{the world around me}

Ahhh....finally getting time to make a post.  We're are still getting settled here in Arizona in our temporary house until our new house is built (hopefully October/November - just before the holidays!).  Boxes surround me still since I'm hesitant to open too much knowing that we'll just have to pack everything back up and move again.   I think I'll be wondering where things are for months to come - lol.   This area is beautiful!  So much nature!  Each morning I wake up before the sun comes up and head out on my run/walk (it's a bit of both since I'm not much of a true runner) and discover new things.  Honestly I never knew the desert had so much wildlife...so far I've seen - bunnies, carpenter bees, bumble bees, quail, dove, lizards, coyotes, bobcats, a snake (yes, a snake!), bunnies, woodpeckers, bunnies, grasshoppers (Briella has caught dozens already), and did I mention bunnies?  It's incredible how much I see each morning.

And since I've received many e-mails asking to post images of the desert and the surroundings here - I decided one morning to grab my camera after my run and capture what I see each day.

Also, the Botanical Garden is featuring an amazing display of Chihuly glass.  I had to make that one of the first things on my list to see - I studied Chihuly in college and I'm a big fan of his work.  So below you'll see some images of his work in the desert.

More to come!  Thanks :)

Near our house is this post...hmmm... 'decisions'

Close-up of a Prickly Pear Cactus. 

Surroundings next to our house at sunrise.

Chihuly beauty!

{Designer Spotlight: Kait Emerson & Nuximade}

Oh...my... what a crazy month this has been.  I've been loving photographing Spring lines for so many designers.  Briella even asks me to photograph her - whaaa?  Yes, shocking me how much she enjoys these sessions.  Anyway, below is a taste of Kait Emerson's new spring line. And the coordinating hats are from the talented Nuximade.  You've seen both of them featured many times on my blog and I'm digging their latest designs and colors.  Love them!!   Brielle wore the green and yellow ensemble on her last day at school before we moved.  Yes, we moved yesterday!  So her last day at Byrnes was on Wednesday which happened to be ‘Spring Pictures' at school.  She loves accessories so the hat and the bows on the shoulders of the dress drew her in and she instantly fell in love ;-)  Check out more of their fun styles by clicking on their names above!

To update you all... we flew out to Phoenix yesterday from Charlotte, NC.  The night before we cleaned out our old house and then made the 2 hr drive to Charlotte (getting in at just past midnight).  Our flight was at 6 am the next morning so the kids flew on 4 hrs of sleep - oh my!  They did amazing (to my surprise) and we arrived mid-day to AZ.   I'm without my main computer (it's on the moving truck which should arrive early next week) but I made sure to upload the images below to my laptop since I knew I couldn't wait for the truck to arrive to make a blog post ;-) 

I'll be blogging more about our final days in SC and some session sneak peeks.  Saying good-bye is so painful but I'm incredibly thankful for the experiences we had in SC and I'm excited for the adventures and opportunities that await us here in Arizona!  Now I need to get to bed...my body is paying me back by giving me an atrocious cold - uggg... ;-)

{Designer Spotlight: Eliza Kate Designs}

A couple of months ago Krystin, from Eliza Kate Designs, contacted me to photograph some of her fresh, fun, new Spring line.   Even though my life is crazy right now I couldn't resist.  There are 5 pieces to this collection - ruffly capris, halter top, an apron skirt, an apron dress and a sun dress.  I love them all!  I really couldn't pick a favorite.  Anyway, here's a sample of her Spring collection.  She's still working on her website but you can also visit her blog.   Oh and this adorable hat is one of Nuximade's recent designs.  I love it!  

