Sunday, August 28, 2011

Say hello to my little bean!

I finally have some decent quality pictures of my little girl to show you.  I for one am surprised that she napped long enough for me to get these shots!  Here is Charlotte at 4 days old.

Pin It

Saturday, August 27, 2011

The most exciting week of my life!

I must say, this week has been very, very interesting and full of excitement and a range of other emotions.  Where shall I begin?

If you live on the east coast, then on Tuesday, you may have experienced your first earthquake.  I know that I did.  I'm at home, on the computer and the building starts to shake, slowly at first.  I assume my upstairs neighbors are wrestling with an elephant.  But the building starts to shake more, and it took me a second to realize that we are having an actual earthquake.  Funny note is, I was able to find out more information via facebook than actual news sites.  Yes, Facebook, moving news forward.

Ah, the one thing I forgot to mention about being in said earthquake.  10 minutes, and I am serious (I even have the facebook post to prove it), 10 minutes BEFORE the earthquake, I noticed that I had my first real contraction.  And then bam! Earthquake.  All of my friends joked about how my contraction rocked the earth.

Well that was not the end of that amazing day.  My contractions were happening all day, and when I ventured out to get my husband at night from work, they were getting stronger.  At midnight, on Wednesday, contractions went from slightly annoying to painful and it was time to go to the hospital.  We were admitted, at at 5:21p.m. (after laboring for hours, two failed epidurals, and a bunch of other funny stuff), our daughter Charlotte Adventure Zimmerman was born into this world.  7lbs 7oz, 19 inches long, a head full of soft curly hair, and very inquisitive.

Childbirth, I have nothing to compare it to. Almost no words to describe seeing her for the first time.  Watching my husband hold her filled my heart up.  It was absolutely amazing.

And now that we are back home, being that we were discharged yesterday, we are now preparing for this hurricane that is supposed to be heading our way.  My husband went and got food and ice and supplies and such, and right now, this hurricane seems pretty wimpy.  But then again, it hasn't hit our area yet, and I am not one to doubt mother nature.

So within this week I experienced my first earthquake, birthed my first child, and will be hunkering down for a hurricane.  At least my daughter will have an interesting story to tell about her first week on this earth.

Stay safe (especially if you are on the east coast) and have fun!  With this hurricane craze and such, I hope that couples getting married this weekend don't think that their wedding is ruined because of the weather.  Besides, it's considered good luck for it to rain on your wedding day.  So a hurricane must be the best of the best type of luck for your marriage!
Pin It

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Summer is almost over

Can you believe it?!?  Summer is almost at an end, then we hit fall.  I can't complain, I love fall.  I get to break out my jeans, and boots, and cardigans, and the weather is perfect.  Especially when heading out to the renaissance fair.  And weddings in the fall, what more can I say?  They are gorgeous!

I really can't believe that we are almost through with the month of August, and I am still pregnant.  Yes, you read right, the duckling has not left the nest.  Her due date was August 18th, so now, we just sit here and wait.  I will tell you this, pregnancy, and being overdue makes you learn patience!  I know that in my area school is about to start. Which is funny to me at least. In New York, we didn't start school until after Labor Day, but then again we finished school at the end of June, and here school is finished in May.

I am really excited for the fall because that means weddings, engagement and family sessions!  I have a few friends who are pregnant right behind me, and we are discussing their soon to be family sessions.  It's all so exciting.

I am currently booking for 2012 weddings.  Do not waste time in booking, most photographers book a year out. Waiting until the last minute usually means more stress and headaches for you!
Pin It

Friday, August 19, 2011

Patience & World Photography Day!

Patience.  It's the one thing I would like to think that I possess.  The truth is, I don't.  Now, I can be patient at some times, and depending on the situation, I can be very patient.  For example, when my dear husband doesn't take the garbage out, I can be patient.  Patient enough that I will place the garbage by the door so he can take it out when he leaves for work in the morning.  Then when I wake up and see that the garbage bag is still there, I am patient enough to wait till he comes home to remind him.

Yes, it really is that serious, being that the garbage is the ONLY thing he has to take out.

Now, when it comes to weddings, patience takes on a whole new world for me.  I will let you in on a secret.  I may seem cool, calm and collected on the outside, but when a wedding is running late I start getting nervous.  It's not that I lose patience, I just tend to get worried that I will not be able to deliver the images that my couples want because of time restraints.  Now, it's very easy to say that I have to work with the time I have, but trust me, the inside of my head starts to resemble a panicked fashion designer at their first fashion show with everything going wrong when things start going late at a wedding.  So patience, and how to calm myself, on the inside at least is something I definitely need to develop.

I suppose that having a baby pretty soon will sort of kick start me into learning how to be more patient.

