Disclaimer: If I babysit your kids, you might end up with cute pictures of them.
Luckily, today was my best friend Jenn’s little girl, Taylor. Taylor is Abbie’s little best friend, and they had a blast at the park in their cute T’s!
A few of both of MY girls:
One of my fave shots to take at the park:
I like to call this one “Brooklyn Skywalker” LOL!
I can already tell you that when I post the rest of this session, it’s going to be epic.
Have I ever mentioned how much I love my little girls? Well…let it be known.
EDIT: I just learned that little Halle is in the Emergency Room with a very severe case of pneumonia! Very scary for her family! She is not doing well…
Can I tell you what good friends to us the Hansens have become in such a short time? I had such a fun time shooting them a few months back! I’ll let the pictures do the talking because it’s late… 
We started at their house-I’m pretty sure I want this outfit for myself:
This b+w is probably my favorite!!!
I love the expression!
We then headed to a local park for some family shots!
Did I mention how stinkin’ cute these kids are? They are extremely well-behaved, too!
Love:
Okay, so the story behind this one is that James had a black eye during the shoot, which I had to edit out of every single shot…except this one. I decided it might be fun to have a spousal abuse shot…not that spousal abuse is funny…but this photo is!
After the fastest year in history, my little baby girl, Brooklyn is turning 1 today! I can’t believe how much she has grown, and how much she has blessed our lives. I am so thankful and so proud of both of my sweet little girls!!!
*Forgot to mention that I made the tutu (with a little help) and headband! The only thing I’ve ever sewn!
…and dancing…and getting married!
I was so fortunate to have been asked to shoot Jeff + Vanessa’s wedding back in December at El Encanto. These two are so darn cute with each other, and absolutely head over heels in love. Plus, their wedding had such great character to it! I loved all the color, details, and of course, the Mariachi!
Vanessa looked absolutely STUNNING!
And her girls were workin’ it!
Oh, and did I mention that the BRIDESMAIDS were über talented and helped with everything, including her bouquet? (They were pretty fun, too!)
Jeff getting pinned…
The mariachi played as Vanessa walked down the aisle with her mother…
Did I mention how incredibly adorable these two are together???
My favorite!! :
They changed into their cowboy boots for the rest of the reception-might as well be comfortable!!!
Again…mariachis are like my favorite wedding “band” of all time!
A few cute first dance shots…
I love this image because Vanessa and Jeff are doing the exact same thing…can you say MFEO? Ha!
They had colorful details right down to their orange cake!!
Jeff helping Vanessa get some cake off her nose…
I can’t even tell you how much I loved working with these two and how incredibly kind and wonderful they are!!! Thank you, Vanessa and Jeff!!!
An extra special THANK YOU to Angie Sloan and Beka Lowe for driving out to Cave Creek with me and being so insanely awesome! You guys were such a big help!
Sometimes I get caught on camera, too!
Hope she got a good one!
This made me remember way back when I got my first camera-a white and blue Vivitar Spree film camera when I was about 8 years old. I was seriously fascinated by it. I wore that thing out with pictures of my shoes, my cats…anything that would sit still for me. My parents probably hated paying to develop rolls and rolls of film. I fell out of the habit of photography until I got into high school. Since my career as the singer in a ska band wasn’t going to happen (ha-you have to be able to sing to be in a band!), I was kind of looking for a new elective for my junior year. A girl I knew was showing a friend of mine a picture she developed and printed in her photojournalism class. I had no idea they even offered photojournalism in school, and was amazed that she processed the film from start to finish into a black and white print. I signed up for the class the next semester and bought my first major camera, the Canon A2. I went on to become a yearbook photographer in high school, a photography major and BFA graduate from ASU, and a photographer (having switched from film to digital somewhere in between)! All from an interest that was sparked when I was young…
Thanks for reading my rambling!
Jennifer called me up a couple of months ago to see if I would shoot some bridal portraits of her. She and her husband had been married for a year, but her mother wanted some photos of Jennifer in her wedding dress. Of course I was thrilled because they were looking for something a little more hip and urban! They are also very outdoorsy, so we went with that later on in the session. She was worried that this was a strange request, but it isn’t strange at all! I absolutely love day after sessions (or week after, or year after!)
We started out in downtown Scottsdale…
It’s not often that you find such nice graffiti!
We then headed into Phoenix and found some gorgeous spots to take some photos of Jennifer for her mom…
One of my faves for mom’s shot!
We had some gorgeous warm light as the sun was setting…
I swear that sunset is barely tweaked at all in PS! We Arizonans are lucky in that sense!
And I love this silhouette!
Thanks, you guys! I loved getting to know you and exploring Arizona with you!
This is my IPod, which is totally scratched up and a few years old, but I still love it!
