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.

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 ...

     

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!

Images of Special Little People

I just have to share this newborn image with you.  This is my brand new granddaughter at 6 days old.  Elizabeth Ann "Lizzie" was born on September 30th and is doing very well. 

 

Lizzie has a big sister and brother - Evie and Max are so excited to have a new baby sister.  Here's an image from Evie's age 5 session and Max's age 3 session.  I told them to look mad - this is their mad.  Ha!

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth Ann!

She’s here!  On Tuesday, September 30^th at 4:31 a.m., grandkid #5 arrived.

Here’s the story:

In the studio last Monday night, I was bemoaning the fact that I had a terrible cold.  It was 3 days past my daughter Amanda’s due date and I needed to get home and get some rest.  She could go into labor at any time.  A little sleep would help.  Why did I have to be sick today?

Home, in my pjs in the recliner, I was half expecting the phone to ring – after all, earlier that evening, Amanda had said “not much” to the question I had asked 2 or 3 times a day for the past several days – “Anything happening yet?”  “Not much” meant something, but she didn’t want me to get too excited just yet.  She had been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for a couple months, so I’m sure she thought I would assume it was all the same - but I suspected.  About 10:00 p.m. the phone rang.  I answered before the second ring.  She was in labor.

I woke Grandpa and we dressed and packed quickly and drove to Amanda’s, a 25 minute trip.  Soon after arrival, our two-car caravan, expectant parents in the lead car, me following in my Jeep, was speeding through a darkened town toward the hospital leaving Grandpa behind with 5-year-old big sister and 3-year-old big brother (we secretly hoped to get stopped for speeding just so we could get a police escort to the hospital - ha!).

Amanda was quickly settled into a room on the Labor and Delivery floor.  A bustle of activity surrounded her – friendly, competent nurses hooking up monitors, doing paperwork, preparing the baby warmer and many other things we weren’t aware of.  The labor pains intensified until at some point – epidural (thank God for epidurals).  With Amanda more comfortable, we watched the monitor with each contraction – strong baby heartbeats, strong contractions. 

I finally got the nerve to ask the nurse, “Should I even be in here with this cold?”  I feared she would immediately boot me from the room and selfishly hoped she wouldn’t.  It was decided I could stay if, once the baby was there, I wore a mask.  Yea!

Around 3:30 in the morning, Amanda was nearing completion of labor – and so was another woman there in L&D – with only one doctor present.  So, the on-call doctor was summoned and soon arrived in Amanda’s room – and we won the doctor lottery! - he was wonderful! - smiling and happy and celebrating right along with us.  He even laughed at my son-in-law’s jokes.

Pushing began.  I must say, Amanda makes giving birth look easy (thank God!). Even the doctor said he wished all his births could be this easy.  Soon, we could see the head; and then, suddenly – she was here!  “IT’S A GIRL!” we all said in unison.  Arms and legs flailing at her new-found freedom, Elizabeth Ann had arrived.  (I confess, I had hoped it was a girl.) Her daddy, a veteran of all this, cut the umbilical cord and Lizzie began her life in the world.  Happy Birthday, Lizzie!  All 8 lbs 2 oz and 19 inches of beautiful pink perfection! 

 

Amanda and Lizzie saying hello:

 

Daddy checking out his youngest:

   

My prayer for you, Lizzie - May you find peace and happiness, joy and adventure, kindness and love.  May you live a long and healthy life and learn to see beyond yourself with a generous and caring spirit. - Love, your grandmother

Gkid #5 Due Today

It is with great joy and fear that I come to this day.  I cannot wait to meet the little miracle that is soon to be born.  In stark contrast is the fear I have for my daughter's health and the new baby's safe delivery.  Oh, there's nothing wrong.  My daughter, Amanda, is having her third child.  Both previous deliveries seemed easy for her, and both babies were healthy.  I am just more aware than I need to be of what could go wrong since volunteering for the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation - see other references in this blog. 

But, I don't want to talk about NILMDTS today, it's just too sad.  I want to bannish all sad and scary thoughts while waiting for the birth of this little one.  My daughter and son-in-law will find out the gender of this child when it makes it's grand entrance.  They have picked a girl's name but are struggling with a boys.  I've offered many suggestions, including Mario, a character in a video game my grandkids play, and Diego, the cousin to the famous Dora cartoon character.  I think those were nixed.  Hmmm.  You know, it doesn't even matter what they name this baby.  He/she will be so cute and wonderful, they could name it George Bush and I would love the name - well, maybe not.  Ha!

Well, I really need to go home, it's after midnight, but before I go...  Just finished a senior boy's images.  He's going to LOVE them.  Can't show you his, but I can show one of Krysta's.  I just love the red shoes in this one:

   

Here's one of Krysta's favorites:

 

Pretty eyes!   We had a fun session, Krysta!  Now go tell Katie you are on the blog! <inside joke>

Well, I'd better get home and get some sleep.  I may need some rest if this baby comes today.  Oh, if you have a cool boy's name, leave a comment.  Could be the name they will use.

Baby Count Down

We are on the count down for grandkid #5.  My beautiful daughter is expecting her third child in a week.  Here's an image of her with grandkid #3 and grandkid #4.  The doctor said any day now.

 

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

I love babies. 

Last night, I attended the Bellies and Babies Tour seminar in Indianapolis.  The presenter was Sandy Puc', a "superstar" photographer from Colorado.  Sandy showed us how she has successfully run a pregnancy and baby's first year portrait series.  I picked up some new ideas for my studio that I know my customers will love.  Stay tuned here for more.

Sandy Puc' (pronounced pooch, I believe) is also a co-founder of Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, a wonderful nonprofit organization of volunteer photographers who assist families suffering an early infant loss.  The service is offered at no cost to the parents.  The images are treasured memories of the life these parents held in their arms for a brief moment.  The images help the parents to heal.

 

Note:  The above image is shown with the parent's knowledge and approval.

I am the local coordinator for NILMDTS at Lafayette Home Hospital.  This is one of the most difficult, most rewarding things I have ever done.  Two other local photographers volunteer but we need more.  If you know of local photographers who may be willing to share their talents, please give them my name.