Priester Photography

Geefles and Gonks...and the land of Snoo.

This totally fun, happy little family are not Geefles.

Nor are they Gonks.

And I'm pretty sure they don't live on the planet "Snoo"...though with four children they may sometimes feel as if they do. (I totally did NOT intend on making that rhyme...it just came out that way)

The key to finding the connection between Geefles, Gonks, and these family portraits is simply to realize that there's no connection at all.

I felt compelled to post a few sneak peeks from tonight's session and also to talk about an old Sesame Street skit reinforcing cooperation.

It's slightly unfortunate that these two thoughts collided at the same moment.

I'm sure Mrs. M won't mind. Since we're about the same age, she may appreciate a little Sesame Street reflection.

I have never talked to anyone else who remembers this skit.

Maybe it's my poor explanation of it.

My favorite part is the end: "Let's call it "cooperation"!"..."No. Let's call it Shirley".

Why do I remember this?

To further convince you of my mental instability I'm also posting this video of my favorite Sesame Street characters...The Yip Yips.

They make me laugh.

You MUST watch it. I'm posting this at 11:30pm in a house full of sleeping bodies but I'm laughing hysterically at this video.

Such great memories.

Of alien, muppet creatures.

It explains much.

More tomorrow....that is, more family session, not more Geefles, Gonks, and Yip Yips.

If I can help it.

Fat Fingers

This is what happens after almost 14 years of marriage...

permanent damage.

Not from the marriage itself, mind you...but from the symbol of the marriage.

I lost the diamond out of the ring that my betrothed bought for me. Twice. And I found it. Twice. Which is insanely remarkable because it's a very small diamond (sorry honey...in his defense we got married when we were 18 so he wasn't exactly financially well established yet and I asked for a small ring).

The odds were that I wouldn't lose the diamond and find it a third time. So I decided to wear the set that used to belong to my mother-in-law.

It was a smidge smaller, but still fit.

But that was almost five years ago and, well...let's just say that I haven't gotten any thinner since then.

Hence, the situation I'm presenting you with this evening.

The rings were starting to become uncomfortable so I decided to take them off.

I removed the engagement ring with some soap, much tugging and thinking thin thoughts (much like squeezing into a pair of jeans except backwards), but the wedding band wasn't going to hear of it. No siree. He wasn't gonna budge.

My aunt and mother-in-law tried to help...actually, we'll say that the Aunt tried to help. I think the mother-in-law was trying to sabotage me. The Aunt and I tried ice water and soap, holding my hand above my head, Windex, and dental floss (if you're confused about these methods, read this). Nothing proved successful...probably because somewhere during the middle of our efforts my mother-in-law suggested that we soak my fingers in hot, salty water. So we did.

Um. Doesn't salt cause swelling?

Yes. Yes it does.

After suffering defeat in our ring removal fun I went home and presented the challenge to my husband.

He brought out this:

It looks scarier than it actually was. He wielded this thing like a bolt cutter champion. One little snip and I was free. I felt very liberated...though I remain happily married.

I'm not sure my finger will ever return to normal. I may have a permanent ring dent.

Maybe I'll start a new trend...who needs ACTUAL jewelry anyway?

What do you do if your photographer says...

"Face each other and turn around. I'm going to take a picture of your butt."?

You say, "Yes, ma'am". Then you do it, because you want awesome pictures like this.

That's what this nice couple did and though you may think you don't want pictures of your own hind region, you really do.

Trust me.

I know what I'm doing.

I am so in love with this picture right now. It's all about the texture, baby.

*Faint*Gasp* It's a blurry, grainy, 1970's looking, little slice of wonder. It makes me smile.

Now, listen. This one will NOT be for everyone.

I can't explain why, but I like it. Even though it comes in a little high on the cheese factor, I still dig it. And you would be amazed if you saw the original shot that I created this from. I liked the way she was looking up at him but everything else was wrong with the picture so I chopped it, diced it, mixed it and threw in a dash of salt and came up with this.

It reminds me of the old mind game picture...Is it a face or is it a vase?

A little more classic with this one. It's okay, I can handle traditional every once in a while.

Ooo La La...

and Oh My...that's all I have to say about those two shots.

And we close this blog post out with totally sweet cuteness.

You can see the rest of their session here under "J+J".

Then you'll be seeing more of them sometime after the 9th of January as I start posting up sneak peaks from their wedding.

You'll just have to deal with the anticipation. It's only 11 more days.

Practice the art of patience.

Pretty please?

I had great expectations of reaching many goals today.

I fell short.

Finishing this session was one of those goals.

I'm obviously not finished or I wouldn't be pleading with you to be patient, but I've worked my little fingers to bloody nubs. Okay, that's an exaggeration (hyperbole) but I'm just emphasizing the point that I haven't neglected the session at all. I've been on here for the better part of the day...just ask my kids.

