After the Winter Solstice

January 6, 2014 ~ Crystle ~ 9 Comments

The holidays and the winter solstice are behind us now, which means we’re gaining approximately seven minutes of precious daylight every day. Our Anniversary, Christmas, and the New Year were nice distractions from the cold, dark winter, but in our normal routine, our happy light has become our surrogate sun and we are often lost in nostalgia for warm summer days, or brisk hikes in the mountains.

When the happy light clicks off, it’s back to reality.

I’ve never been stuck indoors for such an extended period of time. Winter sports with an infant in tote hasn’t been an option for us, so while Margot works on walking with the support of the furniture, we’ve spent a lot of time working on other projects.

Isaac, my wonderful law school drop-out, has been working diligently on the legalities of starting a small photography business — a dream of mine for quite some time now. With all this time indoors, he was able to write my contracts, model releases, expense forms, print waivers and price lists. Then, when were finally ready to make the investment in better camera equipment, we did.

Now, here we are, launching my own photography business, Yea Yea Photography! I completed my first lifestyle photo session at the end of December when a friend had her baby. I can’t wait to see the prints when they arrive from the lab in few days. I’m proud of this new venture, and excited to see where it takes us this summer when additional daylight translates into photo ops.

As the remaining winter days tick by (I think we’re only halfway through), I’ll be working on marketing for my studio, developing a few more recipes, and hopefully touring one or two places outside of Fairbanks to celebrate all of our upcoming birthdays. I’ll be sure to share all of that, and at least one session with my own blue-eyed baby (who is nearly ten months old) soon.

And many thanks to all the wonderful family and friends who frequent this blog and follow along while I practice my photography technique and share my life! Your encouraging comments always make my day.

Still Life

June 2, 2013June 2, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 5 Comments

Resistance is futile; when flowers collect in vases under my roof my camera comes out and the shutter clicks like the baseball card in the bicycle wheel spokes of a pre-teen.

Flowers are an optical playground; exposure, saturation and aperture all waltz around one another, creating almost audible images. I love it. And so I share, once again, a ton of photos without purpose.

One Month Later

April 19, 2013July 22, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 9 Comments

Where does the time go? I glance at the clock in the wee hours of the morning, then again in the mid-afternoon and before I know it, it’s time to go to bed again. Really, where does the time go?It’s been a month since we brought Margot home. I’m all healed up from her delivery, and except for an unexpected trip to the emergency room with a fever of 104 last Friday, I’m doing fine.

We’re incredibly lucky to have a very mellow newborn who doesn’t fuss without just cause. In fact, I’ve become an incredibly light sleeper, conditioned solely by her lack of crying at night. She tends to rustle and whimper quietly when she’s uncomfortable, which can sometimes go unnoticed by my heavily sleeping spouse. I’m glad we sprang for a small bassinet for our bedroom at the last minute before her birth. Having her in a crib down the hall was a silly notion!