We LOVE to learn about photography!

We had the opportunity to go to Chicago for a conference this week. It was great fun to see some of our old friends....but in the midst of all of it, we got food poisoning! It was a rough time! Who would have thought....go out of town and then end up staying in our rooms being sick over half the time. Luckily, we did get to see the 2nd and 3rd days of the conference, but we had good friends taking notes for us on the first day. We did get to be included in the group photo on day 2! So, here we are with our group! Thanks for all your patience while we've been out of town. We have orders coming in at the end of this week and beginning of the next.

Memphis Child Photography by BluOrchid Photography~Marion AR Photographer

Meet Brody and Richard Wayne. These two little boys were absolutely adorable and had such fun little personalities. We went out to the old mill. Brody was so curious about the old farm equipment that I had to spend a large amount of time chasing him throughout his little adventure. Richard Wayne, however, was not as curious and I had to lure him into the old mill by telling him about the owls who like to hide up in the eaves of the building and how if he smiled really well the owls would come out and say "Hi!" A few minutes into our fun game, an owl came out and startled us, but Richard Wayne wasn't frightened at all and gave me the best smile of the session.


Brody's mom loved this one so much she decided to get a big canvas.

Mom also loved this one of Richard Wayne and got a coordinating canvas to go with the one she got of Brody.

This is Richard Wayne after he had just seen the owl! Ha Ha.

This is Mister Brody the one second that he was standing still.

Baby John Parker! BluOrchid Photography~Marion AR Baby Photographer

Meet Mr. John Parker. He was a serious one....but I just love that type. The serious babies always have such soulful eyes! He wasn't feeling his best that day, but he sure did give us some major cuteness to work with! This was his 6 month session and we had some fun with my new Teddy Bear set. He rocked that bear hat like there was no tomorrow. We also got a few of him in his little jeans. I love how he looks like he is in time out in the one with him looking up at me. Have a look at a few of my favorites!

Here is the one where he looks like he is in "time out!" I love it!

We have an early "Elf" lead! Get those votes in!!!

Ok so I've been keeping close watch on the votes and we have an early leader with Elf #28! Close behind are elf #13, 27, 21, 19, and 14!

Remember, send the blog link to all of your friends to get them to vote too! This is soooo fun!!!! Good luck to all my sweet little elves!

UPDATE AS OF TUESDAY NIGHT AT 10:21PM:
Elf #13 is now in the lead with Elf #21 and #28 close behind! #27, 19, and 7 are trying to close the gap. The rest of the elves need your help! Vote, Vote, VOTE!!!!

UPDATE AS OF WEDNESDAY MORNING AT 11:09:
We have a very tight race between Elf #19 (currently in the lead!), #21 and #19. We have had over 100 votes cast at this time! Keep it up...only a few more days to get your votes in!

UPDATE AS OF WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT 9:54PM:
We still have a very tight race between a few certain elves! I think from now on I'm going to keep it secret who's in the lead! You never know if someone is sneaking in on you with votes, so don't get lazy on me! I will say that we have one elf that is particularly farther ahead in votes than anyone else, but that apparently some elf parents sent this out to their friends and family today because we have some new elves bumping their vote numbers big time this evening! Only tomorrow and Friday left for voting!

NOTE! ONLY ONE VOTE PER EMAIL ADDRESS WILL BE ACCEPTED. I HAVE HAD SOME PEOPLE HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE VOTE BOX. YOU MAY SEND ME AN EMAIL AT INFO@BLUORCHIDPHOTO.COM IF YOU CAN'T GET THE BOX TO WORK FOR YOU! IF YOU SEND A COMMENT TO THE BLOG...BE SURE TO ENTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO THAT I CAN KEEP UP WITH WHO SENT IT! I HAVE GOTTEN LOTS OF VOTES FOR THE CHILDREN OF PEOPLE WHO ARE TELLING ME THAT THE VOTE BOX IS NOT WORKING....SO I THINK THEY ARE COMING THRU EITHER WAY, BUT IF YOU ARE NOT SURE, JUST EMAIL ME TO THE ADDRESS ABOVE! THANKS!

