For A Moment Photography

Family Photos in the Desert

I’m finishing up a editing photo session I did recently with a family of four.  They were referred to me by a previous client.  They moved here recently and wanted to have a session with a desert landscape.  When I found out they had two adult daughters I really wanted to do an evening session.  

The family is gorgeous and were great clients to photograph.  It is such a different  session with adults than with children.  Neither one is better, in my opinion they are just simply different.  Most likely I’m not going to get an adorable pouty 20 something and I’ll most likely never get a toddler that will be game for all the photo ideas I have...  This session did not disappoint and I could not get over how photogenic they all were.

They had also asked about bringing their dog.  She is a golden-doodle and her brownish silvery fur matched what the family was wearing perfectly.  I should of asked if that was planned...  I am glad they did (bring her) because she was so well behaved and a lot of the time just walked into our photo perfectly placed.    

When I met the father I was happy to hear he was pretty open to the whole family photo session.  Not all men are like that, and it helps with the photos when Dads are willing.  I wish the men realized the photos are going to happen either way so they might as well give in and enjoy the experience early on.

When chatting with them I found out the last time they had had a family photo was eight years ago.  I had joked when we finished that they were good for another 8 years!  However , I enjoyed them so much I hope they call me sooner...  Mom did say she was hoping for a wedding sooner than that!

 

 

A Wedding in The Most Beautiful (Public) Building

Sunrise the morning of.

The Venue the morning of.

The Inn.

The breath taking bride.

Walking down the aisle.
Groomsmen.
Details.

Seeing her groom.

Ceremony.

Mr. & Mrs.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding in the picturesque  location of Santa Barbara, California.  This trip was the first time I have ever been  to this city promoted as the “American Rivera” with “Mediterranean” type climate.  The beach was beautiful, the sea food fresh and plentiful I felt like I was walking in a post card.  In short this place is a destination not to be missed, making it a perfect location for a wedding!

The bride and I have known each other for 8 to 9 years.  She lives in California so we have not seen each other too much but I have loved the time I have spent with her and adore her two boys.  Michelle and I are “friends” on Facebook but she is by no means a “heavy user”.  Lucky for me (somedays I’m not so sure of this) my business model requires I post on Facebook (and often).

Michelle had seen my work (on Facebook) and liked my style and wanted hired me for her wedding.  At first I was a little apprehensive to say yes.  I have every confidence in my work and I always put my whole heart into my work.  My only fear was that the wedding would not be a good fit (more than 100 is a for sure no for me).  Lucky for me after our first conversation with Michelle I knew we were a great fit.  Then after our first talk I googled at the location-- I fell in love! 

Which is part of the reason it took me a week to post any photos.  I tried to just edit a few but I just kept wanting to edit more and more.  So many photos and so little time!  Not to mention the sessions I had this week...  

Obviously I love the photos and the bride and groom were such a charming couple to photograph.  They were stress free, low key and very loving with each other and having more places to take photos then we had time for was a good problem to have.  Being with the bride and groom on their wedding day is always an honor, being with Michelle and Jerry gave me a chance to get to know them as a couple.  Before the wedding I had only met Jerry once a few years ago and photographing someone is for me the best way to get to know them.  

The location was stunning, the bride and groom were delightful and the energy of the day was beautiful.  While photographing weddings I always work hard at keep my stress and excitement levels down, there are plenty of other people panicking enough for us all.  My job is to use my camera to show the love and beauty that surround these two. 

 

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Give The Gift of Art This Holiday Season.

By Calie Kilpartick

The lady behind the art.

A Self Portrait

One of my favorites.

This photo is a little wonky.  I had to shoot from below to avoid the reflection.

The original photo.

*click on any of the images to be directed to her Facebook page.*

This is a post I have been saving for a time closer to the holidays, and here we are- the middle of October.  As much as I do not want to wish the days away the sooner I get holiday gifts out of the way the more I can enjoy my holiday.  Plus I don’t like giving gifts for the sake of giving gifts.  We all cherish gift giving because of the thought put into them, right?

My friend Calie Kilpatrick is an incredible artist, mother and woman.  I first became aware of her art a few years ago when she posted some of her drawings on Facebook (one of the great things about FB).  She is extraordinarily humble about her talent and on how wonderful her work is. 

Art is a very hard way to A. earn a living and B. finding a true value of.  Artist are often their worst and hardest critics and it is a job where you’re constantly putting out your work for others to judge and place value on, when there is really no right or wrong way to do art.  That is part of the reason I wanted to write about her.  Calie’s works hard on her art and I wanted to celebrate her for that.  I admire the fact she has pursued her passion when I’m sure at times it seems so easy to give up.

During my studies of art history, during my travels and just my love of the past I thought how cool that people use to commission artists to do paintings and drawings.  “Too bad I’ll never have that”, then it occurred to me that I in fact do have a chalk drawing my 1st grade teacher Mrs. Nancy Bingham did of me (hanging in Presley’s room).  This then gave me the idea of having one done of Presley...  

Earlier this year I finally had the drawing Calie did of Presley framed and hung.  I love it. She took a photo I did of Presley when I was learning to use my first digital camera and made a beautiful chalk drawing.  Presley was a year old...  

Check out Calie’s art page, share it with others support the arts, art makes the world a better place to be.  Thank you Calie for sharing your talent and for your desire to master your craft.  I am lookingforward to seeing more of your work.       

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A Little Silver Bay in Your Pocket...

The first book packaged and ready to go!

This beautiful photo was taken from our dock in Silver Bay, NY.  Accompanied by a quote from Henry David Throeau. 

 

This 6 page panel are photos I have taken around Silver Bay Inn that many of the summer EMP's may recognize.

 This is one of my favorite photos.  It's our campfire with pinecones burning on the bottom.  The words are a fun addition.

Every summer it's harder and harder for me to leave our summer home in Silver Bay, NY.  The people there (in Silver Bay and Ticonderoga) have become such a part of our life and happiness I'm not sure if it's them or the beautiful simplicities of the lake we all enjoy that keeps bringing us back.  Being there it is hard not to be inspired and I'm left trying to find ways to share the natural beauty of the Adirondack Mountains with others within my art and in my life.

As our time this summer dwindled down I found myself and other visitors talking about how they just needed, "a little bit of Silver Bay" to last them until next year.  On my return home the idea of this mini book came to my mind.  I thought it could be a great way to share images of Lake George with others.  The obvious beauty is something that you don't need to have been there to enjoy, most anyone would love the gifts the Forever Wild Adirondack Mountains have to offer.

One of the most enjoyable parts of creating this book was reaching out to some of my Silver Bay (SB) friends asking them to help me find words that reminded them of SB.  Many of them came up with many more words than I needed which further reminded me how dear this place is to so many and for so many more reasons.

The book is available on my site and if you click on the images above you will be directed to a page with more information on purchasing the first of this series of Silver Bay books.  These books will only be available until the end of this year.  It is my plan to create two more books to go along with this first addition. 

The photos do show three different colors of books but for now I am only offering the rustic red cover.  It compliments the images very nicely.  I'm hoping this first book is well received so I can make more and add a Ticonderoga book as well.  

 

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