Life as ArT

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July from the staff at K. Weatherwax Photography:  Amanda, Kaitlyn, Randy and Karen.  This is Taylor, ready to celebrate.

Congratulations, Graduates!

It is not lost on me that I am often present at special family milestone moments.   From newborn portraits to senior pictures, I feel an awesome responsibility to do my best.  Recently, I was asked by four families to photograph three cousins and the two foreign exchange students who stayed with the families this school year.  The goal was to get fun images of the five grads-to-be in their caps and gowns.  We all had a great time, one they will remember, I’m sure (I know I will).  Here’s an image from that session:

 

While I’m at it, I’d like to congratulate all the seniors I have photographed this year, including senior reps Katie Randol, Krysta Reef, and Travis Yoakum (THANK YOU!).  Here are some of my favorite senior pics:

 

 

 

 

NILMDTS - Our first March for Babies!

I thought it would be a great idea to put together a team to walk in the March for Babies this year.  Some of you know that I am the area coordinator for the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org, a network of wonderful volunteer photographers who photograph babies who pass at birth or soon after.  The purpose of the images is to help the grieving parents to heal.  So, what better thing for us to do than to help raise money for the March of Dimes – you know, eliminate the need for  NILMDTS.  So, one of the fabulous volunteer photographers, Kristin Taylor, took the idea and made it happen – Thank you, Kristin!  YOU ROCK!  We wore fuschia t-shirts with the NILMDTS logo on them.  The 15+ walkers raised $660!  A big THANK YOU to my generous customers, also!

So, on Saturday, the 25^th of April, we gathered at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds in Lafayette to March for Babies.  And, wouldn’t you know it, my knee decided to cause me grief so I opted to not walk.  But, I was there to see the team off.

Teams in matching t-shirts were there to help babies born too soon or with birth defects.  Some walked to honor a child – Sam, Olivia, Lydia... 

This march included children of all ages:  in strollers, wagons, carried in slings, kids on scooters.  There were even some moms-to-be. 

Oh, and let’s not discount all the dogs there to support babies – lot’s of canine support at this walk.  Very  fun!

These girls in pink are part of the NILMDTS team. You can do it Kristin!

Here are some of the wonderful people I work with at Purdue.  Hello Purdue Team!  Kudos!

What a wonderful thing to see all the generous, caring people who came out on this warm Saturday in April to help all babies get a good start in life.  Maybe there will be a second annual walk for the NILMDTS Team in 2010...  Maybe my knee will let me walk, too.

Bunnies, Closeups, and Life as Art (dot, dot, dot)

Extra!  Extra!  Read the "Life as Art" spring news post card here - mailing soon:

    

And on the flip side ...

     

Wanted! Senior Reps

It’s that time again - time to photograph senior reps so they can begin saving money on fabulous senior pictures.  Here's some senior pics from the graduating class of 2009:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But before we can photograph, we still need to find reps for the following schools:

Delphi

Rossville

Carroll

Harrison

Lafayette Jeff

West Lafayette

McCutcheon

Twin Lakes

If ... 

     ... you are a high school junior this year,

     ... you are responsible,

     ... you are motivated to save your parents some money and make them proud,

     ... you appreciate good photography (artful photography),

     ... well, you want to look good in your senior pics ...

Contact the studio at 765-564-4626.

First Baby Plan "Graduate"

Mairi is the first “graduate” of the Little Miracles Baby Plan.  I LOVE the Baby Plan.  It means I get to see the baby 4 times in their first year.  I photographed Mairi at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and then at 1 year.  Each time she came for her portraits I marveled at her growth and development.  Here’s Mairi at 1 year.

 

Happy Birthday, beautiful Mairi!  You are truly a Little Miracle.  Hope to see you for senior pictures in a few years!

Phoenix, Anne Geddes and My Passion

Phoenix, Arizona is like spring this time of year.  While pipes were freezing in Indiana, birds were singing and the grass was green in Phoenix.  I was fortunate enough to attend the biggest photography convention in the US in Phoenix a couple weeks ago.  Imaging USA is the annual convention for the Professional Photographers of America (I’m a member).  So, imagine getting to immerse yourself in your passion for 3 days.  It was so much fun and so inspiring!  I attended many classes where the “superstar” photographers shared their secrets.  And, the trade show was so BIG, I never did see it all.  I returned to Indiana with some really good ideas and new products for my customers and my studio, for example:

• New frames – I can now offer customers wonderful frames from 2 very different companies, including whimsical hand painted frames (the corner samples just arrived!)

