Sleeping beauty

The very cloudy weather over the holidays meant that baby Fin got two photo shoots!  She was an absolute joy to hold and snuggle and to watch her face light up with a huge smile (which, of course, evaporated the moment the camera came up).  Next time, I've promised her that I will capture her gorgeous grin on camera for all to admire!

Holiday mini session with baby G!

These are from a holiday mini-session a few weeks ago.  We tried to incorporate the dogs into the photo, but I was not successful in getting all five mammals faced in the same direction.  So we went with an abbreviate human-only version of the family photo.  :)

This beautiful little girl is ALL smiles, all the time!  She is such a pleasure to be around.  And the holiday cards are awesome!  Hope you enjoy!

And now that the cards have arrived in everyone's mailboxes, here's the holiday card image.  An homage to the U2: War album cover, only featuring baby G's energy and smile!  This is our third year of holiday cards, and this is the best one yet!  Due in no small part to baby G!  :)

Love, baby, and yoga. :)

So the maternity shoot I did this weekend turned into an amazing couples yoga shoot!  I am completely in awe of what the human body can do at 33 weeks pregnant!  I am so happy for these two lovebirds to welcome a baby girl or boy into their lives.  Can't wait to take some family yoga pics once baby arrives!  CONGRATS!

Waterlogged!

Spent a week with the fam and shot 7 rolls of 135 and one roll of 120.  But, I also picked up a Vivitar 8400 underwater digi cam for pool time with the nieces and nephews.  As much as I love film, the instant gratification factor of digital is pretty amazing!

And, if you've not seen Seth Casteel's incredible pictures of dogs chasing balls underwater, you can view them here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/14/underwater-dog-photos-seth-casteel_n_1277404.html

Underwater is FUN!  More vacay pics to come after they develop!  :)

Aliyah's Bat Mitzvah! The party!

I just realized that I never posted any pics from my very first live event last August.  I took over 2500 pics at Aliyah's bat mitzvah and I am thrilled with how they turned out!  If you've never been to a bar or bat mitzvah, they are a lot of fun.  I've captioned some pics so you can get a better sense of the flow of the evening.

It was a great crowd and fantastic experience!  Congrats to Aliyah and her family!  Can't wait for another live event!

Aliyah chose a movie theme for her party.  Mom made picture frames for all of the guests to sign.  So sweet!

 

Both grandfathers and father give a blessing and cut a loaf of challah bread.  

Some table pics before dinner.

 Then it's time for some after-dinner dancing!

 

And...no party would be complete without the Limbo!

Then Aliyah lights 13 candles with her family and friends.  She introduces each group and expresses gratitude, love, and thanks.  It's a very charming tradition and a beautiful thing to watch.

Then more dancing and each member of Aliyah's family is hoisted on a chair and danced in circles.  The little ones have to hold on tightly!  I love dad's photo below - I think he captures the spirit of this tradition.

 

Some candids I took while everyone was dancing.

 

  Then, of course, it's time for the YMCA!  :)

 

Congratulations and happy birthday Aliyah!