labor day

Tomorrow begins the long Labor Day weekend, so I’m taking a few days off. I promised my family that I wouldn’t work at all this weekend the way I normally do when we spend time at the beach. Of course I’m taking my camera – but the only pictures I’ll take this weekend are of my daughter, Megan. She’s a little like the cobbler’s child who had no shoes. I rarely get the chance to take pictures of her. So maybe tomorrow she’ll get her turn in front of the camera. Or, maybe I’ll be sitting on the beach – too lazy to even take the camera out of the bag. From now until Tuesday – I’ll do only what I WANT to do. No work – only play. Hope you all have a great holiday weekend.

 

Clients, I’ll return your phone calls and e-mails on Tuesday.

Here’s a picture of where I’ll be for the next few days. Megan took this with her point and shoot camera last summer. I sincerely hope we don’t face weather as severe this weekend!

the sherens

Tuesday found me back at the beach – but this time at North Topsail where the Sheren family was vacationing. Like most families, they wanted a large group picture of the extended family as well as smaller groups. And EVERYONE wanted pictures with Davis and Lanie. You’ll see why in just a moment. Tuesday was a gorgeous day at the beach. After Monday’s heavy clouds and rain, the Sherens deserved a beautiful day. The color of the water was simply amazing. As we get closer to fall, I believe the colors become more intense. But the ocean was a little bit angry with the wind kicking up whitecaps, so I’m glad I was on the beach – not in the water.

As always we did the largest group first. What you see are Davis and Lanie with their proud parents and grandparents.

Then we let all of the smaller groups have their pictures made with Davis and Lanie – the stars of the show.

And then it was time to do a few pictures of the children alone. By this time it was after 7:30 and these children should have been tired and cranky. But instead – they were wonderful. Davis and Lanie did everything I asked of them and never once complained. Lanie was an absolute angel – and I don’t use that word lightly.

Davis, on the other hand, was full of personality – and all boy. He was very good and even flirted just a little. I call this one “The Many Faces of Davis.”

And finally, as the sun was setting, my favorite shot . . . Davis, Lanie and the ocean.

To the Sherens – I hope you had a marvelous vacation. I’ll have the rest of your session edited next week. Thanks for inviting me down to meet the family. It was truly a pleasure working with you.

haley

About a month ago, I went to Figure 8 Island to take pictures of Haley’s family. Although we got great pictures that day, we didn’t get quite enough of Haley alone. I went back last Friday so that we could take more pictures of her. And what a grand time we had! When we met in the parking lot, Haley was waiting to show me her smile. She told me she was ready to have her pictures taken – and she was for a little while. After snapping about 5 pictures, Haley looked up at me with her huge brown eyes and said, “I’m finished.” Thankfully, her grandmother and I convinced her to let me take a few more and we were able to get some great pictures of Haley playing. We didn’t even try to pose pictures, I just followed her around with my camera and let her play. She danced, and cheered, and wrote in the sand. She walked in the water, pointed out pelicans, and had a wonderful time – for about 15 minutes. Then she looked at me again and said, “I’m finished.” And she was.

This is the 3rd summer I’ve photographed Haley, and it’s wonderful to watch her grow and develop such an amazing personality. She is absolutely adorable – and she makes me smile.  Haley helps me remember why I love this job.

twin seniors

What’s better than having one senior . . . having two, of course.  Adam and Tatum will be seniors when school starts in a couple of days, and they are really looking forward to the experience.  These are really busy kids – involved in lots of school activities.  I had trouble keeping up with one senior, I can’t imagine keeping up with two.  And can you imagine how quiet it will be at their house when they both leave for college at the same time?

Because of normal North Carolina August weather, it took us three tries to get our shoot done at the beach – and we still nearly didn’t make it.  A storm was rolling in and it got dark very quickly. In fact, a couple of hours after we left the beach, we had a terrible thunder storm – the kind that rattles the windows. The wind was blowing as it always does when I go to the beach,  but Adam and Tatum were troopers and we got some great pictures.  It has been an extremely busy couple of weeks for me, so I haven’t gotten their session edited, but here is a sneak preview.

the landers family

Would you like to know one of my favorite things about August? The Landers clan descends upon Topsail Island – all the way from New Jersey – and I get to visit them. Alyson found my website a couple of years ago when searching for a photographer to take family pictures when the group was vacationing together. I’m so, so glad she found me! The first time I drove up, Claire ran from the house yelling, “Elise is here, Elise is here!” Now keep in mind that Claire was about 6 or 7 at the time, and she had never met me. But, she surely was glad I was there She seemed just as glad to see me yesterday. As much as I like the adult Landers (and Samuelsons and McGuires) I absolutely adore their children.

Yesterday was my 3rd family portrait session with the Landers family. First, we did the entire group, then the senior Landers with their grandchildren, then broke down into individual family units. We took pictures until it was just too dark to shoot any longer. By then, the children had made their way into the ocean – clothes and all.

First, here are John and Sandra who started the whole thing! They will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary soon – and you can just feel their happiness. And boy do they love their grandchildren – and the feeling is quite mutual.

