In Memory of Baby {B}

January 13, 2012-June 11, 2012

A couple of weeks ago I received a call from a stranger who introduced herself as an older sister to a new mommy of a terminally ill baby boy who was just 4 months old.  On behalf of her sister she was desperately seeking someone to take professional photos of him before he passed away.  For a couple of weeks she had been frantically trying to contact photographers who have volunteered their services for just this purpose with no luck.  She told me she had contacted 10 photographers and not one had called her back.  

We normally photograph happy occasions and milestones so this blindsided us.  Additionally we were swamped with other jobs and timelines and not sure how we could commit to this endeavor since the window of time was potentially very small.  But a little voice in my head told me this challenge was placed in our path for a reason and God would help us find a way.  And He did.

We knew going into this that it may be a difficult session but we were prepared to provide a service that was very important to them. What we didn’t think about was how it would change us.  They opened their hearts and shared the story of their beautiful baby with us, and we instantly felt a connection with this adorable family of five.  Often we as humans find ourselves asking how or why things like this happen but I sensed after spending time with them that their baby touched the lives of not only those that loved him, but those they had never even met until this time in their lives. Photographing this family in the face of a tragedy allowed us to witness first hand how God has given them strength, courage, grace, humility and love to deal with His plan for Baby {B}.

We have been in contact with them since then getting some things ready for the time when they will want to share his beautiful images with their loved ones at his funeral services.  We were just a sprinkle in his timeline on earth, but he and his family have left their footprints on our hearts forever.  

Yesterday we received the call that Baby {B} had passed from this life and is now resting in peace in the arms of God. With heavy hearts we are thinking of his beautiful family in their time of sorrow and wish to extend our deepest sympathy to them. 

Go in Peace,

Tina

 

"Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones.  And when you have laboriously accomplished your daily tasks, go to sleep in Peace.  God is awake."  ~Victor Hugo

Live from Downtown!

The downtown area seemed like the most logical place to meet one of our favorite families who live on the opposite side of the Valley. Not to mention we've been itching to do an urban session like this. We love the colors and textures of the older parts of town and couldn't wait to use it as our canvas. With baseball season over and basketball not yet started, no concerts, no trains....it was a perfect evening for our own private session with the city to ourselves. I love these images of this beautiful family in the golden light of the final daylight hours.  We’re hoping they love them as much as we do!

 

 

Oh, and that absolutely adorable blue-eyed son of theirs...I’m thinking he’s going to be a real heart-breaker someday. You be the judge but after seeing these, I’m certain you’ll agree!

Until next time... 

Tina

A Happy Time with the {H} Family

What a true blessing it was to be able to take photos of this lively and happy family. They haven’t had the best year but you would never have known it by all the fun we had with them!!! We met at a special location and we had them traveling all over the place there, without ever a complaint.

It was extra special for me because I’ve known J since my now 29-year old son was in kindergarten. She spent a lot of time babysitting him and he loved her then and still does to this day. I hadn’t met her kids and it was a complete joy to see the kind of mom she is and what special and adorable kids they are!

We did have a few laughs trying to get both kids to smile and keep their eyes open at the same time, but we pulled it off enough times to make us happy! All the while, Mom was ready and waiting and beautiful when the shutter clicked!

I truly hope we’ll be able to take photos of this family as they grow and change. Plus, I have a special wish to photograph J and her horse one of these days soon.

This might be my very favorite!

I love, love, love this one because I think it captures the kids' personalities so perfectly...at least from what I observed!
I'll let you figure out what those are...

Blessings to you and yours,
Karen

"You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again." 

~Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762

Owen is One!

All we can say is…WOW!!!   Recently little Owen got to make his first trip to Arizona to meet his extended family and celebrate his first birthday all at the same time!  It was a whirlwind trip and we were blessed not only to be able to take photos of Owen and his whole family but also to be able to celebrate at his First Birthday Party and take photos of that milestone event!

We know boys are not supposed to be pretty or cute, but we think boys under a certain age are almost always cute!  But Owen…he is CUTE beyond words!!!  This is not to mention the fact that he was also jetlagged from a three-hour time difference and he was so good while we kept him out in the heat and took picture after picture, all with him in them. 

We’re so happy for all of Owen’s family that he got to make the trip west.  We think he has a pretty darned special family out here so we hope he gets to come again sometime soon and stay a little longer.  Meanwhile, take a look and enjoy every moment of his “cuteness”!

Oh…I almost forgot…

By far, our favorite shots of the whole day had to be when he was eating his cake!!  He was all boy during that smashup.  He started a bit tentatively but after that first lick of sugar, he was all in!!!!  Check it out…

 

Blessings to you and yours,

Karen

“Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.”

