jessicabarnak.com/blogsite » Just Jessica

killing time… loving nature.

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:55:15 +0000

I had some time to kill before my session at Gibraltar yesterday and thought I’d play with my macro lens. The gardens aren’t nearly as manicured as they used to be, but it’s almost a blessing to see nature in it’s wild state. I love the simplicity of these photographs – each one carries it’s own little personality in such a simplistic, old world fashion.

Today’s Quote:

“If you’ve never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom.”

~Terri Guillemets

Generous. {delaware senior portraits}

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:28:53 +0000

I shared a few of my favorites from Wynne’s beautiful senior session recently, but I thought I’d share her video!!

Wynne and her mom are leaving on a relief mission to Haiti soon – a wonderful and generous journey! If you’d like to help, donations are greatly appreciated – and desperately needed!!!

A little about HFI:

WHO THEY ARE:

HFI is the Haitian Family Initiative, itself an offshoot of the Haitian Delaware Alliance – the alliance is committed to long-term (think decades) aid to help Haitians improve their lives. HFI was formed to provide psychosocial support to the women and children in Jacmel, Haiti. While the immediate disaster needs were met in the months after the Jan 12th earthquake, there are severe and on-going issues with basic life necessities. This situation is compounded by the stress and anxiety of meeting their daily needs and the terrible psychological damage from “the tremble”, as the Haitians call the earthquake.

WHAT THEY WILL DO:

To meet some of these needs, dozens of Delaware volunteers including teachers, doctors, nurses, mental health workers and others are providing a seven week program in Jacmel comprising three parts – summer camp for children/ medical clinic for the tent city/ psychosocial wellness programs for women and teens. The first week of camp just finished today- during this
past week more than 100 children participated in the camp each day/ more than 300 people showed up for the first day of medical clinic and the camp is providing hundreds of bowls of protein rice and water to women and children daily as the food supplies in the Jacmel tent city are almost non-existent. The hurricane season starts in two weeks.

Open your hearts… As Mother Teresa said ”We do not need to do great things, just small things wtih great Love”

Checks payable to:

BTL Foundation for International Services

(In the memo line donors MUST write: For Haiti Family Initiative)

Checks can be mailed to:

Haiti Family Initiative

2102 Wind Lane

Wilmington, DE 19810

Quote for this day:

Being good is commendable, but only when it is combined with doing good is it useful.
~Author Unknown

memories. {delaware maternity photography}

admin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:01:56 +0000

I had the pleasure of meeting this mom and bun in the oven before during a session in which I photographed four generations of women in her family: her daughter, her, her mom, and her grandmother. What a memorable photo session that will be for her family as the years pass! They were such a pleasure to work with that I was fortunate to get the call to capture her maternity photos as well. This family is so loving and the little bean will be lucky to have a big sister already! I wish them all the best with their newest addition

Quote for the day:

“Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life.”

~Herbert Asquith

Wynne. {delaware senior portraits}

admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 20:38:44 +0000

You may know (or not know) that recently I put a call out for high school students to model for me. I just wanted to dip my toe in the water and see if this was something I was A. good at, and B. enjoyed. So, I took 4 girls – all beautiful in that make you sick kind of way – and we wandered around Main Street Newark and Ridley Creek.

This one day of shooting was more work than ever for me, but this one day of shooting was the most fun I’ve had in my job in so long. These girls are AMAZING, smart, talented and so gorgeous!

Wynne was the first one up – she’s stunning, she’s Canadian, she’s quirky and has this funny little dry humor about her. I couldn’t have asked for a better model – both in imagery and role model for other kids. We had a blast together shooting!! OH, and she taught me a new trick revolving around turning your favorite skirt into a DRESS. How did I not know this?!? Needless to say, I’ve tried to convert all 8 of my long skirts into dresses – 2 worked beautifully and the rest are just, well…. long skirts. lol…

Thank you Wynne, for a great day, gorgeous images and a beautiful spirit!

Quote for today:

“I think of life itself now as a wonderful play that I’ve written for myself, and so my purpose is to have the utmost fun playing my part.”

~Shirley MacLaine

the perfect pair. {delaware family photography}

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:56:50 +0000

Siblings in sessions go one of two ways: they either love each other or hate each other. (And that’s how it is in life too, right?) You can usually get them to fake it and get the perfect, loving shot, but it makes my life much easier when it’s not a setup. I really enjoyed spending time with this family because there was no need for “faking it” and you can see that in the pure joy of their expressions in these photos. And check out the stunning baby blues on these brothers! Mom picked the perfect shirts to make them stand out.

Quote for the day:

“A family that laughs together (and at one another) stays together.”

