Angie Wilson Photography

New Blog is Up

2008-12-30T17:21:00.001-08:00

That's right. It was time for some updates. You can find the new one here:

www.angiewilsonphotography.com/blog

Un-blogged photo gems

2008-12-30T08:56:00.000-08:00

I spent some time this week digging through photos from Angie Wilson Photography sessions 2008...and came across a couple of gems that never got blogged. Thought I'd share, since it's been a little while since my last post.

These first two are from Arica's senior portrait session:

Stella, from her family photo session in September:

Payton, from one of the best-ever children's photography sessions:

And this one was from Becca's senior portrait session:

It's been a great year, and I'm excited for the many photo adventures ahead in 2009! Happy new year everyone!!

December Senior Portraits: Jeremy

2008-12-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

Brrrr! We've had some cold weather this week. Thankfully, last week when I shot Jeremy's senior photos, it wasn't QUITE as cold as it is now (though it WAS pretty close). High-five, Jeremy, for making it through without catching frostbite!
Here are a couple of my favorites:

My Favorite Soup. In the World.

2008-12-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

A few days after I had Colin, my friend Karna (who happens to be one of the most awesome cooks ever), brought dinner to my family. Along with pumpkin cookies and cornbread (yes, I still remember...it was THAT good), she brought what has become my absolute favorite soup. Man oh man! I made a batch the other day, and thought I'd share the recipe.

(I believe this originally came from an issue of Cooking Light)

Butternut-White Bean Soup

Ingredients

3 bacon slices (if I'm in a good mood I up this a touch) :)
1 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/4 cup dry white wine
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (1/2 T if dried)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (15-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons of drippings in pan; crumble the bacon, and set aside.

Add onion, celery, and garlic to pan; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add squash; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add wine; cook until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in broth, cumin, red pepper, cinnamon, and cloves; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until squash is tender. Stir in cream, oregano, salt, black pepper, and beans; bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
----------

Mmmm. Mmmm. You're going to love it.

...and of course, back to normally scheduled "photography" blogging soon. Jeremy's senior portrait session up next.

Children's Session: Zoe at the Primary Children's Hospital, Aurora

2008-12-10T17:50:00.000-08:00

When Dani first contacted me about photographing her daughter Zoe, we discussed a few possible options for photo session locations. Midway through our conversation, Dani told me a few of the tremendous events that have already happened in Zoe's life...the biggest being open-heart surgery at four months of age. In every photo session I make it my goal to capture the personalities of my subjects, so we decided to shoot the session where Zoe has spent a portion of the first year of her life--the Primary Children's Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. Our goal there was to capture Zoe's courageous spirit and cheerful personality.

This one, to me, screams of Zoe's courageous spirit. So beautiful, so brave, with the scar to prove it.

...and these ones, of Zoe's cheerful personality.

I think Zoe's parents are equally courageous and amazing.

This one was probably the analytical Art Historian in me coming through...
Looking ahead toward a bright and beautiful future.

Angie Wilson Photography Free Session . . . And the Winner WAS:

2008-12-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

Remember back in September...the drawing I held for a free photo session??? The winner was Erika, who gave me the privilege, last week, of photographing her awesome family:

Doesn't it seem as though it is statistically impossible for 95% of my recent clients' print orders to all come in within a few days of each other??? Yeah...I thought so too....but here I am with a fat stack of print orders that need to be worked on...

Sorry blog. :)

My Friend Stacey

2008-12-01T19:34:00.000-08:00

One week before my very first year of college, I moved into the dorms at BYU. At freshman orientation I met Stacey, and learned that she lived in the dorm room next to mine. At the time I had no idea, of course, of all of the adventures, and laughs that we would share throughout our undergraduate lives at BYU.

This Thanksgiving Stacey came to Colorado to spend the holiday with my family and me. We went into the "forest" of my parents' backyard for a mini photo shoot.

My sophomore year of college I took an Intro to Photography class. Stacey was my roommate, and thus, my designated model victim when the assignment was portraiture. :)

And NOW....a Blast From the Past.

I decided to dig through a box of old photos...ones from my college years, filled with lots of Stacey. I found a stack of photos from the summer after our freshman year, when my family was living in Windsor, England. Stacey came out to visit and we backpacked through Europe.

Biking through Amsterdam and in the mountains of Switzerland...and even though we're acting tough like we totally conquered that mountain....I'm pretty sure we had just gotten off the tram to the top. :)

Session Gift Certificates :: 30% off

2008-11-27T21:18:00.000-08:00

As promised, here's your link to the Angie Wilson Photography Black Friday sale (only better, because this one lasts through Saturday).

Just in case you missed the details in the previous post, here are the details on an AWP session gift certificate:

$250 ($175 if purchased Friday Nov. 28 or Saturday Nov. 29)

*good for one photography session (children, baby, maternity, senior, family, boudoir, engagement)

*can be redeemed for a session taking place between January 5, 2009 and June 4, 2009, within 30 miles of Longmont, CO (or additional travel fees apply).

*includes the normal $50 session print credit, to put towards your purchase of prints, files, canvases or albums

To purchase, click the BUY NOW button below. Happy Black Friday!!

**NOTE**
The Black Friday sale has ended.
To purchase a regularly priced gift certificate, click the button below.
****

November Family Session & Warm Weather. Really.

2008-11-25T21:03:00.000-08:00

Lots going on this week...print orders, graphic design projects, and friends and family in town for THANKSGIVING (whoop whoop!), but I thought I'd share just a couple of photos from the family I photographed last week.

It's November and the weather was amazing. We had planned on scarves and mittens, but it was sunny and warm. Sometimes Colorado surprises me like that!

Trust me...no one did what you might be thinking. She likes to talk holding her nose though...it sounds funny.

They remind me of myself when I was that age. I LOVED stickers!!

Session Gift Certificates and Black Friday Sale

2008-11-22T22:16:00.000-08:00

HOOOORAY! It's holiday season....christmas music! sledding! hot chocolate! shopping! endless nights of laughing your brains out watching Will Ferrel in Elf!!.....and of COURSE time to start making your Christmas list!!

Angie Wilson Photography session gift certificates are now available. Here are the details:

*$250

*good for one photography session (children, baby, maternity, senior, family, boudoir, engagement)

*can be redeemed for a session taking place between January 5, 2009 and June 4, 2009, within 30 miles of Longmont CO (or additional travel fees apply).

*includes the normal $50 session print credit, to put towards your purchase of prints, files, canvases or albums

If you've been dying for an Angie Wilson Photography session, but just haven't had a chance, be sure to send your spouse/mom/grandma to this blog post. Tell them to click the link below and you'll get your best-ever Christmas gift.

The other day I was daydreaming about Black Friday, which is perhaps my 24th favorite day of the year. After a giant Thanksgiving feast, I LOOOOVE to fat-dog it on the couch and browse through a huge stack of all the advertisements for the upcoming sales (WHAT?! $5 crock pot at Target?!?! I've already got three, but LET'S GOOOO!!!).

And then I started thinking....I want to have my OWN after-Thanksgiving sale.

SO. For two days only (Friday, Nov. 28 and Saturday Nov. 29), session gift certificates can be purchased for 30% off the normal price (that's $175). Mark your calendars, and be sure to check back Friday morning for the link to purchase the discounted gift certificates.

My adorable nephew...

2008-11-18T11:20:00.000-08:00

I actually have quite a few adorable nephews...this just happens to be the one that was in town a couple of weekends ago. It was the first time I'd met him, and the moment I saw his EYES and CHEEKS I decided he was going to be the next victim of an Angie Wilson Photography photo shoot. :)

Every time I look at him I just want to gobble him up. *LOOK* *at* *his* *CHEEKS* !!

