the wait is over

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the hardest thing about shooting editorial work is the wait.  but the magazine is finally out -- babiekins magazine's exciting first issue in print -- now available at barnes n noble and books-a-million.  so many congratulations to you, priscilla!!

 

and so now, after six months of patiently waiting, i can share some of my favorite photos from the two editorial shoots i did for this issue.

first up is gina, a regular writing contributor for babiekins magazine.  she is also one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet!  outside of babiekins magazine, you can find her writings and blog here.

and a model shoot in san diego.  three separate locations.  four outfit changes.  this little girl (and her mom) were absolutely amazing.

i always try and get a few shots for the mom too...

thank goodness for the water

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most who know me know that i've been having a hard time here in tampa. i really want to just pretend we're moving to germany this summer and start packing things up. but the reality is that we have no idea where steve will be stationed next and the kids and i very well could be here in tampa an extra year by ourselves, to get kiele through high school.  i'm hoping we will know something regarding steve's next assignment by december. with all of that said, one of the things that always makes my heart happy and keeps me sane while here, is shooting in the water. it feeds my soul more than i can even explain. i think about it constantly. i long for it. i ache for it.

here are some photos from an evening spent in the water, with the littles and my friend, jen, when she was visiting us a couple weeks ago from atlanta. i wanted to post these earlier, but ended up with a flu bug that kicked my butt -- and i'm still battling.  anyways...

i think it's fascinating to view our two sets of photos -- how very different the feel / mood is between our photos, yet shot together, many of the frames fired within minutes of each other...

and yes, i do think about the fact that there might not be water at steve's next assignment location, but i'll deal with that when the time comes and...probably be quickly planning my vacation trips back to tampa. lol.

i did edit some images in color. maybe i'll post those tomorrow.

open your heart

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i wish you that you will open your heat to all these presents [light, water...] and let them flow through you that everyone that you meet on this day will be blessed by you just by your eyes by our smile by your touch just by your presence let the gratefulness overflow into blessing all around you then it will really be a good day. - happiness revealed | louie schwartz

such a wonderful video. please -- just keep watching...

so grateful to gorete, who not only hosted our workshop a couple weeks ago, in san francisco; but also, so graciously opened her heart and home to me the following days.  i cannot thank you and your family enough!!

 

 

what ____ looks like | month five [part II]

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every christmas break, we head to oma and opa's in nevada. they live in an awesome house in carson city, amongst the beauty of the sierra nevadas. we're always hopeful for a white christmas. this year was anything but. when we arrived, it was freezing, hitting the single digits at night. by the time we left, they were having record-breaking temperatures in the 60's. and i think they also made a new no-snow record. but, we had such an awesome time there as we always do. so here's a bit more of what our 10 days, with family in nevada, looks like...

seeing lots of deer.

tons of tree climbing.

sometimes sky climbed too high and needed her uncle's help getting down.

i can't get enough of sky's dirty rolled up pants.

the older cousins, having some time away together.

meeting and playing with new friends. ryder's the only boy cousin, so it's nice that he got to meet a couple boys, from the neighborhood.

the hill, where they spend hours playing.

quite the duo.

the life of the party.

going on a hike.

it took linus a few days to recover from the hike, but i think he had fun.

someone turned seevn and  had a bowling birthday party. we had a blast and definitely plan on bowling as a family more often.

we celebrated his birthday (on his birthday) at home too.

siblings (minus wendy and thomas, who couldn't make it this year).

all of us. i promise oma a group photo every year.

i love that my kids have this time at oma and opa's every year -- time to run, play, explore, climb, hike, camp. and i love it that they're now old enough to spend a few weeks there in the summer too. so many joyful memories being made.

family favs | 2011

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sharing some favorites of my kids from this past year.  my goal was to narrow it down to 20 images; however, i didn't quite make it.  28 images | 35 photographs...

one of the best changes i made with my photography in 2011 was to take more everyday photos of my kids.  i plan on doing even better in 2012.

lensbaby | interview and info

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so fun to see my lensbaby interview reposted on the lensbaby blog yesterday.  not sure if i ever shared the interview here...

