KSC Photography

So here it is.

2011-05-26T16:57:00.001-04:00

Can I tell you a secret? The real reason my blog has been MIA is that it was planning a retirement party for itself. Wait, don't panic! The blog is not going away, it's just going somewhere new!

I am super duper excited to announce the launch of my BRAND SPANKIN NEW self- KSC Photography is now Rockit Photography! After years with my little homemade logo and KSC Photography branding, it was time for the real deal. Fear not, all of you who hate change. I am the same me. My photographs are the same them. My clients are the same you. And now, I finally have a look to reflect all of that.

From now on, you can find me over at my new Rockit Blog. (Quick, go check it out and add it to your RSS feed.) And you might want to hurry, cause there is a crazy good special running for the next few days (how does $50 for a session sound??)

So blow a little kiss at your computer screen and bid KSC Photography goodnight. And then as quick as you can, wipe that solitary tear off your cheek and head over to rockitblog.com, cause the new blog is dying to meet you!

Rested

2011-05-24T10:44:00.000-04:00

Ooopsie. So it looks like there is a slight chance that my blog stayed on vacation even when I came back from mine last month. Bad blog. At least we both got some rest.

To break the awkward silence, I give you a little Instagram collage of our week in the mountains! (You guys know how much I like Instagram.)

We spent an amazing week in Boone, NC. My best friend Kati and her husband Stephen and their little Cole came to join us for the second half of the week. Mystery: why didn't Stephen make it into any of these pictures?? I promise he was there.

Well, it was nice to chat with you for a few minutes. Let's not overdo this- it's been a while. We probably need to ease back into our blogging relationship. How have YOU been?

A little R&R and a little baby boy...

2011-04-17T16:48:00.001-04:00

I remember spring break being really exciting when I was in school. I don't think I would have believed you had you told me how exciting it would be NOW. Spring break in 2011 means that my (teacher) husband is off for a whole week, which if you have children you realize is amazing. Two parents against one baby... nice.

I'm off for the next week, so any phone calls or e-mails will be returned starting on Monday, April 25. I may pop and blog a little... there's just no telling what this week will hold. : )

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a quick peek at this sweet little bundle of goodness. Can't wait to share the rest of his session after my break!

New mini-books and SC dates!

2011-04-15T22:46:00.000-04:00

Just popping in with a few announcements!

I added these sweet new mini-books to my product offerings a few months ago and I pretty much love them. They are 3x3 and fold up accordion-style and make a nice quiet little thump when they close thanks to the magnet inside. They fit easily into your pocket or purse or stand up on your desk, and they are AWESOME for newborns or seniors or really anyone whose face you want to be able to see at a moment's notice.

This book was from Mason's newborn session:

If you want more details, send me an e-mail!

Also, as always I am excited to announce my upcoming SC summer session dates. I'll be scheduling sessions in Columbia, SC on June 9, 10, 11, and 13. And if you're looking for a session outside of Columbia I'm happy to come see you- just send me a message with your date and I'll get back to you with availability and travel fee.

Come back soon and I will show you a tiny peek of my most recent newborn session. : )

Happy newlyweds: Megan & Geoff

2011-04-04T18:53:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday! Since Mondays are usually no one's favorite day, I am here to rescue you with something a little different on the blog to cheer you up. It's different because, a.) it's a wedding, and you guys know that I shoot very few weddings each year, and b.) how many couples have their wedding pictures in a professional ballpark?

Megan and Geoff live in Philadelphia. And they love Philly. And they love sports. And when I say love Philly and love sports, I mean they LOVE PHILLY AND LOVE SPORTS. So naturally, they REALLY REALLY love Philadelphia sports and wanted to make city and its sports a big part of their day. I've known Megan since elementary school, and when she started telling me about their plans it all just sounded so Megan, which is exactly how all weddings should be.

As I was choosing images for this blog post, I realized I was quickly approaching a million and needed to reign it in. Since you've all probably been to weddings before, I decided to forgo a visual play-by-play of every shoe, flower, cake, and family member that appeared in the twelve hours I spent with them, and whittle it down to my absolute favorite images that are uniquely Megan and Geoff. Especially because I know that's specifically why Megan and Geoff hired me- to document their day in my "not-too-weddingy" style.

I met Megan and the girls at Ovations Salon for the final touches on hair and make-up before hurrying back to the Sheraton Society Hill to finish getting ready. I could have spent half the morning just photographing Megan and her mom, who was clearly very excited for her only daughter's wedding.

I just love these shot of Megan's mom and dad

Beautiful, happy bride!

Geoff and the groomsmen all got ready at the hotel as well, so while the guys finished getting dressed I stole Geoff for a few portraits

The whole wedding party jumped onto a big bus Megan and Geoff rented for the day (brilliant) and headed from the hotel over to the incredibly gorgeous St. Bridget Catholic Church for the wedding ceremony

All married!!

The whole wedding party hopped back onto the bus to head off for pictures. First stop- the middle of the street! Mr. Bus Driver wasn't terribly thrilled to park in the middle of moving traffic on Broad Street, but it was way worth it for these portraits with City Hall in the background

Next stop: Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Megan and Geoff's first date was a Philadelphia Phillies game, and they are probably bigger Phillies fans than anything else, so the highlight of the afternoon was admittance to Citizens Bank Park. Megan was so organized that we actually got there early, so the wedding party stopped for drinks and the photographers stopped for chicken fingers at McFadden's right outside the ballpark. What kind of wedding day ever actually has EXTRA TIME? Awesome.

I'm not a baseball girl myself, but working here was pretty awesome.

No big deal, just the bride and groom kissing on the pitcher's mound. Which is actually a huge deal, because you'd probably have a better chance of getting invited to a sleepover at the White House than to set foot on that grass. My toes may have touched a few precious blades as I shot from the dirt... please don't tell.

And that's just the wedding party hanging out in the locker room.

Next up: cocktail hour and the reception at Finnegan's Wake

These cupcakes were created at Brown Betty Dessert Boutique. When I first saw the display I was a little nervous that I wouldn't get one. After all, I'm not a real guest. I was so relieved when they refilled the tiers. I ate one (...maybe two...) at the end of the night and almost died. AMAZING. And then I almost died a second time reliving each bite while editing pictures. And then I immediately looked them up online and was so sad to see they don't deliver. Perhaps a roadtrip is in order.

Hey looky there, I still posted nearly a million images and still feel like I left too many out. Clearly my whittling skills are sub-par. I have no problem making selections from portrait sessions to post on the blog, but choosing wedding pictures is hard work! There are just too many to share- I guess it will take me a while to find my own wedding blogging style. Well anyway, I know two people who won't mind the long post- happy one monthiversary (tomorrow) Megan and Geoff!! Thank you for trusting me be a part of your awesome day.

And I can't end this post without giving a huge shout out to my partner in crime- Dylan was my second shooter/gear carrier/Coke getter/notes organizer/cheerleader/post-wedding-I-am-too-tired-to-move-pizza-finder and I love him for it.

On Monsters and Superheros

2011-03-30T01:29:00.003-04:00

So I've been doing a little thinking these days. And that is really dangerous, because I haven't been doing much sleeping these days, and thinking without sleeping can go very, very wrong. As can blogging. Which is where tonight's disaster begins...

No seriously I am kind of on the tired side, but I don't think this will be a disaster. These past two weeks I've been swamped and working late every night to finish a giant project and wrap up editing a wedding, but for now, I just want to show you this picture.

And I want to show you these pictures.

And I want to tell you that I don't feel guilty about posting more pictures of my boys. And that I want to kiss Brody's little belly in that first one.

For a little while there, I was feeling bad. See, the thing is, I'm a photographer and I work at nighttime. Much like a superhero, you might be thinking, and you would be correct. But right now I feel like the superhero whose powers are weakened and whose spandex is too tight. The problem is that a year ago, I could easily work from 8pm till 2am, and now most nights I find myself falling asleep at the computer at 10:30. And the other problem is that even if I could stay up past 10:30, I don't have too many sessions to edit these days. And the third problem is that I used to look cute in spandex.

But then I remember why. It's because I am a full-time mom by day, and the Monster I spend time chasing doesn't really care what my spandex looks like- he still thinks I'm really awesome. And it's because I only have a few years to be a daytime superhero and I have lots of years to be a nighttime superhero. And it's because I just (yep, still saying "just") had a baby and spandex doesn't lie.

Now of course some of you reading are friends and family that love to see pictures of my Little Monster. And some of you are clients and peers who enjoy it from time to time. And maybe some of you hate it, in which case I would advise that you find a different blog to bookmark, cause this Monster is pretty popular here. : )

The point here is (remember, I'm tired and rambly) that THIS IS STILL MY WORK. I'm not turning into a mommy blog, and I'm still gearing up for a summer full of clients. But I was reminded by another photographer today that the pictures I take of my own family and friends are not any less important than those I take for others. They are not any less an example of my photography. They are not any less an exercise in creativity or a source of inspiration in this season of my business. In fact, they help me to get even closer to being the photographer I want to be. They teach me to be more intentional in each and every session. They remind me why I started photography in the first place.

So forgive me if you see a lot of Monster pictures these days, (and feel free to send him a little thank-you note after you realize your next portrait session with me is your best one ever). And forgive me if my blog posts aren't as frequent as they were last year. And forgive me if you see me in spandex because, really, it's just not time.

Teensy

2011-03-24T00:26:00.000-04:00

I made a teensy new little friend last week. I love him and his teensy little ears and nose and toes and mouth.

This guy is super-excited about his new playmate. Actually, he hasn't the faintest idea what is going on, but fingers are tasty.

Night night.

Normal wedding picture

2011-03-21T09:11:00.001-04:00

Oh wait, is it not normal for a bride and groom to be photographed on the field of a professional ballpark?

My mistake.

Happy 16-day anniversary Megan and Geoff! Full preview coming soon to a blog near you.

Luck o' the Irish

2011-03-17T12:24:00.002-04:00

Guess what? If you missed the spring sale... you are in luck!

Because I am feeling guilty for not having any Guinness in the house or wearing any green today, I'm bringing the Spring Sale BACK through Saturday at midnight. Wahoooo!!

All March, April, and May sessions booked by 11:59 p.m. on March 19 will receive $50 off a $200 print/product order! Whether you're ordering canvases, a disc of digital images, prints, albums, or mini-books, you get MORE for LESS, and that's always a good thing.

And for those of you that were hoping for later sessions, I've stretched it through May. If you've already booked a session for May, surprise, you get the discount, too! Other than that, same details apply: Session must be booked by March 19, 2011 and take place by May 31, 2011. Discount does not apply to previous sessions. $50 off applies to a minimum $200 print and product order before taxes or shipping charges. $50 credit will be applied to total before any other discounts or promotions. Only valid on print and product orders from this session. No cash value.

E-mail or call me to get set up!

I can't give out pots of gold and I don't know any leprechauns personally, so this is the least I can do to celebrate St. Patty's... I didn't even make any green cookies. And I may be married to an Irishman but there will be no corned-beef or cabbage in this house today. (Or ever.) So Happy St. Patrick's Day!

And since I am really busy editing the wedding I shot and haven't pulled out any images to share with you yet, here is an Instagram of my kid. Standard blog-filler. Will this still be acceptable when he is 15? Is this actually acceptable now? Probably not... : )

Wedding preview coming soon!

Off the grid

2011-03-09T22:58:00.000-05:00

I may have dropped off the grid there for a few days... my apologies. But I'm not really sorry cause it was a good kind of off the grid. That kind that involves no Baby Monsters, as much as the Monster's mommy might love him. Thank goodness for Monster grandparents.

I was busy prepping for and shooting an incredible wedding in Philadelphia (more on that soon), and then off galavanting throughout NYC with my partner in crime. Except I don't think we committed any crimes... maybe jaywalking... the point is hello, I'm back on the grid.

Enjoy a few of my fave Instagram snaps from The Big Apple.

(And if you're an Instagram user, follow me! : karinsc)

And my apologies to those that e-mailed while I was gone... totally forgot an out-of-office message, and I didn't have consistent internet. If you haven't gotten a response yet, you will shortly!

four

2011-03-03T09:49:00.000-05:00

four years since we said i do.

i didn't marry him for his good looks , the way he cooks scrambled eggs, or his crazy-good daddy skills. but they are a nice bonus. happy anniversary.

image by sara parker photography. i chose a picture from two years ago 1.) because i loved this photo session so much and 2.) almost every picture of us since then has included a giant belly or tiny person. note to self: need new pictures.

Hi March

2011-03-01T18:48:00.002-05:00

Well hello March. I look forward to you every year! And not at all because of basketball... I don't do basketball. But March is good for other reasons. March is the month I got married. March is the month that spring starts. I think there's a good reason that February is only 28 days- people wouldn't live for another three. I'm no winter-hater but I think that February just gets blahhh. Now that I've gotten my final snowstorm of the year I am ready to move on. It's like closure. March is neat just cause it's March. It feels like warm weather is in sight off in the distance and there's a tinge of hope that someday, the plants on my back porch will (crossing my fingers) turn green again. It means that we get to do spring cleaning soon, and you guys KNOW how much I love cleaning.

...aaaaaand I can't think of a good segue into my promo announcement, other than I also love March because I am running a great special.

Yep that's right, all March and April sessions booked by March 15 will receive $50 off a $200 print/product order!

Now I don't mean to get all technical, but let's follow the rules. In case you can't see the image above: Session must be booked by March 15, 2011 and take place between March 1, 2011 and April 30, 2011. $50 off applies to a minimum $200 print and product order before taxes or shipping charges. $50 credit will be applied to total before any other discounts or promotions. Only valid on print and product orders from this session. No cash value.

If you've got any questions, feel free to call or send me an e-mail. Yaaaay spring photo sessions!

The pressure is off

2011-02-22T23:29:00.005-05:00

I feel relieved. Why? I shall give you three reasons:

1. It snowed last night.

Which means that schools were closed today. Which means that I had one more day of my super-husband slash baby-daddy home to make my life easier.

Do you ever feel like you have so many undone projects that you just don't even know which to start finishing? And then they just pile on top of you and get heavier and heavier like a big load of blankets? And then you think, hey, these blankets are kinda warm... maybe I will just take a nap under here... Today I dug out from under the blankets, both in a literal laundry sense and a figurative every-other-project sense. I got so much checked off of my personal and business to-do lists today and now I have much more clarity to deal with the remaining items. Big sigh of relief.

2. It snowed last night.

Because we had an awesomely snowtastic winter last year, I've felt slightly cheated by our average snowfall this winter. And then this past Friday it was 70 degrees and it really was lovely, but I got a little panicky. Is winter over? It's only February. What is going on? Should I be ready for spring? Do I need to plant some flowers? I'm still trying to figure out how dead LAST year's flowers are. They look pretty dead on my porch, but who can be sure? Do I need to buy some sunscreen? Change my closet? I don't even know what strange new summer fashion trends I need to avoid. Is summer going to last for TEN MONTHS THIS YEAR?

And then, ahhhhhh. A fresh batch of snow set everything right again. The world is as it should be and I feel perfectly content now to begin the gradual transition to warmer days. And also, my dead[ish?] plants are covered in fluffy whiteness so I don't have to see them. Win.

3. It snowed last night.

And not only did I take some pictures in the park today, I am sharing them with you right now. This may surprise you. Have I mentioned that I am loving the Instagr.am app on my iPhone these days? It's super un-fancy, like me, and makes my iPhone photo of the week more fun (and more likely to happen)! I follow a pretty strict policy of only downloading free iPhone apps, and this one is well worth the $0.00 I spent on it.

