Lovely

I have longed to take a silhouette image like this...

I never seemed to be able to find a spot flat and treeless enough, but Saturday evening I happened to be in the spot and with my brother and niece.  Awe, success!!!  Here's a couple of others from earlier in the evening. 

Sometimes....

Perfectionism is one of those things I wrestle with...sometimes it pins me into a position where I'd rather not try, than risk failing doing "it" perfect.  Thankfully I've made great strides in overcoming this tendency, and have learned to accept less than perfect.  Sometimes those perfectionist expectations rear their head, as happened last Friday.  On Thursday I had spotted an ideal location for a shoot, and decided to try it with my little ones the next day, as we were in the same area.  The location was great, but the sun was still a bit harsh and my little ones quickly melted in the heat and weeds.  Tired, cranky, uncooperative, but stuck there for an hour while we waited for my oldest to finish a job; so we pressed on and although it wasn't the perfect shots I'd envisioned they are still worth the time and energy it took to coax them out.

 This little angel was enthusiastic as we dressed for the shoot, but her enthusiasm lasted about 2 minutes once we arrived.  By the time my camera was ready to go her enthusiasm had waned.

 She perked up for a few seconds, but quickly

 reverted to this....

 lovely group photo...

 photogenic child, who wouldn't dress up for the shoot...

that's all they could handle...they were done...little man had, shed his styled shirt and they were leaving with or with out me.

The End.

Little things in the down time...

After three extremely busy days, and an intense battle to overcome perfectionism I welcomed a down day.  Tired of being a "no" mom I granted my kiddos permission to camp out in the back yard, Sunday evening and then we took Monday, to just "be".  They explored,  created and my little one lead me around the yard.  Love how he grabs my finger and pulls me along.  By Tuesday, we were back to busy times...

Little Things in the Busy Times

The past week has been very busy around here, keeping up with school, meals, chores and doing it solo while my husband was on travel.  Hurray, he is back home!!!

Right now, along with the normal keeping up with life, I've got a commercial shoot in the works. I'll be doing a photoshoot for an Italian aircraft manufacturer. This is new territory for me, so I've been up at the local airport honing my skills. Capturing the technical details are a bit uninspiring to my creative soul, so I had to try and add some "artsy" to the subject. I love sunflares! They warm my soul. This job will put a nice size chunk into my fundraising efforts for our Uganda trip!   My hubby lined the job up for me and thankfully he has some great ideas for it, and will help me pull it off.  I love his enthusiasm and confidence in my hobby and skills. 

Another activity this week has been baking, made from scratch fresh pies.  This is also part of our fundraising for our trip.  Fresh pies and fruit have become a common sight in our kitchen this week.  On this note, I need to take time to read up on food photography.  This is an area my skills are sorely lacking in. 

Since I've been too busy and/or lazy to pull out the big camera, I am thankful for all the moments I've captured with my iphone, which you've probably already seen if you follow me on instagram.  

A Few of my favorite little things...

Last friday morning I pulled into my driveway and was welcomed by the most beautiful sunrise, as the rays glistened through the fog. Much of the fog had dissiapted by the time I gathered my camera and a subject or two, but the fun my children had while running barefoot in the grass, under the warm rays, filled my day with joy!Not to mention what a welcome sight the sun was after a week of gloomy weather. 

The rest of this post is dedicated to my toddler. Toddlers are so busy and wear me out, but I love this stage! I love how they love to run and play chase...

 inspect and explore...

 throw rocks...

 skip...

 squat and get close to whatever it is that has captured their attention...

 conquer imaginary battles...

they always have a purpose in mind...

thinking, deep....

riding a big wheel with bare feet...

 the excitement of watching an airplane pass...

 discovering and plucking a lonely dandelion...

 the energy of pushing his dump truck...

 joy and enthusiasm... 

bare feet, rolled jeans and being my little boy. That is just a few of the little things I love about my baby boy.  Thank you Little Man for letting me play with you and capture the fleeting moments of your toddler days.

Portraits with a Purpose

God totally amazes me at how he weaves things together!   The pattern He is currently weaving includes a dear friend in Iowa, connections she made while she was in Uganda, a "chance" meeting at the local history museum, a dinner invitation, and an Ugandan mission opportunity.   Next Spring, my oldest daughter and I will be experiencing a Short Term Mission trip to Uganda, with Sixty Feet, as God continues to weave His pattern in our lives. 

To help fund our trip I am offering:

  Portraits with a Purpose

$150

a one hour shooting session

proof gallery

choice of 10 images on cd with printing rights

additional images available at $10 each

Prints and Christmas Cards are also available

This is a great opportunity to get custom, lifestyle portraits done for Christmas cards and gifts, Seniors or any type milestone.

Email me at mamasparrowphotography@gmail.com to set up your session.

100% of all portrait sessions and purchases from now until the end of January will go towards our trip.

Sixteen

 

Little Ham

My friend Kim over at Little by Little, has started a Little Things Thursday Link Up.  In support of this I am linking up a post here of my Little Ham,.  Number 6 of 7 kids, this one keeps us all in stitches with her words and actions.  It is such a joy to be her mother and photographer.

August - I Clicked It Up A Notch

I've felt in somewhat of a photography slump this month, but I did focus on capturing our life and the simplicity of childhood.  One of our weekly activities is to go to the park, so my oldest can run and my younger children can play.  I love this photo I captured of the simple. childhood joy of throwing mulch.  After all capturing beautiful photos of our life is why I delved in to photography to begin with.