Now, here is the entire group – and the smaller family groups.

And last, but certainly not least, Pooka (or is it Pucha, or Pucka) with all the children. He is grandfather to only 4 of this group – but loved by all. How could you not love the man who supplies water guns, candy and moon pies?

I have hardly had a second to look through the Landers’ pictures, so these are just quick picks. I’ll have the rest posted over the weekend.

To the Landers . . . thanks for having me back again. Enjoy your time together at Topsail. Same time next year?

Liz & Katey

Liz and Katey have been friends since they were about three years old.  So, it only made sense that when it came time to do senior portraits – they wanted to do them together.  I had never tried to do two separate sessions together, but I told them we could try and see what happened.  And, it worked quite well.  While one of the girls was changing, I was able to photograph the other.  I was hopping the entire time and they had to move very quickly, but it was fun for them to be together.  And, we were able to get a few pictures of the girls together.

Today was one of the most beautiful days we’ve had for a while.  It was hot – but not blistering hot the way it was last week.  And, we had gorgeous blue skies.  I was prepared for the beach to be a little more crowded than usual – but the people NEVER left.  Usually, when the sun begins to set, people pack up and head home.  Today’s groups were die hard beach bums.  When Liz, Katey and I left it was really dark.  And there were still people on the beach! We did our best to work around the people and had a great time.

Liz and Katey . . . here is your sneak preview.  I’ll have the rest done as soon as possible.

50 years and counting . . .

I’m so glad I can finally post these pictures! Several weeks ago I got a call from Helen. She and Marshall were getting ready to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary – and she had an idea for a gift for their children. So on her anniversary, Helen is giving instead of receiving. That should tell you something about her! Well, her idea was simply incredible. Helen had a picture taken at their wedding reception of she and Marshall that she wanted to frame in a mat with a current picture – and that’s where I came in. They needed a picture to go in the frame. We decided to do the pictures at their home because it would be so much more meaningful to the children. Helen and Marshall have a beautiful yard, so we did the pictures outside.

Since I photograph the occasional wedding, I often think about what it takes to make marriages survive for the long haul. With Helen and Marshall, it was easy to see. I loved watching them together. You can plainly see the affection they share – and they have a really good time together. It was fun for me to spend some time with them.

When I delivered the pictures, we tried one in the frame with the 50 year old wedding picture. I can’t imagine a better gift for a parent to give a child. Not only have Helen and Marshall been amazing role models – showing their children what a family should be about. Now the children have pictures showing the love their parents share – then and now.

I couldn’t post the pictures on my blog before Helen and Marshall gave the children their gifts. But now the gifts have been given and I get to share.

Helen loves pictures and gave me a great idea for my family Christmas presents this year. That was the best tip ever! But, I’m not sharing it because I am going to give the BEST presents this year, thanks to Helen, and I want it to be a surprise. I’ll share after Christmas

Ali

Tonight I went back to the beach, but instead of shooting little girls I did portraits of Ali who will be a senior in a few weeks. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky when we left Jacksonville, but by the time we got to the beach some clouds moved in. The wind was whipping, as usual, but I’ve learned that there is ALWAYS wind when shooting on the beach. So, all in all, the beach was a good place to be tonight.

As I’ve said before, I LOVE working with seniors – and Ali was no exception. She was an absolute joy. Ali has an innate sense of style and she moves well in front of the camera. At first Ali was a little nervous, but she settled right in and did a wonderful job. But let’s face it, you don’t have to be a world class photographer to take good pictures of Ali. I probably shouldn’t admit it – but anyone this naturally beautiful would photograph well for anyone. I’m just glad they chose me.

Here’s a sneak preview of Ali’s portraits. It was hard choosing just a few to show because so many are great. I can’t wait to finish editing Ali’s gallery – but it will be later in the week before that happens.

Thanks for being such a great model, Ali. It was fun!

Two little girls in white linen dresses + 1 ocean = FUN!

One of the highlights of my summer is a trip to Figure 8 Island to take pictures of the Haley children. I’ve known the Haleys since they were in elementary school and love to see them all grown up with children of their own. They were delightful children and they have only gotten better with age. This is the third year I’ve done pictures at Figure 8 – and I always look forward to the trip. It’s wonderful when a shoot starts and ends with big hugs!

When I first arrived the sun was still a little high, so we let the children play and I relaxed on the beach. I had brought along a small white wicker chair hoping to get a few pictures of Mary in the chair. But, Haley took a seat and started directing the action. In this shot, she sat and instructed her parents to get behind her.

Once the light was right, we got a few pictures of the entire family and of Anie’s and Michael’s families. I had to work fast because the children were ready to play.

debeck-4.jpg

After we got the required family groups, we just let the children play. And being little water bugs, they headed straight for the ocean. Haley would rush in and get her feet wet – then stop. But not Mary! She kept right on running until someone stopped her. I got a lot of pictures from the back because without a snorkel or scuba gear, I couldn’t get out deep enough to stay in front of these little girls. Haley and Mary had a wonderful time playing in the ocean – white linen dresses and all.