I am currently working with anticipation toward a landmark event for me.  Come Febraury I will be beginning the first of the Community Education classes I am teaching here in our little suburb of Fridley.  I was just informed that I have just four students for my "Beginning Digital Photography" course, which will be plenty for me.

I worked my way through college as a Preschool and Early Fives teacher (one of the many hats I wore at that time) and I loved teaching my little ones.  I loves seeing their little minds light up as they understood something for the first time and to see their progress throughout the year.  I was often rewarded for my efforts with a stick figure drawing of myself- or a handmade ornament at Christmastime. I doubt that my photography students will give me such earnest affirmations, and it is just a four week course, but I am very excited about the prospect of teaching again.

Coming this February and March:

Carrie Weston Photography is pleased to be offering Beginning Digital Photography and Basic Photoshop classes through Fridley Community Eduction.  Beginning Digital Photography starts on February 1st and has limited spaces available, and you have all the way till March to sign up for Basic Photoshop. 

If you are interested in learning anything about composition, the Rule of Thirds, or simply how to take your brand new shiny Christmas present out of the most basic of settings, be sure to check the class offerings out. 

I am also always welcome to suggestions for new class ideas.  I am currently creating my class schedule for the spring semester.

A few days ago I had the pleasure of hanging out with my dear friend Holly and her daughter Emma.  Holly was a friend of mine when I lived in Michigan, and then fast-forwarding a few years life found us giving birth just days apart and living in MN just a few miles apart.

Her Emma is such a sweet little lady, and it has been great to see her and Noah grow and change together.  And for the most part I have been successful at resisting naming her as Noah's future bride.  I'll leave that for when they are in preschool.  :)

Of course I grabbed a few photos to commemorate the two of them reaching the milestone of a year and a half, and I loved how beautiful Silverwood Park, even though we had to remain mostly inside because we were getting together on the coldest day of the fall so far.  Some of the first white flakes fell outside as we sat by the fire and caught up.

.  At first, Emma wasn't so sure about this goofy guy hanging out with her.

Sometimes working in my profession is a wonderful thing-- I get to work with wonderful clients and see them at some of the most important moments in their lives.  The new babies, graduating seniors, couples on the verge of marriage are all wonderful reasons to love photography.  

This past weekend I paused from taking on clients to enjoy a bit of time with my family who were in town from MI to see my husband and I, but even more so to soak up a bit of time with the short one-- their adoring and adored grandson.

I have been so busy that I haven't had time to edit a bunch of photos from that session, although I did do some more formal shots of my folks that I will put up a few from later, but I just had to add this one basically SOOC (Straight Out Of the Camera).

He is the reason that my work takes about twice as long, the reason my formerly folded laundry ends up all over, and recently he was the reason a potato was in our bathroom, but I wouldn't change him even the tiniest of bits.

My son's other recent hijinks?  How about opening up the dishwasher so he can stand on the inside of the door to reach the top? Kisses? Rubbing our faces and making cooing noises when we remind him to use gentle touches? (He can get kinda grabby.) Discovering and identifying his belly button?  He also is obsessed with spices and smelling, and today got cinnamon up his nose.  He also loves going to get a sweater or one of his shoes and telling me, "Go?" as he walks over to the door that leads to the back yard.

I love my mini-man so much, and it was so wonderful to get to spend some quality time with my family on the weekend at the apple orchard and playing trains down in the family room.

Thanks for visiting Gi-Gi and Grampy!  It was just what we Westons needed!

A bit out of order, but I couldn't resist sharing a sneak peek of the darling little one I got to cuddle during my newborn session this week.  Jess is a friend, and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to photograph her new little one, Alexa.  This was also my first opportunity to see her new house, and it was so much fun to have a loud, long session as her older daughter played trains with my Noah as we captured these images.  Despite this, Jess was able to soothe her little one to sleep, eventually, and I am so looking forward to editing the rest of the session.






Congrats again Momma!

Fall has sprung- although maybe only Spring is allowed to actually do that, but it feels as if it has sprung and brought some relief from what has been a rainy, oppressively hot summer.  The cooler days has also given me the chance to break out my son's fall duds and buy him some new shoes- one of his great obsessions and one of his first words, although it comes out more like, "sssuchuees." 

So needless to say, my already achingly adorable son was looking rather dapper and cozy in his fall clothing, and I decided that it was time to try out one of my new props that hasn't had the chance to be put to good use.  As the mother of a toddler I am always on the lookout for props that will entice busy bodies to pause, even momentarily, to get some good shots.  And recently I found this tiny yellow chair for a steal and fell in love. 

As a person who deals with visuals every day, I would be remiss if I didn't mention all of the images of the September 11th tragedies that are replaying today on television, Internet and any other media device out there.  These photos and videos are still a shocking sight, even all of these years later.  They are so striking, that it is easy to find yourself trapped in them once again, as we all were on that day, and in the many days after. 

However, I would like to encourage you all, to look, to remember and honor, but to not get bogged down in the sadness, fear and morbid curiosity that can come from seeing something so horrible painted in front of you.  I do not think that those that lost their lives, or those that lost loved ones would want us to live in that fear and have those images running through our minds as we lay our heads down to sleep tonight.

So balance out the sadness by looking at photos of your children when they were tiny, look at images of this Great Land that everyone came together to protect and preserve 9 years ago today, and honor those lost and those left behind with your appreciation of what we still have.

My dear husband and I are originally from Michigan, and while we love our home here in the Twin Cities, one of the things that we miss is the nearness of Lake Michigan and the small towns located along the western coast of our state.  So, when my parents offered to meet us on Madeline Island in northern Wisconsin, we couldn't pass up the chance to explore more of the shoreline of Lake Superior from Duluth over to the Apostle Islands of Wisconsin. 

We fell in love with the small communities, and especially Madeline Island, the largest of the islands, which is reachable only by small plane, ferry or other boat-- as well as across the ice in winter.  These are just a few of the many photographs that I have brought back as momentos of our wonderful, and much needed respite from the hectic nature of  everyday life.  And while I love the opportunity to photoraph all of you and commemorate the important milestones in your lives, it was wonderful to have the chance to photograph something as different as towering cliff faces, and the Reindeer Moss growing along the ground.

I know- I'm a bit late for Thanksgiving- even a bit late for Valentine's Day, but I have a brief break in between projects right now as I wait for some woolen sweaters I'm imaging winging their way across the Atlantic.  I am- of course- handily filling up my time with working around the house, garden plans for the coming spring, sewing, working on marketing materials and just playing with my Little Man.  I thought that I would pause and take a minute to observe a tradition in the Weston family and in our circle of friends back in Michigan.

The holidays are always so hectic that our small group from church has taken to celebrating Thanksgiving after all of the running around has ended and placed it at the end of February.  We're talking a complete American Thanksgiving meal- Turkey, mashed potatoes (typically Jim's area of expertise after I managed to cut my thumb pretty good while peeling potatoes one year) cranberry sauce and pies for dessert.