Lydia + Stefan | Minneapolis Portraits

"I'd take care of you,
Take care of you.
That's true."
Beach House

Lydia and I have been real friends (not "Oh, yeah, I know that girl! We're friends!" but see-or-talk-to-each-other-almost-daily-definitley-weekly friends) for coming up on 15 years.  And though I'm married and experienced the normalcy with which a new best friend can join the mix, it's still hard to imagine until it happens. And its definitely happened with Stefan. He's the "new" best friend in our friendship, and he's made everything better.  As a couple they have a "spiritual gift" of bringing laughter.  Don't get me wrong they - Lydia especially - is the first to get choked up and empathize during serious sadness. But they can come into rooms where tiredness, heaviness and numbness reign and shine little happy lanterns... and before long the room is crying in joyous, tight-stomached, light-headed pleasure. There's nothing like a Stefan or Lydia Story.

I'm still hoping that we'll all live in the same place someday. But few things have made me happier as a friend than when Lydia decided to move to Minneapolis to be with the person she loves. (Because, lawd, those long distance good-byes were miserable... and I wasn't even the one saying them! Props to all those in the LD Club. You guys should have team patches and golden trophies.) This was our second time visiting them in Minne, and it kind of feels like all this time Lydia has been misplaced. Like the way Corduroy looked on the department store shelf compared to the little girl's bedroom. It's so good here, they're so good here. And by "here," as great as the city is, I definitely mean "together." Thanks for crashing our bestie party, Stefan. We love you as much as we love her! And that's a fricken lot. 

Mike + Hannah | Charlottesville, VA Engagement

"he feels like he's been there for hours,  and i can tell that he'll be there for life." adele She is a few years younger, and her immediate pit-crew of friends agreed: Mike is a dreamboat.  He was the standard, ("I want someone like Mike.") but obviously he wasn't a realistic future option.  In the same way being the next Rolling Stones big-star isn't a realistic career option.  Funny thing about those shot-in-the-dark dreams: sometimes they happen.  Unbeknownst to Young Hannah G, Mike thought she was the standard of smart, engaging, kind and lovely.  But she was young, and that's weird, and... and.  Funny thing about time and strolling into your twenties: age blends away a bit, like the spread of watercolor paints.  After years of secret mutual pining, travel, school, career and growing-into-themselves Hannah and Mike reconnected.  And at their first date, in a downtown diner, they talked until closing and came alive together, both knowing without a doubt that they were never parting ways. These two are last-Adele-chorus hot.  The day we did this session was over 100 degrees and 80 percent humidity (steamy).  I joked with them that it's too bad they aren't into each other.  "Sorry if we kiss too much," as they'd go at it again.  It's special when people with so much outward obsession are more marked, more noticeable by their deep friendship.  Throughout our shoot we paused to talked multiple times, getting carried off by conversation.  They invited me to have guacamole and tacos before I headed home where they both asked me questions, shared their life passions and laughed.   Their hearts are big, and friendship-centered view of their future is delightful and serious.  They felt more like "a sweet old married couple" in the way they eased in and out of taking turns talking and communicating 'as a couple.'  It was refreshing (and made me want to call my husband just to talk the whole ride home!)  I am grateful for the cool things in life like passion, connection, long talks, lips, effort, favorite Mexican places, stories of old, and red nail polish. God lit up my week when I got to meet you two!  Next up: their wedding! (I had tears streaming down my face during the ceremony.  Not "tearing up," but actual tear stains through my foundation.) "I could hold you for a million years  to make you feel my love."

Erin James | Portrait Session Part II

“i was born with an enormous need for affection,  

and a terrible need to give it.” 

[audrey hepburn]

-- part one of erin's portrait sessions --

The tagline for Erin James' new online magazine is "Vintage values for elegant women, chasing the lost art of being a lady."  She has made references to Kate Middleton, June Cleaver, Grace Kelly and Jane Austen.  Her mind is a landing strip for the "beautiful little things that make life rich."  As Erin shared with me her hopes for this new career direction, I knew I wanted to photograph her with every bit of lady from a different generation.  Given that in her day-in, day-out life Erin's look is a bit more of a "Carrie Bradshaw"/Malibu Barbie/California Baby I want to display her inner Audrey.   These headshots and portraits are more practical and functional (than, say, a black tulle ball-gown), but I love seeing this part of Erin, too.  

--- + --- + --- + --- + --- + --- to book your own i'm kristen portrait session,  especially in the maryland/virginia/dc, or oklahoma to dallas areas E-MAIL ME HERE

Hannah Nicole | Senior Portraits in "Paris"

"Maybe you should go to Paris. It helped me a lot."

"I WAS THERE FOR THIRTY-FIVE MINUTES ONCE. CHANGING PLANES."

 "Oh, but Paris isn't for changing planes, it's... it's for changing your outlook, 

for... for throwing open the windows and letting in... 

letting in la vie en rose." 

