Missing for twenty years

"I found 'em!! I found 'em!!" My grandmother's voice was bubbling with happiness and joy one morning a few months ago, as she excitedly explained her cause of jubilation.

It turns out, around 20 years ago Grandmary had misplaced a box of her treasured jewelry... not expensive in cost, but valued in beauty and memories. After searching high and low at the time, she had given them up for good, attributing their disappearance possibly to an unpleasant renter who had taken other things and left about that time.

One household move and twenty years passed until one morning this past Spring when Grandmary was getting something out of her rarely used laundry room upper cabinets. She noticed a box at the back of one of the shelves and used a stool to climb up for a closer look. Lo and behold, it was her missing jewelry, lying untouched inside for all that time! In the move, the box had somehow been shuffled to the new home without ever being discovered!

This summer Grandmary treated my siblings John and Mary and my aunt Minda all to 3rd row seats at the visiting Andre Riu concert! They got fancied up for the evening on the town, Grandmary proudly wearing some of her newly discovered jewelry! She looked positively radiant, as did the rest of the group! I am proud to call them my family! :)


When I think of Grandmary, I simultaneously think of roses, as they are one of her greatest joys in life, and she has over 30 different varieties growing in her beautiful rose garden! I think it was fitting to do her portrait with her roses and pretty bling bling!


This is WAM, my one of a kind Wild Aunt Minda! Who else has an aunt who will take all the kids she can fit in her old car to town for ice cream, drive down Main Street with the windows down while everyone yells and waves to all they see... not to mention doing DONUTS IN THE PARKING LOT??!!! My aunt is amazing, and I love her! :)

I can hardly believe this is my youngest brother, John! He is nearly 18, and the most amazing man. He will be quite the catch to the perfect girl someday!

This is Mary, my 15 year old sister... this photo captures the essence of her personality so well! Spunky, happy, full of life, sunshine and giggles! I love how we have become better friends over the past year or so, and have enjoyed our hang out times!


~len

An Original Wedding March!

I have so many photo shoots to share, but this had me laughing so hard this morning that I couldn't keep it to myself! :) Enjoy!





~len

The Morrow Family

Gulping air in an attempt to balance my breathing, I thrust my palm upwards into her face as I simultaneously used my legs to throw her off of me. Finally successful in escaping the jujitsu pin, I grinned in sweaty triumph! Katrina is one wily girl! :) Twice a week we meet for self-defense private lessons with our instructor (and my husband) Scott Newman. Even though it is sweaty and sometimes leaves reminders for a few days, I am loving the boost to my personal awareness and self confidence!

Awhile back Katrina asked me if we could get together with the rest of her family and do some fun portraits. She wanted to have some special photos to take with her on her travels this next year with inner-city mission work. We met up at a local winery that has gorgeous grounds open to the public, Boeger Winery.





With only a few moments with the whole family we just got a few different backgrounds, but they turned out fun I think! The kids had more time to spare so I spent some time with each one individually. Katrina is the oldest, followed by Katy, Jeff, Michael and Kimberly; each one was full of personality and fun to get to know!








Thanks guys for putting up with my crazy requests for places to go, and patience with me as we wandered around in the heat! I enjoyed meeting the rest of Kat's family!

~len

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

Jesse & Victoria & Family

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending some time with this wonderful family. When Victoria contacted me and we set up the session, she specifically requested candid, natural family interaction images; so we wandered around a local winery and a few other locations, just took it slow... and had fun! Eva and Owen, the two little cuties, did a fine job putting up with me and my strange camera, for which I am grateful! :) The whole family has the most amazing eyes, don't you agree?!

Thank you, Jesse and Victoria, for choosing me to capture these sweet memories for your beautiful family! I am honored!















~len

Sierra: Senior 2009

As Sierra led me around her family home along the American River, she told me a bit about herself, her life, hobbies, and the joyous fact that she is DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL! :) Woop, woop! I had a ton of fun tromping through the woods, hiking down to the river, and braving the mosquitos, because I knew I was getting some awesome photos of this stunning beauty!

Sierra, thank you for being such a gracious hostess, and being game for anything I asked you to try! You were great, and I wish you the best as you pursue the next step in your education!











~len