All too often I hear the parents I work with say that they refuse to print images that are blurry or slightly out of focus or not cropped properly. I say embrace the blur! Learn to use it!

I wanted to share some of my own favorites of my daughter Noelle. She is 100% the living representative of “wild child”. lol… she has such a free spirit – such a fire about her, and I always feel a little bit weird taking the posed pictures of her.  She’s beautiful no matter what, but she is exquisite when she’s just being herself – wild, carefree and little miss sassy pants.  :)  My heart melts when I see images like this of her because I feel like I really, truly captured HER.

A lot of blur? absolutely.  But this, my friends, is Noelle.

“My mom always said I liked to stir the pot with a glittering spoon.”

~Kris Carr

I found this on Pinterest – there’s no original link as to where on the vast world of the internet it came from, but I thought I’d share anyway.  Quilting rings with awesome fabric.  How awesome is this?!?

“To send light into the darkness of men’s hearts – such is the duty of the artist.”

~Schumann

I share these with you not to make you ooh and ahh over Alyssa’s insane beauty (which you better!) but instead to earmark this moment in time.  I promise you that in a few years, when I post another group of pictures from her sweet 16, you’ll remember these pictures and think that it was a breath ago when you saw her first communion.  Time is a funny thing, isn’t it?

We shot these on the day of her group communion at school.  Photographed in West Pittston, PA by the railroad tracks.  I love the town where I live – so much texture and character right out our front door.

My daughter loves pictures with this old vintage styling – she says they look like Grandma’s pictures.  So, two of her favorites:

“Time is what we want most, but… what we use worst.”

~William Penn

This little one loved to WALK.  She is a one year old – nothing will make her happy but the simple pleasure of walking on her own.  How sweet is that?

one black and white… a classic, but favorite.

“Now shall I walk
or shall I ride?
“Ride,” Pleasure said:
“Walk,” Joy replied.”

~W.H. Davies

One of my neighbors shared a quote with me this morning: “snowflakes are kisses from heaven.”  I just laughed and told her that this year I think heaven has been drooling excessively, and that I hate sloppy kissers.  :)

“A lot of people like snow.  I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.”

~Carl Reiner

Basically, the short and sweet is that my husband and I (and our darling girls) relocated to West Pittston, Pennsylvania.  It’s a sweet little coal mining town in North East PA – full of charm, character, victorian goodness and a ton of wonderful people – including my husband’s family.

Our transition has been nothing but wonderful! We’ve been renovating our very own little victorian doll house and loving every minute of it – though not loving the dust so much.  :)  Now, we continue our house work and we wait for spring! Hopefully it’s right around the corner with warmer temperatures, sunnier days and maybe even a few birds chirping to complete that dreamy picture.

With that said, I’m opening up a few dates for shooting in Delaware this Spring!  Nothing fancy, but these are already filling up fast just from my few slips in conversation.

Here’s the info:

All of my standard portrait sessions are priced equally at $850 per session for up to 6 people/family.  This session fee includes your 1 hour session, a consultation on clothing if needed and a cd of ALL of your retouched files – approximately 25-35 files ( you will receive all files in color AND black and white)  You will also be provided a print release granting permission to print your files as needed.

April 8 – 9

Gibraltar Gardens

(currently there are 3 spots remaining open for this weekend)

May 20-21

Ridley Creek State Park | Rockwood Mansion

(currently there are 4  spots remaining open for this weekend)

June 3-4

Longwood Gardens/Ridley Creek

(currently there are 4  spots remaining open for this weekend)

]]> http://www.jessicabarnak.com/2011/03/im-baaack/feed/ 0 http://www.jessicabarnak.com/2010/09/relocation-big-changes-ahead/ http://www.jessicabarnak.com/2010/09/relocation-big-changes-ahead/#comments Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:36:52 +0000 admin http://www.jessicabarnak.com/?p=627 So, the word is out and it’s official.  Due to my husband’s job, we are moving this November.  DuPont is transferring us to Northeastern PA and let me just say that it’s a whirlwind!!  In the short time since we found out, we’ve listed our house here, bought a house there {a VERY cool 100 year old victorian!}, and gotten every ball in the court rolling in that direction.  The movers arrive on November 17!!!

Unfortunately we are closing the Hockessin Studio on October 25.  But, the good news is that I will still be shooting in Delaware on location. 8-10 times a year, I’ll make the trip down to happy little Delaware to shoot on the weekends!   Instead of purchasing prints from me, I’ll be offering only my Simple Artistry Sessions – which are the digital file sessions.  You’ll receive a full cd of high resolution images to print as much as you’d like!  Watch my blog for the announcement of the 2011 dates!

It is such a huge change!!  I have to admit though, I’m pretty stoked about the business changes to come. For about 3 years now, almost every client who walks through my door asks me about digital files.  Now, I can honestly say that I think this is where the photography industry is headed.  Most photographers will complain about it, but realistically we have to change with the times to meet our clients needs.  This, my beautiful friends, is me doing just that!

A few things to come:

A Digital White Sale on all old, archived sessions.  Your last chance to buy your files!

A Studio garage Sale!  On October 10, 2010, I’m opening my doors and selling a ton of STUFF. Furniture, backrops, electronics, and even some key photography equipment.

Lastly, I want to remind you that now is the time to book for the fall season! I’m done shooting as of October 23, so if you’re interested NOW IS THE TIME.  Our calendar is booking up ridiculously fast!  There are only 2 weekend dates remaining, and about 10 weekday dates!

Quote for the day:

“A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold.”

~Ogden Nash

I have a TON of fun with these senior sessions because this age group is up for anything and they allow me to experiment with my photography a bit! This session was no exception, we got to get a little funky at the rundown buildings in Yorklyn, pairing pretty dresses with graffiti, and then headed over to Carousel Park to try to capture the love she has for a horse. All in all, I think the session went beautifully and I enjoyed the process!

Quote for the day:

“Maybe the past is an anchor holding us back. Maybe, you have to let go of who you are to become who you will be.”

~Sex and the City

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