Miss Em - High School Senior Photographer, Newton, NC

Sneezing, watery eyes, box of tissue in hand .... you'd never know by looking at these pics that Miss Em is suffering from a cold. She looks gorgeous!!! She squeezed herself in amoungst the flowers and sneezy plants without a complaint. What a trooper!

I sympathize with her as I've been ill for the past few days myself, but with something completely different. But, hey, the show must go on!! Senior pictures must get done! And I'm so glad we went today. The weather couldn't have been more beautiful. The backgrounds were spectacular - even though we got run out of the first location we went to! lol

I'm exhausted ... one of the pitfalls of the particular bug I have, but wanted to get a couple pics up for Miss Em today. I absolutely love, love, love these two. Look at those beautiful brown eyes. So pretty. Feel better soon, Em. More sneak peeks in a day or two.

Two - Children's Portrait Photographer, Newton, NC

Little Miss C. Isn't she a cutie? This is the 4th time I've taken her pictures, but the first time since she turned two! I was so excited to see her, but I'm not sure she felt the same about me. lol She really didn't want to have anything to do with me, but my feelings weren't hurt. Afterall, I'm the mom of three myself and I remember what it was like when THEY were two.

We spent an hour and a half trying to cajole a smile out of Miss C ... we did everything but stand on our heads! I did manage to catch a few cute shots and even one or two of her actually looking at me! Hot-diggity-dog!!!

Don't worry "G". I think I managed to catch quite a few really good shots! Will have more to show you soon.

How Bout a Little Attitude - Newton, NC Family Portrait Photographer

at-ti-tude -(noun): position or posture of the body appropriate to or expressive of an action, emotion, etc.

How bout this attitude? :) And may I just say that this old knarled beauty (no, not you Mr. C (wink, wink) ... well it just melts my heart. Those of you know me, know that I absolutely, positively ♥♥♥ things like this. Just look at how gorgeous this old tree is in this photo! Such character and texture. Now imagine the same photo minus the tree. yaaaaaaawn..... :) Course, the humans aren't bad either. ♥ you guys!

For Mrs. C - Newton, NC Family Portrait Photographer

Sometimes you just know when a picture is going to be perfect before you ever click the shutter. Momma C knew it. She exclaimed "There! That's her! That's "Baby C"

I love it when I can capture the real personality, the real essence of someone. Momma C, I hope I captured through my lens what you were seeing with your eyes. :)
Look at that beautiful sweet face. It so reminds me of the sweet little face of the 2 year old I met 10 years ago. ♥

Sneak Peeks for the C Family - Newton, NC Family Portrait Photographer

I have known this family since we moved to North Carolina 10 years ago. As a matter of fact, Mr. C was the very first person I met. He took us on little tours around the town when we came up here house hunting on weekends. Young Miss C was only 2 at the time! She was the cutest little thing you ever did see. Itty bitty, with Shirley Temple ringlets and a great big voice. Look at her now. What a beautiful young lady she has become.

I had such a good time with them last night, despite Mr. C grumbling about having to miss his football game. :) These are some of my all time favorite photos. I have so many favorites I couldn't choose, so there's quite a few sneak peeks!

Mr. & Mrs. C trying to be romantic. ;}



I spotted this old log on the other side of their pond and wanted to use it in our photos. To get there we had to hike through the goat pen and across a little creek with a board over it, and through weeds that Mr. C assured me had no poison in them .... what I'll do for the perfect shot. I think it was definitely worth it!




What can I say. She's just naturally gorgeous!



These next three are just WOW for me. I absolutely love them. Beautiful♥

L ♥ O ♥ V ♥ E

un♥cond♥i♥tional, true♥blue, un♥dying ... puppy ♥ love

Gidget, happy to have her beloved human home from college for the weekend. I think the feeling's mutual. ♥

Tea Stained ~ Child Portrait Photographer, Newton, NC

Been sitting here for hours editing .... thought I'd take a little break and play with one of my favorite images. I took this photo last year and I knew it was a beauty as soon as I snapped the shutter.

Most of my images tend to be very color saturated. I love color and find that most of my clients do as well. But it's fun to try something a little different every now and then. These images have a tea-stained, old-fashioned feel to them. Think how beautiful they would be in a bedroom or a sunroom. They would make gorgeous large prints or gallery wraps ... I'm talking 16x20 or even larger! Very soft and subtle. Love them.

