Tag Archives: atlanta photographer

The princess cracks me up!

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I just had to post this picture I recently took of my daughter (the princess) during our trip. We weren’t at the pool or the beach but in the middle of my father-in-law’s family room just hanging out when she approaches me wearing her brother’s swim mask and says “Mommy, look at me!”   She just cracks me up! She’s a beautiful princess with a great sense of humor! She always puts the biggest smile on my face!

Note*** Here is the (unedited/raw) shot from my camera. =)

I hope she makes you smile too!

Until next time…

The beginning of Summer 2010

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The summer has officially started! We’re in Orlando, Florida enjoying some time away. On our vacations, one of the things we love to do is sample the local foods. It’s a MUST DO on all our trips away from home. As you’ll notice if you read my blog, not only do I love photography, but I L-O-V-E  FOOD!!! And more than any kind or type of food…I love desserts.

So we tried 2 new spots (new to us since we haven’t ever tried it before)…first, we went to check out the Sweet Shoppe (from a family member’s recommendations) off  Lake Mary Blvd. in Lake Mary, Florida which is just north of Orlando.  It’s such a cute ice cream shop!

Photo taken from The Sweet Shop Facebook Page

We had gelato and a few other treats! I’m not a gelato expert so I can’t tell you it’s the best you’ll ever have. But it was good enough to satisfy my sweet cravings.  The gelato line-up that night included cioccolato (chocolate), vanilla, creme brule, caramello, key lime pie, lemon, mango, straciatella (hazelnut chocolate), coconut, gooey chocolate brownie, tiramisu and a few more flavors I can’t even remember.  In addition to gelatos, the shop also sells frozen yogurt (like Red Velevet Cake … YUM!) and soft serve ice cream. Man…the list goes on. Definitely a yummy place to be!

Note**** Since I’ll be posting away from home, the posted pictures will basically be limited to unedited raw pics from my camera.

The second place was Tijuana Flats, a tex-mex joint we ate at for lunch after church Sunday. Though you wouldn’t think much from the look of the place on the outside…

it’s actually a fun with funky atmosphere andgood place to eat.   There were cool little things about the place.One of the fun things about it is their “Hot Bar”. The Hot Bar has over 12 different hot sauces to choose from ranging in heat measured by these cute faces appropriately named sissy sauce, middle weight, tear jerker, and death wish.

Definitely a great little joint to enjoy some very good tex-mex food, and at the very least, sample some varieties of hot sauces!

So what would you recommend as “must eat” places in and around Atlanta? I guess there’s a difference between  “a must see and eat” kind of place like Varsity that is part of the Atlanta experience and just a “must eat” kind of place because you love the food and think it’s one of the best of its kind in Atlanta (and possibly any other place you’ve tried too!).  Either way, please share your thoughts. i’d love to know! I’m always looking for new things to eat and do in Atlanta! =)

Until next time…

Sneak peek: Summertime and a beautiful Mama

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My son just finished his last day of school yesterday and my daughter finished last Friday. They were so excited for their last week of school. Of course, I was excited because it means summer activities get started.  Can I just tell you that I love the summer time! One of the not so fun things about summer in Atlanta is the heat but trying to find ways to beat that heat is full of fun, fun, fun! I can’t wait to spend time with friends over the summer enjoying sites around Atlanta and the pool! Yay!!!! Water time…one of the best ways to spend your summer. The kids love it! And this mommy loves that the pool helps drain a lot of the energy stored up in my lil’ munchkins. So if you can’t already tell, I AM looking forward to this summer and can’t wait to share with you the pictures we’ll be capturing through our lazy days of summer.

For now I wanted to share a sneak peek of pics I got to take this past weekend.  I couldn’t have a post without at least one picture.  So here’s a couple of my faves from the session…she’s a beautiful mama and will be holding her newest bundle of joy sometime in June.  I’m working on this beautiful mama’s pics now and can’t wait to share more with you soon!

Until next time…

My life…

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As you may have noticed, my post have recently been fewer and far between.  Life’s been pretty busy and with a pretty busy schedule I couldn’t do any recent photo sessions.  I have some sessions scheduled in the next week or so and look forward to sharing new pictures with you but in the meantime, I thought it would be nice to share with you what’s been going on with me recently.

