Kara Abbey Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 01:46:00 +0000

i have moved!! come see my new place at:

www.karaabbey.com

[I Heart Faces] Orange

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 02:38:00 +0000

I couldn't wait to vote in a presidential election - from the time I was about 12-16 years old I was wayy into politics. I lived and breathed the stuff. Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Fox News, it was my crack - I was addicted. And when elections would roll around - you can bet I was the one who stayed up all night long watching the news, waiting for results to come in!

And then, I stepped away from politics.
I gave up my addiction.
But election nights still put me on the edge of my seat.

So what better way to take my mind off of the crazy election results rolling in than to think about entering the I [Heart] Faces challenge! I haven't entered one in so long - but I totally love this image of Montana from a few weeks ago - and it fits the challenge! YAY :D

PS: head over to I [Heart] Faces to see more "orange" photos!

Savannah + Cousins [Milan, PA, Portrait Photographer]

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:49:00 +0000

She is fascinated by everything.

Everything needs to be picked up by her pudgy fingers.

Turned over and over and examined thoroughly.

And then everything needs tasted by being popped into her smiling lips.

We laughed the whole morning at Savannah's antics. She was eating leaves, hay, and even the pumpkins.

Oh and those pony-tails? I want them.

She wanted to show off her standing skills, but then wanted to show off her more polished crawling skills. I love that her Mama is laid back enough to let her little girl be herself - she wasn't worried about her getting too dirty or eating the pumpkins. And that gave me the perfect opportunity for natural, organic smiles and giggles!

Savannah's Mama always has me set up with the perfect set of props when I arrive. Seriously. It's like being a kid in a candy store, I arrive and get to play with all of the "toys" - it's perfectly delicious!

While we were out playing, a few of Savannah's cousins came out to play too! How fun! Their relationships are so cute - they definitely love each other :)

[gotta love Savannah's dirty knees!! hehe]

Sophie

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 20:00:00 +0000

I didn't think she was quite real. She was so tiny & light - the blanket she was wrapped up in weighed more than she did. Except for her tiny movements, she was like a stuffed animal with very life-like eyes.

Meet: Sophie.

She is an 8 week old Chihuahua/Pug who was rescued by some good friends of Derrick & I's. She has a lame paw, so the folks who used to own her were going to put her down - luckily our friends were there to step in and save her little life.

She's a gem.

Katie + Ian [Towanda, PA, Wedding Photographer]

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 23:26:00 +0000

I was in the room where everything was laid out - all the details, the something old's & something blue's - and I loved being able to hear everyone arrive. Not because folks were overly loud and obnoxious coming in, but because every time the door opened, it produced a new level of happiness: squealing and giggling and "omigosh-it's-finally-here!!"-ing.

With every bridesmaid and family member who arrived at Katie's parent's house to help with the day's preparations, the happiness level went up a notch. Nothing could dull anyone's happiness, not the rain outside or the button missing off of Dad's tux. Everyone was on the same page - making this day the happiest day of Katie & Ian's lives.

And, I truly believe it was.

Katie & Ian - I am overwhelmingly blessed to have been a part of your wedding day. It was beautiful and wonderful and oh so lovely and I walked away with a good dose of happy that can only come from two people who truly love each other and are meant to be.

The day began in Katie's parent's home. Everything was picture perfect and did I mention, happy? :) Katie's Mom did her make-up for the day and it was so special - they giggled like two little girls the whole time :)

Before the wedding day, we had discussed a location to take portraits, and Katie & Ian really had their hearts set on going up to the Marie Antoinette Overlook. It is an amazing location but with it raining all morning, we decided to play it by ear to see if we should make the drive up the mountain or not. By golly, if we didn't finish up with family portraits and the sun decided to come out - thank you sweet baby Jesus!

Elena [Towanda, PA photographer]

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 02:24:00 +0000

"You have to meet him," she told me. "He's only 4 years old, and sometimes he likes to pretend like I'm his big sister - and that's okay, we love to play together." She squeezed through the foliage that led from her yard to the neighbors yard, looking for her little friend.

