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One of Twelve

I was inspired at the end of last year by Jamie to take 12 pictures of our whole family once a month for the year. I thought this was a great idea, considering most pictures don’t include me in them! The above image was my first attempt last month.

It was a Sunday afternoon towards the end of January and we decided to take a walk on one of our favorite trails. I planned to take the picture on the trail and brought along my camera and tripod. By the time we found a good spot to take it the kids were starting to get a bit cold and cranky. Later, the reason for this was made more clear when one of the boys woke up from his nap with a fever. So clearly they weren’t all feeling that well.

This picture doesn’t meet my perfectionist standards, but it does capture one of the things we love to do as a family, going on hikes and walks in nature. And that’s why I’m doing this little project, right?

jamie - February 22, 2012 - 9:02 pm

Yes, it is why you are doing! to remember the things you love as a family with you in the picture!! So glad you are doing this!!

Cars on the Floor

The light was coming into the kids’ bedroom so warmly, as it does in the morning. The boys were playing with their beloved race cars on the rug that has roads printed on it. They used to be obsessed with trains. Now that seems to be waning and it has become race cars. Lightning McQueen, Mater, and gang being their favorites.

Sometimes, I can view their toys as “a mess” and “in the way.” Our house is small and they usually are playing in the main living areas: the living room or kitchen. They love to play where I am.

But I wanted to take a moment to view their toys as beloved; to remember this stage they’re in. What better way to remember my children than by taking pictures of not just of them, but of the things they love?

 

 

Nicole H. - February 21, 2012 - 8:52 pm

It looks like Chick Hicks has been well loved:) Jack is equally obsessed with all things cars and hasn’t let go of the Finn McMissile car he got for Valentine’s day. Thanks for the reminder to capture their loves!

Valentine’s Day Tea

I love Valentine’s Day. Growing up, it was a tradition that we would have a Valentine’s Day Tea. I’ve continued that tradition with my own little ones. This morning we made heart-shaped sugar cookies, my favorite treat to make for Valentine’s Day. Then, after lunch, I made hot tea and pulled out the cookies and a dish of Valentine-colored M&M’s and we had a little party. We also shared our homemade Valentine’s Day cards with each other. Afterwards, we read the special Valentine’s Day books I’d found at the library about St. Valentine.

What are your Valentine’s Day traditions?

jamie - February 15, 2012 - 11:01 am

i love traditions too!! we have a special breakfast together and this year it was baked oatmeal. I also get a book for myla to read and have it wrapped in the morning for her. Lyndon makes a little scavenger hunt for her and a little gift at the end. She remembered it from last year! We take time to share what we love about each other at meals together too!

New Logo, New Blog

January has been a month full of photography business projects. First up is my new logo. I have to say I love it. I had a vision in mind and was so happy that I was able to execute it. As you see, the colors have remained the same, but everything else changed.

As I approached redesigning my logo this time around, I was in part inspired by Jasmine Star who wrote in Exposed that “a strong portfolio with solid imagery is important. Vitally. But, The defining marker of a website is personality. . . . In other words, Be You. Do whatever it takes to showcase who you are, what makes you tick, and everything that makes you different.”

This logo is me. Totally. It’s not that the other logo wasn’t me. It’s just this one is more me. It captures my love of nature, my love of detail in the dragonfly, and an earthy quality that I try to capture in my images. I’m going to be doing a few things differently this year in how I approach my work. Starting with this logo and this new space for my photography.

And a few words about this new blog. First of all, I’m still in the process of customizing it. So be patient as I make changes, add links, and make it fully my own.

Secondly and more importantly, I’m making a big change in how I approach blogging here. I’ve had two blogs since I started my photography business. A personal blog and a photography client blog. I’ve thought about merging them into one blog, but this seemed to messy to me. You see I’m also a writer and didn’t think that my clients or potential clients wanted to sort through my writing to find photography sessions or share them with others. So I’ve kept two blogs: one personal, one client-centric.

However, my personal blog is now going to become my writing blog. What’s the difference? It will still be personal, but the point will be to share my thoughts, my faith, and my published writing. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be pictures on that blog, there will, but the focus will be writing. This space is now going to become my photo-centric blog. Meaning it will no longer only showcase my client work, but will also showcase images that are personal in nature, my family, and so on. If my family and I go on a fun trip and I post pictures from it, they’re going to end up here, instead of on Dancing by the Light as they would have in the past.

I’m doing this in part to share more of me in this space. It also makes more sense to me as to the purpose of the two spaces. Also, often weeks go by between clients and I think this space is forgotten about. I forget about it sometimes! Okay, not really, but you get the point.

I’m a photographer. But photography is one of many things I do. I’m also a wife, mother, and writer. And this fall I’m going to be adding homeschooling teacher to that list as well! As I continue my photography business, I will be careful to not overload myself. I want to give myself completely to each of my clients, taking on projects that interest me and work with my style. I want to be able to give my complete and full attention to working with each family and/or individual to produce for them a custom and personalized experience. That means a lot of preparation before the session as well as processing the images afterwards, consulting during the ordering process, and so on.

So, I won’t take on as many photography sessions as many photographers who do this full time and have all their kids in school, because that’s not how my life is organized. But I will, in general, take on as many as two sessions a month and am committed to producing a custom experience and beautiful images and prints. I’m really looking forward to the sessions I’m already in the process of planning, as well as doing some personal projects inspired by friends and literature.

I can’t wait to share it all with you this coming year in this new home for my work!

jamie - February 8, 2012 - 12:52 am

Great job on the new website and logo! I know branding takes time!

Zoanna - February 8, 2012 - 7:29 pm

Lovely logo. Did you have to think a long time about the perfect symbol for yourself? I have no clue what I’d be–maybe a big mouth? :) Can’t wait to see more.

admin - February 8, 2012 - 7:30 pm

No, actually I’d had this symbol in mind for a long time. A couple of months, at least.

Jeanette - February 23, 2012 - 7:08 pm

Cool blog!