She's ready for her modeling contract...

I'm behind on fall pictures of Abigail and Hannah, so I'll share one last image from this session.  Wish I had access to this girl every day.  The perfect model!

Close to my heart...

This was the ONE photo K asked me to take...one of her with her mother.  It was at the end of the session.  We thought the park was closing.  We were all kind of tired.  The light really wasn't right by the sheet of water fountain (whatever that thing is called...lol)...but we took a few shots.  I really wasn't entirely happy with any of them, but I kept studying them to see how they spoke to me.  K's expression in this one grabbed me and I found myself returning to it repeatedly.  I've been playing with a set of actions from Paint the Moon (The Essence and the Artist) and decided to have a go at it with this image.  After MUCH experimenting, I thought some magic emerged.  I think she looks angelic...and her expression speaks volumes to me about the comfort and safety of a mother's embrace.  I hope she loves it as much as I do. 

A winged flower...

I have never seen so many monarchs as that day at the Arboretum.  How perfect is God's handiwork!?

To the highest bidder...

Ha ha ha....We visited Owens Farm last week with the girls (pics to follow soon). When I saw this sign, I couldn't resist posing the girls there.  Hannah was asking me what it said...and Abigail?...well....let's just say she was busy acting her age (almost two).  She had been really  good most of the morning, but she was done sitting on that hay bale.  Can ya tell?

I'm hoping to get more fall pics of the girls posted soon.  Been busy processing pics from my last session.  Jenny might need to fire me as her official photographer.

Into the sunset....

Ha ha...not exactly the sunset...but that seemed like a good title for a back shot of a cowgirl and her family.  LOVE to see these two with their big, tall G-Pa!

Hang on to your hats!

Yep, it was breezy!  I love this one.  She's looking so grown up in some of her other shots, that I like the baby face in this one.  :)

Cowgirl meets "Gangsta"....

She was feeling SO cooperative that day, that she was pausing every few minutes on our walk to tell me where she thought it would be a good place for a photo.  She chose this spot herself, I suspect because there was a rock here and I'd posed her on a rock before.  Lol.  Then she struck this little pose all by herself.  Ha ha.  She's ready to rap now!

Cowgirl up...

Hannah brought her cowgirl duds last week that she will wear for the Halloween Festival., so I had to get some shots for her 4 year book.  :) I can't get over what a difference there is in her ability to follow directions this year and last.  The top photo was actually not posed, if you can believe that.  She reached up to adjust her hat because of the wind, and I just happened to catch it.  I thought it looked so cute that I posed her for the other shot.  ha ha! 

If looks could kill...

She specifically asked me to take a photo of her making a sad face.  Pretty good actress.  lol

Pumkin patch kids...

Golden light as we finished up our session in the pumpkin patch.  We got lucky that there was a concert in the park that night, so we were allowed to stay later than the regular closing time. 

Because I'm weird...

We took a walk last week, and Jenny and Abigail got home before Hannah and me...so this is how we were greeted at the door.  I know it's unconventional, but I still really like it.  I just love that little hand pressed up against the glass, all the negative space, and I even love that half of her face is muted by glare.  It just feels totally real...including the evidence that I need to clean the storm door.  lol

Think big...

We have some miniature pumpkins and a few full size ones by the front door.  When Abigail asked to hold one for a picture, we thought she meant a miniature one.  After all, she loves to play with them.  But no....we should have known she would think big.  She is such a wiry, persistent little thing.  :)

Future environmentalist?

Yep...she's a tree hugger. 

Group hug...

I've been out to the Arboretum so many times, but I've never shot under this portico before.  Why?  lol.  I definitely will again...love the beautiful background.  And I love how different these two photos feel, even tho' they are basically the same pose.   I would be hard pressed to chose a favorite. 

What a waste...

i think he secretly liked it that I kept telling him that it was a waste for God to give such beautiful eyes and long eyelashes to a boy.  lol.  So handsome!  (And does that new lens capture some beautiful bokeh or what?)

Back to back...

 

I love teaching these two!  And this was such a fun session!  

Don't blink...

