Treasure the Time Photography Blog • Sandi Bradshaw • Gilbert, Phoenix, Scottsdale Child, Newborn, Baby, Family, & Senior Photographer • Photography • Children Photographer • Children's Photographer • Newborn Photographer • Newborn Photograp

E is for "Eyes"

One of my favorite things about proofing a session is when I come across an image that just seems to make the world stop for a minute...and it's almost always because of the eyes. There are times when I will sit and stare at an image for such a long time before I even realize that so much time has gone by because I will just be totally lost in the beauty of the person's eyes. Especially the eyes of a child...

These are a few more images from the very special project that I had the honor of being a part of for Teen Challenge of Arizona's Home of Hope. I shared a few images from my session there a few weeks ago, but I had not finished proofing them yet...and now that I have, I have a few more favorites. :o) These children were precious...just precious...so I couldn't resist sharing some more. I think that just because of the huge variety of people that I was able to photograph that day...I was especially impacted by the genuine sincerity in their eyes. There were really happy expressions, sad expressions, pouty and solemn expressions...but, these kids were all so real. They weren't like a typical client who has come to the photo session with a weeks worth of preparation to show...they were just kids being completely themselves...with no idea who I was or why I was there to take their pictures. It was just a day that I will totally treasure...

Here's a few more...

I know that I am technically "behind" a day on my ABC posts, but maybe I'll do two here in the next couple of days to catch up! Catching up seems to be the theme of my week!!!

OH...a couple of announcements...

1 - I have TWO spots left for the Urban Minis!!! They are at 2:30 and 3pm.

2 - The entries for the BELLIES AND BABIES contest are coming in! The winner will be selected early next week so HURRY and enter if you qualify!!! If you aren't aware of the contest...CLICK HERE for more info!

TNT,
S

D is for {Determined}

...to be caught up on the multitudes of things that I am behind on by the end of this weekend!!! Lofty goals...I know...but, a girl can dream. :o) We were supposed to be in Michigan this week, but our trip was cancelled and so I'm recouping a few days that I wasn't "supposed" to have. I'm hoping to use them to catch up on a thing or two.

Mom..Dad...if you guys are checking this while you're in MI...say HI to everyone and tell Uncle Dennis happy birthday and Brian congratulations on his wedding! Miss you guys!!!

Here's a quick shot I snatched up before my hubby took all the boys for a walk the other night. The sun was almost completely set...so the lighting wasn't the best...but, he was cooperative for a moment or two so I grabbed what I could. I'm such a sucker for a brown eyed boy in a little beanie hat. Ahhhh...I could just slobber all over him!

If you didn't read yesterday's post about the blog contest...scroll down and keep reading!!! :o)

Have a GREAT Friday!
S

C is for {Contest}!!!

I suppose I wasn't too terribly subtle yesterday! :o) I LOVE doing blog contests! It's so much fun hear from you all and I love giving stuff away! So...here is to announcing the BIGGEST and BEST Treasure the Time Photography blog contest to date...

I'm looking for BELLIES & BABIES!!! One of the areas I'm focusing on for 2008 is to expand my business toward doing more maternity and newborn photo sessions. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE babies...and seeing as how my "baby" is now 2 1/2...I'm in need of a serious baby fix! :o) So...if you are pregnant or know someone who is pregnant •AND• are due between now and May 15th, then you qualify!!! If you are not pregnant, but you know someone who is and is due before May 15th...then pulllleeeezzzz pass this info on to them. :o) It's really simple...be one of the FIRST FIVE ladies to email me with (1) your name...(2) your due date...(3) whether you know if you're having a boy or girl...and (4) how you heard about this contest and you will be entered in a drawing for a FREE MATERNITY & FREE NEWBORN SESSION!!!! Yeppers! You read correctly! Both sessions will be completely free! All you need to do to enter is email me! Cool eh? OH...and I'm sure I'll have a little something sweet for the runners-up. :o)

AND...because no post would be complete without a photo...here is a fun one of my son riding his scooter about a week ago. My boys were outside with a friend riding their scooters and ripsticks and I couldn't resist running out there with the camera to try to grab some fun shots...not my normal "style", but every now and then I love to do something a little different. :o)

Chat with ya tomorrow!!!
S

B is for {BLOG}

What did you do this weekend???

We headed up north to the snow! I do believe it was the first time my baby boy has ever seen snow. We had such a blast...and I discovered that my boys LOVE sledding. Usually when we go to the snow we just kind of play for a bit and throw snowballs around...but, this time we borrowed sleds from my Father-in-Law and headed for the hills! It was so much fun!

I also discovered that ME + CAMERA + SNOW + FULL SUN does not equal the winning combination that I had hoped it would. It's really tricky to take good photos in the snow...there's the whole lighting plus reflective lighting issue...you have to be soooo careful not to underexpose your subject while trying not to blow out the details in the white of the snow...there are weird shadows all over the place in the middle of the day...metering a blazing fast boy on a sled surrounded by a blanket of white is a nightmare...just not the best situation if you know what I mean. However...I did end up getting a few shots that I was pretty happy with. :o) This one is my favorite...

or maybe this one...

hmmm....or this one???

Alright...I'll stop now!!! ;o)

OH!!! I almost forgot! I've added a super easy way for you to get updates to my blog...right there to the right...see it??? If you subscribe by email to my blog then you will be notified every time I post new photos. :o) Pretty cool eh? That way you won't have the same disappointment that I have every time I sneak a peek at my favorite blogs only to find out that they haven't posted in a week (such a downer!)...like some bloggers I know...ahem (cough, cough)...You'll be the first to know when there's something new and fun to look at! :o) Oh...and don't worry...you'll only get email when I've posted...I promise you won't be inundated with junk mail. I might send out an occasional email to subscribers offering them a special deal that will be only for blog subscribers...but, hey...who doesn't love a deal, right?

