Recital: Craig

"Seriously, I have no black pants here.... are they are at home?"- The first sentence I spilled to my Mom with horror in my voice over the phone. Her response, "You must have them with you! Did you really bring them home!?" The answer to this was: "Yes, of course I would leave my black pants at home on the ONE night I need them. I probably figured I wouldn't need them for anything, well apparently until now." So, as I had a slight panic attack, I literally escaped into my closet to find something black.  I pulled out a LBD (little black dress), checked with my roommate for reassurance and headed to the recital. 

(I don't normally wear all black to any of my sessions but since this was a performance it was absolutely necessary)

To give you a little background, I met Craig a little over a year ago when he conducted an orchestra for my dance class. There has never been a question in my mind about how talented he is! It was a true honor to capture him doing what he does so well. Let me tell you how organized and awesome he is,  we both detailed how he wanted his recital photographed.... including a drawing on paper. AH-MAZING.  I am a visual person so it made my day to be photographing someone who was the exact same way.

To see more of Craig's Recital click HERE

2012 UMaine Grads leave with a bang

Spending four nights with 2012 UMaine grads during Senior Week was such a privilege and honestly SO much fun! Knowing many of them made the events even better! This class sure knows how to have a good time and they know how to fill their steins! Each night resulted in many laughs and there was never a dull moment... random speeches at the F**king Catalina Wine mixer, to the dance moves at the
Bear Brew, singing the Stein song, oh yeah and meeting the Campus Cutie of the week.  

Congratulations and good luck with whatever lies ahead for you! 

 I believe Nate has a picture like this from EVERY night of Senior week

These girls made the cutest senior shirts to wear for the Tavern Trot! 

 Campus Cutie working his title with these two beautiful ladies! 

To see more photos please click HERE

Random Monday: Grey's Anatomy with a life lesson

If you have had a chance to read my About Section of the blog you have seen that I have openly admitted I am addicted to Grey's Anatomy. So much that when Patrick Dempsey was in Maine for his annual cancer benefit road and bike race, my parents and I stood in line for 2 hours so I could meet him. Yeah, that's right, I met McDreamy, there's proof. The addiction has caused me to skip out on plans and schedule my life around 9pm on Thursday nights. I can count on one hand how many times I have missed an episode. As season 8 wrapped up, I was left with many unanswered questions, just like all the other thousands of viewers. I know this because I creep look on the show's fan page on Facebook frequently. Airplane crash, residents relocating, and possibility more deaths?! What more could the writer, Shonda, write for one episode?! Even though it has been days since the season finale I can't stop thinking about how heart wrenching the scene was when Mark confessed his love to Lexi, as she lay pinned under a huge part of the airplane debris. As Lexi laid there dying, Mark finally admitted to her he has loved her along and always will. In her last few moments, he started planning their future: babies, marriage, you name it he said. Right then and there, not even 15 minutes into the show, I was a ball of tears. I am tearing just thinking about it now!

WARNING: If you sappy like me I recommend some tissues if you watch this scene.

The topic of this post has absolutely nothing to do with photography (in case you were hoping or wondering). It has to do with love and life. This episode clearly demonstrates you need to let the ones you love know you love them. Don't keep it to yourself and say it often. After Lexi died, Mark even admitted he waited too long to tell her. We unfortunately don't realize it's too late until it's too late and there is no going back. Just remember that life is extremely unexpected and you don't want to live with the regret of losing the one you love without telling them how you truly feel. This is a life lesson that is too often learned the hard way.

All you Grey's fans out there... what will YOU be doing on Thursday nights now!?!?!

Wedding Planners or Not?

When thinking about planning a wedding it makes my head spin! How do brides do it? I haven't had the opportunity to walk down the aisle yet (I can wait a few years!) but the planning seems crazy! I envy brides and their families for the hard work and hundreds of hours spent into creating their fantasy wedding. Sometimes planning with family can be beyond stressful, so why not involve a professional in the planning? If you are a bride contemplating whether or not to hire a wedding planner I highly recommend it! Let me reword that, I strongly suggest hiring a wedding planner. Not only will they take stress off of the big day, they will help you from day one of hiring them. They will help coordinate your creative team (photographer, cater, makeup artist, baker etc.). I can't explain how helpful a planner is on the wedding day for a photographer, I can't speak for other vendors but for a photographer, they are pieces of gold. Wedding planners are also extremely good at fixing problems ASAP.  If a problem was to arise on your wedding day, I can rest assure your wedding planner will have it fixed before you may even know. They are serious miracle workers and let's be honest who wouldn't want their own Mary Fiore, minus the falling in love with the groom part. There are many wonderful wedding planners in Maine (Weddings by Holly, Events by Jenni and Paradis & Foster Events LLC ) to just name a few. These super organized and amazing people can take the stress and worries away and give you the day you have always dreamed of.  

I watch every bridal show around. Friday nights are devoted to Say Yes to The Dress and to My Big Fat Gypsy wedding. When I am not watching wedding shows, my addiction of the TV network Bravo appears. After watching my girl Bethenny rock snowboarding this week, I started watching the new show that came on directly after it. The Wedding Party, a show strictly focused on weddings and in particular a famous wedding planner named Kristin Banta. Oh my! Amazing! She is fabulous! She has an incredible team that works with/for her and they make wedding dreams come true. I will definitely be watching this season! If you want to see beautiful and extremely unique weddings tune in on Monday nights at 11:00pm, you won't be disappointed! Oh yeah, sorry if you aren't a night owl like me, I am a late night TV watcher! If you're asleep by 11:00, I am sure you can find it online to re-watch.  :)

This is Kristin! She is gorg isn't she!?

