365 Project

It's time that I shoot for myself again. I spend so much time photographing my beautiful and wonderful clients, and I'm forever grateful to share my passion with my clients. And, still, I find that my camera is packed away, or somehow not accessible for the daily moments in my own life that are so sweet. So I've started a project for myself. For my family. Every day, for one year, I'll take one photo. I'll capture their goofy expressions, the silly stuff, and the quickly passing days. I will have them to look back on when I'm old and in a nursing home. My kids can pass them down for generations (um, if I print them). No, I mean, when I print them. Photos on disk are dangerous. They are just bits and bytes. Only a print is there to be valued. Okay, off that tangent... When I print them. My kids will have them to pass on to their kids. This project is about my family. It's about my kids. It's about the people who I love the most in this entire world. It's about focusing on what matters. ;)

I'm posting all of them in a folder on facebook... go ahead and "friend" me if you want to see them all. :) Here are just a few from the first week.

Oh, and the added bonus... it's sparking my creativity, forcing me to try new things, and I'm learning to shoot outside my comfort zone. All of these will make me a better and more creative photographer.

Doing a happy dance!

I go in spurts in entering contests. I forget to enter. Or, I'm too busy to enter. Or something else. And then I remember. So, in the past month, I've entered a few images, and gotten some fun recognition.

Yesterday, I received an email telling me that "A Dancer's Shoes" received 2nd place in betterphoto.com's monthly contest. There were almost 20,000 entries in all the categories, and only 10 selected for the 2nd place in the People category. It's quite an honor.



Today, "Fishy", is a Photo of the Day (POTD) in the People category at Shutterbugs.biz.

Here fishy

When I suggested we go get some goldfish, my kids thought I was talking about the crackers. Then, we arrived at the pet store. Fortunately, fish are at the front, so they didn't see the birds, hamsters, and more cute and cuddly pets. Here is a shot of our new pets. Anyone want to wager how long they'll last????

Aren't chubby babies the best?

This little guy had so many rolls and the softest skin. He's a hungry little fellow, too. He wanted to eat a few times during our session. But, you have to eat a lot if you want to be this cute. He's just adorable! And after working for quite a while to get some great images, the little guy passed out in his mom's arms. It's hard work being a little model. :) Here are two from Saturday. It was great to meet you "C" and "S". I hope you like them!

Mmmmm goooooood

I'm on a health kick. Maybe it's the fact that spring is upon us, and that means short sleeves, shorts, and, um, swim suits. So instead of firing up the grill for a good burger this weekend, we fired it up for a portabello mushroom. I brushed it with a bit of italian dressing, and topped it with a slice of provolone and roasted red pepper. With the bun grilled just a bit, it was perfect. MMmmmmm. Good.

New Background

Spring is in the air, and I'm feeling motivated, refreshed, and ultra creative! I know lots of people love the white background, but here's a fun alternative. It's a little fresh, a little traditional, very distinctive, so it's perfect. This would be awesome for high school seniors, a family session, maternity, or newborns. Depending on how I light it, I can make the swirls more subtle or dramatic.

I'll give a special gift to the first family who calls and asks to use this backdrop at their session, so call me today!

Sweet "R"

Here is sweet little "R" who is one years old. She's such a beauty!

The rest of this week

Hi everyone! Just a quick update that the studio will be closed Wednesday through Friday of this week. I'm at a photography related meeting on Wednesday, and facilitating training for Dale Carnegie on Thursday and Friday! At the latest, I will get back to you over the weekend. Thanks!!!

Green Tree Industries - Part 2

As promised, here are a few more from the commercial shoot with Green Tree Industries. The concept was to show how the reusable shopping bags can be used for more than just groceries. We came up with a bunch of ideas: going to the gym, dance class, the beach, on a picnic, to gymnastics, to sports, to the pool, etc. We also wanted to show how they could be used for retail shopping as well. We had a lot of fun filling the bags and making them look good.

As I'm filling the bag with the workout stuff (yoga mat and towel), I'm trying to think of what else could go in there. I thought... water bottle! And as I was packing the bottle I happened to be drinking from, I was stopped for good reason. The whole point of these bags is being green, and putting a non-reusable bottle in there isn't sending the right message. Of course, that makes perfect sense! I had to laugh about my own ignorance in the moment. Though I must admit, I do try to avoid the plastic bottles... but there is a time and place for them. For example, I have water available for clients to drink during a session. Just a little extra something. And, of course, the reusable plastic bottle that I did buy a while back had to be thrown out because of the whole BPA thing. So... I guess it's time to go shopping for a new reusable water bottle! In the name of going green.

