Fabulous family photography

How lucky can a girl be? Kristine is a fabulous girl who I've known since my freshman year of college. I was lucky enough to live with her for two years in college. After we graduated, Kristine tipped me off to an interview for a California school district that was happening in Princeton, New Jersey. She went to the interview as well, and we were both hired as teachers. We made the move together; three thousand miles away from our families. We lived together for a while, moved next door to each other, and then we were lucky enough to start teaching at the same school together. She has been in my life for a REALLY long time now (I'd rather not give age away here, but trust me when I use the word 'eternal'.)
She decided to move back to her family in New Jersey a few years ago, and met the man of her dreams. He is a great husband who has the sweetest daughter in the universe.

I adore the three of them! I feel really lucky that I was able to spend a little extra time with these three- and I can't wait to see them again.

love you, D family.
Kristen

Amazing family photography

Meet Michele.

She and I were best friends since the moment I met her in 5th grade.  In 7th grade, we had every single class together.  It got to a point where I would say to my mom and dad, "hey parents!  Guess who's coming over?"  and my dad would reply, "oh no."  That became her nickname after a while. :)  Isn't she just the most gorgeous girl?

She had to move when we were seniors in high school, and as life sometimes happens, we lost touch.  Luckily, we both discovered Facebook.  I feel so lucky that we have gotten back in touch with her.  
It was amazing to be with her and her family, even if our time was super short.  Her husband is the BEST guy, and her son is sweet, funny, smart....  I just adore her family.  Here are some of my favorite shots from the day.

Love,
Kristen

Favorite blogs of the week.

First, I need to thank the beautiful and talented Stacey for this idea.  There are so many places I've been discovering lately and I need to share! 
It's so great to laugh at the end of a long day. Make sure you visit here.  Or here.

I've recently discovered Adele, and I totally wish I had her idea.  It would have made my son's 365 much more interesting!

If you're a mom who loves photography, visit the maternal lens for inspiration...

and finally, this one is for the crafter in me.... This site has amazing projects- I made something like this last week. No sewing required!  I could seriously spend an entire Sunday there.  In fact.... What am I doing here?  See ya! 
Have an amazing week.

love, K

Gorgeous family photography.

Sandy and I went to Kindergarten together.  She is so fun and has the most gorgeous family. 

She is quite the budding photographer and loves to scrapbook (cough, cough- when do I get to see your stuff, Sandy?) so we wanted to get a lot of different shots.  They were so willing to run around in the heat with me!

Sandy willingly rounded up her family and drove an hour to meet me.  Did I mention that it was one of the hottest days of the year?  I can not believe how gorgeous they still looked by the end of the session.  My twin sister and mom came along so they could see Sandy, and my dear daughter decided that she needed to get into some of the photos, too!  :)  This is one of my favorites.

It was pretty surreal meeting with her, and seeing her kids- it seems like just a few weeks ago that we were in Kindergarten together! 
Thanks for coming out, fab 5.  
Kristen
ps- Happy 10th Anniversary, Sandy and Bill!!!

fun family photography

Meet the Donovans.  Fun beyond belief.  Jen went to high school with me, and was probably the first one of my old friends to jump on the bandwagon when she heard that I was going to be in New Jersey for a week.  She's strong in so many ways, brilliant, and just gorgeous.  

 I swear, her boys were SO MUCH FUN!  They played outside for a bit even though it was unbelievably hot just so I could get some photos. 

When we snuck inside, they showed off their dance moves for me!  Oh, my dog- HI-LA-RI-OUS. Seriously.  I have made her promise to have a play date with us the next time we are in the same state because I know my three year old would just adore them. 
Thanks Jen and Brian for sharing these little guys with me for a while! 

love, Kristen

i heart faces photojournalism entry!

I've recently come across a fantastic site called "I heart faces." (www.iheartfaces.com)  It's an awesome resource, and they are having a contest that I thought would be a good fit for me.  As you may know, I am self taught and started by shooting my own kids, doing a picture each day for a year for each of them.  Honestly, it was a challenge, but I would say that if you really want to learn about your camera, and your style, it is a challenge you need to take on.  I look back on my first year with Lilly and can see so much growth in my photography since then.
So taking a photo every day just lends itself to photojournalism, especially if you have kids like mine who won't sit still.  You have no choice but to shoot them when they are doing something!  It's fun to look for "little moments" to take photos of!
without further explanation, here is my entry! 

humming "the girl from Ipanima"

well, because that's the song that always pops in my head when I'm thinking.  You know, almost like my very own Jeapardy theme.  What?  you don't know it?  Well, here you go.
You can thank me later, when it gets endlessly stuck in your head.  (you're welcome!)

 Anyway, here are some photos to get you out of your Monday Blahs.

Jack walks really well (I guess we should be honest here, and call it running.)  However, whenever we put shoes on him, he acts as if he has no idea what to do!  It's hilarious watching him "learn" all over again when we go out in public.  So cute.  At least it slows him down a little.

Now here is a girl who loves to dress up.  In everything imaginable.  So we made some play dough lips and a little play dough ring. Love her.  She has the best imagination. 
enjoy the night!
k

one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.....

today was a good day.  that is all. :)

Why teachers are frustrated.

