So with the promise of a lollipop (and later  a quarter when interest waned),  I took the granddolls out to the beach at the end of the trail last evening during the most beautiful golden light of the day. Gavin was unusually cooperative, so I took the opportunity to get lots of images of him. Here are some of my favorites:

(family and childrens portraiture on Lake Keowee in Keowee Key SC, family photographer The Reserve at Lake Keowee and The Cliffs at Keowee Falls)

Genevieve and Gavin are FINALLY at the age where they will cooperate (for short periods of time) when Nanna wants to grab some pictures of them. This was 5 minutes worth in the hammock right before dinner.

My Droid suddenly stopped working after only 4 months, and I am having a crazy hard time getting a new one…so if you need to contact me, use email or my business phone (864-719-0130). Thanks.

I loathe Verizon right now.

I can’t even begin to tell you how filled with joy I am to have gotten my twenty-three month old granddoll to cooperate for these images…seriously, this age is usually the worst, but sometimes everything comes together. Like this:

And my favorite:

I am always on the lookout for a great, easy recipe and I found a new one this spring while we were on vacation . I am much better at photographing children and families than food,  but I wanted to show you my latest favorite appetizer. I guess this has been around for a while, but seriously this is the first time I have been served it so I thought I would share with all of you. It’s Cream Cheese Wasabi Spread, and you mix it up fast and serve it with crackers. Ingredients? One eight-oz block of cream cheese, soy sauce, toasted sesame seeds and black sesame seeds (found in Asian food aisle), and wasabi (also found in Asian food aisle – I used the kind in a tube).

Just split the cream cheese lengthwise (I used dental floss!), spread a very thin layer of wasabi between the layers, sprinkle with soy sauce and then the sesame seeds. You can wrap in plastic wrap and put back in the fridge for a few hours, then serve with crackers. I didn’t find it too “hot” but you may want to vary the wasabi. Go ahead and try it!

(Clemson and Anderson SC photographer)

Remember this cute couple? Well, their baby boy Weston arrived just a little early…so that he could be born exactly on his grandfather’s birthday! This little guy is the first grandchild on both sides of the family, and believe me, is the apple of everyone’s eye. He was bright eyed and bushy tailed, as they say, on the afternoon of his session. I wasn’t able to get any heavily-sleeping baby shots as I had hoped, but I did capture his beautiful baby blues. Congratulations Allison and Matt – he is perfect.

(newborn and maternity portraits in anderson sc and clemson sc)

SO MUCH FUN! A mash up by DJ Dain of Jason Mraz (I’m Yours), Bobby McFerrin (Don’t Worry, Be Happy), and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (Somewhere over the Rainbow) – on my summer playlist for sure! I will be doing a lot of my photography editing to this for sure.

Don’t Worry, I’m Yours [Remastered] (Jason Mraz vs. Bobby McFerrin vs. Israel Kamakawiwo’ole) by DJ Dain

(family and children portraiture in Anderson SC)

I always keep up with my favorite blog, The Pioneer Woman, and I especially love her cooking section. I saw this recipe there and was immediately intrigued by the ingredient list, so I made sure I had all of the ingredients and made it for dinner last week when it was 96 degrees outside. Jim and I both thought it was really good and different, and perfect for a light summer meal. You can find her recipe here. I altered it slightly by pan-frying the corn kernels in the dry grill pan for about 5 minutes before I did the chicken (I don’t like raw corn), and of course only made half of the recipe – which I believe would serve about 3 or 4. It is definitely going into our rotation!

Summer is getting ready to start her senior year at Clemson, and between working and volunteering and classes she is a very busy young woman! She never had senior portraits done as a high school student, so her mom wanted to make sure that she had a session to capture the beauty of her daughter as she heads into the final stretch of college and getting into grad school. We did a lot of her session around my home on the lake, then met up for a shot of her in front of Clemson’s landmark Tillman Hall. I just know that Summer is going to have a wonderful future, and it was a blast to photograph her! Here are some of my favorites:

(Clemson University senior portraits and headshots, done on location)