UPDATE AS OF THURDAY AT 11:50AM:
I'm still not telling you who is in the lead because this is waaaay too much fun for me! But I will say that one elf is still way in the lead, but we have had a comeback by some of the others....and a few that weren't even on the map yet are making a huge appearance in the votes. So, keep them coming....today and tomorrow until midnight are left for putting in your votes! You never know if someone will sneak ahead of the pack! I will say that over 500 people have visited the blog in the past 2 days and that is very exciting for me!

UPDATE AS OF FRIDAY AT 10:07 AM:
Well, I've decided that in order to kick this thing into high gear that I'm going to tell you who the top 7 elves are, in no particular order! So, for those of you who are not in the top 7, you have a lot of work to do in the next 14 hours, and for those of you who are in the top 7, don't lose momentum! You do not know where you are in that top 7....it is anyone's game! We have had over 450 votes in our contest though and I'm very inspired by some of your persistance! Keep it up....less than 14 hours to go!

Here are our top 7 (in no particular order):
#5, #13, #10, #21, #19, #17, and #30!!!!!

If you can't get the vote box to work (it has gotten overloaded with some votes on occasion), send me a direct email at info@bluorchidphoto.com to cast your vote! Only one vote per email address! Votes in the comment section will not be counted unless they are connected to an email address!

UPDATE AS OF SATURDAY AT 1:25AM:
I MADE A HUGE MISTAKE EARLIER! VOTING DOES NOT END UNTIL SATURDAY AT MIDNIGHT! YOU HAVE A LITTLE OVER 22 HOURS TO GET MORE VOTES IN! TELL ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS....HUGE PRIZE AT STAKE HERE! GOOD LUCK IN OUR FINAL HOURS OF VOTING. THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 22ND!

Senior Picture Time! BluOrchid Photography ~ Marion AR Photographer

Ok everyone....you have to meet my new friend, Paula! She called me and we did her senior pictures last month. She and her mom came in tonight for her viewing and ordering session and she was soooo happy with them! She is full of spunk and personality and laughed her head off at me the day of the session (those of you who have shot with me know I'm a total klutz and I tripped over everything a million times)! She has since become my buddy and brought me the sweetest thing tonight. It was an angel feather and it had this poem with it that talked about our friendship and how we are kept safe. Very sweet and a nice reminder of our fun time together. She also came out and helped Nathaniel and I with the Halloween fundraiser...so she's just a sweet girl and I'm so glad that she loved her photographs so much! Paula, you are truly beautiful, inside and out! Thanks for finding me! Ok people, without further a do......

Paula's mom really loved this one!

I knew when she whipped out this hat on the day of the shoot that it was going to be a fun session!

Paula thought I was crazy when I told her to lay on the floor, but I knew it would look great! Plus that pink on my lovely girls only backdrop was a sure thing!

Paula loves Hawaii so we tried to capture a bit of that spirit!

Paula is an avid reader! She's actually writing some really funny stuff right now too. Somehow or other I have become one of the characters in one of her books! I will have to share some of the excerpts soon!

Paula, thanks for ROCKING IT OUT! oh....don't forget to post some of your favs to facebook!

My Parents! BluOrchid Photography ~ Marion AR Photographer

Well, I promised my Mama that I would get these up on the blog tonight! My mom's friend had a birthday party for her boyfriend down at the Country club in Texarkana Arkansas. My parents went and Mama wanted some pictures of the 2 of them since they were all dressed up. Big Daddy even wore his Tim McGraw hat for a few. Here are 2 of Mama's favorites!

Memphis Engagement Portraits! BluOrchid Photography ~ Marion AR Photographer

This is Brandon and Jade. They are just the sweetest couple. They wanted to have some pictures in a natural setting with flowers and the beautiful look of summer. So we headed out to Overton Park in Midtown, Memphis. The day was just gorgeous and the colors were so vibrant. When Brandon and Jade saw their pictures for the first time they loved how we got so many different looks from that one location just by walking around a bit to different sections. I just love the way Jade looks at Brandon and nestles her head under his chin. They are just too cute and I loved working with them on these portraits.