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Alivia was not too sure about me at first -- the last time she saw me she was just 3 months old :). She took her time, but when she warmed up she became my best friend! I got smiles, I got hugs, I got kisses, and she went from hanging on mommy's leg to not wanting to leave the studio.
She is just *too* cute, with such a sweet personality!
Mom says she sits like this all the time :).
We had such a great session, here are just a few favorites --
We adopted 2 kittens from EARS - Englewood Animal Rescue two months ago and they are settling nicely into our family! If you've been to the studio recently you might have met them -- my kids love bringing them over to meet little ones who are in for portraits!
EARS was really great to work with and we had a great experience from start to finish with adding these two little boogers to our zoo. If you're looking to add a new pet please consider adoption! There are a lot of sweet animals out there looking for homes :).
Meet Sparta --
And Chaos!
A few recent sessions to share -- with more to come! See, that's two posts for June, and it's only the 20th....let's see if I can make three....
Matthew has been all over this county with me. We've done sessions in some really cool places. This particular morning recently, I *thought* we were on Longboat Key, but according to Matthew we were on a spaceship headed to Mars. I got the important job of navigator and general fixer of the spacecraft, and we had an awesome trip :P.
I seriously can't believe Ryan is *1* already. His big sis Mikayla is *4*, and she was one of my 'StarBabies' when she was tiny! It's been a blast watching these little ones grow. Ryan gave a huge thumbs up to our cake tradition...
...showed off his gorgeous blue eyes, and his current obsession with sports balls (right after this shot, he threw the ball at me :P Nice arm!)
I looove huggy shots :)...Mikayla gave mom a great hug here....and *that* expression just sums up how awesome it is when your little one hugs you :).
I have gotten a huge kick this year out of Ryan and Daddy's matching hairdos :P. We have captured some really neat baldy shots!
Next, and last for tonight, we have Mistie and her kids. Mistie as you may know handles a lot of behind the scenes work at Catch A Star. She does a lot of marketing stuff, helps me out with ordering, and sometimes refuses to log payroll hours for time spent packaging the orders up pretty because she loves it so much (I am not making this up, I have to WATCH her time sheets!) She also helps with various studio projects, and when we were making new red background recently she fell in love with it and had to bring her boys in to try it out.
Travis on our *new* tire swing in back of the studio (pssst! remind me to take you out there if you're coming to the studio soon!)
Tanner on the background Mistie loves :)
All three -- and a really cool saying I found......
And, just in case you think *your* kids are the wildest kids ever to set foot in this studio, allow me to share some outtakes from this session -- there were more outtakes than 'real' images :X -- I'm sharing just a FEW here. They could have had their own full slideshow of outtakes!
Big brothers stinky feet are always funny.
I believe I suggested 'HUG your brother' not 'CHOKE your brother'.
My kids are good friends with T&T, and wanted some pictures too. Travis was done with me and my silly camera by this point, so Tanner bore the brunt of the PKS* (*Photographer's Kid Syndrome), whereby the children of photographers cannot be in the presence of a camera of any type without morphing into goofy-faced freaks.
More soon!
Those new years ones never work anyway :P, so how about a resolution since we're about halfway through 2008?
Here goes -- I hereby resolutely state that I will, from this date forward, update my blog at least twice a month! How hard can that be, right? Twice a month! Let's start with that.
I feel pretty bad because I know there are a number of people who follow my blog pretty regularly, checking in often to see if there is anything new. So on top of the fact that we have been mostly website-less for the past month, it's gotta be pretty disappointing to have no new Star Dust to chomp on when you check in. There was a time when I posted images from every session! I'd really, truly like to get back to that. I have had some *incredible* sessions this year, and haven't shared my favorites!
So, I'm diving back in. The truth is, I *love* blogging, it is just one of those things that get put on the back burner while I handle shoots, orders, designs, etc.
To celebrate my dive back in, I want to introduce my newest Limited Edition session. Adoption is a topic close to my heart, because I was adopted by my family when I was four months old. The family that chose me was an incredible gift, and I simply could not have been luckier! Most adoptees will tell you that there is no 'adoptive family' -- it's just FAMILY. But, many of us do celebrate our 'second birthday' -- the day that we came to our families.
My idea with these Limited Edition sessions is to celebrate that day when your stories joined. These are the Gotcha! Sessions :).