I have such a perfectionism problem feeling that I have to edit every image I shoot- even just snapshots- which is why I have a backlog of personal photos from September hiding on my computer. But because there aren't endless editing options and adjustments in Instagr.am, I just take a picture with my phone, choose one effect, and boom- a fun, square picture is born. I literally can't do anything else to it, so the pressure is totally gone. It somehow makes me happy that the images aren't, and can't be, perfect. I need to be ok will a little more imperfection in my life.

So while the rest of Maryland pouts that the snow came and ruined their pretty spring weekend, I'm a little sad that it's been melting so quickly. Tonight I take a deep breath and go to sleep feeling much lighter. Thank you snow.

Tell me what you want, what you really really want

2011-02-16T14:05:00.001-05:00

Why, why did the Spice Girls start in my head?

I am tweaking my spring and summer calendar and I want to hear from you- what do you want? Would my South Carolina families prefer April or June for photo sessions? (I'm hearing some of both, so I thought I'd throw it out there.) Do you want Columbia? Hilton Head? Charleston? Greenville? Do my Marylanders want Ocean City or Rehoboth or Annapolis? Anyone for California? (A girl can dream.) Speak now or forever hold your peace...

Leave a comment or send me an e-mail with your thoughts. Travel dates will be announced ASAP.

And can I just say that I love a barefoot baby? I did not know this until this week. My baby was born in the summer and it was about 80 bajillion degrees, so he naturally spent his first few months barefoot. And then winter rolled in and the socks went on and I forgot all about baby feet. And then this week we've had this odd, super-mild weather, so I haven't bothered with his socks every day... ohgoodgrief I didn't know how much I missed his toes and his chubby little feet. And apparently neither did he.

They're talking about a little snow next week and temps getting back to normal February in Maryland, but right now I can't get spring and bare feet out of my head. Which brings me back to the topic of today's post- spring photo sessions. To say that I am excited about this spring would be a serious understatement. Last spring I kept things pretty low-key with the bambino on the way, but this year there's no big belly to slow me down!

I'll be announcing a special deal next week for everyone booking spring sessions, so stay tuned!

The way to my heart

2011-02-14T13:57:00.001-05:00

This morning, my child woke up at 5:15. As he has every day for the past week. Not cool.

I sat half asleep in the recliner "watching" him squeal and play on the floor in his room. Dylan walked in to tell us bye before he left for work at 6:15. (Dylan, don't take this the wrong way, but I hate it when I get to see you before work.)

Anyway, he said, "It's kind cool... for the next ten years or so, Brody is always going to think you are his Valentine." I'm not super-cheesy, super-mushy, or super into Valentine's Day, and let's be honest, that statement is all of those things. But it still struck me as kinda cute.

So after his morning nap, my little Valentine took me out on a date. Nevermind that he didn't pay, it still counts.

We went to Dunkin Donuts. He knows his mommy well- donuts are the way to my heart.

Mommy ate donuts.

Brody ate a stuffed hippopotamus.

Mommy considered giving him a piece of donut, but since he barfed up all of the bread he tasted for the first time the other day, we stuck with the hippo. Maybe next year.

And now we are off to bake some sugar cookies for my real Valentine. (And by "we," I totally mean me while Brody sits and cries in his exersaucer. Awesome. These sort of memories will be much more fun when he is older.)

And p.s., who knew that by waiting until Valentine's morning the shelves at the grocery store would be wiped clean of all heart-stamped pre-sliced cookies? Booooo for boring undecorated circle cookies that actually look like squares.

Oh and thank you Instag.ram for making my iPhone pictures kinda pink in honor of today.

Hope you have a happy Valentine's Day!

To do: make a to-do list.

2011-02-09T09:59:00.001-05:00

So here's something that should surprise no one- I like to-do lists. And when I don't have them, nothing gets done.

Last week I planned to blog every day, so I made myself a list of what to blog and BOOM, done. Last week, I planned to eat dinner every day (as most people do) so I laid out our meal plan ahead of time. Boom, dinners cooked.

This week, I made no blogging list, hence it is already Wednesday and this is all you've gotten from me. I made no meal plan, so we've had to eat the emergency back-up frozen dinner from the freezer and toast and grilled cheese. Which would be fine except now we no longer have a back-up, and we are dangerously low on cheese.

The worst part is I know we have all the ingredients in the pantry to make several different meals- I bought them on purpose last week to avoid this very problem. But since I only wrote out my meal plan through the end of the week now I don't remember what I had planned for this week. BOOOOOOOOO.

Let's go ahead and deem this week FAIL and plan on a better week next time. (Side note: when did everyone start saying "FAIL" all the time? And in all caps? I decided to try it out here. Don't know that I see what all the fuss is about.)

I have had several requests for pictures of my sad friend Streaky, so you can plan on seeing that later this week. I still need to take his picture. I should write that down.

I'd better go make some lists while the kiddo is napping or I am going to forget everything.

The adventurous type

2011-02-04T17:21:00.001-05:00

For some of us, an adventure would be an activity such as trying a BRAND NEW chicken and pasta entree at Olive Garden on her birthday instead of her USUAL chicken and pasta dish. For others, it would be buying an old conversion van, making it awesome, and driving around the country all summer living in it with a very loosely defined travel plan.

Guess which one is me? Guess which one is them?

Ben and Lauren will be packing up and hitting the road in June, just for kicks. How incredible is that? Ben is a teacher and Lauren owns her own business, so they've got the ultimate set-up to take a timeout for a summer-o-fun.

Ben knows his way around a video camera, so they are creating a video blog to document their summer travels. I plan to live vicariously through their journey so that I can pretend I am as adventurous as they are. (Although I will have you know, the new meal at Olive Garden that I cannot remember the name of is quite good and may have earned itself a rotating spot as "the usual." How's THAT for adventure.) So anyway, Ben and Lauren needed some photos for the blog design, so we picked a chilly morning in December while I was in SC and marched through the frost to pretend it was summer.

The photographer may or may not have slipped on the frozen grass (twice) as she warned them to be careful. The truth will never be known.

Oh yeah, when I say Lauren owns her own business I mean that she is a killer graphic designer and creates amazing and eco-friendly invitations, cards, and any other printed stuff you want. Things like the most awesome baby announcements in the world, cause that's what she made for me. It's because of Lauren's mad skills that I now feel I need my grocery list to be letter-pressed on recycled cardstock each week. If you are a bride, a new mom, an event planner, or just a girl who likes a classy shopping list, Utopia Invitations is the place to go.

Back to the pictures.

Oh, and when they need to get around whatever town they're currently staying in, they're just going to skateboard. No big deal.

They're still putting the finishing touches on the vblog, but I'll share the link as soon as it's up and running!

And look! I did it! I fulfilled my promise to blog each day this week! Excuse me while I go pass out for the weekend. Quick, someone baby-sit.

Catching up with Little Monster

2011-02-03T23:58:00.002-05:00

Hi there! Remember me?!

Wait, whaa...? Hello...? You don't remember? But... it's me... this is awkward

It's because my mommy stopped sharing pictures of me, isn't it... you've forgotten me... : ( WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Oh I get it, you REMEMBER me, you just couldn't believe how big I've gotten. Ok, tears over.

Well I begged and begged Mommy to post my pictures on the blog, and she finally caved! I think it helps that I made a cute face.

Then I begged and begged for a pony (cute faces employed again, of course), but I still haven't gotten one. WHAT. THE. HECK.

So anyway, I'm almost seven months old now, and though Mommy keeps promising to finish editing my official 6-month photo shoot, I wouldn't hold your breath. All these pictures are from around the same time in January, so it gives you a pretty good idea of how big I am.

I was pretty excited to be featured today, so I spent some time in front of the mirror getting ready. I make the awesomest faces.

I kept trying to pull the mirror over on top of my head so we had to stop. Lame. Oh but did I tell you about the snow last week? It was my first snow outing. I guess there's not too much to say about that. I can't really play yet, but I can sit and be cold. And fat.

My parents tried to do a family self-portrait, but they did a terrible job. (Don't tell Mommy I said that- she's a photographer.)

Well, it's going to be way past my bedtime by the time Mommy posts this, so I'll have to sneak onto her computer tomorrow to see all your comments. My mommy told me she tends to get the most comments when she posts pictures of me. I can't imagine why.

I'm going to ask my mommy (with my cute begging face of course) if I can be the guest blogger more often.

Night night,
Little Monster

A Baby Story: Part 2

2011-02-03T00:44:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time I shared A Baby Story with you.

Second upon a time, I did it again.

I hesitated to call our first session "part 1" because I wasn't sure if we would get our "part 2." When we scheduled Will and Lindsay's maternity session early in her pregnancy, we crossed our fingers and penciled in a January snow day to run out and grab just a few more images. We couldn't be sure that the atmosphere would cooperate, but we were hoping against hope it would. And besides how obviously awesome a snowy session would be, we wanted to be sure to document that beautiful growing belly again closer to D-day.

Last week it happened! We got a big thundersnowrm (yep, made that word up myself) and locked in the one hour that we were all available the next morning. Now, I wanted snow to be actually falling from the sky during the shoot, but I can only control so much. Despite my lack of precipitation control, I love how these came out. Snow shoots are fun!!

Even though I was dumb enough to bring a white blanket to a snow session, these turned out to be some of my favorite images

Dear Lindsay,
Please stop looking so amazing.
Many thanks,
my post-baby waist and thighs

Three cheers for preggos who run around freezing and coatless in the snow!

Now TECHNICALLY it is no longer Wednesday, which is a problem for my blog-every-day-this-week promise. Thankfully, you are loving, understanding people and not technical people, and I am still awake and working anyway, so this totally counts. Don't you dare tell me it doesn't.

See you tomorrow (slash later today!)

iPhone Image of the Week

2011-02-01T10:01:00.009-05:00

I think I only did this once and never actually named this segment, but I can thank Kim for being the ONLY ONE to answer my pleas for help coming up with a name for my weekly image from my phone. Kim, you are the bomb dot com. She came up with a very clever name, but for reasons I cannot divulge at this time, the official naming ceremony is on hold (oooh mystery). For now, we stick with the boring title: iPhone Image of the Week.

My five-year-old computer has been trying to sneak off into a quiet corner to die for some time now, but I refuse to let it. I think it's getting mad at me. Yesterday it upped the ante with this clever move- shedding a key. Just minor enough to be "not a real problem", but just annoying enough to make me want to punch it in the screen. Well, little MacBook Pro, I will not be worn down by your games! You will not get out that easy! You may have won the battle, but I will win this war.

The best part? Texting this image to my dad yesterday. I said, "Well this makes life more interesting." His response: "Sur dos."

I love that man.

An engaging way to begin the week

2011-01-31T10:23:00.001-05:00

I'm going to blog every day this week!

And when I say week, I mean a normal-people workweek, like M-F. There will be no blogging over the weekend for this girl. I don't work normal-people hours, but I think sometimes I am entitled to a normal-people week, and I declare this weekend blogless. After all, it IS the Super Bowl. I may not be a Packers or a Steelers fan*, but I am a fan of football, nachos, beer, and pizza.

(*Let me be clear- I mean that neither of them are "my team." That doesn't mean I have no opinion in this match-up. I am very much anti-Steelers, and fairly neutral when it comes to Green Bay, so I am 100% going for the Packers.)

We begin our adventure today with an engagement session. I know, right, I never do those! But this was neat. Kami and I worked at Baskin Robbins together back when we were in high school and college in South Carolina. She's in Ohio now and her sweet fiance Chad is stationed at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, so since he had a little time off over Christmas we all met up for some photo time. Their sweet puppy Rio came along, too!

They were warned me that they were not photogenic. They lied. Commentary will be brief since the kiddo just woke up, but I know you just want the pictures anyway. Enjoy my favorites from their session.

Not many people can look this beautiful upside down

See you tomorrow!

Thank goodness vintage is "in"

2011-01-27T23:53:00.001-05:00

Raise your hand if you are the worst DIY-er ever.

Seriously, right here. We can't all be Young House Love. Especially me. And here's why.

It's been one of those weeks. I have an incredibly long to-do list, and I start every day with the best of intentions, and somehow at the end of the day nothing is scratched off and more stuff is added. Exhibit A: I have been preparing the same blog post every day since Monday, but it has still not appeared on this blog. It's not that hard, people- type the words, upload the pictures, click publish. And yet- nothing.

Then on top of that is the standard household to-do list, which I am pretty sure is never completed till you're dead. Even that was a failure. I thought, "Sure, I've got five minutes and we've only got two cabinets in the entire house. I'm just going to install these child-proof latches real quick so my kid doesn't chew on cleaning supplies." Ninety minutes, one destroyed drill bit and many broken latches later, I left it all in a pile on the kitchen floor for the man of the house to deal with when he got home. (This should have been a clear reminder that in my case do-it-yourself is destroy-it-yourself, but I forged on.)

More and more stress resulted in less and less productivity. I finally came to the conclusion yesterday that the main cause of my slump, at least when it comes to my business, is my office. Since November it has basically become the dumping ground for, well, everything. Dirty laundry, clean laundry, bills, papers, an old TV, diapers, a dog, a cat, dog fur, cat fur, the ironing board, trash, junk mail, empty luggage, baby toys, etc. I actually had to relocate my laptop to the living room and my camera gear to my bedroom because there was no room left, and those are the two things that should REALLY be living in the office.

I kept refusing to clean the office because I had so many more important things to accomplish (hi taxes), but we all see where that got me. Dylan was home today (thanks to the fluffy goodness dumped on us during last night's thundersnorm), so I took advantage of the extra help with the kiddo and tackled project Office Excavation.

I was on a roll. I got a lot cleaned. And I threw a lot away. And I vacuumed up allllll the fur. And then I started rearranging. Ooops. And then I decided I needed new furniture. Double ooops. I was about to grab my keys and rush to IKEA (stubbornly ignoring the budgetary warning in my head), but Dylan was still shoveling out the car. Thankfully, I was going nowhere.

So I did the next best thing. I decided I would save money, be creative, and make my own furniture. I marched down to the basement, found an old TV cabinet from Dylan's college apartment and a half-used can of paint, and went to town. For the record, the paint was from a coffee table I DIYed that came out very badly.

It's weird. I am so incredibly meticulous about some things, like washing the dishes. I develop slight anxiety watching someone else wash them, because ohmygosh if he holds the wine glass that way while he rinses it is going to leave a fingerprint. But when it comes to redoing furniture? I get so excited about making something old new again, and I start working really carefully, and then I realize I've bought the wrong paint or the wrong hardware or the drilled the holes in the wrong spot and then about five minutes later I don't care and am just ready for it to be done. I rush to finish and shrug and say, "Oh well, it's not like I bought it somewhere, people can't expect it to be perfect."

Tonight, I just skipped ahead to the end stage. I started painting already ready to be done. Turns out painting in a poorly lit basement is awesome, because it's really hard to see all the imperfections. But two coats later was still REALLY obvious that it wasn't probably a paintable surface, and I didn't really use the right kind of paint, and I really should have removed the cabinet doors and painted them separately. OH WELL. It's not like anyone has to look at it but me. Note, this is not the attitude of a proper DIY-er. I am hoping that the streaky, see-through result gives it a vintage look. (Yes, I know "vintage" and "crap" are different.)

Why is this post so long? Why am I still writing about nothing? Why are there no pictures of anything? I'm so sorry. Can I blame the paint fumes? I feel fairly certain that basements don't count as "well-ventilated areas."

At the end of the day, despite my failed project, I do feel little more sane. I've still got some work to do to get organized, but I am happy to report that I am typing from my cleared-off desk at this very moment. Hooray! And tomorrow I'm lugging Streaky Cabinet up here to join me, so I can look at him every day and remember not to do this any more. I've had big plans to turn an old coffee table into a bench, but I think we'll be scratching that. For now anyway.