i get asked a lot of questions regarding shooting with a lensbaby (i've actually received five emails over the past couple days).  most often, it's inquiring about my favorite lensbaby products or which products i'd recommend. so i thought i'd share a bit about that here (lensbaby makes for a great christmas gift).

first, you need a lens.  i have both the composer and composer pro lenses. the composer pro is definitely more solid / sturdy feeling.  and for a $50 difference, i'd go with the pro.

then you need an optic (or two or three...). i started using a lensbaby years ago, with the double glass optic. some are discouraged by the fact that with the double glass optic, you have to internally swap aperture rings.  however, honestly...i rarely swap the ring. most of the time i'm shooting with with the f/4 ring in.

not long ago, lensbaby released the sweet 35 optic, which is awesome because you can adjust the aperture on the outside [versus having to insert a new aperture ring in the optic].  the sweet 35 is an awesome optic; however, for me personally, i've become so used to my double glass optic (some habits are hard to break) and i seem to be more of a 50mm shooter than a 35mm shooter.  so i still seem to default much of the time to using the double glass optic.

i have almost all the optics and wish i could share more thoughts on the other optics but i haven't shot with any others -- YET!! it's definitely one of my 2012 goals; experimenting and playing with the other lensbaby optics.  anyone want to model for me?

here's a few of my favorite lensbaby photos shot in 2011...

and i'm so honored to have this shot grace lensbaby's sweet 35 optic box.

my muse | part II

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spend time every day listening to what your muse is trying to tell you.- saint bartholomew

for me, there's so many ups and downs in photography.  self-doubt seems to be the biggest culprit, creeping it's way in...time and time again. often, i get a photo that i so love and i think to myself, this is it...i'm done. how am i ever going to capture something like this again? doubting my abilities; viewing it more as an lucky break. i know that i am my own worst enemy. i am the one stopping myself and i must change that way of thinking. gratefully, my muse shakes me silly and continues to inspire me. and somehow it happens...another photograph that i fall in love with.

i'm feeling a bit lot lost and frustrated right now, which i'll share more about in another post. but for the moment, as the quote says, i just need to listen. and trust!! thankfully, she knows better than i do.

skyler, you looked over my shoulder and asked me what i was writing about you. this is what i want you to know...

i love you to the moon and back. and so much more than that. thank you for making me the person [and photographer] that i am. i trust you. completely. thank you! for being the amazing soul that you are...and inspiring me more than i ever dreamed.

love, momma

my muse | part I

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muse.the goddess or the power regarded as inspiring a poet, artist, thinker or the like. a goddess that inspires a creative artist. a source of inspiration.

skyler is and always has been my muse. she inspires me more than any other. she's put up with my growth and frustrations in photography. she's allowed me to test new ideas and techniques. most of the time, she just does her thing and i excitedly shoot. we understand one another that way. but, i hope she knows how much i truly appreciate her and all she does and gives to me...each and every time. i can't imagine a better muse in my life but i guess that's what a muse is all about. i can't imagine my photography without her. ever.

needless to say, i have SO MANY photos of sky.  i was grabbing some of my favorites of favorites, to share, and there were still so many that i decided to have a muse part I and II. most of these have come and gone, from my website portfolio. a few have stayed strong. i hope you enjoy part I [2006, when i first picked up a camera, till 2008]...

goodness, i love this child so much. so much my opposite. so much my same.  so much completes me. and i can't wait to continue to grow WITH her.

what ____ looks like | month three

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october was a tad bit really crazy. it brought my 42nd birthday, new plumbing for our whole house, the complete demo of a bathroom, the start of the bathroom renovation and a husband leaving for three weeks to afghanistan. in celebrating the chaos, here's a bit of what our everyday amongst the chaos looks like...

kid mess. not related to renovation mess.