~Unknown

refreshing. {delaware family portraits}

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:04:33 +0000

I had the pleasure of spending the morning with four lovely teenage girls on Main Street Newark having fun and getting great photos. However, I’m sure we’d all agree that it’d be nice sometimes if we could control the weather! If I had known it was going to be so hot and humid (supposedly we have a heat warning until tomorrow) than I definitely would’ve chosen a different day. That’s why I appreciate when the weather cooperates (no thunderstorms rolling in during the middle of my shoots!) and we have a gorgeous day for photo shoots. This family’s session below is the epitome of cool; fun family, great kids, and the blue and white combo reminds of a cool ocean breeze.

Quote for the day:

“What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.”

~Jane Austen

Fathers. {delaware family portraits}

admin — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 14:14:55 +0000

Truly there is nothing more special or amazing than the connection between a father and his child. It is one of my favorite things to capture through my lens, and my heart does a little skip each time I know I’ve documented something so special. That moment when a dad lets down his guard and truly enjoys his child – it’s one for the record books, and it’s something that makes my heart weep with joy.

My favorite musician is John Mayer. He lured me in years ago with a song called Daughters, and I believe the words are perfect for today.

“Fathers, be good to your daughters, daughters will love like you do | Girls become lovers who turn into mothers, so mothers, be good to your daughters too.”

Sons or daughters – the concept is the same. We are raising our children to be these amazing and incredible people, and on days like today, I love to remember the moments I’ve captured – showcasing that incredible love between a father and his little ones. There is nothing sweeter.

Happy Father’s Day.

Quote for the day – two for today – couldn’t decide!!

He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.

~Clarence Budington Kelland

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, “You’re tearing up the grass.” “We’re not raising grass,” Dad would reply. “We’re raising boys.”

~Harmon Killebrew

My Little Hero

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:22:15 +0000

Every toddler has a little bit of kick, and a bit of spark, but Riley – Riley has fire. She’s one of those little kids who lives life without reservation, and keeps her parents hopping in the process. It’s certainly something to be admired… and envied. If only we could all live our lives as if every moment was the most important moment of our lives. There’s a lesson to be learned from this little one…

We photographed on a beautiful day in Oxford, PA at a family farm. I love shooting sessions for The Littlest Heroes – I always walk away inspired, and awestruck at the strength in these little kids and their families. I am beyond honored to be a part of Riley’s story.

Quote for the Day – this immediately came to mind when I thought about Riley and her journey thus far:

“If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it.”

~Toni Morrison

Two girls and an amazing cause…

admin — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:08:47 +0000

Most of us walk this Earth never knowing the heartache behind charity. Thankfully, so many people remain unaffected by the many life threatening and debilitating illnesses that capture the notice and need of fundraising.

I am one of those moms who is not only affected, but motivated to make a difference. Both of my daughters have Cystic Fibrosis. Their day to day will forever be affected, and there is nothing more urgent to me than raising money for the research that keeps them moving forward.

I hope that you’ll join me in my fight for not only my own kids, but all kids with CF. Sign up to capture the love of your own family so that my love, and the love of all of those CF families can continue to grow strong.

100% of your session fee from this event will be donated directly to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in honor of Alyssa (pictured below) and Noelle Barnak.

Quote for the day:

When the world says, “Give up,”
Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.”
~Author Unknown

Alyssa {delaware child portraits}

admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:05:49 +0000

One of my favorite subjects to talk on end about is my kids. It is rare that I post pictures of them here, as I’ve always had this urge to protect them and their privacy. I’m learning and realizing quickly that they are growing and evolving into beautiful women who will soon be capable of protecting their own privacy. I’m sad and overjoyed and overwhelmed at the mere thought of that. Like any mother, I wish they could stay little forever.

Alyssa is 7 now, and she’s an incredible, intelligent, funny and beautiful child. I am constantly reminded of how bright she is… of how her future will be nothing short of incredible. She’s the type of person you will want as a friend, and she’s going to be the type of woman you respect and love and adore because she has this amazing way of bringing light into your heart.

A few years ago, I would complain constantly that my children hated my camera (and they did!), and while her sister is still a hater, Alyssa has warmed up to my whims and indulges me. Every morning, as we leave our driveway to go to school, I say to my kids “that is beautiful light girls! look at it!” And it is beautiful light – the way the sunrays peek through the trees and bring light to a wildly grown patch of natures beauty. It’s the type of light that just begs to be captured. This past Saturday morning, we woke up early to go in search of the light.

I know it’s cliche, but my daughters are my whole world. They bring me the light every day and remind me of the love that drives us all. Alyssa is my dreamer – she’s destined to be an artist… a musician… a poet… and at the rate she’s excelling in her math studies, she may just be an engineer like her dad. (or perhaps a creatively thinking engineer? duPonters would shudder at the thought!)

Thanks for letting me share a huge piece of my heart with you.

Quote for the Day:

Love one another and you will be happy. It’s as simple and as difficult as that.
~Michael Leunig