The Stike FamilyLast Saturday was indeed a busy day. I usually don't schedule two shoots on the same day, but with the weather growing colder and the Holidays growing closer... the need to get family portraits done sooner rather than later is great! So, I met the "adorable" Stike family at Willow Valley on Saturday afternoon! I had mapped out all the pretty spots I wanted to shoot and was getting all set when a kindly older gentlemen politely told me I was "too close" to the golf course and would need to move. Bummer!!
Time to enact plan B! The Stikes arrived and we set up... in the parking lot! There was an amazing rock wall surrounding the parking lot and it worked perfectly as a plan B! We got going shooting family pics, but then... poor little Chloe Stike fell down in the aforementioned parking lot and got a huge goose egg right in the middle of her sweet little forehead!! Double Bummer!!
She was a trooper and carried on bravely as we enacted...plan C! A move to the nearby playground! This turned out to be just the ticket as the kids played and I was able to sneak around (well...sneaking with a large zoom lens isn't super sneaky...but I digress) and capture happy moments at play! Now, thanks to the wonders of photoshop... I am happy to present a selection of the Stike Family photos (minus a large red boo-boo on little Chloe!!)
Enjoy!!
The Calkins FamilyThree months ago I had the privilege of doing a session with 18 month old Isla Calkins, and this past Saturday, I got to have the whole Calkins family in front of my lens! Andrea and Dave are the proud parents of 5 great kids, all of whom Andrea diligently homeschools. One of the things I love about large families is the fact that each little person is unique... different personalities, different ways of expressing themselves. That was on full display with the Calkins clan. There was the quiet and sweet oldest brother, the spunky daughter sandwiched between a bunch of boys, the super expressive one, the stoic, and the baby with a mind all her own! I loved being able to capture each one!! I hope you enjoy this sneak peek of this beautiful family!
Little LottieI'm not saying I feel old or anything, but when someone who used to be in the youth group where you were a youth leader calls you to photograph her 6 month old baby... well... at least I'm young at heart, right?!!! :) And how could i feel anything but happy when I get to go take photographs of such a cute little munchkin!! Matt & Katie Strohecker and their sweet little Lottie invited me to their home last Saturday and we spent an hour doing cartwheels, jingling keys, jumping all around trying to get Lottie to smile. I do believe she was enjoying every minute ("those silly people!...what ARE they doing?") However, she did smile ever so big every time her mama came into view...(which is as it should be!)
Katie had put a ton of thought and time into choosing Lottie's outfits and relaying to me the type of pictures she was looking for, and her effort truly paid off! I've selected several photos from our session to share... ENJOY!!
"I'm ready for my Close-up!"
My mom was always involved in local theater when I was a kid. She did everything from large scale musicals at the Fulton Opera House, to cutting edge plays at the Ephrata Playhouse. I used to hang around during rehearsals and just watch the magic unfold. I love the theater, and I even tried my hand at it in highschool, however the role of "Ida Boothby" in "Meet Me in St. Louis" was the highest role to which I ever rose! (I think I had one line... the kind you practice over and over, changing inflection on each different word. Yeah. That was me.) My brother on the other hand, did inherit the acting gene and he's been out in LA making his way for the last 10 years! I'm so proud of him!! SO, all that to say...I love actors! And this week, I had a very special opportunity to work with an up and coming young actor named Alex Bannon. Alex has the great good fortune to have figured out what he wants to do "when he's grown up." He's been active in theater all his life and when thinking of choosing a career, it seemed fairly obvious that he would choose to act. I feel honored that he asked me to take his headshots. He's charming and sweet and I wish him all the best in his chosen path!
Below are just a sampling of the many faces of Alex Bannon!
The Bender Family... A Lady & her Gentlemen!!It had been a decade. Or maybe more. According to Wilma Bender, there had not been a portrait taken of her family in at least ten years. And a lot tends to change in 10 years! The Benders are a fun, amazing family and it was my pleasure to help them get the photos on their walls up to date. Wilma and Tim have 3 sons...Clayton, Owen, and the youngest little guy, Seth coming along as a surprise 4 years ago! All 3 boys are complete gentlemen: sweet, polite, and easy going. Photographing this family was not only a delight, it was a lot of fun.
As I was going through the images to include in this post, I couldn't stop myself from choosing just one more. There is so much love and joy that comes through when this family is together, I just wanted to share all of it. So there are a good many more pictures in this post than I normally share in a "sneak peek," but I figure...those of you who know the Benders won't mind that at all!
Love.
Bender men? or the hottest new band? :)
I have never seen a boy so happy to get a pumpkin! Such a sweet heart!
I love this one!!
Thank you Bender family! You guys were so much fun!
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