You have all been so helpful with doing our poll for the next workshop city! Seattle and Chicago have gone neck to neck the whole way. It’s kind of crazy and super fun!

Here’s what Brian and I are thinking…

First, we are TOTALLY coming to Chicago in November!!! (YEAH!!!!) We are working on the details now, but I’m looking at the first or second weekend of November 2008. In the next week or two, we’ll release an early bird special where you can save 20% if you sign up as an “early bird”! So stay tuned for that! We can’t wait to meet all you lovely Chicago women! (and eat Chicago pizza together!)

Next, our Seattle ladies! We are thinking we may be able to squeeze a second workshop in before the end of 2008 since it’s local. But our calendar is crazy, so we need your help. Below is a poll for those of you who voted for Seattle. Can you tell us which of the two dates you prefer the workshop to be? (and yep, we’ll release an Early Bird Special for you too!)

What dates for the Seattle Photography Workshop do you prefer?
( surveys)

We really want to come to Texas and Georgia! But I’m so unfamiliar with these two places and need your help! I figure we’re in good hands with southern hospitality! If we planned on coming in 2009, what are the best months to visit Texas and Georgia? I don’t handle dry, hot weather very well (remember, I’m from the Northwest where we break out our shorts and call it a “sunny day” if it’s 65 degrees).

What would be the BEST month, weather wise, for a GEORGIA workshop? Below are possible months we may be able to make it work.

When is the BEST month in 2009 to do a GEORGIA photography workshop for women?
( polls)

Here’s the same poll for all you beautiful Texas women! We are thinking Ft. Worth as our location, so tell us what the best month is to come.

When is the BEST month in 2009 to do a TEXAS photography workshop for women?
( polls)

We are determined to make it out to Texas and Georgia! Your help help is greatly appreciated!

And fyi, we’ll be needing workshop hostesses for Chicago, Georgia and Texas! Email me if you’re interested (mera@merakoh.com). Some of you have emailed already and I’ll try and narrow it down then give you a call for an informal interview (no stress ). Our biggest desire is someone who is well connected with places to host the workshop, ideas for places to eat with a large group, places to do photo shoots, families they can invite to be our models, creative ideas to market the workshop and get the word out locally, and the biggest thing–someone who LOVES answering emails for attendees who will have questions. What else comes with the Workshop Diva Hostess role? Start by reading here!

We have all types of women who come to our photography workshops. Some women don’t own any thing more than a Point and Shoot camera and borrow our cameras for the weekend. Some women have paying clients and want to feel more confident about the mechanics of photography. Some women are just feeding their spirits and doing something for themselves with no intention to ever have a business.

Michelle was the women who had photographed several hundreds of families. She was coming to one of our Seattle workshops for a dose of confidence building and after the workshop this is what she said;

“The workshop was a huge catalyst for my business. The day I got back from the workshop I switched to digital completely…The workshop was great for the technical side of my pictures, but it was dinner with YOU that was even more important. Your encouraging words ( or “marching orders” as we joked that night) were exactly what I needed to take my business to the next level. I raised my prices, updated my business model and changed my branding. I was completely terrified that it would alienate my clients but the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I am already booking clients into November and December. Now I just wonder why I didn’t do it sooner!”

Michelle’s story gets me so excited! She was super gracious to let me give her “marching orders” at dinner that night. I had reviewed her website and could now see how great of a person she was, she had to raise her prices and take her business to the next level because she was so worth every penny. You should see the new beautiful branding materials and stationary she’s now sending to clients! She mailed Brian and I copies of every thing a couple months back, and I knew I had to introduce you to this wonderful lady. Her “getting started” story is so down to earth. And her answers below are packed with tips that you will love!

So grab a cup of coffee, sit back, relax and listen to one woman’s story of how she’s following her dream!

(Michelle and her beautiful family! Could those girls be any cuter!!)

1. When did you start your business and what was the turning point of taking it from a hobby to a business of charging people and putting up a website?

