The Kiss of Snow

We woke up to a blanket of snow this morning.  Isn't it wonderful how with a new snow everything seems so calm and quiet and problem-free?  For one lovely moment you don't have a care in the world, and the only sound you hear is the soft pat-pat of snowflakes falling on your hair.  It's like poetry.

Moments like those remind me of the 4th Grade.  I had to memorize "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost.  I practiced over and over until I was able to recite it to my teacher.  I always have remembered bits of that poem and they often come back to me in the winter quiet of our country home. 

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Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark, and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

Note: All photos taken by La Femme Rioux.

Made with Love

I'm finally finished!  For now. :)  No doubt I will go back over them now and again and do some tweaking, I can never leave well enough alone.  So, without further ado and too much dialogue, here are my favorite shots from the H Family photo shoot.  My Flickr link for the entire album is here. I hope you enjoy!



Note: All pictures were taken by La Femme Rioux.

Work in Progress

Well! Where do I begin?? First of all, I have to apologize for not writing for a whole week, where do the days go? Second of all, the highly anticipated photo shoot of some favorite friends and their little family happened last Saturday! The reality of it all started to hit me last week, and I think that's partly why I didn't write anything. That and the fact that both my daughter and I came down with bad colds. Her first, then me, which was probably pretty inevitable since I was covered from head to toe with either what was coming out of her nose, or what was coming out of her mouth when she sneezed. Gross, I know, but you mommies know what I'm talking about. Mommies are outfitted with special non-gross-out uniforms in the delivery room. Ha.

But besides that, I was pretty consumed by thoughts of lighting, props, poses, etc, etc, I felt like I was back in High School, cramming before an exam. Yes, I was, and am still, a crammer. There is sooo much to it, and I haven't even scratched the surface yet. To top it all off, I was super disappointed because the two big white translucent umbrellas I ordered did NOT fit the same stands as my black and silver ones, EVEN THOUGH they were from the same company. Why do they not tell you this upon ordering?? I spent the night before the shoot photographing the wooden giraffe from my kitchen that has two broken ears and unusually long legs, trying to get the lighting right with my two black umbrellas. Someday I will have a camera that has an adjustable flash. But, they say it's the user not just the product, and well, this user is green.

My nose amazingly dried up just in time for Saturday afternoon, and by the time 3:30 came I was getting pretty excited. I had a plan, for once in my life, and my trusty laptop beside me to remind me of all the poses I wanted to try. And Thank Goodness for my wonderful boss, Paul, who allowed me the use of his vacation home/future retirement home. The floor to ceiling windows provided AMAZING light, and I waited till about an hour before dusk when the sun was low and just glowed through perfectly, at least for an hour. (Fox Hollow is the name of the vacation home I used. It is open for rental year-round, and I have the privilege of being the house-keeper! It's my home-away-from-home in the summer. :) The website is here. )

We got underway, and my wonderful sister-in-law, J, (an awesome photographer whose Flickr page is here. ) was good enough to be on second camera, and was excellent moral support. Her husband was good enough to help out with the kids and was even on boom-lighting. Thanks so much J & E!! And thanks to my ever-loving husband who entertained our daughter, and then the other girls, while we took shot after shot. And for not losing your head when I lose mine. ;) Thanks to the H family for being excellent, and willing subjects, I really hope you like some of the photos we took! Two and half hours of posing is not easy I'm sure.

Things I learned from this experience?
-I have a lot to learn. Ha! That goes without saying.
-I have an excellent family, and beautiful friends.
-Natural, filtered light makes for beautiful pictures!
-Children are not as difficult to pose as I expected. Babies are much harder.
-I really, really enjoy portrait photography, and I can't wait to practice outside with a plethora of natural light.

Well, I am almost done editing my shots, and I'm anxious to get them on here, but obviously I want to give my subjects the first look. I will, however, give you a little taste of what's to come..Until next time...Smile brilliantly. ;)

Reality Check

I had a great talk with a great friend today.  And she reminded me of something that is easily lost.  Your grounding.  I was frustrated with the slowness of my photographic knowledge and my progress as an amateur photographer. Which led to feelings of doubt whether or not I can accomplish something worthwhile.  I guess it's probably because I've tried lots of things in my life, but never slogged through the most difficult parts of the learning process, and so I never got GOOD at anything really.  At least, not in my opinion.  She reminded me that you just have to keep going.  You have to work past your doubts and fears.  Life isn't about success and failure.  It's about doing the best you can with what you've got.  And so, here's me, keepin' on.

Thanks sis.

Note: All photos shown here were taken by La Femme Rioux.

Midnight Musings

I should be asleep.  Should. Be. Asleep.  And I know I'll regret it in the morning, but it's one of those moments where sleepiness is eluding me, so I'm staying up although I can feel my eyes hollowing from tiredness.  So, I thought I'd look at some photos.  It seems to be my constant past-time lately, but it's oh so much fun! 

My daughter. 

My pride and joy, my love and my life.  All wrapped up in one little, but very strong, person!  You can never experience fully and completely the tiredness, the anxiety, the worry you won't be good enough....the laughter and the tears, the urge to protect and nurture and love...Until you've had a child.  I didn't realize it until I had her.  She's almost 2, and those two years have been the best and the most challenging of my life!  But what a fiesty, fun little person she is!  She's stubborn like both mommy and daddy (I know mom...:P) but extremely empathetic.  If she sees someone upset or crying, this look of deep concern comes over her, and she says reassuringly (as much to herself, I think, as to whoever she's talking to) as she touches them or you on the knee, "She's ok, she's all better."  How wonderful would it be if we all acted on the same impulse, to comfort, and to reassure. It's going to be ok. 

And oh, does she love to laugh and make you laugh!  Show me a person who can resist the contagious laughter of a child!  Especially when she says, "Look, stink face."

Looking at this photo made me think of how my life has changed since I've had her. Just like ripples in the water, one thing in life changes another until the ripples gradually run their course...Her entrance into the world will better me until I breathe my last breath.

Change isn't so bad.  It's scary at first, but you get into the flow of your new course, and after awhile, it seems like it's always been that way.  I can't imagine my life without my little adventurer.

Note: All photos shown were taken by, and belong to, La Femme Rioux.