Happy Valentine's Day!

We had some new Webkinz join the family this Valentine's Day courtesy of Grandma & Grandpa and Auntie Cindy & Uncle Tom. Thank you!

I wish you all a great Valentine weekend with your families!

Recent Publications

I'm really excited to have my photography featured in two recent publications.

"The Bump" is a resource guide for pregnant women. One of my coolest clients, Ann, was interviewed for the 2008/2009 Chicago edition of The Bump and my photos accompanied her interview. You might recognize her gorgeous baby who I have had the privilege to photograph as a newborn, a 3 month old, a 6 month old, and most recently a 9 month old (just a few blog entries back, actually).

Last Spring I had a really fun opportunity -- photographing the annual 5K in Morton Grove. I am honored that the Morton Grove Park District chose one of those images for the cover of their most recent program guide.

Edited 2/5/09 to add full page digital copy of Bump article just received from the publisher:

Such a fun family!

Here's a little sneak peek of a fun family I got to work with this weekend. The kids are 1 and 2, and totally adorable. I was excited to try out a new baby-sized petti from Miss Things Boutique. And the image of the kids on the heart rug would make such a cute valentine.

S & G, I hope you enjoyed your Sneak Peek. I will be in touch shortly with a password and link to your full proof gallery.

Obama Inauguration

Today Barack Obama officially took office as the 44th President of the United States. My daughter's class was going to watch this historic event together at school. I spent 15 minutes on the phone with my Dad today while he tried to get the live internet video connection running at his dental office. Apparently a lot of people cancelled their appointments with him so they could watch Obama's speech. I personally can't even watch Obama speak without getting choked up. I am not sure if it's the sense of hope and relief I feel for America's future, the symbolism of how far our country has come toward racial equality, or just the fact that since having kids my hormones are so screwed up that I cry on a dime. LOL! Regardless, I am so very excited for what the next four years will bring.

Luna Belle Boutique

My kids had the opportunity to model some personalized t-shirts for the Luna Belle Boutique online catalog.

Since their shirts were Halloween themed, we had a lot of fun coming up with some Halloween ideas. My son wanted "scary hair", which I think we achieved with a little bit of hair wax. LOL!

Check out Luna Belle's personalized tee's and other cute stuff by clicking here.

Patrycja's Senior Portraits

Last week I had the awesome opportunity to work with not just one, but TWO seniors.

Meet Patrycja. She lives in my neighborhood, has babysat my kids, and is just a total sweetheart. We had a lot of fun at her session. Patrycja is always up for trying something new and has been a great help to me in my photography career. Some of my local photographer friends may recognize Patrycja from when she was one of the models for our photo afternoon at the Botanic Gardens last summer.

If you follow my blog (or my career over the past 6 years), you will know that my main specialty has been maternity, babies, and kids. I had so much fun working with these seniors and I would love to start working with more! If you are looking for seniors portraits in Chicago, Morton Grove, Niles, Park Ridge, Glenview, Skokie, Evanston, Northbrook, Northfield, Wilmette, Winnetka, or other surrounding suburbs, I look forward to hearing from you!

365 Days Complete!

New Years Eve marked the completion of my 365 project. For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, the “365” is a photography project that involves a self portrait a day for an entire year. 2008 was a leap year, so it was actually 366 self portraits last year instead of the usual 365. Many people have asked me if this was some kind of contest and if I win a prize at the end. The answer is no - that the 365 is more of a personal growth opportunity, a creative challenge, and a chance to try some new things photographically. I learned a lot about myself this past year thru doing the 365, and I met a lot of great people along the way who were also participating in the challenge. Many of them have decided to continue on to do another year of the 365 and I wish them all tons of luck on their journey. There were many days that I wanted to just throw in the towel on this whole thing because it was more time-consuming that I would have imagined. However, the cheering-on of my family and friends as well as my own personal stubbornness helped me to see this project thru to completion. Thanks to everyone who supported me this year. Hugs to you, and a Happy New Year!