Monday, January 24, 2011

Family Treasures {Muncie, IN}

For Christmas this year, I had the idea of a photo project to give my family members as a special keepsake. I created a photobook of Family Treasures containing images that I captured while visiting home.  The items I photographed hold special value to me and spark memories from my childhood.  I chose to use only black and white photos in the finished product, however, below are a small sampling of the photographs in their true, color form.  


Our "Family Tree"
My grammy with her siblings

My dad and my mammaw

Mammaw

My grammy and grampy




My mammaw has been a seamstress for as long as I can recall.  I was thrilled to photograph a great deal of her sewing materials, as well as a few other items in her home that make me think of her! Some of my earliest memories are those spent at Mammaw's house, eating delicious food she had prepared! The photo at the left is of Mammaw and I at Christmas in 2008!
Mammaw's crossword puzzles...

I will forever love this set of cups and saucers...my first drink of coffee, EVER, was out of one of these!  And her house is still pretty much the ONLY place I'll have a few sips of coffee to this day! 



An original, wooden spool of thread!

A small pile of her pretty buttons...there were thousands more!

I have always been mesmerized by Mammaw's handwriting...perhaps this is why I keep it "inked" and always close to me! In this photo, she is writing, "Words of wisdom with love" because we often have conversation in which she gives advice from the heart! 





Pictured at the left are my grammy and grampy!  Below are a few of the photographs that I took capturing meaningful memories of my grandparents.
My grandparent's home that my family built...I helped to build this house as a young girl so it holds special memories both inside, and out!  My grandfather was a carpenter!

 My Grammy!  Isn't she cute doing what she does best....COOKING! (Baking cookies, to be exact, but she's pretty good at preparing most foods!  My mother, grammy and I baked Christmas cookies for nearly 5 hours...NO JOKE!  I may post some photos from that "adventure" later!)

My grandma has always made us quilts.  I have a gorgeous collection of the quilts she has made me throughout the years, but this one is by far the most meaningful of all! This quilt is made out of my grandfather's shirts...many tears were shed during the opening of this gift!


 An old photograph of my grandpa she keeps on her nightstand

The drawer on her antique sewing table that once belonged to her mother

My grandpa's CB radio...his "handle" (or name) on the radio was 191! (See the connection?!?!)

A carpenter's necessities... 


and just a few of his many tools of the trade! 

Photographs of some of the houses my grandfather built.


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Sweet 16! {Portraits-Boca Raton, FL}

Yesenia's mother contacted me to take some "Sweet 16 Portraits" of her at Morikami Gardens.  She was a natural beauty and it shined through, not only in her photos, but also in her personality.  She was a true joy to work with and I look forward to our follow-up shoot at the beach later this year!













Sunday, January 16, 2011

"M" Number Three! {Newborn-Margate, FL}

My beautiful friend, Kathie, welcomed her third little angel into the world at the end of last month.  In addition to her existing "M&M's", their family is now blessed with the tiniest "M", Matthew!  I got the chance to catch up with her last week and meet the handsome little guy!  Here are a few of the photos I snapped while he was sleeping!  I am hoping to get some photos of Big Brother and Big Sister with their new sibling very soon!     


My personal favorite! 


Love those little lips...

and teeny, tiny toes!

How adorable is it that he has his first pair of Converse and he is only 3 1/2 weeks old?!?!?!?!









Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Coming soon... {Maternity Shoot-Deerfield Beach, FL}

The D'Aries family is patiently awaiting the arrival of their first little one!  They chose not to find out the gender of the baby, so when their bundle of joy makes it's appearance, it will be a wonderful surprise for all!  I am very excited to take newborn photos of their little guy or gal in just a few weeks!  Here are a few of the belly shots we captured at the beach on another beautiful, South Florida day.










Sunday, January 2, 2011

Photo "Field Trip" {Muncie, IN}

The vast majority of my time these days is dedicated to capturing my client's memories!  As much as I love and enjoy the structure of composing shots of a couple on their wedding day, or a newborn baby's tiny feet, I am still drawn to the abstract beauty found in places most would not consider beautiful.  While riding alongside my best friend, we passed BeechGrove Cemetery (est. 1841) and it immediately caught my eye as a place I must visit and photograph.  I set out early one morning, all bundled up, to take some photos that I feel turned out spectacularly peaceful.  Enjoy!

The breathtaking angel that initially caught my eye...