Sabrina [1954]

"You've worked hard and you've been through a lot, it's time for you to spread your wings, to go to Paris."  My dad, ever the rom-com-lover, has a knack for making movie references at perfect times in real life (like when I draped onto his bedroom door, with a seven-page handwritten later from Caleb in hand, rocking back and forth with the hinges, asking his advice on what I should do:  "Who are you kidding, he had you from hello."  Or the day after Caleb proposed and I showed dad my ring "I cannot believe that anyone can deserve you, but it apppears I am overruled.")  He was talking to me as I approached my high-school graduation.  I knew he wasn't talking about literal Paris, but he called me Sabrina and thanked me for my years over the garage and wanted me to find myself as a woman.

You know when you meet someone during their years in Paris, and Hannah has just arrived, suitcase in hand.  La Vie en Rose means "the pink-tinged life" or "life in love."  I think in some ways once you go to "Paris" you never really leave, at least not in your heart, and you're always learning yourself.  She's off to Seattle and art school and wet, windy autumn.  It will throw open her windows.

In anticipation for this new 'country' of her life, I wanted to photograph Hannah in a way that she hasn't seen herself.  Hannah is most comfortable in soft, jammie-type clothes with messy hair and chapstick.  She loves cheese, but hates mac-and-cheese, and learned about poise-through-pain during ballet.  She has been writing indirectly about her ache, and recently shared more details of her reality.

Dear Hannah, 

Oftentimes, in my short experience on earth, people need to think more and pay better attention.  Many use words that they don't know what they mean (I'm guilty of this, I've learned -- I try hard to speak accurately) and they create a life of fake happiness and pretend.  That isn't to say they don't have genuine joy or care about good things, but so often there is fear and even inability to be honest in their own brains and hearts.  Their is a flimsiness to their world.  You are unlike these people.  

You, young lady, have balanced the truth of your struggle with sincere respect to your family.  Life hasn't been "The Hannah Show," no, most of the times it's "The Make One More Peanut Butter Sandwich and Fold One More Towel and Tie One More Pair of Shoes Before Math Problems Show," which can be a very boring show some seasons.  But throughout the lonely homework nights, the upheaval, the not-traveling to exotic places, the responsibility, the break-downs, the photographs, the complicated emotions, you have been on a treasure hunt.  You have been unwilling to give-up on beauty and you crave the depth that only pain can teach.  Your self-awareness and kindness are moving.  The adjectives you use when you speak and write are accurate, not excessive or unnecessary (but, I mean, we both want to get better at describing with verbs, right? ;) 

Sometimes, if I can offer a word of advice, I think it's time to pause the search and settle in for an embrace.  There is much you will be, and there is more that you don't know than you do know, nevertheless you are not average nor are you dumb.  But it's okay to 'be' and stand up straight at times.  You have maturity greater than most I know (and I look up to you for that.)  You are more talented, more wise, more happy than I think you give yourself credit for.  I wanted to show you in images what I see in your heart: a knock-out, strong, canny, red woman and you do not fade into the background.  Looking under the couches and in the dirt has rewarded you with many gifts; don't hoard them away waiting for the perfect time, until you are all you want to be.  Pull them out and use with confidence.

God has made you to speak, sometimes with your fingers and sometimes with your pictures and sometimes with your mouth.  He will make others to listen and learn.  I love your easy sweetness and how you giggled with your hands over your mouth, shaking your head in disbelief, when you saw these pictures.  "I can't even look at them!" you said.  "It's...I.. I just look so beautiful."  You said it like you almost believed it, too.  You are Hannah.  You are beautiful.  

You are beautiful because you write me tear-jerking texts that I never respond to and you write again.  You are beautiful because you have laid in dark rooms on various couches, unable to sleep.  You are beautiful because you love your father and you love your mother and you love the family they've given to you.  You are beautiful because you enjoy comfort food, and you meet the Comforter in His meals.  You are beautiful because your eyes.  You are beautiful because you sat in my house, engaging my dad and my little sisters and my baby boy, with sincerity.  You are beautiful because laughing hard brings tears to your eyes and your desire is written all over your face:  You're looking forward to the next time that happens, hopefully in a couple minutes.  You are beautiful because you take the time to listen and take the time to write.  You are beautiful because you are generous.  You are beautiful because you're brave and you're beautiful because you're scared and you're especially beautiful because you know they go hand-in-hand.  You are beautiful because you savor mango salsa.  You are beautiful because you're peaceful. 

Go off to Seattle and be yourself and please keep sharing with us, because learning from you has been one of the most clear 'goods' of this year.  La Vie en Rose, my friend.

Admiringly,

Kristen

"ONCE UPON A TIME THERE LIVED A SMALL GIRL. 

AND LIFE WAS PLEASANT AND VERY, VERY SIMPLE.

BUT, ONE DAY, THE GIRL GREW UP AND WENT BEYOND THE WALLS OF THE GROUNDS

AND FOUND THE WORLD."

