the next chapter

Okay, so this is one of those random, super personal posts that I will feel so much better having posted . . . I am getting a little bit of weight off the ol' shoulders, and opening up in a way I haven't in quite a while, and it feels wonderful to do so . . . :) I will tell you my work history in a snapshot . . . in 2003, I moved to Bozeman, Montana. I came from Denver, and from there I came from upstate NY. I visited Bozeman over a Thanksgiving holiday, interviewed with a wonderful law firm, told them I could start the job around Christmas, went back to Denver, got a phone call, and landed the job. Couldn't have been luckier. I began this career the end of that year, happily employed. Fast forward three years later, and I am the mother of two amazing little girls. I have a mad passion for photography. I am paying out the wazoo for day care. I am thinking I can probably make the difference in photography if I just launch my business and throw out a prayer or two. I give my two-week notice, and I start blogging. I am happily home, being a mom, starting each morning on the swingset with a cup of hot coffee in my hand. I go through the motions of waking, working, swinging, blogging, working, walking, napping, blogging, playing, and all of the other fun things us SAHMs do (except crafts - I am a horrible crafter). I begin developing a wonderful photography business, and then life takes a turn and starts a new chapter. I run into my old boss at a wine bar downtown, and let him know of my flexible schedule. The following week, I'm employed again, this time part-time. I think, I'm going to work my ass off. I'm going to work outside of the home, I'm going to work inside of the home, I'm going to schedule shoots left and right, I'm going to just do whatever I have to do to never worry about making it again . . . Along came Joe . . . I continued to work, I continued to run my business, and I began to feel the stress. I was working just three days a week, but that only left me two days and evenings to feed the photography fuel that I needed to keep everyone in the loop that I am, indeed, a full time photographer, legit in what I do, passionate about what I do, and so extremely lucky. And as my schedule developed and became a bit more permanent, I realized the challenges in working part time. Long weekends out of town became an inconvenience, and my super-sensitive persona became stressed. I wanted to be home, sitting here, doing what I'm doing now, doing what I love. Taking photos, writing, menu planning, trying my best to remember that the clothes I washed on Tuesday are sitting in mold in the washer on Thursday. When Joe gets home from work, I'm sitting at my computer, working on the business that deserves my attention during the day, so that I can enjoy my evenings with the ones I love oh so much. On Friday, I said goodbye to an amazing group of people I have been so blessed to work with, on and off, for the past eight years. And today I am so proud of being able to make the choice to be home, to work from home, to help Joe with his practice, and for the love of God to remember the clothes in the washer that is literally six steps from my desk. I had a couple of girlfriends over for dinner recently, and one of them asked me, how did you start your photography business? And I told the story, and by the time I got to the end, I was feeling quite proud of where I have come. When I left the law firm on Friday, I called one of my best friends, also a photographer, and said, I'm coming over to celebrate . . . and we sat there, faces in the sun, talking about everything under it, and I felt so incredibly lucky and loved and blessed and happy. This is a good life. I teared up for sure at the office, not because I was sad to leave and focus on the things that bring our family happiness and satisfaction, but because I am so blessed to have been treated so well for so many years by this amazing group of people. It's a wonderful day when you cry tears of gratitude. I'll be back in the blog-o-sphere in full force, and helping Joe as much as I can to promote his amazing practice, and I can't help but feel, in the pit of my stomach, that amazing things are coming our way. Do not be afraid to follow your dream. Even if you have to backtrack a bit, get right back on board when you can . . . (p.s. - if you didn't quite follow my rambling, here's what happened - I quit my part time job that I went back to about 1 1/2 years ago, and Friday was my last day, and I'm super stoked to have full attention back on my business, and to help Joe at his office, and to try and remember that there are wet clothes in the washer.) And the messy faces that make it all worth it :)

sweet little shorties

Back in March, Joe and I took a very looooong road trip to Denver to visit my sister and brother-in-law, their two kiddos, and my mom who was visiting from New York. When I say long, trust me. We drove to Sheridan, Wyoming, the evening before to kill a few hours of our trip, stayed the night in a hotel, and planned to arrive in Denver by 2:00. Unfortunately, we spent too much time fiddling with how to get the backseat TVs to work, completely missed the exit to I-25 (which, by the way, was about 20 minutes from our hotel), and ended up on a lovely, silent detour through Deadwood. Thankfully we can laugh about it now . . . and the girls were so wonderfully patient. It was worth it to have all of my mom's grandchildren together in one place, and for some good cousin love . . . My mom cracks me up, she still bathes her grandchildren in the kitchen sink if she can! Sophie girl . . . Stella and Grant . . . Ava cannot get enough of Sophie. She's going to be a wonderful big sister all over again someday soon (we hope)! And some loving for Aunt Dee Dee. My girls absolutely love their aunt. I am so hopeful for all of us to spend more time together, and to have them back in Montana for our wedding. There's nothing more important than family, and wonderful friends, and I am so blessed to have both. Happy Thursday!

keridy + geoff!

