New Cardinals!

For the past 3 years, there is a kamikaze cardinal that likes to fly into my office window. I even planted a hibiscus tree in front of the window so he wouldn't fly full force into it. Since planting the tree, he now sits in the tree before he flies into the window. Every now & again I would see his lady with him, too. For the past few months, I've only seen the male, until this weekend - he brought a young cardinal with him to the tree! At first I thought it was his lady, but then I noticed that the beak was black and the feathers on its belly were like down.

Today after Julia got home from school, the male, female, and TWO young cardinals paid me a visit! I managed to get this shot before they all left the tree. Some of its feathers are starting to turn red. I don't know much about cardinals except that the young ones have black beaks and the adults have bright red beaks.

Julia's first solo

Julia, my 10-year-old, had her first solo in her fifth grade performance last Monday. Her sister Amanda took video with her camera for all to enjoy. Julia's the first soloist. We're very proud of her!

Shelby - Class of 2009

Check out this gorgeous girl!

Britt - Class of 2009

Britt is a smart, athletic, beautiful girl who recently won Class President at her high school for her senior year!

One of my Class of 2009 reps, Ashley, helped with Britt's shoot - see her showing Britt how to pose her hands, and the resulting shot. Ashley is taking photography classes in school and is awesome at giving directions!

Heart Gallery of Tampa Bay

If you've ever considered adopting a child, then you need to visit the Heart Gallery of Tampa Bay's exhibits. Going on now through June 9th, the exhibit is at Westfield Mall in Brandon.

From www.heartgallerytampabay.org:

"The 2008 Heart Gallery of Tampa Bay is a collaborative effort between the Children's Board of Hillsborough County and Hillsborough Kids, Inc. that's dedicated to increasing the number of foster and adoptive families, as well as heighten awareness for the hundreds of children needing homes in our community.

Both professional and student photographers exhibited in the Gallery volunteer their time to make this project a reality. The photographs don't just show happy faces, the expressions captured are wistful, mischievous, sweet, thoughtful and curious - all the emotions a child feels.

The Gallery has demonstrated unprecedented success in finding adoptive homes for many foster children in our community. Since June of 2005, inquiries about foster care and adoption attributed to the Heart Gallery is an estimated 54% total, with 41 percent of the children in the 2007 Gallery matched with potential adoptive families."

EXCITING NEWS!

I submitted two portraits for Millers Professional Imaging Baby and Child Portrait Contest. The results are in for rounds 1 and 2, and I am happy to announce that out of several thousand entries, the images I submitted have been chosen to be finalists that will go on to a final round in July. Woo hooooo!

All finalists for the Millers Contest will be voted on by a group of esteemed photographers and prize winners will receive the following prizes:

First, Second, and Third places, as well as two Honorable Mentions, will be announced for each category! Cash prizes for these winners include $2,000 for First, $1,000 for Second, $750 for Third, and $500 for each Honorable Mention. One portrait from the Final Round will also receive the highest of accolades -- Grand Prize Winner. The cash prize will be $5,000 for this lucky winner! All cash prizes will be given to the families of the winning portraits.

That means there will be 20 entries for each category in the final round of the Millers Contest: Color, Black and White, Humorous and Special Needs.

Round 1 Winner:

Round 2 Winner: