My dogwood yesterday.
She hasn’t blossomed this fully in years!
*Sigh*
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 7:30 am
Click the picture, or click here, for Alisa and Jason’s slide show. When the show ends, it will jump back here where you can answer a question and win Alisa and Jason an 8×10 print!
We were all over the Upper West Side of New York City, but spent a lot of time in Central Park. This is over-looking Turtle Pond at Belvedere Castle.
They are such a fun couple!
This one is my favorite.
Or maybe this one is my favorite.
This one looks like the cover shot for a romantic movie poster. (This is where my posing inspiration for engagement sessions comes from — I study movie posters.)
Sometimes when I ask people to lay down on the ground and make silly faces, I get the strangest looks back, as if to say, “YOU lay down on the ground and make silly faces!” But Alisa and Jason had no fear!
Love the simple drama of this one.
Alisa and Jason live in West Virginia. They met in West Virginia, but when they first started dating, they both lived in the New York City area. This is the club where they had their first date, Dive 75.
Jason’s only request of the day was for me to take a picture of them eating a hot dog from a street vendor. Only problem was that by the time we found one, they must have been starving (you know, from the rigorous photo-shoot workout I give people) because they chomped that hot dog so fast I barely had time to make sure I had the exposure set right on my camera. Yikes! Good thing I’m pretty fast with all the buttons on my new camera now.
This is Alisa’s requested shot. She loves it when Jason picks her up and swings her around. I love the flying pearls!
This is my requested shot. What is it about feet that say so much about people?
We had lunch in the cutest little restaurant with GREAT window light!
And even though my working space was, a-hem, cozy (thank God for my wide angle lens), Alisa and Jason had a private table in the corner! How cool is that?
Alisa forgot to paint her nails, so she did it while waiting for the quiche. Jason helped out. He’s so sweet.
I figured the folks back home in West Virginia would get a kick out of a few subway shots. There’s more in the slide show. Note that we were riding the subway at rush hour. It was packed!
I love this ring shot! Such a beautiful ring too!
Here’s today’s contest question: Be the first person to post a comment with the correct answer, and Alisa and Jason will win a free 8×10 and you’ll win lots of gushing blog praise!
Name the restaurant where we had lunch, and name the movie that made it famous.
Have fun! Thanks, Alisa and Jason, for a great day!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 7:12 am
This is Boggy, the frog that lives in the courtyard at Bradley’s school. The kids in the Environmental Club begged me to take his picture. Here you go!
The courtyard sundial: “Time began in a garden.”
As I was walking through the school on the way to Edgar field to watch the Metuchen Shade Tree Commission’s planting of new trees, this artwork in the hallway struck me as appropriate for an Arbor Day greeting.
What’s it like to be a root system? Only one way to find out.
Even the Mayor of Metuchen, Thomas Valhalla, left, came to watch the Shade Tree Commission and the planting of the trees! We are very proud of our town’s distinction as a Tree City USA.
Every tree was carefully documented and measured, even going so far as to plot its precise position using a GPS locator. If these trees aren’t batted too many times with baseballs, they will be the focal point of many a science lesson over the next several decades. The plan is that the children will take the trees’ pictures every year, and document their growth.
I love this stuff! Click here for the red sunset red maple in my yard.
Lots of children from the Edgar School Environmental Club (that’s Bradley in the blue striped shirt!) and the YMCA were available to help with the digging…
…there are SIX shovels in this picture!
That’s the tree that was planted next to the bleachers — a red sunset red maple.
It will grow to around 50 feet tall and 40 feet wide! (I have faith.)
I did not lift a finger except my shutter finger, but these guys were working! Bradley loves Environmental Club! I am so proud of all the kids. They worked really hard! And they listened carefully to the adults’ directions and lessons on planting trees.
Once planted, every tree was given a quick watering. It’s supposed to rain this weekend. Perfect!
This shot is WAY over-tilted but I still like it because I love seeing all those kids working so hard to plant trees.
Now THAT’S a nice action shot!