So, back to the bags... spending all day shooting the uses for these bags gave me a kick start. I threw a few in my car so they're there when I go shopping. And, I used one to take the kids stuff to swim lessons on Monday and gymnastics on Wednesday. And, they're great for hauling the snow pants, boots, etc. to and from school. But, hopefully, we won't be doing that until next winter!

Going Green with Green Tree Industries

It's something that I've been trying to be better at. Recycling is a given; we do that with ease. I keep our thermostat low. We traded out most of our bulbs for the compact fluorescent. So, when I had the chance to photograph these really nice Green Totes, I was ecstatic! Here's one sneak peek. I'll post more tomorrow. And I have a funny story, too. So stay tuned.

Oh, and doesn't the produce look amazing? Mmmm. I'm actually craving a salad right now. And I NEVER crave a salad at 10:30 at night. Chips or candy, sure. But, a salad, not a chance. Except for now. It must be the bag that makes the healthy stuff look so good.



The company is called Green Tree Industries. They make a wide assortment of these reusable shopping bags. More on them later, too.

Photo of the Day at Shutterbugs

This image of this tiny dancer was selected as the Photo of the Day today in the People category at Shutterbugs.biz. I just love this beauty's little fingers as she ties her shoes. And her pretty face and falling hair. So pretty!

One more

My oh my! I mixed up my work-flow and it's taking me longer on the front end.

Here's one of this beautiful girl.

Little Dancer

Here are a few more of two sweet little dancers.

Isn't he delicious?

I have to say that I think it's kind of funny that we call babies "yummy" or "delicious". I mean, really, it's kind of weird if you really think about it. But, this little guy was so darned adorable that I had to use that word. He is six months old... which is one of my favorite ages to photograph. Babies this age just laugh and smile. They are so interactive and make the best faces and the cutest expressions. And they don't crawl yet. So, when you put them down, they stay still. So check out this little sweetie and his killer blue eyes and his adorable bare naked baby bum.

Some More!

Here are a few more. I'm still working on these

Sneak Peek

Here's only one really quick sneak peak of a fantastically talented and flexible girl... and her sister is just as impressive. I had a TON of fun photographing some gymnasts in action. There will be more to come in the next few days!

Happy Love Day!

I hope you're feeling the joy of love today! Here are some love letters from my daughter.



And, of course, little brother wanted to get dressed up in pink, too. Someday he's going to kill me!



Okay, and here's one more. I've been playing with b&w conversions. Fun fun fun!

Got a date?

A little late, but I wanted to show everyone the calendars that I'm offering this year. The beauty is that you can start it at any month you want. They measure 11x17, and each month features a different image. The cover is one whole 11x17 image. The quality on these is stunning. Really. The color is rich, the print is crisp, and the paper is nice and thick. It took me some time to find a company that delivered the quality that I wanted, and here it is. Call me for details. You can even have one made from last year's session. Wouldn't this be a great Valentine's day gift for Grandma, Grandpa, Daddy's office, or for yourself???



Oh, this is kind of fun. I mentioned that I tried several companies to find the best calendar. Well, I ordered from one company, and just didn't like the way it was printed, and the calendar printing wasn't very crisp, so I returned the calendar. Then about a month later, I get a call from them telling me that they liked my photography and wondered if they could use my returned calendar as a sample at an upcoming trade show. Turns out the trade show is PPA's (Professional Photographers of America) Imaging USA, which is one of the largest photography shows in the USA. So, even though I wasn't able to make it to the show, my work was on display there. Cool.

Cinderella in Real Life

There we are tonight, finishing up dinner. My daughter is being the best helper in the world, and is taking everyone's plates to the dishwasher. Plate after plate. Six of them. Silverware, too. And she's doing this with a smile on her face. Then, she asks my husband if there is anything else she can do. He jokes and says "my laundry". So, she takes his plate and puts it in the dishwasher and then runs off out of the kitchen. I figured that she was running to the bathroom. A minute later she shouts "Dad, what do I do with your laundry???" Of course, we bust out laughing. What a sweetie. It's the moments like these that make all those tantrums worthwhile.

Oh, and I had to take a super quick snapshot of my happy Cinderella who just happened to be wearing her Cinderella dress.

