It's the End of the World & I Can Feel Pretty Good About It.

 It's December and potentially the end of the world in 15 days so naturally I got to reflecting a little on this past year.  I've been so fortunate to have so many families ask me to capture some of their most memorable moments & there have been a lot this year!  From newborns to families to dogs and YES I even broke my own rule and did a wedding!  I have been honored to be contacted by many returning families & filled with pride from all the referrals & testimonials as well as humbled by sessions that didn't go as well as I wanted.  It has been a tremendous realization that the best part of a session that doesn't go as planned (and when dealing with small humans it will inevitably happen) is that I get to be a business with a conscience!  No matter how good the session I always go on to think of all the things I could can WILL do better.  I don't get that vibe from very many businesses I deal with.  I can guarantee that UPS isn't staying up at night wishing they'd delivered that package on time...to the right house...or maybe phoned last week when it got to their RICHMOND? location and I have to pick it up by tomorrow?!  (whew, thanks for the vent)   But I do.  So thank you to all the families of 2012.  Thanks for making me smile.  Thanks for letting me see you grow.  Thanks for playing along.  Thank you MOST for the frustrations!

   "Embrace frustration.  It pushes you to learn and grow, broadens your horizons, and lights a fire under you when your work has gone cold.  Nothing is more dangerous to an artist than complacency."

 Okay, that's enough of the 'wordiness' on to some pictures!  I go into every session a little bit nervous.  A good nervous, with really high expectations of what I want to capture.  (and as a side note if you think it's easy I dare you to take that camera that takes really nice pictures and have a family stand in the middle of a field staring at you blankly waiting for you to direct them how to 'look natural')  Well despite knowing the Breu's pretty well, their son Nash had me really nervous!  He's right up there with my son for looking straight at the ground and running away at the mere mention of a camera.  I love it when I'm prepared for the worst and instead I get pure magic!  Thanks Nash for reminding me to always expect the unexpected!