Nolan, Day Two
Nolan came home from the hospital today so, of course, we had to visit him. And hold him. And photograph him. He is so beautiful and sweet and cuddly. And perfect. Enjoy!
Happy Birthday, Nolan!
I’ll keep this short; I’ve got a baby to go visit! Nolan was born just before noon today weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces and stretching out 22 inches. The birth was perfect, as is Nolan. More photos to come!
39 Weeks Pregnant
I want to thank Chris’s parents for their message to Nolan for this week. Not only are they great in-laws for Karlyn, but they already have a one year old grandson (whose mom will be writing next week’s post), so they already know how to be wonderful grandparents. I still have no idea—except that spoiling will play a large role.
This week Chris also played with us as we explored a couple of ideas I’ve been wanting to try out. Just in time, as the official due date is next Monday.
One last addition for Nolan: a bookcase for all of his books and toys. Okay, SOME of his toys.
This is the outfit that is already packed and ready for the hospital. I can’t believe it will fit him!
And since evenings in Colorado can get quite chilly, this little sleeper should keep him warm!
Finally, just a fun shot. (I think Karlyn is ready!)
Heather & Keith Get Married!
What an honor it is to shoot a wedding. And Heather and Keith’s was special for many diverse reasons, not least of which I had taught Heather when she was a delightful honors level sophomore in one of my English classes. When she asked me to shoot her wedding to Keith, I was thrilled. If you look at just a few photos of last weekend’s wedding, you will see why this was so much fun. They were married at the Lady of Loreto Church in Centennial and held the reception at the Inverness Hotel in Englewood.
Once I’m done going through the hundreds of photos I haven’t yet edited, I am going to post some “family” themed photos. (Both sides of the family were so great to work with, that I feel they deserve their own post!) But I couldn’t wait to share these. Congratulations, Heather and Keith!
Before going to the church, I stopped by Mary Lou and Tim’s house to take a few snapshots of the bride.
Mary Lou and Tim have a favorite photo of Heather as a young girl. The next two photos use that photo as part of the story.
The bridal flowers added just the right accent for a fun photo.
Our Lady of Loreto Church in Centennial provided a beautiful setting for the wedding ceremony.
And Father John Paul opened up the balcony doors to let us take advantage of its spectacular facade after the ceremony.
And having a great zoom lens let me take advantage of a great photo op!
The reception at the Inverness also provided some interesting possibilities, although the golf course itself ended up off limits!
And, despite high winds that blew down branches on the tree behind them, the wedding party was willing to have some fun with pictures. Of course, we have several of the “formal” shots in the church and at the reception, but these were much more fun.
One last shot of the couple during their first dance!
38 Weeks Pregnant
We are entering the final stretch! Now that Nolan has moved away from her ribs, Karlyn is truly enjoying this time—and it shows. And she is sweet enough to share some of those moments with me. Yesterday, Nolan’s foot was literally pushing her stomach out! This week Nolan’s great grandmother in Washington state wrote the message; I am so glad we have technology like Skype so that she will get to “meet” her very first great grandchild soon after he is born!
And just because it’s fun to play in Lightroom, I tried making the “boy” theme dominate this next version of the above photo.
Baby You Can Drive My Car
…and other photos of an adorable one year old!
I first met Nicholas and his parents Melissa and Chip doing a newborn shoot. We couldn’t wait an entire year to photograph him again, so met right before Christmas for a six month session. This weekend I met up with the family again to help mark his first birthday. I cannot tell you how much fun it is to photograph toddlers (and crawlers!) as they never, never hold still. But the joy they find in absolutely everything is so inspiring and delightful that I end up with far more photos than I could ever imagine taking in just an hour. And Nicholas is a special joy, from discovering his dad’s baseball glove and his mom’s stuffed dog to driving his “new” car! Happy birthday, Nicholas!
The car is the perfect color for this cool special effect (as are Nicholas’s eyes!).
Okay, how can you help but love a kid who reacts like this to a camera? (Not to mention his grandparents waving pompons behind me.)
At first, Nicholas didn’t know exactly what to do with his “prop”. But after awhile, he didn’t want to let it go.
Some of my favorite photos are the ones we cannot possibly plan for. In the middle of our group shot, Nicholas decided it was time for an Eskimo kiss with his mom instead!
37 Weeks Pregnant
We are now going week to week, with Karlyn hoping Nolan wants to come on out and join the family and me wanting her to last another week or two at least so I can get a few more pictures! And it is going to snow tonight, so all the outdoor photos I’ve been wanting to take will just have to wait a little longer. Yes, it is May. Yes, it is starting to snow. Yes, I think Cabo sounds really, really good right now! But not nearly as good as meeting Nolan. Another person who can’t wait to meet Nolan is Janet, who took a turn guest writing his message this week.
Chris and Karlyn spent the weekend planting flowers and fixing up their yard, including the back yard—which is all ready for Nolan once he’s big enough to fit into the swing!
I’ve been dying to try a photo with a picture frame as a prop, and Karlyn is finally big enough to “fill the frame.”
Middle School Models
For the past two years, Cindi, a middle school yearbook adviser, has generously allowed me to visit her classroom, work with her amazing students, and share my photo knowledge with them. Their book is done (and fabulous!) so I really don’t NEED to keep visiting, but that doesn’t mean I don’t WANT to. So last week we set up an impromptu studio in their classroom complete with remote flash and a black backdrop and shot 14 “glamour” shots (all in less than 40 minutes). I played some with effects and even removed the braces from a couple of the kids just for fun, but most of the time found myself in awe of these dynamic, intelligent, fun almost-high schoolers. And thank you, Cindi, for the chance to get to know your kids!
36 Weeks Pregnant
As you can see, Karlyn is READY! This month should be fun as there really is nothing left to do but wait. And take more pictures. And spoil Sake while he is still the only “child” in the house!
35 Weeks Pregnant
Karlyn has been so wonderful as I try out this experiment of following her progress and recording her week to week life. Of course, she gave me the idea in the first place, but back at 16 weeks when we planned this, it seemed so much easier! If anyone is visiting the site for the first time, be sure to scroll back to watch the progress of her pregnancy. It has been amazing to see how big Nolan is getting. And now we are in the final stretch (with no marks yet to show for it, yeah!) so prepare to see some different types of photos in the weeks ahead. I can’t wait to meet the little darling. In the meantime, we’ll keep on recording his growth and documenting where he will live.