On a side note:  Briella has really enjoyed our 'photo sessions' and asks to do them almost daily now.  Although, it's ironic that she doesn't want to listen to me at all during our sessions.  It's almost comical how much she ignores me and my requests.  I'll delve more into that in my next post otherwise this could be long and I have a lot of packing to do.  But thankfully, somehow we make these sessions work and have been able to get through one like this in 30 minutes.  Yah!!  :) 

{Designer Spotlight: Oh So Sassy!}

Yes, I'm still alive!!  Gosh things have been incredibly busy!!  As you know, we are moving from South Carolina to Phoenix,  Arizona.  My husband started his job two weeks ago in AZ so the week before that we were in Disney World kind of as a good-bye to the south and some fun kid-focused good times.  Gosh, our kids were in heaven!!  Tyler and Brielle agreed that their favorite ride was 'Thunder Mountain' - yeah a big'ole roller coaster.  I was shocked first that Brielle was tall enough to go on the ride and that she fell in love with it!  We have video of each of them on the ride screaming with excitement.  Guess how many times we rode Thunder Mountain.....10 TIMES during our visit.  Anyway, I could go on and on about the kids excitement over everything they saw but I won't bore you with that ;-)  Two days after we got home we  left for Arizona  to check out area while Jeff started his new job.  What a busy busy busy  week and a half!  I must've seen over 100 homes!  I got a feel  for the area since each day was packed with research and exploring, the weather was perfect for it!!  It got me excited for the desert sunsets and the cool photos that I'll be able to capture once I'm there.   We were so busy I didn't touch my camera once (I was going through withdraws, I'm not used to going more than a couple of days without photographing).

 Anyway, while we were away we got news that an offer came in on our house!!  We were shocked since it's only been on the market 3 weeks!  So now it's under contract!  I know the deal can still fall through so I'm not celebrating until the deal is done ;-)  We're excited but that means we'll be moving sooner than we anticipated.  We have a close date of April 15th - yikes!  I'm not mentally ready and that means Tyler won't be here for his 5K graduation (I think I'm more upset by that than he is) :(  But I'm not complaining - I'm just thrilled we won't have the stress of two house payments!!   With a close date so soon, I've had to cancel many Spring sessions which I feel bad about but I do plan on coming back to Florence once a year for sessions and of course to see my friends here in the South :)  More details to come in later posts.

Okay onto my original post...Michelle, designer and owner of Oh So Sassy,   just came out with her Spring collection.  And I love it!! It's fresh and colorful!  I love the sleeves and the sash/belt  that she incorporated in her designs coupled with her fun fabrics.  Briella liked them too and didn't want to take her 'pretty dress' off before our spaghetti dinner after our photo shoot, but I feared orange sauce staining the front so I convinced her to let me take it off until she was done with dinner.   Thankfully she was content with that plan and ate her dinner in just her leg warmers and underwear ;-)  After dinner the first thing she did was grab the dress and put it on and went running to get her 'princess shoes'.  I'll miss these days ...I know my baby is growing up so fast so I'm savoring these moments.  Anyway  check out newest collection at Oh So Sassy and upon purchase, if you enter the code 'karamay' in the comments to the seller, she will give you 15% off one item by giving a refund!!    Thanks Michelle!! 

Olivia dress below - love the punch of yellow with the black and white.

Madison dress:  fun, funky patterns. The box pleat on the skirt portion is a great touch.

Eva dress:  fresh spring colors and again I love that box pleat at the skirt line.

{Designer Spotlight - Ribbies!}

Oh I'm behind on posting to my blog again :(  I really don't like going more than a week without posting but things have been nuts as you can imagine.  I've been doing  some fun commercial projects,  a few client shoots and getting ready to head out tomorrow for Disney World!!!  Since we're on the east coast and in the south we figured we can't leave this area without a trip to Disney World for the kids.  They are at such a fun age for it now, so I can't wait to see the excitement on their faces while we explore the park.  Without a doubt, Jeff and I will turn into big kids ourselves which will make it even more fun.  Of course my kids started to get sick last week, so I promptly took them to the doctors so we could cure any ailments before our adventure.  I want them to have fun and avoid the misery of being sick on such a fun vacation for them.  I'm glad I took them because they both had ear infections and bad colds - now they're loaded up on antibiotics and starting to feel like themselves again  - whew.... ;-)  After we get back from Disney - we're home for 2 days and then we head off to Arizona for a week+  to look for places to live and Jeff starts his new job when we get there!  Did I mention things were busy?   tee hee ;-)    Then the kids and I head back to SC so they can complete school, we can hopefully sell our house (praying)  and I can work with my amazing clients before saying goodbye to friends and our life here in the south.  Gosh that sounds so sad :(  But again, I do plan on coming back once a year for sessions and to see the great friends we have made while we were here.   