Mmmm....Angie....your camera looks....YUMMY...!

JM Designs: Product Photography

2008-11-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

Although I generally consider myself a "people" photographer, I was thrilled to death when Janet of JM Designs in Wheat Ridge, contacted me about photographing some of the garments she designed and put together. Janet is so passionate about what she does, and the work she does is amazingly designed and executed. She offers not only sewing classes and custom-made wedding dresses and gowns, but clothing for ice-skating costumes, ballroom dance, and modern dance. She is a creative and talented semstress, and just like me, loves to try new things and break out of the box.

Here are a few shots of the garments that were photographed, soon to be submitted as slides for admission to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. Good luck Janet!!

*and, of course, a special thanks goes to Kim, who did a fantastic job modeling the clothing.

This shot was actually a test shot...making sure my lighting and exposure were right....and it turned to be one of my favorites.

Senior Portraits: Ramiro

2008-11-13T17:41:00.000-08:00

Ramiro's senior portrait session was a bit shorter than most, due to the time change with daylight savings time (CURSES!!), but we still managed to get a qua-trillion billion great shots. Here are some of my favorites:

Senior Portraits: Becca

2008-11-11T17:31:00.000-08:00

When I was a senior in high school I worked at the elementary school as the assistant of an after-school children's program. Becca was one of the kids in that program, which I didn't realize until we met for her senior portrait session....CRAAA-ZY!

This hat rocks. We got close to 15 billion good shots of her wearing it.

Becca is a musician...she plays the piano AND the guitar. And now that I think about it...I remember the 4th grade Becca listening to music and singing quite a bit.

HELLO fantastic sun glare!!

This pose is one part "hey it looks cool" and two parts "IT'S FREEZING OUT HERE!!"

Engagement Session: Niki & Mike

2008-11-06T20:29:00.000-08:00

These two are so ridiculously cool, and I'm so excited to be shooting their wedding next summer. Here are just a few of my favorite shots from their engagement session last weekend:

The silhouette idea was Niki's...nice! I like it!

Children's Session: Keegan & Owen

2008-11-04T20:46:00.000-08:00

These two brothers are awesome. Period. What else can I say?

This is what happens when two brothers sit together a couple seconds too long...

Owen and Keegan love playing football with eachother. Seeing how much fun they had together makes me super excited for the day when Colin can run around with James without getting completely trampled.

Owen's smile here...priceless. :)

Senior Portraits: Kelly

2008-11-03T18:51:00.000-08:00

Last week I shot Kelly's senior photos. We got bucket-loads of great shots, but here's a couple of my favorites:

Love this one.

Kelly runs track and cross-country (just like I did..only she pole vaults which is way cooler than my events!!), so we hopped onto the track for a couple of shots.

Go VOTE!

2008-11-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

I have a photo shoot scheduled for election day, so at the last minute (afternoon of the last day of early voting) I decided I'd better go in to cast my vote....with my two boys (yeah...it was fun).

Early voting is over, but be sure to get informed on the issues, and go vote on Tuesday. For those of you living in Colorado, if you don't already have a copy of the 2008 State Ballot Information Booklet, you can download one here.

p.s.
coming next week...three COMPLETELY amazing sessions from this week...I'd be excited if I were you.

My two superheros...

2008-10-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I have a photo session, so I decided to bust out the Halloween costumes today for some photos. James, of course, had no objections.

He looks bored, but trust me...he was so excited to be wearing his spiderman costume.

This is Colin saying, "TEN MINUTES IS WAYYYY TOO LONG FOR HALLOWEEN PHOTOS!!! PLEASE PUT THE CAMERA AWAY AND MAKE ME A BEAN BURRITO!!!"

Happy Halloween everyone!! Save your twix, kit kat, and snickers bars for me :)

Family Session: Pumpkin Farm

2008-10-28T19:38:00.001-07:00

Last week I shot this wonderful family of three. I was excited when we tossed around the idea of shooting the session at a pumpkin farm...since I like to keep things unique and interesting. Special shout out to the owners of the pumpkin farm who gave us permission to shoot there. THANK YOU!

I try to keep my post-processing style consistent, but this image demanded something a little different...something a little less bright and a little more antique. It's always fun to sharpen photoshop skills trying something different.

Gotta take advantage of a cool sign when there's one around...

October Family Session: Longmont

2008-10-27T20:42:00.001-07:00

I was scheduled to photograph this family early last week. Unfortunately for us, on the day of the shoot Longmont was experiencing hurricane-style winds, so we had to postpone the session...but only one day. Our schedules thankfully aligned and the weather-gods sent perfect photo weather.

Here're a couple-o-favs:

There's something about children's hands that I love. I also love his face--though blurry--you can totally tell he's rockin out.

Ummmmm...
I'm pretty sure I LOOOOVE this one!!

Tree-"Climber"

2008-10-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

I shot three sessions this week, so I've got lots of fantastic images to share...
...but it's the weekend...and T minus 5 until movie night (which does not give me enough time to blog them justice)!

Here's a couple of shots of James "climbing" the tree in our backyard this week.

Katie, Levi, Jake & Abby: Family Session

2008-10-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

Last week I did a family session for two of my friends from high school!! Now they're married with two totally amazing children. Here's a few favorites:

If only I could decorate my children's rooms as nicely as Katie does...

Wowzers!

Senior Portraits: Arica

2008-10-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

I LOOOOVE shooting senior portraits. Here are few of my favorite shots from Arica's senior session last week:

While we were in the corn fields doing some shots, Arica mentioned the association of corn fields and horror movies....so then we did an awesome "terror in the corn" mini session.... :)

Seriously....LOVE this one:

Coming Soon . . .

2008-10-18T13:39:00.001-07:00

Arica's totally amazing senior session . . .

Fun fall family session . . .

I'm due for a break, but I'll be back with more after the weekend! :)

Angie Wilson Photography Free Session: AND the WINNER IS...

2008-10-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

Erika L.

Congratulations!

Thank you, everyone, for participating. I was absolutely flattered at the number of people who signed up.

To all of the participants: Be sure to check your inboxes--everyone who participated receives something special. If you didn't get an email from me, check your junk mail folder (though I would be INSULTED if your email provider mistook MY message for junk!) :) If it's no where to be found in your email account, give me a call or send me an email (a few of them bounced back saying your inbox was full).

That promotion was cake...fill out three fields and you're done. Next time I want to do something a bit more creative, perhaps something with a theme. Of course I can only think of artsy things since that's the way my brain works. Here are a couple of ideas:

a. submit a photo with some sort of theme to be decided....perhaps "something orange," since that's the Angie Wilson Photography color. I post my favorites, and the blog readers vote on the winner.

b. send in the worst-ever photo you can find from your past...whether it be the horrible prom pic, 80's glamour shot with white vignetting, your childhood studio shot standing infront of a full-out forest-river-waterfall fake background, etc. (again, to be posted and voted on by the blog readers).

c. too complicated! stick to the simple three fields and you're done.

What do you think? Anyone got any ideas for the next promotion???? Please share in the comments below.

Family Session: Kirsti & Mike

2008-10-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

Man...I feel like I am wayyyy behind. I wanted to get a couple more photos up from the family session I did last week. Sorry it's not as long as usual. This week keeps getting busier and busier and the blog has been given the backseat (haven't you noticed??)

These brothers were so awesome...and cute!

Enjoy Today.

