No, 50 Cent is not in my musical repertoire, but I do sing that line any time I talk about my birthday or any one else’s birthday.  But…I digress.

Yesterday was my birthday…3 more years until the big FOUR-O.  Yes, I’m 37.  So I’ve got three years to save up for a tropical island getaway, a trip to Italy with my mom and my sister and a spectacular yet-to-be-determined vacation with my kiddos.  That will be a big year, so there will be big celebrations…but this year is pretty boring.  So I just dyed my hair red and bought myself a pair of Lululemon yoga pants to see what all the rage is about.

Clearly I’ve always loved celebrating my birthday…and in high school, I began making it a birthday week.  So ever since then, the tradition continues!  To celebrate this week, I have an incredible gift certificate offer…

DOUBLE VALUE GIFT CERTIFICATES!

Yes…DOUBLE…

Here’s the details:

• All gift certificates purchased between February 5 and February 10 are DOUBLE VALUE!
• Email heidi@heidilynnephotography.com with gift certificate specifications, or call 814-777-0473.
• All requests must be received by 11:59 pm on Friday, February 10.
• The doubled value portion of the gift certificate expires on September 30, 2012…after this date, the gift certificate will be valued at the purchase amount.
• Gift certificates are applicable only for new sessions.
• Gift certificates may be purchased as a gift or for yourself!
• Minimum purchase amount: $100 (value of $200)
• Maximum purchase amount: $500 (value of $1000)

Take this great opportunity to invest in a style of portraits that is uniquely you for 2012!  Families, babies, high school seniors, maternity…THIS IS FOR YOU…

Without getting into the technical details, an element of what makes a great lens is its maximum aperture…the decimal number listed after the focal length.  While I have a couple of lenses that have a maximum aperture of 1.2 (50mm, 1.2L and 85mm, 1.2L in my case)…I NEVER EVER EVER shoot at that aperture.  Because it is REALLY REALLY HARD to get spot on focus, especially at close range.  And especially with a longer focal length lens.  It is a risky venture with a paying client…so I usually play it safe at 2.0 or 2.8, which still produces beautiful results because the lens is superb.

So when my dear friend (and fellow fabulous photographer) visited me last weekend, I threw caution out the window and played a little.  And the results were…WOW!  Of course, the kids are stunning themselves, but what an awesome effect that aperture gives.  I should ‘play’ more often…

And no, the group shot was not at 1.2…that would be IMPOSSIBLE in the studio…

First up, Valentine’s Day!  As a special incentive, the first 5 spots to get filled will receive a complimentary album containing 10-20 images from your session.  These albums are ones that I’ve had on hand at the studio and are no longer a part of my standard offerings, so this is a HUGE bonus! They are sized at either 2×3, 5×5 or 5×7…first come, first served!

Contact me at heidi@heidilynnephotography.com to sign up for a spot!

I was very lucky to  have the opportunity to photograph a very special wedding a few weeks ago…my step-brother and his beautiful bride…and it has reminded me of many things for which I am grateful…

I am grateful that this day in early November was crystal clear, with blue skies and warm air…early November weather is a crap-shoot, and we could not have been luckier.

I am grateful that we had this day of love and inspiration, because the following few weeks would prove to be some of the most difficult of my life (I live in State College, remember?).

I am grateful that he found her…she has brought so much love to our family.

I am grateful that she found him…seeing true love, happiness and fulfillment is a gift to all those who surround them.

I am grateful that I was able to experience and photograph a Jewish wedding ceremony…the first of my life…it was one of such tenderness and love.

I am grateful that I don’t photograph weddings regularly…this was EXHAUSTING.

I am grateful that I was able to share my gift with them…at the end of the day, this is what fills my soul.

Let’s get rich and give everybody nice sweaters and teach them how to dance,

Let’s get rich and build a house on a mountain making everybody look like ants…”

That’s what I want to do…

You and I – Ingrid Michaelson

Each day of this past week was worse than the day before…I began to dread getting out of bed and turning on the morning news.  And Facebook…what a nightmare.  As if the details of the abuse on these poor innocent children wasn’t bad enough, friendships quickly began to be divided.  Insults were thrown…defensiveness ensued.  By the end of the week, the media circus had shown our community to be one of rioting extremists who, by the judgment of their actions, can only mean that they are in support of those who perpetrate sexual child abuse.

Those who live here…those who work here…those who are deeply woven into the fabric of this community…we walked around in a haze-like fog all week.  For those who managed to actually have a productive week at work…I salute you.  For me…I had a very real lack of focus.  I found myself feeling confused and distraught…melancholy and grief-stricken.  I was brought to tears more times than I can count, and I certainly don’t need to see any scientific reports proving the physical effects of emotional distress.  We were rocked to the core, and the punches continued to fly even when we were down for the count.

I don’t expect anyone to understand what it is like to live in ‘Happy Valley’.  And how we can have any emotion other than anger at all of the names listed daily in the media reports.  But this is our hometown…and they live in it.  The Paterno’s, the McQueary’s, the Curley’s…I have worked with them, their children/grandchildren go to school with my children…they have been a part of my life.  So I mourn for the victims…I mourn for the familes of the victims…and I also mourn for the families of the accused.

*****

I decided yesterday that I need to ‘get out of Dodge’.  The bickering, the judgments, the satellite vans and the heartache was too much for me to handle…so I decided to come back to Pittsburgh, after being here only one week ago.  This is my safe-haven, where I come when I need to have my soul soothed a bit.  But driving here on THIS sunny Saturday felt very different.  As I listened to the reports of how our community has risen…how we’ve all come together in support of the victims and of our community in general, I began to realize how fiercely loyal and proud I am of Penn State.  And I regretted leaving my transplant-hometown…because right now, I feel a greater sense of belonging than I have at any point during the past 18 years here.  So many people have written over the past week about how we are not defined by one very sick man or by the lapse of moral judgment by any particular individual.  Clearly we are not.  What we are is a strong support system…a community that has been beaten and battered down, but at the end of the day, we will rise up and dust ourselves off, and we will SURVIVE.

Home – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

A friend led me to this ‘cover’…it’s almost better than the original…

Home – Jorge and Alexa Narvaez

And this family?  Well…I think they are quite possibly the coolest I’ve ever photographed.  I photographed them for the first time 7 years ago (and a few times in between) and now…they are still loving life!

This is a bit of a diversion from my usual music fare…but I don’t know…I simply love the contrast between the hardcore rap and the sweet and soulful voice of Bruno Mars.

And Eminem is truly a genius…

Not brothers…but cousins…and one of the most fun sessions of the year!

Any song that has the word ‘woozy’ in it is a song for me…