Andy and River

Merry Christmas. They will be released soon!

Family and Friends Appreciation Offer!

Eco Mamas, this includes you!

This year has been amazing. This year, this business went from an idea to a Co-op America approved Progressive Sustainable Business of 2008, was listed in the National Green Pages, had a feature article in Natural Awakenings Magazine, was part of one of the largest local sustainable festivals and was offered to be a part of Greenerphotography.org, a networking site of photographers "greening" the industry.

I can't thank everyone around me enough and this is all I have to offer in return.

In the spirit of the holidays and to show appreciation for all the family and friends that brought me to this point artistically and professionally, I would like to extend an offer of my art. I am honored to capture your lives in my photographs and that is my art that I offer to you.

If you are a fellow eco mama, family member or friend (even friend of a family member!)...

I would like to offer to you 30% off of your session fee and a $50.00 print credit towards your fine art prints good for a session during the entire 2009 year!

This even includes one free Eco Portrait Tote! They are quality, 100% organic cotton totes with a portrait from your session on the front! It will be your favorite reusable tote! If you have had portraits before, you will also enjoy our return client discount!

A session at our location will yield about 40 - 45 fine art prints to choose from. We have many sustainable gift options in our Shoppe and many print sizes and finishes to choose from, including 100% post-consumer content matte portraiture and sustainable framing options eco mamas! We also offer Hardcover Coffee Table Books, Classic Ribbon-tied Paper Albums, personal Storyboards and Gallery Canvas Wraps.

This offer will be valid until December 31, 2009! Next year is a big year in terms of artistic and business growth! I have so many settings and ideas for the coming year!

Take advantage of the spirit of the holidays, book now, or let me know you are interested, and I will take an extra 15.00 off your session fee! The support I received has been amazing, my art is the only gift I can offer.

Hope to see you all in the new year. This year was amazing.

Thank you for everything. -Tara

Eco-friendly Professional Photo Lab!

Finally, it is here.

A green professional lab...I can't believe it.

I am now a client of ProDPI Lab. ProDPI is an environmentally conscious professional photo lab. In their words, ProDPI strives to offset their emissions through forestry programs, livestock manure management and landfill gas management to balance their carbon footprint. They electronically send all invoices and statements saving 2 tons of wood use, 25 million BTUs of energy usage and over 12,000 gallons of waste water per year used in paper manufacturing.

ProDPI proudly offers sustainable photo paper options! They have several green photo paper options including 100% PCW recycled photo matte paper with the weight and thickness of mainstream papers. Here is where they really catch my eye. A professional lab that uses recycled photo paper? Could it be true? It is. It is an amazing development to the industry. Congrats ProDPI for your groundbreaking work. I will be a loyal client.

My clients will now be able to choose between 100% post-consumer content matte photo paper for an artsy, eco look to their work and standard pearlescent glossy photo paper from a sustainable lab that neutralizes its carbon footprint along with many other of their amazing choices and products.

Either way, what an amazing movement in the industry.

Chemical-free printing finally!

Paper, paper...where do I begin? If you know me, you know I have been diligently searching for a marketable solution for green photo paper. I have now decided to use Red River Paper for my work.

Red River Paper introduces 62lb. GreenPix Photo Matte. This new paper is a first in the industry, made of 100% post-consumer recycled content. This recycled paper is unique with its top grade photo inkjet coating and sturdy card weight and thickness.

GreenPix base paper is made in a chlorine free process and carries the approval of the Forest Stewardship Council™*. (Redrivercatalog.com)

Thus far, it is the greenest option for professional photo printing according to
Greener Photography’s Recommendations:
"Inkjet printing on a natural fiber paper is our best current option."(GreenerPhotography.org where I am now a member!)


The heavy matte paper brings an artistic look to my work and is to be appreciated by those who wish their art to match their sustainable ideals.

The search is over! I am chemical free! It is true eco photography.

If you are interested, read more here at Conservatree.com and read "Photographers: How green is your photo paper?"

(Paper applies to 8 by 10 and under, clients can choose between traditional photo printing or eco printing. It is a start for green photography. More about a professional green lab coming soon!)

Gammons Session Preview

See you again soon...

Capturing the last light of fall....

Reservations are being taken to capture the last lights of fall!

Portraiture at our location mirrors the classic images of fall with the leaves turning, sunlight peering through the trees and an yellow glow over the fields as a background. All portraiture taken before November 1st will be ready for the holiday season. This includes any coffee table books, totes or gallery wraps for gifts!

