NO, not me – I already have a great guy! BUT I’m hoping that all of you can help me with an idea that I have, since it is so close to Valentine’s Day. I would love, love, love to photograph a surprise marriage proposal for my Blog! Does anyone know a great guy that has a special someone and may be thinking of popping the question? If you do (and they are close to me, either in western PA or in the upstate SC area), have them give me a call…the first one to contact me & schedule a surprise proposal will get a complimentary session and a small folio of the images (date/location must fit into my schedule).

A fun idea for those of you that had your children recently photographed by me – print-your-own photo valentines! Back by popular demand from last year:

Each design is sized at 2×3 inches – so that you can print FOUR on one 4×6 print and cut them apart  (note: #1 is sized at 2×6 for a bookmark, so you get TWO on one 4×6 print instead of four). With the cost of 4×6 prints at your local photo developer at like 12 cents, you can afford to have fun!  The possibilities are endless – they can be pasted onto pretty cardstock for a bookmark, or tied to a pencil or lollipop if you want to go even farther.  The digital file with your child’s Casual Moments photo inserted is $20; I can email it to you as soon as payment is received. Call or email me now!

David is the son of one of my neighbors here in Keowee Key. He is freshly graduated from college and  can’t wait to get started on his career as a theatrical writer. He needed some headshots for resumes, and I was more than happy to oblige. We had awesome light today, and it was fun to capture a few different looks for this delightful young man. You may all come back to this thread in the future when he is famous, thank you very much.

headshots in Anderson and Clemson SC, acting and modeling headshots and portfolios,  south carolina headshots, Lake Keowee area headshots

Found a lovely blog today called Low Tide High Style, by Kat,  a talented woman with a love for design and all things beautiful. She is offering a fun giveaway of an assortment of fun ocean-inspired treasures that anyone would LOVE! Take a gander over there now, enjoy the blog and enter for a chance to win this:

This is the time of year that I start freshening up my home – you know, rearranging furniture, choosing  a few new accessories like updated throw pillows, getting rid of old knick knacks and clutter. If you’re like me, you will flip over this unexpected sale on canvases! Your favorite image on canvas is such a beautiful and timeless way to update your home with real, custom art – far beyond the quality of stock artwork from department stores, or family photography from the chain studios. And the best part is that you can hang it as soon as you receive it – no waiting for the time & expense of framing!

children and family photography in the upstate sc area near anderson SC and clemson sc, upscale canvas art portraits of newborns, babies, children,  and families

We went with Allison and Josh to Table Rock yesterday to hike. The only only problem was that we hadn’t been there before and didn’t realize the scope of the hike, so we only went about halfway up before we realized we didn’t have enough time to comfortably finish. It was just beautiful in the winter, rushing mountain streams and waterfalls partially frozen. It was a little chilly when we started but by the time we were climbing hard we were sweating. The path is very well done with lots of steps, which made it easier, but wow! I’m talking hundreds of steps! We will definately go back when we have more time and are better prepared. Here are a few photos of them from yesterday and from last week at our family get-together.

Photography near the Lake Keowee and Table Rock area, outdoor hiking and camping photography.

We are all saddened to hear of the tragedy in Haiti today. While we still don’t know the full extent of the damage, we can be confident that an already fierce, daily struggle to survive has taken a disastrous turn for many Haitians.

Text “HAITI” to “90999″ to donate $10 to the Red Cross. I just did it and it was very easy.  You will get a text back asking you to cofirm your donation. It gets added on to your cell phone bill: painless and easy.

Other ways to help: Six ways you can help in Haiti

With the weather being so cold, I am taking a much-needed break from photographing sessions here in Lake Keowee and instead working on all of the bookwork, filing, and tax preparation that I put off during the crazy-busy autumn. That means I am spending lots of time in my home office, but I also have more time to actually COOK our meals. If you love bean soup, make this today. Got the recipe from the W-S web site. I made my own chicken stock for it by buying a readymade rotisserie chicken, removing all of the meat (and there was enough for two recipes for dinner right there), then throwing the carcass covered with water into a crockpot and cooking on low all night. Easy and delicious,  and really cost effective (soup stock in grocery stores is NOT cheap!).

Ingredients for White Bean Soup:

1/4 c olive oil

1/4 c chopped pancetta (or 1 lb bacon, which is what I used because there is no prayer of getting pancetta where I live)

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled & chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

(3) 15 oz ) cans cannellini beans, drained

5 cups chicken broth

3/4 tsp freshly chopped thyme

1/2 c grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In dutch oven, heat 2 T of olive oil. Add pancetta & cook until crisp, @5 min. Add onion, carrot, celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, @8 min.  Add garlic and cook another minute. Add beans, broth, thyme and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until vegetables are tender, @15 min.  Puree in blender until smooth. Stir in cheese and season with salt & pepper. Try not to eat the whole pot of soup (Jim and I, Allison and Josh polished it off at one sitting, with chicken and  roasted red pepper panninis).

Not everyone has lots of wall space for their images. My friend Lauri,  of Lauri Baker Photography in St. Louis, has a blog post about decorating those “skinny” spaces that everyone has. Look at how great this looks:

To read more, check out Lauri’s blog post HERE

Some of my photographer friends and I were discussing the fact that while many of our clients LOVE their session images and WANT to display them in their homes, they have a hard time deciding how to do it best. So we have decided to share pictures of wall displays that we all have, many in our own homes, to help get the ideas and inspiration flowing!

I’m sure all of you know a parent or grandparent who has a high school graduation picture or two displayed, usually 8×10s.  Unless they are matted and framed to a larger size AND grouped, this is really too small to be displayed on a wall by itself. Most people wouldn’t think of hanging a landscape print on their wall that was that small.  A great image deserves to be large enough to have impact and displayed as the ART that it is! It never ceases to amaze me that people buy large stock artwork at craft or hobby stores to use as home decor, but don’t give their professional images of their cherished children the same honor. Lots of times the reasons I hear are “I don’t want to be ostentatious” or “I don’t want my home to be a shrine to my kids”.  That thinking is completely old-fashioned, and the reason is that it USED to be true – because only the very wealthy had the means to have large portraits commisioned. Let’s face it, today’s images are fun and modern and REAL and accessible to everyone. Also, today’s families are no longer interested in making their homes an untouchable showroom with plastic runners and unused formal dining rooms and living rooms. We LIVE in our homes, and we make them the center of our family lives, with family rooms and eat-in kitchens where everyone gathers. We also personalize our homes, and nothing proclaims where your priorities are like family pictures mixed right in with all of the other art that you love! SO – don’t be afrid to go big!

You may have seen these before, but here is my great room – of course featuring large images (30×40) placed on a shelf below my transom windows! I love how they look, and they are especially dear to me because none of my children or grandchildren live close by.  I hope they inspire you to think a little differently about displaying your own images!

( Displaying photography in your home and hanging large prints, wall displays of family photographs, big prints in your home)