Ashley - Homeschool Class of 2013 - Grand Haven Senior Photographer

I met Ashley through my sister and was delighted when she agreed to model for me. We had a perfect  day in Grand Haven for her photo shoot. She has the most gorgeous eyes and such a naturally beautiful look - it was absolutely a pleasure to photograph her!

Matthew - Hudsonville High School Class of 2013 - Hudsonville Senior Photographer

I met with Matthew on a perfect evening at one of my favorite photo spots - this great barn at the Grand River Ravines Open Space. We had a great time - Matthew is a classy guy who even brought me a coffee! Guys may not like getting their pictures taken, but he definitely rocked this photo shoot. Hang on to your hearts, ladies!

The Schultz Family - Grand Rapids Family Photographer

I love shooting families - especially young families who are celebrating one year birthdays! I had a great time capturing these moments with the Schultz family, even though we had to schedule a second mini-shoot because it was in the 50s on our first day and little Miss E got cold and unhappy! But I'd say she just couldn't be any cuter, wouldn't you?

Meet Brianna - Jenison High School Class of 2013 - Jenison Senior Photographer

I've known Brianna since she was in seventh grade, and was so excited when she agreed to be a Senior Model for me! We had a ton of fun scouting out great photo-op spots in Easttown - I just love all the character of this part of Grand Rapids. Brianna was quite a trooper though the day was a bit on the cool and breezy side. Isn't she beautiful?

Alex - Allendale High School Class of 2013 - Grand Rapids Senior Photographer

We had so much fun roaming around downtown Grand Rapids for this Senior Model shoot with Alex. She is beautiful inside and out, and a natural in front of the camera! If you're looking for a great urban location for your senior photos, here are some places we could go!

Catching WAY up with Project 52

Well, I've been pretty good about taking photos for each weekly assignment; however, I have NOT been good about blogging! Takes awhile to establish a new habit... So, with one exception, here are my pics for the last several weeks.


WEEK 9: LEADING LINES
Found some great leading lines when we visited Meijer Gardens to see the butterflies - that is, when Little Miss E wasn't taking advantage of my kneeling down on the ground for photos to try to climb all over me!

WEEK 10: ROUND
So uncreative, I know, but there's nothing round I love more than the dear little faces of my Mr. B and Miss E. Especially since I know that sweet softness will be gone before I know it.

WEEK 11: MOTION
Tried a couple of slow shutter speed things this week without getting the result I was hoping for. Then at the end of the week, I found Mr. B busily decorating our front porch with sidewalk chalk. BINGO! Set the aperture to f/18 to force a slow shutter speed for a good exposure, and this is the result!

WEEK 12: WHITE
My crocuses were in full bloom this week! I got out my macro lens and extension tubes for some abstract-type close-ups of, of course, the white ones.

WEEK 13: CATCHLIGHTS
Of course I spent some time in front of my kiddos eyes recording their catchlights, but for something slightly different, I recruited my neighbor to model for me "in studio." She has gorgeous eyes anyway, but I loved how these catchlights made them just sparkle.

WEEK 14: WEATHER
I got no shots for this week's theme. It rained and I was hoping to get a macro of raindrops on the tree buds, but it was too windy. It was sunny (most of the week) and I was uninspired. Oh, well.



WEEK 15: TWO
I realized this week that Miss E finally has hair long enough to DO something with! So one afternoon I stuck some pigtails in her hair, only to discover that Mr. B really wanted some, too. So there they were, TWO of them with TWO little pigtails each... such a dear and silly little duo. And they nicely posed for me, to boot.

WEEK 16: WATER
Probably my favorite thing to photograph is the lakeshore and lighthouses. One day this week after 24+ hours of 30-40 mph winds, I realized the sky might offer up a nice sunset. I secured a last-minute babysitter and raced out to Grand Haven. The sunset wasn't quite what I hoped it might be, but I was grateful for every minute of my two hours out there. It was exhilarating and refreshing. And I ended up with this shot after the sun went down.

