New Blog!!!

So after many days of hesitation and deliberation, I have decided that I need a better site. I will spare you the details of the ins & outs, ups & downs of my internal debate- anyone that knows me, knows that's a tangled web and rather hard to follow, even for me. Suffice it to say, the small images, horizontal's getting cut off no matter how small I made them, untill they were hard to see, and lack of customization available here have been the big influence.

I will be creating this new site to be a blog-site- yup, over the next few weeks it will be more than a blog, and more current than a website- it's a blog-site! Check it out, add it to your reader, bookmark it- whatever you have to do, because sadly this is the LAST post on this blog. It's kind of sad, the end of an era, but exciting and new as well!!!

So- without further aideu- the address: http://bpphoto.wordpress.com

(for some reason, it's eating my link- I think blogger is mad at me!)

See ya over there!

Christmas in August!

Here in the Plate household, we have many birthdays this month- 3 of the 4 of us infact! We call August our 2nd December. Lots of partys to plan, gifts to buy and things to celebrate. This year is a big one- Isabelle turns 4, Alex turns *gulp* 12 and I turn, ahem... well, Let's call it my 5th anniversary of my 25th year, shall we? Or my 2nd 29th? Ok, I turn 30. Moving on. No staring at the old lady, k?

SO, this year I thought I'd share the Birthday spirit with all of my clients! 25% off* gallery wrapped Cavnases! I absolutely LOVE canvases.They're beautiful, easy to hang and don't require any frames. I have the in my home (always will) and I have given them as gifts. They can be anywhere from 6x6 to well, huge. Think 30x60 huge. Doing clusters of canvases (ie. 3 10x10's) can really make a statement in your decor. The possibilities are endless.

*to give you an idea, a 10x20 canvas is usually $170.70, on sale for $128.03. (all orders are subject to sales tax- gotta pay Uncle Sam!) Orders for canvases must be in by August 31st, all sessions must be completed by August 25th! So call now for your session date!

Also, I will be offering Holiday Mini sessions in September- these are perfect sessions to get those Holiday Card pictures done! Your mini-session is a 30-45 minute one location session that is $25 off my regular session fee (normally $75, mini session is $50). The mini sessions are only offered in September- so book your date now!!!

SO- call or email me to set up your session!

Sneak Peek! B. Family...

I had the honor of photographing my high school friends' kids this week. They were up visiting from South Carolina and while it looks like we're not going to be able to get together for drinks and reminiscing with the old group of girls, I got to meet her kiddos! The kids are adorable, spunky, full of energy and a dash of attitude- wonder where they get that???? LOL. Love ya Barb!
I had a great time, your kids are beautiful and I miss you, move home!
Enjoy your sneek peek- it's a bit of a random selection, I have a ton of images that I love from your session... hope this holds you over till I can finish them!

Horses!

Life has a tendancy to get away from me... tell me it happens to the rest of the world too, right? I'm not the only one? There have been many shocks and changes around here, some rather upsetting things, to put it lightly, from my hubby getting laid off along with over 700 of his co-workers, to the loss of my sister and her familys' house in a fire last week, it has been a not so good July. I think we are going to skip July from now on. Yup, not a good month for our family. SO- in the midst of all the stress, saddness, confusion and fear- I was SO happy and blessed to go up and take pictures of my sisters' horses. I had forgotten how incredible these animals are and how they can make you feel. I don't think I stopped smiling the whole time I was up there. They're just so beautiful and calming. I remember feeling so centered when I was younger and used to ride. Just being around them can make you feel better- it's no wonder there are so many therapy programs that involve horses. It's no wonder to me that my sister has such love for her horses- for her babies. She glows when she's with them, she's so amazing the way she handles them, the way they respond to her. SO today, I am going to share just a couple of the "artsy" images I was able to get up there (unfortunately I ran out of space on my cards, so I didn't get to do too many artsy shots, but that's ok, I'll go back again, I'm sure!)
One of the babies- they're so dang cute and spunky!


Mama-



That's all for now- I have to get the kids to swimming now! Summer is always a busy time for us- just call me "Taxi Mom!"

Clowning around... engagement session

This is the END of the monster engagement session I did for my sister in law Katrina and her adorable fiance Ryan... I saved the funny ones for last. I love that you can get a peek at their fun side in these. Now they're not all goofy, but the first one, well it sais it all, don't ya think?
"Haaaay"

Newborn to Senior

I'm wrapping up some loose ends, finnishing some editing, building a blogsite that has bigger images (because frankly I'm sick of my horizontal images getting cut off no matter how small I size them and I'm sick of tiny pictures that don't fill the screen.) I've been couped up indoors for two days and my social skills are hurting from it. I'm done with the rain and cold tempatures. Though I am thankful we havne't turned on the AC yet, though I'm sure NYSEG is bumming.

