Holy cuteness.........

A quick blog entry today because my house is a ZOO! We stayed home from camp last night because it was raining and Cameron has a 9AM baseball game today so it was just easier to grab a pizza and movie and stay in....COZY! The kids are all excited to get up to camp so they are hopping about.

I was there when this little guy made his way into the world so he's a little special to me. I think you'll agree.....he's sweet to look at!

Girl day update. We didn't get to sit in the sun (rainy day) and we didn't go out to a movie.....we just visited and got caught up on life with each other. Its always nice to take some time to nurture the relationship with friends because you always need them....in good times and in bad. Another girl day is scheduled in July - hopefully we'll enjoy Tracy's new pool and some sunshine!

I hope you have a great weekend - its gonna be a beauty here today!!

~kel~

It's Girl Day, It's Girl Day!!!!!

So my gal pals and I decided to "schedule" a few days for us. I even "put in" for time off and asked that Jean take vacation days so I could just enjoy being me for a day! Very therapeutic! We were going to sit in the sun, have a BBQ and a cocktail or two but the weather is just not going to cooperate. So we decided we will go see a movie and "just hang out". Im psyched for it.....can you tell?

I start my day today with a photo shoot with a special little client who I helped welcome into the world with his first photos in the hospital! Im anxious to see him again - I've heard he's grown so much. I'll share those tomorrow! Later today, if the rain holds off, I am to photograph a couple for an prebridal sort of shoot. I wanted them to have a recent photo that they could use at their wedding in July - Im photographing the wedding too!

Tomorrow Im going to shoot a wedding with my friend Debbie Harmon (check out her website http://www.debbieharmonphotography.com/) She and I met on the Amtrak photo shoot that our kids were in (have you seen it on TV yet?) The kids hit it off right away but Deb and I have not stopped talking since! Just love it when you click with someone like that!

Last night my friend Jen drraaaaagged me to Portland to go camera shopping....it was pure torture! HA.....IM KIDDING!!!! I met Jen at preschool this past year and we just "clicked" too. What a great adventure it was shopping for her! She got lots of information from a great salesman who gave her MORE than she could ask for! I was really impressed with her shopping experience! We had such a fun time just laughing and joking. We never got to dinner until 9 PM...we felt like young chicks livin' it up on the town! (Huh, Jen?)

OH my gosh, I am listening to my daughters behind me in the kitchen.....they are so darn funny!!! They are having a birthday party for Makenna's stuffed Carebear today (its been his birthday all week). They use my red checkered tablecloth (picnic), put up the birthday banner, decorate the table with plates, cups and utencils, wrap pretend presents (in special Meemie wrapping paper - Walmart bags - sorry Ma, you're secrets out!) and I see Marleigh, hand on chin telling Kenna "Dis is da best birday party EBER!!" OMG.......so cute!!! Im dying here! They are trying to talk like they are adults.....its killing me!!

BUSINESS STUFF:

Im starting a new referral program! With every regular photo session (specials not included) you will receive additional wallets with your order that have my studio name, number and website on them. I will be more fun for folks to have a business card with their photo or loved one on it than one of my generic cards. I will ask my client to write their name on the reverse of the card and anyone who contacts me for a photo session and uses the name on the reverse will receive a coupon from me for one free 8x10 at their NEXT session. I just think its a win/win situation and we'll see how it goes. Here is a sample of how they look.

Well, Im off for the day! I hope you have a fantastic day and a productive weekend!

~kel~

I plucked a few more photos from our trip to my in-laws camp. They love Marleigh...she's outgoing and full of love and they eat her up because of it. Dont get me wrong, they love all my kids and don't play favorites but Marleigh invites them to be closer than the others. She will sit and not wiggle to get away too soon...just something about that ability to cuddle up that we adults just love.

This is the perfect photo of Marleigh.....a blur!!!! Its funny how she looks like super girl running at top speed!!

Here's my Cam giving fishin a shot. No bites besides the black flies.....which really made it tough to be outside any length of time..they were in your face, just so irritating. Okay....I'm a whimp....any excuse to be alone and quiet so I can read my book. I get to read one book a summer with all my free time!

I have to tell this cute story about Cam. Last night he was kissing me goodnight. After his kiss, I stopped him and asked why he licks his lips before kissing me. He said he didnt know. So I told him, nobody wants to clean his spit off as he walks away and then Jean and I jokingly talked about how he just pecks us...not really a kiss....just sorta darts at us like a chicken....we got him laughing so much. He had a few more things to do before actually going to bed so he came back around for another try at a kiss....only this time he was ready for us. He gave us both a great kiss (with sound and everything - HA another part of our joking) and he was blushing so much it was ADORABLE!!!!! He just kissed me again as he's leaving to catch the bus and gave me another great kiss...and more blushing!!! I wonder if he's blushing because last night I critiqued him and then told him that he would always get the truth from me...followed by.......soon a girl would come along that he might like to kiss and now he knows how without grossing her out...oh...his face was priceless!!! I always want them to know they can talk to me about anything.....ANYTHING!