I think it's pretty safe to say that, Elena has a bigger personality than mine. In fact, I think her personality is bigger than my house.

When other kids are saving their money to get new toys & gadgets [if they can save their money at all], Elena is saving her money to feed people who are poor. She knows all about all of her neighbors and has adopted the lil 4 year old boy next door as her little brother, because "he needs someone to look after him sometimes." She even told her Mom that she plans to invite the homeless man under the bridge in Towanda to stay the night at their house, which was when Mom stepped in and said no.

She's giggly and loud and has big ideas about what she wants to do with her life and how she wants to impact this world. I have no doubt that one day, she's going to have a name as big as her personality - you simply won't be able to hold her down :)

Another lil guy that Elena has adopted as a little brother - Mr. Sidney! Yeah, he's getting wayy too big too fast!

And we had to end our evening with some photos with Elena's kitty-cat! The little girl definitely has a heart for things that don't have a home - she rescued a kitty which she has affectionately named: Giddy-Pie. I must say, he is the most well-behaved cat I have ever met in my life!

PJ's turning 3! [Waverly, NY photographer]

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 01:54:00 +0000

There is some magical moment that occurs when a baby becomes a "grown-up" little boy - and somehow I missed that moment.

Don't get me wrong: I see my nephew at least once a week, but somehow, when I went over to take photos celebrating his 3rd birthday, I saw a whole new little guy.

He was adorable as ever, but he had something new: he had a more mature look in his eyes. He didn't look like a baby anymore, and he was sneaky as ever when it came to getting the Smarties I brought along as bribery out of my pocket and into his little hands :) And he knows who his Uncle Derrick & Aunt Kara are now and will come running to see us - it's so awesome!

He's your typical little guy - loves to run around, wants to dig in the dirt [and then for goodness sake, get that dirt off his hands!], and loves to pick flowers for his Mommy.

I love him to death - and like someone told me recently: the best photographs come from someone who actually loves their subject - well, if that is the case, PJ will have the best photographs in the world :)

For the special and once-in-a-lifetime experience of 3-year-old birthday pictures, PJ's Mommy got him a super-hero cape & mask - I want him to come & rescue me ever day :D

And this is his super-hero pose! We told him to put his hands on his hips and this is what we got :D

Now, his Grandma can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he looks just like his Daddy & Uncle Derrick did when they were little boys [from pictures I've seen of course :D]

Maui [Pet Photography, Waverly, NY]

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 02:14:00 +0000

Dogs have always been a super important part of my family.

When I was born, it was into a family of a Mom & a Dad & 2 dogs - Reo & Zeke.

Then there was Tanner, who decided I was the only important member of the family and who was the rebellious one.

Then came Susie & Buster - who are still holding the family together.

When D & I got married, we knew we wanted a dog but we wanted to get "settled" first - which is when Abby fell into our laps - at the most unpredictable and perfect time :)

So, to say I've always been a "dog" person would be an understatement. Not even getting bit by a Great Dane when I was about 7 years old could deter me from loving dogs. So when Marci contacted me about photographing her dog Maui, I knew this was something I couldn't pass up!

Here's the deal: photographing a dog is wayy different than photographing people - it's so much fun! Maui is such a character - and if you didn't grow up around dogs you might think I'm crazy, but dogs really do have their own personalities that set them apart from other dogs! If you don't believe me, I can tell you that Maui's middle name is "smiley" and that fits her personality perfectly - see for yourself!

[I Heart Faces] Pet Faces

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:58:00 +0000

I haven't entered an i[heart]faces challenge in so long! Ever since they changed their format to a once-a-month-challenge instead of every week I kind of slipped away.
But when they announced this month's challenge was "pet faces" - I knew I had to enter my Abby-girl. Isn't she the best? She's such a good model :)

Be sure to head over to i[heart]faces to see more pet photos!
---

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& on twitter

Ellen [anytime photos, Sayre, PA]

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:35:00 +0000

She made me a big sister.

We shared a bedroom and slept in bunk-beds.