Oh yes! That whole baby thing.  Well, if you have been keeping up, the baby bean was due to arrive on August 18, which was yesterday.  Now, babies do their own thing and arrive when they want.  And if she takes after her father in regards to time, she will definitely be here when she feels like it.  But yes, baby was due, no baby, due date is passed.  Doctor says I am doing great still, and we will discuss any other necessary options come next week. I am very excited! We have a lot of things set up for her. And I am a little bit too excited to set up her first baby session, with me of course.

Now, moving on.  Today is World Photography Day!  So everyone get out there, break out your camera and take a photograph of something.  I am ashamed to admit it, but my camera has been sitting by itself for the last couple of weeks.  My mind has not been in the zone for photography.  Which I guess is expected due to the fact that I am about to have a baby!  But today, I ventured into the bedroom and took two quick snapshots of the little beans bassinet.





Yes, that is a pink Sock Monkey.  It was our first official baby item that we purchased and I literally squealed in delight when I saw it!

Till next time folks. Hopefully the next blog will feature a little baby!
Pin It

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Prepping for Baby

My baby girl is due in two days. That's right...two days before this little bean is supposed to arrive into the world.  I for one am so thankful that I did not end up going into labor at any of my last weddings!  That would have made for quite an interesting story.

Everything in the house is prepped for her arrival. Or at least as prepped as it is going to be.  Her bassinet and diapers and such are all set up in our bedroom. Clothes and other baby items are washed.  Car seat and stroller are ready.  What else is there to do?  Oh, that's right...wait.

The waiting is the hardest part, at least for me it is.  With my maternity sessions in the past, I always talked to the mothers about their excitement and anticipation to see their little one, but we never got to the topic of the waiting game.  I guess if you have carried this child for 40 weeks, what's another few days right?

I will be of course taking a break from photography, my next wedding is not until October.  I will be accepting bookings for fall family sessions, but there will be limited dates.  And I will be setting up some stylized shoots and such which I am very excited about.  So stay tuned for the arrival of our little bean! Hopefully the next blog that I post is one that has a photograph of the little one!
Pin It

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Happy Hump Day!

For many, Wednesday marks the half way point to the weekend.  It's weird for me and my husband though. Since I primarily actively work on weekends, I don't have a hump day.  Now for my husband, who works Sunday-Wednesday and is off from Thursday-Saturday, Wednesdays are technically the start to his weekend.  But we have always had weird schedules!  But being that it is hump day for most, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite songs from when I was younger.  The Humpty Dance.  Now admittedly, half of the things he is saying I do not quite understand, but I used to love this video and dance when I was a little girl dancing around my room like no one was watching (which I still do...quite frequently really).  It's perfect for hump days! So enjoy!

Humpty Dance!

Pin It

Monday, August 8, 2011

Being in front of the camera

I don't like having my picture taken.  Well, it's not that I don't exactly like it, it's more of I tend to always look weird or end up in some odd position whenever I am in front of the camera.  At one of my weddings, my two second shooters were doing behind the scenes shots of me shooting, and for some reason I looked like a hunchback in half of them, and had my tongue out or my mouth in some weird pose in the others.  Now, if I am dressed up in a renaissance costume or any sort of garb, then yes! By all means take my picture!  I personally think I look absolutely fabulous when I am in costume.

So this past Saturday, my husband and I headed to a portrait studio where a friend works at for maternity photos.  She just started working there and is studying photography in college, so she needed real people to photograph.  Remembering the days when I first started out (WOW! It seems like forever), and needing people, I wanted to go in and help her.

The problem with being a photographer and being in front of the camera is that I can't break out of my photographer mindset.  I started asking questions about the camera, lenses, lighting and backdrops.  Then when it came to posing, I swear I tried to give her ultimate control, but then of course the inner photographer came out and I started posing.  It was a fun session though!  But it will be a loooooong time before I get in front of the camera again.

The images are not ready but when they come in, I will show you!. Until then, I will continue to hide...behind my lens.
Pin It

Monday, August 1, 2011

Jacqueline and Robs' Philadelphia Wedding

Wow.  I can't believe this is my last wedding that I will be posting.  At least until October that is.  Back in July, Jacqueline and Rob were married at the Brossman Center in Philadelphia.  With a fun wedding party and lots of family and friends, they celebrated their day together.  From high school sweethearts to husband and wife.  Sounds like a Lifetime movie special doesn't it?

I loved the fact that Jacqueline chose hot pink as the accent color, and that the groomsmen went along with it!  The groomsmen, especially the grooms father who was his best man were hilarious.

So without further ado, here are some sneak peaks!





Whenever I see the groom and his party walking, I was think of the movie "The Hangover" for some odd reason.



Now, we move on to the ceremony, in which they had an amazing singer. Her voice definitely moved me while she sang the wedding party and the bride down the aisle.







After the ceremony and receiving line, we headed outside for their wedding photos.  Definitely a fun couple.









Jackie and Rob, thank you for letting me be a part of your day.  You guys rock.  I wish you two nothing but happiness, laughter, love and fun!

Pin It