upcoming travels | sessions

lots of traveling in the near future -- VA, OBX, san diego, HI, NY & chicago.  and i'm super excited about it!! VA -- april 16-17 OBX -- apr 18 san diego -- apr 23-29 HI (maui) -- july 11 - 21 NY -- august (dates TBD) chicago -- october (dates TBD) san diego -- november (dates TBD)

still a few sessions available. please inquire if interested in more information or reserving a photo session.

also, i had the pleasure of sharing on the creative mama today.  you can check out my post here.

a few photos -- all from past travel sessions:

coming home | debut

last december, i had the most amazing opportunity to photograph the beaty family homecoming. mike was deployed for seven months and their daughter, scout, was born while mike was gone (two months before his return).  they also have two boys -- four and two years old.  yes, steph is a super woman!! and lifetime television was there too... to record the beaty family reunion, for their new series Coming Home, debuting this sunday at 10 PM EST.

here's the series trailer:

being a military family, i can't wait to watch this series. brings tears to my eyes just watching the trailer!!

i hope you'll watch!

steph isn't sure which week her family will be on the show. i'll be sure to keep you posted on any updates i receive.

here's some of my favorite photos from their homecoming...

CA model(s) needed | feb 13th

our wallflower friends winter retreat is quickly approaching and i'm looking for child and family models.  optimally, i am looking for a family with two girls, who can take direction and are not shy of the camera.  or i could work with one family and then two girls, ages 5-12 (two girls could be from same family or different). the session will begin with the family and progress to lensbaby photos of the girls (see photos below) and be approximately an hour long (start time 4:30 PM).

the shoot location will be at the 29 palms inn, twentynine palms, california.  there is no session fee and models will receive complimentary high-resolution digital files of all edited images.

please email me the following information if interested: name ages of child(ren) recent photo of children and / or family (within past two months)

and feel free to email me with any and all questions.

the power of giving

while i was on vacation, in nevada, i got an email from margot.  she was emailing to make sure it was okay that they used one of my photos of sam in their 2010 family photos, which she wanted to post on  her blog. the first thought that came to mind, along with the tears, was, are you KIDDING me? you NEVER have to ask me about using the photos i took of sam. but instead, i replied,

absolutely. and please don't ever feel you need to ask me about using sam's photos at anytime, for anything. please just use them.

for those who didn't follow my journey with sam and his family, let me share a bit. sam went to the same elementary school in san diego, as kiele. i had learned of sam from kiele's deaf itinerant teacher, diane (sam was hearing impaired due to chemo). i asked diane to share with sam's parents that i was available to them any time at all, to photograph sam and their family. time went on. life was busy. and i hadn't heard from sam's parents.

then one day in late 2006, while photographing kiele's classmates, i ran to sam's class and asked the teacher if i could pull sam out of class for a few photos. i knew sam's teacher because kiele had had her for 2nd grade. so i pulled sam out of class and took a few photos. once the prints arrived, i boxed them up, brought them to sam's teacher and asked that she give them to the parents and tell them that they are a gift from me.

one of those photos, from the very first time i photographed sam, is the framed photo below.

© meredith brunette

i share this for a couple of reasons: first, the power of giving back is beyond words. if you haven't given back in some way (and i'm not talking monetarily; we all have our gifts, talents, information, etc.), i beg you to. give when and however you can. it can be as simple as giving a helping hand to someone in need. second, don't be discouraged whenever attempting to give and it's not working out exactly as planned. if i've made an honest, whole-hearted attempt and it doesn't work out, that's all i can do (except with sam, i was able to find a workaround). the reason i say this is because i have received quite a few emails sharing that they are trying to give their photography services but the person / parent isn't responding and they're wondering how to proceed.

it amazing how when  you give and expect absolutely nothing in return, they fill your heart so greatly. these families that i have photographed over the years have touched my heart and soul and given me so much...more than words could ever describe.

after those initial photos of sam at school, i continued to photograph sam and his family for the next three years...until sam, after so much strength and fighting, sadly lost his battle to neuroblastoma on march 12th, 2010.

in memory of sam, here are some of my favorite photos from the years i photographed him. miss you buddy!

if you haven't already, i hope this will help inspire you to incorporate giving into your 2011.

our role in history

a couple weeks ago, steph shared this amazing photograph with me (beyond the obvious capture of the moment, there's such awesome timing and composition). the photo was taken mid-february 1975, when mike (steph's husband) was about 10 weeks old. mike's dad, bill, was coming back from a six-month deployment on the USS independence, where bill was an A7 corsair II jet pilot, doing his department head tour.

and then there's this photo, taken december 18th 2010 of mike's homecoming, from being deployed six months.  he, too, met his baby for the first time, at 10 weeks old.  and mike, too, is a fighter pilot, who was doing his department head tour.

i feel so incredibly blessed to have captured this image for the beaty family.  hopefully it will be a photograph that will be treasured and passed down for generations, just as above photo from 1975 has.

