danielle mooneyham PhotoBlog

I had so much fun photographing Sarah!  She is always smiling and happy.  We did two photo sessions- the first one at my studio, and the second one at her family’s home in Paradise Valley.  They have a gorgeous stone house set back in the woods.  I love, love, love it.  

Sarah chose two completely different looks for her sessions and I think she looked great!

Graduation time is just about here.  A HUGE thank you to all the students I photographed. You were a terrific group to work with….I had a blast! 

Since I did not have my blog until a few months ago, I am going to post some of my 2008 Seniors when I get the chance.  First up is Maggie.  Maggie used to babysit my kids before she relocated to Helena.  I was so happy to take her Senior portraits this year, as she was always willing to model for me when I had an idea for a crazy new location that I wanted to try out.  I dragged her out early in the mornings, into the cold Yellowstone River, over creaky steel bridges…you name it!  Maggie was always ready to help me out.  As you can see, the camera loves her…

This first picture was taken in my studio, and is one of the designs I offer for announcements:

Very cool steel bridge shots.  What you CAN’T see is that the wood slats are old and have quite a bit of room between them.  It spans the Yellowstone River which can get pretty turbulent during spring run-off.  Needless to say, Maggie was stepping lightly!

After our very brief bit of warm weather, we are back to snow and cold temperatures.  I tried to do a photo shoot this morning when the sun decided to peek out, but the Livingston wind prevailed and my California Sunbounce panel wanted to set sail.  I could use a bit of global warming….

My dog fights coyotes on a nightly basis, and we’ve even had a pair of wolves attacking her in the back yard, so I guess it was inevitable that the kids would be involved at some point…

The weather finally broke this weekend and we had temperatures of around 70 degrees. Definitely a welcome relief after a cold, snowy winter! My kids immediately headed out to play in the hills behind the house. (I tend to watch them like a hawk as we have quite a number of rattlesnakes in the area, but I figured it is still a bit early for them to be out in force. So off they went and I didn’t worry too much.)

Naturally, I should have known better. I heard some shouts and peeked out the window to see what was going on. They were running down the very steep, rocky hill…not easy, so I knew something must be wrong. I finally made out what they were shouting…..”Bear!!!” I raced up to help them climb down…my four year old was in a panic yelling “Mommy, help me!” Turns out they ran into a mother black bear and her cub. By the grace of God, the bears ran the opposite way. We see bears occasionally, but it was unusual for them to be this close to the house. Thankfully it was only a close encounter and nothing more.

(Hmmm…I’d better check to see if the fence is still up. If the bear crashed through it, my horses might be able to escape!)

Still cold and snowy here in Montana, so no outdoor egg hunts like we used to have in North Carolina! Jessie was the first one up this year, and I actually got to sleep in until 7:00 am. (yea!) Dakota is still the egg hunting champ, but the other two managed to hold their own.

Gabe-the artist at work

Jessie and her preschool bunny ears

Dakota and her kitty cat egg

Jessie had me take a photo with EACH of her colored eggs!

Naturally, my trip to Las Vegas was not all work! I made some terrific friends while I was there and had a great time hanging out with them.

Amy Gaerthofner treated me to dinner at the Bellagio buffet–wow–I ate A LOT! Corey Ann Balazowich and Kelly Ward rounded out our group and we spent the evening talking about photography and a gazillion other subjects. On Sunday a bunch of contacts from Flickr met for brunch at the Cafe Lux in the Venetian. It was great to meet them in person!

Kelly Lee, Amy, Melissa, Kelly Ward, Zach, Corey Ann, and Kate in front. (Samantha Nicole and Aubrey also joined us for brunch but were not there for the photo)

Kelly L., Amy, Melissa, Kelly W., Corey Ann, Kate, and me.

During the week we made the rounds at several parties (Pixel2Canvas at The Palms, Photography Mentor at Mandalay Bay, and Blu Domain at The Parisian) but truthfully my favorite place was at Napoleon’s Lounge in the Paris hotel. I joined Corey Ann, Kelly, Kate McElwee, and Zach Goodyear at the lounge on several occasions to listen to the awesome guys on the dueling pianos. They rock! We danced and had a blast, and usually made new friends of the other folks hanging out at the lounge, too. Next time I’m bringing a small point and shoot camera so I can capture some of the fun without lugging around my enormous SLR!

I had to take a picture of the ubiquitous slot machines. You can’t get anywhere without being routed through the middle! They are easy to resist; I just can’t bring myself to put hard-earned money in one.

And finally, a snap of the stained glass ceiling at the Paris. Beautiful!

So I’m back from Las Vegas and recovering from the complete sensory overload! (There are really no words to fully describe Las Vegas, though gaudy and over-the-top come to mind.) The convention was fantastic and I had a blast learning from so many talented people.

My two day class with Matthew Jordan Smith was more than I hoped for. He is an AMAZING individual…incredibly talented and so generous with his time. He taught us some of his studio technique using a hot light, beauty dish, and natural light. Just before our time was up, he took us on a “field trip” to Bambi Cantrell’s class. What a blast! We had the opportunity to watch Bambi and Matthew duke it out…photographing four punked out models in their own unique styles. Two masters at work…I was in heaven! (Check out their work at: www.matthewjordansmith.com and www.cantrellportrait.com.)

Below are some of the photos I took in class with Las Vegas model Russella Naughton using a single hot light.

And some snaps of the two masters at work!

Just one more day and I’m off to WPPI! For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, WPPI is the trade organization, Wedding and Portrait Photographers International. Each year their convention is held in Las Vegas, and I’m finally taking the time to go. I’ll study the first two days with photographer Matthew Jordan Smith, an amazing talent and well-known celebrity photographer. The rest of the week I’ll be absorbing everything I can–that will be a bit difficult as it is now America’s largest trade show for professional photographers. I can’t wait to bring new ideas and cool products back to expand my business!

I won’t be adding to my blog while I’m there, but I’ll be sure to post photos from the trip when I return!

Earlier today FedEx delivered my new sample Tuscany Album. It is gorgeous! After receiving a promotional postcard from them, I decided to give them a try. I designed a 10 x 10 album, with a black cameo cover and 12 pages (24 sides). The album lays flat when opened, beautifully displaying the panorama layout.

A flushmount album, like this one, is sturdy and built to stand the test of time. That feature will come in handy as this particular album is headed over to the Chico Hot Springs sales department where it will be available for brides to check out my photographic work.

I was doing some scheduling for next year and noticed that in 2009, the most romantic day of the year falls on a Saturday. If you are engaged and thinking about a February 14th wedding, you’d better contact vendors now! This will be a very popular wedding date for 2009, so expect it to be booked up fast!