Lemonpeel Studios

it's christmas

2011-12-12T08:17:00.000-08:00

I find it hard to believe that it's almost Christmas again. Goodness, time sure flies, as is witnessed by my blogging absence. Sorry bout' that. Well I hope everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit, it is SUCH a wonderful time of year. I thought it would be super fitting, seeing as it is only a few weeks until Christmas, to share a few from a super charming family christmas shoot.

I'm loving the holly. LOVING.

one word: yum.

2011-11-07T12:21:00.000-08:00

It kind of felt like Thanksgiving over the weekend,

My sister and I are working on a truly delicious project. More to come so stay tuned!

smooch.

2011-10-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

I sure love these two, they make my world go round.

give me more fall

2011-10-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

I can't get over (every year it seems like) how gorgeous fall can be. This weekend was pretty much perfect weather so the hubbs and I took advantage of it...by doing what you say? Well, taking pictures of course. That's just what we do people.

Thank you fall for being so darn beautiful... and a ginormous shout out to what?? oh, just the polarizing filter. You rock baby!!!

let's talk babies

2011-10-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been working on a maternity series with the lovely chloe colette. She is seriously beautiful and we are so excited for her expecting a sweet little one! Not to mention, how fun this has been matching fruits and veggies with the size of the little bebe as it grows and develops. Thank you Carolee Beckham to whom I give all the credit for this idea, soooo fun! I'll be sure to continue to post pictures as we go along.
On a small side note, can you believe sweet little babies start out so small??

enjoy!!

cheers to mommyhood

2011-09-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

There's just something so beautiful about a mother with her children. Motherhood is hard. It tries your patience every day, and sometimes makes you wonder if you're cut out for the job. But there are those spectacular moments where your little munchkin just melts your heart right into a puddle, and you think, "how could I ever want anything else?" Thank goodness for those moments, sweet little kisses from heaven that make everything else totally worth it.

These are some of those moments.

a very enthusiastic shout out to my gorgeous sister and her beautiful children... and of course to this sunflower field - AMAZING right???! I am so in love.

two

2011-09-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

it's not possible that my little girl is turning two next week. it's just not possible. how did she go from this:

to this:

so quickly?? sigh. my little goldilocks is growing up.

september

2011-09-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

I am in love with this month. The name, the weather, the fact that I met my husband for the first time during this month and had my sweet little dumpling two years later.

It's a pretty good month.

Already this morning I caught the first whiff of fall, and that made me smile. So many things I just love about this month, here's my top ten list:

1. perfect temperatures
2. hearing the hummingbirds chirp outside my bedroom window
3. crisp mornings
4. baking baking baking
5. leaves beginning to change
6. the thought of Christmas just around the corner
7. delicious pears from the pear tree
8. enjoying the outdoors - in the afternoon
9. PEACHES
10. and of course a birthday for a certain little miss:

welcome back september - take your time please.

sweet little babe

2011-08-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

This sweet little cherub pretty much stole my heart - what is it about newborns that just makes you want to snuggle?

beautiful

2011-08-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

Life gets busy and there are too many days I let sort of fly right past me. But there are also days that I appreciate everything beautiful; in nature, in my child, in a photograph, in the smell of something delicious.

Yesterday was one of those 'fold it up and put it in your pocket' kind of days.
Thank heavens for them.

the allsops

2011-08-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

When I was in college I totally scored big time with roommates. I seriously feel like they had a huge influence on my cool-ness - mostly because of theirs. They taught me how to play the guitar, they wrote songs, and made movies (oh, The Penny) - they were stinking cool. And somehow I got to be friends with them, and you want to know the coolest part? We still keep in touch and get together now and then. I know right? That's a real friendship right there. I sure love them.

Well, one married a fellow roommate's brother and here we have the Allsop fam. Two fabulous roomies in one family - yay! I love them all, they are such great people and since I've taken their family picture a few times over the years it's been fun to see the family growing and of course it's always wonderful to see my friends again.

Allsops you rock.

check.it.out.

2011-08-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

Hi.

So I've been working on this year project thing-a-ma-wizz where I take a picture every day for a year. It has been fun/annoying/satisfying/overwhelming/good with a little bit of craziness thrown in there. I really would recommend it to anyone (it's a good kind of crazy), if you are a budding photographer or a veteran of the craft just commit my friends and take a bagillion pictures, you'll be amazed at how much you grow. such a good feeling. You should do it.

Okay, enough soap boxing - what I really wanted to share with ya'll was a new blog I set up for the occasion. I've been at this thing for about six months now (maybe more... I measure it in days and I'm too lazy to do the math) and I'm just now setting up a blog, I know a little backwards, but you should totally check it out and enjoy the journey with me.

