Monthly Archives: March 2017

Flynn turns one and occasionally, turns on a smile

Now I love jumping jacks and cartwheels as much as the next girl. Ask anybody. Actually don’t ask anybody. But I don’t mind pulling out all the stops to get a kid to grin. We would love to tell you that when we walk into a room with our equipment or welcome kids into our portrait studio, children light up with joy. With glee and with abandon.
And sometimes they do. Please see exhibit A – Sawyer Jane below.
Sawyer Sherill Newborn Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography photoBut Sawyer Jane was brand new (weeks old) and had just won a scholarship.
And been tickled.
And was probably pooping.
Flynn is, not surprisingly, an entirely different creature. Different parents, different gender, different stylists, teachers and chefs cater to him. And as handsome as he is, and handsome as he was as a newborn, the day of his one year photo shoot, he had been reading the Times, the Post, blog trolls and watching cable news and decided to be in a serious mood. His parents are clients of ours and we photographed Kathren & Nathan Lundy’s engagement and their wedding several years ago, as well as Flynn’s newborn pictures.

Flynn Lundy One Year Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography PhotoFlynn Lundy One Year Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography PhotoFlynn Lundy One Year Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography PhotoYou can’t always win kids over and we pulled more than a few tricks out of our hats with sweet Flynn: songs, toys, videos, silly faces, dancing; you name it we tried it. He was mild and contemplative – and extremely cute – but there was no raucous laughter. To be honest, I love the individuality we see. Adults are this way, why can’t kids be?

Flynn Lundy One Year Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography PhotoFlynn Lundy One Year Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography PhotoClose to the end of our session, when we had almost caved to his seriousness and I began to run – literally – around inside the studio, yelling loudly, hiding behind a giant soft box in our own version of peep eye did he finally crack a little. Flynn’s a little statesman, although when we see him next, he may be on the short list for head writer at SNL.

I love that Kathren and Nathan were delighted to find we had captured more than one or two photos from his session. And always it’s awesome to witness and capture the changes in the lives of those we first met as engaged couples.
Serious or not, we love you, Flynn.

Flynn Lundy One Year Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography

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spring | such small hands

Spring in Australia begins in September and ends in November.
In India, spring runs from mid February to mid April.
Summer and winter are essentially the only seasons in Iceland – although both are relatively mild.
It’s seasonally spring year round in Uganda – with alternately wet and dry seasons.
And Scotland’s warmest months for the entire year are July and August, our late summer. Like NC, the Scots can experience all 4 seasons in one day. Spring in Scotland? Don’t blink.
And it has been that year here for us.

Pixels on Paper photography blog, Charlotte family photography, Outdoor family photography, Easter photography, Children photography, Photographers in North Carolina, Wilkesboro photography

One of our favorite spring places to shoot. A last minute cold snap took its toll this year.

I look for spring, actually look for it, because even the rain, quick showers in 35 minute spurts in the afternoon (my pals in the deep south attest to this too), signal its coming. Just like daffodils and dogwoods and irises do. When you see blooms like that, and you’ve set your clock to lose an hour, it’s time to store scarves. Maybe.

Spring also reminds me of being a kid. Sometimes it’s remembering riding my bike as hard and fast as I could with my friends. Sometimes it’s laying on my belly and looking at grass so close up that I wondered and worried about every blade and every bug and where everyone in the soil was going. Maybe it’s a reason why I garden.
But spring and new and children go together. I look through photos of kids outside we’ve taken and get excited. This is their time.
http://www.pixelsonpaper.net/ Do Not Copy Crop or Print. Watermark must be displayed and not removed or cropped.Meade Outdoor Family Portrait Photography photoAmelia turns one. First Birthday. Child photography, children photoArnold family outdoor spring peach orchard photos by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photographers photoTevepaugh Outdoor Family Portrait Photography photo“spring is like a perhaps
Hand in a window
(carefully to
and fro New and
Old things,while
people stare carefully
moving a perhaps
fraction of flower here placing
and inch of there)and

without breaking anything.”

– ee cummings
Brock's 12 month baby photography, pixels on paper studio family portrait photography photoNC Mountain Outdoor Family Portrait Photos by Pixels On Paper Photographers photo

Spring will drive by us and wave and we’ll miss it. If you haven’t been out to lay on your stomach looking at bugs, or ridden your bike “no-hands” downhill, or stood an extra 2 minutes at the mailbox smelling the air: do it. It’s worth celebrating because of its very nature and its timing. I sometimes feel like summer, fall and winter take up 11 months and spring lasts only 8 days. No one said I had to be good at math.
Mathis Family Spring outdoor portrait photography photoMy unsolicited recommendation (you’re welcome) is to celebrate the season, your childhood, your children, your friends and neighbors’ kids and breathe it in. I’m doing it myself as we look at yard work as a chore and not a haven for bug adventures and the season as a gearing up for a busy summer.