Here's hoping the weekend is full of organization, relaxation, and cookies, and that I'll be ready to hit the ground running Monday morning.

Night night.

Snow angel

2011-01-21T17:40:00.001-05:00

If you're wondering who that perfect little nose belongs to, his name is Mason. Melissa and Justin are good friends of mine and I was so honored to meet and photograph their precious little boy at seven days old. He was an absolute angel throughout the whole shoot. Get ready to be waaayy jealous of how beautiful this family is.

Um, can we get a clean up on Aisle 5? Every time I look at this baby I turn into a big melty puddle on the floor. We're going to need a mop by the end of this post. Oh, this boy is just beautiful.

We did Mason's session in early December, and about halfway through it started snowing. It felt like magic to me. I've developed a mild obsession with B&W images lately, and the soft, snowy light coming through the nursery curtains did not help me to control it.

See? I told you, they are seriously gorgeous. I may or may not have gone overboard with choosing my favorites. But look at that smile- JUST like his daddy!

This image gives away how behind I am on my blogging, but I love it and wanted to share anyway.

Like most newborn sessions, this was done in their home, but I was so excited to meet Mason and see my friends that I didn't really think about the travel too much. I love to travel for sessions, so sometimes I forget to be reasonable. It was one of those things like, "Yeah, Virginia and Maryland are right next to each other. Cool, no problem." Note to future self: Christiansburg, VA is not a daytrip.

Was this little snugglebug worth an 11-hour roundtrip drive on a Saturday just for his photo session? Absolutely. In the future, will I plan an overnight break for such occasions? You bet. Cause by the end I felt kinda like this:

Can't wait till my next visit when I can bring my little boy along to meet his new pal. : ) Happy weekend!

A Baby Story

2011-01-17T09:49:00.004-05:00

Once upon a time, there was a momma-to-be named Lindsay. Her husband was Will. And they were happy.

They found out they were having a little boy and he was due in March and they were so excited.

I was excited, too. Because they are my friends and they live down the block and Brody gets a playmate, but also because their last name is Story. Yep, that's right. A Baby Story. THAT JUST HAPPENED.

Anyway, Lindsay and Will loved every little inch that her belly grew.

They were so excited that they couldn't wait till after Christmas for their maternity session, so we did it in November when that belly was still tiny. After all, they needed a good Christmas card picture!

They poured lots of time and energy into preparing the nursery and getting ready for their little bundle, as many parents do, but they made sure that they didn't lose sight of each other. Yay for love.

They named that little boy but they are keeping it a secret, as hard as the rest of us are trying to figure it out. I won't stop guessing- I have quite the list.

I can't really finish this story yet cause the baby is not here, but I suspect they will all live happily ever after. So for now, The End.

{I know we've already been over this, but seriously. A Baby Story. My first thought when I found out Lindsay was pregnant back in July was "Yay, I am so happy for you guys!" My second thought was, "Oh my gosh what a great name for a blog post!" True story.}

Happy dogs and happy humans

2011-01-14T11:48:00.001-05:00

I don't often lead off with my favorite photo from the session, but today I am. Because it is my favorite and I want to look at it first.

Honey and Fleckles are two very happy dogs. And why wouldn't they be? They get to live with Nichole and Eli, two of my favorite people.

Nichole started looking around her office one day a few months go and realized that not only was she missing a picture of Fleckles on display, she was missing a picture of her husband. Ooops. When her co-workers stopped by she had nothing to show them but Honey. Sad. : (

We gathered the dogs and husband and headed out to Patterson Park to rectify this situation one glowing November afternoon, and rectify it we did. I LOVE sessions like this... just normal people being their normal selves living their normal lives.

This shot normally would have gotten tossed when I was editing, but I took one look at Fleckles and died laughing and knew I had to keep it.

I am not a huge fan of the term "furbabies", but I am a fan of doggies that are very much a part of the family like these. This series is my other favorite.

I had to laugh because even though I was photographing good friends of mine, I went into this session a little nervous. I don't work with couples that much and most of my dog experience is with my own, so I felt a little out of my element.

About 30 seconds in I realized that photographing a couple with two dogs is about the same as photographing a couple with two toddlers, except that with dogs you get to use a leash. The general public tends to frown upon leashing toddlers.

And this was also great because a few short weeks later I photographed another couple with a dog (coming soon to a blog near you)! Thanks to Eli and Nichole for being my guinea pigs. : )

Happy Friday!

My baby is famous!

2011-01-13T22:51:00.001-05:00

Ok, nope, he's not. But Brody IS in a playgroup that was featured on the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance blog today! He's in the last picture laying on his belly in a tan onesie... the really bald pale kid with sunlight glowing through the few strands sticking up off the top of his head... yes, that is him. My best friend didn't even recognize him- don't feel bad. And for the record I would just like to point out that these pictures were taken a month ago, and his hair situation is now much improved.

Also, double-fun, all the pictures in the post were taken by yours truly!

Anyway, check the blog post out if you get a chance. DBFA is a great organization and wonderful resource if you're a parent here in Baltimore. Even if you're not in the city, you should check out the blog and see some of my Little Monster's little friends!

I know you're looking for some pictures on THIS blog. Well let me just tell you that being sick is not fun. Being sick when your husband is also sick is less fun. And two sick people trying to be parents while at the same time keeping the baby from getting sick gets a big thumbs down. That pretty much sums up our week here. Sanitizing the house is taking first priority, but the blog is creeping back toward the top of the to do list!

Tap tap tap...

2011-01-11T22:55:00.000-05:00

Pardon me, just here to squeeze myself back into your life.

I know, right?? FINALLY, you're saying. You've been checking in day after day, hoping against hope. Well, finally, your prayers have been answered- after months and months, I am here to tell you the cat has a name. Oh also, I'm back to blogging.

Anyway, re-meet Thunder. She weighs a whopping 8 lbs. but sounds like an elephant stampeding through our house. I have never seen (or heard) anything like it.

Sure, we tossed around a few other names, even settled on one over the summer, but it just never felt right so I resorted to calling her "Cat." And then the other day as I sat on the couch after finally getting the baby down for his nap, I heard thunder, which actually turned out to be Thunder racing around upstairs like a maniac trying her best to wake said baby. Boom, named.

(Oh, that counts as my iPhone picture of the week, right?)

In unrelated news, I have well over 1200 unread blog posts in my inbox and Google Reader. If you know me personally, you know that how up-to-date I am on my blogs is a pretty clear indication of what state the rest of my life is in. I can only hope that you are in the same situation, and therefore have not noticed my absence. I will spare you the excuses, and simply begin to catch up on everything that I haven't blogged from the past few weeks. I've got the full gamut of sessions to share- engaged, married, preggo, newborn, and canine.

Oh, BTdubs... Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Blog maintenance

2010-11-23T09:06:00.001-05:00

Sorry to any of you that subscribe to my blog in RSS... I may have just filled up your feed. I started doing some blog maintenance and updating tags on some of my older posts and RSS seems to see some of them as new.

Anyway, it's been a busy week. Since I haven't gotten any real posts together, here's a shot my friend Mary took of my little dude at Dylan's soccer tournament last week.

Happy Tuesday!

Really good genes

2010-11-14T21:32:00.001-05:00

Clearly, good genes run in this family.

This is Robbie, Michelle, Maddie, and Molly

And this is Brian, Melanie, Carter and Abby

In case you can't tell, Robbie and Brian are brothers. I look forward to working with the Cowsert families each year, so I was really excited to wrap up my holiday sessions in SC with them! We did portraits of both families, as well as a big family grouping (with grandparents!) and a bunch of the four cousins. Since we shot everything in one big session, I decided to create a giant post of all their images. Check 'em out:

These girls are soooo gorgeous.

Coordinating extended families for photos is always a little chaotic, but getting portraits with your whole family is totally worth it. Thanks again to all my favorite Cowserts! I hope the extra-long post makes up for the fact that I forgot to share yesterday as promised. : )

Dragons and birthdays and updates, oh my!

2010-11-12T10:46:00.000-05:00

My Little Monster is 4 months old today, so I am using that as an excuse to share belated pictures of him all dressed up on Halloween.

Turns out he was incredibly cranky that day. Good thing he was able to put on a happy face for pictures.

Oh look, there is Dylan! So this can also be my excuse to give a late birthday shout-out to my husband. I had big plans to make a special birthday blog post for him this past Monday, and then Monster decided he was going on strike against naps and smiling again so the blog post got kicked to the curb. Happy belated birthday Dylan!

And now I am off to do a happy dance. Holiday sessions are edited, Christmas cards are designed, and for the next few days at least, I am totally caught up (other than posting the last of my SC sessions on the blog tomorrow)! And don't forget about the holiday ordering deadline next week (11/19).

Happy Friday!

Why I like kids more than trees

2010-11-10T11:51:00.001-05:00

Trees are easy to photograph.* You can count on them to keep the same pose for extended periods of time. They don't move while you change your memory card, adjust your focus, or reposition for better lighting.

Trees are also boring.

Kids are the opposite of trees and the opposite of boring. This is why I am a children's photographer and not a nature photographer. This is why I love John Dickson and Henry.

If you've followed my blog for a while, you'll remember my friends Adam and Amanda from their session this spring. Their littlest boy, Henry, was due two weeks after but born the day before mine (still not bitter). Since I was in the hospital with my newborn this summer, I couldn't photograph theirs, so I was SUPER excited to add their family to my fall schedule in Greenville, SC. We mainly focused on Henry for this session, but of course got John Dickson and family pictures as well. And I have to tell you that Henry has the greatest godparents ever- this photo session was a gift from them! Besides the fact that I was excited to be a part of it, I think that is such a sweet, sweet gift to give to the parents of a new baby. High-five to Betsy and Brandon!

Despite everything everyone tells me about the Terrible Twos, John Dickson makes me want a two-year-old. I often think Brody will be a lot like him- absolutely crazy and absolutely awesome.

And then I look at Henry, and he makes me want- well, a Henry. A sweet, laid-back, roly-poly Henry. Brody could take some notes from him. (Except maybe not the part about not sleeping at night.)

This is the "mom, why am I naked in a park?" face

I love all these facial expressions- I couldn't choose just one from this series

These kids rock my socks off and make me sad that they live 547 miles away.

*I guess I should clarify that I don't think nature photography is "easy"- it is quite beautiful and complex. I'm just really not very good at it, and certainly can't photograph a tree the way Ansel Adams could. But you know what I mean. I heart kiddos in front of my camera. I like things with eyeballs.

A growing Christmas card

2010-11-09T13:13:00.000-05:00

I am that girl that keeps all the Christmas cards we get each year. (That's right. When I die my children and grandchildren are NOT going to be happy as they clean out my attic.) But I can't help it- they create this sense of connection to the people I love that makes me so happy. I even have a few family members and close friends that still send out a year-in-review type Christmas letter, and call me old-fashioned, but I love it.

Most people these days send photo cards or include a family picture, and I love seeing how kids have grown and families have changed over the course of a year. This session excites me because their Christmas card will be so different this year- they are now a family of four! I do fully understand that pregnancy leads to babies, but it still sometimes kind of blows my mind. This time last year, Stephanie was sporting a big beautiful belly and she, Hud, and Ashlynn were getting ready to meet their new addition. One year seems like such a short time to go from this

to this!

Little Michael was born in January and might be the sweetest little baby on the planet. He was happy as can be the entire morning of our session- I never heard him fuss once.

Stephanie's parents also joined us for the session which I loved. These past few months I've really grown attached to pictures of grandparents with their grandkids. (No reason.) Anyway, here are my favorites of Ashlynn, Michael, and their parents and grandparents from our session at Cater's Lake in Anderson, SC.

It makes me smile so big when I get to work with families more than once. How cool is it to watch a growing family?

Holiday order deadline

2010-11-06T14:14:00.000-04:00

Holy cow it's November. Well this is the perfect time to remind you that you only have two weeks to place holiday orders!

The deadline for all orders is November 19. This includes prints, image DVDs, wall-hangings, books, Christmas cards- everything. If you want it in time for Christmas, orders MUST be placed by the deadline. If you miss the cutoff and need it for Christmas, your order will be subject to rush processing and shipping fees, not to mention we will probably have to bribe Santa with extra cookies to deliver it in time.

E-mail me with questions!

New faces in new places

2010-11-04T17:40:00.000-04:00

New clients are scary. Call me a chicken, but even when I've "met" a new client over e-mail or the phone and am sure we will get along great, it's always intimidating to meet them in real life! Anne and I e-mailed for weeks before her family session, but I was still a teensy bit nervous when I pulled up at a brand new location to meet her and Ricky and their kids.

As you can see here, my fears were totally justified.

See? Terrifying.

As it turned out, I had nothing to fear, as usual. I just love love love working with families like this. We really just had fun the whole time, and I left that afternoon feeling like I had made new friends. It sounds so cheesy, but it's really true.

Besides a fantastic new family, I also got to work at a fantastic new location: The Millstone at Adam's Pond. The staff was so welcoming and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a gorgeous venue for a wedding or event.

I kept telling Morgan she was a natural in front of the camera because, well, she was. I was a total geek when I was seven.

I think three-year-olds are some of the most fun kids to photograph- full of energy and personality and easy to bribe with Fun-Dip. Trenle did not disappoint. Side note: what a cool name!

Looking through the images from this session makes me want to say "fab" a lot. And we all know that's not really in my vocabulary.

This is my favorite kind of family portrait- so natural. It's the kind I always envision as a big canvas on a family room wall.

Can we all just take a timeout and be jealous of Anne's eyes?

Anne owns Hampton Hill Athletic Club in Columbia, SC. If you are looking for a gym be sure to check them out- I hear nothing but wonderful things!

We finished off the session by letting Morgan and Trenle play in a sand pile while I grabbed a few of Anne and Ricky. I felt like I was working with a newly engaged couple- they were SO happy and cute together and couldn't stop laughing.

Moral of the story: happy families are not something to be scared of!

Cabbage Patch in a pumpkin patch

2010-11-02T23:45:00.004-04:00

Long ago my BFF Kati and I dreamed of the day she had a baby that we could photograph in a pumpkin patch. Don't roll your eyes. It's precisely because we share these types of dreams that we ARE best friends.

Now that Kati has aforementioned baby (Cole is 11 months old!), we just needed a willing husband and a pumpkin patch in order to create the perfect family photo. We coerced Stephen into getting up before sunrise and we found a Christmas tree farm that also sells pumpkins and decided that was close enough.

I have officially used up every last drop of creative juice for the day, so I will let the pictures do most of the talking here. You guys will probably appreciate that anyway.

I love this little face peeking around trying to figure out what in the world is going on

Might be my fave for their Christmas card this year

But I love this one, too

Oh, are you still wondering about the Cabbage Patch reference? I think this should explain it. I love this boy.

Are you even kidding me with these eyes?

So when I saw this...

...I thought of this (one of my fave images from their maternity session)! I think they should be hung up together. Just saying.

One word: STUNNINGGORGEOUSBEAUTIFUL. (Don't tell me that's not a word.)

Always great to spend time with some of my closest friends, but I haven't formally photographed Cole since his newborn session so this was really fun.

Clients, don't panic if you haven't seen your session on the blog. With holiday deadlines approaching I just haven't had time to blog each session yet, but galleries are coming to your inboxes this week!

Rain and shine

2010-10-29T16:19:00.000-04:00

Last year I hippoty-hopped down south for holiday photo sessions and it rained almost the whole time. Not my first choice, but we totally made it work. This year when I checked the forecast I was happy to see sunny skies and mild temperatures, except for an ever-so-slight chance of a rainstorm the first day.

