The Never Ending Winter

So Mother Nature has been less than kind this year.  It's been FAR too long since my boys have been outside.  I feel like people are probably getting sick of the same faces coming across their FB feed, but when you're buried in snow, not many people are wanting to go out for a photo shoot, therefore, these sweet faces keep popping up!

 Bryson has started ice skating again, he loves the skating, not so much the hockey part.  We tried to get Memphis out there on skates, but he gave up pretty quickly.  He is however, enjoying watching the Zamboni.

 I seriously have no clue what I'm going to do with this child.  He is my little Gremlin.  He's INSANE and I adore him.  He will be the cause of many sleepless nights.  Here he is practicing his winking skills.  Nailed it!

 With the non-stop snow, we decided to play a family game of Minute To Win It.  The classic Oreo cookie on the face had to be played so while daddy and Bryson were working on getting the Oreo in their mouth, Memphis just took it off his forehead and started eating.

 Bryson was so still while I tried balancing all those marshmallows on his spoon.  It was the quietest he has ever been for sure!

Running across the room with a cotton ball stuck to your nose turned out to be pretty hilarious.  Memphis rocked this challenge, even when it fell to the ground, he didn't use his hands.

I think winter may actually be giving up.  The snow is starting to melt.  Truth be told these boys are driving me NUTS, but it did give us some great memories and family time.  I am however, excited to play outside.  I promise not to complain about the hot weather...until it's hot!

Nick and Erin's Engagement Session

Sometimes I know the ideas in my head are insane.  I have a vision of what I want things to look like, but in order to get that vision exactly right, everything has to go as planned.  I had this gorgeous couple contact me about an engagement session.  I knew they loved to be outdoors together and they wanted some of the signature Erie winter in their photos, so what better place to go than Asbury Woods?

I love Asbury Woods.  I take my kids there ALL THE TIME!  I take family there.  We hike, we swim, we play, we even Geocache!  It's an amazing little hideaway on Erie's west side.  There is this tree in there that is awesome.  It's huge!!  You come to an opening among all these skinny little trees, and there it is, standing all alone.

I thought for sure these two might think I was a bit crazy when I asked them if they were up for a winter hike.  But, they put on their boots and a smile and a hiking we went.  The snow was perfectly packed down and yet still beautiful.  The sun was shining, the snow wasn't too deep, it was the absolute best weather we could have hoped for!  I don't know how we got so lucky, but we did!  

After we made it to the tree, I told them about this great bridge that's a bit further back.  I warned of hills that might be a touch more difficult with the snow and they said, "Let's do it!"  So, we kept going and it was so very worth it!

The best part about the bridge was that there were some other people back there braving the weather with their dogs and their kids.  I asked if they wanted to do a "kiss shot" and it seemed that every time they went for it, someone would shout at their dog or child and they couldn't stop from laughing.  

On the hike back, the sun was peeking through the trees just right, so we had to stop and take a few shots.

Asbury Woods has some great boardwalks as well that we took advantage of. They were too cute snuggled up together!

Favorites of a mom-tographer

Being a mom is what made me pick up the camera again.  Ask anyone who knew me in high school and you'll find that I never went ANYWHERE without my camera.  That was before the digital age and I can't even tell you how much money I spent on printing images.

Fast forward to 2009 when I first became a mommy.  That camera once again became necessity as I wanted to capture every detail of every day.  His every smile, nap, bite, coo, yawn, sneeze...you name it, I wanted to photograph it.  

As I became a mommy again in 2010, the need for more pictures of my second child became even stronger.  I couldn't get enough pictures of these adorable little creatures.  I upgraded my camera, took some classes and started shooting, more technically and much more often.  

Probably my all time favorite image...of anything.  He is teaching his baby to pray!  This isn't the best from a technical standpoint, but for me, it shows me I'm doing something right as a mom. 

Another fave...I can't believe he held still long enough for me to get it!  I love Christmas time.  It's so magical and I see that in this image.

Seriously, how cute is that kid?  That face is too precious, I can hardly stand it!  And...my mother-in-law made that tee pee!

Again, the fact that he stayed still for this long is a miracle. I knew I wanted this shot, so we did it first and I love how it turned out!

I had to do a short session with my sweet boy before he headed off to Kindergarten.  He is just too precious! 

One of the things I love most is the everyday shots.  We love to go to the park and I usually tote my camera along, just in case.

My silly little man.

A smile...during hockey...I never thought that would happen!

Bryson and his hockey buddy, Reed.  Yes, the same Reed from the other blog post pictures :D

I love this boy's silly faces.  

These black and whites hang in my laundry room, so at least when I'm stuck doing laundry, I have this adorable-ness to entertain me.  

That's it.  Some of my mommy faves of 2014.  I can't wait to see what this year has in store for my kiddos.  Stay tuned cause the camera is usually on.  

2014 Favorites

So my thinking was that I would narrow my 2014 favorites to just 14.  It's impossible!  I had so many great clients and so many great sessions that it just wasn't possible.  So, here they are my top 21 favorites from the year!!!