Check it out HERE.

i'm proud to be an american

2011-07-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

I'm so in love with this country, it is just beautiful. Happy belated birthday America.

hello mr. pigeon

2011-06-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this guy. All I could think of was Bolt and those crazy hilarious pigeons and I literally laughed. out. loud. Roaming strangers may or may not have been staring at me.

It's cool people, I'm totally not embarrassed.

rockin' the do

2011-06-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

Now maybe I should begin by saying that when Lily was born she was bald. Crazy bald, and she really remained that way until she was about a year old - needless to say we used lots of bows and headbands. But this little guy has SO MUCH HAIR. I could be seriously jealous (cause I have this feeling all of our kids will follow in lily's footsteps) but look at this face:

Yup, the jealousy just melts away replaced with a need for some serious snuggling.

what a sweetheart.

la vie en rose

2011-06-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

I am having a love affair with roses.
They smell so perfect and are so deliciously pink.

Je vois la vie en rose.

picnic in the park

2011-06-09T17:06:00.000-07:00

My sister and I are pretty tight. When she was living in Provo for a bit we would get together and create things or cook together and chat and eat and laugh our stinking heads off. I love this girl, l-o-v-e. Well we don't live just down the road from each other anymore (I weep) but on occasion we'll meet in the middle (aka salt lake) and chat and eat and laugh our stinking heads off, just like always.

Well this time we brought along the camera for our get together and took their family pictures. Um, LOVED IT. Our little lady was having such a good time with her cousins that it became something of a battle to keep her out of the pictures... but we did it, and they turned out AWESOME.

I love this little family and someday I hope to find two perfect houses right next to each other that we can each inhabit - it seems only right.

sometimes...

2011-06-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

all you need is a walk in the woods.

baby hungry

2011-05-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

It's a scary thing to get baby hungry when you have a crazy little almost two year old scampering about the house, one that just knows how to get into trouble. But still it happens on occasion and days spent with a sweet little newborn mr. really really don't help me any.

I want one. shhhh, don't tell anybody.

sweet thing

2011-05-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

This little lovey just turned two. She's practically a lady.

my tiny munchkin

2011-05-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

I love this little lady of mine. She is the sweetest. I love watching her take care of her Teddy and baby doll, it's pretty much the most precious thing I've ever witnessed. She feeds them, snuggles them and even changes their diapers... and the kisses - oh the kisses.

Yes, I love this little lady of mine.

spring lovelies

2011-05-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

There's nothing better than going out on a gorgeous spring evening and taking pictures of two fabulous friends looking like rockstars. The only thing that could top it would be to go home afterwards and eat an entire bowl of delicious costco vanilla ice cream drizzled in chocolate syrup.... oh wait, I did that too. Mmmmm. I am one lucky girl.

Congrats on the house you guys!

baby love

2011-05-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

I love tiny newborn babies. So cuddly and warm with that sweet little baby scent...

hello beautiful.

lindsay + robert

2011-04-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

I just love weddings, seriously - don't they just give you warm fuzzies? They get me in such a lovey dovey mood that I just shower the hubbs in kisses. Poor him, right?

You've seen these peeps before, (and if you haven't you really should check out their engagement session here) they are two of the most wonderful people I've ever met. I feel like we were best friends almost immediately and I'm just so thrilled that we got to witness their big day. Love was in the air people, love was in the air!

Congrats you two!

remember this little guy?

2011-04-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

well he's totally six months old now, with bright red hair and chubby cheeks to prove it. SUCH an adorable little dumpling, I really do want to eat him right up.

hello blossoms

2011-04-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

When I look out my window I see this:

lucky lucky me.

there's nothing I love more than a blossoming tree this time of year, the bees are buzzing around it and I feel like we're all so happy we can barely contain ourselves.

it's love time... ahem, I mean spring time

2011-03-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

I just LOVE doing engagements sessions, it gets me all giddy and love sick all over again.

This couple was just plain amazing. We had so much fun, and they are SO in love, it just makes my little heart go pitter-pat. Congrats you guys!

long time no post?

2011-02-16T18:52:00.000-08:00

How is it already February? I promise I'm still alive and well, although you wouldn't know that by looking at this blog - two whole months of nothing... well that's just despicable. This is the part where you say, 'It's alright Melese, it's love day month - all is forgiven." hehe.

The last few days have been delicious and warm and have gotten me thinking, perhaps it's time for me to come out of my 'winter is cold, ugly and makes me grumpy' fog. Who knows, spring could be just around the corner (I'll be hording plenty of chocolate in our storage room though, just in case I'm wrong). Man am I ever craving to see those beautiful spring blossoms to start popping out... and to take pictures of wonderful people too - that's you btw.

