Archive for November, 2009

It’s always amazing for me to see how much of a child’s personality comes pouring out during a portrait session.? Even though everything is so new to them, you can still begin to see the adult they may become through their habits, temperament, or facial expressions.? I love observing them and then following their lead.? To me, a baby portrait session is not so much about the perfect backdrop as it is about realizing what it is that makes each child tick and then documenting it within my lens.

Last week I had the pleasure of documenting Saxon, a 6 1/2 month baby boy with a ton of personality.? It was a session full of laughs.? He was such a joy to be around and there was never a dull moment.

Well, tis the season . . . for holiday gifts and greeting cards.?? So I’ve been busy lately with portrait sessions and have a lot more on the way.? My favorites are always the baby portraits.? Meet John, Maya and baby Camille of Redondo Beach.? We had a session yesterday, within their home and had a blast.? Their family was charming and their daughter was adorable.? I mean, just look at those big baby blues!

Contact Me

View My Portfolio

So it all began three days ago . . .

I began my day studiously at my desk, conducting my regular routine of coffee, processing, and networking.? Well, that routine was then rudely interrupted . . . by an unexpected visitor.? This was no ordinary visitor.? It was a spider and I happen to be extremely fearful of spiders.? And this was no ordinary spider.? This one was ginormous.? Gi-normous!? Instantly, I hated him.? He was the enemy and must be expelled.? So I stared at him, in shock, for a good thirty minutes then stood up, picked up the phone and begged Joe to come kill it.? He was at work, downtown Los Angeles, and returned my plea with a very loving gesture . . . laughter.? Frustrated, I hung up the phone.? Then paced.? Then stared at this thing for another thirty minutes and had a debate with myself.? I can’t stand it when my fears take over.? It is a personal life goal of mine to attempt to conquer every fear that I currently own.? I attempt, I don’t always win but the success is in the effort right?? So as I stared at this thing, this humongous specimen, for another thirty minutes, I slowly began to birth a strategy.? Currently the spider was on the ceiling and working its way over to the wall.? If I could get it to then round the corner, I would have a chance to corner him with very little obstruction from below.? You see, every part of me wanted to kill him but the more I thought about that, the more it grossed me out.? So plan B was: squirt him with a spray bottle till he drops, then trap him in a glass.? With this plan I grew more and more confident and before I knew it, I was up on one of my dining room chairs, spray bottle in one hand, large drinking glass in the other, swaying violently and cornering the hell out of him.? Plan B = Mission Accomplished!? But now I had no idea what to do with him.

So I stared at him, in the glass, for another thirty minutes. (there is a theme here).? I posted a line about it on Facebook and Twitter.? I did not call Joe cause he would just laugh again.? Instead I began to laugh, with me and at me, good, hard, tear-jerking laughter.? This was ridiculous.? It was now noon and my day was little by little being devoured by this crazy looking spider.? So I went back to Twitter and Facebook for some advice.? My original post was, “I’ve trapped a humongous spider in a glass and now I have no idea what to do with it. He’s huge and I don’t want to kill him. Any ideas?”? The responses were imaginative, to say the least:

1.? Hire him as a Dog-Walker for Hoshi (my 5 lb chihuahua)

2.? Dip him in chocolate and enjoy him with a good movie.

3.? Make him my new assistant.

4. BBQ him and serve him at my first Book Club meeting.

5.? Take a picture of him, frame it and hang it on the ceiling.

6.? Send him out to auditions for a little extra income (it is L.A. after all).

7.? Discuss Neo Realism in Italian Cinema over long cups of soy Lattes with him.

8.? (my personal favorite) **** cue in “Eye of the Tiger” **** create a montage of me conquering my fear and call it “Training for Costa Rica”- me climbing a wall with the spider just around the corner, me doing push-ups with the spider sitting on my back reading a newspaper, the spider showing up in unexpected locations, me running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art only to find the spider waiting at the top . . . you get the idea.

I love my friends.? Never a dull moment.? #8 was dead on though, I needed to conquer this fear.? My next upcoming trip is going to be to Costa Rica and the bugs there are not only bigger but a lot more aggressive.? I knew I had to do my best to embrace this eight-legged fear.? So I slid a piece of cardboard beneath my glass and gracefully carried my tall dark stranger to the backyard of my house.? I placed him on the cold cement and, of course, stared at him for another thirty minutes.? I then quickly grabbed my camera, selected the appropriate lens and started shooting away, through the safety of the drinking glass of course.? Naturally, the shots were unimpressive.? I then removed the glass, goosebumps covered my entire body and strange wails often lept from my lips but I did it.?? And then I did it again, and again.? Yeah, the two of us are the best of friends now.? And I’ll have you know, he was the perfect little model.? He moved very slowly, always looked straight at the camera and had the most beautiful smile.? So there you have it.? Joe came home an hour later and we released him back into the wild, four blocks down from my house but I’m totally over the fear.? We took him four blocks away so that other families could enjoy his company as well.? I didn’t want to be selfish.? So without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to my creepy Thursday afternoon-

Who, I finally figured out, is a male red-backed jumping spider.? Who knew?? Thank God I didn’t cause I never would have removed that glass! And thank God he never did jump.

I leave you with this. (click the poem for the link)

Lil miss castle, never the hassle,
processed her pictures Thursday.
Along came a spider, who sat down beside her
distracting her completely away.