She blamed me for everything and for some reason my Mom always seemed to believe her.

She was in love with Orlando Bloom while I was in love with Elijah Wood.

Once, I pushed her down the steps and she broke her wrist.

She's the one who laughs at everything and makes you want to laugh with her.

She can sit down at a piano and ticker away forever - no sheet music - no problem.

Ahh to be little girls again :)

My sister Ellen is fierce.

She's a fierce photographer. A fierce student. A fierce worker. A fierce survivor.

She's fiercely amazing :)

I remember staying home from work one day because she was having brain surgery. I was so scared for my lil sis. I remember laying in bed that morning, squeezing my eyes tightly shut and praying my heart out for her. I couldn't imagine going thru such an ordeal myself and here she was being so brave.

She's still brave.

She came and visited me last week and we had an amazing time. It went way too fast.

And both being photographers, we had to do some shooting - it was a requirement.

Check out how fierce she is :)

Miss Savannah [6 month portraits, Sayre, PA]

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 00:10:00 +0000

"I just love how her she smiles with her whole face." - Savannah's Mom

I couldn't have summed up my evening photo-adventure any better.

If you are ever having a bad day - are kind of down in the dumps, all you need to do is go visit this little girl because she will brighten your darkest of days in an instant with her enormous grin :)

And that ginormous smile equally houses a giant curiosity. At 6 months old, Miss Savannah wants to touch and examine and then eat most everything she comes in contact with - especially grass! She has a pocket-full of cute noises including giggles and snorts and her mama thinks that she has decided that she is going to walk before she crawls!

It's so hard to believe that just a few short months ago, we did baby pictures - time has sure flown by.

Her big sister was along for the evening and so we couldn't resist getting some photos of the sisters together!! They are wayy too cute!

Did I mention that her mama is super creative? She hand-made Miss Savannah's tu-tu!! It is soo adorable!!

Happy Independence Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 12:15:00 +0000

Hold up just a minute here - isn't it illegal to have holidays fall in the middle of the week? I mean, since when has anyone ever heard of the 4th of July occurring on a Wednesday? Sure, it's bound to happen every few years or so, right, but, isn't there some way for the government to change how the whole calendar-thing works?

haha - just kidding :)

Because this wonderful day that we celebrate our freedom-as-a-nation falls smack-dab in the middle of the week, that means we get to celebrate 3 times as much - last weekend, today, and this weekend.

That means 3 times as many sparklers, fireworks, picnics, and yummy food :)

Okay, so maybe this whole middle-of-the-week-holiday-thing isn't so bad after all!

Last weekend we celebrated by attending the largest event hosted in our Valley - the annual 4th of July fireworks extravaganza.

Seriously - our little tiny Valley couldn't even hold this many people, I have no idea where they all come from.

Everywhere is where they come from. Literally thousands of people show up and flood [ha ha flood] the Riverfront Park [yep the same one that was flooded last September].

Last year, I remember seeing a lot of familiar faces, having worked 9 months as a teller at the bank downtown. But this year I was overwhelmed with a sense of pride: not only because I could put names to most of those familiar faces, stop and chat with them, and feel like their friend, but pride in my little tiny Valley. I love the small town atmosphere and the sense of community that was flooding the little park.

While we were waiting for it to get dark and for the fireworks to start, we played around with some light - pretty fun, eh?

And then, there were fireworks! :D

the garden = year 2

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:10:00 +0000

[far left: yellow & green beans, middle back: butter-crunch lettuce and arugula, middle: peppers, middle front: tomatoes, right back: zucchini, right front: cucumbers]

Nights like tonight [after days like today] I love to go outside and poke around my garden.

I never thought I would enjoy gardening so much - I have all these horrid memories of trying to start little plants and having them all croak on me about a week after they poked thru the surface. Maybe it was just because I was 7 years old and had no clue what I was doing, but that's besides the point! I was convinced in my mind that I had the complete opposite of a green thumb.

