mother's day

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yes, mother's day is quickly approaching -- may 8th, as a matter of fact.  and what more magical gift to give a woman for mother's day than a family or children's photo session.  who wouldn't love and cherish that gift?!!  and if they grumble for any reason, simply direct them here -- to my the perfect time post.  i promise they won't grumble any more. i know it's a dream of mrs. B's (below). at the most recent wallflower friends retreat, where we had the awesome opportunity to photograph mr and mrs B and their youngest two, we talked about how one of these days, she is going have all eight of her kids photographed together...and what a special mother's day gift that would be!!

if interested in reserving a photo session or purchasing a gift certificate, simply email me here.

also, don't forget about all my upcoming 2011 travel locations.

upcoming travels | sessions

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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:

fight for air climb

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i'm super excited to participate in this year's fight for air climb!! i'm raising funds for the american lung association and the fight against lung disease.  on march 26th, i'll be climbing the 42 flights of stairs (914 steps) of the bank of america plaza in downtown tampa.

my goal is to raise $500.

i hope you'll join me in my efforts...to make an impact in the lives of the over 35 million americans who are living with lung disease. your donation will help in the funding of the american lung association's life saving research, education and advocacy efforts.

to donate, simply click here, to view my fundraising page.

thank you for supporting the american lung association and the climb of my life...

coming home | debut

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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...

this new place

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...a different place. i remember when i left san diego...i wondered where my photography would go in kansas. i thought,

how can i shoot without my beloved PB pier. without my beach.

yet kansas was probably the best thing to ever happen to me (as a photographer). i could play without pressure. a year where i didn't worry about  shooting clients.  i just allowed myself to be. and shoot. and grow.

and now i find myself in this place called tampa. a place where i long for my business to resume. a place i long to connect with. i'm getting there. i am...

when i look at this photo, i can't wait to get back out there and explore these incredible tampa beaches with my camera. this journey has only just begun. and that in itself is something magical to embrace.

and this photo will forever remind me that things will be okay here in tampa.

just as this photo will forever hold a special place in my heart, from our time in kansas.

different, yet the same. i am truly blessed to be able to move around and experience these awesome, different places with my family.  each is unique. each is special.

missing max

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i hadn't photographed the mikulak family since april 2009 (eight months after max passed away).  so when i was in san diego a few weeks ago, we made sure to get together for a family photo session.  it was so awesome to see and photograph them again!!  of course, it's always a bit difficult at the same time because max is not physically with us; however, i fully believe his spirit always is. prior to the session (prior to every session), i shared with andy and melissa, to please bring whatever they want to the session and i will do my best to incorporate it all.  i always know they will bring max's stuffed shark, bruce...as they have shared that max's bruce will forever be part of their family photos.

here's a few of my favorites from our incredible afternoon together at torrey pines park...

hannah and nicky, when they went off and started playing with a couple of max's star wars clone trooper guys...

and this shot of nicky so reminds me of one of the first shots i did of max, when we started our mashed potatoes for breakfast journey together.

reminds me of this shot (max's little smirk, he often gave me)...

and i have always said that hannah has soul.  there's something so deeply special about her.  you can see it in her eyes.

this photo is from april 2008, when i photographed max, hannah and nicky together...

and a shot of hannah from a few weeks ago.  same soul, but with some added tween spirit.

each and every time i have the opportunity, it is truly an honor to photograph the mikulak family.  i cherish their friendship and they have touched me...touched my soul, beyond words.  love you guys!!  thank you for being such a special part of my life.

could you imagine?

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could you imagine... 30 days on the road camera, notebook, map no directions getting lost radio truckstop, coffee and apple pie sunset at big sur motel 6 austin tulsa 30 images a project for levi's

well, this guy could. because he did!!

how fricken awesome is that?!  i wish. a dream assignment, for sure! maybe someday!! for now, i'll keep wishing hoping, believing and...working hard. dreaming of an opportunity like this.

yep, this guy...

© anthony georgis. he did it.

maybe someday i'll just have to create my own 30 days of getting lost assignment.  although anyone who knows me knows that it wouldn't take long for me to be completely lost, if i didn't have my GPS telling me where to go.

hmmm...has me thinking.

surround yourself

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friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.- author unknown

i feel so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing, inspiring, encouraging, supportive people.  the kind of people who i can openly share with, get me thinking and keep me on my toes.  today, i messaged with a friend for hours. this was a bit of our conversation...

...how did i get here. how am i living my dream. how are people buying my vision? how am i an artist-- exactly as i wanted to be... and having done nothing to be that. how long can i keep this up? how the fuck do i do this seriously and be serious about it, without it eating me up and shrinking me away. how do i deal with the anxiety of not being able to say no, and always feeling the stress of fear of disappointing people.

learning. each and every time. amazing people surrounding me. amazing clients...

