Lee Family, December 2011

Living in sunny Southern Utah has some serious benefits. One being that I can still shoot family portraits outside. I had so much fun with the Lee family this year. Their kiddos are all at young and energetic, so we decided to skip the idea of formal structure, and let the shoot unfold organically. My hubby/assistant did a wonderful job keeping the kids smiling and looking towards the camera as much as possible, and there were a lot of laughs and fun moments.

Here are a few of my favorite images:

Petrosino family

Unfortunately, the day that we had scheduled for this photo shoot in northern Utah was a rainy, overcast, and cold day. Fortunately though, these are some of my best friends and they are such good sports. While my husband/assistant and I were bundled in fleece and coats, Bill and Mariah braved the elements with cute outfits and smiles.

I love when personalities shine through, and I have to say that I feel that really happened on this shoot. I already knew how much they love one another and how fun they are to be around, but I think that it really shows in the photos. 

I also loved that Mariah requested the following photograph of their shoes. While Bill left the house dressed up for the photo shoot when he left the house that morning, he decided to wear his comfortable shoes to the office and  forgot to bring his nice shoes... 

Heidi's Maternity Shoot, Part 2

Here are some of the photos I took of Bill and Heidi together during this maternity shoot. Part 1, which is all Heidi, can be seen HERE. I'm pretty sure that I'll end up making a part 3 to finish up this series... Like I said before, I just had so much fun with these two... so we ended up with loads of photos.

Heidi's Maternity Shoot, Part 1

I feel very blessed to have been able to do this maternity shoot. My friend Heidi has had her little one now and has her to hold in her arms, but I hope that these photos will serve as reminders of that exciting time where there was still that wonder and curiosity of what that new little life would be like when she arrives.

Heidi's hubby was there and I got plenty of cute couple's shots as well. I just wanted to share these first:

We did this shoot just before the Red Cliffs Recreation Area begins. It is just outside of St. George, Utah and offers some spectacular views. The sunlight was beautiful, there were a variety of backgrounds, and the weather was just perfect. Heidi also made for a dream subject. She is quite adventurous, and happily climbed up on logs and into stream beds to get interesting shots. Plus she just gorgeous, and had the whole pregnancy glow down perfectly. Talk about an easy, wonderful, happy shoot. 

Tim and Genevieve at Red Cliffs

I love taking outdoor portraits. I try to go different places each time, but I will be coming back to Red Cliffs. There is so much variety, and it is local to me, so why not?

As I mentioned before, these two were a riot. There was a lot of giggling, laughing, and tickling going on during this session. I love how they could just be themselves and let loose, and it was fun hiking around with them to find fun spots. 

Tim and Genevieve as seen through the lens of my Diana Mini

These are all out outtakes from my time with Tim and Genevieve. They were taken on my Diana Mini while hiking around with these two. 

Kyle

I got this impromptu portrait of Kyle when out hiking with him and my hubby. It was taken on my SX 70 Alpha camera using The Impossible Project's PX680 First Flush film.
We hiked to Elephant Arch outside of St George, UT. When I took this photo, we were in the thick of the sand portion of the route. We all were moving a bit slower , so we noticed things a bit more. We took in the way the light was bouncing around the valley, and stopped to photograph the waves in the sand. It was happy and peaceful so I thought it would make a perfect moment to capture.

Kyle is going through some really hard times right now, so he said he's going to hang the original up where it will remind him to smile more. I think that's a great use for a photo. 

Tim and Genevieve Polaroids

These two are so cute together. They were really fun to photograph, when I could photograph them. There was a lot of laughing going on during this session. 

These photos were taken at the Red Cliffs Recreational area outside of St George, UT. I used one of my Spectra Polaroid cameras and PZ 600 Silvershade film from The Impossible Project. This film is a lot of fun to use. It can result in black and white photos in the cold or sepia if the shots develop where it is hot. As you can guess, it was a hot, hot day when I photographed Tim and Genevieve. 

I'll share more of their session soon. The colors around Red Cliffs are just amazing. 

Sara, at rest

Little Sara. She's a bundle of cute energy. This was taken in Ohio on one of the few nicer days in December. It was warm enough that some of the older kids went out to play basketball. Sara wanted to watch and play her own games, but she stopped for just a moment for me to snap this shot.
This photo was taken on my Canon Canonet QL. It is a little SLR rangefinder. I really enjoyed taking it on the road with me. It was nice to throw it into a camera bag and still have room for three or four of my other analog cameras and my little travel digital camera as well.

Zion National Park Polaroids 2

I had so much fun taking these Polaroids in Zion. I don't mind lugging a camera bag loaded with five different cameras, because sometimes the images are just magic. Sometimes they just have a life of their own. The first three images below were taken on a Keystone 60 Second Everflash-- a big hulking camera. But its a workhorse. When "nicer" Polaroid cameras have let me down, the Everflash has been ever faithful. Lame joke, I know, but its true.The film is known as Chocolate. It can turn any number of tones between pastel blue, pink, and brown. At times it shoots like a monochromatic brown-white film, but at others, other shades come through. Over two days of shooting it in Zion I feel like I got quite a variety. 

This last two photos were taken on a Polaroid Spectra camera. I cropped out the white border of the scans to show just the photo part of them. This is on some of the newer film from The Impossible Project. I really like their black and white film. (Who am I kidding, I like all their film!) They've come so far and I can't wait to see what they yet have to pull out of their sleeves. 

Chrissy and Suzy

Here are some of my analog shots of Chrissy and Suzy. Chrissy is such a beautiful mom, and it was great to be able to get a few shots of her with Suzy when she was super tiny. These two were shot when the other kids were running off some extra energy with their dad. It was much easier shooting a little tiny baby that couldn't get away, even if she just wanted to sleep through the whole thing. That being said, I think that the quick moving targets make you hone your skills faster. 

The first two shots were taken on my Canon Canonet QL, and the last was taken on my Holga GN. 

Zion National Park Polaroids

Three images, taken from the bridge at Canyon Junction of Hwy 9 in Zion National Park. These were taken right around dusk this past Saturday. These were captured on my Polaroid sx70 camera, using px70 PUSH! film. (I'm having fun playing with film from The Impossible Project.) It was a lovely, albeit cold day at the park. After taking quite a few shots on the bridge, I walked around taking in the evening winter beauty of a snow-covered Zion. I love the transformation that a little white covering can do to a place. 

The Peter Children

Quick informal portrait done with squirmy, giggly, happy children on Christmas day 2010.

Meeting Suzy

 What's not to love about a brand new little baby? They are just so sweet and darling. And they can't run or roll away at that age. They're the perfect subject.
These are the just the photos that include the newest member of the Lee family. More photos to follow of the rest of their little gang.

I will upload my analog photos of this shoot soon. All of the above photos are taken on a Nikon D60.