• New design ideas for albums, memory books, and storyboards

• Ideas and software to improve my workflow

• Posing, lighting, and photo editing tips

• Oh, I bought a wonderful big, fluffy tutu for photographing little girls – so fun!

• And lots more…

Perhaps the best and most memorable thing I did while at the convention was attend the talk given by the famous Australian baby photographer, Anne Geddes (http://www.imagingusa.org/geddes.php).  You know her work on calendars and in books, I’m sure – babies in flower pots, in flowers, even in cabbages, etc. – amazing, touch-your-heart, make-you-smile images that compel you to appreciate the miracle that life is and how amazingly beautiful babies are.  She talked about how she was driven to photograph babies and how her career has progressed to the present.  I was mesmerized by her talk and the beautiful images she displayed on the screen at the theater. She is a fabulous and humble speaker.

Here are some images of beautiful 3 month old babies taken recently at my studio:

So, I’m working to make 2009 the best year yet at K. Weatherwax Photography studio.  Juggling two jobs has been a challenge, even more so than I expected.  I have worked at Purdue University (supporting computers) for 19 years.  I’ve worked full time at Purdue until the last couple years when I switched to a 4 day work week while building my business at the studio.  A few weeks ago I dropped down to 3 days a week at Purdue.  I should be able to do a better job of keeping up now – another day to be immersed in my passion – photographing people!

Christmas at the Humane Society

I hope you had a Merry Christmas!  I’ve not posted lately because, well – how could I spend the time working on the blog when I’m behind on proofing pictures.  Today, I was able to finally get caught up to a respectable “behind.”  Yea!  Now, I need to catch you up on what I’ve been up to, besides trying to catch up.

On December 14^th, I took my equipment to the Almost Home Humane Society in Lafayette.  This was my second year to be the photographer for the Holiday Open House.  I donated my time and equipment to help the AHHS raise money.  My job was to take pictures of dogs and cats, some dressed in their holiday finery, with Santa and his elf.  Then, we quickly print a 4X6 picture for the owners to take home.  This is so much fun.  Picture this:  the set - backdrop, trees, and bench - is in a big room with lots of people, animals and photography equipment.  The trick is to wait for the dog or cat to look at the camera.  Someone stood behind me with a squeaky toy.  The owners would call the pet’s name.  The dog or cat would look left, then right, then left, then right, then at the camera and Snap!  - everyone cheered.  So much fun.  And what amazing animals!  Anyway, here are a few images from the Santa shoot.  Can you believe these beautiful animals?

 

 

Oh, I've added the AHHS as one of my "Worthy Links."  If you are an animal lover, think about helping them out.  They can use donations. 

One of the Good Guys

Today was a sad day for our family.  My 52-year-old cousin, Tom, was laid to rest after a valiant fight with cancer.  Though I had little contact with him in his adult years (the annual family reunion), I remember the child he was and I knew that he was one of the good guys.  His son spoke at the funeral about how family always came first for his dad.  That is so admirable.  So, I’m dedicating today’s blog to my cousin Tom.  May you rest in peace.  May your family find comfort together in the memories they hold of you.

So, having said that, I thought it would be appropriate to share this image with you all.  I know it will make you smile and maybe help you to get some Christmas spirit no matter what life brings your way today.  This is Lilly. 

A note to my customers:  It’s been too long since my last post.  I’ve been so very busy.  I’ve been working late and making do with only 4-6 hours of sleep every night; working 32 hours at my day job, and many more at the studio.  A few friends and family warned that something was going to give.  Well, it did.  I blame my lack of sleep for my ability to catch any little germ my wonderful Petri-dish grandchildren may have.  This last one knocked me out of commission for three days (not a good time of year for a one-woman shop to be out of commission).  So, I am now scrambling to catch up to where I was before when I was working so hard to catch up – yikes!  I have apologized to those of you whose appointments were cancelled because of my illness and want to THANK YOU for being so understanding. 

Life as Art ... for the Holidays

Well, November snuck up on me and I'm just getting my holiday deals out to my customers.  Here's the mailer.  Click to enlarge the image:

Here's the inside:

If you'd like to be added to my mailing list, send an email to karen@kweatherwaxphoto.com.

Have a great November!