A few months ago I got an email from Peter to save the date… the occasion… his proposal to Amy!! I hid in the bushes like any crazy photog would and captured some of the sweetest moments ever – Peter even had Amy’s parents fly in for the occasion! They are such an incredible couple with incredible hearts – for each other and for others! It has been such a joy to be part of their story and I can’t wait for the wedding.
Anyway… about a week ago was their e-session. Talk about global warming. NOT! It was 33 degrees outside and so cold! Amy and Peter were totally troopers – we started at the Sculpture Garden in the Museum of Fine Arts and then made our way to the Houston Zoo. Enjoy the sneak peek of a few of my favorites! With Amy’s red hot shoes and warm donuts for “The Donut Man” from Shipley’s, it was a fun time!!
Amanda and Bill met at church, at a campout. Over the next few months they would cross paths several more times. One day, Bill asked her on a date and the rest, as they say, is history. A story of sweet redemption and second chances. Starting over and blending families. Their wedding ceremony was a worship service and the reception was an intimate gathering celebrating all that God has done in their lives and believing for all that He is going to continue to do.
{On another note, between insomnia and an ongoing sinus infection, my blogsite has fallen to the wayside a bit. I am trying out this slideshow format – not sure what I think – I would love for it to be larger. As a Pictage client, this is their new slideshow offering. It is still in beta, which I understand means all of the photog clients are trying it out and a new version will be released in time. However – I am so excited I put a slideshow on my blogsite – html and copying and pasting makes my eyes cross and my head hurt – so this was no small feat. Woo-hoo for me!}
Mali has a smile that lights up the whole room – from corner to corner – seriously! Her laughter is infectious and it carries over to her girls! Their smiles are just the same as is their penchant for laughter! What a joy to spend the afternoon with these three sweet ladies – the weather was a bit frightful with gray, misty skies, but their smiles, oh their smiles! I think you’ll see what I mean! Mali and girls… thanks for letting me document your smiles:)!
When they met, Amanda and Bill were both single parents with hearts looking for a new home. Short conversations at a church campout and then on a church cruise, led to longer conversations and then he came over to help her install a ceiling fan. That led to a date, which led to another date and another. They quickly realized that their hearts had found new homes – each other’s! Amanda is one of my dearest friends and it is has been with tremendous excitement that I got to watch all of this unfold. Photographing their wedding is definitely one of the hardest that I have done – it is pretty hard to see through tear-filled eyes. They were tears of joy most definitely! Here is a sneak peek with more images coming soon!
January 4, 2010 - 10:50 pmLisa Currie-Gurney - I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE MORE OF THEIR LOVE STORY IN YOUR PICTURES. I AM A GOOD FRIEND OF MARGOS, AND AM SOOOO GLAD FOR BOTH BILL AND AMANDA ! WOW, LOOK WHAT GOD CAN DO !!
HUGS FROM MAINE
January 25, 2010 - 7:55 amChristy - Hey Monica - These looks great. I am so excited to have you do my wedding! Hope your new themes are challenging you and working in your heart already. Have a good week! --Christy
We celebrated by enjoying some great food, (Carribean Black Bean Soup and Taco Soup) lots of friends, fireworks, and fun!! We didn’t all make it to midnight, but the neighbors woke us up every so often with fireworks and hooting and hollering as they ran up and down the street!!
A new year is such a gift – a chance to start over, to make new goals, to do things differently, and to move forward cherishing each moment!! As I mentioned in my previous post, I try to have a theme each year. Last year was so crazy that I couldn’t tell you my theme if my life depended on it, which, thank goodness it doesn’t! This year, however; my themes are focus and living intentionally. I love to be busy and have lots of things to do, but I have allowed myself to be pulled in many, many directions. While none of my activities are bad things, they are not all moving me toward my goals, assuming I have goals and actually remember what they are (can I get an amen – anyone else there??). So… this year… as part of focus and living intentionally, I am committing to writing down my goals, measuring each activity against those goals and determining what needs to go away!! While I am still doing a bit of, um, soul-searching to narrow down my goals, (I’m thinking that if focus and living intentionally are my themes for the year, probably having 57 goals isn’t a good thing!), I do know that developing laser beam focus for my business is in the top three! I am splitting my brands and will have a children/family division called “Little Yellow Lemon Tree” and my main brand, MonicaJune Photographers, will be devoted to weddings and events. Be watching for a blogsite makeover and new logos and new packaging and more… I’m so excited about the upcoming year!!
