My daughter Cassi will be turning eleven on friday…I hardly remember my life “B.C.” (before Cassi). I know I had a lot more free time on my hands but I don’t remember cherishing the moments as much as I do now.

Cassi and I met friends up at Petunias and Pomegranates in Alpine to see how the new owner had changed the gardens and while we were there we took advantage of the gorgeous grounds and pumpkin patch they have there. As a photographer it is always a fabulous find to go to undiscovered picturesque places for portrait sessions. Petunias and Pomegranates was no exception! We were able to wander the grounds and enjoy the setting…all while photographing our daughters. The wonderful ladies working there encouraged us to let the children run around and play which is a refreshing change from other places we have been to!

Here are a couple of the pictures I took of Cassi (and her friend Lexi) today. Lexi and Cassi have been friends since birth….actually before birth. Lexi’s Mom Lori and I told each other on the same phone conversation that we were pregnant. We went through our entire pregnancies together and had our daughters the same week (Lexi on Monday and Cassi on friday!). These poor girls have been tortured together since they were 2 months old and we laid them in the snow next to each other for a “picture opportunity”!

They have both turned into beautiful young girls and I can only hope they stay friends for a lifetime! Happy Birthday girls!
Enjoy!

Last night, I (Donna) had the pleasure of photographing the Honselaar hotties…the intent was to photograph the youngest for her birthday pics and the older two in their dance costumes. As a photographer, I believe that I have the responsibility to not only capture smiling faces but also to catch those single moments in time that you can never get back. Every once in a while I capture a moment that says what words can’t…the pleasure that Cindy gets raising three gorgeous, sweet little girls. I have photographed Cindy and family for almost 10 years and watched her girls grow from tiny infants into the sweet things they are today!

This was an impromptu shot of Cindy and Addison I came across while editing. I think it is my favorite image ever of Cindy! Thank you Cindy for trusting me to capture your daughters as they get older and more beautiful every year!

Enjoy!

Happy Labor Day everyone!

Just a quick post to share some of the pictures I took at my nephew Darrin’s football game on Saturday. It was a great game after a shaky first half and they beat Mesa College 47-13 (37 points in the second half!). Darrin {Number 32} scored his first touchdown as a college player and ran the ball quite a few times. I truly enjoyed the experience of photographing on the field and am looking forward to all of the other games this season! There are many exciting players to watch on this team and they have a coaching staff that are top notch!!

During the football game, there were hot air balloons flying over Cathedral Catholic High School (Mesa is using these fields while theirs undergoes renovations) and right over the football field. We had amazing weather and the clouds were doing some phenomonal things. Here is one of the pics I took between plays!

Geri and I are huge football fans and during football season, have a hard time talking to each other while a football game is on…one of us is usually cheering (or cussing) for one of our favorite teams and we don’t get much done. I have been lucky enough to have been able to follow my nephew since his years in flag football. The last four years he was a pivotal part of the Patrick Henry football organization and anyone who knows him can tell you he lives and breathes football and has since he could walk. My sister, Debbie (his Mom…when my sisters and I aren’t taking credit for being his Mother), tells the story of watching him play football games against his toughest opponent when he was a kid. He would run play after play in the backyard…against himself. Yes…he played the offense…and the defense. He would run the play as an offensive player and then switch it up and be the defensive player the next time around. She even tells of the time she and her husband watched Darrin give himself a penalty for some wrong move he made on the field.

We always knew he was something special! He has always been a team leader and his teammates can attest to the fact that, not only was he a great leader on the field, but a great friend off the field. He played with the same group of guys for many years and they all looked forward to their Senior season. One of his friends even was quoted in the newspaper as saying that Darrin was the franchise…he made the Patriots a playoff team!

Sadly, I think it was 3 games into the season, at the beginning of one of their home games, Darrin (playing quarterback) took a bad hit to his knee. He went down and did not get back up. I have never been in a stadium as silent as that one was when two people had to help him off the field. To say there were tears in people’s eyes on and off the field would be pretty accurate. You could feel the upset in the air at the game when he left in the golf cart to go to ER. His buddies rallied and won the game that night and as soon as the game ended many of them headed to the emergency room to find out the fate of not just Darrins’ knee, but their entire football season.

Darrin was never able to return to the high school football field (His team did make it to the playoffs while he cheered, mentored and “coached” from the sidelines) but has now found himself in an amazing situation at Grossmont Community College. He is going to play the position he loves so much (running back) for a team that “Sporting News” quoted as the best in the Nation amongst community colleges. We are so excited to see him play at a college level for a team that surely is going to have a wonderful season!

I inquired about placing an ad in their program and was asked by one of the coaches if I knew anyone interested in taking pictures for the team since the last photographer moved away from the school. To say I was thrilled to be given this opportunity to be able to photograph my nephew for another season is an understatement. I will be helping out by providing pictures at the away games for them so they have images for the insert added each week in the program detailing the previous week’s games. His first game is this Saturday at Cathedral High against Mesa CC at 6pm if anyone is interested in seeing my nephew in action! We would love to see you there!

Here is the ad Geri created to go in the program. She did an amazing job as always! And yes…he is jersey number 32 again this year!!!

Enjoy!

Believe it or not…we got a lot done! Our associates kept themselves busy just long enough that we were able to create to-do lists that will allow us to continue working on business related things early in the morning or late at night…whenever we find the time! I have to say everyone should look into a job that you can stop and have three cake breaks whenever the need arises….can you imagine the happiness factor?

Here are a few images from our day!

Enjoy!

I love this image of these two!

Being moms as well as photographers, means that our kids are around our work all the time. I know that for me (Geri), I will often joke with clients saying something like, “my assistants and I will be delivering your portraits.” Which is just code for, my kids will be with me.

Our children have really been there through all of this growing we’re doing. They are truly the greatest blessings EVER, and they support and encourage us. True, there are times when they are just done with watching us work crazy hours or sticking a camera in their face, but overall, they like what we do and help however they can.

We are proud to announce  that from now on, our little helpers will no longer be referred to as Assistants, but have received the title they have worked hard for… Associates. Thank you guys for all that you do, and all that you bring to our lives. We love you so much more than words can say.

Meet our Associates, Charlie, Cassi & Colton.

At this time, I would like to give a very big thank you to Associate Cassi for being incredibly thoughtful. She baked a cake for us and covered it with homemade frosting to celebrate the launch of the website and blog. She even decorated the cake with colors to match our blog! We have had a lot of great feedback on the site and blog, but I don’t know of much that can top the thoughtfulness of a 10 year old going to such lengths to honor us. Thank you VERY much, Cassi!

I (Donna) just got off the phone with Geri (if you know Geri you will know how strange that it is at 11:30 at night!) and we are totally excited to have this combined blog to share everything going on with us! I told her I had to post tonight!

If you are familiar with our lifestyles…I am the night person…she is the day person. We joke that we are truly on call 24 hours a day between the two of us. I am glad we can make a combined effort to share our work with everyone and stay on each other to stay current.  We have a lot of good things in the works and I could not be any luckier than to share this adventure with Geri and her family and friends.

I tried to post a video of a recent wedding we photographed and was not having much luck so I will have to actually read the instructions on how to do so before I get to share Angie and Tom’s amazing wedding event!

Welcome to our new blog!