+++

how do i deal with the anxiety of...can i keep producing? what happens if the magic just stops happening? if it stops coming my way? because clearly this is all magic? because it just happened. i mean i had to work hard but how did i end up here? it was just a dream. but now it's here and i don't want to wake up. how far will this take me? is it to a place that's even bigger than i ever dreamt?

no matter what though, i will embrace each and every opportunity that comes my way. i will never forget to be grateful. i will never forget to give back.

because in the end, this is a dream come true...something i will never take it for granted. i am truly and deeply blessed in so many ways and this wouldn't be possible without my family. yes...grateful and blessed!!

learning...always. growing. believing. facing fears. moving forward. loving those who surround me and encourage me. amazing. amazing journey for sure!!

i can't even begin to tell you how much her conversation meant to me today. how much i cherish each and every conversation with my friends.

we all have a choice of who surround us.  i hope you choose to be surrounded by those who inspire, support and encourage you. because when you surround yourself with authentic, honest friendships, it's a truly, truly beautiful...and powerful thing!!

photo from when i first began studying photography (early 2006).  kiele and her best friend, natalie.  it's probably the toughest thing about being a military family...having to watch your children say good-bye to their best friend(s) over and over again.  however, i'm so grateful for phone, email, facebook, skype, etc., which allows them to easily keep in touch. hoping kiele and nat will see each other again soon.

have faith

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faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.- rabindranath tagore

may we all have faith, feel the light, find our wings, sing our song and soar!!  feels kind of cheesy as i write those words, but feels kind of awesome at the same time.  like i just want to sit here and breathe it all in. anyways...

some photos just make my heart so happy.  and the bird photo just happens to be one of those photos. taken yesterday, while the kids and i were at the beach (steve was parachuting).  :-)

also, if you get a chance...click on over to the creative mama blog, where i shared a bit about my annual family books and the book making process.

success & great pictures

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such a great series hosted by colin pantall that really gets you thinking!!  or at least it should. what is success? | part I

what is success? | part II

what makes a great picture?

it's interesting to read all the different thoughts on how one defines success.  while the definitions vary, a common thread amongst many (if not most) is that 'what is success?' is a difficult question, but not a stupid question at all.  personally, i believe it's a question we all should sit and explore and do our best to answer for ourselves.

here's a few comments, from colin pantall's blog, that i fell in love with...

Success for myself is not just about doing good, professional work.For lack of a better word, there's an element of magic. An innocuous detail that pushes the image into another level. When we're lucky, when we trust our instincts, we're hit with an electric charge. Does this last? Oftentimes it doesn't. When the initial burst of clamor fades, but there's still magic in it, people still respond, you still feel something when you see it. That to me is success. - maciek jasik

If people can connect with my pictures and enjoy them that is enough for me. It’s like you are walking down the street and you smile at someone and they smile back. There is nothing given and nothing taken. It is just like a little nudge, a recognition of humanity and life. That is what photography means to me. It is my profession, it is my religion, it is my karma, it is my life. - raghu rai

the camera the kids made for me for mother's day a couple years ago, taken a few day s before we left kansas.

ETA:  just came across this photo and couldn't help but laugh...puppies make great pictures too :-))

all american

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i had been longing...dreaming... about doing photographs with my kids and an american flag for a really really long time.

it was important to me, as a former military member and now a military spouse. i'm proud to be a military family. very proud.  very blessed.  i wouldn't change our military life for a second.

so a couple of weeks ago, while having a family day at the beach, i decided to bring along our american flag.

and this is a bit of what happened...

note: flag was handled with extreme care and respect, in the making of these photographs. i promise, opa marty.

beyond the assignment | forever seven

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max mikulak...

forever seven.

this morning, i received an email from jason houston that max's series, forever seven, has been published in issue 3 of fraction J magazine. and i couldn't have dreamed of a more perfect theme to have max's photographs be a part of -- beyond the assignment.

