Tim & Stephanie {Sweetheart Session} | Tucson, AZ

Here are a few sneak peaks from our Sweetheart Session with Tim & Steph while in Tucson this past weekend. I wanted to post them as a brief teaser for any last minute sweethearts out there who need a fantastic, last-minute Valentines present! Consider giving your sweetheart a rad 1 hr photo session to be redeemed any time later this year! We’ll draw you up a sweet gift certificate and you’ll be the coolest honey ever! Promise. Call me for more package and booking details! 951.756.2960

photo by lawson j. moore

WIN A FREE KELLY MOORE BAG!

As many of you know, i am a H U G E fan of Kelly Moore Photography out of Louisiana. She rocks my sweet little photo world and artsy brain! I entered a contest around New Years and out of 379ish other contestants, i won one of these brand spankin’ new beauties! I used it for the first time on our business shoot in Tucson and felt WAY too cool for modesty sake. The purple rocks my face off (despite the fact that i still think the CRANBERRY CROC is stinkin’ HOT!)!!

Anyways, today she just announced that she’s gonna give another bag away so scamper on over to her site and follow the instructions!  Otherwise, start saving your pennies cuz photography just got way cooler!

http://kellymoorebagblog.com/

Mommy Moore Monday Musings

With saddles blazing and cameras clicking, our Tucson trip was a blast this past weekend. Between birthdays galore, superbowl fun (where i ate my body weight in M&Ms), and a plethora of fun photo ‘ops’, i return ready for a productive week as a stay-at-home mom. I believe 4 weeks ago i posted a blog about that week’s goals. Well, i think that to do list is done and i can start on a new one. (I hope that makes every single mommy who’s reading this right now nod their head and laugh out loud).

Lets see how this list does: gym 3 xs this week, 2 cooked meals, finalize McALPINE wedding (post, proof, cd, album), blog 4 xs, solid devos everyday, laundry, family time 4 xs, discipleship with Sam, Saskia & Angela, phone call(s) with bf Devyn……and more i’m sure. In between those goals i’ll be working on enjoying my children, doing whatever other chores i can fit in, making sure my husband feels loved, having a couple late night Law&Order hot dates with Sam (inevitable) and whatever else randomly happens…Of course there is a shoot tomorrow night, small group wednesday night, E-session Friday afternoon and portrait session saturday…and then Valentines….

Anyways, goals are all grey these days and i find that most days are most fulfilling if i just make sure i’m diligent within the moment. Goals are fun but motherhood is defined by the unpredictable and I’m learning to just be okay with that. Dear mommy friends, i’m praying for you today. I’m praying for those who are too task oriented for their own good–that you are able to let go and enjoy the now. For those that have been so consumed with the now that you haven’t even attempted a task list in a while–that you would delight in planning ahead, find a way to wisely be alone for a few seconds in the day and think…at least a few complete sentances would be cool.

This is a crazy chapter i’ve decided; a perpetual see-saw between immediate craziness and long-term responsibilities that are ironically sprinkled with the the joys of grins and giggles + bills and chores all mashed together in one great big pot of mommy-hood. So crazy.

It’s 2:30am Tuesday morning and i’m sure i’m gonna pay for staying up so late. I ask myself so was the chai latte worth it, stupid? …. I’ll let you know in the morning.

and just for kicks here is a  sweet daddy-son date i captured right before we left for tucson. more coming soon

24 Foundation Benefit Show | Hollywood, CA

Lawson & I tag teamed on Saturday. While he was out shooting a Sweetheart Portrait session with Melissa & Joel Mead, I was home getting dinner ready, kiddos fed and my high-heels shined for a night out in Hollywood! Yahoo! I scampered to our poor little dying car that i prayed over with great fervor before jetting off to Les Deux off of Hollywood Blvd. Traffic was surprisingly great up until i was met me with great big welcome signs letting me know i had arrived! The Grammy weekend crowds did not dissapoint and i slowed to a crawl watching lights flip on and skirts hike up beneath the layer of grime and dreams of Hollywood.

I finally found Les Deux, the lounge where 24 Foundation would present their vision to friends, sponsors and fans alike. While waiting for guests to arrive and doors to open, i bonded with bouncers Taylor, the russion toe-toucher, and Delmon, the hypnotherapist.  Good times. Here are a few fun red-carpet  shots!

Sheava Rahimi, Alice Issac, Megan Grafton-Cardwell

Caroline Brooks

Taylor A. Joseph – the russian toe-toucher

Christina Apa, 24 Founder & Friends

Apoetnomadali & fans

Alice Issac & Me!

24 Fans & Co-Founder, Alice Issac

Introducing: 24 Foundation!

This past Saturday i had the privilege of being a part of 24 Foundation’s Benefit Show! 24 Foundation is a sweet non-profit organization located out of LA that aims to help young people heal through the creative arts. Christina Apa, Founder and President of the 24 foundation, along with 11 other mentors including event coordinator, Alice Issac, have worked hard to develop and expand the Artworks program and continue to make tremendous strides impacting more and more young people who are finding a refreshing and exciting outlet through 24’s creative opportunities!

Stay tuned for pictures from the sweet Benefit Show held in Hollywood this past weekend!

Monday Mommy Musings

I went to the gym angry. Got on the elliptical angry. Ready my book angrily. Started chapter on ‘How to Handle Anger” and then got angry at God for diffusing this gumption to tread so-gosh-darn-fast-because-I’m-oh-so-angry. Conviction sure has a way of stopping a work-out short…picked up the dumb bells and prayed.

This was my facebook status this evening.

I feel like sanctification in my life right now is a process of letting go of ‘me’—oh-so-wonderful me (roll of the eyes). Beyond myself there are my two children, my husband, my housemates, the ladies who are growing towards Jesus with me, my church, my family, and my clients. And those are just the people. Then there are the roles I play in each different circle…‘Mommy’ is the most common role…

I’m home most every day all day simply because its so difficult to go out right now. Judah is reaching terrible twos and Jordyn is a bit unpredictable with her neediness. Plus our double-stroller doesn’t fit in our compact Kia (that, by the way, has brakes that sound like a old cat being stretched slowly and miserably). I like being home. I’m getting better at the domestic things: Cooking is coming along. Cleaning is actually kind of a brain-breather. Lawson just discovered a way to jimmy-rig our attena so I can watch news and feel remotely connected with the world while doodling with my son or humming to my cranky 4 week old little girl. And thus is the immediate life right now.

But every day I battle thinking beyond the immediate. A couple weeks ago it was acting—I craved to hit the stage again and exercise that thespian that has lain dormant for so long. A few weeks later it was speech & debate—I LONGED to be engaged with a team again and coach and get back into the forensics circuit! This week it’s Hollywood—I want to be in the industry and rub up against that part of society in all their hopes and dreams and pursuits. I want to experience the rigor and  intensity of the  people convinced that entertainment is completely sufficient replacement of joy. And I’d love to CONFUSE them by my rebellion against such misdirected assumptions. Next week I feel the preliminary angst to get back into MARKETING. My dream job is to be a networker—somebody who connects a person with a set of skills with the person that needs those skills; a marketer for the amazing but undiscovered…. And then a month from now I’ll probably remember that I have yet to write …I’ll remember how much I craved for a couple of uninterrupted hours to just write—write down mom thoughts and wife thoughts and discipleship thoughts throughout the week. But that didn’t happen because, alas, I am the mom of 2 kids under the age of 2 and can barely finish a sentence in my head, much less, on paper.

If I’m not careful, this constant clash of wills gets the better of me. Jesus has put me in this role of motherhood for a reason. Often times I would feel more comfortable working and engaging with the work world instead of (what feels like) watching my kid’s toenails grow. I even slip into these completely over-rated thoughts boasting of the skills that I’m waisting and the ideas that are going unheard…. but then there are the days where I embrace my life that has been slowed-down and redirected. God has mercifully helped keep me centered on the duty at hand—I am mom. I am wife. I am home. And these things are what I’m committed to and immerse myself in. At first I felt like I was drowning in. An unfamiliar sense of unproductivity seeps into my day and threatens to rob me and my kids from the contentment and the joy in this stage. Oh to be content! This IS enough and tomorrow is a new day.

