Jude {9.9.09}

Through a twist of events, I was attending her 15th birthday party even though we'd merely briefly met a few days prior. When she opened her gifts to reveal the newest craze in perfume, "Tommy Girl" and a bunch of cute clothes, I knew we were going to be great friends! Yes, I do judge a girl's personality by her clothes and the perfume she wears! Don't laugh, you do it too! Elizabeth and I did hit it off that day, despite the fact that I crashed her birthday party. We have now traveled many miles of our life roads together, and each milestone that comes has been hidden in my heart's keepsake box of memories. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding in 2003; then her wedding 2 years ago was one of the most original and beautiful weddings I've been to... not a detail overlooked! This September, Liz and her husband Andrew welcomed what is probably one of the biggest milestones in life can bring... a BABY! Jude Martin was a few days late, but only because he chose to make his appearance on one of the coolest dates around these days... 9.9.9!

When little Jude was 3 weeks old I spent some time with him and his beautiful mommy... what a sweet thing it is to hang out with such a tiny person! It was so special for me to watch my friend, no longer the cute 15 year old but now a beautiful mother, whisper sweet things in her small son's ear, hush his little cries, and look at him as only a mother could!

Li'l Jude did a fantastic job modeling for these pictures - I hope you enjoy them, because he worked it hard! :)





















ln~

A little Red Dress

Laughter rang throughout the blooming dogwoods and across the meadows... If all modeling shoots were this fun, it would be the most sought-after job in the world! Picture this: a lithe, beautiful girl twirling on a grassy hill in a red satin dress and heels, while the [tall] designer of the dress acts as a living ladder for me, the photographer, to perch high on her shoulders to get just the right angle. You guessed it, we were quite the sight! I will do practically anything to get the right photo that is worth a million words! :)

This shoot is one of many projects we did in Tennessee back in the Spring... showcasing some of Shoshanna's dress designs. This girl has had no formal training, but her fresh sense of style is genuine and refreshing to see - and wear! Amazingly, Shoshanna follows no pattern, but starts each design from scratch. She is contemplating selling patterns for her designs at some time in the near future... if interested, contact her at her other business here!

We ended up with a bushel load of awesome photos from this session, but I tried to weed it down for the blog so no one is overwhelmed with photo overload! :)





I love how the photos below turned out - they are pretty much straight out of the camera - I merely added a bit of vignetting, that's all. The lazy afternoon mood is so strong here, I love it!


We found an old abandoned house for this shot; the house was in pretty sad shape, but one of the built in cabinets was still lined with old newspapers from 1937! I want to go back and play around with a few more ideas I have for some cool images!


~len

Busy as a Bee...

The past week or so has been full of weddings (yes, plural), graduations, photo sessions, and much more. Saturday evening my sister Joanna will be coming home from Bible College in Sweden. I haven't seen her in nine months!

Elizabeth & Evangeline tested for their Tiny Tot Advanced White belt in karate on Tuesday, and we find out tonight after class if they passed! I think they are possibly more excited about the prospect of an ice cream cone (their promised reward for passing their test) than they are about the new belt level!

In other news, I have been busily at work creating card designs and post processing photo sessions like crazy! It is such a fun and rewarding task, though - one I enjoy! As I head back into my day and the myriad of things still to be accomplished before it is done, I leave you with a couple of images from a huge shoot I did for a friend for her dress designs and music. I haven't finished the entire collection but couldn't resist playing around with some fun edges on these music images. :) Enjoy!


~len

James & Shoshanna's Family

I have so many different photo shoots to share that Shoshanna had lined up for me a few weeks ago and hope anyone doesn't get bored with all the photos - I certainly haven't tired of looking at all the fun! James & Shoshanna wanted to get some fun, creative family portraits done with their awesome son, Jeremiah... so fun and creative we got! :)

Shoshanna inherited a genuine antique Louis Vuitton trunk from her grandmother, and wanted to incorporate that into their session. Using the trunk as the inspiration, we kind of went with a 1950's vibe. This amazing girl also designs dresses, including the adorable two you see in this session and the dress she wore for her photos with James in my last post! Enjoy!












~len

Blessings and such

Recently I have been reminded in so many ways of how incredibly blessed I am!

It all started last Monday night when Scott came home from work with his hand tucked behind his back. With a kiss and a flourish, he presented me with the most unique old glass bottle, filled with flowers and a red heart. Years ago I started amassing a little collection of pretty and unique bottles that I found here and there; today the collection just continues to grow, especially with a man like mine! Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday.... the whole week he continued to pop through the door with a beautiful bouquet in another vintage bottle! :) Scott finished the week long love message with a dozen red roses in a beautiful vase on Valentine's Day along with chocolates and sweets for the girls too, pretty much sealing the fact that he is indeed the world's most romantic and thoughtful man out there!

(taken with my little toy camera, so pardon the fuzzies!)

Each time I walk past the bouquets, I smile and am reminded of how truly and incredibly blessed I am. I decided to jot down some of the things that have touched me in some way just this week, as a reminder to myself when I am tempted to have a gloomy day of how rich I am in the things that matter the most!


* A warm and cozy house, with windows that look out on a chilly and blustery day

* A kitchen table covered with vintage glass bottles holding beautiful flowers, each one from my wonderful husband

* So many clothes for my family that they have inundated the couch with temporary residency ;)

* A healthy mind and heart that cultivates creativity

* A healthy happy family

* A devoted and amazing husband who loves me in spite of myself

* A sunshiney day amidst the cold dark days of winter, today at least!

* An occupation for my husband that he loves and is good at, that also provides for our needs

* Good sleep

* Loving relatives that live close by

* In-laws to die for, that also live close by!

* Marshmallows

* Dark chocolate

* Kickboxing

* The ability and joy to be able to go running!

* We get to live in the most charming town in the nation, and believe me - I've been around!

* My baby boy who has completely melted my heart just turned a happy and healthy 7 months

* A God who is merciful and full of kindness towards me, little me!


I'll close with another snapshot from my play camera, a portion of the huge framed print by Robert Doisneau - one of my favorite prints of all time - that I have hanging in our kitchen, right above all the flower lovelies... a sappy way to end a sappy post! :)


~*len

Trevor & Della

Arriving home after midnight last night, we were tired beyond reason (it’s a good thing I wasn’t the one driving home from the airport!), but happy and refreshed mentally from a whirlwind weekend in Texas. My cousin Trevor got "hitched" in a sweet country wedding to his best friend, Della.


Between Trevor’s Uncle Dan from Seattle, and I, we endeavored to memorialize their special day for them with photography. I still haven’t had time to wade through all the images, but here are a few glimpses…

This was a true country wedding!

Trevor & Della before the ceremony (image of Trevor by Dan)

More images from Trevor and Della’s day are coming soon, along with a special link to all the images!


~len

An Old Fashioned Tea Party

The air was filled with soft giggles and wispering from the young girls, as their mothers sat and conversed in low tones. Freshly curled ringlets bobbed up and down as the girls flounced in their beautiful "fancy dress up dresses", alternately twirling and then gracefully lounging on the chairs, nibbling on the tiny muffins and other delicacies.

After formal portraits, Lady T announced that tea was to be served, and welcomed the ladies to their seats. As they ate the gourmet sandwiches and sipped tea from Lady T's grandmother's tea cups, each mother read aloud proper etiquette of women from the 1800's. They then discussed each valued character and corresponding Bible verses, and how these applied in today's world. As I packed up my equipment, the gentle voices drifted throughout the room, speaking a melody of praise to our Lord.

Thank you, Christina, for the honor of documenting your lovely tea party. I had a wonderful time!

~l*n