What Matters Most...

I had the long overdue opportunity to spend some quality time with my boy this past week. The poor little guy has barely seen me for the past 8 weeks as I have been slammed at work and with weekend events since August.

It was not as much time as I would have wanted since I had to leave him for the weekend to host a shower and bachelorette party in Boston. But the time we had was pure fun and love and laughs. Not only is he the Cutest Boy I know (yes, I know, I am biased) but he is also a remarkably kind, funny and inquisitive little man and it is so amazing to watch him grow and learn.

I was also pleased to be able to get some nice shots of Finn with my Dad. This is on my list of 101 things I plan to accomplish in the next 1001 days. My parents have been watching Finn for 3+ days a week since he was 3 months old and the relationship he has with my father is truly incredible. He worships Grampa and Finn is the light of my dad's life. They are the best of friends. It makes me so happy and proud to see them together.







Finn latest favorite: Hide and Seek. He was sooo proud of this awesome "hiding" spot. You can barely see him, right?



Sweetness:



Finn loves looking at maps and wanted to help Grampa find the best route to the beach.










Finn wears Grampa's glasses. (Is it just me or does he look like Simon from Alvin and the Chipmunks?)



























Life is good:









This is what life is all about:

I've Been Tagged!

I went to Eric's blog just now to enjoy some rockin' photos and lo and behold--I found I'd been tagged! Doh!

Here's how it works:

- Grab the nearest book.
- Open to page 56.
- Find the fifth sentence.
- Post the next two to five sentences in your blog with these instructions.
- Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one - pick the CLOSEST.
- Tag five other people to do the same.

Okay. So I am sitting 3 feet away from an entire wall of books. I was going to just close my eyes and point but then I remembered the handful I had recently taken off the shelf to donate because I had either already read them or I finally admitted to myself that I would probably never read them. I grabbed the one on top. Insomnia, by Stephen King. I have not read this book, though I love me some Stephen King. But let's be real. This one is a "mere" 787 pages. When in the world am I going to have time to read 787 pages?! And once I start a book I am like a hermit until I finish it. I stay up all night reading. I bring it in my car and read at red lights. (It's true.) I bring it to the dinner table and try to steal glances while my husband cuts his meat. I am ridiculous. Investing in a 787 page book right now is just not good for anybody.

The title is oddly appropriate and perhaps some kind of cosmic joke since I have not slept much in the past month! Okay--enough rambling. Here it is:

A little farther down the street, a little girl in jeans and an oversized white tee-short had been skipping rope and chanting in the growing gloom.

"It means you're looking folded, spindled, and mutilated," McGovern said. He used one thumb to tilt the Panama back on his head and looked more closey at Ralph. "Still not sleeping?

"Still not sleeping," Ralph agreed.

Now, who to tag? Who reads my blog that hasn't already been tagged?!

Traci
Amanda
Susan
Deanna
Jaci

Have at it, Ladies!

Ten Eyck Tuesdays

WARNING: Crazy, huge post! I can't help it--I had too much fun!

Last Tuesday I spent the day with an awesome group of people. Val McCormick, Claudia and I were the lucky ones to make it into Carla Ten Eyck's first session of Ten Eyck Tuesdays. What a great time we had! The lovely Robin Dini and her husband Frank were our models for the day.

Before I begin, let me say this about Ms. Carla Ten Eyck. I signed up for her workshop because I admire her work and her enthusiasm so much. I wanted to see her in action and hoped some of her magic might rub off on me. Not only is she an amazing talent, but her love for what she does is infectious and she so enjoys sharing and teaching and helping people grow.

Spending time with Carla is just good for the soul.



Our first stop was a park at high noon. Not ideal shooting conditions, but we managed to rock it. Robin and Frank are so in love and so natural in front of the camera.














How's this for a cool location? Who knew a highway overpass could be so fun to shoot in? (Carla did, that's who.)







The Frankness.











Our last stop was in a crazy tunnel near the train station. A normal person would probably just hold her breath and walk quickly through, hoping nothing would drip on her from above. (Ha, ha--private joke for those in attendance!) But, again, we rocked it!









Carla set up this cool shot using Frank's aviators.



A Couple's Self Portrait. Robin shot this photo of herself in Frank's glasses. How cute are they?!







I rest my case.

Shelby + Ryan: Part One

I am so excited to be shooting Shelby and Ryan's wedding next summer. I first met Shelby a few months ago and knew I would love photographing her. Not only is she beautiful but she was so easy to talk to and when she talked about her wedding she just lit up.

We wrote back and forth a couple of weeks ago in preparation for the engagement shoot. I sent them each a "Couples Questionnaire" that I ask my couples to fill out so that I can get to know them better as individuals and as a pair. They're always fun for me to read and always teach me something important about my couples, but this time I was just blown away.

I got Ryan's answers first and they were just amazing. He is so in love with Shelby and it came through loud and clear in all of his answers. Shelby's reply came a day later and she, too, blew me away. These two could not say enough wonderful things about each other and I could not WAIT to get them together in front of my camera!

We met a week ago in Essex for our shoot. Somebody was looking out for us b/c it rained half of my drive down and much of my ride back but the weather stayed dry for our entire session!

As always, I have too many favorites to cram in one post so be on the lookout for a Part Two later this week. For now--enjoy!