Okay, so officially I am closing the guessing game on my random IPod playlist because, well, I’m tired and sick, but also because the randomly chosen song # was guessed correctly (more on that later!). I have to say that I am majorly impressed with the skills out there and how many people know random song lyrics! To all of those who guessed-thanks!!! The answers are…drumroll please…
1. The 88 | Coming Home
2. Van Morrison | Brown Eyed Girl
3. Linkin’ Park | Runaway
4. Bob Dylan/Guns n’ Roses | Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
5. Matt Costa | Ballad of Miss Kate
6. Soft Cell | Tainted Love
7. The Reindeer Section | Cartwheels
8. Flogging Molly | What’s Left of the Flag
9. Elvis | You’re the Devil in Disguise
10. Chevelle | Panic Prone
11. Squirrel Nut Zippers | Hell
12. Queen | Killer Queen
13. Ok Go | A Million Ways
14. Beastie Boys | Body Movin’
15. Fatboy Slim | Praise You
16. Toadies | Possum Kingdom
17. Bowling for Soup | 1985
18. Goo Goo Dolls | Flat Top
19. Lagwagon | Lamen’s Terms
20. Collective Soul | Shine
21. Scandal | Goodbye to You
22. Imogen Heap | Speeding Cars
23. Buffalo Tom | Sparklers
24. Elton John | Tiny Dancer
25. Frou Frou | Shh
26. Poe | Beautiful Girl
27. Rolling Stones | Street Fighting Man
28. The Format | I’m Ready, I Am
29. The Decemberists | The Crane Wife 3
30. Headfirst | The New Me (This one was a major bonus because it is a track from my brother David’s band which used to be played on the radio locally, but they have since broken up. If anyone had guessed it, I would have been amazed! BUT…they were awesome while they were around!) Their singer, Harper Lines, was also lead vocals for The Revival, which is now defunct.
So…who won??? Well, 18 is my lucky number, so I randomly selected song #18 as the winning song. That means DARCY MARTIN won! But wait…there was a secret prize I didn’t tell you about (because people would have for sure Googled the answers–muahaha)! The person who guessed the most correct songs also wins! So, another congratulations to ANDY ANDREWS!
Email me at rachael@earlphotography.info with your addresses and I’ll send you out your gift cards!
But wait…there’s more! If you were kind enough to comment and guess on this post, you’re welcome to a copy of my awesome random playlist on CD if you want! Just email me!
I’ve mentioned in a previous post how RANDOM my musical taste is, so I decided to have a contest (inspired by a recent Facebook trend) to see if you can indeed guess the artist and song title from the first lyrics of a random shuffle playlist from my IPod. PLEASE do not Google them (a few on there are HARD and might not come up when Googling). Post up your answers for all to see and you might WIN! (See below…)
UPDATED SAT 6:00 PM WITH MORE LYRICS:
1. Won’t you be good to yourself? Don’t you feel like coming home. It’ll be good. It’ll be like coming home…
2. Hey, where did we go, days when the rains came… Brenda Eden
3. Graffiti decorations under the sky of dust. A constant wave of tension on top of broken trust… Erin Cady
4. Mama take this badge from me, I can’t use it anymore… Zak Schwank
5. You gave me your word, then you took your word back. Where once I had faith, now all I see is black. Black seeing black. I gave you up rather than giving in…
6. Sometimes I feel I’ve got to… Darcy Martin
7. I’m doing cartwheels. My wounds are nicely salted dear, I never got to thank you right. I was finished way before I could see quite what you had in mind for me…
8. His eyes they closed and his last breath spoke. He had seen all to be seen a life once full, now an empty vase… Andy Andrews
9. You look like an angel, you talk like an angel… Andy Andrews
10. Gave in again, the bastard, can’t keep refusing rights… Erin Cady
11. In the afterlife, you could be headed for the serious strife… Andy Andrews
12. She keeps Moet et Chandon in a pretty cabinet… Carolyn Dike
13. Sit back, matter of fact… Carolyn Dike
14. Ready one, you will do this four times with the left, four with the right then eight times with both, then repeat… Erin Cady
15. We’ve come a long, long way together… Brandi Thompson
16. Make up your mind, decide to walk with me… Andy Andrews
17 Debbie just hit the wall, she never had it all… Brandi Thompson
18. Flat top intervention… Darcy Martin
19. If you could say something that fascinated me, the air in your small world might clear to breathe. Lamens terms. King of fools. Illiterate, you’d rather be in this back seat playing to the gallery and they remember all their lines…
20. Give me a word, give me a sign, show me where to look, tell me what I will find… Andy Andrews
21. Those times I waited for you seem so long ago, I wanted you far too much to ever let you go… Brandi Thompson
22. Here’s the day you hoped would never come… Carolyn Dike
23. In the colored light stands you. The end is in sight – no need to fight anymore. They’re hot in pursuit and they’re pursuing you all the way home and now you’re finally alone…
24. Blue jean baby… Brenda Eden
25. Sunbeam, stop tugging me. Pull that door shut quietly… Carolyn Dike
26. Someone’s gotta hear this. Beautiful girl, you must’ve been a beautiful baby, too. Beautiful woman, you must’ve had your moments inside the sun…
27. Everywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet. Boy, ’cause summer’s here and the time is right for fighting in the street. Boy, but what can a poor boy do, except to sing for a rock n’ roll band…
28. I’m nicotine, I’m coming clean… Andy Andrews
29. And under the boughs unbowed, all clothed in the snowy shroud… Andy Andrews
30. You say I’ve got to listen to what you have to say, but when the listening’s over, what did you say anyway? I thought I let you know that, I hesitated to say, I’m not the one holding onto memories…**If ANYONE gets this one, I will take you out to lunch!!!!
To the first person to post in the comments the correct answer to one of the songs that I have chosen at RANDOM goes a $15 ITunes Gift Card. I will announce the winner after all the songs have been guessed correctly, or if there is a general consensus that some of them will never be guessed.
Leave me a comment if you’re stumped and I might give some clues, but again, PLEASE don’t Google them. This is just for fun!