In the meantime we just have to enjoy that blessed holiday Valentine's. Don't you think winter just needs a real pick me up about now? Thank heavens for pink, white and red - they brighten my spirits oh so much. :)

we wish you a merry christmas

2010-12-14T10:55:00.000-08:00

from all of us here at lemonpeel, happy holidays.

cute much?

2010-12-07T17:35:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you put cupcakes together with an adorable soon-to-be one year old little girl? Magic, people, that's what you get - pure magic. I can't even count how many times I squealed "oh my goodness she is SO cute!" to her mother as we took these pictures. I was DIEING and swearing to myself that I would do more fun things like this with my little cutie, cause I mean how cute is this?? SERIOUSLY?

I just had to throw this one in, I think it's pretty obvious why.

it's a marshmallow world...

2010-11-27T11:33:00.000-08:00

Just before Thanksgiving we took a jaunt up to Idaho to visit my parents - up where the snow is endless, seriously endless. I think they should change the name from Island Park to Christmasland, don't you think? We had a great time and of course ran out to snap a few pictures (reminding me of when we did this) in the middle of a huge storm, it sort of felt like it was raining snow. I'm real glad I packed my boots.

frostbite in the leaves

2010-11-16T10:11:00.000-08:00

This family was AMAZING, considering it was like 40 below zero during this entire shoot... okay maybe it wasn't that cold, but it sure felt like it. They muscled through it and I LOVE what we came up with. I think you will too.

november loves me

2010-11-09T07:39:00.000-08:00

Is it terrible that I'm listening to Christmas music already?? I'll let you in on a little secret, I started listening even before Halloween! Yup, I'm an early bird in the Christmas world, our wreath is already up and it's really only my husband up and down refusing that keeps me from setting up a Christmas tree. I just love holidays, love love l-o-v-e them. Which is why I want to remind you about our fabulous Holiday Deal.

CHRISTMAS CARDS!

You may check out the full deal in all of it's detail-y sweetness here. Be sure to contact me asap if you are wanting yourself some holiday cheer because it's only good until December 1!

I think we can all agree that Utah has seriously rocked the fall season. I would never have thought we could have gotten away with a fun colorful leaf shoot in the beginning of November, but we did!! What's up now Mother Nature?? Not to mention that the whole family is GORGEOUS! Needless to say it was a ridiculous success - so many good pictures!

Enjoy!

soaking in the last days of fall

2010-11-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

This is probably the longest fall I've experienced here in Utah, and I've LOVED it. Lily and I decided to celebrate the end of it by taking pictures tonight, cause that's just what you do when you've got beautiful weather, a camera, and a baby that can't protest.

the olsen boys

2010-10-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

These two gentlemen kindly took me around their house/street/backyard and let me take their pictures... (helped along I'm sure by their mother) SO FUN! I love taking photographs of people in their natural settings - it's a blast, and so relaxed! loooove. More people should do this... ahem... like you - you will love it I will love it - there's going to be a whole lot of love period.

These guys were awesome though, they have crazy mad skills on skateboards and I could literally take pictures of them doing jumps all. day. long. That's how cool it was. I was in awe, and I may or may not have made them come up and down the street more times than I can count. Thanks Olsen's I hope you had as much fun as I did!

reds and yellows

2010-10-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well, it snowed this morning. It didn't stick but it will. Winter is officially on it's way and I'm trying not to be upset by it. Winter can be beautiful too... but can it look like this?

I will miss you fall, and all of your delicious colors.

The Love of My Life... both of them

2010-10-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

Just got a sexy new lens and tried it out on the hubby. I would love to try it out on you. Ring me up and we'll play.

Fashionistas

2010-10-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous women. That's what you're about to see. Drop. Dead. Gorgeous

On a small side note - how much do we love this camera?? Thank you grandfather for giving it to me all those years ago, little did I know how beautifully it would photograph. :)

Dear Fall,

2010-09-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

If you could find it in your heart to stay until December it would make me very very happy.

My New Little Nephew

2010-09-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

welcome home little one

Christmas in September

2010-09-21T09:39:00.000-07:00

Is it too early to be thinking about Christmas? Cause I am. It's all Costco's fault, they've already got all of their fun decorations out and like an entire aisle full of wrapping paper - does that get anyone else excited? So many designs!! Anyway, I came home thinking about how lovely Christmas time is and immediately set about creating christmas card templates. I know I know, it's not even October yet, but let's be real here - if you've ever waited until December 20th to send out Christmas cards raise your hand? Ahem.... guilty. And this way, you can get them out right after Thanksgiving like you always meant to, and all your nearest and dearest will be able to gaze at your christmas card on the fridge for longer than a few days without feeling like the whole red and green thing is getting old. It's so perfect, right? But wait I'm getting ahead of myself, here's the fabulous package plan I came up with...

