Shutter Session: Emma and Lila

Last weekend I was lucky enough to spend a Sunday morning with two charming little girls, collecting flowers and blowing dandelion seeds all over the grass.  Emma was a little hesitant at first, but quickly warmed up to me with a couple of pirouettes and plies from her dance class.  By the end, she was even singing her favorite songs from the radio.  Her little sister was all about the camera, running around and stopping long enough to show me a pose.  The most fun part was catching her in action, though! Their session turned out wonderfully.  I have a new-found appreciation for dandelions, and I thought that this was the perfect example to use for a storyboard...

I loved catching the little details in these sisters...

*Their sparkly shoes...

*The catchlights in their beautiful eyes...

*Their sweet interactions, sister dances, and hand-holding.

*Each girl's independence.

Lila forged her own path across the park while her big sister acted as my assistant and told us where we should go for the next picture!  Emma was such a talkative little girl and she loved helping me, telling me all about school, and taking in everything around her.  Unfortunately we couldn't fulfill her request of taking pictures next to the lion's den so it'd look like she were getting eaten!

Here, one of Emma's photo locations.  A gorgeous bench shot of the two girls.

Some more dandelion fun.  Lila wanted to do everything that her big sister did!  I love the sunlight in this photo.

And finally, two of my favorite images from the day's session.  Really, how can that last one NOT make you smile?  :o)

Shutter Session: Watch Factory

I live near the old Waltham Watch Factory, and it's my new favorite place to photograph.  I love the old bricks, the view of the Charles River, the way the sunlight streams through the old mill windows.  A few weeks ago Sehily and I spent a fun morning at the Watch Factory, and I got to see whole new parts of the area that were oh-so-photogenic.  I loved finding ways to use the reflective windows, the gigantic flower pots, the gravel paths, and the crumbling piles of bricks to help make some fantastic photographs.

I've always loved how bricks photograph!

Really love the depth of field in the above photo.  It was tricky to get it just so with the lighting, though!  This was actually taken way up high on the wall to where the sunlight was shining, since the bottom half was covered in shadow.  To get up there, THIS is what we had to do...

Just another Sunday morning spent scaling walls!

And another of my favorite photos from the session.  I had Sehily walk away into the path of the sun, and then turn around and come back so I could get the angle of the building behind her.  The laughter there?  Yeah, I totally started singing the "Pretty Woman" theme song at that point!!  hahaha, it definitely got a laugh out of her and the best expression in this photo!

After the Watch Factory, we moved on to a cluster of dogwood trees.  This was the last week they were in bloom, so that timeline definitely spurred me to photograph them.  I love the shots here of the metallic fence against the smooth petals.

As we were leaving, guess what we found?  Oops!

Brighter Than the Sun

"This is how it starts, lightning strikes the heart.It goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun. We could be the stars, falling from the sky, Shining how we want, brighter than the sun."

~Colbie Caillat

Sunbursts.  Sunbeams.  A glimmer.  Rays of sunshine.  Golden light.  A sparkle and a twinkle.  Sun flare.  The clouds part above as the angels sing...  Call it what you want, but it is oh-so-beautiful.  Ever since I first figured out how to capture that on my camera, it's kind of been an obsession of mine.  Quite a few people have told me, "Oh, you can avoid that by using a lens hood."  Oh yes, I certainly have one of those. And oh no, I rarely use it.  I prefer to tilt my lens just so, knowing that I'll have a better chance of getting those twinkling rays to grace my photographs.

And here, for your viewing pleasure, are a few of my favorites.

*My first ever sunburst photo, taken on the Charles River by my home.

*Cape Cod.  A Yarmouth beach at sunset.

*Barcelona, Spain.

*An all-time favorite, and one that has made it to my walls.... Check out that sun flare!  Il Colosseo, Roma.

*The sunlight gave this photo taken in a plaza in Salamanca, Spain a very warm feeling to it...

*And finally, those gorgeous beams hitting an ancient stone entryway in Taormina, Italy.

So really, call it what you want, but there's no denying that those sunbeams are the most amazing thing to "catch" in  your photographs.  Hoping to capture a few in my upcoming sessions.... yet another reason to keep my fingers crossed for some more sunny days!

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge: Letter "B"

Have you heard of the website "I Heart Faces"? Check it out!  They have wonderful tutorials and guest bloggers, and their site is jam-packed with some of the most gorgeous photos you will ever see.  This community of photographers has a monthly photo contest focusing on a theme.  April's theme is the letter "B".  I have so many photos to choose from, but decided to go with this recent angelic shot featuring my beloved sunbursts.

Beams of sunshine and bright baby blue peepers.

