head swimming

Where on earth have I been? Everywhere but here, apparently. I've been doing photo shoots, working my shrinking patootie off at the gym, spending time working in the garden, and planning and formulating. I cannot seem to stop moving, and it's a great feeling!

Ever since Leah's workshop, my brain has been on overload, deciding what I want my photography business to be. I know I want it to be a side job - I need my day job for a consistent paycheck and the health insurance. I don't want it to become work work - a fun hobby that turns into a job I dread. I never want to lose that sparkly, giddy, FUN feeling that comes from photography, and I never want to stop learning new things. I'll keep you posted in the upcoming weeks with all sorts of new and exciting happenings.

Here are a a few photos from last Friday's session. Aren't they just the cutest family? We had a blast working together and the kids had fun thinking up their own poses. Then there was pasta. Lots of it. And ice cream.

creative overload

Here is a photo I took of Rachel, a gorgeous 15 year-old who modeled for Leah Profancik's workshop over the weekend. I had SO MUCH FUN at that workshop. Everyone was so nice and supportive, Leah was sweet and generous and shared a ton of knowledge with us, and my head threatened to explode with creative ideas. 

More to come in the days ahead. For now, I'll leave you with a few photos of Leah's bright and airy studio. Feel free to drool - we sure did!

a "gothlic" photo friday

One of the many things I enjoy about my niece, Katie, is the fact that she has a slight dark side like me. As a four year-old, her favorite game for a brief time was to pretend that she was dying from a long, dreadful disease. "I have . . . a-larr-ium . . . (malaria) . . . " she'd breathlessly announce, flopping around dramatically while clutching her forehead, and then collapse on the floor with her tongue hanging out. I'd have to frantically bring her back to life while begging her to hold on. She loved it. Most kids enjoy playing with Barbies or coloring books. Katie? A rousing game of "Malaria" made her very happy.

When she was nine, a 14 year-old cousin of hers went through a goth phase. Katie was not sure about the whole thing, and arrived at my parents' house to say exasperatedly, "Well. It happened. Alisha turned Catholic." 

We all stood there puzzled, not sure what she meant. Why would a 14 year-old Methodist decide on her own to choose another religion?

"Catholic?" my mom tentatively asked her.

"Yeah, you know, when you're Catholic you wear black clothes and have white skin and black makeup and you walk around mad all the time."

"You mean GOTHIC."

"Yeah, gothlic."

That afternoon, she disappeared for awhile and came out dressed completely in black. Handing me a tube of liquid black eyeliner , she asked that I take her picture as a "gothlic." And so I painted her lips black and off we went. This is my favorite photo from that shoot.