+++

my friends and i have talked a lot about photographs and their role in history, especially those coming from professional, editorial, etc. photographers. what's real? what's not? what has been altered? what's been added? the thought of photographers altering the photographic documentation of history is upsetting.  are they documenting history at all? or creating their own history, in a sense.

although i have to admit...sadly, i am guilty.  i'm not sure my kids have many photos that haven't been altered in some way (contrast added, a pimple removed, etc.). and yes, that makes me sad. damn it.

hmmm...maybe that's an idea to start this year.  in my family's annual book, i will include at least one completely unaltered photo of each of my kids.  i like the idea of the photo being of them non-smiling.  just them being them. kind of like this...

found via pinterest.  amazing, huh?!! quite a brilliant idea. i couldn't find the exact source for the above photo collage, but when i clicked it from my pinterest, it took me to this blog.

yes, i will definitely do that. at least one photo. it's a start. and i think i'll make that one photo film.

ETA: my sweet friend, erin, just posted a comment about the 'perfect shot' and i can't tell you how guilty i am of that so i wanted to add here.  i long to let go. to be free. it was actually one of my monthly resolution topics -- LET GO (being less perfect) -- to capture the everything just the way it is. stepping back and capturing more of the scene is something i am going to really try and work on this year. thanks for sharing erin. love you friend.

home sweet home | part II

i think i'll just let the photographs speak for themselves...

home sweet home | part I

today, i returned from the most amazing weekend in virginia, where i had the opportunity to photograph a military homecoming. mike beaty returned this past saturday after being deployed on the USS truman for seven months. saturday was the first time that mike got to meet his daughter, scout (now 10 weeks old). as with almost every homecoming, there was lots of anticipation and waiting. it was a magical morning full of excitement, love, support, friendship and strength.

it was so awesome to see all the friends, who came to welcome mike home -- the same friends that helped, supported and encouraged steph throughout the prior seven months.

and meet the paparazzi, from lifetime network.  they, along with the producers of extreme makeover home edition, are producing a new reality show that will celebrate the emotional reunions of military family members.  the beaty family is going to be one of the families featured on the show, which is tentatively scheduled to air this spring.  so exciting!!

and i have to say, it was very interesting (and challenging at times) to photograph, when there's a few film cameras, boom microphones, producers, newspaper photographers, military photographers...all wanting to occupy the same little space.  :-)

i'm hoping to share some of the photos from the actual reunion moment in the next day or two. such an incredible, emotional moment to witness and be a part of.

coming home

tomorrow morning, i head to virginia beach, to see one of my best friends and her family.  but what makes this visit even more magical is that i'll be photographing mike's return, from his 7-month deployment.  AND he will be seeing his 10-week old daughter for the first time.  i love this family like my own family and cannot wait to see them and capture this most amazing time in their lives. the below image is sky -- april 2009, as we prepared for steve's homecoming.

and i know i posted the photo below a few posts ago but...this is steph, mike and their first child, liam, who is now 4-years-old.  steph and i met, when she was one of my first clients four years ago.  and now, i'm so grateful that we're the best of friends. :-)

along with the homecoming photos, i'm hoping to get a new family photo for them -- celebrating their family of five and being together again.

and now back to packing.  i have to not only pack my stuff, but also get the kids all packed.  i return monday night and then our family heads to nevada tuesday morning, for the holidays.

so very excited. about everything!!

2010 | client

some of my favorite client photos from 2010.  so fun looking through all the photos from this past year.  and can't help but think how blessed i am to do what i do!!  looking forward to seeing what 2011 has in store.

p.s. i have lots more favs but thought i needed to stop somewhere :-))

happy you are home

being especially thankful is obviously on everyone's mind this week.  but this family has something momentous to be thankful for; they will never forget thanksgiving 2010. daddy is coming home from iraq this afternoon.  he was gone six months -- left when their baby was three months old.  and steve just happens to be best of friends with B (they met in EOD school), so my whole family will be there to welcome B home.  and i get the honor of photographing the homecoming.

so can't wait.

just a few more hours now.  and we're getting our signs ready :-)

hoping to share some homecoming photos in the next few days.

wishing everyone a most wonderful thanksgiving tomorrow -- filled with love, laughter, friendship and joy.  we have so much to be grateful for!

