Solheim Photography

Tree Climbers

You know the old saying, "Ya learn something new everyday?" Well, this mom learned something new during our session. Those trees in her backyard? Well, they are climb-able and yea, her kids are all over them. I thought it was kinda funny. During our pre-consult, I was saying how the park down my street (aka outdoor studio) had some great climbing trees that were perfect for kids in action photos. She liked the idea and wondered if perhaps, we could start our session at her house and then go to the park to get some kids-climbing-trees shots. And when I mentioned the idea to the kids, they took off...up their own trees. hahaha Mom was surprised at how her kids scampered up those trees and a tiny bit apprehensive that in future, she won't be able to see her kids for the trees.  ;-)

Helping A Dream Come True

Yes, I know. I'm breaking one of those cardinal rules of blogging - assuming you want to grow your reader base - thou shalt post 2 to 3 times per week. The only thing I can say for myself is that 'tis the season.  ;-) And while I have many, many, many new favorites to share with you, I wanted to tell you about one endeavor I was recently involved in that meant a great deal to me and a very, very close friend of mine.

My friend of over 20 years, Lisa Poll, has decided to change her life - giving up her position as one of Monterey's ADA's, to pursue a dream she has had for several years. She is about to take on an unpaid position in South Africa to run one of the AIDS orphan centers her church sponsored and built years ago. She will work for AFnet AID helping orphans of AIDS parents gain the basic things they need like schooling, clothing, food and other support. Her heart and caring is immeasurable.

Here are photos of the orphans she sponsors in AFnet AID's program...

But first, she needs to raise money to cover her expenses - a total of $50K. And I was able to help in my small way by doing a photography fundraiser at Capitola Wharf last weekend. All of the session fees for the mini sessions went directly to her fundraising efforts, totalling over $2,000. (yea!) 

Currently at $31K, she still needs a bit of help. If you can contribute and want to read more about what she'll be up to, as well as the AFnet AID program, check out these links:

** For more information on the orphan centers run by AFnet AID: http://www.santacruzcares.org/orphanage.html.

For more information about what Lisa will be doing for AFnet Aid:  <http://www.pineconearchive.com/downloads090724.htm>

Her web site will be up soon where she'll keep everyone up to date on how the orphan center program is doing.

In the meantime, here are a few previews from the weekend:

First of all...my friend, Lisa Poll, for whom we held this entire event.... 

And our long-time girlfriend, Lupe, who also came to help send Lisa to Africa...
the beach always seems to bring out the smiles in the 3 and under set...

and non-stop action....

Lisa aptly named this fun pose the "peekaboo", which the kids easily got into....

 

and for doing such a good job, the kids got to play around a bit afterward...

 

how I love photographing these adorable girls...so glad they came down to participate....

and had a blast jumping around in the water at hight tide....
  
I absolutely love this area around Capitola Wharf...so many great spots....on the rocks...

 

and on the stairs...

  

love that these kids were up for anything...

and willing to humor me so we could try out a few ideas...

Many more favorites from the day to share soon...

NEW 2009 Holiday Card Designs!

Bright. Colorful. Whimsical. Put all three together and you get happy and playful- this year's theme to the new holiday card designs. What's more, I added a new format - tri-fold cards. Very fun. Very cool. Check 'em out. And if you can't help but smile, contact me now to schedule a photo shoot and get started on your holiday cards and gifts.

[By the way, I can easily change the greeting/sentiment to whatever you prefer. Just let me know what you'd like to say.]

  

 

And of course, many of our 2008 designs are also available:

Curious? Click on the link below to see more designs...

Announcing Holiday Mini-Sessions 2009!

Join us on Saturday, October 10th, and get started on this year's holiday cards and gifts! We are offering mini photo sessions (about 20-30 minutes per session) throughout the day in a woodsy Los Gatos park setting. Each session is only $50. Sign up by sending an email to LindaD@SolheimPhotography.com or calling 408.455.4000.

Let us do all the work -

the photography

the card design

the printing

We have several studio designs to choose from in Press-Printed cards (folded, flat and new  tri-fold formats) and Photographic cards. Prices start at $50 for a pack of 25 flat Press-Printed cards and $45 for a pack of 25 Photographic cards.

NEW  this year - with your minimum purchase of 50 holiday cards, you are eligible to buy seasonal  items only offered during the holidays -

• custom solid sterling silver photo jewelry
• solid sterling silver photo ornaments
• notecards featuring Solheim Photography's beautiful landscape photography

Avoid the holiday rush! Update your family portraits for your home and share them with family and friends through gifts and cards. Reserve your spot today! Contact us and we will help you make this holiday season extra special by creating truly unique heirloom gifts to treasure for years.

Until next time...

Annual Vacation to Norway

We are fortunate to visit Norway each year in order to see Truls' side of the family. Since our girls are now 5 years old, they especially appreciate being able to play with their numerous cousins and chat (in Norwegian, of course) with grandparents, uncles and aunts. This trip was an extra special one because we'd made plans to visit the old family farm many, many hours northwest of Oslo in a valley called Syltedalen. Along the way, we stopped at many well-known sites - Geiranger Fjord, glacier country, Dalsnibba Mountain and more. Norway offers a feast of visual delights for photographers.

The view (and there are many) from the road going down from the family cabin...