WEEK 17: NEGATIVE SPACE
With this assignment came the following explanation:


In photography we often spend so much time focusing on the subject itself (after all, we have to account for position, exposure, focus, etc.) that we can completely disregard the surrounding area. But, the area surrounding the subject (also known as Negative Space) is equally as important. In fact, it can make or break your image. Negative space often adds interest as it can place a stronger emphasis on the subject and it can evoke emotions completely different than that of a frame that’s filled with subject matter. Negative space does require a completely blank region, however. It is simply a reference to the space that is NOT the subject. Carefully considering negative space and purposely incorporating it into your photograph can certainly be challenging, but once you’ve learned to pay attention to it, your overall photographic composition is likely to become much stronger in the long run.


I have a protected wetlands behind my house that boasts an astonishing crop of trilliums every spring. The ground is literally carpeted with white - seeing this display and capturing it with my camera is one of my annual traditions. This year there were a number of pink trilliums - far more than I remember seeing before. So they were the subject of my annual trillium-portrait-fest this year. And this shot fit the assignment quite well. 

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I am finally caught up with my Project 52 Assignment blogging! 

CM Project 52 - Week 8: SELF-PORTRAIT

Nothing like the pressure of trying to get a decent photo of myself for this assignment! I'm just glad I did it during the kiddos naptime, and that no one could see me taking hundreds of pics with all these little adjustments, then running back to the camera, checking the display, and going back to try again. At least I have a remote for the shutter release and had it on a two-second delay timer. You can see the remote in my fingers in my full-length shots - thought I hid it but I guess I didn't. :)

Catching Up on Project 52...

So I'm a little behind on my blogging - but at least my photos are still happening in a timely manner. Two months down - woo hoo!

So, week six was CULTURE - which had me scratching my head. But a few people did photos reflecting their cultural heritage, so I borrowed from that idea with this Dutch Delftware.

Week 7's theme was RED HOT (because it was, of course the week of Valentine's Day)! So, in lieu of any suggestive photos (because the idea of lingerie did cross my mind), I thought I'd find some red hot peppers and do another food shoot. Stymied again - of the two grocery stores I went to, none of them had RED hot peppers. Just green ones. And yellow ones. So red bell peppers had to do.

Week 8 coming soon - SELF-PORTRAIT!  :)

Aaand... we have a chocolate lover. Oh, dear.

YES, this is my fault for ignoring my daughter while she raided the pantry. She just never actually opened anything before. Yes, I realize there is a first time for everything. Good thing I grabbed my camera, anyway... :)

Project 52 - Week 5/52: BEST FRIENDS

There is nothing that melts my heart so much as seeing my kiddos enjoying each other. Sometimes it seems like Miss E is more excited to see her brother than me! So when this week's theme was "Best Friends" it was a no-brainer to me what my subject matter would be. Even if it's my most frequently photographed subject matter...  :)

Project 52 - Week 4/52: BOKEH

From Wikipedia:

In photography, bokeh (Originally  /ˈboʊkɛ/,^[1]  /ˈboʊkeɪ/ boh-kay, and also sometimes heard as  /ˈboʊkə/ boh-kə,^[2] Japanese: [boke]) is the blur,^[3][4] or the aesthetic quality of the blur,^[5][6][7] in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light."^[8] Differences in lens aberrations and aperture shape cause some lens designs to blur the image in a way that is pleasing to the eye, while others produce blurring that is unpleasant or distracting—"good" and "bad" bokeh, respectively.^[3] Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field. Photographers sometimes deliberately use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions.

Bokeh is often most visible around small background highlights, such as specular reflections and light sources, which is why it is often associated with such areas.^[3] However, bokeh is not limited to highlights; blur occurs in all out-of-focus regions of the image.

So, given that convoluted definition, "LEGO my bokeh!" (and I pronounce it "bow-keh")