I have had the opportunity to photograph some great kids this year, and Miss T is no exception!  When she got out the car, and I saw her perfectly accessorized outfit, I knew I had a little fashionista on my hands…but not of the diva variety.  Miss T was the perfect model, giving me different looks (from fierce to fun) and even trying out some of her dad’s suggested poses.  We had a great time!

Peace out.

Thank you, Lindsay Adler, for the inspiration!

Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and I’ve teamed up with a group of fabulous bloggers to sponsor a giveaway!  We are giving one lucky winner a $120 Amazon.com gift card.  Amazon.com is my go-to spot to buy everything from camera gear…to gifts for my nephew…to books (of course!).  Since you can purchase almost anything from the site, we thought that would be the perfect gift.  It’s easy to enter.  Just complete the form below.  To qualify, simply leave a comment below telling me how you would use the gift card.  Would you buy yourself something nice?  Purchase a gift for someone else?  Once you comment you can unlock more entries!

Good luck!

Imagine spending years traveling to over 50 countries around the world using an anthropological approach to document your experiences via filmmaking.  Then, imagine leaving your global adventures behind to nurture the ideas and development of your four children (currently spanning ages 14 to 8).  Finally, imagine returning to your passion of “connect[ing] people cross-culturally,” but in a different way, by being a blogger, writing for various organizations that are dedicated to social good, and serving as a Champion for Shot@Life.  That sounds like an amazing and fulfilling life.  That is the story behind Documama’s creator, Elizabeth Atalay.  I recently had the opportunity to interview Elizabeth about her blog, her children, and her commitment to Shot@Life.

Image courtesy of Documama

Image courtesy of Shot@Life

Before sharing highlights from my interview with Elizabeth, I’d like to tell you a little about Shot@Life.  Today, Shot@Life celebrates its 1^st birthday and kicks off a 3-day #BirthdayBash during World Immunization Week (April 24-30, 2013).  You may be asking, “What is Shot@Life?”  No, it doesn’t have anything to do with photography (although, I am trying to think of a creative way to incorporate my photography into this cause).  Shot@Life actually is a movement to ensure that children across the world receive the vaccines they need to live, grow, and thrive.  Is this really important?  Yes!  Every 20 seconds, one child dies from a disease that easily could be prevented from a simple vaccine.  We’re talking about diseases like diarrhea, polio, pneumonia, and measles.  While these diseases typically are not life-threatening to children in the U.S., they are life-threatening in other countries.  Shot@Life believes that all children deserve to have a fair shot at living, growing, and reaching their dreams…and so do I…and so does Elizabeth.

Me: You run the blog Documama.  What is Documama all about?

Elizabeth: I started off thinking about doing a mommy blog and trying to hone it in on what I was passionate about.  I found myself going back to writing about social good issues, and travel issues, and international issues, and I found that I was being drawn back to what I initially wanted to do, which was to educate and share stories with other moms… to raise awareness… and connect mothers globally about what goes on in other places.

Me: How do you decide what you are going to blog about?

Elizabeth: A lot of times I will hear about something or read about something that I think is really interesting and then decide that I want to do a post on that.  Or I find a great product that I want to share with my friends or readers that I am excited about.  I’m also part of Social Good Moms, [and they] have a Global Team of 200.  So, twice a month…we have a team project that we are working on.  This month it was a global newborn health conference in South Africa, for example.

Me: You mentioned that you also like to promote products you are excited about.  I saw your blog post on the scarf, and I was like, “OMG! I have to have that scarf!” 

Elizabeth: Those scarves are just amazing.  Aren’t they gorgeous?!  I’m actually wearing one right now.  I’m also a ONE.org community partner.  ONE is Bono’s organization, and that scarf…they have been working with a company called Fashionable.  I own like 5 of them because they are just so beautiful, and they make me feel good about what they are doing to get women employed and off the streets and into better lives in Ethiopia, which is just so inspiring.  It’s really exciting because we get feedback from ONE.org, and they heard from Fashionable that they were able to hire 3 new women after Christmas because of the blog posts that were written by the ONE moms community partners and all the people who went out and bought them.  That’s 3 new women who have a new career and path in life.

Me: That’s so awesome because so often you don’t really get to hear how people have reacted to what you are blogging about and what impact it is making on the world.  You’ve done a bit of traveling.  During your travels, what did you notice about how healthcare and health conditions are similar to or different from the US?

