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Those I Love: Kim

by stacie
24 September 201422 September 2014

This post is part of a Portrait blog circle. Please click through to see the other talented photographers’ portraits that were taken in September. The next photographer in the circle is
my good friend Pamela Joye.

I cannot wait to keep photographing old friends.Â Kim is my oldest friend. Not by age, duh, but by the length of time I’ve known and loved her.Â When we moved to Mission Viejo, she was the gregarious girl who loved the classroom rat and happily showed me how to let said rat lick peanut butter off my finger.Â Classroom rat, ugh.Â But she WAS a loved pet.Â Now I am lucky enough to have Kim in my life, and because of Kim I get to know Lance too.Â I only wish I could spend more time with them both.Â I think one of Kim’s most obvious skills, at least when you are hungry and visiting from out of town, is knowing just where the best dumpling house or poke place or Italian or any of the best food establishments can be found.Â She also knows the art of gift giving.Â Every time she visits, our shelves are stocked with see’s or the best banana chips EVER… I think she out did herself when she brought us 20 avocados this summer from her Garden of Edan backyard tree.Â Seriously, her back yard is like the Garden.Â Someday I’ll photograph that.Â But really, Kim is the best at making me feel happy. She lets you know she cares and wants you around. All her giving shows how much she loves life and those around her. I consider myself lucky to have seen Lance and Kim twice this year.Â Kim, you are one of my very favorites.Â Ever.

Newborn Session: sweetest little sister

by stacie
18 September 201417 September 2014

I photographed this babe just before she entered the world. Remember? She’s here and she fits right in with the rest of her siblings, looking so similar to both her big bro and sister. Wish I had a few shots of the three together. We’ll have to do that soon.

Dad took a minute from work to give a rub.

Documentary Session: At Moe’s

by stacie
15 September 2014

I have been photographing this family for a few years now… maybe 5? Not every year, but once the braces come on (or off) or the smile or height changes. The parents look pretty much the same, while the kids have grown up a whole lot.
This time ’round the goal was to tell a story. Have some fun at home and head to Moe’s BBQ where we all love to eat.This is a Documentary Session. If you haven’t noticed, I switched up my pricing and if you head over you’ll see that I offer a Documentary Session along with a Portrait Session and several other specialized sessions. Documentary photography, to me, is a cross between photojournalism with its minimal direction and story telling and art with a concept in mind and smiles not required. It’s a show-me-what-you-love kind of session.
When I arrived this print on their wall greeted me. This was the first portrait I took of the kids and is mounted on foamcore and put directly on the wall. Super simple. The key to make this sort of presentation work is size. It’s gotta take up a good amount of space on the wall:

We started at home and this porch had the best light and cutest swing

www.stacieannsmith.com #DenverPhotographer #UrbanFamilyPhotographer #GothicTheater

Then it began to rain. It rained almost every day this summer.

At Moe’s

At the Gothic I was excited to see Future Islands on the billboard. Oh, and that was the day I realized the Aquabats were coming to the Gothic. Ezra asked if we could have the Aquabats play in our backyard last summer. I tried all my contacts, which were pretty reliable (thanks Heather!) but their schedule would only allow a house party after their evening show at the Gothic. Too late.

Wolves

by stacie
1 July 20141 July 2014

I heard this song, titled Wolves, the other day for the umpteenth time (Phosphorescent has become a favorite). When I heard it again I realized it was played on a Ukulele. I’ve been learning to play this little instrument since January and my list of rock songs I know is pretty short. Â I quickly added this to my list (found the tab here).

I have been contributing to a monthly self portrait project and May’s theme was “song title”. I couldn’t decide, couldn’t decide. Especially since I just photographed using a song as inspiration pretty recently (see Talking Backwards). But once I learned the lyrics to Wolves I realized how profound the song really is.

I love music and am often blown away by the meaning, power, cynicism, and even humor found in some of my favorite songs. IÂ feel a connection to the songs and artists that I love often because of their lyrics. Sometimes I just realize how very different I am from them. Â Either way, the spoken word is powerful and can be quite beautiful.

The Gift

by stacie
3 June 2014

I photographed some friends before leaving for camp last week. I let mom know she was going to get in at least one shot. Then this happened and my heart melted.