Well, after moving into our house last year, I decided I wanted a garden. I blogged all about it - from prepping the ground to planting everything to harvesting and what I learned from year 1 of gardening [which was ALOT]. So coming into year 2 I felt much more confident - and I have to pat myself on the back for a moment - my garden looks pretty darn fantastic, if I do say so myself :D

And this little guy right here is my pride & joy.

One of the things I learned last year was that I could plant pretty much everything as seeds right in the ground and have success - except for tomato & pepper plants. They needed more time to grow if I was going to plant them from seeds and actually get some fruit by the time October rolled around :P

So back in April, I planted a few tomatoes and a few peppers inside and by Memorial Day they were ready to go outside. For the most part, they all are doing great, but this little guy is leaps & bounds [err, more like a good 5 inches] above his little brother tomatoes. They aren't quite big enough to produce any fruit yet, but I am so proud of the simple fact that he's alive!

[the photo of the tomato above is actually from 1 of the 4 heirloom tomato plants I bought from the local theater in town, who was selling the plants as part of "Project Grow" - a project in the Valley to restore the local food systems]

And, after I successfully documented how beautiful my garden was - I "destroyed" it by picking all my lettuce :P I can't wait to eat it!! The lettuce portion of my garden is simply a little bare at the moment - that's okay though because it should come back! I'm crossing my fingers!

Happy Birthday, Abby!

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 03:30:00 +0000

Derrick proudly announced it this morning over our Saturday morning breakfast of cinnamon rolls; that today was June 30th.

I slowly nodded my head & gave him the "ooooookay" look.

He raised his eyebrows at me and said "Duh! It's Abby's birthday!"

Today our baby girl turned a whopping 2 years old :)

She doesn't act it though - she still looks like a puppy, still acts like a puppy, and still plays like a puppy.

She still hides under our bed when I pull out my hair-dryer or when we snap open plastic bags.

She still jumps on us when we get home from work.

She still chases reflections & lights around the room.

She is still determined to sleep right in between Derrick & I every single night.

And she still thinks she owns our house :)

Someday I'm sure she'll "grow-up" and eventually be too old and lazy to do those things, but we will always love her the way she is.

And today in honor of her birthday - I baked her a cake, we lit candles & even sang to her - she loved it :)

The 3rd Wheel

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:08:00 +0000

I'm sitting here this morning, reading the newspaper and drinking my coffee -

okay just kidding I'm catching up on American Idol from last night and drinking a glass of milk :P

[by the way, who do ya'll think should win tonight? I'm totally impartial since the world voted off my faves Skyler & Colton, I guess I did vote for Jessica last night |even though I hadn't watched the show yet| because I think it's time for a homeschooled female to win :D]

But anyways :)

You know that creepy-awkward feeling when you become a 3rd wheel? Where there are 2 people who really want some time alone but you are still just awkwardly there? Suddenly I got that feeling. Which is weird because I am sitting in my dining room completely alone - besides my dog [D is already gone to work for the day].

That's when I looked up.

And saw the neighbor dog peeking thru their window, looking for Abby.

Abby ran over and they just looked at each other.

Wait a minute. What is going on? Excuse me - this kind of behavior will not be tolerated, I'm sorry Abby-girl, but you aren't old enough to be peeking at the boys next door!!

D & I are going to have to have a talk with her tonight - AFTER the windows and blinds are firmly shut :D

Baby Sidney [newborn portraits, Towanda, PA]

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:25:00 +0000

If I learned anything from my friend Larissa's pregnancy it was this:

don't tell my father-in-law you are prego and expect him to keep it a secret.

I remember getting a phone call from D's wonderful father, who was overly excited and who couldn't wait to tell me that our good friends Mitchell & Larissa were going to have a baby.

After my heart jumped with equal excitement, I think I said something like: "Uhh, but, maybe they wanted to tell me themselves?"

To which he responded: "OOPS! Well, pretend like you don't know! Forget that I told you! I just couldn't help myself!" :D

What can I say, babies are exciting!

