I love having a chance to shoot at some of the amazing farms in my area.  And, every once in a great while, we luck into a truck!    Today was one of those lucky days.  Yes, sometimes we make arrangements for these sorts of awesome props weeks ahead of time; but, today we had not.  This was just pure luck!  I could not have parked it in a better spot for lighting, etc.  Really, this was one of those shoots that just sort of felt like the whole universe was in harmony in making it perfect.  Mom didn’t want “posey” pics and these boys wanted to horse around a bit.  And, yes, there just HAPPENED to be a tire swing.  I came back a little dirty (as is common when I do a farm session) and happy.  Thanks to their Mom for wanting something a little more fun and laid back.  Your boys were amazing – and I LOVE the images.  They make me want to go hang a tire swing!!!!  Well, maybe in the Spring! 

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.

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!

Enjoyed a day at the beach in Old Lyme with the McFall family recently.  We had yummy lighting from the setting sun and just a great end-of-summer evening!  We set up the portable studio lighting on the beach and went right to the task of capturing a family photo that included two young boys – one age 2 and one age 4 and both full of great little boy energy.  It is a good thing their mommy and daddy are both runners because these two boys kept them mid-stride!   LOVED it!  And…. love these glasses!

I think this is the only time they stayed within the same frame for more than a split second!  Yay for rock piles!

And no photo shoot involving small kids can be complete without a “silly face” photo…. let’s call it a wrap!

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.