The 31st of February

It has been way too long since I photographed a band on stage.  Almost my entire high school and college life was spent going from one concert to another, mostly of local bands.  My husband was in two of the bands that occupied my weekends for years on end.  I love going to local shows and rarely get the chance anymore.  Arik, my husband, and his band mates in college all had to eventually get jobs and do other things (well almost everyone, one still plays and makes a good living doing it) and for a while going to shows and jumping up and down in a busy crowd was a thing of the past.  However, Arik, many years ago, decided to start this after school club called Rock Band.  He intent was to teach budding musicians how to play in a band together.  They learn cover songs and perform at school assemblies.  Just this last weekend, his latest collection of musicians put on a show and I got to go, along with the kids, to enjoy the music.  They did a great job!!  Some of these kids have been in this club since 8th grade and are showing some awesome talent.  Arik loves it because it gives him an excuse to act like we are both much younger than we are.  

So here is my little collection of photos from the concert on Saturday.  They hope to have another one next week, this time with some sweet lights.  Oh yeah, their band name is The 31st of February.

And Baby Makes Three

This last week, I got the opportunity to do a maternity shoot.  I got to meet a fabulous couple who were a mere 5 weeks away from meeting their first child, a boy name Brantley.  The moment I saw mom, I could tell that she had had it up to "here" with being pregnant.  The third trimester, especially those last weeks, are no picnic.  I would describe those last weeks as a festival of random pains, no comfortable position standing, sitting or laying down, and swollen tired feet.  But mom was determined that she document this time her life.  And your first pregnancy is a very special time.  Most mothers at the end of their first pregnancy start to toy with the idea of it being the ONLY pregnancy.  So I was happy to oblige and help mom and dad photograph this very important first in their lives. 

A Family Outing in the Park

You'll remember Rebecca and her family from earlier posts. This time she wanted very candid shots of her and her cute, cute family in the park this last Saturday.  

Her daughter is unbelievably cute and so so precious when she looks at you with those gorgeous blue eyes. The evening was fine, the sun was warm, and the wind was tolerable.  Perfect night for some pictures of an outing to the park.

Love those little legs marching up the hill.

Who needs to wait to peel an orange, am I right?

  

Weekday Shoot

I remember when I was twelve.  I was rather small for my age.  The runt of the litter, if you will.  I had only about a teaspoon of confidence and the stirrings of teenage rebellion was just around the corner.   

Nowadays I'm surrounded by twelve year-olds in my church assignment and I. LOVE. IT!  So when my old friend asked me to take some pictures of her twelve year-old daughter, who I haven't seen since she was itty bitty, I was super excited.  And she was everything that I have come to know twelve year-olds to be.  Sweet, pleasant, but so full of ideas and talent and, shall we say, sparkle.  It was a real treat to skip around downtown with this little lady and capture her personality.  Hopefully, she and her mom will be pleased with the fruits of that evening.  

Okay, so this last one, well it might just be for me.  When she sat down by that wall, this image popped into my head and I told her to look toward me but not at me, as if something was vaguely interesting to her just beyond where I sat.  She naturally arranged her legs in this position and then, click!  I don't think this kind of picture is what mom was after.  I can't pin down why exactly I love this one so much, nor why I loved it even more when I rendered it in black and white, but I really love her expression, her pose and the surroundings.

A Color that Can Only be Described as "Perfectly Warm"

The weather is yielding more toward proper spring lately.  Evening doesn't immediately lose the warmth of day.  The light lingers just a tad longer and being outside has returned triumphant from misery with joy in its hand.

Sounds like the perfect occasion for some pictures!

All in White

Recently a friend of mine asked me to take some pictures of her new baby girl in her blessing gown.  I was thrilled at the prospect.  There are so few times when a girl can wear all white and get away with it, so when the occasion arises, you'd better get all done up and snap a few pictures, right?  The idea was to show off the dress before little Hailey grew out of it, which happens faster than most mothers would like.  So this was a bit different from what a newborn session might look like.  First off, Hailey was awake the whole time.  So posing her in those typical newborn shots wasn't really going to work.  But she was very pleasant the whole time.  She only cried a bit when I tried to get her to put her arm under her head as she lay on her side.  Apparently she prefers her hands to be closer to her mouth.  Other than that, she was perfectly content to lay there, looking pretty and gazing at the pretty lights I used.  Because it was a mini session, I kept the shoot really simple and short, but I hope that end result captures what my friend was after.