Big rock and baby brother

Right in the center of Topsail Beach, partially submerged when the tide is in, there is the best rock that can rival any rock on any beach in the world. I really think it was placed there for pregnant moms to recline whilst being photographed, there is no other explanation.





After baby came I went to their home to meet him. Here he is very sweet and alert.



He is really settled in to his role as the baby brother. Here he is barely a week old and already pulling ears and teasing big brother.



This was my favorite from the session. Sibling love. So so sweet.

Halloween

As I threw away the last of the sticky suckers this morning it occurred to me that I did not post our Halloween this year.

One Clown.



One Hanna Montana.



One Spiderman.



One dead runner.



boo. :)

CooChiCoo Contest Winner

This lucky Mom was the winner of our recent draw for a free session at CooChiCoo . She chose a session for her new baby boy, who was just about 5 months when we did the session.



The funny face.



Most babies this age are all about their Mommy and this guy was no exception. I liked the scene of her soothing him in his crib better than the resultant solo portraits in the crib. ;)



I also got two new Holgas that day. Fresh out of the box for this shoot. I still need to test without flash, but so far so good. I also thought this was an interesting look at the same scene with two different cameras (one 35mm with a 35mm lens and a Holga TLR.)



Eventually he napped. It's hard work being a baby!

1940's Maternity

It was actually 2009, but in my head it was the 1940's.

I love the old photos from the 1940's. The women were always so put together and fashionable. I have had this idea to do a maternity session with some 1940's styling.

I was lucky enough to find a beautiful lady, ripe with baby, willing to let me play dress up with her and style her and go with my random flow. Thanks A!

I was going for two looks here. One was a glamour-movie star type things. Think Rita Hayward. The other look was more the everyday woman in the 1940's. Now, I realize that pregnant women back then were not celebrated and there was no such thing as Maternity portraits and so on. That is what makes it fun to pretend.

First up was our glamour look.



Then outside with the Holga. Her guy was merely a man prop in this photo, he did a good job.



The two of them had many nice moments between shots, that became the shot.



Then we switched outfits and headed to the beach. I was going for a snapshot look here. Like an old photo of your Grandma pregnant with her first child.



And again.



And my fave from the day. Holga goodness.

A gentle re-entry into blogging

I am a bad bad blogger. I have many ideas. I have many photos to share. I spend enough time on the computer to make it seem not unreasonable to blog on a regular basis. Yet . . . I do not. I let my negatives sit unscanned, my thoughts left unsaid. I am flighty, as they say. Can't seem to focus myself on this task, even though I do so much like the idea of blogging.

Lets give it a go. As I tell the kids: the first step to doing is trying. :)

I'll share some personal photos from a recent camping trip. It was our last week of summer hurrah. We went to Butterpot Park. My kids LOVE it there. We always get a spot in the "quiet area" because the spots there are so much better! Quiet means no generators or loud music, neither of which we have. Thankfully it does not mean no loud children. I did not take an abundance of photos, but at least I took a few. :)

(as always, click to view larger)

Morning. The girls slept in their own tent for the first time. It was great except that they couldn't get the zipper open!! (One of them is NOT a morning person, can you tell which one?)



So nice to nap in a warm sunny tent. Not that I'd know first hand. It sure looked nice though!



We took our dog. I'm pretty sure the dog loves camping the most of all of us.



We rented a boat. The little guy was not really very impressed.



But the girls loved it. :)



The first day I ran to the top of Butterpot Hill and back . . . it was so nice. The next day I did it again. Then I went back and made the kids do some of it. I knew the little ones would never make it to the top so we mostly just played in the woods.

She is So strong!



I think this little guy will follow this big guy to the ends of the earth. :) This picture is definitely getting printed for the big guys Christmas present.



Kids.




The big kid wanted this so so badly. I think I might have to also print it for her for Christmas. She loves this scan, how much will she love the print?

Cats and Kittens

So my cat had kittens! Just two. My kids love it. I'll admit, they are so sweet.

There was a good few hours between kittens. Mama has that look of shock and horror doesn't she?



Here they are having sides (our family word for breastfeeding, haha )



And here is how she spent her time at first. On her back.



Now they are all grown up and ready for new homes. I took a few photos in an attempt to make them so adorable that someone would want both! I really want them to go together. Together forever. :)





Here is my girl with the two of them.



And here she is with the Mama cat a couple of years ago. The babies look like their mama that is for sure.




So if anyone wants a kitten or two . .. call me!!

Family Snapshots

Have I ever mentioned how much I love to use the Holga for my family snapshots? I do.

Maybe it's my kids and the fact that they are never bothered when I pull out the Holga, but if I pull out the *fancy* cameras they start in on the whining right away! So I stick to Holga and everyone is happy.