A few from the south...

We had such a great time in North Carolina. I still have lots of photos to go through, but here are a few...

Sweet Ella

...who has got to be one of the most beautiful newborns around!




Oh, man, I love this one. So tiny!

Good friends

are never far away...


this will likely be good blackmail material in the future...

Wow!

Just wanted to give an update...in the first day we have already sold 40 prints for Teb's Troops! I'm so excited to see what happens - thank you to those of you who have donated! Here is the print...

A tribute to Teb

The world recently lost a remarkable person. I am so thankful that I got to know Tricia E. Black (Teb) and her son, Sam a few months ago at her photo shoot. She was such an inspiring person - so very full of life and hope, even in the face of death.

A woman who had been following Teb's story recently wrote me to ask if she could purchase a copy of Tricia's HOPE star photo that had been featured on her blog. She wanted to hang it in her daughter's room because "the blog made me time and again feel so appreciative of my life and my family. It's such a beautiful photo and Tricia always typed HOPE in all caps like on the star - it's an iconic image for her story."

So in hope and remembrance of Teb, Blue Candy will be offering matted 5x7 prints of "Tricia's Hope", the star photo that can be seen in our Featured Session gallery (at www.bluecandyphotography.com) and on Tricia's blog (www.tebspage.blogspot.com). The cost will be $50 per print and all proceeds will be donated to Teb's Troops to help win the fight against cancer. Please use our contact form to request a print; photos will be shipped approximately 3-4 weeks after payment is received. Thank you for honoring one of Tricia's greatest gifts - her hope.
-Stacy




You can read more about her journey at www.tebspage.blogspot.com

So much fun!

These kids had bubbly personality to spare! And, man, you could tell that they loved each other!

Four Little Indians

I got a new nickname today. I was telling my four year old how my dad used to take us to a national park and give us Indian nicknames (to go with the setting, I guess). Names like Chief Running Bull or Chief Gentle Breeze. So, as I'd anticipated, Kaleb wanted to come up with Indian names for our family too. He chose Chief Gentle Deer for himself, Micah got to be Chief Little Blue Fish, and Randy was Chief Big Tree. And his first pick for me???
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Chief. Sweet. Goat.

What??

I laughed and explained that while I love goats, it wasn't my first choice for a nickname. Sooo...he changed it. To Chief Sweet Cow. Hmmmpf.

We had fun at the park anyway. :)

Daddy-sss

You realize that you are a parent when you'd rather watch your child oooh and ahhh over a spectacular fireworks display than watch it yourself. If Micah could list the highlights of his short life, I'm certain that tonight's firecrackers would be on top - he adored the "cracker-sss". And it's no wonder. He is our family's little sparkler for sure.

(Carrie S., if you read this - thank you for the daddy inspiration!)

Back in the swing of things...

Links...

I really appreciate everyone who expressed an interest in seeing the trip photos - so thank you for your messages. A few people have issues viewing e-mail attachments, so I'll post the link here instead. Now keep in mind...we braved dust, heat, bucket showers, and a whole lot of bugs, so judging based on appearances would not be fair! And one more warning...there are (only) two insect picures included...you know, to preserve the memories and all. :)

A short version (about 7 min. long)...
http://www.bluecandyphotography.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?Slideshow=mexico+short+version&Testing=true

And a long version (I haven't timed it...but it's longer!!)
http://www.bluecandyphotography.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?Slideshow=mexico+long+version&Testing=true

The music still has to be worked out...a very talented musician is currently recording a song for it, but we're not sure on the time frame. I've heard that it will be great...but you'll have to use your imagination for now!

Contrasts

Joy...





And pain...





It was such an amazing experience photographing in Tijuana, Mexico. A web gallery of the project photos should be ready soon, and I would be happy to share it - please e-mail me or post a comment here if you would like the web address to see all the photographs.

A preview

...of my latest project...