post by leslie

Heyo! It's Friday! I have survived the week!Today I'm in the studio catching up on processing a gazillion images. But real quick I wanted to pop in and show you a few leftover images from the north shore a few weeks back. Also? When life is hitting you from every directions, it's just fun to remember vacation. For your internet shares of the day:+ What is this sea monster that washed up on shore? Mother nature never ceases to amaze me.+ The cost of motherhood catches many women off guard, and I totally get it. I don't know how I would manage this if I still worked a traditional 8-5 job. I work more hours now, but the flexibility is so key.+ Secret messages for the win! I promise it will make you smile.

post by leslie

Hoooo boy! We did it! Lucy and I got all moved in and today we had our first commercial shoot in the new studio! It was, as you might guess, for the holiday catalog, so we had Christmas cookies, a tree and tinsel etc all around us. With the air conditioner on. It was kinda weird!But the shoot went great, and it was fun and exciting to be in the new space, and it was nice that we had room to breathe!I'll be using a majority of the next week catching up on my photo processing (along with a handful of shoots), and I am so thrilled for a little quiet time to work while listening to podcasts and books as I settle back into the desk portion of this job.Also! I should mention that a few weeks back I purchased an iPhone 8 plus, and that photo up there is from it. I am super impressed with the camera on this phone. It's WAY better than my last one (just in case you're pondering an upgrade).For your internet shares of the day:+ Well, I guess we'll just start eating organic everything now. We were already on the bandwagon for produce, but for some reason I thought granola bars and Cheerios were safe. Guess I was wrong.+ Two ways of handling the death of Aretha Franklin.+ Some really cool temporary tattoos.

post by leslie

Wasn't that space lovely? We sure made a lot of memories in that there studio.In case you haven't picked up on it, yesterday Lucy and I moved our studio to a new location. And I am SO TIRED AND SORE. But you guys, it will be totally worth it.I'm hoping to have a reveal of the new space in 3-4 weeks (waiting on some furniture to be refinished), and we'll be super excited to show it off. Until then, just know that between shoots and processing and meetings we are assembling IKEA furniture (ugh), attaching tall furniture to masonry walls (not so fun) and enjoying the sunlight of ten gorgeous windows.For your internet shares of the day:+ This story about women's experience with doctors is so frustrating and true.+ This piece about giving small children independence speaks to my soul. Once a week I let Ezra go by himself next door to see his best friend. I watch him from the living room windows until he enters the house, but it still makes me nervous.+ And as a lover of Bob Ross since childhood, this speaks to me. 

post by leslie

As I mentioned last week, life has gotten a little out of control. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel right now though, and that's making things much, much better.But the good thing about having a kid is that you are reminded to STOP WORKING and get outside and enjoy summer while you can. And this weekend, that meant a trip to the farmer's market and playing in sprinklers with our neighbor kid while beating the heat. As you know from my shoot earlier this summer, sprinkler photos are among my favorites, so here are a few I snapped of the boys yesterday.  I still can't decide if I like these images better in black and white or color, so I'm giving you a little of each.For your internet shares of the day:+ Breathtaking portraits of tribes on the brink of extinction.+ Have you read this interview with Beyoncé yet? So good.+ Comparing your 20s to your 30s. For me, this was more like my 30s to my 40s, but still relevant!

post by leslie

Work is nuts this week. Have I mentioned that? I think I mentioned that.August and September and October for Shuttersmack are a little bit like finals week in college where you just don't have enough time in the day to fit it all in... except that it's three months long and you have a kid and you're in the middle of a move. Or at least that's what it feels like at the moment.I'm going to just tell you now that the blog will likely go quiet for the next few days. I have a big commercial shoot in the studio today and tomorrow, a wedding on Saturday, moving on Sunday and Monday and then four more shoots next week. Do I sound stressed out? Sorry about that. I'm trying to take deep breaths and focus on that photo up there and what a wonderful respite that trip was.The good news is that I scheduled myself a small break in about two weeks to catch up on processing and life, and sometimes I just want to go back and kiss the Leslie from a few months back for blocking out that time. Someone once told me to make sure you schedule down time as well as busy time, and that is the best advice ever.I only have one internet share today, and it's this fabulous summer salad recipe that I want to try asap. Hopefully, the next time you hear from me I'll be in the new studio and things will feel more manageable. Until then, let's all take deep breaths and make time to gaze at the stars, shall we?

post by leslie

Our trip up north was overcast a lot, but the very last morning was predicted to be clear, so Jamie and I woke up at 5:45 am to catch a sunrise. We invited Ezra, but he declined.I really enjoyed this one because we could watch the giant freighter out on the water turning and heading out to sea in the glow of the sun.Also, you can see my video from our trip over here. Enjoy!For your internet shares of the day:+ Nothing is original (and instagram magnifies this).+ Beautiful gifts if you know someone with an infant or toddler.+ This made me smile.

post by leslie

Oh look. Another photo from Lake Superior. Yeah, about that...The next two weeks in my world are going to be i.n.s.a.n.e. I have many, many shoots and I'm moving (more on that later). So while this weekend's vacation was *amazing*, it also was a wonderful break before a huge storm that is hitting me this very second.And because of all this work, I don't have (and won't have) time to process all my vacation photos and do a big post. I'm simply tackling my favorites one at a time and then we'll see where we land time-wise. OK? Sound good? Thanks for understanding.This photo was taken from Shovel Point, which is my favorite hike on the North Shore. It's easy and has a wonderful payoff. But this photo was magic because as we were driving up to the park to begin the hike, the point was covered in a giant cloud. And as we hiked, we could see the fog at the top. And it was thick (and magical) and not great for my photo aspirations.Then we got to the very top, and right then, a gentle breeze came in and blew away the fog for this shot. And two minutes later we were fogged in again, and I was so grateful for this brief respite right when we were at the top!Just wait until you see some of the video (TEASE!). More on that later.Now, for your internet shares of the day:+ I am loving my friend Katie's instagram regarding the remodeling of her fixer-upper huge old house. You should follow along.+ These portraits of senior citizens make me so happy.+ Upcoming design trends spotted in the latest Ikea catalog.

post by leslie

Oh my, did we need this family vacation.We've been up on the North Shore this weekend (back later today), and it was the perfect break. We had so many hikes and so much time by the water and bon fires and s'mores and "vacation food" and puzzles and games and movies during rain storms and building of rock towers and throwing rocks in the lake and flying of kites and eating outside and it was just exactly right. We even spied Mars in the night sky, but Ezra said the s'mores were way better than seeing the red planet. Ah well.I'll have more photos to share later this week, I'm sure, but this one was dear to me because while I, too, love being on the shore and playing with rocks (building that tower there), Ezra loves the same things, but throwing as many rocks as he can into the sea. I liked that this photo captured both of our loves.For your internet shares of the day:+ The new Magnolia Line at Target just released a bunch of pretty items for the bathroom. Ooo la la.+ I've been curious about buying one of these gravity blankets. Got one? What are your thoughts?+ This seems super soothing to me. It would make a perfect gift.