krista carlson photography

2009-04-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

What a treat!!!

Tonight as we were in the beginning stages of putting the kids to bed my sister called to tell me to go out and see the rainbow. I was thinking... okay, she lives in Chester and here I am a town away, I probably won't be able to see it. Wrong!!! I was like the old woman in Ghostbusters when she opens her apartment door to see the hideous and huge demon dog in the hallway. WHOAH!!! I literally shouted on my front porch. I ran back inside and yelled for everyone to come downstairs immediately, my poor husband was fearing something terrible had happened and then I grabbed my 3 1/2 year old and yelled "RAINBOW" as I ran to the door.

It was AWESOME!!!!

I bet not 30 seconds before I ran back into the house for my camera the whole sky behind the rainbow was cloudy and the whole thing was as bright as the lower left is in this shot.

2009-04-02T18:22:00.000-07:00

Well, it is a sad day in the history of pop-culture... my husband broke the news to me this afternoon... they are canceling Guiding Light!!! Yes, as much as I have often hated to admit it, CBS soap operas are a longstanding guilty pleasure of mine... I Tivo every episode of Y&R.

I can't believe it! After 72 years! Although it was never my favorite in the CBS daytime lineup (Young and the Restless - 1, As the World Turns - 2, Bold and the Beautiful - 3, Guiding Light - 4) it was an institution and the fact that it was always there and would always be there was comforting!

I love soaps because they're fun to gossip about with your friends because you can do so without hurting anyone's feelings and being a mean gossipy girl. You're SUPPOSED to hate some of the characters. You can live vicariously through their scandals while maintaining your even existence and you can laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

But, the real reason I love them is because they are ALWAYS THERE. How many times have been nearing the end of a great novel and felt like you didn't want it to end because you were going to miss the characters??? That's what it's like with soaps, but you never have to miss them because they are ALWAYS THERE. You can always count on your favorites returning from the dead, or to their intended partner (Victor and Nikki, Reva and Josh, Brooke and Ridge, Carly and Jack, etc.), or from space.... Wherever they went, whoever is playing the character now, doesn't matter because they'll always come back. Maybe it will be in ghost form, as a twin nobody ever knew about, as a clone, as a dream, as a nightmare... whatever, that's not the point, the point is they're they're a constant. In a world in flux, it's nice to have simple, stupid comforts.

2009-03-30T19:12:00.001-07:00

Well, I've been working on my new portrait site to support my portrait photography business... kcportrait (the alter ego to my wedding photography business).

Pulling images takes forever and I have yet to organize myself so that I can just quickly look up images by keyword, I basically just run through all of my sessions and events in my head and go and get the images that stick out in my mind, I am always finding ones that I love and totally forgot about on the way, would be really nice to have a better system!

Don't forget to take advantage of the Portrait Special, I still have a couple of openings left for Spring sessions!!!

2009-03-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

Tonight was a big night for us... my daughter (3 1/2) got to pick out her "big girl" bed at Sleepy's.
She's so excited to have a big bed like her cousin. I think it's really just so that more stuffed animals can go to bed with her, she's seriously running out of room in her toddler bed! Every night we're like ranchers wrangling all the "friends" from all corners of the house for some shut eye.

Sorry about the juicy handprint on the glass, Sleepy's!

New Album Posted

2009-03-05T18:40:00.001-08:00

I just received a new sample album today from a 2008 wedding and wanted to post the page layouts. Looking through pictures from summer weddings in the midst of snowy late winter always makes me kind of wonder... will it really ever be warm enough for a strapless gown in the evening... outside? You know it will, but it's hard to imagine!

Lame Blog

2009-03-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

Okay, so all day I've been thinking... UGH! my blog is out there now for anyone to read and it's got to be the lamest blog ever in the short history of blogging! Oh well, I guess I will do what so many other bloggers do and make a short list of things that I love...

- my husband
- my kids (everything about them, the smell of their hair, the sound of their voices, the color of their eyes, their budding independence... everything!)
- my parents
- my sister (just one reason being that she's a CIA graduate and can do magical things in a kitchen. Check out her blog ...she's about as good at it as I am, but be patient, we'll so get the hang of this... accatering.blogspot.com)
- dogs (especially terriers, the greater the challenge, the greater the reward)
- being an "at home" (Mom that is... oh yeah, I am definitely the kind of woman who can stay home and bake cookies ....and teas? they rock!!!)
- my home
- the fact that my home looks like kids live here
- paint chips (yes, like the ones at Home Depot, I gather them up like some people pick wildflowers)
- so... color (I love it and yet it frustrates me to love them all so much that I just default to neutrals in my wardrobe, I have been trying to fix this for quite some time now.)
- white walls (speaking of color issues)
- cupcakes
- guacamole
- chocolate covered pretzels (hell chocolate covered anything!)
- peanut butter
- rainy days
- the smell of spring
- the smell of cold air on someone just coming inside
- explaining things in great detail to my kids (I figure it's like throwing rice at a wall, something is bound to stick)
- knitting
- reading
- painting
- stop motion animation (have got to appreciate the patience and tedium involved, the end result is so worth it)
- flip books
- snow
-The Young and the Restless (What can I say, old habits die hard. I actually have no time to watch it, my DVR is full of back episodes. Last I saw, Victor had just gotten out of jail... for all I know he may have died, come back, remarried Nikki and divorced her again since then.)
- cilantro
- hot chocolate
- Haagen Daas Reserve Fleur de Sel ice cream
- shoes (I actually met my husband while working in a Kenneth Cole store)