My brother came into town visiting from California.

He’s such an awesome brother and uncle! My kids LOVE him so much.  I wish he lived closer. The kids and I have been trying to persuade him to move to Atlanta. Of course, it’s a bit of a hard sell for someone living in sunny San Diego.  But it doesn’t hurt to try right? So our methods of persuasion… food! My brother laughs because every time he visits, our main activities always surround food. Well, they do say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. So we’ve definitely been working that angle! =) Talking about food, i’ve got to share about these special treats!

Here are some of the best if not THE BEST doughnuts in Atlanta! Sublime doughnuts…YUMMO!!!!!

Imagine flavors like Nestle Crunch, Nutella, Red Velvet, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Oreo…man, these are simply amazing! You won’t be disappointed with this place! If you haven’t had a chance to eat these heavenly delights, you’re missing out.  This wonderful place is located right near my husband’s Alma mater, Georgia Tech! Warning: These are not cheap doughnuts but OHH SOO WORTH IT!

So let me get back to what else has been going on…

My son turned 4…

My daughter had her ballet recital…

Mother’s Day…

which included a great lunch and visit to the mountains…

and walk around Amicolola Falls! So beautiful!

Sights like this just bring an immediate peace to your soul!

So these were just a few of the things that had been occupying my time recently besides the normal day to day life of a wife and mom.

Thanks for reading!

Until next time…

Choo…Choo…All aboard!!!!

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Earlier, I posted a sneak peek from the 3rd Annual All Aboard for  a Cure.  This walk was held in Thrasher’s Park located in Norcross, Georgia. If you haven’t been to this park before, you have to come check it out. It’s a great park! My kids loved the playground and as a photographer, it has great places to take pictures.  And for those who have kids that love trains like my son, there’s a nearby railroad track that often has trains rolling by.  My son loved this!

I have to share that the night before the walk, thunderstorms began. Even my kids had woken up in the middle of the night (or early morning really) to the crashing thunder that rolled overhead.  The event was going to happen rain or shine so I was just hoping the rain would go away by morning.   Amazingly, though it was a rainy day, it didn’t stop hundreds of people from walking in downtown Norcross to help raise awareness and money for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. As you’ll see in the pictures, even under tents and umbrellas, there was a lot of excitement, joy and fun to be had and people’s hearts truly shined that day.

So here are a few more pics from that day…

Baskets of fun being raffled off that day.  I bought a few tickets to try my luck but as usual, I didn’t win. I don’t think I ever win these kinds of things.

These are some of the beautiful people that help to make this wonderful event happen.

This little man just stole my attention when I first saw him. He was such a cutie and I LOVED his shirt.

Beautiful family, right?

Lisa (pictured below) as a mom, is already super busy but how she is able to handle planning an event like this on top of it…well, let’s just say she’s simply amazing!

I had to take pictures of these siblings. They were SO CUTE!!! I took this after the walk officially started.  Here they were sitting near the Park’s entrance patiently waiting for the walkers to make their way back to the park.

Love the colors of these bags!

This is HBO Crew that were performing that day. You’ve gotta love it when you can ask someone if you can take their pics and they immediately know what to do.  Thanks for an awesome pose guys!

These were a group girls from the Gwinnett Ballet that were filing off stage after a fun performance for the crowd.

What kid doesn’t love face painting! Such a great activity for any event.

Here’s mito man again!

And this is one of my faves of faves because this little angel, with the help of her parents, got off her wheelchair and walked through to the finish line.

There were so many more pictures. Stay tuned…as I said before, i’ll be adding a gallery from the walk. Also, I just posted a short slide show for this event.

If you find yourself in one of these photos and would like a copy, you can simply email me at ayphotodesign@gmail.com and i’ll send you the jpeg file of the photo(s) for free.

