borklife

Mamma's got a brand new blog

2010-07-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

Please check out my blog at a new address
http://sarahborkhamilton.com/blog

Update your bookmarks and follow along with me!

I love my job

2010-02-25T16:50:00.001-08:00

Where do I begin? Maybe for once I'll just let the pictures say it all.

Photographing a birth is stunning. Every. Single. Time.

This is probably my most favorite family portrait I have taken in recent years.

Dad is calling his mother to tell her about her about the baby.

Friday Flowers - Plus an amazing Yellow Sapphire Ring

2010-02-19T12:11:00.000-08:00

I am going away for the weekend with my posse of women so I am posting this a day early. Aren't these colors gorgeous? Hydrangeas, Queen Anne's Lace, Agapanthus, Peacock feathers, Button Mums and two colors of Lisianthus! More from this charming wedding coming soon.

Twins!

2010-02-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

Last week I photographed these twins for a Secret Surprise Valentine's Day Gift for their Papa. Tiny humans are intoxicating. I love the bottom shot because it captures all the love and armloadfullness of being a new Mama of two. More from this shoot coming soon.

Friday Flowers - Rosebud

2010-02-15T12:11:00.001-08:00

There is nothing more tenderbeautifulprecious than a tiny, new born 21 day old flower. You can meet her twin and hear a little bit about our session in my next post.

My Baby 2010

2010-02-08T12:04:00.001-08:00

I've been doing something new. After years of favoring spontaneous shooting outdoors in natural light I am experimenting with working in my studio where I can control everything but my subject. I am having way more fun than I ever imagined. WooHooooooooooooooo!

Friday Flowers

2010-02-05T14:39:00.000-08:00

I'd love to know the name of this...nut. I think its a nut because it was way too big to be a berry.

Happy Friday~!

Crafty Cost Free Christmas in Big Bend

2010-02-03T11:12:00.000-08:00

This year we chose to do Christmas differently than in the past. We went to Big Bend, rented a house and spent a week hiking in the fantastically varied terrain offered in the parks of the area. My brother and I also discussed how we wanted our kids memory of our time together to be about togetherness and not about how much loot they got and could compare with each other after opening it on December 25th. We discussed the American inclination to accumulate piles and piles of stuff and stuff and more stuff and we decided to limit our spending to as little as possible for each other while still gifting from whatever we could trade or create from our households. You know the saying: 'One man's trash is another man's treasure."? Well, here is a recent example of someone's trash that I crafted into a groovy messenger bag for my niece.

The bags came from my daughter's school, Ronda's Montessori Garden. At the Family Gathering in September, we all helped empty the bags so the sand box was a fresh scooping and measuring wonderland for toddlers. When I turned around, there was a pile of these bags and a light went off in my head. I figured if the plastic was strong enough to hold 25 lbs of sand, surely it could hold a bunch of kid lunch or coats or dolls or a book and other preciousness.

Then I took a gander at the Future Craft Collective blog for a few ideas and then I was off and sewing. What I love about making things this way is that I have no idea where I am going when I first sit down. It is like improving with a sewing machine. I did know I wanted to make something useful but I wasn't sure how the plastic would act when I began working with it. Turns out it was even stronger than I originally expected and the weight of it worked really well so though the bag is not heavy it actually feels substantial and not flimsy when it is in use. Not to mention, no one else will have a bag that is anything like it. So my niece gets to be a trendsetter back home. Cool, huh?!

FYI - That's Study Butte in the reflection on the door.

Friday Flowers - Peony

2010-01-29T13:29:00.000-08:00

Peonies....sigh. If I was going to get married again(to the same man of course)...I would have a big lush bouquet of peony blossoms like this one. Just gorgeous. Thanks again Kristin & Paul!

The Haynes-Kresge Family

2010-01-28T12:01:00.000-08:00

The first time I photographed this family this is how they looked.

Look at them now! Sweet, tender and two of them are wearing their jammies?!

