Posts Tagged ‘personal’

“Stay Beach Stay” – A day at the Oregon Coast

March 5, 2010

I am lucky enough to have my mom visiting from back east for almost a month. Yesterday I took a day off and we headed out to the coast. My two year old loves cheese. Yellow cheese, white cheese, cheese quesadilla, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, grated cheese, cheese and crackers… Pretty much everything she eats has to involve cheese. We thought she’d be thrilled to visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

If you have a baby, you know that leaving the house is no longer a quick thing. At the crack of 9:15 we finally made it out of the house. We were hoping for much earlier. We stopped for breakfast, and then took highway 6 out to Tillamook. About 30 miles from Beaverton the crying started, and we began to wonder why we tore a happy toddler from the house.

The weather was beautiful as we parked and headed inside. I thought Mackenzie would be so thrilled to see plates of different types of cheese to try and an abundance of flavors of ice cream. I guess I don’t think like a toddler! The blue ropes on the line for the cheese samples were way more exciting! The photo op cow with a farmer cut outs was quite a hit too. We had fun, and it was a good excuse to eat ice cream for lunch!

Here’s a quick cell phone photo.
Tillamook Cheese Factory Cell Phone Picture

I have only once before driven up highway 101 from Tillamook to Seaside. In my head, it was about 15 miles. Perhaps I should have checked the gps. After driving 20 miles we saw a sign “Seaside 26″. Luckily at the same time the little one’s eyes were closing in the car seat, so my mom and I enjoyed a scenic trip up the coast.

We pulled into the parking garage at Seaside, and Mackenzie woke up as we were putting her shoes back on. She must have smelled the ocean air because we had instant smiles. After layering up, we walked to the beach to find the swings were gone for the winter. I think I was more disappointed than Mackenzie. She just toddled about in the sand holding our hands.

Eventually we heard “I’m cold”, which is not something she ever admits to. We made our way back to the boardwalk, and to find some food. Some dancing in the Beebop burger place, and a couple rides on the carousel wrapped up our day. As we walked to the car, she said “stay beach stay”.

Child Photography - Seaside Oregon

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Behind the photographer

November 18, 2009

In an earlier post I said that who I am is very much a part of my business. This got me to thinking that maybe I should share a little bit more of me with my readers, and clients. I think ten years ago, people wanted to know that the photographer they were hiring would take excellent photos, and that’s it. I may be wrong since I have not been in this business ten years but it seems to me that our culture has shifted a bit, and one of the main reasons we go to a small business is the person behind it.

A while back, after a haircut, I told my hubby that I needed to find a new hair stylist. He looked a bit confused since I seemed happy enough with the haircut. I explained that I did not enjoy the experience. The cut could be the best ever but if sitting in the chair and chatting with my stylist is not enjoyable then I am not happy. It’s not just about the product, but the experience, and the relationship.

I want my clients to be excited about their photos and have enjoyed all their interactions with me. I get to be a part of very intimate and cherished moments so a connection is important. I think a little personal series of posts is a good way to give clients and potential ones a way to get to know me. Check back soon for the start of my Behind the Photographer series, with a personal post each week.

I’ll start with a personal photo. This was taken along a coastal trail in Yachats, Oregon, just a few minutes walk away from Overleaf Lodge, an incredible hotel.

Trees in Morning Light in Yachats, Oregon by Portland Photographer Jessica Shepard

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Babywearing

September 12, 2008

This is a group shot of the Northwest Babywearers, a local non-profit. I am working on their website redesign, and (slowly) processing photos from the shoot. I am hoping to get some more photos of the group at Greensprouts this weekend.

Babywearing is what has given me the ability to run a business while raising my daughter. Over the last 7 and a half months, I have spent countless hours with my daughter sleeping on me in a carrier while I bounce on a yoga ball and work. The yoga ball keeps a little bit of motion going which seems to help her sleep.

Babywearing is something I read about during pregnancy and around 25 weeks I bought a Moby wrap. When I had Mackenzie I couldn’t quite figure out how to get her in the wrap and ran to a nearby resale shop on a Sunday, 5 days after she was born. There I found an Organic New Native sling. This was much easier and she seemed to love it. Thus it began.

Mackenzie only wanted to sleep on laps and I (despite how much I should have been resting) didn’t want to just sit around so sling napping began. The New Native was a bit big on me so it would fall off my shoulder if I tried to get anything done around the house. It, however, was great for sitting and working on my computer.

Around 3 months, I showed up at a Le Leche League meeting with the sling and the women there introduced me to ring slings. I went searching online and found a great deal on a discontinued Maya Wrap Ring Sling. Once again, I had much trouble using this but it really helped my back (since she was getting heavy by now) by supporting more in the right position.

I had seen the LLL women breastfeed in their rings slings and eventually, terrified but determined, I tried it. Learning this was a huge freedom and still is to this day. I have walked around the beach, shops, groceries stores and even dined while Mackenzie nurses and naps on me.

Around 4-5 months, with 2 to 3 hour naps still being common, I tried out the Moby wrap and this time loved it. I used it until just a month ago when with her pushing 20lbs it became just too stretchy. I wish I had taken the time to figure it out earlier. Over the months there have been many carrier trades trying out mei tais, soft structured carriers (Ergo types), more slings, and finally a woven wrap.

Overall my babywearing has been a trial and error process but I can’t imagine being a new mom without it. Through a local attachment parenting meetup group, I found www.thebabywearer.com, a great site for trades and advice, and LLL was a big help. I didn’t find out about the Northwest Babywearers group that I’m now working with until recently. Thanks to them, I’m now learning how to carry Mackenzie on my back. Wearing her on my back means a new world of possibilities such as actually getting household tasks done, and on a much more fun note, hikes together.

The best part is, she loves it too.

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End of a sunny summer day

September 11, 2008

A lovely sunset over the beach in Lincoln City

Seeing a sunset during our vacation was a bit difficult since it’s normally baby bedtime. This one night we took Mackenzie in her sling napping on a walk to the beach, while her grandparents met us by car. It was so cold and the wind was whipping but it was a great sunset and a fun memory. We wrapped Mackenzie up in Grandma’s sweatshirt for the walk back up the hill.

(These pics are a bit grainy since I forgot my tripod. It’s a great example of what happens when the ISO is pushed all the way up to 1600. I normally wouldn’t do this but but sometimes it’s important to have the memory captured even if it’s not the technically the best photo.)

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