Lea Hartman is a Portrait Photographer in Fayetteville, NC. Her work is honest and emotional, focusing on capturing real life, real people and real love. You can read the original blog post here Little & Small | Project 52 lifestyle.

Watching my kids create something fun out of next to nothing is seriously one of my favorite things about motherhood. I see a stick where they see a magic wand. I see a bowl full of dirt and leaves where they see a salad – they even pretend it smells good. And they’re so convincing, I almost believe it myself.

We could all use a little more of this innate ability to see the best in our circumstances. And in each other.

Lea Hartman is a Portrait Photographer in Fayetteville, NC. Her work is honest and emotional, focusing on capturing real life, real people and real love. You can read the original blog post here Backyard Imagination Exploration | Fayetteville lifestyle photographer.

I’ve been using the VSCO CAM app for my iPhone since it was first released and they recently gave it a facelift, causing me to love it even more! So much so, that I deleted the other five camera apps from my phone. If you want to take your iPhone imagery to the next level then I highly recommend VSCO CAM!

Lea Hartman is a Portrait Photographer in Fayetteville, NC. Her work is honest and emotional, focusing on capturing real life, real people and real love. You can read the original blog post here Shadows | Project 52 lifestyle.

I love the ability to snap a picture on my phone and capture any and every moment I want with my children – and then instantly upload it online for my family and friends to enjoy. I love the ability to video chat live with my family across the country. I love the vast expanse of knowledge that the internet provides.

But if I’m being honest, there’s a hollowness to it all. A fear that it’s fleeting and temporary. A sense that while the moment has been captured, all it will take is an unsupported software update or the crash of a hard drive for it to be lost forever. Unfortunately, I have lived this out having lost almost all my digital files from my oldest child’s first year of life. All I have left are the ones I printed for his baby book and they are but a handful.

You see, when something is easy, convenient and cheap it loses it’s value. When anyone can go to Costco or Sam’s Club and purchase a semi-professional camera, photography becomes everyone’s hobby and no one’s art form. People take thousands of photographs and never print any. That is the lost art of photography. Not just in capturing the image but also in printing it.

I believe in printed photographs. I believe that in 10 years DVD’s and USB’s won’t even exist and what will become of those captured moments when future technology renders them useless? After all, when was the last time you played a cassette tape or watched a VHS movie?

Last month my mom sent me a photo album full of images, most of which I hadn’t seen before. Pictures of my parents through their three decades of marriage, pictures of my grandmother 60 years ago, of my mom when she was in the Army, of my siblings and I growing up in California. There were pictures of family friends and special moments. Pictures of my great grandfather who passed away when I was only 14.

I sat on my front porch absolutely transfixed as I flipped through the pages and gleefully pointed everyone out to my hubby. We’ve been married for 11 years and he had never seen a a picture of my great grandpa. I can’t even tell you how happy it makes me to know that I will have this special album to pass down to my children.

Don’t underestimate the importance of a photograph. It’s something we so easily take for granted. And don’t fall prey to the false security of having a digital file. Security is found when you can hold it in your hand. That’s really the only way to ensure that we remember those little hands and feet.

Lea Hartman is a Portrait Photographer in Fayetteville, NC. Her work is honest and emotional, focusing on capturing real life, real people and real love. You can read the original blog post here The lost art of photography | North Carolina photographer.

Rainy day longings

Our new home

Memorial Day weekend at Emerald Isle
Doctor’s waiting room

Lea Hartman is a Portrait Photographer in Fayetteville, NC. Her work is honest and emotional, focusing on capturing real life, real people and real love. You can read the original blog post here Instagram Fave Five for May | Fayetteville Photographer.

Which is why this week’s project 52 image was shot with my iPhone. That will be my MO for the month I think. Thanks for your patience.

Come next month I’ll be back to regularly scheduled self and I encourage you to book your summer session before the summer is over! I get that some of you don’t want to have sessions in your home but summer time is ripe with opportunities for themed lifestyle sessions!

What is that, you may be wondering? Easy! It’s a planned family activity like going to get ice cream, camping, spending an afternoon at the lake, hanging out at a park, etc. Just like in home sessions, it allows us to document your family authentically as you engage with each other. And with the warm sunshine and carefree days of no school, summer is a great time to book your lifestyle session.

It’s also a great time for hammock naps according to my husband.

Lea Hartman is a Portrait Photographer in Fayetteville, NC. Her work is honest and emotional, focusing on capturing real life, real people and real love. You can read the original blog post here Around the block | Project 52 lifestyle.

To begin, I’ll be having a minor surgery tomorrow. I’m not exactly sure how long it will be before I can wield my camera again and I didn’t want to book any sessions that I might have to cancel. Not to worry, it’s nothing major.

I’ll then be traveling to Colorado at the end of June to attend a wedding. I’m super excited to get to spend a long weekend visiting with family and friends and enjoying the gorgeous Colorado scenery. While I’m there, I’ll be opening up my schedule for one session only. If you’re interested, just shoot me an email and we can work out all the details!

And lastly, come the first week of July my family will likely be moving! Yay! We’re currently under contract on a new home so as long as it doesn’t fall through, I’ve got a lot of packing to do!

As you can see, this summer is shaping up to be pretty busy in the Hartman home!