I guess I’m not the only person drawn to baby leaves.
I don’t know all the details, but I overheard that a total of eight trees were planted: red maples in the field, and some other varieties in the parking lot circle.
Will the leaves grow much bigger this year? We’ll have to come back in a month or two to find out.
That’s a dogwood in the parking lot circle. (”Oooooh! Not a redwood!”) Other trees planted here include magnolia, redbud and maple.
The trees were photographed with a person in the shot for scale.
Time out for a reality check: I need to get on my soapbox a minute. These little trees are planted in the pathway of children running to get on the bus after school. If the trees are going to survive, they need a barricade to keep kids from trampling them! (Pardon my ignorance if a barricade is already in the plan.)
May you live a long, happy life, little dogwood!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 7:14 am
The winter contest rules stated that the three holiday card designs that received the most comments would be entered into a finalist round. We ended up with FOUR finalists because there was a tie.
So, pick from the numbers below and leave a comment with your vote for the ONE CARD DESIGN YOU LIKE BEST.
What’s at stake? The family with the card design that receives the most votes will win a gift voucher for my online store worth $150! It can be used toward anything in the store, or toward a new family session in 2008. So tell your friends to stop by the blog and vote for your favorite design!
To enter a vote, click “comments” below, enter your valid e-mail address, then your first name, initials or nickname in the “name” field. Type the NUMBER of the card you are voting for. You may vote ONCE per e-mail address. In case of a tie in the voting, I will add in the number of comments from the original card posts to determine a winner. Voting ends at midnight-NJ-time on Saturday, May 10.
GOOD LUCK!
There was also a competition among blog readers to leave the most comments relating to card designs. The person who left the most would receive a FREE FAMILY SESSION in 2008. You guys are GOOD because there was a 5-way tie! So, I’m going to keep counting and just see if any one of them falls out of the contest by not noticing this post. Sneaky, huh? If there is still a tie, be on the lookout for a tie-breaker in the form of a trivia question. I will post the question as soon as I determine that there’s still a tie.
ALL WINNERS will be announced on Mother’s Day!
HERE ARE THE CARD DESIGN FINALISTS 
DESIGN #19: “JACK’S FIRST CHRISTMAS”
Click here to see the rest of this card and read the original comments on its design. Be sure to click your browser’s “back” button to get back here!
Click “Comments” below to vote for this design. Write “#19″ in the comment field.
DESIGN #3: “BEAUTIFUL IN BLUE”
Click here to see the rest of this card and read the original comments on its design. Be sure to click your browser’s “back” button to get back here!
Click “Comments” below to vote for this design. Write “#3″ in the comment field!
DESIGN #5: “CENTRAL PARK”
Click here to see the rest of this card and read the original comments on its design. Be sure to click your browser’s “back” button to get back here!
Click “Comments” below to vote for this design. Write “#5″ in the comment field!
DESIGN #11: “EVERYDAY MIRACLES”
Click here to see the rest of this card and read the original comments on its design. Be sure to click your browser’s “back” button to get back here!
Click “Comments” below to vote for this design. Write “#11″ in the comment field!
Want to send this contest post to your friends? Click here to link to the post or to copy and paste the url.
Oh, and by the way, these contests are meant purely to drive traffic to my site and increase my Google rankings. I DO NOT harvest email addresses from comment posts in order to send you email messages about my business. If you would like to subscribe to my newsletter, click here.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 7:07 am
I was walking around Princeton University this morning with Sharon and Mike. I stopped in my tracks when I came across a row of stunning tulips.
They were so shiny in the morning sun that I just HAD to get out my macro lens and take a few shots!
I don’t usually post same-day pictures (because I’m in the midddle of editing Alisa and Jason’s e-session!) but since I was in Sharon and Mike’s folder anyway, I figured I’d post a few for Sharon and Mike’s family back home. I LOVE the one above!
Sharon is a grad student at Princeton so these shots will be a nice keepsake for them and for their new baby someday.
Thanks for taking me to the Princeton gardens! Coming soon: more pictures from Sharon and Mike’s maternity session.