And Mr. Sidney is definitely an exciting one - when I went to meet him at 8 days old, he was content to simply sleep, be woken up to eat, and go back to sleep! Ahhh the life :)

And Mitch & Larissa are such FANTASTIC parents - they are totally infatuated with their new little guy, geez they barely let me hold him! haha I had to literally pry him out of their hands to spend a little snuggle time with him :)

But see for yourself - he's so cute, if he was mine I wouldn't want to give up any moments with him either :)

Some Daddy & Sidney time - he definitely has Mitch's knack for making silly faces - how can a baby who is only 8 days old know how to make faces just like his Daddy already? He's talented, that's all I can say :)

I told ya he was good at making faces:

While I was over visiting the brand new family of 3 - I had the incredible pleasure of photographing baby Sidney's great-Grandma meeting him for the first time! Larissa's Grandma lives right next door, but she hadn't been over yet to meet her new great-grandson. And it "just so happened" that she decided to come over while I was there - it was so amazing to sit back and observe such a fantastic meeting - it was precious!

a NEW baby

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:50:00 +0000

Derrick has this way..

This way of talking me into buying things.

Things that I really want.

Things that I really need.

Things that I think I can "get by" without.

Every time I book a wedding and begin preparing for it, he asks me a question that cuts me to the heart: "What are you going to do for a back-up camera?"

I have borrowed cameras and more often than not I have simply gambled and gone without a back-up.

It makes me nervous - like chewing my nails until they bleed nervous - and it makes me anxious the whole day that something might happen to my camera. Nothing ever has, thank you God! But I still have that fear.

So, I have a wedding or two quickly approaching and he asked me: What did I want to do to invest in my business this year? And is there anything I wanted to do before my first wedding of the year rolls around?

And of course, he brought up the question of back-up gear.

Okay, I know I know, shooting without a back-up is extremely dangerous - like climbing a rock-wall without ropes & gear. But I haven't had the money or resources to buy a "back-up". And besides, if I was going to buy another camera, it wasn't going to be a lesser quality one, I wanted to upgrade and let my current camera become my back-up.

Well, we took the leap.

We made the investment.

And I am soo proud to be the new owner of a Canon 5D MarkII.

This camera is heaven in a little black box :) I'm totally in love.

And I cannot wait to test it and stretch it and play with it this weekend as we go away on our anniversary adventure :D

Yes, our anniversary is right around the corner!! More on that to come :D

adventure is out there!

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:57:00 +0000

We were driving down Route 6.

We were on our way to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for a little weekend get-away.

We were going to eat Amish food, see Jonah at Sight & Sound Theater, do some shopping, oh and eat more Amish food :)

We left early in the morning and had already stopped to get breakfast- so D & I were settled into the backseat of his parent's car, content to watch the scenery go by and so grateful that we didn't have to drive, when we felt the car slowing down, pulling over to the side of the road, and heard D's Mom say some scary words: "Are you getting pulled over?"

To which we all immediately turned around and looked behind us.

No police car.

And suddenly we were pulling a gigantic U-turn in the middle of the road.

We weren't getting pulled over, but if an officer had seen that move we probably would have been.

We turned off the main road and started down a dirt road that felt more like a well-worn path than a road. There were houses here and there, and then we turned down another "road" - and this one was even worse that the first one!

It was loud in the car, we were all asking questions and trying not to have our fillings rattled out of our heads. Finally, we realized that we were riding along the edge of a river, and when we found a place to "pull off" the one-lane "road" we all got out to explore.

And this is what we found:

[I Heart Faces] Happy!

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:39:00 +0000

totally in love with this picture i took of my nephew a few weeks ago when we had a burst of springtime weather :D he was rolling on the blanket with his Easter bunny just giggling up a storm :D

can't you hear it? :D
the birds singing, the sun landing warmly on your back, and a little boy giggling because he just ran all thru the yard feeling the fresh grass on his bare feet :D
ahh summertime- i love you :)

be sure to head over to i[heart]faces to see more happy photos!
---

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PJ [Easter Portraits, Milan, PA]

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 23:57:00 +0000

I have said it before and I will say it again - I have the cutest nephew in the world :)

[and I can totally say that right now with all honesty since he's my ONLY nephew in the world! LOL in a few years, I may not be able to say that without getting tackled by someone!]