When Nakeeah e-mailed me the day before her family session a little nervous about the forecast, I quickly reassured her that the weather would be no issue. Sure enough, I rolled up at Riverfront Park in Columbia, South Carolina a few minutes early under gorgeous blue skies and a light breeze. As I wandered around scoping out spots and planning a few shots, I congratulated myself on my excellent weather conditions. And then I sat down on a bench. And then, I kid you not, a black cloud the size of the southeastern United States rolled over me. And then I got a tiny bit nervous. And then Nakeeah, William, and little Ava arrived.

We got about five minutes of portraits before the sky opened up and we ducked under cover, where we remained trapped for the next thirty minutes as buckets of rain and wind whipped around us. (A few miles away there was golf-ball sized hail. This storm was not a joke.) I pretended that my entire plan had been to shoot half their session on a covered astroturf stage in the park and they pretended that was their dream as well. And they are awesome, so it worked!

Shooting in the low-light under under cover during the storm turned out kinda neat. I just love these images of Ava with her daddy with the background totally blown out.

The storm rolled out as suddenly as it had arrived, and we were left with a beautiful sky, soft fading sunlight, and wet pavement. These next three are my FAVES:

Miss Ava was the giggliest little thing- I LOVE her!

We got a few of Nakeeah and William individually, too. Once you're married and have kids, you never really think to photograph yourself!

I can't believe how easy and fun this session was. An 18-month old and a rainstorm and a park and a camera don't always mix, but I don't think it could have gone any better. I guess it helps when your family is totally beautiful.

Lil' punkin

2010-10-27T21:22:00.000-04:00

We took Brody to the neighborhood fall festival this past weekend.

We thought about bringing home a pumpkin.

We picked him instead.

Sneak peeks

2010-10-25T23:52:00.001-04:00

I am not a sneak-peek kind of girl. I like to see final products. When it's time to rearrange the living room, it takes me hours, because I fully rearrange it eleventy-million times. Some people can start to move the couch to a new spot, and in the middle of pushing and dragging realize it looks better somewhere else. Not me- I have to see the whole room rearranged to decide how I feel about it. (My husband loves this. Not.)

Generally, I don't blog a session till I'm pretty much done editing. It's not that I am terribly indecisive when choosing images to post; I just like to have all my ducks in a row. It makes me feel unorganized to blog before I am finished editing and I begin to have heart palpitations. But because I have so many sessions on my plate right now and hours of editing still to go, I'm making an exception. If only you could understand how hard it is for me to do this! I want to have all the images ready to share RIGHT NOW. But since I don't, here is a sneak peek of what I am working on:

Deciding to share sneak peeks was almost harder than resisting the double fudge brownie at Starbucks today. Hopefully I will be a better person because of it. (Although now I think choosing the brownie would have made me a better person, so that was a mistake.)

Full posts will be up in the near future! Oh but if you are an impatient client, a brownie on my desk may speed things along. Just saying.

Oh, nothing

2010-10-23T09:20:00.002-04:00

What, this little old thing? Oh, it's nothing, just the park that I walk through every day two blocks from my house. Just the perfect refreshing fall weather after a warm (albeit lovely) visit to South Carolina. Just the perfect combination of green grass, blue skies, and changing leaves. Just something I shot with my iPhone the other day. No big deal.

That's right, my iPhone. It's ok to be impressed.

I started thinking, maybe a weekly iPhone photo would be a fun blog installment. Maybe even I'll give it a fun weekly installment name. [Now accepting submissions.] If nothing else it will be a nice break for you from the over-sharing of my baby's face while I'm editing sessions and don't have them ready to post. Shall we make it official? Done and done. I promise to try very hard (well probably not very hard, probably more just the average amount) to share an image off of my iPhone each week. I promise to try at the same level to make it interesting and not always of my baby. But since this week it's the park, next week I can use my baby. Ha.

Ok, back to work editing all the pictures you ACTUALLY want to see. But seriously, give me name suggestions for my iPhone sharing.

Sweetbabyluke

2010-10-21T09:54:00.001-04:00

I am really not sure why, but every time I talk about this child I want to call him sweet baby Luke, but more like it's all one word: Sweetbabyluke. I will try to stop. Anyway, a few weeks ago I drove up to Delaware to see my cousin Laura and her husband David and meet Luke, their newest addition.

When you already have two daughters this beautiful and sweet, it's hard to imagine that your family could be any more perfect.

And then this little guy comes along, and you realize he is just what your family was missing.

Proud momma

It was extra special because my grandfather drove in from Pennsylvania and got to meet Luke and my Brody at the same time! He was really excited when they were born because they evened the score- he has five boys and five girls. Here is Gramps with his 9th and 10th great-grandchildren.

I'm listening to my kid babble in the other room and thinking about what every mom has always told me- they grow SO fast. I shot these when Luke was two weeks old (which was about five weeks ago- yep, I'm behind.) He is growing like a champ, which I think makes newborn photo sessions all the more special. It's such a fleeting time, and it's so easy to lose in the chaos of sleepless nights and constant feeding. Laura, thanks for being patient! Can't wait to see you and David and the kids again!

...said Little Monster

2010-10-18T07:35:00.001-04:00

"I am so happy!" said Little Monster. "My mom is going to start blogging again!"

"I was really sad," said Little Monster. "She was really busy the past few weeks getting ready for fall photo sessions and she neglected her poor blog."

"But all is well now," said Little Monster. "She's back at it and having the busiest holiday portrait season ever! We are in South Carolina for photo sessions and I love being spoiled by my grandparents while my mom works."

"I am cute," said Little Monster. "And my mom shamelessly uses photos of me to break her blog silence. Can you blame her?"

Don't trip

2010-09-29T23:37:00.001-04:00

What am I supposed to do about this?

Usually The Pouty Lip is accompanied by a reasonable request, such as being fed or rocked to sleep. I quickly oblige.

But what am I supposed to do in a few years? When The Lip wants a puppy or a motorcycle or gasp permission to go to college, then what am I supposed to do? How do you resist?

I guess the more important question is, who on earth taught my baby how to do this?

Well hello

2010-09-20T21:06:00.003-04:00

Oh, what a precious little reason to get behind the camera again.

Meet two-week old Luke, my first client of the fall. I love him. Still working on the final edits, but I couldn't resist a tiny preview!

A different kind of Monday

2010-09-15T23:05:00.001-04:00

For the past nine weeks my life has revolved around diapers, feeding schedules, and sleep-walking. (You know this- it's all I've had to blog about!) So that's why this past Monday was so totally awesome.

My photogBFF Sara Parker flew in and spent the weekend with us. We played with our cameras and my baby and ate a lot of cookies. It was awesome, but here's where the story gets even better.

When Monday rolled around, the alarm was for me, not my husband. (Nevermind that the baby woke me up 30 minutes before the clock anyway- I still got to set the alarm!) I took a shower, BLOW-DRIED my hair, put on makeup, and wore a new shirt. Sara and I headed out the door and left Little Monster (did I tell you that's Brody's newest nickname?) behind to spend the whole entire day with his daddy and a stash of bottles.

We hopped in the car, grabbed some Starbucks, and headed down to WPPI Road Trip in DC. It's one-day version of WPPI's super-awesome annual photography conference in Vegas, and I couldn't pass up the road tour stopping in my neighborhood. Each of the presenters had some great information, but I'm not going to lie- I was totally there to hear Jasmine Star speak. She's one of my all-time favorite photographers, not to mention one of the top wedding photographers in the world and a branding genius.

I spent this past Monday as Karin the Photographer instead of Karin the Baby Feeder and it was so refreshing! I came home with a brain full of ideas and inspiration. I was also thrilled to meet some photographers in the area. After moving to a new market last year, I suddenly felt like I didn't know anyone in the industry. It's great to get to know local peers and friends! I wish I had grabbed more photos while I was there, but here are a few from Sara.

Sara and me:

...and with j*:

I heart Katelyn James and basically stalked her all day to get this shot. (Yep that's right.)

I left feeling totally energized and I am super excited about the upcoming fall portrait season and some BIG changes coming to the business. I can't thank my sweet husband enough for taking the day off work to watch Brody and give me this opportunity. I'm a better photographer for it. And thanks Sara for flying up to hang out and go with me!!

Happy Friday

2010-09-03T14:23:00.002-04:00

Do you miss this face?

Of course you do. Here is your fix.

You're welcome.

** 9/4/10 edited to add: **

Oh yeah, so the whole point of this post was to say "...and if you want to see MORE photos of Brody, check out my friend Sara's blog for his official newborn shoot!" But I totally and completely forgot to say that. So I'm saying it now. Love her work, as always!

Christmas cards and October SC dates

2010-08-30T08:25:00.000-04:00

Hard to believe, but it's Christmas card time already! I've put together a special package this year to offer you a full photo session, premium Christmas cards, and a discount on all those prints for Grandma. Here's the scoop:

Christmas package: $250

One full lifestyle portrait session at the location of your choice
Online proof gallery for viewing and ordering session images
One set of (25) 4x5.5 custom greeting cards with envelopes
FREE premium paper upgrade
Waived card design fee and one FREE round of edits
20% off of all prints and products*

If you're not in the market for Christmas cards and just need update portraits of you or your kids, you can book a standard session:

Lifestyle portrait session: $200

One full lifestyle portrait session at the location of your choice
Online proof gallery for viewing and ordering session images
10% off of all prints and products*

*Discount applies to orders from this photo session only placed within 30 days of your gallery posting

Christmas cards

If you've already had a 2010 portrait session and simply want cards designed, you'll receive 20% off all card orders placed by October 15. (Design fee still applies.) Pricing begins at $30- contact me for more details.

Full payment for all sessions is due at the time of booking via check or credit card.

I will be in Columbia, South Carolina Thursday, October 14 - Sunday, October 17. Any SC session scheduled for weekday hours (before 3pm Thursday or Friday) receives a duplicate set of cards for FREE!

E-mail or call me to reserve your spot. Can't wait to see you this fall!

Something worth smiling about

2010-08-26T22:59:00.002-04:00

This isn't a typical blog post for me. I lean more toward dry humor or sarcasm or witty photo commentary (at least I like to think so.) You don't find many mushy-gushy deep thoughts here, but since you haven't found much of ANYTHING here in the past few weeks I thought maybe I would make an exception.

I would never have thought to share this if it weren't for an e-mail from an old friend who is expecting her first child in a few months. She asked how the whole "new mom" thing was going, so I told her, and she said "you should really put that on your blog!" So here it goes. The plan was to do a slight re-write from my original e-mail to her, you know, with a little more sleep so it would make sense. Turns out I have been getting less and less sleep each night this week, so this re-write could be less blog-worthy than ever. I like to think that makes it more authentic.

When you have a baby, everyone likes to ask how you are adjusting to motherhood, how you are holding up under the pressure of sleepless nights and constant feedings, how you feel about your new life, how much you love your tiny bundle of joy. Honestly I have no idea how I feel about any of it. The baby shows up, and you just start being a mom. End of story. There isn't much time to ease into it or to sit and contemplate the massive change that has swallowed up your previous life. (Maybe in 20 years I will have processed the whole experience and then if you are still wondering, I will write my memoirs. I think that's the popular thing to do these days- to write your memoirs, no matter whether you were a public figure or not. Which I am not. But I digress.)

It's kinda funny how God designed these babies to grow and change. The first few weeks they mostly eat and sleep, and you just kind of stumble through sleepily. They are sleepy, you are sleepy, everyone is sleepy, but everyone survives. Then around four or five weeks, they start to be more alert and start crying more, while you are still feeling quite sleepy. They don't just eat and sleep, they are awake. They want to be walked around. Sitting is not acceptable. Standing is not acceptable. Bouncing is not acceptable unless accompanied by walking. Walking is not acceptable unless accompanied by bouncing. Baby swings are not acceptable. Rocking chairs are not acceptable. Only walking and bouncing endless circles around the living room in the middle of the night while the cat gleefully (and dangerously) attacks your feet is acceptable.

What has happened? You were both on the same page, both sleepy, but everyone was getting by. You don't really have the patience for this new screaming houseguest who you were finally starting to get used to (where is the snugglebug that slept for 19 hours a day??), and the screaming gets more frequent and the sleeping less so, and this change in attitude starts to really wear on you, and just when you think you can't take it one more second that baby learns how to smile. The first couple times you aren't sure (was that a smile? a smirk? a grimace? a frown?), but then suddenly BAM you get a real one. That tiny mouth curls up on the sides and you freeze. Suddenly it isn't just a screaming little blanket- you realize there is a personality in there.

Turns out while you were both busy sleeping, that baby was doing other stuff, too. Like growing and adding brain cells, which is more than you can say for yourself. It's fascinating, really, and you find yourself looking into his eyes a little differently. Deeper. Because he is looking back at you. Someone is actually in there- who is it? What is this new little boy going to be like? Why is he smiling at me? Doesn't he realize how terrible I am at all of this? But that's the thing: he thinks you are great. Of course you still get frustrated and impatient throughout the day, but it's amazing how much one little smile every few hours can get you through. The moments where everything is quiet and peaceful enough for deep-eye-staring are few and far between, but they are there. Thank God that they are there, because otherwise some mothers (who shall remain nameless) might not make it through.

Who knows, maybe my baby is the only one that was made that way. I've never had any others to compare him to. And if he is the only one I imagine that's why the good Lord gave him to me, because knowing MY personality, that's the kind of thing I need. But somehow I feel pretty sure that's what most moms need- just a little encouragement here and there, whether in the form of a small toothless grin or a small glass of wine while your husband cooks you dinner and rubs your feet, but preferably some of both. Something to make you think you can survive just one more night of walking/bouncing as you learn to love the new family member who has turned your life upside-down.

Because in a few years or a few months or even a few weeks it will be worth it. Things will get better. The endless screaming will decrease as the smiling increases, the occasional breathy "goo" will turn into babbling and then talking, and that one little smile will develop into an entire range of emotions and personality. Other challenges will follow; some bigger, some smaller, but you'll deal with those as they come. You learn that God gives you grace sufficient for the moment. And that He sends those smiles right when you need them.

(Caught these with my iPhone the other day...)

I mean when I look around, most people I know seem to keep their kids. And these tiny bits of encouragement, these little flickers of hope make me pretty sure I'll want to keep mine, too. After all, no matter how loud he screams, he is pretty much the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. Especially when he is sleeping.

And that is something worth smiling about.

Back to work!

2010-08-18T14:30:00.000-04:00

Get excited, because starting in October I'll be shooting sessions again! I'll be back to work just in time for Christmas card sessions, but will be booking only a very limited number of slots this year. Lifestyle portrait sessions begin at $200, and I'll be offering a Christmas card package similar to last year's (a full portrait session, custom-designed greeting cards with a waived design fee, and a special discount on prints and products.)

Based on a few requests, I'm also gauging interest level for Christmas sessions in South Carolina. If you or someone you know may be interested in a lifestyle portrait session in SC in mid-October, let me know ASAP. (You won't be committed until dates are booked and deposits paid, but a show of hands will help me plan.) If it warrants a trip I'd love to head down south again this year! More details will be posted on the blog soon, but if you're interested (in MD or SC), go ahead and shoot me an e-mail.

I've got some Brodito photos to share with you soon, but in the meantime, check this one out. Of course when your five-week-old won't stop grinning at his daddy, THIS is the face you get as soon as the camera comes out. Nostrils flared, eyes unfocused, no neck, slightly Blue Steel. Not your best, Brody.