~Rabindranath Tagore

Holiday Cards...With Photo or Without???

We both LOVE cards…all kinds of cards – beautiful ones, cute ones, unique ones and so it goes!!!   As you know, we also love photos!!   

And I love receiving cards during the holidays.  I look forward to my mail and I am one of those who is thrilled when someone sends me photos, whether they are part of the card or just tucked in the envelope.  I can’t get rid of a card with photos and I have a couple little albums that carry all the photos we’ve received over the years.  Each year it’s fun for me to get it out and see how the families have changed.

I must admit, I’ve been hit or miss throughout the years with sending photos.  Sometimes I just haven’t had my act together enough to pull it off.  Actually though, those years weren’t that much easier because I am so picky when I go to find cards that it takes a long time to find the perfect card to send.  For a few years, I followed the lead of a dear friend and sort of scrapbooked my card and printed it on cardstock.  That was a lot of work! 

But the past few years, I have LOVED my cards!  With the advent of digital photos and the ability to make beautiful custom-designed cards, I have had a ball.  Last year we designed a full catalog of custom cards and they are just waiting to be used.  We’ve also got the creative juices flowing to make just the perfect card to fit your family and your photo.  It's fun to make the card be reflective of the photo or photos.  Let's face it...the cold, hard truth!  Even though I have the best of intentions every year, sometimes my holiday card is the only time of year some people hear from me/us!!!  That means I really want it to be special.

These are just a few samples of what we can do.  Our cards are press printed on high quality paper and we have options for matte, gloss, linen, pebble and pearl.  They are printed front and back so a personalized message can be added to make it even more special.  We offer 5 x7 or 5x5 square.  They come with envelopes in packages of 25 and will truly be a piece of artwork you can send to those on your list.

Whether you want to use photos you had taken by us earlier in the year or you want to schedule a new photo session to update your galleries, you should consider doing it soon as we are already getting busy with the holidays in mind.  We are offering special mini-sessions to make the process even easier for you.  Check out our special below and get in touch with us at your earliest convenience.  You won’t be sorry you did and neither will your friends and family when they open your card!

Blessings to you and yours,

Karen and Tina

 

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love."
~ Hamilton Wright Mabie

Sedona Vintage

There's really no need for me to go on and on about how beautiful and special this family is and how much I love their images!!!  The fact is that I do love them and I always love photos of them!  For anyone who may not know, these are my "KIDS" and this is my beautiful granddaughter, Lucy.  She is one of my favorite subjects and has been for her entire life!

These photos were taken by Oak Creek in Sedona.  It was a beautiful weekend for a family photo outing but it was midday and a bit sunny for some of the shots.  What the heck though...I just went with it. 

I've been trying out lots of different photo finishing techniques and vintage-inspired photos are quite popular right now.  Whenever I finish my photos that way, I seem to end up preferring the full color version.  But with these, I found a vintage color finish I just love and I also finished some in a special black and white finish that I love too. 

I thought I'd share them here and ask for feedback.  For your own photos, do you like full color, the vintage look and/or black and white.  Go for it here...you won't hurt my feelings and I would love to know how people feel about them.

Isn't love grand??!!  I see a lot of love in these images!

Blessings and Love to You and Yours,

Lively and Adorable Miss {L}

What a fun time we had following {L} around while she explored her surroundings and played with all the “stuff” we brought along on the shoot.  We loved our location inside a pecan grove which gives the photos lots of green but also a very rustic feeling.   It was quite a warm day but we were blessed that it was several degrees cooler under the trees in the shade.

 {L} kept us on our toes and we needed to be ready so let’s just say it’s a good thing there are two of us!  It’s also a good thing that Tina is a faster sprinter than I am so I let her do the heavy chasing! 

Her mommy told us ahead of time that {L} has the prettiest smile and that’s what she wanted to capture most.  She was very serious part of the time and we love those photos, but I think we were able to see exactly what mom meant in some of the photos where she is smiling.  We sure hope everyone who knows {L} sees that little spark that makes her so special!  We also hope we’ll get to capture more images of her beautiful smile as she grows up!   See what you think…

By the way, just in case you're wondering why the photos all look so different...it's because we tried several different styles of finishing on them.  We weren't sure what Mom and Dad would like but we wanted to give the options.  If you would like to tell us your favorite style, we'd be very appreciative!


Blessings,

"A rose can say 'I love you',

orchids can enthrall

but a weed bouquet in a chubby fist,

yes, that says it all!"

~Author Unknown