2008-10-06T23:20:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, Thomas S. Monson, the prophet of the church I belong to, spoke at the closing of the Sunday morning session of general conference, and I REALLY enjoyed his remarks (I will link to it later this week when it is posted online).

Perhaps my favorite part, was when he shared a quote from The Music Man. "Pile up too many tomorrows and you'll find that you've collected nothing but a bunch of empty yesterdays." It's a hard thing sometimes . . . sleep deprived, watching James and Colin repeatedly dump their toys across the living room, spill juice and crackers all over the floor, scream at eachother during nearly every car ride . . . to not just try and push through today in hopes of a better tomorrow (or in my case, a better three years from now). But too often I am reminded that all we really have is today. Enjoy today.

After conference ended we put Colin in his crib for his nap. Jim and I also laid in bed for our Sunday afternoon rest. Soon James climbed into bed with us, and snuggled up against me. I made a conscious effort to try and enjoy the moment. I watched as James' chubby little fists rubbed his tired eyes, and then rested his arm on my shoulder. It was such a wonderful moment, though sad at the same time. As President Monson also mentioned in his talk, change is constant. Some is sudden, but many times, change is subtle and slow. There will come a day when James is big and independent, no longer taking afternoon naps next to me with his arm on my shoulder. I suppose those days will have their own moments to be cherished, but for now . . . enjoy today.

Here's a photo from a family photo session I did last week (more to be posted soon). Talk about enjoying today. These two are oozing it... :)

Family Session: Erin, Paul, Stella & Duncan

2008-09-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Meet Erin, Paul, and their two amazingly beautiful kids, Stella and Duncan:

Trying to pick my favorites from this session was like sending James to a candy store and telling him to pick only one.

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this one:

Anyone else dying to pinch his cheeks?

I'd been dreaming about taking some photos on one of these:

Angie Wilson Photography Free Photo Session

2008-09-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

Whooo! That's right. I'm loving my slick, new website and passing the love to one lucky winner. Here are the details:

*Anyone can enter, whether you're interested in a family session, children's session, engagement session, maternity session, anytime portrait, etc.

*Entries will be accepted until Friday, October 10th.

*Winner will be notified via email Saturday, October 11th.

*Refer your friends--if the winner was referred by you, you'll get something extra special too.

*session must take place within 30 miles of Longmont, or normal travel fees apply | for family and children’s sessions, six person maximum, otherwise normal additional fees apply | session must be redeemed by December 19th, 2008. Please schedule your session asap to reserve your date.

Sound good?

Visit the Angie Wilson Photography website.
Click ENTER WEBSITE
Click PROMOTIONS

Fill out the easy-breezy entry form, hit submit, and your name will be entered into the drawing. Cool? Cool! Let the party begin!

p.s...for those of you who have already scheduled your session--you can enter too! If your name is drawn your session deposit will be refunded. So get on it!

Colin turns 1 !!

2008-09-24T20:12:00.001-07:00

Holy smokes...when did one year fly by!?! Suddenly my baby is a walking, talking, dancing, and eating machine. Here are some photos from the big celebration:

Let's face it. I've never been good at narrowing down my favorites to a small number. Here are sixteen of the best messy-face-cupcake-eating photos :)

And the best part?? When he got hold of the first chocolate cupcake and started devouring it to pieces, my flash was low on batteries. He finished the cupcake (and cupcake wrapper) in a matter of seconds, and without a good light source, my photos were only mediocre. I never settle for mediocre photos. I grabbed my other flash with fresh batteries and handed him a new cupcake.....REDO! I don't think he minded one bit.

How many more days 'til Halloween???

2008-09-20T19:21:00.001-07:00

Nearly two weeks ago James talked me into buying him his spiderman Halloween costume. I've never quite understood James' fascination with this particular superhero. He has never seen a spiderman cartoon, any of the spiderman movies, nor read a spiderman comic book. He doesn't even like spiders. I guess it doesn't matter. James loves spiderman, and he loves his spiderman costume. He has worn it everyday since we got it, and I fully expect that he will continue to wear it everyday until Halloween. Let's just hope it lasts that long...

Part of the costume wearing routine involves moving all of the dining room chairs into the living room, lining them up, and, with various stuffed animal obstacles blocking his path, "flying" off the last chair onto the couch.

"Did you see it Mommy?? Was I flying?!?"

Talk about superhero--grasping onto a half-eaten graham cracker as he flies through the air. What a guy!

Senior Pictures: Liz & Tim

2008-09-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

Last week I shot Liz and Tim's senior portraits. To be totally honest, when we started the session I felt a bit sick. Jim, James, Colin and I went to Elitch's in the morning for some excitement on the kiddie rides. Between the oh-so-fun spin on the teacups, and the giant chocolate funnel cake we ate for lunch, I was feeling a bit questionable, even a couple hours later when we started the shoot. But the sickness quickly disappeared as I had so much fun shooting these two awesome twins.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

(this set-up was Tim's idea...how cool is he??!)

Hahaha..this one cracks me up:

Holy smokin' beautiful!

Liz is a cheerleader so I had her jump for a couple of shots. Wow! She's amazing!

Family Session: Leah, Zach & Ella

2008-09-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

Last week I did a family session in Longmont. Apparently Ella had missed out on a nap, but I would have never guessed it! She was the sweetest, happiest baby, and I had such a great time taking photos of her and her parents.

Daddies are so much fun!

I L-O-V-E this one! The way Leah is looking at Ella, Ella's bright eyes, Ella clutching onto Mommy's fingers. There's something about it that defines what it is to be a mother of a small child...and it makes me teary.

Look how cute she is taking little steps!!

Angie Wilson Photography Website is UP!

2008-09-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

Hooray! The official, non-blog, Angie Wilson Photography site is up. Special thanks to my wonderful husband, Jim, who took my design sketches and did all of the back-end, programming genius work. Thank you!

I love graphic design almost as much as I love photography, so it's been a fun project.

I will be doing a promotion soon in celebration of the site's debut, so check back soon for details.

Senior Portraits: Abby

2008-09-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Today I met Abby for a totally amazing photo session. I had an EXTREMELY hard time narrowing it down to my favorites because we got SOOO many good ones! Here they are:

Abby loves photography just like me!! She brought her totally amazing camera that takes 8 photos right in a row. I want one!!

I was jumping up and down with excitement after I got this one:

I LOOOOOOOVE this one:

I literally had Abby climbing on trains, laying on dirty pavement, and trekking through thorny weeds. Thanks Abby for being such a great sport! I can't wait to show you the rest!

Fran & Warner Celebrate 50 Years

2008-08-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

Last week Fran and Warner celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Their children and grandchildren were there to celebrate the day with them, so they hired Jim and me to be there to capture some family portraits. Towards the end of the session we took some photos of just Fran and Warner. I noticed how cute they were sitting, holding hands, and decided to get a close up. After we were finished Fran brought me inside where her wedding album was. Turns out their photographer 50 years ago had done the same thing!

Congratulations Fran and Warner!

My boys...

2008-08-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

Sometime last week I realized that, though I have been doing an awful lot of photographing lately, none of it has been of my own boys....GASP! On Saturday afternoon Jim and I took James and Colin to a park in Fort Collins to give them some camera attention.

Can you spot Jim??

It seems like I've got quite a few of James & Colin photos with this same sort of "feel." :)

I love this one because of the way James is looking up to Jim.

Then they started throwing grass at eachother. I think I want to turn this one into a giant canvas to hang up in our house.

Funny James story of the week:
We could probably count on one hand the number of times I've actually cooked dinner this summer. Today was one of those days. I was peeling potatos in the kitchen when James came in and said, "Are you making a meal?"
"A meal?" I asked, surprised that he knew the word.
"Yeah...a meal...like on TV."