Kind of a big deal

2010-08-12T21:15:00.000-04:00

Today is kind of a big deal. It's August 12.

One year ago today, we moved from South Carolina to Maryland.

One month ago today, we met our baby boy.

Crazy how time works. When I meet people here, I still introduce myself saying "we just moved here a few months ago" because that's how I feel. A whole year? Is that possible? At the same time, when I look at Brody, I feel like we've had him forever. Only a month? Is THAT possible?

So here we are then:

(thanks Katherine for this move-in day picture)

And here we are now:

(thanks to my father-in-law Bill for this shot he got last week)

I wonder what life will look like this day next year?

(On a side note, Brody has spent the day celebrating by repeatedly ruining his clothes. And mine. Not your best, Brody. Not your best.)

Things I don't remember

2010-07-30T12:03:00.000-04:00

I don't remember giving anyone permission to grow out of his newborn clothes.

I don't remember being this good at doing things one-handed.

I don't remember saying it was ok for anyone to pee and barf on my bed.

I don't remember what my parents were like when we were born, but I bet we got a lot of kisses.

I don't remember teaching my two-week-old how to roll over. Not cool.

I don't remember anything more entertaining than watching the faces this little baby makes while try to wake up from a nap.

I don't remember if I brushed my teeth today.

It's been less than three weeks, but I don't remember what my pregnancy-induced coffee aversion was like or how I've lived the past six months without it. I DO remember years ago when I said, "I like coffee but I will never be one of those people that has to drink it every morning," but I don't remember why I thought that was a good idea.

I don't remember how I was ever able to fit into my regular summer clothes last year.

I don't remember how many times a day this child eats. Is "a lot" a number?

I don't remember ever being less concerned about the state of my house. I am happy if it gets cleaned, but still shockingly ok with an unmade bed and dust bunnies larger than the cat.

I don't remember ever taking a picture this cute before:

I don't remember why I decided to blog instead of eat lunch, because I hear the baby waking up, and he certainly isn't going to sit around and wait for me to eat...

Brodito

2010-07-22T12:09:00.001-04:00

Sorry Chipotle, you've been knocked out of first place. I have a new favorite burrito.

A Brody burrito. My Brodito.

Cilantro-lime rice has nothing on this. Couldn't you just gobble him up?

Happy birthday sister!

2010-07-18T22:51:00.000-04:00

Happy 21st birthday to my sister Julie!

I am sure I have shared at some point that she is living with us in Baltimore for the summer. I had been a little concerned with my early-July due date that her birthday would be neglected this year- two first-time parents and an infant aren't always the most fun to party with. But instead, Brody showed up late, which means that my brothers and parents were all still here to celebrate! (And this means I don't have to worry about spilling cake mix on the baby or burning her birthday dinner while I change a diaper- we've got a veteran mom and dad here to do all the cooking.)

This was us one week ago today at a concert in Patterson Park.

How does that seem so long ago? Funny how much changes in a week.

Making up for lost time

2010-07-15T22:37:00.001-04:00

Nine days after our official due date, Baby Shorty finally made an appearance.

Brody Liam Curtis was born Monday, July 12 at 10:43 pm. (Clearly I have zero motherly instincts, because I was convinced this baby was a girl who would be born early... so we're off to a great start.)

Apparently after hanging out in my belly all those extra days he decided he was done and made a ridiculously speedy entrance into the world! He's spent the past few days making up for lost time- eating like a champ, looking around in wide-eyed wonder, snuggling with grandparents and his aunt and uncles, and trying to poop through as many outfits in one day as possible.

We've already taken about a million pictures (and I think my dad is going to need a second iPhone to contain all the photos he's snapped) but I haven't had time to go through most of them. Here are a few quick shots of our little guy to hold you over... hope to be able to post more soon!

Sunday funday

2010-07-11T22:10:00.000-04:00

Welp, we made it through the weekend. I am pretty tired so this installment of Happy Thoughts will be brief.

Cotton candy. We just returned from a lovely evening in the park. As if a cool breeze, great neighbors, picnic dinner, and a 70's Afro-funk concert weren't enough, Wes bought me a bag of fluffy pink cotton candy. This makes my heart happy. I can't adequately describe my love for puffy colored sugar. I've got lots of great pictures from our evening but I will post them another day.

Other babies. At least someone is being born around here. My friend Amanda welcomed her second little boy into the world today and I can't wait to meet him.

Buddies. I've said it before, but it's worth repeating. I don't think I would have made it through the past few days without our dear friends in town. I'm nearing the end of my emotional and physical rope, but I've laughed and smiled a lot this weekend. As much as I wish that Wes and Sara had gotten to meet our new addition, I'm so thankful for our time with them.

Countdown. Six days or less. Self-explanatory.

The beginning of the end

2010-07-10T22:47:00.000-04:00

Here I sit, one week past my due date, and still blogging. When I first decided to blog happy things I didn't think I would have to keep up this daily update for so long! Today's post will include pictures again. Get excited! So here we go:

Finality. There is an end in sight. Today was my official last Saturday. If this baby doesn't make an entrance on its own this week, I will be induced on Friday night and deliver on Saturday. If this baby doesn't make an entrance on its own this week, I will also pull out all my hair, but that's a different story. Just don't be alarmed if I look a little bald in the hospital photos.

Rain. It hasn't rained here in weeks. For real. And I love rain. I can't tell you how happy I was to wake up on my last Saturday morning without a baby and lay in bed and listen to the rain hitting the skylight. (Also, I don't have to worry about killing my plants for a whole day. Wahoo!)

Fake shopping. Do you ever do that? Go online and fill a shopping cart full of stuff you would buy if you had money coming out your ears? It's really fun, you should try it sometime. Anyway, yesterday I made a new baby registry. Cause you know, that's what all normal people do when baby showers are long past and babies should already be born anyway. But I had just found out that Soft and Cozy Baby, my favorite local baby store, actually offers a registry, so I made one for kicks and filled it up with all kinds of goodies. It's like retail therapy without the buyer's remorse. If you live in the area and have kids you should definitely stop by and check it out (the store, not my registry). They have all kinds of great natural baby products.

I decided that I should document my last Saturday as a free human in photos, so here's how things went.

We started off with a trip to Panera and a tasty frozen mocha

The rainy afternoon was spent lying around the house napping, watching soccer, and eating pizza

The rain took a time-out so we took a walk in the park before grilling out for dinner. (I didn't even eat my chicken. I LOVE grilled corn.)

And then wrapped up the night playing games and eating cake while drinking strawberry daiquiris (non-alcoholic, of course)

Do you notice a theme for the day? There was a lot of food involved. All in all the perfect combination of laziness and fun. I think it was just what I wanted. We'll see what our final Sunday holds... unless of course we don't get one!

Mooooo.

2010-07-09T23:57:00.001-04:00

Let's be honest- when you are 41 weeks pregnant you don't have to do too much to look like a cow. (Although I have to say, the shots below make me look deceivingly skinny! I look like I'm only six months pregnant. Don't be fooled by our clever camera angles.)

Thanks to Sara Parker for these first two images

In lieu of a "Happy Thoughts" post today, I think we can all just appreciate how awesome a free Chick-fil-A dinner is. We can also appreciate how awesome it is when this pregnant cow also got a free milkshake! (The nice Chick-fil-A lady felt sorry for me.)

Dylan and I felt a family shot with the cow and the belly was necessary, since this was supposed to be the baby's first fast-food experience. Next year, I suppose.

And one last picture of us with my sister and Wes & Sara! Thank goodness I have four happy people to keep my spirits up this weekend.

Day five comes and goes

2010-07-08T18:25:00.000-04:00

It's odd. The later this baby is, the less I am caring. I am definitely getting more and more uncomfortable, something I didn't think was possible, but I think the disappointment of missing the "due date" has worn off. Subconsciously I think I have started to accept pregnancy as an eternal state, so giving birth should be a welcome surprise.

I wasn't feeling well yesterday and didn't get around to blogging, so today's edition of Thoughts to Keep Me Happy is a little longer.

Healthy baby. Still not sure what the slowpoke is thinking, but everything looked great at our ultrasound yesterday.

Mini-roadtrips. We drove up to visit my cousin and her kids yesterday- about an hour from home. (I figure that some people live about that far from the hospital so we'd still be safe in the unlikely event I went into labor.) It was great fun to get out of the house, catch up with Jill, and snuggle with sweet Micah again (now 11 weeks old!) while the older three climbed all over Dylan. Yes, I realize I should have taken a picture of the kids.

"I'm-sorry-you're-still-pregnant-donuts." The sister came through with presents once again!

Bikini freedom. We've all been through it. If you are wearing a two-piece bathing suit, you are constantly aware of the position you are sitting in and weather your stomach is folding or rolling oddly. Well, when your belly looks like a pumpkin, that concern goes straight out the window. We went to the pool for a few hours today, and since I am past the point where I am terribly concerned what anyone thinks, I opted to wear one of my regular bathing suits instead of my maternity tankini. Yeah that's right, I am that girl. (Thankfully, I am NOT the girl who was laying out beside us and apparently forgot that it's not appropriate to turn your bikini into a thong at a public city pool.) I am sure I was quite a sight, but I was SO much cooler and more comfortable as I floated around and read my Real Simple. And bonus points, the big white belly got a little sun!

Visitors. Tradition has it that friends and family come visit you once your little one has arrived. Well, some babies delay arrivals and kind of mess up visitation plans, so some friends are awesome and come visit you and your large belly instead. Wes and Sara are on their way to Baltimore tonight, baby or no baby, and I am SO excited to see them!

Anticipation. Ohhhh, you didn't know I was taking requests, did you? Well I didn't know I was famous enough to have reader-requests, so I guess we're even. This was suggested as a happy thought I should highlight, and I must agree, most days I am happily looking forward to the arrival of our little snugglebug. (Other days I am wondering how hard is ok to shove back when I get a foot poking through my side.)

Chikin. Tomorrow is Cow Appreciation Day, one of my most favorite days of the year. I had originally thought a newborn might get in the way of my free Chick-fil-a combo. Then I worried that a hospital stay might cause problems. Now that I know I am only 24 hours from my delicious chicken, I am starting to believe I might get to enjoy it. (And of course, we all know that as soon as I start thinking that way the baby will decide to be born.) Since I haven't posted any pictures this week, if I get to enjoy this wonderful treat I will be sure to share a photo with you.

Target on a Tuesday morning

2010-07-06T22:15:00.000-04:00

Yup, still blogging happy things. Ultrasound in the morning to see how the little slowpoke is doing.

Baby buddies. Is my baby late? Yes. Am I slightly bitter when I feel like other people are giving birth left and right? Of course. But am I genuinely happy for my friend Amanda who is going to meet her little man this week? Definitely! Henry is coming two weeks early and I am super-excited for the possibility of a shared birthday for our little ones. We'll see how it goes!

Joey. There's nothing like a few episodes of Friends and Baby Kangaroo Tribiani to make me laugh.

Pizza! Dylan and Julie and I ditched our plans to make a casserole for dinner and headed out for pizza. We figured there won't be many more chances for the three of us to do fun things like that.

Weekday errands. We went to Target this morning for a few odds and ends. How awesome is it to wander around Target in total peace and quiet?? No screaming kids, no loud people on cell phones pushing their carts obliviously in the way of everyone, no long lines. It was heavenly.

A little puffier every day

2010-07-05T22:02:00.000-04:00

If you are checking in today for the first time in recent weeks, you might be confused at what has happened to my photography blog. So here's a brief recap: still pregnant, no new photos to share, listing happy things each day to keep my mind off the little furnace that I am carrying around in my belly during this lovely Baltimore heat wave. (Let's hear it for 103 tomorrow!)

Today's smiles result from:

Trains and planes. Both brothers are coming to town next weekend, one by train and one by plane. How fancy does that sound? Super excited that tickets are booked and plans are made. Now all we need is a niece or nephew for them to play with!

Sun and water. We made our first visit to the pool today. It's in the park two blocks away, which is so convenient. (What is not convenient is when you think it opens at noon and it doesn't open until 1 because of the holiday and you are too slow and pregnant to return to the house so you sit and wait on a bench for 45 minutes.) And I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive of my first visit to a city pool. I wasn't totally wrong- there were lots of fascinating characters there- but we actually had a lovely afternoon sitting with our neighbors and playing in the kiddie pool with their four-year-old. The water was shockingly cool and refreshing and I felt like a new person as soon as I hopped in.

Fruity shampoo. It smells like summer and sunshine.

Trivial Pursuit. When you have a whole lot of time to kill, there is really nothing better than playing an impossibly difficult board game.

Hoping not to talk to you tomorrow,

Sausage Toes

Still going

2010-07-04T18:17:00.000-04:00

No pictures today. And yes, I missed a day of not-so-patiently-waiting-for-baby blogging (sorry for any false alarms.) We made no real plans for the 4th of July (in hopes that we'd be at the hospital) so there's not a lot going on around here today. So we'll get right to it. Here are a few things today to keep me cheerful:

Freedom/America. I'm not one for patriotic speeches or anything, but duh, living in a free country is awesome.

Brownies. A recurring theme, probably because I have been recurringly baking them.

Unexpected lunch invitations. We got invited to lunch after church and made some new friends- a good way to spend a previously unplanned afternoon.

Knitting. I am not a knitter like my friend Kate. But for some reason all week long as I have wondered when this baby would get here, the thought of knitting and these verses from Psalms keep popping into my head. I guess there are a just a few more stitches to go.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:13-16

Toe nail polish. I have never been a nail polish girl, but recently my sweet husband has been painting my toenails for me (yeah that's right. Be jealous.) It's become a fun game for me to choose a new color every week. It's the little things.

Mayonaise. I hate mayonaise. But I almost died crying with laughter reading this entry in my friend Katherine's blog this week.

Upcoming celebrations. So it's no secret that I love hamburgers, but I've had a huge beef aversion all throughout this pregnancy. I really wanted a 4th of July cookout but how can you possibly do that without burgers?? We decided we would celebrate the Fourth sometime in the next two weeks after the baby is born and my parents are in town and I can finally enjoy the deliciousness of a burger. So while all of you are wrapping up your day of holiday fun, I am still looking forward to mine. In the meantime, I am off to cook some very patriotic stir-fry for dinner tonight.

I'll try to think of some happy thoughts to share tomorrow that don't revolve around food. But don't cross your fingers!

Today's happy thoughts

2010-07-02T18:55:00.000-04:00

In continuing my new project from yesterday, here are some things that make me smile today.

Technology. I have a Skype date with my favorite six-month-old, and I am excited.

World Cup. Quality soccer games on TV + nowhere to be = happy husband.

Kitty photos. Oh wait, does this not look like a cat to you? Well that's CAUSE IT'S NOT. She was lying in the perfect light this morning, just waiting to be photographed, so I went to get my camera, and by the time I had gotten myself safely down on the floor she had relocated to a dark corner. Riley took this as an opportunity to sit right in front of me and give me a sleepy stare.

Ice cream and doughnuts. My sister stopped at Baskin-Robbins on her way home from work today and brought us treats! She must have looked like she had a sister who was nine-months-pregnant at home, cause they threw in a half dozen Dunkin Donuts for free. : )

Sisters that live with you. They bring yummy presents!

Getting out of the house. I told Dylan I would lose my mind if we sat around the house all day waiting for this baby, so he quickly made a fun plan for us. He organized a "photo safari," complete with an Australian accent, a ride in the pick-up truck, and a bookbag full of snacks. We spent the afternoon wandering around Fells Point and enjoying some gorgeous weather while I snapped photos of interesting objects and answered the obligatory pregnancy questions from passers-by. (Side note: Just because a girl is pregnant doesn't mean she is necessarily interested in the details of random strangers' cervical changes.)

