eyefull: eyelet

eyeFull Photography with Sequoia Pathway Academy Cheer and Sequoia Pathway Preparatory Academy in memorial for our student who passed away suddenly last week, is hosting a photography fund raiser at Ak-Chin Farms on Oct 30. Time slots are limited and all the proceeds to the Jones family. If you are interested, let me know. More information to follow. Thanks to Kristi Cesare for helping to arrange this event.

eyefull: what God has joined together....Jarek & Serena

One man
One Women
Decide to cease being two and become one....
This is my second 2nd shooter wedding opportunity. This time I was paired with Stella Crowl of Style Image Studios http://www.blogger.com/www.styleimagestudios.org and again it was a beautiful time.


My favorite photos came after the wedding ceremony. Jarek & Serena decided to head up to South Mountain Overlook to do some after wedding photographs. From this peak in the city, you can view all of Phoenix.


The Love that these two have for one another was so infectuous.


Ooh lala! Asking Serena to get glamoured up didn't take much. Doesn't she just look stunning in her wedding dress. You can tell that she owned the dress and the day!

One of my favorites of the day.



This photo has to be my ONE FAVORITE for the day. I felt like a voyeur, turning my camera on them during this special moment. Everything about this photo, screams (to me) love and romance.




Did I mention that these two had their best peeps up there with them?




What do you think Jarek said to Serena?



Well, maybe nothing at all ;)

eyefull: what God has joined together...James & Sereena

There is something about weddings that just get me so excited and nostalgic and wistful.

Boy meets Girl.

Girl meets Boy.

They go on a few dates and I believe that only after a few dates, you can know for sure if this one is your forever after...that's just me.

Meet James and Serena.
Boy met Girl at a dance class...like real dancing, ballroom!
They dated a few times. And after a few dates, she knew he was the one (See, I told you).
And here we are, a year later...

It all starts with the details...







and the cake...we can't forget the cake!








I was so priviledged to get to tag along with Kim for this wedding. This being my first wedding, it was nice to not have the pressure placed on me, but to assist Kim with setting up shots. As a second shooter, I shot at different angles than the first shooter. Which was perfectly fine with me...although some of my first shooterness did come out during the day. Kim said she was thankful for those times when I stepped into the spotlight, it gave her an opportunity to catch her breath and refocus her thoughts.





The church we were in was pretty dark, but this stair case had beautiful light streaming down, so it was decided to shoot a series of photos with the bridal party in the stairway.

One of my favorite shots shooting down from the top of the stairwell.









I was positioned at the top of the stairs, so my angle was down (from the top) and down from the back.




Every bride needs her best girls to stand with her. These three ladies were so nice. Such great personalities. The bridesmaid in the middle just had a baby six weeks ago and she looks fabulous rocking that dress.






I think my strength is in the details. I love capturing the hand holding, the flowers, the shoes, the rings...such sweetness.



Probably my favorite shot of the day. This was taken just before the sun set and the light was fading fast. The couple wanted to get inside and enjoy their guests and so allowed for a few more shots. Love this one.


Of course photographing weddings is like nothing else. I went in with some ideas of how it could be done and now I know that weddings is an entirely new ball game. Thankfully I have opportunities to second shooting a few more weddings within the next few weeks. I know my skill will improve in this area and I already have thought about areas that I need to work on for the next one. And I can't wait. I get to photograph with my girl Stella from http://www.blogger.com/www.styleimagestudios.net and Kacey Luvi from http://www.kaceyluvi.com/. I am thrilled to work with these two fantastic photographers. Stay posted....its weddings weddings weddings over the next few weeks!

eyefull: syndicates + Selahsaur

Okay, so it is almost the end of September and boy do I feel out of sorts. Anyone else feel that way?

I am the new MASH Coalition coordinator for Maricopa. What is that? Well, a group of volunteers from the community who come together to promote and educate agasint substance abuse among students, teens, and adults. Planning for that takes a lot of people and I think I need a special notebook just for that job by itself.