(Do note, that I am no longer angry and finished a solid work-out this evening. Martha Peace’s book EXCELLENT WIFE is rich that way—hope amid all that darn conviction!)

Ray & Joyce {11.07.09} | joyce

As i was putting together a few more highlights from the PON wedding, I decided to make one singular post specifically for this bride. Joyce was an incredible bride to work with in 2009. She was a joy from the moment we had our initial phone conversation–we covered details of the wedding day (which was no problem in regards to organization thanks to Ray… ) and deliberated over some of the schedule to make sure the limited November lighting would be available for some great photos.  When Joyce first arrived the morning of her wedding, she was a little frazzled and though beautiful on the surface, one of her bridesmaids took her aside and prayed with her, calmed her down, and the bundle of nerves subsided and she turned to me and said, ‘let’s do this!’ Joyce trusted me fully and was willing to listen when i assured her that despite the 5 minute delay, she looked beautiful and guests would be fine. When her parents arrived she delighted in sweet moments of their first look on their daughter, the bride. She delighted in her bridesmaids and seemed to just take in the little moments with each dear friend and sister…even the precious flower girl!

As a photographer, it is so special to be behind the lens shooting a couple that is fully aware of their journey–the time and patience it has taken them to finally stand ready and willing to give their lives together. In Joyce, i saw a thousand smiles, a thousand tears, a thousand prayers that were finally being resolved and deeply blessed. Though  just a few months of interactions, phone conversations, and coffee break consultations, I felt as if i got to know Joyce–and her heart. So much so, that when she walked in the door and down the aisle to her best friend…i too was crying.

You have been a joy to get to know Joyce. “An excellent wife, Ray has found…”

Castro Valley Wedding | Photog Shoot Out!

The morning of Ray & Joyce’s wedding, myself, Lawson and our 2nd shooter Bekah Mooney went out in the suburbs of Castro Valley to test out some new equipment we were playing with for the day. We had rented a sweet canon tilt shift that was Lawson’s treat for the weekend while I was dabbling with my beloved 16-34 2.8 and 50mm 1.2 prime lens! Here are a few favorites from our shoot out that morning…

Now, I do have to note, that while Ray & Joyce took incredible care of the wedding details, the most impressive of which was the way they cared for their guests…INCLUDING their photography team! Welcomed with a bottle of champagne and dark chocolate, they put us up in the Marriot and especially made sure that I (being 7.5 months pregnant) was taken care of. Of all days they could have milked attention and made demands, i was SO impressed by the couple’s desire to serve the ENTIRE wedding weekend. Ray & Joyce, you really blessed my team and I! Thank you.

Ray & Joyce {11.07.09} | a few moments before

Joyce was such a fun bride to get to know! She’s got a sharp sense of humor but keenly aware of others’ needs around her. She loves her husband Ray a ton. Both of them make each other better. He laughs more, she laughs more and I’m convinced they are going to have more stories of their fun together, than they’ll be able to keep up with! Oh! And how beautifully opposite they can be from each other! And despite her sassy sarcasm, she was NOT kidding when she warned me that Ray was, uhm, on top of things. Sure I’ve met well-involved grooms, but…I mean…I had never seen such a thorough excel spreadsheet lay out for WEDDING guests and their contact info! So when, on the wedding day morning, we were running a little behind schedule (always estimate an hour more than what your artist says for hair and make-up) Joyce took a deep breath, rest assured that details were covered, prayed with her best friends and prepared to see her husband for the first time that day.

TUCSON, AZ here we come!

Attention all Arizona blog-stalkers I’m headed your way February 5-8! (2 weeks away) We’re officially goin’ for family birthdays and a sweet superbowl party, but we would love to hook up with anybody interested in senior portraits, family portraits or even potential engagement portraits for those who are looking for a wedding photographer! Send me an email if you are in the Tucson area and we can discuss a sweet deal for a portrait session! ALSO, if you are a photographer in the area, i would love to meet up for coffee! With as much traveling as we do to AZ, it would be SWEET to hook up with you! Blessings y’all! Have a peachy weekend!

Below is the ad that Lawson pizazzed up for some Tucson marketing! He did a GREAT job and i just LOVE seeing all the color and fun people we have gotten to know in the past couple years! See more by joining our facebook group HERE!