remembering max

most who read my blog already know about my journey with max and his family.  the mikulak family graced and touched my life more than i could ever express. i do my best to continue to photograph the mikulak family in san diego every year. and this year, our session took place a few weeks ago...

and when our session was done, there stood hannah just like this...

with the light beaming through max's urn and hannah. and it was in that moment that i was so perfectly and beautifully reminded that max was right there with us!!

i feel so very blessed to have the mikulak family as part of my life.

and don't ever forget to live life to the max!!

my very first photograph of max, captured december 2007.

san diego summer portrait sessions

i've had some recent san diego inquiries and am thrilled to share that i'll be returning to san diego the weekend of june 4th and 5th and july 17th and 18th, for child and family portrait sessions.  i still have a couple sessions available.  if interested in reserving a session, please email me. so very excited!!

here's a few images from my last fabulous san diego visit

every day

not sure if i ever shared this video.  with tears streaming down my face, i viewed it again today, after visiting the mikulak's blog, which i check regularly.  i think about max and his family each and every day, as they have touched my life in a way that is beyond words!  thank you max and the entire mikulak family for making my life fuller, making me a better person and teaching me how very important it is to live and cherish each and every day to the fullest!!

in sharing this, i encourage you and challenge  you to give  in any way you can this year and every year.  it will touch you in ways that are truly indescribable. if you'd like to help in pediatric cancer fundraising and advocacy, max's ring of fire charity foundation can be found here.

this video is 18 minutes long and amazing. max was such an incredible little boy, whose life was so sadly stolen by neuroblastoma at the age of seven.

(too short) Life | Max Mikulak | Max's Ring of Fire www.MaxsRingOfFire.org from Andy Mikulak on Vimeo.

if you don't have 18 minutes right now, there's also this video. about four minutes long.

Inspiration | Max Mikulak | Max's Ring of Fire www.MaxsRingOfFire.org from Andy Mikulak on Vimeo.

eta: looking for other ways to give with your photography skills? check out the give ten project for ideas (there's links of how to give on the right side).

san diego sessions

i'm excited to be making lots of trips back to san diego to shoot ( end of august, mid and end of september and the end of october). i had a number of clients email over the past few months, sharing that they wanted to reserve a fall session. after booking all the clients that had previously emailed, i still have a few sessions available. september 25th 8 AM september 25th 5 PM

please email me (deb@debsphotographs.com), if interested in reserving one of the above session dates.

also, i have a client that emailed me the other day and wants to fly me to san diego to photograph her family. i'm still working on my exact flight plans but i will have one or two sessions available the weekend of september 11th. if you are interested in a session that weekend, please email.

happy thoughts

inspired by the uber-cool blog, the rockstar diaries, i decided to post a few of my favorite things.  and considering the slightly bumpy journey we're currently on, i need to be visiting to those places that make me uber-happy as much as i can. so...without further ado, here are my 10 favorite things:

1. thinking about the days when i will sail away with my family, for a year--traveling the americas, free from everything that holds us down, everything that holds us back. 2. shooting my polaroid camera 3. the fabulous drawings and letters made and given to me by my kids 4. thinking about how wonderful my husband is, how much he loves me and what an incredible father he is to our children (one of them not even his) 5. music 6. a handwritten anything 7. giving back, which not only makes me happy but feeds my soul 8. true, real, passionate love 9. the thought that i have inspired someone 10. having our family together and complete!!

when times are tough, it's especially important to do, visit, remember, dream of the things that make us the happiest (even if i don't look so happy in the picture below :-) ).  looking forward to hearing about your favorite things.