Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Such fun!

This is a mom and son that I know from out of state. They came down to FL last weekend to visit friends and family and we made time for a little session. I was so honored that she asked, because "J" is a darn good photographer herself and has tons of great pics of "K" already. But getting images of your child from another's perspective is always a treat so I was glad to be of service. If you know "J and K "and you visit my blog, leave a comment and say hi to them. She'll be checking in soon.
Also, my session fees will be going up tomorrow. If you are a potential client and you've been putting off emailing, please do so ASAP. You will retain my current prices if you book by midnight tomorrow (Aug 1). If you are a returning client (perhaps those of you eying a Christmas session) you will have until Sunday, August 5th to book your session under the old prices.






Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Lucky Wedding

C and R were married on 7/7/07 (yes, I am behind on my previews), thought to be the luckiest day of the century by some. I sure felt lucky, and honored, to be there for the big day. C is a college friend who used to live across the hall in the dorm. I simply couldn't be happier for her and her new hubby. Enjoy.


Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Swim, Baby.

I wanted to take a moment to brag on my boy, as well as a fantastic program I have found. Earlier this summer, I enrolled "G" in Infant Swimming Resource, or ISR. I was a bit leery, as we tried the swim lesson thing last year with another company in the area and it did not go so well. However, being the "get back on the horse" type of mommy that I am, I decided to give it a go with ISR.
Since we live in Florida, I really do not think that anyone can be too careful when it comes to their children and water safety. I researched 3 or 4 different programs before a friend told me about ISR. I found that most of those other programs did not focus so much on survival skills as just blowing bubbles in the pool, catching rubber duckies, or perhaps relying on a flotation device such as a kickboard. I have a few major issuse with that. If my child is going to have fun in the water, that is great, but I will always be right by his side. But what if he were to fall into the pond near our home, or a pool at a friends house, or even the ocean? Even if I am a few feet away, I do not want him to panic and sink straight to the bottom and lose oxygen for even 30 seconds. I wanted him to know how to save himself. That is what I love about ISR, no frills survival skills!
For the past five weeks, G's teacher Miss Emma has worked with him on what to do if he finds himself in a potential drowning situation. It wasn't fun at first, of course. Many children cry when they go under for the first time. Some even continue to cry for the full four weeks, but the parents I have spoken to say that despite the water works in the pool, their children really do love the lessons and speak of them fondly when at home. "G" loves to go see Miss Emma every morning, and often asks for her during the rest of the day. He has learned to swim for the wall and pull himself out of the water from the waist up, as well as simply relax and float on his back (while breathing plenty of fresh air) if he can't get to the wall.
Is "G" ready to go in the pool all by himself while I sit poolside with a burger? Absolutely not. And he won't be in the water by himself for quite a while. However, he's two. Accidents happen in less than a second. All it takes is for my eyes to be off him for that long and he could go under. Unfortunately, when children who don't know how to swim fall in a body of water, they will generally sink straight to the bottom without much more than a quiet splash. That's why it often takes so long for them to be located by an adult looking for them. They might be so far down that a quick scan of the pool surface is not going to be a tip off.
ISR kids (even as yong as 6 months) know how to float on the top of the water, making them much easier to spot. Plus, they are breathing the whole time. I can say nothing but good about this program. As G's final lessons wrap up this week, I feel 100% confident that the choice we have made with ISR was the right one. And who can't feel good about that?

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

My new obsession

I am in LOVE with canvas. I have always offered this as an option, but have never really shown you all what it means. Well, today I got my canvases that will be hanging at Kidz Club and so I took the opportunity to give one of them its very own little photo session. Believe me, if you have been on the edge about ordering a canvas, it is 100% worth the additional cost. They are a modern, fresh, artistic way to display a photo, not to mention GORGEOUS!!! Easy to mount also comes to mind, and when you think about the cost of having a print professionally framed, canvas doesn't seem so expensive! Anyway, I could go on and on, but here's a few shots so you can see the quality.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Sweet Baby James

I wanted to take a moment and blog about a very special project that another photographer I know of holds dear to her heart. At 39 weeks, she lost her unborn son to a cord knot. Since then, she has started "the Baby James project". Since I have so many pregnant mommies coming to my site, I think it's an important bit of information to pass on. Counting your baby's kicks could provide a very important alert to the fact that something is going on, and it's easy to do. Click on the graphic below to go to the website and learn about kick counting. There will also be an active graphic at the bottom of my blog from now on. Pass it on, put it on your own website...whatever you would like to do. Blair just wants to make sure every pregnant woman knows how to do this!