I’ve known Tara & Tiffany for years. We met through my church youth group, and they were like big sisters to me. I’ll never forget sharing chimi-cheesecakes at Applebees {where I eventually worked with them} or piling into Tiff’s old white station wagon for high school football games on Friday nights. I was actually with them, at an Elms concert, the first time I ever remember being introduced to my husband.

    Photographing them with their children is pretty much as good as it gets. When people make your life more beautiful for so many years & encourage you through every teenage disaster, then, you have an opportunity to show them how special their life is… it’s just cool.

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    With all my love, enjoy.

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    I love standing back quietly as a witness. Watching. Waiting… for innocence to bloom through my lens.

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    Tara{h}: He is growing so fast. But he couldn’t be more handsome or sweet. You’re a beautiful mama!

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    Love the colors in the next two of Tara & Zak. They were some of the last ones we took as the sun was setting.

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    Love my lens. Especially how it enables me to give Photoshop a break so often…

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    Tiffany had asked me to do her wedding while I was still in school for graphic design. It was a really big encouragement, since I had never thought of doing photography that way before. I regret not doing her wedding for her, but she has continued to help inspire & coax me in that direction.
    The next time I was asked by another friend, I said yes.
    And good things have happened.
    I will always try to continue making it up to her…

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    And one more…

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    Sometimes I add lens flare in my “digital darkroom.” This one was natural {rainbow & all}. Lucky timing.

    Hope you enjoyed these photos, they were truly a labor of love. Thanks for being part of my life {for so long} you two!
    Which one was your favorite?

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    • tiffany - October 27, 2009 - 12:09 pm

      Andrea, you are phenomenal!!! I love, love, love them! I cant wait to see the rest. My very favorite is the one of me and Chad! I cant believe you captured that! We NEVER take good pictures together! EVER! And that one is so sexy! I LOVE it! I love how you captured MOMENTS. Like Carys just being an angel looking off by the flowers. And little Rae Rae brushing her hair out of her face while holding a beautiful flower! You are amazing! Im so excited to see them all. Love you!

      Thank you for what you said in your intro. I just love you dearly. I am so glad I have been able to be a part of your life. And a positive part, at that! (Sometimes, I just dont feel like I contribute any good.. ) You are such a jem. Such a deep and beautiful soul. You have just blossomed into a beautiful and talented woman. I am blessed to call you friend.

      Love you,

      Tiff

    October has been a pretty {busy} good month. I feel so blessed to be busy doing something that I love more & more all the time. It’s kind of scary that after all the pictures I’ve taken lately, all I want to do is take as many as I can before we hibernate for winter. Then keep taking them until my fingers freeze.

    Thank you for keeping up with my work & viewing my stories. I am thankful for all of you who support & encourage me… and… who contact me about working with you or people you know. I realize that all of my work comes from your support. Thank you.

    Here are a few samples of pictures from some of the shoots that I’ve finished recently.

    Sebastian was nine months old in these pictures. I loved watching him discover leaves & sticks, then see how his eyes reflected every thought in his head.

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    I was able to sneak in the Frazee family portraits while I was in Columbus a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, it rained. Kelly {mom} was really flexible & we did an impromptu shoot inside. I love the way these look in black & white, I think it helps show the mood of that day & the way the kids were feeling being stuck indoors.

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    I have one more post ready for this week. Other than that, I’ll be baking a wedding cake. Then delivering it to Columbus. Then photographing that wedding.
    After a long long nap… you’ll be seeing more of the October family, babies, engagements, and weddings on here!

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    When Samantha contacted me about setting up some family pictures, I was so excited to discover that she has beautiful twin boys. They are both very handsome & I loved watching them interact with each other and play with the fallen leaves. Get ready to swoon, they are adorable!

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    These little guys had me wishing I was a videographer instead of photographer… seeing them walk around like little men was hilariously priceless!

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    I loved watching them play together… how cool to be born with a best friend?

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    When we are doing family pictures, I love to snap a few of mom & dad too.

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    Samantha’s soon to be sister-in-law, Becki, came to help. Always a great idea with little ones!

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    Finally, the definition of Fall {I hope it doesn’t end too soon!}…

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    I’m gonna buy this book this year. I really can’t even remember what it’s about. I just remember what it did to me as a first grader.