Have a great day!

~kel~

Life at my house..

Oh....this girl can be so naughty sometimes! Jean got the pool up a few days ago and though Marleigh doesn't want to be in the freezing water like her sister, she keeps climbing the ladder and its making me insane that I have to keep telling her to "GET OFF". Yesterday I snuck around the corner to take photos for evidence that she disobeys me (its really no secret - just come over and watch her sometime - I say no, she does it anyway and forces me to physically make her stop something). I did put her in her bathing suit and swim floats on her arms and put her right in the pool to discourage her wanting to go in or to at least show her how to dress to be around the pool (see, Im not always a big meanie). She screamed like I was torturing her and now Im not sure she'll ever go back in the pool water.

I asked Jean to put the pool in this specific spot out back so I could see the ladder and most of the pool from my office. All I have to do is look out the window and its perfect. So while I was taking the evidence photos, I was witness to her falling on the ladder. She's definately the fourth child because I stood right where I was and contineud to take photos - she didn't fall into the pool, that would have had me over there in a few seconds! You would have thought that would slow her down....nope.....she climbed right back up and fell again!! Im tellin ya, this one is gonna put me in the looney bin!

Im getting ready for a model call!! I've just got to figure out exactly what I need and then I'll make an announcement. I want a few photos for promo purposes so these will be just for me! I of course will reward my models for their time :)

I put up a note about Father's Day below late last night and I dont want it to be missed so please have a look there and let me know ASAP if that is something that would interest you!

On a somber note, I'd like to take a minute to mention my Aunt Kathy who is mourning the loss of her Mother today. She passed away yesterday from a long, hard battle with cancer. When I was a kid, Kathy would bring me along on her visits back to home with her family so that I could play with her youngest sister, Alicia, who was my age. I remember the first visit....it was my first venture away from home in a different state and I really enjoyed my time with their family. When I got there, Alicia had set out towels that were just for me while I was there...it was sort of like I was staying in an Inn....her room was so neat and she had the neatest "girl" stuff. Her mom was always working in the kitchen, cooking, baking, and it seemed the gathering place for all the women. Over that weekend, her dad was mostly in the living room watching TV with her brothers and I remember thinking he was a handsome man. I was so delighted when he invited me to hug him before bed just like Alicia. My heart aches for Aunt Kathy and all her siblings as their mother was a great woman. She was lovely and kind to me and I'm so sorry she is gone.

Until tomorrow.....

~kel~

Last minute thought about Father's Day.

Was thinking about having a session called "My father and I". I would offer black and whites like Mother's day = would have to happen this coming Sunday morning or I would spread a few sessions over Monday/Tues night...definately would be limited sessions. Dad's with their daughters dressed in formal attire (if dad wears a uniform, suit or has a tux in his closet) or jean's and T's work too!! Father's and sons dressed for the ballgame, fishing or just hanging out....again, jeans and T's for this. Would anyone be interested in booking a session like this on short notice? Im confident if I put a short deadline on them, I could have the order fed-exed to me in time for Father's day! Just a thought for those like me with last minute shopping to do! I also have gift certificates available if you know a dad that might like to have a session with their child/children.

If you'd be interested, please email or call me asap. If there is enough interest, it will be a GO!

Thank you!!!

Kelly

Let's talk about copyright.

Branden just asked me what the (c) on my photos was for. He's not the first to ask and though not all my photos are masterpieces, they are mine and when putting them on the web, I prefer to protect my work.

I thought I would address this a bit today because it was a big topic of conversation the other day with a group of photographers I was chatting with. I believe that most people are just not educated about copyright and how it affects photographers and other artists (pro or amateur). I was one of those people so please know that the following is for education only, nobody knowingly wronged me and inspired today's post!

This "I, me and mine" paragaraph is going to be hard for me to write...I am not a self-centered person and I'm sorta uncomfortable talking about myself but to explain this better, I must go back to where it all began. Most know that I am self taught in photography. I have a mentor who has helped me with the technical parts but the posing and most of the creativity are all mine.....ideas I have running around in my head. Sometimes I see something I just adore and attempt my own spin on that idea. I was a painter for many years so I "see" things differently. I worked very hard, long days, very early mornings and late into the evening after my regular work was done to try to learn the art of photography. I researched the internet, read books and got involved in forums asking for critique and advice on my work....its not easy to put yourself out there for criticism but I've been wanting to be a photographer for so long I made the decision not to wait any longer and just go for it. Im not saying all this looking for pats on the back....I only tell all this because I want you to know my story. Bascially, to me, copyright means....I traded lots of personal time and struggles through my family life to chase a dream and I have a price on my work for the knowledge I gained from that hard work and equipment I have purchased and if someone is taking my photos without compensating me for the artwork contained in that photograph, they are stealing from me. Its the same with any photograph you take too!!!

