Fleeting Moments

Fizzy Lifting Drinks

Let's see -- the forecast is for temps in the mid-90s on the eve of a full moon. And Geddy Lee is in town. Let the craziness begin!

But I am here to offer an antidote if it gets TOO crazy for you:

I recommend blue raspberry slushies for the kids and Gourmet's Fizzy Sour Cherry Lemonade for the grown-ups. As for us, it's a cool kiddie pool kinda day. But you can bet that will happen only after we make a quick run to the grocery store to procure ingredients for aforementioned fizzy lifting drinks.

Sneak Peeks for Amy

I had a chance to photograph another handsome one-year-old boy last week. He definitely had a twinkle in his eye and a real knack for posing!

A Mother-Daughter Day

 
Aren't they gorgeous together?

I loved spending time with little C and her mom recently. What an intelligent, expressive and self-determined little girl -- just the kind I love to photograph. She had a different expression in every image

Never Say Never...Again

 
Once upon a time, I wrote a post entitled "I Don't Do Weddings." I love taking portraits of children and families. I really enjoy taking senior pictures. I love capturing newborns and expectant parents. But at the time, I really didn't want the added responsibility and stress of documenting weddings.

And then, a good friend implored me to take a few snapshots at her wedding. "Pleeease," she said, we were just going to have disposable cameras on the tables, but now we really want a few nicer pictures of the ceremony."

Well...

Since I wasn't stepping on any wedding-photographer toes, I did it. And actually liked it. But I still wasn't doing weddings.

And then another opportunity came up. The Hotel Hershey and Hershey Gardens host a number of very small weddings each year. Would I be interested in doing a few images of those weddings?

And I crumbled. I mean, who could say no to taking portraits of happy couples in those gorgeous venues? It's a photographer's dream!

So I showed up at Rachel and Andy's spring wedding at the Hotel Hershey. The images turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself, and I shared them here.

And then I couldn't really say "I don't do weddings" any longer.

So a few weeks ago, I teamed up with the Stacey Grasa to cover the Hershey Gardens wedding of Stacey (yes, another Stacey!) and Gary on an amazing sunny day. We had the BEST time with this fun couple, and got to shoot in one of the most beautiful locations around. See for yourself!

We're looking forward to another fun Hershey wedding this weekend, and I'll be spending the day mapping out the shooting schedule and planning the last few details.

And guess what? I AM doing weddings now. And loving every minute of it!

Two Brothers, One Little Sister

...and three big personalities!

These three sibs were so much fun -- all three were incredibly smart and expressive, but their personalities were all different. The challenge for me was capturing those unique personalities and not letting them get lost behind those gorgeous good looks!

Sneak Peek for K

I have so many more photos from the last few weeks to share here -- but first, a few fresh photos because I want to give K a sneak peek of her little guy!

He's adorable, he's active, he's ALL BOY!

Catching Up

It's been a busy few months! Aside from family fun, I've been crazy-busy with the cameras lately. From families to newborns to parties to weddings, I've taken (and proofed!) thousands of images in the last two months, and it's been a blast.

But it's time to get caught up here and maybe share a bit.

I really love photographing children, especially when there are a few siblings to capture together. Finding out about their personality, what makes them laugh -- it's my favorite part of the job. And I've had a lot of practice lately -- in the last two months, I've had five different photo sessions with sets of three sibs. Fun!

These three, ages 5, 4 and almost-1, were sunny and happy despite unseasonable cool temps and a dark sky. They loved hearing "Grumpy Old Troll" from Dora the Explorer! It helped that mom and dad were so easygoing and unflappable -- their patience carried us through a long session. But we got some real gems...

Practice, Practice, Practice

The last ice skating competition of the season took place on Saturday, and yesterday evening we went to the final coaching session for a couple months.

So Carly has summer of swimming, tennis and good times ahead while I take some time to regroup and organize the memories of another skating season gone by.

Although she's only 7, Carly is a skating veteran already. I remember her begging to get skates when she was two -- we successfully stalled until she turned three. But once she hit the ice, there was no looking back.

She was thrilled to go to group lessons each week, where Coach Cindy helped her discover the joy of chasing bubbles on the ice and playing London Bridge on skates. She looked forward to graduating from rental skates to her own pair of bright white skate boots and shiny blades. She wanted nothing more than to "be presented" on the ice and "do a spin on one foot." She coveted the sparkly dresses.

Four years (and many hundreds of cold hours of practice) later, she can do that scratch spin pretty well in her sparkly dress. And her face still lights up when the announcer presents her, or her synchro team, at a competition. Her dad and I beam proudly from the stands, both of us remembering those little curls peeking out from a hockey helmet four years ago and wondering how that time went so quickly.

Congratulations, Seniors!

Today is Graduation Day for many of the 2008 seniors in Central PA -- congratulations to all of them!

Now...where are all those 2009 seniors? It's your time to shine!

Frances Civello Photography is looking for seniors in several school districts to serve as an FCP Senior Rep.

What does that mean to you?

Well, if you're the first 2009 senior in your school to book a senior session, you'll get your session free. Plus, we'll throw in a starter set of 40 wallet photos of your favorite pose -- that adds up to a total savings of $225! All you have to do is share your senior picture with your friends -- it's that easy!

Senior sessions are booking now, so don't delay!

Disparate Shows

Two of my favorite shows and they couldn't be more different:

I am beyond excited to see a second season of Ice Road Truckers on The History Channel's schedule! The new season begins this Sunday, and I will be riveted to my old-fashioned non-HDTV set.

Another kind of reality show we love in our house is From the Top, which was featured on BzzAgent's Frogpond this morning. Everyone watches, including almost-three-year-old Kai, who loves to pretend he's playing the instruments.