Another parting little bit from cummings… and it could apply to springtime:

“(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands”

 

We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddingsbrides, and special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

Defining Family | Dogs and Humans

We define family as weirdly and idiosynchratically as we define ourselves. No kids. 1 kid. 8 kids.
“We adopted,” “we foster,” “we just want to be auntie and uncle.” You name it.

And then there are our pets. If you own one, you get it. They are a completely different kind of family, with their unconditional love, guileless expressions, stinky breath, midnight BTUs and snuggling.
Our friend Carol has been a breeder for years, but also rescues and fosters dogs for new forever homes. If ever someone “got it” with regard to what dogs can add to your life, it’s Carol.

pet and family lifestyle documentary outdoor portrait photopet and family lifestyle documentary outdoor portrait photoShe asked that we photograph her with 2 brothers she’d been fostering, who were about to meet their new family and of course, we said yes. When we arrived the family that was adopting them was there too and the exchange of comments, advice and love started immediately.

pet and family lifestyle documentary outdoor portrait photo

pet and family lifestyle documentary outdoor portrait photopet and family lifestyle documentary outdoor portrait photopet and family lifestyle documentary outdoor portrait photopet and family lifestyle documentary outdoor portrait photopet and family lifestyle documentary outdoor portrait photoFinding a family for two dogs isn’t easy and Carol bonded with both dogs until she found the right home. Watching them interact was beyond special. What started as a portrait session turned into a lifestyle shoot with the adopting family sitting in Carol’s backyard playing with the dogs while we just captured the fun and excitement. The kids played with their new brothers, threw the ball and watched the dogs play. We saw the dogs rescue the kids in the same way that this family was taking the pair into their home.

pet and family lifestyle documentary outdoor portrait photopet and family lifestyle documentary outdoor portrait photopet and family lifestyle documentary outdoor portrait photopet and family lifestyle documentary outdoor portrait photo

After the family left to go buy some last minute items they needed to be ready for their new family members, we had some extra time with Carol and the pups to do a little mini-session in her backyard. It gave her time to say goodbye and us time to capture them together and celebrate what an amazing person she is.

We’ve said so many times that pets save us as much as we save them and it’s true. Carol: we love you! And to all the families out there rescuing new family members: we celebrate you too. Pulling together, no matter what it looks like, is the best of who we are.

We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddingsbrides, and special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

 

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new addition | newborn cameron

How lucky you are, Cameron. You can’t imagine the love that was surrounding you on this day. They say that newborns are near-sighted and mostly focused on mom’s eyebrows and forehead, so you will indeed have to take my word for what you couldn’t see. Behind my lens, you laid there in complete coziness, but you were not alone. So much of your family’s journey was floating around me. From seeing your mom and dad newly married and in love to capturing that couple with a baby on the way and a new daughter and now you. Your timing was perfect. Welcome!

Even your feet were in love with each other. They kept smooching.

Your sister Madelyn came to the shoot and we’ve photographed her growing up too. While we only see your family a couple of times a year, we always look forward to it. And now here you are. This may not always be the case [Secret: siblings can get on each others nerves, but it usually ends well. Keep that in mind when Madelyn boots you out of her room in 10 years.], but right now, you are the apple of her eye. Your sister adores you.You are a precious being, Cameron and I’m adding my name to the list of fans to go along with your mom, dad and older sister. Come see me again soon, please and take sweet care of yourself. You’re at the very beginning!

We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddingsbrides, and special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

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jaxon turns six months old

In no time at all, you can go from delicious 6 day old bundle to bib overalls.
Meet a little man working the bald is beautiful angle. And he really works it.
We blinked and this little brother and son is half-way through his first trip around the sun. If I had a nickel for every time I got to stare at the mini-down on top of a kid’s teeny head, I’d be rich and I’d still be behind the camera. That smile is going to break hearts and it’s already bringing his sweet mama, and this photographer, to her knees.

He’s thinking, processing, gesturing, grinning and for all we know making trades over the phone with a savvy broker who speaks fluent Baby. Perfect skin and working bubbles, Jaxon shines with that kind of inner light that comes from no worries. His grandmother saw these portraits and said: “How beautifully done! These show his  personality so well.” And his mom thanked me for being “so patient and loving with Jaxon.” I love what I do. I love the families and the squealing newborns, the 6 month old squishies, the siblings and the crawling and everything that comes after. I cannot wait to see him at his first birthday. Maybe he’ll let his brother come along!


We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddingsbrides, and special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

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