Sylvia+Nathan - a couple of gorgeous sibs

2010-01-27T10:09:00.000-08:00

Because I photograph faces for a living I am very interested in heritage. Faces are sculptures of lines and shape that I love to decode. These two beautiful kids have a six foot tall korean american mom and a scots irish with a touch of french thrown in dad.

Not a bad combo, eh?

Kristen & Paul

2010-01-20T09:23:00.000-08:00

Kristen and Paul got married at The LadyBird Johnson Wildflower Center in the spring. I loved her dress for its unusual needle work and fun, short length. Perfect for her body and personality. Wickedly smart, they chose the lovely Kat Edmundson and her band as their music for the evening. Thanks to the talented Casey Woods for second shooting with me for the evening.

Patches King - Extraordinary Pianist with 'hands going fast'

2010-01-14T18:36:00.000-08:00

Patches King - Gifted Piano Teacher

2010-01-14T18:29:00.000-08:00

Tryptich

2010-01-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a series I shot at The Blanton Museum a while back. Perfect match of bride, dress and location. Enjoy

Pencils, a Sharpener and Imagination

2009-12-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

Check out these amazing sculptures by Jennifer Maestre. A South African artist who sharpens pencils and turns them into beads and then sews them into these spectacular creations.....Wow, I think I have some new crafting ideas. WooHoo!!!

Mary & Sean Wedding - 1 of 4

2009-12-07T03:45:00.001-08:00

Mary and Sean were married a few weeks ago on one of the most gorgeous days ever. Rain threatened all week and in the end it passed us by leaving the most spectacular golden light to ever bounce off the back walls of The Villa at Laguna Gloria. The wedding took place at the Museum and the reception was held across the street at Westwood Country Club. Flowers by Mieko. Dress by Jenny Packham.
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Mary & Sean Wedding - 2 of 4

2009-12-07T03:44:00.001-08:00

Mary & Sean - 3 of 4

2009-12-07T03:43:00.000-08:00

Mary & Sean - 4 of 4

2009-12-07T03:42:00.000-08:00

Crafty Advent Calendars

2009-12-01T15:14:00.000-08:00

Yep! My commitment to making every Christmas present this year is blissfully expressed in these first 2 items. I love crafting when I have the time to let my seamstress juices flow....ew, that sounds gross. How about: When I put on my sewing cap.....less gross but it still sounds like I sit up straight, don't swear and am always polite. Definitely not me. A.ny.way. When I rock out my pile of fabric scraps, this is what I love to do. These two are going to my dear niece and nephew who lost their Mama this fall. A lot of the 'ornaments' are jewelry from her collection. I LOVE the idea of creating an heirloom and using all those random jewels that are willing to volunteer themselves to a lifetime of marking the end of the year in a sweet homemade version of an old ritual.

For an actual class in making these charming things...visit my pals Kathie Sever and Bernadette Noll over at http://futurecraftcollective.com/blog.

Friday flowers - plus one gorgeous girl

2009-11-13T08:33:00.000-08:00

Mary & Sean got married a couple of weeks ago. Because they live in NYC, we ended up shooting the bridal very close to the wedding day. Their ceremony took place on the front lawn at Laguna Gloria and the reception was at Westwood Country Club. I always find it interesting to see what kind of dress the bride chooses for her big day and Mary's wonderful dress was designed by Jenny Packham. It was perfect for her fantastically in shape bod. Here are a few of the pictures she elected to frame for display at the wedding. P.S. Flowers by Mieko the bouquet actually incorporated a small bible with a needlepoint cover made by Mary's grandmother.

Friday Flowers - Neighborhood Glories

2009-10-09T21:04:00.001-07:00

As a little girl I learned to love gardening from my Dad. My brother and I would spend Saturdays helping him realize his spectacular vision of what the gardens on our property would become at our home off the Appalacian Trail on Braddock Mountain in Maryland. We weeded, hauled wood chips, planted Daffodil bulbs, Rhododrendrons and Dogwoods. I miss those beauties every spring. Sigh...