You will get:

One Mini Session (30-45 min) with moi at one location

25 cards and envelopes to send to all the people that make your year just divine
plus you have the option of purchasing any of the digital images/prints from the shoot that you want!

ALL for a fabulous price of $89 buckaroos

I'm giddy just talking about it!

Now for those of you that already have lovely photos that are just begging to be put into a Christmas card,

25 cards and envelopes just for you love: $39 dollas

It's the deal of the century!! okay let's not get dramatic... it's the deal of a life time!

It's a Christmas Miracle!

Here are a few templates to get you excited, if you want to see more just jump to the gallery on our website!

Sign Me Up

2010-08-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I day dream about slipping my wedding dress back on and getting some more use out of it. You know, strolling about the house maybe a little slow dancing with my handsome man, and just generally feeling darn pretty... Doesn't that sound nice ladies? Well this couple just had their ten year anniversary and decided to celebrate with a fun post wedding shoot with us!! They were gorgeous, the backdrop was gorgeous, and they had me jumping for joy as I saw what we were getting... Ahhhhh! Um... Kyle, we're totally doing this :)

Oh how I love these two, congrats you guys!

As Promised...

2010-08-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

wow, I am embarrassed.... we're not even going to talk about how long it's been since I last posted anything. We have been terribly busy though glamming up our house - take a looksee... and then you might not think so ill of us.

But can you believe summer is almost over?? It's just come and slipped out the back so quickly, well it's not entirely gone yet, so says our stuffy hot hot house... and my poor miserably dead flowers...

Anyway, remember that green I promised oh so long ago?? Well here it is, delightful, so so delightful.

We had such a fun time taking these pictures (duh, right??) and I LOVE this farm. This farm makes me want to move away from my sunshiney life here in Utah and brave the endless rain. That's how much I love it :)

we liked this shot sooo much that we snagged a few photos of ourselves, they are hanging so nicely on the wall in our front room, as we speak...

what a lovely time we had.

singin' the blues

2010-06-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Good heavens!! This week has seriously FLOWN BY! Where did all the time go?? Oh yes, to this:

A baby shower for my wonderful preggo sister! So much fun, so much chatting, and SO much delicious food (pat on the back for that one). Did I mention how much I love summer grilling. Well I do. I loooooove it.

Between that and our fantastic Washington trip we're pretty tuckered, but not too tuckered to give you some lovely things to look at... lovely green things. It's funny, I think Utah is so stinkin' green until I go to Seattle where it rains SO MUCH, and I feel silly. Seeing leaves on oh... everything and moss in every nook and cranny is a real difference. Sigh... I do love sunshine though, which is why we live in Utah ;)

These pictures are more on the blue side, oceany blue (the green is coming people!), cause we rode a ferry!!! Okay, super cool - Washington, I'm coming back.

my favorite... so many smiles going on here

And We're Off!!

2010-06-15T19:34:00.000-07:00

Off to Washington!! I was just commenting to Kyle the other day, "man, it is SOOO green suddenly!" Yes yes, very very green. Though we are heading to Oz land, which I'm sure is greener still!! We're excited for some fun shoots out that way and to visit with lovely family as always :)

But... speaking of greenness, we went tromping around in the woods just last night and we had so much fun that I just had to work my little toosh off and post this before leaving tomorrow!! Although, it was so relaxing listening to the water run down the brook that I think I might go back there with a book or two just to enjoy the yummy woodsy smell and the birds singing. Don't you just love summer, and this little boy?? He's on the list of future hubbys for Lily dear. I'll try and nudge her in the right direction ;) enjoy your sneak peak George's!!

Website!

2010-06-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

How many months has it been that I've been promising a website?? Please, don't answer that... it's embarrassing. Well, things are finally getting taken out of the 'test' folder and we're just going to see how it goes. I can already promise you that something is not going to work (especially if you use Internet Explorer), but as all you home owners know, at some point you just gotta live in the house - even if it's not as pretty as you'd like.

So, here's what I can tell you about it so far: The home page is fully functional, you should see a scrolling slideshow of some of our favorite work, as well as a contact us form on the side - it works! (even though it doesn't say 'thank you for sending us a message' after you press the submit button)...I'm still working on that one. There should also be a little section there about our philosophy as artists and what we believe your philosophy as our clients is as well.

The only other links that work right now are the blog and the ordering - the other pages are almost done, but, again, house analogy, we're talking framed and dry-walled but no furniture yet. =)

Also, a big shout out to Firetongue branding studio who has helped us along every step of the way. A good portion of the design was by them (the good looking parts) and all of the coding was by me, so if some of it looks lost in translation, well, it is. But, fortunately for you (if you're still reading this) rest assured, we are much better at taking pictures than we are at building websites! I hope you feel the same. I'll be posting more updates here as the progress continues. In the meantime, please enjoy our website's homepage, and use that brand spanking new contact form when you're ready to create some artful photography with us.

