The night before we had made up a basket and hid plastic eggs with candy inside.  We left the real eggs that were colored on Good Friday to hide later, upstairs.  On Saturday night as we were filling eggs, I was putting in 1-2 little mini candies in each egg.  Hubby of course commented, “but look I can fit 4″.  For some reason I listened and starting putting in more.  Back to Sunday morning, no breakfast yet and now Mackenzie is finding lots of eggs, all filled with multiple pieces of candy.  I start running around the room discretely taking eggs that she has not seen yet and stashing them in a kitchen drawer, realizing the sugar madness we are about to experience.

After way too much chocolate, and a rejected breakfast of strawberries, cheese, and whole wheat crackers, one at a time we hid colored real eggs upstairs. I was a bit scared that they could not compare to plastic ones full of candy.  We went up and started our hunt.  Apparently I hid the eggs for my hubby to find.  My little girl is bright but I seemed to forget she is just over two and couldn’t possibly find them in her doll’s diaper case or under a bunch of pillows. She did get a kick out of it though, running around announcing “we found egg!”.

We had tons of fun, and once the sugar wore off, enjoyed a quiet family day together.

We were given 30 seconds to photograph each child. I had spent four years photographing documentary projects, capturing life moments and telling stories. I was in shock that I was expected to take a portrait in 30 seconds. There was no time for hello or to get them to relax. It was sit, look this way, snap 3 frames, and next. Come November, about half the photographers were laid off. The other half of us got to do retakes, which meant an even more hectic schedule of two to three schools each day.

When January came around and I had my photography degree in my hand, I wanted nothing to do with this type of job. I called up a temp agency and was brought in as an accounting assistant by a local lighting manufacturer, Zumtobel Staff Lighting. I crunched numbers all day, and was excellent at it, so they hired me full time. I dreamed of getting an MFA in photography, and leaving the corporate world.

To be continued…

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.

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”.

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.