MY CAMERA LOVES YOU BLOG » Charity

Gabriella’s Sparkly New Heart

Rachael Earl — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:19:39 +0000

I had the honor of meeting and photographing a very special little girl and her family over the weekend. Meet Gabriella Vega, a sweet and caring little girl who has gone through so much in her short life. From her mother’s (Kristi’s) blog: “Gabriella was diagnosed in April with a severe and irrepairable case of Myocardial Bridging which is causing Secondary Restrictive Cardiomyopathy. September 25, just before being listed for her new heart, she suffered a left MCA stroke, imparing her right arm abilities and taking away her speech.” She is patiently waiting on the donor list for her “sparkly new heart” as they fondly refer to it in her family. After all, Kristi says, how else do you explain to a 5-year-old about a heart transplant? This story hits home for me. You see, Gabriella is just a few months younger than my Abigail. I can’t imagine being in their shoes, and yet, they endure this trial with insurmountable faith and peace. They are one of the nicest, loving, and most grateful families you could meet, and it was my pleasure to be able to photograph them.

If you know me or have ever shot with me, you’ll know that I love COLOR, and we had plenty of it at our session!

LOVE the smiles here!

AND here!

They brought along Gabriella’s Candy Land set, which Kristi attributes to getting them through their hospital stays. Apparently, Gabriella is unbeatable. We’d make a great pair because I’ve NEVER won at Candy Land!

LOVE:

Amazingly, we did not lose a single balloon at this shoot. I attribute this to LONG strings and well placed feet.

You guys have good genes

Then, it was tutu time-Kristi made this, and you could tell that the minute Gabriella put it on, she felt like a princess! I think I might need to get one for myself

I am embarrassed to say that Gabriella has better toenails than I do-6 month old pedicure, anyone? *sigh*

I feel the need to explain why I love this photo. You see, most photographers would never include it-eyes closed, hair blowing in the wind. But the look on her face is so peaceful, I just had to include it. I love it in black and white:

There were so many in this series that I wanted to include. It was windy and the balloons were flying everywhere-Gabriella hung on with all of her might and had a fun time with it!

Now, I knew about Gabriella’s heart condition going into the session, but I did not know about her sparkly new heart. I happened to have these sparkly hearts from Valentine’s Day so I brought them on a whim. I am glad that I did.

You may notice that I have photographed a lot of “heart babies” or “heart kids” if you will. This sweet family was referred to me through Owen’s mommy, who was referred to me through Bela’s mommy, who also referred Lilyana. I am grateful to have met all of these wonderful families, and as far as I know, all of the children are still doing great! I stop by their blogs frequently to make sure, and occasionally run into them at Target (Avery and Andrea). May the Lord bless you all with the power of His miracles-your children have already touched my heart, and I know that they will continue to touch others along their journeys.

Put a Little Love in Your Heart (Winners)

Rachael Earl — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:07:57 +0000

Thank you to everyone who entered! I have notified the winner of the free session-a very deserving family. I would encourage other photographers, if possible, to take the time to help a family in need. There are so many more this season than there have been in seasons past, and we have the opportunity to really bless those families with something special.

I’ll leave you with a quick picture of one of my favorite families and neighbors (not the winners of the session):

Put a Little Love in Your Heart

Rachael Earl — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:35:51 +0000

Not just a song I love, but also an opportunity to give to someone in need. If you know someone who has had a particularly rough year this year that you would like to gift Christmas pictures to, post a comment up with YOUR OWN email address, and also EMAIL ME to let me know the name and email of those whom you would like to gift a session this year. Please let them know that you are entering them. I will draw a name at random on November 10th (noon) and contact both the winner and the person who nominated them. The random winner will get a free session and a disk of their images ($300 value). Together, we’ll help a family in need, and the world will be a better place.

And I’ll leave you with a quick picture that makes me smile:

A quick photo from my State Fair Sessions. You might remember Miss Maggie (in the middle) from last year. I am happy to report that she is doing much better, and was full of smiles, which makes me smile BIG smiles!

*Winner must live in the Phoenix area, or be visiting here before the end of the year!!!

