You begin this way:
this is your hand,
this is your eye,
this is a fish, blue and flat
on the paper, almost
the shape of an eye
This is your mouth, this is an O
or a moon, whichever
you like.  This is yellow.

Outside the window
is the rain, green
because it is summer, and beyond that
the trees and then the world,
which is round and has only
the colors of these nine crayons.

Once you have learned these words
you will learn that there are more
words than you can ever learn.
The word hand floats above your hand
like a small cloud over a lake.
The word hand anchors
your hand to this table
your hand is a warm stone
I hold between two words.

This is your hand, these are my hands, this is the world,
which is round but not flat and has more colors
than we can see.
It begins, it has an end,
this is what you will
come back to, this is your hand.

-Margaret Atwood, “You Begin This Way”

I love that poem. Its heartbreaking simplicity carries such a profound message- that the world is so big to hold such a tiny, precious, loved life. It illustrates a parents’ job so eloquently: this is my hand, this is your hand, this is the world, this is my hand again and always. This is why we capture it.

And man, that sweet, beautiful poem made me tear up when I first read it. So, to keep things upbeat over here, here’s a song that, well,  Makes Me Happy. :)

Until Next Time,

MG

The chill outside we felt a couple days ago made me want to break out the corduroys and head to Starbucks for a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino. Mmmm. My favorite Fall drink, other than hot apple cider. My sister and I got into an argument over which season was better- Fall or Spring? I was on the Autumnal side of things, and I think I won. I mean, c’mon. Think of the Topsfield Fair, the cozy sweaters, the excuse to buy new leather knee high boots. Well, it’s MY excuse.

Speaking of my sister, she was just accepted to Cameo as a model, through their new adults division. I took her out for a shoot today at a local farm, Cider Hill, in Amesbury MA, and we hiked to the top of the hill to the peach orchard to take a couple shots.

Isn’t she just adorable?

A couple notes:

-I’ve been having phone problems, where my voicemail box has been literally filling with sales calls. I’m sorting it out with my phone company (sorting is the nice way to put it), so please bear with me. The best way, and quickest way as always, is to email me- for booking or for questions. Please use this method until I can convince my phone company that no, I do NOT need ‘new, lower car insurance!’. Thank you very much.

-I’ve sent out the information for the September Modeling Shoot previously announced to all the models and families that volunteered. Thank you to everyone that’s participating! If you volunteered and did not get an email with details for the day, please check your Spam folder. If anyone would still like to join, please email me ASAP. I am willing to take two-three more kids.

-The Holiday 2008 Schedule will be posted Monday, and booking for these sessions will start then. I will be offering both mini sessions and regular sessions, both of which include digital files and Holiday Cards. Mini sessions will be held on two weekends in October.

Okay, business is done. If it weren’t dark out, I would be outside again. Here are a couple images to remind us of Summer when the chill sets in (coincidentally peach-themed as well):

Until Next Time,

MG

Here we are, on the way to the church:

Greeted by her maid of honor.

Another of my favorite limo shots- these are always so fun to get. I think she was waving at people outside of another church in this one- they all waved back! :)

All ready to go- makeup, hair, and dress all done up.

Headed out to the waiting limo:

A behind-the-scenes shot, by my second shooter (and sister), Meg…you can see me booking it down the aisle-backwards- and in heels, haha:

More pictures to come- the groom will get his own post, to be sure. Love those little details of the day.

If you’re interested in booking a wedding for 2009 with us, please inquire at least 6 months ahead of time for pricing and packages. I take weddings exclusively by request, and will fill a limited amount of slots for next year! I can’t wait to work with my future brides and grooms.

Until Next Time,

MG

Baby B is 5 days old here, and his mum and dad had just brought him home from the hospital the day before we did his pictures. Fresh out of the oven, this one is. His mama is one of the few people I know who left her baby’s gender a surprise, which I respect enormously- I would never be able to do it! Well, the wait is over- she has a beautiful, gorgeous baby boy. Meet Baby B, a much anticipated, much loved little man.

You can see his mama’s beautiful belly  in my banner up there! My spokes-belly, if you will.

Quick Note: I will be announcing my Holiday Sessions schedule very soon. Mini sessions and regular sessions will be offered, that will include holiday cards and digital files. I’ll also be offering a few surprise products that will knock your festive gift-giving socks off! More on that soon- booking will be very fast for these, so check back often.

Another note: Availability is out to September now, with only a few dates in August left. Consider booking a beach session with me before the holiday rush and impending Fall weather. As always, if you are expecting a newborn, please contact me asap with your due-date.

Until Next Time,

MG

Remember that 100 degree day, with 100% humidity? The one where you stayed blissfully inside with your air conditioning and cold lemonades? Well, while you were cool as a cucumber indoors, myself and this beautiful family ate ice cream, jumped, ran, and dodged waves on Plum Island and downtown Newburyport. And lordy be was it ever HOT!

When I was emailing with mom, she mentioned, when I sent her our What To Wear Guide, that kids clothes were a sort of ‘hobby’ for her. What a coincidence! They are an obsession hobby of mine as well. And she didn’t lie…the girls were decked out in everything from Oilily to Paul Frank. All of the girls’ shirts up there are PF, one of my favorite brands. :)

I had them climb up on this lifeguard stand, and a couple minutes after this, all three of the kids dared Dad to jump from the top. Did he? Why yes. Followed by all three of them, haha.

Had to share a quick snap before I dive into editing! :)

Until Next Time,

MG

She was a such a happy, happy kid! Full of light and spunk. We shot these at Maudslay estate in Newburyport MA, and while we were walking down to this flower field, she would ask “when are we going to take pictures”? I love a kid who’s ready to take pictures even before we get to the location ;)

We headed down to Plum Island afterwards, where we played chicken with the waves. As you can see, Meili won most of the time.

Meili: 100, Waves: 0.

Meili and her little sister, Sienna. S was quite the model, too…in between Meili’s “looks”, when she was changing outfits, Sienna would take her chance and plop right down in front of me and pose, haha. Kids who run towards you and poses? Yes, please!

Meili is with Cameo Kids, and is going to be modeling and acting with them. She’s got ‘it’, that’s for sure!

Until Next Time,

MG

NOTE: I’ve just been informed that COMMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN WORKING (Thanks, Andrea!). I believe I just fixed the problem, but please let me know if you still cannot comment. I was wondering why things were a little quiet over here. If there’s anything you’d been bottling up in the meantime, feel free to show some love to the last few posts!

My beautiful friend Tess’s baby boy, G :) Is he not the sweetest doll you’ve ever seen? I didn’t know it was possible to be so in love with someone else’s child! :) Excuse the outdated watermark…I am working on uploading a new one!

Until Next Time,

MG

I hung out with Malia and her brother, Matthew for an afternoon at Fanueil Hall in Boston! Her outfits were spot-on with color, and her mom did a fantastic job in bringing props…the Lollipop was my favorite!

It POURED before our session…I was getting pretty nervous driving into Boston with my windsheild wiper on high! :) Good thing mom brought a super-cool umbrella for a prop:

After the rain…we went puddle jumping!

Matthew’s post will be coming up; I thought each of the kids deserved their own. Isn’t she beautiful?

Until Next Time,

M

I bet her mama wasn’t expecting to see images this soon- we ended our shoot at 5pm today! It was a scorcher outside- in the high 90’s, and Ginny was a trooper of a model.

We shot out at Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, MA- the perfect Orchard setting to compliment her little apple dress.

Much more to come!

M

Just a teeny, tiny sneak peek…because lord, do I ever have SO MANY images that I love from this session. More to come for sure, I just had to post these ones!

Until Tomorrow,

M