Peace, and have a great day!
~jules
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 4:07 pm
In celebration of Earth Day today, here’s a much belated update on the dogwood we’ve been watching. Above, that’s a blossom this morning — 30 days after Easter. I think it’s safe to say she’s at full blossom now!
In case you’re new to the blog, readers have been guessing when my dogwood would blossom. With Easter so early this year, there was virtually no chance the tree would blossom in time for me to write a blog post (complete with pictures of the blossoming tree) about the legend of the dogwood and what that has to do with the Easter holiday. Still, April 22 is far later than I originally guessed her flowers would open up.
Here’s another shot from this morning.
And another.
Looking straight up at the sky. I love a blossoming dogwood tree!
I took this one yesterday, April 21st, day 29 after Easter.
I took this one last week, on April 16th, day 24. I missed a few days! Don’t know how I did that. Guess I forgot or something. Ya’ll need to bug me when I forget stuff! Steve G. guessed that the tree would be in full blossom by this day. Sorry Steve! She wasn’t quite there yet!
Looking straight up at the sky, she was still just a bunch of bud-dots on April 16th.
But she did have some pretty stuff going on that day!
Snapped this one quick on April 15th, day 23. (Carolina Girl’s guess. Sorry, CG!)
This one’s from April 13th, day 21. (That was my original guess. I lost too.)
And this one’s from April 12th, day 20 after Easter.
So, who won the blog contest? Well, Nancy guessed the tree would reach full blossom 25 days after Easter on April 17 and Melissa said 38 days — April 30. Jeff from Linden said 40 days — May 2. Gabe said 51 days past Easter — May 13.
Nancy’s guess was the closest. So, CONGRATULATIONS, NANCY! You win great heaping helpings of blog praise and admiration!
I love my dogwood. Ok, time to go out and pull up birdseed weeds.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 11:43 am
The grand finale of yesterday’s choir concert at my church featured over a hundred singers and bell ringers from choirs of all ages.
I set up some preliminary camera settings during a quick run-through of the last song. What a difference the robes make, huh? It’s so pretty when all the choirs are standing together!
Some choir member I am — I ran up to the balcony during the last song to take pictures. But I liked being able to hear the big beautiful sound all those singers made. Our choir director is fantastic! We love you, Brenda! You are such a blessing to our church and community!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 2:12 pm
Click the picture, or click here, for Ed and Susan’s slide show. When the show ends, it will jump back here where you can answer a question and win the family an 8×10 print!
The little sister is adorable!
See? (Love that pokey lip!)
The big sister has an unmistakable “Shirley Temple” look.
She was digging through the costume box by the window. None of those pictures are posed. I was just hanging out on the couch chatting with Susan while we watched her daughter putting costume pieces on. I love every one of those shots.
It’s always a good idea at a family shoot to plan a family activity like dying Easter eggs.
I think people sometimes feel a little awkward at family shoots (at first) because they’re not sure what they’re supposed to do.
Other than dying Easter eggs, here’s some ideas: have a tea party, build a gingerbread house, roast marshmellows on a chiminea, play a game like Twister or CandyLand, dance to some lively and slow songs, play catch, make up silly rub-your-tummy-and-head-at-the-same-time-as-you-wiggle-your-toes games, tell jokes from a silly jokebook, have a box of accessories handy and have fun trying on different looks.
Young children pretty much ALWAYS love to read books with mom and dad. I love this picture of the little girl on the way down the hall with her books.
I have fantastic memories of playing in the hallway with my brothers when we were children. We would turn off all the lights and shut all the doors so that it would be completely dark. Then we’d turn the lights on our Hess trucks and pretend we were on the highway at night. Little did I know I’d grow up to live that scenario every night for 20 years! (I used to drive home on the Turnpike every night at around 2 a.m. Now I leave earlier so I get to take the train! Train beats the turnpike ANY day!)
