I will be out of the office for two weeks starting tomorrow. I will be back on Monday, January 5th. Any calls and e-mails will be returned promptly at that time.

I do have a few openings in January – an afternoon appointment on the 10th, the 17th and a morning of the 24th. So if you wanted a holiday session and I wasn’t able to fit you in, just let me know if you’d like a session in January.

As always – if you’re having a baby, let me know as soon as possible! I always make time to fit newborns into my schedule.

After I return, I plan to work on my annual year-in-review slideshow. The 2007 version was viewed so many times – I can’t wait to do one featuring all of my amazing 2008 clients!

Personally, it was a great year for the Russo family. We saw the addition of Lulu and Annie (and all the dirt that comes with them, but I’m pretending it doesn’t really exist). Our little miracle Ava turned 3 (going on 16) and decided it was ‘all dresses all the time’ and Aidan turned 9 and promptly inserted his head into a very thick cloud that I hear will remain until he’s around 20. Goody!

Speaking of my two little monsters:

It was also a great year for my chair, since there’s less of me sitting in it.

2007:

And now, minus about 30 pounds (Ava’s three…the ‘baby weight’ excuse was past the expiration date ):

OH, and since he’s not seen that often, I told Vic he had to sit so I could meter for the shots he was going to take of me (gotcha!). Here’s the Mr. himself:

Technology-wise, the above shots were taken with my awesome new 5Dii. And since the 5Dii files are so ginormous (seriously, it’s a 21mp camera), I had to squeeze in a 2008 tax writeoff add a new Dell desktop to my arsenal. It has 6 gb of ram, nVIDIA graphics, 640 gig hard drive, and it’s an XPS gamer model so it glows a funky neon blue color and revs (literally) when it starts up. And don’t you think for one SECOND that my inner geek didn’t squeal with delight. Vic says I need to add another 24" monitor so I can run dual screens, but SHEESH, I’m not THAT much of a geek. Or am I? Hmmm…..

Thank you to ALL of my amazing clients this year. I look forward to seeing many of you again in 2009 so I can tell your little ones to STOP GROWING UP so quickly. The stinkers never listen to me, but I do try. I also can’t wait to meet all of the bitty new ones joining the world next year. It’s an exciting time, and I’m thrilled to help you capture it.

Happy Holidays!!

She looks so much like her big sister!

I loooove this series of Eva (dancing to her favorite song, sung by her sweet parents!). Doesn’t she look like she’s playing a mean air guitar in that 2nd to last one?

More of sweet Eva…

And adorable little Nora…

A mommy moment…

And you all know I can’t resist a little chubby baby bottom…

We wrapped up the session at a GORGEOUS nearby duck pond…

Justin and Tracy: Thank you for yet another wonderful session!!

I know, who wants to think about the Holidays when it’s still 90 degrees out, eh? Well…if you’d like to book a session for Holiday gifts and cards, now is the time! Due to a couple of reschedules and babies who haven’t arrived, I now have a few openings in September, and I’ve opened the books for October and November.

The cutoff for ordering Holiday cards and prints is NOVEMBER 10th, 2008. That means we have to have your session complete, up and ordered by that date. Right around the corner, isn’t it?

As an aside…please Grandparents: NO POLLY POCKETS for Ava, ok? Thank you.

Session Availability:

September:

I have a few available Saturday dates, and I’ve opened up some Tuesday, Thursday and Friday slots.

October:

3 weekend dates available, with a few Tu, Th and Fri.

November:

1 weekend date available, with a few Tu, Th and Fri.

As with last year, I have a wide variety of Holiday card designs available. All are press-printed on either heavyweight gloss or linen stock and include your favorite session images and text.

Here is just a small sampling…

Sneak peeks from this weekend coming soon – a newborn, a sweet 9 month old, and 1 year old twins!

Isn’t she lovely? I could go on and on about how Angela could ‘strike a pose’ like nobody’s business, how nice her mom Karen is – who watched us (and sniffled a little bit) from afar, Angela’s amazingly fast clothing changes in the car, and the strange guy on the bike who <ahem> wanted to hang out with us for a bit – but I know Angela is anxiously awaiting her sneak peek (she leaves for Japan next week – so exciting!!) – so I’ll get right to it!

The fun thing with Seniors is I can play with processing a bit, which doesn’t work well with babies and toddlers but is perfect for this type of session. So you may see some new things in this sneak peek.

Ok, I have to mention the bike guy! As we were doing this shot (below), he rides right up into the pavilion and starts riding in circles near Angela’s feet! It was so odd. We looked at each other, blatantly ignored him, and he rode away. HA!

A little 60s retro feel…

FAVORITE!! I arrived at our location early, walked around a bit and found this wrought-iron covered window. Score! I coveted it for a little while, and couldn’t WAIT to use it (somehow, someway!) in our session.

Some beautiful golden backlight…

And the “mom top.” There’s a story with this one: Angela’s mom Karen had only two requests: Stone and this ivory lacy top. Referred to throughout the session as “the mom top.” Well, as it turns out the mom top looked AMAZING with Angela’s coloring…and the mossy stone wall we found. So here you go, Karen!

Angela, I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek! I promise to have the whole session ready before you leave on your big trip! Thanks again to you and your mom for such an awesome session!

After a few reschedules due to (again!) our wacky weather, we met up on a GORGEOUS afternoon at East Cobb Park.

Here are all three beautiful ladies…

And the lovely High School Graduate…

(and btw, when she got out of the car, I said the same thing you’re thinking – and yes, she hears it a lot!)

This is her equally lovely younger sister Erin:

I have to say…these two girls were so nice, sweet and willing to try anything…I could have picked Kim’s brain for an hour to figure out how to accomplish that with my little one!