I am also trying to promote the photography business and get moving for the upcoming holiday season. Which is a lot of fun, but, also takes its own special notebook (LOL).

And, lastly, my #3 daughter has decided that she wants a dinosaur train party. Do you know dinosaur train? Its a PBS Kids television show http://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain/. Which is perfectly fine, except I want to make these dinosaurs very girly and fun and funky; which will require some help. I posted on TomKat Studio's FB page http://tomkatstudio.blogspot.com/ and Kroma Design Studio http://www.kromadesign.blogspot.com/ answered the call, so hopefully we will be able to come up with a fun party for this fun loving sister. (Oh and your ideas are greatly appreciated)

So, I guess I better jet. Be back very shortly with some photos from a wedding I photographed. Oh did I mention, I have 1100 photos to go through?

MUAH!

eyefull: Rodriguez Family (part Deux)

When I start dropping "the collage" yes...I call it "the collage" you know that I have finished an edit. I don't know if I mentioned this, but this Mom won this photoshoot at an auction to help someone in need. How awesome is that? Not only does a family receive money to help with their medical needs, but this family got a kick butt photo session, and I got to meet a fun and happy family. I hope to see them again soon.

Sister love.
Mom wanted to make sure that we captured some snaps of this sisterly pair.


Thanks Rodriguez Family! I hope to you again soon.

eyefull: eyelets

I have been thinking a lot about sisters lately. I am not sure why. I don't have any, so its not like I am reminiscing. Well, maybe I am. Maybe I am thinking about what might have been. And how nice it would be to sit down with someone who has a shared history with me and talk in the "remember whens....".



Inevitably, I start thinking about the pack of sisters God blessed me with. Four of them. 11, 9, 3, and 19 months. And I wonder what kind of relationship they will have as they get older and whether I am doing everything that I can to make sure that their relationship is a good one.



Too many times you hear about siblings that don't talk to each other again, get mad and stay mad for years, sue each other over money (well we won't have any to sue over anyway) and I think, how sad is that. And then it makes me want to crack down on my four sisters even harder..."be friends!" "Love each other". "Show kindness"..."What kind of relationship do you want to have with your sister when you all grow up?" Yes, I have asked them all these questions and more in the heat of my frustration.


So, if you have a sister (or a brother) stop and remember just how much fun you had together when you were younger and hopefully you will continue to have your life through!

These girls will remember this day when they see this picture and smile and say one to each other, "Remember when Mom used to....?"

eyefull:eyelets

OK, so I feel a little put out.
Does anyone read this blog?
(sigh)
I think so. I hope so. Well, I decided to do something about it (we'll see if it works).
I posted on iheartfaces.com a photographers forum that we could share our blogs with each other, subscribe to each others blogs, and then periodically post when we see updates. Good idea right?!
Totally self serving? Of course it is!
But there's got to me others out there, like me, putting ourselves out there into the world wide web. I just finished a webinar and she talked about blogging. She said that the blog is your PERSONALity to those looking in. So I am going to try to use my blog as both my personality and my business. So here I am, putting it out there!
Please post! Please!! (haha)

eyefull: Rodriguez Family

OK, so how long does it take to go from this...





To this?



Surprisingly, not that long!
(More to come)

eyefull: The Lay Family

Can you believe it? It was raining just hours before this photo shoot. Mom emailed and said, "You've got to be kidding me. Rain?" You see, we had already had to postpone this shoot twice already. After a few back and forth emails, we decided, unless it is pouring down rain, cats and dogs, you can't see your hand in front of you, sky opens up (you get my picture) rain, then we would go ahead with this photo shoot. And, I am so glad we did!



Oh every time I photograph this family, I love them even more. The first time was for maternity photos (viewed here http://eyefullphotography.blogspot.com/2010/01/eyefull-of-baby-l.html. They are such a great group of people. I love that I can sit and watch, either with the camera lens or with my own eye, and see how loving families interact with each other.







