I just never get tired of meeting the newest members of our human family. Being a children’s photographer sure has its perks :-). This little love is just too sweet and her mom and dad are so proud and in love- with reason!
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I just never get tired of meeting the newest members of our human family. Being a children’s photographer sure has its perks :-). This little love is just too sweet and her mom and dad are so proud and in love- with reason!
These little guys had me RUNNING 
But I am always in love with the images I get from the wild and crazy, busy ones. These are no exception!
Okay, so I posted a LONG time ago about an upcoming opportunity to have a unique children’s photography session in a beautiful natural-light studio in San Francisco (Blue Sky Studios, just a quick drive up from San Jose) and the time has finally come to open up the calendar for bookings. This location is simply fantastic (this is where GAP and Hannah Andersson shoot their models, how cool is that?) .
Click to continue reading “Blue Sky Studio Sessions; don’t miss out! (click image to learn more)”
We have a very exciting announcement: We are rolling out a new service through “short and sweet” mini sessions. These limited edition 15 minute sessions will be offered once each month at a variety of cool locations. We know that these spaces will book fast, because they are such a wonderful opportunity. Click on the image below to find out more!
My youngest, Lydia, is two years old and believes that the world was designed for her, exists for her and revolves around . . . her! This may be because she has six, SIX, adoring fans right in her own house. Living in Silicon Valley, we don’t have a “big” house. It is a humble 1900 sq ft house, 500 sq ft of which is my photography “design” studio and office. And in that house are seven people: our four children, Brian and I and Brian’s wonderful 18 year old sister, Angela. She moved in with us in January and it has been such a blessing in SO many ways. Sure, things are crowded around here. We have three bedrooms and so the girls are all sharing one room (Angela is so laid back. How many 18 year old girls to YOU know who would share a room with a seven year old and a two year old without a word of complaint?) Besides working to finish up her high school studies, Angela is our part-time nanny. I feel so blessed to have an auntie taking care of my children. No one loves you like family, right? And the blessing of having her in our lives goes well beyond her nanny services; I feel a connection to our extended family in a way that I haven’t for years, living so far away from everyone. Even better, she is a magnet for my other sister-in-laws as well. Liz and Kim, her sisters, have both visited recently, which was such a treat. Sadly, for us, Angela is going back to Detroit in August to go to college. Every one of us is just heart-sick to see her go. She is part of our immediate family now and losing her is going to break our hearts. We know that she will do great in college and that she will find happiness (and ultimately, that is what we want!). It is just going to be hard to get used to life without her. We love “Our Angela” (Lydia coined that name) and she will be missed.
So, I wanted to say, I love you Angela and congratulations on your upcoming graduation! Here are some pictures from her best friend’s visit along with her sister, Kim. I had the pleasure of spending the day with the three teens in San Francisco, where we shot some of her graduation pictures and enjoyed a lunch at Bubba Gumps. I think it might be handy to have a photographer for a sister-in-law :-).
Man, I am so grateful for family. I just love being an Auntie (you gotta’ say that with the Minnesota “Auuun-tie”, no hard “a”), because it is so fun to love someone else’s kids like your own. My three nephews and two nieces are just as precious to me as they could be. I love them all in their own special ways. Little Natalie is simply the sweetest little girl. Her mom and dad report that she has an “other” side, but so far all I see is sweetness. Not to mention that she is divinely cuuuute! She and her cousin, Lydia, had to kiss and hug every time the noticed each other. Too sweet. So here is my sweet little niece in all her glorious cuteness . . .
So, I grew up in a small town in Minnesota and my dad and brother and their families still live there. My youngest, Lydia, and I just spent a week with them. It is a great little town with lots of old houses, a million Canadian Geese and a pace that felt like a lovely break from the big-city rat race. There isn’t much to do besides hang out with the ones you love, which is rather wonderful, actually. My sister-in-law and I needed some fabric for a project and we headed over to Ben Franklin, a craft and “everything” store that has been there since forever, with my three year old nephew in tow. I used to go there with my mom when I was little and beg to ride on the mechanical horse at the front register. I remember that I only got to ride it every once in awhile. Perhaps it was the hefty .10 price tag. I couldn’t believe it when we walked into the store. Nothing had changed. Nothing. Everything was in the same place, on the same shelves, with the same school-tile floor and 70’s color scheme. At the front register I was amazed to see that mechanical horse, still there and get this. . . still, .10 per ride!! The photographer in me simply had to capture that memory. Oliver’s mommy even let him ride on it TWICE, investing a whole .20 into my photo shoot. I simply loved it.
Ben Franklin holds many more memories for me as I, and my siblings, grew up in that great little town. When I was 9 I had a paper route. Once a month, when I went to collect my $20 paycheck, I would head straight over to Ben Franklin to spend it all (we were allowed to go there by ourselves, can you imagine?) . I would buy guppies and all the necessary supplies, dolls, candy and other little trinkets. It was a highlight of my young life. My money was always wadded up in a ball in my pocket ( I lost a LOT of money when I was a kid) and I would park my banana seat Schwinn with pink and purple streamers by the door (no bike chain needed) and do my shopping. When I walked through the store this past weekend I was amazed to find that the fish tanks were all still there, in the same place that they have always been. It was crazy and comforting at the same time.
Now I am a children’s photographer in San Jose, CA. I have kids and a house and responsibilities. San Jose is busy and fast-paced and always changing. My good old hometown is still moving along at its lazy small-town pace, with fireman’s pancake breakfasts that attract half the town (we got to attend this exciting event), Ben Franklin that never changes, .10 pony rides and people you know everywhere you go. I am not sure I would ever want to live there again, but it sure was nice to know it (and maybe even a .10 pony ride) will always be there.
