When Toddlers Pick Up Cameras

Sorry for no posts in the past week. We were traipsing all around Western Montana for a bunch of day trips, hikes, and just goofing off. We took a GORGEOUS hike up to Baker Lake in the Bitterroot Mountains (will post those photos later), caught a few trout, got LOTS of mosquito bites, and generally had a ball.

Here are some photos that Thomas took when he commandeered the point-and-shoot camera one day. Pretty funny to see things from his perspective (although I will admit that the photo of the big blue Montana sky is pretty darn cool!).

Have a great weekend!

Kelly and Howard Wedding Photos

The photos from the wedding have been uploaded and released for review to Kelly and Howard. Register here at http://www.pictage.com/505101 and you'll be notified when the happy couple releases them to guests and you will also receive a print credit toward your order. Thanks again for a wonderful day, Kelly, Howard, Morgan and all the gang.

This weekend...

Well, I didn't get to looking through all the old maternity shots last night. Got through with the MCT shoot and then started looking through photos of MY kids. I'll share a few from the MCT production and then a few of Thomas and Madelyn (whose photos have been seriously neglected since I started photographing professionally--sorry guys!)

Off to the river tonight. Have a great Sunday.

MCT--Cinderella 7/12/08

Adorable little pumpkins. These are the youngest MCT participants (often cast as little critters, or, in this case, little squash....)

The mice...

Cinderella meeting her prince...but she doesn't know that yet...

The town criers, who, well, true to MCT productions, really did cry...

Patches the narrator, played by Don Mogstad, MCT staff.

The beggars...

Evil stepmother (played by Maddy's friend Annie Caron--Annie you did a FANTASTIC job! You reminded me of Mme. Thenardier in Les Mis!)

And now for my kids!

Madelyn's most recent MCT roles, and a couple of her photos we took while goofing around in the studio. We used the first one for the Miracle Worker program. Maddy--we're so proud of you!

Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker" (this is the scene she gets to spit eggs at Annie Sullivan, except this night it was cold tofu...THAT was a surprise!)

Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz"...the only way Madelyn would wear a dress these days...

And now Thomas. Yes, we did climb trees yesterday. Thomas sat in all his glory in the neighbor's maple tree, surveying his kingdom and peeking through the nooks and crannies.

I suppose that's enough for now. Got to finish up some stuff, try to catch a few of the Missoula Marathon runners coming by the house, off to MCT to shoot one show and usher another, then get to the woods!

Kelly and Howard--June 28, 2008

What a romantic day I got to spend with these two wonderful people, their families and friends, and Kelly's fun-loving eight-year old son, Morgan. During the ceremony, Pastor Don Kelly said that when he first asked Morgan's opinion of soon-to-be-dad Howard, he said, "Does he get a thumbs up?" Morgan said, "No." Pastor Kelly asked, "Does he get two thumbs up?" Morgan shook his head and said, "No". Then Morgan said, "If I could, I'd give him a thousand thumbs-up!" Wow! Don't hear THAT too often.

Morgan--I'd have to agree with you! And Kelly--the look on Howard's face when he saw that surprise limo was just priceless! I hope your lives continue to be filled with all the fun, the laughter, and all the surprises you three can muster for yourselves.

Here's a little clip of some favorite shots. I'll be posting all the photos to the Pictage link hopefully by the beginning of the week, so check back! And I promised to branch out with the music. This video features "Billy Joel" and "Tuck and Patti". Enjoy!





And I have to tip my hat once again to Ed Doyle. I had been scheduled to shoot this wedding solo and Ed happened to email me not four days before asking, "Hey, do you need any help with anything?" Little did he know what he was agreeing to! Ed, who has up until now been focused on beautiful landscape and macro photography, not only assisted me...he clearly became a second shooter. He circled around the scene while I was shooting and got some beautiful images from different angles. If you look closely, you'll see the EXACT same image from the front and the back--talk about synchronicity! What a team!

Ed even shot parts of the wedding party while I was working with other parts. Many of the images you see above are his (especially those detail shots, like the cake and the wedding rings), and I'm excited to give him some opportunities to continue to get a feel for portrait and wedding shoots. Once he gets going, there will be no stopping him. I just hope we work in tandem because he's a gem and he'd be sorely missed! Ed doesn't just rock...he rocks a thousand times over (sorry, Morgan, had to steal your quote!).

