I really loved meeting her entire family. It’s funny that sometimes as photographers we “talk” all day long on our various forums and boards, and often we share so much of our lives with each other… from a business and a personal standpoint. We really watch our kids grow up together. And we watch our businesses grow. So pulled the whole family together and making a real life connection is very amazing and I am grateful we had the chance to do so.

Here’s their slideshow, thank you for allowing me to share with everyone!

It really felt like a perfect day to share a little (long) slideshow that will make your heart “super happy.”   It’s from a session at the end of August, the 30th, and it’s at the beach, and it was SO hot it was beyond sticky.  It was itchy hot.  Here’s the backstory…

I met Stacey through Missy & Kevin across the street.  They really wanted to give their friends a special gift, so they hired me to shoot a newborn session for them.  The twins were 12 weeks when I met them.  At that time, the twin’s father, Joe, had an incurable form of brain cancer.  To say I was nervous would be a gigantic understatement.  But I knew it wasn’t about me and as soon as I met Stacey, I knew that I would photograph her family forever and that we would be friends.  Three months later in July I returned to do what would be a final family shoot.  They lost Joe in August.

Throughout the year I stayed connected with Stacey, we photographed the twins at nine months and one year.  And during this time, I watched with complete and total amazement as Stacey moved forward with such determination, love, purpose and grace.  She is an incredible force.  She not only took over ownership of Joe’s very successful HVAC business, but maintained her job as a manager at a staffing company.  Not enough?  She has raised an INSANE amount of money for the Dana-Farber and has rallied hundreds of people around her cause.  Oh, and she’s been named a “Woman of the Year” by the National Association of Professional Women.

It sounds like a lot, and it is.  But it’s all meaningless without her children and her family (love her mom, by the way).  She is — above everything else — an amazing mother.  Her babies (who are now toddlers, how did that happen?) are beautiful, sweet, spunky, and loving little wonders.  And every day they bring her love and joy (and maybe a few tears).  And every day she can hug them and know that she has this part of Joe still with her.  And every day they can give her more inspiration to continue to do about 36,000 times more than the average person and be the dynamo that she is.

So on August 30th, the anniversary of losing Joe, we went to the beach and we sent some balloons to heaven.  And Stacey and the kids got to run around and get a little wet and play in some sand and blow bubbles and do what most of us take for granted every day… she was just a mom.

On a completely and totally selfish note, my sessions with Stacey are a gift I give MYSELF.  I shoot them completely free of structure, not worrying about the technical perfection on which people typically judge.  I shoot them for capturing endless moments in time so that someone who I admire, respect and love can have them forever to add to her memory bank.  They are truly my pleasure.  {And of course she has to wait like 5 weeks for them, yes, I suck.}  So here they are.  If you are followers of her story, please leave some love in the comments below.

MWAH!

CLICK HERE if you want to listen to it with the music (it’s way better that way), otherwise, click the play arrow on the thumbnail bar under the slideshow!

[And because I am a little neurotic, yes, I know my music doesn't sync up and then song loops, normally I like to time it that way, but there are so many images and I wanted to share them all and this was the only song I wanted to use.  So that's that.]

[Thank you KT Tunstall]

This year marks my first real journey into the world of photographing Seniors.  And after five sessions (with a few more on the books), I am overwhelmed, excited, rejuvenated, inspired and a bit awestruck.  I feel giddy when I come home from my sessions.  I call my mom and I tell her about each and every one of these women.  What makes them so special, how amazing they are, and… today I asked “was I really that bad a kid?” [It's not a simple answer... I was just young and a little rebellious and a tiny bit unfocused... but I turned out alright, I think!].

It’s simple.  I am overwhelmingly fortunate to be able to photograph these girls and spend time with them.  I could not love this any more.  Maybe I could.  Next year this will be a big focus for me.  More on that in the spring.

If you are a Senior and you have not booked your Senior Photographs, you still have time.  Masconomet is due in November, and this leaves us with September and October and the glorious light and color of the Fall.  Please email me using the contact form on this blog, through my website or message me through Facebook.  And don’t forget to Like my business!  If you are a parent of a Senior, please feel free to email me or call me.  I feel it’s important to have parents connected and involved with me so that you know you have entrusted your child to someone who is infinitely concerned about their happiness and their well being (even if they are all grown up!) and will do everything I can to ensure they have beautiful photographs that you both will love.

For more details on my “Keeping it Real” senior sessions, click here.

Most of these have already been posted to Facebook, but I thought I’d share them here.  I will have more to share in the next few week, stay tuned.

I love having siblings join.  What an awesome way to knock out some holiday gift prints and get the image for your holiday cards!

Everything about that image sums up what I love about life, summer, family, beach, water and the North Shore.  I love the light.  I love the rocks and lumps of seaweed — this ocean and that landscape is what I know.  I love the reflection of their feet in the sand.  I love that her feet do not touch the ground.  I love that they are holding hands.  I love that he is looking at her and she is screaming with joy.  I love that the youngest is trying to keep up.  I love that the parents are so happy and engaged behind them.  This will be an image that I look at when I am sad, just to make me happy.  This will be the first image on my new web site.  I love it.

