Photo Maestro

Gautrain Station Shoot

2011-12-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

First time at the station - very interesting! Arrived a bit earlier to explore and find the best light / location combination. Asked the guards if we are allowed to shoot insight?... NO... hmmm.. not good, but let's see. And here comes the family: different, interesting, unique. Got perdition to shoot - very good!
Have a look what we've got.

2011-11-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

Getting down on all fours and imitating a rhinoceros stops babies from crying. (Put an empty cigarette pack on your nose for a horn and make loud "snort" noises.) I don't know why parents don't do this more often. Usually it makes the kid laugh. Sometimes it sends him into shock. Either way it quiets him down. If you're a parent, acting like a rhino has another advantage. Keep it up until the kid is a teenager and he definitely won't have his friends hanging around your house all the time. ~P.J. O'Rourke

What does a child need most?

2011-11-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies. ~Rudolph Giuliani

2011-10-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

The world is as many times new as there are children in our lives.

~Robert Brault

2011-10-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

The arms of love encompass you with your present, your past, your future, the arms of love gather you together. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

2011-10-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

I would certainly agree with William Albert Allard, one of the most incredible photographers, saying "I think the best pictures are often on the edges of any situation, I don't find photographing the situation nearly as interesting as photographing the edges". It is just when one stops posing and starts being himself, most of the times not paying attention to the people around.

When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in B&W, you photograph their souls! ~Ted Grant

Have you ever seen little baby's pray?

Happy with wide open eyes and a BIG smile! Isn't it wonderful?!

BeautifuLee created

2011-10-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting - a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Boys will be boys

2011-10-11T01:15:00.000-07:00

Boys are found everywhere—on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them.

A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.

Alan Beck

Precious Time

2011-10-10T15:22:00.000-07:00

It's such a special, precious time

You feel as though you're in your prime,

A pregnancy is a beautiful thing,

With all the excitement it can bring.

You feel so very beautiful,

And everything seems so wonderful,

As baby grows inside your womb,

And you decorate the nursery room.

So many things to do and plan,

When baby's birth is near at hand,

But there's no rush, so just enjoy,

And daydream of your little boy!

Go Bokke!

2011-10-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

2011-10-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future.

~Gail Lumet Buckley

Great to see your smile!

2011-10-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

Found such a cute and true saying about fathers:

"A father is someone who carries pictures in his wallet where his money used to be"

Wish we all could have both in abundance. Very often just a smile on the loved ones faces are really more welcome then money :)

2011-10-06T02:41:00.000-07:00

I love thee, I love but thee

With a love that shall not die

Till the sun grows cold

And the stars grow old.

--William Shakespeare

How To Create The Perfect Family

2011-10-05T07:15:00.000-07:00

You will need:

1 large house
3-6 people, depending on how long you want to wait for it to be done
3 cups of pets
2 cups of patience
3 ounces of anger/frustration
3 quarts of laughter
4 teaspoons of trust
And last but definitely not least,
Lots and lots of love

First, open the house, and make sure that it will be the right size for your family. Mix the desired amount of people with the pets, carefully so you don’t damage them. In a separate bowl, stir the love and laughter together. Set aside. Taking each person separately, evenly distribute the patience and trust, making sure that each one gets an equal amount (Failure to distribute evenly may lead to different recipe! See recipe for “My impatient family” for details…). Carefully open the bottle of anger/frustration. Using a Q-tip, dab small portions of the anger/frustration onto each person. Lastly, take the love and laughter and sprinkle it all over the house, pets, and people. Let sit until all parts of the recipe are thoroughly combined, and voila! Your Perfect Family is complete.
© Katy

Small And Sweet

2011-10-02T16:19:00.000-07:00

Small and Sweet.

My Little Girl so small and sweet,
Those tiny hands and tiny feet.
Everyday I watch you grow,
You teach me everything I know.
Such a joy to be around,
Every smile and every sound.
Number one you will stay,
Each and every single day.
You changed my life in such good ways,
''Thank You'' is all that I can say.
I love to watch you sleep at night,
Cuddled warm and wrapped up tight.
As I blink the time it flies,
It breaks my heart to see you cry.
I gave you life, so proud to say,
I'll love you more with every day.
My little Girl so small and sweet,
For you my heart, It beats and beats.

© Shauna Scott

2011-09-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

A Parents Prayer
Thank you God for

The children of mine
Who teach me things
That blow my mind.
They entertain themselves
In the funniest ways.
I pray that the innocence
They possess never goes away.
I pray they will
Grow up and be smart,
And I pray that they will never grow apart.
I pray that they will call home
Whenever they are near a phone.
I pray that they never feel alone.
I hope they turn to you
Through guidance and prayer
And know that you and their parents
Will always be there.

© Althea A. Anker

Little Children

2011-09-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

Little children are a treasure

Their worth you can not measure
In terms of money or gold.
Their voices are the melody
That vibrates deep inside of me
Worth their weight, a thousand fold.
Their eyes so brightly shining
They are the silver lining
That brightens up my day.
I couldn't live without them
More priceless then any gem
My loneliness they chase away....