So many people ask me what I did to a picture to make the eyes so bright. Here’s my secret: LIGHT must be shining deeply into the eye. That’s what brings out the color. In this case, the only light source is a large window, which she is facing. If you were to look really closely at this picture, you could see that there is a little tear under her right eye. I just love how expressive she is. (She wanted some of her toys that had been banished to the basement in the “great photo shoot house purge” that most of my clients, a-hem, enjoy. That’s what I need to do — hire a photographer to come to my house so I’ll be forced to clear away clutter!)
One of my goals at any family shoot is to get a picture of the whole family. We try to get that out of the way early in the shoot so we don’t have to worry about missing the opportunity. I personally challenge myself to get a new “unportrait” for my collection of family unportraits. Above, there’s one.
LOVE this one!
This one’s my fave.
This picture would get the “clip stand” treatment if it were my family! I’ll explain the “clip stand” treatment in a blog post soon. You’ll LOVE it, so be sure to bookmark the blog.
Win Susan and Ed an 8×10 print! Here’s today’s question: In the slide show, there’s a close up of the older daughter’s hand with her father’s hand. What does the sticker on the little girl’s hand say? (They were looking through her 1st year scrapbook. It’s such a cool shot!)
Susan and Ed, I hope you love your slide show as much as I do! Your girls were so much fun to work with!
Peace and happy Sunday,
jules
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 8:26 am
LOOOOOONG-time fans of the City of Nouns might just remember Grill Hobstein. Yesterday, just after I’d returned from walking Gregory to school, he called my cell. “Mommy,” he said with remorse in his voice, “I forgot my lunch.” So, off I went, lunchbag in hand and camera around my neck. The picture above shows downtown Metuchen in the distance. You can tell where “downtown” is by the puff of white trees. That puff of white trees is better-known in MY house as “Grill Hobstein.”
You see, way back in ancient times when Gregory was 3, he would mumble things, and one time he mumbled “Grill Hobstein” over and over and over until we finally figured out that he was trying to tell us that something smelled yucky.
What was it that smelled so bad it needed its own name?
A-HA! Blossoming pear trees! Ew! Grill Hobstein, dude!
Been to downtown Metuchen this week? The pear trees are beautiful, no? At the same time, you might be wondering, “What is that smell? Did somebody leave rotten fish out somewhere?”
No rotten fish. It’s just Grill Hobstein. Bradford pears, aristocrat pears, ornamental flowering pears in blossom smell yucky. Yet another reason to plant anything else.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 11:36 am
This is one of my all-time favorite slide shows. If you know this family, and would like to see the show, leave a comment or send me email and I’ll hook you up with the link. It’s so much fun!
We shot at the grandparents’ house at Bradley Beach. Isn’t this the SWEETEST picture? I LOVE it!
This is not FAIR! I want a shot like this of me and my boys!
He was kind of shy most of the day, but at one point he suddenly turned and smiled at me! Yay!
Love this one too, wind-blown hair and all!
The light streaming in the window gives this picture almost as much warmth as his sweet smile. I love this picture!
HATS are so great at the beach! They keep long hair at bay. They provide a little shade for the face. And this particular one provides texture, color and shape! Love her fun smile too!
Plus, hats instantly change the mood of a photograph. This image would look really nice with an aged texture added in photoshop. I’ll mess with that one day when I get time and put it up on the blog for you if you remind me.
(Queen of the sand pile.)
The moms were having a little, a-hem, ISSUE with the kids always making bunny ears whenever I pointed the camera at someone. “STOP MAKING BUNNY EARS!” was begged over and over and over.
So I cracked up when I turned around…
… and caught some mom bunny ears!
These next three shots are so typical…
The men (and the oldest boy) are half asleep in the living room watching television.
The women are in the kitchen chatting and cooking.
The girls are hanging out in the “beauty salon.” One by one, they called people into the “salon” for manicures and massages. Note to all future photography clients: Everybody needs a massage after a beach photo shoot! They are SO MUCH FUN!
Thanks everyone! I pray you love your slide show as much as I do!
Peace,
jules
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 1:01 pm