California Dreamin’

Rachael Earl — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:44:37 +0000

Here is a quick sneak peak of my session with Janell and Earl (yes, Earl and I instantly bonded because he has an awesome name) down in Tempe. You see, when I asked what was really important to them, they said water! Well, we live in Arizona, so there isn’t much of that stuff around, but we got some great shots, and I was so glad to have met the two of them. They were winners of a session in my Find a Reason contest. Their best friend, Shannon, entered every single day to get them a session because they have never really had their pictures taken! Well, I think they did a pretty dang good job, don’t you?

You know how I love a little sunflare!

I love the pop of color here! (Sun and color make for a great session!)

And this is the closest we get to a beach in Arizona, but at least we don’t have earthquakes, right?

Thank you guys, and it was such a pleasure to meet you! More soon!

Resolution.

Rachael Earl — Tue, 12 May 2009 07:19:21 +0000

I realized today that I have left you with a lot of cliffhangers with no resolutions! I promise to post more from my past sessions that I left you with quick sneak peeks and then left you hanging!

Starting with…the popsicle session!

There was much more to this session than popsicles and insanely witty jokes, my friend! Robin was one of the winners of my Find a Reason contest, and what a fun bunch her family is!

Here are a few faves:

I relate to this image because my brothers pushed me around…that’s not what he’s doing, but it looks like it!

The girls had a tea party in the woods…

A few of the whole family:

This image screams summer to me!

I love this warm light…mmm!

The boys were wild, but in a good way!

One thing that Robin told me about her family is that her kids love to climb trees. Little did I know that they all loved to climb them all the time! They’re good at it, too! Check out this shot!

Thank you guys, and I hope you had fun!

Popsicle Says…

Rachael Earl — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 06:42:22 +0000

Popsicle sticks impart so much valuable joke knowledge, and also come in awesome shapes like “star” and “squiggle.” These shots (and about a bazillion more) are from my shoot today with the Welkers, winners of a Find a Reason session. Robin said that they were coming up on 10 years of marriage (she beat us out for the longest marriage at our high school reunion!), and had gone through a lot of trials in their life, including their son’s cancer. I set out with their family today, and despite them thinking their kids were hard, it really was a lot of fun, and they have some great shots coming (other than of popsicles!).

Drumroll please for these amazing jokes…

Get ready for this one…

Ahhh, the great jokes you have now added to your repertoire. You’re welcome.

Thank you, Welkers! Stay tuned for more!

Rain, Rain Go Away…

Rachael Earl — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:48:36 +0000

Well, this crazy rainy, windy weather has caused me to have to reschedule some of the sessions I had planned, but Lauren was brave enough to “weather” it all (pun intended). Lauren won one of the sessions I gave away in my “Find a Reason” contest because I was amazed that someone so young read my blog, plus she wanted some great pictures to remember her teenage years! She is super sweet and cute, and always has a smile on her face! She is a native to Gilbert, and wanted some photos in front of the famous silos that are one of the few “landmarks” (I guess) of Gilbert.

I love her laugh! One of my favorites…

So pretty!

Next, we headed over to the tennis courts because Lauren loooooves tennis, and I love all the fun ideas we came up with!

I love that you can see the courts behind her through the fence!

I love this shot! I think she looks so cute!

Lauren’s sister and mom came along for different parts of the session, and so we grabbed a few quick shots (I’ll keep the Charlie’s Angels shots private!)

Thanks, Lauren! I’m proud of you for braving the rainy day, and you were so much fun to shoot!!!

Don’t Stop Me Now

Rachael Earl — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:33:47 +0000

This little bundle of smiles and energy is Owen. You know upon meeting the Simmons family that their little guy is special in many ways. Like Bela and Lily, Owen has a very special heart. I never realized how many babies are born with heart issues, and how trying and hard it can be on their families, not to mention the poor little babies! Owen is just 8 days younger than my little baby. He has an oxygen tube and a feeding tube right now, and despite all of that, he is full of smiles and a is real joy to his parents and his sister. It really hits home when I see families dealing with these tough medical issues with their tiny little ones. I feel blessed that I don’t have to go through it, and also the need to help these families that do. Without further ado, Mr. Owen-big blue eyes and a smile that never fades!

I really love this next image-I usually process photos with a lot of strong color, but this one is so soft-I love the way Owen is touching his mom’s face, and the soft light that is coming through the trees…

Kamryn is a sweetie! I love her eyes in this shot!

They brought some fun things with them for the shoot, including a pinwheel! Owen was mesmerized!

And a big red ball! I love that it’s as big as he is! I love this entire series as we rolled the ball back and forth!

