posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 10:41 am
This is the best kind of snow. The pretend kind. The kind you don’t have to shovel. The kind that doesn’t make your car slide around.
Isn’t it cool (ha! so to speak) how I can take a picture and add some borders and snowflakes to make it look wintery? This works great for holiday cards! For all my clients who have already ordered cards, you’ll be relieved to know that I’m in the Christmas mood and working on designs as we speak! And don’t worry because once we place the order with the printer, the cards only take a few days to get here. You’ll love them and it will be SO worth the wait! If you haven’t ordered yours yet, probably better move that task to the front burner. Just a hint.
Cheers and happy holidays!
~jules
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 9:37 am
Meet two of my dear little friends.
We went down to Holmdel Park for some Christmas card pictures recently.
The leaves were really pretty that day.
And the lake was still.
She was such a great little model! LOVE the hat and scarf!
Don’t they look like they just jumped out of a JCrew catalog or something? I love how their clothes coordinate, but don’t match.
This one cracks me up!
Love this one too!
And the composition on this one is really interesting. These kids are NATURALS in front of the camera!
Here’s another one with interesting composition. I love how the lake reflects dark trees at the top, echoed by the dark bushes at the bottom left. Likewise, the light reflections echo each other at the opposite corners. I also love how the red of the burning bush picks up the color of my model’s sweater.
These kids aren’t actual models. But wow, I LOVE this one! I love how she shaded her eyes from the sun in such an interesting pose. Like I said, NATURAL models! Love the blue sky reflected in the lake too.
Her brother’s pose is different, yet equally interesting. And the colors are amazing!
I’ve been working hard lately to capture images that would make nice large canvas gallery wraps. I got a lot of those in this shoot! My canvas company ROCKS. The prints that are coming in take my breath away!
Thanks for a fun afternoon! Their slide show is private, but if you know them, send them an e-mail and I’m sure they’ll give you the link!
TODAY’S CONTEST QUESTION
To win this family a free 8×10 print, and lots of blog praise for yourself, be the first person to guess the current estimate of the number of trees in the arboretum at Holmdel Park, and tell us what types of trees were first planted there. Have fun and thanks for checking out the blog!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 9:24 pm
Click the picture
— or click here —
for Judy and Terry’s family session in Central Park.
Be sure to turn up the sound. When the slide show is finished, it will jump back here where you can answer a tree-related contest question and win them an 8×10 print. Have fun!
Above, I LOVE the fall color in this one!
We started out at Bethesda Terrace.
Love this one!
This one cracks me up. We were trying some reverse psychology on Judy and Terry’s son in the hopes of getting a nice family shot, but he wasn’t buying it!
That’s a great tree!
Oh yeah, Judy and Terry look nice too.
A-ha! Caught you!
Caught again, this time he’s walking with mom and dad after riding on the carousel and having some popcorn.
Regular blog readers probably recognize my little cover model. I shot Judy and Terry’s family last fall too, and their son has been at the top of my blog banner ever since. So cute!
TODAY’S CONTEST QUESTION
According to an article published in The New York Times on Oct. 16, 1898, a “fine speciman” of sumac tree just south of the statue of Daniel Webster would be turning brilliant red or yellow within the week. In order to bring a leaf from this tree home at the time, a park visitor would have been forbidden to remove a leaf from a tree, gathering instead only the fallen ones. Dare he be seen carrying leaves home without
ONE OF THESE though. For loud and boisterous blog praise, what must one have possessed in 1898 before gathering Central Park leaves?
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 8:37 pm
Click the picture
— or click here —
for Dawn and Jimmy’s family session in Central Park.
Be sure to turn up the sound. When the slide show is finished, it will jump back here where you can answer a tree-related contest question and win them an 8×10 print. Have fun!
This picture might seem posed, but it’s not. It’s exactly how the family had been waiting for me to arrive. I love when that happens!
I got several nice portraits of this family. (LOVE Central Park benches!)
And some nice “unportraits” too. I love this one. It’s one of my favorites of the whole session.
This is my second-favorite.