A stave church from 1150...

Our twins upon arrival at the old family farm. Let's just say that "camera shy" does not apply to them....

 

To see more vacation pics, click on the link below.

The CRAVE SF Bay Area Project - Plum Studios Salon in Burlingame - the Urban Girls' Manifesto

Wow! What a week. We just got back from our annual family vacation to Norway last Saturday and our girls started Kindergarten on Monday!  hahaha  Talk about cutting it close. The only downside of all this travel and activity is my loss of time to update this and my other blogs. So, here we go again...

Great news! Remember that CRAVE SF Bay Area Project (the Urban Girls' Manifesto) I did some shoots for in May? Well, the books will be hitting the shelves at the end of this month. I can't wait to take a look inside the book. From what I've seen, it's fresh, fun and just gorgeous. They really did a wonderful job with this. And here's another shoot I wanted to share with you.

Plum Studios Salon and Glamtini Events. Here's a nice full-service salon with a twist. During the week it's a friendly Best of the Bay hair and nail salon and on special Sundays, it becomes a magical world filled with fantasy dress-ups and bling. Karen Ulrich (owner) and the glitter girls shower their full attention on party guests with hip hairdos, sleek nails and fabulous makeup so you're looking your best for your party's photo shoot. What a great idea, eh? Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see a Glamtini event in progress but Karen had plenty of photos to share - check out the CRAVE book for those fun shots. But once again, I felt so fortunate to have made another great find, this time in the heart of Burlingame's busy boutique shopping district. If you happen to live in or around Burlingame, stop by Plum Studios Salon. You'll leave rested, relaxed and looking absolutely fab-u-lous.

Meet Karen Ulrich, owner of Plum Studios Salon...

 

 

Just click on the link below to see more fun images from this shoot.

Hi-Energy In My Outdoor Studio

I love going to my clients' homes for a photo shoot - there's nowhere else more comfortable for a child or baby than to be in a familiar environment with all their familiar toys. There's also something special about capturing the children at this age in this home - who knows where they might be five years from now - and don't we all wax nostalgic about the homes we grew up in? But there are times when the front and back yards just aren't suitable and I need an alternative to offer up when the family really, really wants to be outside. So, I have a playlot down the street that I've decided to dub my outdoor studio. And I'm quite happy that I had a couple of hi-energy girls to race in and around the play structure with a few stops to rest and sit for a few shots with Mom in the trees. By the end of our session, their Mom remarked that they're going to think it's just playtime...to which I thought, thank you. That's the sweetest compliment you could have given me.

Love it when kids like to climb trees...so many different looks while they're negotiating the right path...

Caught her just before she started to climb up again...

And I caught little sis just as she was coming down...

When they both started chasing each other around the play structure, I knew they were in their element...and I would get to capture the most natural expressions of joy and laughter...

For more fun images from this playtime session, click below...

Summer Vacation - the Golden Hour

We all need a break from time to time...and luckily, my husband (the other half of Solheim Photography) tends to take charge of the camera on our trips. His work is awesome and we have quite a [constantly growing] collection of slides and negatives from our travels over the past many, many years. One day, I intend to pull them out and kick off another side of Solheim Photography - travel and landscape photography - as home decor and cards, posters and the like. For now, he'll just keep creating more gems during our travels for our home and archives - and focusing more of that travel time on capturing our girls as they grow.

These photos are from our vacation to Maui this year. Beach and pool - it's so easy to entertain our girls sometimes. And, as the post title says, these were taken (by my husband, Truls) during the golden hour just before the sun sets...an especially wonderful time to capture those golden hues and silhouettes against a fading sun.

Want to see a few more beach photos from Maui? Click on the link below...

Capturing the Details

You know what's so fun about photographing 4-year-old girls? They want to show you EVERYthing...and I LOVE it. There's so much a little girl is into from dancing to princesses to playhouses to fairies to drawing to...well, you name it. As with my own daughters, I love capturing the details. Images of things like crayons, princess costumes, drawings, purses, pint-size chairs and tables, tell a story about your childhood that no words can adequately express. And this little girl had the most adorable bedroom with bright and colorful fairies painted on the wall along with a playhouse in the backyard for entertaining guests with tea parties. I adored her exuberance in showing it all to me.

Don't you love her beautiful smile?

And she had lots to show me...like her Birthday Girl Princess tiara...

and her sweet little lamby...

and of course, we wandered outside so she could show me the cute little sign in front of her playhouse...

 

and her Princess purse...

 

Want to see more sweet photos of this precious little girl? Just click on the link below...

Still In A Baby Mood

How I love photographing babies. There's just something soft and sweet and fleeting about capturing their expressions and gestures. The cute little rolls, the pudgy little hands...sure, there usually isn't much purpose behind all the hand waving or constant kicking or upturned faces but reflexes but still. All of those minute movements coupled with their seeming looks of wonder, consternation or joy make for such heart-tugging images. Here's an adorable little one that I'm getting to capture throughout her first year.

The expression on her face here just makes me smile (9 months old):

 

And here, she started really hamming it up for the camera...loved it!

Talk about bold. Once she got into it, she really got into it...hahaha

 

 

Want to see more sweet photos of this beauty? Click on the link below to see images from her 3-months-old session.