This wedding is long overdue but has not been forgotten . . . I am trying so hard and am much more available now to give this blog and my clients the attention they deserve! Keridy and Geoff were married August6, 2011, at the beautiful Rainbow Ranch in Big Sky, Montana. It was designed by the exceptional Leslie Lukas and her staff, and I was able to meet with Keridy and Geoff a couple of times pre-wedding in social situations. It made for an effortless working relationship, and I will always feel so honored that they chose me to photograph their very special day. I love makeup shots . . . they just so candidly capture the process of helping us ladies get purdy! A handful of the beautiful bridesmaids! Leslie's beautiful hydrangeas . . . A handful of Leslie's beautiful details . . . Thank you, Keridy and Geoff, for allowing me to be a part of your wonderful weekend!

engaged: travis and kyndra

This adorable couple of mine is getting married on June 23rd at The Woodlands . . . my first full-blown wedding event in Montana so far this year! We have met numerous times and they are nothing short of darling. I am very excited to meet their families and friends in just a few weeks. Congrats, you two!

maegan and chris: sneak peek!

Maegan and Chris were the delightful couple I flew to New York for the first weekend in June . . . I had never met them, but knew some of Maegan's relatives, so it was a wonderful wedding with a few familiar faces. I could not have asked for a better couple to photograph, however. Maegan and Chris are full of nothing but love, light and laughter, and it just radiates from them. In the 8 hours I spent with them, I can tell you they are very, very real and their relationship is extremely special. It rained the majority of the day, so we stayed inside for as many photos as we could . . . Stay tuned for a full blog post of this beautiful day!

after the wedding

Happy Monday, everyone! Wedding season is upon us, and so far I have photographed a couple of intimate weddings at the beautiful Rainbow Ranch in Big Sky, MT, one in Charleston, South Carolina, and my most recent one in upstate New York. I am so excited to share it ALL with you this year . . . and some personal circumstances in my life have recently led me right back to working my photography business full time, with an extra special attention to my clients. A very memorable experience I had in my early years was a tiny little piece of missing information on my contract that allowed a client of mine to receive every. single. image. that I photographed the day of her wedding. My wording has since changed, but imagine my horror in handing over a group of photographs that, simply put, I don't want anyone else to see. There are always a few bad shots. Fiddling with your settings, test photos, bad composition, eyes shut, focus is off, etc. It happens. Show me a photographer whereby every single image taken is beautiful and deliverable, and I will show you a million dollars. The other reason we do this is so that you aren't getting six nearly-identical images of a family photo. Part of what you, as a client, are paying a photographer to do is weed through those not-so-good images and place them carefully in a little folder on my computer I like to call the Recycle Bin. Keep in mind that ALL of your images are backed up immediately after the wedding - if there is something you feel is missing, you can ask for it and I can search for it. However, the final product includes the most deliverable images, and those images are carefully edited to my style so that they showcase the most beautiful you. Below is a keeper - the beautiful Nisha, and displays the before and after of how the photo looks straight out of the camera, and how the image looks after post-production. It isn't crazy-different from the original, and Nisha is as gorgeous as it gets, but it deserved a little bit of work . . . A lot of hard work goes into what we do after your wedding, but I know in this industry and in my community, we are all truly passionate about what we do, and are so honored to be a part of your day. Stay tuned for a full week's worth of posts!

boudoir special: mark your calendar!

As the boudoir area of my business is expanding, and the wedding season is upon us, it is only appropriate to kick things off with a boudoir special at my new boudoir space, the LOFT at The Woodlands at Cottonwood Canyon! The wonderful Elsa is so extremely generous in lending this space to photographers and others in the creative industry so we have a perfect location to bring these lovely ladies. I will soon be posting photos of this site to give those interested a better idea of just how beautiful it is, but for now just imagine a gorgeous space with lots of comfortable furniture, natural light, and the option to even step outside . . . With that said, I am holding my first boudoir marathon there on July 8, 2012. Here are the details: Length of shoot: 45 minutes Clothing options: This time frame easily allows for three different pieces. Please decide on them prior to the shoot to ensure we are giving ourselves enough time to photograph. What you get: The digital negatives delivered on DVD and a 5 x 5 genuine leather album with 20 images of your choice. Price: $250 due at the time of the session. Champagne and light snacks will of course be provided throughout the day . . . feel free to bring a friend if it would make you more comfortable and the experience even more memorable! Please be prepared to begin the shoot at your designated time. While there is plenty of space to do hair and makeup, we will not have the time for you to begin that process at the same time your shoot is scheduled. I hope to see you there!