tj+ashley+elijah+andrew

let me just start by saying this family was a blast.  i was so nervous about this shoot.  i have never taken family photos before especially with a family that i had never met before the day of the shoot.  i knew we were all going to be ok when they pulled out a cat, two giant bouncy balls, a huge blanket, fishing rods, juice boxes, animal crackers, and the cutest boys you have ever seen.  within five minutes of finding the perfect spot to begin shooting, both andrew and elijah had "fallen" into a giant puddle of mud.  i knew this session was going to rock.  they were just themselves.  they laughed, wrestled together, shared animal crackers with me, sweated in the humid oklahoma heat with me, and let me into their relationship for a short while to see the love they share so deeply.  i am honored to show these photos, and honored to have made new friends.  also, shooting children under the age of 4 is NOT easy.  there is a photo below where both boys are squirming to get off of their parents laps.  every time i tried to get a "family photo" that is what it looked like 80% of the time.  it cracked me up.  there are not too many pictures of them all together, but i think i captured the love between them all.

love,

m

walmart and coldplay

yesterday a client called me to tell me that they had gone to walmart to make some prints of pictures they had me take, and were panicked when the photolab employees informed them they could not give them the prints because the pictures looked "too professional". they would not give them out without a release form or written consent from the photographer. boo-yeah!! who knew that walmart not only produces incredibly cheap products made by small children in impoverished countries, but also boosts the moral of fledgling photographers. in all seriosness walmart, thank you. (sorry mom). spent a lot of time today editing shots from monday's family session as i had to spend the majority of the day yesterday working and didn't get a chance to look at them at all. i am really happy with the results, and i think you will easily be able to see the love and bond this family has when i share them with you. just got back from another extra long session of small group tonight. good, tough discussion though. i don't think that coldplay ever intended their song "the scientist" to be taken in a spiritual sense, in fact i am pretty sure it is about a breakup, but for some reason this song has been speaking to me lately. like in my head constantly all the time, and now i catch evan humming bits of it throughout the day. to me it speaks to where i am and where i hope to go. if you have not heard this song, or even if you have, check out natasha bedingfield's stripped and raw version on youtube. incredible. gives me chills every time. for me the first two verses are god talking to me (i know the theology may not be dead on here for some, but go with me) and the third and fourth verses and chorus are the response back. i am posting the words for you to mull on. i am sure that violates some copyright law somewhere. it's just because i love you coldplay. other songs in this category include nickel creek's "doubting thomas" and emerson letters "we never left". i may talk about them soon. have a great start to the week.

love,

m

the scientist
come up to meet you, tell you i'm sorry
you don't know how lovely you are
i had to find you, tell you i need you
tell you i set you apart

tell me your secrets and ask me your questions
oh, let's go back to the start
running in circles, coming up tails
heads on a science apart

nobody said it was easy
it's such a shame for us to part
nobody said it was easy
no one ever said it would be this hard
oh, take me back to the start

i was just guessing at numbers and figures
pulling your puzzles apart
questions of science, science and progress
do not speak as loud as my heart

but tell me you love me, come back and haunt me
oh, and i rush to the start
running in circles, chasing our tails
coming back as we are

nobody said it was easy
it's such a shame for us to part
nobody said it was easy
no one ever said it would be so hard
i'm going back the the start

take me back to the start
take me back to the place where i first loved you
take me back to the start

here is my unashamed and unabashed plug for http://www.cuppiesandjoe.com/. best.cupcakes.ever. i may or may not know the ingredients to all items on the cupcake menu and what nights you should go to get a particular one. all i am saying on the subject is THE TRAVELER. eat it.

love multiplied: a sneak peak

on a dress and love

there is something so magical about a wedding dress.  the way it transforms a woman into a beautiful, regal, and timeless state.  i think some of my favorite images of brides are simply in their dress, waiting, watching, wishing, understanding the immense beauty and power of what is about to take place.  the beauty that is seeing someone for all that they are and showing them all that you are and giving and choosing to be with them.  not because you think they are the only one in the world for you or because of true love, but simply because you choose them.  something in their soul stirs yours.  and you know that will always bring you back to them.  to their smile, their kiss, their touch, their heart.  

love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove.

oh no! it is an ever fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is not shaken.

i believe with all my heart that love is a choice, and that you should go into it knowing that you make that decision every day.  you should go into it knowing that they are not here to bend to your every whim, do things the way you like or grew up with, or always make you happy.  you should go into love knowing that they are a person.  that they breathe and feel and love.  i think it is the most beautiful choice we have, to love.  and an even greater one to love in return.  may you always be growing and learning in your love, changing together, wanting together, loving together.  and kiss often.  real kisses, not just the "our lips touched" kiss.  it is the little things that hold you together or tear you apart.  

love,

m

even princesses pick their wedgies

evan and i were able to go visit his sister and brother-in-law and our beautiful niece over labor day weekend in rio rancho, new mexico.  we had a great time catching up, trying green chili breakfast burritos, getting lost in a corn maze (which had a terrible map and poor directions on how to get out if you really really wanted to yet couldn't), trying my first mojito (which was delicious- it was dragonberry), making pizzas on the bbq, taking pete and cadence rock climbing for the afternoon, not being in oklahoma 112 degree heat, and taking cadence grocery shopping.  she has developed such a hilarious personality, and it was good to spend time with them.  i got really sick while we were there and have spent most of the week home from work, or wishing i was home from work.  evan texted me yesterday and told me his throat was feeling sore...great.  what can i say, it's hard not to kiss him:)  looking forward to a great week ahead- hopefully a family shoot on monday, and intense climbing sessions to keep prepping for the comp in two weeks.  got my hair trimmed today as it was starting to look suspiciously like a mullet bowl.  i am over the head shaving.  here are few of the many faces of cadence, who kept calling me uncle evan all weekend:)  i love her anyway.

love,

m