a mom and her camera

link issues

After some issues with the domain name here is the NEW blog address... so don't hate me but PLEASE update your readers again!!!

www.jodifiedblog.com

the launch.

Go HERE to see my new blog!!!

This blog is officially CLOSED!

Thanks for the 2.5 years of hanging out with me here! 

The new address: www.jodified.com/blog

possibly my last post on this blog.

If things all come together tomorrow I will be launching my new blog. If they don't I guess I won't. Ugh. I hate html and c-panels and all the things I don't GET about behind the scenes web design.

But I spent a major portion of last night SLURPING this entire blog into my new blog so I don't want to post HERE anymore b/c there is NO WAY IN HELL I'll go through the slurping process again.

As soon as I hear back from my web-hosts I can launch and things will be good. GREAT even b/c I'll have a brand spanking new blog with BIGGER photos and my new colors and everything! It's really very exciting!

SO.

Since I refuse to post any new photos here (SO MANY sneak peeks coming but want to wait for BIGGER photos!) I'm going to announce a few things.

EXCITING THINGS so pay attention!

1. I'm announcing this ONCE. Come Sept 1st there will be some price adjustments. Book NOW to secure my current prices. Just a BIG FAT fyi.

2. This will be announced again on my NEW blog BUT... for the sake of utter excitement... the Jodified fall mini sessions will be happening on October 24th! The announcement of times, cost, packages, etc will be announced on the NEW blog but for now... space is LIMITED so email me to get on the waiting list. FIRST COME FIRST SERVE people. I will start at the top of the list and work my way down!

3. HALLOWEEN mini sessions happening again! This time with Kim Weiss, my partner for Fresh Art Photography! WE ARE OPENING THESE UP TO ALL OF OUR CLIENTS. Fresh Art, Jodified and Kim Weiss clients will have a crack at these limited sessions so AGAIN, email with interest! Probable date is October  9th but that may change. Again, details to come on the NEW blog!

4. I will be running a special soon (can you guess where the announcement will be made?) and everyone that books during that time will get 25 FREE Christmas cards with their order! SO cool and can't wait for you to see the 2009 Christmas card choices!

5. Grayson has an ear infection. This has nothing to do with business. Just my kid. My baby boy. Who has had a raging fever all week and hasn't eaten or slept at all. Turns out his tube is in the wrong place. Any more infections and it's back to surgery we go! UGH.

6. There is ONE MORE slot for my Labor Day Chicago sessions so BOOK NOW!

OK. Since I've averaged 3 hours of sleep a night all week i think I'm calling this a day just as the clock creeps into tomorrow. It's always kind of depressing knowing you're going to sleep tomorrow isn't it?

Watch for the new blog announcement SOON! I can't WAIT to show you guys!

have you ever heard of lyndsay stradtner?

Can you even spell STRADTNER? Because I consistently have to check her name to make sure I didn't screw up! HA!

Anyway, if you are a photo blog stalker like me I'm sure you've heard of her. Life in Motion Photography. Out of Austin.

You've heard of her b/c not only is she awesome, her blog is awesome and NO OFFENSE to other photogs... well, actually, take offense and then CHANGE IT... but most photographer blogs are BORING.

Yep. I said it.

BORING.

WRITE PEOPLE! Talk about your lives! Your kids! Your cellulite! ANYTHING!

Let me just take this moment to hop up on my soap box for a second and say that for me to read a blog it has to be GOOD. Like all around good. I don't care about the layout (hence my Typepad blog... that is changing SOON I will add!) but I do care about the photos+words.

You have to be a serious rock star for me to look at your blog if your writing sucks. And there are some BORING photo blogs I look at just for the imagery. But for the most part I am more attracted to the words. So if you are a sucktastic writer I give up and move on fairly quickly. Sorry. But I do.

And to bring that back around to Lyndsay... she has it all. And I love that. Her photos rock AND she writes well. She talks about her kids, her life, her clients, everything. And she takes better snapshots at home of her kids than anyone I know. And THAT makes me jealous! We met in Florida BRIEFLY. Not kidding. I could have sat for days talking to her but we were together maybe an hour b/c she was sick, ALL the kids were crabby, her baby was sick, etc. But in the blogosphere way, I totally felt like I knew her already b/c her blog is that awesome. (check it out HERE)

So anyway, it was literally an honor when she agreed to meet up and trade photo shoots. An honor. And her family couldn't be cuter... seriously... just wait until you see what her son was wearing!

LYNDSAY... I hope you like your sneak peek! More to come soon friend!

 

The BEST smiles come when you are laughing at your kids! LOVE THAT!

-----------------

RUNNING out the door this morning! LATE. HATE that. Fresh Art this morning. 2 hours of sleep b/c Grayson has a HIGH fever as his molars struggle through. I HATE leaving a semi-sick kid but I have to work. Mom guilt never goes away. Ever. Does it?

