O2 Photography Blog

I’m not really an emotional person, and definitely not sentimental.  I want to be, especially “at my age” when things start moving really fast and most people start to develop a sense of finiteness!  I should be taking time to appreciate every moment with my kids, my husband and my health—and be emotional about it all!  Anyway, at the end of the day today, I had a MOMENT.  As I was mentally reviewing all the shots we took today, a beautiful, lightly saturated image of gorgeous Molly bloomed in my brain like a frozen memory (like what we see in the movies when people are recalling past events).  I know a lot of photographers actually use taglines like “capturing memories” or my favorite “pause life,” and certainly that’s what we do, but it became distinctly clear to me that most likely Molly will never look this perfect again—at least not in a photograph.  The next movie brain scene was Molly as a very old woman with some torn up photos in her afghan-draped lap trying to prove to the deaf guy next to her that she was once incredibly sensual and beautiful.  But she doesn’t really care if he believes her, because she’s really just happy to savor what she once had, the flavor still lingering because she’s got these amazing images that I got to create for her.  And that’s today’s MOMENT…

I can’t express what a privilege it’s been this week during our model search to meet so many talented, motivated, hard-working seniors.  Each one of you is so unique.  Thanks to all the parents who came in to meet us and support your great kids!  I’m always observing the moms and how they are so proud of their kids, yet can’t hide an underlying sadness at knowing it’s almost time to say goodbye.  My oldest daughter will do this horrible thing to me in only 2 years and I could burst into tears if I think about it even for a second.  Okay, that’s really depressing.  ANYWAY…The voting is going well–everyone has been doing a great job of getting their “fans” to vote for them.  We will upload this week’s applicants Sunday at midnight to join in the frenzy!  If anyone reading this hasn’t voted, check out our fantastic seniors at:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/O2-Photography/90041605288

In conjunction with Boise’s brand new annual 208Tatoofest to be held this May, we are the photography sponsors for the Pinup contest.  We set up a simple but elegant photo booth to give the girls who came dressed up to last night’s Pinup Party a chance to get an image to enter in the contest.  It was a pretty wild event–I was glad we were safely tucked away in the back on the top floor!  Here are a few of my favorites.  Judging for all entries will be held this Tuesday–I’m so excited to see who our 12 finalists will be and shoot the calendar images.  The first place winner of the contest will be chosen by popular vote at the 208Tatoofest in May.

I’m so excited–we photographed this beautiful little rockstar today, the first of our senior model applicants. This is going to be so fun. Keep those applications coming!

I have to say I have NEVER seen a baby with a bigger smile.  Big sis helped to keep this bubbly 1-year old interested in the shoot, but nobody made him laugh like mom.  He obviously adores her–she’s the queen of his world!  I’m thinking he’s going to KILL us when he sees this chair picture at age 15 (but it sure is cute now)!

One way we enjoy “giving back,” although I use that term loosely because we REALLY enjoy babies, is to photograph Stanton Healthcare’s clients’ babies.  This non-profit organization is dedicated to “preventing teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and to providing women facing an unplanned pregnancy with life-affirming options in an environment that promotes physical, emotional, and mental well-being.“  See http://www.stantonhealthcare.org for more!  This gorgeous 3-month old boy did not want us photographing him without his involvement so he stayed awake and very interactive the whole time…