I met up with the Z Family early yesterday morning at Lion’s Coon Creek Park in Coon Rapids. I do a lot of shoots with just one child so a family of six, with three of them beingfive years and younger, was pretty exciting! Lot of sibling love in this family…they were very cute!

This last shot is my favorite of the session…Mom’s idea!

A quick sneak peek for Miss Madeline’s parents as I promised them one by today!

Doesn’t she have gorgeous eyes?

I met this little lady’s father via Flickr as he’s also a photographer. I’ve found that it’s equal parts flattering and nervewracking to have another photographer ask you to photograph their family. But I met them yesterday morning and we had a good time trekking around Stillwater.

First to a few parks…

And then for some “lunch.” (I’m not sure I can think of a better way to celebrate the official first day of summer.)

And then for some fountain watching…

I don’t know about little M but this M needed a nap after all that! Thanks for sharing your family with me, Dave.

A quick peek from a maternity session I did last weekend. Linda came over with her cute family so we could do some photos.

I think this one is my favorite.

Then we went out into the backyard to get down to business. Bubbles, flower picking, caterpillars and RUNNING!

Certain persons who shall remain nameless have been giving me a hard time about lack of updates. It really hasn’t been that long! But it’s true, I’ve been a bit remiss and a lot busy. The good news is that I took a load of packages to the post office today so you just might find some photos in your mailbox soon. That being said, something “fun and fresh” was requested so here we go.

This is Mikey and his sons Adam and Landon. We met Mikey while we were in Virginia, he works at The Homestead. The morning after we met him, he brought his kiddos in on his day off so that we could photograph them before our flight. I have a sneaking suspicion that the photo above more accurately reflects their daily life than any of the other photos I took.

But seriously, how cute are these two?

I think Landon might be the smiliest baby I have ever seen. He didn’t stop smiling once during the entire session. Just smiles and giggles and those two little teeth.

Okay, maybe I got one photo of him not smiling but still plenty cute.

Adam’s plans didn’t really involve too much photography, but rather a lot of running around and a little bit of talking about Spiderman. Coaxing him to follow me as we walked through the hotel lobby, I said to him, “C’mon, goofy!” Adam says to me, and to pretty much everyone within a three mile radius, “I’M NOT GOOFY, I’M ADAM!!”

And here’s the thing about out of town sessions…

You can give those kids sticky sticky sweets to eat while wearing their best clothes because hey, you’re about to leave town and never come back!

But come on, can you blame us?

And now I’m back to editing but I’ll try to be better about posting.

[A quick note first: I moved the blog to the same domain as the Glimpses of Soul Photography main site so it now resides at http://glimpsesofsoul.com/blog. The old url will still forward and the rss feed should still work. ]

Until yesterday, it had been almost two years since I’d attended a wedding as a guest and not as a photographer. Walking out of the house with just one bag, my only responsibility up until then having been to dress myself, felt pretty nice. But I have to admit, once I got there, it was pretty difficult to not be taking lots of photos and to not have the freedom to move to a better vantage point. I couldn’t capture anything of the ceremony from my seat but I did pull the camera out after they left the church (the ceremony was held at the Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel).

The two flower girls were just adorable.

But maybe not so into pictures. This little one was wandering around with a bouquet of dandelions in one fist and a handful of pinecones in the other. Walking up and down the aisle had maxed out her public performance reserves though so she didn’t want to show me her treasures.

The reception was held in the M Street Cafe in the downstairs of the Saint Paul Hotel. I hadn’t been there before but it was very nice. Sort of a 40’s feel to it with white glove service and everything.

Not wanting to be the annoying Uncle Bob figure who shows up with all his gear and gets in the way of the professionals, I only brought a 50mm lens and no flash so I was a bit limited but I still managed to grab some shots that I like. (I love this first one.)

If you’re in the Twin Cities area, I hope you’re outside enjoying the weather today! I hit the back porch for awhile to get my requisite dose of Vitamin D but sadly, the computer screen is impossible to see in the sun so I am back inside working for the afternoon

On Sunday, I photographed the March of Dimes’ March for Babies. Early weather predictions had me a bit nervous as they were calling for rain and storms on Sunday. Then it got colder and colder and snowed on Saturday. Thanks to the craziness that is living in Minnesota, the windchill was below 30 when I was getting ready Sunday morning. But thankfully there was no precipitation of any kind and even a bit of sun here and there.

The St. Paul walk was held at Phalen Park which was quite beautiful despite the colder temps. I arrived at 9 as the volunteers were setting up the registration tables and the sponsors were preparing and the mini-donut truck was smelling oh-so-delicious. (Sadly, I had not brought any cash!) The walkers started arriving around 10, kids and strollers and dogs in tow.

The purpose of the March for Babies is to raise money to fund research to help prevent premature births, birth defects and infant mortality. Many of the families there had heartwarming stories about their NICU graduates and others had heartwrenching stories of little ones that they had lost. This is the daughter of this year’s ambassador family who was born weighing little more than a pound and is now doing quite well.

And a mother who led us in the National Anthem whose daughter had a similar story.

The walk route was around Lake Phalen, 3.1 miles. Most people welcomed the opportunity to warm up. I felt slightly annoyed at the weight of my camera bag until I saw many mothers toting (lugging is probably even a fair word) toddlers in their arms around the lake.

After the walk was more mini-donuts and hot dogs and the hokey pokey and St. Paul Saints mascot Mudonna and lots of playground time. And for me, lots and lots and lots of photos to look through!

I had a fun afternoon with Maia today. This little lady can color with some serious vigor!

Reading The Three Little Pigs with Mom.

We played outside, too, in some nice sunny Minnesota weather. Check out that snazzy jacket.

She ran back and forth and back and forth.  Simple pleasures.

Have fun at Mickey’s house, Maia!

This is going to be an image-heavy post but I’m sure you’ll see why. There were just too many to choose from! I spent a few hours with Anna and Cooper and there were cars and Lincoln Logs and princesses and knights and trains and tickle monsters and all kinds of things involved.

Cooper is four. He told me he’s been doing karate for five years now. He’d just gotten his first belt yesterday, very exciting!

Anna is five. She’s going to be a cowgirl when she grows up but for now, a princess and a ballerina will suffice.

We even went outside to play in the snow a bit. We were lucky to get out before the temperatures dropped below zero but even then it was a little cold!

And the whole fam…

I nearly needed a nap after this one. Being amongst ballerinas and sword fighters can be quite tiring. Thanks to my agent J for hooking me up with these cuties!

I haven’t shot anything new in about two weeks because I’ve been working through a backlog of editing, doing a few freelance projects and a bit of other fun stuff like painting the room that will be my office (no more working on the couch all the time!). So here are a few bits and pieces from various shoots that have been straggling along…

A few more cuties from my time in Florida…

Josie Myers, a local model…

Got a few shoots coming up this weekend that I’m excited for! Until then…

Just love this girl. She was so comfortable and natural in front of the camera and so darn cute!

And one more of these adorable little cheeks…