A {very mojave} Family Portrait

Ahhhh....Christmas in the Mojave! What's an East Coast family to do??!!!

{can someone tell us where you plug in the lights out here?}

A little Christmas cheer at this fun session last night!!

This is my amazing friend, Sandy, and her family...this gal {and my other friend, Liz...we're a trio of trouble when we get the chance to hang out for sure} has been by my side throughout this insane year, and I'd be so lost without her! So it was awesome to be able to do some family portraits for them last night...and I just have to take this chance to publicly thank her and Liz for all they've done for Mike & I this past year. {neither of them have ever "fessed up" but we know it was them who fully stocked our fridge one day....we came home from a week of chemo treatments exhausted to find their handywork....}

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Being away from lifelong friends and family is tough anytime...but throw in cancer {and oh yeah, that shattered ankle!} and it just really hits ya hard. Having friends - make that family - like Liz and Sandy is just priceless in so many ways! Mike and I will never get to fully show our gratitude for all the love and support...

THANK YOU!!!

{love ya!}

Tee Time {Ft Irwin}

Saturday afternoon I met up with this fun family {and their cute dog!} for a mixed outdoor and studio session. We "played around" on the golf course for a bit, then went inside and got some great individual shots of the gals, and some cute shots of Mom & Dad, too! {love the laugh in this one below!!}

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Workin' in reverse-order here....their gallery is already up!

Thanks for a fun afternoon!!

A new little Tarantula {meet Tyler!}

This sweet little guy is one of the newest members of the Tarantula Team out here at Irwin. Say "hi!" to one-month-old Tyler!! He can't brag about jumping out of any helicopters just yet...but he can brag about making it through the "birthday suit" part of the session without peeing on his Mom or Dad...and for a guy his age, I'd say that's some mega braggin' rights! hehehe

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I love little family traditions, and this family had a series of portraits done with their first son that they wanted to replicate for Tyler....but I'm going to be a tease and make 'em wait for their gallery to see those ;-) I'm lovin' the contrast of a soldier's hands against his little son's feet...

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A few more...

So "Murphy's Law" has kicked into effect, and of course right when it's the most inconvenient of times (can anyone say "busy season?!!) I've been hit with a terrible ear ache that just hasn't gone away for weeks (yes, weeks!!) now...and it's gone from "ok, I can bear with this 'till the meds kick in" to "AAARRRRRGGGHHH!!!!" Nothing - I mean nothing - the Drs have given me is helping, and now we're to the point of getting a CT scan to figure out what the heck is going on. NOT COOL!!

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So, what's the moral to this story? I don't know...but since I can't sleep at night (but then whind -why does that not look spelled correctly- up falling asleep at the computer the next afternoon) I've been a little "punch drunk" and so I played around with a few of these images from the session the other night. I wanted to show you how cute the little Christmas Tutu was that they brought, and (it's hard to tell on this smaller version) the "fade out" on the guitar from color to black & white...

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I'm uploading their gallery right now, actually, and then it's on to proof this AM's session. Still plugging away at the wedding - and have two sessions this weekend and an event this week...trying, trying, trying to get it ALL proofed before we leave for Thanksgiving!!

Last night I met up with this handsome young man and his adorable little sister...

what a good-lookin' pair, huh?!

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We did some great shots of each of them as well as some together. I'm sure I'll post some more from this session later- but unfortunetly I spent the day back at the Drs office, so I'm gonna keep this post a little shorter so I can get to proofin'!

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Thanks for a great session- you two are super sweet!

Happy Birthday Sweet One!

Happy, Happy Birthday to you little one!

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One year ago to the date I was photographing this sweet gal as a newborn!! And now she's

chasing bubbles and lugging around purses....time just flys!

Our Birthday girl was in a bit of a serious mood this Wednesday...but her two older sisters were
certainly weren't! They were having fun "hamming it up" and showing me all their different "looks."

Such a sweet trio of sisters! Lots of love and laughs in their house for sure!

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Rub-a-dub-dub...{Worthan Family}

Rub -a - dub - dub, Mr Liam's in a tub....and in a cute sweater...and a cute shirt...and his "birthday suit" .... and a santa hat....

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Monday night this sweet family came over for some portraits of their cuddly little man, as well as some family moments. {I just love the laughs in this one above as they snuggled with their little guy....} I know they've been checking for their sneak peek all week, so they'll be happy to know their gallery is almost done!