Now I am really not so great at photographing things that don't have eyes and mouths and emotions. Part of that is that it just doesn't come naturally to me, and part of that is that I don't put much effort into it. I need to get out one day and really try to stretch my creativity. But in my current state, here's what I got. (Don't look for these in any magazines any time soon.)

A doorknob

A large crab. Basically awesome.

A few shots of the old City Pier (if you ever watched Homicide: Life on the Streets, this was the set)

And a street shot of Fells.

Punctuality. Yes, I was most definitely hoping this baby would be here a week ago. But now I am excited at the possibility of having one of the 5% of babies that actually arrive ON their due dates (which is tomorrow...!) This would be fun.

Dinner plans. We were going to have leftovers till our friends around the corner invited us over for grilled pizza and veggies. Score!

And with that, I am out the door to get some food. Peace.

Happy 1st of July

2010-07-01T10:09:00.000-04:00

I have turned today into a holiday because I am hoping to be too busy to blog on the 4th! But at this point, little Baby Shorty does not seem terribly interested in being born, so no promises. I'm praying for patience and trying to enjoy these last few baby-free days, so to help me focus, I have compiled a small list of things that make me happy.

The return of proper Maryland weather. Life (and wardrobe options) at 9 months pregnant are drastically different when the weather is sunny, breezy, and in the high 70s.

Dylan on summer vacay. As of yesterday, he is totally done with school for two months. Yay for staying up late watching TV, sleeping in, and having him home all day!

Treats. I like it when people bring me brownies and frappuccinos.

Countdowns to visitors. Even though I don't know exactly when the baby will show up, I DO know that I can count on seeing friends and family in the next few weeks.

Krimpet. (Yes, we finally named the cat. Although she probably doesn't know that. Because besides her official name- after the Tastykake of course- we also call her Krumpels, Krumpelstiltskin, Stilts, Kitty, Baby Elephant, and Psychopath.) This cat is entertaining to no end. She is absolutely out of her mind.

Car repairs. Because even though the baby didn't ASK for a new alternator as part of its welcome-to-the-world gift basket, I know it will enjoy riding around in a vehicle that doesn't die on the side of the road.

Plants. I think only one is dying! This is good news!!

Free concerts in the park. City living is neat. Patterson Park has a free summer concert series, so while I walk this belly around in circles at night, I have music to entertain me. And once the baby shows up, a free, baby-friendly evening out is just two blocks away!

Chipotle. I heart fajita burritos and cilantro lime rice. I also heart when I think, "Man, I would love a burrito," and then I check the mail moments later and there is a coupon for a free Chipotle burrito.

Ice cream. Self explanatory.

Perhaps I will make this a daily event until the baby shows up- listing happy things. Maybe tomorrow I will even include- gasp- a picture! Stay tuned.

Nothing important

2010-06-21T20:31:00.002-04:00

Nothing important to share here, which is why I didn't blog all week. But it turns out when you are really pregnant and people don't hear from you they think you are in labor. (Yep, sorry Amanda- still haven't e-mailed you back... and still pregnant.)

So anyway, here are a few random updates for your Monday evening enjoyment.

Today is the first day of summer. I am from SC, so I really can't complain about the heat. But seriously, it's hot here this week, and to hear everyone keep saying, "Oh, it's usually so much nicer than this is June- this is unusual," does not make it any more tolerable.

Do you hear that little baby?? It's hot! Just be born already.

I'm spending this week working with Sandtown Habitat for Humanity and am really excited about it. Over 700 volunteers are working on almost 20 job sites in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of Baltimore this week as part of the 19th annual Summer Building Week. The staff is working really hard to keep me in the shade working at the registration table. I am working really hard to sneak up on a roof somewhere and start lifting heavy objects and get this baby moving.

We've eaten frozen pizzas three out of the past four days in this house. Except they're not actually frozen; they're refrigerated and not supposed to BE frozen and saved for later and the have expiration dates and they have to get eaten. It's a complicated story involving an overzealous grocery store cashier, a charity donation, and a pregnant woman food shopping alone.

I really need to get behind the camera. I miss it and I'm itching to start scheduling client sessions again, but of course my current first priority is the client in my belly who has not yet shown his or her face. Perhaps I will turn my camera on the cat this week. If I can catch her at a moment where she is not dismantling the toilet or trying to eat the dog's breakfast, I'll be sure to share any successful images.

Peace out.

Planting a nest?

2010-06-15T21:33:00.002-04:00

Everyone talks about "nesting," that semi-psychotic urge that hits pregnant women in the final days or hours before labor where they feel the need to clean the bathroom with a toothbrush or reorganize the pantry alphabetically. Some doctors and books and veteran fathers swear by it- the telltale sign that the action is about to begin.

Unfortunately for some of us, those urges exist pretty regularly, pregnant or not, which makes pinpointing the actual nesting rather difficult. Because honestly, just like Monica on FRIENDS, I really DO wish I had a tiny vacuum with which to clean my actual vacuum. Instead I have to settle for disassembling it and washing the parts in the kitchen sink.

So here's what I'm wondering- since the cleaning and organizing can't be counted on as a sign with me, is it a sign that I decided it was of the utmost importance to create a small botanical garden on my back porch today?

I don't really know how to interpret this. Lots of moms find themselves repeatedly washing and refolding the baby's clothes or meticulously adjusting crib bumpers as they prepare for the little one to arrive. So why am I more concerned with planting? I mean at this point I don't plan on the baby living on the porch. Well... maybe if it cries too much.

Given my history of keeping plants alive and the impending arrival of a child that is going to cost lots of money over the next 18 years, the small fortune I spent yesterday at the Lowe's Garden Center may not have been the wisest move. But really, I don't think I could have slept without these plants safely in my kitchen, waiting to be relocated to their window boxes today.

(I took these pictures while the flowers were still safely in their cartons. I was a little scared that if I tried to photograph them after transplanting them to their new homes they might fall over and die in front of me. We'll see how it goes.)

Anyway, I am sure for some women none of this ever nesting business ever really happens or means anything. Some days I think I could never have enough energy to "nest" properly and I should just go to sleep for the next few weeks.

But if there's one thing I do know, it's that EVERYONE has an opinion to share with a pregnant woman. I'm not due for another 2 1/2 weeks, but any thoughts or predications of an arrival day? If you guess sometime very soon and you are correct I may just name the baby after you.

Birthday week continues!

2010-06-11T23:16:00.001-04:00

You may notice a few things this week.

1. The obvious fact that I have returned from the land of the blogging dead
2. The fact that I have lots of friends with birthdays
3. The fact that I am not spending a whole lot of time finding pictures of birthday friends before posting

Happy birthday to my BFF Kati!

This picture is from last summer, when Kati was pregnant and I was not. Ha, how the tables have turned! (Wait, I think you are only supposed to say that when your situation has improved over the other person's...) Yeah, you can tell she was still in the early "cute" pregnant stage. She actually stayed pretty cute the whole time. And now I'm getting sidetracked.

Anyway, Kati I hope you and Stephen have a fantastic weekend in Charleston! Enjoy the sand and some Kickin' Chicken and some ice cream and a strawberry daiquiri for me and my puffy pregnant toes. And of course some birthday cake. If they would let me on an airplane, I would join you.

And just to calm everyone's fears, I promise this blog is not going to turn into a continual stream of birthday messages. June just happens to be one of those months.

Happy weekend!

A thank-you note

2010-06-10T11:27:00.001-04:00

First things first. I found a just-as-recent but much more flattering picture of Sara and me. Maybe if I had spent more than 30 seconds searching my computer I could have avoided posting the first one. So happy birthday again.

Moving on.

Dear Sara,

Thank you so much for flying up to Balto last month to visit us and document what Baby Shorty looks like from the outside of my belly. It's always unnerving to be the subject of photos, but it's way easier when it's one of your best friends shooting you. You did such a fantastic job, and I am so excited about my maternity pictures and the upcoming newborn session!

(I would also publicly like to thank my toes for waiting until now to start swelling up, and to thank the rest of myself for not swelling pre-photoshoot.)

There is really no way to properly thank you for capturing this time in our lives. I know we've traded photo sessions before, but I think at this point it would be awkward for me to take pictures of your six-pack abs. So this week as I wracked my brain for the proper way to show my appreciation, I came across some ridiculously awesome pictures of your dog Oliver that I had forgotten about. Problem solved.

So Sara, I present to you, Ollie Bear, in all his glorious strangeness. Oh how I miss his odd expressions and gangly legs. I really really do.

You are welcome. It's the least I could do.

Yours truly,

karin

Sweet Micah

2010-06-08T13:13:00.000-04:00

Newborns are so easy to photograph when they are asleep. You may notice that this one is awake, which is entirely my fault.

You would think that when I showed up at my cousin Jill's house to photograph her new baby boy and found him fed and ready for a nap, I would have gotten right to work. Instead, I snuggled little Micah for two hours, all the while marveling that he slept soundly through all the kicks and punches he was receiving from the inside of my belly. Don't get me wrong, it was a lovely two hours spent catching up with my cousin and watching the other kids play. But I really missed my optimal photo time.

Luckily, even though he was awake by the time we started our casual photo session, he was really content and did doze off once or twice.

We also managed to grab a few of all four kids! I love these- they aren't sitting in perfect poses or in front of studio backdrops. They are all crammed on an armchair acting like real brothers and sisters.

And I love this one of the diaper-clad brothers : )

I hope my little baby picked up a few tips while we were visiting. Micah was such a good 12-day-old! And I am so excited that he or she is going to be so close in age to Micah- yay for nearby cousins!

Since you've been gone

2010-06-06T21:55:00.001-04:00

Yep you guessed it, I have Kelly Clarkson in my head. But don't try to change the subject. I'm hurt. Seriously people, where have you been? It's like you've totally abandoned me for the past several weeks. Well, once again I will forgive you. But only because it is Sara's birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA!!!

Is this the best picture of us? Bahaha. Not by a long shot. But sometimes, you really don't care about the lighting or framing or ISO (even when you are BOTH photographers), or about how pregnant your face looks or how scrunched your poor friend is. Sometimes, a picture just makes you smile and wish you could give a birthday hug in person.

I love you Sparkles, wish I was there to celebrate with you and make you cupcakes!

I fell in love with a cranberry

2010-05-13T12:36:00.000-04:00

A cat named Cranberry, to be precise. He was featured in the local neighborhood paper last week- middle-aged, slightly overweight and looking for a home. Baltimore has a goal to adopt out 500 cats and kittens during the month of May, so all the local shelters are waiving adoption fees. When I saw Cranberry and his chubby self and knew we could have him for free, I was in love.

Over the weekend we excitedly made plans to welcome Cran-Cran into our home, but after a few hours we started thinking realistically. As much fun as it would be to send our dog into insanity with a new baby AND a new cat in the house, maybe this wasn't good timing. And as we rearranged all the furniture and cluttered up the house with baby items, maybe we didn't have a great spot to keep a litter box and a cat dish that the dog wouldn't help himself to. Our Cranberry dreams went out the window as we made an official decision Sunday night that this was not the time to get a cat.

And then a couple minutes later we officially changed our minds and decided life wasn't complete without our beloved Cran-Cran. (I can't promise that it had nothing to do with the mouse we found frolicking on the kitchen counter.)

I almost cried when I discovered that our chubby friend had already been adopted, but my heart melted when the lady at the shelter plopped this shaking little kitty into my lap:

She-Who-Has-Not-Yet-Been-Named has spent the majority of her first two days hiding in our bath towels, shredding toilet paper, and purring like a miniature motor boat. I love her. One day she will come out and I will take a proper photograph of her, but until then I will continue to roll my pregnant self around on to floor and try to snap pictures of her under the guest bed while the dog shoves his frantically sniffing snout over my shoulder.

A little snooze

2010-05-12T17:52:00.004-04:00

I personally don't remember, but I can guess there is nothing quite like the exhaustion that comes after being born and moving into a new universe.

This image makes me want a nap. But I'll post the rest of his session soon, promise.

A fun little family!

2010-04-27T19:06:00.000-04:00

So Amanda and Adam were good friends of mine in high school. We kind of lost touch during college, but thanks to the magic of Facebook we caught up with each other last year and picked up right where we left off! Well, sort of. I mean you miss a lot in a few years- turns out Adam and Amanda got married and had a precious little boy. But we became instant friends again anyway!

We met up in South Carolina for a photo session the weekend of their son John Dickson's second birthday and what fun we had. I took an outrageous number of photos- at least twice what I normally shoot. (And there is my excuse for taking twice as long to get it posted!) But I really couldn't help it. Amanda and I have been planning this session for oh, like, seven months and the excitement just went to my head. And my trigger-happy index finger. Here are just a handful of my favorites!

This is John Dickson and I love him. And his hat.

As if John Dickson isn't enough fun, baby brother Henry will be making his debut in July. Amanda is due just two weeks after me- yay for newborn buddies!

Someone had entirely too much fun beating up his parents

I have never ever had a photo session where I spent so much time trying not to fall over laughing. Seriously. It was so fun to work with old friends and catch up over breakfast afterward. I still haven't fully accepted that they live in Greenville and we live in Baltimore and we can't hang out. Boo. : (

But I am super excited that next time we are in SC our little baby will meet their little baby and BOOM they'll be instant pen pals!

Anyone need an airbrushed t-shirt?

2010-04-24T10:41:00.004-04:00

This morning I woke up to the sound of the ocean crashing off my balcony, climbed out of a king-sized bed I don't have to make, and ate a chocolate-covered donut appetizer before heading out to find some breakfast. Not too bad if you ask me.

Dylan has a teaching conference in Ocean City, MD this weekend so I came along for the ride. (He used to come along to MY conferences when we lived in South Carolina while I was working full-time and he was in grad school. I would have to go to seminars all day while he watched TV in the hotel room. It's kind of fun being on the other side!)

I found myself at Panera this morning and have spent the past few hours looking at this face

while I wrap up editing my most recent session. I think I have a crush on a two-year-old.

More on that soon. In the meantime, I cannot BELIEVE how similar Ocean City is to Myrtle Beach, SC. It is no secret that Myrtle Beach is not my favorite place on the planet, but driving up and down the "strip" past 8,000 cheap souvenir shops and tacky restaurants has given me an odd pang of homesickness. Add in the boardwalk and the airbrushed t-shirts and it's like a parallel universe. If I wasn't positive I was in Maryland I would be positive I was not.

Wish the weather was warm enough to enjoy the beach, but then again that means I wouldn't be getting any work done...

Speed racer

2010-04-20T18:05:00.000-04:00

"What do you mean you want me to hold still???"

It's amazing how much little boys change in a few short months. Somehow I don't remember quite this much sprinting at our session last summer. But it was fun! Most of the night looked like this:

But every now and then when we glued Seth's cute little plaid shorts to the top of a tall brick wall, we got a few of these:

And then it was back to business- playing!

(Though he did take a break for an orange)

As Seth ran circles around the USC Horseshoe and Zackary followed close behind, I got a few extra minutes to spend with Tonya and Scott. LOVE these shots of them.

As I was editing these I realized how lucky we got- we moved their shoot up a day at the last minute. If you live in South Carolina you know how bad the pine pollen is and how suddenly it shows up. If we had tried to do this Friday as originally planned, everyone would have been bright yellow!

As always, I love the chance to catch up with my "regulars," and it is safe to say this pregnant photographer got her cardio in for the day. : ) Thanks guys! Stay tuned for one more SC shoot coming up on the blog in a few days!