--- + --- + --- + --- + --- + --- to book your own i'm kristen family session,  especially in the maryland/virginia/dc, or oklahoma to dallas areas E-MAIL ME HERE

The Little Ladies | Portraits

“behind every beautiful thing, there's some kind of pain.”  

bob dylan

Just about two years ago I took my sisters out for portraits on the beach.  They moved away to Florida, so when I came to visit I couldn't help but to steep in their beautiful childhood.  Being away and then being with gave me artist's clarity and I wanted to photograph them "as they were."  Mom watched on glowingly.  We ran around the sand until the sun set and once it was dark we ate tacos and laughed.  They were free, funny, best of friends and shockingly engaging (I crave their social skills).   The setting of a twilight beach was utopian and timely.

But now, they are different.  They are older and they are wiser and they ever-more engaging and they watched their mother deteriorate before they're innocently round eyes at only ten and twelve years old.  As they traveled with us across the country on a recent road trip, I was able to "people watch" them in concentrated doses and I had the itch to document them again -- how they are now.  All trip I talked about doing a shoot but it was never 'right.'  As we drove through Wyoming, with it's hard, repetitive, self-shrinking constance, I knew it was time.  We had driven through the night and for 16+ hours, but as soon as we arrived to our hotel I threw them dresses and we ran out to the neighboring pastures.

These little girls have held cold, mottled feet and wept into the chest of an unresponsive mother.  They've caught the stomach bug and cleaned themselves up alone, wishing to crawl into bed with the best nurse of all.  They've witnessed the various outbreaks and processes of other grieving family members, which is sometimes scary.  And they sing along to "The Lonely Goatherd" like sparkling buffoons, purposely off-key and definitely amused.  And my goodness: do they know how to savor and dissect a delicious meal (especially Chicago deep-dish pizza.)  The mix of severe and whimsical I see in their faces, watch in their actions is powerful to me.  I am a proud big sister and I am moved to present my silly, smart, sad, strong, shockingly engaging, happy, all-too-grown-up sisters:






















(I think Mama Bear still looked on glowingly.)




--- + --- + --- + --- + --- + --- to book your own i'm kristen family session,  especially in the maryland/virginia/dc, or oklahoma to dallas areas E-MAIL ME HERE

Lake Tahoe + My Family | Personal

"i can't help feeling,  we could have had it all." adele It's no secret that we've had deep sadness in our family this year.  My mom left behind her seven kids and husband in January, and our second kid left behind his mom, dad and brother in May.  But it's also no secret: we have had a dream-like year.  Caleb, Rowdy and I eat all three meals together nearly every day.  We both have more steady work this year than we've both had in years.  We have traveled more this year (after having a baby) than we have any other year of our life.  We've made great progress on our home in Oklahoma.  We've spent significant months with both sides of the family, even though they live 1500 miles apart.  We've been able to enjoy our healthy, weird, sweet, curious son learn and develop a personality. We haven't been away from each other for a single night.  The blessing of these things is not missed on me, and I'm sure life will not continue to be quite like this.  In fact, it could be drastically different one day.  But today?  My whole self will sing a thankful song, and then we'll swim in the blue. (Lake Tahoe was my mother's childhood summer hang-out.  The house her parent's bought when she was two is about 45 minutes from the lake.  I heard stories and saw pictures of long, hot 1960's days, colorful umbrellas against the mountain horizon, and small blonde girls jumping off rocks.  Once my mom had children she brought us back as often as she could.  This trip was Rowdy's first time to this heritage-place.  We went with my two sisters, one brother, and Uncle Scott.  There is power in place.) “Every place is given its character by certain patterns of events that keep on happening there… The more living patterns there are in a place - a room, a building, a lake, or a town -  the more it comes to life as an entity, the more it glows,  the more it has that self-maintaining fire which is the quality without a name.”   Christopher Alexander -- The Timeless Way of Building

Mamas + Cubs | Portraits

inspired by huffington post's recent publishing of ken heyman's photographs of mothers.  an idea like this had been in my brain-idea-bin for a while, and this finally gave me the motivation to follow through with it.

Dear mama and mama-figures (whoever you may be),

Thank you for your hips...

... your cheeks,

... your forearms and the crook above your elbow.

Thank you for your time,

... (your night-time

... and your day-time) -- for a lifetime.

Thank you for monster socks,

for lots of yummy yogurt because it's my favorite and makes me nice and chubby,

... and for your patience.

Thank you for loving me even more now than you did then...


Thank you for calm,

and for your exhausted,

for your proud,

and for all that you've memorized; for all only you know.

Thank you for confidence,

thank you for fluffy towels,

and thank you for being so brave.

Thank you for sharing your house with me,

...your humor with me,

...your body with me.

Thank you for helping me learn life basics,

keeping me safe,

and also clean (the best you can).


You are comfort.
You are the last of the day.

You are where I say good-bye.

You are a queen without a crown.

You are reinforcement, "You can do it!," and proof that: your joy is my joy.

You make me feel like I am the apple of your eye.

You are "I will never let you go"...

