picture perfect

Annnnnd Christmas is underway.

I took attempted to take the family photo for the cards this weekend. Tell me. What is it about photo taking that makes children turn into raucous fiends?  My children behave better when getting their inoculations. No kidding.

So of about 30 pictures that I fired off in rapid succession before the whole crew mutinied on me, I got one. One messily photo. And the Bird isn't even looking at the camera. She's taunting her brother.  And Frankie looks all disproportionate and weird with a pumpkin coming out of his neck and fruit snacks in his hand.  And the Boy, well... just look.

But I was over perfect a loooong time ago. And just like last year, I'm sending out this photo in hopes that people will see us for who we really are and love us anyway.

photo

I really hope Mr. Gunnar Ekelund doesn't mind that I colorized his photo.

It's just that when I saw it, I was overcome.

The mannequins in the window look like the Barbies I used to play with at my grandmother's house.

I swear they were some of the first Barbies ever released. They were probably worth a mint. But my grandmother would never bother with that kind of stuff. Not when it came to me, or my sisters and cousins. We were her prized possessions.

Seeing this photo made me miss her to the very core of my being.

Funny how a simple photo can do something like that.

memory

Ever notice how life barrels on whether you are ready or not?

You might not be ready to let go of the moment you are living in.

You might not be ready to let your children grow. Or your business. Or your butt.

But life is what happens while you are enjoying that latest creative venture, or that snuggle with your baby or that bread pudding with dark French chocolate and creme fresh. 

It's like herding cats, trying to keep things from changing. Impossible.

But I can document what is it like in these moments I am loving.  I can photograph my children everyday single day. I can write down my favorite recipes. I can try to describe what it is like to hold Frankie's pudgy little hands. They feel like marshmallows. Soft and downy. 

When these days are long gone, when I am old and lonesome for the good ol' days when my children were young, I can take down my memory books. I will close my eyes and let the memories wash over me. 

In this way I will save today. 

How are you saving your memories?

miracle

Do you ever marvel at every day things?

Take the United States Postal Service for example.  Now, I know there are many problems there. But really? Think about it. It's actually quite amazing. All the sorting and shuffling and machines and man power. I personally think it's fascinating.

How about the Golden Gate Bridge? Try to really wrap your mind around it.  You might blow a fuse.

And cameras.  The camera might be one of my most favorite of all inventions.  I like to think of it as a mechanical butterfly net. I can capture memories before they flutter away, out of my mind, forever.

I can remember how she often went down for her nap with the faintest of milk mustaches on her downey lips because the camera records it.

I can remember her little hands with dimpled knuckles.

I can capture all my beloved moments and keep them. Forever.  How amazing.

Sometimes I look at photos of myself as a child and I wonder if I would remember that moment if it hadn't been captured on film.  Would it have slipped away without the constant reminder of how everything looked when it happened?

A tin type photo of Billy the Kid just sold at auction for 2.3 million dollars.  It is the only known authenticated photo of him.  It is simply fabulous.  

Why would someone spend so much on an image? Because it's the closest anyone could  ever hope to get to actually seeing him in person.  It's history, captured.

I will never forget what she looked like on a summer afternoon in June when she awoke from her nap.

Never. Thanks to the camera. An everyday miracle.

snap

image by nodoca

I think this weekend I will walk around and take some photos, of my life, as it is today.

I will photograph the dishes in the sink and the stack of catalogues that is over taking our kitchen desk. I want to capture the rolls of fat on the inside of Frankie's legs and the beauty of Amelie's lips when she is concentrating.

To be true to history, I will have to take a photo of the cheerios smashed into the carpet of my car and I will need to find a booger, smeared onto my sofa to document. That shouldn't be hard. I will snap a shot of my chipped toe nails. I will capture the Everest of laundry.

I want to bookmark my life, so sometime down the road I can revisit today with a better perspective and level head and see it for what it really is instead of everything it's not.

late, but oh so magnificent

I'm a paper person. Seriously. There's a name for my condition. It's papyrophilia. Just one of my many neuroses.