~Ron Zupsic

To Motherhood

2011-09-27T14:58:00.000-07:00

They say the child chooses
the parent before
they are conceived

God gave me lists
of mother's names
and pictures of them too.

I looked and looked
they all looked the same
and then I saw you.

Who is this woman?
I asked the Lord
She looks quite nice to me.
You have chosen well my child.
And he spoke these words to me.

She is kind and gentle
and very wise
and she will hold you
close to her
when you cry.

Her eyes will shine
when you take your first step
and smile at your delight.

She will show her pride
when you succeed
and pick you up
when you fail.

She will work hard
to give you the best she can
and rock you to sleep with weary time worn hands.

She will shelter you
on stormy days
and dry your fears away.
She will bask with you
in sunshine on
sunny summer days.

And when you are grown
like you soon will be
She will still be there
To comfort thee.

I choose her.
I told the Lord
For none like her
I've seen before.

And the day came
when I was born.
I had chosen well
of this I'm sure.

I picked you
above the rest
and because I did
My life is blessed

Just For Today

2011-09-27T04:14:00.000-07:00

Just for this morning I won't wash cloths, instead we will watch your favorite cartoon.

Just for this morning I won't wash dishes, instead we will color together.
Just for this afternoon I won't watch my soaps; instead we will go to the park and feed the ducks.
Just for this afternoon you and I will snuggle up on the couch and watch a favorite movie and eat popcorn.
Just for tonight I will let you help me fix dinner and I won't yell at you for making a mess.
Just for tonight I won't yell when you splash water all over the bathroom floor.
Just for tonight when I tuck you into bed and we snuggle together to read your favorite story I will hold you a little tighter and a little longer and Thank God for giving you to me.

© Misty J. Eades

2011-09-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

Sure God created man before woman.

But then you always make a rough draft before the final masterpiece.

~Author Unknown

2011-09-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

“The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.”

- Thomas Jefferson

2011-09-20T03:40:00.000-07:00

Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connections can supply...

~Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, 1814

Sweet, sweeter, sweetest little one...

2011-09-20T01:54:00.000-07:00

Some kids are shy,
Some kids will cry,
Some kids don't mind,
But this one always smiles!
~EEP

Being a mommy

2011-09-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love.

~Mildred B. Vermont

So good to be together!

2011-09-07T06:11:00.000-07:00

Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family. Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family for granted. ~Paul Pearshall

Expecting miracle

2011-08-25T15:14:00.000-07:00

It is still incredible to comprehend how one life is placed into another, one sole is created within mother's womb. Indeed a miracle of miracles! It makes me think and meditate upon psalm 139:

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.

A gift from above

2011-08-22T15:04:00.000-07:00

Women's Day in Photos

2011-08-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

It was a lovely day for the outing, having a little picnic in the park and celebrating Women's Day! Mother and daughter Meena and Kasandra do it every year, simply spending time together, laughing, enjoying each other's company... so this time we captured a special day into a long lasting memory.

I just love the way they laugh

2011-08-17T03:15:00.000-07:00

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.
Johnny Depp

The soul is healed by being with children

2011-08-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

Parents of young children should realize that few people, and maybe no one, will find their children as enchanting as they do.

BARBARA WALTERS, How to Talk with Practically Anybody About Practically Anything

Before you are born...

2011-08-12T14:23:00.000-07:00

Before you were conceived I wanted you
Before you were born I loved you
Before you were here an hour I would die for you
This is the miracle of Mother's Love.
-- Maureen Hawkins

The sweet twins

2011-08-08T03:31:00.000-07:00

Last week we had a privilege to photograph a lovely family who were celebrating their little ones third birthday. Twin boys are just so sweet and... a little shy. Grandparents from Durban could not take their eyes off the birthday boys, so loving and cherishing they are.

What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies. ~Rudolph Giuliani

Riley on his way!

2011-08-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby, when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on it’s cradle.
- Vincent Van Gogh

Birthday Gift

2011-08-03T06:20:00.000-07:00

Hope lovely surprises are coming your way
To make your Birthday a wonderful day.

Wishing you your happiest birthday yet
A birthday too special To ever forget.

Graduation thoughts...

2011-08-02T04:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some nice and funny thoughts about graduation that I have found recently. Just a couple of day ago we were hired to photograph a memorable day for Wanja, Wits University student or actually ex-student.
Wanja, congratulations again!!!

There is a good reason they call these ceremonies "commencement exercises." Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning. ~Orrin Hatch

Graduation day is tough for adults. They go to the ceremony as parents. They come home as contemporaries. After twenty-two years of child-raising, they are unemployed. ~Erma Bombeck

A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that "individuality" is the key to success. ~Robert Orben

A young man in the orchard.