Elizabeth: Just the fact that when you get what you think is a harmless scrape in some of these countries (that we wouldn’t even think about here), within a couple of days it becomes horribly infected, and if you don’t end up taking oral antibiotics for it, it can turn into a bone infection that could get into your blood, and you could die from it.  Little things that aren’t a big deal here become a huge deal in places where there’s not a sanitary environment or Western medical solutions.  [Related to] Shot@Life, like with my kids, when they would get diarrhea, I would just drive 5 minutes to the pediatrician and get something to help them, or if they are dehydrated, you just run them into the hospital, and they are fine.  It’s not the biggest deal.  But, in developing nations, so many babies die from diarrhea.  Here, we don’t worry that much because it is so curable…and preventable in the first place.

Me: Speaking of Shot@Life, what made you want to become a Shot@Life Champion and how did you hear about them in the first place?

Elizabeth: I write and edit for World Moms Blog as well, and the founder of World Moms Blog, Jen Burden, is a Shot@Life Champion.  She was actually going back to the conference this year as an advisor.  Nicole Melancon is another World Moms Blog editor who was also a Shot@life Champion last year.  So, they had been talking about it, and I saw them working on various Shot@Life issues throughout the year and thought it was so amazing that they were involved.  So, when Jen told me that they were taking applications for this year’s Shot@Life summit, I was really eager to apply and really excited that I was accepted to become a Shot@Life Champion.

Me:  So this is your first year as a Champion?  (Elizabeth: Yep.)  Cool.  So, have you had a chance to participate in any of the Shot@Life events or hold one of your own events? 

Elizabeth:  I have not held my own event yet.  I’ve done some press for [Shot@Life].  I’ve done a couple of articles that have turned up in the local online newspapers or in local news outlets.  I have a couple of events coming up in the spring that will be fundraisers for Shot@Life.  I’m really excited about a Rhode Island company; it’s a women-run company called Alex and Ani, and they have these great bracelets.  So, they have these events called “Party With A Purpose,” and they give you a 2-hour block of time and give you 15% of the bracelet sales to go towards whatever organization you are raising funds for.  It’s a fun and easy way to raise funds, and everyone wants to buy these bracelets anyway!  There is also a clothing company called CAbi (Carol Anderson by Invitation), and I am going to be having [another shopping party], and all of the proceeds will be donated to Shot@Life.  I’m hoping to go to a major pharmaceutical company’s location near where I live to speak to them about Shot@Life.  Also, I have some friends who have become interested about becoming Shot@Life Champions, which is really exciting.

Me:  What is one Shot@Life message that you would like people to know about and remember?

Elizabeth:  The best message that I like to get out is that for the cost of your Starbucks coffee for the week, you can vaccinate a child against vaccine-preventable diseases for their entire lives.  So, for $20, it’s an easy way to contribute. Also, just to let people be aware that things we take for granted, such as polio not being in America, we are just so close to eradicating.  [By] maintaining these vaccination programs, within the next decade, we could eradicate polio entirely!

Me:  What is the one lesson that you hope your children learn?

Elizabeth:  I hope that they learn to respect other cultures and to give back when they have extra or more than someone else…to share…and to give back to society in a positive way…and to do things that are conscientiously driven in their lives.

Me:  Finally, I know that Shot@Life wants all children to have a shot at something.  So, what do you wish all children have a shot at?

Elizabeth:  I wish all children would have a shot at becoming healthy adults.  That’s my great hope for my own children, and I think that’s what all parents want…just to see their children grow up to be healthy adults.

Photo credit: Rebecca Stearns

I loved chatting with Elizabeth and getting a glimpse into her giving heart.  If you’d like an easy way to get involved in the Shot@Life movement, you can “share it forward” by sharing one of Shot@Life’s Global Mom Relay posts online via Facebook, Twitter, or email.  Every time that you do between now and May 3rd, Johnson & Johnson and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $5 to the Shot@Life Campaign.  Also, check out the helpful links below.

Helpful links:

Learn more about Documama

Learn more about Shot@Life

Apply to be a Shot@Life Champion

Simply beautiful…

Yesterday, I attended YEAH! Burger’s “Meet the Farmer” event.  YEAH! Burger is an “eco-friendly burger joint” in Atlanta that believes in sourcing local ingredients and using natural and organic products.  From their spot on CBS Better Mornings Atlanta last week, I learned that YEAH! Burger considers “local” to be anything that is within 250 miles or a 4-hour drive of their Atlanta locations.  In addition to organic products from other sources, the restaurant uses goat cheese from The Capra Gia Cheese Company.

