giving back

It’s hard for me to believe that it’s only been 2 1/2 years since I got my first real camera.  It was my husband that surprised me with it - both to soften the blow of the 43 inch plasma that he had just purchased and to prevent me from booking flights for a family portrait session in CA with the amazing Tara Whitney,  His plan worked (although I still get butterflies thinking about a session with Tara)!

I have learned so much since then & truly believe that I have been given a gift.  Yes, I still have a lot to learn, but to be able to do something that makes me so happy & brings such joy to others is an amazing thing.   It is for this reason that I feel very strongly about giving back and using this gift for as much good as possible.  Last year, I offered a session to a family where both parents were in the services and the father was stationed in Iraq.  The initial plan was to surprise John with the images from the session but when his brief visit home coincided with the date scheduled for the session, I was able to capture the family together, which was even better.  It was a wonderful experience & meant so much to me to be able to send prints over to John when he was away from his family once again.

No matter what our opinion may be regarding war, let us honor the families that sacrifice their time together to keep our nation safe as we celebrate our freedom this 4th of July.  They will never get that time back… all the special little moments that happen every day in families, that we often take for granted & they miss out on while they are away.  For this reason, I would like to offer a complimentary session & prints to a family who have one or both parents active in the services. Please e-mail me information by midnight, July 31st if you would like to nominate a family in the Rochester or Syracuse area and I will make a random drawing from the nominations on August 1st.  

Here are some images from my session last year with Lola, Susie & John during their time together.  And to John & Susie, thank you for the sacrifices your family makes for mine.