one of those pictures

this was one of those (polaroid) pictures where i just knew.  i was so drawn to it.  but i didn't know why at the time.  and of course, i second guessed myself (as i often do)... what is it? would anyone else like it? am i crazy for liking this?

but i stashed it away. and then came across it again yesterday. and i immediately knew.

empty house is the title of the image.

our last day in kansas. our empty house. getting ready to leave for the next phase of our family's journey. headed to tampa. sad and excited all at once. i didn't know it then, but this is an extremely important image in my collection of images. i think (and hope) it would speak deeply to every military spouse.

my polaroid SX-70 is such a special part of this photography journey of mine.

memories

i'm back home, from a weekend in phoenix.  i went there with this fantasy of peace and healing.  i left there with a greater understanding of my past, some new relationships with my extended family and...sadness.  turmoil.  about so many things. my grandfather passed away a couple weeks ago, at the age of 98. but i'm not sad about that. bupa suffered from severe dementia the past 10 years and it was time.  he lived a great life and it was time for him to find peace (and nanny) again.  his service was small. simple. beautiful. perfect.

but other things happened over the weekend that were not so beautiful. nor perfect. lots of tears shed. i'm actually still trying to digest it all and figure things out.  figure something...anything out. i guess with more knowledge and understanding, also comes lots of confusion.

+++

while at my aunt's house saturday evening, we looked at so many fabulous old photographs, which has left me flooded with thoughts and emotions.  i view this amazing history of my past and then i think, what the hell kind of history am i leaving for my own family?  nothing.  except controlled, beautiful images -- most of which are riddled with this disease called perfectionism.  what the hell?!!  i'm so mad and frustrated with myself.  what am i doing? what have i done?

i've talked to myself about all this before but it now pains me in a deeper way. i'm determined to make a change. i'm praying i can find that place, where i can be my family's visual historian.  true historian. not superficial photographer that takes kick-ass pictures of her kids kind of historian.

i have no real memories of my past, except those i see in photographs. and i wonder...

what memories will my children have? in their mind. in the photographs left behind.

lots swirling right now. and really...i'm still trying to reel it all in. and digest it all.

sadly, i took very few photos while in pheonix.  another problem i struggle with. i hate to bring my camera anywhere (thoughts i'll save for another blog post).  but here's a couple i did take --

the extended rouse family. i'm far left. my dad is next to me. and my sister (38) has short dark hair, next to the man with the red tie.

and another of my cousin's daughter, holding the card from my bupa's service.  she carried the cards around for much of the evening.

p.s. i'm really missing my husband right now.  he's in the philippines for a couple weeks. and the equipment he shipped in september is still not there. so now we're not sure if he'll be home for thanksgiving (he was originally due home on the 23rd). another moment of life as a military spouse.

my first

had my first tampa shoot last week.  i mean i've shot here before.  but this was my first family shoot.  here in tampa.  a client.  a friend.   i adore them. we decided to head to picnic island because they wanted beach and it's pretty close. i had shot there before on a cloudy (empty) day.  the M family moved here this past march, from ohio, and they wanted something florida-y so we thought picnic island would be perfect.

K and i talked about the location after -- nice because it offers both green and beach.  but the beach was not the greatest, we agreed.  the water isn't the kind you really want to get into and it was a bit crowded with some interesting characters.  so i'm still longing to find that magic beach, like this one.  i will eventually find it.  maybe here.  i mean really...PB pier didn't come to me overnight.  it will happen here too.  and so...the tampa location scouting continues.

with all that said, i do love the mix of green and beach that picnic island has to offer.  but i miss the texture and shade of a pier.  thanks M family for being my first!! :-)

how things work(ed)

meet my dear friend, heather, and her two boys (ages 3 years and 8 months). her husband isn't in the photographs because he's currently deployed in iraq and has been for the past six months. yes, he deployed when the baby was only a couple months old and the baby hasn't been the easiest baby in the sleeping department. we're hoping heather's husband is home in time for christmas. fingers crossed!! heather absolutely amazes me -- her strength, kindness, patience and generosity -- to mention just a few of the amazing qualities this woman possesses. i've known heather as long as i've known steve. you see...heather was actually the mastermind behind steve and i meeting one another in destin, florida, at AJ's. heather reminded me of the story yesterday, which goes something like this...

some guy spilling his beer on me. me getting mad, having had a beer or two myself. guy's friend, heather, intercepting by sending a cute guy over to create a distraction. enters cute guy...steve!!

steve and i saw one another every day from that day forward (until he had to move to WA and i had to stay as an air force nurse in FL). that was back in fall 2001.

