Palm Desert Lifestyle Photographer~ And Then We Snapped- 365 Blog Circle- Week 4

We are already on week 4 of this collective adventure! 

We had a busy week getting ready for school to start and a last minute trip for the little miss.

226 to 232

August 17th to August 23rd, 2014

Day 226/365

"Curve"

{noun}

: a continuously bending line, without angles.

She is my daughter. 

She will have curves, it is unavoidable. 

Better she learn to dance with them now instead of fighting with them later. 

~~~

Day 227/365

"Smooch"

"If kisses were rainbows, I'd send you a storm"

Unknown

She is the last of my four children and by far the most affectionate- with me anyway.
She is still very cautious with her affection for anyone outside our immediate family-
and even Daddy and brothers are far less likely
to be the recipient of hugs and kisses than I am.
And though I have always been one is very affectionate of my space bubble,
I am more than happy to let her pop said bubble when she says,
"Mommy, I always smile when you kiss me!"




~~~

Day 228/365


"Summer's End"


"Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and he who would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night; and thus he would never know the rhythms that are at the heart of life." 
~Hal Borland

Summer lasts until late October here in the desert ,climate wise, 

but we are feeling the end of summer as we prepare 

for my son to start his junior year of high school. 

I am acutely aware of this season of his childhood coming to a close very quickly, 

and as much as I would like to hold it off, 

I know that life is done a disservice in my attempt to do so.

~~~

Day 229/365

"In My Shadow"

Bed head and peanut butter face, like it or not I cast my shadow on her.

I pray that shadow is short and light as opposed to long and heavy. 

~~~

Day 230/365

"Haze" 

“We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let our dreams die, but others nourish and protect them, nurse them through bad days till they bring them to sunshine and light.”

Woodrow T. Wilson

I haven't free lensed in a while, especially outside. 

It's a scary proposition sometimes, but ,oh my, sometimes the return is worth the risk.

~~~

Day 231/365

"Unicorn"

“The Unicorn looked dreamily at Alice, and said "Talk, child."

Alice could not help her lips curling up into a smile as she began: "Do you know, I always thought Unicorns were fabulous monsters, too? I never saw one alive before!"
"Well, now that we have seen each other," said the Unicorn, "If you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you. 
Is that a bargain?” 
― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

"I'm a unicorn. Mommy! I'm a unicorn!"

"Yes, dear. Always be yourself- unless you can be a unicorn- then 

be a unicorn!"

~~~

Day 232/365  

"Down"

“Life is like an escalator. You see, it carries you on regardless. And you might as well enjoy the view and seize every opportunity while you're passing. Otherwise, it'll be too late.”

― Sophie Kinsella, Twenties Girl

This was the first time we had taken the escalator together without me holding her.

 I am almost NEVER at the mall, 

but today it happened to be the most expeditious route to

 fulfill the goal of having sneakers for her trip to her cousins. 

They happen to live very near the beach

 and experience quite a variance of temperatures in any given day. 

Where we live in the desert, you can pretty much get by with sandals 75 percent of the year. 

I almost couldn't believe, that I didn't have a shot like  this in my portfolio yet, 

but in a way I was really glad because I don't think 

I would have been nearly as successful with it even six months ago.

Oh, and by the way, she did awesome on the escalator. 

To keep the fun going, follow the blog circle to Kelly's blog by clicking on the camera below.

Palm Desert Photographer~ And Then We Snapped~Blog Circle 365 Week 3

I have the privilege of belong to a blog circle group called
And Then We Snapped...
We share our work on Tuesdays.

Tuesdays are quickly becoming one of my favorite days.
I get to see some of the most amazing imagery
AND
people leave me nice comments about mine.

That's a recipe for addiction, I'm telling you!
It's also an awesome recipe for accountability.
I don't know about the other ladies,
but I had extra incentive to get my daily shots taken.
Here's hoping you enjoy what life served up for me this past week...




219 to 225

August 10th to August 16th





219/365 "Games"

Time is a game played beautifully by children.” 

― Heraclitus, Fragments

 

She is just starting to understand and have the attention span to play simple games.

Her daddy is not much of a game person, but for her, he makes exceptions.

~~~

22/365  "Scholarship"

"True scholarship consists in knowing not what things exist, 

but what they mean; it is not memory but judgment."

James Russell Lowell

We are preparing to start school again. 

For my oldest still at home it is at public high school.

For my younger son and this princess it is learning at home. 

I have spent a great deal of time this summer reassessing 

what my view of education is, who it is for, and why. 

It's an adventure I really can't wait to begin.

And though this will be my 12th year doing it, 

this adventure is going to be totally different.

The kids are now in charge.

Yep, the lunatics will be running the asylum.

~~~

221/365 "Dip"

“The key to success―keep swimming. Even when they tap you on the shoulder to say the pool has been drained, just keep swimming.” 
― Richelle E. Goodrich

She was born to be in the water. She would live there if she could. 

