MJ and Martin

Soooo... I have been mega busy these past few weeks! Mike has been working a TON more hours lately...so my job has been to back him up; meaning - do many of his house chores that he does not have time for right now! These days he works late into the night only to get up a few hours later and start all over in the wee hours...he is beat. :) He's a good provider and we know he is doing it for us. So, it's all good. But...that means less time to do other things, like take and edit pictures! I am very behind on all my post processes and have a great many shoots scheduled in the upcoming fall foliage. SO! If you are on my list - past, present or future - I know it's hard, but please be patient! :) I will get there at some point, and hopefully you will be happy with the result! What is it they put on restaurant menus about waiting longer for your meal? Something about "good food takes time to prepare..." ...or whatever... :)

Anyway, here is another family post - a mini-shoot I did back whilst on vacation with Mike's family. Mike's sister, MJ - and her boyfriend Martin, who live in NYC - were able to make it to the Adirondacks to play with us. Yay! The whole family was together...well, for about 1 day! Martin unfortunately had a work schedule that was as immovable as Jabba the Hut. So, he was able to experience the magic known as Brantingham Lake... for only about 36 hours, but it was great to see the place through his new eyes. He was like a little kid...and we all completely understood.

He had to catch the train, and they had to leave pretty much in minutes, so I asked them if they wanted a few pics of them both by the lake to remember this first time! We literally ran down to the dock and snapped away for about 15 minutes...and then he was gone! Boo. We all missed him, especially MJ, but it was fun to have him join us - better than nothing!

These guys are just so adorable together. They are both in arts professions - drama queens! And it shows. LOL...they made my job ridiculously easy, since they are the most expressive people I know. They are as expressive about their fun as they are their love. And that's a lot. :) Not eeeww-y expressive, but awwwww-y expressive. A good thing.

Hope you guys like them - and we can't wait to come down there to visit. Kisses, hugs...

I did a few montages here, since there were so many I liked that were very similar - it worked out better this way.

Senior Teaser Storyboard

Yep, one more teaser - though I need to learn how to tease! Someday, I can maybe not be so excited that I can just post one as a sneak peek and then do the rest, but for now, I am way too crazy excited to show any restraint. :)

Here's a storyboard I made of three cute pictures of Jordan laughing, which is...as her mom says....so her. Jordan laughs! It's what she is always doing. :) I was happy to catch these candid cute moments of her and I thought I would group them to showcase that which is truly her.

Miss Jordan, Senior Portrait Sneak Peek

It's pretty darn freaky thinking about my "little" cousin graduating next year...I remember when she was born - the baby nicknames we all used for her (that stuck) that I will not mention here.. :) I remember my aunt pregnant with her! And now...here she is, getting her Senior year pictures taken. *sigh* - how time flies!

So, here we are...and I am grateful and honored to be the one doing them! What a cool feeling!

We had the shoot in the middle of last week and I was so excited about the way they turned out, I wanted to share a few as teasers - I have not even shown them to her or my aunt yet, so this is their teaser too! I have a few other things to post before I get to this one - and as always, I want to give them first crack at seeing them before the world does! 3 different outfit changes and lots of movement around the yard - I think I can say we were all pooped when we were done, but it was a good kind of tired - we got a lot accomplished!

Here you go, guys - I hope to talk to you soon, since I am so excited to show you! Thanks for being such a great sport, Jordy. :) Hopefully I will have a few more up soon.....

I'm sorry, but is she not gorgeous?! Thanks for making my job easy, dear! :)

the Black and Whites

As promised, here are a few of the previously posted pics of my kids in black and white - I think some of them look better this way, but I'll let you decide!

Tomorrow, I will post a few of the Senior shoot, providing I get the a.ok. from her momma - I am super excited about the shots we got... One of the challenges I face, and actually like to face, is always taking pictures in my own yard - but then making them feel fresh and new. There are a few favorite spots I have, that to me, just placing a new person there is enough, because it is so cool and adds so much substance to a picture - like the barn, for instance. So, I love having that problem, because it means I get to stay here and shoot while my kids are napping - no babysitter needed. :) And that's always a good thing to be able to wear both hats at the same time without it driving you mad.

I love her little toes!

And one of Cole smelling his feet. :) Just because.

We're back!

Wee-hoo! The Computer Wizard worked his magic and we are back in business!

I have a Senior photo shoot with the lovely Jordan this afternoon, but I will be working on maternity, vacation and senior photos after that! Ya-hoo!

For now, I have more pics of the kids - they are getting so big! Cole and Alex actually had fun with this - B-Man wanted nothing to do with me and the camera...but that could be because he is cutting his 2-year molars. I'd like to think he doesn't have an aversion to the camera! :)

I took a few pictures with the intent of giving them to the grandmas...portraits of the kids that showed what they looked like and not just cool artsy shots so they could show them off...but there are a few included of those artsy ones too. Some are also to send to Fisher Price, since we have been asked to send some in to see if the kids would be suited to a photoshoot there. Their cousin ended up on a few packages back when he was this age, and I remember thinking what a cool memory/experience they were preserving for him - to be on a toy package! So, we'll see where that takes us. Maybe they will be cooperative enough to be included.... :)

I was wowed by just how blue their eyes are getting, but some of them looked great in black and white too - so, I am including the large amount of colors today and then tomorrow I will post the black and whites separately, since they are so different and cool in their own way - tell me what you think! Prepare...this is a LONG one!

Alexandria

Braden (for not cooperating, I certainly got the MOST from him! Weird.)

Cole