I have a little confession to make. I’ve been twittering. Yep! That’s right…twittering. I vowed I’d never twitter, but honestly…once you start down the rabbit trail it’s never ending and before you know it you’ve got yourself a twitter page (and made it pretty…because you KNOW…it’s all got to match for this OCD plagued girl!) and then you’re looking for every blessed human being you know…or don’t know…and then you discover that you really have nothing important to say…nothing to add to the “conversation”, but hey…at least you’re there! So…if you’d like to follow my twittering nonsense…come along! Follow me! @treasurethetime. AND…while you’re at it…if you’d like to hang out with me on my virtual front porch (as one of my many friends calls it)…then you may as well be my facebook buddy too (search for Sandi Eaton Bradshaw). Afterall…that’s where you get to hear all the juicy details of my ever-so-exciting life…which this week included lots of thermometers, barf bowls, and far too many episodes of iCarly and Clifford. (How’s that for professional?) You know I really do strive to be real here. ;o) So…seriously…I’d love to be your friend! (Pick me! Pick me!)

Alrighty then…back to the important stuff…THIS beautiful 13 year old was here all the way from Virginia for her session. Her mom is so sweet…she recalled another post that I had done a few months ago for another 13 year old girl when I had mentioned that these years are almost the forgotten years when it comes to photographing children, and she was inspired to do a session for her daughter at this VERY important time in her life. It seems that most people see the value in photographing their small children…even up to 12…but then there are these forgotten years (13-17) when most people don’t think to have their children’s portraits done. Yet…those years are so full of change, and promise, and hope, and fun…lots of FUN! So, I consider it an honor when someone wants to capture this time in their child’s life…and dedicates a special session just to them.

So, here is Miss R…such a sweet, beautiful girl…her super warm heart just flows out of her. They wanted some desert scenery in their images since Miss R is missing AZ just a teeny little bit.

‘Til Next Time (which won’t be ANYWHERE near as long as this last time),
S 

This is such a special post to me…this sweet young lady has been such a blessing to our family. She has been giving my son horse lessons for nearly 3 years now…and last week she emailed me to ask me if I would consider doing some pictures with her and her horses because she’s having to make one of the hardest decisions of her life and find them a new home. She’s off to nursing school this fall (which in my opinion…there may not be another human being on earth more suited for nursing than this sweet girl)…and she won’t have the time to devote to them while she’s in school. I’ve never done portraits with horses before…so I really wasn’t sure how these would turn out…but I promised her I’d do my best. )

^ I’m having a little love affair with sun flare right now. You’ll be seeing more sun flare shots in the upcoming sneak peeks…I just can’t get enough of it these days!

It was also fun for me because I was able to take one of the ladies from my workshop to the session with me. She was here from VA and had a late flight…so it worked out great for her to be able to come along. Thanks Sharon!

K – Thank you for asking me to do these pictures for you…I enjoyed every minute of it…and I’m so glad that you’ll have images of your precious horses to hold onto forever. They are two of the most beautiful horses I’ve ever seen.

‘Til Next Time!
S 

Sooooo….what do you get when you plan an Urban Photography Workshop? You get a real urban experience. So…here we all are…5 minutes into the shoot and share portion of the workshop…and whipping around the corner right behind all of us comes a police car. I didn’t think much of it…kept shooting…I’m unphased…HOWEVER a moment later one of the model’s moms says, “Sandi…I think they’re getting ready to arrest that guy!” So…we take off to another area…only to find MORE police cars. I’m not exactly sure why it didn’t occur to me that we shouldn’t be hanging around in that area (I mean…REALLY…you KNOW that my workshop was THE. MOST. IMPORTANT. THING going on around there right?!?!?) However, after we all got scattered into two groups by yellow police tape running along the whole corridor that we were shooting in…and one of the workshop attendees clueing me in to the fact that she found out there had been an armed robbery…the lightbulb went off! Doesn’t take much for this girl to figure things out! No sir’ey! You should have seen this clueless wonder…shoot, shoot, shootin’ away…a little on the oblivious side over here. 

But… in spite of the minor crime distraction…a FABULOUS workshop it was! The ladies who attended were FABULOUS! (And I have to say this…I am totally humbled by the fact that photographers would come from as far as the east coast to hear what I have to say about this business…wow…really…wow). The models were FABULOUS! The moms who dressed the models were FABULOUS! And the vendors who sponsored the workshop…FABULOUS!!! I want to thank all who attended…YOU made it a wonderful day! And…I also want to publicly thank the models (and moms)…you guys did a great job and were so easy to work with. AND…a huge thank you to The Urban Tea Loft for hosting us and making everything run super, super smoothly (if you’re in Chandler, AZ – please visit this awesome restaurant! You won’t be sorry!)…to MCP Actions, Shootsac, Totally Rad Actions, Dream Album, Hamelin Designs, TK Business, Joyce Smith, and Trendy Camera Straps (I hope I’m not forgetting anyone)! You guys are ahhhhhsome!