    We were told to pick a Christmas book to read to the kindergartners, each of us would read to a group of two or three. I remember wanting to pick a story that was challenging. Coming from a person who had trouble spelling “the” just a few months before, any book would have been challenging.

    I had two younger girls in my group, they seemed nice. We settled into a quiet spot in the hallway outside their classroom. The basement of our Lincoln Elementary had green carpet that was supposed to resemble grass. We sat down, Indian style, and I felt excited about sharing a story with them. I didn’t have a problem speaking in front of people, I had a lot of siblings and never felt shy {as a child}.
    I opened the book…
    It was filled with words I didn’t understand.
    I could barely read any of it.
    I immediately felt embarrassed.

    I would look up and see them exchanging glances at each other. I knew that they knew I wasn’t any good at it. They started to look around and finally my nice teacher came and saved me by reading the rest of it. The torture was over, in a way.

    Even as a girl so small, I felt overwhelmed by failure. I didn’t even know that word yet. I just knew I hadn’t done something right. I knew I had to fix it. So every Tuesday, when we went to the library, I picked one book: Santa Mouse. I read it over & over until I knew it by memory. Around February, Mrs. Leonard noticed I always picked one book & was ready to go before the other kids. They would mill around the room, perusing colorful titles. I would wait patiently at the door.

    “Santa Mouse?!” she laughed. “Why are you still reading this book? There are so many other books you could be reading!”

    “I need to learn how to read it.”

    “Let me guess, you have this book memorized by now, don’t you?”

    “Yes.”

    “We are picking a new book. You aren’t allowed to check this one out anymore.”

    I don’t know if she even remembered why I felt committed to read that story. I don’t know if she knew it was all I could do to make up for my mistake.
    And if any kindergartners ever needed someone to read it in March, I’d have it down easily.

    I listened. I borrowed other books. I became really good at reading. It was always by far {besides art} my strongest, most effortless class.
    I didn’t take any English courses in college, I tested out of them in high school.

    This story has been a source of encouragement to me as well as a pretty accurate lesson of how my mind has been built to work. When I perceive that I have “failed,” I go all out. I obsess with how I can make it right, what I can do differently for the next time. Lately there have been a few reasons I feel a sense of failure relating to the “business” of photography. I know that any time you venture into unknown territory without a map, there are going to be setbacks. I’m still learning. It’s not so familiar yet. Right now I’m still grasping the words, they look a little daunting on the pages. Soon I will have them down to memory…

    Then nothing will be impossible.

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    • alli from hooray - October 23, 2009 - 1:52 pm

      Andrea, this is such a touching story. I read it yesterday in my google reader & was still thinking about it today.
      Ps. Those twins above are insanely adorable!

    I have been able to meet & get to know Jacqui on a few occasions, but since Joshua is stationed in Georgia I didn’t get to meet him until the engagement shoot just days before their wedding. I love military couples, and it’s such an honor to photograph couples who have been separated. They are always so great for my camera… they need little coaxing to show some love! I am crossing my fingers the leaves will wait a little longer to fall so that we can fit in some more shoots before the trees become entirely bare!

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    I try to do a little research with my couples before engagement sessions to understand what backdrop will suit them best. After a few questions, I discovered that Josh & Jacqui spent childhood summers on a lake in NY. It’s a huge part of their love story. We didn’t have access to that lake, but did what we could ;]

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    It was really windy {& cold}, so the dress shot was so natural. This is one of my favorites!

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    We just got back from our “honeymoon” in Mexico this week! It was definiely the best vacation we’ve ever taken. I’ve got a lot of work to post, it’s been a very busy {but wonderful} month. I’m trying to finish my clients pictures then I’ll share a little about our trip. Have a happy weekend!

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    • Jacqui Winchell - October 16, 2009 - 9:09 am

      oh Andrea! I LOVE THEM!!!! I have tears in my eyes I’m so happy. Thank you so much for all you have done for us, I can’t wait to see the rest.

    • alli from hooray - October 17, 2009 - 1:27 pm

      Andrea, these photos are beautiful! I love the way your pictures tell stories.

    • Whitney - October 19, 2009 - 11:21 am

      Gorgeous pictures, as always!