Family Pics | Mike, Patti, Rebecca & Paul

It was a nice day this past Sunday, and a great day for another family photo session!  Mike, Patti, Rebecca and Paul met me at Mayfield Park, with all the beautiful scenery, the spring flowers, the ponds, and of course, all the beautiful peacocks there.  We couldn't get one to pose with us (haha), but the four of them did.   Rebecca is also graduating this year, so we took some shots of her for senior pics too.  Here's a sneak peek at their photos.


TGIF everyone!  Have a great weekend!  -- S

Kate | Make You Feel My Love

It’s just a part of her.  No doubt, my girl was born with every musical gene in my family that unfortunately, skipped right by me.  She drums. She plays clarinet.  She’s learning bass guitar.  And just about everyday, she has to spend a little time with her two first musical loves -- singing and playing the piano.  Yes, that’s just a part of who she is.

When the girls were babies and we were out on errands in the car, I noticed that they would usually fall asleep to this one song -- Garth Brooks’ “Make You Feel My Love.”  If it was getting close to nap or bed time and they needed a little help going to sleep, I would hum the song to them.  This was particularly so with Kate, who has always had a little more difficulty falling asleep.  (She’s not called Up Late Kate for nothing!).  For these reasons, it’s always been a song that holds a special place in my heart.

More recently, Kate has discovered the music of Adele.  We LOVE her voice!  When I heard her version of this special song, I wanted Kate to hear it right away.  Within a few hours, she downloaded the chords, transposed some things to fit her voice, and was playing along and singing it.  I HAD to video it, and share it here.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! (Oh, and please forgive our old squeaky piano bench.)

Have a wonderful Thursday!  -- S

"I could make you happy

make your dreams come true

Nothing that I wouldn't do

Go to the ends of the earth for you

To make you feel my love."

-- lyrics from "Make You Feel My Love" by Garth Brooks & Adele

All of Us | Then & Now

One of the things I love about pictures is how a good, but seemingly not so meaningful photo can later become so much more over time.  These are the photos that in the long run, tell a story.  Looking back at photos that show repeated patterns, or even how some things change (or not,  for that matter), is always interesting to me.  

I started looking through some old pics of my own family and was struck again by that same phenomenon:  how in the grand scheme of things, some things never change.  Some of these photos you’ve seen before, but perhaps looking at them in a “then and now” kind of way will change your perspective of them, like it did mine.

Have a great Wednesday!  -- S

"The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same." -- lyrics from “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae

Annie at 3 yrs old, guitar in  hand.  And again, with her Bella, just this past month.

My son has literally been around baseball practically since birth!  Chris at about six months old, at the Dell Diamond at a game, and again just this past month with his team.

My songbird child.  Kate at 2 years old, just singing along, like she always has and still does.  Her again just last month at the rodeo, in her feature song with Speed Limit 180.

Jon, always quick with a smile and a joke to make me laugh.  :)

Me, at two years old, with .... (no surprise here) ... a camera in hand.  Yes, it was a toy, but you get the idea.  

Sasha, the fluffy feiststress last August at just two months old, and her ready to get her freak on just last night.  

Nature: Fuel For My Soul

I have to admit it. I hate it when I get this way. I’ve been a little bummed out lately. Not upset, mind you, just a little blue. Haven’t felt like writing, or doing a whole lot more for that matter. The problem is usually the same one that occurs from time to time. When I have a lot of photo shoots, I end up spending a fair amount of time editing. Sometimes I do that while I’m out at a nice coffee shop or a restaurant somewhere, but lately, it’s been mostly at home.

Therein lies the problem.

Lately, I’ve felt like a hermit during the day. There have been a few days where outside of dropping off kids from school, picking them up and maybe a coffee run, it’s pretty much just me and the fluff dog hanging out at home. This has happened before, so I know it’s kind of a cyclical thing when there’s an edit crunch time. I recently got a new laptop, so I know I have the ability to go elsewhere and work from wherever. But I usually end up trying to do a bizillion things at home, and tell myself “I’ll just do this one more thing, and then I’ll go”.  Several more things later, I’m still at home and then it’s time to pick up kids. But you know what usually brings me back? The very thing that starts the process to begin with. I finally force myself to get out, and I pick up the camera and take some pictures.