Kim is on her way with a donut, trash bags (b/c we're out and she's awesome for getting me some!) and a MNT DEW. Fountain. THANKS KIM!

i will catch up this week if it kills me.

Had a great session tonight with one of my very first Jodified families. I have a special place in my heart for everyone that believed in me 2 years ago. Me with my Rebel camera. Me with barely decent photography. Sometimes it pains me to look back just 2 years ago.

Anyway.

This family was so sweet and super photogenic back then... so it didn't surprise me when the kids showed up tonight looking perfect and blew their past photos out of the water!

Thanks Alexander, Victoria and Anna for tonight... it was so great to see you all again!

And GOOD LUCK to Alex who leaves for COLLEGE tomorrow!

 

Aren't they gorgeous? I mean seriously.

I don't know how many times I've said it, BUT I DID NOT LOOK LIKE THIS IN HIGH SCHOOL!

On a business related note... Digging my way out of my email black hole. Thanks for your patience! Coming home, dealing with unpacking and walking into FIVE sessions this week hasn't been easy! Two people are coming to clean my house tomorrow and I'm hoping I've found a part-time nanny! HELP is what I NEED and HELP is what I've realized is the only way to keep me SANE. I guess you really do need to spend money to make money. Or at least to get a clean house! HA! Another Fresh Art session tomorrow!

Bed time! Good night!

the florida secret.

My first session in Florida (we stayed at Dune Allen near Santa Rosa Beach close to Seaside BTW) was with three children and as sweet as the kids are, the thought behind the session is what gets me. Their Aunt Becky scheduled the shoot as a surprise for their parents who had no idea what we were up to! And she planned it b/c her brother, their dad, is headed to Iraq for the next year.

When I think about it I just can't fathom being that woman knowing she's going to be a single mom for the next year. Just. Can't. Imagine.

So I was excited to be able to give this family, their dad especially, some photos of these adorable kids. To take with him. To keep them close. Even while he's so so so far away.

And what better place to photograph kids than the beach?!?

Enjoy your sneak peek Becky (and Sue!)!

 

I love the last shot of this big brother. The line of the palm tree. Actually, the palm trees made me so happy all week!

TODAY: One session down and one to go! Napping children mean I'm working as fast as possible. Napping children mean a quiet house whispering for me to come sleep too. Trying hard to work through the quiet!

i grew up and bought an iPhone.

My partner in Fresh Art, Kim, has an iPhone and every time we're together she gets an email/text/call and can take it right away. Seeing the ease with which she runs her business and has everything linked up made me realize, FINALLY, that it might help me too.

So I broke down and bought an iPhone.

And b/c sending out a mass email makes me gag here is my new number... creeps that might read this DO NOT CALL ME! HA!

314-541-9944

More to come later...

This morning I have a Fresh Art session, then lunch with my sister who's in town and then a Jodified session this afternoon. BUT I SWEAR I will squeeze a Florida sneak peek in there somewhere!

photojojo!

Do you all know PHOTOJOJO?

GREAT blog and website for all things photos. One I subscribe to via email so I get their updates that way, actually, it is the ONLY one I subscribe to like that!

Anyway, my photo is on there tonight!

HERE!

how i launched my blog and OH how my life has changed since then...

Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 9:13 AM
Subject: FW: no more emails



Ok, so I think I am probably guilty of being email obsessed.  And
what's worse, is that I'm even more obsessed with photography.  And
what's maybe even worse than that is that it's not even good
photography!

So this email is to tell you that I WILL NOT BE SENDING OUT ANY MORE
EMAILS CONTAINING PHOTOS!

I promise.

However, if you would want to see updated photos of our family, feel
free to visit my new blog @

http://jodified.typepad.com/a_mom_and_her_camera/

I never thought I would be the kind of person to have a blog, but
here I am.  I'm trying hard to start up Jodified Designs and a blog
is one way to publish photos, and a lot easier than starting a
website.  But more importantly, since having Parker, I've felt like
I'm missing something.  I think that what I've been missing is ME.
The creative side of me.  So I've been making an effort to scrapbook
more often and work on designs, but I feel I also need an outlet to
spark a new kind of creativity.  So for the time being, I'm trying
out blogging.

Don't feel you have to visit it very often, or at all.  I just
thought I would spread the word about it b/c I am DONE sending
emails.  Except personal ones of course.

That's it.

Time for bed.

love jodie

-----------------------

Thanks to my sweet friend Erin for forwarding me this OLD email! Such a trip to think of my life THEN and NOW.

And makes me want to give this little 'ol blog a big fat bear hug at all that it's brought to my life!

a week unplugged.

