One of the many things I value about my fair city of Lincoln, Nebraska, is the constant movement and collaboration going on in the arts. It was my privilege to photograph Tamara Kaye of Art Planet and her advanced art students from Lancaster Learning Link as they worked with students and families from Elliot Elementary School to create their own Doorway to Hope. Enjoy these images and click on the links above to learn more about these artists!

School starts in two weeks. I confess I’m not ready to give up the late nights of playing outdoors, the easy mornings of waking up late, the freedom of summer play and summer messes and summer joys. I’m excited for the start of a new school year with new teachers and new classes and new school supplies. The structure will surely be good for us all and I can’t wait to see what Livia learns this year. But summer has a magic all its own, too, and I think I’m a summer girl at heart.

One thing I love about photography is how it can reveal so much about a specific moment in time. You’ll notice that photographers often resort to what seems like cheesy cliches to describe photography and time, but honestly, there’s great truth to what we’re trying to express!

This image charms me for many reason. I’m finding that age ten, for my child, is truly an in-between age. She’s not a babe any longer but she’s not a teenager yet either. She’s ten. She’s looking to the future and growing up (note the incredible growth from this past year and, yes, the eye makeup in this shot) and yet still a kid at heart (self-imposed bunny ears, anyone?). Look closely and you’ll find something that gives away 2014 as well; Livia’s got a rainbow loom necklace stretched across her forehead as a headband of sorts. If you’ve got an older girl in 2014 then you’ve experienced the insane popularity of the rainbow loom.

Age ten is so much fun. It has Jeremy and I feeling kind of in-between as well. We remember well the baby cheeks and toddler babbles of the past and we look forward to seeing who Livia will become as she grows up. We’re not in a hurry these days, rather we’re loving our girl, in all her bunny-eared glory, at age ten.

This little one, placed in his adoptive parents’ arms as a newborn discharged from the hospital, was adopted today! He turns two in a few days and, my goodness, this is an amazing birthday present. Happy adoption day to our boy Joe! We love you and your family so much and praise God for the joy you’ve brought to all of our lives. [Photos taken Fall 2013.]

There once were two girls who moved to Lincoln, Nebraska. They started junior high and quickly became best friends. They grew up and met wonderful boys and married them and had the most adorable children on the planet. And then in May 2014 one friend took photos of the other friend’s adorable family. The end. Or rather, the beginning. Or really truly, the awesome story continues. Who knows what grand adventures are right around the corner?

Peonies are one of my absolute favorite flowers, and these are shared from my parents’ garden.

I’m a member of a Facebook page or two where photographers can invite other professionals to critique their work. One guy recently complained about how some folks don’t have a Facebook page for their business, so how can you see their work and then determine if their critique bears any merit or not? It’s a fair question in a way. For sure I take advice from photographers who’s work I admire and weed out the stuff I deem uninteresting or simply not skilled. Then again, I don’t have a Facebook business page either so what do I know?! (Said tongue in cheek. An online portfolio is in the works. The cobbler’s children have no shoes, you know what I mean.)

What I do know is this: clients should hire photographers based on their work. Peruse a Facebook page, a blog, a professional portfolio. Look at what they do and then hire them if you like it. If you don’t like it, don’t hire them.

What we all like is so subjective. I know what I like and I shoot that. When I start shooting what I do not like, I lose my creative spark and passion for my art. I am finding more and more photographers who are slaves to trends—and I find that pretty boring. I won’t be shooting sexy senior portraits or Anne Geddes baby images or engaged couples in positions that would make our grandmothers blush. Instead I will shoot families that love each other. I will shoot a mother looking adoringly into her newborn’s face. I will capture a quirky toddler laughing and doing his own thing and holding up dirty fingers for my camera. I will capture real moments. Life-giving moments. Real world experiences and memories for a lifetime. I want to be there, documenting the gritty moments as well as the posed ones that look kind of nice on the mantle in the living room.

I love photography. I love people. I love sunlight. Critique is helpful in moving forward as an artist and someone else’s opinion bears merit if I let it. But I have my own eye, my own perspective, and I aim to use it.