Example number one or two????

Forgot to put these in the pregnancy shoot post and I had to add them because I love this shot. I really like them both ways. What is your favorite?IMG_9529 (1) IMG_9529

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Dream “finally” comes true

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For all of you that know me  you have heard me saying since my daughter Ashlee got married back in 2007 “show me the babies”.  Well she finally obliged!  You are also probably  wondering why I have fallen off the face of the earth the last year or so. This is reason number 1. Reason number 2 is we sold our home in Apex last august and bought another really old home in Sanford and have since  been involved in a “remake” of “The money pit”. I hope to catch you all up to date in the following weeks. Life has been crazy,wonderful,stressful,busy, challenging,creative,and joyful just to say a bit.

These amazing images are of the pregnancy shoot I did with Ashlee and Daryl last year this time. She was just over 6 months pregnant here. The photos were taken at the Moses Cone house on the blue-ridge parkway and an old abandoned property near hickory. It was one of my favorite shoots of all time. Ashlee made her beautiful dress and styled the whole shoot. She is just so talented and we loved the way all the images turned out.

House and baby photos coming soon!

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Sailing with Team Tijon

Img_2927 D_1024x524 44If you read my blog you will notice its been quite a while since I’ve posted. If you know me then you know that I always have a lot to say, it’s just been a super busy time in my life and I don’t typically posts my shoots for privacy reasons. Larry and I have not been to St. Martin in over 2 years and this winter decided we were going no matter what. He said 4 weeks and I said 6. I won. By week 3 he was thanking me profusely for booking those extra 2 weeks.

One of the 1st things we did there was get up with our friends Cindy and John Berglund. They own a most wonderful perfumery in Grand Case. They make incredible men’s and women’s perfume as well as all kind of other great skin products. The most fun thing they do is offer classes where you can learn all about how perfume is made and make your own 1 of a kind perfume. Look up www.Tijon.com to see all their wonderful shop and products. They have been voted the number  1 thing to do while on St. Martin by Trip Advisor!

Cindi and John are very friendly and outgoing and have made a ton of friends over the years, so its very natural for them to celebrate with friends when there are big happenings on the island. One such event happens every year there in march  called The Heineken Regatta. Its a 3 day event with dozens of races and parties. People come from all over the world to race in the regatta. Its great fun to watch but hard to really see too much from shore. A few years ago John and Cindi decided to charter a boat to get up close and personal to see the races. Team Tijon was born. This year 75 people flew in from around the globe to sail with Team Tijon. Larry and I were among the lucky crew. We sailed up close to the races,drank rum punch,danced and did the limbo and had a great time! We hope to make this a annual date in our calenders every march.

Not knowing how wet things were going to be I left my professional camera at home and just brought my small point and shoot water camera with me. I was happy overall with the photos I was able to get. I think they capture the fun of the day and the beauty of the boats racing.Untitled-1w

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Photos that inspire me.

Hi Everyone. I thought I would share with you from time to time photos that I have found that inspire me. I love how the artist Ekaterina Efremova captured these beautiful children. From the exquisite lighting, the way they are standing in the frame, to their adorable expressions; I love it all. If you want to be inspired by more of Ekatrina’s work you may find her on a site called 500px

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The lost Art of Handtinting

Back in the day, before color film was invented artists would hand paint a black and white photo by painting on top of the photo with oil paints to simulate color. I have always loved this technique and learned to hand tint 28 years ago while I was at Memphis College of Arts. One of my all time favorites I have ever done was a life size photo of Hannah when she was 6 years old.

IMG_0279It Measures 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Makes quite the statement in the dining room. The paper these photos are printed on are archival to 200 years plus so they become treasured heirlooms.  I have several portraits I have handtinted of my girls over the years and I never get tired of looking at them. Recently I finally got around to handtinting a portrait of my daughter Ashlee from when she was 12 years old. It was taken in the most beautiful place; the estate of John Deer. It is historical home called Vizcaya and if you ever get to Miami you should take a tour.

Here is a image of the painting in progress.

IMG_7497-webYou can see how the color is transforming the image.The oils are transparent so everything you paint has a softer lighter tone than a real color photo has.It saddens me to know that this is becoming just another lost art in the world or technology.Today when a photographer handtints an image they just take a color photo and de-saturates it in photoshop. This takes about 10 seconds. My portraits take me hours to paint, but the effort is truly worth it. A true black and white photo that has been hand-painted has a real organic quality and depth to it. They are also a tangible part of me (as the artist) and my daughters that will be a living history for the generations to come.

The finished portrait.

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Longing for a little ray of sun

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This is where I long to be today. Who else is tired of all the cold and wet this winter? I took these on one of my trips to St. Martin. Larry keeps talking about moving there and with a winter like we have had this year, I have to say it seems very enticing.

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Happy Halloween

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Giving Thanks by Giving Back

 

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I am always happy to support all the school fundraisers in our community as well as charity auctions but I want to do more. It is my belief that when you have been given so much in life, you give back. So, my husband Larry and I sat down and decided to become true givers of the charities we support. For every portrait that we sell this year we will give a portion of the profits to these charities:

For any family portrait we sell all donations will go to The Heifer Foundation. My whole family has loved this charity from the day we first learned about them. Please go and read about them here:    http://www.heifer.org/

For any any portrait we sell of children all donations will go to The Ronald McDonald House. If you are not familiar with this wonderful charity you can read about them here: http://www.rmhc.org/

For any senior portraits we sell all donations will go to the Wren Haven House. This is a local organization who helps young people from 10 to 17 who are runaways and living on the streets get the help they need and a safe place to stay..

You can read about them here: http://www.havenhousenc.org/programs/wrenn-house

For any portrait sold with our 4 legged family members included all donations will go to Saving Grace. You can read about their good work here and while you at it maybe add a new member to your family . http://savinggracenc.org/

Please join us as we give thanks and give back.

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Paradise Found Again

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Spring Trip to DC.

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