and heather just happens to be married to one of steve's best friends, brian (he and steve went to EOD school together). so after not seeing one another for almost nine years, our families now live 40 minutes apart. how lucky are we?!! funny how things work sometimes. actually, it's amazing how things work sometimes. and it all brings me back to how very blessed i am!!

thank you heather for being you -- for your friendship and for your never ending support, encouragement and inspiration (oh...and for introducing me to my husband :-) ). adore you and your family and am so excited to share our next three years together! soon, we will celebrate and do photos of your complete family. can't wait!! xoxo.

change

i've had a great photographer friend, jen wright, visiting from atlanta, for the past few days.  so much fun!!  and yesterday, we decided to go scout tampa locations for a bit and then photograph my kids, in the evening. i begged jen if she would photograph my family (she doesn't like the pressure of photographing other photographer's families). finally after enough begging, she agreed. when she showed me the shot below, i was blown away at how much ryder has changed since our last family photos (a mere six months ago). he's grown up so much...sigh!!  but then i thought about how much each of us has changed since april...

kiele is now a teenager we moved from kansas to tampa and bought a new (old!) house ryder started kindergarten all three kids are in a new school and made new friends i've lost 5 pounds and am fitter than i have been in a really long time steve lost 10 pounds and started a new job i'm sure there's more where that came from but all my mind can think of at the moment.

left:  untamed heart photography (april 10) right: jen wright photography (yesterday)

left: untamed heart photography (april 10) right: mine (yesterday, utilizing the last bit of light of the day)

ryder is full of expression these days and as my new zealand friend peta would say, he's quite cheeky.  here's a few others from yesterday. so excited to have found another location i love. :-))

also, if you're a prospective tampa client -- i only have five session dates available for the remainder of 2010 (the latest being nov 21st). once those sessions are reserved, i will begin booking 2011. :-)

love, hope & a little kindness

this was my fifth time photographing the mcnulty family, in san diego (and i adore them).

but this time, things were a bit different. danielle asked if i was willing to also photograph her mother-in-law, her sons and her grandsons. all boys in the mcnulty family thus far.

of course!

she requested pacific beach pier as they are a big surfing family. so the session went on, as most family session do  -- photographing the extended family, the individual families, the kids, etc. we were almost done with the session, when i went to grandma mary to ask her if i could get a picture of her by herself. i thought she was just picking something up, but learned that as she went to reach for one of her grandkids, her wedding band flew off and she was trying to find it -- somewhere in the sand.

OH. MY. GOSH. how in the world are we going to find a wedding band in all this sand...on the beach??

soon, we were all looking for grandma mary's wedding band -- mary. myself. danielle. the sons. the grandsons.

then, as if sent from Heaven, i see a guy walking down the beach, with one of those metal-finding-contraptions. i ran to him and begged him to help us, although it really didn't take much begging. and so he joined us in the search.

as we were sifting through the sand, i learned that this ring was even more special than i could have imagined.

mary and patrick were married in 1960 and had five boys. when mary was 33 and patrick was 45 (in 1972), he died suddenly of a massive heart attack -- leaving behind mary and the five boys, ranging in age, from 3 to 12 at the time. mary never remarried and raised the boys on her own. inscribed in mary's wedding, by patrick, is "The sun and the moon", from shakespeare.

OH. MY. GOSH. we HAVE to find this wedding ring. we HAVE to find this ring!!!!!

from the moment the boys started looking for their mom's ring, all i heard was...

don't worry mom, we'll find it. we'll find your ring mom. keep looking...we'll find it.

there was so much hope. belief. support. and encouragement.  it was pretty magical to see and hear. and be a part of.

and i have to share that if it wasn't for the kindness of the man with metal-finding-contraption, i don't think we would have ever found mary's wedding ring. he was the one who eventually found the band...buried in the sand.

money was offered to him for helping us.  but he didn't take it.  he said he was just happy to help.

of course, i had to get a picture of mary and the ever-so-kind good samaritan.

the perfect time | part II

i returned a few days ago from an amazing weekend at the sundance resort, with new friends -- wallflower friends.  as part of the retreat, leah and i photographed jon canlas' family.  he's a photographer with a beautiful wife and five incredible children and...they have never had a family photo done. really?  not one family photo?  but you're a photographer; you should know better.  really?

here's the first couple photographs i've edited. hoping he and his wife love the photos as much as i do.  (jon's little guy had open heart surgery not long ago...he's doing awesome.)

