Wake up & smile .. the world really is beautiful!

Did you know that family photos are the most precious memory for your kids, especially little ones  They love to sit and look at their whole family in a photograph.  If you as the mum or dad are taking the photo you won’t be in it and you’re children will be asking “where are you in this picture”?   I’m speaking from experience here as “the one” usually behind the camera and missing from all the family photos.

Can I encourage you to invest an hour out of your year to have some professional pictures taken with you all in them. Invest in your family with images that will tell your story.  Ask anyone, “what would you take if your house was in an emergency?” and 9 out of 10 people will say their photographs … me included, it’s certainly the one thing besides my family that I’d grab!

Another tip!  Get your images printed.  Think about this … going to a photographer who gives you a disc – 7 out of 10 people who get a high resolution disc and no prints never get any images printed.  Truly?  Sadly yes!

Faced with a disk of images, you as the client need to worry about taking them to a great lab (you wouldn’t want to get them printed anywhere else but a pro lab).  Unfortunately, most images are kept in the computer and are never seen the way they are meant to be seen.  I’ve had many people tell me they never get around to printing and their images generally end up at the bottom of the to do list.  What about cropping?  If you don’t know about cropping you can ruin your photographs and waste a lot of money.

So why put a high priority on photographs?  There is nothing like holding a printed photograph in your hands or sitting back admiring and reflecting on that beautiful image on your wall.  When all is said and done, your memories that you treasure will be all wrapped up in the photographs throughout your life.  Not only will you look at them with fond memories over the years, but your family will also treasure them for generations.

Photography truly is an art like no other and it delights me to be able to create this art for my clients.  Every time I open an image that takes my breath away, I know that I am doing what I was born to do.  Because in my world everything is beautiful and everyone has a story to tell.  I don’t strive to get pictures of what you look like -  I delight in getting pictures of WHO YOU ARE.

I’m committed to helping you decorate your world with highly personal artwork.  Artwork that matters … because I am the storyteller and your life is the story I tell.

Today I was delighted to learn this image was selected as the current face of Who Adelaide new "Tot Shop". Wahoo!

Naturally I ran to grab my camera and take some pics for them.

Then of course before too long the girls caught wind of what was happening and came sashaying outside all dollyed up ready for their photos.

The girls are cousins too but are 5 years apart.  Ironically my middle son was born just 3 weeks earlier than his girl cousin making them equal cousins too but the whole girl/boy doesn’t gel so well.  Thankfully the 3 youngest get on like a house on fire and spent every waking moment playing together.

I had to throw in the last photo too … Sarah lost her first tooth while we were staying there.  Too cute!

It was delightful to watch them so excited as they watched the opening ceremony. So excited that they promptly ran off to grab the world map featuring the flags and hysterically pinpointed out each country and it’s flag as they made their way into the arena.

That’s the kinda teacher you just can’t pay for .. Geography, history, media & art all rolled into one lesson!  C’mon Aussie!

OMGosh! I just love this video … and I love the value of being a WOMAN.  I hope it brightens your day and reminds you to say a prayer for the beautiful women that surround your life!

If you are a survivor of breast cancer, or going through breast cancer treatments, I would LOVE to take your photos to help document this time in your life.  The session will be free and you’ll receive a complimentary 10×10″ professional print (valued at $40).  Additional image prints available for purchase.   If you are not in the Adelaide area, there are MANY other photographers all over the world that can help you too.

Let me know, or if you know of anybody who might need my services. Please feel free pass this post on!

Together, I want to … “CELEBRATE WHO YOU ARE!”

Blessings
~ Cindy xo

P.S. Don’t forget to do your regular self checks, and if you are 40 or over, remember to get your mammogram done!

Secondly, as most would know we’re on our long awaited holidays and are currently in Melbourne but we’ll be leaving for Sydney tomorrow (Monday).

We had a most chaotic start to our holidays with my husband having a heart attack driving on the way to Melbourne with our two boys (I was already there with our daughter) and ended up in hospital for a few days, then a huge family reunion on his side (that he wasn’t there for), a 21st birthday party & I helped catch a wanted criminal, hopefully making our streets safer for our kids … and that was all in the first week!!!

Our second week was eventful also but the saddest part of all was a mishap with a healthy dose of H2O being spilt all over my beloved Mac keyboard and it’s consequential death.  As a result, I’ve been without my computer for nearly a week which means no photos have been able to be processed and I’m dreading the backlog of emails I will be confronted with once I am able to start it up again.

Soooo, for those waiting on their photos to be posted I am dreadfully sorry for the delay.  I’ve snuck onto a family computer to type this post but alas that’s all I can do for now

We are leaving for Sydney tomorrow … so, hellooooo Apple Store and a new Mac keyboard by Wednesday!!!

We will still be away on holidays till January 29th but I’ll be editing everyone’s photos as much & as quickly as I can.

… oh and a big thank you to our dearest friend for housesitting

Myself & some other wonderful mums jumped at the chance to organise the decor & glam up the night.  We transformed a boring dull Year 10 classroom into a fiesta of sparkle & bling and a sea of silver & blue as chosen by the class.  It was labour intensive but “our kids were gonna have the best shebang in the history of Year 7 at Sunrise” … and that they did.

Our tiredness was swallowed up in an instant by the sheer delight on their faces that night as they entered the room for the first time and marveled at the transformation that had taken place .. and all for them!  All we could do was sit back & enjoy their delight, their smiles, their humour, their marvel & their comradeship.

It was a bittersweet night because they have all grown up together in the same intimate class mostly from grade 2, knowing that they would soon be apart.  Some are staying on for high school there and others, like Liam are moving out to a different high school.

I lavished the opportunity to photograph them all but like many of my shoots I can’t share here on the blog for privacy reasons … but here is one of my boy, oddly enough merely sitting for me as I setup but I love it – I love outtakes!

I know he reads my blog so .. “Congratulations of graduating to high school son … we’re sooo very proud of you babe!”

Mum & Dad
00xx

Some photos of the glammed up room above   |  View all the photos

I have sooo many more to get through so check back for more!

… meanwhile, check out the shots from the talented photographers in our group in the slideshow below

Find more photos like this on Coastlense

So when I stumbled upon this blog post .. I knew it spoke for many and wanted to share – certainly food for thought!

Wanted: Wedding Photographer with The Credentials of Annie Leibovitz and the Price Tag Of Wal-Mart

I’d love to hear your comments on your own wedding photos, your wedding and what you’d do differently if anything?

… and because a blog post is always better with a picture!

I often reminisce about the joys of childhood running through the sprinklers with squeals of delight and spraying water over my friends as we basked in the glorious sun with such carefree spirits.   But sadly in my reminiscing I am also saddened.  Saddened for the fact that my children have rarely ever had the chance to experience that same innocent, carefree and sheer fun of being able to waterplay under the sprinklers & hoses.

With water restrictions tight here in Australia sprinklers are not allowed and very minimum hose use per week in an effort to ‘save our water’.  We really are the land of “droughts” & “flooding rains” and our weather is becoming more and more unpredictable.

So at the risk of being “told off” or worse “fined” I let the kids have some “waterplay” this weekend (as you can clearly see my lawns & plants need it!!!!) and sat back and watched with a sense of contentment & a smile in my heart as my two youngest kiddos squealed with delight dousing each other with water and enjoying the GOOD LIFE … under the sprinklers.

Today’s kids are robbed of so much … even the sheer joy of such innocent fun.  A time to reflect on our past and help them embrace their future.