A few weeks ago I felt like I was living in Seattle again. Rain, rain and more rain! My kids were bouncing off the walls. It’s always challenging to occupy kiddos when it’s pouring outside, isn’t it? The rain always seems to bring out the restlessness in us. Like a lot of other moms, I try to keep them busy with coloring and fort building and storybooks. Sometimes it works better than others.

These are my favorite kinds of pictures. The ones that are all about preserving time. The quiet beauty of the insignificant. The ones I so easily forget. They contain the best parts of life, the purest reflection of childhood. They are the pictures that no one but me will truly cherish, the ones no one else would frame. Because as I look at them, I’m reminded of real life. Of tangible moments.

To me, that’s the most beautiful of all. Us being us. Not trying to look perfect for the camera or make sure our clothes are coordinated. No thought of anything but living in that very second. No guard up or fake smile plastered on. These unrehearsed times are the memories I want preserved.

If you’d like me to document the real, tangible moments in your family’s story, please email me.

Lea Hartman is a Portrait Photographer in Fayetteville, NC. Her work is honest and emotional, focusing on capturing real life, real people and real love. You can read the original blog post here Rainy day fun, surgery, Colorado and a new house | Fayetteville lifestyle photography.

Lea Hartman is a Portrait Photographer in Fayetteville, NC. Her work is honest and emotional, focusing on capturing real life, real people and real love. You can read the original blog post here Changes | Project 52 lifestyle.

This Memorial Day weekend my family took our first ever family vacation – as in a REAL vacation, not just a trip to visit family. It was just for us to relax, spend some time together as a family and get away from the day to day for a brief respite.

We arrived at Emerald Isle, NC in the evening and crossed the bridge to the island with this glorious view.

Beach towns are so much fun with their brightly colored buildings and transient populations.

Our trusty 1999 minivan was as reliable as ever. And dirtier than usual.

The grounds of the hotel were beautiful and my kids enjoyed having the run of the place.

I enjoyed this small reminder of Memorial Day. Even as I basked in the salty air and sunshine, I couldn’t help but think of how blessed I am and how so many men and women throughout the history of our nation have sacrificed for the freedoms I have.

I think my favorite view of the ocean was the night we got there with the moon glistening off the water and the mist rolling in.

Our hotel was right on the beach and had a spectacular view.

We grilled with our friends and got to enjoy the weather. We also got to take the kids to an aquarium and explore lots of different sea life.

Lunch was at this tiny hole in the wall pizzeria and sub shop. Trying out small local hot spots is half the fun of any trip! Unfortunately, with our oldest allergic to fish, we didn’t get to indulge in fresh seafood.

Our last day, this is what I woke up to.

The fishing pier made me think of my daddy. He’s always loved fishing and being around other fishermen always reminds me of him. It’s time for you to take a trip to the opposite coast, Pops!

You cannot see them in this picture (though they are behind the boat, in it’s wake – I was able to spot them when I zoomed in) but we got to see dolphins splashing around! That was a highlight for me!

We really had a wonderful time and if you’re planning to head to the beach this summer, take a trip to Emerald Isle. Just the name alone sounds like a tropical vacation, don’t you think?

Stay tuned tomorrow for this week’s Project 52!

Images were shot with a mix of my Canon 5D and iPhone 4s. All iPhone shots were edited with VSCOCAM.

Lea Hartman is a Portrait Photographer in Fayetteville, NC. Her work is honest and emotional, focusing on capturing real life, real people and real love. You can read the original blog post here Memorial Day weekend at Emerald Isle | North Carolina photographer.

It’s no big secret that having been converted from Windows based PC’s, I’m an avid Apple fan. My hubby still has a Windows based laptop but that’s mainly because the Army isn’t Apple based and we do find the need for a PC at times. Given the choice, he’ll choose the Mac every time. He’s a smart guy.

The Air is feather light as far as laptops go (I have the 13″) and even in it’s protective pouch, it fits securely in my everyday bag. I didn’t want to have to switch out my purse every time I needed to carry my laptop and I also didn’t want to spend money on a decent looking “laptop bag.” Plus, as most everyone knows, I’m a sucker for my Coach bags and this slim little piece of technology slips right inside my favorite one.

In fact, it takes up virtually no space at all. If you don’t have a dedicated office space in your home then you’ll find this feature to be a huge selling point.

Both the start up and shut down times on this baby are insanely quick. I can hit the power button and by the time I’m done taking a swig of coffee, it’s ready to go. This is another huge perk for me. I bought the Air specifically for blogging (which I often do in the comfort of my local Starbucks) and sometimes I only have an hour. It’s important for me to be able to maximize my time.

And speaking of maximizing time, the Air is also very quick – quicker than my two year old iMac. Granted, it doesn’t have to handle large image files or editing software (and it wouldn’t be able to handle all that) but unless you’re a photographer, videographer, or graphic artist, you’d never need programs like that anyway. For normal internet surfing and photo sharing, it’s amazing!

I absolutely love it and if you’re in the market for a computer I’d highly recommend it. And no, Apple doesn’t pay me to say all this. Apple doesn’t even know who I am or how much of a love affair I have with their products.

Lea Hartman is a Portrait Photographer in Fayetteville, NC. Her work is honest and emotional, focusing on capturing real life, real people and real love. You can read the original blog post here MacBook Air Review | Fayetteville photographer.