These last two are my favorites!

Thank you guys! You are such a fun, awesome family! I wish you all the best with all of the upcoming trials you have to face…

To find out more about Owen, visit the Simmons Family Blog.

Contest Entrants

Rachael Earl — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:52:08 +0000

If you guys entered the contest, could you please email me at rachael@earlphotography.com so that I have your email address? I am having a hard time tracking some of you down. I will email you to let you know that you are a winner. Thanks so much

In. Your. Eyes.

Rachael Earl — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:34:12 +0000

So who was in those previews? The Sloans, of course! They happened to be the lucky winners of a session from my donation to Nie Nie! THANK YOU for donating-I know it’s a cause very dear to your hearts. We were all about the 80′s + Rock n’ Roll that day, right down to my radical old Sony Boombox (er…”Cassette-Corder”…that doesn’t sound nearly as cool). I “Sloanified” some of these images due to the highly 80′s nature about them. That’s right…I just made up my own word.

Oh, and “In Your Eyes“? That was the song Angie was singing after this shot:

Love how Paisley is “flying” like the planes in the background!

Maddux is a rockstar!

Loving the air guitar!

Yes, these are vintage BluBlockers. Yes, they are awesome.

Paisley had her first taste of sugar that day…and she loved it!

Oh, so who makes a better John Cusack??? My vote goes to Angie, but Matt was a VERY close second! And I was a VERY distant third…that image isn’t gracing the blog!
Matt wins for the most ways to rock a boombox…

BUT…Angie did take this shot that I love!

We Will Rock You.

Rachael Earl — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 07:22:45 +0000

Just because it’s fun to post teasers (and because photos of this family included several with no heads), here are two to dwell on until tomorrow.

Put Another Dime in the Jukebox, Baby.

Rachael Earl — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 05:08:28 +0000

I can already tell you that when I post the rest of this session, it’s going to be epic.

Little Miss Maggie

Rachael Earl — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:11:10 +0000

A while ago, I had the opportunity to donate a session to a good cause. Little Maggie had just found out that she had leukemia at the tender age of 3 years old. Family and friends were having a silent auction to raise money for her medical costs, and I donated a session to that auction after a friend mentioned what was going on. I also wanted to give the family the gift of a family session, which we did in November. I could tell it was hard on their family to go through so much with such a young one, but they were still so full of love for one another. I had never met this family before, but I will never forget them now.
We started in their home with one of Maggie’s favorite pastimes…

We then moved to the park-I love this sweet moment!

I love this photo-pure happiness!

I wish the Siegel family all the best-my prayers are with you and with Maggie!

You Win, Nie Wins!

Rachael Earl — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 22:08:13 +0000

I was so fortunate to be able to donate 3 sessions to the Nie Recovery Garage Sale in Agritopia organized by my good friend, Carolyn Dike. The Faerber family was one of the winners of a free session to benefit the Nielson family who were in a terrible plane crash, and are still critically injured. The above image was my favorite and was also the image chosen by the family for the free metallic 8×10 print! It looked amazing on metallic paper!!!

Landon loves to hide in the covers-I love that you can only see his little feet!

He is also quite the dancer!!! SO cute!

Thank you guys for donating your time and money to this important cause!

I am sad to report that this is the last session I will ever shoot at Joe’s Farm Grill. Unfortunately, they have started charging photographers quite a high fee to use their grounds, and I would have to pass that fee onto my customers if I continued to shoot there-something I do not want to do.

Don’t You Forget About Me

Rachael Earl — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:41:55 +0000

Here are some photos from the Charity Garage Sale and Auction held this morning. WOW is all I can say about the brain child of my friend, Carolyn Dike. I was there for a little while last night (nowhere near the amount of time that most people spent helping set up for this thing). There were piles and piles of stuff EVERYWHERE! The sale started at 7:00 this morning and I was there at 8:00, and I swear that 2/3 of the stuff was SOLD! I can’t believe the turnout and the generosity of so many people that went into this. Carolyn spent weeks and weeks gathering items and sorting through, and spent the last 2 days (and nights) setting up and making everything look fabulous. She had so many friends there to help, and I think it was a HUGE success! I have yet to hear how much money was raised for the Nielson Family, but thank you for donating if you went-every penny counts! I’m excited to see who the three families are that won free sessions with me!