Michelle’s Answer: I started taking pictures professionally (getting paid for it!) about seven years ago. I read a quick book about photography (by quick I mean I read it while standing in a coffee shop and I was 8 months pregnant with my second daughter. I wasn’t standing very long for ANYTHING at that point!). It was by Nick Kelsh called How to Photograph Your Baby. He gave simple ideas for framing pictures. For the first few months I didn’t even cover my costs but my husband quickly put an end to that. I did not get a website for at least four years because I didn’t really think it was necessary. How silly was that?!?

2. What inspires your photography?

Michelle’s Answer: I just love taking pictures of kids!

I love the challenge of getting natural smiles and capturing the sparkle in their eyes. In fact, I won’t take pictures of big people unless they bring little people with them. (I get asked to do adult head shots all the time but I’ll only do them at the end of a family shoot.) I also really enjoy reading the blogs and websites of other photographers and seeing the types of photographs they take. That’s where I’m drawing a lot of inspiration these days. And I love having “photography” play dates with Mom’s who are photographers. (Mind you, there are no kids there. Just moms having the play dates!)

3. What is the best and toughest part about doing this while being a mom and wife at the same time?

Michelle’s Answer: The toughest part is I usually can’t give 100% attention to something I’m so passionate about. (I’ve got two of my girls in line to talk to me as I’m typing this answer right now!) During the day it’s my girls who need my attention and at night it’s my hubby who wants to chat with me so I feel like I have a split brain. Good thing I’m an excellent multi-tasker!

The best part is I can set my own schedule so it has minimal impact on my family. I shoot on weekend mornings and some weekday mornings when everybody is in school. (This is the first time in 8 years that I have all three of my daughters in school at the same time. Yahoo! It’s only three mornings a week, but it’s the light at the end of my tunnel!) I feel so blessed that I do something that I adore and it provides all of the fun extras in our lives like vacations, new computers, fixing the car breaks. (Okay the last one isn’t that much fun.)

I also love that my kids see me achieving something great. I’m showing my girls they can follow their passions and be successful at whatever they set their mind to. My daughters all want to be photographers when they grow up too!

4. What is one piece of advice you’d give to newbies?

Michelle’s Answer: I am a big believer in the K.I.S.S. philosophy. (Keep It Simple Stupid) For the first five years I was in business I used window light exclusively to take pictures. I had a king sized black hotel blanket that I attached to my kitchen wall (using binder clips). I moved all of the furniture back and used a greenhouse window as my light source.

I had just one camera and one lens. For a minimal investment I was ready to do business. I also gave away a lot of pictures in the beginning to get my name out there. (Donations to auctions, visits to mommy groups…) Ooops! That’s two pieces of advice. Drat!! I’ve got on more too. Remember that with the kids and families there is always a ‘do-over’. It’s always given me confidence to know that if I’m having a bad day shooting pictures I could always have the family come back in. I’ve shot over 600 different families and I’ve only done two re-shoots, but it’s just nice to know I can!

Meeting Michelle in person was a total kick!! She bursts with energy! You can’t help but smile when you’re around her. And get this, Michelle actually left early the second morning of the workshop because her sister was having a baby! Of course Michelle needed to be there for picture taking! But can you believe she drove all the way back to the workshop to finish out the rest of the day! (which by the way Michelle, when we do our next Seattle workshop, you know you are more than welcome to come to the second day to get whatever you missed–one excuse to see you again! ) All of us at the workshop even got have a peak of what she captured!

Michelle, can we ask you questions in the comments? For example, what was your first lens that you used? Where did you get your “binder clips” for your backdrop? Your idea of “photography play dates with other moms who are photographers” is so genius! What do you do when you get together? What does a typical play date look like so other women can emulate it? Michelle also mentioned Nick Kelsh’s book, How to Photograph Your Baby.

This was one of the first books I bought when I was just getting started. I had a lot of fun with it. You can find it here! Thanks for reminding me of this classic Michelle!

If your in the greater Seattle area and want a wonderful photographer to take family portraits for you, check out Michelle’s website! You can’t go wrong with this inspiring lady!

p.s. Her blog is pretty fun too!

