Best Black & White Photo

I have the hardest time choosing images for photo challenges and contests!  I never know what they are looking for, and I have so many pictures that I love, that it makes it so difficult.  But when I saw the theme for this challenge, I knew what image I wanted to enter.  This is such a sweet, sweet moment, and I am so glad that I was able to capture it.  I had the best session that day out at the barn with three kids and and a couple of horses.  In fact it was so awesome, it inspired us to do a few more out there.  

There really is no love like the unconditional love from an animal.  I think that love in this case is a two way street.  <3 

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Hugs and Kisses Week

I've made some progress on the blog, and I am really happy with it so far!  I have a few more things I want to add to get it exactly like I want it, but I am heading in the right direction.  I will at least go back to posting some sessions.  I have more weddings that I want to post, but I submitted some for publication, and I am going to hold off on posting them just yet.  Fingers crossed and prayers whispered that I get published!!  I feel like my work is definitely ready for the next level.

I am finally on Pinterest too - yay! So I am happy for all the exposure I can get.  Check me out and follow along: http://pinterest.com/tanyadowns/ 

Also, we had a lovely Valentine's Day this past week.  In honor of all things sweet and lovey dovey, it is hugs and kisses week.  My photo entry for the week is the gorgeous Jesi and her handsome Jacob.  They first came to me over 2 years ago now when they were engaged.  I have had the pleasure of photographing them every step along the way since.  They are amazing people, and I am glad they invited me into their lives.  I am super excited for their new little man to arrive, and I promise there will be a lot more pics of him when he makes his appearance.

I thought this picture was so sweet since I caught Jesi looking at Jacob and not at the camera.  I love these sweet "in-between" moments. 

Hugs and kisses to you all!

XOXO,

-T

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Oh So Silly

It's that time of the week again for another photo challenge!  This week's theme is all about being silly.  We sure have plenty of those pics all over the place, but this one makes me LOL every time I look at it.  I was trying to get a sweet picture and asked Drew to whisper something to Mackenzie to make her laugh.  I don't know what he said, but the result was this look on both of their faces:

Oh silly children.  I love you so!

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By the Book

Fancy Nancy comes to life and has a reading adventure.

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Family Fun

I had to sneak in an I Heart Faces Challenge with all the wedding posts I'm planning for the week.  This one is all about families and I have the perfect picture to go with it!  These were the most photographic people I have met in a while, and they totally let me do whatever I wanted with them.  So of course a little tickle session was in order!  I love the way this image turned out because it is so natural.  It is so them. 

For more family fun, head on over to iheartfaces.com!

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Best Face Photo of 2011

How can I choose the best portrait that I took in 2011?  There were so many that came out just fabulous!  I still have a ton of blogging to do from 2011.  For example, I even photographed 4 more weddings that haven't even made it on the blog!!  Add on to that all the family sessions and amazing head shots we did, and well, I'm just plum behind.  It also makes it really hard to chose a "best face". 

My husband and I sat down and when through a handful of pictures, and of course we let our bias get to us.  The redhead wins the best face of 2011!  How could we not choose Mackenzie?  The red hair, dimples, and giggles just make our heart melt everytime.  Sigh.  We love her so!  Isn't she the cutest thing ever?

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Silly Holiday Photos

Out of all of the holiday photos I've taken, there are two that stand out as taking the cake for making us laugh until we cried. 

The first is of our puppy, Hershey.  She came to us last year on Christmas day and we got pictures of her in a box in front of the tree.  I decided to do the same shoot this year to show how much she has grown and changed.  Well right when I took the picture, she blinked.  That combined with her patch of white fur made her look like an old wiseman sitting on top of the mountain handing out fortunes!!  There is no way you can look at this picture and not laugh:

But the one that really wins this year's prize is the one of my son taunting Santa.  Yes, only my son would do this!  He is SOOOOO lucky that he didn't get a lump of coal for Christmas because he totally deserved it! 

Here is a little background story before I post the picture:  My son is ADHD and has several sensory issues.  He doesn't do well with strangers, new places, changes, loud noises, etc.  Christmas seems to be all of those things wrapped into one.  We never know what to expect from him because sometimes he can seem downright normal, and other times he can be completely crazy.  This was a completely crazy night. 

