We headed out early one morning to beat the heat and get that gorgeous early morning light… many thanks to these two for being willing to use up a precious vacation morning for a photo session (especially my brother-in-law as I know that’s not exactly a guy’s idea of vacation fun)! 

We love these two so much and I’m so excited to have finally been able to capture some special images for them…  

So, last year I promised myself I would make a point to set aside time to do them more often.  I started with 18 month pictures last May, and waited until our annual beach trip to Hilton Head to do the pictures.  I still love those pictures and already can’t believe how much Luke has changed in a year’s time.  I loved that “session” so much that I decided to do more with him this year while we were in Hilton Head in mid-June.  It always tests my patience doing pictures with my own child.  I guess having a mom with a camera in her hand so often makes some children want to do anything BUT cooperate for pictures.  It is so worth it, though, as I would never want to forget these moments in his childhood. 

Many MANY thanks so my sweet husband and father-in-law once again for helping me with this one.  Trying to manage a 2 1/2 year old on my own, with my camera, with sand everywhere… it just wouldn’t work without some assistance!

Happy 4th to you & yours!

We (sadly) returned from a wonderful week at the beach yesterday afternoon.  I couldn’t have asked for a better 7 days playing in the sun, sand & water with some of my favorite people… and especially, my favorite 2 1/2 year old.  It’s always nice to return home to routines and of course, for me, to go through the 18 bagillion (I’m not exaggerating) pictures I took during our time away.  I look forward to sharing some in the weeks ahead from a couple of special sessions I was able to do on the beach…

In the meantime, as I get back into the swing of things catching up on emails, placing orders and editing sessions that weren’t touched all of last week, I thought I’d finally take time to put up a quick post about some camera items I’m ready to sell.

Over the past year, I’ve been slowly upgrading my arsenal of lenses and, with each, retiring some of the ones that I first used when getting started with my business in early 2009.  I’m now ready to part with two of the lenses and thought I’d put up a quick post in case there’s anyone out there currently interested in purchasing either of these lenses & possibly interested in a used lens.  I buy most of my camera equipment from B&H Photo (www.bhphoto.com) and still have the original boxes, packaging and warranty cards for both of these lenses.  I have pictures of both that I can email, as well.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8

Please email if interested or if you have any specific questions about these…

karen@karenbakerphotography.com

The feeling I get when I look at this picture is exactly why I love photography.  

As long as I can remember, I have always loved taking pictures.  I can only imagine how many I’ve taken, both personally & now professionally, in my almost 30 years.  Out of all of those many pictures, though, from time to time comes a special one like this.  One that I know I will treasure for years to come.  Words cannot express how thankful I am to have been able to capture this moment.  Everytime I look at it I’ll remember these times when they were so little… my son’s face and hair still sweaty from the Choo-Choo Soul dance party they’d just had in the living room. 

I love it when a client tells me that I was able to capture that perfect expression out of their child or that perfect moment for their family.  Nothing makes me happier after a session than to know I have been able to provide another person with an image that they can love for years to come… or stare at over and over like I’ve done with this one.   

That is why I love photography.

This was the perfect snow.  It was perfect for making snow angels, having snow ball fights, building snowmen… all of the typical snow fun activities you could think of.  At any given time, you could hear a great snowball fight going on somewhere in our neighborhood.  There’s nothing like a rare snow for us southerners to bring out the kid in EVERYONE.  We even bundled up and went on a walk after things warmed up today… only to run into people sledding down some of the great hills in our neighborhood – kids and adults alike. 

As I type this, it’s all beginning to melt away.  Again, the perfect snow… have a little fun, take a few pictures, and then watch it all melt away so we can (safely) return to the roads.  Some of us forgot to pick up our bread & milk beforehand, you know! 

Here are a few scenes from our beautiful February snow…

Although I was not standing in any long lines at my grocery store this week, I am one of the many parents that bundled up their children yesterday afternoon & took them outside to enjoy the falling snow… and of course capture a few memories with my camera.  My original thoughts were to capture the images below while the snow was coming down & then to come back later, after their was more accumulation on the ground, to capture everything with a beautiful white covering.  That white covering never happened, at least not in our area… so I’m glad I took the time yesterday afternoon for these shots. 

Happy snow day to all of the folks in Atlanta who get to spend this Friday at home vs. school or work… hope you were able to capture some (rare) sweet memories of your kiddos playing in our southern snow! 

This age is so much fun.  He’s talking all the time, repeating most of the words we say (or at least attempting to), loves to dance, loves all things Sesame Street and especially Elmo, loves music, an animal lover from day one with a special place in his heart for his big “brother” Ace (our 5 year old Weim).  He’s a mama’s boy right now, but I see that quickly fading as he turns into a big boy and wants to do everything thing Daddy does.  Some of my very favorite moments are walking into his room in the morning or when he wakes up from his nap & seeing his sweet smile & hearing “Hi, Mama”.  He makes sure we never miss a blessing before a meal and asks several times a day to “Call Da-da” (or Papa or Nana or Grandmommy… all of whom he adores).  He’s all boy and into everything… he keeps me on my toes but I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Happy 2nd birthday to my happy boy… you are a gift from God. 

They sell different sizes of organizers and can custom design them to match your room or nursery.  I think they’re a great “new mommy” gift idea, as well!  You can check out different designs on their website/blog at www.parleepockets.blogspot.com or email them directly at parleepockets@yahoo.com. 

Here are some quick shots of my new Parlee Pocket for Luke’s room.  Of course as I’m taking these, he decides he needs to be in the pictures, as well.  Please tell me why that NEVER happens when I’m actually set to do pictures of him?!  Oh well, no mother can turn the camera away from her own child – even if they are wearing their silly monkey pj’s & still have remnants of breakfast on their face…

here I am probably being “scolded” in baby talk for something…

eye contact AND a smile?  this almost NEVER happens anymore…

and, it’s over just as quick as it started… now back to “reading” my book…

Lately I’ve been inspired by some of my favorite fellow photographers and the work they’ve done with their own children.  I’ve been determined to make a point of planning out some of the special “milestone” sessions for Luke. I never want to let the fact that I spend so much of my time taking pictures for other families take away from getting equally important shots for my own family. 

I knew our beach trip would fall fairly close to the 18-month mark for Luke, so I decided a while back to hold off and get some special ones of him on the beach.  So, with the help of my incredibly patient husband and father-in-law, we set out early one morning last week to get these… and I am so thankful now to have taken the time to do it. 

These last 2 are from our last night of vacation … after dinner we headed back out onto the beach to spend some final moments by the ocean…

I’m pretty excited about this one.  One of the (very few) downfalls to being the photographer in the family is that you rarely get to be in the pictures yourself.  I actually prefer this most of the time (after spending so much time behind the camera lately, I’m quickly finding myself much more comfortable there than on the other side)… but I am missing out on some special ones with Luke that I’d love to have.  Many many thanks to my wonderful husband for catching this sweet moment…

Just a heads up that even though I should be able to check email from time to time during the week, I may not be able to respond as quickly as normal.  We’ll be back next weekend and then it’s business as usual! 

I can’t wait to take pictures of my boys on the beach… some of which I’m sure I’ll need to share on here when I return!  Oh… and because it’s not a real photoblog post without a photo, here’s a quick one from my session this past week with 8 month old Caleb… more to come from sweet Caleb’s session after vacation!