I just couldn’t wait to share my two favorite images from today’s newborn session! Lots more to come soon!

I know I may be a little bit biased, but seriously, ISN’T SHE SO STINKIN’ CUTE?!

Another long overdue post… Dayna & Jim! Dayna & Jim were married October 3, 2009 and were referred to me by Renee & Rob - they were getting married just weeks apart! Dayna & Jim had some issues with their original reception site and ended up having to change venues along the way… I couldn’t imagine a better place for their wedding though! Everything happens for a reason! They had such an elegant, fun wedding and they were surrounded by an amazing group of family and friends who really love to dance, apparently! The ceremony was at the gorgeous Second Congregational Church in Greenwich, CT, followed by their reception at the Apawamis Country Club in Rye, NY. The architecture and decor at the Apawamis was gorgeous! The detail in the ceilings and chandeliers was incredible and really set the mood for an elegant reception. We had a rainy day but thankfully we did manage to sneak outside a little bit (avoiding the mud and puddles so Dayna stayed looking fresh, of course!). ETA band did a fantastic job, as always, and kept everyone on the dance floor all night!

Here are just a couple of my favorites from the day - be sure to check out the slideshow!

And this gorgeous shot of their first dance, courtesy of Aurora:

Congratulations again, Dayna & Jim and a huge thanks to Tara and Aurora for teaming up with me once again!

Ah, at long last, Rob & Renee’s wedding which was back on September 18, 2009! Rob & Renee are SO much fun. No, I really don’t think you understand. They are an incredibly awesome couple who you just feel instantly connected with and they will make tears stream down your face with laughter. When you hang out with them your face hurts from smiling and laughing. THAT kind of fun.

I first “met” Renee over the phone… we chatted about her wedding, her relationship with Rob, photography, and well, just about everything! We got along fabulously over the phone - so much so that I think we talked for about 2 hours! I was so excited to photograph her wedding - and I hadn’t even met her or so much as spoken to Rob yet! This summer came time for their engagement session and I finally got to meet them both. Rob’s silliness quickly won me over and Renee is just overall amazing. What’s even more awesome? They referred their friends to me as well who were getting married just weeks after them and they’re awesome too! =)

Renee & Rob were married at The Candlewood Inn in Brookfield, CT and they had a gorgeous outdoor ceremony by the lake. Immediately after the ceremony, just as we’re setting up to take some photos outside, the sky turned black and it got super windy and a bit chilly but we didn’t let that stop us! I loved the ominous looking background and we worked through it, of course! Unfortunately the amazing sunset that followed happened DURING the introductions, first dance and toasts so we couldn’t get them back outside for that, but we managed to get a little bit of it peeking in through the Candlewood’s beautiful arched windows anyway! The reception was great and WOW can Renee ever dance! I don’t recall seeing her off the dance floor all night! Congratulations again, you two! I can’t wait to hang out again!

Just a couple of my favorites - don’t forget to check out the slideshow too!

Thanks to my girl Aurora for second shooting for me once again!

Okay, okay… I know I’ve been neglecting my blog (or at least posting business stuff on it)! I’m working on getting all caught up on blogging in the next couple of weeks - PROMISE! Some things just take precedence over blogging… like, oh, I don’t know, family, health and sanity! Things are looking up around here and Dad and I are both feeling better. Doctor’s appointments are slowing down considerably and other than the fact that it is FRIGID outside, I’m feeling good about life. =) Thank ya’ll so much for your patience, thoughts and prayers while I dealt with life’s curve balls over the last few months! Now - keep an eye out - blog posts are coming your way!

I have heard a lot of people recently saying how happy they are to put the past year or past decade behind them and I’d have to agree. While normally I am not one to think much of the New Year, this year is different for me. The past decade and year have brought both amazing times and incredibly trying times for me and I am hopeful that things will start to turn around for the better in 2010. Some of my best memories of the past decade:

-I started dating my husband in early 2000 after two really bad relationships back to back

-We moved to South Florida (it felt so good to be back at home in the Sunshine State!)

-When my husband asked me to marry him in September of 2001

-Moving to St. Louis, MO in the summer of 2002 (which did not seem like fun at first!)

