A Surprise for Dad

I loved this photo shoot. These boys are a blast!!! They have been friends of my oldest son since the youngest and my son were in Kindergarten together (they are in middle school now, so I will only threaten with those Kindergarten pictures). So needless to say our families have been friends for years, so we were relaxed in their backyard (newly decorated with some beautiful stonework) playing with the dog and snapping some pictures here and there. They were doing this photo shoot for a Christmas gift for their dad. So we had to keep the shoot a secret. And I coached my children to keep it a secret even as they stood up on Christmas eve as a family to light the advent wreath. Did we do it???? Was he surprised??? I know he will love the picture. These boys are so photogenic. We were a little chilly, but had so much fun just playing around - you can tell these guys are so much fun to be with. THANKS for the Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls - they were awesome. I haven't eaten one of those in years - I enjoyed every bite. You guys rock! Hope you had a GREAT Christmas!

The Bond between Boys and their Dog.

My first memory of this photo shoot was how cold it was. We hurried to the barn and started our photos there, just to get out of the wind. These guys were all great troopers to take off their jackets, get a few pictures and then warm up a little and go again. Despite the cold wind hitting us, we really had a great time. I just love this family, so we had a blast at this park together regardless of the weather. And Buster (the dog) is the little puppy on my website with the tennis ball. He is getting so big and he loves those boys so much. There is nothing more special than the bond between boys and their dog. Their picture with Buster is my favorite - every time that I see it, I catch myself smiling. That is unconditional love.

God's Gift

I am playing catch up now posting my pictures that I took for families for the holidays. This family has been friends of ours for years. Our youngest boys were friends in preschool and through their friendship our families became friends. This was such a fun shoot. I was in their home and met their new dog, Buddy. Buddy is only 1 year old and we were fast friends (with puppy kisses and all) right up to the point that I pulled out my camera. I am still working to get back into his good graces.

As I left this photo shoot, I felt peace and happiness like no other. Their son several years ago had an unknown medical condition that reacted to some medication and his heart stopped (3 times actually) and through great medical teams (you can see his advertisements for WakeMed) and through the power of prayer, he is here today and doing wonderful. And I felt so blessed to be there that day in their home taking pictures of that family that I been down on my knees praying for and had my whole family (and their Sunday School class) thousands of miles away from here praying for. You realize that God has a plan for each of us and through Him, we do his work on earth. Each day is a gift and each child is a gift and every family/friend is a gift from God. This season I am so thankful for all the gifts that God has given me and I am thankful for this wonderful friendship and the joy to come into their home and photograph their family and share that time this holiday season with them.

Boys will be Boys

My friends contacted me about doing some pictures for Christmas cards, so with all boys in tow including one of mine (yes, that makes 7 boys all together) we took off the the local park. These boys looked like they are clothing models and just popped right off the page of the catalog. So, our objective was to get these pictures done before they got grass stains all over their knees. Yeah, we did it! Our youngest boys have been friends since birth and even though I haven't known their moms my whole life, it seems like our friendship has been for a lifetime. So, at the request of the boys they wanted me to bring my son so they could play a little when they were done with pictures. Many pictures are trying to get my son out of them or have him jumping behind me - he also will refer to himself as my photo assistant (that includes carrying some props for me and then playing) So we all had a great time visiting and catching up and letting the boys play after we finished the photo session, that was until we got too cold. I also designed their Christmas cards - they turned out awesome - - - I can't wait for them to come in!!!

Family Christmas Photos

I was so excited to do this family's Christmas pictures this year. It is great to have friends that become your clients. It was so nice to go to their home and it felt like a visit with a few photos thrown in. They are a beautiful family, so it was easy to get some really great pictures of them. The dog even showed off his trick with his cookie on his nose and then he would flip it up and catch it. We had fun and were able to get some good pictures. Merry Christmas!

NC - A beautiful backdrop for family pictures!

The Fall colors are gorgeous in North Carolina right now. This was from a family photo shoot from a couple weeks ago. I love these pictures because they show the love between and father and son and they also show off the beautiful background that the trees gave us for this shoot. We had a blast that day. This family is good friends of ours, and so this photo shoot felt like a fun day in the park. The boys had a blast. They would pick up pecans and then we would shoot a few pictures. They would throw the football and run around and then we would shoot a few more pictures. As their Mom and I planned this shoot, she told me the boys were not looking forward to it. Since my life is immersed in "boyness", I knew exactly what they were thinking. So I did what I love to do best and what I knew the boys would enjoy - have fun! So, we made the photo shoot like playtime with a few photos thrown in here and there. And it worked! When the day was done she told me that the boys said, "taking pictures with Ms. Holly was so much fun". That is my goal to give my clients and enjoyable experience and at the same time give them some great pictures and memories.

