Announcing... In Very Limited Supply...

I wasn't going to do it... I was going to keep my calendar open and catch up on a bunch of Clausen family to-dos. The thing is, with an open calendar, I still haven't made much headway on the to-do list. Things just seem to pop up and suck up my free time. And I miss getting out there. The shooting and the editing. It's way more fun than organizing my closet.

SO. I am announcing a very limited supply of Valentine's Day mini-sessions. There are four indoor slots and four outdoor slots. And they're THIS WEEK, people. I know that it's short notice and limited supply, but if you make this happen, I promise that you won't be sorry. You'll get some very sweet shots of your little darling(s), and I'm throwing in 24 wallet-sized valentines to boot. (You can also upgrade to 4.5x5 press-printed cards for an additional fee.) You get to choose from the 8 different designs shown below, and they'll be hand-delivered on Wednesday, February 9.





Don't wait. Contact me by email (erin@erinclausenphotography.com) or phone (234-4143) to schedule yours!

More Hiking

The kids and I stumbled upon another great hike after school one day last week. I continue to be amazed at the number of beautiful trails we have snaking up, over and around the hills of San Luis.

Here are a couple of quick shots from the impromptu hike. E went on a major hike with his dad yesterday and they took along a camera. I'll see if I can track those photos down and add them to the blog as well.

Piggy Tails and Grins

My posts lately have been all about the Clausen family, and as scintillating as those no doubt are, I thought I'd change things up with a few photos of a little pig-tailed doll. It was so fun to see her (and her mama) and witness just how much she's grown. For a quick flashback, check her out during her cake smash a year ago.







Absolute cuteness, right?

Amazing Experience

So I had this whole blog post written up and ready to post. And then I inadvertantly swiped part of my palm across the touch pad on my laptop and the whole thing went "poof"... just as my autosave kicked in. And I was left with two measly letters on the screen. Grrrr...

I'm too tired to reconstruct it now, but here's the gist:

Anyone who's been within earshot of the Clausens in the last week knows that we were up to something special during the boys' day off from school on Friday. We're fortunate to have some very special, very thoughtful friends, because we were invited by them to visit the closed-to-the-public set of Wipeout. Yes, we were on the set of what my kids consider the most awesome most amazing best show in the whole wide world and probably the galaxy.

Needless to say, they were in heaven. If you talk to any of us in the coming days and feel like hearing about it, I can guarantee that we'll talk your ear off.

The entire experience was amazing, and we had such a great and memorable time. The only bump in our otherwise fabulous ride was when we were told to pocket the cameras while on the actual set. Oh, that was so very hard for a person like me to do. But I have to say, I probably enjoyed our time there even more because I had to do that. With no camera to futz with, I held my kids' hands. They cuddled in my lap. I soaked up details about the show and my kids' interaction with it that I might otherwise have missed.

So it was all good.

We were able to take a few shots as we were coming and going -- mostly as we passed through what they refer to as the "graveyard" (where the old props and obstacle pieces are stored) so I'll share those here. And the official show photographer took some others that I've been told we'll get eventually. If that holds true, I'll share them when I can.

Here's Noah documenting the view as we were driven onto the lot by our friendly escort.



And here are my yahoos as we passed back through the graveyard to our car.







So very, very fun. And I apologize in advance if our answers to the question "How was the Wipeout visit?" are a tad longwinded. It can't be helped.

My Obsession With The Mustard

Last week, I emailed a friend. "Meet me at the mustard," I implored her. "Bring your camera. It'll be FUN!"

You see, I have this obsession with mustard. Those little yellow flowers that are EVERYWHERE at this time of year. I love their color, their perkiness. They seem so happy, in their weedlike way.

I was sure that we would have a great time playing among the blooms, and I wanted to practice shooting in backlighting with a relatively new lens that I've yet to "click" with (pardon the pun).

Except that I was late. And the tall weeds were seductive, luring the boys way, way off into the far reaches of the fields where our lenses and strict instructions could not reach them. The sun dipped quickly, and before we knew it we were running late for basketball practice. My friend gave up and packed her kids into the car. None of my hooligans was paying attention to a thing I said, or perhaps they actually were, for they were opting to do the exact opposite of everything I asked. And once I again, I was hollering at them to please, for the love of everything, use those big, beautiful brains that God gave them.

But then I got home, and I had these images. And a bunch of others. And I realized that sometimes the beauty is there -- it's just not the way we pictured it in our heads.



Sometimes I just need to take a deep breath and let go.

One More

I am trying to force myself out of my box in this new year, and this shot from today's hike is one example of my efforts toward that end. There's something about it that I love, so I figured I'd add it to the collection already posted below.



Re the box thing... I was going to try to set concrete goals for myself -- like an OOTB photo post a week -- but I'm already overwhelmed by the size of my to-do lists. So I'm going to refrain from committing to specific numbers and dates and will instead just try to take more of them.

Family Hike

This afternoon, 3/5 of our family was really tempted to laze around on the couch and watch football. Fortunately, we opted to get off our buttocks (as my daughter would say) and get out the door into the gorgeous sunshine.

We've got this book, which details hikes all around the San Luis Obispo area, and we've tried a couple of new ones recently. The trail we picked today was awesome -- complete with waterfalls and streams to ford (the footbridge was washed out in one place due to recent storms). The kids had a ball, excluding the time when Foxy spotted a pile of animal poop the size of a basketball and decided to be scared of possible bears. Other than that, they were pretty much happy little people, even laughing off soaking wet shoes and scraped up legs.