Love you Michelle! Thanks for being such a go getter and sharing your wonderful spirit with all of us! You are a total inspiration!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Check back tomorrow because I’m going to announce the NEXT LOCATION for our Photography Workshops for Women! Yeah!!! Brian and I are so excited!! If you haven’t voted on what city you’d like us to visit next, you still can today! Click here to vote!

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in the bud

was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

~Anais Nin

Happy Monday to all my beautiful blossoming friends. I cherish you all so much.

I’ve been a bit weepy the last few days.

Nothing major, just tears that well up, fall, then pass. I know within that it’s because this Mother’s Day is the 15 year anniversary of my close friend dying. I know from past years that I tend to get weepy the few days leading up to Mother’s Day. But knowing all this doesn’t make it easier. Isn’t it frustrating when our knowledge won’t override the expectations we put on ourselves?

Brian and I planned to celebrate Mother’s Day with the kids on Saturday b/c I was going to drive north on Sunday. I’m going to visit my friend’s grave site. Then my mom and grandma will join up with me to see a movie and have dinner. Saturday seemed to be a better day to do some fun stuff with the kids.

But without any intention to, shortly after waking up, some of my buttons were pushed and because the tears have been right there, right underneath the surface, they took us all by surprise when the flood came. Instead of getting ready to head out for the day with Brian and the kids, I was upstairs crying. I couldn’t pull it together. My past was alive and in my face. The present surrounding me felt like a fog–people and things out of reach.

As hard as I’ve worked at riding the waves of my grief with ease, they still seem to tidal wave my confidence every time.

What do you do when you so desperately want to be hugged or held but being touched is the one thing you cannot handle? What do you do when you feel like you’re letting your children down because they were so excited to do “this and that” for you, and you can’t pull it together enough to come downstairs? What do you do when the voices inside your head are taunting you, reminding you of how your pain seems to only hurt the ones you love…

Brian is waiting.

He is now in the bedroom with me, sitting on the bed. He is quiet.

I want to yell at him, blame him, tell him to leave me alone…but I know this battle isn’t with Brian. The battle is with myself.

He says, “your beautiful.”

How can he say that.

He says, “your pain, your losses, your grief…it makes you not only beautiful, but stunning.”

He says, “I know you want to be held, but I also know that being touched is to much in this moment. So I want you to know I’m okay waiting.”

I feel like I can’t breathe. The buttons that were pushed this morning were so minor to the pain that seems to be swallowing up our home. I race through all the questions, “Why can’t I be stronger than this? Why do I have to ruin Mother’s Day? What damage am I doing to my kids? Why am I such a mess? Why do I feel like damaged goods again…” The thoughts build like a cyclone inside my head.

And then–without warning–it breaks apart.

The crying transforms to wailing. Brian knows my walls have finally come down. He asks for permission to hold me. I say yes.

Pascaline stands on the other side of the door. I feel like I have failed her.

Brian invites her inside the room and says, “Pascaline, you know how you can get an owie and then it bruises? You know how it hurts when someone pushes on that bruise?” She nods. “Both mom and dad have had painful owies from when we were younger. And sometimes we push on each other’s owies without meaning too, and it makes us hurt all over again. When your older, we’ll tell you more about the things we’ve gone through, but for now, I want you to know that this is what’s going on with mom.”

I take Pascaline’s hand, hold it, give her a hug and tell her I love her. She seems to be okay and runs off to play with Blaze.

I tell Brian that I feel like I’ve ruined this Mother’s Day. He says, “Me Ra, you are the wonderful, passionate, extreme person you are because of the pain you’ve endured. You may not be put together for Pascaline today. But don’t miss the message you gave her. Despite how much you hurt, and how your hurt can separate you from the ones you love, you…you always choose to come back to us. This is the gift you give your family.”

I wanted so much more for our Mother’s Day this year. But this is what it was. The rest of our day was off. We were all exhausted from the morning. After being out for a couple hours, we came home and took long naps. We had pizza with friends and decided to save the Korean restaurant for another night.