... and a shoulder to rest on.

All the "up-up!"s, "hold you?"s, "one more story?"...

... and attention to little and long ideas don't go forgotten.  Maybe unnoticed, but never forgotten.

You are beauty. (And a total weirdo)

You are strong.  (And you cry the best sadness.)

You are hope.  (Even when I'm not with you.)
Thank you for every wrinkle, ache, heartburn, cramp, nap, car ride, prenatal vitamin, hug, lunch, tear, vote of confidence, high-five, eye-contact, long night, laugh, iPhone picture, cheer from the stand, Christmas gift, stretch mark, sip of water after bedtime, coupon-cut, back rub, conversation and moment.

With as much heart as you've given me,
Your cub.


--- + --- + --- + --- + --- + --- to book your own i'm kristen family session,  especially in the maryland/virginia/dc, new york/boston, or oklahoma to dallas areas E-MAIL ME HERE (i'll also be traveling around southern california + the lake tahoe/nevada areas in coming months.)

Erin James | Portait Session

"Whether you are four or forty-four or nineteen,

it's always wonderful to be elegant, 

it's always fashionable to have grace, 

it's always glamorous to be brave,

 and it's always important to own a delectable perfume! 

Yes, wearing a beautiful fragrance is in style at any age!” 

c. joybell c.

Miss Erin James is the "big news" on my husband's side of the family.  Caleb's twin brother, Daniel (of Twins + Violins), has had to endure a few years of "third-wheeling" since we started dating.  So now we couldn't be happier that this girl wandered into his life-path.  They've been dating for a few months now and their relationship is splendid!  They spent most days with us during our month-long trip to Santa Barbara and we got a crash-course in getting to know her.  
Erin is a sassy, independent, curious, self-motivated, big-(BIG)-hearted, feeler.  Her blog and devotional have been extremely successful and she's in the middle of opening an Etsy shop as well as starting an online magazine.  I love her go-getter spirit.  But oftentimes when I'm in the company of the Type-A-motivated I can feel rushed or unable to just sit with no plans.  Erin isn't like that.  As much as she thrives on the satisfaction of job-well-done, she can easily spend hours lingering in meaningful conversation.  She loves to connect on a heart level and generously opens up -- but also generously asks questions to get to know you.  I respect both those qualities so much.  Erin, I consider you a friend and have enjoyed all of our long talks -- from silly to serious.  And hopefully I'll be seeing lots more of you in the years to come ;) Ps. Should I blow the cover on where we got Erin's incredible gown? This $9.98 top from Wal-Mart, the skirt was homemade out of 16-yards of black tulle (I really needed 32 yards, but the little fabric shop only had 16), and a $5 pair of earrings... also from Wal-Mart.  Not a bad way to spend thirty-one dollars and forty-eight cents, huh?
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to book your own i'm kristen portrait or headshot session,  especially in the maryland/virginia/dc, new york/boston, or oklahoma to dallas areas E-MAIL ME HERE (i'll also be traveling around san francisco + the lake tahoe/nevada areas in coming months.)

Lydia Jane Portraits | Butlers Orchard Photography

when the leaving is hard but you go now 

and you feel what you drag across the floor 

because something with these trails are just different 

since they shook the earth in 1904.

tallest man on earth

Before I can photograph anyone, I need to study my subject.  I don't always get to spend time with brides before their wedding day, so I've had to learned nuance and focus hard to pay attention: what does the bride do for a living? What is her e-mail address (a university e-mail, an old childhood e-mail, a "first name last name" gmail?) How big is her bridal party?  Who is the ring-leader amongst the bridal party?  Is the bride the introverted one?  Is she loud but introverted? Does she escape off to apply make-up alone, and return to the group once she's had time to herself?  Is she stereo-type A?  Is she late and doesn't seem to realize, or is she late and losing her marbles under the couch?  How much jewelry is she wearing, wear is it from, and what is it being stored in to transport to the wedding?  What kind of shoes does she have -- practical or glamorous or a hearty effort to achieve both?  There are dozens of minute-by-minute displays to study so I can better understand, and therefore better photograph.  I'm well-trained in processing small details quickly and giving myself a general answer to the question: Who is this person?

So, when my "bestie" of almost 14 years stepped in front of the camera I had an odd moment of panic.  I couldn't be more comfortable with her -- even the her that has changed and is changing.  I trust her, we've analyzed our oddest and best body features together for years (I'm much shorter than her, but my legs are inches longer!  She has a Victorian neck with chiseled collar bones, and I have a tree stump.), I know the stories intimately that have brought her here, and vice versa.  We both lament the problem of being young -- using words we didn't understand, wanting too badly to be an integral part of a grown-up world, trying to be taken seriously! We've been transformed as people on a dual-year basis:  each of us at 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 are at core levels different women, and it's unsettling to look back and think "Oof.  Once I was a little girl who thought I knew what I was talking about."  It's unsettling because we know how particularly intent we were on being mature, smart, well-spoken.  It's unsettling because we realize we'll in a few more years we'll look back on today and think "Oh, what immaturity.  We thought we knew so much."  Change is hard for her, compassion is hard for me.  She can be overly dramatic, I can be overly stoic.  She's very ordely, I'm very scattered.  I know this friend well.  But the reason for my odd moment of panic is that I know her so well, connect to her so quickly, have so much information about her, I wondered if I could document who my friend really is today in her life.

