Terri

 by Terri

Abigail – Seven Months Old {Family Photographer}

The past month has been a busy month for me and I’ve been out of town more than I’ve been home…but I’m not complaining, it’s all been GREAT! You saw the photos from the trip to Utah that my husband and I made last month. Well, a few days after returning home from that I packed up again and this time flew off to North Carolina. I spent a couple of nights with a good friend, Cindy Hamilton, and her husband, before Cindy and I headed to Knoxville, Tennessee for a photography workshop. That was an incredible experience and I hope to post a blog about that (when I have a bit more time!) and all the wonderful people I met there. After the workshop, I rode to Nashville with some other fellow photographer friends, Karol Grace and Susan Patton, and spent a night with Karol and her husband before heading back home! My flight didn’t leave until later in the afternoon, so sweet little Abigail, who I photographed this past summer during a visit to Tennessee,   (Baby Abigail)  helped fill my time before I headed back home. Her “Nana” arranged to pick me up and we met Abigail and her mom and her  other Nana at Centennial Park for a fun little session. Boy, has this adorable little girl grown, she’s just as cute, wait, cuter….and so very sweet! It was my pleasure to see all of them and capture some more memories of her first year for her family! The weather was nice, a bit bright, but we found shade and stayed cool during the session. At the very end, after I said we were finished (warning…I tend to say that and then there usually ends up being at least one more spot or set of photos!!!)…I spied The Parthenon, which is the centerpiece of this urban park in Nashville! It seemed like the perfect spot…this incredible piece of architecture with this precious little baby, the two just had to meet! Before this, Abigail was getting a bit hungry and ready to be finished, but once we plopped her at the top of the stairs, she was a delight, her smile came back and she seemed to be quite happy to be the center of attention! The end came and it was time to say goodbye to Abigail and her mom…sad to not know when I’ll see them again, but we are scheming to figure out how I can do her one year photos…it would be disappointing to miss that special event!! Enjoy this cutie….her smile just warms your heart and those eyes…well, you can see for yourself, they’re amazing!

“Nana” Brenda tells Abigail a secret…such a wonderful moment between the two!

Abigail with her mom, Allison on the left and with her other “Nana” (Sharon) on the right…how wonderful they are all close enough to share special times together!

Little bitty Abigail…looking to the future which has endless possibilies before her!

Loved so by both of her Nana’s…isn’t she a luckly little girl!

The star of the show…she’s thanking everyone for attending her command performance!!

See what I mean when I say “the eyes” – aren’t they just stunning and it’s as though you can see into the future when you look into them!

I just love babies little fingers and toes…can’t ever resist these sweet parts of precious little ones!

in Babies & Bellies / Families 6 comments
 by Terri

Sneak Peek – Sydney {Puyallup Senior Photographer}

 Well, technically, this isn’t a senior from Puyallup, but she was visiting and so therefore we’ll call it “Puyallup!”  And, to be totally honest, this is my niece, who I must say is gorgeous…look at her…she’s as sweet and nice as she is beautiful! For now, you’ll have to be satisified with just this one photograph as I’m heading out of town EARLY tomorrow morning…my flight leaves at 6 am and I’m headed EAST! I’m spending two days with a great friend and wonderful photographer, Cindy Hamilton, and then we are driving to Knoxville, TN for a 6 day workshop on portraiture…I can’t wait…SO excited to learn new techniques and how to improve my work…because you know you can ALWAYS improve on it! So, it’ll be quiet here for the next week or two…unless I get inspired (and some free time…which probably isn’t going to happen, free time, that is!) and can post some of our work from the workshop! For now, enjoy this beautiful young woman, Sydney, who is a senior in The Dalles, Oregon and will graduate next spring…more to come later this month!

in Seniors & Teens / Teens 2 comments
 by Terri

Back from Vacation…

 Hello there…and if you were wondering where I’d gone…just know that I didn’t fall off the face of the earth…nor did I fall off a cliff, although we were hiking along many during vacation. My husband and I took nearly 2 weeks and flew to Salt Lake City and then traveled through the national parks down there. It was FABULOUS and we loved every minute of it…despite the fact that it wasn’t a “resting” vacation…it was just as wonderful! And, we got more exercise during this time that probably any other time in our lives…we were on the go every day, all day long…and it felt great…even the tired feet and sun-burnt lips (yes, that was me…used chap-stick, just didn’t have spf in it the first couple of days…I quickly learned!!)…all well worth it! If you have never been to any of these parks, we HIGHLY recommend it…they are amazing…actually, visiting any of our national parks is a real treat…we have so much to offer in our own country and really, not that far away…check them out!