This sweet baby boy has been having his photos taken since day 1!  LITERALLY, I went to the hospital the day he was born!  It was just too cute and irresistible, when, totally on his own, he went head first into the cake!

This is one of my very best friends.  We have been friends since 7th grade. Oh the stories I can tell you about her :D  I always look forward to a trip home to allow our kids time to play together and to just catch up with one of my oldest friends.  

I took this picture as part of a Mother's Day series I was offering.  It's ranks as one of my favorite pics of the year!  I just love the colors!

I was given the opportunity this year to visit with No Dress Code Studios and the owners, Roman and Kristen Glass.  They are hands down, some of the coolest and nicest people I know!

This sweet baby girl turned one this year and mom and dad elected for a smash cake and bath time session.  Her expressions were too cute and I'm so glad I got this adorable face!

This was one of my very first engagement sessions.  I just loved this pose.  

I just loved how Ryan's pictures turned out.  I LOVE photographing seniors!  They are so easy and willing to do whatever!

Reed's mom wanted a baseball session, and a baseball session is what she got.  Shooting at locations in Erie is easier than I had imagined.  The people and businesses of Erie have been very kind in letting me in to photograph families at their locations.  This was taken at Jerry Uht Park!  They even did a short video piece on Reed to show during games.  He's a SUPERSTAR!

Another generous business that was kind enough to let us in was Jay's Auto in Edinboro.  I had a vision for this session and I love the way in turned out.  These girls were such fun and complete naturals!

Reed frequently models for me :D  This was a before and after taken for the family because they were chosen as the March Of Dimes Ambassador Family!

I had so much fun at this session when Jordan took me to her family farm.  Though her family no longer owned the farm, the new owners gave us permission to come to the property and take pictures.  It was fun to hear her and her mom reminisce!

HELLLLLO Fashion Diva!  Gia was a dream to shoot, and obviously fashionable too!  

Hands down my favorite sibling shot of the year!  This just makes me gush!

It's clear to see the love in this photo.  I love when the love translates to the photo.  That's what it's all about.

My friend asked me to capture a nursing session for her and since I'd never done one, I thought, why not?  These next few are from the session.  I absolutely LOVE how they turned out!

These next few pictures were taken at a Winery in NY.  The family took me along to capture their family.  These two families are super close and wanted to have the memories of their family bond.  Yes, that's the sweet baby who was putting his face in the cake, yes, that's our superstar Reed, the baseball player, and yes, those are the gorgeous junkyard ballerinas.

Is this not the cutest couple?  Maybe I'm biased?  This is my cousin and his adorable wife, expecting their first child, a boy in March!

So, that's it for my 2014 favorites, BUT, I didn't include any of my own children.  I can't very well leave them out, can ?  So, my next post is coming and in it I'll include my daily life as a 

mom-tographer.  

Gender Reveal

So we all know that gender reveal sessions are all the rage!  Of course, I had to get my camera out and try one myself and it just so happened that my cousin and his wife had just found out that they were having a...  I can't quite spoil it yet :D  I drove ALL the way to Iowa for this session, and they had driven all the way from Oklahoma.  So maybe it wasn't just the journey of my first gender reveal session that trapped us in the car for 21 hours collectively, (happy birthday grandpa), but nonetheless, they were there, I was there, I had my camera, so of course a shoot was in order.

A few weeks before the shoot, I had decided that I wanted to do a hot chocolate, or candy theme.  Have you ever been to Iowa in the winter?  Hot chocolate is a must when it's -30 degrees out.  No, I wish I were kidding.  It wasn't THAT cold on this day.  At least I didn't think so.  My beautiful new winter coat kept me nice and cozy, but Jake and Mallory weren't in agreement.  It probably was around 15 degrees.  BRRRRRR

Cold or not, we took a few shots and then ran inside with that hot chocolate to warm up.  I think they turned out rather cute and am thankful to this amazing couple who will soon be even more amazing parents to a bouncing baby boy.  That's right, baby Staats is due in March and I will be there to see that sweet smushy face not long after.

Brix 21 Session

I had an amazing session a few weeks back and I just had to blog about it.  This group is really more of a family, not just friends.  The ladies in the group were college friends and have remained close ever since.  They spend holidays together, and have an insane amount of fun!  They treated me to an amazing photo session AND a delicious glass of wine.  We tromped through the vineyard to get these photos.  It was a touch chilly, but the kids were troopers and rallied through!  I have a special place in my heart for the family on top!  They were the VERY first family I photographed and have continued to come back to me as I have been on my photography journey.  They never waived in their support or confidence in my work.  It means a lot that even though I may not have been the best 2 years ago, they continued to believe in me and come back to me for their pictures.  I have taken their family pictures twice, newborn pictures, birthday pictures, a smash cake session and their March Of Dimes pictures.  Thank you Kaminkse's for being such a loyal family.  Here's to capturing many more years for you!!