So- the loose ends, I finally got around to making this sweet collage of newborn pictures from miss H's session. I'm in love with the perfect little lips and soft skin.



And now for the Senior stuff- a couple more favorites from the Trash the Prom Dress session I did this week...









I simply LOVE her eyes- I bet she's got her Daddy wrapped around her little finger with eyes like that...

Trash the Prom Dress!!!

It's prom season, well, the end of prom season anyway. After all the coursages have wilted and died, the music has been played, the up-do's have been replaced with ponytails and the dress you chose to fit perfectly hangs in the closet- or sits on the floor in the general area of the closet. All that's left is graduation and fading memories. But what to do with the dress??? Wear it again? Hang it in the closet so you can find it 20 years later when mom and dad finally make you "take all your old stuff or they'll throw it out!"... Nahhh, where's the fun in that???

Trash It!!!

This beautiful girl is blessed with many a formal dress that she'll never wear again- which makes for a fantastic wardrobe of options... Enjoy these, and I'll get a few more up as I wade through them all!

Seriously... beautiful

I have shared this couple before, in fact these are from the same session, but as I edit the remaining gazillion images, I keep falling in love with them more. So I just might dedicate more than the typical one "sneak peek". Since I have SO many images to edit from that session, they were such good sports about doing all kinds of nutty things, and it's taking a bit longer than normal, I'll give them a few extra sneaks- and everyone else gets to see more of the session! Win on all angles.

SO- without further adieu here's the happy couple:






oh- She's beautiful in B&W, but those eyes deserve the color, seriously...

Can't help myself...

I already posted the sneak peek for the S family, but I finished editing the rest of the session and I just HAVE to share this one too.



That's all.


Oh- PS- hopefully sometime next week I'll be posting pictures of a different kind of Baby!!! Congrats to my amazing sister on her TWO new babies!!! I can't wait to see them and take their pictures... I almost came over today, only it'll be easier without Isabelle, just DON'T tell her!

Katrina & Ryan: an Engaging couple

I had a wonderful time photographing my sweet sister in law and her hubby-to-be, they were up for anything! I had a very hard time picking a few for their sneak peek, and of course I'll throw in a couple versions of some of them as well- I should just accept that I'm indecisive and go with it, some would say it's the middle child in me.
I played more than I usually do with these, processesed them different than normal for me. Or rather different than I would for clients... me, I like to funk things up a bit every once in a while- brings me back to my younger years when I'd wear dresses with jeans and thought I was such a rebel. Push some boundaries. Anyway- you're here for the pictures, not the self reflection, so here they are!
This is one of my favorites, if I were actually able to pick a favorite- they look like models in a Gap ad (or maybe something edgier- like Guess?)... I just LOVE it:
and because I'm indecisive like that- the color version too:






Hey- Look, I can post only ONE version of something! See!?


And we're back to two...




That's what I've been doing today- processing these and trying to decide which ones I'd do first, how I was doing them, you know. I neglected the dishes, forgot the laundry and didn't clean a single thing. Don't worry, I didn't forget the kids- they make too much noise. Especially Isabelle.

Katrina and Ryan, I hope you enjoy these, I'll be in touch with the rest soon!

Sneak Peek for the S family!!!

I had the immense pleasure of photographing the S family's newest addition, Baby H. She's perfect in SO many ways, all pink and plump. She was such a happy little girl, and very awake.


I promised myself I wouldn't do this- that I would pick just ONE version to put up here, but since I'm the queen of indecisiveness, here's both.





Hope you guys enjoied your sneak peek- I'll be in touch with the rest soon!

Who Needs Blue Bonnets?

In that lovely, large state of Texas (and perhaps elsewhere, I'm not sure) there is a wonderful phenomenon every spring. All over the state fields of beautiful "blue bonnet" wildflowers errupt. People will stop along the roadside, plop their children (dressed in their easter finery or sunday best, I'm sure) into the middle of these fields and snap a few dozen picutres. Photographers have sessions with their clients in fields of these delicate, colorful blooms. It's beautiful- or at least I imagine. You see, I've heard of these fields, buy I have never actually seen them for myself. I have seen pictures from these sessions of fellow photographers, and they are fantastic images. The problem is that I do not live in a state like Texas, where wildflowers spread over fields- at least not THIS early in the year. I live in New York. Specifically "Cloud-i-cott" as we locals deem it every year. I thought that any chance of an early spring session in a field of wildflowers was just not meant to be for this photographer.