The voices never stopped taunting me throughout the day, reminding me of how this was all my fault. You see, they are always with me. But if I could get through the day without responding to those voices, without making decisions based on those voices, then I will have won. Not a “glorious triumph” type of win. But that’s okay, a win is still a win.

To all the beautiful mothers who visit my blog, I hope you see how you’ve won time and time again. I hope you feel celebrated because of your many triumphs. Because whether physically or emotionally, you have not let your pain separate you from the ones you love. You work to not let your own voices dictate your decisions. And you are beautiful in all the things that make you strong and especially weak. You too are stunning.

Happy Mother’s Day.

Meet my wonderful and amazing business coach, Karen Buckley!

Karen has been working with me for just over a year. She is based in San Francisco, and I am based in Seattle. Our sessions are all via phone and email. When we did our Sonoma workshop, Brian and I made sure to schedule a late flight home so we could meet Karen in person. I had to personally give this woman a hug for ALL the many things she has taught me and done for our business in the last year. Isn’t she beautiful–her wonderful spirit is right there.

The first thing Brian asked me when we got in the car after dinner was “What was it like to finally put a face to Karen?” Without hesitation I said, “It was like icing on the cake!” We had a wonderful dinner with Karen, so wonderful we almost missed our flight home.

One of the things we talked about was all of you! (This is where it gets fun for some of you! )

I told Karen about four emails I’d received regarding the Mom’s Survival 101 Kit.

Over the last few months of releasing the kit, we’ve had incredible emails/feedback on how much women love the kit, like the wonderful comment recently posted in the customer reviews on our Refuse site. BUT…but…these four random emails had been stirring inside me. All from different women, but all expressing a similar point.

Now before I share any more with you, let me just be candid for a minute. What I’m about to share makes me feel incredibly vulnerable, and I’ve thought a lot about whether or not to share any of this. I don’t know if my vulnerability in sharing comes from being a people pleaser, recovering perfectionist, who knows…but I value all of you so deeply, and I think I need to risk sharing. So that being said…

The four emails I received from different women who bought the Mom’s Survival 101 Kit expressed feelings over the price being to high for this particular kit because there are so many books on the market for moms these days. There was also expressed desire of wanting forms or spreadsheets on how to manage/balance their time in a “spreadsheet” fashion.

Before releasing the Mom’s Kit for sale I had gone back and forth with Brian and Karen on how to price the kit. Karen asked me a question that really hit home. It went something like this…Even though you aren’t giving legal forms in this kit, isn’t your experience, all the counseling, business coaching, etc hold just as much dollar value as the legal forms? I believe our life experiences have equal if not more value than the concrete linear things in life. This is why we all decided to price the kit as the same price as the others.

But I really sat on these four emails. I understood the point that if there is a saturated market of “survival type books for moms”, this decreases the value of the topic for everyone. I also heard these women feeling like their was definite Soul and Spirit in the Mom’s 101 Kit, but they wanted more Forms. I believe that Soul, Spirit and Form is a magical combination that must not be ignored. This felt like a valid request.

So Karen and I put our heads together on how we can remedy these requests. We decided to add more value to the Mom’s 101 Kit for those of you who have bought it as well as future moms who are going to buy it.

(Is this post getting to long, or are you still hanging in there with me? )

We are going to have a special, private forum on the new Refuse to Say Cheese Forum that will be only accessible to moms who have purchased the Mom’s Survival 101 Kit. On this private forum, Karen Buckley will be our guest columnist! Once a month she will join our community and assign exercises, forms, and practices to those of you surviving moms.

The objective will be to help us grow in our feminine wisdom, and go even deeper in the challenges we face. Some practices/exercises will be quite challenging and others will be simple in nature. But Karen Buckley (my business coach who specializes in coaching women CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies) is going to collaborate with me so we can continue to give to you once a month on the new forum! How is that for adding value and form to the Mom’s Survival 101 Kit!! (Are we moving in the right direction for those of you who purchased the kit?)

This private forum with Karen will have it’s own special name: Wise Woman 102: Beyond Survival into Thriving! Do you like the title? Karen’s idea, and I love it!

