i get a lot of grief from my kids and my husband (and even some of my friends) over my seemingly endless clicking of the shutter. but i don’t let it get to me. i’ve read articles that claim decorating with family photos can help boost a child’s self esteem. some say placing family photos in your home subconsciously increases feelings of belonging, connectedness and importance. and i believe that it’s true. yesterday our youngest daughter turned nine. i blogged about her birthday and shared some of my favorite pictures from the last nine years on our family blog. lucee’s life has been filled with so many amazing moments i hope i will never forget. and thanks to the thousands and thousands of photos i’ve taken i’m able to share some of those moments with her. as i was tucking her in last night i grabbed the ipad and showed her the post. i figured she’d get a kick out of seeing all those pictures together in one place but as she scrolled down reviewing each set of pictures she began to cry. those tears quickly turned to a full on sob. i lifted her sweet little dimpled chin and asked […]
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i am most certainly not a morning person yet i find myself wide awake at 5:00 this morning. the view from my bedroom window is so spectacular right now that i can’t possibly close my eyes and fall back asleep. instead, i’m sitting in my favorite chair and soaking in the silence and beauty of another snowfall. the trees are beginning to get weighed down. one of the branches in our back yard is nearing the ground. i am by no means a landscape photographer but i absolutely love photographing the snow. on new years eve rilee and i decided to pile on our snow gear and go on a photo walk. here are my images from that snowfall. all of these photos were taken with the iphone 5 and processed with instagram. it’s become a tradition to take a photo walk each time we get snow. i’ll post my images from last week’s snowfall later on and i’m sure the girls and i will head out for another walk sometime today but right now i think it’s time for a nap. happy snow day, everyone! stay warm and stay safe.
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does anyone even carry a point and shoot camera anymore? i know i don’t. the moment i got an iphone i handed the point and shoot down to rilee. when i’m not shooting clients, my iphone seems to be my go to camera. it’s always with me and i’m able to capture all the details of day to day life. the first photo app i fell in love with was shake it photo and it was amazing. me and shake it…we were pretty tight. and then instagram came along and i was hooked. and speaking of being hooked on instagram, have you seen the college humor parody of nickelback’s photograph? layne and i watched it at the studio. at least five times and laughed harder and harder each time. mostly because we’re guilty of so many of these instagram cliches. this one was taken today. #lookatthiscoffeefoam can i get five likes? five liiii-iiiiikes? couldn’t help myself. i swear. while instagram is only available for iphone and android, you can now follow someone online. check out my instagram feed where you’ll find everything from hocus focus behind the scenes photos to little glimpses of my daily life and those fabulous instacliches we’re all guilty of. if you’re an instagrammer […]
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it’s supposed to be style friday here on the hocus focus blog, but our minds are far from style today. we are heartbroken by the tragedy at sandy hook elementary school. our thoughts and prayers are with the children and families, the school staff and the first responders in newtown, connecticut. today, i choose to love more. and i hope you will, too.
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i was quite excited (and a little nervous) when i was asked to be on better kansas city to talk about family portraits but lisa holbrook and kelly jones made it super easy and fun. check out the segment to hear my advice on everything from how to plan your family portrait session, how to select your photographer, what to wear and how to make your family photo shoot stress free. KCTV 5 thanks to kctv5 for having me on this morning and to my amazing stylist, melissa evans for getting up at the crack of dawn to make me presentable for television!
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it’s no secret that i love my job. really, truly love my job. this afternoon i received the sweetest email from this gorgeous senior’s mom and it literally brought me to tears. “OHMYGOSH! Audrey isn’t home yet, but I just looked through everything and I am speechless, breathless, thrilled, touched to the core. These are fabulous! And SO worth the wait! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” i feel really blessed to have the opportunity to photograph and get to know so many amazing young women and audrey is no exception. she’s a beautiful girl with such a bright spirit. when i meet them, audrey and so many of my senior portrait clients are on the verge of becoming the women who i know will one day change the world we live in. i love hearing that i’ve really captured someone the way their loved ones see them. and i love that my images can often be a reminder of just how beautiful and amazing and full of possibility these young women’s lives really are. tracy and audrey, thank you for choosing me for your senior portraits. i’ll share more from your session soon, but this is exactly why i do what i […]
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tomorrow is the big day! please join us for the be the match bone marrow drive to benefit super bo macan. the drive will take place from 9am to 2pm at roesland elementary, 4900 parish drive in roeland park, kansas. joining the registry is as simple as having your cheek swabbed. to keep the kids entertained a moonwalk is being provided by creative carnivals, our friends from sister act face painting will be there to work their face painting magic from 10-1 and small scale films and emerald exotics will have an amazing menagerie of reptiles and amphibians. and i just saw a picture of some of the delicious cookies blissful bites has whipped up! they look super delish! if you’re already on the donor list or ineligible to donate, stop by anyway and make a donation to be the match. you’ll be registered to win a rendezvous package at the raphael hotel on the plaza (including an exquisite meal at chaz). there’s no reason NOT to come! if you can’t make it out tomorrow you can still donate to be the match by visiting the team macan it happen be the match page.
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i really, really loved this quote from graphic designer promise tangeman. it certainly hits home with me. and speaking of style….if you’re looking for some serious eye candy, check out promise’s graphic design website and her fabulous blog where you’ll find her thoughts on art, design, life and style. that girl has style for days and i simply love it! and in case you need yet another blog to drool over – check out lindsay letters. that’s her delightful penmanship you see in the quote above. what i wouldn’t give for penmanship like that!
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jen burgess thompson is a 37-year old photographer from redmond, oregon. she’s the mother of two young boys. and she has advanced ovarian cancer. jen has bravely endured major surgery and months of brutal chemotherapy. photo by benjamin edwards her doctors have given her 12-18 months to live, but there is hope – they want her to enter a clinical trial at the mayo clinic. jen is a professional photographer, but her health prevents her from shooting clients and the estimated price of the clinical trial is $63,000. would you please consider making a donation toward jen’s medical care? her boys, cooper and cohen to grow-up with their mom. photo dough has created a safe, secure way for you to donate to this amazingly brave mother who is literally fighting for her life. simply click the photo below to make a donation. as our friends at photo dough said, it’s thursday and it’s a great day to create a miracle. to read more of jen’s inspiring story, visit her blog – am i still a girl. xoxox, H
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happy new year, everyone! i have to say that 2011 was a good year, but it seems to have passed me by in a blur. i was recently talking to a friend who said that each year she chooses a word for herself – a word that will define her year, her actions and her attitude. in 2010, i did the 365 project (i started late and i, regrettably, didn’t finish out the year so it ended up being my 299 project, but it was all based on the things i was grateful for so i guess you could say 2010 was my year to be grateful. i didn’t do a 365 project this year and to be honest, it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that i realized just how much i missed it. as i thought about 2012 and the things i wanted to do differently i knew that i would attempt another 365 project. the project made me realize that i have a lot to be grateful for but it also made me feel like i was truly present in each day. so, my word for 2012 is present. 2012 is shaping up to be an exciting […]
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