When we left for Florida I had all intentions of blogging as much as possible, answering email and phone calls, basically making our vacation a WORKING vacation. I had four sessions booked which solidified my WORKACTION.

AND I WAS FINE WITH THAT.

Happy even. Because three of those sessions basically paid for our trip and that's RAD.

BUT.

God had other plans and THANK GOODNESS His plan won out b/c spending the week with very limited internet access and very limited cell service forced me to RELAX and SWIM and PLAY and just BE with my family and our closest friends.

AND THAT WAS AWESOME.

I had no idea how much I needed a break until about halfway through the week I stopped checking my iPhone for emails and when forcing myself to check it at least once a day for clients was a pain. I usually LIVE by my email so that was pretty huge. It also said a lot that I barely did any editing down there, even though I shot a ton.

But what said the MOST about seriously needing a break was the fact that I didn't even want to take photos.

I KNOW.

I seriously didn't.

It was awesome to meet and photograph clients down there, that was fun and kept me on my toes (Florida light is SO different!) but taking my camera out to capture my kids on vacation was a chore.

For the first time, ever, I needed a break from my camera. Probably because I had over 20 sessions in July alone. Probably b/c I was shooting nearly every single day all summer. Probably because my camera had become just a heavy extension of my own hand.

So anyway. I was unplugged. And it rocked my socks off. And it also has left me CRAZY behind in emails and blog reading and blog posting and editing. But whatever. I will work my tail off this week to catch up and will never regret my week of RELAXATION!

AND... if you are a person waiting on an email from me please be patient... I am catching up as fast as I can with Chris officially back at school and me with no childcare yet! (BTW... I'm looking for someone to babysit two or three times a week at my home all fall... if you know anyone interested PLEASE give them my email!!!)

OK!

Ready for just a FEW photos???

Bailey, Parker, Kate and Lauren... the MacBryde's beat us to Florida and so their kids had been to the beach already but this was my girl's first view of the ocean! If they hadn't of run so fast I would have LOVED to see their expressions!

 

My dad brought his kayak down and I love this shot of him sitting in it waiting for the next little girl... he gave all the girls rides on the lake that sat behind our house (we had the ocean in front and a lake behind! BEAUTIFUL!)

The Grandma's on the bridge over the lake watching the kayak rides... thank goodness I'm not the only crazy person with a camera all the time! HA! AND thank goodness everyone else took a million photos all week so that when I let my camera rest I know moments were still being captured!

Kevin took Kate out for a ride after PawPaw had taken all the kids out. Love this.

Bailey in the pool!

Mid-week we watched the most intense storm come up. Branches and sand and rafts were blowing on the beach and in the street... it was insane. But SO awesome to watch from our balconies! And it was the only afternoon we had rain... the weather was incredible!

There is not much I love more than a really cool storm.

One topic that never got old, at least for C and I, was how CHUNKY Kelsey is! That baby girl, who turned ONE while we were there, NEVER STOPS EATING! And she has the thighs to prove it! HA! So maybe I love a good chunky baby more than a cool storm!

This was the view from our balcony of some of the other beach houses on our street and I messed around with the settings so much to get this shot I thought I would share... b/c this was taken at 10pm but the moon was SO bright!

ISO 200  | f/3.5 | 1/1.0

So as you can see... my ISO was set as if it was mid-day with lots of sun so to get anything to show up I had to SLOW down my shutter speed in a major way. This was shot by laying my camera on the balcony railing and the slight blur that's there is simply from me pressing the button to take the photo. But without my tri-pod down there this was the best I could get and I still love it.

The moon was just awesome. Love that.

Tiny camera lesson over! HA!

So our vacation was amazing. Our friends and family are amazing. The clients I met there were amazing. Lyndsay Stradtner who I met there was amazing. And speaking of Lyndsay... she's a rock star and posted a sneak peek of the Grayman for us already so go HERE to check that out and leave her some love! I shot her family too and will have a sneak peek SOON! In fact, I will have FIVE sneak peeks soon from last week!

Lots more blogging comin your way!

OH... and a BIG HUGE THANK YOU to Fern, my blog BFF, for blogging for me while I was away! When I realized I was without internet all week I frantically asked her to fill in one day for me! And she was awesome and hilarious and honest and I just love her. Thanks for leaving her comments and hitting her blog b/c she is my most favorite blogger out there! THANKS JEN!!!

Laundry and the mess that is my house is waiting for me. Not to mention the emails and edits and WORK.

Enjoy today!

 

Driving.

We are on the road. Two hours down. 12 to go. Wish us luck! Lots to share when we're home and I'm not typing on my iPhone!

guest post: making you miss jodie

Hello all! It's me, Jen or Fern from Diagnosis: Urine! Jodie is on vacation and has almost no cell phone or internet access. She sent me a brief email and said she had to stand on one leg leaning against the wall in the hallway to steal someone's wireless signal. She wanted me to post that she will be back Monday to start replying to voicemails and emails.

