While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about. ~Angela Schwindt

I love photographing children.  I Love when I meet them for the first time (or maybe not) and I get to see their little personalities come out.  Some are timid and shy, others loud and energetic.  No matter what, I love it.  Children allow you to see into their soul.  They are not guarded or careful - they just are. As a photographer, I want to capture who they really are.  How they act, what they love.  And let's face it, they don't stay that way for long.  They are constantly changing: in appearance and behaviour, in likes and dislikes.  I'm never looking to capture a stagnant moment - children are not stagnant.  I want to see them move, explore and bring their life into my photography.  Enjoy a few shots of these beautiful souls.

 Watch for info on my upcoming Mother's day photo contest.

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. ~Scott Adams

Lately I've been thinking about my business. How can I sustain this long-term?  There will be a time when I get older and I won't physically be able to shoot the way I want.  What then?  It isn't as though small business comes with a pension plan or investment portfolio - although I really should be thinking that way soon.  So how do I make my business work for me instead of just working for my business?

I need to venture out, to create a segment of my business that will work for me long-term.  Soon I will be displaying my art in a coffee house in Elmira - The Robin's Nest.  I have plans to expand this to other small businesses in the area.

Now I need your help.  I have several ideas for prints I'd like to display...which ones do you like?

Flowers

Fire place

Pineapple 1

Pineapple 2

Pineapple 3

Only a few things are really important. ~Marie Dressler

Life is simple for me.  Live, laugh and love.  Nothing else really matters.  We all spend time at jobs we despise, around people we don't connect with and in places we dislike.  But we do it for the people we love.  There is no other reason.  We keep our jobs to support our families we love.  We socialize and make small talk with those we don't care for, because of someone we do care for.  We find ourselves in uncomfortable situations to support our family and friends.  I've chosen to only do things that I want to do.  I live with no regrets, no fear and no anger.  Life is too short to spend it in any other way.   

This photo was taken by Maria one lazy Sunday afternoon.

Photo of the Day - February 28-March 4

So we have this dog.  A big dog.  A big, lazy dog.  Okay, so only mostly lazy...he really does loves being active...really. Loves to run around outdoors.  Loves to chase the kids around.  Loves to go for walks.  But it is becoming apparent that he is entering old age.  His initial response to moving from the couch - "Humph" - gives him away.  The couch is his favourite spot.  I've come to realize that he will move for the right reason.  Never, of course when I want to enjoy a few lazy moments myself in his spot, but for food.  He is the most attentive animal during snack or meal times.  He waits: next to the high chair, nose up, anticipating a fallen morsel of food.

I wasn't planning on focusing this week on Poncho and after Tuesday I realized that it was going to be almost impossible to shoot him doing anothing other than sleeping on the couch.  For that reason I decided to go back a few years and find some of my favourite shots of Ponch, Poncho Libre, Nacho, Pinchy and Paaancho.

February 28, 2011

Paws Pause

Poncho enjoying his usual spot on the couch...snuggled up with a blanket

March 1, 2011

Zzzzzz

Again...on the couch.  I really did shoot this the next day.  As Joe pointed out "good luck getting a shot of him doing anything else".

March 2, 2011

Poncho

I was getting a snack for the kids and I realized that Poncho was no longer enjoying dream land (As I secretly wished to be), he was alert.  I grabbed the camera.  He really didn't move from this spot as he waited for William to abandon an apple piece.

March 3, 2011

Lake

This shot was taken in 2006 when we were spending the weekend with friends at their cottage.  Poncho was just 1 year old, much thinner and much more active.  The previous day he got a little too friendly with some bees.

March 4, 2011

Puppy

This was the day we brought Poncho home.  He was a wedding gift that Joe and I gave each other.  It seems like yesterday...it seems like a century ago.

Do what you feel....feel what you do.

This summer I am Maid of Honour in my friend's wedding.  My daughter Maria, age 3, was asked to be a flower girl.  As the bride, Trisha prepares for the "big day", she's created a wedding website, where guests can check out everything from their gift registry, maps & locations to wedding party bios.  As I sat down to write Maria's, I was stumped.  After all, how do I sum up this amazing little girl in only a few sentences.  She has added sparkle to my life, both figuratively and literally.  She is crazy.  She jumps, twirls, dances, sings (although not exactly on key), and has an amazing sense of life.  She likes to wear mismatched socks.  Her shoes are never on the right feet.  She often makes up her own words and language.  She loves her brother.  But most importantly, she has made me realize what is really important.  Not whether your socks match or people are laughing as you jump and twirl...but that we (you, her, me) should do what we feel and feel what we do.

“If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it rips out your heart, that’s a good picture.” – Eddie Adams

I'm drawn to emotion in photography.  Drawn to those moments when no one realizes exactly what you are capturing when the photo was taken.  It even happens to me.  Sometimes I don't even remember a particular shot and "see" it for the first time during my edits. I like the atypical, the non traditional and the natural.  I had some friends over for photos last week and caught a few of those moments.

Copyright Green Apple Photography

Copyright Green Apple Photography

Copyright Green Apple Photography

Copyright Green Apple Photography

I love...LOVE...this shot.  The way mom and dad are looking at their son as he stumbles into the frame.  It's an amazing moment.

Photo of the Day - February 21-25

When baking, follow directions.  When cooking, go by your own taste.  ~Laiko Bahrs

I found myself stuck in the kitchen most of the week.  So why not photograph it.  I guess on Wednesday I was too busy cooking to get out my camera, and I didn't even realize it until the next day.  Oops.  Please forgive me. 

February 21, 2011

Pots

I recently hung a pot rack over my stove.  It is always changing, and never looks quite the same each day.  I like that.

 February 22, 2011

Coffee

OK so if you read my coffee house blog, you'd know that I don't make coffee or drink it -but I can photograph it.

February 24, 2011

Sink

I don't know about you, but there is an endless amount of dishes to wash in my house.  I like to polish the sink when I'm done.  If I was trying to seem neat and tidy, I'd would have included the polished version on Thursday, but the texture in this shot was far more interesting.

February 25, 2011

Muffin Tin

I really like to bake and I really like repetition in photography...voila...muffin tin.