Wild West MS Walkabout: Fort Collins, Colorado

2008-08-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the third annual, Wild West MS Walkabout--a fantastic, 3 Day | 50 Mile walk event in Fort Collins, Colorado. The walk is put together with the help of many amazing volunteers and sponsors, and raises funds to support those living with multiple sclerosis. For the past two years, Jalapeno Design has helped the Wild West MS Walkabout with their website, brochures, posters, t-shirts, etc. Feeling thus connected to the event and the people who put it together, we headed up to Fort Collins on Saturday to cheer on the walkers and volunteers working so hard to make the event such a success. I, of course, brought my camera for some photos. :)

The rest stop that we hung out at had some wonderful clowns and music providing encouragement to all of the walkers. When we first got there, James seemed a bit hesitant about the clowns.
"They're nice clowns?" he asked me.
"Oh yeah, they're very nice."
..."they won't pick me up?" James asked still unsure.

Turned out the clowns were very nice and never tried to pick James up. Phew. :)

If you're interested in walking or volunteering in next year's walkabout, make sure to check their website for opportunities.

E-Shoot: Elizabeth & Doug

2008-08-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Late Friday afternoon Jim and I met Doug and Elizabeth in Lafayette for an engagement shoot. As always, WHAT A BLAST! Here are a few of my favoritos:

Wowzers! ...favorite:

I can't remember exactly what Jim said, but I do remember it was funny.

I know it's against the definition of the word favorite to have two...but I'm okay with ignoring the rules. :) Another favorite:

And finally. Last week I drove around Lafayette hunting for some good spots to take Doug and Elizabeth's engagement photos. I passed this mural and started hyperventilating. Okay not really, but I was excited we had a chance to take some funny shots before the sun went down. These totally crack me up:

Rodney Smith--this guy is AMAAAAZING!

2008-08-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I checked my OLLLLD hotmail email account . . . the one I signed up for when I was 16 (!!) and used throughout high school and college. I still have the email account, but rarely check it because it is almost always JUNK JUNK JUNK. Not today.

I was so DELIGHTED to find an email from the studio of Rodney Smith, an amazing fashion photographer in New York.

Until I was 23, I had no idea who Rodney Smith even was. It was the summer after my first year of grad school. I was studying Art History, doing a summer internship at BYU's Museum of Art in the exhibition design department. Brian, one of Museum's lead designers, handed me a stack of Rodney Smith's images. The Museum was putting together an exhibition of his work in the Fall, and we were in charge of designing the gallery guide. I remember being immediately blown away by his work, excited for the day when his photographs would hang on the walls of the Museum.

So back to today. I got an email from his studio, announcing some new photos featured in a fashion issue of New York Magazine. I thought maybe you'd like to take a peek too. This one right here is my favorite. I. LOVE. IT. Fearless and fantastic. Way to go Rodney Smith!

Children's Session: Ella & Jeremy

2008-08-13T22:07:00.000-07:00

Today I met Ella and Jeremy [and their mom :)] at a park in Longmont for a photo session. Good times, good shots:

This is the "jungle" where we started.

I love this shot. He's doing his launch-for-the-camera move, which appears in quite a few of his shots. :) Love it!

Ella took off for the playground when I was focusing on Jeremy. When I found her she was laying in the sand making a castle. I love kids!

See--it's the launch-for-the-camera move again. He does it so well!

Love Love LOVE this one:

Portraits: Baby Macy

2008-08-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I had the wonderful privilege of photographing sweet baby Macy. What a beautiful girl! Here are a couple of my favorites:

Being around a newborn kinda made me want to have another...but then I remembered how much work they are, and decided to pass :) (at least for now).

Macy had the sweetest-ever newborn cry. She calmed right down when mommy picked her up, but not before I got a couple of photos.

5 Years!

2008-08-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

Five years ago, TODAY, Jim and I got married. At the time, we were both in college. Jim wasn't even sure what he wanted to study, though he was leaning towards accounting (what?!) I was finishing my degree in graphic design, and about to start my graduate program in art history. We played tennis together, we watched Law and Order marathons, and eaves-dropped on our upstairs neighbors' terrible fights. We studied at the library together, made pancakes on Saturdays, and loudly sang along to our favorite songs while we were in the car together. We had almost no savings, worked part time jobs, and every so often ate at our favorite place in the world, Cafe Rio.

It's been five years. A LOT has changed. But two things remain the same:

1. we still like watching Law and Order together (but not the marathons...no time for that much tv... :)

2. Jim is my best friend in the world, and I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else.

On Thursday we cashed in on James' ticket to Lakeside Amusement Park for doing the library summer reading program. I'll blog some cool photos I got of James in another post...this one is MINE. :) Here we are in the parking lot. (small size photo because i look ridiculous. thank goodness i don't normally have to see the way I look when I kiss)

p.s. Happy Birthday Meg!

Wedding, Santa Rosa California: Lyndsey & Monte

2008-08-05T21:07:00.000-07:00

A little over a week ago I flew out to California to assist my friend Meg Reul shoot Lyndsey and Monte's wedding in Santa Rosa, California.

This is perhaps my most favorite shoe shot EVER!

I spent a lot of pre-ceremony time photographing Monte and his groomsmen (which is my explanation for the abundance of photos of the guys).

Lyndsey and Monte had a beautiful wedding ceremony right along the vineyard. My favorite part? The processional band played Death Cab for Cutie's I'll Follow You Into the Dark as Monte and Lyndsey walked down the aisle. SOOOO AWESOME!

An amazingly beautiful couple in an amazingly beautiful setting. I love being a photographer. :)

Is the checker at Wal-Mart really serious . . .

2008-08-01T16:53:00.001-07:00

. . . when he asks, "How are you today?" Keep in mind:

a. it is barely 4 am. I am in my pajamas, looking only a half step better than death.

b. one of my hands is holding my right ear, which is giving me the worst pain I've felt since labor. The other hand is holding $20 worth of over-the-counter drugs just praying that one of them will stop the pain.

My eardrum burst, and as of this afternoon, I'm now on real, doctor-prescribed meds. Whoop whoop!

A couple of you living outside of the Denver/Boulder area have asked to see some photos of Colin. Let's turn this post a little more upbeat with some images of my beautiful/super sweet/always-keep-me-on-my-toes son. These are from a recent trip to the park.

Don't you love fat little baby hands?? I especially love those inverted-baby-knuckles-dimples. Anyone know the real term for those??

(I think there was a dog off to the side, which explains his intense gaze NOT at the camera...) :)

Back From California

2008-07-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend in beautiful Santa Rosa, California, assisting my friend Meg Reul photograph Lyndsey & Monte's fairytale wedding in a VINEYARD! The San Francisco area was BEAUTIFUL and I had a blast, but didn't catch a whole lot of sleep. Almost immediately upon returning home I caught something horrible, and unfortunately haven't spent hours in front of the computer editing shots like I usually do. As soon as I'm better you can be sure that I'll be behind this computer editing away, but for now I have a fever, feel like I'm dying, and need to go to bed and get some REST! I'll try to blog some photos from the wedding soon, but until then:

Holy smokes are you kidding me?? I TOLD you it was fairytale.

And I missed them too!

Portraits: Maryam

2008-07-24T23:17:00.001-07:00

Earlier this evening I met my friend Maryam in north Longmont for a portrait session. What a great time we had (minus the attack of the killer mosquitos)! Here are just a couple of the fantastic shots we got:

Absolute FAAAAAVORITE:

By the way...as a note to all of the Longmont brides who seem to stumble upon my blog...Maryam is a wedding planner, so if you want her contact info let me know!

