Nora's First Birthday

I have had SO much fun photographing my niece this past year!  I can't believe she's a year old already!  She looks SO much like her sisters and she's such a happy girl.  My sister and I threw a lot of ideas around when we were planning this shoot.  We knew pretty early on that we wanted to do something different than a traditional cake for this "Cake Smash" session.  I distinctly remember the conversation after we had decided to do a strawberry theme when my sister said she really wanted to do cantaloupe instead.  I'll admit I was a bit frustrated because I didn't know how to pull off this new idea and make it look good.  After more talking and a huge amount of "winging it", we had a beautiful spread with pretty decorations that was better than either of us imagined.  Yay for teamwork!  This is seriously one of my favorite shoots I've done in my studio!  I love the vibrant colors with the grey and white.  😍

I discovered that Nora LOVES lemons.  She wasn't too interested in the watermelon or cantaloupe, but she did try everything.  We were able to do this entire shoot in like 30 minutes, including the outfit change, setting up the fruit spread, and cleaning up.  My twin sister and I make a really good team.  😊

afO's Ruth2

Here are some of my favorite photos from these two shows!  Enjoy!

I'm sure it wasn't easy to do two plays on one stage with only a 15 minute intermission between them to set the stage for the next one. The end result is that there are less props and backdrops, but that all of them are very intentional. I really enjoyed everything they did!

This concert musical by Alan Governor is based on a real series of concerts he produced in Paris in the 1980s. This two-character play is a tour-de-force for a powerful black female Gospel singer and a white middle-aged cowboy. Packed with both foot-stomping and soul-stirring songs, this piece also finds time to quietly explore race relations. John Burris is “sure he has nothin’ against black folks.” Osceola Mays’ gentle but persistent questions cause them both to consider how they view those who are different from themselves. RATED G

afO's Ruth2 Cast and Crew

This was the first time I have photographed an afO production for the second time.  I photographed Ruth2 the first time they produced it way back before I started this blog.  Ruth2 is actually two renditions of the same story from the Bible of Ruth and Boaz.  One version is "modernized" by being told as if it took place after WWII.  Both adaptations are great!  The cast and crew were wonderful!

Jacob Andrew

Oh how I LOVE photographing tiny babies!  This little guy was a wee bit early which meant his mama wasn't quite ready with a photographer lined up.  Thankfully she found me, and I had an opening!  I LOVE how expressive Jacob was!  He was so chill, even when he was awake.  It's probably a good thing he's a chill little guy because he has 3 older brothers!  He really was a joy to photograph!

Gary and Jan

I love photographing couples in love!  This sweet couple wanted pictures taken to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary!  Isn't that amazing?!  Let's all join in wishing them a Happy Anniversary and a hope for many more years together to show their love for each other.  😊

Stauss Family

I debated whether or not to post this.  I think this technically falls into the "selfie" category because as those keen eyed folks may have already noticed, that's me on the end!  I took this picture using a timer with my equipment (isn't technology great!).  This is actually a tradition my family started a few years ago, and I am SO glad we've made getting a yearly picture a priority.  Each year we have added more and more kids to the family picture.  It's fascinating to me to see the differences and the similarities (my dad has always worn the same shirt 😂).  Anyways, I hope you enjoy this "peek behind the curtain" into my personal life.  😊