Some "good ones"

2010-04-18T19:33:00.000-04:00

As we wrapped up this session Brennen looked at me and said, "Well, I hope we got some good ones." I told her I thought this was our best shoot yet, and I meant it. I think parents often worry that energetic kids make my job more difficult, but they are what make it so much fun. I've been photographing her and Paul and their kids for two years now, and I knew right away this session would be my favorite of their family.

I almost died several times during the editing process. The lighting and location and beautiful children were enough to do me in, but fear not, the baby and I are alive and well. Please enjoy the following assortment of my favorites- just a few of "the good ones."

You might remember little Heath- he was my last client in SC before I moved. He's grown so much since August!

And then of course Emily and her curls that I can't get enough of

I love everything in this image. Would it be strange if I hung this as a large canvas in my front hall and pretended it was my family?

If my baby is a little girl I want a wall grouping just like this in her bedroom

I may have gotten a little carried away with the Heath images, but since I won't be in town for his first birthday session I wanted to make sure we got plenty at 10 months!

As soon as Heath learns to write I would like his autograph. I think this is the future of South Carolina football right here

Brennen, hope the extra-long post makes up for the delay! And everyone else that is waiting, yours are coming soon- I'm almost caught up. : )

Sunshine fairy

2010-04-14T23:28:00.002-04:00

I am so so excited to post this session. But right now I can barely keep my eyes open and I have a super long day ahead of me tomorrow so the rest will have to wait (sorry Bren!) More soon!

I'm adorable.

2010-04-12T08:06:00.000-04:00

Hi, my name is Carson. I am ten months old and really cute, and even though I wasn't feeling my best on picture day I am still quite adorable if I do say so myself.

What are you looking at??

Don't mess with me. I can be tough if I want to.

But let's be honest, I am a happy kid.

And I really love my parents.

Who wouldn't? We are an adorable family.

And I have a special place in my heart for my Grammy- can you tell by the look in my eyes? I didn't want her to leave my side the entire photo session. I have a feeling I have her wrapped around my little finger.

Now if you'll excuse me for just one minute, I need to take this very important call.

Well that was fun. Time to celebrate with a lollipop! Either end will do.

So there you have it! Proof positive that Grammy is right- (even on my most mellow days,) I am still one of the most precious little guys you will ever lay eyes on.

Some people never learn

2010-04-11T17:52:00.001-04:00

Don't you hate those people? Yeah, those people would be me. Every time I schedule multiple photo sessions in conjunction with a trip I always think I am going to get them edited and posted sooner than I am. And every time I travel while pregnant I always think I will recover faster than I do. And every time I try to convince the baby that coffee used to taste really good it quickly reminds me that it no longer does.

So two weeks later, here I am! Blogging will be slow for a few weeks while I get caught up (shocking!) but check back tomorrow for the first of my recent SC spring photo sessions. It was a week of beautiful weather and adorable kids and I am super excited to share them with you.

In the meantime, because everyone likes it when posts come with pictures, here's a quick shot of Dylan and me (and Baby Shorty) that my sister took after church on Easter.

See you tomorrow!

Don't forget...

2010-03-29T09:02:00.003-04:00

... this is the last week to get 10% off your float wrap order! All orders must be in by Wednesday, March 31st at midnight.

Get all the details in the original post.

... and we're off!

2010-03-25T10:27:00.000-04:00

We're headed down to South Carolina today, and I can't wait. Can I just say how much I LOVE that my husband is a teacher and I will always still get spring break?? It should be a good week. Moving out of town means that you automatically get spoiled by both sets of parents when you return. Being pregnant gets you bonus spoilage.

I've got a few photo shoots sprinkled in during our vacation as well- I am so excited to see my "regulars" as well as a few new clients!

But first up on the list: get two of my most favorite people married. Wahoooo!!!

And on an unrelated note because I can't contain my excitement, I must share a picture of the surprise I got in the mail this week...

Road trip + BFF wedding + vacay + new Epiphanie bag = happy Karin

Blogging will be sporadic, but I will have lots to share when I return!

Some perspective on spring

2010-03-20T21:42:00.001-04:00

It's the first day of spring and I live in the city,
so really things aren't yet looking too pretty.

But the sun was so warm and the breeze lightly blowing,
and I was antsy to know that SOMETHING was growing.

I picked up my camera and walked out the door,
on a mission to find spring in Baltimore.

I saw brick and concrete and lots of bare trees
but where were the colors and flowers and bees?

One tree caught my eye with a few blooms of red,
and then I saw white on a tree up ahead.

I found one growing pink and another one green,
but overall there wasn't too much to be seen.

It seemed that I was searching for something not here,
that true spring in the north would show later this year.

As I slowly walked home I let out a long sigh,
but suddenly something bright caught my eye.

I stopped in an alley and my smile spread wide,
and I reached for the camera hanging at my side.

Perspective is key and I had been looking all wrong,
turns out spring has been just out back all along!

Suspicious activity

2010-03-19T17:16:00.002-04:00

Fact: I have to learn how to be a mother soon. I think I am a fairly patient person, so that's a plus. But I may or may not be known for my need for "personal space."

Fact: Dogs are just like children. Ok not really but I like to pretend they are. I have a dog and this makes me feel like I know what I am doing already.

Fact: My dog has been acting VERY suspiciously lately. He whimpers for no apparent reason, and nothing I can do makes him happy. He has begun acting out at bedtime. He glues himself to my leg all waking hours of the day. He carries his bone (symbolic of a blankie??) everywhere he goes. I walk to the bathroom. He follows me in, sits his bone on the floor, and wraps himself around my ankles while I brush my teeth. I turn to leave, trip over the dog, step on the bone, and curse his name. I walk to my desk and he quickly grabs his bone and follows. I realize I left my phone on the bathroom counter and turn to get it, only to trip over the impossibly-close-to-my-heels-dog again and send his bone flying out of his mouth. He is not phased, scampering over to pick up his bone and catch up with me. This continues up and down the stairs, in and out of the kitchen, back and forth to the washer and dryer in the basement. All. Day. Long. I have to physically push him out of the bathroom and lock the door in order to shower alone. I love him but would especially love to have two precious seconds of time to myself.

I feel that he has been hired to "train" me in motherhood. Who put him up to this? I am not amused. I will pay you to stop.

The essentials

2010-03-16T13:37:00.002-04:00

This preparing-for-a-baby thing has opened my eyes to a whole new world. It doesn't seem like a baby needs a whole lot. Afterall, they just eat, sleep, poop, and cry. But while you really only need a few basics to start off baby life, the more you read and the more you see, the more you feel is absolutely necessary for survival. Which is why of course I now have three separate baby registries. Ridiculous.

In my defense, registering at Babies R Us and Amazon.com were very practical places for us because we found lots of important items like diapers and car seats. But seriously, The Land of Nod has the cutest striped onesies I have ever seen, and suddenly those seem quite essential as well.

What else have I deemed essential? A new camera bag. Now I know that technically my camera is not required to sustain the life of my child, but I would suggest that it comes quite close. And if I am going to be toting my camera everywhere, don't I need a really cute bag that also holds diapers and wipes? (Please note, this is very different than a diaper bag that also holds a camera.)

I have been drooling over these Epiphanie bags ever since they were first announced last fall, and now that they are in production I can't stop dreaming of owning one. While I haven't yet held one in my hands, I urge all fellow photographers to get one immediately.

They are functional, gorgeous, and spacious, and they make you look cooler than you really are. Plus I've deemed them a safety item. When I take the kid out, why would I want to lug a large camera bag that announces to the world, "I am full of expensive equipment and a slightly distracted new mother is juggling a diaper bag and baby while carrying me- steal me!"? So really, I think you'll agree it would be foolish of me NOT to own one.

So to summarize, if you are out in search of a good deed to do today, look no further. You can just order me a present and call it a day. : ) For the record, I love Lola and Belle. Surprise me.

Last chance to book for spring in SC

2010-03-12T14:52:00.002-05:00

Ooops. Did I do it again? The forget-to-blog thing? Well lucky for you, those days are over. I mean I think they are, if the pregnancy brain doesn't get in the way. I've been working a temp job for a few months now and it has officially come to a close. Translation: I have 28 extra hours a week to dedicate to my blog. Or laundry. Take your pick.

Quick update to let you know I've got just a few spots left in South Carolina this spring. (By the way, can I just tell you that I am really excited for spring this year??) Full details can be found here.

E-mail me if you're interested!

I've been sorting through files and reorganizing my backup hard drives over the past few days. I never did one of those "year in review posts" showcasing my favorite images from 2009, and since it's March now I think we're a little too late for that. But in honor of spring's impending arrival, here are just a couple warm, sunshine-y shots from last year that make me smile big.

This little guy just turned one this week- wow time flies!

Ooooh... ahhhh...

2010-03-05T12:02:00.003-05:00

I periodically add new products to my client offerings and I'm excited to share with you the latest!

Custom CD books
Most of my clients end up ordering a high-resolution photo CD of their session images. You now have the option to upgrade to a customized CD book- a sweet case to store your memories. Each CD case is designed by me and printed front and back and has a spiffy magnetic closure. These make a great gift for grandparents!

Float wraps
I love these and just ordered several for my own house. Float wraps are a more casual and afforable alternative to the gallery wrap canvases that I love so much. Your image is printed on high quality photo paper (shown) or fine art canvas and mounted on padded masonite. These come ready to hang by a 3/4" mounting block and don't need frames, creating a simple, clean look in your home. Float wraps are PERFECT for wall groupings of the kids. A variety of sizes is available and pricing begins at just $75.

For the month of March I am offering 10% off all float wrap orders, so if you've been waiting for the perfect time to freshen up your wall hangings, this is it!

Contact me to place an order or for detailed pricing and more information.

Jeans and chocolate milk

2010-03-03T18:41:00.002-05:00

I'm a pretty low-maintenance girl. In a high-maintenance kind of way.

For example, take a look at my outfit of choice. In a perfect world, I would not be required to dry my hair after showering and I would wear jeans, a t-shirt, flip-flops, and a ponytail all day everyday. (And I don't mean "t-shirt" the way some prissy girls do- I mean an actual unisex, 100% cotton, non-fitted t-shirt, preferrably from a touristy restaurant or a race I ran in.) So that all sounds pretty simple and low maintenance, until we start talking about the jeans.

Now I know everyone is particular about jeans, but I'm a little different. I have only owned two perfect pairs of jeans in my life. The first pair I bought seven years ago and is now so threadbare I only allow myself to wear and wash them once every six months in order to preserve their fragile life, and the second pair which I found last year is on a well-deserved hiatus while I rock the maternity jeans for a few months. I have impossibly high standards for my jeans- they have be a certain fabric content and must hit at a very precise spot on my hip and flare at a very particular angle at the feet and be a very exact length. Neither of my favorites are designer labels, but I would gladly pay an astronomical amount of money if I could ever find them again in store or on eBay or at an outlet (you'd understand if you saw my butt in them). Nothing short of perfection is acceptable, and unless I am wearing one of the previously mentioned perfect pairs my mood is noticably less chipper.

Similarly, my taste in foods is quite basic, but I'm still hard to please. While my appreciation for chocolate milk may seem simple enough on the surface, things get pretty complex when it comes to the cup it's poured in and the ratio of milk to chocolate syrup. I'll spare you the details of this and many other examples and get straight to the point. Clearly I am very picky (shocking), but I would venture to say that I can be a little difficult to live with.

It takes a special person to love me and live with me, and I am happy to report that three years after marrying me he has not given up. He's kind of wonderful. Of course he has his favorite jeans, but he doesn't sulk about the rest of his collection. If you make him a glass of chocolate milk he appreciates the gesture and doesn't get caught up in the details, and yet he still goes to every effort to ensure my glass meets my specifications.

Silly way of saying it, but basically my husband is perfect for me. His selfless and loving spirit continually blow me away. I am not sure how he has the patience for me but I am so glad that he does. God planned the perfect person for me and that is pretty cool.

Also, he makes me laugh a lot and he's not too bad to look at.

Happy anniversary, Dylan. Love you tons!

(Photo by Sara Parker)

Forgetful

2010-02-21T15:15:00.000-05:00

So how's that for an excuse? I seriously just forgot to update my blog all week. If it's alright with you I will just blame this on the "pregnancy-induced forgetfulness" that everyone talks about. So here's a quick rundown of my personal life this week (minus any photos, because I forgot to take any).

We passed the 6-month mark of our life in Balto. Not sure what that means, really, just thought it was worth noting. I wouldn't say it has gone quickly or slowly- more like a mixture of both. We still greatly miss all our friends and family down south, but we do really like the city we've moved to. I won't say "love" yet- we don't want to say something too soon and scare it out of what could be a good relationship. Check back with me on our one-year anniversary.

Dylan finally headed back to school after seven days off from the blizzard. I got started on a long-overdue list of changes to the photography business. Big stuff is on the way- so fun! Stick with me. : )

We celebrated Riley's 5th birthday. And by celebrated I mean we did absolutely nothing at all. We are not those people who throw their dog a birthday party or buy him an organic cake from a doggie bakery. We meant to give him a treat, but I really can't remember if we did. I was going to at least take his picture but he made me mad on our afternoon walk so I refused. Dylan serenaded him with a touching rendition of Happy Birthday right before we went to bed which I think he loved.

We had a big day yesterday. We started our baby registry. Might I recommend Babies R Us on a Saturday to anyone looking for a surefire method of birth control? It doesn't help that according to the associate we apparently picked their busiest day of the year- the last day of some coupon or sale or something. Dylan actually kept it together much better than I did, even as the shopping carts and crying babies and spastic woman in the car seat aisle whizzed by. I almost had a heart attack as I looked at a wall of 84,000 types of baby bottles. He's going to be a great father. His wife might need some help.

To reward ourselves we decided it was time for a date and I couldn't stop daydreaming about Olive Garden breadsticks so off we went. I am sure they thought we just wandered out of exile somewhere- we ate like we have never eaten before. What can I say, we were excited. We don't get out much. We repeatedly ordered refills of our salad and breadsticks and I think they hated us for it. I don't really even like salad and I ate four platefuls. Most of our actual appetizer and entrees were packed up and brought home. Can you blame us? If they are going to offer unlimited bread and salad, you might as well get your money's worth.

And in other news, I am absolutely obsessed with the Olympics and have a hard time turning the TV off every night. I really don't care what sport it is, I just get super excited. I might cry when they end next week.

I filled up most spots in SC for my spring photo sessions, but I still have a few left- e-mail me if you're interested!

It's sunny and 45 degrees today and I can't help but think it feels like spring. How odd. Anyway, enjoy the rest of your Sunday afternoon, and I'll be back with pictures soon!

Spring sessions in the sunny south

2010-02-15T16:41:00.002-05:00

I've been posting a lot of snow pictures. Because, well, that's all there is to post. It's actually snowing as I type this. We've been home for ten days now and I basically only change out of my pajamas long enough to shower and put on new pajamas. (Though we DID make it to the grocery store, church, and Dunkin Donuts this weekend. Progress! But I digress.)

But look, believe it or not, Spring is on its way!

(As evidenced by these IKEA flowers that may not be quite real- or even realISTIC- but that I love nonetheless. Displayed quite perfectly in the IKEA pitcher that I also love. A gift from my husband whom I love for remembering them as I randomly pointed them out in the store one day. Ok, digressing again...)

So the point is, these flowers go to show that it won't be all snow and winter forever on this blog. If you're in SC, I'll be down at the end of March- the perfect time to get those spring photos of the kids and family! We all know how quickly it gets hot in the Palmetto State, so beat the heat and book your family session early this year. With my impending mid-summer maternity leave this may be the only chance for my southern friends till late fall. Unless you want to throw the kiddos in the car and roadtrip-it-up I-95. Which would actually make me quite happy. I do love visitors.

