I just had to share this photo from yesterday’s session with Lora and Pecan – aren’t they just the cutest? We had so much fun playing around El Dorado Park!
I can’t wait to share the rest of the session. Happy Monday!
xoxo
Monthly Archives: February 2012
The weather here is starting to feel like spring, and I’m trying to ignore the fact that we’re two months into the year and focus on a renewed sense of self. What is it about joining a new online dating site that makes you reevaluate your whole life while trying to fill in those “about me” boxes? At any rate, here’s what’s been making me happy / thankful lately…
1. Walks around the lake. My neighbors told me about a shortcut that we can take to avoid the busy street that Dante isn’t such a fan of, and now we’ve been walking there and back almost every day. There’s always lots of people fishing and walking their dogs, and Dante loves lunging at watching all the birds.
2. Celebrating Star Wars. My friend Jeff and I spent a day earlier this month exploring the Star Wars exhibit at the Discovery Science Center and watching The Phantom Menace in 3D. It was really a pretty perfect geek-out day. The exhibit is not cheap but so worth it – they had ship models, costumes, Yoda, AT-ATs, and a bunch of fun hands-on things for kids to do. And speaking of the Wars, I think this R2 shirt will be my next geeky purchase!
.jpg "Ellingsen Photography Instagram Star Wars Day")
3. The Oscars. We’ll be having some friends over to watch again this year, and I’m hoping I’ll finally beat Nikki at guessing the most winners! (But don’t bet on me.) We’ll be using these ballots from How About Orange (and probably playing her Oscar bingo game too). I love watching them so much more now that we have a DVR.
4. Snuggling with Dante. It just doesn’t get old. Somehow it never fails to be comforting, especially now when the nights are still chilly. In the summer, I don’t want his blazing hot little body anywhere near me!
5. My old, beat up, trusty Converse. I’m wearing them right now, in fact. You just can’t go wrong.
6. These brilliant words. I first saw this Twain quote on Pinterest, but decided to play with it over one of my photos and put it up on the fridge as a reminder. I think maybe we all have several points in our life where we find out why, don’t you think? That there isn’t only one?
(You can click the photo for a 4×6 downloadable version if you want it!)
7. Cozying up at my desk with a drink and some photo processing. Sometimes it’s kind of like running – it can be tough to put on your shoes and get out the door, but once you’re going you feel awesome about it.
8. Creatively funny things. Like this Tumblr I just discovered called T-Rex Trying… by Hugh Murphy. It’s hard not to giggle at every one!
9. Shooting more film. I’m halfway through a roll of Kodak Ektar 100 and can’t wait to see the results!
10. Easy plant DIYs. I’m such a plant killer, but I’d really like more greenery indoors and I think even I can handle something like a terrarium! This article at Refinery 29 makes it look so easy.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
It’s officially been a year since I launched my website and business, and what better way to celebrate than with a giveaway? I really want to give back to those who have been so supportive of me, both in person and here on the interwebs.
Winner(s) will receive:
- A two hour photo session with moi, at the location of their choice
- DVD of at least 20 high-res images
- 11 x 14 print
Now here’s the fun part – for me, anyway! To enter, email trude@ellingsenphoto.com a photo of you / your pet / your family, along with a short message about why you deserve to win. Have you only ever been to Sears photo studio? Have you added family members (four or two legged) recently? Are you newly engaged? Have your kids finally lost their patience with your constant avoidance of any portraits that include you? Dish, friend! 
I’ll be back with a blog post showcasing all the entries and whomever gets the most votes (via blog comments) is the winner! You can send everyone you know to vote for you, but please only one comment per person (honesty please, karma is a beeotch).
You must send in your entry by Tuesday, February 28th at midnight PST. I’ll blog the entries on March 1st and voting will run through the 5th at midnight PST. Winner will be announced March 6th!
The Rules:
- You must love photos
- You must love each other
Okay, okay, seriously this time:
- Entries from those living outside Southern California are acceptable, but you are responsible for coming here or shipping me to you! (By plane, not parcel post, preferably.)
- By entering, you grant permission to Ellingsen Photography to use your image and entry story on this blog for promotional use. Your session will also be featured on this blog.
- Maximum of six persons or pets for the session.
Good luck and I can’t wait to read your entries! And thanks especially to my close friends and family for putting up with a camera constantly in their faces and me going on ad nauseum about f-stops and good light.
xoxo
(P.S. That’s Katie in the photo above, a shelter pup that was adopted before I could blog her adorable photos.)
While Sarah and I were hard at work at the shelter last weekend, we had the pleasure of seeing not one, but two dogs from the shelter go home with their new families! (Eddie and Jake, from our last trip.) Needless to say we were working with even bigger smiles than usual.
{Click any image to learn more about adopting that dog!}
Speaking of bigger than usual, mister Brewser here is a Saint Bernard mix who has lots of puppy energy but was also great at mugging for the camera.
And then there’s Diesel. Whose eyes are like those spiral hypnotic joke glasses – because honestly, I couldn’t stop looking at him! If you’re looking for a Husky, don’t wait to go see him because with his calm demeanor he won’t be at the shelter much longer!
Is it wrong that I just want to bury my face in his fur? I don’t even care how much it would make me sneeze.
Pretty shepherd mix Jasmine was a bit shy with us at first, but she warmed up to Sarah pretty quickly and it turns out she thinks she’s a lap dog. Which I’m all for, no matter what size they are!
Speaking of dogs who think they fit in your lap, meet Jackson. He’s super friendly and playful, and good with cats too!
Jessie is kind of the matriarch of the bunch at nine years old, and Sarah and I just loved how calm and gentle she was with us – I can easily picture her adopting the kids of any family as her own and tolerating all sorts of toddler abuse. (Like Linus the Boxer and his family.)
I just love seeing dogs that have that two-tone caramel coloring, so I was a very happy girl working with sweet Lizzie, a Manchester terrier. You’d never know she came in with a case of mange – she’s recovered beautifully!
London is a super cute Fox Terrier mix, and still a puppy. But I have my fingers crossed that those ears keep growing with her!
London’s roomie is Roscoe, who, in case you were wondering, is proof that Doxie + Corgi = adorable. He’s only ten months and such a sweetie! Also: floppy ears.
And then we have Thelma and Louise. These two are too bonded to be adopted separately, but who would want to split up a pair like this? Quick – somebody find a pint-size convertible for them to ride around in!
Until next time…
xoxo
They don’t call it sunny Southern California for nothin’, and this winter has been especially mild, even for us! Just a few rainy days, some cold days in December but otherwise pretty mild. And today it’s supposed to get up to 80! No complaints here, I just wish daylight savings would hurry up so we could enjoy the weather more.
Here’s what my iPhone has been seeing lately (I’m @ellingsenphoto on Instagram)…
- Dante showing off our new inside welcome mat (well, it’s more of a goodbye mat and always gets this song in my head)
- On our dam adventure
- I tried out a local ranch market and got all of this for $4.52!
- I was a bad, bad girl
- Happy first birthday to Cassidy!
- On laundry day, a fuchsia sundress + sweater tights is totally acceptable
- It poured for hours one Saturday morning, so Dante and I snuggled under the electric blanket and watched movies on Netflix
- Attempting to beat my friends at Settlers of Catan…not successful. But it’s a super fun game!
- Peekaboo!
- We had a few pea soup mornings
- Perfect weather for a long walk with my mom and Dante
- He makes for good migraine day company
When I’m at home on the computer, I use Webstagram to keep up with my feed. And I’m really thinking about ordering some Stickygrams – fridge magnets out of Instagrams!
xoxo