Back in Vermont

I'm back from Louisianna. It was so great, what a perfect workshop to pick for my first one. The workshop was taught by Tim Babin, master of lighting and posing and was held at Kirk Voclain's training center in Houma, La. Wow...two amazing photographers. The people I met were awesome, coming from all over the country to learn the technical side of lighting and more. We started class early in the morning, got a lunch brought in to the classroom then talked well past midnight about photography - for 3 days! Talk about intensive!

It is so nice to be home though...although I did get pulled over driving home from the airport at 12:30am grrrrrr (just a warning, luckily). Since it was so late I didn't get to great the kiddos but their expressions when they saw me in the morning was priceless!

Here is a picture of Ella I snapped this afternoon (it's full size so click on it to see her amazing eyes.) She let me put her hair into braids for like the first time EVER (such a funny girl). So I just had to get a picture but this one was my favorite of the series and you can barely see her hair, oh well! Now that I have learned a great lighting technique, I can't wait to use it. I needed a reflector for this picture but just didn't have the extra hands, it's an OK pic but would be great with a reflector. Next time hopefully.

Special Shoot

These are from a shoot I had on Monday. It was so fun and the girls were adorable. Big sister led the way and 'lil sister followed suit. It was the first time they had had studio pictures taken so I hope that they enjoyed themselves. I'm still in the middle of editing but here are a few.

PS. I won't be posted for a few days. I have my first ever photography workshop being held in warm sticky Louisianna. Who goes to Louisianna in late July? ha ha!! I guess I do!

Pretty in Pink

No boys allowed in the studio today! I recently bought coral paper so we had a little session in the pink studio. The girls loved it. Here are a few.

Camels Hump

These are some photographs that I took on July 16th. My mom was staying with us for a few days and we were able to actually go on a hike. Every day we look at this mountain (Camels Hump) but we have never been able to climb it the whole time we've lived here. Having 3 kids will do that to you! The first picture is just a snapshot I took this evening, it is the view of the mountain from the bottom of our driveway.

I don't have the actual stats on the mountain although I'm sure my husband knows. I am used to hiking in Colorado where everything is SO high. We frequently hiked mountains that were over 14,000 feet. Well, in New England we are at sea level so nothing is that high. But the difference between New England mountains and the Rocky Mountains is that in New England they just don't believe in switch backs! You start at the bottom and walk straight to the top with no curves or turns inbetween no matter how steep!

Our hike to the top was full of roots and rocks, all the way to the top. It is the highest point around so we were able to get a panoramic view of the whole area. It was really amazing to see the ski resorts that we ski in the winter, Lake Champlain which is the huge lake between Vermont and New York and various other landmarks. We had such fun hiking and now we're looking forward to our next one...maybe that will be in another 3 years!

New summer flowers and friends

Just some nature shots today. The sun is shining (finally...we've had a bunch of rain lately) and it's a beautiful day. The butterflies and bees are out in full force. I had to stop Griffin from grabbing the butterflies and even at the bees! They are so concentrated on getting the nectar they didn't even move when a grubby 18 month old hand came lurching towards them!

All three and more!

Here are a few of the kids....black and white just seemed better today. My mom has been visiting from Colorado so I had help getting the kids attention. And.... she actually got a couple of me too!

Fun Family Reunion

I photographed a family reunion today. I think there were around 25 or so people. It was fun, especially since my husband came as my right hand man! We got all the formals then right at the end the 6 sisters agreed to let me do a fun shot and it is by far my favorite!

18 months and loving it

18 months has got to be the best age. They are just so darn cute! I don't just say that because I have an 18 month old, I say it because out of all my 3 kids they are the best at 18 months. They still have the pudgy legs and arms of a baby, they are still toddling everywhere halfway off kilter looking like they are about to tumble and they can't talk yet. Well, at least this one! We are just now experiencing the beginnings of tantrums. The text book kind, you know...throw yourself down on your belly and pound you arms and feet into the ground! It's really quite funny. We have managed even to capture it on video - ha ha, just wait 18 years! The other day I sent a package to my sister half the country away (boo hoo) but that's another story. I printed some pictures of the girls on my printer and realized to my dismay that I didn't have any of our son. Well, I have a ton but he's got mud in his mouth or peanut butter all over his hair - the typical 18 month lifestyle. So the last couple of days I have kept my studio door open and before you know it curiosity gets the better of him and he ventures in. My lights are all ready to go and my camera is all set. It only lasts for about 4 minutes so I have to be fast. These are some shots I got this morning.

Anyone for a fully caffeinated latte, extra sweet?

Ha ha!!! I FINALLY got my coffee cup! Yippee! We don't have any around here so I had a friend pick one up for me two states over. It has taken me about 6 months to get it from her but now I'm so pleased to add it to my prop collection.

Harry Potter and the Fairy

I have never really like fantasy stuff. Until I had children. It's funny how they change you. You start to look through the eyes of a child and realize that there are so many fun things to imagine to make your world more interesting. I recently did a photo shoot for two 6 year old twins. It was the first time that I had photographed outside of my studio so I wanted to do something really fun. Their mom said that they absolutely loved fairies and Harry Potter. They brought some costumes with them to the session and we had some fun. These are the images that I came up with. I really hope that they like them. My own kids loved them...saying "more stars mommy, more stars!"

The artists canvas

While I was putting away the groceries the girls pulled out their chalk and created this masterpiece! So much fun....they drew gardens, rivers, flowers, hop scotch, their siblings...you name it, it was there. This is not the primary reason we got the driveway but it is one of the fun reasons!

They paved over paradise

....to put up a parking lot! Do you remember that song? Well, we don't actually live in paradise but we did pave it over today. Eeek! We live on top of a hill with a killer gravel drivewayIt has an embankment on one side to a creek and is pretty sketchy in the winter. We decided to have it paved. It all started this weekend when my daughters took to their bikes and were riding in circles in the garage, great fun. They reminded me of circus clowns! I thought how great it would be if they could ride on the driveway. So I made a phone call to get an estimate. It all happened so fast. The guys gave us a deal that we just couldn't refuse.

This first picture is of my girls walking down to the mail box, with our cat Belle of course who joins us everywhere. I was feeling nostalgic, knowing that I would never get a picture like this again.

The second shot is a sillouette of the girls sitting in the garage looking out towards the driveway getting graded. I love getting these shots

The men working....

And finally...our little piece of paradise! Not so bad, eh?

4th of July Vermont style

We pretty much just layed low for the holiday. With the children so young it's hard to go to town to see the fireworks. They are in bed early and I kind of like that! So we did something a little different. We made s'mores for the first time ever. Actually we have never even roasted marshmellows before. We had heard it was going to rain, but it was 4pm and still it hadn't happened so Paul made a small fire and of course, it started to rain. But it didn't ruin our fun, we just threw on raincoats and made yummy snacks anyway.

Baby C

He's no baby anymore. These are a few shots from his one year birthday shoot. How cute is he? I got so many sweet captures I couldn't decide on which to post....and I'm only halfway through editing his session. I love when the little ones cooperate. Thanks for such a great time little guy. Happy birthday.