Okay, on with my original post!  I'm sooo excited about this commercial client of mine.  Kim from Ribbie's , contacted me recently to photograph some of her new products.  I was excited since I had just seen Ribbie's clippies the week prior at my local Target on one of the end-caps and was thinking about getting some of these hip little clippies for my daughter.  They come in so many fun colors and they actually stay in little one's hair with their unique foam grip.  Anyway, I learned a little about how Ribbie's got started too.   Kim and her sister, Kristen, went into business in 2006 after searching for cute hair accessories for their young daughters and noticed that the selection hadn't really changed much from when they were young.  They  saw the same big bows and plastic barrettes that slid out of fine hair.  They  wanted to design something more simple and proportionate to a baby/child's face.  About the same time, they came across the huge selection of cool scrapbooking ribbon that was relatively new to the market and thought it was a perfect fit. They added clips and their unique foam grip and tried it out.  The clips were a success staying in their daughter's hair all day.  In 2006 they started making them at their kitchen table.  Now they have manufacturer, a fulfillment center and distributors in 4 countries!! Their product popularity expanded at an amazing rate.    You can find Ribbie's at www.ribbiesclippies.com.  { Shipping is only $2.90 for up to 10 pair. Also receive 10% off by typing coupon code:  Kara May on the last page of check out.}  And the Ribbie's 4 packs can be found at target stores and at Target.com  -   http://www.target.com/gp/search/177-9662574-5715568?field keywords=ribbies&url=index%3Dtarget&ref=sr_bx_1_1&x=0&y=0  I found them on the end cap in the baby shampoo section.    This Spring they will be expanding their  line with several new products including pacifier clips and headbands made from Ribbies own ribbon designs.  Stay tuned for more products at their website and on my blog as I feature more of their new products.   

{sunshine & giggles}

Recently I had a session with these two cutie's below.  My 'time off' has come to and end and my sessions have begun.   And what a perfect day to start my sessions again!  It was beautiful, sunny, not  too cold (in fact not cold at all), and the wind was minimal.  Caleb and Fawley Grace were very entertaining during our session.  Caleb and I were in giggles and half the pictures from our session he's laughing - I loved it!   Fawley Grace - I could've taken her home with me.  Her little voice and her way of communicating was so full of emotion - simply adorable!    

Side Note:  I'm getting a lot of e-mails  about booking a session before I  leave, which I'm thrilled about.  I have a waiting list and if you're flexible it will be easier to squeeze you in.  Unfortunately, my time is limited since Jeff is going to be out of town and I will have a bunch to do to get ready for the move.  But I'm doing what I can to figure out my schedule.  I wish I had time to do everything since I would love to photograph all of you who have inquired.  I'll keep you posted!  Thanks again for your inquiries!

{the rumors are true...}

we're moving!   This is a bitter-sweet post.  I'm thrilled my husband accepted a new job in Scottsdale Arizona, but I'm sad to leave my friends and clients here in South Carolina.  I'm also going to miss my favorite locations and all of the open spaces.  I've neglected my blog a bit since we found out, we've been so busy prepping the house and trying to figure out the logistics of our move.  I plan to stay here through May so I can work with my Spring clients.  But if our house sells sooner (which is not likely in this market), that may have to change.  I've gotten so many sweet e-mails from clients and friends who heard the news - thank you, they mean a lot to me.  It's so hard to leave my loyal clients and the friends we've made but I'm excited and a little nervous about the adventures that await me in Arizona.  I've been asked if I will come back a few times a year to do sessions and many of you have kindly offered for me to stay with you or in your guest houses!  I appreciate your offers and may have to take you up on it since I would love to come back once a  year to do sessions!  

