July 27th, 2012
i have to give myself a little pat on the back for making my kid’s birthday photo book in the same year that they celebrated their birthday! eliza turned 8 in may and ryder turned 3 in may. the last birthday book i made was when eliza turned 1. : (
it is really challenging for any parent to keep up with their kids photo albums, but i think it is even more challenging for a professional photographer. the sheer number of photos i have of my kids is astronomical. plus, i admit it, i am a bit (understatement) of a perfectionist. for years i have photographed my kids as if their life was an editorial spread for a magazine. i have tons of images from their milestones that i never printed because i wanted to go back and photoshop them and “make them perfect”. guess what? life is not perfect. in fact, the life of a self employed mom of two is pretty darn crazy at times. one of my resolutions for the new year was to “let it go”. i wanted to stop trying to make the perfect life and just live the life that i love. this year there might be a few more dust bunnies rolling around the floor, a lot more weeds in the garden and whole lot of photos taken with instagram instead of my mark II, but i am ok with that. i am happy.
here are a few instagram collages and a few snapshots that i took during the camping birthday extravaganza of 2012. birthdays seem to last for weeks around our house. part one of the camping birthday party extravaganza was also our first trip in our winnebago. we went to carolina beach to celebrate the big 08 and 03 for the kids.
part two of the camping birthday extravaganza was at our lake house, which is called “hobcaw”. welcome to “camp hobcaw”!
i know it might seem like i did not “let it go” when it came to planning this birthday party, but eliza and i had a great time painting all of the signs and thinking of fun campy things to do. my overachieving side is a plus when it comes to having good parties. ; ) i must also credit pinterest for making the camping party such a hit!
April 20th, 2012
way back in january i TRIED to do a little photoshoot with the kids for their valentines day cards. i think they thought it was pretty fun and funny, but i was not amused…..
this photo sets the mood for the shoot.
i managed to get a couple cute shots, but this “session” demonstrates exactly why i get other photographers to photograph my kids!
eliza was totally in to the shoot and being a “model”. ryder, on the other hand, was totally in to being 2!
hello, my name is ryder and i am very good at being 2.
this one is cute, but i actually prefer the shot below with ryder demonstrating his growling skills.
November 9th, 2011
the good thing about having a photographer in your family is that they take lots of photos at family gatherings. the bad thing is that the family photos get put on the bottom of the to do list! this summer we had a mini family reunion of my dad’s side of the family at the lake. i wish my dad was still here. he would have loved driving the boats and talking the kids into jumping off the boathouse roof.
May 17th, 2011
One month ago today I was headed to the hospital to have Mason… he didn’t come for another 36 hours but it was worth the wait! I can’t believe he will be one month old tomorrow. The saying “The days are long but the years are short” really is true. He has already changed so much- you can never take too many pictures!
I did a little impromptu shoot with him yesterday.. trying to get some sleepy pics. As soon as I took his jammies off he woke up..of course.
May 3rd, 2011
Mason Elliott • April 18th • 9 lbs 10 oz
Week 1
Aunt Alison
Week 2
Thanks to all of our clients for being so patient while I’m on maternity leave! I’ll be back to doing some computer work as soon as I can figure out this new mom thing!
March 14th, 2011
right before i left for india we took a little trip to beech mountain with some friends.
ryder was styling in his puma suit before we hit the slopes.
so was sienna. she rocked her puma suit too!
lets get this snow par-tay started!
the city sledding hill is awesome!
thanks manuela and dave for hosting a great weekend!
March 3rd, 2011
last shot of shiv niwas before we hit the streets of udaipur.
faces of udaipur
jagdish temple
March 2nd, 2011
i have been home from india for 1 week. it almost feels like my trip was just a dream.
india is so many things it is difficult to process. it is beautiful, bustling, sad, loud, lovely…there are so many words to describe this colorful and complex land!
since i am most definitely NOT a writer i will try to share my experience with you through my photos. i will be making several posts over the next week (and these are just the travel photos. wait until you see the AMAZING wedding that i got to photograph in udaipur!).
the city palace complex was built in the early 20th century, in the reign of Maharana Fateh Singh (1884-1930). they were doing a lot of repairs at the palace complex while we were there, but it was still beautiful! we stayed at fateh prakash, which was in the city complex and built in the early 1900′s.
lake pichola and the lake palace in the distance.
dogs on a mission.
shiv niwas
great mustaches of udaipur.
the day after shooting a 3 day wedding we sat by the pool at shiv niwas and relaxed!
our cute room at kankarwa haveli guest house.
the view from the rooftop resturant at kankarwa haveli. sunset was gorgeous!
lake palace
shiv niwas
more photos to come!
November 5th, 2010
better late than never! here are a few photos of my kids multiple halloween costumes!
at liza’s school the kids have to dress as a character from a book. she wanted to be “the giving tree” which i thought was a great idea. thanks to one of our fab clients, penny, for inspiration on the tree costume. it was so easy and inexpensive. brown shirt, brown pants + felt and hot glue and bam….one tree costume!
then on saturday night eliza wanted to be a vampire cat, but then at the last minute made me take off the cat face and she was just a “scary vampire”.
ryder was a construction worker. he had no clue what in the heck was going on!
even though reidsville declared saturday as the officail trick or treat day it was kind of a bust, so we went trick or treating again on sunday!
this time eliza was a “mysterious black cat” and her friend, emily, was a “vampire” that looked remarkably like a fairy. ; )
i’ve had this adorable vintage kids suit for about 7 years and was just waiting for the right time to bust it out. my husband came up with ryder’s brilliant costume:
the ladies man! we decided to go with the mustache theme for the entire weekend.
the ladies man don’t like it when they ain’t no ladies around!
it was a great weekend!
October 27th, 2010
we had a great time visiting with maureen, our studio manager, her kiddos when we went to atlanta. i snapped a few shots of the kids and james the super dog while we were there.
maureen even got a shot of liza and i. i have so few photos of the two of us since i am always behind the camera.
liza had to jump in for a few shots.
the atlanta aquarium is awesome!
need a play space for your kids? rent a moving truck! the kids could have played in the back for days.
thanks maureen for a fun filled weekend!