"tribal markings", courtesy of kiele. notice the little chest hairs. he had armpit hair too.

ryder's new trick, which he won't stop doing.

charley love.

always asking to help with chores. well not always, but a lot of times.

location scouting.

playing on the front yard swing.

meeting more new friends on the farm, during kiele's riding lessons.

star tattoos and giggles.

half of the time, i find her upside down somewhere.

and some iphone [instagram] photos from this month...

where you'll find the little ones and i, every tuesday and thursday. where's skyler and ryder?

a few of my birthday surprises.  can't even begin to tell you how much i love the art my kids create for me [thank you kim!!].

in the middle of the bathroom demo.

skyler: "hey mom, this looks like your hair".

i just love her knees. even more when they're dirty.

and here's to november and celebrating all that's to come.

there's a group of 12 of us participating in this monthly project.  i hope you'll check them all out [clicking link to link]. next up is the awesome stephanie moore | tucson senior photographer.

superwoman

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no, i didn't see her cape but i secretly think that kristin is superwoman. five kids, ages one to 12. all so well behaved, kind and polite. her husband often away for work.  she home schools. and who looks this amazing after five kids, with the youngest just turning one? yep, superwoman, i say. i was supposed to photograph the young family a month ago, but it was rained out. they were driving from gainesville and we just couldn't take a chance with the weather we were having at the time. well...it just so happened that her ten-year-old had a football game in clearwater this past friday, so we did a session with kristin and the kids on saturday. and i'm super excited to be photographing the whole family in the spring, when kristin's husband is done traveling for a bit.

kristin is an awesome photographer, who recently moved from california to gainesville. and while i'm so honored each and every time i'm commissioned by my peers, it also adds some added stress and pressure [self-imposed, of course].

what if i don't live up to her expectations? what if she's disappointed? what if... what if... what if...

but i'm happy to say that this is what kristin shared after seeing some of her photos...

at loss of words...really (and i can talk.) loveeverysingleoneofthem. (as in, have the huge urge to take down every single photo in my house and just put these up instead.)

love them, love, them. LOVE LOVE LOVE them.

cannot thank you enough, deb.  from the very bottom of my heart....k

and with that said, my heart is SO, SO happy!! again kristin, i can't thank you enough for entrusting me with your family's photographs!!

here's a few of my favorites...

looking for light in tampa

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the other day, sky went with me to see what the evening light would be like at a specific location. i knew it got dark there quickly because of all the trees and wasn't sure if 5:30 PM was going to be too late for my shoot the following week. sky is my muse. completely. and i can't get enough of her although i respectfully try [and always make sure to thank her...over and over again]. from our looking for light adventure...

sky is my free-spirited one.  the one who is, in many ways, my opposite.  she definitely completes me and oh, i love her so!!

thank you courtney courtney for the fabulous dress and owl cardigan.  we love them so!!

grateful

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so grateful for the magical gifts i received last week from one of my clients. francesca emailed me this so kind, heartfelt note, after seeing her photos...

deb, we all can learn to take pictures by reading manuals, going to workshops, using photoshop. but what you do... you CAN'T learn. it's in you. it's the power to understand the little glimpses of bliss that can show up on a daily basis. it's SEEING what, as mothers and fathers, we feel in our hearts. as I told you before, you gave me the pictures that I carry in my soul but now I can print them :) hope you get back two-fold what you give to people like me. and its not just the pictures.

and then i got this hand drawn beautiful portrait in the mail of...ME.  :-) notice the awesome beads at the bottom of my dreads.  and i so love the heart on my dress and my colorful camera...along with being surrounded by hearts and flowers.  who could wish for anything more?!

here's a few photos from our session together, in chicago.

their middle child is their wonderfully spirited one [with the best dimples ever] and i so love the face she gave me in the photo on the right.

and you can read some of francesca's thoughts about our time together here.

francesca, thank you for entrusting me with your family's photographs. thank you for your hospitality. thank you for your kindness. can't wait until the next time!! ;-) xo.

lensbaby love

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most of the time when i photograph other photographers and their families, i try to focus on family shots and photos of the photographer with his or her kids (because we're just not in the family's photos very much).  needless to say, my heart was so very happy when karen requested some lensbaby photos of her kids.  here are a few of my favorites, from our time together in chicago (which reminded me so much of growing up and made me miss the midwest).

having a 14-year-old, who most of the time doesn't want to have anything to do with me, this photo melts my heart...