If you were to meet my bestie, you would notice about her the exact same things that drew me to her when I was 11 years old.  You'd notice her brash sense of humor, her "How did she come up with that?!" weird yet spot-on analogies, her extroverted need to be in the middle of people as often as possible, her vocabulary.  You'd hear her various, constant laughing.  You'd want to be close to her energy and buzz.   You'd be interested in her deeply emotional and sincere opinions.  Whenever I've photographed her in the past my instinct was that mouth-wide-open, amused, laughing Lydia.  She is still that, but as she's come into herself ever more, I find myself seeing her confidence, her chin up, her experienced strength, her empathy, her boldness, her quietness.  I've come to her house at midnight to sit with her while she wept on the floor.  I've toured her college art show, admiring her higher-education work.  I've watched somebody else become her very best friend, just like she watched the same thing happen to me.  And very soon I'm going to watch her leave behind her childhood, family, client base, and foundation to move to a new city and life with very little security.  As we photographed, I had the Courageous yet Kind Lydia Jane in my heart and mind.  I love you, old friend.

(Pssst! Go see her beautiful new logo and website ---> l y d i a j a n e . c o m) 

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to book your own i'm kristen portrait or headshot session,  especially in the maryland/virginia/dc, new york/boston, or oklahoma to dallas areas E-MAIL ME HERE (i'll also be traveling around san francisco + the lake tahoe/nevada areas in coming months.)

Jessica Shae | Maternity Portraits

the next time we meet,
a new kind of "hello!"
both our hearts have a secret,
only both of us know.
josh ritter - kathleen

She was born in 1989.  So was I.  She was the firstborn daughter.  So was I.  She became the oldest of seven children.  So did I.  She was homeschooled.  So was I.  After graduating highschool, she went to Chicago for an internship.  So did I.  She was interested in starting a photography business.  So was I.  She liked to travel.  So did I.  She likes Chipotle, tanning in sunshine, getting nails done, wearing maxi dresses (or dresses, period) and the colors coral and Tiffany Blue.  So do I.  I started dating a guy, and three months later she started dating a guy.  I got engaged to a guy, and three months later she got engaged to a guy.  I married my guy, and three months later, she married her guy.  My guy and I became a family of three, and a few months after her guy and she, also, became a family of three.

For better or for worse, Jessica and I have managed to connect over, well, pretty much everything.  She's far neater, and I'm a bit messier and wilder.   She is a bit more thought-through and I'm a bit more impulsive.  She rarely (until) finishes her Chipotle, and I always do.

And she's a friend who understands, feels and knows things about me that very, very few do.  Some things you can never explain or describe.  You just know.  Our life pace-car has been step-by-step for nearly our entire lives.  When we met, we were little blonde whirlwinds, just dreaming about eerily similar things. And four years and a whole lot of story later, we are a little and bigger blonde, living out those eerily similar things.  We had no idea how sweet they'd be.  Or how much fun they would be to enjoy together.



Little Ras has an extraordinary mommy.  Full of insight, thoughtful consideration, life lessons, fight, quirky charm, happy grace, and love.  She loves your daddy, Ras.  And they have quite a story.  She loves you, Ras.  And has for a very, very long time.  In so many ways (which sounds so vague.  Sorry. It's going to have to), Tiny Jessica Shae is a very different person than I met years ago.  But, truly more than that, she is one of the most consistent, sure and stable people I've ever known.  Her course has been tried and proven true, so she's stayed the way.  Her heart has wanted and hunted down good, real desires.  She's been like that for as long as I've been her friend.  You're going to have a life-of-lives being raised by this woman.


Thank you for, well, you know.  Thank you :)  Yesterday was wonderful, and your burrito bump is even better and I can't wait to see you again - hopefully with a little munch in your arms.

Carlotta | Pastor's Girl Ponderings Portraits

and the world's like a science
and i'm like a secret
lingering still - she&him

I'm calling her bluff in the poker game of personal online portrayal.  If you've had the breath-easy bliss of reading the blog of Carlotta, you'd know a number of facts, and you may even come to quite a few educated guesses, about her.
Thoughtful, deep, intoverted, esoteric, wide-eyed and poetic.  We come to her blog and find calm, everyday beauty.  Well-constructed sentences without many exclamation points or smiley faces.  The colors are neutral, the patterns are non-existent and the fonts are classic.  No hot pink and polka-dotted for this girl.  People ask if she ever has a bad day?! Because life appears so perfect!  Her mind seems as interesting and full of treats as her attic-like bedroom we love to see pictures of.  We probably imagine her waking up, with lips that smell like hyacinths and armpits that smell like bookstores, and starting the day by just staring out the window for a few minutes, blinking slowly and breathing silently.  With a handmade knit throw dripping off her bed, she probably lifts an original German leather notebook off her thrifted nightstand, flows down the stairs with perfect posture and creates prayers of sweet happiness in calligraphy, while eating curds and whey.