As we drove through the countryside he would name every plant we passed and occasionally warn me about three that I remember. Obviously the first and every hiker's foe, was Poison Ivy The second, Kudzu was apparently brought over from Japan or China. It grows at such an incredible rate that it has been nicknamed, 'the vine that ate the south' covering a whole house in a matter of days. It is capable of spreading from the roots by sprouting runners, via nodes that form rhizomes as well as the old standby, seeds. Yeesh. The third beast to fear was 'Morning Glories'. Dad seemed to think that they were equally as invasive as the Kudzu and they probably were in Zone 6. Now that I am all big and grown up and living in Zone 9, Morning Glories are a little less fearsome. Last fall I found these lovely annual blooms (probably planted by seed) in my neighborhood. It seems that they are less ambitious down here in Texas where the summer heat does its level best to knock out anything that is not a cacti or its cousin.

The greatest gal in.......

2009-10-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

I'd like to solicit your opinion. I am entering my friend, Liz Scanlon, in a contest for 'Greatest Gal in the World'. The following 9 shots are from a portrait session we did recently. This greatest gal candidate also happens to be the author of the very recently released children's book entitled, 'All the World.'

How appropriate, huh?

Now, if you would be so kind as to vote on your favorites. Maybe Best 'Author's Portrait' and Best 'Greatest Gal In The World' shots, that would be really helpful!

Now that you have voted, why not buy a few copies of the book and stash them on your gift shelf. Then you will always have the perfect thing for kids 3-7 written by the Greatest Gal in All The World.

Friday Flowers

2009-10-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned that I love flowers and all things gardening?! These roses bloomed in August in my father-in-law's garden in Abilene. My husband's father is a man who grows vegetables and flowers. And in Abilene no less?! Do you know any guys that tend flowers and veggies? Or better yet, any guys who are doing it in Abilene? Maybe we could get them together for a glass of sweet tea.

Flower Friday

2009-09-24T21:59:00.001-07:00

I grew up on the east coast in Frederick, Maryland. Every spring my family would travel to Washington, DC to see 'The Cherry Blosoms'. They were never anything but spectacular and I am sure that this ritual contributed to my love of flowers gardening and all things horticultural. Both of my parents loved plants. My father was the gardener and my mother was the sneezer ( the forsythia and mimosa trees did her in every year) even though she absolutely loved the beauty of them arriving in bloom. A couple years ago I had the chance to go to Colorado in late May where I discovered these gorgeous Cherry Blossoms at their prime just outside of Carbondale. Speaking of Cherry Blossoms, I just watched a movie by that name that was a lovely story about an older man who loses his wife and then finds his way back to her by making a journey to the one place she had always wanted to go, Mt. Fuji.

Jen and Dave part 1

2009-09-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

Here are the first half of the pages from Jen and Dave's June 28 wedding. At 20 and 22 these two qualify as the youngest couple I have had the privilege to photograph saying their vows. Their wedding was at The Barr Mansion and we did the bridal at Zilker Botanical Gardens. The black and white photo of Jen in the jungle was inspired by Richard Avedon's famous portrait entitled 'Dovima with Elephants'.

Flower Friday.

2009-09-18T06:28:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the rains finally came to Austin. We had been desperate for moisture for months so its arrival was cause to celebrate and to avert a flash flood. On Saturday my daughters and I played in the deluge and then returned home to work to move leaves and redirect the water so it wouldn't flood my studio. We all had a blast getting soaked to the bone and then much to our glee two days later these lovely Rain Lilies started popping up everywhere around town. I took these pictures near Zilker Elementary where one yard was absolutely covered with them. When I leaned down to take the pictures I was met by the most wonderfully sweet smell. Happy Flower Friday!

Did you see any in your neighborhood?

May I present The Zilker Elementary Custodians!

2009-09-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

These 3 fine people are the the custodians of Zilker Elementary School. THE Zilker of 78704 fame. Yep, the elementary school where they teach 'em to keep it weird from the pledge right on through 'til specials at the end of the day.