Now onto making you miss her even more... When she asked me to post, I rubbed my hands together with glee at the opportunity to reach an audience many, many times my normal readership. I thought, "What could I post that would be Jodie-rific?" I was stumped. Finally, I decided the best tribute to Jodie would be one of my classic, "I try to copy Jodie and fail" posts.

Tonight, I made the foil river Jodie made here. Let me just tell you a bit about how that went. I used cheap foil, and I might caution you against that. I did it at the end of the day, when the children were tired and I was tired of their shenanigans. Again, not good planning. I did it when neighbor children were over, so I couldn't snap at my children in the way we're all accustomed to communicating. Sigh.

I made my tin foil river prototype out of one-ply foil. It was a sad failure, and shredded even before I'd attracted all the kids' attention. Then, the kids bickered and sprayed each other while I made an improved, two-ply prototype.

The two-ply prototype worked better. At first. Until the kids started "experimenting." I would call it experimenting or exploring if I were attempting Montessori-style home-learning. Instead, I am attempting "just make it through the day" parenting, so I thought of their explorations as a major pain in the ass. And I am not just being mean -- some kids didn't want to explore destroying the river at this point, so I thought we should hold off on that. It's a metaphor for the Alaskan oil drilling debate.

Eventually everyone was having a great time. Well, I wasn't, but I was thinking of how my misery could make a great blog post.

I videotaped a major tantrum by my 2-year-old, interspersed with me instructing each of my boys to put down the hose, repeatedly. The video also shows me trying to be polite for the benefit of the neighbor boy, and I believe it had my 7-year-old screaming instructions at all the other kids. It also had a segment featuring the chemical burn on my upper lip from trying to wax, missing a spot, then trying a Sally Hansen cream. (Bad idea. I look like I have herpes.) Unfortunately, because I am not Jodie, I cannot get the video into a reasonable format. HOW DOES JODIE DO IT????

Our evening on the river ended in an explosion of water, tears and tempers. There is soggy foil all over the backyard, and I don't even care! I plan to blame it on the raccoons getting into someone's trash. And now, I am going to go drown my sorrows in a glass of milk and some Oreos. Jodie, please, don't ever leave us again.

Drumroll please!!!!!

We have a winner!!!! #7 is the big winner with nearly HALF of the 200+ votes!!! Wow!!! Congrats to you two!!!! You win the proof book of photos from your amazing and beautiful photo shoot!!! (I absolutely love that picture from your love light session!!! Sooooo amazingly beautiful!!!)

I can brag on how wonderful Jodie takes pictures because this isn't Jodie! This is actually Jamie from Inspired Mess a/k/a the "mom" in photo #6. Jodie and family are getting ready to leave for vacation in TWO HOURS!!! She even shot a wedding today. Can you imagine??? Just hearing about all she does makes me need a nap, lol!

This contest was soooo much fun!!! It was fun to read through all the comments. Wonderful family & friends are certainly a blessing! Thank you to EVERYBODY who voted!!! And a big thank you to Jodie who inspires regularly with her neverending generosity and beautiful spirit!!!  

Have a wonderful vacation, Jodie & Family!!! Enjoy every moment and get some rest!!! We can't wait to see YOUR family pictures on the beach! 

Woah, I think I've exhausted my exclamation point limit! =)
Hope you have a wonderful weekend, blog readers!!! (a few more for good measure)
Be Inspired. Create Adventure.
xoxo -j

are you up for it?

Ok. So the comments are still coming in, the votes are being tallied... and now I am offering up a CHALLENGE.

Are you up for it?

If we reach 300 votes by tonight at midnight I will GIVE each family a mounted 8x10 print of their photo!

EVERY FAMILY IN THE CONTEST!

So keep rocking those votes! Just about 100 more in less than 12 hours... can you do it???

holy comments batman!

You guys sure know how to ROCK THE VOTE!

Almost 200 comments! Holy cow!

Just had to pop on here (as I'm RUNNING around getting ready for Florida today like a MAD WOMAN) to tell you there is the SAME contest running over at Fresh Art and we'd love your vote there too!

AND we just posted this sneak peek today so if voting ONE MORE TIME seems like too much work... at least pop over there and leave these parents of the SLEEPIEST newborn around some comment love! And to tempt you here are some of my favs...

 

Can't you hear him? MIZ....ZOU!

 

ALSO... just FYI... today is the LAST day to get our 75% off session fee at Fresh Art! So send all your prego friends out way!!!

VOTING ENDS TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT FOR BOTH CONTESTS!!!