-Making the decision to pursue my dream of one day being a photographer

-Marrying the love of my life in October of 2002

-The birth of my daughter in 2003

-Making the decision to pursue wedding photography and getting my first job as a second photographer

-Starting my own business in 2005 (exciting and terrifying at the same time!)

-Vacationing with my Mom and Step Dad in Sedona, AZ. I haven’t traveled a whole lot and going out west was an amazing experience!

-My first and only time snowboarding - something I never thought I would do or want to do after growing up in Florida! Of course, at the end of the day I was *sure* I had broken my butt and too embarrassed to go to the doctor and say “Hey, I think I broke my butt”!

-Finally getting answers about my constant excruciating headache in late 2007

-Finally feeling some relief after my third surgery in 2008

-Being awarded The Knot Best of Weddings for 2008/2009 and Wedding Wire’s Bride’s Choice

-Buying our first home in January 2009

-My Dad finally moving in with us so I can spend more time with him and do my best to keep him healthy

-Finally having a house that feels like a HOME

-Realizing what an amazing family I have and what an absolutely incredible little girl we are raising

-On the very last day of the decade I was more proud of my daughter than ever before - at only 6 years old she saved my Dad’s life. Her quick thinking, good memory, caring nature and quick action got him the help he needed before it was too late. And through it all she remained more calm that most adults would! I am so incredibly proud of her!

Just a sampling of things I would rather forget:

-Terrible work environments in the early 2000’s when I worked just to pay my bills (good riddance to that!!!)

-Too many loved ones dying

-An incredible amount of pain and misery while countless doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me or how to make me better

-Too many times to even count that my Dad was in the hospital and in really bad shape. Relatives on my Dad’s side showing up on my caller ID would immediately cause me to panic.

-Car accident the summer before our wedding which turned my life upside down, made my head a LOT worse and started the massive downward spiral of debts piling up

-Swallowing our pride and moving in with my in-laws in CT to avoid bankruptcy, pay off our debts and save to buy a house - thank goodness for family! Luckily this one, as hard as it was, turned out for the best.

-Being diagnosed with a “rare and incurable” condition - hopefully that will change and they will find a cure!

-Months of my life that I was in so much pain that I couldn’t function

-Surgeries that were supposed to make me feel a lot better and only made me feel worse

-Coming to the realization that my head will probably never feel good

I am looking forward with a positive outlook and I’m hopeful and excited for what this year will bring. This year, in fact, in 2 weeks, I will also leave my 20’s behind me and enter the world of the 30 and up crowd! Most people (women especially) freak out about getting older, particularly the milestone years, but I am actually excited about it. After all, turning older is a lot better than the alternative! Besides, at 29 I am still regularly carded for cigarettes, alcohol and EVEN LOTTERY TICKETS! Can’t feel bad about that!

Here’s to a happy and HEALTHY 2010!

I hope that ya’ll had a fantastic holiday! We hosted our first Christmas in our first home with our family and had a wonderful time! My hubby made an awesome meal and we did a lot of work to the house so it finally felt like a HOME. Between it being our first Christmas in our first house, finally having my Dad here with us, and things coming together to make our house really feel like a home, it truly was the best Christmas ever. What made it even more special was that my 6 year old daughter Jaedyn told me a couple of weeks ago, before there was ever a gift under the tree, that it was already the best Christmas ever! That girl knows what Christmas is all about!

Santa was here!

Okay, yeah, I stayed up ridiculously late Christmas Eve photographing my tree. I expected that Jaedyn would sleep at least a little bit late since we got home so late from CT on Christmas Eve but I was sadly mistaken. It’s a good thing she got up early though because I thought it would be a fabulous idea to wrap all of the clothing I got her separately so that she’d have more fun opening tons of gifts…

Since I was already shooting at very long exposures, I decided to play a little more…

Christmas Morning!

What kid doesn’t love hot chocolate? And a S’mores bonus?! Sweetness squared.

Dad opening some warm fleece pants - he just moved here from Florida so the theme for him (and always me too!) was keeping warm!