Just in case you missed the Mary Fiore reference

Up and Running and McCrum Grandchildren

"I clicked and then it didn't bring me to the right page." That is the concern I got many times in the past month. To all of you, it seemed like I had given up on this whole blogging thing, when it was actually just a secret that I was hiding from you! :)

My blog has been down because of the renovations! I have hopefully made the blog more informative for you and more organized! It has taken awhile to get everything perfect and the way I wanted. A big Holla out to the people who helped me create exactly what I wanted. I couldn't have done it without them! I have caught up on blog posts and  I will be posting more sessions soon.

Photographing children can always be a little bit of a challenge, with these cousins a laugh was contagious which made the job fairly easy. Not to mention, the mom's were fantastic at getting them to corporate. Riding on a gator through the woods for this session made it even better! We visited the special stream, returned a ball to the neighbors that survived the Northern Maine winter, and managed to get a little wet because of the damp ground.

I can't get over their precious faces!   

 

Newborn: Clara

When I was reaching out to find a newborn to photograph Clara's mom spoke up months before she was born. I was thrilled! I agreed to meet them at their home for her newborn session a few days after her birth.

I managed to get lost on their way to their house... the GPS on my iPhone didn't let me know the street they live on is a one way! Luckily, Clara's Mom saved the day and gave me directions over the phone in my desperation. When I found their house, I realized I had passed the house 2 times already!

Clara is extremely lucky to have a big sister, Lucy. Who also grabbed her camera and helped me take precious photos of Clara! Clara was a snuggler and not only did I get to photograph her but I was able to hold her; made my day!

Welcome to the world Clara!

To see more of Clara's session please click HERE

Love: Kacey & Ashton

Talk about two people who are obviously in love. They have been together for years and are coming up on their anniversary! What better time to get photos taken! Kacey contacted me about doing their photos months back- her best friend was my roommate (Karlie). Ashton was very busy with the UMaine hockey team where he served as the manager and was on the road a lot with the team... this leading to us having to wait till the spring. I am so glad that we waited! The trees were in full bloom and it was a gorgeous sunny day, where we didn't have to worry about being cold at all!  Karlie helped out as my assistant and was able to get the two of them laughing before I could even try; assistants are totally awesome! :) 

To see more of Ashton and Kacey's session please click HERE

Samantha: 1st Birthday

Samantha has turned one! If you have been a follower of this blog or my facebook you have seen her many times! Her mom has continued to pick me to document Samantha's year. I am so grateful! I have grown to love this little girl so much! She is full of smiles and giggles, in my eyes that is perfection. She has changed so much since his newborn session! It is hard to believe she is the same little baby! For this session I baked a cake with pink frosting and at the end of the session we let her have at it. Her mom hadn't even sat her down completely before she grabbed a hold of the candle (no flame of course) and started licking it. She was hilarious with this cake! She first licked it and then dug right in and smeared it all over her face. Once, she had enough of the cake she flipped the plate over with the cake and started chewing on the plate! At the end of the session her two dogs had some birthday cake too! It was a sharing occasion. She had two of the cutest outfits! All themed around being 1. Pink and tutus were the theme! Loved it! Happy Birthday, sweet Sam! xo

To see more of Samantha's session please click here

 A photo from Samantha's Newborn session, just days old in her Daddy's hands.

Jasmine Star: theFIX

I set four alarms, watched the clock as the minutes got closer to 12PM EST, made a game plan (and a back up plan), opened two web browsers and prayed to God the tickets wouldn't sell out for Boston. There was nothing more I wanted than to attend this seminar so I could finally meet her. I used two computers, cried (like many other people) when the site crashed, and then after an hour (and almost giving up, thank God for my Mom and her persistence of making my dream a reality), I had two tickets in my inbox. The Golden tickets of my life.

I have followed Jasmine religiously for the past year. The day I found her facebook and blog it changed my photography world and my life. She was the first person I saw on the web that shared her knowledge and expertise with her dedicated followers, all 57, 567 of us. At this point in my career I was hitting rock bottom, not knowing if this was something I wanted to continue. It just seemed to hard and my latest encounters for guidance and help just frankly sucked.  I clicked on her facebook, looked through her wall, her amazing photos, and listened to an installment of J*.  It was like a message was sent from above and fate that I found her that day. It made me realize so many things about my photography. How could I give up something I was so passionate about? Why would I let other people push me away from it? Why care what other people think? Feeling not alone in all of this was one of the greatest feelings ever. She had gone through the same struggles I was going through and continued to push through. That day, sitting on my couch crying with tissues, Jasmine changed me, inspired me, gave me hope - and for that, I will always be grateful to her. She picked me up when I needed it most and she didn't even know who I was.

My best friend and I were lucky enough to be one of the 169 people to snag a ticket to theFix. We joined theFix Boston group and starting making friends instantly. We meet up with the group prior to the seminar, had a photo shoot/walk (photos: here) organized by Briana at Wake Up, Juliet and then had dinner with them. Talk about networking! theFix for me was more than just photography and networking, it taught me about life. Everything Jasmine talked about related to so many aspects of my life. Challenging the challenges of life and moving forward into becoming the best person I can be. My business and who I am becoming have been strongly influenced by the lessons I have learned from her.

 Yes, it's true... I totally want her to shoot my wedding someday!

 I am so thankful to have meet this wonderful group of photographers and the beautiful photographer who captured this image of us.
 Thanks so much Maria! M Clark Photography

 The photo walkers headed into theFIX

 The most inspirational reading material a photographer could have. One of many favorite quotes:

"There are too many people who are desperate for what it is you're wanting. And remember, desperation makes people do whatever it takes to stay afloat, regardless of how black the horizon appears or how hard the work." -Jasmine Star

How could I forget to mention JD! My new photo friend Jenn and I got a few minutes to talk to JD and both got hugs! :) 
Talk about a charmer, you're a lucky lady Jasmine!