And...to celebrate my coolio new "subscribe" feature...I think I'm going to try something fun for the next 24 days...in keeping with the "A" is for ____ theme. I think I'm going to try to be a really super duper unbelievably amazing blogger for the next 24 days and post a photo every day through the rest of the alphabet. There are MANY really ambitious photographers out there who have decided to take on the challenge of posting a photo every single day of 2008...craziness I tell you! Not me! I'm lucky to find time to eat some days...but, for the next 24 days...I'M COMMITTED! So...watch for tomorrow's post...because tomorrow "C" stands for {_ _ _ _ _ _ _}. Can you guess???

Wellllllll...that's about it for tonight. :o)

TNT,
S

A is for {ADORABLE}

This is the "K" family...that I had the pleasure of meeting this weekend! If I had to choose one word to describe their little boy it would be "adorable". He was just a super-duper-cute-dude! So much fun!

We nearly got kicked off the grounds where we were doing our session. I always call ahead to new locations to get permission to shoot there before the session...but, this time I just didn't think it would be necessary at all because of where it was located. But...I was wrong! Oops! Fortunately I was able to sweet talk the grass police a little bit into letting us stay since (come on!) no one else was anywhere to be seen! :o) I say "grass police" because we were told...no rocks, no grass, no something-else-or-other...but, after she scadaddled (is that even a real word?) away we had a happy session anyway.

How could I not?!? with this sweet little man?!?

I am in the process of putting together a "Boutique" page that will have some specialty photo gifts that I'll be offering this year. One of the items that will be included is custom storyboards. I can help you with the process of pulling together images that complement each other in order to put together a storyboard for you. The storyboards will come mounted on 2mm styrene and will be matte coated for durability. Typically you would choose between 2-9 images to go together on one storyboard. Since they come mounted already you can display them on a tabletop easel, a shelf, or any other surface without the need to frame them. However, if you choose to frame them...that's fine too. :o) Here is an example of a square 16x16 storyboard...

'Till Next Time!
S

Oh, What We Take for Granted...

A few weeks ago I mentioned in a blog post that I had "A Humbling Experience" to tell you about. I thought I would be blogging about it much sooner than now, but until now I haven't felt like I've had the time to devote to a blog post that would do this experience justice. So...today is the day that I get to tell you about one of the most remarkable experiences I've had as a photographer. A friend of mine, Liz...(who incidentally rocks the design and custom wedding announcements world! :o)...check her stuff out here...invited me to be a part of a project that she is helping put together for Teen Challenge of Arizona's Home of Hope, which is a home for women, young moms, and their children. I was asked to take photos that documented a typical day at the Home of Hope to be used for their promotional materials...and...to be used for another unbelievable...very special purpose that I am astonished to be a part of and that I will reveal at a later date...I'd like to wait until it's completed so I can show the final product. :o)

The first thing that I got to photograph that morning were the children...babies, toddlers, and preschool aged. I didn't expect it to be hard to be there...but, it was. Especially in the preschool and toddler rooms. When you see these kids...who are so incredibly happy...and so content with life...yet, you have an idea of some of what they've been through...it's just very humbling. This was the very first shot of the morning...and I was blown away by just how profound it was...

My heart just ached for these little ones who have been through such difficult circumstances at such young ages...but, what a wonderful hope they have now that they have been given a safe environment and their moms are working hard to get their lives in order...and completely trusting God for the changes. So, what started out for me as an emotionally sad day very quickly turned to a day filled with awe at what God is doing in the lives of these ladies and I left there at the end of the day feeling like I had witnessed "HOPE" in a very "real" way.

So..These are just some of the images of the kids...although there are so many of the women too, my heart was just given over to these adorable kids who reminded me that I take so very much for granted. I just see so much joy in their precious eyes...when the world would tell them that they have very little to be joyful about. That's humbling indeed.

This is another one of that sweet sleeping boy and his beautiful mom. She is very blessed to be able to work in the nursery so she is able to be with him throughout the day.

This little guy was just a total hoot. He was so funny and so much fun...I don't think I saw him once throughout the day without a big smile on his face.

And here he is with his brother and sister. He was so excited to gather them together for a shot with all of them. While I was getting shots of other kids he just followed me from one spot to the next with his arms around them saying, "Get us! Get us!"

This little guy was also so much fun...he was full of spunk and had some of the bluest eyes...EVER...he also seemed to adore his mom...hung on her every word when she would be chatting with him.

This little cutie was also a little ham...she had all sorts of posing ideas for me and kept wanting to see her pictures on my LCD screen. She was especially pleased with this one. :o)

These adorable girlies are twins...and their mom is expecting a baby any time now! :o) They were so much fun because they also had lots of ideas for what they wanted their pictures to look like. It's so cute...like little mini photographers in the making!

And the last one I'll post of the kids...was this adorable little girl...and her sweet mom. Big sister was not feeling well...and this little one was very tired...so they were all just so snuggly together on mom's bed reading a story. It was so incredible to see how precious these little ones were to their moms. The moms were all so patient and gentle with their kids...it was very inspiring to me to see so much genuine sweet spiritedness between the moms and their little ones. This sweet girl's eyes...and her big sister's eyes...were just so beautiful. When I look at this photo I feel like I can see into her soul...isn't God amazing that he created our eyes to reveal soooo much about who we are...

Well...that's all I have to share for now...

I still have 4 openings left for the Urban Mini Sessions, so if you are interested in booking one of the remaining sessions...email me soon! The times I have left are 10:30, 11:30, 2:30, & 3pm.

TNT,
S