One of my greatest joys as a lifestyle photographer here in the Sacramento, Roseville and Sierra Foothills area is the honor of working for some of my dearest friends.  This last week, I was able to squeeze in a senior shoot in between raindrops and snowstorms with the wonderful Mr. Trey.  I’ve known Trey since he was 2.  He got bigger overnight it seems, but his soft gaze and easy going ways have never changed and I have loved watching him grow up into a really sweet young man.  My earliest memory of Trey was when he was 2 or 3 and he (instead of playing with toys) would sit at the edge of the carpet, combing it into straight lines.  He loved to help his mom with any kind of housework…so I’m thinking of hiring him…(you know I have this dream of one day having a housekeeper, right?) His dad and one of my best friends of 20+ years, Allan, was my reflector man (thank you Allan!). Allan was my first boss after I moved to Sacramento wayyyyy back in 198? and he also introduced me to hubby Jay – so we go way back. Anywhoo-We headed out to one of the bike trails in Roseville and found some greenery and water off the beaten path and transformed the area with some creative composition!  We used corners with cropped out stop signs, front doors and asphalt to give us our backgrounds.  Everything was pretty wet, so we had to use what we could!!  Being creative with location is one of the things about my job that I really enjoy.  Transforming the ordinary into something spectacular.

Working with senior boys is a lot of fun.  So different from the girls (not the fun part – because they’re both a blast… but, generally speaking).  I get to be a little more bossy…the boys let me help with wardrobe and posing.  They don’t get all fussy about the details and so I get to do a lot more creating.  Getting Trey’s dimples to pop out wasn’t all that difficult, but the best smile came when I teased him about pushing Allan into the water.  Go figure!  Now THAT would have been a good photo!  One of the other perks of working for besties is that I got spoiled afterwards with a really nice dinner.  Thanks so much for that guys!  It was great to hear details and spend a little more time visiting and catching up and reminiscing.  Even though we see Allan all the time (and Trey…I better be seeing more of you!), some people you never get tired of spending time with.  And the Rosenbergs are those kind of people!

Hope you enjoy your sneak peak of your images.  It’s truly an honor to be the one you chose to work with.  I hope you love your senior images as much as I loved taking them.  Trey…you’re a doll and headed towards greatness!

I love you guys,

treacy

{savor} :: to taste and enjoy it completely : enjoy or appreciate (something pleasant) completely, esp. by dwelling on it

I know…apparently it’s spring.  But not at my house.  It’s been snowing, and honestly, I’ve had an ugly attitude about it.  The highway’s closed again, there are avalanche warnings and it’s COLD!! After all, I’m a summer girl. And I want some sunshine in my life!!  But it hasn’t been available.  So, instead of being bitter (like the cold around here!) I decided to snuggle in, one last time and savor the flavor of winter.  The time of year when all rests and is peaceful and falls into slumber.  I’ve been stoking the fireplace and wearing my favorite sweaters and looking for the lovely in the white things around here.  And guess what? I found some!!  Stark has it’s own kind of beauty. And as you can see, it doesn’t keep joy from exploding all over the faces of the kids and my good friends, the Ladd Family, from gathering around the outdoor fireplace during their shoot last year when we took photos for their Christmas cards (which rocked btw…I mean, who ever gets lucky enough to have snow for their fall photo shoot for Christmas cards? Uh…the Ladds did!). Winter = cozy.  Winter = preparation for growth. Winter = the promise of Spring. (check out one of my favorite songs here about the promise of Spring – written by Steven Curtis Chapman after he buried his little daughter Maria…it’s an incredible song of hope and courage)

I wish I could tell you the snuggling in came easy today…but I was challenged once again, as I could hear the bellowing come out of every fiber of my being (because I actually yelled out loud to the sky to quit raining today – and could feel the immediate backlash of the ingratitude), when Linda sent me a link to this blog today. Linda is my BFF of 18 years.  And it resonated because there’s been sooo much pressure around here lately with all the changes and adjustments and ugly weather going on. And then I clicked the link at the bottom of Ann Voskamp’s blog.  And my heart skipped a beat when I read her words ::

Could I be walking through the years but not even be alive?

I’m at the brink of another year and I really want to live… and this moment here is the only one I can live in. Worrying about tomorrow robs me of the moment I have right now and I can feel the vortex of the future sucking me in, down, away, sucking the life and now right out of me. Fear is always the flee ahead. Mentally racing ahead to imagine some catastrophe looming round the next corner. Fear is always the flee ahead. And that is what leaves us for dead.

The only place I can ever be alive is right here.

and I’m realizing that as long as I’m wishing for the future, something that isn’t even a reality yet, I’m not present.  Not living.  Not really. It’s like a pseudo existence, and that’s not what I’m after and it’s not what my family needs.  So…for today…I savor the flavor of winter and step back into the “here and now”. Instead of complaining, I relish my amazing fireplace and it’s crackling, I notice snow falling softly in swirling patterns, I watch the movement and design of my breath in the cold air, I breathe in the crispness and feel it revive my mood and I embrace her beauty and the hush that’s all around and I feel peace. I hang on, for one last moment of winter and savor.  Savor.

Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe, NV.  And the super-fab Sarah Dawson-Risucci.