*sigh.
I shouldn't be feeling like this already, this early in the school year.  Especially with the class I have- they are fantastic!  I couldn't be happier!  I just wish I were allowed to teach students what they need to learn without being a robot.  I'm sorry, you could program a robot to read from a teacher's manual, and make copies from my adopted series. 
The human part comes in when I recognize a need, and I know how to fill in the gaps.  When a kid asks a question, and instead of reciting some answer, I SHOW them; TEACH them how to figure it out by themselves. 
My goal is to create a desire to learn.  My goal is to help kids discover ways to help themselves.  It's really hard to be told that I'm not allowed to fill in the GIANT gaps missing from my core curriculum.  Then when test scores ultimately come back, and the kids are missing things, (oh, and they will be if I'm only allowed to teach my from my curriculum guide) it comes down to ME.  Not my curriculum, not the people "in charge" who tell me how to teach my students, not the parents, not the kids themselves, but me. 
*sigh.
I really need to start my own business.  

back to school

I feel like I've been MIA for the last few weeks.  I am definitely aware that my full time job throws me far off course when it comes to following my dreams, but I need to feed my children, right?  It's lucky that I happen to love teaching.  It doesn't give me the thrill that photography does, nor do I feel like I am very good at it. I adore watching the kids transform.  Last week was our first week back, and I can not explain what a difference I see in them ALREADY, after just one week.  They are certainly going to be the best behaved class that I have had in years!  I can't wait to see what they learn.
I'm going to try to keep blogging and updating things, even just to help keep myself on track.  I'm making a goal of blogging at least once a week, and I'm thinking of doing another 365 (year in pictures) starting on my birthday, September 11th.  It's going to be my 37th year of life, so I'd better get it together, right?  Meanwhile, have a peek at some things I'm dreaming of....

so, I guess you might say I'm dreaming of summer.  It was only a week ago that things were so carefree!  I know you'll come back to me, summer.  See you soon!

Mike and Joann.

I've known Mike for a REALLY long time.  He's a great friend, and when I got the news that he was engaged, I was thrilled for him.  His now wife, Joann, is not only gorgeous, but sweet and funny.  And she happens to be a fantastic mom.  I seriously look at her two girls and hope that my kids will one day grow up to be like them.  (That is saying a lot, coming from me).  I was honored that they asked me to be their wedding photographer!  Happy wedding, Mike and Joann.  I know you are going to have a fabulous life together!
love, Kristen

An amazing month.

This month, so many amazing things took place.  My second born, Jack, turned one.  On that very same day, my twin sister gave birth to her first baby, Benjamin.  I had the honor of shooting a wedding for one of my dear friends, and then I flew to New Jersey to visit my family.  While I was in New Jersey, I had 6 photoshoots in 7 days!  It was a whirlwind, and totally absolutely amazing.  I have to give a giant shout out to my mom, who watched my babies during each of my shoots.  It was definitely rough because Jack was going through some serious separation anxiety.
I had so much fun hanging out with old friends and family.  What an amazing trip.  So, without further explanation, I'll move on to some of my favorites!  Enjoy!

this is the end.

Well, the end of my 365 with Jack.  :) 
I definitely plan on doing another 365 (a picture a day) that will focus on my daily life.  So it will include Jack, Lilly, Matt, my job, my messy house.... it should be fun.  I really love the challenge of picking up a camera every day and creating art.  Here is Jack's 365, and in case you missed it, this is Lilly's 365.  When I look at the two sets, I can really see how I've grown as a photographer- thank heavens! 
If you've ever done a 365, I'd love to see it!  Just leave your link in the comments! 

why I am in love with photography.

It's the little moments that count.

It started when I had my first child, a gorgeous girl. My family was 3,000 miles from me and wanted to see her, so I began photographing her everyday. I was able to put my images up on Flickr, but my father had terrible eyesight and was confined to a nursing home for the last few years of his life.  My mother would print out photos for him, but I wanted him to be able to see every detail in the prints he was getting; I wanted him to feel like he was right there with us.  It was the birth of my style.

There was a strong connection between the two of them, and each time we were able to visit, we saw new photos plastered on his walls.  The nurses would welcome us as if they knew us for years.  My father passed away when she was almost 2 1/2, exactly one month before my son was born.

I'm not your regular photographer. I like to get close, break the rules, and create intimate portraits. .  I believe that photographs can create connections, and help preserve memories for more than a single lifetime. 

new.

I'm daydreaming today.  My twin sister is getting induced, and I have her on my mind.  So here is a very distracted post.  You know what?  I'll just put up some photos, ok?  enjoy.

winner, winner!

Well, my first contest has officially come to a close.  I am so excited to have had so many people participate!  I honestly can't express how much your support means to me.  All of you have said such great things about me!  Thank you, mah girrrrrls.  I love you.
So as strange as it may seem, I definitely had people I was rooting for during this contest, I can't lie.  I won't tell you who it was, but I have to admit, there were certain people that I was really hoping would win. Of course, there were more than 2 people I was rooting for, so I could never decide.  I expressed this to my hubby, who forced me to put my names in a hat, right then and there. Thanks to Jack, who loaned his hat for a very good cause. :)

. And to make doubly sure I wouldn't cheat, he made Lilly reach in with her grubby little hands and pull out the first name:

Can you read that?  It's Sandy Ormsbee Hogenauer!  She wins the free photo session!!!!!!  I'm really excited to see her since we've already talked a little about her session.  It's going to be fun!
and now for the second winner....

It's my friend Kristine Hickman Delp!  She gets free playdate cards!!!!

And  just so you know, Lilly continued to take all of the names out of the hat and make a giant "snake" out of the paper.  So really, you're all winners! Ha ha!

Again, I can't tell you all how much it means to me that you participated.  Look for something in your Facebook inbox from me as a "thanks" in the near future.
love, love, love,
kristen