canvas sale

i hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! i can't
believe another Christmas has come and gone!

as a thank you to all of you, i want to announce a
canvas sale to start off the new year!

now through january 14, you can order a canvas for $50
off published prices! i will also expand my canvas
options to include additional sizes! your canvas can
come from any session held between september-december
2007.

sale prices are as follows (prices do not include 7.5%
sales tax for sc residents):
11x14: $150
16x20 :$250
20x24: $350
24x30: $450

square canvas sizing:
16x16: $225
20x20: $325

sales prices are applicable through january 14. order
and payment must be received by january 14 in order to
receive the special sale pricing. please allow 2-3
weeks for canvas delivery.

thank you for a great year! i'm looking forward to
2008 and the exciting opportunities on the horizon!

happy birthday, beautiful dreamer

i cannot believe you're six. how is that even possible? it seems just a short time ago, i was holding you in my arms on the night you were born. it was that night that i first sang to you "beautiful dreamer." and now, you're six. where has the time gone?

i am so proud of you. you started kindergarten this year and are a wonderful student. my normally talkative girl is obedient and quiet in class. you are so eager to learn and i have loved watching your knowledge grow these past few months.

you have gone through many new things this past year. you've lost two of your teeth. and you've started riding horses, which is so fun for me to watch little you controlling those big horses. you've discovered webkinz and american girl. you've developed your own sense of style and it suits you. you've grown several more inches. and this year, your feet actually grew more than a half size too!

you are such a joy to be around. you make me laugh every day with your silly songs and stories, your sunny personality and your goofy nature. i love listening to the poems and songs you make up. i love listening to you mother your stuffed animals.

i love how much you love. you are a good friend and genuinely love other people (sometimes, your brother, not so much). you may not be an overly affectionate girl, but i know that you love. and you try so hard too, even when some things are not in your nature.

thank you for being my muse. thank you for always going along with me and my camera, even when i don't have a bribe, and even when you just don't feel like it.

thank you for being you. i adore you. my little monkey.

congratulations, big red team!

this year was addie's first to play soccer. her school has a league for the k-5 and elementary-aged kids. addie's grouping was for k-5 and first-graders. addie's team went undefeated this year (woo hoo). yesterday, they won their championship game.

the gold medals had blue ribbons; the silver medals had red ribbons. addie's team members were sad because they wanted to ribbons that matched their uniforms (regardless of the fact that the red ribbons were for second place). and the blue team, which came in second, wanted the blue ribbons to match their uniforms. thankfully, the adults were the voice of reason. :)

so, congratulations to the red team! way to go! and wear those blue ribbons proudly!

for my friend melissa

i don't like hearts. i really don't. my maiden name is hart. and growing up, everyone always thought it would be clever to give me something with a heart on it. so. i'm kind of over the whole heart thing. my sister agrees with me.

my friend melissa thought it would be funny to suggest i go crazy over the newest gymboree line--in all it's heart and bows glory. she could "see" the picture of addie covered in hearts with heart barrettes in her hair. well, the barrettes didn't happen. but...



so there. and that's about how i feel about hearts too. and yes, the shirt is going back. are you kidding me?

give me an "s"

well, it's been awhile since my last post. and i am behind in sharing by several sessions. suffice it to say, the holiday season has been crazy! but crazy in a good way. lots of new faces to add to my website. and some faces who are ready to be updated with more recent pictures.

on a totally unrelated note, if you haven't checked out cupcake, located on king street, you really should. i had a peanut butter chocolate cupcake today and it was pure deliciousness!

i took a break from the christmas rush to photograph the nine senior cheerleaders from stratford high school. and i'm sure not going to complain about nine beautiful faces to add to my portfolio. it was a lot of fun wandering the streets of downtown charleston (which is now officially my favorite location spot).

anyhoo, i thought i'd post a few sneak peeks from today's session. it's going to take me awhile to go through them, but i wanted to post something for the girls to see. thank you, ladies, for your patience today! i hope you love the sneak peeks, and then love the finished product even more!

btw, watch for them at the gator bowl!

give me an "s," part two

ah, this look is so familiar to me

if you have experienced a two-year old, that look is probably pretty familiar. i know that i see it often from my now three-year-old. this little one is only 20 months, but that's not too early to start.

now, here is where i get serious. i remember when this mom was pregnant with this sweetheart. and i am one who gets emotionally invested in my clients. i fall in love with the children. i love nothing more than learning their quirks and personalities and bringing that out in photographs. this little girl is incredibly special to me. over the years, her mom has become a wonderful friend. she is someone with whom i can be totally open and honest. and i'm so grateful that i've been allowed to follow her daughter through her life thus far, and record memories for her parents. it is an honor.

busy busy busy

the holiday season bring a bit of chaos to my life. of course, it isn't like i need any help in the chaos department--i do a pretty good job most of the year! but things have been busy, which is never a bad thing.

