jessicabarnak.com/blogsite

embracing my blurry side. {scranton childrens photography}

admin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 23:22:47 +0000

Ok – so I’m going to address one of my favorite things in photography. BLUR. A lot of photographers will call it “emotionally in focus” when an image that they love isn’t tack sharp, but the emotion behind it still comes through loud and clear. I happen to LOVE images like this – that have the most amazing blur, paired with the most amazing sentiment.

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

inspire me. {scranton family photographer}

admin — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:02:13 +0000

Anyone who knows me knows that I adore all things vintage and creative. My house would be a tribute to Martha Stewart if I wasn’t married to a “by the books and in the lines” engineer. :) This is just one of those fabulous things that I love – using every day common things in an uncommon way. LOVE that.

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

recently… {West Pittston Photographer}

admin — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:29:53 +0000

Have you ever turned around for just a second only to find out that your oldest daughter is taking her first holy communion and your “baby” is going to start kindergarten? It’s surreal – the feeling of knowing you’re getting older and you’re literally a heartbeat away from graduations, college, weddings and babies of their own. Sometimes I swear that the reason I am a photographer is because of the internal conflict I have with getting older. I just want to stop time. Just for a second – ok, so maybe a year or two. Just until I have enough time to adjust and come to terms with the ever changing landscape that is my children.

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

the joy of walking. {scranton childrens photography}

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:40:59 +0000

This little girl has a thousand faces of expression! I had such a good time with little miss “E” this weekend. She has grown up to be the cutest little thing – and I can’t believe it’s been a year since I shot her newborn photographs! We had a lovely morning at Gibraltar in Wilmington, and even with all of the clothing changes, this little one was a beautiful and happy little trooper. {mom and dad weren’t cranky either! bonus!}

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

spring. {wilkes barre family portraits}

admin — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 22:05:53 +0000

Happy Spring!!

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

I’m baaack…. {scranton photographer}

admin — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:25:22 +0000

After a long and deliciously busy hiatus, I am back! So much to report, so little time!

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)

If you are interested in booking one of these dates, please contact me at jessica@jessicabarnak.com

“Most things in life are moments of pleasure and a lifetime of embarrassment; photography is a moment of embarrassment and a lifetime of pleasure.”

~Tony Benn

at home. {scranton newborn photography}

admin — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:11:34 +0000

I mostly shoot maternity and newborns in the studio, but I love getting the chance to do so in people’s homes because it makes the shots something unique! Also, the newborns are usually more at ease in the environment they have become used to and it makes any newborn problems easier to handle because all their supplies are at our fingertips. Here I wanted to share a recent newborn session at my client’s home that I LOVE how it turned out! The wood steps are my favorite

Quote for the day:

“Words are a heavy thing… they weigh you down. If birds talked, they couldn’t fly.”

~Sy Rosen and Christian Williams

peace and smiles. {old forge newborn photography}

admin — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:10:30 +0000

Without fail, every time people come to pick up their portrait orders of their newborn, they comment about how different their baby already looks. Barely recognizable by the photographs I took only a few weeks before. It is a constant reminder of how valuable childhood is and how time can pass without a blink if we don’t take a look around once in awhile. Having children really makes the passage of time more apparent, as you see them change from little squirmy things, to having them trying to walk and talk, and then sending them off to school for the first time. What’s funny is how I never think I’m getting older (well not too much!) and I know it’s only a matter of time until they are teenagers and start thinking, “Wow, mom grew up in a completely different time! No internet all the time?!” That’s what makes these newborn sessions so precious for our families, and for me as well, I get to experience the shock of how so little time changes their new baby almost daily and they get a snapshot of their new bean’s first moments– before they ever think their parents are old!

Quote for the day:

“You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by; but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by.“

~James Matthew Barrie

a daydream. {scranton children’s portraits}

admin — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 20:01:52 +0000

This session made my job easy because all I had to do was stand back and let the magic of these two children in one my favorite locations come to life. I love the movement of big brother’s kilt in the first image, the pure joy of little sister’s expressions, the cherished bond between the two siblings, and the beauty one finds in nature. I want to thank this family for letting me share in their world of fantasy

Quote for the day:

“You know that place between sleep and awake, the place where you can still remember dreaming? That’s where I will always love you, that’s where I’ll be waiting.”

~Peter Pan

sand and surf. {scranton beach family portraits}

admin — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:26:07 +0000

I think that the images from this session really speak for themselves and there were so many gorgeous ones it made it hard to narrow it down to a few for this post– so, without further ado, I’ll let the photos tell this family’s story!

Quote for the day:

“Where you invest your love, you invest your life.”