some movies I like...
Pee Wee's Big Adventure, the Rocky series, Gone with the Wind, Mildred Pierce, Paris Texas, Arthur, Aliens, The Wedding Singer, Lars and the Real Girl, The King and I, The Women (the real one)

Too funny, I just asked my husband what other movies I like and he said a couple I already had written and then said, "Eckh, that skating movie...". He is, of course, referring to The Cutting Edge. I just can't get enough of those movies I love in that tongue and cheek way, the ones that don't change your life or anything, but you watch them every time they're on... like The Mummy or Hitch. It's like someone offering you an Oreo, who says NO???

New post, REALLY???

2009-03-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

Well, I started this blog last summer and, as you can see, I haven't posted anything since then! What have I been doing? Mom stuff, working on my new web sites, reading the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer (okay, that's only been the last couple of weeks, they're so fun, they FLY!!!) and getting psyched for spring!

My new wedding photography web site just launched today (very exciting) and my new portrait and lifestyle web site is in the works... I'll try to keep updating on its progress.

To celebrate the idea of my new portrait and lifestyle photography site (I'll do something else when the site actually launches) I am running another portrait special this year. This time I am offering $100 in product credit with a standard portrait session (details below). Use this credit to purchase full resolution digital files, an album, or prints. I currently have April 26th, May 16th and May 23rd availability. Call soon to reserve your spot!

By the way, this makes a great gift too, gift certificates are always available!

Standard Session $275 location or studio*
• A one-hour session. (Approximately 70 images)
• Online viewing and ordering for 30 days on a password protected web site.

Email me at krista@kristacarlson.com for a pdf brochure with full details.

Rainy Day

2008-06-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was pure summer, bright sun, hot, humid air and we played outside all day. Today was a washout and we stayed inside except for a quick outing to the local market to pick up something for dinner. At one point in the day I observed a very sweet moment between brother and sister, Lillian was showing Wes squirrels in the back yard.

Tonight is the first night of my husband's weekly gig as the Griswold Inn's Wednesday night blues band. My husband is Eric Ducoff and the band is, The Eric Ducoff Band. They are fabulous and anyone living in the area should check them out. Besides, the Griswold Inn is an historical inn with a great menu, wine bar and of course live entertainment!!!
Usually, my husband plays guitar in a well-known blues band called Ryan Hartt and the Blue Hearts, so check out the site to get an idea of what they're all about while Eric works on an Eric Ducoff band site.

The Kiddie Pool

2008-06-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first really hot day so far, so what did we do? We busted out the kiddie pool and let Baby Wes have his first "swim". He LOVED it! Better to do the splashing in the yard than in the kitchen sink. Lillian loved it of course, but it's old hat for her.

Summer Portrait Special

2008-05-31T11:35:00.000-07:00

This is such a great place to let everyone know about things that are happening at KCP. Like a portrait promo!!!

As I am gearing up for summer with the family (and a few select weddings) I started thinking about summer light and taking pictures of my kids playing exuberantly in the sun, getting filthy and devouring sticky treats (in moderation, of course) : ). This gave me the intense desire to generously share my abilities with others so that these sorts of memories and moments can be in your albums and on your walls too!

So, on the third Friday and Sunday in June and July (June 20 + 22, July 18 +20) and the fourth Friday and Sunday in August (August 22 +24) I am offering discounted portrait sessions. On those 6 dates you will receive 25% off your portrait session. Call and send your $100 deposit soon to reserve a spot!!! (There are only so many sessions I can book in a day.)

First Post

2008-05-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog post as I am in the process of reinventing my Web site and photography business after a few years of maternity leave and everyone these days has a blog. Thought I'd jump on the band wagon finally.

It's very exciting. The kids are in bed and I have a few moments of quiet before I fall asleep at the keyboard to take the plunge into the world of blogging. Life these days consists of family, mothering, cooking, laundry and a bit of photography as well. Although everything I do seems mundane upon first glance, anyone who enjoys being a mother will tell you that it is anything BUT!!! It's actually thrilling if you view it right. All of these things sound so corny and sentimental like the quotation compilation books one might find at a Hallmark store, but they're really dead on! It truly is the collection of little moments each day that make it so satisfying and heart-wrenching and beautiful. I feel that this experience of being immersed in motherhood has created a whole new understanding and appreciation of life and my surroundings. It has made me a better person and definitely a better photographer. Where I once thought I had great sensibility I now realise that it was only scratching the surface.