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Thanks for a fun session!

Jeramiah's Three! {Studio & Ft. Irwin session}

{errrggg....I have a few other sneak peeks images for this session and blog's image uploader isn't cooperating with me today! boo! So I'll keep trying and get some more peeks up on this when it decides it wants to cooperate again!}

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So Sunday evening I met up with this cute little Birthday Boy and his family. Like all 3 year old boys should be, he was full of energy! We got some studio shots, including some with his equally-adorable younger brother {thank goodness for the drawer full of lollipops!!} before heading out to get a few shots of the whole family with Tiefort as the setting. We took a nice "break" and let the boys be boys and play with Mom & Dad while I snapped away for some relaxed family moments...

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Thanks for a fun session! I'll get a few more pics up here when the image uploader is behaving...and your gallery will be up shortly, too!

Happy Veterans Day {simply stated}

In honor of Veterans Day, I thought I'd repost this OpLove moment...

to all our brave men & women who have served -and are serving- our wonderful country,

THANK YOU for all your sacrifice! "WE LOVE YOU!" ... all of you!

{be sure to hug & thank a veteran today!}

Paula & Ron {tying the knot}

Here's a "little" sneak peek back on your beautiful day, Paula & Ron!

There's still so much more to come in the final gallery. {including all of Ron's...ummm, shall we say "dancing skills" at the reception. hehehe} Enjoy this little ditty! Happy "Newlywedding!"

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{and no offense to blogger, but the slideshow quality isn't my favorite thing}

A sneak peek at the sneak peek....

{catch the tear there?!!}

Congratulations Paula & Ron!!

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I had a blast photographing your day & meeting your families! I'll have your sneak peek slideshow done soon...I just started proofing your wedding today, so I wanted to at least get you a few images up while I finish that up for you....these are just a couple random ones from some of your upcoming peek...

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Thank you again for the honor of capturing your amazing day for you! There's LOTS of memories to come...stay tuned!! {and I gotta say "THANK YOU!" again to Anna for coming along to be my assistant for part of the day...you rock! Can't wait to see your work!}

Will {Texas A&M Bound!!}

This handsome Senior is headed off to Texas A&M this fall....Congratulations!

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This is actually "part 1" of his senior session, so you'll be seeing more of him in December. He's been a lifeguard for a while, so getting shots out by the pool before the cover goes on was a definite. { I had to take advantage of that sunset with his tux, too! }

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Will's family was actually one of the first sessions I did after moving here, so it was fun getting to work with him again, and I certainly look forward to doing the rest of his senior portraits in a few weeks! Thanks for a fun session...and I'll see you soon!

For Shackles

Earlier this week we had a few days of those crazy 40 mph+ winds, and this family was hoping for some Tiefort shots. With the amount of sand in the air, mixed with the strong & chilly winds, it wasn't looking so promising. But their sweet dog, Shackles, {14 years old!!} hasn't been doing so well lately and it was important for them to have the full family all together for the portraits... so we decided to head out and see what we could get. Fortunetly, eventhough the wind was still kickin' and chilly, the air cleared up for Tiefort to show...

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We got some great more traditional-type family portraits at a few different locations - but the first one above of them all cuddled up was such a sweet moment to me. They have a sweet little girl {gorgeous blue eyes!!}, and Shackles did so great! It was easy to see she's lived a very loved life, and it was a pleasure to work with the whole family to get those great moments. {although it was tugging on my heartstrings the whole time!!! I came home and hugged my Quilla so tight!}

"warm fuzzies" on a chilly morning...

My idea of a perfect chilly morning is to stay cuddled up in bed with my hubby, and maybe have some hot cocoa... but when that can't happen, it's certainly such an awesome treat to get warm & fuzzy e-mails like these two that I've received this week!! {These are from two different OpLove sessions I had recently...}

"Hello Missie,

I just spoke to hubby and he told me how happy he is because he got the photobook!:). He says he couldn't even go to sleep from flipping through it. Thank you so very much for lifting his spirits up with that:). He is so close to coming home and obviously very anxious for time to tick by faster so this really calmed him down:)...." {from the wife of a soldier here at Ft Irwin}


"Missie,I would like to thank you for the great pictures you took and sent out of my family. As little as the gesture may seem it definitely helps get through the days. Once again thank you for you support." {from one of the deployed soldiers whose family surprised him with their session}

As a military spouse, I know just how hard deployments are - and I'm fortunete that I've been able to enjoy my hubby being home for the past year...so OpLove to me is the best way to show how thankful I am for my hubby's safe return on two deployments, and to show support to other military families that are anxiously awaiting the safe return of their soldiers. It means so much to me to know that I put some smiles on these soldiers' faces! I can't wait to know that all my OpLovers are home safe & sound....and I certainly hope it works out to be able to capture that homecoming as well!