We went to this place in Sarasota called Jungle Gardens to go see their light show and meet up with Santa.  My daughter was more than thrilled to gaze in awe at all the lights and then get to meet Santa!  She was as excited as Buddy the Elf as she sat in his lap and listed all the toys she wanted to open on Christmas Day.  My son on the other hand took one look at Santa and decided he was something to be feared - as if he was a giant spider from some low budget horror movie. 

Well, in a big wide open space, what does a scared kid do?  He runs.  And boy can he run.  Since we were the last ones of the night, Santa gave chase.  Seriously.  LOLOLOL.  I was not expecting that.  I guess he knew that we really wanted pictures (I was toting around my ginormous camera through all of this), and I suppose he thought he was good enough with kids that he could bribe him with candy canes and candy.  But Santa met his match that night.  As he tuckered out yelling, "I am not going to chase you!!" and stopped to catch his breath, my son turned around and gave him this SMIRK.  The smirk that says a thousand bad things. 

Oh I need the song "I'm getting nothing for Christmas" to be playing right about now...

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Furry Faces

Holy smokes!  I haven't written a blog post since Thanksgiving.  That's just completely crazy!!  I couldn't believe it.  I've even missed the last couple of photo challenges because our studio has been so busy.  I am so thankful for the work and the opportunities to get to photograph such great people.  I am also super thankful to get to photograph several furry faces too!

This was one I just adored b/c she looks so much like our little dachshund.  Her name is Bella, and she is truly a beauty!  I love her all decked out for Christmas. 

So I promise to work on writing a few more posts soon.  I have loads of ideas in my head - I just need the time to get them out and onto the computer.  Eeek!  Merry Christmas everyone!

X0X0 -T

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Laugh Out Loud!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We got to share ours with our family, and enjoy a few days of time off.  But now we are back into the swing of things, and that includes the weekly photo challenges.  This week's theme is actually called "Bust a Gut", and all I could think of when I first read it was popping buttons off of clothing after all of that turkey and pie!  I suppose I associate everything with food.  The actual theme however, is just a burst of laughter from the gut - and I have the perfect picture! 

This is Jimmy.  He is a sweet boy with special needs and is very camera shy.  I'm not sure if he has ever had professional pictures done, but I know his family was really worried if he would be able to cooperate for me.  I even had some concerns because I hate scaring kids with my giant black camera and large flashes.  But I kind of let Jimmy do his thing, and the end result was that we got fabulous pictures!  His aunt and I worked really hard to make him laugh by talking about everything from Spongebob to boogers in our nose, and by the end of the session, he was a pro.  This picture was one of the first ones of him that I snapped, and I knew it was going to be a breeze after this. 

I am so glad that I get to share in capturing emotions like these.  This is what my job is all about!  Thanks for letting me get to know you Jimmy. 

For more fabulous pictures this week, head on over to I Heart Faces by clicking on the button below:

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Autumn Splendor

Living in Florida (especially southwest Florida) means fall, leaves, changing, and autumn are really things we read about.  Yes, it was 90 degrees again today, and we are halfway through November!!  I have to admit it is better than it was over the summer, but we are SOOO ready for cooler weather.  I am also SUPER jealous of all the awesome pics my photographer friends have been posting from around the globe - you know the kind: The ones where the leaves are all amazingly yellow, red, and orange.  It just doesn't doesn't seem real to me.  So when we decided to head out to do a fall themed shoot, I tried to look for some real leaves.  LOL.  I know, crazy right.  The oak trees are all still green.  But we did find a couple of trees down the street from out house that had dropped all their ginormous leaves, and I was blessed with this picture of my Kenzie Kay playing peek-a-boo with me.  Ahhh....fall in FL. 

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Black Photo Challenge

This week's photo challenge snuck up on me super fast and caught me off guard.  I am usually way more prepared with a ton of ideas for a shoot.  So here is one I snapped at a fabulous and fun western wedding that I did over the weekend.  Nancy and Scott are a lot of fun to work with and they let me do whatever I want picture-wise, so I got to test out a new little video light I just got.  I made this beautiful image with it, and I am thrilled. 

I should have more peeks from their wedding up on the blog soon!  Keep an eye out!