Thanks, too, to the gracious wedding party who was setting up shop out at Fort Missoula and allowed us to steal a corner of the Iris Garden for our outdoor shots. We really appreciated it and we didn't even get your names! And to the limo driver, Allen, who called me up yesterday and asked me if I was the photographer who left a piece of equipment in his trunk. I'd been looking for that reflector for a week! Thanks so much, Allen! If you're in need of a Limo...this one was WAY cool...Allen even synched up the lights to Kelly's dress colors! You can contact him at www.RoyalLimoMt.com or 363-3040

Wait? Don't you shoot other things, too?

Why yes, yes, I do!

My absolutely favorite subject to photograph is a pregnant woman...I can't describe the thrill of being a part of someone's birth experience in this way. Truth be told, I haven't been a part of the "rest of the story" and photographed the actual births (YET), but sharing the anticipation and joy in those last few weeks with these new moms and dads just makes this ol' heart go pitter-pat.

My next favorite subject to photograph would be that little peanut once he or she has entered this world. There is nothing that can compare to watching a new parent holding a tiny new baby and capturing those moments when it happens.

FYI--if you do a newborn shoot, it's a good idea to bring a change of clothing (for you, and for the baby...although I try to keep them as unclothed as possible so we remember how small they are). Those little ones LEAK!

Tonight I'll look through my photos and post some images from my favorite maternity and newborn shoots. Check back later on!

In the past year, I've been doing more senior portraits as well. 'Tis the season again. If you're a senior looking for a special outdoor shot, something out of the ordinary, or just a spectacular studio headshot, give me a call. Deadlines for the yearbook creep up sooner than you know it! I'm starting a Senior Ambassador program in August and I'm recruiting one or two seniors from each area high school to represent my studio to their classmates. The program will include a free sitting and the ability to earn your senior photos free of charge. Keep checking back for more information. If you're interested in being one of my Ambassadors, please drop me an email at maureenaroy@aol.com We may even have a little friendly competition between the Ambassadors...who knows?

This year I have teamed up with my good buddy, Eileen Keenan, who went to the Rocky Mountain School of Photography (RMSP) with me and we have begun shooting weddings. Check out her blog as well: http://www.eileenkeenan.blogspot.com

The smoke has cleared on Mt. Sentinel and the skies are quiet this weekend. No exciting helicopter shots for me today, I guess.

This afternoon, I head off to the Missoula Children's Theater (www.mctinc.org) to photograph their production of Cinderella. Their regular photographer, Dan Cripe, was unavailable, so they called me to fill in (thanks, you guys!) I am admittedly NOT a stage photographer, but the theater has been incredibly accommodating in allowing me to practice this type of photography and I am definitely improving. We love this theater. Madelyn has been performing with them since she was five years old (she was a racoon in Red Riding Hood). MCT has been her second home and she's had the lead in two productions this year (Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker in March--her finest moment by far--and most recently Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz). I keep telling her she's getting these parts due to her fantastic hair (I'll post something on that later. Seriously! That hair is an entity of its own!) And check your theater listings around the country for a fabulous documentary by Rob Whitehaid (his wife is Pam Voth...another fantastic Missoula photographer) called "The Little Red Truck". This documentary details the workings of MCT and their mission to bring fine arts productions to even the smallest communities in the United States and beyond. Here's the link: www.thelittleredtruck.com

Until I leave for that, Thomas will be home with me as I try to finish up some stuff for the day job (I took next week off from the land of corporate America and want to make sure I get a very clean mental break), drop off some prints to a client, edit a wedding, and get my gear together for this afternoon's shoot. There will probably be some playing with cars and trucks in there somewhere and maybe a tree to climb so if I'm a bit slow to answer the phone I might just be trapped under something heavy or stuck high up in an overly leafy maple. Tomorrow after all the theater stuff is done, Andy and I will head up to the Blackfoot River with the kids for a night of camping and a float trip down the Blackfoot on Monday morning. The last time we went up there, we discovered a few patches of rapids that soaked Thomas and I through to the skin! He squealed with delight. I didn't quite "squeal with delight", but I DID regret not throwing a bathing suit on under my clothes. We scrounged around for sticks to build a small fire at the take out so I could dry off enough to drive home!