i had the opportunity to photograph four lovely families on saturday. and i started it out by carrying an antique chair about a half-mile, which apparently bothered some men waiting on their buddies to start a game of frisbee golf. side note--did you know that there is actually a frisbee golf STROLLER? oh. i'm sure that it has some fancy name, but that's sure what it looked like to me. anyway, said men were waiting on their other frisbee golf players and yelling at me to hurry up in carrying the chair across the field. well, geniuses, i would've used the path, but your other buddy had his big dog running loose over there and i couldn't run with the chair if the dog decided it would be fun to chase me. so there. and another thing, if you need me to hurry (and this chair is not the easiest to carry), you could always be gentlemen and offer to help. alas, i digress yet again. i did eventually get the chair to my location. but my arms were sore for several days.

anyway, i have finished editing the first two sessions and i thought i'd share a few here. i love it when my clients get "it." and these two families get it.
i think we all know where this first one is going to end up (can you say "silly ones" gallery?).

m, did you say close-up?

i think it is no secret that i am a huge fan of close-ups. i love them. it's all about the face, and most importantly, the eyes. and nothing captures that like a crisp close-up.

so, i was more than happy to grant mom's request for some close-ups of her kids! this family is super sweet. i love these kids. when i first photographed them a year ago, mr. p wouldn't even look at me. now, he runs to give me hugs when he sees me. it totally melts my heart. and their mom is a total doll!

anyway, m, i do have closer of mr. h, but didn't get it edited yet! but trust me, there is closer!




and not a super close-up, but one of my faves that i wanted to share. i call miss m america's next top model!

two posts in one night

t, i can't wait until you see this picture big. then you will see that her eyes do have gold flecks in them.



and something about this one, i love.

just some recents

i had the opportunity the weekend before last to photograph two wonderful, beautiful families.

m family, you are very much missed. i hope you are getting settled into your new home.

w family, it was great to see you again. and to meet your newest girl, miss a, who i'm so in love with, it just isn't funny.

did ya see?

my new website is live! woo hoo! i hope you enjoy!

and special thanks to elizabeth mitchell for the use of her wonderful music. if you haven't checked her out, do! she is a wonderful artist. my entire family enjoys her cds a lot!

a super happy couple

i had the opportunity to photograph some newlyweds on saturday. what is great about sessions like this, is that it is more about the relationship between the two. and not so much about smiling for the camera. i told them that i mostly wanted them to pretend i wasn't there, and that i wouldn't be asking them to look at me all that much. and they really were great at pretending i wasn't there. :)

it was very obvious that they are happy and in love. most of the images are filled with laughter. and i feel honored to have been able to capture that for them.

i'm only a third of the way through proofing. but here's a sneak peek for them and their loved ones. i'm including one "looking at camera" (wink. wink.).

a few recents of my kids

i just have to say that i love having gorgeous kids to photograph. and i love that bribes work!

on this particular day, it had rained off and on all day. and it was currently not raining. so, addie put on her jack skellington sweatshirt to snap a few quick pictures. the pictures cost me $1.05. it would've cost me $2 if ian had been in the mood to cooperate. but alas, he was not. so, he was only paid a nickel for his modeling on this day. i will take it when i can get it though. this just wasn't one of those days.

of course, addie is very open to payment and bribes. and i use that to my full advantage. she continues to be my muse and i am daily amazed at her beauty and energy.

and it started raining again the minute we stepped outside. but i still managed to snap a few.





and, what a nickel buys these days...

what my clients really think of me...

i kid. i kid. this family was so much fun. and mr. c made me laugh and laugh. i loved the look on mom's face here. it was definitely not a boring session. i love a family with a great sense of humor, and this family does. and it was obvious that they had a great, fun relationship!

in all seriousness, we had a lot of fun. and i got a lot of great captures. i'm up to my ears in proofing, but wanted to post a few sneak peeks.





and one more silly one, just for fun!

do you believe in miracles?

i do.

a fun-filled morning with gators. and mosquitos. and heat.

you know it's going to be an interesting morning, when you're walking with your client to your first location and a gator dives into the nearby water. i thought that mom was going to have a heart attack. or panic attack. or some kind of attack. needless to say, we quickly left that area for less gator-filled areas.

our arms and faces made a scrumptious brunch for a colony of mosquitos. my arms are still itching. poor miss a though, those mosquitos loved her. the longer the session went, the more bumps appeared on her arms and face. and the heat didn't help. i certainly hope it was worth it for mom.

this little girl is one of the most beautiful creatures God created. she was a beautiful baby (and you can see her starting at four months old on my website). and she just gets more and more beautiful every time i photograph her. this last session, it struck me how she is now a toddler, a very photogenic one at that.

i'm only partway through proofing. but i know that mom is eager for a sneak peek. so, without further ado...