To be a part of Wise Woman 102, you have to first start by purchasing and reading the Mom’s Survival 101 Kit (which is 30% off for the next few days…fyi). Karen and I will be using the Mom’s Survival 101 Kit as the foundation for Wise Woman 102. If you’ve already bought the Mom’s Survival 101 Kit, you will soon be notified on how to gain access to this beautiful forum. We are still ironing out details, but keep an eye out in the next week or two for an email from us in regards to Karen!

Phew…do you know how much I treasure all of you?

xoxo, Me Ra

Three things for today!

One, the Mother’s Day sale on all DVDs and 101 Kits has begun! Between now and Mother’s Day, you can get 30% off! Enjoy!

Two, we are looking at doing another workshop for women in early November 2008. We would love your input on where it should be! Take the poll and tell us where Brian and I should be coming next?

Where would you like our next women’s workshop to be?
( surveys)

Three…This one is especially exciting!! The Refuse to Say Cheese Forum is almost finished and live!!

My main reason for doing a forum (because I’ve been resistant to the idea ) is all of you wonderful ladies coming to the workshops and meeting new, life long friends. I’ve heard your request, and I agree. You need a forum to help you stay in touch. So I’m having it set up where ALL workshops we have done will have their own private category to stay in touch with each other. (keep those life long friendships growing!)

I also have a category set up for Q&A for upcoming workshops, like the San Diego one.

I have a Suffering with Me Ra category! Remember that post! I’ve got so much to say on that topic! And I’m seeing about having a couple special guests that come on to help us ladies out.

I have categories on our Products so you can post questions or reviews.

And of course, I have an Introduction category for each of you to introduce yourself as you join.

There is also a Photo Gear and Business sections because we get lots of emails on these two topics, and I think all of you have such good resources to share with one another.

But what am I missing. There are so many categories we could do, but what are the key things you’d like to see in the Refuse to Say Cheese Forum–keeping in mind that we want the same safe and encouraging spirit people feel on the blog.

Should we have photo exercises? contest ideas? Help me get out of the box here…Thanks everyone!

You must meet Jenny Heck! She is one of two beautiful moms I’m going to spotlight this week for Mother’s Day.

Brian and I met Jenny when she attended one of our workshops in October 2007. She was a blast to be with, so easy to laugh with, and we even got her to model our Me Ra Koh Designer shirt!

And now I’m freaking out at what she’s doing with her passion for photography! She is a mom with a camera, and she is totally going for her dreams.

I asked Jenny what has happened since she came to our workshop because I thought it would totally inspired some of you. Here’s our little interview! All the images throughout this blog post are Jenny’s beautiful work! Enjoy!

Question 1: When did you start your business and what was the turning point of taking it from a hobby to a business of charging people and putting up a website?

Jenny’s Answer: After taking your Beginners Workshop in October 2007, I had the opportunity to do a portrait session for a close friend from church. She had some of the portraits printed, framed and hung on her wall. She started getting lots of comments about them and questions about who the photographer was. Up to that point, I had never considered myself a photographer. Photography was just something I did. Fast forward a couple of months and my MOPS group was holding a small business fair and the ladies at my table asked if I was going to have a table set up for my photography. After initially thinking, “no way. I don’t have a business to represent”, I decided to go for it. I had the chance to talk to the MOPS group about my passion for photography, displayed some of my work, and that day I had 11 moms sign up for portrait sessions. It was right then and there that I realized I had reached the point of no return and I had a “business” whether I liked it or not. That was in early February 2008. I quickly started a blog and with the booking of my first portrait client, got my Web site up and running so I could offer on line proofing and ordering. (Me Ra here, are you totally inspired or what?! Jenny pretty much jumped in and went for it. She didn’t have all the answers figured out. Jenny were you nervous, scared? How did you figure out what to charge?)

Question 2: What inspired your photography?

Jenny’s Answer: Photography is my creative outlet. What I enjoy most is the idea of capturing authentic and original moments in people’s lives that, when looked back upon, remind them of everything that they were thinking, feeling and experiencing at that particular moment in time. A moment they will never experience again but can remember and enjoy through their photographs.

