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Samatha contacted me via FB wanting to schedule a family session.  Since it is Fort Irwin with husbands out on rotation training others  and we were getting ready to move we had to try and find a day that would work for everyone.   We discussed locations and what she was wanting and we agreed on the Painted Rocks in the evening.  It’s always early evening or early morning to try and avoid the intense dry desert heat.

Katie, my awesome assistant, and I headed out to Painted Rocks with a nice cool temperature of 106 degrees.  I am always a bit nervous before a session but even more so with this one since I had yet to photograph anyone at this location.  Luckily, this family made it easy and it didn’t even look like they weren’t hot and melting.

I love the candid shots.

I was able to get a few posed and candid shots of Samatha and Mike while the boys explored.

Samatha had some help getting to our next spot.

The boys were all over the place climbing rocks and enjoying the location so I just followed them and tried to capture boys being boys.

It looks like they’ve spotted something.

I wanted to take advantage of their willingness to be photographed (it doesn’t happen often with kids) so I had them take turns with their dad. 

 

When Samatha and I were corresponding before the session she mentioned that one shot she really wanted was with the boys hanging upside down.  We did this one a couple of times to make sure it was captured just as she envisioned.

The boys kept laughing and trying to get back up.

We had to try again.  Success!

The sun was setting and it was time to move to a different area by the rocks.  We had to work around some obstacles but you would never know from the pictures.   It’s hard to not get lost in the rocks but it’s nice that they wanted a shot such a special area.

What the rocks are all about…

It was now Samatha’s turn with the kids.   

I hope you have enjoyed the images as much as I have.  Thank you for asking me to capture your desert images and especially for your patience knowing that this was right before / during a cross country move. 

 

 

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  • LaCarter Yaeger - How does family order photos?ReplyCancel

  • Janis Guenther - Love the pictures! Great shots of this family, as usual! Hope you can get some wonder places there in PA?ReplyCancel

I never really got to know this wonderful family even though they lived right down the street.  I received a message from her about 10 days before they were to move.  She wanted to know if they could get a quick family session before leaving since their baby, Kellan, was born at Fort Irwin.

4 months old

We figured out a date and time hoping that the weather would cooperate.  When I say cooperate I am just hoping for winds under 20 mph and temps under 105.  We work with what we have here in the desert.

One thing I love is when I ask a client what they want in their session, meaning location, and they say whatever you like.   Since they wanted to remember where their baby was born I knew that Tiefort and the desert had to be somewhere in the images.

Easy enough and I knew exactly where I wanted to go.  That evening Katie, my awesome assistant, and I headed out with the O’Briens following to a great spot on Fort Irwin.  When I got there I decided that I didn’t want to park on the side of the road and went over some deep sand/dirt and prayed that I wouldn’t get stuck.  We made it over the pile and I decided to not think about how I was going to get back on the road until later.

We unloaded what we needed and got right to business.  I knew that we had limited time with the kids and their energy/patience so I wanted to get the family first.

I love the desert.

Liam was more interested in the rocks.

Izzy showing her mommy what she found.

I figured I should let the kids play so I turned my focus to the Kellan, he couldn’t run away from me.

Liam was not impressed with the camera.

Kellan’s big brother and big sister quickly joined him.

All three together.

I wanted to try and get shots of Liam on his own so I had him find his favorite “tree” to show me.  It worked and I was able to get a couple of great shots for his parents.

Liam is trying to show me why he chose this particular tree.

He was holding on to his favorite branch. 

When it came to getting shots of Izzy I had no trouble.  All I had to do was ask for her princess smile and she would also pose for me.  I handed her a wand and she was up to anything.

Showing me her magic wand.

She kept showing me her princess shoes.

I wanted to get shots of the Fred with the kids and since Liam had been off doing his own thing he was willing to come back for a few shots and since they were so cooperative I had Liz jump back in for a few.  First, Izzy had to get her hair fixed from all the twirling.

