Check out the video and photos of our kids' school

A deep connection with the outdoors

From the time she was born she's needed to be outside. 

Everyday. 

Rain or shine, it doesn't matter.



 
Any excuse, just let her be outdoors.

She gets lost in nature.  Plants, birds, butterflies

To the moon and back...

I asked my daughter last night, as I tucked her into bed, if she knew how much I loved her.



With a little smile, she said,

"Yes.  To the moon and back a million times."

My heart melted.


© Photographer: Matt Antonino | Agency: Dreamstime.com




Then later, I found a little Valentine she'd made for me with a pop-out heart.

I love that she makes me little cards.  I love that she leaves them on my pillow for me to find after she's asleep.  

I was trying to think of something creative I could do for her, and leave a surprise on her pillow.  Her imagination is light years more advanced than mine.  My creativity ends at my camera.

Then it dawned on me that maybe I could find something online that I could use to make her a card. Check this out:
Hearts (a Dreamstime search)  Perfect!  If you haven't discovered the magic of stock photos, you truly don't know what you're missing.

Here's what I came up with...

A cute card and all I did was add the text.  She'll love it.  I better go slip it under her pillow.

A holiday treasure

My latest model, Little John.

Having some good friends over for dinner led to some seriously cute pictures of their 5 week old.  

There's just something about the holidays, and a new baby in a santa hat.

What could possibly be more precious than the smiles of a little baby?

If only I could escape....

Sometimes I wish I could just leave.  Run away. Travel.  Escape.

It's not because I really want to run away.  More of just something calling me.  I want to be out.  Somewhere quiet and undisturbed.  If you've never seen Jason Bell's website, you should check it out.

http://www.jasonbellphoto.com/#/photographer/Jason%20Bell/Landscapes/

He's one of my heros.  Really.  The landscapes are particularly amazing.  They make me feel small and insignificant.  They show me that there is so much out there I haven't experienced (or photographed).

There's just something about his photography that is inspiring, and humbling.  It makes me want to go.  Explore.  And just be.

And, of course,  I'd take my camera.

A new collection

My daughter sings in the Oregon Children's Choir.  I try to capture the feeling, the emotion, the power of their songs.  Yet, it's one example of when photos just don't do justice to the whole experience.

Here is my latest Dreamstime collection of choir photos.
http://www.dreamstime.com/childrens-choir-singers-rcollection19429-resi3427385

Summer travels

This last summer we took the girls on a vacation to California.  

Yes, we packed up the travel trailer and spent two weeks "camping."  Which means hours upon hours of driving and a daily dose of Dramamine for the youngest who never fails to get car sick.

In case you were wondering...  we must have looked like tourists.

In other words we had the GPS on the dashboard, a stack of maps in hand and a panic stricken look as we drove for hours on end through places we've never been.

The highlights?  The Redwoods, Disneyland and California Adventures, and Yosemite National Park.  

If you ask our kids what they enjoyed most it was campfires and smore's, meeting the Disney Princesses, and swimming in the river.

But the photographer in me was in heaven.  I created a memory book of photos for my daughters on Snapfish, and built a collection on Dreamstime titled "All Things Disney!"  http://www.dreamstime.com/all-things-disney!-rcollection18857-resi3427385     

So many memories.  I wonder where the journey will take us next.

Animal Whisperer

Since our daughter was tiny, family and friends have called her the animal whisperer.

 

There hasn't been an animal yet that hasn't been drawn to her.
She' s been saying she wants to be a Veterinarian since before her second birthday.








I guess we'll see about that, but I love to capture these moments.

The inner journey

These are a few of my favorite quotes about travel.  They express what I think about exploring the inner journey through the outer world.

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.”

~Robert Frost

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” 

~Henry Miller

“You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
~Ansel Adams

My photography gives me an outlet.  A place to share my inner journey without completely putting myself out there.  Simply because, “Photography is all about secrets. The secrets we all have and will never tell.” 

~Kim Edwards

Random is not always unpredictable

"Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature." 

~Eric Hoffer 

If it happens, it must be possible.

Right?

Sometimes, I wonder. 

 Occasionally my life feels random.  Or if not random, much like a circus act.

Random stunts and tricks that seem totally out of place and unreal.  

“CIRCUS, n. A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women and children acting the fool.”
~Ambrose Bierce

Beauty is Everywhere...

I always have my camera with me.  My daughters even tease me about it.  I can't help it.

I see the world through a lens.  I see beauty everywhere.

On the rare occasion I don't have my camera handy I always regret it.

What am I afraid of?  I know I miss things.  They're are so many awe-inspiring places, structures and landscapes.

    My dream?

   To be able to travel and take pictures.  It's the outdoors that appeal to me.

Too much time inside and I have to escape.   The walls close in on me and I get stressed and anxious.

The best medicine is the beauty of the outdoors.  Nature is my therapy.

As long as I have my camera along...

Fun pictures

Fun photos! ❀

Slideshow