2011-07-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

A few days ago we had a lovely photo shoot with three charming ladies and one brave young man. He and his little sister are so curious and cute. I observed them while setting up lights and backdrop :) just loved the way they helped their mum unpacking shopping bags :) Maureen (the mum), some tips to bring up so obedient kids?

Every family has a story that it tells itself, that it passes on to the children and grandchildren. The story grows over the years, mutates, some parts are sharpened, others dropped, and there is often debate about what really happened. But even with these different sides of the same story, there is still agreement that this is the family story. And in the absence of other narratives, it becomes the flagpole that the family hangs its identity from.

A.M. HOMES, O Magazine, Apr. 2007

Meet Charming Simone

2011-07-15T04:36:00.000-07:00

100%

2011-06-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

My mom used to say it doesn't matter how many kids you have... because one kid'll take up 100% of your time so more kids can't possibly take up more than 100% of your time. ~Karen Brown

True Beauty

2011-06-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

True beauty is in the way she laughs

True beauty is in her eyes

True beauty is how she acts

True beauty is inside

True beauty is unseen

True beauty is only felt

True beauty is not mean

True beauty is herself

True beauty can't be cruel

True beauty is bare

True beauty within you

True beauty is always there

True Beauty can't be covered with make-up

True beauty means true love

True beauty can't be baked up

True beauty is the flight of a dove

True beauty has no flaws

For True beauty is all that matters after all

Jean Pullman

Lights, Camera .....and SMILE!

2011-06-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

That is home

2011-06-24T05:44:00.000-07:00

A roof to keep out the rain. Four walls to keep out the wind. Floors to keep out
the cold. Yes, but home is more than that. It is the laugh of a baby, the song
of a mother, the strength of a father. Warmth of loving hearts, light from
happy eyes, kindness, loyalty, comradeship. Home is first school and
first church for the young ones, where they learn what is right, what is good,
and what is kind. Where they go for comfort when they are hurt or sick.
Where joy is shared and sorrow eased. Where fathers and mothers are respected
and loved. Where children are wanted. Where the simplest food is good enough
for kings because it is earned. Where money is not so important as loving-kindness.
Where even the teakettle sings from happiness. That is home. God bless it.

Ernestine Schuman-Heink

Family Gathering

2011-06-06T06:16:00.000-07:00

Meet little angel C., and her loving family!

Isn't she the most cutetest child?!

Fun on the run

2011-05-24T04:13:00.000-07:00

Need a faster canon to shoot this bundle of energy!

That was fun-on-the-run photoshoot of a lovely family with a charming little girl S.

There was not a moment to stand in wonder and pick the best scenery but just run and shoot the little one while her play and exploration.

Gift Shoot

2011-05-24T03:57:00.000-07:00

Isn't it wonderful to receive gift photoshoot from your best man?! Of course it is!
This young family has a good friend, who arranged a photo session for them.

Surprise baby

2011-05-21T04:14:00.000-07:00

Parents cannot wait for the tiny surprise!

Very seldom we meet couples that decide to wait till the end not knowing who is their little one, and only in hospital find out "it is a girl!" or "it is a boy!"

Birthday Girl

2011-04-28T07:32:00.000-07:00

Little M has just turned one. She is such a cute busy bee. It was a challenge to catch her every time crawling off the backdrop. Her mommy and sister tried their best to lure M. in front of the camera. We had so much fun playing, blowing bubbles, jumping on tapeline.

Garden Walk

2011-04-28T06:15:00.000-07:00

Roodepoort Botanical Gardens is an excellent location for an excellent photo session! This Monday we had a privilege to photograph a charming young girl L. Amazing how relaxed and natural she was in front of the camera. Altogether we took a long walk to the waterfall enjoying every moment of sunset, mountains and greenery.

Anniversary Gift

2011-04-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

On the first day of April we had a very special photo session. Lovely young family from Pretoria decided to surprise their grandpa on his 90th anniversary with photos! What can be more special then the shining smiles of grandkids!

Our Little One

2011-01-17T01:47:00.000-08:00

One can never take enough photos of his own baby.

Warren & Elizabeth's Wedding

2010-12-13T01:36:00.000-08:00

At the beautiful little town of Graskop the fairy tale began...

King Warren and Queen Elizabeth exchanged their rings at the

Flycatcher Castle.

Chris & Ninetta's Wedding

2010-12-05T12:08:00.000-08:00

Each and every wedding is special and different as was the wedding of Chris and Ninetta.

We fell in love with the marvelous surroundings just outside Clarence.

The bride and her father arrived at the Chapel with a horse-cart. It was a

joyful and beautiful wedding.

Delicious cupcakes with "C" & "N" chocolate ornaments and savories were specially

prepared by Un4gettable Events.

Marieke Laas

2010-11-27T11:31:00.000-08:00

We had the great opportunity to shoot Marieke Laas at one of our portraiture photo-sessions. Marieke

is an actress with blue eyes and a pleasant personality. We enjoyed taking photo's,

chatting and having a good time.