and yesterday, i received an email from team charisse.  who is charisse?  charisse is an amazing photographer in connecticut.  she is a beautiful, kind, loving young woman. a wife.  a mother to three young boys.  and she is battling cancer (lymphoma) for the third time!! and because of the cancer and aggressive chemotherapy, charisse recently had to close her photography business for the remainder of the year (income that they depended on and during the busiest time of year), which in turn, is causing a significant financial hardship on their family.

image courtesy of julia arstop photography

can you imagine the pain, stress and agony of battling cancer once?  how about three times?  can you imagine watching your spouse battle cancer three times? can you imagine watching your children deal with their mommy battling cancer...again? it's just wrong! and i am going to do my best to help this amazing family. i hope that you will too.

please, if you have it in your heart to give, please consider giving to team charisse. $5, $20, $100...every little bit will help charisse and her family!!

the money raised will go towards caring for charisse and her family during these difficult times (living expenses, school expenses, medical expenses, etc.)

checks can be mailed to: Team Charisse 71 Sedgwick Avenue Darien, CT 06820

or you can contribute to team charisse via paypal here

no matter how hard i try, i can't get the donate button any smaller...but i guess you definitely get the idea this way. lol. (hoping to get new paypal button shortly. im not sure what happened to this one.)

lastly, i want to scream it to the world...

please don't wait to have photos taken.  honestly, please don't wait to document your family in whatever way you choose.  your kids will not care if you have the perfect haircut or if you are thin enough or whatever your hang-up might be.  your kids will simply love and appreciate YOU...just the way you are!

there really is no perfect time!

and in case you need any more convincing, read this.

san diego fall sessions

it's that time again to begin coordinating my san diego fall children and family photography sessions. i will be photographing in san diego october 14th - 16th.  and possibly the 17th.  please email me if interested in commissioning a session.

i can't wait to be back in san diego.  i will be photographing a few families for the fourth year in a row and...it just happens to be my birthday.

so excited!!

time and distance

alex and skyler.  they met in 2005...2-years-old and next door neighbors in san diego.  it was during our unfortunate military housing situation and it was our temporary house (while our unfortunate house was being repaired).  our temporary house ended up being our home, next to the B family, for about five months.  we joked that sky and alex were the yin and yang of friendship -- so different and yet complementing one another so perfectly --creating a magical friendship, even at such a young age. when we moved, we didn't move far (around the corner and a few blocks down) so the kids continued to see each other once a week or so, over the next couple years.

in 2007, just shy their 4th birthdays, the B family moved to pennsylvania.  sky had a photo of the two of them (see below) on her dresser.  alex had hers on her wall.  we never stopped talking about alex through the years.  and occasionally, we'd get an email from the B family with photos and updates.  we never doubted that one day we'd see the B family again...and sky would see alex.

lucky for us, alex's grandpa lives in orlando.  lucky for us, their annual florida trip took place a couple weeks ago. :-) it was so awesome seeing the girls together again -- as if they were never apart.

i really do feel blessed to be a military family and i share with my kids often, how very lucky we are.

love you B family!! so excited to see  you over the next three years.  © deb schwedhelm | tampa children's photographer

april 2007 (one of their last photos together) & august 2010

a few from our trip a couple weeks ago

i just love them sitting together on this bench outside our orlando condo.  i can't help but envision them 60, 70, 80 years from now, sitting together.  in a similar manner. on a similar bench.

and the whole gang, minus kiele because she was at her dad's.

here and now

while in north carolina, i also had the opportunity to photograph the corey family.  emily had attended our spring wallflower friends retreat and since then, she has talked to me quite a bit about the fact that she wanted family photos, but wasn't sure the time was right -- because her family wasn't complete.  they adopted L a couple years ago and have been hoping to get pregnant or adopt another child.  but then after reading my is there a perfect time post, she commissioned a family portrait session. we talked a lot while i was visiting, especially about how blessed they are to have L. they have such an incredible and special little family and i truly feel blessed to have been able to capture it for them.  we shared how important these family photos are -- right here and now -- even if their family continues to grow (which we hope it will).

it's another reminder to us all...to be grateful and appreciate the here and now because that's all we're guaranteed.  who knows what the future has in store.  who knows what even tomorrow will bring our way.

thanks em, for inviting me into your home and making me feel so special.  thanks lee r for your patience, the amazing meal and the most awesome pineapple jalapeno drink ever.  thanks little L for being so spirited and reminding us all what life is all about.

here's a few shots of their family.

and a scanned polaroid shot i took of L.

and the same image, printed as a 20x20 print.  i so can't wait to see this framed in their house.  i seriously think i'm going to offer polaroids to every client.  they just make my heart so happy.