Go check out more fabulous entries at http://www.iheartfaces.com/

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Let Them Be Little

Little babies are always such a joy to have around!  Certainly, they don't stay little for long.  Father time has a way of going faster when they are near.  That's why I love to capture every little expression - including the smiles and the tears.  I love to catch their silly antics as well, because, well, they are only little once. 

Newborn baby Josie was a doll to have in the studio, but this little smirk tells me she's going to be a handful soon!

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Pink

It's October!  That means it is breast cancer awareness month.  As someone whose loved ones have been personally affected by this illness, I want to take the time to remind everyone to get checked!  Please go have a screening and make sure "the girls" are healthy. 

In the spirit of thinking pink, this week's photo challenge over at http://www.iheartfaces.com/ is - you guessed it! - PINK!  What is more perfectly pink than a bunch of tiny ballerinas in pink tutus and pink dance slippers in a pink room?  I love that most of the girls in this picture are in line and listening to the instructor.  They are thankfully oblivious to my camera and me.  However, beautiful little Bella in the center is certainly aware of my camera clicking away, and the fact that she is different from all the other girls makes this picture interesting.  I love capturing little slices of life like this!

For more awesome pink entries and fabulous photography, click the button below.  Feel free to leave me some love, and check us out on facebook!



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Hands

It's time for another I Heart Faces photo challenge.  Only this week, the focus is on the hands and not the face.  It is amazing to me how many images I take that focus on the hands, and they are as varied as can be.  I'll have to share some more in another post because some of them are truly inspirational.  Since I am only allowed one pic in this post (contest rules), I chose my favorite of the bunch. 

This is one from Kim & Danny's engagement session that we did over the summer.  I love the blues and the greens together (and not just because they are our studio colors - but that is a bonus), but it just makes for a super pretty picture.  Another bonus for me is that her really cool non-traditional engagement ring is made of sapphires.  It just makes the entire color palette pop!

So some may wonder why on earth would I photograph a ring on top of a pear.  Well, it looks cool!  Plus, it is super important to capture all of the details when it comes to photoshoots b/c a lot of time, effort, and meaning go into those details.  Take this picture for instance.  There is a little story behind the ring, and the picture, and the pear:  Kim has 2 children born in September, and her fiance has 1 child also born in September.  As a symbol of the blending of their families, they chose this ring with 3 rows of sapphires - one for each child.  Danny's family has a farm that they have worked really hard on all summer long, and it comes complete with chickens, cows, and a small pear orchard.  When it came time to do these pictures, we thought, "How cool would it be to photograph it out there?"  It's a place full of meaning, family, and love.  That pear literally represents the fruits of their labors.  Taking the time to get to know them, to understand this, and represent it in a photograph has made me a better photographer.  Try it some time!

A bit of advice once given to me:  If you are not close enough, your pictures will be void of emotions and sentiments.  Always get closer. 

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A Touch of Light

So I swore that I was going to get some sessions done and posted on the blog this week, but that didn't happen.  LOL.  I did crazy amounts of shooting last week - like a session every day, and on some days 2 sessions - so I have massive amounts of editing and uploading to do.  Ya for me!  I am so thankful for my customers and love that they are keeping me this busy.  I did post quite a few peeks on my fb page, so click on the link in the upper right corner of this page to go check them out. 

In the meantime, it is somehow time already for another iheartfaces challenge, and I knew that I absolutely had to enter this one!!!   It is one of my favorites that I have taken recently, and the best part about it is that is SOOC (straight out of camera for those of you non-photography folks).  All I did to it was convert it from a raw file to a jpeg using Lightroom.  Man, I am proud of this one.  It's one of those pics that lets me know I'm going in the right direction with where I want to be in my work.  There is something about that one strand of hair that got away that keeps me staring at this picture.  It's magical to me.  We were lucky to have such a beautiful afternoon that day. 

So mosey on over to http://www.iheartfaces.com/ to check out more awesome pics, and I promise I'll get more posted on here this week.

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Back to School

Back to school has made it a crazy month at our house.  I've had lots of picture work to keep me busy, but I am behind on posting it.  My youngest started Pre-K, but she's only there for a few hours a day, and because Mr. Drewman goes out of district, we have to drop him off and pick him up too.  This means my entire days are filled with nothing but having a few hours to squeeze in appointments and running back and forth with the kids. 