A session will include many individual and family portraits. Perfect for the holidays.

A walk outside...

New Interview

Common Sense II Green Photography Interview


Here is some new press... I was interviewed by my good friend Thomas Reed. Thanks guys for putting this out there. It should be great local exposure.

Check it out, just in time for the festival!

Eco Brunch Lily Preview!

A big thank you to Katherine and John for hosting a great portrait brunch! It was so fun and the kids were all adorable. Here is a little preview of their beautiful daughter Lily! Hope to see you guys at the Energy fest! It was good to meet you both and there will be more pictures soon!

Natural Awakenings Article!

See our article in this month's edition of Natural Awakenings Magazine entitled "Sustainable Photography, Capturing the Innocence of Children!"

See the link below for more on the holistic magazine and to see where you can pick up a Natural Awakenings Magazine.


NaturalAwakeningsmag.com

Renewable Energy Festival!

I am gearing up for the Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Festival in beautiful Kempton, Pa!

A three-day festival about renewable energy, natural building construction, sustainable agriculture, land-use planning, forestry and healthy living practices in general. Featuring dynamic speakers, national exhibitors, workshops, hands-on demonstrations, vendors, live music and entertainment, children's activities, food and more!

Ok, that was their explanation, but it should be fun!

Celebrate all things sustainable and come see us at our table!!

A preview of Bridget!

(Well, atleast her tiny toes...it is one of my favorites...)

I have had the priveledge to photograph tiny Bridget while mama and grandma watched! She was a little trooper as we interupted her daily rountine with mama! Little growing girls need their nourishment! She is a little doll. It was a fun afternoon and I hope I captured her and mama to make their expectations come true.

Congratulations Eric and Cathleen, she's beautiful!

Now booking Holiday sessions!

I am now taking bookings for the Holiday season!


Bring your best red dress and little blue tie! Holiday session planning is in full swing! I would like to offer the use of our outdoor studio, sessions in the beautiful rose gardens or personal sessions right in your home! Holiday sessions are the same session fee as a full session for the children and add the whole family for a special price! Holiday session bookings start in October and will last until the end of November. Print prices are regular ala carte pricing, but print prices will be discounted for multiple print orders.

Beautiful Holiday card styles will be offered for purchase along with coffee table books. Coffee table books can be made into a lasting treasure as they can beautifully display your portraiture at hand or, a holiday favorite, they can be made into a storybook with your child as the star!! You can book your holiday session by leaving a message of interest on the "contact" page on the site and I will get back to you the same day.

Leave the year with beautiful portraiture for the whole family!

If you would like to schedule a session, click here.

Our son Cole is one!!

Congrats little guy, what a year!

Eco Portrait Brunch Playdate!

We just wrapped up the first eco portrait brunch!
Thanks to all the mamas and papas who came and let me play with their precious little ones! To our gracious host, Sean and Kerri, Scott and I owe you our second born! You were amazing and to promote my work outside your home was incredible.
After all those babies going through I have only begun picking out the best images to capture the little personality I met! It was so fun, so action packed and so worth it! I hope everyone had a fun, unique afternoon and it was so good to met everyone!
I am dying to show the results and will have some here closer to the big reveal! Stay tuned!

UPDATE! The portraits from the first Eco Portrait Brunch are displayed on the "Sessions," page on my site!

See them here!

Bathed in children...

I want to write a note about children.
I am a mama, a nanny and a children's photographer. They have got me surrounded. I have done my research. The perils of it all are overwhelming, but to actually envision the complete picture of what they hold stretches the imagination. We can travel down that way for a short time, a quiet moment of them playing, a minute of admiration at nap time, but we would lose our place in the day to sit and encompass their role in life at this very place in time.

Children remind you you are a static thing moving farther away everyday. To not give the best of us is foolish.

It is incomprehensible how wonderful children are in their untarnished innocence.
Man is inherently good Hobbes, all you need to do is see a child.

Enjoy them when they are little. They are static too. They deserve the best of us.

I have recently been lucky enough to see the Dalai Lama and listen to him speak.

(Perhaps a little of him is sneaking into this post. )

A little about us...

My work is a combination of all passions, photographing children, giving whatever I can and living sustainably.

Behind this business is myself, my husband, Scott and our son, whom we owe for what he brought to our family, Cole. I have been a nanny all through college and this has enabled me to have my little subjects up close over long periods to perfect capturing many little moments as we wish all could be captured. My husband personally funded my business as each holiday, birthday and anniversary gave opportunity for another piece of equiptment! I have combined my refined technique with a major aspect of our lifestyle, living sustainably and leaving as little impact as possible.