Which one of THESE will be on my new website?

2008-07-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of weeks I've been working on the design sketches for a new Angie Wilson Photography website. The design part is pretty much finished, so it's now in Jim's hands for the programming phase (and I can't wait for it to be finished!). As like any photographer's website, mine has an "about me" page. I realized when I was designing this page that I really don't have a portrait of myself...which is a NECESSITY for an "about me" page.

This afternoon James and Colin took naps at the same time, and I had ACTUALLY straightened my hair, so it was a perfect time for a photo shoot. Jim took all of these in our backyard. Here are the best:

Yesterday morning I went on a run with the double stroller. When we were almost home we passed a garage sale that had this picture frame for $1. WHOOO! I ran home, grabbed a dollar, and ran back to buy the frame. I KNEW it would make an awesome photo prop!

Obviously they won't all fit on the about me page....so what's your vote???

Children's Session: Payton, Kole & Blake

2008-07-17T22:23:00.000-07:00

Late this afternoon I did a children's photo session for Debbie's picture-perfect grandchildren (and I brought my lucky charm--Jim--with me again). Shortly after returning home, I turned on my computer, and haven't stopped editing since (okay I lie...I gave Jim and James haircuts at 8 pm...but other than that...) I think it's safe to safe that I am SOOOO addicted to photography/photoshop. I was so excited about these photos that I still haven't taken a break for dinner (and it's getting close to midnight).

Here are just a couple of my favorites:

I KNOW that these days are JUST around the corner for me with my James & Colin.

As usual, I couldn't decide which one I liked better, so here's both:

Fun times rolling in the grass

Kole let Payton hop on his back, but didn't seem to be enjoying it too much.

So Payton showed him what was up.

Wow! A two-person piggy back!

After we were done the kids started playing on the playground and I got some more shots. LOVE THESE!

Wow! That was FUN! Payton, Kole and Blake: you kids ROCK! I know I told your parents your online proofing gallery would be up within two weeks, but I think the secret's already out: Angie is a photoshop addict and your gallery with the rest of the shots will be up very shortly! ;)

Time for my midnight dinner!

Senior Portraits: Will

2008-07-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I shot Will's senior portraits. We started in Niwot and finished the session in Longmont. I had a fantastic time, probably because:

a. Will is super cool
b. my awesome husband assisted me

Here are a couple of my favorites:

I think Will has the best name ever. I would've named my second son Will, if it weren't for our last name...

After I met Will a couple of weeks ago, and knew we'd be doing some guitar shots, I found this spot (pretty awesome don't you think?). Doesn't he look like he belongs on the cover of a cd?

Shout Out

2008-07-14T21:49:00.000-07:00

That's right. It's time for a shout out.
This one goes out to a wonderful woman named Sue who works for the City of Longmont.

A few years ago when I started my graphic design business, Jalapeno Design., (please don't look at the portfolio...it hasn't been updated in a LOOOOONG time, and is falling far from high on the priority list) she was the woman working in the Sales Tax office at the Longmont Civic Center. Starting a business was a new and complicated thing for me, so I was grateful for her friendliness in answering all of my crazy questions, as well as her assistance in areas that were most likely outside of her job description.
Fast-forward the clock to 2008 when I have yet again started another business. Now I'm equipped with even more questions, since, this time, I actually have to collect sales tax on the photographic prints that I sell. Sue is still the woman behind the front desk and is still extraordinarily helpful and friendly...something that seems rare in today's world of customer service.

Though I doubt that she will ever read this, I'll say it anyway. Thanks Sue!

And what's an Angie Wilson Photography post without a photo?!
This one comes to us compliments of my wonderful husband Jim, who is becoming quite a skilled photographer (high five!)

Ciara & Kevin: Keystone Colorado Wedding

2008-07-08T19:12:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I was lucky enough to find myself assisting my wonderful friend/talented superstar Meg Reul photograph a wedding in beautiful Keystone, Colorado.

I started out the day at the River Bank Lodge where Kevin was getting ready. (and I apologize in advance for the abundance of groom-getting-ready shots. I had a hard time picking out my favorite) :)

I think Keystone is one of the most beautiful places in the world! Nice pick Ciara and Kevin! :)

Are we done with photos yet? ;)

Meanwhile, Ciara was getting ready at the Ski Tip Lodge.

Wow!

The setting for their wedding was amazing.

Someone (and unfortunately I'm not sure who), did a FANTASTIC job with all of the details and decorations for Ciara and Kevin's wedding.

Ciara and Kevin had planned on an outdoor ceremony overlooking the water...
but the rain had other plans for them, and the ceremony was relocated.

But the rain didn't stop them from having a beautiful and perfect wedding ceremony.

Mmmm...I'm getting hungry just looking at it.

Andy, the best man.

Then Arch Hooks came in and got the party started...AMAZING!

Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-04T23:49:00.000-07:00

I love America, and I especially love summer fun in America! Last weekend was the 32nd Annual Good Old Days festival in the wonderful town I grew up in, Lyons, Colorado. Hooray for corn dogs, funnel cakes, and carnival rides.

Sick, Sneaky & BUBBLES

2008-07-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

Whoo! It's been a crazy couple of days at my house. I am trying to be more frequent in my blog attempts, but it just wasn't working for me this week.

On Monday James, Colin and I all caught part two of the horrible stomach virus (NOT fair! We already paid those dues in January....) So we spent the first part of the week stuck inside. I didn't want James throwing up all over my house, and the only way to get him to remain stationary was to set up the portable dvd player (for the car) in his room, turn on Finding Nemo, and have him lay on the "bed" we made for him on the floor. It was obvious that watching movies and having mommy hand deliver beverages to his room was something James quite enjoyed. By Wednesday he was all better, yet he would periodically get bored and then shout, "Ow Ow!...My tummy kinda hurts...maybe I need like...Nemo...watch it in my room or some-din.....dat make me feel better."

He is SO SNEAKY...but not good enough for me.

And this story here proves that James is very lacking in sneaky skills: Today he broke into the pantry while I was bathing Colin, took a bunch of chocolate and hid it in his room. I know this because after I finished diapering/dressing Colin, James came out of his room with chocolate melted all over his face and then said, "I hid chocolate in my room so you won't know I'm eating chocolate."

I've got a couple rounds of photos I've been meaning to blog, so I'll just start with these, and catch up on the rest some other time. These pictures are from this past weekend. Jim had found a spot in Boulder that looked like a cool place for photos, so we headed there on Saturday. Here's James, with his new tube of birthday bubbles!

Happy Birthday James!

2008-06-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

James has been anxiously awaiting his birthday party ever since we went to Party America last week in search of balloon animals, party hats, and all the other goodies associated with birthday celebrations. Today was finally the big day (and as a hint to any mother of a young child...delay your trip to Party America as long as possible):

My awesome friend Sarah let me borrow a train cake mold. Please ignore the fact that I have ZERO skills when it comes to frosting the cake...definitely not one of my strengths (Jim even volunteered to take the blame for it...but I'll own up to it).

Jim and I made a pinata for the party.
This shot was taken about 4 seconds before the sprinklers turned on. Oops!

Mmmmm...pinata treats:

James started opening presents as soon as they showed up:

James' smallest party guest. Aren't you just dying to pinch his little cheeks through the computer screen?

Colin SOOO desperately wanted to escape and start scavenging on all of the fallen cake and candy bits on the deck...or maybe he was after the dirt...he literally eats anything he can find.

Happy Birthday James!