OK, back to reality, land the plane.  I first shot these kiddos way back when, two years ago.  I was thrilled when I got a call for another session.  Nothing makes me happier than seeing clients I love, and seeing how their children have grown.  When they said they were at the beach, one of my favorite beaches that I grew up at, I was really excited.  And of course you know what happens when I arrive at a session… I play the name game and sure enough, I know the neighbors… and the other neighbors… and the others…. so no, there really are no strangers in my life.

The weather called for 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms.  Seriously.  What a great job.  You can be wrong ALL THE TIME and not get fired.  Sign me up.  There was not one cloud in the sky.  The temperature was perfect August.  The was a record low tide which made for a glorious sand bar.  Kids amazing.  Parents were awesome.  Never mind the weatherman, I have a great job.

Thanks Shannon & Geoff and kids.  It was awesome.

Caroline’s family was equally awesome (gorgeous sister Brooke, really nice parents, husbands, children and on and on).  You know how I love big families, seeing the resemblances (clearly all beautiful), watching the interactions.  Cousins together are so cute and make me really happy because my sister and I live far apart as well and so it’s just such a treat to have our kiddos playing together.

We made our way down the beach and I have to tell you, the lighting was phenomenal.  It just gets better and better on that beach… from about 6PM to 15 minutes or so after the sun sets.  Someone told me it’s equivalent to the light in Provence and I believe it.

I had a wonderful time and I am so glad our worlds collided!

[On a totally unrelated note, I was considering posting smaller sneak peaks... apparently word on the street is that it's more exciting to see your slideshow if the sneak peaks are smaller.  For me, I love a big sneak peak because it buys me some time if I am running late on a gallery.  I also feel like it's "me" -- I talk a lot, I obsess a lot (in a good way) and so I blog a lot!  I'd love to hear from past, present and future clients about whether you like to see a lot of images up front, or just like a select few to hold you over until you see them all in your slideshow!  So leave me some comments!]

As for the rest of the session, it was lovely. I met Holly at a workshop and I think we totally clicked so I was super psyched to shoot her session! I was equally psyched to meet her husband because he works at Adobe and you know how I love my Brands. I figured two cool people would make an awesome kid, and I was right! Their son is a gorgeous little boy filled with a lot of expression, determination and a little bit of spunk!

I had a great time! I am so glad everyone hung in there through the sun and the heat and we got it DONE!

I zipped back up to Drakes to have a more “formal” session with the Morse girls.  I know, they aren’t technically the Morse girls any more, but really, they still are.  I missed Katherine, but caught her yummy, delicious, WALKING, little boy.  And I met some new kids and another great friend.  The sky was overcast, foggy, but there some insane light peaking through.  The temperature was perfect.  The kids were beyond unbelievable.  My toe was healed (almost).  I hate to say this out loud, but it really was like shooting fish in a barrel.

I shot this entire session with my sand-filled 5DMK2 (with a cracked LCD) and my 85 1.2L and 135 2.0L.  I point that out because I am a big fan of my 24-70,  but I am pushing myself (and my budget) to primes.  Last night I was in love.

So this is a really big sneak peak because it was a really big session.  If you are client of mine, you know I shoot big.  Mostly because I don’t want to miss a moment… but also because I don’t like to stick to limits and if I’ve shot them and I love them, I will show them.  A lot of people tell me this makes it harder for clients to decide… I say “make it harder” because honestly, I can’t image not sharing all I can with you!  So that was a sidetrack (surprise), but just a little bit about how I work!

I love a little girl that levitates.

My beautiful, beautiful friend and her yummy, delicious little boy.  My friends make awesome moms.

And a beautiful sister.

And another.

Hello summer, goodnight beach… we’ll see you both tomorrow.

Long story short, yesterday Stephanie says “I have a friend Jimmy with a great boat and he’s taking us out this afternoon… can you get a sitter for…” and before she finished the sentence we pretty much roped Rachael into the deal.  Just like no time had passed, in an instant I had to cooler packed with beer and wine on ice, plastic wine glasses, and a life jacket for the boy. [Owen was heading out on said Puleo boat to do some fishing -- not catching -- of his own].

We had a blast.  The weather was perfect.  The kids were awesome.  The girls just rock.  Like rock like it would be fun to just velcro myself to them for a few weeks just to sink into their fun-ness.  And Capt Jimmy was beyond patient with three kids and three chicks that didn’t belong to him.

So now I have the bug back.  I don’t care if it takes 10 more years (yes, I’ll be 50 then).  I am getting myself a boat.  It can be little (ideally wooden)… it can be a stinking row boat… but I will have me a boat!

I thought it would be fun to share the slideshow.  I never proof this many personal images in one sitting, but for some reason, these got done.  Oh, wait, I know why they got done.  Someone said “Yeah, right, and we’ll never sees these in our lifetime.”   She’s a smartass, that one.  Anyway, yeah, I have a complex after hanging out with these girls.  Yeah, I hope Christofer marries Gracie.  Yeah, I know there are a lot of me at the end and no, I am not totally thrilled with myself, but honestly, it’s me, so there I am.  And yeah, I am obsessed with Christofer and his almost-4-year-old self.

[click on image to start slideshow]

And on another note, I am uncalibrated.  There is a good chance that my colors and contrast are just WAY out of whack.  Test prints come in Tuesday and I’ll know for sure what needs to be fixed.