I just loved taking pictures of this precious little man! He is absolutely beautiful with his full head of dark hair! I am so excited to get these finished up so that I can get them to his proud Mom & Dad! I know they are going to love them~

More to come!!

Bird watching is an all time favorite in our house… but something that has taken a back burner for the past year or two. However, my interest was peaked again this morning as I walked out the back door to take the dogs out! My guess is that my appearance distracted our precious kitty, Jasper, just long enough for his captive friend to make a quick escape… The commotion got my attention and I turned around just in time to notice that this wasn’t one of the typical birds we would see around here! It was rather large, with an extremely long, thin beak… it flew a bit off kilter (probably due to the games Jasper had been playing with him!) straight into the chain link fence and plummeted back to the ground.

We go through this quite often out here in the country… tender hearted Gina trying to rescue Jasper’s “friends”! Though I have to admit my success rate is not as high as I would like… I sure wish he would stick to the mice that he is here to catch!

Larry got the cat in the house so that we could take a few pictures of this unique little bird… we really wanted to find out what kind it was because we had never seen one before!

Here are a few of the snapshots:

American Woodcock

According to the information I found about him, they only fly at night… I surely hope he wasn’t offered the privilege of camping out with Jasper all night! I know he spent a little time in Jasper’s house as there were quite a few feathers in it!

I am glad to say that after a couple of hours of recuperating, he flew off to safety to wait for dusk to safely fly off on a new adventure!

The snow in Terre Haute, IN seems endless this winter! We never get this much snow… living on the top of a hill leaves me feeling stranded and well let’s just say “cabin feverish”! Not good for a photographer!

The snow is beautiful though… the meltdown…. YUCK! But, I won’t have to deal with that for a few days now that we have this beautiful new 6 inches covering the ground AGAIN!

I went out to try to get some pictures this morning… but it was still coming down too hard to get many. Hopefully I will be able to get some of the kids sledding later on… I can’t believe that I still don’t have sledding pictures for this season! Until then, here’s a couple of pictures to share…

To keep up the the new digital photography trends, I recently took a few digital photography classes in Terre Haute, IN… One of my favorite classes led me through a digital makeover… I was amazed to find that by the time you are done, the images do not even look the same! I thought I would share one of my favorites with you:

Extreme Makeover

The Original

I know I have a long way to go… but I loved the process and for the most part the results… If I were to start over again, there are things that I would change and do a little differently… but it takes time to find the style that fits! That is one thing that I love about photography, there is no right or wrong… it is all in the eye of the beholder! Of course, there are “rules” and there are guidelines… but in reality, whatever your style is, no one can say that you can’t do it!

Keep taking pictures and making those memories!

Here are a few more maternity shots… I haven’t worked on them as much as I would like with all of the construction going on in the house, but will get them done! Sweet little Alden was born Feb. 3rd… just four days after our photo shoot!

You can see a few more photos from this shoot HERE.

Actually, it should say… RECOVERY begins from the June 2008 flood we had here in Terre Haute, IN! My husband had lost his job in May 2008, the flood happened June 8, 2008, then we had tornado damage in July 2008!! Talk about the domino effect! Anyway, due to our circumstances, we ripped out the bottom half of most of the walls downstairs because we were starting to see black mold! However, we could not afford to make any “repairs” at the time so we have been using only the upstairs of our house since then!

You would think, as a photographer, that I would have ran down there to get all kinds of pictures before the demolition began… but I have to admit that we didn’t know until late Tuesday that they would be here at 9am on Wednesday to start this work! We stayed up until 3am going through everything and moving what we didn’t toss out upstairs! Only to get up a couple of hours later to finish up before they got here! I have to admit, my whole body and mind have been telling me ALL DAY that I am not made to do those kinds of things anymore! LOL~ Therefore, I fell into the trap that I stress so much to others NOT TO FALL INTO… Do not let these events in life get past you without photographs to document the memories! Take Pictures, take pictures… take pictures! Everything we do, every phase of life, they all make up the memories of our future!

Most walls were out... but what was left looked like this!

We were contacted by the Wabash Valley Disaster Relief Coalition back in Oct. because we had filed with FEMA after the 2008 flood… they are looking for people who still have not fully recovered from the flood… THAT WOULD BE US! So, they came out and did an evaluation and we have been approved to fix all of our damage downstairs!! ALL OF OUR DAMAGE! We had pulled out the bottom half of all of the walls (2 bedrooms, family room, utility room, laundry room & closets!), all the carpet got pulled up and we had black mold on what is left down there. We had burned a bed, our couch and end tables… Basically unlivable down there!

The Lord has truly provided a need that we have not been able to meet due to our current circumstances… We removed the problem, but were not in a situation where we could fix what we removed. However, those circumstances do not matter and I do not think finances are considered when they make their decisions, as long as you have proof that it is flood damage.

Long story short… if you still have flood damage or know somebody who does, do not hesitate to contact Wabash Valley Disaster Relief Coalition! They cover Clay, Vigo, Sullivan, Parke & Vermillion Counties in Indiana…. and it doesn’t matter if you rent or own your home… I think they will be finishing up by June 2010… the two year anniversary of the flood. They are looking for people to help, so it never hurts to see if they can help you!

Wabash Valley Disaster Relief Coalition
812-877-3639
www.wvdisasterrecovery.org I hope this information might help someone else!

I will keep you updated on our progress…

We finally got to get in the Maternity photo shoot in Terre Haute, IN! I had a blast with Cory, Amber & their beautiful family! I had forgotten how beautiful pregnant bellies are! I always loved being pregnant so this photo shoot brought back some wonderful memories… and to feel that little one rolling around in her belly… who could ask for anything more! Life is precious.

Here’s a little teaser from our shoot… I will post more later after I finish processing them!

This sweet little man was due to arrive in a couple of days~ I can’t wait to see him! Praying for a healthy baby and fast recovery for you and your sweet family!

Making Memories~ one day at a time!
Gina

I will be doing my very first Maternity photo shoot in Terre Haute, IN this coming weekend and I am sooo excited! I have so many ideas in mind, I do worry a bit about lighting, but I know they will turn out great! I have spent endless hours searching through maternity photo ideas… the memories of this very special time in life will be invaluable! If you have any ideas, please leave a comment!

Pictures coming soon so be on the lookout!

**updating to say- We’re postponed until next week… I hope that baby doesn’t decide it’s ready to come before we get the photo shoot done!

Though winter offers so much beauty, the cold tends to keep most of us indoors for longer amounts of time… this is the case for me lately! I am really getting antsy wanting to get out and take some pictures! Particularly of the beautiful snowy landscapes~ but with sub zero temps, I choose to stay in!

However, I did find myself snapping pictures through my bay window today! I did get some pretty nice shots of a few of the little visitors at our bird feeders this afternoon. I do love taking pictures of birds… though it takes patience and persistence as those little critters are always on the move! Here are a few of the better shots I got today.

I can’t believe that Christmas Eve is tomorrow! The older I get the faster time seems to fly~ literally! I had always heard that as a child, but it is ever more evident as the days quickly go by.

Don’t forget to pull out that camera and “Make some Christmas Memories”! Don’t depend on your memory… take a picture, a picture never forgets!

Wishing you & yours a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year…

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!
Gina