consider yourself warned

The following pictures will make you want to have more babies, even if you already have 3 kids and your husband is 50. Hypothetically speaking, of course.

This precious bundle is gorgeous new baby boy, Maddox. He's the third boy in this family. Third boys have a special place in my heart. He was absolutely yummy!!

hey, is that a tee pee in your living room?

So here's the thing about pets and kids.

They're completely, totally, 100% unpredictable.

And that makes my job always fun, always fresh, always something a little different. It can be the same family, same pet, same house and still be a completely different session than the last time. Kids can be cranky or happy, outgoing or shy. They may be incredibly reserved during one session and the next year, grab my hand and take me to show me their favorite toys and new big-kid beds. Pets can LOVE YOU! LOVE YOU! LOVE YOU! (okay, I'm pretty much talking about dogs in that case) or eh, whatever (cat lovers, you know what I'm talking about).

I just never know what I'm getting when I step out of my car and into someone else's home, and man, I love it. That's what makes me get out of bed each morning - knowing that even though I'm always incredibly busy, that there is just never going to be a dull moment. Like any job, this one isn't ALL fun and games... but there are many smiles along the way, even on my craziest days.

The photos in this post are from client sessions I did for Go Realty in Cary. Stop by and say hi to the great people who work there... you won't be sorry you did. And you may even get a really sweet coffee mug out of the deal:-)


This family had five kids. I love how this picture tells a little mini story of how their daily life must be, ie: controlled chaos:


Normally, if I tell kids this age to hold hands they are completely appalled. Grossed out. Mortified. But these three? They were awesome and did it without gagging or making faces or anything! (See, there's a little more unpredictability for you.)


Is it just me, or do you think this cat just KNOWS she's hot stuff?


This picture will make you yawn. Seriously. I just looked at it and did.


I don't care what you say, I swear this dog has a smile on her face.



Kid art. Funny how you don't see the true beauty in it until you become a parent yourself, and then suddenly you have 14 under-the-bed boxes full of it because you can't bear to throw away a single piece.



I think it is safe to say she was not my biggest fan (but HELLO, cute!):



For a brief moment I considered grabbing this puppy and driving away into the sunset, but then I remembered that puppies cry in the middle of the night. Often. Loudly. With sad, wimpering little puppy noises that make you get up out of sheer pity. When I weighed sleep vs. puppy, sleep won. (Also, I enjoy my lack of rap sheet, so I figured I would not start a life of theft now. But that might just be the cutest puppy ever.)


Girl vs. poodle. The only winners here are her parents when it is time for bed. Score one for exhaustion!

if at first you don't succeed....

Yes, yes. Neglectful blogger checking in! Are you surprised? I own it. I just can't swing multiple blog updates a week. I'm always editing or shooting or driving someone to baseball practice or going to a preschool board meeting or seeing a show with my husband at the DPAC. It's life. So thanks for hanging in there with me despite my blogging downfalls.

Having said all that, here's a session I'd love to share - brothers Sam and Gordie. I've photographed this family several times before so I knew ahead of time we'd have fun. What I didn't expect was that on our first try for this shoot, it would be 32 degrees with incredible winds. We lasted approximately 5 minutes, and poor baby Sam cried for 30 minutes AFTER we decided to pack up and leave. It was C-O-L-D. Thankfully, our make-up date (several months later) was pure weather perfection. 75 and sunny with just a slight breeze.

Happy weather + happy kids = happy photographer. And happy parents, too... look at these cutie pies!!

Boys and sticks - it's in their DNA:

We stuck them in this spot, and they provided the cuteness:


Let me just stomp on my brother's head for a laugh: (it worked!)

city kids

The first time I photographed Mychal in 2007, she was about 6 months old, and her parents drove to Raleigh from Wilmington for her session. When she turned one, I drove to their home in Wilmington and photographed her first birthday party.

And then her family moved away:-( Far, far away to (gasp!) NYC! (Actually, they may be over the river and technically in New Jersey now, but to this NC girl, that's just splitting hairs: it's all the Big Apple.)

So imagine how tickled I was to hear from Mychal's mom this fall and she wanted me to photograph Mychal and her new little brother while they were visiting relatives in NC. I had to laugh when they pulled baby Noah out of the car and he was the boy version of his big sister at the same age. I mean, the kids are like TWINS. They even have the same expressions!

Here are a few from our session. Could the little raincoat/umbrella/Mary Jane boot combo be any cuter? And Noah's little dragon hat. Sigh.

the Julie mini-sessions

See those beautiful girls up there? They belong to my friend Julie.

On the morning of December 26th, Julie's younger daughter (who is also my son Gray's classmate) found her mom unresponsive with no pulse.

My vibrant 30-something, yoga-loving, vegetarian, volunteering, beautiful friend was in cardiac arrest. To put it bluntly: she died.

It took 45 minutes for the paramedics to bring her back, and at first no one, including the medical staff, thought she'd make it. I mean, how do you bounce back from something like that?

And yet, she did. Only Julie could pull off such a feat. I am convinced that the love and prayers of her friends and family (and many strangers) combined with Julie's amazing spirit and will are the only reasons she is still here.

Here is where this post comes in. In an effort to help Julie's family (she won't be working for awhile, and much to her dismay, she's not allowed to drive for 4 months) with their medical bills, a site has been set up for donations. Not so luckily for Julie, her hospital stay at Duke spanned two calendar years which means that she has to meet her deductible for each year before her insurance kicks in.

For anyone donating $50 or more to Julie, I am donating a mini-session to YOU. These mini's will take place outside at my studio (downtown Durham, NC) between January and May 2010. (Instead of doing everything in one day, I will set these up like regular sessions so you aren't pigeonholed into one date that may or may not work for you.) If 4 or more friends donate together, I will come to you (anywhere in the Triangle) and do back-to-back mini sessions at a location of your choice. Mini sessions are about 15-20 minutes long, and you will see 10-15 proofs in an online web gallery. They are best suited for children and babies who are able to sit unassisted, and parents are always welcome to hop into a few pictures. Due to time limitations, mini's are not suitable for extended-family sessions. Prints are purchased separately. (Oh, and if you don't have kids, but would like pictures of you with your significant other, or a portrait of your pet - that is great, too!)

You can donate here. Once you've donated, please email me (gwmathison at gmail.com) with a copy of the receipt you get back from Paypal and we can set up your session.

http://www.relief4julie.webs.com/

From the bottom of my heart, I thank anyone who can donate (no matter how small) to Julie. I truly would not be where I am in my business without her being my biggest cheerleader back in 2003.

xoxo,
gretchen