Baby Jake, you are a sweetie!

In the midst of all the chaos that often overwhelms and sometimes overcomes the working mother there is often something that makes you stop in your tracks, think, breathe and take stock. Today, for me, it was baby Jake. So, dear little one, welcome to this crazy world of ours. After meeting your mummy this morning I just know you are in safe, loving hands. Thank you for bringing me peace today, a little dose of sweet serenity that was very much needed!

Catching up in our own sweet time...

If I had a dollar for every time I have heard the phrase "A change is good as a holiday" I would have enough money to actually go on a holiday! Sometimes, though, change isn't as wonderful as that age old cliche' may claim. It can stop you dead in your tracks, make you rethink everything you thought you knew and force you to make tough decisions. Kirrily and I have both experienced significant changes in our lives since embarking on this business adventure together. Despite our eagerness and excitement, much of what we planned to achieve is still in the planning stage or on the "To do list". And you know what? We are both totally fine with that, because we agreed in the beginning that our families come first. We believe that if we continue to do what we love to do when we can manage to do it then our business will grow and develop in its own sweet time.

And so it has.

Which brings me to the point of this post. As time poor mums of three children each, our focus is on our photography and not so much on our blogging. I do, however, often manage to share some of our recent work on Facebook from time to time. But I got to thinking... what if some of you are not on Facebook? (Note from Carley: you know that needs to change right? Everybody is on Facebook!) And then I checked the blog and realised it has been a very long time since we posted here. Oops! Time to remedy that! So, here we go. Its time to catch up, time to share some of our favourites from recent shoots with you. Some people might say "Better late than never!". We just say, all in our own sweet time ;)

Miss Cailee + One Pink Parasol = Sweet!

When I look at these images it makes me want to buy a parasol and walk around town all day just twirling it on my shoulder. It's just so... girly!

Baby Jake's Baptism

There is something really special about shooting family events, experiencing and capturing the joy, love and excitement of a family's traditions and most precious moments. Jake's baptism was no exception! From the moment I arrived at St Monica's I felt it. Love. Spirit. Belonging. To be able to capture the moment a child is welcomed into a community is truly a part of this job that I cherish. So, to John and Jo, thank you for making me feel so welcome... I hope these images will bring back sweet memories for you both as baby Jake grows and grows!!

Zeus and Nugget Steal Carley's Heart

They say 'never work with children or animals'... but I don't know why. Frankly, I love them both! So, when Kathryn and Nathan asked me to shoot their 'family' portraits I jumped at the chance... knowing that I would be spending an afternoon with their adorable and heartbreakingly sweet boys, Zeus and Nugget. I was instantly impressed and amazed by their obedience, and so it came as no surprise to learn that Nathan is in fact a real life 'Dog Whisperer'. Yes, he is a professional dog trainer! I must admit, though, that spending an afternoon with these guys made me feel a little embarrassed... our very own Little Miss Muffet needs some serious 'whispering'! So Nathan, expect a call from us soon! Then, hopefully, the Bugeja Family can finally have some photographs taken just like these ones, to show the world how much we love each other - and our Miss Muffet too!

Carley shoots for Megan and Michael... FINALLY!

A looonnng time ago, before Peppermint Creek was even a twinkle in our eye, Megan's lovely mum purchased a gift voucher from me as a Christmas present to her daughter and grandchildren. Of course, Megan's lovely mum knew that once the shoot had taken place, well... the voucher would be the gift that keeps on giving! However, the timing just wasn't right for Megan. Little Marcus had some health problems and, as so often happens, the gift voucher was put in "a safe place" and there it stayed for quite some time.

Thankfully, Megan's lovely mum never gave up on that voucher... Every nanny knows that the most precious gift of all are our children and the memories we create each and every day. Our little ones grow and change sooo fast, and without our treasured photographs that time just seems to go by even faster.

So, it is with great pleasure that I post a sneak peek of Megan and Michael's family session this week. I dedicate it to Megan's lovely mum... a woman who knows what matters most!

Miss Paelyn, your images are almost ready!

... but here is another sneaky peek from your session, just because you are way too cute and I can't help myself.

Carley's Sweet Escape to Jinky Art Workshop

In December last year I was so lucky to have the opportunity to participate in a weekend workshop conducted by one of my child photography idols, Barb Uil of Jinky Art. It was a wonderful opportunity to make new friends in the industry from all over Australia and to learn from one of the best in the business. I truly grew in a million ways in one weekend, and think it's about time I got cracking and start processing and sharing some of the images captured during the model shoots. I'll just keep adding image sets to this post, so if you are interested, check back from time to time to see if anything new pops up.

Carley still has more catching up to do!

Yes, I'm still catching up on the sharing and blogging and posting - but it kind of makes me happy because I get to revisit these wonderful sessions and recall the sweet moments that made me smile. The star of the Thomson family shoot (besides their amazing daughter who called me Karlia - which I totally loved and may change my name to in the future!) was yellow bear. It was he who overcame shyness and eventually loved having his picture taken ;) I love that this family will look back on these images and recall yellow bear and the special role he played in their daughter's life. Thankyou yellow bear, it was a pleasure to meet you!

Just catching up...

This year, one of my resolutions was to stay up to date with our blogging. Ooops, I guess that's yet another New Year promise broken! So, in an effort to redeem myself, here are some more lovely, relaxed images from the Land Family shoot featuring the adorable Bailey and Addison and their loving parents.

More from Carley's Trimble Family shoot

I caught up with the Trimble family again, just before Christmas, to capture some more family fun. This is a favourite of mine, I love how it depicts the stage babies go through when they realise they can actually crawl AWAY from their parents!

Catching up after the Christmas and New Year Chaos!

Now that the holiday season has come to a close and the children are ALMOST back to school (2 more days and counting...), I thought it was high time I got back into the swing of things here in the office. It's time to catch up on editing and post processing those last minute Christmas shoots that were squeezed into the schedule between chasing lost Christmas Lay-Bys and packing for holidays! So, to all my families waiting for pics - I'm back and on the job!

And just because no post is complete without a photo, here is one of my favourites from the Land family session. Addison and Bailey are in my favourite holiday pose looking all relaxed and stress free. Maybe I'm not quite ready to get back to work after all?

Happy 2010 - Carley xo

Carley meets sweet baby Paelyn

I've said it before, but I'll say it again... newborns are my favourite things in the whole, wide, world. They fascinate me in so many ways, and they remind me that miracles do happen. It amazes me that we can grow a whole new person right there inside of us, and shooting newborns reminds me of my own treasured experiences. So, to be able to help Bec and Matt capture this special time in their lives is truly a blessing to me, and what a beautiful shoot it was with little Miss Paelyn sleeping and feeding sweetly the entire time. Thanks so much to Bec and Matt for welcoming me into your home and allowing me the opportunity to create some sweet memories for you to treasure always.