{FYI - the first image is the original}

Back to School! ~ Catawba County Portrait Photographer

... and we're off! Both kids were up early and eager to start the first day of school. I wish they were like this every day! This year we've got a college junior, a high school senior and an 8th grader. My, my they are growing up fast.

The big news for me is I am NO LONGER a taxi mom!!! I can't tell you how excited I am not to have to leave my house every day at 7:20 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. It's awesome!

I have now replaced those feelings of "having to watch the clock" with feelings of deep anxiety as we now have another teenager driver to worry about. But I'm thrilled that Ryan finally got his license and is on his way to more independence.

Here they are full of smiles and ready to hit the road. :)

Happy first day to everyone who starts school today!

The In-Betweens ~ Portrait Photographer, Newton, NC

Some of my all time favorite "captures" are of the moments that happen between shots. When everyone is trying to get themselves situated. These often-times turn out to be the most cherished photos. Like this sweet image. ♥!

Senior Portraits - Class of 2010

Reserve your spot now! Availability is limited!

NOTE: I do not provide the photo that appears in the yearbook. You will need to have this picture made at your school's scheduled senior portrait day.

This Little Girl .... { Children's Photographer, Catawba Cnty, NC}

This little girl is sweet, kind and funny. And she recently turned 8 years old! She had a wild and crazy birthday party at her daddy's farm. There was horseback riding, sack races, water balloon tosses, and much more. Little kids EVERYWHERE! What a time they had! I took about 500 pictures - literally! Hanging out with 20+ kids for a few hours was exhausting! I had to come home and take a little nap.

Isn't she a cutie???

Her daddy is a well known and highly respected Paso Fino horse trainer. So, of course, she can ride like nobody's business!!! Check her out! The perfect little horsewoman.

Check out Startown Stables for more information about her daddy's Paso Finos or if you're interested in riding lessons.

It's Saturday ~ Catawba County Children's Photographer

It's Saturday and I'm so glad. It's been a long week and I've been dragging. I think it's allergies ... or maybe I'm just getting old. Whatever, it's just drained me and I've been in a funk ... hence, slack on the blogging. But, today I'm going outside to douse myself in sunshine and gardening! I love to garden. It's one of my favorite pastimes. One in which I don't get to do near as much as I'd like to these days. But, today, it's my priority. And tomorrow I hope to be in a better frame of mind. Thanks for being patient with me! Maybe I'll have some spectactular garden and flower photos to share soon!

Have a happy weekend!

CONGRATS TO M.H.S. BLUE ACES !!

We spent a wild weekend in Raleigh at my son's AFJROTC Unit's drill meet. It was a long drive and the weather was less than ideal, but boy are we glad we went! This group of kids did such an awesome job at the meet! We are so proud of them!

They placed 1st - F I R S T !!!!! - in the Flight Innovative (otherwise known as Flight Fancy). Let me just say this is a tough event to win. And, not only did they win, I think they won hands down! The judges were even smiling during their routine! They spent many, many hours working on this routine and they ROCKED!! It actually brought a tear to many a parent's eye, including my own.

The color guard team took 3rd - T H I R D !!!! - I think it's been about 4 years or so since they've placed in color guard, so they were thrilled!

Why are they looking so, well sloppy and dirty, you ask? This drill meet had an athletic competition after the drill routines were complete. It was very exciting!! Many of our cadets competed and did great ... then the rain came and turned the competition into mud! I ran for cover before the rain hit so I missed the end.

I am working on a slide show of the day that I hope to have done and posted in a day or two. I took about 800+ pics, so be patient with me! :)

CONGRATS NC-938!!! WE COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD OF YOU!

A Secret Thrill

As some of you know, on occassion, I get the opportunity to photograph one of God's most beautiful creatures ... the horse. I've always admired horses from afar - in a pasture, on t.v., etc., but other than that, have no experience with them. Then about a year and a half ago I was introduced to the beautiful Paso Fino and my love of horses was transformed into a tangible thing. I've had the most awesome opportunity to spend time with and photograph these gorgeous creatures many times now and I never tire of it. I just adore them. I admit to being a little nervous around them at first. They are, after-all, much bigger than me! But I've learned to read their body language and now feel much more comfortable around them. I never pass up an opportunity to try and capture their beauty on film.

I met this little lady on Saturday. Her name is Canteleta and she was sooo sweet!

My girls usually tag along any chance they get. Miss "K" got such a thrill when Lisa asked if she could hold Canteleta for a moment. Just look at her face! I think it's so awesome that they have had the opportunity to spend time with these gorgeous animals as well. We'll probably never own a horse. So this is the next best thing!!!