It really can’t be said enough, how much I love my job!  Yes, I love everything about being inspired to pick up a camera and create an image.  Yes, I love weddings.  Yes, I love shooting families and babies.  BUT, beyond that, what I really love about my job is that as a photographer, I often become a family historian. And, in the case of Baby Lily, this is true as it was just a couple of years ago when I photographed her mother and father’s wedding.  Then, the most precious newborn session….. some sessions in between, and now,  unbelievably, it is already time for her first birthday!

Lily is a beautiful little girl – very mellow and sweet.  One must be a pretty mellow little person to allow their tiny bottom into a wicker bicycle basket!  Love how her feet stick out!  Thanks to my friend and neighboring business owner, Karen at So G Coffee (insert – BEST COFFEE EVER!!!!!) for letting us stop her in the middle of her bike ride to use this bike!!! 

Congratulations Lily and happy birthday!
 

WOW! Time flies. I feel like I just spent a wonderful time with Lauren and Jos on their wedding day and now I get to see their first born turn one!. I truly feel privileged to have had the opportunity to photograph Luke’s first year.

Happy Birthday Luke!!  You are one of the happiest babies we know!

LOVE this hat!

How adorable is this little guy?!?!  I LOVE his dark, thick hair – just like his mommy and daddy’s.  I also love the hat and blanket – made by local artisan and Baby Nicholas’ proud Auntie, Dana, of  Hats by Dana.

We camp….. and we love it!  It would be wildly unfair for anyone to believe that we “rough it”!!!  Nope!   Been there and done that – but not daring enough to try it with kids!  Our camping now consists of a two bedroom camper with central air (very important lately!!!), a flat screen TV, microwave, mini bathtub, etc.  My husband, Bob, even built a beautiful deck off of our camper so that we can grill and eat right under the awning.  Yes, it is relaxation and good living when we get to sneak down there for a few days.

By far, the best part about camping is our camping friends.  We have a little community of summer friends that we now know better than our own neighbors in town!  And, one of our beloved camping neighbors just had new baby, Mackenzie. Bob left the campground to go home to grab the camera so we could nab a couple good shots of this beautiful 3 week old! (Thanks Bob!!!!) And, congrats Alan and Rebecca and big sisters, Ashley and Allison! We love our newest little addition at camp!!!! Just wait til she is 5 and the tall tales I will tell HER by the fire (you KNOW what I am talking about!!!!) Yes, payback will be fun!!!

I had to put up some quick maternity shots since I never posted any…..  Rebecca was stunning when she was pregnant (as she always is).  And, she brought a stunning little one into the world!  Here are some pics of both!

Here is her first hug from her stepsisters caught on camera….

And yes, those ARE baby Timberlands in pink!!!!!

And here is our last minute baby session!  Thanks to our friends for letting us use their picnic table in front of their vintage camper and Coke machine.  So, I gave these images a little vintage treatment to match.

But, of course, we can’t forget her baby parts!!!!!!!  And check out all that black hair!!!

And last, but certainly not least, thanks to my helper!  This camping friend helped by holding a diffusion screen up to block some harsh light…. that diffusion panel, tucked between her head and the sun, made for a great high key impromptu portrait.

How cute is Baby Hayden?!?!  Thanks to mommy and daddy for letting me be a part of this new stage in your lives!

I wanted to do an all black and white newborn photography post…. I LOVE black and white newborn photos.  I hope you enjoy, too!

What do you call the fourth Lewis in a family line?  Well, QUATTRO, of course!  Meet Quattro B!  We had the joy of photographing his mommy and daddy’s wedding last year.  And, were so happy to share this new stage of life with them.

Congratulations Lisa and Tres!  :)

Lil’ Miss Macey is the daughter of friends of ours.  And, there is something that I find so endearing about her – it is probably that she looks so much like my youngest (who turned 2 in January) that even Macey’s five year old brother has mentioned their likeness.  She is always so happy and smiley and she has rolls in all the right baby places!!!!  Thanks to her daddy for letting me “play” a little with the silly headband I found with the fake ponytails!

I can’t believe she is already one!  To Macey’s mom and dad, you make such beautiful children…… I think it is time for another!!!  Ha!!!!!

Here comes that silly headband……    :)

We LOVE photographing little people in the studio.  But….. things don’t always go as well as we hope they will……

As a mom, I really LOVE this photo because it is very, very REAL!!!!  But, as a photographer, I am left with the question, “How the HECK am I supposed to get something out of this session!??!”  Waaaaa Laaaaa!!!!!  I adore this next photo…. thanks for being so fussy little one!  No one can see you cry from BEHIND!!!!!  I win!  :)

We have been nutty here in the studio in our “Off Season.”  We are still wrapping up our final weddings from 2010, making changes to our internal processes and workflow, trying to find the studio in the snow, meeting great new couples at the bridal shows…. whew!  Not to mention, we are all training for The Warrior Dash in June www.warriordash.com (more details on that to come!)  All I can say is OUCH!

It has been a great start to 2011.  We were honored as a Top Pick in The Knot Best of Weddings for 2011 – our third time in four years!  And, we were also chosen for Wedding Wire’s Bride’s Choice Awards 2011.  Both of these awards are so meaningful to me – as they are essentially given to us by our couples.  THANK YOU!

We also have some fun things coming up on the blog (because my new year’s resolution is not to be a crappy blogger!!!)  And, now that I have stated my resolution out loud, Colleen, our amazing Studio Manager, is going to hold me accountable!  Actually, I have always struggled with prioritizing blogging…. if I have 10 shoots in my editing backlog, I feel badly taking the time to put together a good blog post.  And, what happens, is that nothing gets blogged!  However, thanks to Colleen and our dear photographer friend, Richard Esposito, we believe we have created a systematic way to blog without slowing down our workflow.

So, I had to put together a little slideshow of recent work for a local business meeting…. It is a little bit of all that we did this year…. and I know that it happens fast!  So, grab a cup of coffee and don’t blink…. here is a crazy trip through some of 2010…  We have some wedding-specific slideshows and things to come.  Please come back and visit!

I had the wonderful experience of photographing Lauren and Jos’s wedding a few years ago in Mystic.  When they called about expecting a baby, I was very excited.  So, welcome Mr. Luke David.  He was so much fun to photograph.  We ran over our typical allotted studio time because he was just so sweet and easy!!!  Lauren got him good and “milk drunk” and once he drifted off to sleep by daddy’s rocking, he was out COLD!!!!  And, we certainly had fun with him!  Thanks Lauren and Jos for having me be a part of your experience as new parents.  You have a beautiful new family.  And, I can’t wait to watch Mr. Luke grow up.