Stephanie & Todd: Wedding

2008-06-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I assisted my great friend Meg Reul photograph Stephanie and Todd's wedding in Denver. Here are a few of my favorites:

I took this shoe image with one of the newest lenses to my collection. Ooooh...I think I have a slightly unhealthy love of my photographic equipment!

The atmosphere was a bit different upstairs where the guys were getting ready . . . watching some ESPN.

Stephanie and Todd had such a lively and fantastic bridal party:

Their reception was held in Denver at the Tivoli.

After dinner the dance floor filled up:

Towards the end of the night one of the guests wanted to take a picture of me, so I let him borrow my camera. Though slightly out of focus, here I am with the mother of the bride taking a dance break.

Stefanie: Senior Portraits

2008-06-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

Today I met Stefanie and we took her senior portraits. What a cool girl! She was up for anything and made my job easy as pie. Here are just a couple of my favorites:

Wooo! Stefanie told me she likes history. I am sure she's cool now! (I got my master's degree in Art History)

Stefanie--will you lay on this sidewalk? No problem! I told you she was a good sport!

She says she's not exactly sure what she wants to study after high school--I think she should be a model!

This one looks pretty awesome in black&white too. Absolute fav:

Thanks Stefanie! I really enjoyed getting to know you and shooting your senior pictures. I hope you have a terrific senior year!

Rachel

2008-06-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today I was bored, and so was Rach. So this is what we did:

WOW! Can't you picture this one hanging up inside American Eagle? (nevermind the fact that she's wearing an A. Fitch shirt...I would say Abercrombie & Fitch but aren't those models usually half undressed?)

Holy smokin' Rachel! We got SO many good ones, but I've got to throw in the photoshoppin' towel at some point and get James to bed. :)

Speaking of James. Today Colin decided to take an early nap. I was tired so I too, laid down in my bed, while I heard James playing with his trains in his room. Colin took a reasonably short nap, and I was pretty sure that James was awake the entire time (though not completely sure, because I wasn't ;) Anyway, a couple of hours later, after we all ate lunch, I suggested that James take a nap before we head off to run errands. He assured me that he had already taken a nap. Really? I asked him if he was lying or telling the truth. It was apparent by the look in James' confused eyes that he didn't understand either concept. I tried to explain. I looked at a yellow block on the floor and tried to put it in terms that he might understand. I pointed to the block. "Hey LOOK!" I said. "It's an ELEPHANT!" I then told him that that was a LIE, and that the TRUTH is, "Hey LOOK! It's a yellow block." He sort-of seemed to be grasping the concept, so I told him it was his turn. "First tell me something that is true," I asked. James looked around, pointed to the baby gate, and said, "Hey look, a gate." GREAT! "okay, now tell me something that isn't true . . . a lie." He looked up and pointed "Hey look! A lie!"

Economic Stimulus Check 2008

2008-06-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

$1800. That's right. Though sometimes our children drive me crazy, when it came to the economic stimulus check, our family of four really paid off. In mid-May, when I noticed it had been deposited into our account, I called Jim at work. What should we do with it?!?! I cast my vote for the standard goodies that I'm always wanting to buy . .. a new lens or some other photography related treat. Jim suggested his usual . . . a 60" plasma tv.

That same day, a new post went up on The Image is Found's blog. I've been a regular blog stalker of theirs since the beginning of this year, because I LOVE their photography. They are a husband-wife team based outside of San Diego, and they do AWESOME work, mostly portrait-related. On this particular post they announced the date of a new shootshop . . . a one-day intensive workshop for 15 photographers. It seemed like fate. The government had JUST deposited $1800 into our bank account, and a Wilson vacation was long overdue. So that was that. With our $1800 we decided to road-trip it to southern California, with a one-day shootshop for me on June 10th.

Here's some photos from our adventure:

Day one was a bunch of driving and portable DVD player enjoyment.

We spent day two in Las Vegas, which was. . . hot. We had lunch at Jimmy Johns where James tripped and hit his head on the corner of the table. Ouch. Wish I would have had my camera to get a photo of the goose egg on his forehead. We stayed at Circus Circus, walked around and saw various attractions on the Strip, etc. etc. etc.

Are baby backpacks unusual? Everywhere we went I heard people laugh, "HA! Wendy, LOOK! That baby's in a BACKPACK!"

Jim caught this one while we were stretching our legs after a long day on the road (day one).

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Nevada, James needed to go potty, where, of course, there were no "services" for miles. He wasn't sure about it, so Jim gave him some encouragement. Soon, however, he seemed quite comfortable with the idea of not using a toilet, and asked repeatedly if he could pee on the street while we were in crowded public areas of CA. oh dear.

By Sunday we were at our destination, Oceanside California.

This photo perfectly illustrates James' enthusiasm for the beach. He LOVED it. This photo (captured on my piece of junk point and shoot!) is one of my favs from the entire trip. Remind me again why I have spent thousands on high-end camera gear?

Jim and Colin on the Oceanside Pier. Loved it!

Tuesday was my big day at the shootshop, while I kindly left Colin and James with Jim. :) They stuck around Oceanside until lunchtime (when I skipped my lunch with the photographers to feed Colin in the parking lot), and then they took off for the San Diego zoo. Jim took this super cool photo of James at one of the exhibits. Though I'm not sure their day was quite as fantastic as mine, I understand they had a pretty good time at the zoo (talk to James...something about a disorderly elephant spraying water all over its onlookers is what seems he'll never forget).

We spent one more day in Oceanside, and took lots of photos...of course. :)

James and Daddy in downtown Oceanside. This was my attempt at creating an Image is Found "engagement shot."

After dinner we took a stroll on the beach and then the pier.

The days we were driving were long ones, and every 3-4 hours we'd have to stop somewhere so I could feed Colin. We stopped here on our way home and I was SOOO excited to bust out the camera after Colin finished eating. A junky, abandoned building in the middle of nowhere . . . a photographer's DREAM!

"D for DADDY!" is what James kept saying here.

And finally. On our way out, we stopped at a gas station in Utah with a deer head mounted over a dining table. I totally regretted NOT getting a photo, so on our way back I made sure to get one. A deer head over a gas station dining table...how awesome is that?!

Good times, but it feels good to be home again. I sure won't miss So. Cali's gas prices ($4.80/gal.) !! Here are a couple more memories, not documented in a photo:

*Lady on the beach that fed James 2/3 of a bag of potato chips and then told me, "he's a very good eater."

*Road trip theme song: Akon-Dangerous

*On the last night of the trip, we had planned on stopping in Richfield, Utah for the night. Unfortunately, nearly all of the hotels/motels were full (because of a motorcycle rally...who knew?!). We finally found a place that had a room available (reminded me of the types you always see on CSI when they're doing some sort of drug bust). We ate a late dinner, got James and Colin to sleep, and then jumped into one of the double beds. I pulled the comforter over me . . . it smelled like MAN . . . ewwwww. Lucky for us there were two double beds, so we switched to the other one. Does it gross anyone else out that those comforters never get washed?

*In Baker, CA, we decided to eat gyros at the Mad Greek Cafe. We waited one hour for our food in an un-airconditioned room. Yummy food, but two hours later I got a Mad Greek stomach ache . . . which then turned into Mad Greek you-know-what. Guess I should have listened to Jim's vote for Taco Bell. :)

*James watched a good share of Disney and Pixar movies on the portable DVD player in the back seat. Two of his favorites are The Emperor's New Groove, and Monsters Inc. He started calling the latter, Monster's New Inc. TOTALLY cracks me up every time I hear him say it.