Our first stop was Arches National Park…which was wonderful and awe-inspiring! The arches were truly amazing and we loved our time there…well, maybe not all our time there as we were staying in a motel (Days Inn) that was AWFUL…and when I say AWFUL…I  mean it…the good news, no bed bugs, but outside of that, it didn’t have a positive thing about it…and unfortunately, every place in Moab (the town we stayed in) was booked full while we were there…ugh…but we survived and that made each place there after even more enjoyable!!

Above, the Courthouse Towers in the morning sun and below the Landscape Arch late in the afternoon…so much to see there!

Next up was Canyonlands, a smaller and less busy park…it was as beautiful as the first and here we took our longest, toughest hike! We hiked a canyon which sounded pretty easy, but after over 4 hours and 6+ miles…hiking down into and then UP and out and back around…we were exhausted, but sort of surprised that we’d made it and were still standing…and after a few more bottles of water and some food, we were ready to go again! That same day we also visited Dead Horse State Park, which is between Arches and Canyonland…and that is where the Green River merges into the Colorado River…very pretty and we were there for sunset, though not a ton of color…it was still beautiful!

The photo above shows a section of rock (slickrock…that really isn’t slick!) that we actually climbed up…and then down…yikes, what were we thinking?!?

Dead Horse State Park at sunset

From there we headed to Capitol Reef…again, a smaller park and not quite as busy (we liked the “quieter” parks…as the bigger ones had TONS of tourists…and I mean “non” American tourists!! We were truly a minority at the larger parks!). We stayed in a town called Torrey…VERY small and not much there, but the motel was wonderful (another Days Inn) and we had dinner our second night at the most wonderful place, everything was spectacular about it…and as we left, there was a glorious sunset (no camera…or I guess I should say, just the little one!).

Petroglyphs that were carved on the rock cliffs…totally amazing!

Next, we were on to Bryce National Park which has the rock spirals and woodoos…which are incredible…you look down on them and it’s unbelievable that they’ve actually formed these just from nature….truly unbelievable! We also took another good hike here, down into the canyon, so we could get a different perspective on them, looking up…that was a wonderful hike…not as tough as the one from Canyonlands, but still a longer and more strenuous one.

From there we headed West, with some quick stops at Cedar Breaks, Kolob Canyon (north end of Zion NP) and Grafton (a ghost town)…before arriving in Springdale where we spent our last few days and explored Zion National Park. Again…a truly amazing park. It has tall canyon walls and cliffs that are incredible…and we even saw a couple of people climbing one…and evidently, they had been working on it for two days when we saw them…WOW…can’t EVEN imagine that! Zion was the only park where we couldn’t drive to the stops ourselves, they have a wonderful shuttle system that is great and really was a nice way to talk with others visiting the park, either while on the shuttle or waiting for one.

Fabulous fall colors from the Cedar Break area!

From Grafton ghost town, just outside of the entrance to Zion NP

Above, the moon above a cliff in Zion…and below, the Virgin River….looking up the canyon narrows

Back at home…and as with any vacation, there is the usual to catch up on…laundry, mail, house and I have some work that didn’t get done before I left, so have that on my plate as well!  Of course, one of the nicer things about coming home…sleeping in your own bed….ahhhhh, that felt so nice last night…after four different motels in the past two weeks, coming home to ours was a real treat!! Today…my first day back, I had a “Mimi day” which is one of my most favorite of the week…when I watch our granddaughter…she’s truly a blessing in our lives and I’m blessed to be able to have her a couple of days a week. Mind you, I don’t get much work done on those days, but who cares…time with family and those you love is more valuable than any work time…at least in my opinion!

I hope this finds you all doing well…enjoying fall and hopefully, some nice fall weather! I do love the fall, the colors, the crisp cool mornings and the smell of dew in the evenings…and as my husband likes to remind me…it’s time to start cooking some “cold weather” meals…like soups, stews, casseroles, etc…so bring on fall!!

in Just Because / Personal / Travel 0 comments