back at "work"
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01wSooo, we got back home from California last night, and I got Ezra to bed around 8:30 and then I showered and crawled into bed myself. What? Traveling with toddlers is exhausting.And then this morning we got the kid off to his first day in the new, bigger kids classroom at school and I was off to a baby and dog shoot bright and early.And man-oh-man was it worth it! My house might be in disarray and I might not have gotten unpacked yet and my fridge might be empty still... but... Look at those two! This lab is less than 2 years old, and she was PERFECTION. Want to see another great shot of here? Look over here.For your internet share of the day, I love this list of what foods need to be refrigerated. And I guess I'll put that butter in the fridge from now on.

Monday at the madhouse ~ hello from the west coast
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LJP_6199wLook at that California light!We arrived last week, and I have taken so many photos. Photos of trees and skies and beaches and family and dogs and food and we haven't even left yet! I'm just going to put a sampling of images in here and say that I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Ours was damn good.Also, since I'm still traveling, the regular scheduled blogging might not return for a few more days. Be patient! I'm trying to relax out here!LJP_6168w LJP_6212w  LJP_6236w LJP_6230wWe did a few portraits at sunset one night just for fun.LJP_6418wThe red woods were just what I needed. Damn, do I love those trees.jamieandezw LJP_6413wMy niece Emma joined the cross country team this year, so she spent a lot of time this weekend training for her first meet this week.0903treeswBut seriously, these trees.LJP_6547wLJP_6327wLJP_6768wOh hi there, Bambi.LJP_6645w     LJP_6522w  LJP_6601w  LJP_6641w  LJP_6511w  LJP_6513wEzra was pretty enamored with his cousin Johnny.LJP_6696w treesw    LJP_6304w LJP_6585w LJP_6594w LJP_6837w LJP_6955w LJP_6961w LJP_6828w LJP_6910w LJP_6880wLJP_6993wOf course I have to put this one in again. I love those stars so much.LJP_7001wAfter shooting the galaxy, we shot some light painting photos of the cousins.LJP_7002w

finally
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LJP_6993wLast night, Jamie and I dragged our youngest niece and nephew (ok, ok, they were happy to come!) out to the beach to see the Milky Way. This was shot around 10 pm, but the moon was super small last night (just a sliver of light) and it set at 9:30, so I knew it would be super dark. And man, was I right. I was glad I had so many people with me because that right there was perfect axe-murderer conditions. But we all survived and got the shot! And it was so lovely out.There are still things I wish were better about this image (sharper focus, reflection on the water etc etc), but I was so happy to see so much color and variation in the stars.After shooting the sky, I showed the kids how to paint with light, and we quickly made the image below before heading back.I hope you all are having a fantastic Labor Day Weekend!LJP_7002w

Greetings from the coast
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0902starswWell, I'm still working on my milky way photos. We are staying in Northern California right now, and you could see the galaxy with your bare eyes last night, so I thought I'd snap some photos. You can see some clouds (or fog) rolling in, so the images weren't as clear as I'd hoped, but I'll head back out tonight. No internet shares -- too busy enjoying all the nature. Have a great weekend!