Whew! That was a long one. Congrats if you made it this far! :)

Road Trip Baby!

2008-06-05T22:40:00.001-07:00

No posts from me for a little while. I'll have lots of great stuff to show when we return!

Small puddle, big fun

2008-06-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday!

Date Night!

2008-06-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday my mom watched James and Colin while Jim and I went out for an evening together. Though the new Indiana Jones movie was tempting, we decided instead to take our cameras to Boulder.

It's hard to explain why Jim is laughing here. I guess you could say we were talking about how my camera kicks his camera's trash.

H.O.T. !

I LOVE this guy!

2008-05-28T22:31:00.001-07:00

He's my WONDERFUL husband, who just spent his last two nights helping me give my blog a face-lift. You'll notice I now have a nifty little navigation bar up top, in addition to some other changes, which Jim made by hacking into the blogger template. Thanks Jim! I LOVE YOU! (and not just because you are an awesome programmer).

In the meantime, please ignore the fact that some of the links are missing information. This is because I am working on the info to fill in here (specifically the about me page....man...it is SOOO hard to come up with a paragraph that explains who I am). I am SO PUMPED about my new blog, and can't wait for it to be finished!

Crawlin' Colin

2008-05-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

Some days, if I'm lucky, James and Colin take naps at the same time. Today was not one of those days. . . but it was a fun chance to snap some pictures of Colin without James stealing the spotlight.

James eventually woke up from his nap and came downstairs to play. For weeks, James has been pulling on Colin's ears, despite my repeated attempts at explaining that Colin doesn't think it's funny. I'm glad that the little man is finally learning how to fight back and return the favor.

Cattails, Tunnels, & Lollipops

2008-05-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we made our weekly lunch trip to Costa Vida. (If you haven't downloaded that coupon yet, DO IT! You will love it!) On our way back to Longmont James and Colin both conveniently fell asleep in their carseats, so Jim and I found a couple of good spots to pull over and shoot some photos in horrible mid-day light.

We'd been saving this lollipop for James since Wednesday, but it took him a couple of days to earn it.

And here's your funny James story for the week. Though not even three, he already seems to be expressing quite a fashion opinion. At least a couple of times a week, he looks at me, in complete seriousness, and says, "I don't like that shirt." Sometimes he'll even open my closet, find a new one, and ask me to put that one on instead.

Sometimes in the afternoon, when Colin is napping, James and I flip on the Food Network and watch Rachael Ray, our favorite. On Friday we were watching her make lasagna, and suddenly James said, "I don't like her shirt." All this time I thought he was watching for cooking tips, when really he's just been analyzing their clothing choices.

Elijah & Sam

2008-05-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

Today was a beautiful day. Perfect weather, and, as always, a perfect day to bust out the camera. Today it was all about Elijah and Sam.

We started out in an open field where they, of course, spotted all the dandelions.

This one right here is my absolute favorite. LOVE IT!

Next we moved into the playground area. Elijah showed me his rad-tastic Crocs:

while Sam showed off his tummy

and killer smile

Then we introduced the giant lolipops (James was sitting next to me while I was editing these on my computer. I noticed a rather hungry/jealous look in his eyes when he saw these next few).

And of course we had to get some water after all that sugar.

What a blast! Thanks boys. I can't wait to show your mom the rest!

New Baby

2008-05-20T16:25:00.000-07:00

Got a new baby (lens) via UPS this afternoon. I LOOOOOOOOVE it! I took James in our backyard for these first two shots, then took off to the park for more . . .

. . .meanwhile, Colin was chewing on grass and sticks while I had my back turned.

Typical Wilson Weekend

2008-05-18T20:58:00.000-07:00

Jim, James, Colin and I.

Killer lunch at Costa Vida in Loveland (download a buy one get one free coupon here). Thank me later.

Park and beautiful Colorado weather.

Baby backpack (Jim's always in charge of that one). :)

Two rockin' Canon cameras and lots-o-photos.

*this weekend, in addition to all that, a wasp stung me 50 million times on my finger. That was a first-time wasp sting for me, and all I can say is I HOPE that never happens again. Right after I got stung I was jumping up and down, hopping on one leg, etc., trying to take the focus off the crazy burning pain. James kept asking me if I needed a band-aid, which recently seems to be his solution to everything. (Colin pulled his hair REALLY hard on Friday and James asked for a band-aid).

So anyway, other than the wasp sting, it was another good weekend. Hope you enjoyed yours as well!

I realize that this picture is not awesome, but Colin kept head-butting Jim, so every time I look at this one it makes me laugh...had to include it for the memory. :)

And here's me, looking taller than my 5' 4" body will ever be.

Why is our Backyard FULL of dandelions ???

2008-05-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

Because I LOVE taking pictures of James...even if it means allowing him to scatter dandelion seeds all over the place.

Hiccups

2008-05-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

There are only a couple of things that I *really* dislike. Fake chocolate, photographs with obvious traces of poorly used flash, and . . . hiccups. Seriously. Hiccups are HORRIBLE.

Thankfully, from a young age I was taught a nearly foolproof method of getting rid of them. All you have to do is drink a glass of water upside down. Perhaps this doesn't make sense, so I'll explain (because you ARE going to want to try this next time you have them). Usually you put your lips on the part of the cup closest to your body right? What you need to do is put your lips on the OTHER side. Whenever I do it my entire family comes into the kitchen and stares at me like I'm performing some sort of circus act. Fine. It looks wierd. But it WORKS!

Because James is too young to successfully master this technique, and because he hates the hiccups as much as I do, I rely on a different method for him. Here's the typical scenario. I'm sitting at the table feeding Colin rice cereal. James comes running down the stairs, screaming that he has the hiccups. I wait a couple of seconds, pretend like I didn't hear him, and then, "BOOOO!!!!" I turn around with my scariest face and loudest voice, and knock his socks off. Hiccups are gone. Does the trick every time.

So back to the upside-down-water method. Ninety-nine out of 100 times, it works. Today was the 100th time. IT WAS NOT working. James was watching me with his WHAT-are-you-DOING?? face, while I kept chugging. Nothing. Finally I let out a semi-loud sigh of frustration. "What's wrong?" he asked. "I have the hiccups," I told him.

James looked at me, and then shouted "BOOOOO!"
Didn't work. Good effort though James. What a helper!

Best Mother's Day Ever

2008-05-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

How could it not be? I am the proud mother of these guys...

Bohn Park

2008-05-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

I had a couple of extra minutes tonight so I thought I'd post a couple more photos from the Jenny-Rachel session a couple of weeks ago--as promised.

Here are some of my favorites:

Did you know there was another half to this one?

BOOM! Jenny is SMOKIN' in this one

Shower-less

2008-05-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

The UPS man must think I never shower. Allow me to explain.

Within the last month I've made several purchases online. Because I track my packages online like a psycho stalker, I know EXACTLY which day to expect my bundle of joy. As the contents of these "bundles" are camera-related, and thus, never cheap, they are always "sign on delivery." If I'm not there to sign, the package gets loaded back into the truck and won't come back for a second try until tomorrow. And because UPS can't do any better than "your package will arrive between 8am - 8pm," I wake up and stay in the house until my package is in my hands. That means no shower until the UPS man comes. I mean, what if he comes while I'm in the shower? Then he'd be gone and I'd have to wait ANOTHER day for my package.

This week I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my third child--my Canon 5D (!!!). As usual, I wasn't allowed to leave the house, shower, or use any loud devices (vacuum, etc.) that might prevent me from hearing the doorbell ring UNTIL I had my package. At 1 pm the doorbell rang and I bolted downstairs--unshowered, still in my pajama pants and t-shirt. Like I said, the UPS man must think I never shower.