Another reason that I am excited about this year is WEDDINGS!! I love weddings and almost fully booked for the year – there are a couple of spots left in the summer and a couple in the fall, but other than that, I have my hands full with weddings!! I.LOVE.WEDDINGS. Seriously! In a big way! And speaking of weddings, I’ll be shooting the wedding of this couple tomorrow…
Yes, that’s a picture of my carpet. Over the weekend I got this crazy idea that it wouldn’t be so bad to steam clean my own carpet. Yes, I know. Totally.Completely.Crazy!! But now I’m done and it is such an amazing feeling – I keep walking over the carpet and I think to myself – “There’s where I got that big spot out.” “Oh there’s where Wyatt spilled red gatorade - look, it’s gone now!” However silly it may sound, I actually feel really proud of myself! So, what does carpet have to do with 2010?? So glad you asked…
Each year, internally, I like to come up with a theme. Something to give me focus, to reflect back on and measure how far I’ve come. Well, 2009 has come and gone as though I were a set of bowling pins and a champion bowler sent a bowling ball about 100 mph down the lane and got a strike. Seriously. I feel that blown away by the last year. An introspective old soul, I have asked myself, “What did I accomplish this year?” “Did I do well as a mommy?” “Did I do good for those who needed it?” “Did I love my family and friends freely and unconditionally?” I think you get the point. Well, this year. Ummm. I know it came and went. Fast. Too fast! I didn’t enjoy life the way I should have. I’ve been so anxious for the new year to start! A chance to start over, to regroup, to collect my thoughts, my dreams, my goals and move forward. A chance to say goodbye to the messiness of 09 and begin…
My carpet looks brand new. Ok, well, almost brand new. 2010. A brand new year. A chance to set new goals, to wipe the slate clean, to reach farther and higher, to love more freely, to dream bigger. 2010… A chance to begin.
While I have been capturing weddings, children and families for over six years now, I am new to the world of promoting my business online. Sometimes keeping everything balanced… motherhood (and all that goes with it) and photography (and all that goes with that) is daunting to say the least! I am in a tremendous learning curve as far as streamlining my workflow, improving my shooting and editing skills, marketing and growing my business and more. Reinventing the wheel is not what I am after – “borrowing” from others is definitely my first choice. Imagine my joy, yes JOY, when I discovered www.thesavvyphotographer.blogspot.com.
There are links to workshops, templates, and soo… much more. I haven’t had a chance to dig in really deep and find all the goodness that is there, but… I can’t wait to do just that!!! So… if you are into photography, you really need to check them out!!
And because a post is just boring without a pic… here’s a favorite from a recent session…
I love her curls and her eyelashes and just the simplicity of this image - she is just delicious!
I have a dirty little secret, well, really it’s not dirty, but I use Totally Rad actions (http://gettotallyrad.com/blog) on my images to tweak them, you know, add just a little extra. Well… the creator of Totally Rad Actions has a new set coming out -”Dirty Pictures” and I want to win the set! Don’t worry, I don’t really want truly dirty pictures, I just want the actions that will add a little summin, summin to my pictures. Soo… the contest goes like this – create a blog post showing how I use the current actions with a link to the Totally Rad blog and I could be chosen – i.e. I win the “Dirty Pictures”:)!!!
Take a peek at some befores and afters of a sweet little one that I captured this weekend…
The after is shown first - notice how the color just pops right at ya - sweet, huh?
Before is on top, after below - the eyes sparkle and the black and white just pulls your eye straight to her eyes!
This image is fine just like this - great color, composition, decent lighting, etc...
But look at it now - I increased the contrast while it was still in color, ran "Lights On" and then "BAMF - B&W) - isn't it gorgeous now?
Adoption is an issue that is very close to my heart – adopting a child is such a tangible way for us to demonstrate God’s love to a child who has no family. Last fall a dear friend of mine was contacted by a young girl who wanted to give her baby up for adoption. My sweet friend and her husband were delighted to have the chance to add to their family in this way. It had been a dream for years. Baby Hadley arrived in March, but the adoption was finally final very recently. Enjoy these sweet pictures of Hadley’s birthmother and adoptive mother together before she was even born and then her newborn pictures…
Sweet birthmother…
waiting, waiting…
Adoptive mother feeling her precious girl wiggle and kick
Hands and hearts forever linked by this little girl…
Baby Hadley, finally in her mommy’s arms…
A tender moment… sweet dreams little one…
Her perfect little head
Her perfect little nose…
A kiss from big sister…
Perfection…
Yes, Hadley has a bow to go with absolutely everything in her closet:)!
Love these ruffles… So yummy!!
This image leaves me speechless... I love the natural light, the tenderness, and just the sweetness of a mommy with her precious new baby...
One of my favorite places to shop is J. Barton Clothiers in LaCenterra Shopping Center out here in Katy. They always have clothing that is different than the typical department store stuff and items that no one else in Katy carries. You can just imagine my delight when manager, Amanda, asked me to take pictures of the store for their new website. I love to shop, so being able to go into the store before it was even open was like being in a candy store!! Soo… much… fun!
The outside of the store
Beautiful, beautiful Brighton
The luxurious dressing rooms...
There are gorgeous graphics and floral arrangements throughout...
The Ivy Jane line... one of my personal favorites...
by Monica
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