At the urging of my dear pal, Bernadette Noll of www.slowfamilyliving.com fame, I have started a project of photographing all of the adults at Zilker Elementary who spend their days working hard so our whippersnappers can have a positive soul enriching (and clean) educational experience from ages 5-10.

Now, don't you just wanna learn to pick up after yourself so they don't have to?!

Wow. Right girl, right dress, right neck of the woods.

2009-05-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

We shot this bridal on a sweaty afternoon 2 weeks ago. Do you love that dress or what?! It drops to the waist in back so her lovely carmel colored back is bare. Sigh....

A little Lunch?

2009-05-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

I recently completed a five week long gall bladder and liver cleanse. This was a typical meal during the first three weeks. Miso soup with brown rice and fresh Swiss Chard from the garden with a few green peppers for crunch washed down with a glass of just juiced carrot beet celery juice. Mmmm, mmmm, good. If you don't love your colon, no one else will!

Dorkin'

2009-04-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

This made me laugh. Hard.

I think its an important part of growing up to be in touch with your inner dork. Are you?

Two More...

2009-04-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

From that one day trip to Italy that I took back in November. I think I'd like to become a painter so I could paint this light. Whew!

Last Weekend....she thought she was a puppy. I think we are going to have to break down and get her one so she grows up knowing her rightful place.

2009-03-15T00:13:00.000-07:00

Twice in 24. I said I was gonna do it and I'm doing it!

2009-03-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

I shot this bridal one day back in November. The lovely bride flew in from Georgia and then we went to Italy and Morocco via San Antone. They ordered 8 portraits for display at the wedding. Sometimes more IS more!
Special thanks to Peter Williams/AgavePrint.com

'Get back to blogging.' I said I was gonna do it and...I'm doing it!

2009-03-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

StellaBerries, for you my friend. Thanks for the nudge.

Hula Girl Bedspread Reinvented

2008-08-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

So..in keeping with my commitment to encourage my daughter to think that something made by hand by your self, your mom, a friend or an artisan is more wonderful than one more 'good deal' from Target. We made this outfit today. I found the old duvet cover at Savers and at the last minute I realized that I had some pom pom tassels and voila! My cutie pie is ready for school! Forgive me for posting too many pictures of her. We had a great day together and I am extra crazy about her today.

The Coolest Lunch Box Ever!

2008-08-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ok so its 'back to school' time and my seven year old and I got WAY into the idea of making her something to carry her lunch to school. Actually she wanted something new and I am doing my best to teach her that getting more stuff/spending money is not the way to save the world or feel really good about yourself. I had some silver insulation that I found in the trash at Home Depot and some especially groovy plastic bags that I had been collecting and we came up with this. We are sooo proud of ourselves AND its reversible!

Figs!

2008-07-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

These are from a little fig picking/preserving adventure last summer. You might recognize the 'fig in the hand' shot from the current issue of edible Austin. I love reading it so much I read it to my daughter at bedtime. I'm lucky she likes gardening and cooking.

And The Finish!

2008-07-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

Their passion for each other was palpable. I love witnessing the variety of ways people express their love for each other. Love it.

More Shelby and Adam.

2008-07-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

Where have I been? Wouldn't you like to know.

2008-07-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

I can tell you that back on November 3, 2007 I was at Mercury Hall for the wedding of Shelby and Adam. Here are a few pics. Talk about the right dress for the right girl and her body! Slam dunk, sister!

Amazing range.

2008-06-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

I have been loving doing bridals lately. This bride wanted to shoot at The Mc Ney Museum in San Antonio. What a place to fall in love with for its grounds and its architecture. I didn't get to see it but I imagine the art is worthy too! We shot all over the campus and look at the variety of images we got. At first she was darling. And then she got downright exotic!

Not an actress but look what she did!

2008-06-05T20:58:00.000-07:00

Bindi Monster

2008-04-27T21:56:00.001-07:00

We went to the Mela Festival at Barsana Dham this weekend and all I got was this scary Bindi Monster. Anyone have any ideas about the care and feeding of one of these things?

My eggs.