We came togther, to mark the six month mid-birthday, of this little lady, Miss. Zoe. Do you just want to eat this little girl up? The last time I saw her was for a newborn session I did with the family and here she is, six months later http://eyefullphotography.blogspot.com/2010/03/eyefull-of-ms-lay.html. The minutes she saw me, she smiled. I like to think its because she remembered me (from before) but more than likely, it has to do with the fact that she is just a sweetly dispositioned baby (but I like the first reason better :) )!



The Biggest Brother, Broden. What a nice kid. I watched him with his younger brother while Mom and Dad got baby sister changed...he was so gentle with him; helping him skip rocks in the water.




Middle brother, Parker. Now this kid, likes to have his picture taken. He is a gentle spirit though (at least he has been the last few times I have been with him).




All three togther, on my famous zebra bench!


Such a cute, fiesty little girl. Turn the camera on her and she turns on the charm.


There is no denying, that this little girl has this big man wrapped around her finger. She will be his until the day he dies and then some....


Oh man, whenever I get to photograph generations I jump on it! And I loved this Nana and Papa! They are hip, cool and fun...and Papa has an Ansel Adams thing going on. This family is originally from Washington State. Nana told me that in a few weeks, she was heading back "home" and would be seeing friends she met in elementary school, 45 years ago! Can you imagine?! And she wanted to have some photos of her beautiful Arizona family (they have a daughter in Washington too) to show them. In November, the whole family is convening in Arizona for Thanksgiving and we are going to have a great big family photo session! I can't wait! If daugther and her family is anything like this family and Nana and Papa, it will be my pleasure!



Just another generational photo. Papa is so super cool!


A few last shots of this family before this blog post comes to a close.


Another funny photo of Miss. Z...tongue out! Such a happy girl.



I included this one, becasue as the sun was setting in the West, the sky just popped with color. A nice end to a beautiful day.

eyelets

Three sisters upstairs playing computer games. At least they are playing together relatively quietly.

One sister taking a nap.

Husband at work since 6:30 AM; he's been working so hard these past weeks. I am thankful that he loves his family so much that he does.

Sitting at home, on the laptop, listening to a webinar on how to build up my photography business...stopping here and there to take notes on what I am hearing (sometimes clicking over to that window to see what she is actually doing). Just got a dissapointing phone call about a wedding I was hoping to schedule for February. (sigh). OK, Lord, what is it that you have for me to do?

I think I need to take a break.

I am back.

Trying to build a business can be exciting and hopeful but also difficult and dissapointing. So I feel like I am always second guessing myself. Does that make sense? Maybe for those of you who have tried something new, explore another part of yourself, learn a new skill, start a new job....its both exhilirating and tiring, exciting and (yes) sometimes dissapointing.

I look up into the family room and I see the vacuum cleaner that I had to borrow from my mom's house (and put together) because ours broke. But of course, I can't keep hers, so we will have to buy another one. I see the television, still sitting on the computer stand after 4 years, I look outside to the yard that needs to be weeded and mowed and I hear my lovely daughters loving, playing and sometimes arguing with each other and I realize that I am blessed.

It is okay that this wedding cancelled. I really do wish them well. I hope that they are able to settle what they need to settle and that they have an amazing wedding, whether it be in a church or a Las Vegas "destination" wedding. Whatever is going to make this couple happy.
Would I have liked to photograph it? Yes.
Are they cancelling because of anything I have done? No. And that's okay.

I look at my calendar, not much on there, but I am excited about some second shooting opportunties that I have coming up. It will be a great time to learn some techniques, build my wedding portfolio...have fun, without the pressure to perform. And I open my Bible, it says, "I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future." That is not all. I have a job to to do too, it says, "Call upon me, come and pray, and I will hear you." Thank you Lord, for hearing me.

Talk to you later friends!

(I think I need to call my Mother.)