Wanted: Photographer

Those who know me, know that I love my camera.  I love photography.  (I can thank one of my college roommates for this one.)  I love taking pictures and I do so just about daily.  I even had a brief stint as a wedding photographer once upon a time.  (Very brief… I didn’t really enjoy that kind of pressure on my amateur equipment and skill level.)

However, I do love doing mini, low pressure photo shoots.  I subject my own kids to them often and have given this service as a gift to friends over the years.  I enjoy the challenge and I enjoy the art.

I also feel like the majority of people do not have the spare finances to pay for most of the expensive photography sessions.  And I am not knocking those… you get what you pay for in professional experience and editing.  But, it’s not something most people can afford to do on a regular basis.  I should know… our most recent family photo is from when Meredith turned one and I splurged.

So here is my proposal.  I am offering low maintenance, low cost photography to anyone who may be interested.  (Obviously you have to be local.)  I figure with the holidays coming up, it might be good timing for those wanting Christmas card pictures.  My thought was $25-$50 per session depending on time spent and what your specific needs are.

But, before you take me up on this offer you should know the following.

What I am:

I do have a BS in Fine Arts, my concentration was photography.

Decent camera skills.

A creative eye for composition.

Basic editing.

Emailed or disk of photos to do with what you please.

What I am not:

A Photoshop expert.  When I got my degree it was still down and dirty darkroom photography.

A professional.  This is not my career, it’s my hobby.

What follows are some pictures I have taken over the years.

If interested, feel free to message me on Facebook or comment here.

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Glimpses of Fall

We are in that transition time, where summer is starting to fade and there are little glimpses of the new season coming our way.

Fall is my favorite time of year, so these little teases… the cooler days that will slowly become more frequent, the beginning color changes in the leaves… these things make me happy.

This morning, Meredith and I went to a local park and we found this tree, with one beautiful red branch.

It was actually a fairly warm, muggy morning, but this tree was waving it’s brilliant red arm in defiance, promising more Fall beauty to come.

I love Fall because of the weather, the colors, the excuse to get cozy in jeans and sweatshirts.  I love Fall because of the feeling I get inside.  I get a feeling of promise and new beginnings… something I think most people associate with Spring.  I also love the activities that come with Fall.  Apple picking, pumpkin patches, trick or treating, hiking, Oktoberfest, hot cider drinking, corn mazes, hay rides, soup and chili cooking and simmering on the stove.  Most people love being outside in the summer, but I love being outside in the Fall.  I love being slightly chilly, when the air smells crisp.  It’s good for my soul.

I am looking forward to enjoying more Fall days with this little cutie and her sister.

The Great Costume Exchange

In the last few weeks, the Halloween costume catalogs have started rolling in.  Nora absolutely loves looking through these things.  She would dress up as everything if she could.  I think she will ultimately end up being a fairy (and Meredith will likely follow suit), but I will create our own version of that, because the ones in the catalogs are wicked expensive.  Cute, but expensive.  Last year she picked out a cupcake costume that was about $90.  Luckily, we found a much cheaper, but still cute version at Old Navy and she was just as thrilled with that one.

I love Halloween and I love creating costumes.  Dave and I used to really get into it when we were dating as well.  Our best ever was Jack Skellington and Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas.  But, we have also done characters from Kill Bill and the last one before we had kids was a zombie bride and groom (with my actual wedding dress).

But, I digress.

My real point in writing this is to address the absurdity of putting so much money and effort into something that gets worn once and is tucked away.  (As you see in the pictures, I also wore my own wedding dress again for the same reason.  Twice actually.)  And with Halloween, you do it all again year after year.  But, I love the holiday, so it deserves some attention.

What I wish people did more of was costume exchanging.  One of these days I am going to create a website where people can post pictures and sizes of the costumes they have and the only cost will be to reimburse the poster for the shipping to get it to you.  This is win-win in my opinion.  You get a new, cute costume for your little love for a reasonable cost and you get to see your own stuff re-purposed.

So all of that being said…

I have this monkey costume.  Worn by Nora when she was 11 months old and by Meredith when she was 1.5 yrs old.  It was big on Nora and a little short on tall Meredith.  I don’t remember the specific size, but that should give you an idea of what age range it would fit.  It is still super cute, warm and in great shape.

