SoFoBoMo: A Day At The Beach

One of the things we did while in Georgia last month visiting my husband’s family, was go to Tybee Island. It was just me and the kids and their little cousin for the afternoon. We only had a little while because the clouds were darkening, and after about 90 minutes or so, it began to rain, but the kids had a great time. Shamon was back in Savannah with his cousin, but there was no way I could be that close to the ocean and not see it.

Below is Cherie with her cousin, Aaliyah. The water was freezing but that didn’t stop anyone (besides me) from getting in it. And it was a treat for the kids to come back to cold Ohio and tell their friends about their day at the beach.

**Note: I’ve been such a bad blogger lately!  I really wanted to try to post every day for the month of May, but I had a few days that just got the better of me.  Let’s see if I can get a good 30-day post stretch going starting now!  Believe me it’s not been for lack of material…if anything I’m almost overwhelmed with all that I want to share!  So with a little discipline and a more regular sleep pattern, hopefully, I can be better about the posts.  I’ve had some incredible photo sessions over the last couple weeks, and two more scheduled for this weekend that I’m super excited for!  Plus I will be posting my finished SOFOBOMO book very soon!  Stay tuned!

SoFoBoMo: The Editing Process

Now that my 30-day shooting period has ended, I’m in the process of editing all of my images, and deciding which ones to put together in the book. There are two directions I’m considering: letting the book have a family-album feel, or more of a documentary feel. I suppose once I choose the 35+ images for the final book, they will dictate the outcome. Just the process of sifting through the several hundred pictures I took during the month of April is a journey unto itself.

The official SoFoBoMo website is now up and running, and once I finish my book, it will be posted there for viewing. See what other participants have completed so far!: SoFoBoMo.org

Below is from our trip to Georgia. We stopped several times along the way, and here we are having a roadside picnic…

The Long Year Begins

Today my husband departs for his year long tour; first a period of training followed by nearly a year serving with the Ohio National Guard in Iraq. We’ve been preparing for this deployment (his 2nd in 3 yrs) for several months now, and now that it’s begun, we can look forward to it ending.

For the last 3 weeks, my husband was on vacation, spending time at home with me and our three kids. And since I’ve been so focused on being with him, with the exception of a few incredible photo shoots, I haven’t really been working. Now that he’s gone, it’s time to dive in head first, and keep myself busy with work & kids, to help make the time go faster. And I have about 85 million images to edit and process to help pass the time!

So for the next month, I will try to post to this blog every day… I definitely have enough material! For the next month you can expect to see:

• some fabulous couples striking a pose for their Engagement photo shoots
• an incredible Wedding
• a fun family photo session
• a spectacular Senior session
• photos of my kids (from dance recitals & track meets)

and of course…

• images from my SOFOBOMO project, including the final book

Now it’s time for coffee before I get busy!

SoFoBoMo: Working it all out

I have to admit, I’m struggling with this project. As soon as I read about SoFoBoMo, I knew I wanted to participate, and what I’m working on now was the first idea to pop into my head– documenting my husbands final 30 days at home before he deploys to Iraq. I knew it would be interesting, I knew it would be an important time for my children to spend as much time with their dad, and I knew that having lots of photos would be great, for both my husband and my kids. What I seemed to have overlooked was how personal it would be. I mean, I knew it was personal…my family is the subject; but the moments, the feelings, are so personal to me, I wonder how interesting it would be to anyone else outside the 5 of us.

Anyway, I’m still trying to work out what the final book will be, how it will look and feel. It’s clearly a documentary project on a family’s preparation for a life changing event, but for me, there is no objectivity. So it’s more than just a documentary project, it’s a family album. The next 6 days will likely be the busiest for us…which is good and bad. ‘Busy’ means time goes by faster, but the activities will also bring plenty of great moments and images to share.

Here is my husband, Shamon, looking through some old family photos with our kids at his grandmother’s house in Savannah, GA. (Apr 12, 08)…

KAT’S CAFE in Atlanta, GA

I’ve been such a bad blogger lately, but I swear I have a good excuse. I have TONS of photos that I want to share, many from our trip to Georgia, lots for my SoFoBoMo project, and even an awesome Engagement shoot I had over the weekend. But the truth is, I’m just not spending much time behind the computer right now… I’m spending as much time as possible with my husband who goes on active duty next week for Iraq. I have been taking photos for my SoFoBoMo project, but I can’t even guarantee when the final book will be ready….hopefully in just a few weeks. AHhh, I sooo need to get caught up before my busy season starts!

So I do have some photos that I want to share today. (And these technically qualify for my sofobomo project) When we went to Georgia the other week, we spent a day with my brother, Mike and his girlfriend Kat, at their new restaurant/cafe called KAT’S CAFE. It was SO much fun!! It’s only been open for 6 months so we knew my brother would be busy working and we really just wanted to stop in a say hello, check out the place, but not really get in the way. The plan was to stop in for a quick visit in the afternoon, then leave to go look around Atlanta for a while, do a little sight-seeing or something, then come back to KAT’S once it was open.

But once we got there, the kids immediately attached themselves to my brother and we never left. He put us to work! I chopped vegetables and 2 of my kids learned how to make Mike’s signature chicken wraps and pizzas. They preped and cooked food and once the restaurant was open, they even served the customers. I’m sure we broke some child labor laws somewhere, but my kids had a BLAST!!

Here are Chanel and Sharif with Mike… you gotta love kids at a bar 😉

The Kids earning our dinner for the evening…

My brother Mike…

His girlfriend, Kat…

There was a great live band that played the night we were there…I’ll have to call Mike to get the band members’ names…

And my favorite image from the night… the color version is cool too see here.

Mid-Week Round-up vol. 7: SoFoBoMo & Cool Links

1) My SoFoBoMo project officially began yesterday. But I haven’t really started shooting anything because yesterday was just a regular Tuesday with me spending the majority of my day driving back and forth, picking kids up, dropping kids off, drinking too much coffee, and not getting anything done. And since the main subject is my family spending time together, it would probably be better if we were actually all together. That didn’t happen until after 9pm, at which time my nerves were completely gone and I just made everyone go to bed. The best photo-op of the night was around 11pm when the house was quiet. My camera was the furthest thing from my mind.

2) Are you Bride who wants the coutour Wedding gown, but you only have the David’s Bridal Budget? You soooo need to check out Encore Bridal. Get gently used designer gowns at a fraction of the original price. And a portion of all profits got to charity!

3) One of my favorite photographers… Nissou*. Do yourself a huge favor and check out her work. Better yet, take a peak at her photoblog. She’s a Belgian photographer and she inspires me like no other. Her work is delicate, intimate, and feminine. She has the unique ability to capture a moment and make you feel like you were there in it. Amazing!

4) I love great writing. I love movies and TV shows with intelligent and quick dialog, I love books and magazines that massage my brain with eloquently placed words and phrases. Which is why I LOVE this article written by playwrite and screenwriter Jon Robin Baitz, on the Huffington Post: Not Until The Fat Lady Sings. Politics aside, it’s just a well written piece. And yeah, it helps that I agree with it.

5) I photographed a really fun couple’s engagement pictures over the weekend.  I will be posting them here very soon, but my 5 yr old just informed me that I’m a “mean mommy” because I won’t get off the computer and lay on the couch and cuddle with her.  Yes she’s spoiled, but then again, so am I for being able to just stop what I’m doing to indulge her.  So bye for now…I’ve got some cuddling to do and cartoons to watch.  Pictures to follow soon!