For this issue of Fraction J we were looking for projects with several specific traits. The work, first had to be journalistic, at least in the sense that it was a reaction made in real time to real events and a subject's story truthfully told. But the more important distinction was that the photographer stuck with the work, not from any attempt to create something sellable for some specific market, but because it meant something to them—and where. The photography also has to be a functional element of the concerned involvement, but not the reason for it. In the end it was very difficult to draw these lines and find that balance, especially when it came to the personal documentary projects, many of which were reflecting on external situations. But in the end, the portfolios we ended up with span an appropriately broad and inspiring range of responses.

i hope you'll take a look.

thank you fraction J for this incredible opportunity to share. i am so, so grateful!!

for the love of letters

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this past weekend was a magical weekend, for sure. a weekend full of new friends -- sharing, dreaming, laughing, exploring. but i'm back home now...my second home, here in san diego. away from my husband and kids, but still surrounded by people i love.

i've been texting and emailing my husband, about this and that, throughout the day today. along with letting him know how much i love him and wishing him a happy valentine's day.

and then i get an email, from an NBC producer, sharing a few links from today's NBC nightly news. in a roundabout way, i had a part in two of their 'for the love of letters' stories. so now i sit hear with tears strolling down my cheeks, listening to these incredible stories.

i SO believe in the power and magic of a handwritten note!!!  i hope you enjoy these stories as much as i did...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

happy valentine's day!

off and running

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i'm excited to be headed to california this morning, for the next 11 days. a wee bit anxious too as i haven't left my kids quite this long, although i do know that my husband is 110% capable of doing just as good of job as i with the kids. and steve's brother will be here to take care of the kids, while steve is at work. this morning, sky said,

am i just going to wear my hair down for the next two weeks. boys don't know how to do hair. unless they work in a shop....are trained in a special shop. and what about buddy's hair? i guess his hair will just look crazy every day.

i put sky's hair in a ponytail or pigtails every day for school. and wet and brush ryder's, as his becomes quite a fluffy mess during the night. so, i leave -- knowing all will run smoothly -- except maybe my kids' hair. and if that's all i have to worry about while gone, that's pretty darn awesome.

i guess i'll include instructions regarding the little ones' hair, in the weekly schedule / note that i'm leaving for uncle joe.  something i didn't think about, but is obviously a bit of a concern for sky.  :-)

i will be two days with my mom, in sacramento, helping her pack up her house for a mid-february move. three days in san diego, where i get the opportunity to shoot an elementary school class, a great friend's family and max's family. this will be the second time shooting max's family since he passed away, august 2008. and then i'm off to twentynine palms for our workshop. so, so excited to meet another incredible group of photographers.

from my last session with the mikulak family, in 2009.  nicky and hannah, with max's favorite stuffed shark, bruce.  nicky was belting out ring of fire, which max so loved to sing.

sure will miss these three, while i'm gone (taken a couple weekends ago, during gasparilla celebration)...

steve too, who continues to support and encourage my photography dreams. love you babe!!

true momentum

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true momentum happens when a unique gift is cast upon a moment that has been waiting for it all along. if you don't have it, the spread of your work feels contrived. so you may have lots of twitter followers, but if you garnered them by following anyone and everyone in a desperate attempt to grow your platform, no one really cares.

when true momentum happens, people respond to your work. it's like hoisting a sail and being propelled by the wind, rather than rowing your brains out.

i heard jon acuff say recently that when he launched stuff christians like, the site drew 4,000 readers in just 9 days. his talent was cast upon a moment that was waiting for it. - ben arment

oh how i love his words.  in a sea of photographers, this is something to really think about and take to heart.  work hard. be honest and passionate about what you do. and let things happen naturally.  you might just be surprised.

thanks steph beaty for sharing.  definitely a new blog to add to my reader. so many bits of inspirational wisdom scattered throughout his posts.

what are you leaving behind?

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my friend, erin, and i have emailed back and forth for a while now.  she just gets me. and i adore her like no other.  she is wise beyond her years, for sure. i actually think i should pay her for therapy...or life coaching...or something. yesterday, as we were talking about the depth and meaning of this project and this project, she shared the following in one of her email replies:

who is to say that you aren't already on your 18 year project? these photographers had no idea... i'm sure that during their journeys- they questioned 'what the fuck am i doing?' 'this is pointless' 'i need to be doing something more' 'what does this mean to me?' they questioned... and they kept searching. and they kept doing. and suddenly something revealed itself a sickness, a death, a life, an opportunity. something revealed itself. and i am sure- that in some circumstances- like the man that died- that it didn't reveal itself to him even in his death. it simply was something he did... he didn't realise the impact it would make on other people. --- ...so with your personal work-- do you tell that story to your kids? do you consider what you are leaving behind for them? what you are telling them about yourself, your life, your wisdom-- and also- what the journey has been like with them in your life.

so, what are you leaving behind for the world? but most importantly, what are you leaving behind for your children?

and i sat here in tears, as i soaked in every word she wrote. photography is so part of my life, sometimes i ache -- as i keep questioning, searching and doing.  i wish i could explain it better, but i'm not sure i can.

and my kids... what AM i leaving behind for them?  the thought pains me daily, as i want to leave them with more than just their memories.

