It's Christmas!

Who can believe we have lived almost an entire year through all the things a pandemic brings, and Christmas arrived like normal times?

Festive decorations have a way of making us feel better, I think.  Even if the normal shopping routine turns to online ordering, there is still plenty of tradition to go around, from what we cook, to how we celebrate.

I have been lucky to see some of my long-time clients at this time of year and welcome some new families.  The weather has cooperated up to this point, allowing us to schedule and meet for outdoor photo sessions.  Such was the case with this very distinguished gentleman.

If you followed the blog all year, you know that this is the circle's last blog of 2020.  Next week we start a new year.  So, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, or Merry-whatever-you-celebrate, and a healthy, happy and safe New Year!

I will be delivering my last session orders next week, and hopefully following my plan to watch old movies.  I may even surprise everyone and bake something.  Shocker.

We have all come a very long way.  Give yourself a pat on the back and enjoy the beauty that Christmas has to offer.

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy the rest of the blog circle photographers who could make it this week, as they share their Christmas-themed thoughts.  Start with Kylee Doyle Photography, serving pet parents in the greater Sacramento area.

Weather permitting, I will be back in action the second week of January.  Give me a call to schedule some winter sessions or schedule ahead for Spring!

Things change in a day.  One day you could be planning to go over to the studio and do some lighting set ups for your blog, and the next day 15" of snow falls and you can't even get to the studio. 

Well, we photographers know how to roll with the punches.  We can adapt ourselves to any situation.  Right gang?

So I have decided to look back over my use of the lights we associate with Christmas and the holiday season, and do a throw back to the holidays blog.  Plus one new photo from the past week.

The above photo is actually one of my very favorites using a lensball, a glass table and the lights of our tree.  Lensballs can be fun, and I have to experiment more with mine and animals!  Stay tuned!

The lights of Christmas offer some of my most interesting scenes, like the bright Christmas window at the Waverly General Store.

I really like to juxtapose seasonal colors and lighting against dark backgrounds.

Speaking of backgrounds, I purchased a new background this year just for use with kitties, and my cat, Luna, was kind enough to demonstrate her ability to stay still long enough for a photo.  This of course, after she examined every single inch of the studio, hid for a while under my platform and finally decided she was interested in the oversized Christmas ornaments, enough to settle in with them.  I added a little magical whimsy to the photo as well.

There is no end to ways you can use the lighting and colors of the season to do some great and interesting photography pieces.  Get out there with whatever you've got and grab some photos of the joy of your holiday, whatever you celebrate!

For more on "Light" (this week's theme), check out the blog circle.  Start with Susannah Maynard of Pet Love Photography, serving Greater Cincinnati, the San Francisco Bay Area, and destinations nationwide.  Have a safe weekend everyone!

It was the day I realized how important a photograph was to me, that I also realized how important a photograph was to sparking a memory.

That was the same day that I came to the conclusion--I DEAL IN MEMORIES.

So, each time I pick up my camera, I am giving the gift of a memory.  To someone.  Of someone else.  Or something else.  Or a time.  Or a place.

I am not going to lie, I feel pretty good about that.

It's because of this realization, that I want the memory to be perfect...to be exactly what a client wants.  Because I want them to pick up their photographic piece (whether it be a print, or art block, or canvas) and recognize not only the memory, but the value of it.

In going through some of my photos for this blog, I came across this picture of our Burton.  It is one of the last photos I took of him, before we lost him.  It's taken at Christmas.  When I look at this photo, I remember everything about him, including the day I took it, right down to the quiet of that evening and his sound sleep.

Burton was a great dog.  He was born deaf.  Another Chance for English Setters brought him in as a puppy, and we adopted him from their rescue.  He was our first deaf dog.  Burton loved food, and was my shadow whenever I was at the kitchen counter cooking.  When he was happy, he sang.  He gave high fives for treats (or anytime you asked really), knew a number of different sign commands, and for many years would be accompanied everywhere he went by his orange ball, which he could leap high into the air to catch and would retrieve it right back to the palm of your hand.  I think it's safe to say that, while every dog we have owned has had their own special characteristics, Burton was the most unique dog we have ever shared life with.  And the photo above, took me all the way down that memory path.  How nice.  What a great gift to my memory.

I'd be happy to help you with yours.

For more "Gift" blog postings, follow the blog circle this week starting with Terri J Photography, photographing your pets in the Toronto area.  Have a great weekend.  Stay safe, healthy, and please wear a mask!