Not being able to swim yet, is of no consequence to her.

~~~

222/365 "Geography"

Everything has to do with geography.

Judy Martz

So even though this was actually a set up to take promo shots 

for upcoming back to school mini-sessions, it seems appropriate 

in light of of events on the world stage at the moment.

 In our own country and abroad.

~~~

223/365 "Lips" 

"When you look at the brain regions associated with picking up data from the body, 

a huge amount of the brain is devoted to picking up information from the lips and tongue."

Helen Fisher

Her mouth has a language all it's own in the way it shapes itself into expressions 

that reveal far more than her four year old vocabulary can convey. 

~~~

 224/365  "Obscurity"

“If you desire the path of sincerity, develop a love for obscurity. Flee from the clatter and clinks of fame. Be like the roots of a tree; it keeps the tree upright and gives it life, 

but it itself is hidden underneath the earth and eyes cannot see it.” 
― Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak

I have no real desire to be known as a person, except to those closest to me.

And that is a ridiculously small number.

 I want them to know exactly who I am and why. 

For everyone else, knowing my work is far close enough, 

and sometimes too close. 

I sometimes wish I were different, 

but I have come to be settled in the trueness of who I am. 

I spent quite a lot of time when I was younger 

trying to be someone slightly different, 

someone better, more worth knowing.

Not only was it exhausting, 

it turns out the someone better was already there 

when I didn't try so hard.

~~~

225/365 "Dessert" 

“Look, there's no metaphysics on earth like chocolates.” 

― Fernando Pessoa

There is this generational curse from my husband's side of the family. 

It is the belief that ice cream is a food group.

Chocolate frozen yogurt is, however, an acceptable substitute,

as long as there are rainbow sprinkles on top.

~~~

To follow the blog circle click on the camera and head over to Erica's blog. 

Palm Springs Newborn Photographer ~ Newbie Lyra

I was a young first time mom.

One of the ramifications of that, is that girls that my little girl

was friends with as a child are now old enough to have their own little girls. 

So it is, that I was unbelievably honored to get to photograph the newborn session

for Baby Lyra. 

Dawn, her mom knew my daughter through a church program 

they both participated in late elementary school.

Unfortunately, Lyra's daddy was working and couldn't be there for this shoot, 

 but I tried very hard to produce gorgeous images of his gorgeous girls for him!

Lyra's mommy and daddy are just starting out and are in a cute little apartment.

They are blessed though with beautiful window light, and awesome floors! 

This was a rug in Lyra's room. It worked perfect for out shoot. 

I have been known to steal items around my clients homes to use in their sessions.

I really think it adds to the image for my clients as opposed to me bringing props that would be used over and over again with other clients. 

Their images are unique.

Lyra was super smily, though it was always very quick.

I did manage to catch a few here and there though.

This blanket belonged to Lyra's mommy when she was a baby.

I LOVE incorporating family heirlooms into special family sessions.

One of those super sweet smiles I captured.

Black and whites are a must to include.

She apparently wasn't so sure about her diaper change.

Details are so important. We think we will remember them, but so often they are lost in the whirlwind of first days and sleepless nights.

Baby Lyra's grandmother was there for the whole session. 

Ready to hold a reflector and reminisce about when our daughters were small.

I saw these pieces of wall art as soon I walked into Lyra's room. 

I just knew they had to be incorporated into the shoot. 

Did I mention the awesome floors?

We even managed a shot with her daddy's baby blanket too.

~~~


So even though this session made me feel a bit old,
 I was still so very honored to have been given the opportunity to shoot it.
It was a joy to work with people who trusted my vision for the shoot
and just let me do what I do.

Although I love images of newborns posed and with props galore,
it's not a style I have chosen to embrace.
Don't get me wrong, that style requires tremendous talent, skill, and patience.
I highly respect those who have chosen to adopt it.

What I prefer to capture is those first few days
in the settingof the home of people who are just becoming a family,
who are just discovering the unique personality of their little one.
I want to capture THOSE moments in the context they are occurring.
This session allowed me to do just that!

Thank you!!

Palm Desert Lifestyle Photographer... And Then We Snapped- Blog Circle 365

This has been an interesting week.
My boys have been gone for most of it on a last chance mini-vacation
with their grandmother in the Central Coast of California.
Work obligations kept me here in the desert and home for an unexpected visit from my dad-
which did not get documented, unfortunately.
Motivation for me to visit him in his new home in Texas.





Here I will share with you images from my past week. Sunday through Saturday. 

August 3rd to August 9th, 2014. Images 212 to 218 of 365. 

212/365 "Rain"
"Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life."

John Updike

It rains pretty rarely here in the desert, so when it does come, it is met with appreciation and awe.

~~~

213/365

"Chip Coma"

"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside."

Mark Twain

Between the belly full of corn tortilla chips (which she considers a food group) 

and Mary Poppins on the DVR, she could not resist the pull into dreamland. 

Side note, later, upon seeing me editing pictures of her sleeping, 

she demanded her jelly bean payment as per her modeling contract. 

~~~

214/365 "The Other Golden Hour"

“Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.”

― Robert Frost

This was taken before 7 am in our neck of the woods. 

