{Sneak Peek} Moser Family - Yreka, Portrait Photographer

I had my first official 2011 session this afternoon! We were out and about under grey, misting skies to capture some photographs of a father and son, whom just happen to be my uncle and cousin. ♥

I got some super shots, here are a few that I really liked from my quick overview this evening as I off-loaded them from my camera.

Thank you guys for a great afternoon. I'll be seeing you soon with your full proof set.

Mid-Week Check In

Hello out there!!
It's almost the weekend & I'm here to check in. I have no new photos to post...I'm already failing the 'photo' challenges for the year. Dang it!!  I've got a couple of projects that I'm working on & brainstorming a TON for new, fun & exciting things to come.  I'm hoping tomorrow is another okay weather day & I'll get a chance to get outside with my camera for a few photos.
I really need to get my girls out & dressed up all cute for their Birthday portriats.  There special days are rapidly approaching & I've got lots to do to plan their 'Farm Party'.


I don't know if you've checked out my 'Scraps-n-Stuff' blog yet, but if you have, you'll notice a layout about my plan & focus for growth this year & I know I've also mentioned it here.

Here's a little check-in with the "Growth Plan"

• Focus more on what I LOVE to shoot & what I find inspiring & gorgeous: Wee-Ones & Western Lifestyle

• By wee-ones I mean:  Newborns, Babies, Toddlers, Kids, Family  <----basically I want to be a kick-booty Children & Baby Photographer  (I will still take on other projects, I just really enjoy these ones).

• Western Lifestyle: just what is it?!? Well we live in one of the most gorgeous places on Earth.  I want to capture ranchers/cowboys/cowgirls just doing their thing. (right now this is in the 'vision' stage & will be having some 'portfolio expansion' specials coming soon. E-mail me if you're interested in participating.

• I'll also be defining my 'style' thoroughout the year, putting some emphasis on more candid, lifestyle, everyday type images. 

Thanks for sticking it out with me & check back often for specials, info & more.

Don't forget that for the remainder of January, you can book a full session for just $75.

Another Monday

Another week just flew right by.  Things are pretty much the same around here.  Now that the holidays are over, I'm onto birthday party planning & trying to stay sane in this house, with these children.  Thankfully the last couple of days it has been sunny. Optimistically sunny, yet freezing cold.  Saturday was the first day we'd seen the sun in almost a week, boy was that a welcome sight!!

  

 The silhouette of Black Butte, about 25 miles or so from home. I just love when the sun breaks out of the clouds & we can actaully see some of the gorgeous scenery around here.

The children all have cabin fever & are pretty much climbing the walls on a daily....no more like hourly basis! 

 Grace's just preparing herself for the look of time behind bars. I'm pretty sure she's planning on going there beginning in Kindergarten. Oy!

Brody's newest favorite game is Peek-a-Boo. He really likes putting himself under blankets & popping back out to see who's watching.

That's about it here as we're prepping & planning for the arrival of the girls' birthday present in the next few days (which will require a post all it's own).

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Don't forget to book your session in January for a huge savings. Sessions for the rest of this month are only $75.00*.  

Fog, fog & fog some more

That's about all we've seen since Monday. Fog, fog & more fog. At least at our house, but if we drove into town, we might see some sun. Besides fog the only thing we've seen is frost...lots of frost.
Every rose has a thorn....a thorn of frost that is.

This is how much frost we had yesterday 1/6/2011

This is the amount of frost we had today, 1/7/2011.

Don't let the fog & frost hold you back. Schedule you portrait session with me, for sometime in January for only $75.00 *

*e-mail me for more details on that special offer.

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Anna's attack of the middle sister wound. As she was laying on the couch, just minding her own business watching cartoons, her loving little sister, walked up with a sippy cup & threw it at her head.

This is the loving little sister.

Daddy & his little clone.

Wordless Wednesday

Baby's bath time edition, in B&W:

Some artsy-ish stuff

Although I haven't actually committed to P365 or any other photo projects this year. I have chosen a word to represent all that I want from this year. A word to reflect & focus on. While the idea isn't my own (thanks Ali Edwards & others in the scrapping community that have had discussions on this) it's very thought provoking. I've spent the last few days & maybe even a week going through old magazines & tearing out things that inspire me or I want learn more about, do, etc. It's all part of my words process & I'm sure my husband thinks I've lost my marbles (or maybe he thinks that I'm FINALLY cutting down on some clutter).

So for 2011, my focus is GROWTH.

It encompasses many things, but since this is a blog where I share my photography & sometimes my life; my hope for 2011 is that you all get to watch my photography grow & become more of me.
The last couple of days I've made a conscience effort to take some artsy type photos &/or work on my technical skills. The images in this post are a few that I love from my efforts yesterday.

Brody got stuck inside with me yesterday (trying to get over croup) while hubby & the girls' played outside so he became my little subject. I may be looking through mommy goggles, but there's so much about this little portrait that I love. From those super long eyelashes to the tiny little fingers.

Please ignore the completely dirty window which is behind these gorgeous flowers. Which are the exact same flowers, in the exact same spot as the next image.

I really, really like this photograph. I may even print it large & hang it above my desk, someday soon, as I'm in the process of redecorating our house, from the kids' rooms & moving all my photo displays around to different walls, everything is changing & growing.

1st Monday of 2011

Well, it's the 1st Monday of the year 2011!

What a better way to start the day than to get a face lift, or at least a blog lift & a few other tips & tucks. I thought it was time for a new, updated look around here, another one of those growth changes that I'm planning for this new year.

I hope that 2011 has started out well for you all. Ours started with snow, which meant hubby got to go into work, YAY. It left me & the kiddos to do the morning feeding & then we played in the snow for a bit. I was able to get some photographs that I really love on Saturday morning.

