let me shoot your offspring

Har.

So, a light bulb went off in my head the other day. This doesn't happen often.

I do have to give my Pops some credit, though, because it was sorta his idea. He was telling me how their neighbor takes baby/kid portraits and has discovered that people want pictures of their kids taken every year. Being child-free myself and not planning on ever popping out any rug rats, this thought probably never would have occurred to me. Pictures every year = repeat business = $$$.

An easily transferable source of income after we move? would be nice
Easy to please the customer because what parent doesn't like a picture of their adorable rug rat? bonus
Something I've already dabbled in at the request of family and friends and felt mildly successful with? fer sure
Not stressful like shooting weddings? OH PLEASE YES

Good grief, I took some really amazing pictures of my goddaughter this past weekend, and the idea of making money doing this so we can live out our homestead fantasy is, well, quite brilliant on my part (thanks, Dad).

Let me prove it to you:

Redwood trees add catch lights to the eyes. I wish I could say I planned that.

Sassy to the hilt.

It should be illegal for babies to be this cute.

Lyle Tuttle was clearly planning her ultimate revenge on LJC.
no, not really, she actually was rolling around in the grass the whole time

Is it wrong to be jealous of a baby's pea coat? and headband

The chub is finally making its way to her limbs. Squishy chubster.

Yea, having a perfect model baby is probably the reason why these turned out good, but I gotta give myself some credit.

The birth rate in Hancock County is actually lower than that here in Santa Cruz, and the poverty rate there is quite high, so this will not likely pay all the bills, but I'm still hoping to convince the locals to let me document their children in exchange for some greenbacks. And I might be willing to trade for perhaps some livestock, backhoe work (read: pond, root cellar, etc), or possibly manure (it would have to be lots. and be aged. and get delivered). Because that's how we roll out in the sticks, folks.

~ Mitsy

olive-tini

This has zero to do with homesteading or Tennessee, but I had to share pictures I took of my adorable three-week-old niece, Olive, yesterday. Stephanie's idea (her mom) was to dress her in an olive-colored onesie with a red knit hat and sit her in a giant martini glass for the birth announcement. Funny how a red hat proved elusive but she was able to hunt down a giant martini glass, but I still think we got the bow positioned right (and not "douchey-looking", lol, per Steph) as a nod to the pimento. I'm no Anne Geddes, but it was pretty fun to shoot, although we were both extremely nervous to take our hands off that martini glass! Mom's hands were literally an inch out of each frame.

An overhead airplane kept her entertained while I frantically tried
to get as many shots as I could before she tried to move!
I did remove a booger from her nose during processing
in The Gimp (aka poor man's Photoshop).

It topped out at 83 degrees in Santa Cruz on Sunday. I'm thrilled
that our last winter in California has been so spectacular.

Gratuitous nekkid baby shot.

Sadie is not real sure what the purpose of
this "new thing" is and quickly exited the room.