Fall In North Carolina

My favorite season of the year is Fall. I used to like it as a kid because my birthday was in the fall, but there comes a time when your world doesn't revolve around your birthday (even more so when you hit the big 40). But since living in North Carolina my love for fall is all about the changing of the leaves and Krispy Kreme's Pumpkin Spice donuts. I will never get tired of seeing the leaves change. It is so pretty. I try really hard not to think about the yard work when they fall, I just focus on their beautiful color for now. And I look forward to getting my annual Pumpkin Spice Donut. Hope you are enjoying your favorite part of fall.

Holly Hodges Photo in the News!!

A Holly Hodges photo made the evening news tonight!!!!! I shot the Think Pink Breast Cancer awareness ceremony at North Raleigh United Methodist Preschool today and our local news contacted me for photos to include in the evening news. Now if you blink you might miss it, but you can see my name on my photo! How often do you have a photo make the evening news? I thought it was pretty cool. I videoed the very brief story on the news - check it out!

What do you get a PawPaw for his birthday?

Do you struggle trying to find the perfect gift to give your dad for his birthday???? I knew what I wanted, but getting it is a whole other story. What better gift can a photographer give than a picture? But not just any portrait, one of all 5 of his grandkids..... did I mention that 2 of them are 2 year olds??? Yes, that adds a new element of challenge for a photographer. So I set out to photograph my 2 sons and my 3 nieces for my dad for his birthday gift. As I write this I laugh at a recent preview of the TV show, "19 Kids and Counting" that I just saw. One of the older girls was talking about what a challenge it was to get their family picture made. She said "the little ones are always doing something, looking away, picking their nose or crying........" After photographing just my 5, I am feeling really bad for that other photographer now. But I will tell you if we had a camera crew following me to do this shoot, you would have had you some entertaining reality TV. But that is what is totally awesome about still photography - it captures a moment in time without the ciaos and let's you feel however you want to feel when you look at it. So when you see this picture - yes these are the most well behaved 5 children in the world sitting on a fence in front of these huge, gorgeous moss filled trees right beside a golf course that overlooks the water in Charleston, SC. Now isn't that beautiful????? But really, I LOVE this picture - definitely one of my favorites - and a favorite of all the grandparents. Happy Birthday, PawPaw!

I am now on istockphoto.com

I was so excited to finally get one of my photographs accepted by istockphoto.com. If you don't know istockphoto.com it is where people can go to purchase a stock photo for their marketing materials, website etc.... They pay a fee to use the art and the photographer gets a portion of the fee that is paid for the use of the file. Matt has had several of his pictures up there for a while, but I haven't spent as much time as he has really working on this. But, but when I was at the football pep rally for my boys waiting to see their teams parade by, I happen to be standing against the fence watching the cheerleaders. I saw a perfect istock photo moment, and I took it. I was so thrilled when it got accepted because I specifically took the shot with that in mind and it worked. Here is the link to the istockphoto page http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-13938082-young-cheerleader.php, but I have also attached the picture. Now I just have to keep my eyes open for these moments, and then hope someone purchases my photos.

Spread your Wings and Fly

I thought these were perfect pictures to kick off this blog. Just like a butterfly I am spreading my wings, taking a chance and flying off into places I have never been before. A Butterfly just amazes me. It goes from a little caterpillar into this chrysalis and then comes out looking like something completely different. No matter how many times I see this process occur (remember I have boys - we have every size bug box you can imagine), I am still in awe. And I do catch myself when I see a butterfly, just stop and watch and then I catch myself smiling. It is just one of God's wonderful creations. This year was especially fun because my son was studying the Life Cycle of a Butterfly as we watched this process happen in our own yard. He was thrilled and named every part of the butterfly as he watched them on his hand prepare for flight. It was so much fun to watch his face. You realize that their life is short after that so they have to make the most of it and spread their wings and fly away. You can apply that to our own lives - life is to short not to spread your wings and enjoy the view and take advantage of every moment.