Cheers!!

-Kyle

--Memorial Day hike up AF canyon--

School Is Cool

2010-05-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

So this morning the hubby and I went out and finally finally purchased a darling little crib for our bebe. That's right folks for the past eight months our little girl has been snoozing in her bassinet. she's real tiny. Anyway, we put her in there for the first time this afternoon at nap time and oh my goodness - SHE HAS A REAL BED! She still looks ridiculously small small small in it, but - sniff sniff - she's getting so big!

This week I shot some commercial work for a pre-school called Kinderprep, where learning the violin and basic educational foundations begin. Learning the violin?? Wow. I saw it myself, the boy is three (not even four yet!!) and he's stringing up notes! (you may contact Melissa Keller for more details - the woman's amazing: missy705@juno.com) We had loads of fun with these three freaking adorable kids . We're talking seriously cute... just you wait. Anyway, I kept thinking - good gracious that's only a few years off - Sigh. I've got to get all my snuggles in (the kind that immobile children can't get away from) right this minute....

Enjoy the photos!

It took us a good hmmm twenty or so tries to get everyone with their apple sitting on their head; it was absolutely hilarious watching them lose their apple one by one and go running for them - seriously, SO MUCH LAUGHING!

My Little Cherry Blossom

2010-05-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

I own the most adorable child on the planet. There I said it. And if you don't believe me, take a look at these pictures and your mind will be made up. Seriously, I was almost dying as I took these, mostly with this really hilarious giddy laughter that might have been embarrassing except that it was getting me adorable little impish grins.

That's it, being a mom rocks and having pictures solidifying your child's extreme cuteness is essential.

this is how I look and feel without your fabulous comments. just hit the button. ;)

An Ode to Mother Earth

2010-05-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, lately I've been thinking that it'd be fun to do some work that is minus people... aka landscapes. I had been thinking about it, possibly due to the fine weather we'd been experiencing (I'm using past tense because it's freezing again today... seriously?) and also because I decided I needed to branch out (ha ha! no pun intended) and start posting some non-work stuff. Yay!

So Kyle, Lily and I took a hike this weekend and shot to our hearts delight (lily excluded, she's still trying to figure out how to hold something that weighs the same as she does, don't worry she'll get it), granted quite a few of the shots I took included my two favorite people but you can't expect me to quit with the portraiting cold turkey right? I focused mostly on the details of nature and as I'm pretty sure I'll never win any awards for these photographs, I love them. Anyway, it was a fabulous time enjoying the beauty of nature and it made me want to rush home and plant loads of wildflowers in our front yard. Sigh.

This is what we look like when we get going. We love the backpack, Lily loves the backpack... and I love Lily's sombrero.

Another reason we love the backpack.

In Celebration of {love}

2010-05-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for an incredibly sappy post?? Good. My husband and I had our anniversary yesterday .... sigh. Our story is fairly typical, but soooo lovely: we met, we dated, and once we realized that we just couldn't do without each other's constant company we got married.... and it's just been so FABULOUS ever since!

I love this man more than anything, he really is the most wonderful thing in my life (coupled with my gorgeous child, of course) and the reason I am who I am right now. We're pretty much total goofs together and there is SO much laughing that goes on. It's pretty much the best.

So yesterday, in celebration, we took a hike up Spanish Fork Canyon - GORGEOUS! It was finally (and I do mean finally) a beautiful day after weeks and weeks of yuckiness, I'd like to think the date had something to do with that :)

Happy Anniversary to us!!!!

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This couple is gorgeous (duh.), and have I yet mentioned how much I love spring and the blossoming trees??

deelicious

2010-04-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

more of this GORGEOUS spring wedding to come!!!

I feel like a broken record...

2010-04-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

but seriously, I am so in love with this weather. SO IN LOVE.

It was so gorgeous yesterday that I took a break from being super responsible and ditched unpacking to take a much needed walk with my baby girl. Um, yes, we moved... into a charming little house - yay, yay, YAY! It is so beautiful and wonderful and I'm pretty much just bursting with giddiness! So there's my excuse for being so bad about blogging recently, it has been crazy with a capital C.

On to more photos! This couple was seriously a BLAST and considering that lately I've had incredibly bad luck with weather and it sort of sleeted in the middle (aka SO cold) I was pretty happy that they were still happy - but honestly, who doesn't love a reason to snuggle with their favorite person??

Book Smarts

2010-04-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

Um, I am in love with this shoot, as well as the couple. It was like hanging out with a couple friends I hadn't seen in a while - easy shmeezy. They were especially awesome considering that mother nature decided to mess up our plans a bit by predicting snow right during our shoot. SNOW? Snow. We live in Utah here people, where even the skies are puzzled as to what's happening from March until May. Soooo a quick switch of locations (the Provo Library), where it's warm, dry, and bonus, you feel smarter.