I just LOVE the look on Jaedyn’s face here… I would swear she’s saying “Oh no you didn’t! Just what the hell do you think you’re doing with MY blanket on?!”

Yes, we were all VERY tired.

Now that’s one happy puppy!

My adorable nephew Nolan in the hiking backpack carrier we gave him for Christmas.

Uncle Sean giving Nolan a test drive…

Jaedyn’s big gift from Mom and Dad this year was guitar lessons. My baby wants to be a rock star so badly it hurts and she absolutely loves her Ukulele that my Mom bought her a few years ago so we felt it was very fitting. Since we want to be sure she likes it and that we’re getting the correct size for her, we are waiting until she tries a lesson or two until we buy her a guitar, but one of our guests brought his! Lorelie is my brother-in-law’s mom, though we know one another through other avenues as well since baking and decorating wedding cakes is one of her many talents! She gave Jaedyn a coin belt (worn in belly dancing) for Christmas and her husband Scott brought his guitar and kept Jaedyn glowing with excitement all day. Jaedyn and Scott sat down and she wrote songs for Scott to play while he taught her a few things and let her strum the guitar a bit too. She had the most awesome time and we all enjoyed listening to the two of them play and sing.

Lorelie and Nolan cuddling and listening to the musical talents of Jaedyn Thomes and Scott Carvey.

“No, Scott. You missed a chord. See? Right here…”

Happy holidays! I hope that you all were able to enjoy a wonderful day with your loved ones!

Catching up on some long overdue blog posts is my New Year’s resolution!

The last few months have brought some great blessings and difficult trials in my life and it feels like I’ve been caught in an avalanche. Many of you know that I have struggled with my own health issues and it is a never ending, constant battle for me. I have intracranial hypertention which is a rare condition with no cure. Basically I have too much spinal fluid trapped in my head and it compresses my brain, optic nerve and ears and causes me a lot of constant pain and other fun issues. I’ve had several surgeries to help but it doesn’t completely fix the problem. My last surgery (a shunt in my brain) was almost two years ago and the past 6 months or so my symptoms were increasing with a vengeance so I was on the hunt to figure out why. After some aggravation, tests and seeing 3 of my doctors, they did finally manage to help my symptoms with medication enough that I can deal with it again.

Just as I started to get some relief, my Dad finally moved in with us from Florida. He is a Type I brittle diabetic (meaning that he is insulin dependent and his blood sugars and incredibly unstable) and a double amputee. I had been asking him to move here for months as I was desperately worried about him (he was constantly in the hospital). I am an only child and I am very close with my Dad so it was extremely difficult for me to be so far away, knowing that he wasn’t doing well and I couldn’t do anything to help. Just 3 short days after he got here he was admitted to the hospital for a severe bone infection and was there for almost 2 weeks. Since then we’ve been dealing with daily trips to the hospital for continuing IV antibiotic therapy and what feels like constant doctor’s visits. I am so incredibly thankful to have him here, knowing that he is getting the best care we can afford and the fact that my daughter, husband and I are able to spend time with him every day is such a blessing. I am so much less stressed now that I actually really know what is going on with him and can do something about it.

The last several months have certainly brought their challenges but I will prevail, as I always do. I truly believe that which does not kill us only makes us stronger. A couple of weeks ago I was pushing myself way too hard to juggle everything and I ran myself down, caught my daughter’s cold and then got very sick. I got a reality check that I am not in fact super woman. I can’t afford to let that happen again - I have too many people depending on me!

All of this to say, I appreciate your patience (and thoughts and prayers too!) during these tough times and while it may take me a bit longer to respond to e-mails and phone calls, I will still be working and still accepting bookings, I will just be a little slower to respond for a little bit. Family is always priority one and they really need me right now - if I run myself down I won’t be any help to anyone!

I hope that, especially during this holiday season, each of you thinks about the real heart of this message - family first. It is so easy to get caught up in work, errands and life in general and take the things that really matter for granted. Please don’t make that mistake. Seize this moment. Yes, this one, right now. Step away from the computer and spend some quality time with your loved ones. I’ve been so busy with everything else that I’ve neglected my amazingly supportive husband the most… I’m taking this opportunity to go and curl up next to him.