Ta Da!!!

I spent some time today on my poor neglected blogger. Look up at the new rotating header. Ta da!!!! I guess I'm finally slowing down enough to get to those important, but not so urgent details. Now that I've figured this out... one part photographer... one part engineer, I can't wait to put together a few more images to rotate in and out. This is the fun stuff that I love doing when I'm not editing or spending time with my family. So, you can see why it doesn't often get done.

National Charity Model Search

Technology rocks.... except when it doesn't. I sent out a super-fab, high tech html email today. And it was awesome... if you could view it. Some computers were having trouble with it. I received a handful of emails today letting me know that it wasn't loading. So thank you for letting me know! I appreciate that so much. And, in case you were one of them who couldn't see it, here it is. I'd hate for you to miss out! Click to view it larger. And please call me with any questions. And if you didn't get this email, but want to get future emails, let me know. Or better yet, sign up on the snazzy email sign up form to the left. Don't worry, I won't fill your inbox with junk. Just good stuff. And not too often. And, did I just say "snazzy"? Wow, the cold must be getting to me.

Is your child America’s cutest kid?

I am so excited to be participating in the National Charity Model Search to select “America’s Cutest Kid” and to raise funds for a charity that I've donated my time and talent to.

They're looking for cute children ages 18 months to 14 years old to model for a portrait to be entered into the contest.

Models Search Special:
$250 session fee, which includes a 45 minute model session at my studio, one image submitted to the national gallery, and a $200 print credit.

Finalists will be determined by online votes. Anyone may vote. Each vote is $1, and all proceeds from votes benefit the non-profit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. (NILMDTS.org)

Grand prize national winner will be determined from the 50 city finalists. Winners selected by photography and modeling industry experts.

If your child is selected the national winner, you’ll receive many prizes, including a $5,000 US Savings Bond and a Canon PowerShot G10 digital camera.

If you’re interested in entering your child(ren), please call the studio at 847-707-9227. For more information about the contest, go online to www.sandypucmodels.com.

Battle of Wills

Since the day she was born, my daughter has been strong willed. I know it's a trait that will serve her well in adult life. In the meantime, it makes life interesting. A week ago, my parents came for dinner and stayed to play some cards. Of course, she had no interest in bedtime since grandma and grandpa were over. Every attempt to put her in bed was unsuccessful. Finally, after putting her to down several times, we decided to ignore the unacceptable behavior. It was late. She was tired. She knew it was bedtime. As we played our game in the kitchen, she stood at the top of the stairs whining about how she wasn't tired (long past her bedtime). We kept playing. Over a period of time, she slowly inched her way down the stairs until she finally gave up. We hoped she would give up and go to bed herself. No such luck. She gave up the fight most reluctantly as she literally fell asleep where she was. On a step. That couldn't have been comfortable. But, that's my strong willed girl. Parenting is so hard, especially when you don't know what is the best thing to do for the situation. We just know that once you pick your battle, you cannot lose. This was an especially tough one. And look how cute she is when she's asleep.

Just because...

This is by no means a "sneak peak". I've been really bad at posting to my blog, as many of you know. But, I just had to share a few from this little cutie's one year session. He is so adorable, and I had so much fun during the session. I guess "better late than never" applies here. These were actually taken in November... thus the copyright 2008, and not 2009. Hopefully I'll get better at posting to my blog next year. I mean this year. :)

Studio is semi-closed this week (and last).

I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!! My ears are still ringing from the squeals of delight when the kids saw what Santa delivered. It was a Norman Rockwell moment as we were standing in the upstairs hallway and my daughter was shouting "He brought the whole thing! He brought the whole thing!", referring to the mega-pack of the Rose Petal Cottage, and not just the cottage itself. And as she absorbed the joy, the front door opened, we peeked through the railing to the front door, and my parents walked in with a joyous "Merry Christmases". We could not have been merrier.

It was wonderful to peel my fingers off my keyboard and my eyes away from my monitor this past week. And, while I have squeezed in a few sessions this coming week because of family being in town and kids home from college, etc, I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm prioritizing family first this week. I'll answer calls and emails, but I'm going to try to keep editing and non-urgent things to a minimum. I know it'll be hard. I love knocking things off my to-do list. But, this week, the content of my to-do list has shifted a bit. Number 1 is family (and some very neglected household tasks). I'm sure you all understand. So, thanks. And enjoy your families as well. They grow up so fast.