And come on how cute is this??

Congrats you guys!!

season confusion

2010-04-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

When we went up Provo Canyon to do this shoot it was sort of like stepping through the wardrobe into "always winter and never christmas" land. ... um, wasn't it just spring? I forget that up in the canyon it's always at least a few weeks (or months) behind... aka frigidly cold. Thankfully, this couple was extremely cool about it (heh heh, no pun intended) and even gave me some great funny faces to boot!!

I think I hear wedding bells

2010-04-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

I swear there are about a zillion little boys that I am set on Lily marrying. I know, I am so one of those mothers, right? I'm not totally domineering though... I mean, I am giving her choices. Anyway, I've decided that this little guy has made the cut. Not only is he ADORABLE and so so happy but he and Lily are a mere 3 days apart (he's older, whew!) and they held hands ... it's destiny.

fun in the sun.... and the wind

2010-03-31T07:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, this was a fun session. windy but f-u-n. I came away happy as a clam with my stomach hurting because of this little guy:

hilarious.

So much laughing... ahhh, just the way a session should be.

Dear parents of adorable little boy: I want one. :)

We had a great time sauntering around Gardner's Village in West Jordan, I just LOVE all of the color there, I swear every building is painted a completely different vibrant color. That's how the whole world would be if it was up to me, none of this gray business. Such a cute family - and so darn stylish too!!!

it’s time to celebrate...

2010-03-26T10:30:00.001-07:00

SPRING! I sort of think every year that winter will last forever, and then I get depressed and bury myself in projects… the type of projects that are impossible for me to finish (this years was a tiny lap quilt… oh how sad I am that it just sits lonesome-ly in my sewing box totally and completely abandoned) and then voila the birds are singing, the grocery stores are decked out in yummy pastel things, and the sun is shining! I LLLOOOOVVVVEEEE spring… (and it loves me)

It was during this shoot that the realization came to me – summer is coming! There was so much beautiful golden light, there was grass to lay on, not to mention the fabulous temperature… oh yes and even fabulouser (my spell check is yelling at me right now) people in my happy happy lens.

To Spring! To Summer! And of course to this fantastic couple that made me laugh the entire time and worked it.

an olympic story

2010-03-16T16:05:00.001-07:00

Sooo, my sister is having another baby! YAY! Now, those of you who have had children I’m not sure how creative you were telling “the parents” but Molly and I both realized that it just sort of fell out what with the weeping, sudden outrages, and greenish pale faces… okay it was obvious.

Not so with this little one! We came up with an adorable book that got sent to each set of grandparents. A hit, a TOTAL HIT! Naturally, I couldn’t resist posting it.

Interested? Shoot us an email!!

Whew!

2010-03-08T21:15:00.001-08:00

Get ready for photos photos and more photos. We did a shoot with the very talented chloe colette this past weekend and ooh la la, SO MUCH PRETTINESS! Thus the crazy number of pictures you are about to witness in this post. Our models did such a fabulous job and were seriously very cool girls, we had a really good time, lots of laughing, striking poses and of course so much make-upy awesomeness.

Once again, Chloe de-livered. Seriously girls, if you need to be made up for any number of reasons, this is the gal you should check out, she is SO talented!

Also, here’s something fabulous that she is now offering: personal two hour tutorials/classes.

Basically for $60 she helps you go through your own makeup bag, tells you what things you should chuck (mine was this old, and I do mean ooold, blush brush… no idea why it was still in there, thank you Chloe!) cause did ya know that makeup can go bad??!!! This was news for me, anyway, she’ll let you know what works for you, your skin type/face shape etc. and then will proceed to tell you where you can find these things – and the girl is a bargain shopper, not to mention a seasoned consumer! It is an amazing deal, just think, you could look this gorgeous with stuff from your very own makeup bag and applied by you! I know.

Okay, enough blabbing, it’s picture time!

lemony lemonpeelers

2010-03-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

So it has come to my attention that there are quite a few of you checking up on our blog (yay!) and there's really not much about us on here.... not okay. I've decided to do something crazy... this post is going to be all about us, what we do, and why we do it.

I'm Melese. I'm the one behind the camera.

side note: no I do not shoot on this old school camera given to me by my grandfather... but it's pretty sweet looking, yes?

I love to create, it makes me feel worthwhile and happy. I decided a long time ago that if I was going to have a career I was going to love it and I love photography. It sparks my creative side like no other art medium I've done.

So I received my degree five years ago and then spent two years as a wedding photographer for a company in Draper. That job was brutal in some ways, I once had three weddings to shoot in one week during the summer but it was fabulous in the sense that I got some really great experience; now I really feel very comfortable shooting weddings and with my fantastic assistant by my side,

being awesome and modeling for me here

we. have. a. blast.