The origin of this inspiration was my own selfish desire to capture all of the precious moments in the lives of our three children and our family. A visual history that doesn’t try to artificially create some artificial perfection but instead is honest in it’s representation.

Question 3: What is the best and toughest part about pursuing this dream while being a mom and wife at the same time?

Jenny’s Answer: The best part is I can own my schedule and “work” as much as I want or as little as I want. My greatest reward continues to be the satisfaction and nice comments about how pleased my clients are with their portraits. The toughest part is that usually when I can accommodate client appointments, it’s when my husband is home to be with our three kids. That means that when I do work, it’s usually taking away from “family” time. The positive spin on this is it let’s my husband have his time where the kids are focused just on daddy.

Question 4: What is one piece of advice you’d give to newbies?

Jenny’s Answer: I guess the advice I would give to newbies is to believe in your abilities and the value that you are providing to your clients. One of the hardest things for me initially was to feel ok about referring to myself as a “photographer”. Also, don’t try to compare yourself to other photographers or see them as competition because each photographer has their own style. Actually, I shouldn’t take credit for that last piece of advice. That’s what you told me during the beginners workshop.

Also, do it because you love it not because you need or want to make money. One of the most liberating things for me was to realize that, even if I wasn’t getting paid, I would still be doing what I’m doing. Although, I have to be honest, getting paid to do it is pretty cool too.

Jenny, thank you so much for sharing thoughts and images with all our blog readers! You are such a star!

For those of you reading along, feel free to ask Jenny questions by posting a comment below. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you! Jenny, would you answer my questions too in Question #1 above?

Brian and I also got a great surprise when we heard Jenny’s husband had signed her up for the San Diego Workshop in May. A number of our workshop attendees have come back for a second dose, and it’s so exciting to see how their confidence, demeanor–every thing has changed since the first workshop.

Jenny, we can’t wait to see you in person again! Like I said, you are a star! You should be so proud of yourself as a mom, wife, woman, and now photographer! Happy Mother’s Day my dear!

This is the week that leads up to Mother’s Day, and I’ve been so excited for ALL the things we’re going to post on the blog in the next five days! I want this week to be all about celebrating wonderful, beautiful moms! (When I told this to Brian, he said “Really? That will be different for the blog.” Do you hear sarcasm in that because I TOTALLY did!)

For starters, I have two moms I’m going to feature and introduce you all to. They love taking pictures and are both going for it. You’ll be inspired and excited to meet these two ladies, hear their stories, and see what they’re doing.

We are also going to start a special on our products in honor of Mother’s Day! Starting Wednesday morning–lasting till Sunday at 12 midnight PST, all DVDs and 101 Kits will be marked down 30%!! If you are looking for a way to celebrate your wife, mom, sister, friend, or even better, yourself for this Mother’s Day–we hope you enjoy the big discounts that are in honor of moms!

Attention all moms who own the Mom’s Survival 101 Kit!! My business coach and I have been scheming up something special for moms who already have or will be purchasing the Mom’s Survival 101 Kit! I’m SUPER excited about this surprise! This surprise will be a MAJOR added bonus to all of you. That’s all I can say for now…but it’s going to be good! More later this week!

Can you hear how fast I’m typing because of how excited I am about this week’s blog posts!!!

But first, is it OK to start our Big, Blog Party Week with my little guy who turned 4 today! Little Blazey is growing up (hear me cry…). We had a Batman Birthday Party yesterday, and I have to share these photos with you. There are a few so humor me. (I love you little Blazey Batman! luv, mama)

We started the party off with Poison Ivy Sodas! (fyi, Poison Ivy is a villain that causes a lot of trouble for Batman. She is played by Pascaline on most days. )

It was given the “finger licking good” award by the kids!

Pascaline and Eva, partners in crime since they were two.

And then Blaze got a letter delivered to him saying that the Riddler

had snuck in to his party and stolen the birthday cake!!!