These are some of my favorites:

This is probably one of my most favorites, I've been in a photo-rut & not ventured outside of the normal, what I do everyday style. I LOVE this. I'm calling it "Snow Blooms"

Have a great Monday!

Merry Christmas

Wishing you & your family a very Merry Christmas.

Blessings & prayers for a grand new year.

Hoping to get back to regularity soon. Thank you for sticking around while life has spun round & round!

A late sneak - Mt Shasta Roller Derby

I'm back with that sneak peek from the other day. I had the opportunity again to go out & hang out with Mount Shasta Roller Derby. We did a new group shot as well as some individual shots this time. I can't believe that since I first visited with them in October how much they've grown & expanded; I'm sure I'll be back to hang with them soon, as there were a couple of ladies missing for photos.

They're an amazing group of women (and some guys that hang too) that meet several times a week, roller skating and polishing up their skills.

Here's a little info about this awesome, talented & kick booty team.

------Introducing the first ever Skater-Owned, Womens Flat Track Roller Derby team right here in our hometown of Mt. Shasta, CA where we rock AND roll. We welcome anyone to come check us out and see what the hype is all about .. No dues or fees necessary. Put your game face on and show us what ya got !!! See ya on the track baby ♥-------

If you want more info or you're interested in having a great time & joining in on the fun check them out!!!

www.mountshastamightyrollers.webs.com

Thank you ladies (& gents) for having me out to photograph you, can't wait to see some more action from you!!

December....and the countdown begins

Wow! This year has really just whizzed right by. I can't believe that it's December, we started our Christmas countdown calendar today & although we haven't actually done the activity yet, we will be making some paper & glitter snowflakes a little later this evening.

I was visiting Darcy Baldwin's (she's an awesome fontographer & designs some other fun digi-stuff) blog this morning & thought this was a fun way to kick off December on my blog. I'm going to attempt to have a post everyday of this month, to go along with the 'Countdown to Christmas & December album/family journal' that I'll be working on for our family.

So without any further blabbing from me....

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate, definitely, espeically if its topped with some peppermint & whipped cream. If you know me at all, you'll know that me & eggs don't see eye-to-eye...in fact I think they're pretty gross, so just the thought of this makes me gag a little. ;)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Our Santa does both & he fills the stockings, usually with little wrapped gifts as well. But he uses different wrapping paper than Mom & Dad.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? It just depends, we switch it up from year to year for the tree, sometimes we've go with colored & a hodge-podgy look, sometimes I like the 'classical' look of the white lights with coordinating ornaments. The outside, often looks like Clark Griswold was here decorating, but he used colored lights, big ones, little ones & lots & lots of them.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Sometimes, depends on if there is a girl/boy scout group selling it when we go into town. We don't go cut it or make a special trip for it. But it's a fun little thing to have around. I try to hang it near a doorway or somewhere that we stop often, it's not just mistletoe though, I try to 'spruce it up a bit & turn it into a decoration.

5. When do you put your decorations up? It begins the day after Thanksgiving, little things here & there. We go all out the day we get the tree, usually the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend. More little things will pop-up throughout the month though as we create & craft with the kids.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Everything tastes better during the holidays. My most favorite is a pink salad that my Granny would make special for me. Raspberry jello, cottage cheese, pineapple, cool whip. Ham. Sweet potato casserole stuff, with crunchy yummy pecans & brown sugar.

7. Favorite Christmas memory as a child? Singing Christmas carols with my sister, in our bedroom around our tiny tree & making our own 'music videos'.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I was a kid....it was long ago, & I don't even remember, but if you don't believe in his magic, you don't get visited by him either. ;)

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We usually have multiple Christmas celebrations, like 3 or 4, one of them normally falls on Christmas eve, so we do open gifts then too.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? With lights & balls & a combination of homemade & other sentimental ornaments. We don't do the fluffy garland or tinsel, but sometimes strings of beads.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love & loathe. Love watching it fall & seeing its softly scattered among the trees. Love that I can choose to go out in it or stay in warm & snuggly. Loathe the need to go out in it for un-fun things like running errands with the kids or driving in it.

12. Can you ice skate? Never tried.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? There was a favorite every year. One year my sister & I got special dolls from some very dear friends, hers lit up & was pink, mine had awesome long blonde hair that changed colors with water. One year we got a play kitchen. One year we each got $100 bill tucked into a jewelry box that we could do what we wanted with, I spent most of mine on crafting things, I still have some of the beads I bought then.

14. What’s the most important thing about Christmas for you? Teaching our children that it's a season for love & giving, and being surrounded by family. Celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus.

15. What is your favorite Christmas Dessert? Christmas cookies. All of them. & cheesecake.

16. What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Driving around looking at Christmas lights. Baking & candy making day. Decorating the tree. Hopefully we'll have some new traditions after this year, one of them being our 'Family countdown calendar'.

17. What tops your tree? An angel.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving. Creating & crafting special homemade gifts for all of the people we hold near & dear.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? There are several, way too many to name (dispite my sweet hubbys general dislike of Christmas music--or the overplaying from Thanksgiving through Christmas). Go Tell it on the Mountain. Away in a Manger. O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Santa looked a lot like Daddy.

20. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? Delicious!

21 Favorite Christmas Show? The Grinch (the animated version). National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. Annabelle's Wish.

22. Saddest Christmas Song? Christmas Shoes by NewSong.

23. What’s your Wish for Christmas. That our lives & the lives of those we love be touched with love & their hearts be filled with joy. & that over the next year we can try to be as thoughtful everyday as we are throughout the Christmas season.