This photo was submitted to the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com

<a href="http://www.iheartfaces.com/"><img title="I Heart Faces Photo Challenge Submission" src="http://www.iheartfaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/I-Heart-Faces-button.jpg" alt="Photo Challenge Submission" /></a>

Shutter Session: Luke (a.k.a. "When Irish Eyes are Smiling")

Last weekend was a busy weekend for photography shoots!  I had the luck o' the Irish on my side and I got to spend the afternoon with one of my oldest friends who I've known pretty much my entire life.  She now lives in Ireland, but was home visiting family.  I got the chance to photograph her little guy, Luke.  He's a smiley little guy who moves fast and loves popping bubbles. Check out those gorgeous baby blues!  I love the way his eyes just catch the light and really pop with his shirt.

And here, I'm getting quite a lot of use out of this homemade quilt!

Love those eyelashes!

Shutter Session: Holden

Last weekend I got to spend an afternoon with little Holden at Capron Park in Attleboro.  He was such a calm, content little boy who was just starting to maneuver his first steps, skipping completely over the crawling stage!  This independent little boy didn't want to sit for a second, just stand... so stand he did! His photos turned out angelic with those dreamy blue eyes of his.  I love how I caught the perfect sunbeam in a few of them.... as you'll start to see on this blog, I kind of have a thing for capturing sunbursts and sunbeams in my photography!  I'm always searching for ways to get those sunbeams to appear in my photos.

I discovered one of the most amazing prop finds ever as I was driving to the location.  There was this beautiful, stark white wrought iron "H" at the entrance of the park.  Perfect for Holden!  We did a series of shots with this spunky 8-month old at the H.  Here are a few...

And finally,one of my favorites showcasing those stunning eyes.  Love the catchlights in this photo!

Plus, who doesn't love a toothy grin?

It was a fantastic session with a smiley little boy.  He loved the "click" of the shutter and would gaze intently into the lens every time he heard the click.  Such a cutie!

Road Trip!

"I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."   ~Audrey Hepburn

1,020 miles.  3.5 tanks of gas.  17 hours behind the wheel.  1 suitcase.

426 baby kisses.  57 popped soap bubbles.  5 overly affectionate animals.  17 squealing baby laughs.  22 seconds of standing alone on one-year old feet.

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Wendy and I met seven years ago one fateful night on the streets of Buenos Aires, bonding over a bowl of dulce de leche ice cream at Freddo.  It was an immediate friendship, one that we had to travel to the opposite hemisphere to find, and once we discovered that we shared a birthday, we dubbed ourselves the "Gemelas," Spanish for twins.  Soul sisters is more like it.  Since then our friendship has endured the test of time and distance, and we enjoy the few times a year that we get to see each other.

This week I hit the road and headed to western Pennsylvania to visit Wendy and Scott and their 20-month old son, Zachary.  Enjoy the small moments, we certainly did!  It was a relaxing vacation filled with mugs of tea, laughter, country roads, books, conversation, reminiscing, and lots of clicks of the shutters on our cameras.

Wendy is a person whose path has been an unpaved dirt road filled with many twists and turns, and even a couple of pretty rough potholes, but she has accepted each one with grace and continued forward on her new path.  It's a strength that I greatly admire.  Very Audrey of her.  This week I loved capturing the bond she shares with her son.

Wendy's first daughter is due to arrive next month.  A great opportunity for me to get some natural maternity shots!

Zachary, on the other hand, is wowing the world with his long list of talents.  He's such a happy little boy, and we shared a lot of giggles together.  Remember -- while Mommy's away, Zack and Auntie Gem will play!

 

One of my favorites of Zack.  Such a smile!  Love that toothy grin.

Look who's learning his letters!  Or, at least he's learning how to hide them under the stove!

Wild and Precious

"Tell me, what is it you plan do to with your one wild and precious life?"   ~Mary Oliver

This quote has crossed my path time and time again, and ever since the day that those words first stamped themselves on my memory, I haven't quite been able to separate them from my thoughts and my definition of self.  For me, life is about sunshine, happiness, celebrations, smiles, relationships, and laughter.  Each of these may be fleeting, lasting only an instant, but they are moments that merit the use of the ::pause:: button.  That's what I aim to do with this blog. Pause for a second and enjoy those sunny moments in life.  Our lives are kaleidoscopes of ever-changing emotions and scenery, but every day I want to look for ways to capture those fleeting moments in time and enjoy them a little bit longer.

So what is it I plan to do with this one wild and precious life?  Click, click!  Looking at the world through the lens of a camera always lends a sunnier perspective.  This blog will allow me to share that with others!

Enjoy!

~Nicole