Get in there!

A couple of weeks ago our family watched the movie, “We Bought a Zoo.”  It was a sad and mostly sweet story about a grieving family.  I’ll admit I needed tissues.  The scene that affected me the most was when one of the characters was looking at old photographs and allowed himself to remember and begin to heal.  It really moved me and clarified some things for me.

This is it, why I do what I do. Why I don’t spend time like I used to on still life and nature photography. I still love those things.  I just don’t feel an urgency to document them the way I feel about people.  The most technically perfect, beautifully composed photo of a flower can not compare to a photo, even a snapshot, of a loved one.

On Easter Sunday I had the privilege of providing family photography for my church, CrossPointe Church to help serve our community in a new location, Aldie, VA. When I started my portrait business I believed I wanted to focus on child photography. But as I started photographing more and more families, I’ve become passionate about family portraits, about having a preserved memory of our loved ones gathered together. I want to encourage you to take every opportunity to get those photos of your family when they are all together.

So who’s missing in your family photos? If you’re the person in your family always taking the holiday, birthday party, and vacation photos while avoiding the camera, please, hand the camera to someone else and get in there with your kids. Your kids will want those pictures. It’s not worth waiting until you get that haircut…new clothes…just need to put some makeup on …lose a few pounds…whatever. Don’t let those things stop you from giving your kids the gift of you!

I was glad to see so many families take advantage of the Easter photos and this mom with her two daughters is one of my favorites photos of the day! Gorgeous family

Here are two from my personal treasure box. Me with my beautiful Mom and me walking around Delhi with my daughter.

A winter luau birthday

Last month Hannah turned eight. My baby. How did we get here so fast? I don’t know. All I know is that on her special day, Mama’s job is to give her a fun day that she’ll remember. There’s time to sigh and wonder where my baby went later!

Birthdays in January are tough to plan, aren’t they? I think they are. The kids can’t play outside and coming on the heals of Christmas catches me…let’s just say, not at my organized best.  But last summer, Hannah said she wanted a Luau this year. So we were able to pick up some supplies in season and start planning early. Since I’m not a super duper crafty Mama, we still kept it pretty simple. We outfitted each girl with bright color “grass” skirts, matching leis with head and wrist bands, name tags with their Hawaiian names. A luau party mix was the perfect background music for some hula hoop games and a limbo contest!

But the surprise big hit was coconut bowling. So simple to put together and the girls really liked it. All you need is a coconut and ten bottles filled part way with water. We put some pretty paper around them to match the other tropical colors! Even though it was cold outside we made the party feel more beachy by serving lunch and cake picnic style on beach towels.

After games, cake, presents, gutting the pinata and the girls went home with their goody bags the house was quiet and we gave Hannah her very special gift:  her first real guitar. As if a guitar isn’t cool enough for an eight year old. It’s not just any guitar. And it’s not a new guitar. It’s from our friend Molly, a very talented teen musician and singer that Hannah looks up to. It’s not everyday a girl gets a gift from one of her heroes!

Finally, an impromptu guitar lesson from Daddy! Happy Birthday, big girl. We’re so proud of you.

New blog, new name and more

Hello and welcome to my new blog! If you are new here, let me introduce myself. I’m Pamela J Carey, a family photographer based in Northern Virginia where I live with my husband Kishore, daughter Hannah, dog Bailey, and cat Mittens. You can get to know me by reading my story. Please let me hear from you so I can get to know you too!

If you have been following me on Ready Set Go Photography, let me say a big THANK YOU for your loyalty and for your patience through the blog silence during this big transition. And whew! What a transition!

This isn’t about a shiny new name. This journey is not about the new. This is all about the more.

This is about sharing more of who I am and why I do this. Sharing my life more. Learning about your life more. More, deeper connections with you. Sharing my faith more. Writing more. More photography that is truly and passionately me.

That’s why the new name is my name. This is just more personal.

I’m so glad that you’re here to walk along with me! I’m excited to see where this takes us.