life. photos. scrapbooking.

Blog, blog. Where for art thou blog?

Pardon my absence, but sweet, sweet, baby Jesus - last week was kind of a train wreck. In some good ways - and some not so good.

I'll try to sum it up in one sentence.

Both kids had hand foot and mouth all week long... mostly just in the mouth (gross), I woke up in pure darkness more than once to get myself to the shoot location for the next Blue Sky Spring 2013 Catalog... and tried to keep the creative photographic juices flowing for two solid days... I voted and then suffered a full days depression... I edited and posted two client galleries... dug myself out from under 175+ emails... and I saw BIEBER live in concert. Booyah.

Would I have preferred that this collision of events not collide all on the same week? Yes... but if that's the only aftershock I suffer from Hurricane Sandy (a clustermuck schedule?)... you bet I'm thanking my lucky stars. Shew.

SO! Now that I have officially resurfaced... I have a few fun things to post this week.

First up - The Cappa Family.

My girlfriend Lindsay has the sweetest little man ever. He and my Macho are besties. And earlier this summer at a playdate at our house - she asked about arranging a family session for her family and the extended Cappa clan. Her husband's sister lives in Australia... and she, her husband and two girls were coming home for an extended summer holiday and thought it would be a dandy opportunity for some photos.

I was stoked to do this for her/them. And we set a date.

Of course I chose early evening to ensure for nice soft golden hour light... but as I was driving to their family farm I noticed one side of the highway was nice blue summer sky and the other looked a little like we were going to be going off to Oz. Dark mean clouds rolling.

The question was - were they rolling IN or OUT?

Well - I'm just not that lucky - as you all well know - so of course, after I'd parked the car, I could feel the wind picking up and hollering at me,  

"you'd better hurry up sister - or yer gunna git it."

At this point - there really was no rescheduling - the whole family was present and accounted for - in their carefully chosen outfits - hair did - teeth brushed. Yadda, yadda.

Bearing that in mind - I was just so so so thankful for the calm, positive energy of this wonderful family. They knew the deck was stacked against us a little, yet they remained composed and ready for my direction at all times.

We flowed through what would normally have been a 90 minute session, in about 45 minutes - when the rain finally started. I can't thank them enough for their kindness and attentiveness...

Cuz, honey - I tried not to show it - but I was panicing on the inside!

What a lovely group. So honored to have them.

Please enjoy a few of my favorites. :)

I'd like to also say something special about this lady... this is mamma Vicki. A teacher at the local Catholic school... she's just about as sweet and nice as they come. She asked if I would kindly take a headshot for her new book that was just released. It's a childrens book that effectively, yet gently covers a the tough-to-talk-about topic of death and dying. God reveals the ultimate truth of heaven through the lives of a grandmother and her two granddaughters, in this simple, yet powerful true story. It's pretty neat, and it's getting a lot of buzz around town here. :)

Way to go Vicki!

if you'd like more information about this - you can check it out here...

www.thepromisekeptbook.com

A note from Lindsay...

"Katie Pegher is more than just a photographer; She captures the moments of time that bring out the essence of beauty and special memories to cherish forever. The passion that Katie has for work clearly shines through in the product that she delivers, and with each photo she amazes me. I would highly recommend Katie to anyone and everyone. I am anxiously awaiting our next photo shoot this December when our new baby boy arrives. There is no one else in this world I would rather have capture these moments. Katie, you are the best of the best and to you I am forever grateful!
xoxo,
Lindsay Cappa

 

Now, everyone - go hug or just say thank you to a Veteran today, K?

The Stanyard Family | Ellicott City, MD Family Photographer

My Clark and Jeff go way back. Way back to those college days that I'm SURE they'd rather not talk about. They played on the university baseball team, and they were both from the 'Burgh. I shall say NO more. :)

When Jeff introduced Clark to his new girlfriend, Danna, shortly after they graduated and were in their first rounds of employment - Clark knew Jeff had found his match. When I was finally in the picture - I got to meet her too - and thought she was just as fabulous as Jeff and the rest. Clark and I attended their wedding and we've maintained a close friendship ever since. In fact, when we moved to the Maryland area - they were our "go-to" friends for lots of stuff!

We've been friends through the births of all four of our children... spent many Sunday afternoons together watching the boys beloved Steelers play on TV... cooking and eating and drinking and having a grand old time watching the kids play.

This family has been there for us. So, of course it was my absolute HONOR to photograph them in their lovely new home this past July. We kept the party indoors for the first portion.... else we would've melted. It was +100 degrees outside. Luckily - their sunroom was abundant with light and plenty of AC!

Of course - I wanted to let the boys do their thing too - so eventually we made our way outside to their playground set and let them go to town. What fun.

And because I just can't control myself... clicking my camera is like a nervous tick for me... I just kept going - long after our "official session" time had expired and captured a few slice of life shots as well that evening and following morning as we continued our visit.

Thank you so so much you guys. You know we love you. Jeff - thanks for putting up with me and my goofball behavior! You are a great sport! Danna - you are just the epitome of grace and loveliness. You are authentic and kind and loyal. And I love you girl.

Until next time friends...

Enjoy...

Big man just turned 5... Just so ya know.

"Family photos with Katie have become an annual tradition. I love photography, and take tons of pictures of my kids, but at the end of the day I'm always behind the camera and never in front of it.

 This year's session was in July, on a 106 degree day and I had a very cranky two year old and a husband who doesn't love to have his picture taken. I knew Katie had a challenge on her hands! I love what she was able to capture in just a few short hours. The shots are beautiful and so clearly depict our family dynamics. Once again she came through in the clutch and I couldn't be more thrilled." 

~ Danna Stanyard