For anyone interested, the trail was #84 in the book: Reservoir Canyon. If you're really adventurous (and without a preschooler in your party), you can take the trail all the way up to the crest of the hill and come down the other side in a totally different part of town.







And yes, if you happened to notice; that is a backpack full of dolls on my husband. Rapunzel and Snow White simply HAD to join us, or so we were (quite forcefully) told.

Belated Follow-up

What happens when the husband works an unexpected loooooooong week, one which leaves us with precious few waking hours to see him (and put him to work on household tasks)?

I drop balls.

Fortunately, I didn't drop any that were particularly fragile. I did neglect to draw and post the winner of the newborn session giveaway. Good thing the entries were a little sparse. ;)

Without further adieu, the winner is Joanne, who commented here on the blog. Email me soon, Joanne, and I'll get a certificate to you for your friends.

While I tossed out the giveaway because I was feelin' all things baby last weekend, I also had a sneaking suspicion that I need to pump up the online and social marketing. While I know anecdotally that the blog does get read, and while I've been fortunate in keeping my bookings at capacity without much outreach, I've determined that the path to continued growth will require me to tinker with a couple of things and put in a little bit of elbow grease to reach new clients and provide a better experience for existing ones. I'm excited about the possibilities, and now I'm even more committed to following through.

Let's just hope that I do a better job following through on that than on my no-dessert-on-weeknights resolution. Boy, did I bomb with that one.

And because no post should go up without a photo, here's a shot of my three loonies. I was making a phone call after loading up the car with groceries, and I turned around to see this...



Yep, those are my goofballs.

So Big!

I couldn't believe my eyes when K & K, the sweet boys I'd photographed monthly through their entire first year, arrived yesterday. They walked! They talked! (I swear, one of them engaged me in a lengthy conversation about "on" and "off.")

And they looked like little men.

Here they are, sporting the handsome holiday outfits that they never quite made it into on Christmas Day. Who wants to get out of their PJs if they don't have to?









On a different note, scroll down to see my post about the FREE newborn session I'm offering up. Easy to win and no strings attached. If you're expecting or know someone who is, check it out!

Win a FREE newborn session!

Yesterday I received a package from the incredibly talented photographer/knitter/crafter Heather Bauers. I contains a sweet little knitted cocoon and a selection of A-DOR-ABLE newborn hats. (She just had a baby and her inventory is somewhat limited right now, but keep an eye on her etsy shop for some of the cutest newborn accessories you'll see anywhere.)

ANYWAY, unpacking my goodies gave me the strong desire to add another newborn or two to the coming months' schedule. The possibilities for darling photos are just too tempting. SO. At the risk of driving my CFO/husband a bit bonkers, I'm staging a little giveaway. If you're pregnant, or if you know someone who is (winning it for her would be an awesome gift!), this one is for you.

Easy-peasy to enter. Just leave a comment here or on my Facebook page by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, January 13. I'll draw one winner from all comments received in both places. The winner of a FREE newborn session (a $185 value) will be announced here and on Facebook on Friday the 14th.
The fine print: This giveaway is applicable only to babies not yet born. If you win, I'll pencil in your due date and then confirm the session date and time with you once your baby arrives. Please note that I photograph newborns before they are two weeks old (5-10 days old is ideal), because this gives us the best opportunities for those sweet sleepy images.

And since no post is good without a photo, here you go. It doesn't feature any cool hats or accessories, but darn if it isn't cute.

PRINT SALE

The fine print: Please note that this cannot be applied to prints within a package, only to prints purchased a la carte.

Little Dude

The following photos are from yesterday's session with little D, who's six months old and shares a birthday with my daughter (which makes him super extra cool in her eyes).

You may remember D from his family's fall session preview. Or you may just enjoy these fun images. ;)

Some Final Snapshots From Our Holiday Break

I couldn't resist tossing these silly shots on the blog. Just some goofy snaps from one evening during vacation. Unplanned, unedited. The girly and her dad just decided to ham it up.

And I love them for it.

Fourteen Schmorteen

My extremely fortunate kids got some pretty nice gifts this Christmas, including a couple of VERY special Lego sets they got from Pops (their paternal grandpa). My last post included a picture of E with the At-At Walker that he constructed mostly on his own, with a little help from his brother and dad.

Having completed that set in what seemed like a flash, E declared that he was going to tackle the other set -- the 3,803-piece Death Star -- all on his own. With no help at all. Despite the fact that it was labeled as "for ages 14+."

I was a little worried.

I anticipated a few meltdowns and some muttered curse words (from me, when I was forced to help out or talk him down from the ledge). I definitely expected some tears and some foot stomping along the way.

I was so wrong.

My little dude, at the ripe old age of 8, put this doozy together ALL BY HIMSELF. On only a couple of occasions, I pitched in to find a stray piece in the pile, but he deemed that help acceptable because I (a) really hate doing Legos, and (b) am really terrible at doing Legos. Other than that, it was all him.



Perhaps the thing I'm most proud of is his attitude. Throughout the week that he spent on this thing, he was cheerful, pleasant and kind to his brother and sister. A few times he ran into stumbling blocks and when I encouraged him to take a break and go back with fresh eyes, he easily agreed. When I had to pull him away from the Legos to go spend a night at his grandparents' house, he smiled and said he was looking forward to the sleepover and would also be happy to return to the Legos the next day.

I was pretty certain at this point that despite all scientific proof to the contrary, this kid has none of my own DNA.

Here's the view of him we enjoyed for most of the past week:



And some other snaps from the contruction process...











And Mr. Oh-So-Proud-of-Himself:



Now I just need to figure out where we're going to display the darn thing.