Things are starting to settle down, but the very first day of school was just plain chaos!  The hubby had to work leaving me to fight the battle of getting two kids ready and 4 dogs walked and all of us out the door on time.  Then there is the first day of school traffic to deal with.  Yes, it is insanely crazy.  Like cops had to direct traffic crazy.  The joys of parenthood.  If I wasn't so frazzled that morning, I might have cried dropping Kenzie off on her 1st day of school - ever.  Instead I had to park a mile away and we had to run up the 8 blocks to get to class.  We were late and sweaty, and I didn't bring my camera.  The lens kept fogging up from the stupid humidity. Poor thing, I never-not-to-this-day got a picture of her at school. 

Drew was super nervous and he had a loose front tooth.  The thing was so loose, it was sticking pretty much straight out, and he looked like he was more related to Mater the Tow Truck than to us.  He refused to smile for me.  He was picked on that first day and thankfully, the tooth came out the second day, or else I think he might not have gone back to school until it did.  In our rush and chaos and nerves of the day, I snapped 2 pictures: 1 of the two of them standing in front of our door both looking very awkward, and this one of Drew unpacking his school supplies and storing them in his desk. 

I wish I had some beautiful, well planned entry, but real life has gotten in the way.  I don't know how single parents or parents with one half in the military do it on their own!  I certainly don't seem to function well without Dan. 

Back to school has taught me a lot.  First that my children are growing way too fast.  It makes me want to get the camera out and take pictures of them even more than I do now.  From a photographer's viewpoint, I know that I need to figure out how to keep my cameras and my lenses from fogging up.  At least summer is nearly over and the heat and relentless rain are starting to subside.  But the lens fogging is an issue that I have to learn to deal with.  Also, I need to work on my focus.  GRRRR!  I love the depth of field at f1.8 and f1.4 on my 50mm and 85mm lenses.  They make for the prettiest, buttery backgrounds.  But I don't always get that focus sharp and where it needs to be when I shoot like that.  Sooo...it's off to practice for me!

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I Heart Faces Photo Challenge - White

Pet Week

We love pet week over here because we love our pets!  Our little Hershey squirt is our newest and tiniest addition - even though she is now almost a year old.  She is nothing but a tiny bundle of love.  See photo evidence above.  Sigh... 

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It's all about the Eyes!

Wow! I've completely ignored my blog for the entire month of August now.  How did that happen?  I was on a roll!  But we've been so busy getting ready for back to school, and going to birthday parties, and photographing of course.  The worst part was after all of our social activities, we got the worst FLU ever.  We had it at the beginning of the year and now again, and I hope that we can finally say good-bye to all those cooties.  Uck!

In the middle of all of that busy-ness, I haven't even done my iheartfaces photo challenges.  Poop!  I really enjoy them because I get to look at hundreds of beautiful images, I get to think outside the box, and I learn a lot about my craft.  It is helping me to be a better photographer. 

So this week I am going to jump back into the contest fun with a picture from a session a few weeks ago.  This gorgeous girl and her sister have the most amazing blue eyes!  When I read that this week's theme was all about the eyes, I immediately thought of this picture:

There is just so much expression and light in there.  Gorgeous baby blues!  For more awesome pics, click on the button below:

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Water

This week's theme is water.  I scratched and scratched my head on what to enter.  We went to the beach recently and I have a few okay images.  But for once, I had put the camera away and actually enjoyed playing with the kids.  I'll post a few of those in a follow up post b/c they are cute. 

After much debate, I decided on this picture of me and my hubby at the Florida Aquarium.  It's not often that we get pictures of us - and even rarer to get me in the shot, so I am thrilled to have this one to share. 

If you want to check out more fabulous water pics, click on the button, or go to http://www.iheartfaces.com/

If you want to leave a comment - I appreciate it.  But bear with me and blogger.  For some reason we keep getting errors - making it difficult for me to leave comments or replies on my blog or anyone else who has a blogger site.  Persistence tends to pay off.  If you still really want to talk to me or leave me a comment - and I would love to talk to you - send me an email - timelessmemoriesarcadia@yahoo.com 

Thanks!!

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