2008-04-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

Well, not exactly MY eggs but the ones we dyed for Easter a few weeks back. We were a zealous bunch and went back to the store for more eggs twice. I think the final total was 54 plus or minus a couple that were smashed, mutilated and then eaten by one enthusiastic 21 month old. We discovered a new dying technique motivated by distraction and neglect. Leaving an egg in a single color for 10 minutes or more results in spectacularly rich color and if you then dry it off and move it into a different colored bath and neglect it there for an additional 10, the end result are the most luscious jewel toned eggs you could ever imagine. Thoroughly satisfying to the eye and high in protein too.

I fell off the face but now I'm back.

2008-04-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Some wedding guests really know how to pull focus.

Tulips send me.

2008-02-22T20:28:00.000-08:00

So I bought some to give as a thank you to a friend. I love their simple lines.

Mommy and Me

2008-02-20T11:18:00.000-08:00

Would you believe that my six year old took this picture?!?! Apparently, if all else fails, she can fall back on photography.

Soup is Love.

2008-02-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

At least that is what a certain soup peddler would say. Anderson Family Farms had a flock of stewing hens for sale so on Saturday afternoon, I drove out past the airport to the The Farm and picked up a couple of birds with the intention of making chicken soup for my mildly ailing daughter and my beloved family. No sooner had I filled the stew pot with water when my 6 year old daughter sidled up beside me saying 'I wanna make soup.' In a flash, she was out the front door and back with 3 smooth round black river rocks or shall I say 'stones'. What is a mother to do? Squelch the creativity of her own flesh and blood who after 5 days of being laid out with the flu, is now entirely fired up to make her own healing potion right along side mom?! Not me. Soup is love. Would you like Stone or Chicken?

The many ways of love.

2008-02-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is fast approaching. In the spirit of the month, I am going to do a few posts about love. How people express love is so unique to each relationship. For example - this couple, Kim & Carter, got married last February and boy, were they cute. Is this a picture of a dorky mensch who loves his girl, or what?!

Val's Day came early at our house

2008-02-03T21:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Day to You!

The need to create.

2008-01-28T19:57:00.000-08:00

My husband is one of those people who can make something beautiful out of a pile of nothing. The need to create wakes him up at night and drives him to a place of deep meditation that most of us only access when sleeping. While I am dreaming, contentedly nestled in with our 2 children, he is off in the studio birthing new works that are definitely not nothing. myspace.com/nathanhamiltonart

Pretty....

2008-01-25T22:12:00.000-08:00

flowers are so wonderful. This is the cover of an album I recently designed for a client.

Five fantastic faces.

2008-01-24T20:06:00.001-08:00

Don't you just want to eat her up? Check out the stink eye she's giving me in the fourth one down?! And she's wearing Ramonsterwear, don't 'cha know!?

Sleeping positions..

2008-01-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

are so specific. I don't know about you but I have a way I like to tuck in and if something isn't right(no glass of water by the bed or if I can't find my sleep mask) I cannot surrender for the duration. This is how my daughter slept in utero and for the first year of her life. She never complained of a crick in her neck but when she was born her nose was smashed to the side because she had spent a few months jammed under my right rib looking up at my heart. Sweet, right? Now she has moved on to being attached to my right breast snuggled deeply into the crook of my arm. So sweet that, frankly, its divine. What position do you start the night in?

Kids, I love 'em.

2008-01-18T21:45:00.000-08:00

Some of my most favorite people to photograph are small and still in the single digit years. Look at how clear and uncluttered they are.

Wanna duke it out for life?

2008-01-16T20:40:00.001-08:00

The Beginning...

2008-01-16T13:29:00.000-08:00

A daily photo. Stuff that moves me. I made this calendar for my kids to celebrate the year's end. Every day of December they opened a pocket and found a trinket. The surprises inside came from the jewelry boxes of my youth, a charm from the necklace my parents had given me at 6 or an old ski team pin from my father's hat, glass buttons from my grandmother's sewing chest. I can't think of a better use for all those precious little items. And we get to revisit them every year. Goodbye 2007. Hello 2008!