did you say to yourself, "oh she should NOT have had that photo taken because of xyz reason."  You are just happy to have the memory to see!  I'd be so sad to be deprived of those images that document my family.

On that note, Friday night, my son had a Cub Scout event which my husband took him to. So, my daughter and I got some girl time together.  After dinner, as a surprise, I took her to a really cute frozen yogurt store. They have this awesome topping called Boba which I honestly cannot get enough of! They are these little balls of liquid that you can pop in your mouth that taste really good.  I put both flavors on my frozen yogurt - passion fruit and mango.  Mmmmm.

We had a great time hanging out, eating our frozen yogurt and giving our opinions on each of the toppings we chose.  (Both of us agreed that gummy bears don't belong on frozen yogurt, fyi).  I took a few shots of her, of course sitting in this really cool window with the pillows surrounding us.  Then she asked to take my photo. So, I let her. Now, I'll be honest and tell you I'm not in love with how I look here but it's a shot she took that captures this fun night we had together so I'm posting it anyway.  I'm looking past the things I don't love and enjoying the fact that I was looking at my daughter as she held the camera and took a photo of her mom.  That's what matters!

After a bit, she got chilly and decided my coat would be warmer than hers. So, she put it on...and tried to keep it.  That forced me to put her coat on.  I must say, she looks FAR better in my coat than I did in her coat. And again, I love that could give her my camera so we could both be captured.  Once she saw how poorly her coat fit me, I got my own back, thankfully!

Make sure you hand over your camera from time to time - to your kids, to your spouse, to your friends so you can have a place in your photographic history too.  Now, if you want to be IN the photos WITH your kids, call me!  We'll capture some great moments together and no one in your family has to hold the camera.  Perhaps a "Life as it Happens" session would be perfect to create a snapshot of this point in time for you and your family. You can see more details on that kind of session HERE.

To make you laugh!

My sweet little girl got her hair cut yesterday. Neither one of us could remember the last time she got a real cut, beyond trimming her bangs.  So, when she got 2 inches cut off and her hair shaped up, it was quite a difference and she absolutely loved it!

Of course we had to go and do a quick little photo shoot in our front room. I've been blessed with kids who are always willing to be in front of the camera and have fun right along with me. Fingers crossed it lasts...

Anyway, she had on her favorite jeans...which you can't see in the picture above. But, you can see them below.

As you can imagine, it's rather easy to spot when she's trying to wear them 2 and 3 days in a row.  I don't love her hole-y jeans but she does, so we compromise.  She just can't wear them multiple days in a row or I'm afraid they will start standing up on their own.  :)

She decided the holes look like eyes so she wanted to create a smiley face. This was our first attempt.

However, it was a little close to the ground for her liking so we did another one.  She wanted to give the feeling of a full face. So she got up on her toes and we took this one.

As soon as she saw it she said, "Oh, now he looks guilty." What?!?!  I love my girl who keeps me laughing and who will always have fun with me and my camera.

Happy Monday!  And Happy St. Patrick's Day!

When March brings you snow, take snow pictures!

This polar vortex has really been something else this year!  We've had more snow than I can remember in the recent past but temperatures that far too cold for the kids to play outside to go along with it.  I do have faith that we'll see Spring one of these days, though, since a few higher temps have peeked through lately.

Two days ago, we received yet another dumping of snow. While we are all so ready to be done with winter, the positive to this snowfall was that it was the prettiest one of the season.  When I got up and looked out my window to see all the snow clinging to the branches of the trees, my first thought was that I had to go out with my camera and capture it. So I did!  I went to one of my favorite places, Cantigny, followed by a visit to St. James Farm.  Beauty was everywhere!

Here's hoping my next blog post is full of colorful Spring flowers!

I had the best date this weekend!

I had the best date on Friday night...with my son.  On that evening, my daughter and husband headed out to the Daddy Daughter Dance at school.

Each year, on the night of the dance, I take my little guy out for a date.  We've gone to a variety of places.  It's been just the two of us for most of these evenings but on others, we've met up with friends. This year, I decided on just the two of us.

He loves to get dressed up and wear ties.  So, I thought we'd go out for a bit of a fancier date and I'd join him in truly dressing up.  After the rest of our family headed out the door, he and I took our own photo (using my really cool new gorilla pod to hold my camera) and then we were on our way to our restaurant.  I'd searched earlier in the day for an upscale brick oven pizza place and found exactly what I was looking for.

We headed out to the car and my little guy opened the door for me. Such a gentleman!  When we arrived at the restaurant, he asked me to stay put so that he could once again open my car door.  He insisted on opening the door to the restaurant for me, pulled my chair out when we were seated and even made sure I got to the ladies room right before we left so I didn't get lost.  I was so spoiled!

The restaurant was fabulous and exactly what I was hoping for! We had a lovely dinner, sharing bruschetta, a pizza and then dessert.  I had told him he could have anything he liked to drink and he chose Root Beer.  

I'd loved having this sweet face smiling back at me.

A really nice woman at the next table offered to take our photo.  I'm so happy she did!

At one point, my date took out a little black notebook and started writing in it on his lap. I asked him what it was. Turns out, he was taking notes about our night together and writing down our memories as they happened - his version of my camera. We had the absolute best time talking about all kinds of topics. He shared things with me he normally wouldn't have ( I'm sworn to secrecy) but the evening lender itself to that kind of chat.  I loved every second!  

