Tag Archives: San Jose Family Photographer

Happy Mother’s Day!

May 8, 2010 – 1:56 am

Happy Mother’s Day to my AWESOME Mom (Joetta) and my SUPER mother in law Bonnie. I feel so fortunate to be loved and supported by you all year round. Thank you for putting up with me, I love you both (even though I am not sure either of you regularly read this)…. Here’s a few reasons why:

My mom. I love that you:

-Can’t pronounce Mitsubishi
-Love my dog as if she were your own
-Keep up with our two kids when you come for visits. I know they tire you out but you enjoy every minute you have with them.
-Travel out to see us 3 or 4 times a year, EVERY year
-Enjoy our special days together. Antiquing, shopping, eating, wine tasting, and the Garlic Festival just to name a few.
-Are my mom.

Bonnie. I love that you:

-Manage, and often ask for, all of the grandchildren, at one time, in your home, sometimes all day
(For those of you who don’t know there are 9, 75% under the age of 11!)
-Are so proud of your boys and their families
-And Dale are still in love after 30 + years and set a great example as couple and team for our families

Also…I wanted to send a special message this week to the extraordinary moms I meet throughout the year. Moms I enjoy getting to know better with each passing session. This AWESOME video describes how I’m sure many of us feel but couldn’t convey as eloquently. The video is of a mom reading an excerpt from a book she’s written. Having two boys I can relate well! The important takeaway is about the significance of ordinary days.

I hope this video helps remind you that the little things are really the big things and that those ordinary days you’re experiencing today will mean everything to you in the years to come. Now sit back, relax and have a few tissues handy! It’s only 7 and a half minutes, do it now!!

Hugs, Michelle

By bugs | Posted in Babies, Family, Kids, Maternity | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (2)

I’d pay thousands for skin like this…

April 28, 2010 – 4:41 am

Does this baby have the most luscious complexion you’ve ever seen? She is buttery soft and beautiful.  Isn’t it amazing how perfect skin is when not compromised by things like the sun? It makes me wish I’d never sunbathed with baby oil as a college student.  I was lucky enough to hold her a few times throughout our visits.

I thoroughly enjoyed photographing beautiful little Daphne, who is the newest cousin of several of the other adorable babies on my web site.

Thanks Claire for bringing *another* one of your grandchildren in for “the experience” and our “tradition” and hope you had a WONDERFUL time in Hawaii with your family!

-Michelle

By bugs | Posted in Babies, Family | Also tagged , | Comments (0)

Girl Scout Cookies!

April 2, 2010 – 12:33 am

Anyone that knows me well knows I love to eat.  I have to confess an addition lately to Girl Scout Cookies.  The Peanut Butter Patties.  I am so helpless with an open box of those around.   I can’t stop at the posted “serving size” of two.  I prefer to eat neatly, in “rows”, so that means I gobble about 5 or 6 at a time.  Have you tried placing them in the fridge? Even better than just out of your cupboard.  Last year, I could even tell that the different boxes I was eating of the same cookie types were made by different cookie factories.  Now that’s sad!  In other words, I could taste the difference in the same GS cookie–I will be glad when the 2 or 3 remaining boxes of PBPatties are gone for another 11 months. 

At Christmas I went through my Fruitcake phase.  Yep, I dig fruitcakes!  :)  Not just any fruitcake though, I only like the Claxton Traditional fruitcake that my great grandmother (bless her heart) used to feed me.  This year, between Christmas and February, I devoured about 8 half pound cakes!

I am hungry.  Perhaps writing a blog entry on an empty stomach (except for the two PB patties I just ate) isn’t a great idea.  I will write something more exciting next time around.  I have been super busy photographing 6-9 month old babies (there’s a run on them this month).  Boys & girls cuter than buttons.  I will post a few images next entry….

 

By bugs | Posted in Babies, Family, Kids | Also tagged | Comments (3)

I’m so excited!

