hocus outta focus : the hocus focus blog

Sweet June

Meet June.  She's one of the sweetest and most loved little girls around.  She and her parents (and her grandma who tagged along to help) were so much fun.  We shot in downtown Lawrence, which was a nice change of scenery for me.  And Sweet June had THE BEST wardrobe!  I loved all this orange with her super blue eyes!


And I fell in love with this little vintage shirt/dress.  It was Mom's when she was a little babe. 


I'm gonna say this is the face June made when we told her the session was over.

But don't worry Sweet June.  We'll work together again sometime.  And then she smiled!!!

Okay, so maybe that wasn't exactly how it happened, but isn't she a doll?  Jaime, I had such a great time getting to know your family and I can't wait to work together again!

HAPPY FRIDAY, everyone!
H

It Should Be Simple...

We pay you.  Something happens.  You pay us.  Don't you think that's how it should work?

Two days later I'm still wrestling with the home owner's insurance company (who, for the moment shall remain nameless).  A clear answer to a simple question is all I want.  Is that really too much to ask?   A human who can actually tell me what I need to know.  Do those even exist anymore?   If I had a dollar for every time I heard, "That's not handled in my department.  I'll submit a request and someone will call you back within 24-28 hours," I could have already paid to have the darn tree removed. 

Thanks to all of my lovely clients for being so patient with me while my blood pressure rises to unhealthy levels as I try to resolve this nasty tree situation.  For now, I'm sticking with chocolate therapy, but there may be something a little stronger in my very near future. 

Smiles,
H

All I Want For Christmas

...is a new D3, a new D3, see my new D3...

Isn't she pretty?  Yes, I'm a geek.  But I'm okay with that.  And y'all like me anyway, right?  Tonight I'll be having sweet dreams of the new D3. 

December can't get here fast enough!  Only 122 days until Christmas.  (Honey, if you're reading this there's no need to waste your money on diamonds this year.  Forget that little blue box.  I'll take what comes in the gold box this time, baby!) 

Happy Friday, everyone!
H

Now Back to Regularly Scheduled Programming...

Radiant.  That's the first word that comes to mind when I think of this fabulous mom.  This is her second pregnancy and the second time I've done a maternity session with her.  We shot indoors for the last one and we really wanted a different look this time so just before sunset we headed out to the farm.

Christen is gorgeous.  She's hilarious.  She's adventurous.  She's married to a fantastic man who loves her more than life itself and she's an amazing mother to their beautiful daughter Norah, who you've all seen on the blog before.  Over the last two years that I've been photographing her family we've developed a wonderful friendship and I always look forward to spending time with them.  And now I'm just counting down the days until I finally meet the newest member of the family. 

Told you she was radiant. 


Not much longer, Christen.  She'll be here before you know it! 

Until next time,
H

Tree Fought Jeep. Tree Won.

I was sitting in front of the computer this afternoon when I heard lots of thunder and rain.  I got up and peeked out the front window to see how hard it was raining and yelled for the girls to come check it out.  Just as I opened the front door I saw the whole thing happen. 

OUCH! 

So you can see just how massive this tree is.  Chris is not a small guy.  He's about 6'3" and probably weighs 225 pounds (forgive me if I'm wrong about your weight, honey...it's not like you're a girl, though so you probably won't care even if I am wrong). 

You can see the front of the Jeep on the left.  Poor thing!

Guess we won't be going out to dinner tonight...

(Because it was pouring I took these with my not so hot cell phone camera, but you get the idea  The tree extends all the way into our neighbors yard.  Thank goodness we were already out of the car and in the house or that it didn't happen on a day when we were playing in the front yard.)

When the girls made it to the front door, Lucee said, "Oh no, Mom! Da huge, huge, huge twee bwoked in half and it cwushed da Jeep.  We gotta call Daddy."  Daddy and the insurance man. 

 

A Smile for Monday

So, I don't have anything completely random like I did last Monday, but this is sure to  make you smile  anyway!

Have a great week!
H

Almost Two!

By now most of my blog readers know Emma.  She's almost two years old and is one of the funniest, sweetest and most beautiful little girls I get to work with.  But I can hardly call it work.  I've been photographing her for just under two years now and I absolutely adore this child.  AND HER PARENTS.  I consider them friends as well as clients.   They're amazing people, fantastic parents and so fun to be around.

Thank you Marc and Kristi, for allowing me to do what I truly love.  I cannot believe it's been TWO YEARS.  The time has truly flown by.  I'm honored to be trusted with the memories of your daughter's childhood and so lucky to have made such special friends along the way.  HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY TO EMMA!  We'll see you at the party.

These are my favorite type of family portraits - the non-traditional, un-posed shots that are packed with real personality and raw emotion.   

This little girl is UP TO SOMETHIN'....

And ready to cool down on a REALLY hot summer day!

And what's a photo shoot without a little show and tell?

Until next time,

H

I HEART The Heart Gallery

I've donated both money and time to various charitable causes throughout the years, but none have touched me the way The Missouri Heart Gallery has. 

"The Heart Gallery was founded by the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department in 2001 as a unique way to help children in foster care who are waiting for adoptive families step from the shadows into the light. Stirring portraits, which reveal the children's amazing spirits and individuality, have helped many find permanent, loving homes." - from The Missouri Heart Gallery website

For the first time, and certainly not the last, I joined in the efforts of The Heart Gallery by photographing a total of nine children in March.  Over 200 children were photographed by 58 photographers this year.  An exhibit of The Heart Gallery images travels across the state beginning in Kansas City in May and ending at the State Capitol Building in Jefferson City in November.   

This week I received word that five of the children I photographed have been given the gift every child deserves - a permanent, loving family.  In all, 39 children have been adopted and the folks at The Adoption Exchange have responded to over 1800 inquiries...and the exhibit isn't over yet!

To learn more about The Missouri Heart Gallery and The Adoption Exchange, and how you can help make a difference in the lives of these amazing children please visit their websites.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
H 

 

Flawless

One word.  One girl.  One image. 

I can't wait to share more from this session, but don't want to ruin the element of surprise for Mom and Dad.  I promise to share more of this little angel in the next day or so.

Happy Tuesday!
H 

Completely Random...

I'm working hard to catch up after being out of town, but wanted to take a second to wish everyone a wonderful week and share something completely random that had me a little perplexed. 

The sign says "psychic", but I'm not exactly sure where it's pointing to because as you can see there's nothing above it but blue sky.  Hmmmmm...........you gotta love random-ness on a Monday morning.  Maybe I'll start a new weekly post - Monday morning random-ness.  Stay tuned!