(and you will too... seriously.)*

Since then I've thought (with my awesomely supportive husband) about what was stopping me from starting my own business with my very own flavor.... ahem, nothing. Voila lemonpeel! And seriously who doesn't love a little lemony zest?? Our name was actually born out of a desire to make things refreshing... that and it reminds me of summer, which just so happens to be my favorite favorite season. Seriously.

We are now booking the following sessions:

$100 - session with images** - one person portrait or baby session

$150 - session with images*** - engagement/couple/bridal/family (up to 4) session

And for all of you bargain shoppers, right now we are running a "startup special" - all of our prices are 50% off! SALE!!

So feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email because we'd love to get together, become best friends, and take some awesome shots with you.

* questions on wedding prices? give us a ring, and we'll set up a consultation - yay!
** 20 edited hi-res images chosen by YOU with personal print release( print as much as you want in any size as you want!)
*** 25 edited hi-res images chosen by YOU with personal print release (print as much as you want in any size you want!)

library love

2010-02-23T13:07:00.000-08:00

I love doing engagement sessions. love. love. love. so much love. Such happy couples, very little stress, and smooching smooching smooching. Not that most engaged couples need any prodding in that area; they're pretty darn good at it (winkety wink). So my job is easy: capture love. okay. done.

Such a huge fan of this couple - a fabulous old friend and her man. SO HAPPY FOR THEM! can you tell by the caps??

l-o-v-e

2010-02-12T07:59:00.000-08:00

Dear maker of bear suits,

i love you.

What a sweetheart.

Polka Dots and Popsicles

2010-02-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

I had a fun time this weekend with a good friend's little girl, Evelyn. She is 9 months old, so we decided to celebrate by giving her her very first photo shoot. A superb model... but my oh my she's a mover and a shaker! Thankfully she balances it out by being completely pleasant and cheerful, like an adorable little cherub. I realized in the midst of it that it's only a matter of time before my lovely Lily begins zooming around our house as well. Child Proofing... uh-oh. That sounds interesting, seeing as most of our most breakable stuff is at reaching distance for small munchkins.

Anyway - Don't these pictures just make you want to find an adorable summer dress and sit on the front step eating a popsicle?? It's a real shame it's not summer time, but the dress is dynamite either way.

De-lish

2010-01-31T20:10:00.000-08:00

I'm your basic choco/sugar-holic. And it's not even just around Christmas time - it's all. year. long. So you can imagine how happy and elated I was to work with a fantastically talented maker of delicious (and I do mean de-licious) baked goods.

Pomegranate and Ginger. Even their name sounds yummy.

Catering cookies, scones, tarts, you name it - and their wedding cakes are beautiful and tasty. A very important, although many times sacrificed, combination. You may check out their blog here.

Little Miss Muffet

2010-01-22T19:31:00.000-08:00

I decided to be totally selfish today and post something from my own life... a big part of my life; the part that wakes me up at five in the morning... and then smiles. Sigh. My adorable, and I do mean adorable little girl. Don't worry I'm allowed to shmooze like that, I'm the mom.

Clothed Much

2010-01-18T09:28:00.000-08:00

I have been inspired, by this one:

Her name is Elaine and she. works. it. She has a blog (www.clothedmuch.blogspot.com) that basically tells you how you can still be fashionable even with a small closet and an even smaller budget - and she's amazing. I'd like to think that someday I'll be talented enough to put together an outfit like she does. I think I might even clean out my closet today - goodbye loads and loads of clothes I don't need that look crappy on me anyway! I'm a new woman.

Also, all of the makeup credit must go to Chloe Sy; an equally amazing woman - making the world gorgeous, one face at a time. You can reach her at misscolettesy@gmail.com for all of your beautifying needs. She also has a blog where she gives reviews on products your skin will love you for/you will love you for. Definitely worth a look see - I have learned much.

Weddin-ing

2010-01-08T11:59:00.000-08:00

I have a special place in my heart for this couple; not only are they hot (cause they really really are) but they are also, hysterical, easy going, and this boy has quite possibly the greatest silly faces I have ever ever seen. He told me this at the beginning of their "pre-wedding" shoot but I'm not sure I understood just how very awesome they would be until we did these:

I seriously couldn't stop laughing even while editing. So stinkin' funny. So basically they are awe-some. Here are some of my favs....

Congrats you two!

Cheers!

