Birthday Boy

A few nights ago I decided to give this little guy a birthday celebration.  I can’t believe he’s 12.  If I’m completely honest, I don't know the exact date of his birth...I didn't realize at the time how important he would become to me, that he would really become my best friend.  But I do remember the day he was born! It was my senior year of high school when our family dog had puppies, and Little Bit was the runt. Much smaller than his brother and sister, he easily fit into the palm of my hand for a good while. I gave him lots of attention and less than a year after his birth had to go off to college. That was long enough I guess to form a strong bond, as every time I went back home to visit he was very happy and stuck to me like glue. Four years later after seeing him only over summer breaks and brief visits during the school year, I finally brought him to live with us and he's been by my side ever since! He's helped me get through some really tough times, and I’m very thankful for him!  If you've met him you know how sweet he is :)

Here’s the birthday boy with a few treats I bought him from a local dog bakery– Pumpkin Pie bites, and bacon cheese bites.  To my surprise, Mr. Picky loved them both!

I can’t say the same about the hat. He wasn’t much of a fan at first.  It took a while to get it positioned right, but I think he looked very handsome when we got it right. 

I finally convinced him it wasn’t so bad by putting mine on with him.

With the pictures were out of the way, he was ready for the cake. 

Yummy!

It does look kind of tasty. If I didn’t know it was specifically for dogs, I might like to try a piece.

And after the birthday celebration, he got a much needed haircut.  I think the new look makes him look like a younger man. 

Here’s hoping we have many more years together. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Recap–My First Wedding Shoot continued

When I was first going through my photos after the wedding I was so excited with the moments that I had captured for Mizza and Jose.  Then came the hard part, hours – and I mean hours – of editing.  Probably too many hours, but I’m still learning and will get things done quicker as I get more practice. I love editing, and in addition to getting every photo of a quality that I was happy with, I took some creative liberties to add a little unique artistic flare.  These are a few of my favorites.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Recap–My First Wedding Shoot!

June of 2014, I had the amazing experience of photographing my first wedding for a great friend.  I was so happy with the way everything turned out, and want to share just a few of my favorite shots.  I’m breaking this up into two posts – this first one with images that I loved pretty much right out of the camera and had to do very little editing.  In the next post I’ll include some of my favorite creative edits. 

This one above I just love.  This is Brandon looking up at his mom on her wedding day, and the look on his face is just precious.  He told her she looked like a princess.

I had a little fun playing around with perspective here, letting Mizza be a “fairy bride.”

 

Thanks for taking a look!

You are My Sunshine

This little guy is the sweetest, most loveable dog I’ve ever met.  And I’m not just saying that because he’s mine.  He has brought so much joy to me and I’m glad I’ve had him by my side.  I hope these pictures give a glimpse into his sweet personality.  

Thanks for looking!

Love and Kisses!

I haven’t posted in a while, but only because I am just returning from a wonderful trip up to North Carolina!  I took so many pictures of my family, and just looking through them makes me smile.  It was the first time in four or five years that my two sisters and I have been home with my mom at the same time, and she was pretty excited!  These are only a few photos I was able to capture, and some of my favorites from the trip.

Kisses for mom from the girls!  She doesn’t really like the camera but we managed to get a few little smiles out of her.

The closest we’ve come in years to a family portrait.  My little brother really wanted to be here but couldn’t make it.  Maybe I’ll try to Photoshop him in there somewhere!

My sister has the most well behaved children I have ever met.  And in my line of work, I see a lot of children.  For the most part, they did everything in their power to keep me from getting good photos of them.  I got lucky a few times though, and caught their precious faces on camera. Here are a few of them showing mom a little love.

My niece is six, and her little brother three. 

I’ve only gotten to see him about twice a year since he was born, but he had no trouble remembering who I was and stuck with me the whole time I was visiting. 

Sweet Nephew: “Jennifer”

Me:  “Yes Sir?”

Sweet Nephew:  “I Love You, Jennifer”

This was a conversation we had about once every ten minutes.  Not even kidding.

Though cute as a button, the little guy did not want to look at the camera.  I have so many shots of him sticking his tongue out, covering his face with his hands, or staring at the sky.  He isn’t quite looking at me here but I’ll take it!

My cousin’s boys stopped playing long enough to give mom a kiss on the cheek before returning to their mischief.

And now all of these photos of moms and kids has made me want to post a few of my sweet little one, so here he is giving mommy some love. (These were taken before my trip, he stayed by the pool in Florida while I was away)

Love him.

And I’m pretty sure he loves me too!

A Face to Brighten any Day

Little Bit is one of my favorite subjects to photograph.  He makes it quite difficult, as he tries to avoid looking at me any time I’m holding a camera.  Usually if I’m lucky though, I can get him to look for a few seconds by using words like “Where’s the Kitty?” “Let’s go?” or “Who’s that?”  Here are a few of those lucky moments I’ve caught, and I’m sure the first of many photos of him that will be posted here. 

 

Look at that cute little tongue!

And those eyes!

He makes me smile every single day!

I’m leaving tomorrow to go spend some time with my parents in North Carolina.  Taking the Amtrak for the first time!  I’m really excited, but leaving this little guy here and I’m going to miss him so much!