A few sessions back I had a great evening with this goofy group of gals. Having a long history of team sports back in the day myself, I thoroughly enjoyed hearing their bleacher talk, and observing their team spirit, which quite obviously there was plenty of!

One week old. I LOVE these sessions. It's part skill, part luck, all timing, and a lot of patience. I don't have to worry about getting the baby to smile at this point, I just have to be ready for whatever she's going to give me. I've been waiting to photograph this precious little princess for a very long time. I've had the joy of watching her mother grow, and grow, and grow. I had the joy of fetching the big sister for an overnight when we finally got The Call. I got to hold her in the hospital nursery shortly after she was born. And in just one week she has changed so much! Perhaps the best part about working with friends is the lack of pressure to perform. Of course I want to deliver the most stunning images I can muster, but there is also a little extra room for creativity because I will ask my friends to do crazy things, like wedge their one week old newborn onto the fender of their Harley, just because it might look neat. When the Harley was offered as a prop my mind spun with excitement and I spent most of my vacation last week thinking up ways to capture the essence of the bike while keeping the focus on the babe. In the end, our gorgeous tiny subject broke every newborn photography rule and was wide awake for most of the session. Most of those sleeping shots? She blinked. But when it came to the fender, she nestled right down and we nearly had to wipe drool off the bike she was snoozing so hard. I'd say 16 years from now, we're going to have a serious biker chick in the family, but watch out boys, Daddy is a Harley riding Marine!

On Saturday I led a three hour Photo Walk in Bisbee as one of my classes offered to military dependents at Fort Huachuca's MWR Arts and Crafts Center. A "Photo Walk" is just that; a walk for the purpose of taking photographs. We meandered the narrow streets in search of architecture, flora, anything cool that struck our fancy, all the while talking about camera settings, composition, and lighting. One of the highlights of our journey was the chance to shoot willing models. Taylor, the blond bombshell above, is my favorite go-to gal who will try everything I ask of her. A huge Thank You and a very special Happy Sweet Sixteen Birthday wish to you from our whole family! And one of our photographers happily set her camera aside to pose with her beautiful growing tummy! Baby number four is arriving this December. Talk about natural beauty, she couldn't stop smiling and we can all see why! Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to practice our skills on your stunning silhouette!



I've got a whole folder of favorites from the weekend, alas, I am now officially on vacation for the next week! Just me and my boys and hopefully the soothing sounds of an owl or coyote while enjoying a crackling campfire with my loves!

He coos, he rolls, he laughs deep belly laughs, he eats peas, he smiles... there is some hair grabbing and ear pulling too. He lets everyone hold him, thank God. My baby is 6 months old and very nearly ready to crawl, though he has mastered the art of mobility like an inch worm on his back, so maybe he will skip crawling all together. He's discovered his jumperoo excersaucer and squeals like an excited monkey at the mere sight of it. What a joy! It's faces like these that get us pregnant in the first place, so don't stare too long!



I'm aware that my images are pixelating a little bit on the new blog layout. If you happen to know how I can fix this without changing my blog template please let me know!

I graduated from the University of Arizona without having ever attended a single NCAA sporting event. I loved sports, I just didn't want to sit and watch them, I'd rather be playing myself. I don't think I ever cared about college football until I met my husband, whose love for the game and pride for his school, the beloved University of Michigan, is so infectious you can't help but dress head to toe in Maize and Blue and order chicken wings every Saturday.
Saturday night we were given tickets from a friend and traveled, sans kids, yes you heard me right, we had two different baby sitters and drove an hour from home to attend the game and enjoy a whopping 7 hours of uninterrupted adult conversation!! It was bliss. The game could not have been uglier, flags on nearly every play and no tremendous excitement until the very last minute. I spent most of the game pondering why the WildCats have the words "Bear Down" as their catch phrase... Pardon me, but all I could think about was childbirth. (Insert snicker here.) We were actually walking down out of the stadium to avoid the mass exodus, stopping at each level to peek at the progress of the final 2:46 minutes. When it became clear that there was one final opportunity for something to happen I ran down to the base of the section and looked back at the fans, hoping to get a great shot of the game winning touchdown. I didn't see the touchdown myself, but I saw it through the eyes of some very happy fans:


I always love the faithful fans who come with their padded seats, and headphones for the play by play action.


Just checking out the school spirit on all levels.


In the final minute there was a moment of confusion, a whistle blown and for a moment we all wondered what planet the officiating was coming from.


Relief and joy as we score the game winning touchdown. Go WildCats!

My four year old will do anything to get out of the car... Even if it means posing for my camera on a country road, sitting astride my minivan while my friend Pauline and I play with a variety of lighting equipment. I'm always looking for new ways to photograph my clients in our challenging desert landscape, and as the sun quickly sets as autumn takes over, my daylight hours will also start to disappear. It's those few minutes right after sunset that I love for photography, and maybe this idea will help lengthen my shooting time. I think it's pretty, and that model, well, I think I have a crush....