When I was little, I used to pretend I was a horse. Or a wolf. Sometimes a tiger. Whatever suited my fancy. I was one of thooose girls. I didn't really play with dolls or put on lipstick and wear my mom's heels. Instead, I created elaborate stories in my head and played them out for hours, sometimes days, until the story was complete.

As I got older, I thought for a time that I wanted to be a writer. Instead of acting out the stories in my imagination, I tried to put them on paper. I would sit down and start these grand novels, only to begin another one after a few chapters in the first. I had every intention of finishing them. I just... never did. Apparently writing isn't my strong suit.

Then I found a camera. Jackpot. I found a way to stop time. To tell real stories. The kind of stories that should be remembered. Need to be remembered. Stories full of life and love that beg to be preserved and shared.

So I guess you could call me a story teller. A really, really ridiculously blessed and happily married story teller who can't cook but laughs a lot and has three dogs. I love my life.

And I'd love to tell your story : )

Park City Anytime: The Deekens

I first met this wonderful family last year at their mini session, and I was so thrilled when Catherine contacted me again this year to do more family photos! I can’t tell you how fun it is seeing the growth in families that I shoot from year to year, and seeing Bodie again was no different! He’s gotten so big, and he was still a little ball of joy : ) That is, when he wasn’t getting his picture taken… haha. As Todd put it, it was one of those shoots. The kind where, no matter what we did, Bodie wasn’t going to sit or smile nicely for the camera.

In all honesty, though, after trying whatever we could, we just ended up rolling with it. Because that is life with a toddler. And my ultimate goal for family sessions is not simply to get that nicely posed smiling picture, it’s also to create a memory. To create a series of images that documents the fun afternoon we had… the freezing wind, all the laughing, the antlers, the mess of the oreo, Bodie hardly looking at the camera… just being them. Enjoy the Deeken fam : )

They wanted to get some picture by the Historic White Barn in Park City, but we quickly realized the wind was not going to be very kind!

When we first arrived, Bodie didn’t want to wear a hat and gloves. But after a few minutes, he totally obliged. Haha.

We snapped a few more, and then decided it was just too cold.

When Bodie realized we were heading back to the cars, he was more than happy…

We decided to take some pictures in their home, which had some nice big windows for natural light. I was a fan of the windows.

After a bit, Bodie figured laying on the floor was a good idea. So Catherine and Todd slipped down beside him, which I thought was a great idea. These ended up being some of my favorite photos of the session.