fall is just around the corner and i absolutely love this time of year. the buzz of all that back to school energy…seeing everyone’s first day of school pictures on facebook and while it’s hard to imagine with the recent heat wave we’ve had, i always look forward to that feeling of the chill in the air that comes with fall. i’m already dreaming of sweaters and boots and scarves. and pumpkin. oh, the pumpkin. then that 100 degree heat index pulls me back to reality. as a photographer fall is my busiest time of year. family portraits are a staple of my fall schedule but fall is also my busiest season as a mom. rilee is in her second season of competitive softball and lucee is a cheerleader. with sports taking over our weekends my weekend availability is very limited this year because as a mom i don’t want to miss out on these moments with my kids that will pass all too quickly. that being said, we have carved out a few weekends and even a weekday for some family mini sessions. our first date is this coming monday, which is labor day so the kids are all […]
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mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. -marion c. garretty by now, most of my readers know super bo and his super mama carolyn. they’ve been in the hospital for over 30 days now with fevers, infections, blood tests, lung, liver and bone marrow biopsies and more. bo and carolyn spend a lot of time in the hospital – over 100 days this year. to say the last 30 days have been tough or even scary for the macans is an understatement. each time i see bo he seems to be fighting harder and harder and sometimes not making any headway. but last night was different. bo seemed like…bo. he was talkative, ornery, silly and having fun. i’ve visited bo and carolyn in the hospital often but last night was the first time i took my camera. and i’m so glad i did. everyone who knows carolyn knows what a fighter she is. she is bo’s caregiver. she is his advocate. she is his strength. the bond these two share is incredible and to be able to capture this moment – it is exactly why i love being a photographer. and to […]
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the may issue of her life magazine features five kansas city girls on the run coaches and their daughters and for this issue i had the chance to be on both sides of the camera. i photographed four amazing women and their daughters and then had the camera turned on me. i can’t think of a better mother’s day gift than to be featured on the cover of a magazine with my two favorite girls. this week i will wrap up my fourth season as a girls on the run coach and i’m more passionate about the program than ever before. an experience based running program for 3rd – 8th grade girls founded by molly barker in 1996, the mission is to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident. girls on the run is building strong young women from the inside out. a year ago, thanks to one of the girls on the run activities our team completed, we discovered that rilee was being bullied and it was devastating. i can honestly say that if it weren’t for this program we most likely wouldn’t have known it was happening. girls on the run gave us both the tools to handle this really […]
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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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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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my heart is full. crazy full. we’re talking just pigged out on thanksgiving dinner and need a nap full. in the last week so many people in our community have come together and have truly made a difference. every day i watch the news and i see so much crime and tragedy and sadness that i start to wonder what the world is coming to. i wonder what’s happened to all the good people in this world…but i’ve come to realize there are lots of them living right here in roeland park. and i am so proud to call them my friends. last week our mini sessions for bo macan were a huge success. this week we’ve seen lots of people sporting their macan it happen t-shirts. if you’d like to order your own macan it happen shirt email shawnamacan[at]gmail[dot]com. and today our friends hosted an incredible bake sale to benefit the macan family. i am utterly amazed by the kindness and generosity in our community. kctv 5 journalist justin schmidt stopped by the bake sale today. KCTV 5 and justin did more than just share the macan’s story with kansas city – he made a generous donation (thanks, justin!) and took […]
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ten years ago today i woke to a torrential downpour and knew with absolute certainty that my wedding day was ruined. the sky was almost black with not even the slightest trace of sunshine in sight and in walks mr. positive who told me not to worry – the sun would shine just in time for us to say i do. who did he think he was? chief meteorologist chris morrow? i thought he was nuts. and i was right – the guy is truly nuts…but he was also right. the rain eventually stopped and the sun began to shine. it turned out to be a beautiful day. i just had to learn to weather the storm and have some faith. ten years later, we’ve weathered a few more storms and learned that a little rain isn’t the end of the world. we’ve learned that life should never be taken too seriously. we’ve learned to laugh (often times at each other) and we’ve learned to hold on tight when the going gets rough. beaumont club, 2000 2001 2001 dallas, 2002 dallas, 2002 chicago, 2002 2002 dallas, 2003 photo by laura siebert, 2006 photo by laura siebert, 2006 colorado, 2008 2008 […]
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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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She started out as a client. Then she became an intern. And then she became a friend. Today, she's like family. Most of my client's know her. You've seen her on the blog before. She's often with me at shoots and over the last couple of years she's practically been my right hand. She is such a blessing to me and my business. Her dedication, enthusiasm and creativity are just a few of the many things that make her so amazing. I adore her. My family adores her. And I know all of my clients adore her, too. Happy 20th Birthday, Genna! Lots of love, H
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Last year, my friend Deb Schwedhelm wrote a blog post and posed the following question: Is there ever a perfect time to have photographs taken of your family? I strongly encourage you to read her entire post, but in short, the answer is no. There is no perfect time. I know Deb would agree that anytime is the right time. We've both heard clients say, I'm too fat or I'm growing my hair out or I'm waiting for my son to get his braces off…and a whole slew of other reasons why NOT to have your family portraits taken. Life is precious. Every single moment. And you never know what's around the corner so take all those reasons and excuses and throw them out the window. RIGHT. THIS. SECOND. Twenty, thirty, even forty years from now the last thing your kids and grandkids will say when they look at your family photos is, "Wow, I really wish Mom would have lost some weight before this picture was taken". They'll just be happy to have them. And so will you. I'm guilty of it. I hate being in front of the camera. I'm way more comfortable behind it, but for my […]
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