Soooo for the next few months my life is going to be CRAZY with Jeff gone, being involved with my children's activities, getting ready to move,  keeping the house spot-less for showing, doing sessions, etc.  - so if you've e-mailed me for a session I'm sorry if I haven't gotten back to you.  Feel free to harass me a bit, since sometimes things get nuts and I may not get back to you in a timely manner.  I don't at all mind you e-mailing or calling if I haven't been able to respond to you right away.   Those of you on the wait-list for a session I will be contacting you as well.  Thanks so much for your patience!    

{Pieces of The Picture – Interview}

A while back Tommy Peterson, of Pieces of the Picture, contacted me after seeing some of my work on flickr.  He's a fabulous interviewer and our discussion is featured on his blog.  His blog has become a resource for many photographers wanting to learn more about the industry.  His interviews are thoughtful - digging into various aspects of the art from the photographers he spotlights.  Check out our interview at Pieces of the Picture.  Thanks! 

Had to include a little bit of eye distraction and post this picture.  I saw these mailboxes at a trailer park not too far from me.  With the recent snow fall (yes, we got snow in the south again!  Can you believe it?) sprinkled onto these somewhat sad mailboxes I just had to capture the stillness and abandoment that they spoke.  Random, I know but I love random.

{the way I see...}

I've driven along this long country highway dozens of times.  Each time I see more and more that I ache to photograph.  Photograph it the way I see it (or want to see it).  This is my interpretation - very ordinary but also aged with decaying beauty.   Most would pass these on the road and think they were just an eye sore and I admit, billboards are such an annoyance to me but sometimes one or two will stick out and beg to be photographed.  And I love old metal signs - I can't pass one without  wishing I had my camera with me.  Anyway sorry this post is so short - I have a busy week ahead of me and wanted to make sure I posted before things got too crazy.  Thanks for taking a peek :)

{already missing the fluffy, white snow...}

Yesterday a wish of my kiddos came to fruition... it snowed here in South Carolina!  They've been wishing for snow since we moved here 2 years ago.  We got snow each year in Snoqualmie so it was strange for them not to get a taste of it each year.  Tyler was so excited at the thought that we might get snow that he woke up at 3am (that's not a typo) to look outside only to be let down that there wasn't any.  He was up on and off all morning and both kids squealed with anticipation when big white flakes finally began to fall from the sky.  Of course we spent most of the day outside playing in it, eating it, riding bikes in it, throwing it, etc.  They both made a 'snow pie' - you know, a bowl full of snow and I chopped up bits for fruit and put it in the bowl (as they stirred it) and then they ate it.  So fun!  We also made real snow cones! That was such a treat - I poured FUZE juice in it and they were giggling with excitement.  Then we took breaks , came in and had hot cocoa topped with mini marsh mellows.  This was the best winter day yet!    Now it's melting and Tyler and Brielle keep asking when we'll get more.  I'm afraid this was the last of it, but we enjoyed it while it was here.    Below are a few pictures of the snow! 

The first thing both kids did.... let the snow drop onto their tongue ;-)

Tyler running to throw a snowball at daddy's truck!  I've never seen someone love the snow as much as Tyler, he couldn't get enough of it.

Brielle the problem solver:  She insisted on wearing her sunglasses so the snow wouldn't get in her eyes.  She didn't take them off until the snow stopped blowing so hard.  I couldn't resist running in to get my camera to remember this moment.   Oh and she has a spoon and an apple slice in her hand making her tasty snow pie.