Daydream Believer


As a kid I had an active imagination, often coming up with grandiose plans and I wasn't afraid to dream big. For example, after watching the 1994 winter Olympics, I was convinced that being a figure skater is what I was meant to be. I spent time drawing and dreaming up costumes (it was always about the costumes - especially the feather accents...hello, Oksana Baiul?). Anyways, you can imagine my excitement when I got ice skates for the following Christmas, nevermind the fact that I had only ice skated a handful of times in my life - I was certain that once I put on these beautiful white skates I would be doing a triple salchow in no time (all I needed was the perfect skating dress...). Anyways, as I'm sure you've guessed, my figure skating dreams didn't come true but I had such a great time planning and dreaming about it that it wasn't too disappointing in the end.

What does this have to do with photography you may ask? True to form, I tend to plan and daydream constantly about ideas for sessions and am constantly seeing inspiration in magazines, catalogs, and online. I'm often uncertain as to how to approach people with my ideas, as occasionally it can be hard to explain my vision to others and it sometimes takes just the right client to make an idea work. So, instead of letting the ideas float around in my brain and possibly never come to fruition, I thought I would post some thoughts/inspiration here in the hopes that maybe an idea will speak to someone who reads this.

One session I've been dying to do ever since I saw the February 2011 J Crew catalog is a vintage (60's?) inspired session. I'm not talking full on retro, but when I saw the catalog I was in love with the images and would love to do something with a similar feel. You can view some of the images HERE, I'm especially in love with this one and this one (despite the fact that we have no palm trees here, I think I could make it work).

I also think about locations that would be amazing...I'd love to do a session in a field of flowers (haven't found one around here yet, so if anyone has any good spots they want to share, let me know!), at an apple orchard, and on a farm.

Baby sessions are something that I've been doing a lot of lately, and my sister showed me a super creative 1 year session where the parents had the baby "paint" a canvas (with baby safe non-toxic paint, obviously). The little girl played in the paint and crawled all over the canvas and then the parents had the canvas stretched and it now hangs in the baby's bedroom. I thought it was such a unique take on the 1 year session (cake smash, etc).

So anyways, those are some of the things I've been daydreaming about recently - hopefully one of these session ideas will come to life someday!

Have a fantastic Friday!

Myelle - 6 Months

Sweet baby Myelle. Don't you just love her name? I have never heard it before, but I think it's beautiful. Lindsay told me that before she knew she was pregnant, she was watching the Olympics and there was an athlete named Myelle. She thought it was such a pretty name that she filed it away in her mind as a possible name for a future daughter, not knowing at the time that she'd have her daughter that October!

Myelle was such a great little model, I adore all of her little headbands (Lindsay makes headbands like these - so any moms with little girls that are interested - let me know and I'll get you hooked up!!). Anyways, despite having to do the session all indoors (crazy Iowa weather!), I think we got some great shots. Here is a preview, enjoy!

myelleblog1

myelleblog7

myelleblog4

myelleblog10

myelleblog5

Myelle was quite bendy - I kept calling her "yoga baby".
myelleblog12

myelleblog6

myelleblog11

myelleblog8

myelleblog9

myelleblog2

myelleblog3

Can You Dig It?

dirtpileblog

At the beginning of 2010 I wrote up a list of 101 things I'd like to do in 1001 days (see original post here). Goals #1 and #2 were to buy a new house with a yard for Einstein, and sell our current home. In February we started looking and after talking with our friends who built last summer/fall, we decided that we would build as well. So...we met with the builders, finalized our plans, put our house on the market, accepted an offer on our current home, and picked out our new lot. Despite all the meetings, planning, and picking out all of the appliances, countertops, cabinets, lighting, etc - it hasn't seemed real until yesterday. I got an email around lunchtime that they would be digging the hole that afternoon, and we got some calls and texts from friends in the neighborhood as well once they began. After work we loaded Einstein into the car and headed over to photograph them breaking ground. Einstein is not sure about all the dirt, but I think he'll like his new backyard with lots of room to explore.

einerdirtblog

In July we will be moving into our new home, and I am so excited to see it progress over the next months. I can't wait to see the finished product!

sunsetblog