On giving back...

I have had so much trouble writing this post. My thoughts and emotions and epiphanic moments have been all over the place this week. I'm not a writer. I wish I were so that I

could explain all that has been happening in my head and my heart clearly in a way that

made sense. Bear with me.

When I began this journey of photography, my purpose was to somehow combine my two roles; nursing and "shooting people", and use it as a way to give back. Each day I go to work,

I am reminded how many blessings in my life that I have. I decided long ago that I would offer free sessions and prints to patients with cancer. I have missed working with cancer patients and felt this would be a great way to give back to people who have taught me so much. I have not been quite sure how to go about offering this, and as of yet, have not come up with a plan.

A few weeks ago, a fellow RN approached me about getting some family portraits done. Sadly,

her father in law is battling cancer and they wanted to update their pictures with him and all the kids. So, the one thing I have been wanting to do for someone just fell right in my lap.

Perfect. I feel so strongly about being able to do this for people. This is just the gift I want to

give.

I can't really explain why I lacked the confidence to offer this to people just yet, but I have.

I'm forcing myself to just get over it, move on, come up with a way to let people know, and just do it.

There are a few reasons for this....now, come the epiphanies. I now know that taking my first workshop with Zack Arias, was so much more of a blessing beyond taking the mystery out

of lighting off camera. I had a thought last week that I hadn't checked his blog site for a while.

He hasn't been posting as often since the birth of his new boy. Understandable. Photography business-workshops-studio-family- blogging should be way down on the "to do" list. I was happily surprised to see a new post there: "How many of you are standing on the dock?"

This post was prompted by a letter from a gent who had reached the frustration point and lacked confidence to follow his dream of photography. This led to the next post, a brilliant

interview with a young man selling soap; "Dope, soap, and hope." It is worth your eight or so minutes to watch. Please click on it if you feel like you would like to be inspired. You'll thank me. So, from there, I bought some virtual soap, was able to meet up with my friend and her family, and will happily provide this service to patients that I am able to help. I will go forward. And now, on December 12, 2009, help-portrait.com is planning a worldwide event to challenge photographers to give back and service those in need. Awesome and I AM IN! I'll be working on this as well. And just to share how important these portrait sessions are and how

excited I am to be offering this to others, below is a small series of just a few of my favorites from the day.

Thanks for reading and I hope you are inspired to help others in some big or small way as well.

Thank you for the opportunity to give back and my best to you guys always!
Enjoy this sunny day!!

Noah....

I spent a couple of hours with Noah last week wanting to capture all that it is to be one year old. I can tell you he is fast. Very fast. He has some very patient parents too. We tried everything to slow him down just a bit; a cartoon finally worked but that was at the end of the session. (note to self: maybe try that first next time) In any event, a small sample from the day. Thanks M and T. He is a doll!



























I love this....it sums up his energy. How can I get this energy level back?

Vintage appeal...

Yesterday I headed down to Carlsbad to meet up with a beautiful new little family. My friend Joanna and her husband Peter have adopted an adorable boy from Taiwan. James. He is about seventeen months old and is full of joy. What a pleasure! He put up with us for about 2 1/2 hours. Anyway, one quick post and then I will be off for another session. I'm in a bit of a vintage mood this morning. I just love the blend of old and new. This will look great in the Obrien Schridde frames!

A daily dose of dog...

I am really a pretty simple girl. I require a few things; a kiss goodbye and a cup of coffee in the morning, email, and a daily dose of dog. I'll supply a little daily dose for you in case you are lacking....with love from Kona.

My fridge...

The face of my fridge is the face of my life. It's full of reminders; "yet to do's" and wallet size photos of babies and family sent to us by loved ones. I vowed to keep it clean and clear of clutter. (just like the rest of my life) I promised myself I would have a blank clean fridge face. I am not sure what happened. I don't have a blank clean fridge face right now. And I kind of like it.
It's full of witty fridge magnets. The best fridge magnets were found in Austin Texas at Monkey See, Monkey Do, my all time favorite store in SoCo Austin, also known as South Congress, or the "southside". We visit there each time we go to add to the collection. Other magnets have lovely sayings and remind me to stay grounded and what is most important in life. I have a broken pacemaker magnet which is superman powerful and could hold a phonebook to the side. All in all, it's cluttered. I found myself staring at it this morning wondering what the heck happened. I took one thing off. (a step) But, after thinking about it, I'm not ashamed at this cluttered face of my fridge. It's a reminder to laugh and keep things in perspective. It's a reminder of great parties and dates to come, and some weddings to remember. (brenda, your "save the date" magnet is still there) There are a few bright shiny beautiful faces of newly born children. How could you take those off? I have colored paper gifts from the short friends on my street. And there is one reminder on my fridge that is the absolute best. I found it in the crack of my door one day when I returned home from work. Apparently, my husband was issued a ticket from two young boys on our block. When he refused to pay the speeding ticket they gave him (he never speeds), they promptly left him another ticket to pay for and stuck it in our door. I saved it. It makes me smile every day. And I pull it off and reissue it when needed.




Have a lovely, lovely day!

PS Please pray for David Wenzel....read his story here

Brandon and Simone

Slowly but surely, my nieces and nephews are all getting married. Brandon and Simone had an absolutely beautiful day. They were married July 24th at the Hyatt in Huntington Beach. I'm certain it was the hottest day of the year so far. The ceremony was short and sweet; any longer and I may have jumped in the reflection pool and cooled off with those spitting fish.

They opted for the sneak peek before the ceremony which gave us a little more time for some portraits of the wedding party and the soon to be newlyweds. They were unsure at first, hearing somewhere that seeing each other before the ceremony could be bad luck. I think they were also worried it would spoil the moment. I think luck will be on their side for a long time to come. And as you will see from their images, the moment was anything but spoiled. I think they have plenty of luck and plenty of love to last them years to come.

Here are a few of my favorites from the day....enjoy!

a great wedding day always starts off with a great pair of shoes...












a few pictures in the room before heading out...



Brandon getting ready....handsome guy!







All of my nephews in one shot....hope this makes my sister's day!



Some brotherly love.



I wish someone would tell these guys to relax and have a good time.




There is a story why all the groomsmen are wearing womens corsages...I think I'll save it for another day. ( I don't take any credit for this)



As you may see from the top of my blog, I am pretty fond of this shot.








They aren't any fun either...



The peek...























One proud Mom. I love this picture.



As I mentioned before, the moment was still preserved. Simone was overcome.
















The guy has got it bad....that's the look.








So possibly more to follow in a few days...thanks for looking. If you have a comment or would just like to let me know you stopped by, feel free. I love your comments!