Wait a minute...where ARE my kids?

That's a joke. They're in bed sleeping.

I think.

These pictures are just a pacifier for you until I can finish the rest.

So in the words of my mother, "Keep your girdle on."

I have four more sets (poses) to edit. I'll finish it up tomorrow evening.

Definitely.

Maybe.

Quickly...

just three shots from a recent engagement session.

I know they're anxious to see a few of these so I'm slapping them up here before I head off to dreamland.

These are actually the first three I've edited....with many, many more to go.

This last one is my favorite so far. Well, so far out of the three pictures I've actually looked at...my favorites change usually two or three times as I work my way through each different pose.

I don't like the commitment involved in choosing just ONE favorite. It stresses me out.

More coming after I get my much needed beauty rest...

Again with the black and white...

I just can't help myself.

And again with these beautiful boys,

and their beautiful eyes.

These are a few of my favorites from their session with their beautiful mama.

The little guy wasn't too keen on the idea of smiling.

I was okay with that.

Now say what you will about this shot.

It might be a little dark, you can't see their eyes, and her hair is halfway in her face...no matter...I love it!

I want to marry it.

Mother-son bonding is the best!

Just look at this cuteness!

You can see the rest of their proofs here under "Kelley Family".

And don't forget, Kelley family, if you get 10 comments or more on this post you get a free 5x7.

Engagement session up next...

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness...

this cuteness is practically unbearable.

This was my first real session with the new camera...it is a success!

It helps that these two are the cutest thing ever.

I wish I could remember what I did to get this reaction.

I would also like to mention that I did not enhance their eyes at all. Not one little bit. They are just that stunning.

Did you catch the fact that these are all black and white?

I quickly grabbed my favorites from this session while I was working on it to post the sneak peaks. It wasn't until after I uploaded them that I realized they were all black and white.

I've been considering, as of late, shooting strictly in black and white. That's how much I love it.

The rest of this session coming soon...

Proudly Presenting...

another stop motion video!

I personally think the first one was better but I was trying out my new camera on this one so I didn't get the exposure and such quite right. It was just for fun though. I'll do better on the next one. Stop judging me!

Glad to get that off my chest.

I adore the song in this one...simply adore it. It's "Paralyzing" by Zoe Boekbinder. I bought her CD after seeing her live at a show presented by Unique Ink here in little ol' Fredericktown. She's amazing.

It's not very often that I enjoy every single song on an artists CD....I enjoy every song on this CD. It's also amazing that my kids love her too, particularly the song "Adventures of Turtle and Seahorse". You can also buy the CD from her website that I linked to up there ↑.

I highly recommend it.

Here's our fun little video...featuring my oldest, Mercede and her Aunt Niki. Good times.

I had to cut the song short because I didn't shoot enough footage. I ran out of ideas and I was hungry. A sad excuse, but an excuse nonetheless. You can hear the whole song on here.

Enjoy!

I'm neither a music critic nor a live performance photographer...

but I loved these bands and I took these pictures.

We went to Bauhaus Kafee last night and enjoyed a relaxing atmosphere (we sat on a leather couch), a wonderful aroma (think brewing coffee and sweetness), and great music (my foot just kept tapping).

I plan on going back soon for "StorySLAM". If you're interested, you can find out more about it and upcoming events here on their website.

It's only the second performance I've been to that was presented by Unique Ink and I hope to attend many more. Good stuff....especially if you're a music lover like myself.

These are "The Rum Drum Ramblers". I adore them.

I will restate that I'm not a music critic and have absolutely no musical talent or knowledge of what musical talent should sound like. I just know what I like to hear...and it's this.

I loved how this guy got all hunched down sometimes while he was playing...

and I love how he had to keep pushing his glasses up because they were sliding down his nose. He did it in one fluid motion though, so he never stopped playing. That's dedication.

I loved hearing this guy go to town on his harmonica and I adore the way they were dressed.

But my favorite part was the emotion. How can you not love all of that emotion in their faces?

You can hear a few of their songs and see their upcoming schedule here or become their fan here.

This is "Dim Peepers". I like the sound of that name.

They made me smile...

and tap my feet.

I wanted to shoot more of them, but my memory card was full. I was just shooting for fun so I wasn't nearly as prepared as a live performance photographer should be.

I've learned my lesson...well, I at least learned a lesson.

I sat on the floor to get this shot at a lower angle. Since it was hardwood flooring I could feel the music more than hear it and I then wished I had sat on the floor for the whole performance.

You can hear a few of their songs and see their upcoming schedule here or become their fan here.

I really wish I could describe this music for you with vivid word pictures and technical explanations but I just can't. All I can say is, I nodded my head to it, tapped my feet to it, swayed to it, and it made me feel happy.

What better explanation do you need than that?