Bella Vita Photography » Destin Family Portraits

Happy New Year from Bella Vita Photography (and a quick update)

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:55:50 +0000

Well, I am soooo far behind on this blog it’s beyond ridiculous! We’ve had a busy holiday season, and unfortunately I also lost my grandfather over the New Year’s weekend. My grandfather raised me, so he was essentially my father… and we were extremely close. He was also close to my two children, and my oldest son looked up to him as his only father figure for many years while I was a single mom (until I met & married my husband about 5 years ago). It was a really difficult time, but it did highlight one thing that I had somehow forgotten, even being a photographer. The importance that a single photograph can hold. It’s easy to lose sight of this, even when you’re a photographer, and sometimes especially when you’re a photographer. We take thousands of pictures a week sometimes. Hundreds of thousands a year. In our busiest season, we have to remind ourselves sometimes that we love what we do. It’s no different than anything else. We can become overworked & lose sight of the big picture. In fact, that is one of my main New Year’s resolutions… to stay busy, but not so busy I stop loving what I do, and not so busy that I lose sight of what it’s all really about.

In the days after my grandfather’s passing, it was a therapeutic blessing to be able to sit around their kitchen table sifting through pictures. Old pictures, new pictures, professional pictures, snapshots, torn pictures, carefully mounted pictures. They all hold a special meaning. Of course, some held up better than others, but I couldn’t help but also feel a sudden urge to send everything on my hard drives & discs at home to the print lab. What will our children be doing 50 years from now? Hopefully not sitting around some computer looking at digital copies. There was something really awesome about running my fingers over the edges of every single picture. Holding the same picture they held, they got in the mail, that they got handed down to them from their aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, mother, father, etc.

It’s really a lost part of our culture, the printed photograph. It was amazing to see some of the old pictures, and how they’ve changed. A huge stack of polaroids, which completely confused my children. Little flip books from the 20’s, which have been lost in our “bigger, better” culture. It’s just so amazing.

And really, now… all we have left are those pictures. A few other sentiments… but his generation didn’t keep much “stuff”, not to mention it’s really his face, those pictures of him loving his grand children & great grandchildren that I really want to hold on to.

And so – that’s another resolution of mine – I am printing every single picture I take of my kids. I want those prints. Forget the discs (I’ll still archive them, I am a techie deep down beneath it all). But, I want prints. Boxes and boxes of pictures, for my children to sit around with, and wonder what on earth we were thinking with that hair do, that outfit, that car, that kitchen wall paper design.

For my clients, friends & family who do want to make sure that they’ll have a print that will last, that looks great now (and later)… I usually recommend a consumer lab: MPIX. But please, if for no other reason, consider having a big box of family prints… don’t even consider a disc for your main way of keeping pictures, as an archive perhaps, but not your main archive. Get prints. Put them in a box. And every once in a while, sit around the kitchen table and reminisce

And just for grins, here is the last image I have of my grandfather with my two kids:

Stay tuned, I’ll be catching up on blogs & such soon!

Destin Family Beach Portrait Photographer | The Isder Family

admin — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:12:22 +0000

I actually did these family beach portraits for this wonderful cute new family a few weeks ago, but I’m just now catching up to them & posting the sneak preview! Rainy days seem to be the theme, as this was another rainy day that turned out some awesome pictures on our beautiful Destin Beaches. That’s the great thing about the Emerald Coast & Florida Panhandle – rain is a common theme, but sun is never far behind it when you’re on the beach! They just moved away, so hopefully this reminds them of sunny days and beaches back in Destin, Florida! (And the previous post about Gustav probably reminds them of all the reasons they’re glad to have PCS’d! hahaha).

So – enough of my babbling – and lets see their family & their little bitty cutie (who as you’ll see, likes a high sodium diet of Florida Sand!).

As you can see, he loves the beautiful white sand of Destin so much, he even was willing to take it off Daddy’s feet! He probably won’t remember just how much he loved the Florida Beaches, but at least he’ll have this as proof when he grows up! All in all, we had a great time, and the gallery will be online soon! We’ll have more family beach portraits from our beautiful Destin Beaches to come!

Destin Wedding & Portrait Photographer | So much catching up to do!

admin — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:31:32 +0000

Oh wow, I have so much catching up to do it’s just not even funny! Luckily I’ve been swamped, lot’s of last minute shoots, which is never a bad thing. But boy am I busy lately! It keeps me running all over Destin, 30A, Grayton Beach, Watercolor, Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, and beyond! I can’t complain – they’re beautiful locations!

So – just a heads up for everyone emailing me for sneak previews, here they come!!! I’ll have some up tonight, and they’ll just keep coming over the next week!

And also – lots of exciting news! I know, I know, I’m not a fan of suspense either, so I won’t leave you hanging too long!

Now – let the sneak peeks commence!