And even though it’s posed, I rather like this one too!
I love this sort of picture because of the simple detail in the prices on the wall. In 30 years, the kids might be interested to see that a bagel with butter cost $1.50.
I love the “mom” shots.
But this one is really special. Look how Jacqueline is looking into her mother’s eyes.
Love the karate jump, JJ!
And Jacqueline caught some MAJOR air!
We stepped inside the Conservatory Garden for a minute, but there were bees EVERYWHERE! (Do you see it?)
I had so much fun with this family. They were genuinely good-natured and fun-loving, yet relaxed and sweet with each other and with me. If I could make a video to show people how a family photo session ought to be, it would feature this family! You guys were great!
Now here’s the contest question
Name a type of tree that is common in the northern part of Central Park, is not native and is thought to have become a pest. I’ll give you a hint. A tree with heights up to 60 feet, it is considered a legume.
By the way, my regular e-mail address is still busted. The server is down, which is always a bad thing the day before a major holiday. So just use jwsphoto@gmail.com for the time-being if you need to reach me. Thanks!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 4:53 pm
NOTE TO EVERYBODY! PLEASE READ ON…
Above, that’s my front yard.
MY E-MAIL IS DOWN AGAIN.
That’s a leaf on my October Glory red maple.
So I thought I’d post a few pictures of my trees, all taken yesterday. Something pretty to look at while we wait for e-mail to return.
Isn’t this one of my Red Sunset red maple cute?
But if you need to reach me, you can either call, or E-MAIL ME AT jwsphoto@gmail.com.
Above, deep inside my Red Sunset Red Maple the leaves are much less red.
He’s bright red on the outside though.
See?
Full-length pictures of three trees: Top, Bradford pear is just beginning to show a little orange on the leaf tips. Left, an Armstrong maple glimmers in the morning sun. Right, October Glory red maple is not yet at peak color.
The October Glory may be red on the outside, but inside, she’s decidedly yellow.
That’s the October Glory on the left, growing into one of the Bradford pears.
And this is the other Bradford pear on the left, and my sugar maple on the right. LOTS of color this year! Lots of leaves too. Anybody want to organize a raking party?
From underneath the October Glory, an arborvitae is bright green in front of the red sunset.
The Greenspire Linden usually turns soft yellow, but not this year. So far, pale green.
That’s one of the Armstrong maples in the background. So pretty!
A leaf on my October Glory.
I love fall
*sigh*
I hate when my e-mail is down.
Happy honey-baked ham day!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 8:48 am
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 12:43 pm
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 1:53 pm
Click the picture
— or click here —
for Evan’s day as an official one-year-old.
Be sure to turn up the sound. When the slide show is finished, it will jump back here where you can leave a comment for Evan and have a chance to help his family win an 8×10 print! My friend, Brad, is really good at answering these contest questions, so I thought I’d make this one especially challenging. Have fun!
The picture above has got to be one of my all-time favorites! Evan is a very special little boy. I thank you all for praying for him and his family!
Love this one too! Evan is so cute.
I know the perspective is strange on this one, but I love it! The expression on mom’s face while she’s getting Evan ready to go out cracks me up! I know that face. I’m made that face a million times while getting children ready for outings.
Can’t resist the walking shot!
Evan had just gotten over a cold by the time we were shooting, and he didn’t seem very comfortable being outside.
See? Just a tad grumpy, but I still love this picture. Of all the pictures in Bradley’s baby album, it’s the crying shot that makes people stop and look. We can’t help being drawn to misery sometimes…
…because sadness makes us appreciate happiness more!
I got several nice family shots too. You KNOW I love this one! The fall colors are gorgeous and everybody’s actually looking at the camera! Yay!
Ok, Brad, and anybody who wants to take a stab at the contest question: For major blog praise and a free 8×10 for Evan’s family, describe the picture in the
slide show that has something in it that shouldn’t be there — something of mine. Seems so obvious to me, but it might take you all a while to find it, kind of a “Where’s Waldo?” Have fun!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 7:57 am
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 4:07 pm