Getting back out and shooting always makes me feel so much better. While I enjoy photographing people most, having time to be outside in nature gives me time to think, and the creative muse begins again. Yesterday, I got to spend a little nature time at Mayfield Park. I always love the peacocks there … they’re so beautiful.

I hope you had a wonderful Easter! Happy Monday! -- S

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.

Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles."  - Anne Frank

I almost leaned up against this tree, and suddenly saw something move.  Eek!

This peacock was so incredibly LOUD!  I felt like I was being serenaded.  haha!

With nothing and no one else around, this guy showed his colors to me.  Yeah, just for me!  :)

Guest Blog from the Dog | Sasha Says

Hey peeps! Remember me? Yep, it's the feist dog again! It's been a while since I've blogged. Things have been so busy around the house lately, with all the kids' activities, Shuttermom's photo shoots, and the J-O-B for the dad man, I've hardly been able to get on a computer. But there's definitely no lack of pictures of me, though (yeah, there are still lots of pics and video of me running in circles around the piano .... I SOOOO love doing that every morning!). Just busy times. But today, I decided that if I didn't get some blog time ... well, I might just have to hide a shoe or two from my humans. Just sayin'.


Have a great weekend! Peace and paws out! -- Sasha

Photo Session | The H Family

Part of my job that I love is that I get to meet new people all the time.  But I really love it when I get to meet people with whom I have a great time while I'm photographing them for the first time!   This past Sunday, I had the pleasure of photographing Mark, Cynthia, Miranda, Mackenzie, Donovan and Alex in Georgetown, TX.  Here is a sneak peek of their pictures.  


To the H family -- thanks so much for a great afternoon with you, and letting me capture you guys in these pictures.  


Have a great rest of your Thursday!  -- S

The Sound of Baseball

Another busy weekend flew by. Music lessons, band practices, and of course, more baseball!! Christopher's team, the Cubs, played well on Saturday, but unfortunately lost ... by only one point! My little man started out in the outfield, and finished the game as catcher, where he had some good plays. The highlight of the day for me? Hearing him say "I just love that sound" as he caught a ball into his catcher's glove. That's my boy!


Here are my favorite pictures of Chris and his teammates from Saturday's game. Have a great Monday!  
-- S

Yes, this guy looks a bit like Chris, but no, not him.  This is his pal, Doug, who made a great hit here.  And who's that dude on first base?  :)  

Let There Be Light

A few weeks ago, I took a train ride to downtown Austin.  Last Friday, I got on a bus.  Okay, well two, but not quite in the same way.  I took a bus ride downtown to The Flash Bus class with David "The Strobist" Hobby and Joe McNally, two acclaimed photographers, authors and bloggers.  It was a great class, and they made it a lot of fun.  But there's nothing like learning something hands on, right?  Afterwards, I met up with some of my photography friends for a photo session to go over some of the techniques that we learned in class.  One of my friends brought along his very sweet daughter, who modeled for us.  We also had an opportunity to meet with Eight, a freelance model and actress, who also graciously posed for us.


I'm still working on learning some of the lighting techniques we covered in that class, but I like these pictures from our photo session.  Much thanks to Evelyn and Eight for posing for us, and to Alex, Mike and Steve for including me in the photo session.


Have a great weekend!  -- S

Eight and Evelyn.  No special lighting techniques used in these pics, but I like them just the same.  

Just trying a little of the lighting technique in the left picture to darken the sky a bit but still light up Eight's face.  Picture on right -- I like the reflection effect in the window.

Lighting conditions had not changed, but I changed my settings and used off camera lighting to make these pictures a bit more dramatic. 

The sunset, at the end of our photo session.  Nice way to end the day.