I know that the eastern morning sun has a different quality of light to it because I can see it. 

It's subtle but it's there. I can't explain exactly why,

 though I am sure there is some scientific explanation. 

Rather than explain it though, for this day, I just wanted to enjoy it. 

~~~~

215/365 "The Magic Hallway"

"It's a good place when all you have is hope and not expectations."

Danny Boyle

This is one of my favorite places in my house. It is a narrow hallway with an Eastern facing window, but because it has white walls it essentially becomes a box full of light.
 I have taken many of my favorite shots here in this unassuming little place. 
This was not the exact shot I was going for. 
We have created a little game of mopping the floor called "Penguin Ice Skating". 
It was in preparation for this game that the broom was out. 
I kept urging her to move toward the window and this was the result. 

~~~

216/365 " Grip"

Like everyone else, I've had moments when I've felt that I've been losing my grip.

Russell Crowe

This was definitely one of those weeks for me. 

 I am anxiously awaiting the end of a commitment. 

It is one that has been beneficial to my family, but has nearly cost me my sanity in the process.

 It is very close to it's conclusion. I can see it! 

Which makes it that much worse as I long for it and am anxious for it to be here, 

so that I can move on to those things that have had to wait because of this first commitment. 

I have dealt with so much more and on such a grander scale, 

but the multitude of little things catches up to me like a swarm of flies, irritating, biting, 

and I am unable to ignore them or find sanctuary from them.

 In comparison to the events unfolding on the world stage, my irritations are nothing, 

I know this, yet these little flies still swarm around me. 

~~~~

217/365 "Fabric"

We live in a web of ideas, a fabric of our own making.

Joseph Chilton Pearce

The staff at the children's museum I teach art classes at asked me
if I could use some fabric for art lessons involving textures.
"Of course!" I said.
 I was gifted with three LARGE black trash bags  filled to the bring with fabric remnants- not scraps.  So I brought them home and added 5 large boxes to the mix as well.
We are working on day three of absolutely no requests for screen time.
Side note, two of these children are not my own.
They have been visiting us three days a week this summer. 

~~~




Day 218/365 "Graffiti"

“People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible and childish... but that's only if it's done properly.” 
― Banksy, Wall and Piece

Almost everything she owns (as well as many things I own)
have been "tagged" by my little up and coming artist.
For her, the world is a coloring book that does not end at the edge of the page.
It both infuriates me and thrills me at the same time, making me love her even more.

Click on the camera to follow the blog circle to Nadeen's blog.

Blog Circle 365

As the year started out and my first 365 project began, I had wanted to treat it as a separate entity with it's own Facebook page. It was called Momma Snapped. It wasn't too long of trying to maintain multiple pages and sharing images across them that this momma was in fact ready to snap. I downgraded my project to just my blog, business page, and personal page. Very quickly that got downgraded again to an album on my personal page that gets shared on my business page. One thing I did do though was keep shooting, pretty much daily- even if they didn't get edited or posted, images were being shot and moments documented. I haven't been perfect, but when I haven't, I've made it a priority to catch up. I am still a few days behind. 

Here I will share with you images from my past week. Sunday through Saturday. 

July 27 to August 2nd, 2014. Images 205 to 211 of 365. 

~~~

Continuing twirl practice. Had to use a flash bounced off the ceiling to freeze the motion and then play with blur effects in PS to speed it back up!

205/365 "Vortex" 

"The image is more than an idea. It is a vortex or cluster of fused ideas and is endowed with energy."

Ezra Pound 

~~~

206/365 "I'm a fan."
"Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires.Francois de La Rochefoucauld

She knows her time is valuable. She will no longer let me take her picture unless payment is involved. For now, she is thankfully content with jelly beans or m&m's.




~~~

207/365 "Rasberry" 
Dark Helmet: Raspberry. There's only one man who would dare give me the raspberry: Lone Star!
[camera moves in closer and closer during his dialog until it smashes into Dark Helmet and knocks him out] 
~Space Balls

~~~

208/365 "Contagious"
“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” 
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

~~~

209/365 "Shopping"
"The quickest way to know a woman is to go shopping with her."

Marcelene Cox




~~~




If you know me at all, you know how much I detest physically going to a store to do any kind of shopping. Occasionally, if I bring my camera, the trip is worth it. 

210/365 "Expression"
“I have 26 silly faces, each represents a different letter of the alphabet. So while you think I am grimacing over what you are talking about, I am really spelling out I love you.” 
― Jarod Kintz, Love quotes for the ages. Specifically ages 18-81.

What kills me the most is how much she looks like my mom in this picture.

My mom passed away about eight years ago, so these moments are bittersweet but precious.



~~~

211/365 "Daddy"

"My fingers may be small, but I can still wrap Daddy around them"
~Unknown 

She is going to be absolutely spoiled for other men down the road. Her daddy treats her like a total princess. I wouldn't have it any other way.



~~~

That wraps up this past week for us. Be sure to head over to

 Nadeen Flynn Photography

to keep the circle going!

See you next week!