I revel in beautiful handmade linen papers and Japanese oragami paper. I'll buy a book even if I don't want to read it if it has beautiful end papers.

It's really quite out of control. But what is there to do? I'm too tired these days for any self introspection anyway.

So needless to say, I take announcements and invitations very seriously.

It took forever to finally get Henry's birth announcement finished, but here it is.

I think they turned out magnificent.

Photographer Siobhan Ridgway

Taken using a Mamiya Twin Lens on black and white.

Letterpress onto 220 lb. 100% cotton paper by Page Stationary

And now, a word about the photographer.

And when I say photographer, I mean it in the truest sense.

Bear with me here. I'm going to express an opinion. Scary, I know. What comments will I get? The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the population at large.

Having said that, I want to say this: Let's call a spade a spade shall we? I mean, it seems that there are a kabillion people running around these days calling themselves "photographers". To that I say, ummmmm. Sorry but no.

I get compliments on the photos I post here on my blog and to my Flickr page. And when I get those compliments, I feel inclined to tell whomever is the complimentor, that I am not a gifted photographer, just a girl who has a good eye for composition and knows how to use Photoshop and I think this is true of most people taking photos today.

Digital cameras have become so incredibly good, they are almost fail safe. And what the camera dosen't take care of, Photoshop can.

And then there are little gems like Siobhan Ridgway.  Siobhan took the photo of Henry with an old camera she most likely bought on ebay or found at an estate sale. She came to my house and found a room with the kind of lighting she wanted and she took a few shots. Not five hundred. Remember, this is old school. She used specialized square format film that she loaded one exposure at a time.

Siobhan shooting Henry (These photos are totally Photoshopped)

She did not use Photoshop or even crop. What you see is all her.

Think about it. When was the last time you saw a photo that was totally untouched?

When I meet Siobhan I was a little intimidated. First of all, she's beautiful. A natural kind of beauty. She used to live in New York and shoot for fashion magazines. She showed me her portfolio which included some tintypes she had shot last Summer.

That night I dreamt about them. No joke.

They take my breath away.

A computer screen doesn't do these justice. It doesn't allow for the shiny nature of the tin or the weight of each photo when you hold it in your hand.

Siobhan lives in Southern California. You can see her tintypes in person at the Del Mar Fair or by appointment. You can see more of her work on her website, Siobhan Photography.

perpetual pull to procrastinate per the presence of peonies

secondsister

Did I mention to you that it's peony season? Well it is.

And that's a big deal for me. I do love my peonies. They are my favorite right after hydrangeas. As a singular blossom, they are singular. They make a person feel pretty just looking at them. Wouldn't you agree?

secondsister

Yesterday, instead of washing and packing and getting the house generally in order for Sugar Daddy to take up the post while I'm gone for the weekend, I took photos of peonies. Because it made me happy. And you know what they say about momma being happy.

So I took some photos and fed the babies and ate a handful of pecans. Then I looked at the clock and I only had an hour before I had to start dinner and the laundry needed to be cycled and the dishwasher needed to be unloaded and I still hadn't found those thingamajigs that my sister asked me to bring with me.

So I sat down with my watercolors and pens and doodled more peonies.

Birdie plopped down at my feet on the floor of my studio and ate animal crackers. I keep them handy for times when I need to bribe small children.

This is how the day went. And this is why I was still packing and doing wash into the wee hours of the morning and why I hope that no one asks me any hard questions today. I'm too tired to think.

All I know is it's peony season and that's a big deal.

secondsister

hello spring. so glad you came.

I'll be back later today to announce the winners of the Alice jewelry.

Enjoy!

susannah tucker

lilly dove

secondsister

secondsister

cassia

my friend shana rae

A few days ago, I received an surprise gift from a friend. I just love when that happens, don't you?

Shana Rae is a photographer that I have talked about before here on Suaviloquy. She is the mastermind behind The Florabella Collection, textures and actions. She sent me her textures to try.

I couldn't wait to use them so I snapped some photos of still life in my studio.

Now, although my photography skills don't even grace the hem of Shana Rae's talent, I was pretty pleased with the results.