I'm only booking a very limited number of sessions while I'm in town and they are quickly filling up. Available slots are between March 29-April 1. Email me asap if you are interested!

Staying warm

2010-02-12T13:53:00.001-05:00

When it looked like this outside...

...it looked like THIS inside.

Have I mentioned that I really DO love blizzards? And also chocolate chip cookies dipped in hot fudge?

Lesson learned

2010-02-11T21:26:00.000-05:00

So today I made a mistake.

You see, the most recent snowstorm dumped another 19 inches on us, which is beautiful no matter what everyone else thinks. I decided to change out of my pajamas long enough to trek into the park with my camera. My goal was to get some jaw-dropping, award-winning shots of the ducks on the sparkling frozen pond in the park. Simple enough.

Except that I decided to kill two birds with one stone (oooh, terrible idiom choice there) and take the dog on his afternoon walk at the same time.

It is a wonder that I did not end up IN the frozen lake. It is a wonder that I did not break my camera. It is a wonder that I did not let the dog free to run away forever.

Knee-deep snow + knee-height dog + lots of flapping birds + photographic dreams = Frustrating waste of time.

I basically snapped blindly as Riley flailed about on his leash and jerked me to and fro. I don't even know what I had my camera set on. A large portion of my shots had two pointy brown ears sticking up in them. I think the kids sledding down the hill nearby were quite amused.

For what it's worth, here's a snapshot of the pond this afternoon. Just know that this could have been AWESOME. Thanks Riley.

Dogs make funny faces when snow is in their eyes

2010-02-09T14:08:00.001-05:00

A few more of Riley from Saturday morning

Round two has begun. It's started snowing again and they're calling for 10-20 inches. We're only two inches short of an all-time Maryland winter snow record. What will the new numbers be? To be continued...

The boots are happy

2010-02-08T23:41:00.001-05:00

When these boots were first made they had big dreams. After all, doesn't everyone dream big when they're young?

They belong to a girl now. (That girl would be me.) But back when they were first born, before they belonged to anyone, they probably dreamed of Aspen or Buffalo, maybe even Vancouver. They dreamed of icy, snow-filled winters and life-sized snowmen. They may have even been a little disappointed when they were pulled from the warehouse and packed in a shipment to Maryland.

You see Maryland gets some snow, but just a taste. From what I am told most winters around here are cold, icy, and have a few light snows mixed in for fun. They don't usually get small-scale blizzards, much less two in two months.

So when these boots showed up in Baltimore (at my house to be exact) in early January, slightly bummed out but optimistic, they hopped out of the box and looked around, ready for the snow. Their little hopes were crushed, because the first snowstorm of the year had passed and the temperatures were unseasonably warm. The boots went straight from their box to the girl's closet and sulked.

Then lo and behold, it happened. On Friday Baltimore got a snowstorm unlike any it's had since 1922.

Those boots jumped out of the closet, onto the girl's feet and headed out the front door. And what a wonderful treat! Not only was there almost 20 inches of snow on the ground (and more still falling), those feet headed straight for the biggest piles. Those feet chased the dog as he burrowed and flung himself about with joy in all the fluffy snow.

The boots happily kept the feet toasty, warm, and dry, and when the feet got tired, the boots took them home. The boots contentedly lined up next to the heat vent to dry off inside the house. And they heard rumors of a new snowstorm moving into the city on Tuesday.

And they felt happy, and so did the feet and the dog.

The end.

Long overdue

2010-02-05T23:36:00.000-05:00

Thankfully it's just these pictures that are three months overdue and not the baby. He did take his good sweet time getting here, but that's a different story.

I've referenced this shoot several times before and posted sneak peeks here and here. I'm excited to finally share them all with you! And as promised, this is a little longer than one of my typical posts. (I'm under the impression that this gets me off the hook for my less-than-stellar blogging schedule as of late.)

So Kati and Stephen are not big fans of being photographed. Stephen actually didn't know Kati had set up a session with me until they started packing clothes for their trip from Georgia to South Carolina. But I explained to Kati early in her pregnancy that part of being best friends is that you are required to let the photographer half of the friendship photograph the pregnant half of the friendship. Duh, it's in the rules. Everyone knows that. Being a good best friend Kati finally agreed, and being a good husband Stephen didn't get mad about the secret photo set-up. (Or the fact that I made him sit in mud that soaked straight through his jeans. But that came later.)

I envisioned a photo session full of laughter and sunshine and lens flare and baby toys and pregnant bellies peeking out of the tall grass. What I got was a session full of clouds and cold mist and quicksand-like mud and a grandma-to-be threatening my life if I got her pregnant daughter sick. Thank goodness Kati and Stephen brought the laughter with them (because they forgot all the cute baby props.)

From the minute we started shooting the two of them couldn't stop laughing. Mainly because they thought they were such terrible subjects. I'll let you be the judge of that.

I wish I could post every single picture. I got such great shots of them laughing together- you have no idea how hard it was to choose for the blog. Even on a mega-post!

Then we moved on to a slight teary moment while we talked to the baby

...and back to laughing

It was no small feat to get serious faces out of them. But totally worth it for shots like this- doesn't Stephen's expression just melt your heart?

The moment was, of course, fleeting

I got a straight face long enough to capture her gorgeous eyes

Then we gave Stephen a break and took some of the glowing mama-to-be

And then brought him back to the mud for the grand finale

We ended on this sweet, serious note. I like it.

So Cole is now two months old and Kati no longer has a big pregnant belly, but there you have it. Whew. Well, I'm exhausted from sharing. Time for bed.

In closing, Kati, I hope this was a fun way for you to remember your pregnancy. Stephen, thanks for being so goofy and cooperative. And Baby Shorty (that would be the nickname of my future child), I hope you're taking notes, because I want to look this good in four months.

I heart the snow

2010-02-03T21:51:00.000-05:00

I love driving to work in the snow. Does that make me weird?

I mean, don't get me wrong, if I had woken up this morning to find that the office was closed and I was confined to my warm house with a blanket, hot chocolate, my husband, and a full season of LOST to catch up on online I would have been happy as a clam.

But somehow, just the fact that I got to march through the snow in my boots to take the dog to the park this morning and then drive 30 miles up the interstate through a winter wonderland made me almost as happy. (And yes, for the record, I did intentionally walk through the largest snow drifts possible on my way to the park. It makes the boots happy. And the dog, for that matter.)

I know what everyone will say.

"Yeah, wait a few more days till it's grey and gross and you'll be sick of it."

"Just wait till the end of February, then you'll really be done with it."

"Sure, but this is your first winter in Maryland. You wouldn't say that if you'd lived here for twenty years."

And I can't lie, I was a little annoyed that an ice storm down south messed up my flight last weekend. (Mostly I was just mad at the incredibly unhelpful ticketing agent who wouldn't re-route us.) But still- it's WINTER. It somehow seems ok.

I've spent YEARS whining about winter days where the temps are in the 50's and I can't justify a scarf and mittens. I LIKE the fact that school and work don't get cancelled every time it snows, because in winter it is SUPPOSED to snow and the world shouldn't have to stop. Life goes on even in the snow. It doesn't need to be a news event, even if I get excited about it. It's like winter's version of rain, just so much prettier.

I didn't have much time this morning to snap pictures- because, well, like I said, I did still have to go to work. But I think even the tiniest little tufts of snow caught in the branches outside my door look magical.

And if this weekend turns into the potential blizzard that some are predicting? Well, I'll try to get a few good pictures. But I'll also be happy to enjoy a cozy weekend confined to the house. Sometimes it's nice when the world stops.

8 months beautiful

2010-01-30T10:05:00.000-05:00

Um, so I've been promising for what, like, two months now that I would share photos from my best friend Kati's maternity shoot? I know, it's ridiculous. I'm out of town this weekend and didn't have time to pull together a whole post, but here is just a taste. Isn't she gorgeous?

I'll post more when I get home, and I promise it will be a MEGA post to make up for how long I've dragged it out!

My parents will be so proud

2010-01-28T21:19:00.002-05:00

It's the little things in life. The things you teach your children when you're not even trying. The life lessons that stick with them into adulthood.

My parents used to order Chinese food on Friday nights. I threw tantrums and made throw-up noises and convinced them I was going to die so that they would get me a Wendy's hamburger instead. They would roll their eyes and peacefully eat their dinners while I ran to eat my burger in a different room to avoid contamination. It was kind of a weekly thing.

As I got a little older and braver I discovered that I loved Japanese food- teriyaki chicken and hibachi vegetables make me jump for joy. It wasn't until about a year ago that I realized that all Chinese food is not evil, and is pretty similar to Japanese. Chinese people have chicken and rice and veggies, too. I still don't want anything to do with an egg roll, and noodles that aren't Italian give me the creeps, but I can kill some fried rice.

Tonight, for the first time in my life, I called and ordered Chinese takeout. The little baby in my belly wiggled with excitement while we waited for the delivery man to show up, and it was everything I imagined it would be. It even came in the adorable Chinese food boxes. (Although I was a little disappointed not to get chopsticks.)

Dylan and I were super sad to learn that our traditional Thursday night TV date was all repeats, but we chowed down on our Chinese food in front of the TV anyway. And loved every bite.

Thanks Mom and Dad. You've taught me so much. (But I'm not changing my mind about pork, so don't push your luck.)

Just what the doctor ordered

2010-01-22T18:30:00.001-05:00

I know I am supposed to gain 25 lbs. by July, but I don't think THIS is what the doctor had in mind.

I've got a belly full of baby, and when it asks me to toss a few pancakes in there I can't really tell it no. (Who would argue with a tiny little baby?) It's been asking for pancakes pretty often, so I've got a sneaking suspicion we'll hit the goal weight a tad early.

So there's the big news! I've been holding out posting on my blog, and really you should thank me. Because now that this is open knowledge to the blog world, I feel perfectly entitled to share all my whiny pregnancy stories with you. The floodgates have been opened. You're welcome.

Ok, to be honest I am trying really hard not to be a whiny girl. (I guess you'd have to ask my husband how well I'm doing with that.) I'm not the first pregnant person in this world nor the last, and really anything I want to complain about I know there is someone out there worse off than me. And yes I am still barfing in month four, several weeks after everyone assured me I would be feeling marvelous. Overall I am extremely excited about this tiny little blessing from God in my belly, even while I question its hatred of hamburgers and all things beef. What child of mine could hate hamburgers??

But to address the business aspect of this news- because of course, this is a photography blog, not a mommy blog- YES I am still actively booking and shooting sessions! I may be packing on the pounds but that's all the more reason for me to chase after YOUR children and get a little exercise. I will be taking a mid-summer break while we adjust to having a small person living in our house- I hear they're not quite as self sufficient as dogs- but at this point I am still rocking and rolling.

And stay tuned, I should be announcing one more opportunity for South Carolina clients to get some camera time this spring!

I hate Jell-O.

2010-01-21T18:28:00.000-05:00

Seriously. It grosses me out. Texture has a big impact on my food choices and I just can't handle the slimy, jiggliness of Jell-O.

Dylan and I have both been down for the count this week. After he got through the worst of his stomach virus, I caught it full-force, complete with an overnight stay in the ER chugging down IV fluids. It was a blast as poor, sick Dylan sat in an uncomfortable hospital chair all night while sicker me lay in an uncomfortable hospital bed. We've spent the week in our pajamas on the couch catching up on a whole season of LOST that we missed. And we actually don't have a couch, so we've been scrunched on the loveseat. We are truly pathetic.

We're both doing much better now and planning to head back to work tomorrow (just in time for the weekend). We drank our share of Gatorade and juice over the week, but somehow the Jell-O that I thought was so important to make still sits in the fridge. I really don't understand how anyone eats that stuff.

If anyone (besides my sister who lives 500 miles away) is interested, feel free to stop by for a snack. We've got plenty to share!

Birthday buddies

2010-01-18T20:17:00.000-05:00

So today is my birthday (and thanks MLK, Jr. for the day off!) My sweet husband had the day off work as well and had big plans to make me feel extra special for my first birthday away from all the close friends and family that we normally celebrate with. Instead, the poor guy ended up with a horrible stomach virus and has spent the day immobilized watching movies on the couch.

Since our day didn't go as planned, I've spent hours organizing my desk, sorting through old photos, straightening the house, and catching up on laundry. And honestly, if you know me, I really do like these kind days (deep down I have a lot of Monica Gellar in me), so I'm a happy girl.

But I can't say I don't miss spending time today with my birthday buddy Ryan. It's so fun sharing a birthday with one of your bestest friends and I am really sad I don't get to enjoy a huge slice of the incredible chocolate cake he gets each year. : (

In my sorting through old pictures today I came across this lovely gem. Ryan and I share a love of all things chocolate, as you can see in this beautiful shot from a spring break trip in our college days...

Happy birthday Ryan!! Eat an extra slice for me.

The newest newborn ever

2010-01-13T20:27:00.000-05:00

It's common wisdom among photographers that newborns are best photographed in the first 5-12 days of life. They are still very scrunchy, very sleepy, and very new.

It's common wisdom among mothers that children don't always do what you want. So while my best friend Kati WANTED her sweet little boy to arrive on or before his due date, he continued cooking for an extra week and waited till Thanksgiving morning to show up.

We had long planned Cole's newborn shoot for the Friday after Thanksgiving, thinking he would fit perfectly into our 5-12 day age range. Since I live in Maryland and Kati & Stephen live in Georgia, we didn't have much wiggle room to change dates, so Cole had his first photo session at a mere 36 hours old.

When you imagine what the poor child had gone through in a day and a half I am surprised he was even the slightest bit cooperative. He barely even knew what daylight was, let alone who his parents were, or the girl with the camera who really wanted him to sleep naked on a blanket. But in the end we had an adorable, perfect little baby boy and just enough snoozing to get a few shots before dark.

Enough talk, onto my favorite brand new munchkin!

Why do we always love tiny baby feet? I could take 100 pictures of them.

I love how hard he is working to get those eyes open

Sleeping in daddy's arms... this being born stuff is exhausting

Ohhh those lips...

It was hard to focus on being the photographer and not just snuggling him, but I gave it my best. : ) I am so excited I got to meet Cole when he was only one day old, even if that's not the perfect photo day. And I know he's got a lifetime in front of my camera ahead of him. (Let's be honest, Kati and I planned out her first child's one-year-old photo session years ago.)

Stay tuned for Kati's maternity session- one of my faves yet!

Baby mama

2010-01-08T16:14:00.001-05:00

These pictures make me happy.

What a gorgeous mama and baby!

The entire time I was in South Carolina over Christmas, these were the only pictures I took- no pictures while the whole family was in town, no Christmas shots, no New Year's- nothing. Apparently my camera wanted a vacation (if only I had known that before I lugged all my gear down south with me.)

But my camera begged to come out and play for a few minutes when my best friend Kati came to visit with her sweet little one-month-old munchkin. We braved the chilly afternoon for a few minutes to get these shots of Kati and Cole. (Next time we'll have to get together when daddy is not working, cause these three make a beautiful family.)

I hope you like them, cause you'll be seeing a lot more of these two over the next few days. Not only do I still need to blog Cole's newborn pictures, I also have never shared Kati's maternity pictures that I took back in October!

In other news, my furry sidekick did get the snow his little heart desired, but only a couple inches. It's really not enough for him to play in but he doesn't seem to understand. As soon as his little paws hit the cold, wet ground he is ready to take off through the park, completely oblivious to the fact that he is attached to a leash which is attached to a human arm.