The details: Gotcha! Sessions are -- weekday studio sessions only, 20 minute 'mini' sessions, and the session *must* take place during the month of your Gotcha! Day. There is NO SESSION FEE and no minimum order, but we must have a signed release so we may use the images in our portfolio. You will receive an online slideshow for three days, showcasing 10-12 images from your session. Session is limited to the adopted child and immediate family -- mom, dad, brothers and sisters.
Call us at the studio to set up your session time. We look forward to celebrating your Gotcha! Day with you! Please remember we often book up 4-6 weeks in advance, so call early!
I'd like to share a poem that my mom had up in our home, where she would see it daily, for my entire childhood. Although I have not adopted a child, as a mother I understand the depth of feeling in these words and they really mean a lot to me.
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Today marks one year since the passing of a remarkable little girl, Payton Makenna Wright.
Please take a few minutes to click on the Categories link on the side of the blog that says Payton Wright, and read -- or reread -- the posts that I made during the time I got to spend with Payton. If you have time, please visit Payton's website .
I can't even guess how many times I've thought about Payton since I met her and her family. I can't begin to imagine the pain her family has endured during her illness, treatment, and now being without her. I can tell you with certainty that attending and photographing her memorial service was one of the most heartwrenching things I have ever done, and I will never forget. I can tell you that I look at her images often, have a picture of her in the studio, and all of us at Catch A Star have silver frogs from her service on our desks, and we will not forget. I learned from Payton's family that childhood cancer does not have the funding that it should, not near the funding of many other cancers, in spite of being one of the top killers of children each year, and I will not forget the child that they lost.
Please hug your children and be glad that they are here with you and healthy, because there is no greater gift.
PS -- the links on my blog are apparently outdated for both Payton's site and her slideshows. Her website, as linked above, is now www.paytonwright.org. The slideshows of images that I took of Payton are accessible from her site, by clicking on the links in the sidebar. The slideshows will open automatically. There is also an error in the first slideshow (August 2006) in that the images Payton took of her family, which are included in the slideshow, are not in their own separate folder as they are supposed to be -- we will fix that and republish under the same link asap.
Update 6/22/08: links should all be corrected now, and the corrected slideshow should be uploaded in the next day or two.
Ok this is funny -- this slideshow was supposed to be posted to my PERSONAL blog, not the work one! A little technical goof and here it is :P. This is from a cruise I took with my mom a few weeks ago, a much needed break filled with relaxation and fun! I received some emails and comments about it and am glad you enjoyed it, and I'll leave it up for now :).
These were all taken with my point and shoot -- the big camera stayed home this trip. It was great to stretch myself using this little camera with much less latitude and ability than my usual 'third child'!
More updates coming soon --
Heather :) *
A quick sneak peek for my bride and groom from yesterday -- they might have a chance to take a look before heading off on their fabulous honeymoon :).
Have a wonderful vacation! And congratulations again!
.... and I'm going to tell you all about it, but first --
As you can see, this blog and my website are soooo far behind. I went into this holiday season understaffed and knowing it, but having no time to hire and train another person to hop it and join the four of us for the wild ride of the holidays. We have some changes for 2008, including adding at least one more person to our studio lineup, that should enable us to keep up with fun stuff like website and blog updating more frequently! With the constant quest to keep up with the workflow, I find myself in a position where the website hasn't been updated in about a year (gasp!) and the blog very infrequently as well!
But in the meantime, I want to share a few images from my very last session of 2007.
Baby Duncan was born just two weeks before Christmas. We originally planned for me to go to his home just after he came home from the hospital, but the night before that a wall organizer that we bought for the studio fell on my (always bare) foot and broke a couple toes, so we had to put the session off a few days until I could hobble around a little better! Finally when Duncan was a week old, I made it over to his house to meet him.
Big brother Will, who I've photographed a couple times before, met me at the door and proceeded to tell me *everything* that was on his mind. And that's a *lot*! And through it all, he politely said 'Um, 'scuse me Miss Feather? I wanna show you something.....'
Miss Feather! I love it :). He must've said it fifty times.
In addition to some gorgeous images of baby Duncan, I also captured this shot of Will helping me do my job. I just love this!
Happy new year to all of you :), from 'Miss Feather'.
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Somehow this didn't get posted a week ago as scheduled - so happy holidays a little late! Hope everyone has had a restful couple of weeks enjoying their families :).
The picture says it all! If there is an image from last year's session that you are wishing you had gotten larger, now is a perfect chance to do so.
Please contact Heather or Melissa at 426.2090 or via email at melissa@catchastarphotography.com to place your order. Please note we are still officially closed until Jan 10th, and it may take a few days for us to return your call/email, but we will get caught up soon!
Happy New Year!
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