Anyways, Mr. PJ-man's Mama found him the most adorable Easter outfit - don't you agree? And it came complete with this adorable hat - which thankfully he kept on without too much bribery! Seriously though, those striped pants and little tie are to die for! Who ever said that it wasn't as much fun dressing up little boys as it is little girls?

When it comes to photographing little kids, there isn't too much posing that goes on - for the most part, you set up the scene [which in our case was a blanket out in the yard with a basket full of eggs and chocolate and a stuffed bunny] and then insert the kiddo into the scene & then you step back and watch what happens :) It's totally fun and "unscripted" and you get the cutest results!! Especially when the little guy is mischievous and decides to run off with the basket and climb a tree :D

Basically, I had a ball hanging out with my nephew one afternoon :)

Seriously, I laughed so hard - he's such a stinker! I love him to death :)

.. showing off his awesome dance moves :D

HAPPY -

Baby Josiah [newborn portraits, Sayre, PA]

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:13:00 +0000

I seem to be in the spot of my life where my friends are all beginning to get married and have babies.

Wait - what?! Babies?!

Yes, babies :)

And they are all soo cute :) From my most handsomest nephew - da man PJ [who's Easter photos I am so close to being finished editing! WOOT wait till you see his adorableness!] - to the newest baby to be added - meet Mr. Josiah.

First off tho', remember Jeana & Sam? They definitely have to win the award for being the sweetest couple - they are so adorable together. When we first met these cute kids [yeah because I refuse to be at the age where I refer to my contemporaries as "adults"] they had just found out that they were going to have this little peanut in a few months!

In other words, up to this point, the entire length of our relationship - we have known Jeana to only be pregnant :D

SO - it was incredibly exciting to finally meet this little man we have been anxiously waiting to meet for the last 9 months!!

Don't let his sweet pictures fool you though - even tho' this guy was barely 10 days new when I took his photos, he was on the move! He was quite the little squirmy worm - and was constantly making us laugh by his little antics and his funny faces! Oh my, he's gonna be quite a little ham I think and I can't wait to watch him grow!!

Larissa [Maternity Portraits, Towanda, PA]

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:21:00 +0000

Okay okay, so if you've seen any part of American Idol in the last 2 seasons where Jennifer Lopez has been on the show, you've probably heard her squeal out "Goosies!" after a particularly good performance - letting everyone in the audience know that that person was so amazing that they just gave Jennifer Lopez goose-bumps.

It may seem totally self-centered, but Larrisa's maternity session made me want to jump up and down and squeal "Goosies!!" over and over again.

From the moment I found out my good friends were expecting their first baby [it's a boy and his name is Sidney!] I began looking forward to shooting maternity pictures of Larissa. And, the closer we got to her due date, and the more we began to talk about the photos, I almost couldn't contain myself. I was so looking forward to capturing this amazing time in my AMAZING friend's life - and I am so incredibly thrilled with how the photos turned out!!

We knew from the beginning that we weren't going to do the traditional "naked belly" photos - we wanted a more natural, laid back, and quiet approach. We threw the world "tranquil" around, wanted to show off the happiness & anticipation, but overall wanted the images to be beautiful - and I think we completely succeeded :)

See for yourself - and we're already planning newborn photos for when Mr. Sidney decides to arrive sometime around the end of April!

Make sure you "like" my facebook page to stay updated and to see sneak peaks of all my photoshoots before they hit the blog :D

[I Heart Faces] Beautiful Black & White

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:15:00 +0000

Having done two of my very favorite photo sessions in the last two weeks it's REALLY hard to choose a favorite black & white photo!! ESPECIALLY since in both of those sessions I was shooting with the intent of converting most of my shots to black & white!

Talk about difficult.

But, ultimately I chose this image of Miss Savannah over an image from Larissa's maternity shoot, simply because I'm going to keep those ones in hiding just a few more days while I really perfect them :) They'll be on my blog by the end of the week tho', I promise!

