Thukkani Twins are 4!

It's great to be out photographing again, other than my own family of course.  Don't get me wrong I love taking photos of my people, I do it almost everyday, but it's nice to see some new faces behind the lens now and then.  Anyone who reads my blog occasionally, there may be one or two of you, may recognize the Thukkani twins from a session I had last fall.  Well, they just had a birthday and are now very outgoing 4 year olds.  This was what I like to call a milestone session.  It's for 1 (or more if twins, triplets, etc.) person and is at a great rate and a great way to celebrate a birthday or any kind of landmark event in your life.  We had a beautiful day for our session on Saturday, finally a weekend without rain!  The kids were great and always adorable, here are a few of my favorite images from the day.


Photograph the world as it is. Nothing's more interesting than reality.  - Mary Ellen Mark

The one on the left was from last November and the right from Saturday.  Pure coincidence that we ended up with similar images, but pretty cool. 

Long Branch Camping 2015

I hadn't spent much time camping in my life until I met my husband.  Now that we have a family, I appreciate it even more.  Colby's family has always camped and now we use campgrounds as gathering grounds for get togethers.  The kids have a blast, they are let loose to ride bikes, play games, hike, swim, (those last two with some supervision of course) and explore all around the campground.  Us adults have our fun and relaxation as well, drinks around the campfire being near the top of my list.  We have a pop up camper, easy to store, easy to tow, perfect for us at this point in our lives.  And, at usually $25 or less per night, a campsite is way cheaper than any hotel, plus we bring our own food.  Anyway, the annual Forke camping weekend for 2015 goes down in history as a success.  A little rain, a little cold, but also enough sun and warm weather for some good times.  For Memorial Day Weekend, not to shabby.  Here are some of the moments from our 4 day 5 night stay at Long Branch State Park.

Blake and cousin Sofia on the playground. 

Leah and Amie on the trail to the beach.

Blake taking a "selfie"

The water was cold, but of course they didn't care.

Last time I don't pack swim suits for camping.

Leah showing Samantha all of her dolls.

Mollie caught mid stretch.

Fishing on Grandpa's boat.

Ellie looking perplexed.

These next two pictures are of Bailey.  She was off leash most of the time because she is suffering from kidney disease.  She has lost a lot of weight due to lack of appetite and vomiting and we don't know how long we have left with her.  She was laying in the grass when we saw her head and ears perk up, then we noticed this rabbit venturing out of the tall grass.  We decided to leave her alone to see what she would do.  She slowly got up and started creeping towards it.

The rabbit kept coming closer until Bailey had no choice but to charge it.  She didn't make it too far, but it was awesome to see that she isn't ready to leave us yet. 

Back at the beach, this time with the twins.

It was their first time in the water.

The view from our campsite.

Grandma and Grandpa at their camper.  Along with a very relaxed Mollie.

15 on the 15th

I have seen other photographers do posts about photo projects that they use to help keep up their abilities.  Some even commit to a 365 project where they post an image everyday for an entire year!  I don't have that kind of time, however I came across one who does 15 on the 15th, and it just so happens that today is the 15th.  So here are 15 of my favorite images from the last month or so. Some of the images aren't even edited, they are straight out of the camera.  I have really been playing around with shooting JPEG vs. Raw, but that is a whole other topic.....

O.K. I obviously didn't take this one, but it was mother's day and I love it.  Thanks hon.

We always love the dog show at Purina Farms!