Happy Saturday and have a spectacular weekend!

Mother's Day Shoot

I had the best day on Mother's Day shooting images for this fantastic family. Three generations, ranging from ages 11 to 90. We hung out in Greenough Park (prior to the flooding...if it had been a month later we wouldn't have had any bridges to cross!). Thanks for letting me share a great day with you guys! Music is once again by The Housemartins. I promise, I'll branch out with the tunes soon!

I also need to say a HUGE thanks to Ed Doyle, a local photographer who is starting to make the move into more portrait photography (his landscape photos are AMAZING). This was his first time assisting me and he did a fantastic job--can't tell you how thankful I was to have him there to haul a ladder all over that park! Ed will be featured in a future post of my first wedding that I shot solo a couple weeks ago. More to come on that one and more of Ed's prasies to sing!

Check out his website as well: www.edoylephotography.com

Ed--you rock! Thanks again!

Scooby, Samuel and Shelley--June 2008

I had so much fun with this mom and her two boys last month. We spent the morning alongside the Clark Fork River finding various spots to catch these guys in action. It took an incredible amount of restraint to hold off on the mud puddle until after we were "done" shooting images. Had to grab a couple, though--it was too much fun to watch! Maybe next time camera-shy dad will come along! Hope you guys had a great vacation and I'll talk to you when you get back!

The music is a favorite band I listened to in college (many many moons ago), The Housemartins.

They Don't Pay These Folks Enough!

Madelyn is obsessed with flying. I am not. I took a walk down by the river today to watch these incredibly brave people dip down into the Clark Fork River to pick up water (and presumably a few trout) in these immense dump buckets. Apparently there are two people in the chopper, although I could only ever see the pilot. One guy flies, the other guy gets to hit the plunger on the bucket. If I could choose, I'd be the plunger-guy any day.

This is an incredibly precise process (and I'm not just talking about the skill it takes to get four feet off the river to pick up the water). This crew hit the fire line EVERY time last night, and to watch the water fall and the fire go out seconds later was a thing of beauty.

It's topping 90 degrees in Missoula at the moment. I have to say that although the reason these choppers are here is not so great, the fact that as they lifted off the water and flew overhead, they sprayed water all over the spectators and cooled us off quite a bit, too!

Fire Season Has Begun

Well, blogging is a new technological skill that I am hoping to master, and I often refer to these ventures as "baptism by fire". Oddly enough, there WAS a fire to go along with it!

Last night, while preparing to walk down the block to the park for the weekly Missoula City Band concert, I ran into a neighbor who said, "Did you see? The mountain is on fire!" I looked up to see smoke billowing from Mt. Sentinel, a mere 6 blocks down. So, like any sane Missoulian would do...I grabbed my camera and headed down the street!

At 1:30 am the fires were eerily burning along the ridge line above my house. Most of the slurry bombers that are usually parked in Missoula (we have a smokejumper headquarters here in town) have been deployed to the fires in California, so for most of the night a single helicopter battled this blaze from the air, dipping into the Clark Fork River to pick up water and flying overhead to dump it. The hills were teeming with firefighters carrying hoses up the hill and attempting to dig a fire line quickly. Watching some of those trees erupt with firefighters standing so close made me wince, and be incredibly thankful that there are brave men and women who run up that hill into the face of danger.

Last week Missoulians watched fireworks....this week we watched fire. I had just been complaining to my daughter Madelyn that it always makes me sad when the mountain goes from a lush green in May and June to a sienna brown in July. I guess I should keep my mouth shut!

The most surreal part of the night included two things: 1) while walking down the street I watched a family entertaining a group of exchange students from Korea...they were sitting in the front lawn with a fully-appointed dinner table, chatting away and watching the fire on the hill not three blocks from them. 2) As I walked down the street schlepping my big camera and lens, the band concert at the park continued and the most beautiful soprano was singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

Sometimes life is strange....

The other sad part to this story was that the fire was caused by two children either playing with matches or playing with fireworks (this has been the case the last two times the mountains directly in Missoula have burned). I don't think I'd want to be either one of those two youngsters right now. But luckily no one was hurt, the hikers got off the mountain with an exciting story, the hillside will be even greener next year and these kids learned an invaluable lesson in the process.