Until next time…

All Aboard for a sneak peek…

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So here’s a sneak peek from Saturday, April 24th, the 3rd Annual All Aboard for a Cure where hundreds of walkers united to support individuals and their families with mitochondrial disease.  I was fortunate enough to be asked by a good friend of mine to help photograph the event (Thanks Lorna!).  My friend’s daughter has mitochondrial disease (“mito” for short) and it is from her and her family that I’ve come to learn about what this disease is all about.  If you know biology, you know that the mitochondria is the body’s powerhouse…what basically creates more than 90% of the body’s energy it needs to live and grow.  Without it (mitocohondria), cells begin to die and a person’s life is compromised. Click here to read more about Mitochondrial disease.

I love taking pictures but days like this make what I do extra special.  I had such a great time taking photographs and just getting to meet some of the children and their families. Here are just a few from that day…

I can’t wait to share more pictures with you.

I will be adding a special gallery up for this event.  If you haven’t already, you can subscribe to my blog-site via RSS feeds or via email.

Until next time…

Contact ME

Sneak Peek of Max @ 3 months

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My cousin has been patiently waiting for these pictures.  I had a few projects I have had to work on but i’m finally working on these photos for her.  I wanted to go ahead and share a few favorites i had so grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles who live far away will get to look into those “make you melt inside and make you want to drop everything and come visit” kind of eyes.  Whenever I see him, I just want to squeeze him up!

Don’t you just love the photo below. It’s like he’s taking his own sneak peek into my camera! Love it!!!!

Until next time…

The Sweet “T”s

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I’m not talking about the sweet variation of the tea you’d find popular in the Southern states but the sweet “T” family I got to photograph Easter weekend  (I posted a sneak peek of this family a few days ago).  After you see the photos, you’ll know why I had to title this post the Sweet “T”s.   Not only were mom and dad being so sweet to their boys but they would give each other the sweetest kisses and looks (even when I didn’t ask them too).   It’s such a special treat for me to capture what a family is all about! Like i’ve said before, photos are a perfect expression of love and life!

I can imagine what life in the T family is like…pure sweetness!

And a family as sweet as this has to be a lot of FUN!!!!

A sneak peek of the T family

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Last week, I finally got to take pictures of  a friend of mine and her beautiful family. We’ve been trying to get together for the longest time and I have to believe that all the stars were finally aligned so nothing stopped us from taking these family shots at Stone Mountain Park. I loved getting to spend time with them.  They are such a sweet family!

Anyway, I’m working on their photos now but wanted to share a few of them here so I could give the Ts a little taste of what’s to come. (P +F…I hope you like them.)

Just as an aside,  I hadn’t been to Stone Mountain Park in such a long time and forgot how much fun it is for the whole family. You’ll have to check it out whether you’re just looking for a great place to take pictures or a fun place to spend time with family.

Until next time…

Fotoblur

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For the photographer at any level, I recently found this great community to share your photos online and in print called FOTOBLUR.

Fotoblur is a community of photographers that aims to encourage one another, vote for their “community favorites” to be featured on the home page and enjoy some great talent that might otherwise go unnoticed. What began as a small group of photographer friends in early 2007 has become  an international community of 2,500 members and is still growing.  The community has also created Fotoblur Magazine, an artistic photography publication through MagCloud (discussed in a previous post).

You can register for free and upload 1 image per day to your gallery. Of course, you can upgrade to a premium member for just $29.95/year which provides you with 5 photo uploads per day and several other benefits including a 1 year subscription to Fotoblur Magazine Digital Edition.  Online community members leave comments on your photos. For any photographer, it’s so encouraging to get feedback on your work. I’ve recently become a member and have really enjoyed it.  The first time I received a comment on an image I uploaded, I was so excited and found myself looking forward to seeing any new comments each time I logged in. Unlike other photography sites I’ve come across, I love that the site seems to focus primarily on the images and its photographers rather than articles and ads.

It’s rather addicting to sign in and browse through the photos that are shared. I love looking at the images and getting inspiration from not only the comments that people leave on your images but the amazing creativity that this community provides and encourages. If you haven’t visited this site before, please check it out. You’ll be in for a treat and I highly encourage you to share your photographs. It’s really a shame to have your pictures sitting in digital darkness in some unknown hard drive. That’s why I love digital photography and the online community that is created by the internet. Being able to easily share the work we do is awesome!

Here are a couple of the photos I have in my Fotoblur gallery.

Enjoy creating and sharing!

Until next time…