We reside in a tiny cottage on a historic farm. We made a decision to live there to live a greener lifestyle. There we compost, garden and use wood heat. We even have an outhouse. We use minimal electricity and the house itself is built to make the most of the trees in the summer and the sun in the winter. As far as giving, I have always believed no matter how little you have, in giving what you can. After our son Cole was born, and 1,000 hours clocked in on the couch during tiny feedings, a longtime dream slowly began to become a possibility. Here, I introduce my work as everything is beginning after a year of extensive research, dreaming and planning. My site says it all, all of my inspirations, goals, plans and possibilities with my work.

I capture wondeful little moments and expressions, I give 10 % of all profit to a wonderful children's charity, "Giving Children Hope," and I try to raise awareness of sustainable living with comprehensive information. For a session, I come to clients for a personal session where children are most comfortable, I also offer our farm as a wonderful outdoor backdrop or I will go to a location of their choosing. I also offer an organic portrait brunch, where hosts recieve free portraiture! (More information below.)
This business is literally a labor of love and a combination of all things that keep me going. Enjoy the site, the information, and here you can literally watch us grow!

Eco Photography of Children...Is it different?

Questions? Questions? You must have questions.

This weekend I was thinking...

I do get alot of questions. There must be questions, as green photography is different. Or is it? I do get many questions. I have included information I have found in my extensive research from the past year in my site, however, as something new...there are many questions. I will answer some here.

How do the materials compare to mainstream photography?

All of the materials are of professional grade, comparable quality. In many photographs, the stone paper is preferred as it gives a soft glow to photographs. I do offer mainstream photograph paper if it is requested. The matting is mainstream professional matting, however I only use professional matting made from renewable cotton resources. The framing is art in itself as each is a beautiful handmade piece comparable to mainstream mass-produced pricing.

Isn't all natural photograph paper biodegradable?

It will disintegrate just as a mainstream photo would over 100 years. Only, the stone paper will not leave any harmful materials behind. It is archival paper just as mainstream paper is and actually stood up better in a flood test than mainstream photograph paper.

How can frames from recycled wood look as nice as new frames?

They are new frames. New, professional grade, handmade frames. The wood is taken down from what is was and able to be turned into something else. They are a labor of love by two fellow sustainable entrepreneurs. Their names are Lars and Lisa and their work is absolutely beautiful and available in many moldings and plant based stains. The material is wood that can be reused again. It has dried over many years and can actually be stronger and more durable than virgin wood. There is more information regarding reclaimed wood on the Eco page of my site, Reflectedinnocence.com.

Your computer isn't green, your car to the session is not green, your batteries aren't green.....

You are right. It is as close as I can get. I do the best I can and use my work to thrill parents, raise awareness and give to a greater cause. In regards to my car, we purposefully purchased a Subaru made in the US from the only automoblie plant designated a wildlife refuge and is a zero lanfill auto plant as well. In regards to electronics, we chose to live in a small cottage using little electricity, (we use wood heat) I only use rechargeable batteries and I am looking into a solar charger, digital photography is greener than film (with wasted paper and chemicals) and as far as waste...there is none. All waste generated is recycled again or burned as heat fuel.

How do you know the charity you chose is legitimate?

They have had a wonderful history of work and keep current listings of both current and past projects, I have been introduced to the Director, we have spoken personally and keep in touch regarding new donations. GCHope.org

Against traditon??

In no way do I believe this is better then or above traditional photography. I admire so many photographers in this business all over the country. I love their work and what they do and offer. I wouldn'tbe where I am without their influence. My passion of traditional photography brought me here. My passion of living green brought me here. My passion for giving back brought me here.

It is different. Yes, I guess it is different...but is that a bad thing?

Places to go...

Vegan Recipes! goodbaker.com

Eco Photography Brunch on the map!

This is a age old concept of charity.

I offer an organic eco portrait brunch and will say it should be the most fun, hassle-free portrait session you may participate in. It is now pro-active too as 10 % of portraiture can benefit the certified charity of your choice!

The same percentage has always benefited a wonderful charity, "Giving Children Hope," and I now leave it up to my fellow pro-active cause-ers to contribute, host a brunch and donate 10 % to the root of their passion in a charity that they care about!

Have a charity you are passionate about? Host a brunch to benefit them! It doesn't cost anything, host's receive free portraiture and guest's enjoy portraiture at 50 % off!


"It is our purpose in life to help others." -His Holiness, The 14th Dalai Lama.