2010-01-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

Well, the holidays are over. Strange how it goes by so fast, and I'm still in disbelief that it's 2010... why do we not have flying cars yet? Well, first on the docket: New Years Resolutions. #1 take family pictures of the husband's family.... ahem, done. As Kyle would say, bada bing bada boom. I love this family. They are so wonderful and SO in love with our little girl, which is exactly how we want them to be. I only wish there was a way to make her understand once they leave that being held every single second during the day is simply not ~~okay~~ going to happen. Small tangent, can you tell we're a few days into detox week? Okay, now back to the subject at hand, here they are in their splendor and glory:

Christmas = Happiness

2009-12-14T14:20:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas. Kyle figured this out last year when I insisted on "pretending" it was Christmas one Sunday in July (loads of fun, people, seriously). It was a real nice stuffing eating, Muppet Christmas Carol watching time, and the best part was - five months later we got to do it all over again! I am a firm believer that Christmas must be celebrated more than once a year. I mean you can't just let all that red and green go to waste the other eleven months of the year. Let's be honest.

Anyway, I think we all agree that Christmas is pretty much the best holiday ever, and so I thought: why not celebrate by taking Christmas pictures and making snazzy cards to go with them? Ah yeah. Done and done.

Over the River and Through the Woods

2009-12-02T08:14:00.000-08:00

Firstly, it must be said that Island Park is one of the most beautiful places on earth, frigidly cold? Yes, but beautiful. And the perfect place to spend any holiday, winter or summer. Anyway, after eating ourselves silly on Thanksgiving I snagged my sexy sister and took her out in the woods to play. The girl's a natural, honestly.

Natür

2009-11-19T16:33:00.000-08:00

There is a beautiful walking path alongside Utah Lake that has very beautiful panoramas of the Wasatch Front. I suppose my favorite part of the whole excursion was getting stuck up a twenty odd foot brush tree in a poor attempt to 'get the shot' overlooking the sea of reeds lining the lake. Needless to say, the onlookers weren't particularly sympathetic of my personal predicament. After some work and execution of yoga moves Melese has taught me recently I am back in one piece, and thankfully the camera is fine too! These photos are courtesy of my wanderings, with the exception of the last piece - 'Wyoming Barnacle' - which is actually from our trip to Yellowstone last summer. I imagine that more of our personal work will appear here in the future. I hope you enjoy, and expect our website to be up in the next few weeks!

-Kyle

-scenic route-

-autumn breeze-

-land rights-

-impressions-

-wyoming barnacle-

Baby Buffalo

2009-11-05T20:36:00.000-08:00

What do baby buffalos have to do with this adorable little girl you might ask? Just one incredible song remake and a few truly classic faces. See, you may be familiar with the song bringing home a baby bumblebee, but for Reese, it's a baby buffalo... and if you're not careful, it doesn't sting you, but gores you! Oh my!! Needless to say, this assignment was to capture as many fun faces as we could. Feel free to play along as you scan the pictures - go ahead, grab a mirror, no one's looking.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary...

2009-11-03T08:08:00.000-08:00

We've been doing some work for a local chef and caterer Molly Badger as a way of starting up her new business and meeting the photographic needs that any good culinary website needs! Our only regret is that you can't attach scents to online photos, because seriously, this food was incredible. Here's her old blogspot while the new website is coming together: http://www.eatincake.blogspot.com/

Sunset Serenade

2009-11-01T20:49:00.000-08:00

So I think it goes without saying that this family is ridiculously photogenic. That, mixed with their undeniably awesome fashion sense, made for a really fantastic shoot - and I also think the sunflower was a great addition, high five Crystal. We totally scored with this gorgeous sunset, thank you mother nature - yeah, she loves us.

We're also offering Holiday Mini Shoots. Picture this: 30 minutes, 20 holiday greeting cards, and the peace of mind knowing that this year you're not leaving things up to chance...
Cheesy? Yes... but totally worth it.

Me So Pretty

2009-10-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

These photos are a composite of a few shoots we did for the up and coming makeup artist Chloe Sy. I say up and coming, but what I really mean is "she has arrived and is just looking for opportunities to make the world beautiful." Not to mention that these girls aren't even professional models! This project was part of her effort to produce stunning images for her new website: www.colettecosmetics.com which is still in production. In the meantime you can reach her at misscolettesy@gmail.com. OK, enough talk - enjoy.

The last photo is the master herself, Chloe Sy. What an amazing artist.

25 or 6 to 4

2009-10-20T06:52:00.000-07:00

Long story short, we found ourselves with a gig for the Snohomish Washington High School Panther Band this last month. The assignment was to capture the spirit of the band through candid and group shots. Now, before you continue, break out the record player and turn up some Chicago classics...

Just a special thanks to Pete Wilson, he was also my director when I played in the band. He is a daily inspiration, one of the unsung heroes of education, and besides, he really knows how to whip a band into shape - sweet tunes guys!
If you're interested in seeing more of their pictures and actually hearing some music then jump the link to the website we helped them design: SHS Panther Band