And seriously: who can resist this pudgy, beautiful face, with those big, bold eyelashes, and sweet, soft hair? :D

be sure to head over to i[heart]faces to see more beautiful black & white photos!
---

don't forget to follow me on facebook

& on twitter

Baby Savannah [newborn portraits, Sayre, PA]

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 02:24:00 +0000

If you've ever heard the expression "like a kid in a candy store" and know what it means - better yet - if you've ever experienced that sensation, where you felt like a kid in a candy store, then you'll know exactly how I felt when I arrived to photograph baby Savannah's newborn photos.

Her mama & grandma had gathered a whole room-full of props and outfits and toys and ideas and I literally could have played for hours and hours. It was heaven on earth :)

Now, normally, I try to stay away from traditional "studio" photography - I'd rather use what is in my subject's natural environment and come from a more photojournalistic approach. But I must say, playing with all the props and toys they had prepared for baby Savannah's photos - I had so much fun! And I think, especially for newborn photography, it really just works :)

See for yourself :) Baby Savannah is so beautiful - and check out her hair!! It is soo soft and I soo wanted to steal it :) She is such a happy girl - even after being at the doctor all day long the day before. She's definitely her mama's little princess and I wanted to snuggle with her all day long, but like I said, all those wonderful props and toys were calling my name --

Make sure you "like" my facebook page to stay updated and to see sneak peaks of all my photoshoots before they hit the blog :D

my heart is happy

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Abbey) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:20:00 +0000

i began taking lessons when i was 6 years old.

it was august and my mom would walk around the block with my little sisters while mrs. taylor taught me how to sit up straight, curl my fingers just right, and read those black dots on the paper.

a few years later and many many half hours of practice later [because that's how long i had to practice every day- 30 minutes] i ended up a little burnt out. i was tired of playing. i was tired of practicing. i was tired of the piano. and then that's when mrs. taylor quit teaching.

little did i know that she had slowly been dropping students, until she was down to just her last few favorite students, when she finally made the hard decision to stop teaching to concentrate on her husband's health.

i was both heartbroken and elated.

no more pressure to practice! no more pressure to improve. no more pressure from my parents that they were paying for these lessons and i needed to put more effort and time into them.

i took a break.

a whole summer off.

i barely touched my piano.

and after a while, i realized i needed it.

slowly i began to touch the keys again.

once again i found myself getting lost in the music i could make.

and i fell back in love.

that's when my parent's found me a new teacher.

a teacher who knew just how to push me and yet not break my love.

he knew what i wanted to play and bribed me into playing what i needed to play.

he taught me how to eat my brussel sprouts before my steak if you know what i mean :)

with mr. j i learned more technique- i already knew how to read music and match the black dots with the white keys, but he wouldn't let me get away with reading "most" of the notes off of the page and "improvising" the ones i didn't like. he shone his spotlight into my lazy corners and dug out all the cobwebs. he gave me a love for classical music and ragtime, not just playing things i was familiar with and things i wanted to play [like movie soundtrack music & broadway songs]. and he pushed me.

when i turned 16, i started taking college classes to supplement my high school work. i also started working. i loved my piano lessons, but i had to make a choice. i avoided it for a while and struggled to make it all work, but something had to be cut in order for my life to continue going. i dropped my lessons- but i didn't drop my love for playing.

from then on my playing became more sparse, but it was something i would always come back to.

when derrick & i got married, and moved into our house, i told him there was one thing i wanted: a piano. and a few weeks ago my dream finally came home. we had been on the lookout for a good piano for over a year and finally had the perfect one come into our lives.

i love looking at it and seeing it's chipped corners and scratched sides, it has character. people have played this piano before me and i'm sure it brought them as much joy as it brings me.

it makes my heart so happy to have a piano again.

[and not have to fight my sisters over an ounce of playing time!]

it's so wonderful to suddenly have it's beautiful music fill my house -

to listen to my husband sitting at it's keys composing his songs and singing his lungs out.

it's so relaxing to be able to sit down and let my fingers remember how they love those black and white keys.

i love having a piano again.