Then along came the Dandilions! Sure, they're technically a weed- people don't want them invading their lawns and we all fight the good fight for dandilion free lawns each year, but they CAN be pretty! Seriously!

I happen to drive by a few fields just about every day- well there's this one that I never take much notice of- untill today. It was filled with dandilions- little yellow blooms all over the place. And, I just so happened to have my camera with me. Now I hadn't planned this impromptu session, so the outfit isn't exactly what I would have chosen, but hey, it really works. SO- here's a teaser for you- just one image from today- I have to get to editing the rest. Tomorrow.

Who Needs Blue Bonnets? Not Me!

something different... Binghamton area Photographer

This is a little something different from me, but man I had fun doing them.





As far as what's going on around here... well I'm still working on building the portfolio, doing the model call, getting the house cleaned out for spring, dealing with a stupid cold (at least it's not swine flu!) and a semi-sick Isabelle. Swimming lessons for both kids, Karate, story time for Isabelle, school, end of year activities for both schools, deciding on summer camps & activities... well, let's just say I'm busy. Happy, but busy.

We fully enjoied the summer like weather last week and I look forward to it returning. I do love the sun. Plus that means it's better for out door sessions! Whoot!

Happy Easter...

Today was a busy, productive, happy day at the Plate household. We started bright and early around 10am with a trip to Friendlys for brunch... ok, so it DID get better after that. (oh, and yah, my breakfast stunk... but that's besides the point). We came home to get started dying our easter eggs- it was a much less messy experience than in years' past. The one thing I don't like about dying easter eggs is you end up with dirty looking hands on Easter Sunday from dunking your fingers in the dye cups because your siblings are hogging the dipper thing and the dye gets all up under your nails and around the dead skin next to your nails, and no matter how hard you scrub them, it won't come off, so you're all dressed up in a frilly, pretty dress and your hands look like you work in the tannery... whoa, flash back. Sorry again.



Once we got that all cleaned up, we spent the day outside digging out the area for the pool- it wasn't very even, and the 4 ft. pop up pool we put up every summer had a deep end and a shallow end. Yah, I don't think the structure of the thing could have taken another year of that. So we dug, and dumped, and dug, and dumped. I guess I should say Earl dug and dumped while I mostly watched. I helped spread the dirt at the dump site- the big holes in the front of the house where we yanked out the dead bushes when we moved in. 4 years ago. MAYBE this year I'll get something in there. It looks like a new construction that ran out of funds for landscaping. Isabelle helped as much as she could with her broken shovel- and nope- the Easter bunny had no idea, so he's not delivering one to this house- maybe Grandmas??? The girl LOVES to chase the worms, scoop them into her bucket and call them her pets... just don't ask her to TOUCH one. That's a bad idea. At least she doesn't run screaming from them.

We also found a tree that MIGHT make a decent tree house tree. I have always wanted the kids to have a tree house. It'll probably have to be rather small though... it's not that big of a tree. Now Isabelle wants to go buy the materials and start working on it- "today please!"

While we didn't get a LONG list of things done, it was still a productive day. I'll take it. Oh- and we still have to have the Easter Bunny come tonight.




and this is what life with an "almost" teenager gets you:

I'm crafty!!!

So occasionally I truely believe that I can be crafty- well, I can, but not everything turns out the way I'd like. I had success with the knitting loom to make some props, but crochet- well, that didn't go so well. Lets just say that 9+ mos and all I ended up with was a mis-shapen, square-ish blanket looking thing that was only big enough to be used for a doll. Not the beautiful, soft, snuggly blanket for my darling newborn daughter. I tried again with the pillow-case dress- having much more success with that one, and only one not so hot attempt. Anyway- I got bit by the crafty bug again, so I plugged in the sewing machine. I really want to make this cute purse I found online, but settled for a much simpler skirt for Isabelle for now. Not terrible, if I do say so myself. Now I'm not about to try and sell this stuff- so the un-even hem and un-finnished seams are fine by me. But I LOVE that I can pick my own materials and make the colors and patterns I want. I might have to crank out a few more skirts for her for the summer- I think summer clothes are a good idea, that way if they fall appart, at least she won't be cold!