Chicken and Stars

My little star...as I was feeding him the other day I realized just how big he's gotten. I used to think it was a big deal that he held his own bottle, and I blink and he's eating table food. Like the typical Italian, we're feeding him the mini-pastas, with chicken broth. And an egg, for good measure. How he loves the little stars, and it's just so darn cute. I truly wanted to capture this forever, because I know how soon it will be that he's running out the door with his lettermans jacket to meet up with his friends.

I love babies in hoods...or hats...but hoods seem to stay on the rowdy children better than hats! I love how his eyes are a peircing blue against the vibrant red hood.

Samm: a very good model

This is Samm. She's a good friend of mine, and wanted shots done for her beau. She's an absolute doll and just oozes personality. Not to mention she's a total firecracker, a soldier, tons of fun, and too pretty to realize it herself. She's very modest, and makes you feel like you've known her forever. When she asked me to do this shoot for her, I was so excited. Her features are so strong and ethnic, and she has an earthy, natural appeal. What I hope she took away from this shoot is that she is beautiful, both inside and out, and that is a very rare combination these days.

Baby Blues

Motherhood is a series of ups and downs. One minute you're elated that you have a little person in which you can see your own traits and charcteristics. The next minute, you're longing for the freedom and energy you had before you concieved. Sometimes your babe wakes you up at 4am and screams "up! up!" until you get him out of his crib so he can...play. Sometimes there is no pleasing him. Sometimes he pulls out all of the pots, pans, and dishes out of the cupboards and screams at you if you try to stop him. But sometimes...when you are crying, he'll come over to you quietly and wrap his little arms around your neck, as if he knows you are very upset. He dances in the car to Rusted Root. He figures out toys for babies over half his age. He makes funny faces to get a laugh. He dances on command. You can tell that he absolutley loves life and loves to play and explore. And those are the moments when I look at his blue eyes...and the baby blues don't seem to have a chance of getting hold of me.

For all the Mommas out there...

I've just re-read a story one of my girlfriends sent me when I was having a hard time adjusting to the ups and downs of being a new mother. It's short and it sums it up well...and always brings tears to my eyes because it's so true. By Emily Perl Kingsley in 1987:

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland." "Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Street Credit

My good friend Ken offered to do some shots with me. He's a boxer, and he works with juvinille offenders. He's really a model citizen and a really cool guy to know. Thanks, Kay, for hanging out with me and putting up with my creative demands!

Ashley's Wedding

........The day had finally come! Ashley and Justin are Mr. & Mrs.! My darling best friend looked radiant on her wedding day. Her husband, Justin looked very dashing in his very metro black tux with a black shirt, modern aqua vest and aqua Windsor tie. The sun was setting perfectly during the outside ceremony, and photos were taken on the quaint, beautiful grounds of the Tara in Greenville. I had the honor of being a bridesmaid, and we all had a great time at her elegant reception.

Lenee's Wedding

..................I had the honor of shooting a friend's
wedding. I've known her since we were in high school, she being a few years younger than me. It was a beautiful day for an outside wedding! Lenee looked beautiful in her flowing lace gown, particularly with her glowing naturally red hair.

Chris looked cute too! Can't forget about him! He made a handsome groom. These images were produced with a glow filter, giving them a dreamy effect.

Vingette Effect

This is one of my favorite images! This darling little boy captured on a brisk autumn day...he loved playing with the leaves as they easily fell off the branches. It was a lot of fun!
This effect is called vingette. It's kind of antique as the outside edges are burned. It draws the eye closer to the subject and makes the subject stand out.

About Me...my bio...

I’ve had a keen interest in photography from a young age--when my mother let me use her Film SLR. As I blurred and sharpened the focus, I realized how perception of images could be changed an captured. I saw how moments could be caught on film and how it could touch people. Family and friends are the most important part of our lives, and keeping their photos around me makes me feel closer to them when we are not together. Once, I snapped a photo of a boy grinning at me as he was throwing a ball, and when I showed the photo to his mother, she was amazed. “That’s his real smile; not the kind when you ask him to smile…those are hard to get on film!” And I was struck--looking to find more of those special smiles and emotional moments to capture. I began seeing more of these emotional, special moments and wanting to capture them on film so they could be remembered.
Since I’ve become a mother I have a firsthand experience of how precious children are. Their moments fly by too quickly and before we know it they are grown. I’ve been blessed to be able to capture my son’s sweetest times--when he first started smiling, his facial expressions, the start of his walking, his loud belting laugh, and how he looks like an angel when he sleeps. I know that what happens one day will not happen the next, and I’m amazed at how fast he passes his baby milestones. I look back on all his photos with a smile and a tear, missing the moment, but happy that I experienced it and have a vivid way to remember it.
Photography is the most fluid way for me to express myself. I have traded a paintbrush for a camera. I hope everyone can see the passion that I have not just for taking pictures, but for capturing moments and emotions and people. That's what being behind the camera is all about--documenting life as it's seen and capturing a moment in time.