This evening after dinner Jim, James and I played around in the backyard (played meaning Jim and I chased James around with our cameras while James sat in the grass getting eaten by misquitos). HOLY SMOKES. THIS CAMERA ROCKS! Welcome to the family, 5D.

Attitude of Gratitude

2008-05-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

During the last hour of church the women seperate from the men into different classes. This is often my favorite part of church, and today was no different. Our lesson was taken from a talk given by Elder Eyring (if you're interested, you can read the talk in its entirety here).

For those not interested in reading it in its entirety :) it was basically about remembering to be grateful for what we have. At one point, our discussion led to the idea of being grateful for things that are "usual"--things that are wonderful, but because they are there every day, we forget that they are wonderful or even there. As we talked about this, my mind wandered to a recent experience. In January, our entire family caught a sickness that felt comparable to the Black Plague. Suddenly the "usual but wonderful" things about life (having a body that works, the freedom to quickly move around, the ability to hold a cup to my mouth and drink when I'm thirsty) were temporarily gone. When the sickness finally passed, I woke up to a new thankfulness for the miracle of being able to walk, to sleep, to function.

I think I enjoyed this lesson because lately I've recognized that some of the greatest things in my life are things that I often take for granted--because they're there EVERY day. Here's hoping that I don't have to suffer another Black Plague to be reminded of that.

Pregnant Doesn't Get Cuter than this!

2008-05-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

I met Suzanne a couple of months ago, and I LOVE her. She's so down-to-earth, fun, and easy to talk to. At T minus two weeks, I have no idea how she remains so upbeat. I remember being 8.5 months pregnant and somehow I don't think I was quite as cheerful as Suzanne is.

James' New Kicks

2008-04-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

Well it was time for James to get new shoes again. He'd been wearing his crazy boots all over the place for a couple of weeks now, because he complained that his shoes were too tight. It took me forever to get around to buying new ones (in fact, it wasn't even me that got around to it. My wonderful mom took him shopping yesterday while I worked on some graphic design projects with upcoming deadlines). He came home with these . . . totally awesome light-ups. I saw them and just knew I'd have to put the design projects on hold while we did a photo shoot.

Unfortunately I could never quite get James to run in the path that I had hoped, and thus we end up with headless shots.

Love this one. The distortion from the ultra wide angle lens makes James' awesome head even more awesome!

Fountain

2008-04-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my two younger sisters and I went to a park in Lyons to take some photos. When I saw this water fountain I KNEW we had to find a way to work it into one of the shots. As James would say, "BOOM BABY!"
More photos from the rest of our adventure to come . . .

Hurricane Run 2008

2008-04-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty pumped about this race for two months now. It's a 5K (3.1 miles) race around Lake McIntosh in North-west Longmont. I was pumped for two reasons:

1. When Jim, James and I moved to Colorado after graduating from BYU, we lived in some apartments RIGHT next to this lake. At the time I was car-less, which left me with limited entertainment options. When the weather was nice (which was often....come on...this is COLORADO!) I would take James on stroller runs around Lake McIntosh. So. A race around Lake McIntosh was like having home-field advantage.

2. Race Date: April 26. I don't know about you, but when I hear April 26, I see blue skies and warm air--perfect running conditions.

So I still had "home-field advantage," but blue skies and warm air was DEFINITELY not in the agenda. I hate making excuses, and I really hate hearing other people make excuses, but HOLY COW. It was FREEZING and the wind was OUT.OF.CONTROL. I definitely didn't do as well as I had hoped, but I guess it was fun (as soon as I was finished anyway). I placed 25th out of 183 women. ROCK ON!

Here are some photos compliments of my dad and Jim:

"warming up" before the race:

though it may not look like it, I PROMISE I AM running here

Flowers for Mommy

2008-04-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend James spent the night at Grandma's. When he returned he had a lovely bunch of flowers for me. What a sweetie pie!

The Secret to Success

2008-04-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

So maybe the title is a bit misleading. These colorful dinosaurs promise neither fame, fortune, nor beauty. But if you're trying to potty-train your 2 year old son, these things are the secret to success. That's right. Almost two weeks ago I bought a pack of these amazing little "toys." Each one starts as a small, colorful capsule, and then expands into any variety of dinosaur shapes when placed in warm water. Sound lame? Yeah, well, it kind of is. But if you're a 2 year old boy these things are AMAZING, and GLADLY accepted as bribes. Now what to do with the nearly full box of unused diapers. . . ?

*And as a photographer's note: This week my second flash (580 EXII) arrived via FedEx (only had to wait around the house until 3 pm for it to arrive....grrr). This shot was made with the second flash off camera (on the left) fired wirelessly. That's why those dinos are casting such awesome shadows.

Senior Portraits

2008-04-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

It's time for senior portraits, and Laura was my first victim. Here are a just a few of my favorites. WOW!

At one point the wind really kicked up, and we were getting all sorts of dirt blown in our eyes. What a natural beauty!

Some of life's best moments

2008-04-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I was hungry for something sweet....something chocolately. Obviously--as a choice between the dry, mini hersheys bars left over from Christmas, and creamy, smooth nutella--it was an easy decision. I scooped up a nice spoonful, sat on the couch, and began to enjoy my snack with Colin on my lap. He immediately started doing that intense reaching thing that babies do--leaning SOOO far forward towards the object of their attention that it is hard for even an adult to keep him from face planting. With his eyes focused on the spoonful of Nutella, he hadn't even noticed that I put a dab of it on my pointer finger for him. Finally he realized I was trying to share, and put my finger in his mouth. . .

All I can say is, watching your son experience chocolate for the first time in his life is PRICELESS! After he finished what was on my pointer finger, he grabbed my pinky..then ring finger...etc...checking to find out if all my fingers tasted that great.

Sadly, I have no images to document one of the BEST moments of a child's first year (and yes, I know...I really SHOULDN'T be feeding a child under one Nutella).

I LOVE using the Wide Angle!

2008-04-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

Cool huh?

New Family Portrait

2008-03-31T09:20:00.000-07:00

Last summer, in my 8th month of pregnancy, we busted out the tripod and took a family picture. Last week I decided that it was warm enough outside to attempt family picture part II. Here are the photos.

Summer 2007

March 2008

I also snapped a couple of James after we were done attempting a family photo. Here's my favorite:

Fun at the Park

2008-03-17T00:54:00.000-07:00

We've been taking James to the park a lot lately, now that the weather is getting warm. A couple of weeks ago, we went up to Loveland. Other than being slightly afraid of the killer ducks, James had a pretty good time.

Toe-Grabber

2008-03-17T00:39:00.001-07:00

Colin's days of lounging around on the floor are quickly coming to an end. We are now entering the "potted plant" stage, where he sits and enjoys observing life from a slightly higher point of view.

Third & Final: Mr. Good Looking

2008-03-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

Meet Colin, the world's messiest rice cereal eater. Here we are viewing PRE-morning snack, so the messiness isn't documented. Just trust me :)

The Other Good-Looking Guy

2008-03-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

James right after his 2nd birthday. Can't you just tell that he's a rascal?

My Good-Looking Husband

2008-03-05T22:09:00.001-08:00

Not only is he good-looking and funny, he even makes great faces so that my photos look interesting.

Meet Angie

2008-03-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

Hello! I’m Angie!

I'm working on putting together a paragraph that describes who I am. Until then:
I am a photographer, graphic designer, wife and mother. I love photography, I love graphic design, and I love my family.

:)

Please send me an email at: angie@angiewilsonphotography.com