I learned about lighting and purchased expensive equipment to make the printwork standards that put me in the professional category and I want my photos printed on quality professional paper by a trained person who works in a professional lab and can see the colors the way I see them. I want the colors to be what they should be, whether color or black and white so that is why I work with a lab that I had to "qualify" to participate with and ask that purchases be made through me. I've printed at Walmart....the photos have a green tone to them and the black and whites are not gray tones as they should be, they too are green. I dont want my work to look like that. A scanned photo has a horrible look and I dont want work with my name on it to be shown around town as it is false advertising if its a scanned copy.

I didn't want this to sound like a rant session because that was not my intention...just an education about why my logo appears on my photos and the proofs in the album online. I was the consumer once and I had NO idea about this part. It was my opinion that those photographs were of my children and if anyone had RIGHTS to them, it was me, the mom but now that I sit in the other person shoes! The day a photographer takes portraits of your children, he/she owns the rights to those photos. Most will ask permission to use them for their portfolios and promotions as a courtesy.

Now, when I do a session for someone (many readers here)and I put your photos on my blog with my copyright on them, I expect that you might like to use them on your computer!!! Its the reason I blog them!!! Myspace, facebook, screensavers and cellphones are a great way for me to advertise my work :) I would ask that you don't print the photos on your home printer and frame them (Icky looking) and then show them to people as if they were professional shots.....but I cannot stop you from doing that and its a gamble I take.

That's the long and the short of copyright and you can consider yourself educated!!! If you have read this far, contact me for your Certificate of Completion for the Copyright Class!!!! :) I was just saying goodbye to the boys as they got on the bus and saw this treetop in my front yard. I thought it would be a good way to express how I feel this morning...out on a limb. (hoping my post is not offensive to anyone)

A quick note on my crazy family - its 7:40 AM, Makenna is dressed in her bathing suit and waits for me to put the ladder into the pool for her so she can start swimming. We only just filled the pool yesterday and I do not know the temperature of it but venture to guess its close to 45 degrees! She's a nut...but she's mine!!

One more photo for today because I got long-winded above...I mentioned last month that the lady slippers were on my list of things to photograph this season. Well, Makenna did not let me down.....she could not resist to pick these beauties from the woods. She did attempt to replant them and I was shocked to find them growing wildly in my flower garden! I told her the name of them and she sighed..."Awe.....that's so cute"! I did lecture her on how I could go to jail if the police found them in my garden so I best hide them in the bathroom window in a short vase because it would also be a crime not to enjoy them as they were innocently picked by a child!!!! :)

I hope you will come back and read tomorrow!!

Enjoy your Tuesday!!!
~kel~

Portrait of an Oreo.......

You had to know that since we have a new baby in the house, that means I have another subject to photograph! The kids wanted some photos to take to school this morning so I snapped a few last night and decided to share them here too. She gets PLENTY of love here! We even took her to the in-laws camp with us!

Not sure if I mentioned there was a reason for our visit to my in-laws camp this weekend. Its a two hour drive and we left late Saturday afternoon to get there.....arrived around 7 PM. Every year, Jean and his brothers go up and put the docks in the water for their parents. In the fall they go up to take them out again. Its really kinda funny to watch them....the water is freezing cold and they all have to get wet. I was armed and ready with my camera this year. The view out the front window of the camp is beautiful....you wake up looking at the lake through the trees. Here is photo of what we see from the camp - just can't believe I never took a horizontal shot of the view! DUH! The little black flies were incredibly thick this weekend but they go away in a week or so. I can't tolerate that kind of torture so I snapped a few pics and went back to read my book. The girls kept asking for bug spray because they wanted to watch the docks go in. My boys did some fishing - no luck. Below is a photo of Jean's brothers just lining up the dock - Jean jumped out to get the tools they needed. After the docks were in, Cam and Kenna attempted to swim - but it was too cold, even for Kenna.

Isnt the view awesome! Its peaceful - the drive to get there is long but its lovely and relaxing once you arrive.

Marleigh gave me a good chuckle this morning.....sometimes her sense of humor takes me by surprise. I am still helping her to wipe after using the bathroom. This morning she called me in and you know how they lean forward.....well, she fell off the potty onto her hands and I could not help but laugh. She stood up, put her hands on her hips (messy bed hair and a little attitude) and said "What so punny?" (sometimes a b and sometimes a p instead of an f). I just laughed even more.....she said it again with a little more attitude "Mumma, what so punny!?" Oh, I just wish I had a video camera and could put a clip on here....oh, Im gonna have to figure out how to do that!

Im so glad its never dull around here. Each day I have just enough laughter to offset the stress!

No more school for Kenna so that means I get to stay in my jammies just a little longer this morning! Yee Ha! I love my jammies....especially on these warm mornings when I can actually wear them out to water my flowers!

Have a great Monday!!!

~kel~