Everyone.

She has us fooled.

Bravo, Carlotta, bravo!

When I drove up to the Tiev's household, the first thing I saw was the neighbors house.  Four little mangy-headed, bare-footed, beautiful small women, fumbling with a sign and screeching "GIRL SCOUT COOKIES! GIRL SCOUT COOKIES FOR SALE!"  I recognized a couple of their faces.  They waved and watched me park. "Is she buying some? I think she is.  Maybe." was written all over their smooth faces.  (I did buy some, by the way.)  Carlotta was standing across the street and ran to meet me.  She kind of tripped and we oddly hugged.  Her voice was much kid-d-ier than I thought it would be.


Yes, she is just as stunning in person as she is online.  So.  Don't make yourself feel better about that.  She is just extraordinary.  Our day together began with a tour of the house, meeting her family, and seeing the new chickens.  Then she showed me all over Tulsa.  Her church.  Her favorite cafe.  A hotel Britney Spears and Lady GaGa stayed at.  Underground tunnels.  Gelatto.  The "hipster" area.

She got lost (nearly) constantly.  She left me in an elevator.  She took me through some parking garages (by mistake).  She dripped gelatto in her hair and washed her hands with my ice (I offered, for the record.)   She talked on and on about different projects she started on and never finished.  She got her skirt stuck in her barstool at lunch and chided herself playfully "WHY am I so awkward?!"  She talked and chatted and joked and zoned-out and goofed and skipped and slouched.  And I finally said "You are SO different than you seem online!"  She laughed, that beautiful, real, knowing laugh of hers.  She looked just like MiMi on the side of the road behind a picnic table full of primary colored cookie boxes.

"Yeah, I know.  I really do have deep thoughts!  And I'm very careful about what I put online.  I don't know... I don't want to look back someday and be like 'Ew, gross!' or, like, have a potential boss find some crazy things about me on the internet.  Yeah.  I don't know.  My blog is me.  Like, a part of me.  I just have to sit down and write and think about it - I'm not like that all the time."

Hear me out: she is educated, sickeningly discerning, very lovely - in word, action and thought, gentle, mysterious and quite well-rounded.

However.  She is a ITSSOFLUFFYIAMGONNADIE goofball.  She has colorful stories to tell, and a cheesy sense of humor, and is sometimes "slow" to get sarcasm, and does a great money-walk... and tries to steal money (um. yeah.  Ask her about it ;).  She seems far older than her age.  In fact, all day I felt like she was older than me.  But she somehow pulls off "seeming older" with this weird little girl crazy.  Like, I would say "She seems like a 24 year old with a 10 year old's personality."  As opposed to "She is a very mature 17 year old, who seems more like she's going on 30."

She carries herself with grace and gladness and giddy.  She isn't misrepresenting herself on her blog - that girl and that mind is very much a part of her.  The whole Anthro-come-to-life thing is there.  It's just not all.  And I for one found myself more amused than "philosophically inspired."  She is so much fun.  She's hilarious!  She's a ham!  She's truly great.  




So, please, by all means.  Keep reading and loving her blog.  Keep being amazed at her ideas, taste, language and online journal.  And know that behind those posts, sitting behind a screen, somewhere in Tulsa, is a kooky, bilingual, chaos-and-calm, whippersnapper, doll of a girl, who is more herself than most adults you'd ever meet.


You're a keeper, Carlotta.  Don't get used to hearing it: you're rare.  And brilliantly memorable.  Especially when it comes to driving directions ;)

Rachel Leigh + Allix B | Portraits

it seems like one of those nights,
we ditch the whole scene and end up dreaming
instead of sleeping.
22 - taylor swift

I connect with people by trying to figure them out.  In some ways this a neat and interesting quality, and in other ways it's problematic.  I can relatively quickly watch, process and conclude "what a person is like" but I can also turn people into a "project." Which is bad.   But.  I often have one specific moment where, in my mind, I finally "get" someone.

For Rachel Leigh, it happened while I was grilling hamburgers.  Rachel has been a longtime blog-friend.  I've always been fascinated with her crazy long hair (can your hair give my hair lessons?!), her simple and good reminders of happy and true things, and her celebratory happiness for her friends.  I guessed (deduced) that she was a fresh, kind, talented and smart girl.  Which, she is.

From what I could tell online, Rachel seemed demure and ballerina-like.  And almost as if she had been dropped into 2013 from a Green Gable somewhere a number of decades back.  Not because she looked old, but because she seemed charmed in a southern grace, bonnet and dress, walk in the fields and read sort of way.

