kachikphoto

Happy Easter!

kachikphoto

Dear Blog,
I miss you. I know I have neglected you. Please forgive me...and here are some recent pics to make you feel better!  They are a little old--Anna's 2nd birthday party...

   

Winter Biking

Anna and I have been snowed in...so we decided to make some fun of our own.  She wanted to ride her bike...ol!:

 

Havin' fun rolling down the hill!

 

All was well and good...until the "crash and burn" phase...

 

N

Not so happy now...

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Anna is saying "bad bike!  bad bike!" is saAying, "BAD BIKE!  BAD BIKE:

  

"Bike gave me Boo-Boo, Mommie!"

 

Anna doesn't stay angry long!  :)

 

Hope you all are enjoying the snow--Happy Holidays!

 

 
 
 
 

I LOVE restoring images!

So, working on old images is one of my favorite things to do.  It's like an escape for me...the only thing I think about is how to make the image better.  No stress, no work problems, no worries...just working in the moment.  Here are a few examples of what I've done...the first one is my Grandpa George Haag.  My father told me he was probably in North Dakota on a hunting trip with a friend.  I LOVE this image--the dog is great...the look on Grandpa's face...the car...LOVE IT!

Here is the ORIGINAL:

And here is what I did to it:

 

"I DON'T DO WEDDINGS...I DON'T DO WEDDINGS...unless...

...you are a photog friend who happens to ask for a back-up photog for wedding!  Well, a wonderful, talented photographer, Marigan O'Malley[ http://www.mompphotography.com/]asked me to be a 2nd photog for a wedding shoot.  I have to give her kudos for taking a chance on a rookie like me, I hope I don't disappoint...the wedding was beautiful and I hope we were able to capture the moments like the couple wanted.  I learned a lot in just one evening:  shooting a wedding is very stressful, fun, exciting, and rewarding at the same time.  We both worked hard...had several technical difficulties to overcome but hopefully came out with some great images.  I was using a new flash...I HATE flash, but am pushing myself to learn how to use it so I can expand my skills.  It's kind of like wearing a retainer on my teeth---painful but the final outcome looks good!

Here are some images I caught at my first ever wedding shoot:

The Bride walking into the church...

 

The cake being "walked" into the church...I realize this image is fuzzy and blurry but I really like it that way.  To me it adds some drama--the movement shows the intensity of the moment, the rush to get the cake into the church...

 .

The handsome groomsmen..

 

A toast to the happy couple...

A very pretty flower-girl...

...and finally, a very happy couple--seeing each other for the first time on their special day...auhhhh!!!!!

I have a good feeling about this couple...and I hope seeing their happiness makes you reach over and hug your own special-one a little closer tonight!

Happy Halloween!

Here's a quick snapshot of our night with Anna...we decided not to take her out in the neighborhood.  She stayed home and passed out candy to all the trick or treaters.  She was scared of all the different kids in costumes coming to our door...but she had a good time overall...be safe everyone!

P.S.  Anna's left eye is swollen because she was stung by a bee at daycare Friday!  Poor girl!  She was tough though...only cried for a bit.  

 

 

Sunflowers

I love sunflowers!  I called my friends Stef and Jeff on the spur of the moment and we headed to the sunflower field in Montgomery County.  What a great way to spend the day!  Thanks guys!

 

 

After shooting we stopped at Poole's General Store for a quick drink of tea...what a great mom & pop store. 

 

Fall Cleaning...

Well, my pantry finally got the best of me...so I decided to clean it out.  It was a mess!  Of course, I had a little helper with me and together we got a big project done--but not without having a bit of fun too!  Check out Anna trying to sit down in the Campbell soup box:

Maybe backing up will work...

Almost got it...

"I did it!"But wait...the task is not complete without Mickey and Minnie too!

"Whew!  Cleaning the pantry is HARD work!"

Butterflies and Babies

Well, between babies and butterflies I've been pretty busy lately...here is the last installment of Quinn and his parents.  They are such a happy family...

On the homefront: Anna has been watching a Monarch caterpillar metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly.  I didn't have the time to shoot the caterpillar but here is beautiful Monarch just after she came out of her cocoon.  By the way, how do I know "she" is a "she"?  Well, males have a spot near the bottom of their wings...which she does not have...and females have thicker black veins, which she does have!  We named her "Betty" and set her free. 

 

The monarch is the only butterfly that migrates both north and south (like birds), but no individual monarch makes the entire round trip.  Our "Betty" will deposit her eggs for the next generation (four generation total) going north as far as Canada. 

The last generation of the summer lives about 7 months as they make their way to their overwintering home (which could be as far a Mexico).  This last generation reproduces in February and March and starts the entire cycle again. 

By the way, when a butterfly comes out of its cocoon the first thing they do is fill their wings with liquid...see the drop of liquid?  

Back in the Swing again...

We've had a wonderful summer thanks to Anna, friends, family, and good health...now it's time to get settled again into the school/work/daycare routine.  It's a mixed bag for me--sad the summer is over but glad to see work colleagues and to have some structure again.  Are you like me and get more done when you have less time?  Anyway...

...along with routine comes photoshoots--here is a wonderful new family I had the blessing to capturing.  You can't tell but it was drizzling out and we were almost going to cancel the shoot:

Is she a happy mommy, or what?

And is he a proud pappa?  

...and how happy is this little guy?!  

Don't those eyes just melt your heart?!  Watch out girls!  Speaking of girls...I'm looking for a referral for a newborn girl.  If you know of anyone, please send them my way...the last 5 shoots have been boys!  What's up?  So, anyone who refers a newborn girl gets a free 5x7 of their choice...

"Girls just wanna have fun..."