It's Tradition!

As promised, here are the photos to go along with the post!

It seems that every year, Christmas gets busier and more hectic and I can never believe when the day has already come and gone! This is such a special season, so it makes me sad (and a little guilty) when I can't savor it due to the busy-ness. The routine of traditions, though, keeps things sane for me. We used to tease my dad about his love for "tradition," said in the tone of the father in Fiddler on the Roof. :-) As I have gotten older, I have become so appreciative of these traditions and the order, predicatability, and sentiment they hold.

Some of our family's Christmas traditions include:

1) Advent calendars and the Advent wreath, in anticipation of Christ's birth on Christmas. My parents made me a cute felt Advent calendar my very first Christmas, and I still use it at my house all these years later!

2) Hanging the "Clifton Family Ornaments." My dad came from a huge family (9 kids) that moved a lot, and he doesn't have many artifacts from his childhood. He does have 3 antique Christmas ornaments, and each of us hangs one on the tree.

3) Christmas Eve church, pimento cheese sandwiches and soup, and staying up entirely too late wrapping presents. We are a last-minute family!

4) Me (and Pearl, my cat) spending the night with my parents on Christmas Eve and Christmas night.

5) Christmas stockings! Even though I'm officially an adult, I still get a stocking, and I always fix my parents' stockings too. Hello, "stocking stuffers" are some of the most fun gifts! My mom made our stockings when I was a baby...

My grandparents' gift to each of us is always a "portrait" of Ben Franklin, rolled up and tucked inside a little stocking on the tree. :-) Gift-giving from them is all about the Benjamins, baby...

6) Christmas brunch. We have the same breakfast every year...nothing fancy, but it's always yummy. Cinnamon rolls, arranged into a tree or wreath shape (my mom's artistic touch), Pillsbury crescent rolls with "little smokies" inside, and fruit, all served on Christmas plates.

7) BBQ for dinner, and taking allllllll day to unwrap our presents. Yes, we are the family who takes turns opening gifts one at a time. :-)

8) Setting up the tripod (or this year, a step-ladder since I forgot to bring the tripod) and taking a family portrait in front of the tree...me, my parents, and my grandparents. Whenever possible, we also round up the cat(s) to be included...I'm pretty sure my dad has sustained some flesh-wounds over the years trying to hold a feline for the family picture. He's a good daddy!

This one is a few years ago, but I included it because of the squirming cat my dad is attempting to wrangle...

This year's family photo, Christmas 2008...we had a wonderful day!

I hope that everyone in blog-land had a wonderful Christmas and that you celebrated--or created--some traditions of your own! I'd love to hear about them...let me know what you and your family or friends do the same way, every year!

Merry Christmas,
Amy
(I'm still up, so it still counts as Christmas, right??)

In the Studio

Tim, one of the commenters on my last post, wrote about the variety of ways music is captured: via a recording, with our ears, or even in still photos. Recently, I had the opportunity to be present for all three methods. As April Beck recorded tracks with The Peculiar People, I experienced the music firsthand; I listened as the tracks were mixed and produced; and (of course) I captured it in the following images...

 

TJ is also designing my new ACP logo. (Yay!)

Tim is the guru of all things business...and motivation...and music...and who-knows-what-else. This guy does it all!

Don't forget to "Show Me Some Love" and let me know what you think!

Two of My Favorite Things...

No "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens" here; two of my favorite things are photography and music. (Although kittens are cute and I DO enjoy getting flowers...) I simply love live music. I love bar bands, I love small acts trying to make it big in an intimate club, I love 20,000 seat venues with huge sets. I love live albums. I love hearing an artist cover a song or play a new arrangement to one of their own hits. I am moved every time I hear the crowd singing along with the band.



When I go to a show, I absorb all the extra stuff going on: the crew scurrying around with their walkies and laminates, the FOH sound stage, the switching out of guitars, how the set list is arranged, and the stage lighting. Especially the stage lighting. As a photographer, my eye is trained to "find the light," and while I'm rockin' out to a band, I'm also being blown away by the back-lighting, by the colored beams of light finding their way through the haze, by the single spotlight that illuminates the artist during an acoustic moment. And I'm always wanting to capture that in photographs.

If I could add anything to my own photographic "set list," it would be concert photography! I've taken some pretty cool photos at concerts over the years, some with my point-and-shoot camera, some with my mid-grade digital SLR and a zoom lens, some with permission, some not so much. :-) Ah, how I would love the opportunity to shoot with my good camera and lenses!

I've found that country artists are pretty open to concert-goers having cameras, so when I saw Gary Allan recently in Asheville, NC, I went up front to take some photos with my p&s...

I love the crazy lighting in this one!!

As I'm further developing my photography business, I'm gaining the opportunity to work with some musicians in and out of the studio, and I'm beyond excited to combine these two passions! Stay tuned for more music-related images in the future!

The Majors: Family Session

When we finished our session, Jessica asked me "Do you think we got some good shots?" Holy shamoly, YES! This is my second session with the Major girls, and this time they brought dad along. The girls were completely adorable, the fall leaves were still beautiful, and the late-afternoon light was beyond amazing. I ADORE these photos! I actually teared up a couple of times when I was making my selections, because they are so sweet. To all moms (including Jess) who aren't sure if their kids sat still enough or smiled their "real" smile: trust me, we'll get the shot!! :-)

A little twirling...

Apparently I'm making the "family reflection" a signature shot! This keeps showing up in all my family shoots...

Oooh, I love this!

Two of my favorites from the day...and I don't think they even knew I was still shooting! ;-)

FYI, my last 3 posts (Majors, Nelsons, & Daniel) were all shot at Furman University over a 9 day period...and they all were shot within about 40 yards of each other! My goal was to make each session look and feel unique even though I was shooting in basically the same location all 3 times.

*UPDATE: To view the Major's proofs, please CLICK HERE. The password is their older daughter's name. If you would like to save your shopping cart, please provide your email address when prompted. Thanks!*

Don't forget to show me--and the Majors--some love by leaving a comment below!

The Nelsons--Family Fun!

OK, so I completely love this family! So cute, really creative, and up for anything! Most of my blog readers probably know that I also work for a non-profit agency; well, I met Andy at our annual golf tournament, where he bid on a photo session with ACP in the silent auction. His wife Stephanie was super-excited when he came home NOT with more golf clubs, but with a gift certificate for a family portrait! I'm pretty sure Andy scored some cool-points for that move. :-)



We met out at Furman for a mix of traditional portraits, casual moments, and just plain family fun....and lemme tell you, this family is fun!! (They are my "jumpers" from this post...)







This one cracks me up...I love it!



So sweet!



Is it possible to resist this face?? Doubtful!



If you read the blog regularly, you may remember that I don't have such a great track record with kids + water. I spotted some cool rocks in this pond that I wanted the family to stand on, but we waited until the end of the session "just in case." Fortunately, everyone managed to stay dry this time, and I got this crazy shot of Andy and Stephanie's youngest son leaping towards dry land!



I think Stephanie actually squealed when I said we were going to take a silhouette shot. :-)



Thanks Nelsons for such a fun photo shoot! All four of you were awesome to work with, and I can't wait to see you guys again!

*Online gallery: CLICK HERE to view and order proofs from this session. Password is the oldest son's name. If you would like to save your shopping cart, please supply your email address when you log in to the gallery. Thanks!*