It was such a special night and I'm truly looking forward to next year! I'm one lucky mom!

The Sun has Set

I have a whole other family and life, so to speak, up in Canada.  A good chunk of my summers were spent up North as well as every other Christmas while I was growing up.  My mom is still a Canadian citizen.  It's funny that I also married a man whose mother is still a Canadian citizen too.  For all intents and purposes, I should have dual citizenship as I feel half Canadian. (maybe one of these days I'll look into that). In addition to my relatives, I have many others whom I consider family by choice.  I can thank my grandparents for that as they introduced some amazing people into my life during the time I spent with them.  Any time spent in Canada always included visits to see the Parchments, the MacMillans and several other families who lived up by the cottage where I stayed with my grandma and grandpa in the summers.  Even once my grandparents had passed, whenever I traveled up North, I still made time for a quick visit with my Aunties and Uncles, as I referred to them.

Some of my favorite memories from those great summers are of the Canada Day champagne brunches my grandparents would host at their cottage every year.  There would be 50 people or more, all bringing food, drinking champagne and having fun.  (Only one summer did I sneak some champagne - and it was a long time before I ever did that again!)  The Parchments were some of my grandparent's best friends.  Uncle Trevor and Auntie Alison was how I referred to them (and still do).  Uncle Trevor always seemed to be the main chef in the kitchen, whipping up scrambled eggs with cheese, frying bacon and making all kinds of other yummy foods for the brunch.  Auntie Alison was right there by his side helping both him and my grandma. I can still hear Auntie Alison and my grandma laughing and telling jokes and having a fabulous time. We would also spent New Years Eves with the Parchments, all sitting around the dining room table playing Scattergories while my dad argued with whomever over the definition of a light vs. a lamp. Oh my.  As I got older, the kids would have their own New Years Eve party downstairs in the basement and the grown ups had their fun upstairs.  Oh I have just some fantastic memories!

My heart is heavy and sad tonight as I learned that Auntie Alison passed away yesterday after a long, hard battle with multiple illnesses.  While the heydays of my time in Canada have long passed, my memories are so clear and those snapshots in my mind bring me such happiness. Knowing that another one of the key members of those memories is now gone, makes those days seem just that much farther away. I'm thankful to have known Auntie Allison.  While I'm happy that she is no longer in pain, that doesn't make her loss any easier to accept. I have no doubts that she and my grandma met up right away, upon her arrival in Heaven, to do some much needed catching up and lots of laughing.

This image is one from two summers ago but seems appropriate. It was taken on Four Mile Lake, where so many of those summers were spent and so many of those memories were created.  You will be missed Auntie Alison.  Sending love, light and peace to all of those still here on Earth, missing you so very, very much.

Life as it Happens - A new kind of session!

One year ago today, I became a full time photographer!  While that had been my intention one day in the future, I hadn't planned on it happening quite exactly when or how it did. But, looking back, I couldn't be more thankful. I always say that life takes you where you need to go and the universe brings you what you need.  What I needed was to have the time to pour all my focus and energy into this deep passion of mine for photography and capturing life around me. Here I am, one year later, following my dream.  I couldn't possibly feel more fortunate!

So, I thought to myself, what a perfect day to announce the launch of a new type of session I will be offering called Life as it Happens.  This is something I've wanted to do for awhile now and I finally feel like the time is right.  It's truly my favorite kind of photography and I do it all the time with my own family, as well as occasionally for a few friends. Now, I'd love to do it for you!

This will be approximately a 3-4 hour session (can be broken up into several segments) and is not a family portrait session.  It's exactly what the title of the session implies...life as it happens.  Think of it as a snapshot in time of what your life looks like right now.  When you look back in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, you'll have a time capsule of what life looked like back then. It's the small details, the moments as they happen...the games you play with your kids, the special toys they love, the snuggling, the playing, the nap time rituals.  It's the trips to the park or the visits to the ice cream store you take when a special treat is in order.  Perhaps it's playing in the snow.  Maybe it's the art projects that take over your kitchen a few times a week.

This is me, being a fly on the wall, capturing your life as it really is. That means it isn't always coordinated or neat or perfect. (I mean, whose life is, really? Certainly not mine.)  It's the world you've created and a day in your life, captured so you can revisit it as many times as you'd like as life continues on. It's real moments.  No stress about having matching clothes or everyone behaving or looking at the camera at the same time with perfect smiles.  It's the Mommy moments, the sweet looks, the chubby cheeks, the blanket that gets carried around everywhere.  It's being able to be in the photos with your kids, simply being mom or dad and giving them the gift for the future of seeing these moments when they are all grown up. (okay, I'll stop - I can't think about mine being all grown up right now either...)  

While this type of session is more ideally suited for parents with little munchkins, it could also be good for a special outing or special time with any family or friends that you would like to have documented.

You will receive a custom made book with all of the best images we captured from the day, giving  you a snapshot of your Life as it Happens. This can happen in all kinds of weather - even ones filled with lots of snow.  I'd love to connect up and get a session on the books for you!

So, there it is.  One year down, a new session being offered and lots of excitement about the year ahead! I can hardly wait!

One Month Down

My first month of this year's Project 365 is complete. Off to a good start, I would say!

On to February!