Mommy & Me

I absolutely loved this session - not just because these two are so easy in front of a camera, or because A did the flower crowns herself and they are stunningly beautiful! (I am envious of this skill - although I love flowers and try to always have a fresh vase in the house - I have no flower arranging skills at all! Once when I was part of the altar guild at our church I was asked to give up on flower duty and stick to silver polishing!! Yes - that bad!) - I loved this session because one of my favorite things in life is being a mom. I loved the finger painting, the moments sitting in the grass and dreaming or talking about what the cloud shapes looked like. I loved it all - every moment. So what I really love is taking this very fleeting time and capturing it so that we remember how small they were, and how lucky we are to have the time with these little people that we are given charge of for such a short time. I hope all the moms out there have a wonderful Mother's Day this year - I know it's been tough and this year has been such a challenge. But I also keep hearing how the silver lining of it is the time we get to spend with those we love, and especially our children. This time goes so fast! Cherish it! Cheers to you all!

Girls rule the world!

 Impressive is not a word I throw out lightly with this young woman - she is just finishing up her first year in high school and you already know that she's one to watch. She has those rare leadership qualities in someone her age - focus, direction, ability in so many arenas. She aspires to be like Kamala Harris - strong and with a desire to make a difference in the world - a trailblazer. Her writing and speaking abilities are already in place. I know it sounds a bit like I'm gushing, but I walk away from her having that same impression I did of listening to Amanda Gorman after she delivered her inaugural poem "The Hill We Climb". Blown away by how much she is already aiming for at such a young age. Keep going, Sweet Girl! You can change the world!

Finding your Why

 Earlier this week I had the most amazing experience photographing this multi-talented senior (really? artist, writer, lover of snails - did you know they can live 7 years and actually recognize people?? You'll be able to see the connection in the images. This really blew me away).  I actually meant to get this post out a few days ago - I came home from this shoot just being in awe of this senior and the people I get to meet and how much I love what I get to do. Getting super busy this week and having friends in town visiting I was just able to sit down last night, and it hit me again - just how blessed I am to get to photograph these incredible people and moments. I was reminded about what feeds my soul - working with people to feel comfortable in front of the camera even when they would rather be anywhere else and celebrate who they are and all that they love. It is the most gratifying experience and one that I hope is the same for the person in front of my camera.  I walked away from this shoot learning so much about something I knew nothing about and having such a blast giggling and learning from this senior. I want to thank him for giving me a gift - I felt like he gave me the gift of remembering why I love getting to be behind my camera in a most profound way. Find what you love and you'll never work a day in your life.... find your why, your talents and what drives you. I'm excited for this senior and to see where life will take him. THANK YOU for the time spent together!

A beautiful girl, her car and a red dress...this senior session couldn't have been any more of a photographer's dream!

 Warning: Epic blog post from this senior session. I really couldn't narrow it down - I had the most amazing session with this girl. To begin with, she's beyond easy in front of the camera and then she brought her red dress from homecoming and I could have photographed her all afternoon! I love getting to be a part of photographing someone for their senior year photos - it's that time in life that's so momentous. You're one foot in high school and one foot out ready to take on the world! It's so rewarding getting to work with these seniors and getting to tell the story of who they are right now. College brings about so much change and if you don't document it, some of who you are and what you think is so important can almost get forgotten as you grow into your college self. It's such an incredible time full of memories. I can't wait to see what A does in her next adventure through life - she's such a sweetheart! Seriously - how could I help posting any less?!?