And the infamous cupcake costume.  Nora was just under 3yrs old when she wore this.  It is also warm, complete with a cherry hat and as you can see, goes nicely over layers if needed.  The fleece pants are part of it.

If anyone local has any interest in either of these, feel free to comment, email or message me on facebook.

And if anyone has anything for my two wanna be fairies, I would love to hear about that as well.

Happy Halloween (a little early).

Church

Hello my name is Sarah, and I am a practicing Catholic.

I say this a little tongue in cheek, but sadly, there is a little truth to the attitude behind this statement.  In this day and age of passionate demonstrations and demands for acceptance and tolerance, it often feels like Roman Catholics are the one group that it is okay to openly put down and speak poorly of.  I can’t tell you how many times I have heard blanket statements about the absurdity and awful nature of the Catholic Church.  And I often hear people who were raised Catholic, admit to it hesitantly as if it is something they feel they should apologize for.  Sometimes I just ignore these comments and sometimes I feel the need to defend myself and my faith.  If I were any other faith and people said the things they say to me about Catholicism, it would be viewed as intolerant and ignorant.  But, not so because I am Roman Catholic and there is for whatever reason, an acceptable societal prejudice against Catholics.

I am not going to go into all of my personal religious beliefs, but I will say that I don’t 100% subscribe to the old Catholic teachings of years ago.  I believe in personal equality, freedom to marry and a lot of other things that would in theory go against my Catholic upbringing.  But, I also don’t believe that subscribing to a religion or faith means that you have to give up your personal influences on those beliefs.

I do believe that religion and faith (whatever that is for you) is meant to challenge you, make you think about things, drive you to be a better person and give you a COMMUNITY of people that somehow POSITIVELY contribute to your life.

I too went through a period where I struggled with my faith and did not go to church.  It wasn’t until I met my husband that I started going again because it was so important to him and his family.  He introduced me to the parish at Mother of God in Covington, KY and it was there that I started to understand what going to church was supposed to be like.

The community in this church is truly like a family to each other.  The people who attend the 11:30 mass there on Sundays (the one we regularly attend) are joyous and faithful.  You see the same people every week.  They come to mass because they want to celebrate God, the good in life and each other.  It is uplifting to be there.  And more importantly, in this parish and with these church leaders, I found myself in my own faith.  I am able to pray and think through the complicated parts of life in a way that compliments my convictions and beliefs.  Contrary to what I often hear about the Catholic faith, this community is accepting and current.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a community church like the ones that are really popular with my generation at the moment, it is still a Catholic mass.  But, it does take the old traditions that are the foundation of the Catholic faith and brings them into a relevant presentation for the world in which we currently live.

There is a church in Florida, near where my parents live, that does this same thing.  It’s a mixture of the old traditions and new applications to society, but above all else, the people are HAPPY to be there celebrating God and each other.

I am thankful that my parents raised me with the principles and structure that religion offers young children and I am proud to be continuing that tradition with my children.  I do not think Catholicism is right for everyone, but I do think it deserves respect in the same way all religions do.  Even within a specific faith, it is not going to be one size fits all, so each individual must find what works for them.  Whatever religion or belief system you subscribe to, I only hope that it gives you a sense of purpose and drive to be a better person.

On a lighter note… since my children are still so young, mass is often a struggle of limbs, little voices and pretzel crumbs.  I struggle sometimes to hear the prayers that are being said.  Here are some of my favorite inappropriate for church child moments:

Meredith regularly announces (loudly) that she is stinky and needs a diaper change.  She knows that going to get her diaper changed gets her a break from mass.

Last week, Meredith told everyone in the row behind us that they had eyebrows.

Today in church, she licked my face and spontaneously kissed the little boy in the pew behind us.

Nora got the giggles for no reason at the end of mass and could not stop laughing.  We had to leave early.

When Nora was little she threw a teether 4 pews up, where it pegged an unamused older woman in the head.

6 month old Nora one laughed and yelled her way through a solemn funeral, which ultimately lightened the mood, but at the time was completely humiliating.

There are weekly stories, so if you want some Sunday mass entertainment, feel free to join us!