Sanderson Images

So Kimberly and I have been crazy busy this spring. So many weddings its not even funny. Almost half of our weddings for 2010 were in the past 3 months. Part of the challenge of being really busy married wedding photographers is not ignoring your kids, giving them a wholesome life experience yet still giving our clients the services they expect. So we take turns most of the time*, one of us works the other gets to spend the day with the kids. On this particular occasion I (John) got to take the kiddos strawberry pickin’, an essential childhood experience (pickin’ anything really). We want to teach the kids about real food, we want them to know that the best food comes from the work of your own hands and that the best people to enjoy real food with is the people you call family (whoever that may be in your life).  Strawberries are real food, pickin strawberries with family is love, making jelly is good work and eating everything you can make from a strawberry with family is pure joy. As a Father, for me its, about giving my children a taste of heaven, I hope they got it. That picture of the three of them above, standing together in the field is about the most awesome thing I have ever photographed, an amazing fathers day present the kids gave me without knowing it. I try to show them heaven and they always show it to me.

(I need to give credit where credit is due.. the kids and I were lounging around the house (kinda whiny) when Kimberly said “Why don’t you go pick some strawberries?”. So if the kids saw anything of heaven it was because of their good momma.)

* Of course, if we get anything done it is usually because of the amazing people who watch our kids when we need them to.

Just wanted to share some pics from a very inspiring trip to NOLA. it was our first time in the city and and we really enjoyed ourselves. The trip was a first for us, a trip in which Kimberly and I go to a photography conference to meet like minded people, share experiences and have a little fun. We we’re also featured in and amazing photography show called Contrast the brainchild of a good friend (and amazing photographer) of ours Will Jacks, The show hung in “A Gallery for Fine Photography” which also features the likes of Ansel Adams, Helmut Newton and many others, how humbling. The Goal was to come home inspired, refreshed and ready for another year of what we love, Wedding photography. Mission accomplished. And now, some not-so wedding photos for a change. Just having fun.

All images in this post courtesy of the fabulous Carl Zoch

We have a ton of things to blog…a ton. I can’t wait to show you all of the beautiful things we’ve seen in the last few months. Seriously, I can’t. Right now though, nothing is as important as this post. This is the post where instead of telling you about the love of other people, or showing you the celebration of a new love, or letting you peek into the love within someone else’s happy family; I am going to tell you about My Love.

My Love is the tall, handsome guy who you will probably either find in his garden, behind a lens somewhere or behind his computer. He is creative with a passion. The kind of creative that often makes people say, “How does he think of this stuff?” He is persistent with his ideas…following them through to completion. He has wild, brave ideas…most of which I cautiously raise eyebrows to. He makes me braver. There is nothing that he cannot do when he sets his mind to it. I mean that with all sincerity. One day he will say, I think we should raise chickens. So for the couple of weeks he is totally submerged in researching chickens. One month later we had a chicken coop in our back yard hand built by John with 15 happy chickens peeping their way into our hearts. He’ll say, let’s take a leap with Sanderson Images. WE CAN DO THIS. He knew it before I did. He believed it before I did. He was right. He is almost ALWAYS right. In our near 10 years of marriage it has taken me that long to come to the realization that John is wise beyond his years and I should just be quiet, stop my worrying and try to keep up.

This is the most important part of my post. The part that makes me cry as I type. The part that I want to share with all of you because our clients, (as much as we love you!) don’t get to see this part of John and yet it is my favorite part. My love is the kind of Daddy I always wanted for my babies. He is gentle with the kind of calmness you can feel as soon as he enters a room. He is patient with the kind of patience even a screaming 2 year old cannot shake. He is a teacher in a way that makes the boys stop and REALLY listen to what Daddy is saying. He is quiet and sure. He is silly and fun. He knows how to work hard and yet he knows when it is time to stop and enjoy family and love and life. I see things in each of my children that mirror John. Gabriel is sensitive and gentle and has BIG ideas. Noah is silly and full of life. Lillianna is a cuddlebug, creative and thoughtful. They are mirroring what he is teaching and for that I love him more than I ever thought possible.

Stratton’s Independence Mine and Mill in Victor Colorado.

The past week I had the pleasure of visiting my family solo in Colorado. I had lots of time to spend alone with each of my sisters and parents. It was a fun yet emotional trip that I will always remember. My father who is also a photographer took me to some interesting places and we took a lot of fun photographs of old rusty cars and had a blast just hanging out together. I look forward to many more days like that. Meanwhile, my mother and I captured the star photo above just sitting in the car below the mine in Victor just chatting, it was awesome. I love my family to death and hope they know I will always be there when they need me regardless of the distance we have between each other. Thanks to Facebook.com and Flickr.com that distance seems a little shorter.;) Some of the other photographs were taken with my iphone while on the road. (Who says an iphone can’t take great pictures?)

FYI: Signed prints/canvas’ are available of all our artwork.

An abandoned ranch in South Park

iphone pics

Mt Princeton (Iphone)

Tomichi Dome (iphone)

Townies (iphone)

It has come to our attention recently that our new clients and our soon to be clients don’t know very much about us. We have gotten a few emails that make us feel like we are giving out a large company/corporate feel. That took us aback a bit and we realize that although we send our clients getting to know you sheets and make an effort to learn about you before your big day…we don’t extend you the same courtesy about us! Soooo… we are starting a new section called Sandersons 101 that we will try to update frequently since we would like you to get to know us as much as we would love to know you!

First Installment written by Kimberly:

We are a family of 5 and we live in Lancaster, PA. We live on a road that consists mainly of us, my sister (yay!!), our brother-in-law’s family, and a bunch of amazing Amish folks. Yep, we are surrounded by farms and all the lovely smells that come with them. We have lived here for about a year and we love it so far. Many of the photos below were taken today on the street that we live…that will give you all a visual placement of our home.

John and I run the business by ourselves and also run the household by ourselves. By that I mean, we don’t have secretaries and nanny’s and cleaning people. It’s just us and that is the way we love it right now. We may be getting an intern or two soon and we will welcome them into our little chaotic lives with open arms.

Our kiddos are an amazing part of what makes up John and I. They shape who we are and teach us a little something about life everyday. They are what always comes first, what we live for, who we can’t wait to see in the morning, what keeps us awake at night (in more ways than one!) and what keeps us giggling during the day. This first blog post will be mainly about them….stay tuned for more about John+Kimberly in a future post.

Meet Lillianna: She is beautiful, stubborn, feisty, silly, and girly. She loves pink, her “lovies“, painting, and cuddling. She can’t get enough of her Daddy and she loves to oppose Mommy. She is a firecracker and has a quick temper. She also recovers well and is quick to apologize. She loves to tell jokes and be goofy. We love every inch of this girl. Lillianna is 2.

Meet Noah: Noah is joy and energy all bundled up into one super cute little package. He is always happy and always trying to make others around him happy. He is a terrible sleeper and has quite the sweet tooth. Red peppers are his favorite food. Every morning he makes his Daddy a cup of coffee and is so super proud. He is crazy smart and is already starting to read a little. We pray with him for patience a LOT! Noah is 4.

Meet Gabriel: Gabriel is sweet and sensitive. If you are his friend, you are his friend for life…he is loyal through and through. He is a perfectionist and an incredible reader. He is one of the tallest in his class. Gabriel is protective of his brother and sister and loves to “explain” things to them they haven’t yet experienced. He loves playing outside and considers himself “so super fast!” Gabriel loves science and space and anything that flies. He is a miniature John. Gabriel is 6.