Sometimes we all need to remind ourselves to step back and just… breathe. This is one of those times for me. The last few months (who am I kidding - the last few years!) have been so incredibly chaotic for me and it all seemed to come to a head in the last week or two, topping it off with my past week that has just about sent me running for the hills. You know that saying, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”? YEAH. About that. I should be super-freaking-woman by now. Right now I am trying to concentrate on being a mom and wife, taking care of my Dad who is very sick in the hospital (and just moved in with us less than a week ago from FL), taking care of myself and of course my clients. Unfortunately I am not super woman (at least that’s what they tell me - I don’t believe it) so I do need sleep and food and breaks… ah, those mortal weaknesses. So I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m overwhelmed with life right now and I need to step back for a minute and just… breathe. I am doing my best to keep my head above water with my work but some things will take me a little longer than they normally would as I deal with life’s challenges and gut punches. Thanks so much for your patience while I take a breath and try to regain some sanity!

Rissa, who is a high school senior graduating in 2010, couldn’t get enough! She came back for another TWO sessions - off the top of my head I believe we have a grand total of 3 days, 3 hairstyles, 4 make-up styles, 5 cities (a couple with multiple locations!) and 8 outfits! I just love photographing her - she’s such a sweet, fun and beautiful girl (inside and out) and she has the most awesome style! Check her OUT!

First, we rocked her prom dress and an off camera light…

My FAAAAAAVVVVVORITE!!!

And then I decided to turn off my light and use the one that was already there…

Then the next time we go out she shows up wearing aqua blue Chucks and this turquoise pendant… yeah, we had to go back to my favorite local spot. All the rest is natural light, some with a silver or gold reflector…

SEE?! Check out those shoes!

Time for something different… I saw this place the first day or two we moved here… in the middle of the night… when I was lost. I hadn’t seen it since but when I saw Rissa’s outfit I knew I had to find it again! It’s certainly not in my normal travels but I’m so glad I was able to find it again because I think it’s perfect for her with this outfit! =)

Oh, but you see, I helped her with her clothing choices, so you KNOW I had to throw some orange in there! Isn’t her necklace AWESOME?! And her eyes with that gold reflector? WOW!

…and last but certainly not least, a little spot I drive by all the time and have been wanting to shoot at… it’s not exactly easy as you have to haul the gear a little ways, try not to get cut by broken glass on the ground, don’t get hit by cars on your way there or back, make sure no unseemly people are hiding out in there and time it so the train doesn’t deafen you but it is SO worth it, don’t you think?

And for our grand finale… some really gorgeous light!

Class of 2010 and Class of 2011 Juniors and Seniors in the Hudson Valley - don’t settle! Get photos that celebrate YOU - your personality, your style and have some FUN while you’re at it!

So, I mentioned that there is a CONTEST - here’s the info:

You must be a high school junior or senior, graduating class of 2010 or 2011 in Ulster County, Orange County, Dutchess County, Putnam County, Sullivan County, Rockland County or Westchester County NY OR Fairfield County, or Litchfield County, CT to win.

First, leave a comment here on the blog telling Rissa and I how much you love the photos!

Next, become a fan on facebook HERE if you aren’t already!

Then, either e-mail me at info@autumn-photography.com or leave a message for me on my facebook fan page HERE with the phrase “I’ve got style” and why you would like a session with me.

If you refer a friend to the drawing and he or she mentions your name (first and last), your name will be entered into the drawing again. There is no limit to how many times your name can be thrown into the hat. If you refer 10 friends to the drawing, you’ll have 11 chances to win - one for your original entry and one for each of theirs!

This is very important though - if you do not follow directions your name will not be entered into the drawing!

Two names will be drawn at random (by my 6 year old daughter Jaedyn), one at a time on November 30th. The first name drawn will receive a FREE 1 hour senior session with me. The second name drawn will receive a 50% discount on the senior session of his or her choice. These sessions must be completed by April 1st, 2010 and must not take place more than 60 minutes from New Windsor, NY.