I had the privilege of doing a session with my student and her family a couple of days ago.  I'm still culling through my shots, but this one grabs me every time.  I have only known her for three years, but already I am nostalgic about her growing up and changing.  It won't be long before she leaves behind childish things.  In fact, as a (ahem) mature woman I see time passing more quickly every year.  It won't be THAT long before Hannah and Abigail are this age, so we better soak up each day of childhood while we can.  What is it they say?  Oh yeah...."Don't blink (cause time goes faster than you think)."  Truer words were never spoken.

Submitted for week 41 of the 52 week project them of "Nostalgia". 

Makes my day...

Makes my day to see cheery little faces like this at lessons...

Willing models....imagine that!

I bought a new lens this week and wanted to try it out on some real live people, so I'm thankful my little students obliged me.  How cute are they?  And I love how this lens performs....velvety soft backgrounds but great sharpness on the subject.  I think it will be my new go to portrait lens.  I haven't used it a lot yet, but what has impressed me so far is its ability to separate the subject from the background even at smaller apertures.  That's MY kind of lens.  More shots of these cuties in the next couple of days.

Sidewalk "school"...

Working hard and doing a great job spelling her name!!!

A clever trick...

 Do you have any idea how rare this is?  She is sitting still and making eye contact with me when I have the camera in front of my face.  Wanna know why?

 I saw this idea online and thought it was really clever.  This is a PEZ dispenser with the base filed down to fit the hot shoe mount.  Abigail was so happy to see Minnie that she actually stopped and looked...chanting, "Minnie, Minnie" in a little sing-song voice.  I actually bought 4 different characters, so I can switch them up.  I hope that keeping it fresh will capture her attention for a while longer, at least until she's older and can follow directions. 

 As you can see, she was not inhibited about her coloring!  :) 

She was a MESS!  But thankfully, it was an easy clean up!

Sweetness...

Nothing particularly special about this shot, except that it's so natural for Hannah...that slightly hesitant smile with a bit of question in the eyes.  Love her so much. 

F is for F hole...

Can you believe it's already week 40 on the 52 week project?  The theme this week was "a letter of the alphabet".  That actually left things wide open.  Somehow, having that much freedom made it harder for me...too many choices.   But yesterday, Kara stopped by after rehearsal so she had her cello in the car.  Ah ha....F holes.  I know it looks a little like an S, but it's called an F hole.  It serves to project the sound by allowing the sound board to vibrate more freely.  I just love all the texture and character in her beautiful cello...along with all those beautiful curves.  Just wish this post had an audio button.  BTW...I shot this by my piano, up against our white paneling, but I switched out the background in PSE for a low key effect.  I'm really happy with how it turned out. 

And then I decided to get fancy and try a bit of mirroring.  I kinda love this too...so graphic.  The only weird part is that it doesn't make sense how the light is falling since it's opposite on both sides.  Ha ha!

Turtle watching....

Too bad you can't actually see any turtles in this photo...well there's one on the far left, but he's hard to see.  The girls really enjoyed them.  Wish I'd been able to capture a photo of them swimming, because some of them had moss growing on their shells....WEIRD.  All in all, a very fun outing to the creek.  So thankful for nice weather!

Follow the leader...

This was just a snap, but I love the composition of this pic with that other family in the background.  Serendipity...

And you know Little Bit was not far behind....

Well, she IS three, afterall...

I love this little spot by the creek...so we stopped for a photo opp.  "No..I don't want to look at you, Grammy."

"But I will do some dancing and twirl my pretty skirt!"

Duck, duck, goose...

 

Actually, I think there are only geese in this shot.  Ha ha...but I wanted to exploit the title.  We did see ONE duck at the college.  Abigail especially enjoyed giving bread to the geese, and you can see that she wasn't afraid to get close.  She couldn't throw very far, so she would throw it a little ways, then pick it up and throw it again...which is why she's playing with the bread in the second pic.  Hannah mostly wanted to watch, but did finally throw some bread at the end....and she threw it pretty far.  You can see it if you look closely.  The really impressive thing is that Abigail walked ALL the way to the college...about a mile.  On the way home, Jenny asked if she could carry her and Abigail said, "No".  But she was walking slower and slower.  Ha ha.  She finally looked up at Jenny and said, "Mama hold you"....TIRED girl!