The Florabella Collection is very reasonably priced and money well spent if you fancy photography. Just you wait. I'm honing my skills and I might become the next big thing to hit the photography scene.

Not bloody likely, but nice thought eh?

Thanks, Shana Rae. You're a peach.

************************************************

Here's a few pics from our big day yesterday. Yes, that is a big goose egg on Birdie's forehead, and no, the Judge didn't even ask us about it.

Birdie was uncharacteristically charming and sweet to everyone and the Judge was very kind and happy to be doing his job.

It was a good day.

persuasion

I don't live where is snows. I like it that way.

Last Friday it was eighty degrees and I wore flip flops while I baked Christmas goodies.

But every now and then my dad likes to remind me how beautiful the snow can be. He sends me photographs that he has taken around his icy home. Maybe it is his last ditch effort to persuade me to move back closer to my family.

It's not a bad tactic. It works pretty good.

For about ten minutes or so, and then I realize I really like to look at snowy photos, but I love living in a warm climate.

Nice try Dad. Your photos are amazing, but I think I'll stay right where I am.

challenge

Here's a little idea I've been carrying around in my brain for a few days.

Let's have a Summer photo challenge. Here's how you play: take a photo of something that to you says Summer. It can be anything. You don't have to be a great photographer to play. Just snap away. Email your photo to me. In a week or so, I'll post all the photos and everyone can vote on which photo they like the best. I may even throw in some jewelry to go to the winning photographer.

The photo above is from last summer so I will be taking a new one. Come on girls. Let's get snapping!

my green girl

Jo is opening her own online shop. She asked me to come and take some photos that she can use to build her site. Our little model, Sam, was very cheerful and accommodating and didn't make any outrageous demands or throw any tantrums. It could be because he actually eats. In fact, he tried to eat every prop in site.


Jo, who is my go to green girl for all things eco-friendly, will be selling biodegradable diapers and organic baby items. I will be sure to let you know when her shop is up and running. She has sold me on the idea of using biodegradable diapers. I hope they don't leak. I can't hang with that. I will be her first discerning customer.

After our amateur photo shoot, we ate tuna fish sandwiches and grapes on a blanket under a shady tree. Our five-year-olds graced us with a acrobatics display which included many daring tricks, much showmanship and one hurt ankle.

I would also like to tell everyone withing the reach of my blog that Sam, who really doesn't like anyone but his parents and his nanny, loves me. We are snuggle buddies.

I wonder if Amelie will like him as much as I do.

blessed are the curious

Tomorrow is going to be a memorable day for our family. Tomorrow we meet the amazing girl who is granting us our hearts desire. I am so curious to see her in person. I am curious to see how I feel in her presence. I hope I don't burst into tears and do the ugly cry the entire time.

Wish me luck.

I am equally curious to see what our daughter is going to look like. Will she have light or dark hair? Will she look like me? (Don't be skeptical. It happens more often than you'd think.)

Personally, I hope she looks just like her birth mom who is a classic American beauty.

Tracy Raver is a photographer in Omaha Nebraska. I never thought I'd wish I still lived there, but Tracy makes it tempting. I'd love to have her photograph our little sweetpea. Her sister (see pic in previous post) also does infant photography.

If you are wondering what to get the baby who already has everything (sorry girls, I just can't help myself) there is always a little knitted munkin hat or swaddler used in these pictures available through Mad About Color.

I feel like I am stepping into our future this weekend. It is supposed to be raining and overcast in Utah, but everything looks bright to me.

girl

Little girls are the nicest things that happen to people. -Allan Beck

shelbynycole

A girl is Innocence playing in the mud, Beauty standing on its head, and Motherhood dragging a doll by the foot - Allen Beck

A girl is a person who screams at the mouse and smiles at the wolf.

- Shyam Kapoor

Little girls, like butterflies, need no excuse. - Robert A. Heinlein

tuscany studios

I was about half in love with her by the time we sat down. That's the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty. . .you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are. - J.D. Salinger



I love being a girl. Don't you? -April

bitterlemons