Here are a few more of Kate…

And one last one of mom and her girls…

We finished at just the right time – a HORRIBLE (as in tornado warnings all over the place – tornado sirens going off, you name it!) rolled in just as we finished. Our timing was perfect. Kim, Kate and Erin – thank you again for such a wonderful session!!

Stunning girl? Ummm…yeah.

After several reschedules (again with the wacky weather!) we met at East Cobb Park, thinking it would be nice and quiet. WRONG!! The day we decide to meet turns out to be the date of the “Largest Community Playgroup.” HA! After driving around for 10 minutes each to find parking spots, we decided we would make it work!

Funny story (I’m sorry Audrey, I can’t resist!): When we were shooting on this bench, I exclaimed “That bench rocks!” Audrey got an absolutely horrified look on her face…turns out she thought <ahem> I’d said something ELSE that starts with a ‘B.’ Her mom and I had QUITE a chuckle over that!

MY FAVORITE!!!

Or maybe this is my FAVORITE!!!

The best part was how willing Audrey was to try ANYTHING and everything – she put up with my wandering around, saying “Oooh! Let’s try that!” and “Ohh! Let’s try that!” And when we stumbled upon this very cool old car? Yup…she was game!

Audrey & Sharon, thank you again for such a fun session. It’s an honor to know such a lovely girl – both inside and out!

SUCH a beautiful girl…Gotta love when a little wind kicks up!

This doesn’t work with babies…but with seniors we can have a little processing fun. Love it!

Ummm…yeah…MY FAVORITE!!

Poor Laynie’s blue eyes were sensitive to the sun, so I had her close them and open when I counted to three. Or didn’t…and got shots like this that I LOVE. I was VERY jealous of the green grass (ours is still a little brownish…).

Out in back of their house, they had this AMAZING ivy forest. Mom and dad are trying to battle it, but I saw a gorgeous, lush, green opportunity. We took a whole series in here – and even got mom to wade in!

One chair from the screen porch + an ivy-covered corner + a very brave girl not afraid to tread barefoot into the middle of it and you get this:

Oh, let’s see that first one again in black and white…you know I love my black and whites!

Laynie, thank you so much – you’re a lovely girl and I’m honored to know you! I’ll be in touch asap with the rest of your session images.

I have, without question, the greatest job in the world.

Click here to view my tribute to you, titled “Human Love.”

(be patient, it’s big and takes awhile to load…)

I’ll be back in 2008 – Happy Holidays to everyone!

…and a personal message to anyone out there suffering from the pain and injustice of infertility. Been there, done that. And I KNOW how hard this season can be. Every day brings new pain. But know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There is. There is a child out there for you. Whether that child comes from you – or is a gift from elsewhere – there is a child out there for you. And once he or she comes into your life, these painful holiday seasons will be but a distant memory. Trust me on that one. I’ll be thinking of you…

Here is the ‘P’ family. They met me at one of my favorite haunts (and it was this session that prompted me to acquire my beloved new GPS, as I was <gasp!> 10 minutes late due to a traffic accident). What can I say? Gorgeous family, fun, laid back…I LOVED the way they interact with each other (led most of the time by Dad the jokester!).

When a family is this comfortable together…well, it just makes my job easy. This session took just a little over an hour – a record for me! Just look at the results…

I want to note: A lot of my families ask me what they should wear, and I always tell them to ‘keep it simple.’ Look at how great these guys look – they don’t all match, but they don’t clash. Lovely, rich neutral colors with jeans. Perfect!

Cutie Patootie! Although since B is Aidan’s age…I know better than to say that! HANDSOME!

Very handsome big brother G…Seriously, this family is *so* photogenic!

The lovely ladies…

And the beautiful Miss S…

Mom and Dad…

Another family shot – And yes, that barn *is* that crooked! I cropped this one as a 10×20 – long and narrow – so you might have to click on it to see it better.

Another 10×20 – you know I love my leg and foot shots! I tried some fun texture on this one. I asked everyone to just go stand against the wall like they were hanging out. Perfection!

M & G: I hope you enjoyed your sneak! I’ll be in touch very soon with the rest of your session!

Ok, so I have fun at all of my sessions, and think my clients do too (right, right??). But these kids? SO. MUCH. FUN. I met up with this adorable brother and sister at Piedmont Park one gorgeous Saturday evening. It was such a perfect setting (people in my way on the sidewalk and overly tattooed and pierced rollerbladers notwithstanding!).

We’ll start with gorgeous Miss K. 14 years old. Yes, 14. Holly, you poor thing.

And her adorable brother K. Would you LOOK at those eyes??

K told me that when he and his sister were younger, they would pretend they were models. OH REALLY!??! Yeah. You KNOW I had to exploit that tidbit, don’t you? Work it!

And they LIKE each other! 11 and 14 and they have AFFECTION. As the mother of a son and daughter, I cannot tell you how these two warmed my heart.

But yeah, they ARE brother and sister afterall…

Beautiful girl…

K is a bigtime football player, if you didn’t know. His team lost their game this day, but he seemed to brush it right off.

And while I’m here, I must say that K was such an amazing sport. I know how hard it is for boys this age to smile without the cheese (I live with one, I know, trust me!). But did it bother him? Nope. Did it bother him when his mom and sister joined in? Nope. Did it make him laugh when aforementioned mom and sister started quoting lines from “The Ballad of Ricky Bobby?” Oh yes. Yes, it did.

I couldn’t resist this mural.

And one last sweet image…

Thank you again so very much for sharing your evening and your wonderful family with me! I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek!