We planted a new wild flower garden this spring and I was so happy to see some of the flowers starting to bloom over the last couple of weeks.  My husband laid a beautiful stone walkway through the garden leading into the field behind - such a beautiful setting for child or family pictures with more flowers blooming each day.  My sweet granddaughter was my first subject in this new setting last night.  I just love the range of expressions I'm always able to capture from this little sweetheart.  She can go from a serious deep in thought face to a full on cheese smile in a split second.  Good thing my camera is fast!!  She enjoyed walking down the stone path and checking out all the flowers.   So fun to capture the details of her pretty dress and the sweetness of her little hands and feet at this age.  She's growing up way to fast!  Our little session lasted about 10 minutes and then it was time for dinner.  As always, feeling so blessed to capture special moments like these for my family and clients doing what I love!  I'm booking sessions at this beautiful location on our property now.  Spots are limited so contact me with any questions or to reserve your session date today!

Thought I'd share my first post in what I hope will be a monthly "Before and After" blog series.   I loved the way the fan was blowing my granddaughters hair so I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures while I had the fleeting opportunity.  I didn't have time to clear away any background distractions so when I went to edit this picture I decided to pull it into Photoshop to see what I could do with it.  

(Before)

The goal of this edit was to simplify the frame to focus all the attention on my subject.  I removed the lanterns on the table behind her, the little yellow chair (and its shadow) and some of the distractions on the tablecloth.  I decided this photo might look great in B&W so I converted it and then played around with bringing down the highlights, deepening the blacks and adding sharpness to her hair and other little details.

(After)

 I'm so happy with the timeless feel the B&W gave to this sweet moment - and of course - I adore her sweet little profile!!  I love how sometimes an edit can turn an everyday snapshot into a treasured artistic portrait!

My grid for June is all about flowers in my flower gardens.  The winters in the North Country are so long - when flowers start to bloom I'm in my happy place with beautiful, colorful subjects to photograph and marvel at!!  I think my favorite of this group is the deep purple Iris with the hummingbird.  I was out one morning before work taking some pictures of the Iris when all of a sudden I heard a hummingbird.  It came and went in a split second and I just happened to snap the picture at the right moment - an amazing, happy, accidental capture it was!!!