Last week, Rachel and her best one, Allix (who you'll meet in just a second) came all the way up from Texas to be my guests and to "break the cyber barrier" and MEET. IN. PERSON.  Rachel instantly surprised me.  Though she was just as kind, graceful and intelligent as I imagined she would be, she was not nearly as quiet or reserved.  Rachel is full of conversation, question, thoughts, stories, facts and humor.  She is extremely well-spoken, quick on her feet and bright.  Her vocabulary is golden, her opinions are thoughtful and her confidence is strong.  I loved it.

And it all dawned on me while we were visiting Caleb and the boys at the house.  My tradition is to bring hamburger meat up to them for lunch.  Every day.  We charcoal grill.  Patty to grill, patty to bun, bun to mouth.  No utensils, plates, napkins, toppings.  They like it hot, well-done and fast.  They've cut the hamburger meet with their saws (which is gross) and use 2x4's as a serving platter.  But since I had some ladies with me, I tried to be a little more hospitable.  I brought some fruit, chips, paper plates and water bottles.  While our lady-lunch was grilling Rachel asked if I had plates.  "Yes!  They are in that bag on the ground." "Do you want me to get them for you?" "Eh, we have a little while before the burgers are done.  I'm good. Thanks though!"  A minute or two later I see her pawing through the bag. She stops.  Comes and stands by me.  I felt like she was on the verge of saying something, but she didn't.  I continue talking with Allix and her mother (who joined us for the day! So much fun.) and I catch Rachel eyeing the bags again.  She finally blurted out "Do you want me to get the plates out now so that when the burgers are ready, they'll be ready?"  And it clicked for me.

"Rachel!" I laughed "I figured it out!  You're a control freak!" Hahaha.  "Yes, go get the plates.  You're very concerned about them!"  She immediately started laughing too. "No, no! I just, well, I want to help and...!" I cut her off.  And I really was mostly teasing.  More than control-freak, this is what The Paper Plate Pleading showed me about her: she is an initiator.  I think I thought of her more as a sweet follower.  But no.  She is a bold, aware, gentle initiator.  Whether it's trips or stories or practical needs or match-making... she is taking action.  I think it's an incredibly beautiful and important quality, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that in her.  Though I teased her about the plates for the rest of the day, I was more impressed than anything.

Rachel, I loved meeting you and am justsoglad you made the trip up to visit with me.  See you again soon, yes? Oh.  And never forget that us "Leigh's" will always hold a special place in each other's hearts ;)

If you know who Rachel is, you definitely know who Allix B is.  And vice-versa.  They're often asked "Are you two sisters?!" And they seem to be with each other all day, every day.  Which, I know they aren't.  But it's rare to "find" one online without the other nearby.  They're the best kind of best friends. Different in nearly every way, yet too many similarities to count.  I would have been actually sad if I hadn't been able to meet them both together :)  Thanks for making me happy, guys.

Now, while I had "imagined" Rachel as more on the hushed side, I pictured Allix being a CRAZYGOOFBALLFIREWORKALLTHEDAYLONG.   I was certainly "closer" in my guess with her than I was with Rachel ;)

However!  For being only 17, I was, again, surprised and impressed with Allix's sense of calm and stability while maintaining giddy, dimple-y, instant happiness.  I decided that she writes much more exclaimated than she acts (at least during first impressions), but she is really as happy as she seems.  Her cute sense of style, her smart business sense, her love of words and writing well, and her obvious talent with a camera are just cherries on this sweet sundae.  

I'm sure she has her moments (who doesn't?) but Allix was much less "dumb blonde" and much more "Eva Gabor."  She isn't just funny quips, easy laughter and bright colors.  She has a processing, analyzing, deep brain - and it's not hidden.  It's obvious.  She knows what she likes and doesn't like, because she has thought about it.  She isn't "about the trends."  She is gracious and patient and really just so kind.

It was great getting to watch Allix enjoy, friend and even play with her mom all day long, too.  They have such a trusting, close relationship.  The kind where you finish each other's sentences and mutually care deeply about the other's opinions and preferences.  I'd be willing to bet that most of Allix's relationships are like that: she is all in, and she is all in because she cares.  It's impressive, and I hope never ever fades.  You must come visit again.  I won't stand for it otherwise :)



Girls!  You were such a lovely part of my week.  And I want the whole world to know: Rachel and Allix are so much wonderful.  Follow them and be their friend, and get ready for fun times. 

Natasha + David | 4 Year Anniversary Shoot

so kiss me and smile for me
tell me that you'll wait for me
john denver - i'm leaving on a jet plane

He was leaving.  When he returned he'd be leaving again.  Going and waiting and coming, for months and years of his life.   But his commitment to the United States Military, waged war with his commitment to his Natasha.  She knew he had to go, and loved to be his wherever he was.  Semper Fidelis! On a stony February day, they promised the grandest promise: to never leave you or forsake you, until God by death shall separate us.   Their simple ceremony in a local park, with their mothers as witnesses, was an act of longing, adoration, support and love.  Within hours, David was leaving.  But not forsaking, not "leaving."  His body would be away, but his heart was always with her.  She sent him off, with her love leading him home.