Daddy’s girl.

It was time to let the kids take a break so I focused on Liz and Fred.  They were so easy to photograph.

Sweet.

Beautiful moment.

We figured it was best to end the session on a high note and were going to start loading up when I looked over to see Liam with his daddy and I was able to get more shots.  This was quickly followed with Fred carrying Izzy and I couldn’t pass it up.

Liam was telling me about air conditioners and it made him smile.

We were picking up equipment when I looked over and saw a very tired little girl in her mommy’s arms.

She was still waving her wand.

That’s a wrap!

Thank you so much for asking me to capture your last moments on Fort Irwin.  I had a great time and hope to see you again.

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I met Lacie on my birthday at a friend’s house.  She had recently seen the photo book I had made of the McFarland family session and mentioned that she may want to get some photos taken of her family.  I didn’t see Lacie for some time after that evening.

My daughter started to play with a cute little girl in our neighborhood and I quickly realized that it was Lacie’s daughter, Lilly.  Once summer arrived our girls started to play a lot more and the topic of a photo session came up again.

We found out we were moving and the session plan went into high gear.  Due to the training schedule here at Fort Irwin, CA we had to make sure that her husband (Air Force) could get away for a couple of hours.  The stars lined up for us and he was able to come in and join the rest of the family.

Beautiful family.

We started out in the open field behind our homes, yes, there is grass in the desert, and somehow managed to keep the kids focused and clean.

The sweetest faces…

There was a large bird flying and he kept pointing to it and telling us to look at the Eagle.

What is going on here?

Shhh.  Just look at the camera and smile.

Such a happy baby.

Sisters are forever friends.

I was trying to get his attention so she decided to help.

Little girls love pretty flowers.

Since Edward is at an age where he gets bored quickly I had dad take him away to hang out and play until they were needed again.

I can only imagine what he is telling his daddy.

I called them back so that I could get some images of Ed with the kids.  They were all so cooperative and cute.

She was staring at the flowers.

We finished off in the grassy area and loaded up our cars to head out to our next location.  There is an area on Fort Irwin that I had seen before and Lacie’s outfit made me want to go there for their photos.  You never know where your inspiration will come from and you just have to go with it.

I am starting to lose their interest.

This got their attention.

He is now refusing to even look my way.

She is also done.

Once we were done I had an idea that I was hoping Ed would be willing to do.  I lucked out and he was game.  We loaded up the kids and I shot as quickly as possible since the kids were wiggly.

What a great daddy… Wait, where’s mommy?

There she is!

In case you are wondering where these images were taken it was at one of the ranges used during the day.  They have that great wood wall that was a perfect backdrop.  By this point the kids were getting restless again so I had them run around and play.  It made for some great action shots of kids being kids.

They are off and running!

Pure joy.

Daddy showing them how to jump.

I love that she held his hand to help.

Once they had released some energy it was time for some special mom and dad time so Lilly was in charge of the two littles.  Not to worry, Katie, my awesome assistant, was there as well to help out as needed.  It’s a good thing because Lilly didn’t look too thrilled.

What a look.

It was worth it since these two were wonderful in front of the camera and I was able to capture so many special moments.  All I would do is tell them where to sit or stand and the rest was natural.  Amazing!

I love the way he looks at her.

It was finally Lacie’s turn with her babies and it was another easy and natural process.

I wanted to try and get Edward with Maria before the end of our session but he was done with me and my camera so I shot what I could and was able to get a couple more of Maria, she is the one who can’t get away.

We didn’t do it.

Still happy.

Thank you Gussman family for asking me to capture some special moments for you.  I had a wonderful time and hope that you are as happy with the images as I am.

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  • Katie Howton - Such a sweet family! Amazing images as always, Melinda!ReplyCancel

The military way of life is wonderful and difficult.  I have met some great folks in the 17+ years and it never gets easy saying “see you later”.  We never say goodbye.  I met Mariel about 8 months ago at a social gathering.  She was one of two newlyweds stuck with a bunch of seasoned wives.  We had a great time that night and many friendships were formed and Facebook pages shared.