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'till then - stay safe over there, and thank you again for all you do!! You rock!!

Go, go, go!

Saturday evening mister Luca rolled on over to the studio in his schnazzy blue car {so cute!} with Mom & Dad in tow...but getting portraits done just didn't seem to be on his agenda for the evening! So I had Dad read him one of his favorite little books and "snuck" some portraits of them together {so sweet}, and then we all headed out so Luca could run & explore. {and run he did! hehehe}

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Mom & Dad weren't originally planning on being in portraits- but who can resist playtime with a little cutie like Luca? And you all know how much I love those "little moments" that just can't be planned or posed!!

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Thanks for such a fun, laid-back session, you guys!

{simply} precious

Miss Zoe was so sweet to work with - she was boppin' to the music, doing the sweetest little two-handed wave, and completly cracking me up with how anything she wasn't interested in looking at/wearing/playing with she'd just toss over her shoulder oh so matter-of-factly!

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Mom brought a whole box of clothes, and two adorable hats {which got tossed over the shoulder} ... but of course we had to get some naked dupa shots, too! {"dupa" is my family's word for bottoms}. She was sooo serious in these...but I love the simplicity of just focusing on her sweet face and those baby blues! {and of course that dupa!}

It's all about the dress {Bicycle Lake}

So this fun session has been several months in the waiting. I did this gorgeous bride's engagement photos back in the spring, and we've been talking since then about getting together to do some Bridal Portraits...and finally the stars aligned for us to both have a free evening to link up again! Yeah!

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Between their engagement session and now, another photographer suggested I get out to the dried lake bed sometime for a shoot. I've been itching to get out there, but wanted to wait for just the right session for the "feel" that landscape creates...and this was just perfect!!

{it is all about the dress & the details when you're a bride!!}

{isn't she just gorgeous?}

Ah! I just love the moodiness of the last one.I had to do it in a darker black & white. Of course it was kickin' up the wind this evening, so she was holding on to her veil. To me the unplanned angle of her head and arms gives this image a completely different feel from the others...

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Ironically, I am actually shooting a wedding here on post at the end of this month and would just love to get back here again if the day's timing allows, and the weather is cooperating. {LOVE windy shots with veils and trains, but a dusty bride walking down the aisle isn't such a great thing! hehehe}

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Carla, thanks for another fun session! I loved finally getting to see your dress in person - gorgeous! - and I hope you had fun getting to wear it again!! {you know, someone I know once told me they put their gown on every year on their anniversary...me, if I had kept mine -kinda regret selling it even though it was poofier than I should have done- would probably put it on to vacuum just for an excuse to wear it every now and then....}

Sister, Sister! {Harvey House & Studio}

How cute are these two?!!

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These sweet sisters both do pageants, and big sis has a big one coming up in November. They have so many cute outfits...um, hello - pink boots?! I want a pair!!

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We started out at the Harvey House in Barstow, and they were such little troopers with the wind and cold air...but the smiles definetly got a little bigger when we got back to the nice warm studio! {I can't believe I've lived in California long enough now to "complain" about how cold yesterday was...back in NJ I would have still thought it was warm for this time of year! I think I'm in trouble for our trip back to WV for Thanksgiving....}

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It was fun working with you, girls! I hope we get to do it again soon. I know you'll do great in the pageant!!

Just can't get enough...

Yeah!! This was my third time this year getting to work with this family, and I just won't ever get enough of them. Definetly one of the best perks of being a photographer is getting to know the families you work with, and developing friendships from them...

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It's so fun knowing their personalities so well, and getting to watch their adorable kiddos (aka "the flirt" and "the juicy one") grow! Thanks, guys, for another fun morning together! I'll have your gallery up ASAP to enjoy...