Ice Ice Baby!

(yes, I’m an 80’s girl!)

 

It’s officially cold here!  How about where you are?

 

~Kathy~

 

Christmas Train

This morning I rose early, as my dogs decided to bark ridiculously early.  Went out to get the paper, and it was such a stunning and crisp morning, with patches of snow still on the ground.

Grabbed my camera, slipped on my husband’s boots, and set out to take some shots.  I didn’t last long, as it was in the 20’s, but snapped a few keepers

 

Boy I’d love a macro lens on mornings like this!

 

 

This afternoon we headed to the country to ride the Bonsal Christmas Train.  It’s becoming an annual tradition for us.

 

 

Have a great start to the week everyone!

 

~Kathy~

Christmas card photo attempt #2

Early release day for the kids.  Took them & the bikes to my favorite running lake, as I have been eyeing a possible card locale for a few weeks now.  A new spot at the lake – in a construction area.

So, we rode our bikes the 1mile to this spot.  I didn’t think that the hardhats would still be there @4pm.  Argh.  I thought about crossing the barrier anyway, but with equipment and cranes I realized that was a stupid idea, and most likely I’d be kicked out anyway. 

Lucky for me my oldest packed a bag of props (she was excited for this shoot) and found a cruddy old spot down by the water’s edge.  It was muddy and mucky, but she was SO excited about setting up the shot that I went with it.

I got a cute one of her …

 

I am so proud of her for thinking ahead and ‘seeing the shot’.  As she described it, “ It’s perfect Mom.  Dark, spooky and dirty background with fresh and lively children.” 

Proud Momma

 

~Kathy~

 

Christmas card photo attempt #1

Had an idea, but failed to execute.  This was post-school and pre-snack.  It went downhill very, very quickly and I was unable to recover one of my subjects. 

Sometimes it just happens this way, and you try again another day!

 

~Kathy~

The rest of November

As I’m becoming busier with my photography business,  my photo per day project  is (unfortunately) losing priority.  My priorities are more defined than ever, as I am struggling to find the ‘balance’ that so many stay at home Mom & photographers struggle to find.  Family first – always.

I am a bit disappointed to be finishing this year long project perhaps not as strongly as I’d like, but on the other hand I am definitely shooting with intent, and really proud at what I’ve accomplished this year!

I’ve decided not to date these photos, just know they were taken sometime in the last 10 days of November, and more than half of them were captured on the same day (:

 

(warning – photo heavy blog post ahead)

 

 

We traveled to KY for Thanksgiving.  Lucky for us it snowed the first day.  Well, a dusting of snow – but that qualifies for sledding for us southerners!

 

 

No trip to Louisville would be complete without a  trip here.  Too much fun.

 

Yup, that’s me and some blurry horses (:

 

 

My nephews.  Attempting Christmas card photo!

 

 

 

So lucky my children are such easy models!  (most of the time, anyway)

By the way, I shot in JPG the whole trip so I could download easily to any computer.  However, I wish I had shot this one in RAW as I blew out my sky pretty harshly, and that’s really hard to recover in Jpeg.  Do you see the pixelation that looks like a cloud layer?  I like it though – so let it be.

 

Be still my beating heart.   My baby nephew.  Simply a sweet and lovable little dude!

 

 

Baby bro with his baby.  He’s a great Dad!

 

 

Time for a timer photo and some turkey!  This year my two sisters and one brother in law couldn’t make it.  We missed them a lot.

 

 

 

Another brother and his preggo wife.  Trying for some maternity shots down by the river, but she’s still so petite at 5 months.  So darn cute.  Yup, it’s her first (:

Can’t wait to meet the little person in March!

 

 

 

Yes, we’re a silly bunch!

 

 

Lots of cousin fun goin’ on.  My girls were in seventh heaven!

 

On our way home.  Avoiding the stand-still traffic and enjoying the scenery of backroads, VA.

 

The end.  Thanks for reading!

 

~Kathy~

It Snowed Today!

I do still have many days to catch up & blog, but just had to tell ya … we got snow today!  Not so normal for NC in early December, but oh so beautiful.

 

And here’s one of the beautiful faces I love so much (;

 

 

~Kathy~

Nov.21 The Magnificent Mount Family | Raleigh Cary Family Portrait Photographer

 

This post is long overdue!  I had the privilege to photograph this fun family before the Thanksgiving holiday.  They are friends that I haven’t seen in a long while – last time I did their youngest was an infant!  Funny how time flies so quickly.

 

The fabulous Mom ‘C’ really wanted to capture some of the remaining fall foliage.  She suggested this park.  I scouted it a few days before and was really pleased with what I found.

 

One goal of this session was to capture a Christmas card photo.  Not sure which one has been chosen yet, but this is one of my favs.

 

Close 2nd place!

 

These boys are definitely into football.  Luckily they brought one with them, so we played catch for a little while.

 

What a cute little dude!  He wasn’t too crazy about me, but he did a great job tolerating me & my camera (:

 

All boy, all the time!

 

Such a sweet and handsome boy – he was a delight!  (and REALLY good at catching the football!)

 

We finally let them loose on the playground!  I hadn’t planned on shooting there, but saw the opportunity and took it.

 

SO glad I did!! 

 

Please come check out my blossoming fan page on facebook – I’d be honored to have you as a fan!

 

~Kathy~