There was no time to lose! Calling all Junior Dark Knights! The Riddler had left 12 riddles around the house for the kids to solve! Could they solve the riddles and find the birthday cake before it was to late?

Go Blaze Go!!! (and in case you’re wondering, nope, he doesn’t want to cut his hair–and it’s OK with me )

Wow! There they ALL go at once!

I couldn’t stop laughing!

Thanks to one of our special moms who follow the blog, Addie on the East Coast! You totally got my juices going and the scavenger hunt was the HIT!

One of the clues was taped to the bottom of a Batmobile Pinata. The kids went crazy when the thing busted open and dumped candy and toys all over the grass!

Addie, I owe you one!! Addie is one of my blog readers and has also attended one of our workshops with her sweet teenage daughter. She helped me piece together a major scavenger hunt for the kids. We had 12 riddles in all for them to solve.

In the end, Batman found his birthday cake!

During the hunt for the birthday cake, Uncle Shauni was entertaining my mom and Korean aunt, Komo, with bubble blowing. Brian caught these photos, and I could not stop laughing at Shauni’s face in these shots and especially Komo’s enthusiasm. It’s hilarious! (These are especially for you “Oooh La La Rachel” )

Starts out like any other bubble blowing afternoon.

And then the excitement builds.

And builds a little more!

And even more!!

Then look out…

Uncle Shauni gets really serious! I mean wow, look at the form on his lips and his sheer concentration! He’s not messing around! (can you tell I’m the big sister? )

Okay, so after everybody left. Guess who steps out with his new outfit on?

Right away, dad puts it to the test! (This must be a dad thing.)

He regrets that quickly!

And when the little guy retires for the night, guess who I find playing in the backyard???

Just guess who that would be??? UNBELIEVABLE!!!

There was even a neighbor watching him from the other side of the hedge without Brian knowing!!!

I’d say we all had a great Batman Birthday!

I recently received an email from a man named Christopher Lee. He asked if Brian and I would be open to participating in his non profit, Project Childhood.

I looked through his website and powerful blog, and I was so moved by what he’s attempting to do. How could Brian and I not do all that we can to support this cause.

Bottom Line? This is a photo contest that corresponds with Child Abuse Prevention Month during the month of April.

Why? To create a unified front among professional photographers that accomplishes one goal: Celebrate Childhood.

Rules? It’s about giving a little time away. Click here to see the details.

Prizes? You will be amazed and inspired when you see the list of prizes! Check them ALL out!! I was excited to see how many of our colleagues are donating items to celebrate the winning photographers of this contest. When Christopher asked if he could add our instructional DVDs and 101 Kits as prizes, I was totally honored. This is such a wonderful cause. And it’s evidence once again of how great the photography community can be!

So check it out. Consider entering the contest. Give it away!

Deadline is May 7th, 2008, at 11:59 pm PST.

Thank you Christopher for ALL of this. You and your wife are amazing!

I’m starting to work my way through the hundreds of images we have from the Sonoma Workshop, and I thought I’d share the Cliff Notes from what I can tell so far.

#1 If you can’t find any models, be your own model!

#2 If you don’t want to miss out make sure you turn on your Listening Ears!

#3 If you simply don’t care to listen any more because your the “host” either take self portraits of yourself or just start teaching yourself!

#4 When you feel like you’ve been sitting to long, go outside and JUMP!

#5 If the restaurant ran out of fresh strawberries for those brownies, improvise!

#6 Just because the image is blurry, doesn’t mean his face isn’t worth shooting!

#7 Make sure you “FOOF” your flash with total passion like Denis Reggie taught! (We love you Denis–and we were listening on the foofing! )

#8 Try “FOOFING” outside too! See the many sides of FOOFING light. Brian’s face is a great example of the passion you must put into your FOOFING. Garrett is much more graceful about his foofing. (unsure of what foofing is, join us at a workshop and we’ll let you in on the secret )

#9 And last but not least, when you all of a sudden realize this is a WOMEN’S workshop, show some muscle for intimidation rights!

If you like the Cliff Notes…full low down on the workshop coming soon!!