I’ve received a ton of emails asking when the next FOCUS 2009 Workshop will be held…and I will be making that announcement in a few days. It will be held in August, but the exact date will be announced soon. If you’d like to be put on the pre-registration list for the August workshop…please EMAIL ME. The pre-registration email will be sent out by the end of the week and spots will be offered to those on the list first. The workshop will be limited to no more than 10 attendees. I’ve also decided to make the next workshop a 2 day workshop rather than a 1 day workshop. Yeah…could’ve used a little more time…I talk alot…I’m just sayin’. ;o)

Here are a few workshop images that I’ve had a chance to edit…thanks again guys!

I have a very packed schedule the next couple of weeks (including a wedding that I’m photographing this Saturday!)…and due to the workshop I’m a little behind on sneak peeks…but, I’m working my way through the editing abyss…so watch for lots of blog updates over the next couple of weeks.

‘Til Next Time!
S 

Is this not just one of the most adorable little bubba’s you’ve ever seen? Perfect combination of baby chub, soulful blue eyes, and a nose that crinkles when he smiles. He was so full of giggles during our session despite the fact that daddy had just left the day before to start his baseball season. I love working with families of ball players because it honestly makes me feel like I’m holding onto a piece of my brother. Most of the baseball player’s families that I’ve worked with are right around the age that he would be…and have young families like he would have. It gives me a sense of what his life might be like. But, until I met S, I had not given much thought to what the wives of professional athletes go through when their hubbies leave for the season. I feel honored that she shared with me how much she misses him…and how much he misses her…and little K. And…hopefully when he sees these images he’ll feel a little closer to home. )

Here’s to a FABULOUS…yet quick season for your family, S!

‘Til Next Time!
S 

Warning…after writing this little bit of a novel…I realized that it was a bit of a novel…sorry for the rambling tonight! Read on!…

Today was such a crazy day…the kind of day where you’re just on the go non-stop and you’re so busy that you don’t even realize how tired you are until you sit down…and then it hits you. But, for me today was a good busy. We are in the midst of making a really difficult decision in our family. We are considering putting our boys in a Christian private school…which would mean the end of my homeschooling days. I’ve homeschooled my kids since my oldest was in kindergarten…and he’s be a sophomore next year. How does that happen anyway? I mean really…I’m sorry, but CLEARLY I am way too young to have a sophomore! (Reality is ugly sometimes). But…never-the-less…a decision is coming down over here at Casa Bradshaw. We met with the principal today for our family interview and my kiddos were accepted…so now the ball’s in our court and I feel like I want to throw the ball to someone else! It’s so conflicting…the thought of not schooling them myself anymore…of not being with them everyday…of not being able to occasionally tell them at breakfast that we’re going to blow the day off and hit the movie theater instead. I *love* the freedom that homeschooling has given us…the freedom to choose our curriculum…to teach our children from a Christian curriculum…teaching all of them to read myself…and seeing their eyes light up when they are excited about something they’ve learned. I’ve loved watching them devour history books that I never read in high school…and I’ve loved watching them love to learn.

My oldest loves science (he’ll read a science textbook for fun…I’m pretty certain that he’s destined to be a doctor…a pediatric endocrinologist specifically, but he’s not quite convinced yet)…my 2nd loves to write (he writes in such a way that you honestly get drawn into what he’s writing almost immediately, and he’s a master at cliffhangers…that you actually want to hear the rest of!)…my 3rd loves asking questions (about anything and everything…and I love that he is so eager to learn everything that he possibly can wrap his brain around…he asks such intelligent questions so often that I’ve stopped being surprised by them)…and my 4th…well he pretty much just loves Clifford the Big Red Dog…and McQueen, Mater, and the gang…and me. ) I can’t complain! But…we’re just at the point that we’re realizing that this season of homeschooling may be coming to an end. And I’m sad.

OK, seriously…Where was I going with this novel?!?!? I digress….ahhhh yes, my day…so we interviewed with the Principal and then I had a session in Glendale this afternoon. Do you know how far Glendale is from Queen Creek? Pretty dog-gone far! Wow! But, it was an awesome session and so much fun! Didn’t get home until around 8:30…and I’ve just been wiped out ever since…but, I did promise to share with ya’ll my super cool opportunity that I am just bursting with excitement over! Drumroll please….

I was invited to guest blog on the MCP Actions Website by Jodi Friedman! I’m so excited! I’ll be doing a 6-7 part series that focuses on senior photography…everything from choosing locations, posing, processing, and more! This is really cool beans to get such a wonderful offer! I can’t wait to meet Jodi’s blog readers and I can’t wait to share with them a few tips for working with seniors! If you’re a photographer, and you haven’t been to Jodi’s site…please check it out! She has some fabulous actions and templates that she offers to photographers…I especially love the Magic Template Actions…Magic Blog It Boards and Magic Print It Boards. I believe that my guest blog series will begin early next week…so be sure to check it out Monday! I’ll be blogging about seniors every couple of weeks over there!

And…since no post is complete without a picture…here is one more of my No Boys Allowed Models…the whole gang! I had so much fun with you girls! Thanks again for a great day and fabulous images!

‘Til Next Time!
S