Over their four year marriage, they've care-packaged, surprise-visited, texted, messaged, wrote, missed, cried, become extra creative, dreamed, reenforced and remained.  In 2010 they were able to fit in a candy, colored, cheerful "wedding" ceremony and reception.  Their friends and family smiled, and the sun made the day oh-so bright.  Before long, he was gone again.  But they worked to keep their love and hearts young, smiling and, yes, bright!







And here there are, with resilient affection and grateful closeness.  David is officially a civilian.  They celebrated their anniversary together.  They painted ceramics, side by side.  (Hilarious ceramics at that: a garden gnome and Harry Potter coffee mug.  Cute nerd alert!)  You can see it in their eyes.




The last four years have been beautifully long, and worth the sacrifices.  They are still, and calm.  Resting and united.  Still full of candyland spunk, with a seal of faithfulness and maturity.

Happy Four Years.  I'm thrilled you are in person, under the same roof, celebrating together.  Well done, both of you.  Soak this up.

Copious | San Francisco Photography

co·pi·ous: fullness, plentiful, rich

"i'm very used to playing 'the tomboy' or 'the sarcastic cynic.' that's my go-to. playing 'the vulnerable of a real girl that's in real womanlike situations'? where it's romanticized? i'm a little nervous about that."kristen bell

Copious is for the people.  A friendly marketplace on the streets of www dot lane.  A familiar place, where you can buy and sell beautiful clothing and art, where you can make friends along the way.  Pinterest and Facebook and eBay and a lookbook all lumpshed into one.  "You are not alone!"  It's the place where you pass by, and look into a strangers eye's and say "Good morning!" instead of avoiding human interaction.  It's where artists can sell their thread creations, where Spring Clean can mean a few extra spending dollars, where your same-ol' same-ol' becomes somebody else's brand new inspiration.  It's where stories are told about clothes, and why people care about what they wear. For this shoot, Copious pulled from it's closet.  They wanted to represent a group of girls, not necessarily from a specific city but from any place.  Miami?  Seattle?  Dallas?  New York? San Francisco?  A hard-working girl, a girl making her way in life, on a budget, but ready to impress.  Social, sharp and beautiful.  Walking out the door for lunch with her girls before the big presentation at the office.  Enjoying life, in her "brand new" Copious outfit - that fits her body, her personality and her flair. 

Lauren Loo Bear | Child Portraits

“she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, after time,
 be herself a grown woman...
and how she would gather about her other little children,  and make their eyes bright and eager 
and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows,  and find a pleasure in all their simple joys." lewis carroll - alice in wonderland She is full of life, personality, expression and beauty.   My baby sister is kind of a young woman.  Enjoy getting to know one of the best people I know.

Enjoy People | My Three Sisters

“when will you learn that there isn't a word for everything?”  
nicole krauss

Katelynn, my bunk bed buddy, my stylist, my dare devil, my "all the world is a song" sister.  She's the girl who loves everyone and everyone loves.  She is a state-champion soccer player, practically straight A student, adorable sense of humor, stunning singer, a whoa-kind-of-beautiful and a little teeny bit "dumb blonde."  But don't worry, it just make her all the more fun.  I love her.  And I'm so proud of her as she finishes up her last year of highschool.

My particular inspiration for this shoot was my favorite Grace Kelley photograph. Sigh.

Lauren, my baby baby girl, the bearliest bear, the wittiest, quickest, funniest person in the whole family, lover of snuggles with the prettiest blue eyes this side of the Mississippi.  She is sociable and gregarious, yet extremely sensitive and affectionate.  I love this beautiful and youngest Snyder girl.  To quote her: "Shake it, boo!"

Shannon, my fierce athlete, who usually scores by implementing a reign of terror regime on the other team; she's fearless.  She's confident, involved.  As my dad likes to say "Must be hard to run the world, huh Shannon?" But she's also incredible with babies, children and animals.  She's responsible, gentle and truly kind.  I love my beautiful Shady.

While they are only 15 months apart, sometimes they seem closer.  We all agree they don't look alike and that they are complete opposite personalities (not to mention have opposite interests! and giftings!).  At the same time, they are never more right and themselves then when they are enjoying each other.  I love to watch them play.  Take a little look into life with them:

Feet, feet, feet.

As different as they look, I love their similar "Snyder" profiles.  They, as well as Katelynn, have that perfect button nose.  Always been a little jealous of it ;)

Laur.En's.Faaaaaace.  If you ever need someone to cheer you up, send me a line and I'll have Lauren get in touch with you.

Shannon looks so grown up and mature in these.  What a lovely lady she is.

I've posted these images before, but I am continually inspired by the move "Like Crazy."  I finally got to use that inspiration in a shoot!

I hope you enjoyed the visual story of my sisters today.  Sometimes there aren't words for everything, for every day spent with people you love.  Today there are pictures; pictures of people I deeply love and enjoy.