gwendolyn waite photography :: blog

Well, I’m back from a placid week of r&r in Shawano Wisconsin. We rented a cabin on a channel which runs between Shawano Lake and the Wolf River, and immensely enjoyed the pontoon which came with the cabin. The lake was clear, sandy, and shallow - fantastic for all of the kids. This was our yearly anniversary trip - this year being our 13th (!!!) - and we’ve made a tradition of renting a summer cabin with our dear friends from college who got married just a week after we did.  Now the kid count between our two families is up to 5 - the adults are sorely outnumbered, both in number and sheer volume! I was in heaven playing with my new camera with so many beautiful children. Here are some photos from the trip…

We’re heading out to the lake cabin on Friday for a week, for a much-anticipated, much-needed family vacation. We’ll be meeting some dear friends and their two kids for a week of lounging, cooking, knitting, reading, napping, swimming, drawing, card-playing, and of course, a bit of photo taking with my NEW CAMERA!!! Yes, that would be the Canon 5D, to replace my antiquated 20D. Nothing like a week with 5 gorgeous kids to break in the new toy. So this is an official vacation, away from email and phone, and I won’t be returning any messages until after I return, on August 15th. I will post some photos of our trip when I get back. Until then…

And of course I can’t post without a photo. Here’s one of my wee one.

Just 8 days old… she was just perfect. Not one peep from her - she was so happy just hanging out with her family. And look at all that dark hair!!! I love shooting newborns, they are so fresh and new. This little one was born at home… what a wonderful, peaceful way to come into the world. All three of ours were born at home too, so I feel a special connection with home birth families. Of course her big sister needed to have her picture taken too (couldn’t let the new baby have all the fun!). She got all dressed up and we went out in the backyard where she showed me her garden while I snapped away. Congratulations on your beautiful new baby [M] family!

I had the opportunity this last weekend to photograph a beautiful, sweet little girl at her home in St. Paul. She has the most amazing dark eyes. The weather just couldn’t make up its mind - beautiful sunshine, then dark clouds and lightning. We started off in the front yard, blowing bubbles and drawing with chalk, then meandered down Grand Avenue for a bit until it started to pour. Made for an exciting shoot - we had to dodge in for a treat at Bread & Chocolate (oh, how awful!) while we waited out the rain. As it turns out, I’m really glad for the rain, since it sent us back to their house where we took some lovely photos in [M’s] bedroom. Thanks so much for the fun shoot!

I’m so excited to announce the launch of my new website! I’ve been working hard during the past couple months putting it together, and it’s finally ready to share. It’s got all the bells and whistles, like a gallery with nice large photos, a contact page, and client proofing. Take a look here and let me know what you think.

This family traveled all the way from sunny California to have their portraits taken today (well, ok, it didn’t hurt that grandma and grandpa are in town either…) Grandma brought along the most wonderful antique chairs which had been in their family for generations (I think one of the chairs was great great grandfathers, is that right?) The kids looked absolutely adorable on the chairs, don’t you think? I really love the one with her pouting - I just had to put that in, it just cracks me up! She had such a great time making all kinds of silly faces. It was great to hang out with all of you, thanks for such a fun shoot!

Here’s some photos of my big guy - seems I keep leaving him out from my postings. He has had the worst allergies this year, so no closeups of his face - his eyes are terribly red, irritated and puffy. Poor guy. He painted his shirt in the top photo - it’s a Pokeball and Pikachu. His 7th birthday party activity was shirt painting, and of course Pokemon was a pretty popular theme. Quite the craze.

We got our kite out for the first time this year, and he got it up really high - 5 hawks came circling around to check it out. Bet they don’t get a whole lot of hot pink in their neck of the woods.

I had such a fun session with little L today - a beautiful sunny spring afternoon. We walked around Linden Hills and found some wonderful spots for photos. Of course L didn’t slow down one bit - he’s such a ball of energy - always on the go! He did, however, sit still for an ice cream in the middle of our session. I’ve been taking photos of L and his big sister since they were both born - I can’t believe he’s already two years old now!

Oh, what a relaxing week it was. We had a wonderful time with the family - resting, cooking, reading, playing board games, and of course taking photos. Such a beautiful countryside, with rolling hills, flowering trees, amazing sunsets. Here are some of the highlights…

I’ve been working hard on a new website, and it’s getting close. I will have a whole lot of new photos and updated info on the site. It has been so much fun to work on, and I can’t wait to launch! This Friday I am taking a much-needed week-long vacation with my family - we’ll be hanging out at a farmhouse in Wisconsin which looks simply divine. I’ll be bringing along my new lens to play with, and will post some photos, to be sure. I’ll leave you with a couple of my peeps, taken in the last week.