Session at the Murrow's Haven...

   I wrote a post on facebook that said, "I have received a Mother's Day gift, I have given a Mother's Day gift, but I had never BEEN a Mother's Day gift UNTIL NOW." Well, this session was a gift to Mrs. Murrow for Mother's Day, and I could not have been more delighted to be a part of that for her. Our session took place on their beautiful property in OKC.
   The first thing that I have to say about this Murrow Family is that they are some of the most relaxed people to be around. They are so chill and that made my job even easier. I tried to capture photos of the whole family as well as incorporating some of their beautiful property into the shots. We covered a lot of area, and captured a lot of emotion. And those two things seem to be a general theme of my sessions these days. I enjoyed my time with the Murrow's and hope that Mrs. Murrow feels that this years Mother's Day gift will be one that she can treasure always. (So sentimental I know :)) Thank you Murrow Family! Here are a few highlights...

2012 PHOTOS in 2012 GOAL total so far... 770 photos.

One of my favorite families...

   I had the privilege of growing up with an amazing youth pastor, and (Sorry Mark, but I think you will agree...) an even more amazing youth pastor's wife. As I teenager I secretly considered myself their adopted daughter, but now they have three handsome young boys of their own. I was blessed with the opportunity to go to their beautiful homestead and take some photos of them as a family.
   Three boys. I used to say that was exactly the number and gender of kids that I wanted when I "grew up." Boys are just awesome. And they hate to take photos, which is totally valid. So, I tried to make it as quick and painless as possible. I did all of the family shots first, which is usually how I structure my shoots, and then move on to the more creative stuff and then individuals. When the kids are young, I like to ask them where THEY want to take their own photos by themselves. So, I asked the first boy... Yep, he wanted to be UP IN THE TREE. Perfect! Give me something to stand on top of and you got it you! So, we ventured that shot and several more. When I declared to the boys that I was done with them (HEADS UP... as a photographer I am never "done with you" until I actually drive off) I blinked and they had changed into "play clothes" and were already wrapped up in a driveway ball game. Oh, and there were some shooting of some arrows that was happening as well.

   Needless to say, I enjoyed my time with the wonderful Sinor family. I am so grateful for their irreplaceable influence on my life as a young teen, and for the chance to see them with their awesome three boys. I leave you with a few of my favorites from their shoot...

2012 PHOTOS in 2012 GOAL total so far... 700 photos, yay!

Fun times at BFC Indoor Soccer...

  In the last month I have been way blessed with the opportunity to be hired as the photographer for Bethany First Church of the Nazarene's Recreation Organization. This is such an amazing opportunity to meet new family's and do one of my favorite photog jobs: SPORTS!
   I recently just wrapped up shooting for the BFC Indoor Soccer league. It is indoor soccer for 3 and 4 year olds. Aka... Good ole fashion entertainment! My first task was to cover one day of games and get some "action shots" of these kiddos. It was their second game and some of the kids were not so comfortable being out their on the "big soccer stage" quite yet. So, there were some tears, but also lots of smiles as well. It was a fun time to watch and be a part of.
   Then this last Saturday it was time to do the kiddos portraits! We started the photos at 8:30 AM on a Saturday morning, the morning AFTER the 9:30 Thunder game, FYI. Yea, I was dragging. I couldn't do this job without coffee... So, I loaded up on it and got to work! I chose simple posing, a little "criss cross apple sauce" with one hand on a soccer ball. It worked pretty well. I got some great smiles for so early!

   I am, again, so grateful for this opportunity and look forward to all the different sports I will get to cover this year. Thank you BFC Recreation Staff and BFC Rec Parents for having me! I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoy shooting them...

 2012 PHOTOS in 2012 TOTAL... 630!

1st installment of: "A moment of unproductive reflection"...

I have a lot going on in my little photography world these days. ALL of it I am so extremely thankful for. But, it does tend to weigh down the brain a bit. So, I think I will start a new happen when this happens to my brain. I am going to breath. Pray. And then take a break for a minute and reflect on something completely unproductive...
   When I was a little girl and someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was always the same: an artist. I wanted to sit in a well lit room with an easel and create art to my hearts content and be paid for it. I think that is what I considered being an "artist" at that time.
   I had not idea when I was younger what all sorts of shapes and sizes "artists" came in. It turns out that "artist" is about as broad of a term as "food." I enjoy experimenting and enjoying the gambit of art that there is in our world. I like to think that that part of me is that little bit of our Creator that was placed in me (based on the whole "in His image" thought). I believe now that "ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY BECOME AN ARTIST" one just is one. :)
   I could go on and on, but frankly my kids are interrupting my thoughts and I need to go and make some burritos. So, I will continue these thoughts another time... Unproductive time is officially over. :)
 
 

The Fun Flowers Family...

   Saturday night was the opening night of the Playoff's here in OKC Thunder town, with a real thunderstorm looming, and I had a family photo session planned for 7:00PM. I was hopeful that the skies would stay nice and cloudy for us without any rain and virtually no wind until our session was complete! Praise the Lord it did! I met the beautiful Flowers family at Will Rogers Park. This park is a new location for me to shoot in. I took my three kiddos to it the week before the shoot to scope it out, and I was blown away by how amazing this place was! I am a sucker for nature and rickety old bridges, what can I say?

      On a personal note about the location... I had just been going through some old photos and found one of me and my beautiful mom when I was only about 3. We were sitting in front of some yellow flowers and a Will Rogers Statue, well I found said statue as I scoped out the place with my kiddos. There was a cool feeling about being in this place that I was in so long ago with my mom, and grandparents (My papa took the photo with his amazing film camera with the leather case, I remember that thing so well).

   OK, back to this wonderful family that hired me to do their family photos... The Flowers. We found each other on the grounds of the park (after a bit of a search) and realized that we were not ALONE! Yea, it was definitely the place to be to take photos for Prom! I resisted the urge to hand out my card to all of them, SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT: My turn around on my photos can be VERY quick if need be, so if you know any procrastinating Seniors that have not had their photos done yet, tell em about me! :) SHAMELESS PLUG IN NOW COMPLETE.

   We dodged the Prom-mers and started our session. I had a plan mapped out, and we tried to take advantage of the natural beauty that was there, as well as using some of the old structures that looked like they had been there since before I was three for sure! I am still working on how to have a good dialogue with my clients during our session, a productive dialogue that allow them to feel comfortable with me, and for me to try to bring some joy and emotion out of them, which makes the best photos. This family played into my hand so well. Their laughter and reactions to each other made some of the best moments of the session.

   Thank you so much Flowers family for the privilege of helping you capture some moments in your lives. I am very grateful for the chance and hope I can serve you in the future as well! As always, I leave you with a few of my personal favorites from the session...

2012 PHOTOS in 2012 TOTAL: 530!!!