Speaking of which…  Meet Mark.  His is not the farmer.  (I know this because he softly chuckled and corrected me when I asked.)  Rather, he is the cheese maker at The Capra Gia Cheese Company in Carrollton, GA.  The Capra Gia Cheese Company is a local farm that produces artisanal goat milk products.  Where did they get their name?  Well, Capra=goat in Latin and Gia=nickname for Georgia (who knew?!).    As you can imagine, the company is committed to being kind to the environment.  You gotta love their green business card!  Since almost everyone owns a smartphone, you can just snap a picture of their information.  That way, they don’t waste paper.

The Capra Gia Cheese Company makes a variety of cheeses, and they brought along some of their varieties for the public to sample.  Each cheese had as its base the plain goat cheese.  I tried the Cranberry Chevre (not pictured here), which was divine!  They also partner with other companies, such as the maker of this fine jam.

In addition to bringing along cheese samples to the event, The Capra Gia Cheese Company brought along a couple of friends…Gretel and FoFo.

Aside from their color, you might have noticed something else different about the two goats…their ears!  I asked what happened to FoFo’s (black goat’s) ears, thinking the goat had been in a terrible accident.  Well, it turns out that it is just the nature of the breed.  FoFo is from the LaMancha breed, which is a breed that descends from short-eared Spanish goats.  Milk from this breed carries a high butterfat content.  Gretel (white goat) is from the Saanen breed, which is the breed that produces the most milk.  However, neither of these goats is producing milk for cheese just yet because they are too young.  When they do start producing milk, The Capra Gia Cheese Company will begin turning the milk into cheese within 30 minutes of milking the goats; they opt to make small batches of cheese in order to use the freshest milk.  So until they are called upon, Gretel and FoFo will just hang out and chill.

If you’d like to visit either YEAH! Burger or The Capra Gia Cheese Company, you can find them at the addresses below.  You can also find The Capra Gia Cheese Company at one of the many local farmers markets.

YEAH! Burger (Virginia-Highland), 1017 N. Highland Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30306, 404.437.7845

YEAH! Burger (West Midtown), 1168 Howell Mill Road, Ste. E, Atlanta, GA 30318, 404.496.4393

The Capra Gia Cheese Company, 3325 Shady Grove Road, Carrollton, GA 30116, 770.712.8465

If you’ve ever spent time with a baby, you’ve probably realized that they just have a “way” about them.  A way of being super cute while looking at you with soulful, inquisitive eyes…

A way of making you appreciate a little chubbiness…

A way of making you marvel at the beauty of simplicity…

A way of exploring the world with all of their senses…

…and a way of reminding you that all you need is love…

…and a good book.

Yep!  Babies have a way about them.  This darling baby was no exception.  I can’t wait until my next lifestyle session to document a child’s experience of the world.

A couple of months ago, I shared images from a best friends session I did with Jenny and Ju.  In Part I of their photo shoot, they wore soft, romantic outfits to announce their engagements to their beaus.  I can’t wait for Jenny and Jeff’s engagement session in a few weeks!  In Part II, they opted for something a little more edgy and chic.  With Atlanta’s up and down weather, I can’t help but make a mental note that a colorful scarf is the perfect way to stay warm when the weather is just a little cool.  I love that Jenny and Ju brought some fun props with them for the session!

I thought pretty girls were supposed to fight over the mirror, not the picture frame!

Hmm…maybe not.  I love these fun, photo booth-type props.  Those mustaches look like they are posing for an ad for Scoutmob.

After having some fun with the props, we decided to take some lifestyle photos.  With their keen fashion sense, I feel like they look like boutique owners in the images below.

Love the sun flare in this last image.  Thanks, ladies, for a fabulous session!

I just love spunky kids…especially girls.  LOVE, I tell you!  When I heard that the little 6-year-old girl I was about to photograph had decided to stand up to some boys and their arbitrary “no girls allowed” rules, I knew that I was about to work with a spunky kid.  And just as I suspected…I instantly fell in love with her personality.

As you can tell, on top of being an assertive young girl, she is quite the little beauty with gorgeous locks to match.  I’ve known her dad for over 15 years, and it tickled me to see him tend to her hair between looks.  He did a great job.  Wouldn’t you agree?!  One of the things that I loved about working with R is how easily she smiled and the way her nose scrunched up when she laughed.

As the sun was starting to set, the soft glow provided the perfect backdrop for R’s dress.  I think she looks just like a little princess.  With that, the session ended on the same high note on which it began.

Bye for now!