erin shared with me how she writes to her daughter, claire, every day. i had started documenting thoughts / advice to my kids a while back, but maybe i should include open, free-flowing writing to them too. i mean seriously, what would happen if i died tomorrow? next week? next month? steve's mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and died only a few months later. steve was five. his mom was my age.

and i have this fucking amazing gift that i've been blessed with, but it has hindered my ability to capture the normal, everyday life of my family. treasured, simple moments. (yes, i've blogged about this before. probably multiple times.) again, i feel the universe is yelling at me and telling me to get my shit together. on multiple levels. in regards to many things. i need to figure this out. what's my problem?  why can't i shoot fricken snapshots anymore?

with that said, i share a simple moment. a moment i want to pass on to my children...

last week after gymnastics class, ryder said,

the coach said that if i go to level four, i have to cut my hair.

me...

ummm. no!! you're not cutting your hair because of level four. girls have long hair and do gymnastics.  they don't have to cut their hair when they go to level four. you can just wear it in a ponytail, if they're worried about it going in your face or something.

over the days, the conversations about boys with ponytails continued. i let my kids know that boys can totally wear ponytails. it's NO BIG DEAL (i'm not quite sure my husband is fully buying into that fact, although he does roll with it).

and then one day last week, i came home and sky had put ryder's hair in a ponytail, to include green barrette decoration. he left it that way all evening. i told him how great it looked and asked him if i could take a couple pictures.

he's not game to wear a ponytail to school, but i love the fact that he's embracing the possibility.  and it was awesome that my friend, kathy, was able to share with ryder, some photos of her college-age son wearing a ponytail.

ryder likes his long hair (yes, i ask him). i LOVE his long hair. no way in HELL is my son cutting his hair to simply to conform with what boys gymnastics has always done in the past. i was in the military for 10 years and i understand abiding by rules, BUT i'm not sure i will be cutting my son's hair for gymnastics.  i mean seriously, he's six and in gymnastics...not 18 and in the military. i will definitely be questioning when that time comes.  and i hope i make my children proud for doing so.

a polaroid a day

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another amazing (and sad) project -- photo of the day.  the project is by jamie livingston, a man who took a polaroid a day, for eighteen years...until the day he died, on his 41st birthday. i find it absolutely incredible how his life's story is captured through one photograph a day.  and again, how he was completed committed to this (very) long-term project.  not a day missed, even when he was too sick to take a picture himself.

The photographer’s name was Jamie Livingston. He was a film maker and editor who worked on public information films, adverts and promo videos for MTV. Taking a single photo every day began by accident when he was 22 and studying film with Crawford at Bart College, in upstate New York. “He’d been doing it for about a month before he realised he’d been taking a photo about one picture a day, and then he made the commitment to keep doing that,” says Crawford. “That’s what he was like. There are some people who have flashes of brilliance and do things in a huge rush or creative burst but he was more of a steady, keep-at-it kind of guy and he did amazing stuff. Part of the appeal of the site is that Jamie was not this amazing-looking guy. He led an incredible life, but there’s an every man quality to the photographs.” - only the blog knows brooklyn

jamie livingston's first polaroid | march 31st 1979

and his last | october 25th 1997

an awesome summary of the project can be found here

a more detailed description of jamie livingston's project can be found here

and you can see all the polaroids, over the 18 years, here on this site

really has me thinking... yet again.

ETA:  erin just commented this:

what gets me the most-- is that all of these things coming out is helping people right now to realise that we are part of history too. that our lives are all crushingly beautiful, painful, normal it painfully shows us reality, depth, and the art of life and the everyday. it makes you take a closer look at what you are leaving behind.. what story do i want to tell?

and she's so dead on!!

WHAT STORY DO I WANT TO TELL?

what stories am i telling right now? especially as a professional photographer, who sadly struggles to capture my own story...openly, freely and honestly.

can't help but think that the universe is screaming at me right now.  and i am listening.

can't stop thinking

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...about the julie project -- a MUST SEE photography project!! © darcy padilla

an amazingly raw, powerful, heartbreaking, tragic, incredibly-told story. a story like i've never seen before. brilliant photography. an incredible 18-year commitment. simply phenomenal. and painful.

but the project is so much more than the photographs. it's the presentation. the words that accompany the photos. the video on the home page, where the photographer shares some thoughts. the sound clip of the little boy talking to his mom. the photographer's statement, which she closes with

I hope you can’t stop thinking about Julie’s story, I hope it makes you feel. I hope it makes you look at the world differently.

truly... i. can't. stop. thinking.

please take some time to view darcy padilla's the julie project.  and definitely allow yourself time because once you're in, it's almost impossible to get out...until you're done.