Old Photographs

January 4, 2018

Doug's dad added him to a Facebook group dedicated to the extended Smith family, and we spent a little time digging into old photos posted there.  We got a little lost in 'meeting' cousins, uncles and aunts, and countless other members of his family that he's never met before.  It was also a little time machine to a younger Fritz and Estelle--photos of his mom and dad from 50 years ago.  It's so fascinating to be able to visit the past in this way.  I've always been so intrigued by old photos, especially (but not limited to) photos of people I know.  It encourages me to get back into scanning old Mayes family photos to share with all of my siblings.  I know my own kids get frustrated that I have always taken so many pictures of them, but I know one day they'll be thrilled to sit with their own kids to share their past with them.  I desperately wish there were more pictures of me and my brothers and sisters in our childhood.  So many of them were destroyed by my dad when he and my mom divorced--his way of lashing out at her.  I want to make sure I preserve and share the ones that survived.

Every Photo Has a Story

December 20, 2017

Annual Thanksgiving time family photo, two years ago. The story behind the picture: Nobody was happy, everyone was cold and grumpy--especially me--, it was way too dark already to take the photos. But Bree was getting ready to head back home, and I was desperate to get it done. Not just because I'm a maniac about pictures, but because this was just a little after my diagnosis, just before my first surgery. At the least, I'd never exactly look like this again. Even more than that, even though it was caught early, even though I was one of the lucky ones, the future was still a question mark. A tiny little irrational voice, persistent but quiet, kept whispering, "But what if this is the last time we get to take a family photo? What if this is the last time the kids take a picture with me? I want the kids to at least have this." Irrational, but I wouldn't let it go until we got a few shots. See how dark it is in the photo? It's so much brighter now on the other side of the shot. In this photo, I see gratefulness.

Laura

October 20, 2012

Laura got some new head shots done for her resume/portfolio.  I absolutely love this photo of her--just beautiful!

My Beautiful 8th Grader

September 13, 2012

Oh, how I love this beautiful girl!

Happy Birthday to Dad

July 7, 2012

Danielle came up with a cute idea for her dad for Father's Day, and she enlisted my help to put it together.  We bought letters at Michael's, and then had each of the kids hold up one of the letters and let me take a picture of them.  We then took their individual pictures and put them in a three-opening frame.  These are the pictures I took.  The colors look great in the simple, understated black frame.  Although their dad isn't much of a picture guy, he's got the frame up on his wall at his house.  Maybe with Bree out of the house and away at college, he's realizing--as much as I am-- how special it is to get them all together. 

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

November 27, 2011

It dawned on me that if I wanted to get family holiday pictures, I had a fairly limited window of opportunity this year. Often there are two photo shoots to get the right shot for our Christmas cards--one where at least one child is in a sullen mood, or at least an onery one, and then one I schedule after hopelessly throwing in the towel, where we actually manage to find a good shot with all of them looking pretty darn pleasant simultaneously. This year, since Bree was only home from college for a few days, I didn't have time to do a re-shoot if I wanted all three of them in the picture. We'd have to get it right the first time. Luckily, the kids were in on my sense of urgency (they may or may not have been reminded by Doug to be as cooperative as possible), and I'm really happy with our results. Even though Nicholas good-naturedly grumbled under his breath just a little bit (he feels he can't be taken seriously as a dude if he doesn't grouse about family photos), and Danielle had to throw in the obligatory 'goofy face' every now and again, and Bree said to me at the outset, "Mom, you are limited to 100 frames and three scene changes," they all knew that it was important to me to get a good shot of all three of my favorite people, together.

Bangs for Days

October 25, 2011

I've been a little nostalgic this week for when the kids were little, so I dragged out some old pictures to scan. You know, the kind of pictures I'm sure my kids will appreciate me sharing with everyone here. This is little Miss Danielle when she was going to Day Care at Miss Tami's. I think she's three here. When I look at this picture, it makes me think of all of my old school pictures that make me think, "Mom, what were you thinking, sending me out into the world looking like that?" Danielle's bangs here started half-way up her head, and the ponytail look only accentuates that unfortunate bang choice . Soooo not my favorite look for her!

Soccer Picture Day

October 16, 2011

I was so happy to find out that Nicholas and Danielle had soccer pictures at the same place at the same time this past weekend. That makes the Mama Taxi run so much easier! (Cloning oneself can be just a tad exhausting.)Brittany, Danielle, Shelby, Mac, and Breanna

Bree's Senior Pictures

April 26, 2011

My good friend and very talented photographer Alex Smith took Bree's senior photos out on her property last week--we had been waiting patiently until Bree's braces were no longer part of the picture, so to speak. I think Alex did a fabulous job and got shots we are really happy with. She has such a relaxed and easy rapport with her subjects that it seems effortless for her to get natural smiles and expressions in her shots. Of course, Alex had a beautiful subject to work with, too, so that didn't hurt!

If you'd like to see more of Alex's work or get info about pricing and scheduling, check out her website at www.simplelovephotography.weebly.com

Senior Pictures-Preview

April 22, 2011

When we went out to take Bree's pictures, Alex (our talented photographer) said she didn't mind if I took some shots along side her. That way, I got to have some of my own shots to tide me over until she got the professional ones edited and sent over to me. It was amazing to me how much of my mom I saw in some of Bree's expressions. I wish she could have been here to see Bree grow up into such a beautiful young woman, but I love seeing a part of her shine through Bree's smile.