March 2, 2010 – 7:06 am

I’m so excited!  For about a year and a half now, I have been wanting to include a smaller ”grandparent” album to supplement my beautiful Butterfly Books.   It took that long for me to find a product that really excited me, but it arrived last week and exceeded my expectations! I would love to include an image here of the book, but it flew out of the studio today for display at a local charity auction so I won’t get it back for a week or two.    Anyway, I know these will be a popular item from here on out and I’m so happy I didn’t settle for anything less than sublime…..

On another topic, hopefully you caught the US vs. Canada hockey game on Sunday?  WOW, that’s all I can say.  Since our son Tanner started playing rollerhockey about a year ago, I have come to really enjoy being a spectator of the sport.   Whether it’s his team playing at Silvercreek Sportsplex, the SJ Sharks at the Arena or the Winter Olympic games, the time just flies by during a game!

Tanner told Kent and I that he had made a hockey bet with his school buddy Patrick.   Tanner bet on the US and Patrick bet on Canada.  $5.  Which is kind of a lot for a 4th grader.  Anyway, Tanner lost the bet and I was curious as to whether he was actually going to make good on it.  After all, I did not see $5 comin’ out of that piggy bank last night.  When Kent and I asked him at dinner tonight if Patrick tried to collect on the debt today, Tanner told me he had offered Patrick 5 Tic Tacs instead of $5 and Patrick opted for the Tic Tacs!  Have I ever mentioned we think Tanner will grow up and practice law or go into politics? The kid negotiates EVERYTHING…..

By bugs | Posted in Babies, Family, Kids | Also tagged , | Comments (2)

Something to think about…

May 2, 2009 – 4:33 am

A fellow photographer and friend of mine recently made a post to an online business forum we both belong to.   Even though what she wrote made me a little sad, what she wrote touched my heart.  I always encourage parents to be a part of their child’s portrait session during my initial conversation with them, but sometimes there is a little resistance.   For those who read the information below and can identify, please rethink this next time you come visit me.   And a confession…I am this way too–usually ducking out of the family photos as much as I can, but I’m going to make more of an effort to let my husband have the camera every once in a while so I can be photographed with my two greatest accomplishments in life.   I don’t want them looking through the thousands of images taken over the years and realize there are only a handful with mommy with them.   Here are her comments:

“I just got back from a week in LA to photograph a bunch of my newborns from last year who just turned one.  One of my clients turned one on December 6 and her Mommy passed away in her sleep (heart attack) on December 8. During the newborn session the Mom didn’t want any of her and the baby because she felt she looked horrible (which she didn’t, but I tried and tried to get her to do just a couple and she wouldn’t). It breaks my heart every time I think about this and how there are no photos of them during that special time.

While I was there this week the little one walked over to the table that held a photo of her Mom, Dad, brother & herself that was taken in July when they were vacationing in Hawaii. They had hired a pro in Maui so they could have a vacation session. She picked up the photo from the table and was walking around with it, at one point she stopped and stared at it for the longest time and then let out of a soft “Momma”. I think that was probably one of the saddest things I have ever witnessed. I had to excuse myself and go to my car (claimed I needed to get some more CF cards). I wanted to cry at least 10x while there, it was so incredibly sad. This mom was a non-smoker, was physically fit, no family history of major illnesses, it was just a freak thing that happened.

Hold the photographs and images you create dear to your heart, you never know when it will be the last image that is taken of the family as it is today. I also encourage you to try and always get the parents in some of the shots if at all possible. I want to say out of all the clients I’ve had over the years I think I just have 4 or 5 who have flat out said no. Hugs your kids and family often, tell them how much you love them often, I know I always do but ever since I’ve been back and witnessed this its made me hug them just a little longer and a little tighter.

Be proud of being a photographer and for the lives that you touch just for a moment, but will bring joy to for years with your images. “  (Angela Calderon, Atlanta)

By bugs | Posted in Family | Also tagged | Comments (1)
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