Naturally, I checked out her page and saw that she is a freelance make-up artist.  My antennas went straight up and the ideas started taking over my brain.  I contacted her about a me_me_me.com session that was in the works and I still needed a make-up guru.  She jumped right on in and we were off.

Needless to say, we became fast friends and had a great time here at Fort Irwin.  This is not her first time in front of my camera but it is her first with her family.  Our friendship was meant to be and I will miss them as they head off to their next Army adventure in Virginia.  Craig and Paul, my husband, both love to play the guitar and are self taught.  They even have the same musical taste.  Pierce is friends with Aaron, my son, and did a few school projects together.  How often does life fall into place so perfectly?

Early on she mentioned wanting a family session.  We talked about it quite often but it was never the right time.  Once Craig had his orders to Virginia and they had their pack out dates we knew it was time to set a date.  Their session was scheduled to take place 3 days before the packers were to arrive.   After a few snags with the original date we had the session at a beautiful location on Fort Irwin with Tiefort Mountain in the distance.

Before I forget to mention the obvious, the desert winds were in full force and my wonderful assistant April braved the winds to hold the off camera flash and then a reflector.

Beautiful family.

The golden hour has arrived.

I love this time of day.

“The love of my family is life’s greatest blessing.”

Pierce is not very fond of the camera so I knew it was going to take some work to get him relaxed and smiling.

Seeing this image on my camera was enough to make Pierce laugh and start having fun.

Just the boys.

He is, however, a typical teenager and it breaks Mariel’s heart to see her baby growing up.  He has quit calling her mommy and the whole touchy feely with mom is not an option.  I tried to break it up a bit for them and kept switching it up on whose turn it was in front of the camera.  I didn’t want to lose Pierce’s interest too quickly and I had to get him with his mom.  He quickly learned that I am stubborn and will get what I want from a shot.  It was a small gift from me to Mariel since I took about 20 images of Pierce giving her a kiss on the cheek.  It was a work in progress but I have my favorite.

Love.

“There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as the love between a mother and a son.”

If you remember from the beginning I informed you all that Mariel and Craig are newlyweds.  Well, these images will melt your heart with all the love they have for one another.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

“Loving someone and having them love you back is the most precious thing in the world.”
~Nicholas Sparks~

Now it’s family time again and we mustn’t forget Oliver.  He is such a good dog and obviously loves Craig as he followed him everywhere.  You can always find him somewhere in the family images.

I couldn’t leave this one out.

Yes, I managed to get Pierce by himself and smiling.  I knew I could break him down if I tried hard enough!

Love the genuine smile.

I can’t forget Oliver.

Tiefort is the one landmark that will go with all of us when we leave Fort Irwin.  Craig has spent many nights there in the heat and cold on training rotations.  Mariel has spent many hours in front of my camera with Tiefort in the background.  Oliver spent an unknown amount of time in the desert before he was rescued.  Pierce, well, he’s a teenager.

Every one of my session seems to have the same ending.  I tell everyone that we are done and we start to load up the gear and close it all up then, either as we are walking to the vehicle or already driving, I see one more must have shot in a new location.  Well, it happened here and I abruptly stopped and got out of my car and had them get out for just one more.  You have to admit it was worth it.

Mariel, Craig, Pierce, and Oliver, you will be missed and I will see you later!

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  • Brandy - Stunning images. Truly breath taking! The mother/son images really had me speechless, and you can see the <3 the newly weds have for each other. What a beautiful family.ReplyCancel

  • Janis Guenther - Great pictures! They will cherish them forever. I do love the ones of Mother & son but Pierce rubbing Oliver’s tummy is adorable. Wonderful pictures as usual, Melinda!ReplyCancel