October is Pumpkin-Picking Time!!!

October is one of our favorite months in the year...it begins with our family's annual tradition of a visit to Rocky Creek Farm in Bozeman to pick pumpkins.

Upon arrival, we climb into the tractor-pulled haywagon for a scenic ride through the farm to the pumpkin patch. Our twins and all the other children run wild with excitement searching for the biggest pumpkin they can find. We've been going to the farm since the twins were a year old and the neat thing is that Farmer Pete Fay and his regular staff remember us year after year and truly enjoy watching our kids and all the other children grow up.

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After picking out our pumpkins, we also pick up a few gourds, a bale of straw and some dried corn stalks to decorate our front porch with. It's beautiful and welcoming. We also take a few gallons of fresh apple cider home with us.

The visit to Rocky Creek Farm is also the perfect opportunity to take beautiful photographs of your children. The kids are busy and happy running around, playing in the hay maze or swinging on the tree swing...add the vibrant fall colors and golden light...and well, you can see why I take my camera every year to photograph the annual event.

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The farm is now open for pumpkin-picking Tuesday - Friday from 1 - 5 p.m. and on weekends. Call (406) 585-0225 for directions and information. Make sure to tell Pete that child photographer Susann Saarel sent you!

And finally...who needs scarecrows when you have twins that look like this?:::

Four Generations

I have photographed 4 generations at family reunions plenty of times, but it is a special honor each and every time I am asked to document a family's history in this way. Barbara's 90 year old mother, Mary, lives with her and her husband, Lee in Gardiner. Barbara and Lee's daughter, Jessica and her children, Gabriel and Bethany live close-by in Livingston.

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We brought out an antique settee for Mary to sit on during our "generations" session...

Bethany (above) is truly a classic beauty...and aren't she and her brother, Gabriel, just so much fun and full of life?

I love this photo of Mary with her great-grandchildren (above) as well as this one of Mary with her granddaughter, Jessica and daughter, Barbara (below).

Thank you Lee and Barbara for purchasing your family and children's photo session with Susann Saarel "Windows of the Heart" Fine Art Portraiture at the St. Mary's BASH fundraiser this past May and for making the trek with Mary from Gardiner all the way up to Sky Ranch!

It was an honor and a pleasure...

Laundry Day...

If you've forgotten just how fun laundry day can be, allow 2 year old Kenzie and her 3 year old sister, Kylie, to remind you...

"Ky-leeeeee, the laundry has soaked and is ready to wash!"

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After the soaking, washing, drying and ironing, it was time to take the baby dolls out for a walk and a little fresh air... As my mother (and everyone else's mother) always said..."A woman's work is never done."...how true it is! And what a perfect day for a stroll...

Until Kylie and Kenzie each had their own ideas on which direction to take...

Remember to capture the little moments...the imagination and innocence of your children at play...or to call on children's photographer, Susann Saarel and Windows of the Heart Fine Art Portraiture to capture the moments for you...

Childhood is so fleeting...but the memories can last forever...

On Top of the World between 2 TOP Towns!

Did you know that Bozeman, Montana (Pop. 38,000) was just selected as one of The West's Top 10 Dream Towns by Sunset Magazine and that Livingston, Montana (Pop. 7,000) was selected as one of The Coolest Small Towns in America by Budget Travel Magazine??

How lucky we are to live at Sky Ranch, high on a mountain-top only 20 minutes from BOTH Bozeman and Livingston! We have the best of both worlds!!

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Here is the view toward Livingston from our patio...this photo (above) was taken by Thomas Lee for an article in the Bozeman Chronicle's HOME Magazine in which Sky Ranch graced the July 2004 cover!
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And how charming is the historic town of Livingston??? According to Budget Travel Mag, the numerous art galleries, boutiques and restaurants not to mention plenty of bars, writers and actors added to the "cool factor"...

