Payton Jade

When I am taking pictures of a family I always wonder what I am going to write about them here...this family I did not have to think too hard at all. This little baby Payton is going to grow up in a home filled with peacefullness, love, and lots of laughter. They are brand new parents, but not the typical "brand new"...very relaxed and calm and so open to trying some new shots (which I was REALLY excited about!!) Baby Payton LOVES her hands and sucking on her fingers and at first I was worried that that was all I was capturing BUT after looking through these I feel like I captured WHO she is right now....such a beautiful little princess!! I definitely think my favorite shots here are the one of mommy kissing her daughter's little downy head and the one of daddy holding her in his arms....powerful, powerful stuff...again, I am honored to have captured this moment and hope to do it again soon for this gorgeous little family....and next time you might see some shots of her beautiful playmate, Porter...a gorgeous black lab who I did not do such a good job of capturing this time *wink*...but next time I will! :)

Meeting Madeline

This is brand new, 13 day old Madeline....isn't she beautiful? I took her mommy's pictures (scroll down to see those--SUCH a beautiful pregnant person!!) when she was pregnant and now Madeline is here! Such a tiny, tiny little sweet pea who is so lucky to have such wonderful parents....they are so cute...just like new parents are....worried about every little thing and COMPLETELY in love with their little girl. At some points I felt like I was invisible just capturing the love between this new little family...I actually had to catch my breath during some of the three of them together--I dont think there could be a more loved little one!! I am sure you will see more of her in the coming months :) Congratulations Kate and John!!

S.H.M.I.L.Y.

A long while back I read a devotional book and the very first devotion out of it realllly hit home for me...I think it was called NightLight by Dobson (not sure) but if I can find it I will post it because it is a beautiful story....anyway, Karl and I read the devotion together and ever since then we have left this message for each other....ALL.OVER.THE.PLACE......on my toothbrush, in his wallet, on a steering wheel, written on the shampoo bottle...almost ten years of finding these six letters randomly and whenever I see it it still makes me smile just as much as the first time...its a little thing that is a really big thing: See.How.Much.I.Love.You. (i love you sweetie!)

Should I worry.....

when a boy this cute asks my sweet Emilee if they can "hook up....pleeeeeease???" LOL--its a good thing I know his mommy!! Ok, so I had to share...first because this story just made me laugh sooooo hard and second because I know his mom is just going to die when she hears it! :)

Emilee says today that Garrett (whose picture I have taken and also of his beautiful older sister) asks today if they can "hook up" and she said "no". I asked her why and she says "I have no idea what that means mom---but I think he really wants to because he asked again and said pleeeeeeease really long like that"...must be something in the air at McBride because last week a different little boy asked her if they could "go out" and she again said "no"...but this time it was because "I had no idea where he wanted to go--I think maybe on a date though and I dont want to do that"...*sigh* growing up is hard (on me) :) Have a great night!

Look...

What I did this weekend! How lucky am I??? This family was an amazing family...I didnt have to work at all for these shots (until you see the horse shots, THEN I had to work super super hard....but soo worth it!) I think I definitely caught who these kids are...each one in their own phase of life; a teenager, a pre-teen, and one sweet little girl...I hope I managed to capture a little something of who they are right now for their parents...I hope I captured that certain "look" that they never wants to forget...and I hope they come back again because they were a true joy to spend time with...all of them :)

perfectly imperfect....

This is more for myself than anything but I have seen this on a few blogs and I want to keep it safe somewhere for myself because I am going to need to refer to it from time to time.....it really does sum up my philosophy of my photography. My style is casual...If you want formal it is definitely not something I can do...my goal is to capture a moment or a look that you never want to forget...it is about remembering a specific time in your life EXACTLY how it is right now and this quote really does remind me of that...

I think the problem most photographers have with shooting only available light is that it can be extremely difficult to get consistent exposures and accurate color especially in low light situations. It's far from safe. Wedding photographers have an even bigger issue with leaving their flash in their bag because they know that there is no such thing as a re-shoot. So how does one free himself from the flat, shiny, amateur look of on-camera flash? How does a photographer bring herself to lay down that little black shadow-killer during an assignment where her reputation is at stake and there is no redemption if she blows it?

The answer is sacrifice. You have to give something up in order to get results that excite you and inspire the artist within. You must give up perfection! Perfectionism only provokes fear and fear is what holds us back in pretty much every area of our lives. I love the way Joe Buissink puts it when he says "There is no such thing as a perfect image, only a perfect moment". He is so right. If we allow our creativity to be tied up by the "rules" of photography, we'll find ourselves bored; creating those mediocre images that look just like everyone else's.

I'm not saying to do things just to be unique. There's an old saying that goes something like "always remember you're unique... just like everyone else." It's true, so many people are out there trying so hard to be different that they end up looking the same. What I'm saying is, be yourself, and don't let fear hold you back. Forget all the rules you learned in school or from your mentors for a while and get out and shoot the way you've always wanted to shoot. Do something YOU like, not what you think your clients expect. Choose images from your shoots that speak to you on a different level even if they are out of focus, motion blurred, or break all the rules of composition. Remember, photography is subjective and you are the boss so take advantage of your position and have fun with it.-Mike Colon

Little Brothers

So, I have a little brother (OK, so he's 6 foot 4 but he's MY little brother) and I honestly have to say he is one of my best friends in the whole world. We are five years apart so pretty rare for a bond to be as strong as ours and I think we are both pretty proud of how close we are. He looked at my blog for the first time yesterday and I got an email back, just one line, that, first of all made me cry, but second of all made me realize just how lucky I truly am to have such a wonderful brother....so this is for him. I can remember every detail of his whole entire life and I can also remember that the first time I met him I was the one of my proudest moments....I would get to hold him while mom got his bath all ready and I would look down at his sweet little face and know I was holding something VERY special (hmmm, wonder why I like babies so much huh?? :) anyway, I have to say that in the course of 30 years he has never let me down, not once, and although he is my little brother, and I have had to take care of him and stick up for him a great deal of the time, there are times when he had to do the same for me and did it without question...he's an amazing businessman, he's an amazing husband, he's an unbelievable daddy and today I just want him to know how much I love him, how proud I am of him, and how lucky I am to have him in my life..and now I'm crying again....love you big A! :)