A couple of weeks ago I headed to Olbrich Gardens and had a great time with this extended family. This session marked the first time the grandparents, who live in the South, had met their new granddaughter. We had a lot to capture and the storm clouds were rolling in as we made our loop through the gardens.

Our preview appointment is next week, and I can't wait to show them the rest of the images. It's going to be hard to choose...

Three generations...

Play time! I just love everyone's expressions here! We were about to get soaked from the rain anyway, so why not the fountains too?

It's been a busy week of senior and family portraits, both in the studio and around the Middleton parks. It appears that the mosquitos have finally joined us. I was hoping that they had so much fun last year that they decided to skip a year. Wishful thinking...

The end of a session often brings some of the best moments. This image shows the power of letting kids be themselves. You never know what will happen next or what they will do. After jumping, dancing and laughing, it was time to chill out for this little girl...and get her giraffe, of course.

Social networking is still something I am trying to get a handle on. As you can tell by the frequency of my blog posts, I am not always connected to the internet (nor do I want to be).

Considering that I still use a paper calendar, like to scribble on paper, and still use black and white film on occasion, you may be surprised to know that, yes, I have a Facebook page. Since I don't want to duplicate efforts between my blog and Facebook, I think I'll be posting more images, videos and albums on Facebook and more session stories and updates on my blog. So...if you want to see more images...please become a fan of my Facebook page @ Jennifer Hassrick Photography.

One of the things I love about photography is the element of surprise. Sometimes images that you think will work, don't. And ones that you didn't even know you got, appear. Sometimes luck plays a role too.

In the digital age, we are becoming more and more precise and often forget about the things that "gray zone" of surprise and chance. This zone is exactly what drew me to photography in the beginning and there are images like this that remind me to remain playful and be open to what may lie ahead.

I still enjoy doing sessions with my film camera and get excited when I get my negatives arrive a week later. That time in between the session and viewing the images is very important to me (and I still have a viewing delay with my digital images). I feel that it makes me "see" the images better and beyond what I expected to see. This is something two of my mentors have taught me over the years.

This image, taken on film and then scanned for proofing, is a perfect example of good luck and timing. I remember saying to the little girl's mom "I hope I got that" . I was crossing my fingers that I pressed the shutter just before the bubble popped. And this time, all my stars aligned.

At the end of the April, I took a much needed vacation with my girls in Florida (sadly dad couldn't come with because of work). I am finally catching up on the images that I took during that week. And this one makes me chuckle...I like to call it "Beach Buns".

There's nothing like those rolls and chunky thighs at this age. She didn't really mind the sand and eventually I stopped finding it in her diaper!

June is turning into a busy month of family and senior portrait sessions and one of my only weddings for the year. My little one has now joined her big sister at daycare a couple of days a week and I am amazed at what I've been able to accomplish this week! You probably noticed that I have begun the process of redesigning my blog and website - there's more to come and I am excited to see what direction it takes!