Add hiking, horse-backriding, fly-fishing and skiing at nearby Bridger Bowl and well, you can see for yourself why these towns were voted BEST and COOLEST!!

Autumn Baby

Well,...it's not quite Autumn and Kaden Lee was actually born 5 weeks early on August 19th, but he was SUPPOSED to be an autumn baby...

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Here are his official one-month old portraits!! What I love most besides the rich fall light is how Kelly and Travis are totally in love with their baby. They can't take their eyes off him...

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See you next week, Kelly & Travis for the rest of the session!

In the Land of Enchantment...

Once upon a time, on an 80 degree day in September, I photographed two beautiful princesses on the private grounds near their towering castle...

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The demure Princess Ava, as sweet as her cotton candy colored dress, mesmerized me with her peaceful beauty and ability to talk to the birds...

Her sister, the bold and brave Princess Claire, as vivacious as her purple-accented fuschia gown, dazzled me with her eloquent dance and natural way with horses...

Every princess dreams of finding her Prince Charming...

Yes, once upon a time, there were two princesses, who kissed two frogs that turned into princes..and they rode off on two horses to the Land of Enchantment where they lived happily ever after...

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Love them freckles...

Cameron and Jaide are the cutest freckle-faced brother and sister team ever and they were so incredibly cooperative during our session...I was really impressed! Kudos to mom & dad!!

Jaide reminds me of the Breck Girl...does anyone remember her with the long blonde hair and freckles?? The all-American girl next door??

Brave Cameron knocked out a tooth and split his lip open in July in a nasty scooter fall. But he's good as new and all smiles now...

Thanks, Michelle and Tom...we finally did it!!!

another beautiful senior...Carly!

Class of 2009, Bozeman High School senior, Carly, went looking in the phone book for her senior portrait photographer. She knew she wanted something different. Checking out my website, she was convinced she'd found it. I'm so glad, because she was a ton of fun to photograph and we had the most amazing light during the entire session! Plus, she's absolutely gorgeous...

After shooting here at Sky Ranch, we decided to hit some nearby railroad tracks (above) for more of that "something different" she was looking for. Well, Carly??? What do you think?

Carly's response: "Thank you so much!! The pictures are absolutely amazing and exactly what I was looking for! I can't wait to show my mom and get my orders in. Thank you again!!!"

Praying for Peace

On this, the 7th anniversary of 9/11, the nation pauses to remember the horrible tragedy, holding ceremonies and moments of silence to commemorate the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000. As the war on terrorism and conflicts in over 30 countries continue, William E. Gladstone's words come to mind...

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"We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace."
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Introducing...

peace angel

We shall find peace. We shall hear angels. We shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds...

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(And if you're wondering why our "peace angel" is using a bow and arrow...yes, I know, its a conflicting message...but it was the only way to get my 8 year old "ALL BOY" boy, to put on angel wings.)

In Sympathy...

My heart goes out to the family of Edna Kastelitz, 90, of Livingston who passed away early Friday, August 29, 2008 at Livingston Memorial Hospital. I met Edna in 2001 when I sought out an "older woman" to photograph for my upcoming one-woman show at The Frame Garden titled "Neighbors and Friends, The Face of Livingston". Our neighbor, an artist, told me about Edna, a student in her painting class...

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I met Edna at her Livingston home. She was beautiful and spirited. She spoke of her husband, Ed, who had passed away a few years earlier. And she had gorgeous lilac bushes in her backyard of which she was very proud...

The photo (below) is the one I decided to exhibit in the show which opened in July 2001. I just loved her joy and the way she was looking up toward the sky, toward heaven... Something (or someone) up there made her smile.

Somehow it seems appropriate that the Kastelitz family selected this image for exhibit during her memorial service at St. Mary's Catholic Church this past Friday.

Kevin, thank you for contacting me. I hope your family enjoys the framed photo for years to come...(and thanks so much to all of you for the gift certificate to Boodles!)